This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written for a multi-chap. Damn. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"I'm not sure if this is such a good idea." A tall, brown-haired man wearing a forehead protector similar to the Nidaime Hokage's stood with his arms crossed. His sentiments were directed towards a mysterious figure standing in the far end of the Hokage's office and hidden in the shadows.

"It must be done." The other man said simply, the only telling feature of his that could be seen was the glare of glasses.

"This is going to be a pain in the ass, you know that, right? Hokage-sama?" The brown-haired man pleaded, turning his head towards the direction of the aforementioned Hokage.

Hatake Kakashi merely shrugged. "If they believe it has to happen, then it has to happen."

"I mean you and I both know her, there's no need for—"

"I can understand their sentiments, though." Kakashi nodded. "So I will permit it." He lifted his gaze to the direction of the brown-haired man. "And you will assist."

"W-what?! And if I refuse?"

"You cannot." The man in the shadows supplied, taking a step forward. "Why? Be—"

"Ugh, okay! I get it, I get. Fine." The brown-haired man mumbled in defeat.

"Mm." The smile could be seen on Kakashi's eyes.

"Itadakimasu!" Four voices exclaimed in unison, with Naruto's voice ringing a little louder than the others. Sakura smiled at her old friend's antics before turning to start on her own meal. Today was absolutely lovely. In fact, lately, her days have been sunshine and rainbows and everything pretty.

Hinata had that effect on her, she supposed.

She looked over to her left as Sai and Yamato-taicho fell into civil conversation—Naruto had completely ignored them in favor the ramen bowl he was consuming. "Another one, old man!"

"Got you covered, Naruto-kun!" Ayame-san answered in behalf of her father, ruffling the blonde hair of their most faithful customer before returning to her cooking.

"Sakura-chan's been in a good mood lately!" Naruto said through a mouthful of noodles. "I haven't been punched in a while!"

"Is this you asking for it?" Sakura felt a vein throb at her forehead.

"N-n-n-no! Sakura-chan, I was being happy about it!"

Sai paused as if to remember something. "I read in my books that Sakura-chan's pleasant disposition is indicative of a phenomenon called 'glowing' or 'blooming', which happens to females experiencing good fortune in their love and or sex lives."

Sakura felt her cheeks flush. I mean, technically, he wasn't wrong.

"Love life?!" Naruto sputtered out, giving her a questioning look. "You mean, Sasuke's—"

"That ship has sailed, Naruto." Sakura deadpanned with an eye-roll. "Surprise, surprise."

Sakura sighed, the thought of Sasuke weighing her spirits down a little. She was over him. She was tired of waiting, tired of hoping. She had given so much and it was enough. She could let go now. Sakura still worried about him—she hoped he was okay wherever he was, she hoped he'd find the answer to the loneliness in his heart. She just couldn't be that answer anymore, not after all that. Sakura had genuinely thought that there was no one else she would love that way—she stilled loved him, the way she loved Naruto now—but lately, things have been proving her wrong.

Sometimes she would find herself thinking about it, and then she would chuckle to herself. Sakura supposed 'raven-haired and quiet' was her type.

"Over… Sasuke?" Naruto gaped. And then he grinned that signature grin of his and held a thumbs-up. "Does this mean you'll go out on a date with me now-ttebayo?"

Naruto later discovered that his second bowl of ramen wasn't as fulfilling with a bleeding nose.

"Hm." Sakura turned to give their team captain a look. "Yamato-taicho, you're awfully quiet."

"Huh?" Yamato had this undiscernible look on his face, but the kunoichi could recognize hints of anxiousness.

"Is everything alright?"

"Of course!" He smiled exaggeratedly, patting Sai on the shoulder with a laugh. "Right, Sai?"

"The obvious strain and forcefulness of your smile indicates that it is a fake one, Yamato-taicho." Sai tilted his head.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Yamato waived his hand around, shooting a look to the black-eye Naruto had sustained and gulping. "Anyway, Sakura."

