Yesterday morning.

"You don't like raw meat?"

Choji's voice echoed from the bowl which hid his entire face. Naruto had been poking at his wagyu beef for some time now and Choji was starting to worry.

"Nah. I do," Naruto muttered. Choji dropped his bowl and continued an ongoing theory on fried dumplings. He believed dumplings to symbolize enduring friendships, being delicate and flimsy on the outside but warm and tender within. He nodded, agreeing with himself and the satisfaction of having struck an idea of which Shikamaru had never thought. Naruto tuned him out. The clanking of pots and chop sticks against porcelain drowned out all syllables of the connoisseur's rant.

Clink. Clank. Clank.

Choji motioned towards the chef, a pinched smile between his balloon-like cheeks.

"One more please."

The chef nodded.

"Sure thing. And you Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head. The chef disappeared into the back and returned with another bowl, filled to the brim with his trademark broth.

Clink. Clank. Clank.

"Thanks," Choji said.

He turned back to Naruto whose chopsticks had now found their way to a burnt strip of pork.

Clink. Clank. Clank.

"What's the matter, man?"

No response.

"Lady Tsunade giving you problems? Kakashi running you on dumb missions?"

Nothing.

"Is it a girl?"

Naruto winced. Clink, clink, CLANK.

He adjusted his seat. His right thigh had gone numb without his noticing.

"I guess you could say that," Naruto said.

"What happened?" Choji asked. He slurped a healthy portion of broth, halfway through his new bowl already.

Naruto laid his chopsticks down. He had not wished to talk about it, let alone over a delicious bowl of ramen, but the atmosphere was creeping in on him. Choji was too friendly of a guy to keep secrets from and the room was loud enough so that even the most skilled Sound Ninja couldn't eavesdrop on them.

Maybe talking about it would help, he thought.

"I got," Naruto began. He stopped, then composed himself. "I got into a...Sakura is mad at me."

Choji ceased mid-chew.

"Oh man. Is everything okay?"

Naruto fidgeted again.

"No. I tried to tell her to...calm her down. She's been working really hard as of late. Ever since Granny Tsunade got sick, Sakura's been covering some of her lectures and…doing okay with it, I guess."

"Good for her." Choji's face was buried bowl-deep again. "Wait, isn't that hard?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Well, not for her. And normally, I'd be proud but she hasn't been taking care of herself. No sleep, food, rest, nothing. Two weeks straight!"

"That's bad."

"Yeah. She's delivering a speech tomorrow on some 'new cellular-regrowth-something.' I told her to take it easy and she…she yelled at me."

Naruto's frown flashed into a grimace. His hand had suddenly balled into a fist.

Choji took a moment to grasp the situation. He knew Sakura to be a self-absorbed overachiever but he also knew food to be a necessary component of one's life. The two simply didn't mix in extreme portions. And Naruto's frustration seemed justified, though a little melodramatic. His crush on her obviously escalated matters.

"What did you do then," Choji asked. His bowl was empty, traces of pepper and residue left in the center.

"I fought...I guess I argued with her. Told her that she shouldn't do that. Then she called me insensitive. Said I didn't know how big of a deal this upcoming demonstration was to her and she need to work hard at it."

Naruto could hear her words over the clamor of the shop. Sakura wasn't particularly angry at him—she had said so herself. But she didn't like being told what to do either. It was the type of girl she was. Unfortunately, Naruto was the type to let her words sting him as such. After their exchange, she walked away, back to her books, back to Lady Tsunade's study, and Naruto knew not to chase.

The chef, who had been listening the entire time, dropped in.

"Don't let a girl bring you down, Naruto-kun. Sometimes women are like boiling cups of tea," he said. "You gotta let 'em cool down before you sip 'em."

His chuckle boomed throughout restaurant. A waitress, who had been passing through the kitchen, elbowed the old chef in the gut. He winced then motioned a smile towards Naruto.

"See?"

But Naruto was lost in his thoughts again.

Choji called for the check.

They exited the noodle shop and walked along the brazen dust path. The weather was hot, abnormally hot for this time of spring. Early cherry blossoms wrinkled under the heat, sprouting clusters of dying petals. The populace reacted as well. Tank tops, floral parasols, sandals—summer fashion for a late March day.

As such, a crowd had gathered about the Hot-Hot-Yogurt stand and the vendors rushed to accommodate all orders. Choji followed suit and joined the ranks of the audience. He browsed through the storefront menus briskly but stopped after realizing he had left Naruto behind. The jumpsuited hero was twenty paces back. He seemed to trudge through his steps like a fox whose leg had been crushed by a clamp trap. Choji receded and waited for him.

"You know, you could do something nice for her." Choji said.

Naruto lifted his chin, attentive.

"Whenever Ino's angry at me, I just give her a cup of vanilla pudding. Cheers her up golden. Well, she stops yelling at me, at least." Choji glanced between the vendors and his friend. He needed to finish his point soon before the line got too long. "Get her a present or something. Girls like presents. I think."

Naruto paused. He remembered stories of Ero-Sennin and how the old man would write Tsunade poems on occasion. Of course, the bulk of his writing was sleazy and amorous and sometimes way too convoluted. Yet, once every blue moon, the old man would weave a magical stanza that somehow made her blush (according to Jiraiya's own words).

The idea wasn't too outrageous. It had been a while since Naruto had done something nice for Sakura. Lee had told him the promise to bring back Sasuke was a fantastic gift, one worthy of a true warrior. But the mission had failed abysmally. No Sasuke, no good news. Nothing to bring back home but empty hands.

This was all a stark contrast to the moments Sakura had stuck her neck out for Naruto: their first lunch together, survival training with Team 7, the Forest of Death fiasco, and visits during countless recoveries. He recalled the hug Sakura had given him after defeating Pain. The slight scent of flowers amidst burning debris. The holes in his hand, forgotten. He could feel her fingers wrap around the back of his neck and rest softly there. She had only uttered a "thank you," yet it had brightened his entire day, as if embracing a star and not burning with it. He wondered if the crowd was cheering for Pain's defeat or simply for the two of them.

Naruto decided: he would get Sakura a gift and, hopefully, she would forgive his insolence. He need only figure out what "that gift" would be. He turned to thank Choji but found no one.

"Choji?"

Choji had probably run back to the ice cream shop, he thought. Naruto's smile returned.

"That guy, I swear he could eat a person's weight in food."