A few things I'd like to say:

This is my first ever Naruto fan fiction... actually… this is my FIRST EVER WRITING PROJECT! I love Naruto very dearly and I know that it is dear to you, so I will try not to ruin it with my amateur writing but I am willing to give it a go, so please please review and tell me what you think about my story and my writing style. Reviews are my motivation.

In terms of content, I have not decided yet in which direction I'll take the story but please be prepared that it may contain strong language and violence. Additionally, the Fourth Great Ninja War has been over for a month now and I'll be taking the story from there. However, there will be some deviations and changes from the canon. Sasuke has joined Team 7 again and I plan for the story to have pairings but I will be also exploring the friendship side of things and team dynamics. For legal reason, I do have to mention that...

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Alrighty right, with that out of the way, let's get started.

Take Your Time

Chapter 1

The clouds glide across the pale grey sky; the fading moon sits hiding behind them. The sun has awakened to replace the fading moon in the sky but it can hardly be seen due to the cloudy layer and the thick fog which shrouded the village of Konoha. Before long, a large rumble of thunder echoed throughout the sky and large drops of rain began to pour on the weary village.

The drumming of the rain against the window stirs Naruto awake. He slowly opens his eyes; allowing them to adjust to the morning light of the room. Feeling lethargic, the blonde shinobi lay still in bed and stared at the cracks in the ceiling. The rhythm of the falling rain brought him a sense of peace and just for a moment soothed his troubled mind. Lately, he had been thinking more about his future ever since the war ended.

He knew he had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, with all the odds against him. He saved the world from destruction, brought peace to the Shinobi world, and more importantly saved his friend from the darkness. He had achieved his prophecy; his purpose and the only thing now left for him to do is to become the Hokage. Even after all the challenges he has faced, his desire to protect his village and the world will never waver.

It wasn't his career that he felt troubled about.

It was his feelings for a certain pink-haired medical ninja that was troubling his mind and leaving him confused. Ever since the war ended, he thought things would change between them; maybe she would look at him differently, see him in a different light – the same way he sees her. His thoughts lingered for a moment on the kunoichi. He knew discussing his feelings with Sakura would be difficult, not just because he was scared he might stumble over his words, but because Sasuke had returned and he knew this changed everything. The last time he saw his former rival was at the hospital a month ago.

Flashback

Naruto stood outside the hospital room, his right arm was heavily bandaged whilst the rest of his body was covered in bruises and cuts. It was clear the war had taken a toll on him mentally and physically.

He took a deep breath and just as he was about to knock on the door, it flung open and a medic walked out. She gave Naruto a warm smile.

"Here to see your friend?"

Naruto just nodded.

"Feel free to go in, but just be aware the patient is still recovering" she said.

"Thank you" he replied.

The medic moved out of the way and started making her way across to the next patient's room, as Naruto started to shuffle into the room, the medic turned around.

"He is lucky to have friends like you, friends that won't abandon him"

Naruto paused for a moment in the doorway; letting her words sink in and he smiled back at her before he continued to enter the room; leaving the door open. The room was small, with two chairs at either side of the bed and a bedside table. At first, Naruto kept his head down looking at the cold tiles but he brought his head up to focus on the figure in the bed.

It was clear his presence wasn't acknowledged as the figure stared absentmindedly out of the window with furrowed brows, deep in thought.

"Hey, Sasuke" said Naruto.

This broke the figure's thoughts as his head snapped towards Naruto's direction.

"Naruto" replied Sasuke sounding surprised; he eyed Naruto up and down, looking over his injuries.

Naruto moved closer to the bed and sat down on one of the chairs, his hands resting on his lap.

"How are you doing, buddy?" said Naruto

"I'm doing better; the medic said I'll be in here for a few more days and then I'll be fit for release" said Sasuke

"That's good" replied Naruto.

A comfortable silence then fell over the room. Naruto looked down at his hands for a moment and then looked back up at Sasuke.

"I'm happy that your back" said Naruto

"Thank you for not giving up on me Naruto, if it wasn't for you I don't know where I would be... I'm sorry for all the pain that I caused" replied Sasuke

"As soon as I get out of this hospital, I will right every wrong that I have done" continued Sasuke, this time with determination in his voice

Naruto grinned at those words. At that moment, Sakura walked in with a tray of fruit in her hands.

"Naruto!" said Sakura

Naruto's face lit up as soon as Sakura walked in; just seeing her, brightened up his day.

"I just came by to drop some fruit and check on how Sasuke is doing, the medic told me you were here too" said Sakura

Sakura walks into the room and gently puts the tray down on the table and stands there. Sasuke announces that he is feeling better and Sakura asked a few more questions just to make sure. The conversation then swiftly moved into light chat; Sakura talking about her hectic hospital schedule and all the meetings that she must attend. Naruto laid back into his chair, comfortably listening to the conversation.

Everything was falling back into place. Bring Sasuke back was the final piece of the jigsaw and the game was over. Everybody was happy.

It was at this moment that Naruto noticed that Sasuke was listening to Sakura intently and was more talkative than before Sakura arrived; asking her questions to show he was interested in what she had to say. Sasuke seemed to be lustfully starting at Sakura and hanging onto her every word. As Sakura turned to leave; to get back to her patients, she gently touched Sasuke's shoulder to wish him goodbye and he leaned into her touch and as she walked out she gave Naruto a smile and a cheerful wave.

