Authors Note:

Well I'm sure a lot of you are probably pretty angry with me for taking so long, the rest of you probably don't even remember about this story. I want to really apologize for taking what seems to be half a year to get this updated. I could make a lot of excuses including starting my own business and trying to keep up with my college courses, but that probably doesn't really make a difference to you guys. Nonetheless I finial got to spring break and had some free time so I wrote Movement III to this fic. I hope to be able to update much more frequently, but once again, college takes precedent, but I will try. So I hope you can forgive me for taking so long, but hopefully this update will make up for at least a little. Once again, apologize, please review, and enjoy the story.


-Movement III-

Adagio

One of the biggest questions I've devised while in this world is the question: What defines who we are? What makes us unique? More importantly, what is this thing we call the soul? Is it how we look? No, looks, as you know, can be deceiving. Is it how we act? No, people often say and do things they don't mean to. Perhaps what defines us is something more external, something more abstract. Perhaps it is the connections that we share with one another. When two people meet, become friends, perhaps even fall in love. Are we defined by how others view us, how others feel about us? Maybe, just maybe, this thing we call the soul, is that sense of joy and warmth we feel around our friends, our family, and our loved ones. Maybe it is these connections that we share with one another, that truly give us the meaning in life that we all deeply desire and need.

Sakura rolled over in bed, frowning when her hand met and empty space where Naruto should have been. It was Sakura's first day off in three weeks; Tsunade had been working her to the bone, so in turn Sakura was enjoying a well deserved morning to sleep in. Still she knew that Naruto had some sort of mission today and had probably already left. It was then that she sensed a presence behind her as her husband's lips pressed to the back of her head. Smiling she rolled over and looked up at a very handsome blond.

"Did I wake you? Sorry, I was trying to be quiet; I wanted to let you sleep in on your day off."

"Hmm no it's fine, I'm glad I caught you before you left for work today." She smiled drawing him in for a good morning kiss. "Actually I'm going to go meet some friend's later today for lunch, I've been so busy lately that my social life has been non-existent."

"Whatever makes you happy my dear." He smiled back

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You are so corny." And with a smile she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body up against his. His arms wrapped protectively around Sakura's back and a warm sensation washed over the two. "Come back to me safely ok?" she whispered in his ear, as she always did before they parted.

Naruto nuzzled into Sakura's neck, "I promise, always." He leaned back and looked into his lover's eyes, "I have to go now," he cupped her face in his hands and mouthed those three words which she returned silently before he turned and walked out the door.

Her eyes stayed trained on the bedroom door even long after she heard him leave the front door. Reaching behind her, Sakura grabbed Naruto's pillow and wrapped her arms around it tightly. It wasn't the same, but it would have to do.

It would be several more hours before the sun decided to creep past the horizon and rouse the sleeping Sakura to finally get out of bed. Pulling herself from the warmth of the sheets, a small shiver overtook her and she quickly darted to the shower. It was winter time in Konoha again, and even though the sun shone as brightly as ever, a chilly wind had decided to make its home in the village for the time being. The hot water of the shower was a decent enough escape from the shiver and offered to clear the sleep from her eyes. Despite Sakura's apparent punctual nature, the only way she was able to arrive on time to work was by waking up several hours earlier. Simply put, Sakura was not a morning person. She often blamed it on Naruto's morning habits, though they both knew she had always been like that.

Suddenly cold water poured from the showerhead and Sakura groaned. Lately Sakura had been making Naruto shower more because she simply couldn't stand the stench we wreaked of after training. Unfortunately, in his ever vigilant quest to keep Sakura as happy as possible, Naruto had now taken the act of showering to a whole new level, and thus used up all the hot water. Frantically scrubbing the shampoo out of her hair and shivering, Sakura resolved to scold her husband later.

Soon she was wrapped in a warm towel and digging through her drawer for something to wear out with her friends. She blushed and a smirk overtook her face as she set aside a pair of her sexy underwear. She remembered how red Naruto's face got when she first showed them to him. She had bought them on a whim, a compulsion buy, a gift for Naruto's birthday some years back. The act has surprised her as well, such an act was not like her, but after seeing Naruto's reaction, she was glad she took the chance.

She didn't know how long she stood there; daydreaming like a little girl of all the romantic moments she had shared with her husband. Her husband, the thought of it still made her giddy. Sakura felt as if she was living the romantic fantasy that many women dream about, even if it was with an unlikely knight in orange and black armor.

