Hey, people I know! I'm back again, sorry for the delay, but I've been having a bit of trouble with the fanfiction(dot)net website, not to mention the fact that I've been moving furniture for the last week and a half (don't ask), and that last week was nearly a total bust in terms of writing time (again, don't ask). Either way, here's the last part of this chapter - The next one begins the war, and a whole mess of battles (man, I need to decide which character's battles I'm simply going to drop, because there are only four battles that matter (all involve Naruto), and the rest are fillers. And we all hate filler-battles, do we not? Because of this, the next chapter may not be a multi-parter, or may be a multi-parter with short parts, I'm not completely sure yet.

Oh, and a rather psychotic friend of mine told me the other day that the line I used in the last chapter when Kakashi was talking to Obito at the Memorial Stone, 'Wouldn't you, Baka?' sounds a hell of a lot like 'Wooden Chewbacca'. He then threw on a shag carpet and made this wierd gurgling noise, before turning stone-still... I'm sorry, I mean wood-still (he made me write that). Yes, indeed, you could have done a lot worse than me, people.

Before we get to answering the reviews you people so kindly sent (Where are Nitro.exe, Jodie-Chan, Endolphines and the rest of the long-timers? I miss you guys, please review!), it has been brought to my attention by one very tongue-in-cheek just(underscore)curious that the chapter and part numbers for the last few submissions have been somewhat jumbled. Well, I'm going to take a leaf from Desaix's book and not go back to repair such things unless I deem the mistake critical.

Also, I'd like to ask you all to review my fic. If you liked it, say you did, if you didn't, say you didn't, if there was something specific that you loved or that annoyed you, tell me. I need this to become a better writer (and trust me, I have a long way to go.)

Right, now, to the reviews, and the answering thereof;

TVO - You have two very interesting points there. I wasn't thinking that Naruto would be the matchmaker, and I don't think I made him out to be one, but I think what I did do with him was having him be the guide to a happy ending, in a way.

In Anko and Kakashi's case, if Naruto hadn't told Anko where Kakashi was, she may have searched a bit longer, then given up, and back to square one we go. In Shikamaru's case, he never would have come up with the plan Naruto did, because he has never had the chance to try and understand the female psyche, and so believed that there was no way either woman would be willing to 'fight for him'. The irony here is, of course, that the girls have been fighting for him long before the chapter came to be.

Now, about the harem, I don't really want to reveal too much, but let's just say this: Naruto has a VERY big heart. Now, I know that it sounds incredibly immature, but that's the only way I can phrase it in one sentence. If you want more than that, then I guess I'll give it a go;

Naruto has a VERY big heart. He also has a bit of a problem with seeing people, especially women, get hurt, especially if it's because of him. So, when the first woman to fall in love with him, after Sakura, finds him in an emotionally unstable state and supports him, much as he did for her when she was like that... Well, I think you can fill out the rest.

Basically, to answer your question, no. It will be a two-way street, and you'll see that it is 'purdy'. Of course, like I said about twenty-skrillion times already, Sakura is Naruto's greatest love, is the girl of the main pairing, and is the 'alpha-female' of the Harem (since she is the most revered by its 'alpha-male'). That doesn't mean that Naruto can't ALSO love another woman, or two, or twenty (I'm just thinking of how far I can stretch this. He needs to revive the clan, after all ;) ).

Bruce - Yep, I kinda messed up with the ranks, but it felt like 'special jounin' shouldn't be a sort of lesser jounin, but a stronger jounin, and that an 'elite jounin' is just a nickname for the jounin whose power is elite. Well, my booboo, but I'm not gonna fix it. :p Thanks for the commentary, though. P.S. ANBU and ex-ANBU are generally more powerful and skilled, and thus higher ranked, than regular jounin, and since you have to be at least jounin-level to become a hunter-nin, it's sort of like having two ranks above jounin and below Hokage. Also, I just want to say here that for the love of all that is holy, sannin is NOT a frikkin' rank! It's a singular title that cannot be transferred, and that only three people possess; Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru. There is no promotion to sannin, nor is it that only three people can be sannin at any given time - there are only three sannin, PERIOD!

JohnnyG - First off, I really appreciate the feedback, man. Second, there will be either three or four girls in the harem (two girls isn't a harem. It's fun, but it isn't a harem), Hinata being the one who is 'up in the air' - I really like the idea of a female Haku, and I really want to explore that, since it would seem that it is pretty rare, and I just love the rarities. Third, you'll see the beginning of the existence of a female Haku in the next submission (that is, not this one). :p

Proforce - Actually, if the female jinchuuriki would go feral, you wouldn't get a cat-girl, since that isn't an actual transformation (you'll see what I mean when the day comes). However, I can tell you that you'll see a fox-guy in the War, -winkwink-.

Conceptor - Actually, the reason I'm updating faster is that I really fucked up with chapter four, not writing anything in a really long time. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though.

