Hey guys well I am going to try my hand at two stories at once. Some of you may have read my ItaIzu story. I am hoping this may be easier to write. I honestly thought that Naruto and Sakura should have gotten together at the end of Shippuden but alas all I have are these fanfictions. This is going to take place post-war with a brand new villain, or villain group. Still working out all the details so bear with me. Hope you enjoy.

As always I do not own Naruto.

Feelings

Everything was getting back to normal in the Leaf. It had been a quiet few months since the war had ended, Madara was defeated, the tailed beasts had been released, and Sasuke had been killed. 'Killed…' Sakura thought to herself. She couldn't believe that she had been ok after hearing that he had fallen in his final battle against Naruto.

Naruto had made her feel better about Sasuke's passing telling her that Sasuke had thanked him for treating him like a friend, rival, and to tell Team 7 and Kakashi-sensei that he was sorry for everything. That last part had torn her up inside for a while, but now she was moving past it and was thankful for her friends and especially for Naruto. He was speaking to her as she snapped out of her daydream.

"Hey Sakura, do you want to go grab a bite to eat?" Naruto asked smiling with that big goofy grin he always gave.

Normally Sakura wouldn't want to but something changed her mind. "You know what Naruto sure! But you are paying." she laughed. The two of them took off down the street as she shouted, "No Ichiraku!"

Since he couldn't have his ramen he let Sakura decide on the place since all he ever really ate was ramen. He looked rather down and distraught realizing he had no variety in his diet. They moved through the busy streets of Konoha, scouring the city for a good place to eat so late. Sakura had to guess it was almost ten. Finally the two found a barbeque place that smelled absolutely amazing.

They were seated immediately and began to look over the menu. "So Sakura, how are things going at the hospital?" Naruto asked her curiously.

She shrugged and said, "Eh, its going. It has been rather boring of late. Just the occasion broken bone or training injury. I do enjoy helping at the pediatric clinic though."

"Pediatric?" Naruto asked honestly confused by the word.

She laughed loudly as him. "It's a kids clinic."

He sheepishly grinned at her as he put two and two together. "Ohhhhh that makes sense."

She questioned him, "So what are Lady Tsunade and Kakashi-sensei doing to prepare you to take over as Hokage?"

"Well eventually they will send me on missions to other nations to learn how diplomacy works and how to maintain the peace. There is a lot of reading. I wanted to ask as well. If I need help with any of my reading or work would you be able to help?" he asked.

She genuinely smiled at his request. "Yes of course I will help you." She sat there thinking to herself as he spoke again. 'Wow he really has grown. He is taking his job a lot more seriously than I thought he would have.' She found herself losing herself in his deep blue gaze. Her face beginning to redden as she thought about him. 'Wait quit it! He is my teammate.'

Naruto waving at her brought her out of her deep thinking. "Hey Sakura are you alright?" he asked concerned. "Your face is all red."

She scrambled to find an excuse. "Uhhhh….its just really hot in here." Smiling at her he seemed to take that as truth. They continued talking and laughing about old times and past missions. Their food came out stacked high on several plates as they began cooking it on the grill sat in between them. For hours they sat there eating and talking with not a care in the world. Finally a rather small man approached the table giving the two a pained smile, "Uh, yes would you please pay and go so my workers and I can go home. It's almost one in the morning."

Both their eyes widened, "One in the morning!" Naruto handed the man the rather large amount of money needed to cover the bill. The jinchuuriki and the kunoichi exited the building looking at the starry night sky. "Let me walk you home." Naruto said to her.

"Really Naruto that isn't necessary," she responded holding her hands up. Though the knucklehead ninja would not take no for an answer and so they departed in the direction of her home. "Seriously Naruto thank you for dinner. It has been a long time since I have eaten that good."

"Well we could always start a new trend. How about I pick you up sometime this week and we go out again." He told her smiling, eyes ever focused on the road in front of them.

Her heart fluttered for a moment. He was asking her out again. Her inner self saying 'I mean what could going out again really hurt.'

"I'd like that. How about Tuesday? You can pick me up from the hospital at seven." she told him confidently. Before they realized it they had arrived at Sakura's home. Turning around she gave him a quick hug, thanked him for dinner and shut the door.

All Naruto could do his entire way back to his apartment was grin. Sakura had actually wanted to go out with him again. He had to convince himself he was not dreaming he was so in shock. He knew that Lady Tsunade would have his ass on a platter if he was late tomorrow for their briefing but he didn't care.

Sakura was laying in bed but she couldn't sleep. 'I don't know why I am feeling like this. He is my teammate, there is no way he likes me like that anymore. Hinata was always infatuated with him.' After tonight and all he had done for her since his return two years ago from training with Jiraiya, she couldn't help but feel guilty. 'I've caused him so much heartache over the years, with all of the promises I made him keep regarding Sasuke. Always shooting down his advances when he really is a nice guy when you get to know him. I'm really happy I am giving him a chance.' She turned over gazing out the window in her room before sleep soon found her.

The next morning started to early for Sakura as her internal clock woke her up at what she could only assume was five thirty in the morning. She rolled out of bed to start getting ready for her work day. She sighed to herself, "Today is going to be a long day." By six she was on her way to work. Not too long after she started her walk to work she was greeted by a loud voice she could only assume was Naruto's.

"Sakura, good morning!" he called out. All she could do to respond was wave her hand a little. His hand shot into her view holding a cup.

"Whats this?" she asked confused.

He simply said, "Hot Tea."

She was shocked that Naruto would come all this way to bring coffee to her. "What brings you to this side of town with hot tea?"

"Well I knew we got in late last night and I have a meeting with Baa-chan at the hospital." he told her with his a smile.

