A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys. I had to do some pretty hardcore storyboarding and I'm pretty sure on how this entire series is going to pan out now. So thank you to those who reviewed and are reading so far! I hope you enjoy the story and bear with the plot until it picks up! Like always, please review and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 2: The Silence Before The Storm

The night air was cool and peaceful in Konohagakure. It was quiet and hardly any lights could be seen as far as the eye could see. All except in a particularly happening side of town. In a particularly busy restaurant, Keiko's, people were coming in and out. Waiters were hustling around to take and serve orders, customers were chatting, and that usual air of happiness was surrounding it. About midway to the back, in a booth with the largest window in the restaurant, sat a beautiful, pink haired kunoichi.

She was staring out at the stunning, starry night sky complete with a full moon sending pools of luminescent light down onto the dark earth. Her soft yet battle proven hands were fidgeting with the napkin that lay in front of her, clear signs of stress evident in her composure.

Where is he? She thought as she gritted her teeth. He should've been here over 30 minutes ago.

Even though she knew no one in the room was noticing her being alone, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She was supposed to meet a certain someone here to discuss their upcoming mission and go over the routes they were going to take to get there, but their original meeting time was coming close to an hour ago.

The kunoichi still had her typical ninja garb on, complete with her red shirt, tight black shorts, and the tan covering that rests on top of her shorts. Their meeting wasn't supposed to be anything formal, just a quick talk and something to drink. But she had grown impatient and their meeting was apparently not going to happen.

That idiot.. I'm gonna kill him the next time I see him! Ditching me like this, he's so irresponsible! She thought as she slowly rose, tossing the napkin onto the wooden table.

Suddenly, there was a crash as a blonde man barreled through the swinging, double door entrance and collided with a waiter who was carrying trays of food with both hands. Food, drinks, and curse words were flung around the room as the two fell to the ground. The room fell completely silent as everyone stared at the scene that just unfolded in front of them.

"Watch where you're going, jerk off!" the waiter said angrily as he scrambled around on the ground, picking up the wreckage. "I had my arms full with food that isn't easy to-"

The waiter froze as he finally looked at who exactly it was that crashed into him.

"Oh! Mr. Uzumaki, sir! I'm so sorry! I had no idea, I mean I didn't know that it was you when I-" the waiter rambled as he nervously looked at Naruto.

"Hey, hey. Calm down, man! You shouldn't even be apologizing right now, It's my fault! You've got every right to be mad. Here, let me help you clean this up," Naruto replied as he chuckled and scratched his head.

"N-n-no, sir, you don't have to do that. It's my fault, I'm just clumsy, you go take a seat and we'll take your order immediately and it'll be on the house," the waiter said as he kept his head down and hurriedly picked up the fallen items.

"No, I won't accept that. This is my fault and I'm not gonna let anyone else take the blame," Naruto said as he shook his head.

Naruto grabbed all that was around him and placed it on the empty trays. When they were both filled up, Naruto stood up and brushed off his already dirty training clothes. The waiter scrambled to his feet, bowed and thanked Naruto, grabbed his trays, and rushed to the kitchen.

After seeing this, a murmur of excitement went through the crowd. Everyone was excited to see the legendary savior of Konoha. All except one.

"Naruto!"

Naruto whipped around to see one very angry woman storming toward him.

"O-oh, hey Sakura! Sorry I'm late, I was on this mountain and it took me forever to get down, not to mention the heat and what not slowing me down. I would've been here sooner but-"

The pink haired kunoichi known as Sakura Haruno punched Naruto right in the arm.

"Ah! Come on, Sakura! I didn't mean to be late!" Naruto said, rubbing his now bruised arm.

Sakura grabbed him by the hand and drug him back to the booth, Naruto following nervously. The crowd was in total shock at the events that just unfolded. A celebrity being pushed around like he was a rag doll? That's not typically common place. Seeing that the scene was over, though, the people returned to their meals and conversations.

"Alright, Naruto. You've got about 5 seconds to explain yourself before I pummel you into next week!" Sakura said angrily, fire burning in her emerald eyes.

"Just listen to me, Sakura, I promise I've got a good reason," Naruto replied as he chuckled and looked back into her eyes.

Sakura softened a little at the eye contact and settled back into her seat.