"Crap! I'm going to be late at this rate!" Dropping the remnants of a very fun birthday night, Sakura grabbed the first thing she saw in the closet and pulled it on as she rushed out the door.

"Going to be late" is a relative phrase when you're a trained ninja who can get to anywhere in the village in about five minutes or less. Still when Sakura arrived at the small Café, Ino rolled her eyes, "I'm telling you Sakura pig, that Naruto is a bad influence on you, showing up late? Not the Sakura I remember!" sitting with Ino was Tenten, a dazed Hinata, and Temari sporting a multitude of children.

Sakura rolled her eyes and slid into an open seat, "I just got distracted and lost track of the time..."

Temari sipped her tea; "Daydreaming about that Naruto no doubt" she said nonchalantly, a thin grin on her face. Sakura tried to stammer out a response but failed miserably as her face turned red and she looked away, embarrassed.

Tenten couldn't help but to giggle, "You know it's true. Don't feel bad though, I think Hinata is constantly daydreaming, you can talk about her and she won't hear a thing, lost in her own little world. Isn't that right Hinata?"

Hinata was staring of into space as Tenten called her name again. Hinata blinked several times before acknowledging Tenten's words, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Tenten just laughed, "See? Always off thinking about Kiba."

Ino rolled her eyes, "More like thinking about Kiba in bed, from the sounds of it, it's amazing he ever makes it out of the house in the morning with how often she wants to do it. Who ever thought that Hinata of all people would turn out to be the crazy one?"

"The quiet ones are always the one you have to look out for" remarked Temari silently sipping her tea.

"If that's the case then Ino must be totally harmless," snickered Sakura.

Ino scowled and whapped the back of Sakura's head, "Oh shut up pig!" The whole group burst out laughing, even a scowling Ino couldn't help but to smile a little.

Sakura sat back in her chair, a warm feeling drawing over her heart. This was her life, it wasn't full of riches or fame or the grandeur that she imagined when she was a child chasing empty dreams. No, her life was simple, but not plain. It was full of friendship and happiness, a wonderful husband and love. Her life was now what she had often forgotten about or never thought of in the first place when she was younger. A curious thing, to get everything out of nothing, but Sakura still accredited to the people that had surrounded her, especially Naruto, despite her best attempts to shove it all away. Still she was…content with this life, it wasn't a constant struggle to remain happy as she had once assumed, instead it was simple, stable, and easygoing, and in this, Sakura had discovered what she really had wanted all along.

Sakura was obviously spacing out again; luckily the waiter appeared before anyone could remark on her distracted state. The waiter went around the table taking orders, Sakura ordered a bowl of ramen of all things, she knew it wasn't as good as the stuff at Ichiraku's but she had a craving and was compelled to satisfy it. Ino just sighed and made some remark about Naruto turning Sakura into a copy of himself, and then proceeded to order 3 or 4 items on the menu for herself.

It had been clear that after Ino's quick marriage to Choji a couple years back, she had since completely forgotten about her perpetual diet and had put on a lot of weight. Ino looked back and stared at the table of friends staring at her, amazed with the volume of food she would undoubtedly consume. "Psh, once you go fat you never go back." she scoffed, grabbing the small basket of bread from the center of the table and dragging it to her feasting mouth.

Sakura shrugged and looked back at the rest of the table, "Hey Temari, where did you say Shikamaru went off to again?"

The blond just rolled her eyes, "He ran off to work the second I asked him to watch the kids. Luckily Kiba graciously offered to watch them for me, he said something about being too sore to go home right now as he ran off, whatever that means." She replied with a shrug, "Still I suppose it's good that he went into work, I don't think he's gone in for a couple of days this week."

A large chunk of bread fell from Ino's mouth, "He hasn't been in for days? Can you even IMAGINE the amount of unfinished paperwork there is to be done? Someone needs to do something, someone like me!" She exclaimed as she bolted from her seat, "There's not a moment to lose, the safety of the village rests in my hands! Waiter, I need my order to go!" as she grabbed the food from the approaching waiter and dashed down the street.

"…A bit of a hero complex it seems" murmured a perplexed Temari.

"Well, has anyone seen her actually win a fight on her own?" asked Tenten.

"Hey now be nice," replied Sakura, defending her childhood friend, "and no..." she said with a guilty smirk, "Oh, thank you" as she took the bowl of ramen that the waiter had just brought to the table. "So Tenten, where is Neji today? I know you two just got back from your honeymoon recently right?"

