We join our golden hired hero snarling his way home near sunset after a long very 'troublesome' meeting. He had to meet with the fifth and her two administration advisors, over an age old regulation. He was told that any shinobi of top class priority whom wasn't married before his/her eighteenth birthday would be made to marry someone of the councils choosing. Being the nine-tails jinjuriki had its ups, but this definitely was not one of them. He had only a month to find a girl to date needless to say marry, things really weren't in his favor; plus he wasn't permitted to leave the village for any reasons till he fulfilled the quest, or just gave in.
If it wasn't for Ichiraku's ramen the boy would most probably had lost his top. It's not like he didn't have a girl in mind to attempt to pursue, but the thought of being propelled into a wall or any other nearby object didn't quite feel good. Maybe he should just give up on trying to find a girl, after all they were going to give him one if he wasn't dating or married in a year. The thought arouse to who they'd select he didn't want someone who really wasn't ready to be married or despised his existence completely to be chosen Giving up wasn't what he was gonna do he would find someone, because Naruto Uzumaki never gives up!

He parted ways smiling an joking the entire way out the wooden building He was now only twenty minutes away from his small rundown apartment he still chose to live in. All seemed to be going well since the visit to the ramen stand, till the thought of how to approach his target girl sailed into his mind. It wasn't like he could just walk up to her an say 'Oh, um will you be my girlfriend?' Well he could but the end result would be another unwanted visit to the Kohona hospital. Just choosing to ignore the entire 'Relationship' matter, till a later date.
The sky gave a vicious roar coinciding with the previous flash of light, it wasn't soon after the ground was speckled with fallen rain drops. If it was any other day he would have taken off much like the crazed citizens seemed to be doing around him. He stayed with his long stride until his feet rested in front of an all to familiar old faded blue apartment door. As by mere daily routine a key glided in the lock, with a click it signaled 'open' or at least that's what he thought.

He had pushed forward only to stub up an smack his face on the un-opened door. He stared at it puzzled he knew he had unlocked it, so why wasn't it budging. Once again he pressed to metallic key into its fitting lock an with a flick of the wrist turned it sideways. A click signaling a for sure opening he thrusted the door open finding his place of residence exactly as it always was; a but messy.
He tossed his jacket on the nearest object he continued to move till he came to a slow halt at his closed bedroom door. Wait, closed door? He distinctly remembers how he always kept it open for when he arrived home after one of those long missions. He was a bit shaken at first but slowly proceeded to inch the door open. As the door came to a halt on the metal door stop, his eyes widened at what or who was in his apartment, no 'His Room'.

There she sat knees pulled up to her chest her head resting on her thighs shaking like a flag in the wind. This struck him as odd, but you could say this whole scenario was odd. Sakura Haruno the girl he liked(loved) sat mere feet away. He was on the brink of over reacting, when it hit him like a brick. Today September 10th, the one year anniversary of her parents murder that's why she was here. He felt his heart drop looking at the state she was in.

"Naruto?" she softly sounded.

He eyed her face her jade eyes that he always thought held the heavens beauty seemed clouded. He noticed how her state shifted a little from upset to show relief that he was home.

"Sakura-Chan"

"I'm s-sorry that I jus-"

"Its fine, do you want anything?"

He was relived when she gave him a smile and proceeded to ask for simple things like food or water. It wasn't long before they both were sitting up on the bed resting their backs on the wall behind them. Sakura had positioned herself under his blankets listening to him talk about how many different kinds of ramen he had tried. Then she remembered that he had a meeting with the village council, an she definitely wanted to know what it was about.

"So how did the council meeting go, did they make you next in line for Hokage? she said whole heartedly while nudging him.

"No, but they should have." He said making a pouting face. "They just wanted to... umm..." he froze, he couldn't tell her.

"They wanted to what, Naruto?"

"Oh they just thanked me for saving the village is all." He said hoping she'd buy it.

By her warm smiling expression she had, it wasn't until now that either of them caught the time. Eleven thirty, late for two shinobi to be up, but neither was complaining at the moment.

"Well seeing how its raining, I guess im not going back home." she never really had any plans on going home.

"I guess not." with that he moved to slide off the bed, but was stopped by an arm grabbing his.

"Where do you think you're going?" her voice seemed weak, unlike it was minutes before.

"Well since you're staying, its only appropriate for me to sleep on the couch." it was rash but the solid truth, but her grip on his arm never loosened.

"Well instead of the couch.." she spoke nervously "You could just share the bed with me."

His face shot red he began to shake slightly, she always enjoyed it when she could cause him to go straight into his panic setting. Though this time she was being completely serious about her question, she didn't want to be alone, nor did she want him to go to a different room or sleep on a uncomfortable sofa or floor.

"Sakura-Chan I uh, well I-I..." he couldn't talk total panic had set in.

"You'll be staying right, Naruto?" She sounded desperate especially since she kept tight grip on his arm.

"I-I, yeah i'll be staying" with that said he slowly slid under the same blanket as the pinkette slowly making sure it was fine before hand.
He just laid there staring at his white ceiling listening to the rain pound the roof. He slowly rolled over onto his right side to face the girl next to him.

"Ya' Know, Sakura-Chan we should do this more often.." he said... " Wait! Not this exactly, but hanging out at each others houses."

She smiled at his quick fix of a small mistake, that wasn't really that much of a problem to her at the time, in fact she found it cute somehow.

"We should, but Goodnight Naruto." with that she closed her eyes

"Yeah, Goodnight Sakura-Chan."

He rolled again on to his back smiling, maybe this get a girlfriend in a month thing wasn't so hard, just maybe.