Martrex - As one of the bigger reviews, I first wanted to thank you for the effort. Also, I'll accept your advice on the battles, and you'll see what I've actually decided to do with the lemon (you'll notice that I don't have a lemon warning here).

UnknownShinobi - Thank you!

Vex The Warlord - A lot of suggestions, dude, thanks. Oh, and Bijuu is tailed-beast (bi - tail, juu - beast).

Delbi18 - Okay, that was some mighty ignorant shit you put out there, no offense. First off, this is an AU fic, so of course Naruto is going to be OOC. And as for Kakashi, I'd just like to point out that Naruto already beat Kabuto when he was 12-13, who, at the time, at least, was on par with Kakashi in terms of power (Kakashi still has more experience). Now, after being trained rigorously by Jiraiya for two and a half years, and his power growing exponentially (because he'll have to battle people a LOT stronger than Kakashi and survive - Akatsuki, people!) Lastly, I wholeheartedly agree on the ass thing. You'll see. (Gosh, the beginning was offensive, wasn't it? Sorry, dude!)

Khezgaan - Sheesh, why do I bother writing the opening notes, anyway. I've said this a frikkin' bajillion times already; Yes, it isn't going to end with NaruXSakuXIno, although whether it's one more girl or two, I haven't decided yet.

Dobe-Teme - Actually, so far as the HinaXKiba thing goes... you'll see, I suppose. As for Haku, I think Kishimoto just likes to mind-fuck people, although I don't remember any other gender-confused characters in Naruto. Rin - well, she died, really. Does it matter why?

Anyone and everyone who gave me advice for the bijuu, thank you all so much!

Disclaimer: Yes, I own Naruto! Wanna make somethin' of it? Didn't think so!


A Different Sort of Naruto

By Daniel Goldberg

Chapter five: Love With No Regrets

Part Three: True Love


Two weeks, Sakura pondered, Two weeks, two days, nine hours and twenty… She looked at the watch she had on her wrist, the one Naruto had given her just two days before, twenty-four minutes. That was the amount of time that had passed since the last night she spent with Naruto – The night of his birthday. Ever since then, the most time they spent together was about four or five hours on the odd Saturday, while the average time was one hour, maybe two. The rest of the time was spent working (especially for Sakura, at the hospital), training (especially for Naruto, who was doing his best to come up with techniques, train his Aohigan skills, and spar as much as he could, with as many people as he could.

Two days ago, when Naruto had come over to Sakura's place, she all but charged at him when she saw him at the door. It had been a long, grueling day at the hospital, and there was still one last thing she had to do. And she couldn't do it alone.

The group that was sent to meet with Sasori's henchman had finally reported back and given their report to Tsunade. The Hokage gave Sakura a censored version of the report, including hardly anything, aside from one very interesting fact about Sasuke.

It seemed that about a month prior (that is, at about the same time as Naruto and Sakura's return from the Sand), Sasuke had run away from the Sound, and no-one there had any idea as to where he had gone.

After she and Naruto read the report, he gave her a sweet, soft kiss, gave her the watch, an amazingly elegant piece, of an incredibly dark red, with the hands made of silver, and left, saying he had some stuff to think about. Some one-month anniversary that was.

The day after, she swung by Naruto's place, wanting to talk with him about the previous night and maybe get him out of the house for a date, but when the door opened up, the only one standing there was Anko. She clearly remembered the conversation she had with the older woman.


"…And then he kissed me, gave me this watch and just left." Sakura finished her retelling of last night's events.

"Okay…" The older woman said, "Well, maybe he just needed some time to think. This is a big deal for him, to know that that Uchiha is out of Orochimaru-yaro's grasp, at least for now."

"It's a big deal for me too," Sakura said, indignantly, "I had feelings for Sasuke for a long, long time. I was in love with him, for Kami's sake."

Anko looked thoughtful for a few moments, then began to speak at a slow pace, "Well, maybe that's it."

"Maybe what's what?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Maybe he's afraid that you're still in love with the Uchiha, Sakura." Anko explained, "That was always a touchy subject with him, after all."

Sakura sighed. The woman was right, of course; There were very few subjects that Naruto was as unconfident about as the subject of her feelings for Sasuke. Feelings that, needless to mention, were entirely a thing of the past. Mostly. Okay, so she wasn't completely over Sasuke, but who ever got over their first love this… quickly?

Oh, who the fuck am I trying to kid? Sakura should have gotten over Sasuke a long time ago. And with Naruto here, with her, being everything she could ever ask for and always wanted in a man, she really had no business even thinking about that guy. But, for some reason, she couldn't help it. "Maybe he's right, Anko-chan…" She sighed, not prepared for the reaction she was about to receive.

Anko grabbed Sakura's collar and lifted her up about two feet in the air, hissing at her, "You had better have a very good explanation for what you just said, Sakura, or you're going to need some heavy medical jutsus by the time I get through with you."

"Anko-chan…" Sakura gasped.

"Because no-one, and I mean no-one is going to hurt the kid, so long as he's got me. You get me?"

