Sakura looked back at him. "Out of all the little details, that's the one you had to remember?"

Naruto grinned. "I thought so. You're taking me to Ichiraku Ramen, Sakura. You promised."

Sakura grumbled. "Fine. But...you do realize you're still only wearing your boxers, right?"

Naruto looked down. "Crap. Let's stop by my house on the way then."

They reached Naruto's house a few minutes later, and Naruto got dressed in his room as Sakura waited by the front door. It was then that he remembered his dream. He pulled the last of his clothes on with a frown, and rejoined Sakura. She looked at him.

"Hey Naruto, why do you look so different all of a sudden?"

Naruto tore his eyes from the ground and up to Sakura's face. Seeing her only made the image of Sasuke and her kissing clearer. "Nothing."

Sakura raised her eyebrows and didn't take her eyes off him as they started down the road to Ichiraku Ramen. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He looked up at her and forced a wide smile. "Let's go get some ramen!"

Sakura laughed as Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the shop, changing his expression back to a frown when she couldn't see his face. They each took a seat at the bar and Naruto ordered a miso-ramen. Once it was brought to him, he dug in, burying his face in the bowl. Eating the ramen made him feel slightly better, and when he finished he was almost back to normal. However, one thing still plagued him. "Hey Sakura?"

Sakura, who had been sitting with her elbow on the bar and her hand on her chin, sat up and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Do you still like Sasuke?" Naruto asked, avoiding her eyes.

"What? Yeah, of course!" Sakura replied without thinking. A second later, she began to actually ponder the question, but Naruto was already getting up.

"I know you were supposed to treat me, but take this anyway," he said blankly, taking a coupon out of his pocket and handing it to her. "Goodbye."

Sakura stared at him and took the coupon silently. She watched him walk away with his hands in his pockets and his face pointed down at the ground.

"Maybe he's still sleepy from the fever..." Sakura thought. She handed the coupon to the owner and got up, walking in the opposite direction from Naruto, thinking about his question. "Do I still like Sasuke?" she asked herself. Her immediate response was, "Of course I do, he's hot!", but once she really thought about it, she wasn't sure. His looks might have been good enough for her when she was twelve, but when she really thought about it, he had been a jerk. Especially when she had tried to stop him from leaving the village...

"Hey, Sakura!"

Sakura looked up and saw Ino, Tenten, and Hinata waving at her from down the street. "Hey guys," she said unenthusiastically once she reached them. "I'm not really in the mood for a "Girls' Day Out", or whatever you're calling it these days," she said.

They frowned at her. "Geez, you're sounding more and more like an old lady every day," Ino commented.

Sakura frowned. "Sorry, I'm just really tired. I stayed up all night at the hospital, and when I finally got to leave I saw Naruto out in the freezing cold in his boxers, so I had to take him there and treat him for a fever. And today he's been acting weird, and when I ask him what's wrong he won't tell me. And I KNOW something's wrong; I was supposed to treat him to ramen and he paid instead!"

All three girls gasped. "Wow, there IS something wrong with him..." Ino replied, tapping her chin in thought.

"Yeah. And to top it off, out of the blue, he asked me if I still liked Sasuke!" Sakura cried. All three girls froze.

"What did you say?" Tenten asked.

"Well, yes, of course."

Even Hinata clapped her hand to her forehead. "Um...t-that might have caused the p-problem, Sakura."

Sakura frowned. "I admit, now that I think about it, that it probably didn't help, but he was acting weird before that."

"Maybe there's a reason Naruto asked you if you still liked Sasuke. Maybe that's the problem. He probably still thinks you do. And since you said yes, I'm guessing he was right to be worried," Ino told her.

"But...I just sort of said that before I thought about it. That might not even be the answer!"

"So...you don't like Sasuke?" Tenten asked.

Sakura scratched her head. "I don't know...this is too confusing, I'm leaving."

"Um...bye then...I guess..." Ino said, giving her a strange look. Sakura turned a leave, and a resounding poof right in front of her face made her jump about a foot in the air.

"Kakashi-sensei, you scared the crap out of me!" Sakura cried. Kakashi looked up from his book.

