AN: Hello all of you lovely readers out there who have been wondering about your favorite author of all time! *chirp*chirp* Just the same! I am back and doing some revising of this, my first fan fiction. I was young when I started and had an idea that never really sorted itself out because of poor structure. Now that I am back, I have a fresh mind on the direction I want to take and will finally be able to flesh out this story to be what I wanted it to be. To the fans of the story, as well as any new readers stumbling across this, I apologize for the long wait and hope you enjoy this reopening of my tale!
A Ninja's Passion
Summer in Konoha village. A time where the air is sweet and filled with life. The birds fly by overhead without a single care while the sun shone on their backs. The flowers at the Yamanaka flower shop were in full bloom when a certain golden-haired someone entered.
"Long time no see, Naruto! Looking for something in particular?" a familiar voice asked. Summer had always been a busy time for the flower shop, and this year's was no exception. Yamanaka Ino always tended to the shop in between assignments, and on this occasion, she was surprised to see Naruto looking around.
"Hey there, Ino. I'm not really looking for anything specific," replied Naruto, "Just something to get for Sakura. Tonight is our anniversary and I wanted to be sure I had something for the occasion."
"Don't tell me YOU actually remembered that! Somebody pinch me! Naruto actually remembered something that didn't have to do with ramen!" joked Ino.
"Aww stuff it! It's been drilled into my head for the past couple of weeks, so it'd be hard for even ME to forget," said Naruto as he failed to suppress a grin.
"Haha, I guess you're right about that," She laughed. "Sakura can be just a little abrasive at times. Tell you what; let me help you pick something out. Knowing you, you'd just grab some dandelions and think you were the greatest thing in the world."
The flower keeper rose from her stool behind the counter with a flourish of her long hair. Together they walked the aisles of the flower shop searching through all types of flora, their myriad scents mixing together into a joyous cacophony in the air. Through daisies and daffodils, tulips and lilies they searched looking for the perfect combination to get for Sakura. Finally, after some deliberation, Naruto gathered together a beautiful bouquet of pink roses, all surrounding a central stargazer lily.
"Not gonna lie, Naruto. You done good!" congratulated Ino with a little laugh. "I think Sakura will be pleasantly surprised."
"That's the hope, anyway!" he replied with a grin. He said his goodbyes and headed for home to set up for the big night. After cleaning himself up a bit and making sure that the bouquet was ready to go, Naruto glanced at the clock to see how much time he had. What he saw wasn't quite what he expected.
"Oh no… Please tell me that clock is wrong! I was supposed to meet with Sakura half an hour ago!" He exclaimed while throwing on his mesh shirt. Forgoing the door entirely, Naruto leaped through his open window to the roof of the next building. He sped along through the waning daylight toward the hokage stone faces, the appointed meeting place, all the while praying that Sakura would be gentle when she killed him.
The sun was just dipping past the horizon when Naruto arrived at the top of the monument. The sky flared to life as the sun's rays struck the clouds in a dazzling display of color. Fiery reds and orange intertwined with a soft pink and purple, all splayed across the open air and demanding that one should only look and admire the spectacle.
But his eyes were not on the sky at that moment. The only thing that caught and held his focus was the figure sitting quietly on the bench. Looking at her, he felt as though his heart would simply falter. He had to remind himself to breathe as he approached the girl with the cherry blossom hair, the kunoichi he held in the highest regard, the woman who held his heart. She turned as she heard his approaching footsteps and he saw her face. No matter how many times he saw it, he could never stop being amazed by her beauty.
"You're late," She said quietly. Her eyes met his and he felt his heart leap into his throat. Those deep, emerald eyes could bind him as surely as Itachi's tsukuyomi.
"Uhh… I… I got lost on the path of life," he clumsily stammered.
"Using one of Kakashi-sensei's lines, huh? At least you didn't keep me waiting as long as he usually does!" she said with a slight sigh.
Naruto got over his temporary paralysis at that bit of levity from Sakura and handed her the bouquet. Her eyes brightened at the sight of the beautiful arrangement and she smiled as she smelled the wondrous aroma. Her smile was short-lived, though, and Naruto could see that something was bothering her.
"What's wrong Sakura?" He asked, his voice full of concern.
"Tsunade-sama wants to see you in her office. She said it was about an important new mission for you," she said while chewing her lower lip.
"Really? I just got back from my last mission a few weeks ago," complained Naruto. "I would have liked a little more time home before the next one, but, whatever granny wants! Haha, that can wait for now though! Right now it's time…"
"She said it was urgent," Sakura interrupted. A twinge of sadness came into her eyes as she said it, she really wanted to spend some time with Naruto, but they had both been busy. Almost immediately after Naruto had returned from his mission, Sakura had been sent on one of her own as an errand for the hokage. This was really the first night they had had together for almost a month.
"That important? Damn it!" He exclaimed. "Well, I guess I've got no choice then. C'mon! Let's not leave her waiting!" He smiled at Sakura and leaped away.
She smiled as she watched him go, his energy was always at least somewhat infectious. As she went to follow, she couldn't help but feel like she should save this memory of the beautiful flowers and his always smiling face. A cold finger of doubt crept through her as she continued to think of the mission he would receive. As Tsunade's apprentice, she had already seen the mission brief.
*This won't be any different than any of the other missions he's been on.* she thought to herself. *Still, I've got a bad feeling about this one… He's just investigating these strange disappearances in the shinobi villages, and he'll have a few anbu members with him. Still…*
That night, after the de-brief in Tsunade's office, Naruto was walking Sakura home. They were both thinking about the mission ahead and the implications behind the disappearances. Something Sakura had overlooked when she had originally scanned through the mission details was weighing especially hard on her. It wasn't just individuals being reported, but entire villages of shinobi simply vanishing. Granted, the villages were fairly small, but they still held very competent individuals within.
"You could be gone from the village for quite some time on this one," said Sakura quietly.
"Don't think like that," he replied. "This may not take very long at all! All I've gotta do is figure out where these missing shinobi are, find whoever's causing these disappearances, and kick his ass twice as hard for making you have to wait for me again! Besides," he added with a wry grin, "if I take too long, I'll miss the sakura blossoms blooming. I hear they're almost as beautiful as their namesake!"
"Baka!" Sakura whispered as she blushed and blew out a sigh. Hearing the confidence in his voice did help to calm her down a bit. Plus, this was Naruto she was thinking about! If there were a shinobi who was more than capable of taking care of himself, it'd be him.
She grabbed him gently by the shoulder and turned him around to face her. Her eyes sparkled in the starlight as they stood there, a thousand tiny diamonds reflected in those verdant pools. In her heart she knew that this was right, that this was all that mattered. She would make sure to treasure this moment.
"I love you, Naruto-kun," she whispered into his ear.
"And I you, Sakura-hime," he replied.
He gently wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Their lips met and lit a thousand fires within them both. She pulled him through the door to her house and slowly guided him before the warm hearth. They kissed again, deeply, passionately, as her hand drew circles on his back. Tonight would be theirs, she would give him everything.
Buried deep in her mind, buried by the passion of the moment, a small thought began to take root. Naruto was strong, but this may be the last time she ever saw her love.
A/N: And there you have it! The revised chapter one of "A Ninja's Passion" is finally here. I hope you enjoy this reopening and reworking of the original story. The revised second chapter will be up shortly after this, and so on and so forth. As always, I do not claim ownership of any characters from the series. All credit to Masashi Kishimoto for the creation of the characters we all know and love! Don't forget to leave a review and be on the lookout for the next chapters. Until then, keep on keeping on! ;)