Our Dream

by IloveBrittney1994

What would happen if Sakura actually followed through and actually raised her hand during the exams in order to save Naruto's dream?

1. Chapter 1

"Characters talking"

"Character's thoughts."

Our Dream

She couldn't take her emerald eyes off him. She wouldn't admit it, but the blonde knucklehead of Konoha consumed 50 percent of her thoughts throughout the whole duration of the exam. She did a good job so far of not letting it worry her, but suddenly when the tenth question was announced, she couldn't help but feel afraid that he may do something that would mess himself up. They were in a now or never situation and she couldn't think of anything else right now besides him and that impossible little dream of his.

She knew just how stubborn he was, he never gave up and even in a situation where him becoming a Chuunin and ultimately his dream could be destroyed, she knew it made no difference to him. A part of her wanted to just raise her hand herself regardless of the consequences, as long as Naruto's dream was protected in the end. The other part however was worried about how Sasuke would react because she knew if she raised her hand, not only would she be disqualified but so would Naruto and Sasuke.

Sakura felt her heart race faster, the pace increasing by the second. She sighed quietly as if trying to neutralize the anxiety she was feeling. She remembered how angry Sasuke was at her for even suggesting to quit the exams and trying again next year. She knew this was something Sasuke felt like he had to go through so he could fight other Shinobi and get stronger. The strange thing was however, as the time started winding down, Naruto's dream weighed in more than Sasuke's reasons for wanting to stay in the exam in her mind.

"I am giving one last opportunity for anyone to raise their hand, after that it is all or nothing…" Ibiki stated warningly. Sakura jumped slightly at the proctor's voice, just hearing those words made her realize the reality of the situation. She knew she had to make a decision and fast. Ibiki's last few words really worried her and the fact that he was so serious all the time didn't exactly help the situation.

Biting her lip, Sakura never took her eyes off Naruto's back. She could see him trembling just slightly, and to her that was a sign of nervousness. She had been studying him more than she would care to admit throughout the whole written exam and he looked helpless, like he didn't know what to do. It hurt her to see him like this, she wasn't used to seeing him look so helpless and nervous. It wasn't the Naruto she had come to know.

'I will become Hokage and then everybody will finally acknowledge me! Believe it!" Naruto's declaration flooded Sakura's mind. She smiled a small smile at her thoughts, she believed in that stubborn knucklehead's dream and she refused to see it get crushed, especially when she could have done something. Any thought of Sasuke was completely erased from her mind, she knew what she had to do regardless of the consequence.

The agents that had been standing in the room looking for cheaters or anyone foolish enough to allow themselves to get caught cheating looked around the room, they saw that no one else was going to raise their hand and they nodded to Ibiki giving him the signal to commence with the tenth question.

Ibiki nodded back and began to speak once again to the remaining Shinobi. "It's time for the tenth question..." Ibiki announced, moving to the center of the front of the room where everyone can see him.

Naruto's shaking had become obviously worse, and Sakura couldn't stand to see him like that anymore. She had already accepted that both Sasuke and Naruto might hate her for this. a slight pain struck her heart at the notion of the latter potentially hating her for this, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. She had to do this, for his dream's sake.

Naruto slowly began to raise his hand, Ibiki and the agents watched him keenly. Naruto was still trembling but he began to quickly move his hand to slam it on the table below him. Before his hand could reach the table he heard one of the agents say Sakura's name to his surprise.

"Haruno Sakura has raised her hand..." Naruto's head slowly turned to the pink haired girl who had just raised her hand. His blue eyes wide, he was shocked that Sakura of all people raised her hand. He knew she wasn't worried about the written part of the exam because to him she was the smartest girl in the world. It dawned on him that she could have been afraid of advancing to the next part of the exam, and even though he wanted to finish the exam and become a Chuunin, he wouldn't have been able to go through it knowing the girl he loved wasn't feeling up to it.

Sakura's eyes met finally met Naruto's and she smiled bittersweetly at him. She could see a range of different emotions wash over his face. First, he looked disappointed, she could tell that he tried his best to hide it most liekly for her sake. But then, the disappointment that she seen flash in his eyes was replaced by understanding and a look of warmth.

She felt relief wash over her at an reaction that she didn't expect even from Naruto. He didn't have to say a word for her to feel assured that he was letting her know that he was okay with her decision. Her feeling of relief was short lived as she was snapped back into reality by what the agents had to say next.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, that means you are disqualified as well." Her heart dropped, she had completely forgotten about Sasuke momentarily. She was afraid to look back at him and the reaction he might have given to her. She didn't want to take her eyes off Naruto, he was her source of comfort in this situation.

Sakura decided to face what she thought could be worst. Her heart began to pace at an unbelievable speed, she snapped her eyes shut and let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding in. She slowly turned her neck in the direction of the Uchiha. Her thoughts of what Sasuke's reaction might be was confirmed to be even worse than what she thought it would be.

The look in his eyes was borderline demonic. She was a little afraid of what Sasuke was actually thinking at this point. He looked at her as thought he was ready to kill her at anytime. She looked away from Sasuke quickly, she placed both of her hands on her temple. The situation was beginning to stress her out.

'What have I done? Sasuke-Kun will never forgive me now." Sakura thought with slight regret for raising her hand. She didn't know since when she started prioritizing Naruto's dream over Sasuke's; but at this point it was already said and done.

"I will become the Hokage no matter what!" Naruto's words made its way back into her mind. In the back of her mind she knew she had done the right thing, but she didn't want to truly admit it. Seeing him become Hokage had become more important to her the more time she spent with the hyperactive blonde idiot.

The sound of a chair moving out and then back in made Sakura gasp silently, breaking her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to the direction of the moving chair to see Sasuke making his way out of the door with his hands in his pockets. Without hesitation, she stood up and ran after Sasuke to see if she can get him to see her way of things and possibly forgive her.

Naruto's eyebrows knitted in sadness. It was depressing seeing the girl he loves chase after Sasuke like that. But what saddened him even more was how sad Sakura looked after raising her hand. He just couldn't get why someone as smart as Sakura would choose to disqualify herself even though he knew she could answer that tenth question with relative ease. As thoughts continued to race through his head, he started to feel confused as well. He wondered why she would do that knowing Sasuke is on the team as well and could have got disqualified as well. It was extremely weird to him.

Naruto slowly got up and pushed his chair in, his mind still full of thoughts trying to decipher just exactly what happened. He made his way into the hallway where he could see Sakura walking at the side of Sasuke. Out of respect for Sakura, Naruto decided to stay back and let her try to talk to him.

Sakura was trying to get point across to Sasuke so that way he would probably understand and forgive her. "Sasuke-Kun, I'm sorry. I was afraid of advancing to the next stage of the exams." Sakura explained semi-truthfully.

Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eye and ignored what she said. He felt annoyed just looking at her right now, he didn't want to be bothered by her or Naruto, he just wanted to be left alone at this point of time. However, Sakura didn't get the message of him ignoring her.

"I know you could have went through the whole exam no problem since you're so strong Sasuke-Kun." Sakura said nervously, allowing a small smile to form on her lips. "So maybe you and me can prepare better for next year."

Those were the same exact words that pissed him off the very first time. He didn't want to do it next year, he wanted to start to get stronger this year. He finally turned to her and closed the gap, only leaving a few inches of space between them. Sakura always wanted Sasuke to be this close to her, but not in a circumstance like this. He towered her by a few centimeters.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in anger. He didn't like the look on Sakura's face when Sasuke approached her the way he did. Naruto felt like he should move in a little closer in case Sasuke tried anything, and moved up so he was close enough to protect Sakura if need be.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You are dead weight. I would even argue that you're worse than Naruto!" Sasuke raised his voice slightly and made Sakura flinch at his tone of voice. The words he said to her hurt, it felt like needles pricking at her heart but she tried to stay strong and not cry. She didn't want to prove him right.

"B-But Sasuke-Kun.." Sakura tried to defend herself but Sasuke cut her off.

"Shut the fuck up. I'm tired of hearing your annoying ass voice! I'm tired of being on a team with not one, but two deadweights, you do nothing but hold me back. You're useless, you should quit being a ninja!" His words were slowly breaking Sakura's resolve to refrain from crying.

Naruto stood in anger listening to Sasuke belittle not just any girl, but his Sakura-Chan. It truly angered him to his core, he wanted to knock Sasuke's jaw clean off, but he knew Sakura would probably be mad at him for it.

"All you do is chase after me all day long, I don't like you. I never liked you, and I never will like you. Get it through that big ass head of yours. You're annoying, you're weak, and you're of no use to me. You're too dumb to even realize that I don't want you." That did it, whatever resolve Sakura had to avoid crying in front of Sasuke broke. Tears started streaming from Sakura's eyes and this just pissed Naruto off to the point that even Kurama was afraid right now.

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger, his hand tightened into an fist. He honestly didn't care much for what Sasuke said about him as much as he did Sakura. The thought that went through his mind was attack first, talk later but once again he thought about it as he knew Sakura would most likely scold and be mad at him for it for a while. Seeing her crying face, he walked up to the both Sakura and Sasuke.

"HEY TEME!" Naruto snarled, approaching Sasuke and getting in his face.

"And just what do you think you're going to do? You're even weaker than her." Sasuke stated with a smirk, tilting his head to the side.

"I CAN CARELESS WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT ME, BUT DON'T YOU EVER BADMOUTH SAKURA-CHAN AND MAKE HER CRY AGAIN! SHE'S EXTREMELY STRONG AND SMART, I'M SURE IF SHE QUIT THE EXAM THEN SHE HAD A PRETTY DAMN GOOD REASON!" Naruto hollered, defending the love of his life.

"Hn, I don't care DOBE." Sasuke spat, saying the last word with emphasis. "Just tell your little girlfriend to stay the hell out of my way from now on or else there will be consequences for her." Sasuke threatened, making his way past both Naruto and Sakura, his hands in his pockets. Sakura tried to stay behind Naruto as much as she could, following his movements as he turned his body to watch Sasuke until he walked through the door.

The fact that Naruto actually stood up for her made her cheeks stain pink. She smiled a little at the fact that someone like Naruto was always there for her. She watched Naruto intently to make sure he didn't catch her smiling nor blushing, she knew he would either worry about her or question her about it until she answered him.

"You won't lay a hand on my girlfriend, I'll kick your ass all over Konoha before you can even blink!" Naruto yelled out after him, subconsciously saying the part about Sakura being his girlfriend, to which Sakura caught on.

Her eyes widened in size a bit and her blush deepened, she clenched her fist and smacked it into the palm of her other hand. "What did you just say Naruto? I'm your what?" Sakura growled while cracking her knuckles.

Naruto's eyes widened in fear, he just realized he had called Sakura his girlfriend without even realizing it. He blushed a little and turned to face her. He put his hands behind his head and started to chuckle nervously. "S-Sakura-Chan.."

WHAM!

Before he could say anything, Sakura punched him into the ground and walked out of the building, but thankfully it wasn't as hard as she usually did it. He laid in a heap on the ground admiring her monstrous strength. A punch where she can knock out even the most durable of ninja in one punch. He knew her fighting ability couldn't have been the problem, to him she's an amazing fighter.

'It has to be something else.' Naruto thought as he got up to follow Sakura and make sure she's alright.

---

Sakura was walking slowly through Konoha. She looked defeated, Sasuke hating her was the last thing she ever wanted to happen. His words wouldn't leave her mind and it left a stinging feeling in her heart.

"You're deadweight, you should stop being a ninja! You're of no use to me, you're useless!" Her green eyes wandered to the floor below her. Her eyebrows knitted together in sadness and her pace slowed down a little. She didn't know what happened back in the exam room. She prioritized Naruto over Sasuke, something she thought she might have never done even if someone paid her, yet all thoughts of what Sasuke felt or thought didn't come into her mind until after she made her decision.