"Sorry Sakura. We have been assigned a mission today, so I need to know where Naruto is."

"Er...he went that way." Sakura pointed in the other direction.

"Thanks. Meet us at the gates to the village." He poofed away.

Sakura sighed and turned to her friends. "Well, looks like I might not see you guys for a few days," Sakura told them. "Bye."

They all waved, and Sakura turned and ran to the front gates, which were on the other side of the village. When she finally got there, Naruto and Kakashi had already arrived.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're here on time!" Sakura exclaimed. Kakashi didn't look up from his book. "And Naruto..." She looked at him, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.

After a moment, Kakashi looked at them, marking a place in his book and putting it away. "I finished that chapter," he announced. Sakura and Naruto blinked at him.

"Yeah, I know, you don't care. Anyway, I'm sure our mission is important to both of you. We're to capture Sasuke Uchiha."

Sakura and Naruto both looked at him in surprise, then shot quick looks at each other, before looking away nervously.

"Yup...soooo...let's go then..." Kakashi said, sensing the awkwardness. The gates were opened for them, and they both headed out on the main road. "He was recently spotted about five miles away from here, so if we hurry, we might run into him. Pakkun should be able to help." Kakashi quickly summoned him.

"Hey guys!" Pakkun said cheerfully, looking from Sakura to Naruto. They both frowned and looked away. Kakashi looked at Pakkun and shrugged, then quickly explained the mission.

Pakkun sniffed the ground. "Nope, he hasn't been here. But let's move towards where he was spotted, and then maybe I'll get the scent."

Kakashi nodded and leaped into the nearest tree. Sakura and Naruto followed. They leaped from tree to tree for a few minutes, before reaching a clearing with a burnt-out fire in the middle.

"Do you think he was here?" Sakura asked Naruto as Kakashi and Pakkun investigated. Naruto shrugged, focusing on his feet. "Hey, Naruto..." Sakura said, poking him in the shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Naruto looked up at her face, and the image flashed through his mind again. "Dammit..." he thought. He grit his teeth. "I said nothing!" he told her, looking down at his feet again. If he had been looking at her face, he would have seen her eyes flash angrily.

"Fine. I'll stop asking," she said coldly.

"Good," Naruto replied emotionlessly. He walked away from her, towards the burnt wood from the fire. "Why is this bothering me so much?" he asked himself. "It wasn't even real!"

Sakura, meanwhile, was heading towards Kakashi, ignoring Naruto along the way. "Was he here?" she asked Pakkun, who nodded in return. "Then why aren't we going?" she asked.

"We were just about to set off, Sakura. Let's go." He hopped back into a tree, and Sakura and Pakkun followed. After a moment, Naruto followed into step behind them.

After over six hours of following Sasuke's scent, Pakkun stopped. "I need a rest," he told them.

"What!" Sakura cried. "There's no way you're tired already!" She set her jaw. "We have...to keep...looooooooooking..." she said the last word mid-yawn. Kakashi looked from her to Naruto, who also looked slightly drowsy.

"Alright, let's take a rest here."

"What!" Naruto cried. "No! I'm going after him!" Naruto tried to hop past them, but Kakashi grabbed his shirt and held him back.

"Naruto, I know you're tired. We'll never be able to capture Sasuke if we don't take a break and sleep," Kakashi said. Naruto sighed and slumped, jumping to the ground when Kakashi let go of him.

"Fine. But we're not sleeping for very long, okay?"

"Right," Sakura agreed.

"Sure, Naruto," Kakashi said lazily, knowing full well he could wait until noon the next day to wake them up if he wanted to.

They all gathered sticks and set up a fire in a nearby clearing, and pretty soon Kakashi and Pakkun were lying on the ground, half-asleep. Naruto and Sakura both sat by the fire, watching the flames dance and crackle. Sakura glanced over at Naruto, who sat with his hand against his cheek, staring into the flames.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura tried again, despite her earlier promises.

"What?" he asked with a tinge of annoyance, not looking away from the fire.

Sakura frowned angrily. "Nevermind."

A few minutes passed.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not. If I was, I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

"Well, whatever. I suppose ignore wasn't the right word. You're acting weird though. It'll get in the way of our mission and teamwork if you don't shape up."