"Well, alright then. Let's hear it," Sakura said as she let out a sigh.

Naruto began to tell her about all the events of the day. Everything from the journey to the mountains, to the cave, to the dagger, then back to how he go there. Sakura listened to all of this in silence, nodding at points to show that she was listening. When Naruto concluded, Sakura leaned forward and looked to be deep in thought.

"So, you said you found something that was inside, a dagger, right? Do you have it with you?" Sakura asked, her eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah I do, but I don't want to get it out here. I plan on taking it to Tsunade to let her take a look at it. I don't know what it is, Sakura, but I know it's not good." Naruto said back with a tone of seriousness.

"Alright, I understand. Let's go ahead and go now, I'm sure she's still awake. Probably drinking or something," Sakura replied, laughing slightly.

"Ya know, I bet she is," Naruto said back, laughing as well. "Let's go."

Tsunade sat at her desk in silence as she listened to Naruto's report. After hearing it all, she leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in front of her face in deep thought. She had no idea what exactly Naruto encountered.

"Oh, and here's the dagger that I found in there," Naruto said as he rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the item.

The blade was totally black with a golden, gleaming hilt. It seemed to be elegantly made and had a strange aura surrounding it. The same language that could be seen in the cave was engraved all along the hilt and even the actual blade.

Naruto handed it to Tsunade and stepped back. Tsunade turned it over in her hands and ran a finger across the hilt.

"So this is the language that was in the cave, right?" Tsunade asked as she looked back up at Naruto.

"Yeah, granny. I don't have a clue what any of it means, though," Naruto affirmed as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his blue pants.

"Hmm.. well this is.. interesting to say the least. Do you mind if I keep it here to have the scholars examine in the labs?" Tsunade asked as she stared at the apparent artifact.

"Sure. It's not like I've got any use for that old thing," Naruto chided as he chuckled.

Sakura, who was standing beside him, punched him in the arm.

"Show some respect you idiot! You may have just found something spectacular," Sakura hissed.

"Easy, Sakura.. That's the second time today.." Naruto grumbled to himself as he rubbed his already bruised arm.

"Why don't you quit being such a big baby and act like a man," Sakura whispered as she massaged her temples in frustration.

"You two should get a room," Tsunade said as she laughed. "Sakura I remember when I was your age and I flirted with guys like that. Most of the time we'd go eat somewhere nice, he'd pay of course, then we'd head back to his place and-"

"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura cried as her face turned beet red. She was gripping her shorts tightly.

Naruto just looked as if he had a huge, sudden interest in the weather outside. He fidgeted with the bottom of his jacket. Tsunade just laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the Hokage's office. After she controlled her laughter she wiped a tear and leaned forward.

"Anyway, I'll send this down to the scholars and they'll take a look at this. In the meantime, you two should go have a good time. You'll be leaving for quite a while in a few days for the friendly relations mission to the Land of Sound," Tsunade said as she was still stifling her laughter a little. "Oh and well done on the find, Naruto. I'll let you know what they find out about it."

"Thanks, Granny. Means a lot. Not like I did if for you or anything like that-"

Sakura suddenly grabbed Naruto by the ear and yanked downward. Naruto let out a yelp of pain.

"Thank you, My Lady! We'll just be going now!" Sakura said with a smile as she dragged Naruto out of the room, Naruto complaining all the way out.

After they were gone, Tsunade shook her head and laughed.

"Those two really are something else.." Tsunade whispered as she smiled and went back to work finishing the last of her papers so she could go home.

"Would it kill you to be a little more polite to our Hokage?" Sakura asked as she walked alongside Naruto down the dark yet beautiful streets of nighttime Konoha.

"It's just Granny Tsunade. She knows that I'm not being disrespectful," Naruto replied with his hands behind his head.

"Even when you are being disrespectful?" Sakura stated, one eyebrow raised.

Naruto just looked down for a minute and kept walking in silence.

"Alright, you win this one, Sakura!" Naruto finally said as he laughed. "I'll be more polite next time."

Sakura smiled and looked over at Naruto.

Over the last two years, Naruto had changed a little bit. His blonde hair was a little longer, he had a little facial hair now, and he had grown another inch or so. Sakura, on the other hand, has grown her hair out just a little longer, she filled out more, and she became one of the most beautiful women in all of Konoha. Most people questioned how a girl like her was still single.

