~Chapter 1~

"No Naruto, for the hundredth fucking time, I do not want to go out with you! I don't care if you made reservations at the nicest restaurant in the village. Now please leave, my mother will be home soon and I need to get ready for work." With that she slammed the door shut.

Sakura's words rang in his ears as he turned from her door. 'Why do I keep asking? It's been 8 years, and she had never seemed interested in me. Do I really think the next time she'll say yes? I just don't know anymore.' Lost in thought Naruto wandered into the market district. Despite his reservations at the Silver Swan, he still found his way to Ichiraku Ramen. Sitting at the far end of the bar he half-heartedly waved at Teuchi. The old man gave him a warm smile and got to work on his regular order.

As he sat eating his meal Naruto looked up when he heard others enter the stand. It was Team 10, sans Asuma. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji sat at the other end of the bar. None of the three initially noticed Naruto. It was only when Teuchi walked over to the young man as he was finishing his bowl did Ino look over and realise who was there.

Teuchi was genuinely surprised when, instead of ordering another bowl, Naruto simply thanked the man for the food and left the stand after paying. Ino, Teuchi and a half attentive Shikamaru, watched as the blonde walked silently away from the stand.

Naruto wandered aimlessly through the village, something he had always done. However now when people stopped him it wasn't to yell or hurt him. No it was often to thank him or say hello or ask for an autograph. 'Yeah, I am the Hero of Hidden Leaf. Everyone here loves me.' He mused. 'Then why do I still feel so alone?' Lamenting to himself he slid his hands into the back pocket of the pants catching himself off guard when his right hand touched something. Pulling it out he smiled sadly to himself at the scroll in his hand. It was a storage scroll and held a bouquet of chestnut blossoms, Sakura's favorite. Deciding he had no need of them, and since he couldn't return them, he headed in the direction of Sakura's home.

Mebuki Haruno was rounding the corner to her home when something caught her eye. A young man was standing in front of her house. One look and she knew who he was. He was Naruto Uzumaki, a teammate of her daughter. She knew he had a crush on Sakura, and seeing the bouquet of flowers in his hand, she deduced he was there to ask her daughter out on a date again. She felt somewhat bad for the boy, he had gone through hell and back to impress her daughter for years and for some reason Sakura never gave him the time of day. Watching from the corner she waited for him to knock on the door. She was very surprised when instead he simply dropped the flowers on the doorstep and walked away. She was sure she saw him say something before disappearing back the way he came. She was also convinced she had seen tears in his eyes. Walking up to the door she picked up the flowers.

"Chestnut blossoms, Sakura's favorite." She tucked them gently under her arm and unlocked the door. Stepping inside she heard the upstairs shower running. She knew her daughter had work tonight, so she went about quickly putting away the groceries she had bought. She was in the process of placing the flowers in a vase when her daughter came downstairs.

"Alright mom, I'm off to work. I'll be home late probably." Sakura announced.

"Ok dear." Mebuki responded. "Oh Sakura?"

"Yeah mom?"

"Do you know Naruto Uzumaki's address?"

"No why?" Replied a confused Sakura.

"I'd like to send him a thank you for these lovely flowers he left at our door." Mebuki gestured to the flowers she was fiddling with.

"He left us flowers?" The girl walked over to her mother. "Wait those are-"

"Chestnut blossoms, yes. I saw him leave them at the door just as I was walking home."

"How did he know?"

"I'd guess he asked Miss Yamanaka. She was your best friend, and her family are florists."

"Wow, that doesn't matter." Sakura said in a huff. "I have to go to work. Goodbye mother." The girl stormed out the door.

'Hmm maybe I'll ask Lady Hokage tomorrow.' Mebuki thought to herself before heading into the kitchen to make some tea.

The blaring of his alarm brought Naruto out of his slumber. As he sat up the world around him spun and all at once the previous night came rushing back. After leaving the flowers at Sakura's he'd somehow found his way home. There he'd found several gifts including a bottle of strong liquor. What had followed is somewhat unclear to the blonde. But based on the ninety-nine percent empty bottle on the nightstand, he had made some mistakes.

His head pounding Naruto slowly got up and made his way to the bathroom. Stripping down and stepping into the shower he was finally able to think clearly. What was he doing? He began to evaluate everything that had happened since his fight with Pain. And while yes he was the strongest he had ever been, he was no closer to bringing peace to the world or stopping the Akatsuki.

He was drying his hair off when he heard a knock at the door. Opening the door Naruto was surprised to see an Anbu standing outside his door. But this person looked nothing like the Anbu operatives he had seen before. This one wore heavier armor, a black balaclava, and a very unique mask. It was unlike anything Naruto had ever seen, black and made of some sort of plastic or metal. And unlike Konoha's traditional Anbu masks, which took the form of various animals, this mask had additional plates attached to it giving it the appearance of a stylized skull. Breaking his attention from the mask Naruto spoke.

"May I help you?"

"Follow these instructions." The Anbu spoke almost robotically as he handed Naruto a scroll.

"Who are these instructions from?" As the blonde asked the question, the Anbu formed a half-Tiger Seal and seemed to disappear right before his eyes. He stared at the spot the Anbu had been standing before turning around and returning to his apartment. He sat on his couch and broke the seal on the scroll.