"All you do is chase me all day long, I don't like you, I've never liked you!" These words hurt even worse. How could he say something like this after he claimed to have liked her large and charming forehead? After he stated he wanted to kiss it? Her clenched in pain at just the thought of Sasuke admitting he didn't like her in any way possible. Why did Naruto have to be so damn stubborn all the time? Why couldn't he just set aside his pride and stop worrying her to the point that she had to make drastic decisions for him when he was too dense to do it himself.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, remember it! I'll be Hokage someday!" A small smile formed on Sakura's lips effectively relieving her from her thoughts of Sasuke for a moment, what an baka he could be, always being so cocky and stubborn but she didn't want Naruto to change for anything.

Her mind wandered back to Naruto defending her much to her surprise. "DON'T EVER BADMOUTH SAKURA-CHAN AND MAKE HER CRY! SHE'S SMART AND STRONG, IF SHE QUIT I KNOW THERE'S A DAMN GOOD REASON!" All she used to do was belittle him and ignore him for Sasuke's sake, but here he was defending her from the likes of Sasuke. She had to wonder what made Naruto think so highly of her.

"You won't lay your hands on my girlfriend! I'll kick your ass all over Konoha before you can even blink!" Sakura's cheeks heated up at remembering these words from Konoha's knucklehead.

"Who does that baka think he is referring to me as his girlfriend…" Sakura mumbled to herself, her blush deepening. Before she had time to even dwell on the subject a familiar voice called out to her.

"Sakura-Chan!" Speaking of the devil. She turned to face the direction the voice was coming from, she seen Naruto running to her. "Sakura-Chan!" He was so goddamned loud. She placed her hands on her hips when he got closer to her, still a little upset about the girlfriend comment.

"Must you be so loud all the time Naruto?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto finally made it in front of her and grinned at her comment. "Are you alright Sakura-Chan?"

She eyed him down, she could tell that he ran after her this whole way. "I'm fine Naruto."

Naruto looked Sakura confidently in the eye. If Sakura had to be honest, she felt like Naruto was trying to stare into her soul and it made her feel a little nervous. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Nothing…" Naruto simply stated, choosing not to question her for now. "I'm sorry about earlier."

Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion, her hands still on her hips. "And just what are you so sorry about?"

Naruto looked at the way Sakura had her hands on her hips. She looked so cute when she did that. "I-I'm sorry about saying you were my girlfriend." Naruto lied, he truthfully didn't regret it.

Sakura's eyes widened, her mouth opening slightly at his apology. Now that she looked back at it, she knew Naruto probably didn't mean anything by it. He was just trying to protect her and stand up for her. She figured she could give him a pass. "It's okay Naruto." Sakura said calmly, turning around and continuing to walk to her destination.

She looked over to hear Naruto's response but noticed he wasn't walking beside her. She looked behind her and saw that he was still standing in the same spot as he was. She stopped and placed her hands on her hips once more. "Well are you going to walk with me or are you going to stand there like an idiot all day?"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and then a smile of excitement quickly replaced it, he ran and took his place next to her. They walked next to each other for a what seemed like forever in awkward silence. Naruto hesitantly looked at her with a sideways glance and could tell that something was bothering her, he had a feeling of what it was about but he didn't know how to approach it properly.

He wanted to say something... anything to cheer her up so bad, but he couldn't find his voice. Now out of all times, he couldn't find his voice. He mentally cursed himself for it. He didn't want to say something that could possibly make Sakura feel worse but he knew he had to at least say something so he could begin to ease into making her feel better.

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto exhaled as if trying to gain the courage to speak to her. He looked over to the girl he was in love with since he was a child, both his eyes fully on her. The pain she had on her face made him feel just as much, if not worse pain than she had. He knew he had to take the risk and break the silence.

"Sakura-Chan?" Naruto called out to her softly.

Sakura's eyes widened and she flinched at his voice as if just remembering he walking beside her. She turned her head to look at him. "What is it Naruto?"

Naruto spoke hesitantly. "What happened back there? I mean I know you could have passed that written exam easily."

There he was putting her on a high pedestal again, even after just potentially putting a setback on his dream of being Hokage. This was a topic however that she hoped Naruto wouldn't bring up. She had to think of something to get him off her back about the exam. "I was afraid of the next stage of the exam, I didn't feel like I was ready." Sakura lied.

Naruto studied her expression, and he could tell she wasn't being truthful about something. "You have no reason to be afraid though Sakura-Chan.." Naruto explained softly, placing his hand on her shoulder effectively making Sakura stop in her tracks.

He turned her gently to face him, his hands now on both her shoulders. "You're one of the strongest people I know, I have no doubt you could clear out the entire Shinobi world by yourself." Naruto finished with a genuine smile.

Sakura's eyebrow raised in surprise at his exaggerated statement. She soon chuckled at it however and returned his smile. "Thanks Naruto, even though your statement is highly over the top."

"Sakura-Chan, you're the only ninja in the world that actually scares me and can kick my ass. And I'm a man that can kick every other ninja's ass with one hand tied behind my back." Naruto declared confidently.

Sakura giggled at his cocky declaration. "You really think so huh?"

Naruto nodded in response, his smile becoming goofier by the second. "Hell yeah! Tebayo!"

"Then maybe next time you should be more careful of what you say around me or else I'll have to prove your theory to be right." Sakura threatened playfully, cracking her knuckles for added effect.

Naruto laughed nervously, raising his hands in defense. "It won't happen again Sakura-Chan."

She smiled at the blonde boy with closed eyes. She opened her eyes to look at him again and she could see he was now hesitant about something. Her mouth gaped slightly at his expression, he looked like he had something on his mind. "Hey Naruto, are you alright?"

The expression on Naruto went from one of being in thought to one of being in shock. He turned his head to look at her. How did she know something was on his mind? Was he really this obvious to figure out? He really wanted to ask her on a small date, but with everything that happened with Sasuke and the exams he decided to do it in a more formal way.

"I'm fine Sakura-Chan, I was just wondering if you want something to eat? I'm starving." Naruto confessed truthfully, his stomach luckily growling at the same time to prove he was telling the truth.

Sakura thought about his offer. She wouldn't mind grabbing a bowl of ramen with him, but with the thoughts running through her mind, she couldn't accept it at this time. Naruto really did make her feel a little better but she really didn't want to end up burdening him with her problems and thoughts. "Thanks Naruto, but I should really get home and get some rest."

Naruto still felt like she wasn't telling him something, but he was willing to let it go for now for her sake. "Alright, Sakura-Chan! I'll see you later!" Naruto called out to her as he watched her make her way to her house with a worried expression on his face. When she got completely out of sight for him, he walked into Ichiraku's.

---

Sasuke was in the middle of the forest leading to Konoha deciding not to go straight home, his hands never leaving his pockets. Thoughts of his own was running through his mind. He wouldn't admit it but he felt a little bad about what he said to Sakura.

What he said about Naruto affected him worse, even though he didn't think of Naruto as his equal; he had to admit that Naruto did indeed get stronger and the fact that Naruto felt so confident in his abilities that he confronted him impressed him.

He sighed, various thoughts continuing to flood his mind. One in particular stood out, it was a face. The face had a Sharingan similar to his and it was smiling devilishly at him. Removing his hands from his pockets, he tightened his hand into a ball. His already black eyes grew darker by the second.

"Fuck that, it's because of that annoying bitch that I lost my opportunity to get stronger so I can finally get my revenge." Sasuke thought furiously. His anger beginning to bubble inside of him at just the thought of what Sakura costed him.

He had to kill Itachi at all costs, and Sakura ruined that for him. Part of him really wanted to seek her out and slice the skin off her bones nice and slow so she could suffer but the other half of him, the one that cared for his teammates directed him otherwise.

"Well, well what do we have here?" Sasuke heard a smooth, creepy voice say from the trees. Sasuke instinctively retracted a kunai, looking around the surrounding area to see where the voice came from.

"Are you going to show yourself? Or do I have to come and find you?" Sasuke said calmly, growing impatient immediately. "You wouldn't like it if I had to do the latter." Sasuke assured.

The voice chuckled creepily in a way that even sent a shiver down Sasuke's spine. It was just a chuckle but it was almost maniacal in nature. "Calm down Sasuke-Kun, I have not come to fight."

"Well then what the hell do you want?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, still searching the trees for the creep that was talking to him. He tightened the hold on his kunai, still ready to strike.

"I've come to make you an offer you couldn't possibly refuse." He answered calmly, finally revealing himself to Sasuke. He had long back hair, his eyes were snake like in nature and had purple markings around them. He smiled at Sasuke and his tongue was longer than most people's. He even moved like a snake if you studied his movements.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You want to make an offer with me? What could you possibly have to offer me that would stop me from slitting your throat where you stand?"

"Fufufu.. angry because of the Chuunin Exams are we?" He could tell from how Sasuke gritted his teeth that he hit the nail on the head. "You don't need to worry about that, I have exactly what you need to kill Itachi Sasuke-Kun."

He caught the Uchiha's full attention. The snake like man smiled devilishly at the look in Sasuke's eyes at his offer. "However…" he continued. "With it will undoubtedly come a price."

Sasuke knew in the back of mind something wasn't feeling right about this man and his offer. But, this man was also offering him the power to potentially take down Itachi. "What would the price be?"

"All you would have to do is be my student." He stated simply even though he had other intentions for both Sasuke.

Sasuke found it too good to be true, what was this man getting out of return for training him and giving him the power he claimed would be enough to kill Itachi? Sasuke's eyes once again narrowed in suspicion. "And what if I refuse?"

Between a few seconds, Sasuke had seen the creep smile at him and then disappear in blinding speed before Sasuke could even blink and react. Before Sasuke knew it, the man was behind him with a kunai pressed to his neck. "So fast, I couldn't even react to his movements."

"I don't think that would be the wisest idea Sasuke-Kun. Make no mistake, I could kill you right now and go to sleep like a baby later on…" The man threatened in a smooth, calm voice as he pressed the kunai a little deeper into his skin not drawing blood, but enough where he could feel the cold steel threatening to enter. "However, I can't do that since you are so valuable to me and my plans." He admitted.

Sasuke had never felt so helpless in his entire life, he had never been in a position where it was either do as told or be put to death. "Who the hell are you?" Sasuke managed to grunt out.

"Awww, now you've saddened me Sasuke-Kun. I've done so much research on you and you mean to tell me you don't even know who I am?" The man laughed demonically.

"Why don't you enlighten me?" Sasuke countered.

"I am Orochimaru. I'm what you would call a Legendary Sannin." Sasuke's eyes widened. That's why he was able to move so fast, he was on a level that could rival a Kage. Orochimaru stretched his neck until his neck was over Sasuke's shoulder and he was looking him in the eyes with that same smile, this time with his tongue sticking out and wiggling like a snake's.

"Convinced yet Sasuke-Kun?" Orochimaru hissed out. Sasuke responded with a smirk.

"Hmph, for a Sannin you sure make a lot of mistakes." Sasuke stated confidently, feeling Orochimaru drop the kunai slightly from his neck which was all he needed to escape the hold. With a smooth backflip, Sasuke created space between the two of them.

Orochimaru looked at the boy amusingly. He liked when they had life in them. "Tsk. Tsk. Sasuke-Kun, I really didn't want it to end up going in this direction, but you leave me no choice."

Sasuke watched in surprise as Orochimaru melted into the ground and slithered to him at blinding speed. Sasuke jumped in the air when Orochimaru closed in on him. Still seeing Orochimaru on the ground looking up at him with bastardly smile, Sasuke quickly retracted a few shuriken and threw it at the sides of Orochimaru's body; "successfully" pinning him down.

Sasuke smirked confidently while still in the air, his eyes flickering from black to red. He was trying to go for the kill early. "Katon! GoukakYuu No Jutsu!"

Orochimaru smirked deviantly, watching the giant ball of fire streak in his direction. "Hmmm. He's activated the Sharingan at such an early age? Impressive."

