This is 10 pages of hard work and I'm proud to be presenting it to you. Thank you for the love and support. Please enjoy the last chapter and review at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 7


Sakura walked down the street feeling more frustrated than she had in the beginning of all this. It never seized to amaze her how selfish people could be. Why didn't Hinata not take into consideration how this would affect her or even Naruto?

Now she just need to find her goofy blond headed teammate and clear her misunderstanding with him and then... well she wasn't quite sure but she would definitely figure it out on the way. This made her wonder what she was actually going to do about her now realized feelings. Would she ask him out... would he say yes? Sakura started to feel butterflies in her stomach at the idea. Completely distracted with her thoughts she didn't notice the masked ninja she ran into. Her thoughts and butterflies were put on hold to take in notice the hard chest she ran into and the chuckle that came form it. Looking up she took into noticed her sensei's face and disheveled grey hair. She frowned at him in annoyance from distracting her thoughts and not moving out of her way.

"Sensei" She greeted politely. He nodded amused for his own reasons.

"Sakura, the hokage wants to see us in her office in 5 minutes. I'm rounding the rest of team seven now." He moved around her and started in the opposite direction. Sakura sighed in annoyance at her Kakashi bluntness and started to for the hokage's office.

When Sakura entered the room and saw the rest of her teammates she blushed lightly at the idea that they were waiting on her to start. She took her place next to Naruto, who scooted ever so slightly to make a distance with hopes it wasn't noticeable. Sakura was sure everyone in the room had noticed this and she felt a knot of shame twist in her chest.

Tsunade feigned ignorance of the awkwardness between the two.

"With Sasuke back and out of the hospital and with some discussion with Kakashi, we have decided it would be best to give a mission to team seven minus Sai and Yamoto, so you guys can work on your teamwork." With this Naruto broke out in a grin forgetting his prior vexed feelings about Sakura. Sakura smiled at his excitement. "Your mission will be an in village mission, of course, to follow the punishment laid down for Sasuke." Sasuke scowled a little at the mention of punishment. "Your mission is to find Miss Yamahara's cat 'Roxy' and return it. It was last seen near the training grounds in the woods an hour ago. This is the picture of the cat. Any questions?" Tsunade asked. The silence was deafening and finally Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer.

"A cat?" Sakura said insidiously.

"Yes, a cat, Sakura..." Tsunade drawled and Naruto seemed to come out of his stupor.

"But a cat?" Naruto emphasized. Tsunade sighed with annoyance.

"Yes, how many times do I have to say this?"

"With all do respect Shishou, but why give us a mission to fetch a cat? Isn't there any other missions that could keep us in the town and still actually be... challenging?" Sakura argued.

"Not as of right now Sakura. There our other teams besides yours that need missions here too."

"Old lady, we are not 12 anymore. We are more capable than genin, hell even chunin. Give us something better." Naruto demanded getting angry. Tsunade lost her temper.

"You two are so in sync with your thoughts its disgusting." She criticized to which both Sakura and Naruto went wide eyed and turned there heads in the opposite directions as not to look at the other with the blushes the adorned there cheeks. "Your other teammates understand to just take this mission and get this over with. So stop arguing or I'll be giving both of you duty to find every cat that goes missing in the next month!" She yelled. They both didn't look at her or each other,

"Yes ma'am" Sakura muttered with embarrassment. Naruto just nodded with his arms crossed in contempt. She dismissed them and they all walked in a deep silence together to the training grounds. When they got there Kakashi split them up in a group to cover more ground. Saying he would take Sasuke and Sakura and Naruto as the other group. Naruto grumbled and grabbed a walkie talkie from Kakashi and stomped off into the woods. Sakura felt her heart clench in pain for being so obviously ignored and having his anger directed towards her. She quickly grabbed a set from Kakashi and ran after Naruto.

"Naruto wait up!" She yelled and caught up to him when he stopped to wait. "Listen I know your upset with me but don't let this affect our mission."

"I don't even want to be on this mission with you!" He yelled in anger. Sakura jerked away from Naruto in hurt from his stinging words. Naruto felt his chest ache at the realization at how his words sounded. He reached out before she could move to far away and grabbed her arm. She struggled to get out of his grip. "That wasn't what I meant Sakura-chan..." He couldn't hide his shock at seeing the tears forming in her sea green eyes.