"Anko-chan," Sakura said when she finally extracted herself from the kunoichi's grasp, "I didn't mean it like that, and I definitely don't want to hurt Naruto-kun."

Anko looked skeptical, as she said, "Is that right?"

The younger woman retorted defiantly, "Yes, it is! I love Naruto, more than I ever loved Sasuke, more than I'll ever love anyone, it seems. The last thing I want him to be is hurt."

"Alright then," Anko replied, "So, if you love the kid as much as you say, then why are you saying that you may still be in love with Sasuke?"

"Because I can't seem to put him behind me." Sakura said, exasperated at herself, "I mean, what else could it be other than I'm still in love with him?"

Anko raised an eyebrow, "There are enough other things that it could be, Sakura; off the top of my head, you could be scared that things are getting serious between you and Naruto and so, when news come about Sasuke, you try to escape to the relationship with him – the one that was always easy, 'cuz it never went anywhere. There are a lot more situations that might be the case here, and you still being in love with Sasuke is merely one of the possibilities." She then led her to the door, telling her with the most serious countenance Sakura had ever seen on her face, "Either way, you need to figure it out, and quick. If you don't, Naruto is going to get hurt. And, if nothing else, I believe what you said about not wanting that to happen to him."


And for the last day Sakura had been trying to do just that; to figure out what was wrong with her. And she had come to some useful conclusions.

First, she was not in love with Sasuke anymore. Sure, she still held feelings for him, but he was her first crush, and she reasoned that it wasn't unusual for her to still feel something, so long as it wasn't love of the intimate variety. Hopefully, Naruto's thinking would be in the same vein.

Second, she was definitely in love with Naruto. Sure, she had already told him that she loved him several times, and it was completely genuine, but, as most people tend to find out eventually, there is a difference between loving someone, and being in love with someone. It was a subtle nuance, but one that made all the difference. Because while she was broken hearted over Sasuke's leaving, she had managed to get over it enough to try and do something about it – get Tsunade to train her, so she could help the people she held dear, like Naruto and Sasuke.

If Naruto left her now, however, Sakura knew she would never get over the pain. And if it was her fault he left, she'd never get over the guilt either. Most likely, Sakura would be a wreck for years, if she ever recovered at all.

And while her brain was telling her that she was overreacting, and that there is no way that could happen, her heart knew better; She was connected to Naruto now on a level deeper than anyone else she had ever met., and most probably ever will. Losing Naruto, losing that connection, would scar her soul for life, and even if she did find happiness – or even love – again, it would only be partial.

And the third and most annoying discovery of all was that, for all of those words, and for the complete and total sincerity behind them, she was afraid. Afraid of progressing anywhere with Naruto. Why was she afraid? Sakura couldn't answer the question, no matter how she tried. Did she not trust Naruto? Did she not trust herself? Did she not believe that her love for him was truly strong? All questions to rephrase the original, and each answered by a firm 'Of course I do!' It wasn't her parents she was afraid of. After all, they were two of the people who admired him most throughout his life, which was the reason they had never complained about her being teamed up with him.

Then why was she afraid of taking any steps forward with Naruto?

And then she realized the reason; the reason for her fear, the reason for why she hesitated when Naruto left and didn't run right after him… The reason she questioned her love for him for the tiniest of moments; She had no fuckin' clue where 'forward' was, even less an idea of how to get there, and virtually not a clue of what would happen when she got there.

For a kunoichi who prided herself on her brains, not having the slightest idea for what to do, or what the consequences of the action would be, well, it was one of the scariest things imaginable.

But, she knew, as she stood up from her bed and exited her room, that in the Rock-Paper-Scissors of romance, love trumps fear. Actually, she thought with a smirk, Love trumps everything.

As she made her way down the stairs and to the den, Sakura turned to one of the few people she trusted to guide her to the right choice, and the person who happened to be closest at the moment. She slid aside the door and said, "Hey, mom, can I ask you something?"


Looking in the mirror, Naruto took the time to admire his figure as presented in his new ensemble – the one Anko had given him three days prior. Navy colored from neck to toe, apart from a black vest of the sort usually given to chuunin on their promotion (it was Anko's way of saying that he had it 'in the bag', as it were), black gloves, fingerless beyond the first knuckles, and black shoes. Of course, under the cover of darkness, his clothing would appear to be entirely black, but that was, really, of no current consequence.

The pants were a few notches above skin tight, so that they allowed for a lot of maneuverability, weren't likely to get caught on anything, were comfortable, and didn't 'show off the merchandise', to coin a phrase. The top, however, which consisted of a skin-tight, yet extremely comfortable tank-top above a net shirt, did, in fact show off Naruto's assets, and quite proudly at that; Chiseled torso muscles (packs of all numbers and varieties), broad shoulders, and arms just as chiseled as the torso, were all shown for the world (and all its women) to see.

Naruto always did enjoy getting attention. Knowing that all he had to do now to get that from girls was basically walk around was an extremely enjoyable thought. The downside was that the thought reminded him of Sasuke, who had, for the longest time, it seemed, been the target for said attention. And the thought of the missing-nin brought a scowl to his face.