"Hm?"

"If Sai is correct, then who's the lucky gentleman?" He teased.

Ayame-san, who had passed by to hand Naruto his third bowl and Yamato his second, giggled softly. "I'm not sure if you're asking the right questions, Yamato-san."

"Eh?" Naruto looked up with a confused face. Sai quietly observed.

"I mean there isn't exactly a lucky gentleman, right Sakura-chan?" Ayame-san gave her a quick wink, which Sakura returned with eyes full of 'oh my god, no, please—don't. Shush. Let me handle this.'

Luckily, Ayame-san was quick to get the memo and made a quick exit after a rushed 'oops' and 'sorry'. Sakura looked to her teammates to assess the damage, and was surprised that Ayame-san seemed to know. Then again, who was she kidding? Hinata and Sakura have been frequenting Ichiraku's as of late, and it wasn't too hard to figure the pink-haired kunoichi out. Yamato raised an eyebrow, likely picking up on the hint. Sai was too hard to read, but she wasn't sure if the emotionally-impaired man would be perceptive enough to figure that one out. Naruto just stared at her expectantly, waiting for an explanation of sorts.

"Well," Sakura took a deep breath. There was no use hiding it from Team Seven. "I guess you could say Ayame-san is right."

"So there isn't anyone you like right now?" Naruto looked even more confused. "But I thought you—"

"Naruto, Ayame-san said there was no gentleman."

"So there's a rough man?!" Naruto looked surprised and a little scandalized. "Ne, Sakura-chan, I never pegged you to be the type to be into th—"

"WHAT?! NO!" Sakura screeched. "NARUTO, YOU— SHANNARO!"

Yamato paled, and Sai actually visibly gulped.

"Naruto-kun," the artist mumbled. "You resemble a panda a little, with those two black-eyes."

"So much pain." Naruto muttered in a daze.

"As I was saying," Sakura growled out before taking a deep breath and composing herself and her temper. "There isn't… exactly, a guy. You know."

"Oh." Was all Sai and Yamato could manage. Naruto stared at Sakura for what felt like an eternity before suddenly jumping to his feet with a glorious jaw-drop.

"OH."

"Ugh, finally." Sakura groaned.

"What—Since when?!—Who?!" He sputtered.

This time, all anger had vanished and the legendary Haruno Sakura of herculean strength was blushing. "Well… You kind of know her."

"We do?!" Naruto grabbed her by the collar. "Sakura-chan! Stop stalling! I'm dying to know!"

"Dying to know?" Sakura lifted an eyebrow, and this effectively drove Naruto back. "Better. Anyway, yeah. You guys do."

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "You were gay for Ino this whole time weren't you!"

"Idiot! Stop screaming!"

"So you are?!"

"No!"

"Then who?!"

"I swear you are such a—" Sakura's temper flared. "Naruto, it's Hinata! Now will you calm the fuck down?!" The pink-haired kunoichi was practically strangling her teammate. Then she realized that she'd screamed that one out and that Naruto's nose seemed to be bleeding from more than just the beat-up. His eyes were glazed over and he was mumbling something along the lines of, 'wow' and 'that is actually incredibly hot'.

Huffing in annoyance, she let go of Naruto's neck when she heard someone clear his throat from behind.

"Yamato-taichou?"

"Sakura, I'm really sorry for this." He looked nervous.

"What? What are you—"

"Mokuton: Shichuro no Jutsu! (Wood Style: Four Pillar Prison Jutsu)"

When Sakura came to, the first thing she noticed was a bright light. As her vision returned to focus, she observed that the light was a low-hanging ceiling lamp and that she was in a dark room. She tried to run a hand through her hair only to find her arms held in place by Yamato's Mokuton bindings. Irked that someone thought that was going to be enough to restrain her, she was about to undo them when she realized that if this was Yamato's doing, she probably wasn't in any immediate danger and this was another ill-orchestrated and terribly-timed prank of some sort.

