Its a long chapter but I should warn you. Its not what you were hoping for. Its just chit chat development.

I do not own Naruto.


"Sakura you don't have to clean." Ino said laughing. "You can visit me and not organize my closet you know."

It was Saturday morning. Tsunade had taken Johnny and her mother to farm country for breakfast. Sakura pretended to be suffering from severe cramps and was in too much pain to come out of her room.

As soon as she heard the car leave the driveway, she put on her workout clothes and running shoes and jogged to Ino's house. Sakura needed someone to talk to.

Tsunade had gotten home late. Sakura heard her knock on the door to her bedroom and ignored it. It wasn't difficult to pretend to be asleep.

"Cleaning helps me think." Sakura said putting fallen dresses back on their rightful hangers. I never ceased to amaze her how much of a mess Ino let her room turn into. She could always count on the blond to have something that needed cleaning. "I just really need to think."

"I'm sorry about Tsunade. When my mom gets home I'll talk to her. She loves you, Sakura, I know she'd let you stay here if something happened." Ino said trying to comfort her friend.

"There's got to be something I can do though. I'm not ready to just let her die. She's Tsunade! She raised me. Not that bimbo…"

" You'll figure something out. You always do." Ino assured her.

Sakura didn't even know where to start. She supposed that she could visit the state hospital and find out what she could from the doctors and surgeons there. Somebody in that hospital had to have some advice about giving Tsunade part of her liver. She refused to accept that there was nothing she could do to help.

"I just don't understand why she waited so long to tell me. It makes me feel anger more than sadness. If she had told me months ago I could have come up with an actual plan. I don't know what to do. I don't know how long she's got. I don't know what I can do."

Ino was quiet for a moment. It seemed she was unsure how she should be reacting to Sakura's news. But Sakura couldn't blame her. Neither of them had ever received this kind of news before. It was only natural that they would have problems deciding how to react and what their next move should be. "Do you know why we became friends?" Ino asked Sakura.

"We got along really well?" Sakura guessed wondering where Ino was going with this kind of question.

Ino shook her head. " When you first came here you were such the little weirdo."

"I was no such thing!" Sakura said crossing her arms in mock anger.

"Yeah you were!" The blond girl said laughing. " You had all of this pink hair and you said all of these smartass things…you were definitely not like the rest of us."

"Does this story have a point?" Sakura did not appreciate Ino tying to help her relive her awkward period.

" Just listen for a minute!" Ino snapped at her. "What I'm saying is, even though you didn't have friends, I recognized your potential. I knew you were smart and I knew you were strong. You're the girl the rest of us spend our entire lives comparing ourselves to because we think you can do anything."

It was nice that Ino was trying to make Sakura feel better but Sakura didn't believe a word of it. As much as she hated to admit it, she was really no different than the other girls she went to school with. She had problems just like everyone else. She had flaws, she had fears, and she had secrets, just like all the other girls. The only thing was, she was a master at hiding these things.

"Thanks Ino." Sakura said. "I think this is just something I have to figure out on my own."

"I'm your best friend. I'll help you anyway I can." Ino assured her. "Now what other new do you have to share? Hit me up with something funny."

"I hooked up with Gaara Sabaku." The pink haired girl blurted out. She was horrified that she spilled the beans so soon. She wasn't planning on telling anyone about Gaara until she knew what the hell had actually happened that night.

It was like a blur, a warm and tingly blur. One minute she had been looking for his notebook and the next thing she knew she was clinging to him while he kissed her senseless. Then he watched her scarf down an entire cheese pizza and listened to her pour her heart out about her mother, her grandmother, and Sasuke Uchiha. All the while he just sat there silently listening to her.

He didn't so much as nod or shake his head but Sakura knew he was listening. Every time she looked up at his face his eyes were staring intently at hers. Besides, he wasn't the type of person who asked for an explanation and then zoned out when he was given one. More often than not they disagreed, but Gaara always listened to what she had to say even if it was just to shoot it down.

When she was all through eating, talking, and crying he let her take a couple deep breaths before he finally spoke. He told her he was very sorry about Tsunade. He agreed that she was a good person who didn't deserve to die.

But much to her annoyance he said that she should respect her grandmother's wishes. He thought that she probably had a very good reason for acting the way she did and for handling everything the way she was. Sakura had said it herself how smart and capable Tsunade was, it was only logical that her decisions reflected these traits.

Sakura was much too stubborn to tell Gaara how right he probably was.