Because Naruto had sworn an oath, and he wasn't making steps to fulfilling it. He swore to Sakura, by the promise of a lifetime, that he would bring Sasuke back for her. Back to her. But, now that he had Sakura, he was afraid to go after Sasuke. For if he managed to catch Sasuke, and bring him back to Konoha, what then? Would Sakura stay with him, or would she go back to Sasuke?

Naruto wasn't optimistic enough to trust in the first option. But, he had sworn an oath, hadn't he? And was his nindo not to never go back on his word? Then, by refusing to go after Sasuke, by surrendering to the fear of losing Sakura, Naruto was betraying himself, as well as Sakura. He had promised her, and he always keeps his promises, no matter what it entails.

And as he faced the fear of losing Sakura, confronted it, and accepted it, Naruto decided to enjoy his time with Sakura as best he could, because, when push would come to shove, after he brought him back, she might just choose Sasuke.

Naruto wouldn't notice the drop of salty water fall to the floor until more would come. He would then track them to his eyes and slowly, but surely, collapse in front of the mirror.

For Sakura was his everything, and when faced with the very real prospect of losing her, the only thing his body could stand to do was cry.


When Sakura let herself into Naruto's house and made her way to the master bedroom, she didn't expect to see Naruto sitting in front of the mirror, silently sobbing. "…Naruto-kun?" She ventured hesitantly.

"S-Sakura-chan?" He said, visibly surprised, as he jumped to his feet and hastily wiped his cheeks and put on a huge grin. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura frowned slightly, "Watching the man I love pretend he wasn't crying half a minute ago."

Naruto's smile fell instantly, "Oh, so you saw it."

"Yes, I did," she walked up to him and held him close, "Can you tell me why, koi?"

He leaned into her head, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Yeah, it's…" His speaking stalled to a halt.

"Is it because of the report? Because of Sasuke?"

"Yeah, sorta."

"Why does the thought of him make you cry?"

Naruto gave a small mirthless laugh, "I'm not crying because I'm thinking about him."

"Then what are you thinking about?"

He flopped down on his bed, taking her down with him. They lay there for a few good moments before he spoke up again. "You. Me. Us."

Sakura looked at his face to see that his gaze was pointed directly upwards, but didn't appear focused. "What about us is making you cry?"

There was silence, before more silence came, and then, he interrupted the silence with his answer, phrased as a question, "What is going to be our end, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura took a minute to ponder that question, and then spoke, "Well, let's see… I can see up until the end pretty clearly." She saw him get up on one elbow, looking at her, but didn't stop, "I can see our wedding. Beautiful, with pink and white and yellow everywhere, and orange too, don't worry. And all of our friends are there, even the people from the Sand. I can see you, finally becoming Hokage. I can see our children, a boy, a girl, and another boy. I can see them graduating the academy, and becoming genin, then chuunin, then jounin. I can see them marrying and having kids of their own." She leaned forward, pressing her lips shortly on his, "I can see us happy, Naruto-kun, from now until forever."

A smile found its way to his countenance. "You know what?" A true, genuine smile.

"No, what?"

A smile that let her know that he wasn't going to cry about them again anytime soon. "I think I can see it too."


Naruto was smiling. Naruto was happy. Naruto wasn't worried anymore. He was in love with a woman who was equally in love with him. And nothing was going to change that. Nothing, and no-one.

He wrapped his arms around her lying form and held her close to him. He breathed in the scent of her hair once more, Strawberry… Still nuzzling her long smooth pink locks, he whispered to her, "I love you so much, Sakura-chan. Every minute that I don't spend with you is a minute I spend missing you, and every minute I spend with you is a minute where I am the happiest I've ever been."

Naruto could feel a slight dampness on her cheek, and pulled back slightly, to see that she was smiling. "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

Smiling, Naruto rolled on top of Sakura and planted his lips firmly on hers. Quickly he slipped his tongue out of his mouth and into hers, lightly tapping her own. Her tongue seemed to almost flinch with surprise, but quickly joined his in what could best be described as a wrestling match.

A few moments later he pulled away, and, through her gasping, Sakura felt compelled to ask, "What was that for?"

He just smiled widely at her. "Just for being you."


The day of Neji and Tenten's wedding was a blissfully beautiful one. Clear blue skies, a slight breeze, and the warm sun made it the exact opposite of what one would expect from a November wedding. The days prior to this were rainy and it seemed that the sky had now run dry. It was now a full week since the day that Sakura had found Naruto crying in his bedroom. The same day that they decided to move in together.


They had been lying on his bed, enjoying each other's company (that is, making out), when she just brought up the topic of wishing they could always be like this. He then said that if only they were older, she could move in with him. Her reply was that if he wanted, she could move in with him that very day.

He had asked her if she was serious, and when she nodded, asked if she wanted this. It was at that point that she lightly bopped him on the head, saying she wouldn't have offered otherwise. He held his hand behind his head and chuckled embarrassedly (a hard feat to accomplish while lying down).