"Yamato-taicho, come out. Was this Kakashi-sensei's idea?" She called, annoyed.

Silence.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura called out, patience rapidly running thin. She did not have time for this. She had a job, and she needed to be there and not here.

"Please cooperate." A low, formal voice suddenly cut through the air and Sakura felt a presence walking closer to her. "Why? Because things will be much easier without resistance."

"Shino?" The kunoichi frowned—he was one of the last people she'd expected to find here. Soon, there was a low, canine growl and an arrogant scoff.

"We don't want to rough you up too much, Sakura, so it'd be best to listen to him."

She recognized the voice and manner of speaking to be Kiba, and so it follows that the threatening growl was just Akamaru, although she never recalled a time when the dog was openly hostile towards her.

"Rough me up?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Hah! Don't sound so cocky; sensei got you knocked-out good with her genjutsu, didn't she?" He offered her a wolfish grin. In all honesty, Kiba and Sakura haven't had time to get to know each other like the rest of them, but she knew at this point that he was like Naruto in some ways, and like Sasuke in others—easily provoked, hopelessly overconfident and had one of the biggest hearts in the village. If she was right about him in that regard, then she had an idea or two on how best to act in this situation.

Sakura almost missed an important fact while getting lost in her thoughts. "Sensei? Kurenai-sensei is in on this?"

"Of course. Why? Because she values our team as much as we do." Shino nodded sagely.

Sakura blinked, then looked at Kiba. "Does he always explain things like that?"

Kiba just sighed. "More than a decade of Konoha 13*, and you haven't figured that out?"

Well, she supposed she just never noticed. But sensitivity told her that Shino wouldn't want another reminder of how things about and around him were easily forgotten, so Sakura chose to steer the topic towards the most pressing issue at hand: "So am I going to know whose idea this is?"

"Ours, of course." Kiba growled, suddenly learning in towards her and holding up a—a flash light? What the hell, was this some kind of interrogation?

"State your business with Hinata." Shino demanded.

"Seriously?" Sakura was caught off guard and mildly annoyed. "That's what this is about?"

"What else?! What do you think you're doing, screwing around like that!" Kiba demanded, pointing the light at her face and practically growling at her.

"First of all," She said firmly. "Get that thing off of my face! Second, there is no screwing around that's happening, what the hell?"

"So she's nothing?!"

Sakura watched as the boys got visibly agitated, and cursed her choice of words.

"No, not—nothing. But I'm not entirely sure if there's something!" She said exasperatedly.

"Then what the hell are you doing?!" Kiba exploded, and Shino's face was contorted into a disapproving frown. "You think it's okay to just prance and around and give her kisses and not so much as reassure the poor girl?!"

Sakura sputtered. Suddenly there were a hundred thoughts swimming in her head and she didn't know where to start. Hinata needed reassurance? It was Sakura who was swimming in uncertainty this whole time! The medic wasn't exactly subtle with her advances, and if even Ayame-san could pick up on her feelings then how could Hinata miss? In hindsight, maybe she should have at least said something, but she felt that there was no point in words when her actions blatantly shouted it all out. The fact that Hinata never so much as brought the topic up made Sakura feel like she wasn't ready to talk about her feelings, and she could respect that.

"She… told you about that?" Was all Sakura managed to say.

"Of course she did!" Kiba huffed, calming down from his outburst and putting the flash light away. "Hinata doesn't have any older brothers, but she's got us." He pointed a thumb to himself. "Who else would she tell? Ino's your best friend."

That made sense. Suddenly, Sakura was a lot less frustrated with being tied down to a wooden chair and more understanding of where the boys were coming from.

"So tell us what you feel about her. Why? Because if you are simply using her to distract yourself from Sasuke, then I suggest you—"

"Don't." A simple, dangerous growl. "Don't you dare put it that way, Aburame."