Sasuke started to finally drop back to the ground as he watched the fire envelope the area surrounding him, burning Orochimaru in the process. Sasuke grinned smugly, hearing the blood curdling screams of Orochimaru from inside the fire. "Hn, a Sannin huh?" Sasuke scoffed. "He's just as weak as everyone else."

"Hehe." Sasuke was stunned for any further words when he heard Orochimaru's voice sound out to him from an unknown location. "I'm insulted that you actually think that you can defeat me with such a pathetic jutsu."

"What? That's impossible! I watched the fire consume him!" Sasuke was broken from his thoughts when Orochimaru appeared in behind him at a speed that Sasuke couldn't follow even with his Sharingan activated.

"Sasuke-Kun… I'm sure you were taught that you should never let anyone see your back!" Sasuke could basically feel Orochimaru's breath on his neck. Sasuke's mind was telling him to move, but his body did the complete opposite.

"Not so confident anymore are we?" Orochimaru snickered seeing him tremble in fear, finally grabbing a hold of Sasuke. This woke Sasuke's body up from the frozen state it was in, but he couldn't break Orochimaru's hold. Suddenly, he felt Orochimaru bite into the side of his neck.

Sasuke screamed in pain when he felt his teeth sink into his flesh. Orochimaru held his teeth inside until the mark started to form on his Sasuke's skin, and when it fully contrived, Orochimaru removed his teeth from Sasuke's neck. He then watched as Sasuke fell to ground in an unconscious state.

"A shame he wouldn't take it willingly. Once he feels the power, he will seek me out on his own." And with that, Orochimaru disappeared into the trees leaving Sasuke's unconscious body in the grass.

---

Sakura sat at the edge of her bed, her knees cuffed to her chest. A range of emotions coursed through her body. Guilt, sadness, angriness, you name it, she was feeling it. Thoughts of Sasuke was consuming her mind. She was hoping everything he said to her was just a simple little nightmare; but she knew that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"You're useless, losers like you should never become ninja! You disgrace the name." He was the last person she wanted to hear that from. She tightened the grip on her knees, her eyes narrowed in sadness.

Sakura shook her head in attempt to rid herself of the particular thought but another one came flowing in. "I don't like you! I've never liked you!" She sunk her head deeper into her position, leftover tears threatening to fall.

She really didn't want to cry anymore for the day, she was tired of being looked down on. She promised herself she would be more useful to her team in the future and crying would never get the job done. She wondered how Naruto always did it, always walked with his head high and a smile on his face regardless of a situation. He always knew what to do in any given situation.

Her mind took on a fresh wave of thoughts, effectively calming her down. "I'll become the Hokage no matter what! Nothing will stop me!"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and someday I'll be the Hokage! Then people will finally look up to me and actually acknowledge me." Even through pressure he was always shouting his dream repeatedly. No matter how many people would say he can't, he would prove to them he can. He was so damn confident and optimistic and she admired that about him. She could see him smiling brightly, not letting a thing bother him.

A small smile graced Sakura's lips in response to the thought of Naruto smiling and walking triumphantly thorough the village without a care in the world. "Stubborn Baka." She mumbled from behind her knees.

For whatever reason that she still couldn't place her finger on, she just couldn't bear to see his dream get crushed. If she wasn't on his team, she probably would have been just another person that scoffed at even the notion of him becoming the Hokage. But as she got to know him, she realized he a lot of depth to him. He wasn't just a prankster. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she knew he would be a great Hokage, dare she say the best Konoha has ever seen.

However, none of that answered why she chose Naruto's dream over Sasuke's reason to stay in the exam. She wanted to chalk it up to her making a badly judged decision in the heat of the moment, but she knew that was bullshit. There had to be more to why she did what she did, especially with the possibility of losing any chance with Sasuke on the line.

Trying to rack her brain for answers, she placed her hand gently under her chin as if she was trying to solve a problem. Her thoughts were soon broken when she heard a knock at her door. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion, she didn't normally get any visitors, and she knew it couldn't have been for her parents since their friends know they work at this hour.

Sakura climbed out of her bed and made her way down the stairs. She heard the person on the other side knock again. "I'm coming!" Sakura yelled in response, getting agitated when the person began to drum a song on her door.

"What do you want?" Sakura growled rudely as she opened the door halfway, still not seeing the person on the other side.

"Naruto?" She said in surprise, finally opening the door fully and seeing the boy standing there with a somewhat look of embarrassment on his face. She also noted that he had one of his hands behind his back.

""Hey Sakura-Chan! I forgot I never let you in on my secret knock that I made just for you." Naruto said, trying to explain the meaning behind him drumming music on her door.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura questioned, ignoring Naruto's explanation. "And why is your hand behind your back?"

Naruto placed his free hand behind his head, he smiled sheepishly at Sakura. She raised one of her eyebrows in confusion at Naruto's actions. He could be so confusing sometimes.

"Well Sakura-Chan…" Naruto chuckled nervously, slowly removing his hand from behind his back and revealing a bag. "I kinda brought you something to eat, I figured you were hungry."

Sakura's eyes widened and went from Naruto's face to the bag to his face again. "That's very sweet of him." Sakura thought as she smiled warmly at Naruto. "Thanks Naruto, I appreciate that."

"I err.. also came to check up on you Sakura-Chan. How are you feeling?" Naruto questioned.

Sakura's mouth opened slightly in wonder. "He came to check up on me?" Sakura thought as if it was the weirdest thing in the world. She never really had anyone besides her parents and occasionally Ino that checked up on her. "Thank you, Naruto. I'm feeling a little better. Just a little hungry." Her smile only getting warmer.

Naruto handed her the bag. She wondered why he was so nervous. She soon got her answer as to why he was so flustered. "Uh, Naruto there's two bowls in here…" Sakura pointed out, examining the contents of the bag.

A single bead of sweat dropped from the back of her head when she saw him start to laugh nervously but tried to cover it up by laughing loud. "Well you see Sakura-Chan, I only ate 20 bowls, and I'm still hungry…"

"20 bowls?!" Sakura shrieked, hitting him on the arm just hard enough where he could feel it but wouldn't make a bruise. "Naruto, you've got to start eating healthier, you can't live off ramen. It's not good for you." Sakura scolded.

"Well you see, I would have definitely eaten more but… Naruto trailed off, scratching the back of his head sheepishly and looking everywhere else but on her.

Sakura placed her free hand on her hip and raised her eyebrow at him. "But what?"

Naruto's face heated up at her question. "I was kind of hoping we could have eaten the ramen together, you know, almost like a da.."

Sakura cut him off before he could finish. "Thanks Naruto, I was really hungry. I'll enjoy both bowls of ramen as you wanted." Sakura finished in a sweet tone sending him an equally sweet smile.

That smile of hers never failed to mesmerize the blonde knucklehead. He felt his heart flutter and all the heat in his body rushed to his cheeks. It mesmerized him so much that he didn't make out what she said until after she closed the door, effectively stirring him from his feeling of bliss at her beautiful smile.

Naruto shook his head, and his eyes turned into white circles. "Whaaa? Sakura-Chaaaaannn. That was supposed to be for our date!" Naruto whined, but he didn't mind. He was glad he was able to put a smile on her face.

---

Sasuke started to stir. His eyes blinking multiple times trying to focus in on the area he was in. Even though he couldn't see clearly, he still recognized the smell of the place. It had a faint scent of blood that he scrunched his nose at. His eyes finally focusing he looked around the room and realized he was now in a bed.

"Where am I?" Sasuke muttered to himself.

"Uh, in a hospital." A man answered Sasuke's question anyway in a tone that suggested that Sasuke should have already known where he was.

Sasuke turned his head to the voice and glared at a silver haired man that he didn't recognize was in the room before. "I know, but what the hell am I doing here?"

The man was standing in the corner of the room, one of his arms crossing his chest and the other one holding a book before his face. "Is that anyway to thank someone who took time out of their day to save you?" The man said never taking his eye from book.

"Save me? Why am I here Kakashi?" Sasuke questioned once more, growing impatient.

Kakashi finally closed his book and focused his attention to the Uchiha. "I found you unconscious out in Konoha's forest. Do you have any idea how that could have happened?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and focused his eyes to his hands, thoughts of Orochimaru flooded his mind. The last thing he remembered before going unconscious was Orochimaru biting him on the neck. Sasuke immediately placed his hand on the part of the neck that Orochimaru bit and felt a mark.

Kakashi studied Sasuke and his reaction very carefully. "I'll take that as a yes.." Kakashi said as he walked up to Sasuke's bedside and sat down in the chair facing him, and pointing at the spot where Sasuke was hiding.

"How long have you had that mark on your skin Sasuke? I didn't notice it before today." Kakashi commented aloofly.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "A mark?" Sasuke questioned shock evident in his tone. "The son of a bitch dare to mark me?" Sasuke muttered angrily to himself.

"Move your hand so I can see the mark…" Kakashi requested.

Sasuke offered Kakashi a sideways glance, hesitantly removing his hand as Kakashi requested. Kakashi examined the mark carefully and recognized it but couldn't place a finger where he had seen it before. "Did you get a good look at the person who did this to you?" Kakashi asked, still examining the mark.

Sasuke simply shook his head. "He moved too fast for me to see even with my Sharingan activated and before I knew it, he bit me on the neck and left me unconscious." Sasuke lied partly. Truth be told, Sasuke didn't want to give too much information to Kakashi. He didn't want Kakashi to tell anything to anybody about the mark, especially Naruto.

Kakashi studied Sasuke, the words he said and how he said them; the way he was acting. He could tell Sasuke was holding back information from him but he decided to let it go for a while until the situation became more dangerous. "Hmmm." Kakashi said suspiciously in which Sasuke noticed.

Kakashi got up from his seat and started to make his way to the door. Sasuke watched him until he placed his hand on the door handle and stopped to look back at him. "You should be out sometime today." Kakashi assured him before turning the handle to leave, but Sasuke's voice stopped him.

"Kakashi…" Sasuke called after him, his hand still touching the mark.

Kakashi looked back to Sasuke with a bored expression. "Hmmm?"

"Can you do me a favor and not mention any of this to Naruto?" Sasuke requested, slightly surprising Kakashi.

Kakashi took his hand from the door handle and turned his whole body in Sasuke's direction. "I can do that for you." Kakashi said in an tone that expressed he understood Sasuke's reasons. "Just make sure you can avoid having him see it, he's smarter than you give him credit for."

Sasuke processed Kakashi's words and simply nodded at him in gratitude. Kakashi offered him a closed eyed smile before placing his hand back on the door handle and turned it, finally stepping out of the door to leave.

After Kakashi finally closed the door, Sasuke placed his hand back on his neck and looked down, Orochimaru's words filling his thoughts. "This will give you the power to kill Itachi." The thought of this mark being the key to him getting more powerful and ultimately getting his revenge was something Sasuke didn't want to pass up even if this mark had to be the gateway to it.

Sasuke took a handful of the sheet and gripped it tightly in his hand. While he was finding it hard to resist Orochimaru's offer at this point, the other side of him didn't want to have to leave the village and his friends. Thoughts of Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi flooded his mind. Everything they had been through, everything else they could have gone through if Sakura hadn't raised her hand.

His eyebrows furrowed in anger at the thought of what Sakura costed him. Suddenly, he took a handful of the sheet that covered him and gripped it in a vice grip like manner, throwing the sheet off him. He refused to stay in the hospital any longer; he stood up from the bed and made his way to the window and opened it. He then looked back to make sure nobody was coming in the room before he climbed out of the window and onto the edge of the hospital.

---

Naruto was walking slowly through the village, his hands in pockets not going to any specific destination. Like Sakura, he had a lot on his mind. His thoughts mainly composed of the pink haired love of his life. Even though he had just gone to see her and managed to make her smile, he couldn't help but notice that she had been crying before. He couldn't shake the thought of why she quit the test, he just couldn't buy the fact that she quit because she was afraid. There had to be some other reason.