"Oh Neji is out on a three day mission with Shino, I'm not sure exactly what it's about but I can imagine it'll be pretty uneventful." She replied.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "what makes you say that?"

"Think about it," interjected Temari, "if any two people could go on a 3 day mission without speaking more than two words to each other, those two could."

Sakura giggled, playing out a 'conversation' between the two in her head. " '…Bugs…' '…Indeed…' " the rest of the table must have had the same thought as they all laughed simultaneously.

Tenten finally shook her laughter, "But yes, we did just get back from honeymooning in the mountains north of the Valley Country. Not my first choice, Neji isn't as naturally talented in romance as say, Naruto.." Sakura immediately blushed much to Tenten's humor, "But Neji did develop this variation of his 128 Strikes…" Tenten shuddered in ecstasy, "Biggest orgasm ever…"

"Hmph, Shikamaru gave me one this morning from across the room." Scoffed Temari, "You probably can't even imagine…"

Tenten rolled her eyes, "I don't even want to know what she does with Kiba to get off," motioning to a still daydreaming Hinata.

"Well he does take Akamaru…everywhere…"

"….gross." responded Tenten, sticking her tongue out.

An awkward silence blanketed the table, but an uninterested Sakura could only sit there and blush. Tenten finally noticed Sakura's red face and let out a groan, "Don't tell me that Naruto…"

"Clones…" murmured Sakura, turning even more red, "lots of clones."

Even Temari cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Well not all of us are lucky enough to have a man with that level of chakra…" as she sat back in her seat pouting.

Tenten shook he head, "Well I suppose you two had a fun honeymoon then huh? Speaking of which, if I remember, you never really told me how that went."

It was true, the kind of friendship that Sakura had now hadn't really formed back when she had her wedding. Sure it was true that she was still friends with Ino, but it took Sakura a very long time to break free of the cage she had built around herself during her childhood. Ten years ago when she allowed herself, albeit unintentionally, to fall in love with a certain blond comrade, that was the biggest change Sakura had made in her life in that period of time. Ever since that time, Sakura worked every day to free herself from her childhood delusions, and in the process began to realize what she had been missing out on. It was days like today that really brought everything into perspective, and the true appreciation for the life she had earned washed over her.

Sakura smiled, "I never told you? Well as you might have known, Naruto happens to know the queen of the Snow Country personally. See the springs there are actually quite beautiful, and Naruto used his connection to get the most amazing place to stay…"


It had been a cool day, granted many of the surrounding ice caps were only half melted as it was still early spring, but the wet surface of the ice glistened in the sunlight as the ship passed by. Sakura's hair rustled in the breeze as she leaned on the railing of the ship, taking in all the sights before her. Familiar arms wrapped around her waist, and warm protective hands covered her own. His smooth fingers, somehow unscarred by the life he led, intertwined with her own as soft lips pressed against her hair. He moved her hand, outstretched against the passing horizon and bathing in the sun. The sun shone brightly through the diamond that was now recently affixed to her finger. Sakura smile and turned her head to meet Naruto's eager lips. The kiss made Sakura's spine tingle, as their kisses often did. Naruto smiled back and closed his hand around Sakura's again. Sakura turned back to the sea, "This really was the perfect time to come here, I remember how beautiful the springs are, but this is just incredible!" she said.

Naruto's lips waited over her ear, "I'm glad you're happy Sakura-chan" as his lips tugged on her earlobe.

Sakura's hand shooed his lips off her ear, "Cut it out, not with all of these people here. You promised you'd wait till tonight."

"Aww but Sakura-chan…" he complained.

"No buts," as she turn around in his arms to face him, "and you're the one always saying that you don't go back on your word," as she looked up into his eyes. Damn, those eyes. Those blue sapphire pools that drew her in every time. It annoyed her that she was unable to resist the seemingly limitless power of those eyes, but at the same time… "But maybe I'll let you slide a little this time," she smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in. Their lips met, much like lovers do the first time they kiss. Even though ten years had passed since their first kiss, their kiss in the rain, the same intensity and passion had not left the couple. Faint whispers and giggle from the other passengers on the ship did not reach the ears of the two lovers as they held each other against the railing. It was not till the captain announced that the ship would soon be reaching port, that the two let go of each other. Naruto blushed as he realized everyone on the deck quickly looked away, but Sakura just nuzzled into his arm.