She had brought her important belongings to his house that very afternoon, and they were both settled in comfortably by nightfall. He'd offered her a choice of room, to which she had replied with, 'Wherever you sleep is fine with me.' Naruto was visibly flustered by that (what he considered to be) brazen offer from his girlfriend, but relaxed himself quickly by repeating in his head the mantra, 'Nothing's gonna happen. We're just a couple of teenagers. Nothing's gonna happen.' And it helped, for all of twenty-three seconds (Most probably owing to the 'teenager' part of the mantra).

He hadn't had much sleep that first night. She slept like a baby.


Having received his cue, Naruto began walking up the aisle, Ino's arm in his. The girl seemed slightly flushed, and Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the thought. Could she be attracted to me? Or is it that being seen in public so close to me, the dead-last demon of Konoha, is making her embarrassed? And, to be frank, neither option was very appealing – if the first still a lot more appealing than the latter – for although the second option was an embarrassing and hurtful notion, the first entailed the chance that he might break the girl's heart.

Because no matter how far Naruto would let his hormonally-driven imagination take him, he knew that Sakura wouldn't agree to sharing him… At least he didn't think she would… And he'd have to tell Ino 'No', which would probably hurt her. Well, aren't we pompous? Ain't gonna happen, either way, Naruto, so just make it to the end of the aisle. And don't be a douchebag. He only barely stopped himself from shaking his head to clear his mind, and continued walking up the aisle

They split at the end of the aisle, Naruto joining Kiba, Lee and Neji at the right, each looking equally resplendent in their tuxedos (for some reason, Neji and Tenten chose a western-style wedding), Neji in his black, Lee, the best man, in his darkened olive-green, Kiba, sans Akamaru, in dark gray, and Naruto himself, cutting a dashing figure in his Navy blue tux, if he did say so himself (which he didn't, because that would sound a touch too… gay, for his comfort).

Looking to the opposite side of the small pseudo-stage they stood on, Naruto saw the girls, all dressed in identical cyan dresses. Ino was directly opposite him, giving him a casual, if hesitant glance very few seconds (which got Naruto concerned that he might have been right with his first guess).

Sakura, at the far right, looked absolutely amazing, from the way her dress hugged her body in exactly the right way at exactly the right places, to the glowing smile on her face. It was clear that she was excited to be Tenten's maid-of-honor.

Between those two stood Hinata. The girl, at one time so unbelievably enamored with him that she couldn't even speak properly around him (a fact that had, from the get-go, doomed whatever relationship they could have had as more than friends), wasn't even looking at him now, not even glancing his way. Her focus was entirely on her boyfriend, Kiba – Not even Neji was getting any of the girl's attention at the moment, so focused was she on Kiba.

Naruto was glad for her, and slightly disappointed, which, in turn, made him a fair bit frustrated; Glad that she had found someone else, and wasn't wallowing or being generally depressed, disappointed that she had found someone else so soon after being told of Naruto's relationship with Sakura (for, even if he didn't say so out loud, he enjoyed the knowledge that someone out there wanted him and believed in him, and even loved him, besides Sakura), and frustrated that he wasn't just happy for her, and, instead, was being incredibly self-centered.

The wedding march sounded, and Tenten, accompanied by her father, began walking up the aisle towards them. Her dress, white and of a simplistic style, seemed to almost shine around her under the afternoon sun. She looked majestic, and Naruto could only barely contain the sudden urge to let out a whistle.

The ceremony was short, but beautiful, and though neither bride nor groom had written original wedding vows, it was beyond clear that they meant to uphold those spoken by the priest. To love, cherish, honor, and obey each other, until death do them part. If one didn't see it as a standard for wedding vows, one could see that it was really quite touching.

Either way, after no one objected to the union, the now Mr. and Mrs. Hyuuga Neji kissed each other deeply, and the ceremony ended.


Five days have passed since the wedding. And the day after the next would be the beginning of the third test of the Chuunin finals. This night, however, was the night that Sakura decided will be her 'first time.' Though it was still a slight bit embarrassing thing to think about, Sakura had decided days ago that tonight, if he would have her, she would give herself to Naruto, willingly and completely.

It all really started with a conversation she had with Ayame, the waitress at Ichiraku's, where the woman had told her, unabashedly, she might add, about her previous night in the company of one Umino Iruka – Their first time together in that fashion. Sakura had asked the older female how it could be, because they had only been dating for a month.

Ayame had burst out laughing then and there, saying that if Iruka had been going on missions, and not simply teaching at the Ninja Academy, she would have gotten him into bed three days after they started dating.


"It's a dangerous world out there, Sakura-chan," she said, "Especially for ninjas. If he was always in risk of dying, like on a mission or whatever, then I couldn't stand the thought of never having been with him that way."

Sakura had to pause while she processed that information, before going out to a slightly different tangent, "Was he your first?"

