It's about that time of day again when a beast bigger than no other inside Naruto begins to irk him - his stomach. On his way to get some ramen, he sees Hinata and Sakura. Before he can approach them, Hinata is already gone, leaving Sakura walking towards Naruto alone, books in hand.
"Need some help carrying those books?" Naruto asks. Sakura is only carrying two books, both of which are considerably small. She's obviously not struggling nor does she need any help. She realizes he is most likely setting himself up to ask her out on a date. She blushes, giggles.
"You can help me if you promise to read a book some time," she joked. Naruto looked at her perplexed. "Where are you off to?" Sakura continued.
"I'm about to go get some ramen! Wanna come with me?"His mood and ego seemed to pick up. Sakura didn't have anything to do but go home and read. She hadn't done much relaxing lately and wanted that more than anything.
"Okay, Naruto. Sounds like fun." She smiled, closing her green eyes.
"Alright!" Naruto yelled, fist up in the air. His confidence was through the roof. "C'mon, Sakura. We can't waste any more time here. Ramen doesn't wait forever you know."
The two walked away together toward the restaurant. Without mentioning it, Naruto took the books from Sakura and carried them under his arm.
"So...Sakura. Does this mean we're...on a date?" She was going with him to eat, so he didn't care if it truly was a date or not. What mattered to him most was that she dropped whatever she was about to do when the two encountered each other just to hang out with him.
Ino loved working in her family's flower shop. The beautiful scent of flowers, seeing lovers buy flowers for their lovers, putting together flower arrangements; all of it was a good way to destress and enjoy a day, even if it was a various form of work.
Asuma would occasionally walk in and buy various assortments of flowers for an unnamed someone. Ino always mentioned Kurenai when he bought his flowers, but he never told her who they were for. He didn't need to say a single word for her to know she was right.
It wasn't until Sai walked in one day puzzled by all the flowers and which type was appropriate for him to purchase.
"Hey, Sai!" Ino said walking over to him. She would have greeted him generically from behind the counter if he was any other customer.
"Oh, hello, Ino," quiet Said replied. "Um...you have many flowers...I'm not sure which are suitable for my needs..."
"Well just tell me the occasion! I can help you with anything you need!" She tried to flirt as subtly as possible. Sai was different from the other guys. There was an innocent quality to him that drew her in as well as his good looks.
"I'm, um, taking them to my brother," Sai said. "I haven't seen him recently and want to pay my respects to him..." he trailed off.
He didn't say much, but somehow she understood him. She suggested some white daisies, and after Sai paid for them with a genuine smile, he left.
Ino liked seeing that side of Sai, even though she hadn't seen too much of his personality to begin with. But helping Sai put her in a deep train of thought during the shops' quiet hours. Day in and day out, she helped customers find the perfect flowers for whatever they needed, but in all her time working there, no one had ever brought flowers to her.
Kiba was walking Akamaru through the village. It seemed like today more than ever he saw someone with their father and it made him miss his own. At the same time though, he didn't miss him. In fact, he usually enjoyed being the only man in the house. Sure, he was the youngest, but he loved being the only man around and being the youngest at the same time. It struck him as odd and a contradiction, but he really didn't care.
His mom did a pretty good job of taking of the rolls of both parents, and it always helped having furry companions around, especially Akamaru.
Just then, Naruto passed by, distracting his train of though. Akamaru smiled at Naruto with his tongue out while the boys stared each other down as they usually do in passing. Thinking back to it, it was something they started doing for fun after the chunin exams.
Thinking back even more, Naruto didn't have any parents nor did he have any memory of them since they passed when he was an infant. At least Kiba had a few vague memories of his father. One in particular where his mother chased his father out of the house with all of her ninken. He wasn't sure what happened, but his father returned home that night with a dozen roses. Kiba smiled at the thought.
When the duo arrived home, Kiba searched for two things: to see if his sister was home, and to see if his mother wasn't. Luckily for him, he got exactly what he wanted. He found Hana sitting on the couch with her nose buried in a book about animal physical therapy. She could tell by his scent he was here and that he wanted her full attention. She looked up from her book.
"Hey, sis..." Kiba started. "Is there any way we can contact dad? I wanna write to him."
Shikamaru strolled through the village. He was feeling exceptionally lazy today, but there were things he needed to do. His mother sent him out to pick up some groceries, drop off some mail, tasks that he figured the woman should be doing. It was his day off, his mom was home cleaning, and his dad would be returning from a mission. Not only that, but his parents were celebrating their anniversary today.
"Son, you know I would go and run those errands myself but if I leave you here to clean, you'll just sit around and not do anything." He remembered his mother's words as he kissed her on the cheek before leaving. He didn't always show his mom that kind of affection. She needed it today though, with his father gone on their anniversary. Not to mention she'd been extra kind to Shikamaru in his absence-cooking whatever he wanted, not nagging as often, cleaning up after him. Even though Shikamaru knew it would come to an end once his father came home, having his old man back home would make up for it.