After the boat had docked, Naruto and Sakura made their way off the ship and much to their surprise a familiar voice called out from the small crowd at the dock, "Naruto!". Sure enough, Koyuki Kazahana was standing at the end of the dock with a small personal guard. Before her guard could stop her, the now-Queen of the Snow Country, ran forward, throwing her arms around Naruto's neck and pulling him close. "It's been so long, and you never came to visit like you promised!" she scolded him, "But you've grown so much taller! And you're even cuter now, something I expected from the young man I knew before!"

Sakura cleared her throat, "Thank you so much for helping me and my husband out with our honeymoon plans…" she growled, fist clenched.

Koyuki let go of Naruto and looked at Sakura, "Sakura? Sakura Haruno? Or I suppose Sakura Uzemaki now? Naruto said he was coming for his honeymoon but he didn't say who the lucky girl was. I sure didn't see that one coming!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Heh well a lot of things happened, but I'm the luckiest guy alive, that's for sure!"

Sakura latched onto his arm tightly, pulling him away from Koyuki, "We're both very happy together.

Koyuki laughed and shook her head, "I can see there's no coming between you two, and I know you two will have a happy life together. Now, let me show you to your accommodations."

One of the guards reached for Sakura's bags but was met with a glare, "I can handle it myself," she growled.

"Uh, sorry, Sakura is very…independent. She likes to carry her own bags." Naruto apologized.

"Oh, I see…Very well then… this way." said Koyuki, turning to walk away.

After a short walk and ride, they arrived at the personal vacation home. Sakura could only stand in the doorway, hands over her mouth in amazement. The classical styled home overlooked a massive inland lake. The now setting sun reflected off the lake of melted ice and snow and illuminated the whole house in a warming glow.

Koyuki smiled, "I hope you enjoy it, this is normally my springtime getaway, but I made an exception for old friends. Dinner has already been prepared for you, breakfast will be delivered tomorrow morning. I'll leave you two alone, enjoy!" and the door slid shut. A few moments passed before Naruto turned to Sakura with his signature grin, "Hungry?"

Sakura unzipped her shirt, "starving," as she jumped up on Naruto, her legs wrapping around his waist. Their lips ravaged each other as Naruto pushed Sakura against a small desk, Sakura's hands working frantically to remove his shirt. Naruto barely got the zipper down on his pants before Sakura took him in her hand and forcefully guided his tip against herself. With her legs she pulled his hips against her and let her finger claw at his smooth back as he entered. The whole time those eyes never parted from hers. Heh, those damn eyes.

Their dinner had grown cold while Naruto and Sakura had made hot love to each other, so the two were in the kitchen, trying to re-heat what was salvageable. Sakura was wearing just her underwear and a sleeveless top, and Naruto hadn't bothered to pull anything back on besides his pants. When all was said and done the two lounged out in bed which was conveniently placed next to a view of the almost set sun reflecting off the water. The two ate quietly, gazing at each other and the scene before them.

"Are you sure that's enough food for you?" Asked Sakura.

"Mmm yeah its fine, I'm not that hungry tonight anyways." He replied

"Not hungry? Are you feeling alright?" she asked, shocked.

Naruto laughed, "No, I'm fine, I just have other things on my mind…" he smiled taking the last bite of the food on his plate.

Sakura raised a devious eyebrow, "Perverted thoughts no doubt…" finishing her plate as well.

Naruto smirked, "Maaybe…"

Sakura smirked and moved closer, letting her hands trace the contours of his face. Her fingers slid behind his head, running across the back of his scalp and tugging at his hair. Naruto's eyes closed as he let out a moan, a moan that was intensified as Sakura's teeth found his bottom lip as she kissed him deeply. She leaned back and kissed his neck, letting her teeth tug at his skin which was rewarded by an even deeper moan from her Naruto. Her mouth made its way down his chest and muscular abs.

"Sakura?" Naruto gasped, barely able to contain himself.

"It's our honeymoon," she explained taking Naruto's zipper in her teeth and pulling it open, freeing his intensely erect member, "I get to be a little kinky…"


"And that's when he…" asked a rather shocked Tenten

"The clones? Well actually he taught me how to do it too, so it was a bit of a…..group effort" Sakura replied slyly.

Both Tenten and Temari stared at Sakura in disbelief, slightly squirming in their chairs at the idea of a two person orgy of shadow clones. Temari cleared her throat, "Well then…I think I should go relieve Kiba of my children…" she grabbed Hinata by the hand, "Come on little one, I'm going to give your man back so you can go home and do lots of perverted things with him."

