A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, holidays and all...Umeboshi One of Sakura's favorite foods, pickled Ume fruit. Salty and Sour, eaten with rice.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story.

Chapter: 4

"What a great spot!" Sakura exclaimed, looking around the copse as Kiba spread out the blanket. From their position, they were able to look out on a meadow, a doe and two fawns were walking through the tall grass. The sun was still providing ample light, and Kiba noticed that Sakura's skin was dappled from the tree cover. She was real, she was here with him, this was really happening.

"Shall we?" he asked indicating the bentos.

They sat down, opened the boxes and two juice bottles they'd picked up in town.

"Umeboshi! How'd your mom know? It's my favorite!"

Kiba blushed slightly, not really knowing how to answer. He took a quick drink of his juice. It went down the wrong way, and he began choking. Sakura patted him on the back...too hard. She succeeded in knocking him flat on his face. He sat up laughing and waved off her apologies. At that point all nervousness was gone, and they were able to relax with eachother. While they ate, they talked about teams, and missions, friends and senseis, and discussed at some length whether or not Naruto would ever become Hokage.

It was while watching Sakura finish the umeboshi with a smile on her face, that Kiba decided he needed an answer to something that had been sitting in the back of his head.

"Sakura, um," he bit his lip and played with his rice. "Sakura, why did you agree to go out with me? Does this mean you're getting over Uchiha Sasuke a little?"

Sakura swallowed her food with some difficulty. The question wasn't entirely unexpected. All of Konoha had known she was a Sasuke fangirl for most of her life. That was part of the reason she wanted to keep this first date a secret. She didn't want to be labeled a Kiba fangirl simply because she went out with him once. But she was enjoying herself. Maybe she'd even consider going out with him again, he really was sweet. Hyuuga Hinata had mentioned that from time to time, but she'd been too hung up on Sasuke to even give Kiba a second thought. She searched her mind for a way to answer his question. He was looking at her, and he deserved and honest answer. Was she getting over Sasuke?

"To be honest," She said looking him in the eyes. "I'm not sure why I said yes. No, that's not right. What I mean is, I said yes largely because of the way you asked. There were no loud pronouncements of eternal love like with Lee, and no whining like Naruto. No demands of 'forever', just a request for one date. You told me you liked me without demanding a swift return of affection. It made me want to spend time with you, get to know you better. As for Sasuke-kun," she broke his gaze and looked down for a minute. Kiba wanted to smack himself for bringing up Uchiha, but then she looked at him again and there was a small smile on her face.

"Sasuke-kun will always be special to me. He was an important part of my life for so many years, as someone I liked, and as a teammate. But when he left, I realized that Sasuke-kun is broken. It took me a while longer to realize that he doesn't want to be fixed. Not by me anyways. I still want him to come back to Konoha, but not because I want to be with him. Because he was my teammate, and my friend, and because I know Naruto-kun won't stop until he brings him back."

Kiba didn't know how to respond. She'd been more open with him than he'd expected.

"You were so sweet, the way you asked me," Her smile got bigger. "I figured 'why not', and frankly, I was flattered. We've never really hung out," she reached out and touched his hand. It was warm, hers was cool. "Thank you Kiba-kun, this was really nice. I'm glad I said yes." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek right in the middle of his tattoo. While Kiba struggled with himself not to touch the spot where her lips had been, she blushed.

The sun was fading behind the hills, and there was nothing more to be eaten, so they started packing up. Fingers brushing against eachother from time to time as they gathered up the bentos, blanket, and Sakura put the flowers in her pocket. As they walked back towards town, Sakura took one of the bentos from Kiba, and placed her hand in his free one. She decided that she didn't care who saw them together. This had been fun, Kiba was a really sweet guy, and she definently wanted to do this again.

o-o-o

As they passed the Nara house, Yoshino was looking out her kitchen window while doing dishes. She smiled to herself and made a little check mark in the air with a soapy finger.

"Three for three," she chuckled. "Now if only I can find nice girls for Temari-chan's brothers." It was obvious to her at least, that she'd missed her calling as a matchmaker. She'd have to tell Shikaku all about her latest success, once he got back from his "mission" at the sake bar.