She didn't get to hear what he thought about her other problems because she had heard the garage door open signaling her family's arrival back home. If they were to find her with Gaara… who knows what kind of repercussions the discovery might lead to. Mostly, she just didn't want Gaara to meet her mother. Sakura didn't want him associating her with that kind of weak and shallow woman.

It was unsettling to realize how concerned she was with his opinion of her. That night after she had rushed him out of the back door and gone upstairs to fake sleep, she spent a good hours recalling and dissecting the night's events. Because what it really boiled down to was this: she kissed him, not the other way around. She was the one who had initiated their contact. He might have just been kissing her because he was curious or wanted to have something to blackmail her with later.

As far as she knew Gaara had never had a girlfriend before. Initially he kisses suggested he didn't have much experience in the area but by the end of it all he might as well have been an expert kisser. Either way, just thinking about them was enough to make her legs feel like two spaghetti noodles.

She had no idea what had happened or why it had happened. It wouldn't matter Ino would surely tell everyone now.

"You and Sabaku eh?" Said the girl laughing. "Oh god like that would ever happen." She shook her head. "I was kidding the other day when I said that he was into you. Having Gaara stare at you is probably a sign that the Sheriff is going to find you tied to a tree in the woods and covered in rams blood."

Ino didn't believe her? Was it really that farfetched that the two of them would ever get together? Gaara was probably the least popular boy in their grade but Ino had said it herself that he was still sort of sexy. "Do you really think he's into all that weird stuff?"

"Probably…I mean we've gone to school with him for like what, 10 years? The only human action I've ever witnessed him participate in was that time in eight grade when he punched Lee in the nose. He doesn't come to football games or participate in any extra curriculars… what ever he does do must be weird because he doesn't share it with anyone. You're honestly the first person I've ever seen talk to him." Ino said.

"Maybe he's just a really private person? What if secretly he was really cool?" Sakura asked Ino hopefully.

"Gaara's not cool." Said the blond looking at Sakura as if she had just said the world's dumbest thing. "Besides, he doesn't want to have anything to do with us. So it doesn't matter if he is a loser or not."

She was totally right that Ino. Gaara was as anti social as the came. There was no logical explanation for the way he treated her. How did they go from fighting to…to… she didn't even know what to call it. Sakura just couldn't think of him the same way anymore. He was no longer the loser Ino was referring to, now he was something else entirely.

"It'll be a relief when you've got this project over and done with. I'm starting to worry about the awful things Gaara could do to you if he got the chance. The guy's unstable, Sakura."

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip. The Gaara she knew wasn't that way at all. "He's not that bad really." She said. "Actually, he's kind of interesting."

Ino laughed. "Careful girl, you know the way this town works… you start talking like that the next thing you know you'll be associated with that. If the people in town start put the two of you together they'll make life miserable for you." She warned.

The pinked haired girl felt her stomach drop. She felt all of the sudden like she had broken some sacred law by wanting to spend more time with him. She new he wasn't popular but was he really the town pariah like Ino was making him out to be? "I don't understand…isn't he the mayor's son?"

"Yeah but even he hates him."

Sakura started to feel even sicker. "His own father hates him? How is that possible?"

"I forget that you weren't born in this town sometimes." She said. "I guess it all happened before you move here…"

"Something happened? Gaara did something?" Sakura asked eagerly. She dropped the pile of clothes she was folding and crawled over to wear Ino was sitting on the floor. Living in Konoha had made her a shameless gossip and she was especially interested in any information pertaining to the red haired boy.

"Well," Ino whispered conspiratorially, " There was never any proof…I mean there was a fair amount of proof, but the sheriff never did anything about it. Like you said, Gaara is the mayor's son."

"I don't get it… what did he do?"

"You know the old church on the very edge of the forest?"

"Yes, of course…" Sakura said leaning in to better hear the story. She had lived there for how many year and never thought to ask anyone the story behind The Sabaku family. In her defense, the ladies in town never really spoke the truth about the mayor and his family. It was almost if they knew anything with real legitimacy would get them into trouble.

"When he was just six years old…Gaara was the one that set it on fire. He burned that place to ashes. What you see now is the result of Konoha taxes. Mayor Sabaku had another church built in the exact spot of the old one the same month his son was found standing in front of the burning one holding a box of matches."

Sakura gasped. "You can't be serious! Six year olds don't burn churches!" she said in utter disbelief. He was a little rough around the edges, but he wasn't an arsonist. In all the time she spent with him he never once showed any destructive tendencies. If he had Sakura would have definitely caught such a thing.