That seemed to satisfy the stoic man and he said no more.

There was a lull of silence and Sakura struggled to figure out how to explain this to them. Looking at it from their—and Hinata's—point of view, she supposed it was pretty frustrating. After the incident of the 'kitchen counter kiss', they felt no awkwardness or immediate need to talk about things. She was actually going to question it, to tell Hinata that she liked her and would love to date her, but the kitchen alarm went off and Hinata just… held her like that and carried on.

So Sakura played along. She wasn't in a rush… right?

They saw each other a couple of times the following week. They would have lunch at Ichiraku's and lightly laugh at each other's jokes, they would walk around the shopping district holding hands and blushing lightly, and when Sakura walked Hinata home she would have an internal debate on whether or not she should give Hinata an innocent hug or lean in to kiss her goodnight—every single time, Hinata would beat her to it and give her a kiss on the cheek. And every single time, Sakura smiled and wondered why she never a got a kiss on the lips again.

But then, she supposed that since Sakura was the first one to make all the advances, Hinata would have expected her to at least say something. The fact that Sakura paused and didn't make any moves while debating on their goodnight kiss probably looked to Hinata like she wasn't even going for a hug.

But at the same time, she'd give her flowers almost every time and tell her she was lovely. That counted for something, right? The Yamanaka flower shop was probably thriving off of her orders alone.

"She tells me you are one hell of a confusing girl," Kiba broke the silence. "Like, Hinata isn't dumb, you know? She's shy, yeah, she rarely speaks her mind but she isn't dense. The way you were acting screamed that you liked her, but the way you were talking didn't. What's the deal?"

"W—Well, she wasn't talking either!" Sakura replied defensively.

Shino adjusted his glasses. "She will not initiate. Why is this? Because Hinata is not one to take initiative, especially in situations foreign to her."

Hearing this, Sakura realized that this is probably the closest Hinata has ever gone to dating anyone and she suddenly kind of felt guilty. She may have overdone 'taking things slow' and 'not rushing'.

"Do you genuinely like her?" Kiba prodded.

"Yes, I like Hinata." Sakura looked him straight in the eye and said it with so much conviction that his eyebrows lifted. "I like her, and a lot too. I want to see her walk a little straighter and laugh a little louder, if that makes sense to you."

They grunted in agreement—these were two people who understood what Hinata needed more than even Sakura did.

"And I hate it when I do something nice for her and she seems surprised. I want to look after her, but at the same time I know she's strong on her own, so I don't know what to do. Besides, who was I to extend my protection to her?" Sakura sighed. "It's like she doesn't realize how smart she is, or how much of a pleasure just being around her is—and I want her to know all that."

"Well, that sounds like way more than a crush." Kiba grumbled, halfway between annoyed and amused. "And you couldn't even let her know you liked her."

"Bite me," She scoffed. "You think it's easy?"

They softened at the sight of her sincerity and shared a look.

"No, but she deserves it." Kiba said, uncharacteristically somber. "She's dying to know, Sakura."

Sakura blushed a little before a soft chuckle escaped her lips. "So is it safe to assume that she feels the same?"

Kiba laughed, shaking his head. "No way. You're going to have to ask her that one yourself."

"K—Kiba-kun and Shino-kun?" Hinata looked pale, and Sakura could imagine all the embarrassing scenarios playing out on her head. She chuckled because one of them was probably right.

"Yeah, it's a long story. I'll tell you later." She promised, knowing that Hinata wasn't going to be able to stand it if she kept it from her. But as per usual, Hinata was much too shy to insist and they continued walking.

It's been a few hours since Sakura was released from her 'interrogation', and the first thing she wanted to do was find Hinata. She didn't bother to pick up flowers from Ino's, or to gussy up and look pretty; she knew who she needed to see and intended to find her as soon as possible.

