"Meet Me At Ichiraku"

Summary: After being Sakura's emotional support for years, sixteen year old Naruto has all but gotten used to stepping aside to her infatuation for Sasuke. Meanwhile Sakura's crush has reached it's emotional peak and as usual she turns to letting her stress out on Naruto-- violently. But, how much will one kid take before he finds someone who won't beat him up every time she gets rejected? NaruSaku

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All characters are in possession of Kishimoto Masashi. May he continue to fuel the fire of the angst.

'Hi, I am a character's thought process! But you knew that.'

"Yosh!"

Splashes of water shot into the air, causing a mirage of rainbow in the sky, as the eternally energetic ninja known as Uzumaki Naruto sailed into the air with them. His hair was in his eyes as he stood up to his waist in the stream. But he could not hide a grin behind the still wriggling fish he held in his mouth. A swipe from his sopping wet hand drew his hair away so that he could open his eyes, the same hand then taking the brightly colored green and blue fish from his mouth. Naruto brought his opponent up to his face, examining it with one shockingly blue eye as it gasped for breath pitifully.

"You put up too much of a fight, there's no way I can eat something with that much determi--"

Before he had a chance to pay the fish its compliment it let out a violent spasm, as if it had just been jolted with electricity. After dropping it up towards the sky numerous times and failing to re-catch it, poor Naruto let the fish drop back into its riverbed home. He stood in the position of a boy dumbfounded, attempting to catch a wet and slippery bar of soap for a while then let out a low groan.

"I have to find something else to eat. This sucks, I'm all wet and it's almost noon," he muttered as he trudged through the water onto the shore.

The little round stones added a background noise as he walked on them tenderly. click. clack. clunk. Naruto hurried to the branch where he had hung his clothes almost an hour before and quickly began to dress himself. 'If I caught a cold the missions would be hell.' he thought smiling. A quick rustle of leaves and the snapping of a few small twigs in the forest made his head turn before he had time even to zipper his jacket. Emerging slightly clumsily from the shade of the trees was Sakura's stunningly bright hair, naturally hued the odd color of pink cotton candy. As some of these troublesome locks were brushed from her face, a few choice expletives were heard emitted from under her breath. She had almost fallen on a stray root due to the hair in her face having been in the way.

"Sakura.. It's just you." Naruto lost the tense air that he had possessed in his uncertainty only minutes before, hand poised inches above his holster on the stump was now resting familiarly on the back of his head, "What are you doing out here?"

Sakura smiled with a tinge of biting sarcasm, taking her arms to her chest as she took a defensive stance to answer the boy.

"I can go wherever I please, what are you trying to insinuate?"

The poor boy was caught entirely off-guard by such a negative response and as he opened his mouth to apologize for something he had never done, she opened hers, not giving him a chance before she continued on her rampage.

"I came out here for a little fresh air, besides.." her tone softened at this next mere thought.

"I saw Sasuke walking out here last week and I thought.. well.."

Naruto shook his head, his eyes closed in a mid-rolling motion. Sakura had reached some epitome of pathetic lately to add to her inability to see plainly what was happening there in front of her.

"Sakura, I haven't seen him but I'm here so why.. how about.. you and I can go on a walk

instead?"

Sakura's emerald eyes lost the 'Sasuke Glaze' for a moment, replaced by disappointment. Naruto could see this change in her without trying by now; it had happened so many times on missions and during training. He wasn't good enough. She'd so much rather be with Sasuke that the expression on her face nearly screamed it. Sakura couldn't help it any more than Naruto could help the melancholy look that swept over him every time he saw it. He recovered quickly for her sake.

"But we don't have to, I know you wanted Sasuke.."

"Let's go, the weather is nice. We shouldn't waste it." She cut him off almost too coldly, then turned her back to him and started off into the dense woods.

Author Note: This was the first chapter of my first fic. Whether or not I continue the second chapter (I already have part of it done, so it's 'how fast I post it') depends on the reviews I get. I apologize for it's shortness. Please review. Thank you!