"This is no ordinary person we're talking about. This is Gaara Sabaku. He's the person little Konoha children tell scary stories about. Haven't you noticed? Whenever something goes missing at school his locker is the first they check. The sheriff calls him to the principle's office every once in a while to take a drug test. He is a scary guy I tell you. "

Oh god, oh god, oh god! What had Sakura done? Just who the hell had she gotten herself involved with? Just because he hadn't kidnapped her and sold her to his connections in the human trafficking business in order to earn money for drugs, didn't mean he wasn't going to the next chance he got. She didn't know him at all. All she knew was that a giant part of her wanted to be with him at all hours of the day. And she knew she had to smother that part of herself.

But she couldn't let herself become distracted by her feelings for him. Sakura had to focus on her grandmother's condition. There was no time for boy drama and that was a fact.


"Ma got called over to the state hospital for a consultation." Sakura's mother said to her as soon as she walked in the door. "Me and Johnny were hoping you would want to take us grocery shopping. I'm going to be helping cook Thanksgiving dinner this year."

Sakura didn't know how to not become irritated with this woman. She had no desire whatsoever to go to the super market with her and the boyfriend, in fact she had already made plans to go upstairs and cry confusedly into her pillow for a couple of hours. Spending quality time with her mother was not exactly what she would call a relaxing afternoon. Besides how could this woman pretend like everything was ok when it was so clearly not ok?

It reminded Sakura of her fifth birthday. Her and her mother had been living in this roach infested hellhole next to the train station. It was just after Mrs. Haruno had broken up with her hot dog vendor boyfriend and had been too depressed to go to work. Even with just the two of them in the apartment it still felt cramped. The walls were yellow and crumbling, the sinks were rusty and all of the windows were broken or stuck and there was only one bed so Sakura was forced to share the filthy mattress with her mother.

It had been the worst birthday ever. Not only did she not receive a single gift but also her mother had forgotten to pay the electric bill so the power went off as soon as evening rolled around. Mrs. Haruno went down the block to the dollar store and brought back a whole bunch of cheap candles. She lit them, placed them around the apartment, and pretended like her own incompetence wasn't the cause of their current power outage and that they were actually allowed to have candles in the apartment.

How could she live like that? How could she think Sakura would want to go back to that?

"I'm sorry mom but I was planning on having a shower." Sakura said not so apologetically.

"That's Ok honey, Johnny and I will wait. You take as long as you need." Her mother said sweetly.

"Right…" Something told Sakura she wasn't going to be able to wiggle her way out of this one. "I'll be down in half hour."

In a pathetic teenage attempt to spite her mother Sakura took forty-five minutes to get ready. She was unsurprised that it wasn't the least bit satisfying.

Mrs. Haruno wanted to drive Sakura's car into town but Sakura would not hear of it. Her mother didn't even have a valid drivers license. Instead the three walked in the freezing cold, Sakura leading the way while her mother glued herself to Johnny's arm and the two trailed after her.

As soon as the made it to the market Mrs. Haruno commandeered a shopping cart and began filling it with all sorts of fresh produce, things that Sakura was fairly sure didn't belong on the Thanksgiving table. What on earth could the woman be cooking with avocados and star fruit?

While Mrs. Haruno stood at the butchers counter comparing turkeys her daughter took the opportunity to have a little heart to heart with Johnny.

"You should get out while you can." Sakura warned him. "My mother is a basket case and the more involved with her you become the more miserable your life will get."

She felt a little conniving saying these things to her mother's boyfriend. It was only fair that someone alerted him to what he had to look forward to by attaching himself to her mother. "Her empty headedness and helplessness may seem cute now but trust me she is going to ruin you. She doesn't know how not to." She said.

Johnny looked uncomfortable. "I don't believe you. You're mother explained to me that the two of you were somewhat estranged. I really don't think you should be talking badly about her after what you did to her."

Sakura was confused. She was nine years old the last time she saw her mother, she hadn't done anything but take care of and clean up after the woman. "What I did to her? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You called social services on her and made up a whole bunch of stories and told all sorts of lies. That's why you live with your grandmother. You let them take you from your poor mother."

The pink haired girl gaped at him. "You're kidding me right?" she shook her head in resignation. "Its too late for you. She's already got you under her spell."

"There is no spell." He said raising his voice to her. "Don't talk about her like that. She's your mother!"