And now, they found themselves strolling along Konoha's busier districts at sunset. She liked this hour because the sky was in so many different colors, and the street lanterns were beginning to light up. There was the rush of activity, animated conversations, the barking of market stall owners and children who had come to greet their parents after a long day of work. There was life, right before her eyes: the Will of Fire.

And since the shinobi of Konoha were imbued with this Will of Fire, Sakura pulled her guts together and reached out to hold Hinata's hand, intertwining their fingers for the first time. Hinata looked down at their hands, and then at Sakura. Hinata, with a look which Sakura couldn't figure out, looked around the area and tentatively slid her hand out of the other woman's grasp.

Sakura's heart fell for a few fleeting moments until she felt Hinata take her hand once again.

"It felt weird to have your thumb underneath mine, so I wanted to switch places." She giggled, picking up Sakura's alarm and subsequent relief.

"And here I thought I was about to get rejected." Sakura chuckled, continuing their stroll and clinging on to Hinata's hand like she would never let go. The pair wove around the crowd and stopped to look around a weapons shop—Hinata had absent mindedly wrapped her arm around Sakura's and pulled for her to follow. She smiled, biting her lip. They felt very much like a couple right now, and she didn't mind one bit.

"Sakura-chan," Hinata called over, noticing that Sakura was just tailing her instead of looking around herself. "You aren't looking?"

Sakura hummed to herself as if thinking, and then continued to lock her gaze with Hinata's with a little smirk. "I am."

Hinata blushed, realizing that apparently she was being flirted to, and on impulse had playfully slapped Sakura's arm in reprimand.

"Sorry, sorry." Sakura held up her hands, grinning now. Maybe she was going at it a little too forward for Hinata, but at the same time she realized this was actually kind of fun.

Hinata was giving her a certain look, as if she was making a very important decision. Then suddenly, her smile was back, and it was very near, and—ah. Her lips are on Sakura's cheek and gone the next second. When Sakura recovers, Hinata has already turned her back and was inspecting an interesting set of kunai while humming to herself. The medic nin didn't miss the undertones of a giggle in her voice, though.

Sakura walked forward to stand beside Hinata, resting her hand on the small of the other woman's back. Appreciating the gesture, Hinata stepped to her side a little to bring herself closer to Sakura. In response, Sakura adjusted her arm so that now it held Hinata around the waist, and they continued to stare at the weapons display, pretending to spot differences when it all looked the same to them and they just liked having an excuse to stay close like that.

"Kami-sama, please apologize to Neji for me because Sakura is hitting on Hinata under my supervision." Said a voice from the back room.

"T—Tenten-san!" Hinata stuttered before turning tomato red.

"Don't sound so surprised that I'm in my own weapons shop." She said with a smile.

"Of course." Sakura muttered, more to herself, before lightly face-palming.

"Well," Tenten walked around the corner. "See anything you like?" She turned to smirk at Sakura. "Aside from Hinata, of course."

Thirty minutes and a few hundred ryo later, both women left the shop with heavier kunai pouches (and in Hinata's case, a new tanto). Sakura had automatically clung to the Hyuuga's arm, and they wondered if they should find another shop or hold back on splurging even more this evening. Frankly, Sakura didn't care what they did next, as long as she was with her. As frustrating as being kidnapped, tied down, and interrogated was, she was thankful. Kiba and Shino's words were eye-opening, and now she was sure what she wanted. Gripped by affection, Sakura slid her hand down to hold Hinata's securely.

"Hungry yet?" Hinata looked over to Sakura with such warm eyes that the latter blushed like a child. There, in the middle of a bustling street, with all the world to see them but not a care in the world, Sakura allowed herself to get lost in those white-lavender eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful?"