Naruto wanted to do more than just make her smile once, he wanted to make sure that any feeling of sadness she was feeling was gone permanently. He thought of the possible ideas to make it happen and his eyes narrowed in sadness, as much as it pained him to admit; he knew Sasuke was the biggest reason why he felt like she was sad and he had to find a way to get Sasuke to forgive her for her sake.

Naruto shook his head his head slightly so he could rid himself of his sadness, he had to find Sasuke and get him to forgive her for Sakura's happiness sake. Letting out a pained sigh, he lifted his head to focus on the area in front of him and as if on cue, he saw just the man he wanted to see. Naruto grinned from ear to ear and put his both his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice.

"Yo! Teme!" Naruto screamed out to Sasuke as he started to run up to him.

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. Naruto was the last person he wanted to see right now, especially with the mark that was on his neck. He knew Naruto would most likely worry about him and even try to stop him if he ever did decide to take Orochimaru up on his offer. Sasuke also dreaded having on his hospital clothes, that would most like make Naruto suspicious of something happening to him.

"Teme!" Naruto screamed again, finally making his way in front of the Uchiha.

"I'm right here moron, no need to keep yelling." Sasuke said irritatingly.

Completely ignoring what Sasuke had just said, Naruto started to study Sasuke. He studied what he had on and even noticed the mark on his neck. Sasuke quickly noticed that Naruto's eyes was on the mark and tried to nullify the situation. "What the hell are you looking at dobe?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he placed his hand under his chin. "Those clothes you have on, that mark on your skin…" Naruto responded.

Sasuke's eyebrow knitted in frustration, this was exactly what he had been trying to avoid. "Uhhh…" Was all Sasuke was able to get out before Naruto cut him off.

"You got a tattoo and didn't tell me eh? Trying to look all cool for Sakura-Chan." Naruto pouted in a jealous manner.

A single bead of sweat made its way down the back of Sasuke's head. "Uhhh sure. Let's go with that." Sasuke deadpanned.

"If you think that's what it takes to make Sakura-Chan…" Naruto growled out but couldn't finish his sentence due to Sasuke speaking over him.

"What is it that you want Naruto?" Sasuke asked calmly.

Naruto's mouth opened slightly and then he grinned at Sasuke's question helping him remember why he tried to find him in the first place. "Listen up Teme…" Naruto commanded, grabbing Sasuke's full attention.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in wonder. It never failed to impress him with the fact that Naruto dared to speak to him the way he did. "Hmph, spit it out dobe." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto stared Sasuke in the eye with a determined gleam in his eye and an equally determined grin. "I want to fight you."

"I thought you would never ask." Sasuke stated, still feeling the tension between them from earlier. "And where would you like to get your ass kicked?" Sasuke taunted, his smirk never leaving his face.

"Meet me by the Dango shop in the morning, that way I can kick your ass in front of the whole village." Naruto countered.

"Hmph. You're awfully confident. Don't let this morning go to your head." Sasuke barked back, turning on his heels to leave.

Naruto simply grinned in response as Sasuke started to make his way down the street of Konoha. "Maybe after this Sakura-Chan might look at me differently."

---

"Naruuuutttoooo!" Sakura growled getting impatient with Naruto pulling her in tow. "We have been running through this entire village, where are you taking me?"

"Relax Sakura-Chan, I have a surprise for you." Naruto responded, a pained smile making its way to his face at the thought of him being the one to try to reunite the girl he loved with the guy she liked.

"It had better be good Naruto, especially with you waking me up this damn early in the morning!" Sakura threatened.

Naruto turned his head slightly to look her in the eye and smiled softly at her. "You'll like it Sakura-Chan, trust me."

Sakura's mouth widened a little at Naruto's words, she then smiled back at him when he turned his head. "I better like it." She said in a tone that Naruto wouldn't describe as anything other than cute.

Naruto continued to run through the village holding Sakura's hand, pulling her in tow. Sakura knew just how unpredictable Naruto could be and even though she wouldn't tell him this, the fact that Naruto said he had a surprise for her kind of excited her.

"We're here!" Naruto announced stopping in front of a small building.

Sakura looked at Naruto and then followed his eyes to the building in front of them. "A Dango Shop?" Sakura questioned in a confused tone.

Naruto looked over to Sakura with a goofy grin and placed his hands on his hips victoriously. "Yup! I figured that I could treat you to your favorite food while you wait out here for your surprise."

Sakura returned his look, still a little confused. Had Naruto always been this sweet and she just didn't notice? Then again for as long as she could remember Naruto had always been the only boy that had actually been nice to her. "Thanks Naruto, I really appreciate it." Sakura said with a soft smile.

Naruto's grin widened into a toothy, foxy grin. "Your surprise should be here in a few minutes, I'll go inside and get some dango for you." Naruto said, making his way into the shop.

Noticing a bench at the side of the shop, Sakura walked over to it and sat down. She was really starting to wonder about this surprise Naruto had planned for her. She figured that him treating her to her favorite sweets was a surprise enough. Then again, simple and Naruto didn't exactly go together, especially when it came to her.

Sakura smiled at the thought. Her eyes slowly moving from the ground to see the area around her. She watched as people passed by, but one in particular stood out. She recognized his hair, the way he walked and put his hand in his pockets. Her heart started to race faster than it ever had during any training session. "Sasuke-Kun?"

She was afraid to see him after yesterday, especially by herself. She found herself wanting Naruto to be out here just in case Sasuke tried something with her. Her heart dropped when she noticed him looking her way, she must have called his name too loud. "Oh Sakura, have you seen Naruto? He told me to meet him here."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly at how calmly Sasuke was talking to her, she was expecting him to try to at least try to scream at her again. Then it dawned on her what Naruto's surprise was; to bring Sasuke and her together so they could settle their differences and probably even get closer. She thought it was sweet of him but why would he do that especially when she knew he had at least a crush on her.

She smiled to herself, she noted that had to be the fifth time he made her smile this morning already. She didn't want to let Naruto's efforts go to waste. "I think he's in the Dango shop."

"Thanks." Sasuke simply stated. He started to walk past her to go into the Dango shop but was stopped in his tracks when he felt Sakura grab his hand gently. He looked down at their hands irritatingly and then up to her face.

"Sasuke-Kun, wait." Sakura pleaded, her face red and looking away from him nervously. The blush on her face deepened when she noticed she was still holding his hand. She gently let his hand go.

"Well what is it?" Sasuke questioned, clearly getting agitated.

Sakura racked her brain for the words to say and how she should say them. She felt so nervous it made her feel like her mind was going blank. "Sasuke-Kun… about yesterday… I didn't mean to do what I did. I was just so scared… I was thinking maybe I could…"

Sasuke's eyes knitted in frustration. "Listen Sakura..." Sasuke said, cutting her off and making her flinch at his cold tone. "I really don't want to hear anything about yesterday, and I honestly don't want to hear anything you have to say."

Naruto came outside of the shop, not expecting Sasuke to arrive as of yet. "Sorry for the wait Sakura-Chan! I had to beat this lady with a stick to get the last of the dan…!" Naruto felt his voice get caught in throat when he saw Sasuke standing in front of her but what made his heart drop was the sad look on Sakura's face. He gripped the box in his hand tightly trying to neutralize his anger.

"Sasuke-Kun, I'm prepared to do anything to make it up to you." Sakura was practically begging now and it hurt Naruto to no end to see the girl of his dreams like this.

"I'm not interested." Sasuke turned around to the sound of Naruto's voice but Sakura stopped him when she noticed the mark on his neck and she could see that it was pulsating and the area around it starting to get purple.

"Sasuke-Kun, what's that mark on your neck?" Sakura asked worriedly, her hands moving on their own to touch it.

Sasuke grabbed her hand halfway. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"But Sasuke-Kun, that looks like a bite mark with a seal… you have to go to the hospital." Sakura pleaded as she watched it continue to pulsate. "Please, I'm scared…"

Sasuke could now feel the anger boiling inside of him. Why couldn't she just leave it alone and mind her own business? "Just mind your damn business!" Sasuke snapped.

Tears started flowing down Sakura's cheeks. She promised herself to never cry in front of him again, but she couldn't help it when his life could potentially be in danger.

When it came to Naruto, seeing Sakura being brought to tears never failed to bring forth an anger that even the most hardened of ninjas wouldn't dare to witness. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! I TOLD YOU TO NEVER BRING SAKURA-CHAN TO TEARS AGAIN!" Naruto screamed, his voice cutting through the air.

Sasuke smirked to himself and turned to look at Naruto. "It's not my fault she's so annoying." Sasuke said truthfully but also to get a rise out of Naruto.

Naruto gritted his teeth in complete anger. His hand tightened into a fist and he tightened the fist until the blood in his knuckles disappeared. "I was planning on kicking your ass after you and Sakura-Chan made up, but now's even better!" Naruto said, handing Sakura the box of dango.

"Stand back Sakura-Chan." Naruto requested calmly.

Sakura gasped as both Naruto and Sasuke walked up to each other and stopped when they had enough distance between each other. She placed her free hand over her heart area. The look in Sasuke's eyes worried her, it looked like he was prepared to actually kill Naruto. "Please don't fight!" Sakura begged, the tears in her eyes increasing.

Naruto looked over to her, the look in his eye reducing to worry. "Sakura-Chan…"

Sasuke laughed crazily. "Are you not a man? Letting some woman tell you what to do. An annoying and weak one at that." Sasuke smirked maniacally.

Naruto's eyes shifted back to Sasuke, his anger rising again. "Sakura-Chan is just as strong as us, if not stronger, and she's not just any woman…" Naruto explained calmly for Sakura's sake, glancing at her and shifting his eyes back to Sasuke.

Sakura's cheeks tinged pink at Naruto's words. Not just any woman? What did he mean by that? She didn't know, but she could feel her heart racing at his words. Her thoughts were cut off when Sasuke spoke once again.

"I knew you were just as weak as she was." Sasuke said once again, making Naruto grit his teeth in anger. "Are you going to fight me? Or are just going to reinforce why you're a dobe?"

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in anger while Sasuke tilted his head and looked at Naruto with that same smug look. "There it is." Sasuke said with a crazy smile.

Naruto and Sasuke began to run towards each other, both their fists cocked back ready to hit each other. Sakura watched them both run at each other and she could see Sasuke's body beginning to turn purple and the mark on his neck started to spread. Her eyes widened and on instinct she started to run to stop them. "Please stop!" Sakura pleaded, tears still streaming down her eyes.

Before she could reach them and before they attacked each other, they heard a familiar voice call out to them. "Yo! Naruto!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke stopped their attacks and looked back to see where the voice came from. They saw three figures heading in their direction. Naruto gave Sasuke a sideways glance and then distanced himself from him. "What's up Kiba!"

Sakura sighed in relief at seeing Naruto and Sasuke refrain from fighting and wiped the tears from her eyes in an attempt to stop crying. She watched as the members of Team 8 stood in front of them, thanking Kami that they didn't witness any of it.

"H-Hi Naruto-Kun." Hinata greeted softly, the blush on her face growing in size.

Naruto moved his eyes from Kiba and focused them on Hinata offering her a huge grin. "What's up Hinata?"

"Maaan Naruto! It's a shame you quit the exams, the tenth question was so easy!" Kiba chuckled. "All you had to do was sit there and not raise your hand." Kiba laughed.

Sakura gasped quietly, but Naruto picked up on it. She looked down in guilt; she quit the exams for nothing. She made Sasuke lose his chance at getting stronger for his goal for nothing… she herself put a hold on something that she wanted so bad to save in Naruto's dream for nothing. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes once again.

Naruto looked over to her and his eyes softened at how bad Sakura must have felt. He wanted to comfort her so bad but he was worried she might not have accepted it. He then looked back to Sasuke, and could see Sasuke gritting his teeth in anger and the pissed off look in his eyes.

"It's really a shame Sakura ruined it for you man." Kiba said with disappointment.

Just hearing Sakura's name really lit a fuse in Sasuke's stomach, it pissed him off to no end that not only did she quit the exams, she quit the exams for no reason. He tightened his hand into a fist, his anger rising.