"My mother," Sakura said evenly, "had the mentality of a fifteen year old. She left me! She was moving in with her boyfriend, the janitor at the strip club she worked at, and his landlord didn't allow children in the building. She dumped me on Tsunade's doorstep, like a box of give away clothing. One-eyed Charlie was more important than me! So don't you tell me what I should or shouldn't say about that woman! "

It was a little harsh but Sakura was in no mood to get messed around with, not by this sorry excuse for a man. He had no right to say jack about what went on with Sakura and her mother all those years ago. She never talked about that time of her life, not even with Ino or Tsunade. It was nobody's business. She didn't want them to know how pathetic she was or for anyone to feel sorry for her. That wasn't her life anymore and she wasn't going to give up on Konoha either.

Johnny looked stricken, but before he could reply to her little rant Mrs. Haruno came back over cradling a raw turkey in her arms like she would a baby. "Isn't it just darling? It's a shame I'm going to kill it." She said.

"Its already dead, Mom." Sakura said rolling her eyes.

Mrs. Haruno dropped the bird in the cart. "My daughter is such a downer!" she cried.

"I'm sorry I'm in no mood for jokes." Sakura said bitterly. She took control of the cart and began driving it away from her two companions. "But my grandmother just broke the news to me last night that her liver is failing and she's dying. So again, sorry I'm not all sunshine and butterflies."

"What did you expect?" Mrs. Haruno said her eyes hardening. "She is an alcoholic. It was only a matter of time before she drank herself to death."

Sakura was stunned. "How can you talk about her that way? This town relies on her! She's the woman who raised the both of us. Why don't you seem to care?"

"Honey do you mind reaching over there and grabbing me the can of cranberry sauce? I can't quite get to it." Mrs. Haruno said acting as if she hadn't heard Sakura at all.

The young girl sighed in frustration. What the hell was this woman's problem? "If you think there is even the slightest chance I would come live in New York, you're even more delusional than I thought."

"Johnny, does this bread look delicious?" Mrs. Haruno asked her boyfriend choosing to again ignore her daughter completely.

"It sure does, dear." He answered usurping the cart from Sakura and turning to give her a nasty glare.

That was so typical of her mother, just ignore any information that might be unpleasant and flee from any confrontation that might be upsetting. Johnny and Mrs. Haruno continued their shopping leaving Sakura seething in anger in front of the meat counter thinking the day could not possibly get any worse.

She was wrong.


"You need to be more careful about what you say to your mother, she's very sensitive." Tsunade said to Sakura. Johnny and her mother had gone upstairs to "relax" so Sakura stayed in the kitchen for a talk on the request of her grandmother.

"She is an idiot and I'm tired of everyone making excuses for her." Sakura replied grumpily crossing her arms. "And for the record I'm pissed at you too."

Tsunade opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. "I see she forgot to get eggs." She said absently.

" Will somebody please listen to me when I talk!?!" Sakura cried. "I'm so sick of being ignored. This is serious… this is our futures we're talking about!

"I already told you we're not going to talk about this until you can act your age."

"Can you at least tell me… how long you have left?" She asked. The idea she could wake up the next morning and her grandmother might not be living scared the shit out of her. Plus she needed to know how long she had to get her stuff together and figure out a way to save her.

"I could wake up jaundiced any morning. My kidneys are in bad shape too. I've got three months tops." Her grandmother said calmly.

It just didn't make sense. Tsunade didn't look like a woman on her deathbed. She was so relaxed talking about the end of her life. She wasn't even that old. She was in her seventies but she didn't look a day older than sixty. She was very much alive. How could they be discussing her death? It just didn't fit.

"I just can't believe you waited to tell me. I just can't believe you're going to give me back to my mother." Sakura said her voice shaking. "I will never forgive you."

"That's nice Sakura," Tsunade said flatly. "Now the Uzumaki's are coming over again so if you're not going to help me prepare dinner go upstairs and do your homework."

Never was there a moment in Sakura's memory where she could remember hating her grandmother so vehemently. Was it so wrong that Sakura was upset over the prospect of her death?

"You're the worst. Like mother like daughter." She whispered hatefully. "I will never ever forgive you."

"Teenage angst is really unbecoming of you."

Sakura shrieked and pushed all the food Tsunade had gathered off the counter with the back of her arm. Her grandmother look unimpressed. So Sakura fled the kitchen stomping up the stairs as violently as her skinny legs would allow. It took all her self-control not to stick her fist through the wall.

God. And they said Sakura was the insensitive one? What the hell was wrong with the world? Was everyone on crack? Sakura was at a loss. She didn't see any way she could fix things. There had to be something she could do to prevent this disaster from happening.