You engulf every last corner of my mind. Even from the smallest specks of dust that cover my body to the roots and tips of my hair, they are drenched in the sweet comfort of you just being alive. I get lost in the galaxies within your gaze whenever we're face to face. Lay with me in a field of grass taller than we're able to see over. Let me dress your hair in the flowers picked by my hand. I'll listen to the even beating of your heart as you embrace me with a warmth only you can provide.
Hinata put down her pen, closed her notebook, and sat it beside her bed. Her notebook, and many others, were filled with thoughts about Naruto after he left for 2 and a half years. It helped her cope with his absence. She let her eyes fall shut as she imagined the words she wrote come to life. Just then, there was a knock at her door.
"It seems Tenten and I somehow grabbed each other's bags. I figure she needs it and I'm about to take it to her. I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me," Neji said.
"O-okay, brother." Hinata got up and walked to the door. Neji led the way.
The cousins walked in silence for awhile when Neji finally asked, "Have you seen Naruto much since he returned to the village?" Hinata stayed silent and blushed. She looked at Neji's face. He had a slight smile as if he enjoyed teasing her. Just then they passed Ichiraku Ramen where Naruto was enjoying his dinner alone. Hinata and Neji stopped walking.
"You know I invited you along because I figured we'd see Naruto. I won't mind if you join him. But if you really like him, you can't be shy around him forever, " Neji informed Hinata. "Hey, Naruto!" Neji called out. Naruto turned in the direction of his name. Hinata was surprised and became frozen.
"Hey! Neji! Hinata!" Naruto yelled back, "What are you guys doing?"
"Just taking some stuff to Tenten," Neji said. Hinata began to shield herself behind her cousin's body.
"Alright, well have fun, guys!" Naruto waved his hand to say bye, holding his chop sticks.
Neji and Hinata continued walking. After Naruto was very well out of sight, Hinata said lowly, but loud enough for Neji to hear, "Not today."
"When should we tell our students?" Kurenai whispered.
"Why should we tell them anything?" Asuma responded, smirk on his face. He moved closer to Kurenai and began kissing her cheeks. She put her hands on his face and gazed into his eyes.
"We've been together secretly for so long. Only Hinata truly knows. She doesn't say anything and helps cover for me when I'm late because I'm with you," she replied. "Besides, everyone has been guessing. Shouldn't we just come out and make it a public thing?"
"Sneaking around with you is kind of fun. Plus, I don't deny it when my students make guesses about us, but I also don't agree with them. Which reminds me, Ino says hi." Asuma said, Kurenai laughed.
Asuma kissed Kurenai's forehead and got up to get a glass of water. "Ooh can you get me something to eat while you're up? I'm starving!" Kurenai asked.
"We had lunch an hour ago and you're already hungry? Again?"
"Yeah...but I threw it all up, remember?"
"You're not getting sick, are you? Because if you are..." Kurenai gave Asuma a dirty look for making that comment. He walked back to where she was sitting and handed her a few crackers.
"That's why I wanted you to come here with me," Kurenai started.
"Oh, that's right. You came into the hospital while I was with Kakashi. What's going on?"
Kurenai didn't say a word. She put down her crackers and looked down while placing her hands on her stomach. She looked up at Asuma and smiled. That was when he realized. The hunger, the vomiting.
Asuma stood up and grabbed Kurenai's hands so she was standing with him. He looked at her face, then her stomach, back and forth. Asuma got down on his knees and kissed Kurenai's stomach. "I love you already. So much," he whispered to the growing baby inside Kurenai's womb. He stood up, kissed Kurenai, and told her, "And I absolutely love and adore you with my whole heart, Mrs. Sarutobi."
Sai looked at the wall in front of him. He thought about this wall all day, but it wasn't until now that he took the time to actually look at it. In front of him were just a few of his many paintings. Today he decided to do something unusual: give his paintings a name.
But how could he name a tree? An ocean? Anything abstract? He was having great difficulty.
I've titled one painting...why can't I do it again? Sai thought as he consulted a book he got from the library. When naming a painting, authors title it after their feelings, but I have none. So how am I to name anything?
He struggled more than he should to think of something that was supposed to flow naturally. Sai fell over on his bed and let out a deep breath. The sun hung high in the sky, meaning it was just about time for lunch. He sat up and went to prepare his meal.
The book said that if I have inspiration for a painting, the vision and title should come to me easier...but I don't think about what to paint before I paint it. I just...paint. Sai stared at the rice balls on the plate, searching for meaning inside them. He soon came to realize that food may not be the best way to become inspired.
Sai walked to the window. A few familiar faces passed down below, but he thought nothing of it. They all looked like they had their lives together, they didn't have his artistic problems.
It wasn't long until he heard word of a new mission in the morning. He decided to put his mind to rest for now in order to prepare for the next day. While making sure he had all his necessary tools on hand, he caught a glimpse of his only titled painting, Comrades. Sai stopped as he admired his work.
Here he was, readying himself to go on a mission with the same people he drew in his first and only titled work of art. This painting wasn't like any of his other works, despite that fact that it was named. Sai decided not to worry any longer about titling his other works. Those were a chapter in his past, and the only painting that needed the title was the one featuring his comrades.