Hinata gasped and looked speechless. Then slowly—like the way that a fire starts from a spark, then an ember, then a flame—she smiles. Hinata feels a bubble in her chest from the way Sakura is looking at her, and she wonders if she's looking at Sakura the same way too. They were standing a little distance away from everyone, near the side of the road, under a lamppost. They could see the bustling street spread out in front of them. The sun was gone completely, and the yellow glow of lanterns and street lights breathed life into the night. At least, that's what they would have seen had they not been too busy sneaking glances at each other. Well, Hinata was. Sakura just continued to gaze at her with those eyes that she didn't want to call 'green'. Green was too simple and straightforward of a description for something which was so wonderfully alive.

Not bothering to wait for her reply, Sakura continued. "I think you're beautiful."

Hinata bit her lip. She was never good with words, and even worse with compliments. She blushed, attempted to stutter out a thank you, and looked at the ground with a heart that felt so full and a head that was a little dizzy.

Sakura was a little disconcerted at Hinata's reaction—she could see that Hinata really didn't know what to do. "And I think, I want to help you get used to hearing that." Sakura said, replying to the explanation Hinata didn't have to give.

"Sakura-chan…" She said breathlessly and stared, in wonder, at how someone could feel this way for her.

"I mean it." Sakura said with conviction, biting her lip and tugging on the hand she was holding. "I want to tell you how much you mean to me without seeing you shy away from it, and—hey, look at me?" Sakura crooned softly, not wanting to overwhelm the other girl.

Hinata lifted her eyes to meet with Sakura's and she may have felt her knees go weak. "Mm." She nodded.

"And if you'll let me," Sakura took a deep breath. "I'd like to show you all those parts of you that I admire so much."

Hinata was holding her breath.

"Hinata." Sakura had lifted her hands and was gently holding Hinata by her arms, making sure that Hinata would look her way and wouldn't look any other way. "I like you. A lot. And I know you probably know by now, but I think I should say it out loud. So it's clear. And there are no misunderstandings. And this is probably not the most romantic of places, and we're in the middle of the market place, but I just—" She sighed, trying to form the right words.

"Sakura-chan." Hinata found her voice. Her eyes were glistening, and she was smiling and lifting a hand up to cup Sakura's cheek. "I'm not quite sure if that was a confession or a hysterical ramble—" Sakura looked positively floored at that, but she continued "—but I think, it's safe to say, that I might like you too a little."

Sakura sputtered, not sure what to say because goddammit was Hinata teasing?! She does that?! Or was she serious? She could never tell, she was usually so quiet and—

Hinata was kissing her. Her lips were soft and she smelled like vanilla. Sakura had forgotten whatever it was she was thinking of and kissed her back, softly, and she lifted her hands to settle on Hinata's shoulders so that she wouldn't fall over, but suddenly Hinata's lips were gone and Sakura was breathless and frowning.

"We're s—still in the middle of a road." Hinata, who had been teasing just a minute ago, was back to her flustered, embarrassed self. Although this time, she had a smile and a glow that Sakura would love to see on her more often.

"I guess I'm going to have to thank Kiba and Shino for talking some sense into me." The pink-haired woman said with a light laugh.

"So that's what that was about." Hinata suddenly said. "They were missing during afternoon training, and I remember them telling me that Hokage-sama had given them an A-Class mission with Yamato-san and even a little bit of Kurenai-sensei's help."

Sakura felt a nerve twitch. "The Hokage, huh?"

"Yamanaka!" A pink fluff of fury barged in through Ino's storefront and slammed her palm on the counter.

"Holy shit, Sakura! You're going to give me a heart attack." Ino shrieked, recovering composure.

"Put something together for me, like, now. It's for Kakashi-sensei."

"Uhm—What for?"

"How do you say 'Fuck you' with flowers?"

And that's chapter four!

The ending with the fuck-you-flowers part was an idea from the otp-prompts Tumblr account. I saw it, and I know Ino had a flower shop so I just had to.

If there are a lot of typos or errors, I'm sorry. I'm already tire right now, but I'll be running through it again first thing tomorrow and will be updating the chapter as necessary. Thank you guys, I hope I get to hear from you!