"What am I supposed to think you meant, Naruto?" She asked exasperated and even feeling a little defeated.

"I meant that I don't want to be catching a cat when we are more capable than this." He answered softly closing the gap between them feeling his anger melt at the tears that threatened to fall from the beautiful girl before him. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed and glanced back at her. Neither of them were looking at each other but refused to move first.

"I'm sorry about going on that fake date with Kiba... I felt angry and ashamed for taking advantage of the fact Hinata broke up with you and I just ran into him and forced him to get ice cream because I let what Sasuke say get to me." She rubbed her eyes trying to make the unshed tears disappear. Naruto rubbed her arm sympathetically and pulled her to his chest.

"Sakura-chan... you didn't take advantage of me. I'm the one who looks like the jerk who was using you... but I'm not... you know that right Sakura-chan? The reason I almost kissed you or why I got so jealous when you said you went on a date with Kiba even if it was fake..." She looked up with him with her deep green eyes and he felt his heart skip a beat and a blush creeping on his cheeks. His embrace tightened and he leaned his forehead on hers. His blue eyes starring deeply into her green ones. " I still love you Sakura-chan, I always have and I always will... I don't want any misunderstandings anymore...I- MEOOOWWW-

The noise made them freeze and look across to the tree above them to see a very fat white cat staring down at there intimate moment. Sakura had the sudden urge to punch that cat in the face. Was everyone and everything TRYING to ruin Naruto and her moments? Most likely..

Naruto growled audible at the cat who had interrupted them. He moved so fast at the cat that Sakura doubted for a moment if she really saw him move. The cats instinct seemed to kick in a moved out of Naruto's grasp just in time and as if this cat was designated with ninja abilities it jumped to the ground in one leap and ran off. Sakura immediately jumped after it, keeping it in her sight. What ever Naruto was about to say would have to be put on hold till they caught the damn cat and finished this ridiculous mission. It took them 10 minutes to corner the cat and catch it. When Naruto had picked it up by the scruff of its neck it had viciously attacked his face in retaliation. Sakura quickly took it away from Naruto and the cat settled down. Mr. Roxy seemed to hold a grudge from being jumped at.

They quickly radioed their other teammates and returned the cat to its overly happy owner and returned to the hokage to report back. Tsunade had smirked when she saw the scratches the cat had bestowed on her favorite ninja. Naruto looked more than irritated at the days events and ready to storm out. Tsunade smiled and dismissed them. Naruto turned on his heels and walked out quickly. He muttered angrily to himself as he walked out of the tower. The sound of his name stopped him. He turned to see Sakura run up to him.

"Wait... About what happened in the woods... You were saying..." A blush came to her cheeks and Naruto's annoyance completely disappeared in realization that he had been in the middle of confessing when that damn cat had interrupted him. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and gave his best embarrassed foxy grin the blush from earlier returning to his face.

"Ya.. what I was saying is... that..." He felt his frustration return. It had been so much easier just saying what he felt back there in the woods. "Sakura-chan, I- "Hey dobe!" The interruption made Naruto groan out loud at being interrupted ONCE AGAIN! Both of them glared at their dark haired teammate who approached them.

"What teme?" Naruto emphasized his lack of patience of having his conversation being out on hold again. Sasuke smirked like he did nothing wrong and nodded at Sakura in acknowledgment.

"Well, I have a date tonight." Sasuke said casually while shoving his hands in his pockets. Naruto gave a very caught off guard look than glanced at Sakura who had a single eyebrow risen with curiosity.

"That's quick." She muttered. Sasuke spared her a glance but put his attention back on Naruto. Who wasn't quite sure how he was suppose to be handling this.

"Well, what does that have to do with me?" Naruto asked dumbfounded. Sasuke rolled his eyes like it was obvious.

"Your coming too."

"Teme... I don't swing that way..."

"No you dumbass, its going to be a double date..." Naruto opened his mouth and closed it.

"Who am I going to bring?" Sasuke glanced over and Naruto's eyes followed to Sakura, recognition came over his features and a blush spread across his face. Sakura folded her arms and glared at Sasuke.

"Thanks Sasuke, because my plans are always free for you." She said sarcastically. Sasuke smirked and nodded in agreement.

"Good. Then its settled. I'll see you guys tonight at my place." He paused after Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh and dress nice..." He said seriously and walked away.