"It's not her fault." Naruto stated. "I was the one who told her to quit anytime she wasn't feeling comfortable, besides I'm glad she did it, that tenth question really had me on edge." Naruto explained as he placed both his hands behind his head and laughed.

Sakura's head snapped up at Naruto's words, her eyes widening. She couldn't believe that he was blaming himself for her decision, for her sake. She continued to look at him as he grinned at them. Her eyes softened and she smiled warmly at the blonde knucklehead. "Thanks Naruto."

"W-well N-Naruto-Kun… you and S-Sakura-San can always try again next year." Hinata offered, her voice soft as chimes.

Naruto nodded at her, his grin never leaving his face. "You hear that teme? It's not the end of the world, we could try again next year." Naruto explained with a smile looking back to see Sasuke's reaction but noticed Sasuke wasn't there. He quickly turned around and as if on instinct, he looked at Sakura to make sure she was alright but could see that she was also looking at the spot that he was in in worry. He distinctly heard her talking about the mark on his neck and how worried she was about it. He just couldn't stand to see her look so sad even if it meant he had to sacrifice his feelings for her.

Naruto walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, effectively breaking her from her worry. He smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry Sakura-Chan, I'll find him for you." But even though he smiled warmly at her, she could see a different emotion in it as well, almost like he was in pain.

Before Sakura could say anything to him, Naruto jumped on the roof of a building and disappeared out of sight. Sakura bit her lip nervously and found that Naruto was the one that was taking precedence in her mind.

---

The sky was now dark and Konoha never failed to look beautiful at nighttime with the lights that always shone through the village, however Sakura couldn't appreciate the view around her. Her heart had been beating faster all day long, her mind racing with thoughts. Thoughts of the blonde boy invaded her mind; she was worried about him especially after seeing the look in Sasuke's eyes and that weird mark on his neck during their altercation.

Her emerald eyes were glued to the ground and her hand placed gently over her heart in fear that Naruto might find Sasuke and they might fight for real this time. If not for the members of Team 8, she would have had to try to stop them herself and she never felt more helpless, she had just been running in blindly hoping that they would stop and while she saw that Naruto was willing to stop for her sake, she couldn't say the same for Sasuke.

She found herself wishing that she had stopped Naruto from seeking Sasuke. She didn't know where Naruto got the idea that she wanted him to find Sasuke for her, but she couldn't find it in herself to stop him. She could see that he was determined to do it for her sake. He was always doing things for her and she never did anything to him but hurt him and give him disappointment.

Sakura crossed her arm over her chest and held on to her other arm, walking aimlessly through the village just waiting for a tinge of blonde hair to appear in front of her. He always had a way of making her worry, and if he made it back to her she promised to give him the hardest right hook he had ever felt in his life for making her feel so angsty and worried.

"Forehead?" A voice called out to Sakura, but Sakura didn't notice.

"Forehead?" The voice called out to her again, now closer than she was before, but Sakura still didn't notice.

Getting frustrated at being ignored, she stood in front of Sakura and snapped her fingers in front of her face, breaking her from her thoughts. Sakura's emerald eyes slowly made their way to the owner of the voice and seen her standing in front of her, her hands on her hips. "Ino?" Sakura said in a confused tone not knowing how she got in front of her.

"If I was trying to kill you, I could have gotten the drop on you easily." Ino teased, chuckling at her own statement but noticed Sakura didn't chuckle along with her.

Ino studied Sakura and noted the tear stains lining from her eyes to the tip of her chin. It signified that Sakura had been crying a lot. Ino's eyes scrunched in concern. "Hey Sakura? Are you alright?" Ino asked soothingly.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Sakura tried to assure, forcing a smile on her face to convince her, but Ino didn't buy it.

"Don't try to trick me with that fake smile forehead, we were friends for almost our whole lives. For one, I could tell that you had been crying almost all day, two, you were completely out of it earlier, and three you quit the Chuunin Exams yesterday!" Ino said as if Sakura had tried to insult her. "So tell me what's wrong."

Sakura's smile slowly faltered, her emerald eyes showing a range of emotion from pain to guilt that Ino noticed. "Do you have time?" Sakura finally asked, wanting to get everything off her chest.

Ino smiled at Sakura's question. "I've got nothing but time forehead." Ino assured her making Sakura offer her a small smile in response.

---

"Alright, so spill it forehead!" Ino commanded impatiently as she grabbed a hold of Sakura's pillow and pulled it to her chest.

Sakura looked at Ino for a few seconds and started biting her lip, looking to the side and then back to Ino. "I can't help but feel like I made the biggest mistake yesterday." Sakura admitted.

Ino's eyes widened slightly at Sakura's words. "How so?" Ino questioned, getting more curious by the second.

"I should have never raised my hand." Sakura admitted sadly, remembering Kiba's words from earlier.

Ino recognized the look on Sakura's face from anywhere, her sky-blue eyes lowering in sympathy for her pink haired friend. "Oh…" Ino said. "And Sasuke's pissed at you because that wasn't what he wanted right?"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in anger at hearing Sasuke's name much to Ino's surprise. "I don't care about what Sasuke-Kun wants." Sakura spat, making Ino's eyes widen. "Sasuke-Kun… Sasuke-Kun's an asshole."

Ino's couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sakura, Sasuke, and badmouthing just didn't go together, and yet here she was badmouthing Sasuke and calling him names. Ino started to suspect that Sakura's blonde headed teammate had something to do with her mood. "So why were you crying? And what's the reason you quit the exam?"

Sakura looked at Ino for a second and then her eyes traveled back to the sheets that she was now gripping, a smile forming on her lips. "I told them that I was afraid to go to the next level, and I have to admit that I was… but really I was just trying to protect his dream."

"Who's dream?" Ino inquired, her eyebrow raising in confusion.

Ino studied Sakura's reactions very carefully as she continued to tell her story, looking for anything of significance. "Naruto's dream." Sakura stated, her smile getting warmer. "I just couldn't bear to see that impossible dream of his get broken."

Ino smiled in response to Sakura's sudden change of attitude. She opted to stay quiet, she was extremely interested in what Sakura had to say about Naruto.

"He's always talking about becoming The Hokage. At first, I didn't think too much of it. Anytime he mentioned even the thought of becoming Hokage I would laugh." Sakura explained with a pained look in her eye. "But when we got on teams with each other, I noticed he was much more than what meets the eye. He's strong, brave, determined, and a lot smarter than I give him credit for. Before I knew it, I found myself wanting to see him become the Hokage myself."

Outside of Sakura's window, Naruto stood with the intention of checking on Sakura but overheard her and Ino's conversation. Tears started streaming down his eyes at the fact that the girl he had loved all of his life actually believed in his dreams and actually thought of him and put him first even over Sasuke. Naruto wiped the tears off his face when a huge grin took over his face. He found himself loving her even more. He jumped from her roof to another roof, another surprise for her in mind.

"That's really noble of you. Putting his dream first. But does he know you quit the exam for his sake?" Ino stated, genuinely proud of Sakura.

Sakura smiled at Ino's question. "No, he believes I did it because I was afraid. I couldn't tell him I did it for him or his dream, he would beat himself up for it."

Ino nodded in understanding. "How did he react when you told him that you were afraid?"

"I could see that he was disappointed at first, but he immediately showed me that he was okay with my decision." Sakura explained with a warm smile.

"He looked at me with warmth in his eyes, a look of understanding. When Sasuke-Kun tried to attack me over it, it was Naruto who stood up for me. He took the blame for me raising my hand during the exam. He even tried to surprise me by buying me dango and trying to make Sasuke-Kun forgive me."

Ino clasped both her hands together and placed them under her chin, looking at Sakura with a knowing smile. "That was really sweet of him." Ino said, trying to engage Sakura.

"Yeah, he could be really sweet sometimes." Sakura responded in an almost dreamy tone, which made Ino realize that Sakura could possibly be starting to like Naruto.

"What happened between Naruto and Sasuke today anyways? I heard that they were about to fight and you were caught in the middle?"

Sakura sighed at the memory of today's past events. She was really hoping that what happened between them wouldn't have gotten out very far.

"Naruto took me out this morning, he told me had a surprise for me. It turned out that besides buying me dango, he planned to get Sasuke-Kun to meet me so we could talk about what happened. When I saw Sasuke-Kun appear from the crowd of people, I was afraid at first and even tried to avoid him; but I realized that I couldn't let Naruto's efforts go to waste." Sakura explained with a hurt look in her eyes.

"And what happened next?" Ino asked softly, rubbing Sakura's back in an attempt to calm the emotions she was feeling.

"Well I began to speak to him so I could apologize and tell him I was willing to make it up to him, and before I could say what I wanted; he told me he wasn't interested in anything I had to say. I noticed a strange mark on his neck and it worried me. I tried to ask him about it and I tried to tell him how worried I was, then he told me to mind my own business." Sakura admitted, the pain in her eyes increasing. "I started crying out of worry for Sasuke-Kun and then Naruto ended up coming out of the Dango Shop and ended up defending me again." Sakura softly smiled at the memory.

"Oh really?" Ino smirked, noticing the change in her attitude.

"Yeah, he called me strong and even said I'm not just any woman." Sakura explained, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks at remembering Naruto's words, finally figuring out what he meant.

"Hmmm." Ino said, almost suspiciously, causing Sakura to look at her with a confused expression.

"What are you 'hmmming' about?" Sakura asked, still confused.

"Just to think, if he would have been here to hear this he would have probably been screaming in joy from the rooftops that his Sakura-Chan believed in his dream so much." Ino teased, waiting for Sakura's reaction.

"His Sakura-Chan?" Sakura exclaimed in surprise, a blush reforming on her cheeks. "I am not his Sakura-Chan."

"But… you wouldn't mind being his Sakura-Chan now would you…?" Ino tantalized her with a lecherous grin on her face when she noticed Sakura's blush deepening a shade.

"We are two stories up pig, and I am a second away from throwing you out the window..." Sakura tried to say in her scariest tone.

"That's scary and all forehead…" Ino uttered sarcastically. "But that still didn't answer my question." Ino whispered, moving closer to Sakura's face and then pulling back.

"How about you mind your business you nosey pig." Sakura commanded, her blush getting more red by the second and only reinforcing the idea in Ino's mind that Sakura might at least like Naruto.

"This isn't a test question Sakura. It's a simple yes or no…" Ino stated dryly.

"Inoooo." Sakura growled, hoping she would drop the topic.

Ino couldn't help but laugh at how hard Sakura was trying to dance around her question, causing Sakura to get even more defensive. "What the hell are you laughing at pig?" Sakura said through gritted teeth.

"Haha, you know forehead, your blatant avoidance of my question says a lot." Ino responded.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the girl before her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"No need to be defensive, your non-denial of my question tells me all that I need to know. So now I guess I can count you out of the race for winning over Sasuke, with you being Naruto's Sakura-Chan and all." Ino teased, winking at Sakura.

Sakura felt all of the heat in her body mounting in her cheeks as she watched Ino die from laughter and nearly fall off the bed. Feeling embarrassed, Sakura grinned mischievously, grabbing a pillow and helped Ino finish the process of falling off the bed by throwing the pillow forcefully at her.

---

Naruto woke up the next morning feeling better than he has in a long time. Sakura's words played over and over again in his mind, even when he was sleeping he had a dream about her actually admitting to him that she did it for sake. Grinning like an idiot, Naruto practically backflipped off his bed.

Besides him being happy about Sakura supporting his dreams, something else she said really stood out to him. She called Sasuke, the man he knew she cared about the most an asshole. He couldn't help but feel that it was a pretty good sign that he stood a better chance of winning her heart over, but he didn't want to get too ahead of himself just yet.

After hearing what she had to say the following night, he felt like taking a risk with her. He had something special planned for her, but decided to train before getting anything prepared for the surprise he had in mind. He wanted to make sure she never had to make another decision like this for his sake ever again regardless of how good this might have made him feel.