"Seriously Naruto you have no idea how much this is going to help. I really didn't sleep well last night." she told him as they approached the hospital.

"How come Sakura?" he asked.

"I don't know honestly. I just had a lot on my mind when I got home." she said.

Not wanting to pry any farther he told her, "Ok well if you want to talk about anything you know I am here for you. We are a team."

She could feel her cheeks warm at that comment. "Thanks Naruto." They crossed the threshold of the building and he waved goodbye to her as he head down the main hall to Lady Tsunade's office. Opening the door, he stood before the Hokage but he was not the only one inside. Also standing inside was Team Ten.

"Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, it's good to see all of you guys." he said quickly before turning to the Hokage.

"Naruto, I'm glad you could finally join us. I am going to get started then. This is a mission to Suna. Lord Kazekage is trying to strike a deal with the Leaf dealing with trade routes. You will go in my stead Naruto and strike a deal we can both benefit from. Team Ten is joining you as your security. I know we won the war but people will always want what's inside of you," pointing to the jinchuuriki.

"No problem Baa-chan! Just leave it all to me. Gaara and I will figure it out." he replied confidently boasting.

"You all are dismissed. You are to be there by the time the sun rises three days from now." Tsunade said. All four ninja nodded and exited the office. Once outside Shikamaru said, "Hey Naruto we haven't seen you around as much."

"Sorry I have been training non-stop, also Kakashi-sensei has me studying all sorts of documents and sending me on missions to meet with foreign dignitaries. All the things I need to prepare myself for when I become Hokage." he told the lazy Nara.

"Hey Naruto we are going to grab a bite to eat. Do you want to join us?" Choji said patting him on the back.

Not thinking twice he agreed and they headed off to find food. Not paying much attention the team lead him to a building he didn't recognize until he stepped inside. It was the same barbeque place he had taken Sakura to the night prior. They sat and chatted about all the craziness of the war, and what they were doing now in their free time.

Shikamaru told him that he and Temari were dating, Ino was taking a more active role in her family's business after her dad's death during the war and helping every so often down at the hospital. Choji was pursuing mastery of all of his clans techniques and jutsu's to prepare himself to take the mantle of clan head from his father, Choza.

The owner came over to the table to make sure everything was to their liking when he recognized Naruto. "Is your friend going to be joining you all today?"

Eyeing Naruto suspiciously Ino asked, "Who is your friend Naruto?"

"Sakura brought me here last night after a training session," he said innocently.

"You and billboard brow went on a date last night?" she said in shock.

His face was starting to get a little red as he said, "We just grabbed a bite to eat. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Elbowing Ino, Shikamaru said, "Yeah Ino leave the guy alone. Who he goes on dates is his business." She dropped the subject but Naruto knew he would be hearing about this later hopefully not from an angry Sakura. The brunch they ate filled them all up and soon Naruto found himself at his apartment alone. He knew he needed to study so he cracked his book and started, 'The Intricacies of Trade Diplomacy….' Naruto groaned and decided maybe a quick nap as he laid his head down on the book.

Sakura's day was quite busy which she was not too happy about. She had already been through two surgeries and had a pile of paperwork a mile high. She held her head in her hands and let her mind wander for a moment. She pictured herself in a hot spring, the one she went to with all of her friends and how badly she needed a vacation. 'I wonder if Naruto would be able to come…' She laughed at herself. Admitting to an empty office, "I really do like Naruto." She looked down at her schedule and hit her that she would be busy well into the tomorrow night with work which included a major heart surgery. 'Damn well I guess I'll have to reschedule my dinner date.' Looking a little downtrodden she suddenly had a light bulb clicked on and she had an idea. Quickly she began to scribble something onto a piece of paper and called her assistant in.

Naruto laid sprawled out on his sofa with a book covering the majority of his face when a knock at the door startled him awake. Looking at his clock on the wall, 'Five in the afternoon.' he then realized he had slept for the majority of the day. Answering the door he was greeted by a woman in medical attire. "Hello?"

"I am sorry for the intrusion but my boss asked me to drop this off with you." she replied.

Grabbing the note he thanked the woman and shut the door. Opening it he began to read and as he did eyes got as wide as saucers and he smiled as big as he could. "I cannot wait to get this trade deal done."

xxxx

Wednesday arrived without any issues and Naruto awoke and was at the gate by seven that morning. He was only there about a half hour before Team Ten arrived. "Nice of you guys to join me." he chuckled.

"Sorry, Choji forgot his pack at his apartment this morning, had to loop around and get it." Shikamaru explained trying to give his teammate a hard time. They soon were off, gliding through the trees at full speed Naruto was excited to see his old friend again, having not seen him since the wars end. As they travelled they talked about life and what they wanted to accomplish now that there was relative peace in the ninja world.

At their speed it took them about four hours to make it to the edge of Sand Nation territory. "So much for beauty," Ino remarked.

"Ino be nice." Shikamaru scolded jokingly.

"Sorry wouldn't want to insult your girlfriends home," she responded scratching her head. They moved through the desert for another five hours before they closed on the massive plateau that hid Suna from the rest of the world. At the gates they were promptly greeted by Temari, who immediately gave her man a hug.

"It's great to see all of you again. Follow me, the Kazekage is expecting you Naruto." Temari replied leading then into the village not letting go of Shikamaru.

Alright that will do it for Chapter 1 of my next story. I will be back with this one soon. I like where this is going so far. NaruSaku will follow be gaining ground in the next chapter. I like slow another few days off of work so I will be writing either on this story or my ItaIzu story. Please let me know what you think and as always Favorite, Follow, and Review.