"I'm going to kill him some day." She muttered. She glanced at Naruto who looked quite shocked. She blushed realizing that this was their first date.

"Naruto...I'm going to go to my shift at the hospital... I'll see you tonight." She started away. Naruto finally snapped out of it.

"Shit, I have to find something nice to wear!" He yelled to himself.


He had finally convinced he had to ask for help but Kakashi was never around when you needed him and their was no way he would ask for help from Sasuke. He had always had Sakura help him with this stuff and now since she was the one he wanted to impress he needed someone equally smart for help. So he had sucked up his pride and went to find Shikamaru. The genius was laying under his favorite tree staring at his favorite clouds. The cigarette in his mouth idly moving like a senbon. Shikamaru sparred a glance at the blonde ninja standing over him and pulled the cigarette from his mouth and smashed it into the dirt next to him to effectively putting it out.

"Temari would kill you if she saw you smoking." Naruto joked nervously. Shikamaru sighed and nodded in agreement.

"That would be troublesome." His agreement left a silence between them till Naruto broke it.

"I need your help. I'm going on a date with Sakura and I don't know what to wear..."

"Do I look like a girl?" Shikamaru asked with annoyance.

"No, but you have a girlfriend and I want to impress Sakura."

"I go to Ino for help..." Shikamaru admitted. Naruto nodded in understanding, thinking deeply.

"She does know what Sakura likes..." He muttered. "Ok, thanks for your help, I'll go ask Ino!" He yelled as he ran away. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and pulled out a new cigarette.


Sakura walked out of the hospital, the cool night breeze making her shiver. It was only 7pm but she could tell it was going to be a chilly night. She walked quickly to her apartment knowing she only had 30 minutes to get ready. Her heart beat jumped at the idea of a real date with Naruto. She knew what she was going to wear and she just hoped that he didn't wear something outrageous because that would disappoint her.

She unlocked her door and quickly changed into a black strapless dress that met above her knees and fit in all the right places. She quickly put her hair in a messy bun and her long bangs frame her heart shaped face. She put on eye liner so that her green eye stood out and quickly grabbed matching black heels and a clutch. It was quick and simple and Sakura was ready and walking out the door of her apartment, locking it behind her and started towards the Uchiha's place.

She silently wished she had brought a coat as she approached the old compound. She rubbed her arms to try to settle down the goose bumps on her arms. She sighed and could see her breath and found herself wishing she brought something to keep her warm. She looked up to see two figures waiting outside the compound. She quickly recognized them as her teammates and when she got closer she noticed that Sasuke was wearing a Dark blue button up shirt and dark slacks. He looked good like always but what caught her attention was Naruto, who wore a black button up shirt and dark slacks also and a thin black jacket that made him look very dashing. The black made his blonde stand out and his blue eyes sparkle even in the night light. Sakura felt herself blush and had to look away from staring. She didn't notice that she was having a similar effect on Naruto. Who tried to hide the fact his eyes had roved over her quite a few times and tried to act normal by saying hi in his natural obnoxious way even though the blush still covered his face. Sasuke resisted rolling his eyes and started walking towards their destination telling them to follow with a hand gesture. Sakura and Naruto trailed quietly trailed behind Sasuke, next to each other, stealing glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. It dawned on Sakura that something was off.

"Sasuke, wheres your date?" She questioned. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder.

"She will be there getting a table for us." Sakura felt that was a little suspicious and glanced over at Naruto who looked at her and seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Then why didn't we just all meet at the restaurant?" She questioned again. Sasuke shrugged.

"Thought I would keep the restaurant a surprise" He said monotoned and Sakura eyebrow rose in question. Naruto leaned to her ear and whispered.

"Teme's up to something..." He said gently so only she could hear. Sakura shivered from his warm breath on her skin. Naruto noticed the shiver and thought it was the night air and her lack of layers. "Here Sakura-chan." He shrugged of his jacket and put it on her shoulders. Sakura's face turned a pretty shade of pink and Naruto smiled his foxy grin and putting his arm around her shoulder pulling her close for extra warmth. Naruto knew this could get him punched for entering her personal space but it was his first real date with Sakura and he would make the most out of it if it had to be his last. Sakura tried to keep her beating heart down. This was completely different from what she thought being with Naruto would mean. She had thought it meant only dinners at the ramen stand and him talking obnoxiously non-stop that she couldn't even talk. Maybe she had been too harsh with her thoughts of him in the years earlier, maybe Naruto had boyfriend material after all.