Naruto went into his kitchen, ate a cup of ramen and drank a glass of milk with it. He then brushed his teeth, took a quick shower and slipped on his usual orange jumpsuit and headed out of the door.

Naruto walked the streets of Konoha with his head held higher than usual and grin that not even the saddest of news could remove from his face.

"What's got you smiling like an even bigger idiot than usual today?" He heard a familiar voice say to him.

He opened his eyes and looked at the source of the voice, his grin never leaving his face. "What's up Ino?" Naruto said, practically singing.

Ino raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Any reason why you're acting even more strange than usual?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"It's nothing." Naruto said calmly, not wanting Ino to get too suspicious of him. "Have you seen Sakura-Chan?"

Ino smirked lecherously at Naruto's question. "No, but I'm pretty sure she's home…" Ino moved in closer to his ear. "All alone." She whispered before pulling back.

Seemingly understanding what Ino was getting at, Naruto blushed and scratched behind his head sheepishly much to Ino's pleasure. "I-I need you to do me a favor…" Naruto stuttered, still flustered about Ino's suggestion.

"Sure. What's up?"

Ino watched as Naruto nervously put his hands behind head and she could instantly tell the favor definitely had something to do with the pink haired beauty of Konoha.

"Well, I sort of need you to get Sakura-Chan to go to the gates of Konoha at around 8:00." Naruto explained, trying his best to not stutter over his words.

Ino smirked. "What for?" She asked curiosity lacing her tone.

"Well I've sort of been planning this surprise for her." Naruto said, chuckling sheepishly.

"Oh, so in other words you want to take forehead on a serious date." Ino said easily deciphering Naruto's surprise, causing Naruto to look at her with shock.

"How did you-?" Naruto squeaked out.

"Oh please Naruto…" Ino said flashing him an insulted look. "I'm pretty sure everyone in the village but forehead knows how much you love her."

Naruto's eyes widened, a blush forming on his face. He couldn't believe that Ino was able to figure his feelings out with such ease. He had thought that he did a good job masking his feelings for her since he thought she would be happier with Sasuke. Naruto was stunned for words.

"You're lucky she's so dense…" Ino mused. "Sometimes I think she's even more dense than you."

"HEY!" Naruto exclaimed at Ino's insult.

Ino couldn't help but smile at his reaction. "Calm down Naruto. Just as she's dense about your feelings, you're just as dense and I would say blind as well." Ino said, trying to throw him a nugget about what she observed about Sakura's feelings.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion and Ino's couldn't help but chuckle. "I stand corrected."

Naruto shrugged. "So will you do it for me Ino? I kind of want to get everything prepared." Naruto asked, looking at her with an almost pleading look.

Ino smiled suggestively as she began to walk off. "Oh sure Naruto, I can definitely do that for you." Ino said in an equally suggestive manner.

"And make sure you don't tell her what the surprise is!" Naruto yelled after her, watching her walk almost triumphantly.

Naruto's eyes followed Ino with a confused expression on his face until she got out of his line of vision. "And she has the nerve to say I'm acting weird today."

---

"Damn it, who could it be this early in the morning?" Sakura mumbled frustratingly to herself as someone continued to pound on her door.

Sakura slowly made her way to door, partly because she was still sleepy but also because she felt like giving this unwanted visitor a hard time.

"Damn it forehead when you open this door I will punch you for trying to give me a hard time!" Ino screamed from the other side, clearly reading Sakura's mind.

Sakura snickered to herself at Ino's sudden outburst. She was sure that Ino probably woke up all of her neighbors and possibly everyone in Suna as well. "I could have sworn I heard a pig at my door." Sakura said, leaning up against her doorframe.

Ino's eyes narrowed at the girl before her. "You're lucky today is such a special day for you." Ino threatened, pushing herself past Sakura and up to Sakura's room.

"A special day for me?" Sakura repeated in confusion as she followed Ino up the stairs to her room and watched Ino start rummaging through her closet. "What are you doing pig?"

"I won't say much but you have a secret admirer and they want you to meet them by the Gates of Konoha tonight at 8:00." Ino explained, still rummaging through Sakura's closet for something for Sakura to wear.

"A secret admirer?" Sakura questioned with curiousity. "And why The Gates of Konoha?"

"I'm just the matchmaker forehead, all of your questions will be answered tonight." Ino responded, finally finding something she liked.

Sakura was still in the dark. She wondered since when did she ever have a secret admirer and since when did anyone want to take her out on a date. The only guy she could think of was Naruto but he always openly asked her out on dates so he was ruled out.

"I could be meeting a Killer-Nin from another village for all I know." Sakura said, trying to get more information from Ino.

Ino shot Sakura an insulted look. "Do I look like the type of person that hangs out with Killer-Nins?" Ino countered. "Besides, I would never do something like this if I wasn't sure if you would end up in good hands or not."

Sakura couldn't argue with Ino. She knew Ino was right and she also knew Ino would keep pestering her until she actually went with her secret admirer. Suddenly, the blonde-haired boy appeared in her mind and she started to have second thoughts about accepting the admirer's offer.

"What if Naruto ends up seeing us? He's been asking me on dates since forever and it would be unfair to him if I end up going with some random guy." Sakura admitted honestly, her emerald eyes shifting to the floor at the thought of hurting Naruto.

Ino turned to Sakura, a smirk on her face at her suspicions being correct. It was obvious that Sakura did at the very least like Naruto. "Don't worry forehead, I'm pretty sure Naruto would be just fine with it."

---

"Alright! Everything's done old man!" Naruto exclaimed proudly, looking at his handiwork.

The old man walked over to Naruto and stood next to him. "And you did a pretty good job!" The old man said looking Naruto's hard work with a smile.

"Thanks!" Naruto responded, wiping the sweat that was falling from his headband.

The old man looked over to Naruto and positioned his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. He had never seen such a hardworking kid before, he dared to say that Naruto reminded him of himself when he was younger. "Say, young man?"

"Hmmm?" Naruto questioned, glancing at the man.

"You must have been working pretty hard today! Would you like to stay for a drink?" The old man offered.

Naruto grinned at the man's offer and placed his hands behind his head. "Thanks for the offer old man, but I'm kind of in hurry."

"Ah." The old man mouthed, understanding. "I used to be constantly on the move just like you are now." The only man said, remembering his younger days. "Just what are you in such a hurry for anyways?"

Naruto smiled at the old man's question as he picked up his bookbag. "I'm sort of trying to surprise this girl that I love very much." Naruto replied, a warm smile plastering his face at the thought of Sakura.

The old man smiled proudly at Naruto. "Well, I won't keep you any longer, the Sun's starting to set. You better get going."

"See ya old man!" Naruto yelled out to him as he started to make his way outside of Suna.

Naruto finally made it to Konoha's forest but he realized he still had a long way to go. Thanks to the way the sun was setting, he could tell that he still had at least an hour to take a bath in a nearby lake and put on his clothes. Finally finding the lake, Naruto instantly removed his clothes and made sure he took a longer shower than usual, he wanted to smell and look his best for Sakura.

Naruto finished taking his bath and then grabbed his towel, drying himself off to the last drop. He balled up his jumpsuit and laid it on the ground next to his bookbag. He began to unzip his bookbag, but something caught his attention. A huge grin plastered on his face when he saw a single Cherry Blossom laying on the ground. It was as if Kami himself placed it there just for him to see and pick up because as far as he knew, there were no Cherry Blossom trees in Konoha's Forest.

Gently picking up the flower, an aroma hit his nose, it smelt familiar. "Sakura-Chan." Naruto smiled, noticing that the flower smelt just like her. He gently placed the flower on his bookbag as he pulled out the new pair of clothes he planned on wearing to the date. He felt a touch of nervousness hit him, but it was the good kind. He was excited that tonight could be the night that he could finally woo the girl that he loved since he was five years old. While he was growing up and he was getting ridiculed, mistreated, and even getting beaten up by the villagers; she had always been one of the reasons he had the will to just keep on going. Just knowing that he had the honor to be around such a beautiful Angel was reason enough.

Naruto smiled warmly at the thought of the pink-haired girl and him possibly earning a kiss from her if everything went good with the date. Her saying the three words that he wanted to hear his whole life would be the Magical bonus, but he didn't want to be too selfish about it. No word could describe the feeling that was in his heart at even the thought of her and him alone, eating dinner with no Sasuke around. The word perfect wouldn't be enough to describe it.

His smile slowly melting away, he looked up and could see the sun was now gone and the sky was dark. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, he just couldn't afford to be late to something he wanted his entire life, Naruto packed up everything he had in a blinding speed, except for the Cherry Blossom and his clothes. He summoned a Shadow Clone to hold his bookbag for him. Naruto then placed the flower in his hair and started running off to the village with his clone at the side of him.

"Shit! I'm going to be late!" Naruto thought as he started putting on his clothes while running to the village.

---

It was now 8:30 and Sakura had been standing by the Gates for at least 30 minutes. Sighing dejectedly, she couldn't help but feel hurt about the whole thing. Where was this secret admirer that Ino blabbed about to her all day until she finally decided to go? Surely, he wouldn't be late if he was so serious about taking her out on a date. She couldn't help but feel like it was all just a big trick. She didn't want to believe that Ino may have been involved, but it was getting harder to give her the benefit of the doubt each minute that passed by.

Tears threatening to fall at possibly being tricked and ultimately feeling embarrassed by falling for the whole thing, Sakura turned around to go home, but stopped when she heard the loud, uncanny voice that she didn't think she would hear. "Sakura-Chan! Wait!"

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat at his voice, she turned to the entrance of Konoha, her emerald eyes wide to see Naruto running up to her. "Naruto?" Sakura mumbled in a confused tone.

"Hey Sakura-Chan! Sorry I'm so late!" Naruto apologized, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Naruto laughed awkwardly before opening his eyes to actually take the time and assess how beautiful the girl before him was. His eyes slightly grew in size as a blush made its way to his face. "She's so beautiful." Naruto thought to himself, not daring to vocalize his thoughts.

Sakura blushed slightly, noticing that Naruto was checking her out. She had never seen a boy that looked at her the way Naruto looked at her, it made her feel wanted. But she still felt confused about the whole situation. "Naruto?! You're the secret admirer that wanted to take me on a date?" Sakura inquired with clear confusion.

"Damn it Ino!" Naruto thought furiously at her adding her own spin to it. Listening to how she asked her question, Naruto mistook Sakura's tone for one of disgust. His eyes slumped in sadness. "Yeah Sakura-Chan, I asked Ino to ask you for me in hopes that she could get you out here and then I could take care of the rest, but I'd understand if you didn't want to go." Naruto said sadly, walking past Sakura.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped dead in tracks, his eyes widening in surprise when he felt a dainty hand gently grabbing his. Naruto turned his head and blushed slightly when he saw Sakura holding his hands and looking at him a strange look in her eye. He couldn't quite put his finger on what the look was.

"Sakura-Chan?" Naruto questioned quizzically.

"Naruto, I was just a little surprised." Sakura said, shifting her eyes to the right out of nervousness, a slight blush tinging her cheeks. "I wouldn't mind going with you."

An impossibly large grin formed on Naruto's face, causing Sakura to smile at the happiness she gave him. "I promise you won't regret your decision Sakura-Chan! Tebayo!"

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at Naruto's antics. "Well if you don't want to see what a star looks like up close, you better make sure that I don't." Sakura said in a sweet tone, trying not to bust out laughing at the fear she always managed to place in Naruto.

"I never go back on my word Sakura-Chan." Naruto said softly, reassuring her, causing Sakura to smile.

Naruto and Sakura walked side by side, the space between them a little bigger than either one would like. A series of emotions ran through the both of them. In Naruto, he felt a little nervous but overall, he felt excited and extremely happy that everything he envisioned earlier was all coming to pass. He still couldn't believe that Sakura Haruno, his Sakura-Chan, the girl he had been in love with since day one was actually walking next to him and willing to go on a date with him. He glanced at her and how beautiful she looked, he had had to fight the urge to hold her in his arms and kiss the night away.