"Iru-kun?" Ayame asked, "No, no… He was my second, though."

"Well, who was your first, then?" Sakura asked, consumed with interest.

"I…" She began, but quickly stopped herself, "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but I can't tell you before I know he's okay with it."

Sakura nodded, "Well, then, what can you tell me?"

Ayame seemed to ponder that for a few seconds. "Well, he was pretty anxious… It was his first time too. And he wasn't really sure that he wanted to do it, at first."

"Really? Why?"

"He said that it was because I was in a fragile state (my last boyfriend broke up with me a few hours before that), and he didn't want to take advantage of it like that, but I knew better; Years back, he had a crush that pretty much fell apart. He said he got over it, but I knew he didn't really."

"Okay…" The pink-haired kunoichi said, "Then what happened? It doesn't sound like very fertile grounds for lovemaking."

"Well, after he said that, I asked him to just let me sleep in his arms. I needed someone, and he understood that, so he agreed. We were lying in bed for a few minutes, and I just… I just started kissing him. One thing led to another, and he ended up spending the night with me."

"So," an excited Sakura let out, "How was he?"

"Mmm, a-ma-zing," Ayame said dreamily, "Well, not so much at first; It was like he knew what to do, but wasn't sure if he actually had the right information. Kind of like he was taught the 'practical' only in theory. As soon as he gained some confidence, though…"

"That good, huh?"

"Better."

"Wow. So, now, I have only one question to ask you…"

"No, I'm not going to tell you!"

"Oh, come on, Ayame! Please?"

"No! I'm not gonna tell you!"

"Pleasepleasepleaseplease!"

Ayame had had enough. Sakura could really be a pest when she wanted to. (Just ask Sasuke –D.G.) "Alright, already!"

"Yay!" Sakura cheered.

"But you have to promise me that you're not gonna get upset, okay?"

An eyebrow was quirked, "Why would I get upset?"

Ayame shook her head profusely, "Promise."

"Fine," Sakura sighed, "I promise I won't get upset."

Ayame seemed to question her sincerity a bit, but reluctantly spoke, "Okay. The man that was my first was," All of a sudden, a figure pulled aside the small curtain of the ramen stand, sitting down next to Sakura, "Naruto?"

"Hey Ayame," The blonde said, "Can I get one pork?"

Now, it is a standing rule in almost all of script- and story-writing that if someone attempts to verbally reveal another's identity, and is interrupted by that same person's arrival at the scene of occurrence, the 'snitch', as he might be called, calls out the person's name, but none of the other present characters understand that he is indeed the one spoken of, regardless of the perfect, correct sentence that is spoken. As you may have understood, that is not the case here.

'The man who was my first was… Naruto?' Sakura realized instantly. It fit. The kind personality of Ayame's lover, his broken crush (which meant that it must have happened before they actually got together, which, in turn, meant he hadn't cheated on her. Thank the gods.), and as for his sexual prowess, it could be easily explained away by Jiraiya's perverted books. After all, Naruto was a healthy man, and two and a half years in the company of that man must have exposed Naruto to the content of the books.

"koi…" She began in a soft growl, "Did you sleep with Ayame?"

Naruto appeared shocked, but then his face softened slightly, and he spoke to Ayame, "You told her, huh?"

Ayame smiled embarrassedly, "Not in so many words, but yeah. Sorry."

Naruto waved it off, "Forget about it, it's done." He then turned to Sakura, "So… Are you mad?"

Sakura smiled at him, "No, since you're being honest. It was before we happened, right?"

Naruto nodded, "The second night after I came back."

"Then I have nothing to blame you for. You didn't cheat on me, and from what Ayame tells me, you didn't initiate it either."

"So…" Naruto ventured, "I'm in the clear?"

"Don't get me wrong, Naruto," She was satisfied with how he flinched at her omission of the '-kun' suffix, "I'm not happy about it. I do, however, forgive you."

Apparently doing the one thing he could think of, aside from shutting up and nodding, Naruto picked Sakura up in a hug and gave her one of the deepest, most passionate kisses he'd ever given her. He chuckled when, upon releasing her, the girl seemed to have been put in a daze. He then poked her in the chest, pushing her back onto her seat. She was still in a state of pleasant shock when Ayame spoke up.

"Cool. Can you do that to her every time?"

"I dunno," Naruto smirked, "I could try, but I think she might develop a tolerance."

"Kami, I hope not." The comment came from the pink-haired girl herself. "Wait," She blurted, "Did I just say that out loud?"

They all burst out laughing.


And now, it would be their first time together, completely, totally. As soon as she gathered up the guts to ask him.


Tsunade looked up from her papers, her eyes landing upon a familiar figure. "Jiraiya," She muttered, "What is it now?"

"Sheesh," Scoffed the sannin, "I haven't even said hello yet."

Tsunade sighed, "Sorry… I just have a lot of work preparing for the chuunin finals, a lot of stress."