Naruto glanced down at the smaller girl under his arm. He smirked to himself not being able to hide his pride of having her so close. She had no idea how beautiful she looked in that dress. It hugged her curves and her smooth skin glowed beautifully to the point he felt his fingers twitch to rubbed her bare shoulders to feel it. The black dress made her stand out in a good way. Actually in to many good ways and half of him didn't want anyone else to see her like this.

When they came up to a busier part of Konoha's nightlife they walked through the crowds quickly. Naruto slipped his arm from around Sakura's shoulder to her hand so he wouldn't lose her. He looked straight ahead, hoping her trailing form wouldn't catch the newest blush on his face and while Sakura was surprised at his bold move she didn't pull her hand away and found herself liking his bigger hand around her smaller hand. When they stopped in front of a fancier restaurant on the street, Sakura looked up at the sign and a horrid recognition washed over her. She now knew why Sasuke had decided to keep this a secret because this restaurant was famous for dancing typically more traditional dances like the waltz but this horrified Sakura because she was a girl who didn't like to dance in front of others. Naruto's hand squeezed hers and she looked to see a reassuring grin on his face but the butterflies in her stomach were back and she decided ramen stands looked better right now.

They walked in behind Sasuke and a familiar voice greeted them.

"Sasuke-kun, I got our seats over here." Sakura and Naruto eyes widened as the purple haired heiress waved them over with a smile. Naruto had let go of Sakura's hand at the sight of his ex and Sakura felt a cold clench in her heart at his warmth being gone. Naruto looked down right pissed and confused and grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and turned him around.

"Whats the big idea." He hissed with venom in his voice. Hinata had joined them and looked quite shocked at Naruto's angry face. Sasuke looked agitated at being man handled and Sakura could feel a brawl about to start. She put her hand on Naruto's arm and gently said;

"Naruto, calm down for a moment. I'm sure both Hinata and Sasuke have an explanation as why they are on a date together, lets hear them out before we jump to conclusions." She eased his arm off Sasuke and kept her hand on his arm just in case he tried to jump at Sasuke. She gave him and Hinata a pointed look to explain and Sasuke looked away as Hinata looked down at the floor and blushed.

"We started talking more when I came back," Sasuke started. "At first it was just when Naruto would come to the hospital and leave for a bit to go talk to you Sakura... but then she started come and visit on her own..." Naruto looked like he was about to hit Sasuke and Sakura couldn't blame him because he wasn't putting this in any gentle way. He was stating it bluntly and letting Naruto imagination run wild.

"How could you do that to me, teme!" He growled out feeling outraged.

"I think your misunderstanding." Sasuke said and Sakura had the urge to roll her eyes. How could Naruto not misunderstand where this was going. Sasuke continued, "I didn't hit on her or 'steal' her away. I simply formed a talking friendship with her when you would leave your girlfriend to see Sakura..." He said with annoyance. Hinata put her hand on Sasuke shoulder.

"How about I explain Sasuke-kun..." Sakura felt her eyebrow rise at the affectionate term but didn't say anything. "Naruto.. I already told you that I have known about your feelings for Sakura and it just came to a point where I couldn't take it any longer and broke up with you... It was after us breaking up that Sasuke asked me... and I- I don't think you should be upset because your on a date with Sakura..." She said boldly. Sakura felt like she was in the middle of a screwed up love square except she was the only one who had figured out her feelings. She sighed and everyone looked at her. She felt her cheeks tint pink for accidentally making herself the center of attention and obviously they were waiting on what she had to say. Well she knew what she was going to say:

"Fuck it." She muttered with some exasperation. Everyone gave her a confused look. She smiled at Naruto and took his hand. "I really fucking hate dancing but you know what, I really want to dance with you." Sasuke and Hinata still looked quite confused but Naruto gave her a foxy grin as if everything had clicked and he led her silently to the dance floor. He slid his hand around her waist, pulling her close and clasping his other hand with hers and laid his cheek on hers as the silently began to sway in small circles. He laughed silently but Sakura felt his chest vibrate from the laughter but she didn't look up at him. "Hmmm?" She asked while enjoying his warmth.

