Naruto sighed as he tended to a special little plant, that was tucked safely away right by his house. It would bloom once the sun set, and show its delicate white petals to the world. This would be the first night he could witness its blooming in a long time. The last time... had been with him...

-flashback-

It was while they were on the road during the three year training trip that he had seen it first. They were camping out between two towns, and Naruto had needed to use the bushes in the middle of the night. At first he had thought about the last time he'd done so, but the mysterious waterfall dancer wasn't anywhere to be seen that night, instead it was Jiraiya sitting at the edge of a field smoking his pipe.

Naruto was going to go over and talk with him, but his sensei had motioned him to instead sit and watch the field with him. Not three minutes later, the clouds had parted and let the full moon spill forth from the heavens, and dance over the field before them. As the moon shone down, stars seemed to twinkle back from the dark field, echoing back the light the moon gave them. As he looked out over the field he felt that he was suddenly drifting miles over the earth, surrounded by the stars as far as the eyes could see.

Jiraiya smiled sadly and whispered. "This brat... this is beauty that no words could capture..."

Naruto swallowed the shout he was going to barrage Jiraiya with, and instead let the beauty wash over him, as an unfamiliar wetness caressed his cheeks. It wasn't sadness that caused the tears, but rather joy. Joy and love.

-end of flashback-

Sitting back against his southern wall, to enjoy the view as best he was able, he raised a cup of warm sake to the heavens. "This one's for you Ero-sennin..." Naruto whispered quietly, before downing the fiery liquid that warmed him to his toes.

Just as the clouds parted, and the moon came out fully, the first of the blossoms opened up, shining out their light for all the world to see. Pouring out two more saucers, he smiled as he heard a poof of an appearing person on the wall behind him. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, join me for a drink?"

"I wish I could Hokage-sama..." Kakashi answered respectfully before dropping down next to Naruto his Sharingan eye focused on the flowers against the Hokage's house. "This is not a sight to miss... but Iruka ordered me home as soon as possible..."

Naruto smiled and held out his hand, accepting the mission report from his former teacher. "Stop by some other time then..." And with barely a nod, Kakashi was gone, back to the one he loved. Naruto downed another saucer of sake and sighed. "Alone again..."