Sakura on the other hand, felt confusion, nervousness, and another feeling she couldn't quite place her finger on. She just knew that the particular feeling felt extremely good and radiated warmth within her heart. She noticed the difference in the way she felt when she held both Naruto and Sasuke's hands and while she felt her heart race when she held Sasuke's hand, the feeling of hold Naruto's hand was in league by itself. She knew Naruto had a crush on her and was prone to ask her on little, harmless dates. But this was something that was in a whole other field. She didn't know Naruto was THIS serious. She glanced at him, and noted that he didn't have on his regular jumpsuit, instead he had on a dark gray button up shirt complimented with black slacks. And even though he didn't tuck in his shirt it complimented how wild his hair was. She had to admit he looked handsome. But then as she studied his hair she saw it and couldn't help but giggle.

"Uh, Naruto?" Sakura said, trying her best to stiffen her laughter that was threatening to burst out.

Naruto looked at her, all of his attention on her. "What is it Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura pointed to his hair, her other hand covering her mouth. "Why do have a flower in your hair?"

Naruto looked at her quizzically before remembering the flower he had found in the forest to give to her. Realizing how it may have looked to her, he quickly removed the flower from his hair and chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, I can explain Sakura-Chan…"

"It all makes sense now." Sakura mumbled to herself playfully.

Naruto's eyebrow scrunched in confusion as he made out what she said. "What all makes sense Sakura-Chan?"

"It all makes sense why you kissed Sasuke-Kun." Sakura replied, in a playfully accusing manner, glancing at him to see his reaction.

Just as she predicted, Naruto's eyes widened to the point that they almost popped out of his head. She couldn't hold in her laughter anymore. "Sakura-Chan!" Naruto exclaimed in a appalled tone of voice. "I'm not gay and I definitely don't want to be reminded of that day." Naruto shuddered at the memory.

"Are you sure you want to be on a date with me and not Sasuke-Kun? Because I'll totally understand, I mean you can't help who you want…" Sakura teased, still laughing at Naruto's reaction.

"I wouldn't want to be on a date with anyone else but you Sakura-Chan." Naruto assured her, causing her to blush.

"I know Naruto." Sakura responded, feeling like she teased Naruto enough for the day. "It's just too easy to get a rise out of you. Your reactions to these kinds of things make me laugh."

Naruto shrugged and then looked her in the eye victoriously and flashed a nice guy pose in her direction with a huge smile on his face. "I found Teme this morning." Naruto exclaimed, causing Sakura's eyes to widen. Even though he was now an asshole in her eyes, she still didn't want anything to happen to him being that he is a member of Team 7.

"Really?" Sakura questioned.

"Yup!" Naruto stated proudly. "I found the bastard this morning trying to leave the village. And before he could make any further moves I kicked his ass and put him the hospital. He's there right now as we speak getting better." Naruto proudly declared.

---

"Damn it Naruto!" Sasuke screamed from his hospital room, struggling to break free from the straps that were tying him down.

---

"I brought him back for you just like I promised." Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear. "He's there anytime you would like to see him Sakura-Chan."

Sakura smiled warmly at Naruto, turning to him. "Thank you, Naruto. But I would rather not talk or think of Sasuke-Kun while we're on our date." Naruto flashed her the biggest grin she had ever seen at her words. Sakura couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach at that smile of his.

Naruto then remembered that he still had the flower in his hand and hesitantly gave it to her, hoping she would accept it. "Here Sakura-Chan, I got this for you."

Sakura looked into Naruto's eyes and then her eyes travelled down to the hand of Naruto that was holding the Cherry Blossom. She could see that his hand was shaking and she guessed that it was because he was afraid she wouldn't accept it. She couldn't help but smile at how cute Naruto could be sometimes. "Pretty nice explanation." Sakura said, taking the flower from his hand.

For the millionth time that night she made the blonde baka smile. "Thank you, Naruto, it's beautiful."

"You know Sakura-Chan there's a pretty crazy story about that flower…" Naruto began before realizing he was finally at their destination.

"Tell me." Sakura requested, curious about the crazy story.

"We're here Sakura-Chan! I could tell you during dinner." Naruto stated proudly as he placed his hands on his hips and looked at the huge building in front of them.

Sakura shifted her eyes from Naruto and eyed the tall building, her eyes widening in surprise. The building didn't have any doors, instead the dining room was an open area under a huge sunroof that showed off the stars. The lighting consisted of Japanese Lanterns and if you wanted, you could go to the balcony at the top floor and enjoy the view of the of the ocean that was further out.

"Naruto, this place… it's beautiful." Sakura gasped.

Naruto chuckled as he noticed the childish gleam in her eyes. There were so many aspects to her and each one of them was cute in his eyes. "I had a feeling you would like it Sakura-Chan."

"But Naruto this place looks expensive. I wouldn't have minded if you took me to get some ramen instead." Sakura offered.

As tempting as the offer was, Naruto refused to take Sakura to Ichiraku's for their first date. "Nonsense Sakura-Chan. Besides kicking Sasuke's ass today…" Naruto said, putting emphasis on kicking Sasuke's ass, causing Sakura to giggle at his antics. She could tell that was definitely one of the biggest highlights of his day.

"I also spent the whole day doing missions and earning enough money to take you here." Naruto finished, smiling warmly at Sakura.

Sakura returned his smile. "It's nice to know you have other qualities other than being a baka." Sakura said, indirectly calling him sweet.

Naruto didn't know what she meant, but as long as it made Sakura smile, it was a good enough for him. Before Naruto could speak back to her, a woman came and spoke to them.

"Name?" The woman asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto told her, proudness in his voice as he looked at Sakura.

"Naruto-Kun?" The girl said, making out who he was.

Sakura suddenly felt herself wanting to send the girl to space with a chakra enhanced punch. All rational thought cleared her mind when she saw the way the girl was smiling at him and how she placed her fingers on his arm and slid it off all sexual like. She didn't know when she became so possessive over Naruto and really, she didn't care. Nobody touches Naruto that way but her.

"Who is this bitch and who does she think she is ogling and flirting with Naruto like this?" Sakura thought menacingly, blocking out the conversation that Naruto and the girl was having.

"Oh, so this must be that girl Sakura you were telling me so much about. Or in your words, "Sakura-Chan." The girl said, effectively making Sakura feel embarrassed for the thoughts that crossed her mind.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hahaha, Ayami-Neechan. Remember what I told you…" Naruto sang through gritted teeth.

"Shut up Naruto." Sakura commanded. "Let her finish." Sakura said sweetly, giving Ayami a look that told her to continue.

"She's just as beautiful as you described, even though as you said, you can go on for infinite eternities describing how beautiful she is." Sakura's eyes widened, she glanced over at Naruto and then shifted her eyes away from him, in an attempt to hide the blush she felt coming to her cheeks.

Naruto blushed as well, his blush even deeper than hers out of nervousness and the fact that the girl he confided in was revealing his thoughts and his heart's innermost desires. He wasn't ready to have Sakura punch him to stars over his compliments.

"Okay Ayami-Neechan that's enough…" Naruto growled out through a smile, noticing Sakura was looking away from them.

"You'll thank me later." Ayami mouthed out, smirking at him.

Naruto was starting to have to force himself to resist the urge to create a few Shadow Clones and have them jump Ayami from behind the counter.

"And how you tell me all the time how much you lo…" Ayami was cut off as Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand and started dragging her into the restaurant.

"Alright, Ayami-Neechan. See ya later!" Naruto screamed, drowning out her voice.

"Narutooo!" Sakura pouted. "Why did you do that? I wanted to hear what she was going to say."

"Ayami-Neechan would have us doing more talking than eating." Naruto nervously countered. "Besides, she can be a little crazy sometimes."

Sakura studied Naruto's expression for a few seconds, realizing that he was hiding something from her. But she finally shrugged and decided to leave it alone for now as they sat down by their table.

Naruto pulled out Sakura's seat for her and pushed it in as she sat down. Naruto then made his way over to his seat. The waiter soon followed and took their orders. After 10 minutes, the orders finally came and Naruto was the first to start eating with Sakura watching in complete awe.

A bead of sweat dropped from the back of her head as she watched the blonde knucklehead tear into his food. 'Where does it all go?' Sakura mused, an amused smirk plastering her face.

"Naruto, you don't have to tear into your food like you're trying to kill it all over again. It doesn't have legs you know."

Naruto chuckled at Sakura's comment. "I know Sakura-Chan. But the food here is sooo delicious!" Naruto cooed, taking another huge bite.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow, her smirk never leaving her face. "Knowing you, I bet you're just exaggerating again."

Naruto raised his eyes to look at her, and smiled a toothy grin. A toothy grin that was covered in the food he was currently eating. "Sakura-Chan… this is just one of those things you have to experience for yourself, rather than hear it from someone else." Naruto said in a calm voice.

Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

A hopeful grin on his face, Naruto swallowed the food that was in his mouth with an audible gulp and grabbed a piece of meat with his chopsticks. He then started to move his hand in Sakura's direction.

"Uhhh, Naruto what are you doing?" Sakura questioned with genuine confusion at watching Naruto pushing his hand with the chopsticks in her direction.

Naruto closed his eyes, his grin getting bigger. "Try it Sakura-Chan."

A tinge of pink made its way to Sakura's cheeks at his offer. "No, Naruto."

"Just one bite Sakura-Chan." Naruto pleaded, his voice soft.

"No Naruto, I am perfectly capable of feeding myself." Sakura replied.

"Ohh come on Sakura-Chan, just one." Sakura could see the hopeful look in his eyes, and had to admit it was darn near impossible to say no to Naruto when he looked at you that way.

Sakura sighed, her blush deepening. "Okay fine Naruto. But make this the first and last time."

Naruto placed the chopsticks near her lips and grinned as Sakura gently bit down on the meat and removed it from the chopsticks. She looked so damn cute doing it and this was something Naruto wished he could take a picture of.

"How was it Sakura-Chan?" Naruto queried.

Sakura swallowed the piece of meat and couldn't help but smile at the almost childish look that Naruto had on his face for her answer. "Hmmm, it was pretty good Naruto. Really good in fact."

Naruto beamed at Sakura's answer. "If you think that was good Sakura-Chan, wait until you taste my cooking!" Naruto stated confidently.

Sakura smiled warmly at Naruto. He was always so confident, so optimistic, so cheerful. But he also made it extremely easy to tease him. "You can cook?" Sakura questioned with mock disbelief.

Naruto looked at her with a look of shock as if she should have known that already, causing Sakura to laugh. "Not only am I the greatest ninja in world Sakura-Chan…" Naruto declared as he pointed his thumb to himself. "I'm also a Master Chef!"

"I guess if you count putting water into a cup of ramen and heating it in the microwave for 3 minutes Master Chef material, then yes Naruto. You are definitely a Master Chef." Sakura teased, grinning at Naruto.

Naruto caught her smile and in response his grin grew to an impossibly large size. "I'll just prove it to you Sakura-Chan, tebayo."

"That's the only way I'll believe you." Sakura replied softly.

Naruto felt his heart skip multiple beats at her tone, the way she was smiling at him, the way she was looking at him. It was making him go into bliss overdrive, his mind was blank as he stared at Sakura. She had been on a date with him for more than 30 minutes, let him feed her, has been smiling at him in ways he could only dream of and he still couldn't believe it was real.

"Naruto?" He heard her call out to him, snapping him from his stupor. "Are you alright?" He focused his eyes to her and could see a worried look in her eyes. He must have spaced out for too long.

Naruto laughed awkwardly, causing her to now look at him with a look of confusion. "I'm alright Sakura-Chan!" Naruto assured her.

Sakura smiled hopelessly at Naruto's behavior. Sometimes she just didn't know what to do with him. She then placed her chin into her palm, leaning her face in closer to him and looked at him with soft eyes. Naruto blushed furiously at her actions. "Could it be..?! Could it be that Sakura-Chan is actually about to kiss me?"