"Fuck it." He stated out loud but gently. She felt a blush come to her cheeks. "That is exactly all I could think at that moment too. After everything those two have put us through this week, and especially for you when it comes to Sasuke... I got it when you said all that... I got that I didn't care what those two did... I just came here to be with you." He whispered into her ear. Sakura felt the butterflies in her stomach and thought she might cry from joy that this man got what she was feeling so well and the fact that he felt the same made her want to cry even more. He gently kissed her forehead and she couldn't help but smile to herself. Soon the song was over and Sakura and Naruto knew they had to face the other couple soon. Naruto slipped his hand into Sakura's and squeezed it reassuringly like he was telling her that he wouldn't let go of her hand again.

When they came back to the table they had seen Sasuke and Hinata at they realized the two were now on the dance floor together. Sakura took a seat next to Naruto and glanced at the other couple. She rested her cheek on her hand and studied them.

"You know... they don't make that bad of a couple.." She said slowly, testing the waters. "It just kinda makes sense..." There was a moment of contemplating silence.

"Your right." He stated with a toothy smile and Sakura felt any previous uneasiness slip away. He glanced over at her and gave her another big grin.

"What.." She asked shyly.

"You still have my coat on you..." He slyly stated. She blushed again and decided that the napkin in front of her was more interesting. She thought she caught a glimpse of purple and blonde out the corner of her eye but when she looked over it was gone. She got up quickly and Naruto gave her a questioning look but she smiled reassuringly, gently sliding off the jacket and handing it to him and excusing herself. Sakura started towards the bathroom but stopped from turning the corner when she heard a familiar voice.

"Gray Owl, you are one lucky son of a bitch that Pink cat stopped Orange fox from pumbling Black Tiger. Your starting to make me wonder just how thought out you have this plan." She yelled into the speaker. It was a familiars man voice that answered but the distance made it hard for Sakura to tells who's it was.

"Settle down, Pink Cat and Orange Fox will get together tonight and the mission will be a success. He will ask her out and they won't have known any wiser..." Sakura backed away quickly before she was discovered and quickly sat down next to Naruto. Sasuke and Hinata were back and chatting with each other and Naruto looked a little nervous to talk, as if he doubted for once if he should join the conversation. Sakura sat down stiffly and she knew Naruto noticed as she felt his fingers ghost over her arm in a almost questioning manner. She threw a fake smile at him but she knew that did nothing to reassure him. Her heart was beating in her chest ans she was trying to stay calm as she analyzed this new information in her head.

"How about another dance Naruto-Kun." She threw out the honorific in hopes that he would notice something off. It seemed he noticed and he stood but Sasuke's voice interrupted them.

"Can it wait till after we order?" He stated. Sakura sat down slowly knowing if she argued that it would seem suspicious and she didn't know if they were in on this too. Sakura looked around the restaurant and noticed Ino across almost hidden from them at a table if it weren't for the outrageous sparkling dark purple dress she wore. She pretended she didn't see her best friend and then noticed Neji in a suit, almost hiding in the shadows across the other side of the room by the outside balcony. Things were starting to click in her brain but that still left a few unanswered questions... especially who gray owl was. She felt a little bit of her anger at being tricked into dating Naruto but glancing over at him she knew he was as innocent as she was. So the next question was, why had the two across from them joined this plan... It wasn't adding up. Sakura knew she was being suspicious when she looked at Sasuke and he was starring at her intensely like he was trying to read her thoughts. She then noticed that their waiter was there and everyone was waiting for her to order. She quickly exclaimed she would have the same as Naruto. After the waiter left she gently tapped Naruto's leg in a silent signal and he stood and held out his hand and she took it. He walked her to the beginning of the dance floor.

"A little farther." She whispered. He moved farther in without a pause. He pulled her close.

"Whats wrong?" He questioned.

"Keep close and don't let them see your mouth move." He nodded in recognition. "We were set up, quite literally." She whispered. He pulled back and gave her a shocked and confused look. "Ino and Neji are here... and probably a few others... most likely rookie nine but I don't know who's all involved." Naruto went to glance up but she pulled his head back down to stare at her. "Don't look." She hissed. They were quiet just dancing silently when Naruto broke the silence.

"So Hinata and Sasuke were in on it from the beginning." He muttered and Sakura nodded. He leaned his forehead against hers and gave her a sly smile. "We could get back at all them for this." She smiled and shrugged.

"But think of all the hard work they put into this... it would be a shame even if they deserve it." She said playfully. He mocked nodded in agreement.