She crawled onto her bed and burrowed into the blankets and pillows. If she cried anymore she would be in danger of succumbing to dehydration. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

The pillow smelled like him. Less than twenty-four hours ago Gaara Sabaku had been in her bed and she could still smell him. And for better or worse the scent calmed her.

Her brain switched channels and she began to replay the previous nights events in her mind. She remembered comparing kissing Gaara to kissing Sasuke because at the time she had been shocked (amongst other things) over the difference.

Sasuke's kisses had always been too wet and he always kept his mouth too rigid. To Sakura, the act always felt like one of the things in life that was completely unnecessary but you put up with it because it was a widely accepted part of tradition in culture, like commercials on cable TV or the silent letters of the alphabet. She honestly thought that people kissed because it was tradition she knew nothing of the pleasure and hunger that came from joining lips with someone who you were attracted to or you cared for.

She wasn't sure what she felt for Gaara, but he had such the best kisses that she couldn't ignore the memory of even if she wanted to. She touched her lips curiously. Why had she kissed him in the first place and why had he kissed her back? Nothing made any sense.

Sakura drifted off to sleep wondering about why he always smelled so much like chocolate.

She was awoken by a knock on her door and the distinct voice belonging Naruto Uzumaki. " Sakura you're not naked are you." He called. " I mean if you are that's cool because I've already kind of seen everything there is to see…but I totally understand if you want to get clothes on-"

Sakura swung the door open, "Its cool Naruto, I am fully clothed." She said shaking her head and laughing despite herself. "Get inside you pervert." She said pulling him inside and shutting the door behind him.

"Look… forget about what I just said. I've got no idea what you look like naked. None whatsoever." He said putting his hands up defensively.

The pink haired girl whacked him on the head. "I thought we agreed that we were never ever going to allude to that night again, under any circumstances." She said testily. The last thing she needed was a reminder of her humiliating breakup with the football hero.

"Sorry about that." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Sakura shrugged. "Whatever." She said. "So how long have you guys been her for? I kind of fell asleep…"

"About an hour. We already ate. I wanted to come upstairs and wake you up, but Granny Tsunade said for me to just let you sulk."

"Of course she did." Sakura said. It seemed her disposition hadn't gotten any sunnier. The teenager was however not sorry she missed dinner with her mother. She was actually kind of grateful. "What did you guys eat?"

"Chicken. It was pretty good but then again I'll eat just about anything. I came up here when the fighting got to be too much." He said.

"Fighting?" Sakura asked. "What the hell are they fighting about?"

Naruto stared at her. "Uh…you…" he replied.

"Explain."

"When Granny Tsunade…when she uh…you know…"

"Yeah I do know, now get on with it!" Sakura demanded. She guessed Naruto knew about her grandmother's illness too. How long had he known for? Sakura wouldn't be surprised if she found out he had known for weeks.

"Well, my parents… they want to adopt you." Naruto finished.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" she said in disbelief. "They want to

adopt me?" The Uzumaki's were known for their kindness but this was on a whole other level.

"Yeah, but your mother won't even consider it. She is really adamant about brining you back to New York with her."

Leave it to Sakura's mother to ruin the one chance she had at staying in Konoha and living with family members (well not technically family) she loved and respected. If Tsunade had to die the Uzumaki's would be the perfect family for her to move in with. They knew Tsunade well and they were honorary family, they would all be able to help each other with grief and understanding. Sakura felt really lucky to have the Uzumaki's in her corner. "She's pure evil."

"Nothing is certain yet. You mother might be evil but my mother is on a mission, and that woman does not back down." He said trying to cheer her up. "Besides it would be cool not to be an only child anymore."

"Yeah…" Sakura said wishfully. Living with Naruto could be a lot of fun. Despite his goofiness the boy had a good heart and was an excellent judge of character. He really would make a great brother.

"So listen," she said, "want to get a head start on being a big brother?"

Naruto laughed. "Sure thing… just as long as its not homework help or going laundry. I'm not scholastic or domestic. Those can be your jobs."

"I'll keep that in mind." She said with obvious sarcasm. Like she would need his help in either field. Please, she was Sakura Haruno and even Martha Stewart had nothing on her.

"Anyway, I ended up hooking up with Gaara Sabaku…" she said far too casually. She hoped she wasn't being obvious. If she said it like it was no big deal than it was not big deal…right?

The blond boy shook his head. "I'm sorry can you repeat that?" he asked. "I thought I just heard you say you hooked up with Gaara."