"So Naruto…" Sakura spoke suddenly, breaking Naruto from his thoughts, slightly disappointing him. "Tell me about that crazy story."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, looking upwards to right trying to figure out the best way to say it. "Well Sakura-Chan, now that I think about it, I wouldn't call it a story, but it's sort of like one." Naruto explained nervously.

Sakura leaned in closer, now adding her other palm under her chin. "I'm listening." She said softly.

"So today when I was on my way back to the village from Suna coming from my last mission, I noticed this beautiful flower. When I went to look it at, I recognized it. I remember Ino telling me it was a Cherry Blossom from a Sakura Tree. That's when I realized exactly why it was the most beautiful flower in the flower kingdom." Naruto grinned, causing Sakura to blush at his indirect compliment.

"I admit I was feeling a little nervous before our date, but when I saw the flower in the forest I knew it was out of its original place. But I realized it was kind of like you Sakura-Chan, being something so special and rare in such an everyday place. The minute I laid eyes on it, the minute I held it in my hands; I instantly felt alright, like I could do anything. Just like I feel around you Sakura-Chan. It was as if Kami himself took a piece of you and made the flower and placed it in my path." Naruto finished softly.

Sakura tried to hold back the tears that she felt fighting to burst through, but she couldn't help it. Even though Naruto didn't have the best way with words, his story was sweet regardless and she could tell he really meant it from the heart. "Naruto…"

Naruto on the other hand, looked at the girl he loved with eyes filled with worry. "Why are you crying Sakura-Chan?"

"It's nothing Naruto, it's just…" Sakura trailed off. "It was really sweet." She said quietly, too quiet for Naruto to pick up on.

"What did you say Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura felt a blush making their way to her cheeks. "I said it was really sweet." She said it a little louder, but still too quiet it for Naruto to "pick up on." She wanted to punch him so hard for making her feel so flustered.

"It's really loud in here Sakura-Chan, can you say it again?"

"I said it was really sweet!" Sakura declared loudly, her blush deepening.

Naruto grinned at her triumphantly. "Now was that really so hard?"

Sakura shifted her eyes to the side, trying to hide the blush she knew was coloring her cheeks. "Yeah well, don't get used to it." She pouted.

Naruto smiled warmly at the sight of how cute Sakura could be, and as he watched her he could see she was getting more beautiful by the second. Naruto suddenly stood up from his seat and extended his hand to Sakura. "Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura returned her eyes to Naruto's face, then to his hand and back to his face, looking at him with complete puzzlement. "Huh?" She asked almost dumbly.

Naruto's eyes softened, his smile matching his eyes. "Are you ready for the second part of our date?"

Sakura's lips parted slightly, her emerald eyes widening to match. "Second part?"

---

Naruto and Sakura strolled through the forest of Konoha, albeit with Naruto's hands covering Sakura's eyes. His body was pressed up behind hers, she knew with him always being so innocently cute he probably didn't notice. But she couldn't say the same for herself and if she was honest with her herself, she didn't mind it at all. The warmth he radiated was unique and made a fireplace seem like a pool of ice cold water.

"Naruto, I would much rather walk while seeing where I'm going." Sakura stated.

She felt him stop and in response she stopped as well. She was starting to feel bad because she thought she may have hurt his feelings. "Naruto…"

"Sakura-Chan." Naruto said softly cutting her off. "I want to surprise you and see the very first look in your eye when you see the surprise. Besides, I would never let anything happen to you."

Sakura smiled warmly at Naruto's words. "I know baka. I just want to be able to see what you're doing so I can keep you out of trouble."

Due to their close proximity, she could practically feel the chuckle that was work its way up to his throat. "I actually have a pretty crazy story about why I get into trouble so much..."

Sakura sighed playfully. "Do I even want to know why Naruto?"

Before Naruto could answer her question, he found himself standing at his destination. He gently moved from behind her and made his way in front of her, his hands still on her eyes.

Sakura however, frowned at the loss of body contact. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

"We're here Sakura-Chan." Naruto replied softly, removing his hands from her eyes.

Sakura gasped as she saw an area around her that she had never seen before. There was a waterfall, and as the water flowed down into the waterhole below, she could see streaks of blueish light flowing with the water. The trees were lush and it the moon hit the water at just the right spot.

For the third time that night, Naruto brought that childish gleam to her eyes. This was the look he wanted to see, the look he wanted to give to her himself. He smiled lovingly at how surprised and in awe she seemed to be.

"Oh my God Naruto. This place is so beautiful." Sakura cooed.

Naruto led her to the waterhole. "I knew you would like it Sakura-Chan…"

"Where did you find this place? I never even knew that a place like this existed outside of Konoha."

Naruto looked at her, his eyes softening at how beautiful she looked with the moonlight hitting her skin and lighting up her eyes. "It's quite a funny story actually. I'm not even supposed to know about this place."

Sakura shifted her eyes to Naruto, confusion in her eyes. "How did you find out about it?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "The only one that knows about this place is Kakashi-Sensei and the old man. But one day when the old man sent me on a mission, so when I was on my way to a mission, I heard the faint sound of water flowing. When I followed the sound, I ended up finding this place."

"Old man?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto chuckled, remembering not everyone refers to the Third as an old man, they would probably suffer dire consequences for it. "The Third." Naruto stated simply.

Sakura punched Naruto on his arm softly. "Naruto, show some respect for The Third!" Sakura tried to sound as serious as possible, but she was finding it hard with him looking at her with those blue eyes that shined in the moon.

"Oh trust me Sakura-Chan, I respect him and what he does. That's why when I become the Hokage, I'll make sure everyone knows about this place. There's no reason it should be forbidden, it's too beautiful for that." Naruto smiled.

Sakura felt a pang of guilt hit her heart at Naruto's words. It reminded her of how she failed him during the Chunnin Exams. She thought if she would have told Ino that she would have permanently gotten it off her chest. But seeing him right in front of her, smiling at her, and hearing him talk about his dream of becoming Hokage again brought those feelings back that she desperately wanted to get rid of.

She bit her lip and looked at him, hoping the sadness she felt wasn't reflecting itself in her eyes. But the look of worry in his eyes told her otherwise. "Sakura-Chan, are you alright?"

"Naruto, I have to talk to you about something." Sakura said quietly, her eyes glued to the ground.

Naruto's mouth parted slightly, he felt his heart begin to thump a lot faster and harder than usual. He felt that this was the time that Sakura was going to tell him that she just went on the date with him out of pity. He braced himself for her words as she looked at him in the eyes and began to speak.

Instinctively, she closed the gap slightly between them, grabbing the sleeves of his shirt, almost afraid that he might have left her alone after she told him the real reason she quit the exams. Taking a deep breath, she started to speak.

"Naruto. I didn't quit the exams because I was afraid…" Sakura trailed off. "I quit the exams because I didn't want to see your dream get crushed."

She slowly lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She could see that he was surprised and at a loss for words. "The only thing I found myself worrying about in that exam room was you. Not Sasuke-Kun, not myself… but you Naruto." Sakura said, tears now starting to fall from her eyes.

"At first, I used to laugh at your dream. I used to think you were nothing more than troublemaker just spouting off the word Hokage. But as I started to get to know you better as a result of being teammates, I realized that you were much more than just a troublemaker. You were courageous, smart, strong, and confident. Then I realized you would actually make a great Hokage." She closed the space between them a little more, but noted that he didn't move. She took that as a good sign.

"I don't know when it happened, but I realized that your dream became my dream. I couldn't bear to see it get destroyed… but I ended up destroying the very dream I swore to protect. The very man that I swore to protect!" Sakura exclaimed, her tears streaming down her face as she placed her head into Naruto's chest, gripping his shirt.

As she continued to cry into his chest, she felt a soft rumbling in his chest. He was laughing at her and she was opting to give him a piece of mind, but all of her angriness disappeared when she felt him place his hand gently on her cheek, caressing it and looking at her with a loving smile. She melted into his touch.

"You know it's funny Sakura-Chan. You're so feisty, so tough, so strong but you're also so caring, so gentle, and you're brought to tears so easily." Sakura gasped, a deep blush forming on her face as Naruto placed his lips on her forehead and kissed it gently. "But that's what makes you so amazing to me and what makes me love you so much more." Naruto finished with a huge grin.

Sakura's eyes widened at not only Naruto's words but his actions. She couldn't begin to process what just happened just now, Naruto not only kissed her forehead but also just admitted that he loves her. Words didn't have to be said, she could tell by the look in his eye, those warm, loving eyes… it was all becoming clear now. It was him, he was "Sasuke." Naruto was the true man of her dreams.

A new wave of tears formed in Sakura's eyes. She placed her hand gently on his cheek and proceeded to shut him up so he wouldn't ruin the moment by asking her, "What's wrong Sakura-Chan?" She knew it was coming.

"Naruto, you don't know how happy you make me, how happy you've always made me." Sakura whispered through a teary smile.

Before Naruto could even respond, Sakura grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and their lips crashed together. She could tell Naruto had truly never kissed anyone before, but neither had she. It definitely didn't stop the fireworks from surging through her body. The warmth from consuming her heart, and the feeling of her knees buckling from a kiss from a guy that she didn't think she would hang out with, let alone go on a date with and kiss.

Releasing the kiss, she could see that the effects definitely hit Naruto a lot harder. She giggled at how speechless he was, at how she could practically see hearts in place of those blue eyes she loved so much. When she walked up to him and placed her head on his chest, she could feel how fast his heart was beating. She then reached up again and placed a kiss on cheek, waking him from his stupor.

"Sa-Sa-Sakura-Chan, am I dreaming? Please assure me that I'm not." Naruto pleaded, praying to Kami that everything that just happened was real.

Sakura rolled her eyes playfully and chuckled at his reaction. "Yes Naruto, you're dreaming, I'm truly Sasuke-Kun…" Sakura teased.

"Whaaa?" Naruto shouted incredulously, jumping back and preparing to summon Shadow Clones.

Sakura almost died in laughter at his reaction. "Naruto, I'm just playing." Sakura assured him as she closed the gap between them once again. "Yes it's really me, yes I do love you, and yes I did kiss you, just like this…" Sakura kissed him once again, this time the kiss feeling more experienced.

Naruto almost passed out from pure bliss of kissing the girl he's been in love with for so long. Sakura caught him and stood him back up. "You have got to work on that Naruto, I don't want you passing out every time I kiss you." Sakura said with a small smile.

Naruto grinned his foxy grin at her. "I don't think I'll ever get used to kissing someone so beautiful." Naruto stated softly, causing Sakura to blush. "I wouldn't want anyone else by my side when I accomplish my dreams, Sakura-Chan."

WHAM!

Sakura fixed him with an angry glare. "OUR dream Naruto, say it with me…" Sakura commanded.

"OUR dream." The couple said in unison.

"Now you're getting it." Sakura cooed sweetly.

Naruto started to rub the lump that was on his head that Sakura gave to him. She looked at him, and could see that cute little pouty face he was making. "Oh Naruto, stop being such a baby. I'll give you kisses for it later."

Naruto grinned at her. "If I let you give me another one, would that double the number of kisses I get?"

"Maybe…" Sakura said sweetly.

His grin never leaving his face, he walked up a little bit closer just inside of her hitting range. "Alright, Sakura-Chan. I can handle one more…"

WHAM!

WHAM!

"Owww! Sakura-Chan! I asked for one more not two more!" Naruto whined, now rubbing all three lumps on his head. Suddenly, he felt Sakura grab his hand gently and started to walk with him in tow, her hand gripping his a little tighter, causing him to blush.

"H-Hey Sakura-Chan; where are we going?" Naruto questioned.

Sakura looked back at him with a loving smile and winked at him. "It's later."

After a few seconds of trying to decipher Sakura's words, Naruto finally understood what she meant, a huge grin plastering on his face. "Just when I thought this day couldn't get any better."