A light seemed to shine from Jiraiya's eyes, "Ah, but that is exactly why I'm here." At Tsunade's quirk of the eyebrow, he continued, "You need something to loosen you up a bit. It won't be any good if you have to fight and all your muscles are tense from all this planning and worrying."

That had the blonde's interest pique, "And what do you have in mind for that? Sake?"

The white haired hermit laughed lightly, "Usually a safe assumption, but no, not this time. I wish to extend you my services as a masseuse."

"Excuse me?" Tsunade replied, a slight anger present in her voice.

Jiraiya caught how she must have misinterpreted his sentence, and, shaking his arms wildly, explained himself, "Nothing like that, Tsunade, I swear! I just learned a few massage techniques during my travels, in some of the massage parlors I went to. Legitimate massage techniques!"

"You mean you actually went to real massage parlors?"

"Of course! Not even I can be perverted all of the time." Jiraiya looked offended, until he winked at her.

Tsunade chuckled, and then shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

He clasped his hands together, obviously pleased, "Great. Now, then, get undressed and on your bed, face down." He then hurriedly added, "I promise I won't peek."

A few minutes later, after knocking, he entered her room. She was lying on the bed, face down, like he asked, but it was clear that she was tense. "Hey, Tsunade-chan," He said, hoping to shock her out of her tenseness, "Just relax. I promise, on my life; No unauthorized perversion."

Tsunade bit back a laugh, "Well, don't expect to get any authorizations from me, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya only said one thing in return, in a soft, gentle voice, "I never expected to get anything from you, Tsunade-chan. I only ever hoped."

And with that, he began working at her back and shoulders, kneading knots free and relaxing tense muscles, leaving her to contemplate the meaning of his words, while being able to finally, for the first time in nearly a month, let herself relax.

For Jiraiya's part, he was having a rough time trying to ignore the moans and groans of the prone woman, and was eventually unsuccessful. He did, however, do a pretty good job, for Jiraiya, at least, at not attaching a sexual tone to her voice. Which meant, of course, that he still couldn't help but find it all extremely arousing.

Truly, it was a miracle that he managed not to do anything perverted. For the way his hand slid gently over her cloth-covered buttock was completely accidental, honest! Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice that small amount of improper physical contact.

Or so he thought. Tsunade did, in fact, notice it, but for all the world she didn't mind it. Was it a sort of 'relaxation overdose'? Perhaps, but she didn't care; At that moment, she didn't care what Jiraiya did with her, so long as it made her feel good. That didn't mean she'd let him pseudo-rape her if he wanted to, but she really wouldn't mind it if he squeezed her buttock a bit more. Actually, she thought, That would be rather nice

Unfortunately for her, Jiraiya was dead-set on not acting perverted without proper authorization. A hermit lives by his word – it is all he has in this world. Well, maybe not all he has… After all, he had Naruto – the best (and most amusing) pupil he'd ever had the pleasure of teaching, Konoha – now his home once more, as he had no intention of leaving (not until the deal with the Rock is settled, anyway), and Tsunade – his longtime crush, who he was finally managing to get close to, after all these years… So, maybe he did have more than just his word to live by, and for.

Tsunade broke his train of thought then, by turning over, her front covered by her robe, and looking him dead in the eyes, "Jiraiya…" She spoke softly at the sight of him standing up to make a bit of room between them.

"Yeah?" Was all he could come up with.

"Do you remember the last time we were both in this room together?" She asked him.

He nodded, "It was about a month and a half ago… You were pissed drunk, thanks to the sake I brought us, and I carried you from the Hokage Monument terrace back here, laid you down on this bed, and left."

"And that was it?" She asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Well, there was one more thing…" He said tentatively, before becoming slightly confused at the knowing look she gave him, "You were really drunk, and emotional, and… And you kissed me."

Tsunade sighed, "So that was real, then."

Jiraiya nodded. There were a few good minutes of silence before he spoke up again, "So, what do we do, now that the cat's out of the bag?"

Tsunade looked to contemplate that for a few moments, "Well, first off, you are going to explain why you didn't come with that to me before today, and why you tried to hide it just now."

It was now Jiraiya's turn to sigh, "Like I said, Tsunade, you were drunk, and emotional, so I figured it must've not meant anything real and I suppose I didn't want to get my hopes up over nothing."

"What do you mean, 'get your hopes up'?" She asked, thinking he must have thought that if there was something real there, then it'd be easier to get her into bed. Boy, was she in for a shock.

"I mean get my hopes up that the girl I loved since I was twelve has finally fallen for me."

"Wh-What?"

Jiraiya nodded solemnly, "…Yeah."

In her sudden state of shock, Tsunade could only find this to say, "Wh-Why didn't you tell me until today?"

Jiraiya made an odd sound somewhere between a snort and a sigh, "Please, Tsunade, you could never like me enough for anything to happen between us."

She stayed silent. What could she say to that? Except, maybe… "How can you be so sure of that?"

He wasn't sure what to make of the question, so he simply answered her, "I think you told me why years ago; 'Antisocial perverse idiot."