"Hey, Naruto," Sakura said as she poked him playfully on the arm and stopped walking.

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto said as he chuckled and playfully poked her back and stopped as well.

"Everyone's heading over to Sasuke's to hang out," Sakura began. "And I would love it if you came with me."

Naruto's heart began to beat faster and his palms became sweaty. Ever since the war, Naruto and Sakura's relationship has been complicated. They weren't exactly "just friends" anymore but they weren't dating either. So Naruto still got nervous whenever they started heading in the dating direction.

"Uh.. Yeah, sure!" Naruto stammered out as he smiled brightly at Sakura.

"Alright, awesome," Sakura replied with a wide grin. She grabbed Naruto's hand and hurried of in the direction of Sasuke's.

They arrived at the large home of Sasuke Uchiha in a matter of minutes. After Sasuke had returned to the village, he inherited all of his clan's area and homes. So Sasuke resided in the largest home in the Uchiha sector. The house was large and articulate. It was amazingly vibrant considering Sasuke was such a dark person.

Naruto and Sakura walked up the small, stone pathway as the headed for the front door. After arriving at the door, Naruto knocks on it.

"We're pretty late, everyone's probably already here," Sakura said quietly as she toed a pebble on the ground with her foot.

"That's alright. Better late than never!" Naruto responded as he laughed.

There was a padding of feet and the door slid open revealing Sasuke Uchiha.

"What's up, idiot," Sasuke said with a smirk as he looked at Naruto, then he turned to Sakura. "What's up, Sakura. Come on in, guys. Just head for the back, that's where everyone is."

Sakura giggled and Naruto gritted his teeth. They removed their sandals and placed them by the door. They, then, walked toward the small door connecting the front room to the living room. Naruto was first to the door. He slid it open and stepped through, only to realize that it was completely dark in the next room. Sakura and Sasuke entered behind him and stepped to the side.

"Uh, guys. Shouldn't we turn the lights on?" Naruto said as he looked around.

"Surprise!"

The lights suddenly shot on and the room was revealed to be full of Naruto's friends. Kiba, Shikamaru, Hinata, Lee, TenTen, Choji, Ino, and Shino.

"Happy 19th birthday, Naruto!" they all said in unison.

They all clapped and hooped and hollered. Naruto just laughed and looked back at Sakura. She smiled back at him warmly.

"Nice one, Sakura. I had no idea!" Naruto said to her as she giggled. "Thanks, guys! You didn't have to do this."

They all just laughed and said that they did. Who could forget the hero's birthday?

"Now, let's party!" Kiba bellowed as he turned the music on.

A few hours later, the party was wrapping up and people started saying their goodbyes and heading home. After everyone had left, Sasuke went off to his bedroom. Leaving Sakura and Naruto downstairs alone. They left and began to head home, but Sakura insisted on going to Naruto's house for a while. After arriving there, they walked into the living room.

"Thanks, Sakura. I know you put this together, even though I told you not to do anything for my birthday!" Naruto said as he laughed and sat down on the couch.

"Now, Naruto. How could I not throw you a party?" Sakura replied flirtatiously as she ran a hand through her hair and plopped down next to Naruto on the couch.

"Well, thanks Sakura. This was awesome, I had a great time," Naruto responded as he looked at Sakura.

"Of course. When isn't it a fun party when I'm there? I would be offended if you said you didn't have a great time," Sakura said as she winked.

Naruto just sat there and looked at Sakura for a moment. "You really are amazing, Sakura."

She looked up and met his gaze, smiling gently. She reached over and placed her hand on top of his which was on his knee. Naruto stiffened at the contact but quickly relaxed as Sakura rubbed soothing circles on his hand. A new found courage shot through Naruto as he assessed the situation and he did something he'd been wanting to do for his entire life.

Naruto raised his free hand to her cheek and leaned in, his lips meeting hers, all in one motion. Sakura immediately returned the kiss, seemingly expecting it. Naruto deepened the kiss and leaned into her. She wrapped her arms around him in response and closed the distance between them. They fell back on the couch together, fully embraced. Naruto reached up and flipped off the light. The moon's soft light shown through the window as the wind blew softly. The night was quiet as they lay together on the small, living room couch.

End of Chapter 2