"Your right... We can always beat the shit out of them later."

"I think that sounds like a brilliant plan but what should we do about us now..." She felt a rush of excitement at their joking banter.

"Well Sakura-chan, I love you as you know... and I was hoping you felt the same way so.. and everyone is trying so hard like we are idiots or something... so we might as well just make it official." She laughed at the his absurd logic.

"Well that was one of the worst confessions ever but I guess your lucky that... that I love you too." She blushed and Naruto smiled brightly.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan... I'll make it better. I love you and want only to be with you... please say yes." He whispered staring deeply into her eyes and made her turn bright red. She smacked his chest lightly as possible.

"Naruto! That sounded like a proposal!" She exclaimed. He shrugged good heartily and kissed her cheek.

"Take it as you will." He joked, which received him another playful smack from the girl he loved. She rolled her eyes but it lacked any annoyance.

"Yes." She whispered to his proposal. They both dance quietly as boyfriend and girlfriend. It dawned on her that their 'friends' were still watching them. "We still need to decide what to do with them..." She whispered. Naruto gave a sparring glance at the couple sitting at the table who stared at them intently whispering like them. He smirked at his evil idea.

"For now lets just leave them with the check and grab something to eat..." Sakura looked at his evil smirk and smirked back just as deviously.

"How about we get ramen to go and watch movies or something at your place." He pulled back and starred at her.

"... I love you." He whispered it utter joy, she just smiled back. They carefully danced towards the balcony windows and then stopped and stepped outside. Sakura pushed Naruto against the outside wall and stood on her toes to place a kiss on his lips. The action caught him off guard but he quickly wraped his arm around her waist and placed a hand behind her neck to gently deepen the kiss. After a moment they jumped from the balcony and headed for the nearest ramen stand.

At the other end of the long balcony a young man smirked as he puffed on his cigarette. A blonde headed woman came out and snatched the cigarette from him.

"Smart boys shouldn't smoke." She said.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. She smiled and pecked him on the lips.

"It looks like your plan worked out, though you should have told me from the beginning of the whole plan..."

"Your a terrible actress, you would have never been able to convey as much anger if I had told you to." She gave him a glare and he smirked. She pulled him inside and he sat down at their table. Temari dismissed herself to tell Hinata and Sasuke that Sakura and Naruto had left. A dark haired man sat next to Shikamaru.

"You know when you told me you wanted me apart of this plan and not to tell the rest I was involved... I thought it was crazy but than when you told me that all I had to do was walk up to Sakura that day in the park, I thought YOU were crazy..." Kiba took a breath and continued "... but you had this all planed out, didn't you? You knew almost exactly how everyone would act and what they would do... Hell, you even got Tsunade involved... and you left her out on the fact I was involved too. You just had this planned out from the beginning, right?" Shikamaru got up and pulled out his pack, deciding that Temari was distracted enough to get a quick smoke. He smirked at Kiba and just shrugged.

"I saw something troublesome and made it less troublesome." He stated as he walked away.


3 months ago. (1 month after Hinata and Naruto had been dating.)

Shikamaru walked down the hallway towards the now conscious Uchiha's room. Tsunade had put him in charge of keeping an eye on Sasuke and while he could think of many other things he would like "not" to do the lazy ninja had resigned himself to his part time babysitting. He walked in the room and wasn't surprise to see a blond ninja yammering away to his always best friend who sat looking bored in the hospital bed but Shikamaru caught the spark of happiness that glinted in his eyes. His eyebrow did raise a little at the ever quiet girl next to him who sat in his chair next to the window. They glanced at him when he entered but Naruto was distracted from what ever he had been talking about to greet him. Shikamaru nodded towards Sasuke before he acknowledged the powerful blond ninja before him.

"Hello to you too Naruto." He glanced at the Hyuuga who had yet to remove herself from his chair but found it might be quite rude to mention this yet and quick chat wouldn't hurt. Naruto decided then to finish his story and once Shikamaru had let him finish his story did Shikamaru cough to get his attention.

"Maybe you guys should visit Sakura." He said hoping his occupied chair would be his again because standing like this was getting troublesome and he was too lazy to go find another chair. An excitement sparked in Naruto's eyes at the mention of his favorite pink haired teammate.