Tsunade couldn't place that phrase in any conversation she remembered having with the white-haired man, but she had no reason to doubt his candor. "Listen, Jiraiya, I can't say that I remember when I said that, but I'm still sorry I did… It was-"

"Completely truthful," he told her with a sad smile.

A tense silence fell between the sannin before, finally, Jiraiya went for the door. "Hope I helped you relax a bit, Tsunade," He said in an unusually quiet tone, "You've earned a short reprieve."

Before he made it through the doorway, however, Tsunade pulled him around, looking him dead in the eyes.

"Tsu-Tsunade…"

She didn't know why she was doing what she was doing. For that matter, she wasn't even sure what it was she was doing. But still, she held him there, her hand on his arm, and slowly traveling up to his neck.

"Tsunade, what are you-?"

He didn't get to finish the sentence, as suddenly he felt warm, luscious lips pressed against his own, and his vision was blocked by platinum-blond locks.

Why was she kissing Jiraiya? The question circled around in her mind while she let her lips suckle on his. The answer was very obvious when it finally came; She needed to know if truly nothing could happen between her and this man.

She found, much to her surprise, that something was already there. The dull shivers at the base of her spine were proof enough. It reminded her of what it felt like with Dan. She held him closer to her and fell backwards onto the bed, still clinging onto his form.

She would wake up in an empty bed, come morning, and would feel betrayed for a good few moments. Then, however, she would find a note he left her on the bed stand;

'Tsunade-chan (can I call you that now?),

What happened last night… Well, it can be something big, or nothing at all, and it's up to you.

If you felt what I felt last night, then I'd like to see this through to the end.

Otherwise, that was the best "research session" of my life.

Jiraiya.'

She would chuckle lightly then, before getting up to search for the white-haired sannin.


Wow, was the only thought on her mind as she lay on the soft, warm bed, beside him. She felt a little sore, but more that that, she felt warm, loved, satisfied and happy.

"Wow," He echoed her thoughts. He, too, was feeling slightly sore, but in his muscles, and for a slightly different reason (that is, not from the tearing of any delicate tissue). Also, he, like she, felt warm, both inside and out, loved, and sated.

Nothing about that night felt the slightest bit anticlimactic; The sensations, both physical and emotional, were precisely what they'd both imagined they would be; Amazingly awesome. Never before had they felt such closeness, such intimacy, with anyone else, and both doubted they ever would, at least not with anyone else.

In blissful calm, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto fell asleep.

A few hours later, Naruto would be surprised to be awakened by Sakura, who would ask him, after a very deep kiss, for 'another round.'


Yosh! Now, since this is the last part of chapter five, we can celebrate the finish of one more chapter! Bring on the sake and geishas (the otaku version of 'ale and whores', in case you were wondering)!

Now that we got that bit of psychosis out of the way, I want to apologize to all of you pervs out there (you know who you are) who wanted to see a lemon here. I'm sure you feel more than a little gypped at getting that 'citrus-scented' bit at the end instead of even something lime. The reason for my doing this is that I didn't feel ready to write a Naruto lemon yet, and I knew that if I tried, it would come out half-assed at best, and I simply don't settle for quality where I can help it.

Now, you must be wondering why I had them have their first time in this chapter if I wasn't going to write it, and the answer is very simple, although many of you would probably disagree with me; Neither wanted to have any regrets at the end of all things, and since Naruto was a target of the assassination (it stands to reason that he, Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya or even Kakashi probably let it slip, or otherwise simply told her, that he was a target. I didn't write this in because, frankly, I couldn't stomach the drama that was to come from that. Call me lazy if you want), he was quite likely to perish. That, coupled with what Ayame told her, made Sakura not want to miss out on that with Naruto. Basically, the reason I wrote it was because it was the logical conclusion (and also, that's how I planned it since I started thinking about the "War").

Right, now, about Ino (hopefully you've noticed that Naruto is beginning to notice her attraction to him, even if he doesn't believe it's real)… I don't know how much I can tell you people without revealing more than I'd like, but I can tell you that, most probably, this fic will become a NaruXSakuXIno fic in the chapter (or several chapters) following the conclusion of the "War" arc. Sheesh, I'm starting to think in arcs. I hope that isn't an omen.

Also, Hope you liked the TsunadeXJiraiya bit, and also the fact that I brought both it and the NarutoXSakura relationships (with their striking similarities) to the same 'quasi-conclusion' by the end of this chapter.

Right, since I can't figure out what else to tell you (except that the 'Rock-Paper-Scissors of romance' comment was a blatant rip-off of 'The O.C." – Josh Schwartz and crew, you rule!) I'd just like to reiterate my request for your reviews. Please, anything would do, even just a 'You're doing a good job, man, keep it up,' would be great, although a longer, more detailed review telling me about what parts you liked and what you didn't (or, at least, didn't like as much). I need this so I can improve my writing, which, trust me, is still something I need to work on.

Next up: The Chuunin finals and the beginning of the War arc

Well, ja,

Daniel Goldberg