"I did say that… I mean I did hook up with him. Yesterday actually…" Sakura said burying her face in her hands. Even Naruto was horrified, and he was the most open-minded person she knew.

Naruto stared at her dumbly. "Gaara… the same Gaara I warned you about a couple of weeks ago. The same Gaara that suspended for attacking a teacher?"

"

Do you know anyone else by that name?" she asked into her hands.

I continued to stare at her like she might just sprout wings and fly off. Oh how she wished that would happen. She should have never opened her mouth up about it.

"Sakura…why?"

She looked up at him and shook her head. "I don't know!" she said. "Things were never like that before with us. But he came over yesterday to get his notebook… and I was really upset about Tsunade and my mother… and he was really nice for once… and then the next thing I know I've thrown myself at him. Oh. My. God. I threw myself at him!"

"Hey, its not that big of a deal. You were getting it on with Sasuke before…Gaara is kind of an upgrade."

"You don't understand…" Sakura whispered returning her head to her hands.

"You're just stressed about Granny Tsunade. This Gaara thing is nothing."

"I just don't understand how it could have happened. We don't even like each other."

Naruto gave her a skeptical look. "You really can't figure it out?"

"Figure what out?" She asked knitting her eyebrows together in bewilderment. Two people who couldn't stand to be in each other's presence usually didn't end up sharing kisses.

"You're Sakura Haruno. There isn't a single red blooded male at our school who wouldn't take advantage of the opportunity to…uh… get friendly with you."

"That's just not true…" Sakura said remembering what she learned dating Sasuke. He always reminded her that none of the other boys at school had any interest in her. They all thought her hair was too pink or her forehead to big. Sasuke never failed to bring up how her bust was also too small to ever really grab a guy's attention. Even though she spent hours exercising and putting make up on there were always prettier girls Sasuke kept his eyes on.

"Are you kidding?" he asked staring opened mouthed at her. " You're kind of the most coved piece of ass in school. I mean no one is making any moves now because of that syphilis rumor Sasuke started…"

She closed her eyes. Sasuke was such a jerk. Naruto was sweet but he was probably just saying that guys wanted her to make her feel better. Sakura might be the smartest girl in her grade but it was a well-known fact guys didn't go for smart girls. She had only been elected Homecoming queen because she was dating Sasuke. He was the only reason people looked twice at her. She wasn't hot like Ino or feminine like Hinata; hell even Tenten was more interesting than she was. More importantly none of them had stupid whores for mothers. There was no way Gaara made a move on her because he thought she was pretty. Not when he had never even looked twice at the more appealing girls she went to school with.

"It really doesn't matter why it happened. I just don't know what I'm going to do when I see him on Monday." Sakura said trying not to succumb to her despair.

"Maybe this is something we should ask Ino about? This is kind of encroaching on the area of 'girl talk'"

"I tried to tell her… but at the time it just wasn't a good idea."

Naruto understood her meaning with out needing an explanation. "Why does it matter so much? People will talk no matter who you go out with. If you like him ask him out."

There was no way she was going to ask him out. No way in hell. But this was a curious idea Naruto had brought up. "Are guys ok with that? Is it ok for girls to be the ones to ask guys out?" she asked him. Sasuke never allowed her to take the initiate to do anything other than make him lunch or do his homework, and even then he had strict rules about how and when things should be done.

"Uh… Yeah…" Naruto replied like it was the most obvious answer in the world. " If you want to spread the message to any and all women who would date me I would really appreciate it. Why shouldn't girls have to be proactive about these kinds of things?"

"You're kind of a feminist aren't you?" Sakura asked half smiling. "Sasuke was wrong about you, you're not an idiot at all!"

"Glad I could be of some assistance." He said looking proud of himself. "My advice was pretty useful right? You've got a plan now right?"

The girl's smile grew. "I'm even more confused than ever." She said watching Naruto throw his hands up in defeat. "But hey, I don't feel as hopeless about everything. That accounts for something I think."

"Just stop thinking so much. For once in your life follow your instinct and trust the people around you to make the right choices."

His words made sense. Sakura wasn't sure if she could do what he was suggesting, but she knew she had to calm down and let things begin to take their own course. She couldn't control everything, but she couldn't allow herself to be controlled anymore either.

No matter if she moved in with them or not, Naruto was the best brother a girl could wish for.


Well please don't hate me for such an uneventful chapter. Your reviews were too kind! They make me so happy THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. so leave some more?