Seeing this little detail made Naruto's heart ache, it was in that moment that he realised, Sasuke was in love with Sakura too. He didn't blame him, Sakura was caring and she had blossomed into a strong kunoichi.

Naruto looked down at his hands distractedly for a moment. He then closed his eyes trying to prepare himself for the difficult conversation ahead.

"Sasuke... what do you think of Sakura?" challenged Naruto

"I think she's become an amazing medic and-" said Sasuke

"Let's not fool around! You know what I mean! Do you have feelings for her?" interrupted Naruto

It was clear to Naruto that Sasuke was tip-toeing over the subject with his deflective answer but he didn't want to waste any more time. He wanted a straight answer. Sasuke eyed the blonde ninja, knowing his next words would not please his friend and Naruto anticipated this as Sasuke hesitated with his words.

"I'm sorry Naruto... but I do" said Sasuke, cautiously.

That was all Naruto had to hear before he felt in a pang in his heart. Naruto carefully masks the pain he is feeling in heart by plastering a grin on his face. He stands up from his chair in one smooth and fluid motion.

"I'm happy for you Sasuke... You know how Sakura feels about you too..." beamed Naruto, he knew Sasuke could see through his mask but he didn't care for that now. All he could think about was that his chances of being with Sakura had just been significantly reduced. He couldn't compete with Sasuke, not with all the history he and Sakura had.

Naruto quickly excused himself, he couldn't bear to be in that room any longer. He needed to leave the hospital to get some fresh air and think things through.

Flashback ends

Not wanting to be consumed by these thoughts at this moment, Naruto broke out of his trance and he turned onto his side, his eyes momentarily glancing at the small clock perched on top of the night stand. It was 9 o'clock.

The blonde ninja quickly bolted up from his bed and hurriedly got dressed. He had a meeting with the hokage that he was going to be late for. As he quickly rushed out of his small apartment, he slammed the front door behind him which caused a glass photo frame of Team 7 on the wall to fall and shatter on the ground.

Naruto raced to the hokage's building. Once he got inside the building, he composed himself before knocking on the door.

"Come in" commanded Kakashi

Naruto entered the room and immediately noticed that Kakashi had a female visitor. From the back, he noticed that she had a long blue hair that went to the back of her knees and her slender figure showed in her all black outfit. She turned to look at Naruto and she gave him a small nod and a smile. At this moment, Naruto smiled back and he noticed that her eyes were different colours as one was green and the other was black.

Naruto re-focused his attention to Kakashi when he began to speak. The hokage introduced her as Ai, from the Land of Water. He explains to Naruto that there is an insurgence in a small village in the Water Country that is starting to gain traction. Kakashi informs Naruto that he wants to send Team 7 with Ai to identify the people who are threatening their state of peace. He added that it would be a good team-building exercise for Team 7 and it would demonstrate to their allies that Sasuke is reformed for good.

The hokage dismissed Ai and Naruto and he gave Naruto two days to get prepared and inform his teammates of the mission as he will lead the mission. Additionally, he asked Naruto to show Ai around the village and acquaint her with the rest of the team. As Ai and Naruto left the room, Naruto offered to take Ai for breakfast first as he was hungry, which she enthusiastically accepted.

As they walked away from the hokage's office to Naruto's favourite restaurant, they both started to get to know each other. Their conversation covered varied from what it was like back home in the Water Country to how well the reconstruction of Konoha is going. The conversation then shifted to more personal things as Ai inquired about the lack of presence from his teammates in their earlier meeting but Naruto nervously deflected her inquiry by asking her about the insurgence in the Water Country.

Naruto hadn't talked to his teammates in nearly a month. He said to himself it's because they all have busy schedules with Sakura in the hospital and Sasuke helping with the reconstruction of the village, but the reality was that he was avoiding his teammates. He told himself he didn't want to get in between his teammates potential romance. By distancing himself, his feelings were not hurt in the process too.

Once they reached Ichiraku they both took their seats. Naruto gave a cheery greeting to Teuchi and Ayame, he ordered his usual whilst Ai scanned over the menu before Teuchi made a recommendation. After their early meal, Naruto showed Ai around the village, showing her the new buildings, schools and other facilities that were being built. They had a nice stroll through the park, their conversation was very jovial, Naruto felt at ease with Ai; a feeling he had not felt in quite some time. As the night settled in, they finally started walking to her temporary accommodation so that she could rest.

"Thanks for showing me around Naruto, I had a pleasant time today" said Ai

"No problem! I had a wonderful time today too" he replied with a grin

Ai turned around and walked into her building, leaving Naruto to think about what to do next. He decided to tell his teammates about the mission tomorrow morning as he needed some rest, with that plan in mind he started walking back home to get back into his comfortable bed.

Thanks for reading guys. I appreciate it so much and I would love it if you guys reviewed. Just any thoughts that you have on the storyline or if you liked/hated my writing and anything else. I am open to any messages and I will appreciate them all equally. Thanks for reading again. I plan to get chapter 2 out soon (weekly/bi-weekly), and I promise you it will get better and the plot will build up, so follow for any future updates.