Hinata snapped out of her daze, "Wha wha?" she blushed, "I don't do that sort of thing…"

"Oh you should hear the things you tell us about when you've had too much to drink, lightweight." Laughed Temari

"I, uh….alright…" gave up Hinata, defeated.

With Temari and Hinata gone, Tenten turned and smiled at Sakura, "I think I need to go home, Neji will be home soon, and after that little story of yours…"

Sakura laughed, oh how she loved to brag, "Of course, I totally understand…I think I'll go do the same now actually."

Tenten laughed and rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I still feel like we're teenagers again…its refreshing, thank you Sakura. I'll see you around sometime."

Sakura smiled, "Yeah you're right, bye."

And that's when the two parted ways and Sakura made her way back home. She opened the door to an empty house and closed it behind her, though, as always, she left it unlocked. In a way it helped reassure her that Naruto would be coming home safely to her.

Of course now came the task of finding something to do. Sakura always insisted that the house be clean all the time, so it was more or less spotless at the moment. It was too early to make dinner so that would have to wait till later. In a way these days off came both as a relaxation and a curse due to the fact that Sakura simply hated the feeling of doing nothing. There was the possibility of training, but she wanted to be at home when Naruto got back…hopefully he would arrive early.

Giving up Sakura went to the only place she had left, the rooftop garden that Naruto had nurtured for her as a gift ten years ago. As she made her way down the hall she noticed a small book sitting on a desk. The fine leather cover caught Sakura's eye and she picked it up. As she flipped through the pages she realized it was a blank book, a wedding gift from Jiraya if she remembered correctly. He probably said something about recording the honeymoon on paper. Sakura shook her head and laughed silently, no question where Naruto got his perverted influence.

Nonetheless she held onto the book and grabbed a nearby pen and carried it with her up to the rooftop. As she opened to door, the fragrant aroma of the plant life brought rapture to Sakura's nose. Perhaps she was biased, but this garden put even Ino's shop to shame, not that she would ever let Ino see her garden, it was a sanctuary for her and Naruto, and them alone. As she sat down on the bench, she looked out over the village, letting the sights and sounds wrap around her mind. She didn't think, she just wrote, not letting though foul the stream of consciousness that was now flowing onto the paper. The act itself was…therapeutic, and at the least it passed the time. It wasn't long before the pen fell to the ground and the book fell into Sakura's lap, her head nodding as she drifted into sleep.

Her little cat nap didn't last long before a familiar sensation rolled across her face. Her eyes snapped open to those cerulean eyes once more, a sight she never tired of. "You fell asleep Sakura-chan" he said softly.

"Heh I guess I did…" as she rubbed her eyes, "It's still light out; you're home really early today. How did your mission go?"

Obviously trying to restrain his excitement, Naruto finally blurted out, "Kakashi-sensei sent me to be a substitute teacher at the academy! It was so cool! The kid's there were so bored of their old teacher that they practically begged me to come teach again, it was like, the coolest thing ever!"

Sakura smiled and took Naruto's face in her hands, "That's really good, I'm glad you had a good time, I'm sure you were absolutely wonderful." He was acting like a little kid again, a refreshing change from his slightly depressed older self which seemed to dominate his psyche as of late.

"It was so incredible, I love kids, they're just much simpler and happier than all of these adults…so uh…how was your day?" he asked.

"Oh I went to lunch with my friends, talked about some old memories so it was enjoyable. It's even better now that you're home though. It's kind of funny," she laughed, "I always get so worried about you when you go out on missions, and today you were having fun at the academy of all places."

"Well those kid's can be pretty dangerous" he chuckled, "But you should know I'll always come home at the end of the day for you, that's the promise I made to you."

Sakura smiled again, wrapping her arms around his neck and slowly pulling her body against his warm chest, "And I'll be here for you."

Naruto hummed in content as he brushed her hair, "So do you want to get dinner started? Hungry?"

Sakura smiled, pushing Naruto down, straddling him on the bench, "Starving."


Author's Note: I do have a favor to ask of my readers, a little something I've been curious about. I find it interesting how when I read fanfiction I get a perception of the author, even though I have absolutely no information about them. With that in mind I'm curious to see what perception my readers have about me, so if you don't mind, I'd like you to fill out this 2 question survey for me and post it as a review for this chapter. I'll post the results when I update the next chapter.

1. What gender do you think I am?

2. How old do you think I am?

Thanks for participating, this is solely for my personal curiosity, so don't be worried about guessing wrong.