Naruto Uzumaki, he was a bold man. The son of the fourth Hokage, he had grown from being a mischievous, trickster to a focused, yet confident young man. He has mastered his own speciailized genjutsu techniques; which have proven quite helpful in aid of his fellow shinobi and kunoichi when dangerous forces, such as the malevolent sannin Orochimaru and his league of rogue-nin, set on conquering and overthrowing the ninja nations with a league of enhanced soldiers, ninjas that have had their chakra manipulated and distorted scientifically to become inhuman beasts.
Following the success to return former rogue Sasuke Uchiha to the village as one of Orochi's subjects, Naruto accepted becoming more responsible and dedicated as the hero others acknowledged him as. Lately he had been partaking in some small C and D-rank missions to help around locals; but one thing was on his mind for sure: Sakura Haruno.
The girl he had been with his entire life since youth, a true friend. This pink-haired kunoichi was like a firecracker when it came to combat, blowing her way through foes with tremendous strength and skill. Also a skilled medical-nin thanks to her instruction with the female sannin Tsunade, Sakura herself had found a purpose in treating the wounds and restoring weakened chakra in her fallen allies. Naruto admired Sakura for her boldness and assurance; as she felt the same for his thick-headed will and courage.
Naruto sat outside his favorite establishment in the entire village: the Ichiraku Ramen shop. Chilly winter winds blew around his face, which was protected warmly by a snug scarf he brought along. The whisker-faced blonde looked ahead as his order for ramen noodles, trimmed with pork ribs, bean sprouts and green onion and coated with sweetened mirin sauce. The vendor of his dinner was actually one of the childhood friends he went to the Ninja Academy with: Chouji Akimichi. The strongly-built man had flushed spiral cheeks and reddish-brown hair that went all over like a lion's mane. He wore a cloth apron with a smile as he approached Naruto.
"Just the way you like it, Naruto-san." Chouji spoke graciously. Naruto smiled, giving him the nod of approval as he reached for his chopsticks and began tasting the succulent noodles. "So, how's everything been for you, been out doing some community work I heard..." Chouji asked.
Naruto finished his sample, gulping and swallowing before he responded. "You know, just little missions here and there...Obligiations are important, 'ttebayo". Chouji agreed, but felt if Naruto had no leisure time of his own to do anything his mind was set to.
"It's so hard to believe you're serious when we were just eleven, you spent most of the time painting up doodles or dropping water balloons from a balcony." Chouji added. Naruto smiled and giggled, sure he was a lot wiser and older; his mischevious nature tended to come out every now and then. "My question is...when you do have time off to do your own thing, what do you suggest on doing?" he added.
"What do you mean, Chouji..." Naruto asked, a bit of noodles and onion slices in his cheek. He finished eating, then began to recompense Chouji's question. "Well, I guess me and Sakura-chan have been hanging out a bit, Christmas is coming soon and I'm probably gonna try to see if I can get a little money to buy her something special."
Chouji's eyes widened as he heard this, but his suprised expression then turned to a friendly smile. "Oh, I know what you mean...you two are getting closer and closer, and you want to make that next move: marriage."
Naruto nearly wheezed and spat his meal in response to Chouji's question, hacking for a second before he cleared his throat and took a cloth to wipe up the spillage.
"...I-I swear you're like a psychic Chouji, you must get that from being with Shikamaru-san. But yeah, at some point I'm considering asking Sakura-chan if she, would want to be my number one person in life?" Naruto explained, he chuckled awkwardly. Chouji shrugged it off his bulking shoulders with a smile.