"Your right! I'm going to go see her now. Wait here Hina-chan!" He yelled as he ran to open the door. Shikamaru felt an agitated sigh pass his lips at his failure to get the purple haired girl out of HIS chair. He caught the smirk of the Uchiha that knew why Shikamaru was getting annoyed about, but he was distracted by the noise made when he opened the door.

Sakura stood in front of Naruto, of course Naruto towered over her but she looked quite surprise to see him open the door. The goofy grin at seeing her could be heard in his voice.

"Sakura-chan! I was just about to go look for you!" He exclaimed with ever bit happiness. A blush came to her face at his sincere words and Shikamaru felt a spark of realization hit him and he wondered how he never noticed the two of them before. He watched as she smacked him playfully for being loud. The way she looked over his shoulder to make sure she did her job yet how she was completely aware of her proximity of Naruto. The way he leaned back in awareness of her need for space yet the blush on his face caught the genius eye. How he talked to her and yet even with a room full of people he was only seeing her as if she was the only there. Her glances at him and the softness in her face and eyes when she talked to him and when he followed her out of the room to continue talking to her, Shikamaru could still hear her soft laughter that followed down the hall.

How could no one not see it, they were perfect for each other. They had a balance of friendship and love. They were emotional but both stood for something. Their similarities would bring them strength and the differences would help improve each other.

The only problem was those two were in love with each other and didn't even know it.

During his observation he glanced between the two and back at the other two who sat quietly. They had watched it too and he could tell that they noticed it too. The hurt expression on Hinata's face told him this but the way the Uchiha glanced back at the shy girl told Shikamaru, he was fully aware too how this affected her. It was when he saw the lingering eye of the Uchiha give concern that the spark of an idea hit him. He smirked and walked up to Hinata.

"Not to be rude..." He interrupted her thoughts and the girl looked up at him with shock and an embarrassed blush on her face. "but... I would like my chair..." He said with a smirk. The Uchiha gave him a pointed look and he knew his plan would work. She stood up in embarrassment muttering an apology but Shikamaru put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a fake look of concern. "But first, I have an idea for you two... I'm sure what I just saw wasn't... unnoticed...by everyone here..." He stopped letting his words sink in and continued careful to not hurt the Hyuuga with his reasoning.

"But I believe that sometimes honesty with oneself is best... and for those two... I think they are not being honest with themselves and Hinata.. I believe you need to be honest to yourself too..." He walked her to the door turning her so he faced him again. "Please think about what I have said and when your ready and you believe what I said, come back here again and we-" he gestured to him and Sasuke "- will discuss this." He closed the door silently and smirked. While she thought about this he would have time to formulate the rest of this plan. It would be another month before she would come to them alone.

Hinata had tried to ignore it and not believe it but that month had been an eye opener and Shikamaru took the plan to the next step. He had formulated everything and conducted enough research to pull this off perfectly. None of them knew how he always knew how to control each pawn to maneuver the way he wanted. Sogi was a strategy game and Shikamaru's strategy was to always have your opponent's believe they were choosing were they went. He had controlled the game from the beginning.


Present time

Shikamaru pulled the lit cigarette to his lips again, inhaling his poison again and smirking as he watched Sasuke pull the dark haired girl to the dance floor for another dance. It was also at the hospital that he noticed that these two were perfect for each other. Sasuke needed someone quiet but strong. Someone he wouldn't find annoying and would listen to him and yet would be able to stimulate him. Someone with a gentleness to love his flaws and yet the strength to handle his demons. She needed someone who would be honest with her and wouldn't baby her. Would pick her up when she fell but wouldn't rush her. His guidance would give her a stronger resolve in this difficult life.

Shikamaru smirked. Their romance would take time for they did not have the strong friendship that Sakura and Naruto had created nor the comfortably to be themselves that the other two shared. No, they would take time like many other couple out there but Shikamaru knew the out come would be favorable.

Shikamaru took another puff and smiled as his girlfriend came over to him ready to lecture him on his addiction. A few troublesome things had to happen for things to become less troublesome but it all worked out to his favor. He grabbed his girlfriend around the waist and kissed her silencing the beginnings of her protest and he couldn't help the smirk the came to his lips while kissing her.

People said Shikamaru was a lazy ninja that did nothing unless told to, little did they know he was the best actor around.


The End

Oh, I'm good arn't I? Not what ANY of you expected. I do hope your not disappointed at all. "evil smirk"

I'm proud of this and would love feed back! thank you