Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"What the hell is this?"

"Shhh! Shut up, idiot!"

"But Saku—" The kunoichi shoved her gloved hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Calm down, baka!" The orange ninja tried to talk through the invading fingers.

"But— mmph— how could— mmph— you do this to me? It isn't— mmph— right!"

Sakura threw Naruto's squirming body to the floor and flung the unraveled scroll at his face. "Read the assignment, idiot. It's only for a year."

"A whole year? Sakura, that's way too long! There's no way I could deal with that," the blonde whined and tossed the paper to the side, "Just tell Granny Tsunade you can't go. She'll let you stay if you bribe her, like with the really nice sake from the Village Hidden in the Valley. I mean, you might have to work some later shifts, but it would totally be worth it, and I'd come over afterwards, and we could even invite Kakashi-sen—"

"Sorry, Naruto, not happening. I have to go to the Sand. They need serious help with the medical program, and Shizune has just started her experiment with long-lasting weapon poisons. No one else is free."

"But it's not fair!" He rolled on his back and pouted, latching onto her leg like she was going to disappear any moment while shooting her puppy-eyes. Sakura chuckled and shook him off gently.

"I'll write letters and send messages. And I'm sure I'll travel back and forth once and a while, so you'd see me then. Plus, you run to Suna every few months for mission stuff."

"That's still not good enough… C'mon, just stay here. Shizune can go once she's done with her poison work."

"That won't be for at least ten months. And who was the one to leave Konoha for three years with Jiraiya?"

Naruto blushed. "Oh… Well, that was different."

"How?"

"Whatever. You're not allowed to go. As your future Hokage, I forbid it."

Sakura sighed and leaned against the flimsy wall of the ramen stand. "You don't have that kind of power yet. But I promise I'll make sure to check in once a month, and you can always visit, you know."

"Nope."

"I'll treat you to ramen every time you see me."

Naruto looked up to the cloudy sky. "Well…"

"I'll even talk to Gaara for you." Sakura shivered at the thought. It's not that Gaara was a bad guy or anything, but still… Naruto has strange tastes in friends.

"…Fine. You have to write every single week though."

"That's ridiculous!" Sakura looked down at the shinobi's big, glassy eyes, his lower lip jutting out in an exaggerated pout. "…Okay, fine. Every week.

"Great! Now that that's settled, let's go get ramen, your treat." The orange ninja brushed himself off and started walking to the counter.

"Twice in one night?"

"You agreed to it!"

Sakura smiled. "Naruto?"

"Huh?"

"You know you're a great friend, right?"

"Yeah."

Aw... Oh, Naruto.

Just a cute little one-shot with Sakura and Naruto. Hope you liked it!

Thanks to all the ones that reviewed/favorited/followed. It's really motivating. 3