Naruto sneered, still not looking at her. "Oh yeah, wouldn't want my problems to get in the way of your precious Sasuke," he snarled, still not tearing his eyes away from the fire.

Sakura glared at him. "He's not my "precious Sasuke", he's our friend!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Some friend."

Sakura looked at him. "What is wrong with you today?"

Naruto merely shook his head. Sakura growled angrily. The flames seemed to spring upwards to match her feelings. She narrowed her eyes at him, but Naruto still sat calmly with his hand on his cheek. Something flared up inside of Sakura. She jumped at him and tackled him to the ground, pinning his arms and legs down with her own and staring him in the face.

"LOOK AT ME!"

Naruto's eyes widened, but he averted them without a reply, looking over at Kakashi and Pakkun, who were now asleep. He felt Sakura tighten her hold on him, and with a pang of fear realized she was stronger. This seemed to dawn on Sakura too, and she grabbed both his wrists with one hand instead, pinning them above his head. She used her other hand to grab his face and make him look at her.

"You're going to tell me what's wrong...now."

Naruto gulped, staring into her eyes. The image kept replaying and replaying in them, and Naruto shut his eyes after a moment and let out a whimper. "Stop it!" he cried. Sakura looked at him with surprise, and let his arms go without thinking. Both of his hands flew to his head, and he laid on the ground, clutching his head with his eyes squeezed shut.

"Naruto! Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura cried, getting off of him and kneeling next to him as her anger ebbed away, laying a hand softly on his shoulder. After a moment, Naruto calmed down, opening his eyes slowly and looking away from her. "Naruto...why won't you look at me?" Sakura asked softly. She laid her other hand on his arm and felt him flinch.

"I..." Naruto started. Sakura looked down at him with an unfamiliar feeling in her chest. Naruto's head was turned to the side so she was looking at his profile. Immediately her eyes flew to his lips. She felt a sudden magnetic attration, and for a second she wanted to...Sakura shook the thought off, instead squeezing his shoulder to let him know she was listening.

"Um...I sorta had a dream last night," Naruto said. Sakura nodded, and Naruto must have seen it out of the corner of his eye, for he continued. "In the dream, I was behind a bush, and you and Sasuke were in a clearing. I was spying on you. Sasuke had told you to meet him there, and you thought he wanted to train with you. But instead...he kissed you. And you kissed back." Naruto swallowed sharply. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.

"And what did you do?" she asked.

Naruto looked down at the ground. "I ran. When I got home, I was really sad because I thought that meant you hated me. So...I got a knife, and...uh...yeah. Then I woke up."

Sakura stared at him. "So, you had a dream that I kissed Sasuke. I understand that part. But why won't you look at me. It was just a dream, Naruto. I didn't really kiss him."

Naruto glared at her feet. "Every single time I look at your face, I see you making out with him in that clearing. Do you know what that feels like?"

Only half of Sakura's mind was in the conversation at this point. The other half was busy watching Naruto's lips move, imagining what it would feel like to...

"Stop!" Sakura exclaimed. She knew she was being extremely insensitive. Naruto's head jerked up, and he remembered just in time to avoid looking at her face.

"What?" Naruto said with a tinge of anger.

"Sorry, I didn't mean you...just, never mind," Sakura told him. "And no, I don't know what it feels like. I haven't ever had a dream like that..." Sakura was met with a brief image of Hinata making out with Naruto. She shivered. "I'm sure it would be pretty unpleasant though. At any rate, we should finish this conversation later, once we capture Sasuke. Let's go to sleep."

They both laid down a few feet away from each other. Naruto put both arms behind his head and stared up at the sky. "I'm glad I got all this off my chest. I don't know what it'll take to change the whole looking thing though."

"I'm sure it'll wear off eventually," Sakura told him. Suddenly she remembered something. "Hey Naruto..."

"Yeah?"

"You know the question you asked me at Ichiraku Ramen today?"

"You mean if you liked Sasuke?"

"Yeah. I changed my mind. I don't." She rolled over to face him, just in time to see a grin spread across his face. "Goodnight Naruto."

"Goodnight, Sakura."