"Lay another one on me old man." Naruto grumbled as he pushed away yet another bowl of ramen in hopes for his next. Teuchi grimaced at the boy's downtrodden expression as he dully traced the outline of the counter with his finger.

"You sure kid? You've had five bowls already…" Naruto pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes into slits before letting his head fall onto the countertop. He groaned as he clenched his fists and pounded said countertop. It was late, he knew that, but he couldn't stop himself from indulging in his favorite food in his time of distress.

Yes. Uzumaki Naruto was distressed.

"Come ji-chan! I haven't seen Sakura-chan in over a week!" he exclaimed. Usually the cook would scowl at the mere mention of her name but this time he chuckled lightly and resumed his ramen making causing Naruto to arch a brow.

"You know, she was in here a couple days ago." Naruto's head immediately shot up in alert. His hands slammed down on the counter and he raised his body in excitement.

"Sakura-chan? Here? But ji-chan, you said-"

"I know what I said but she owned up to her mistakes and apologized." He explained. At that, Naruto fell back onto the stool with an astonished look on his face. "She's a good kid underneath all that anger."

"Huh…was she with someone?" he asked.

"Ah yes, a regular customer actually. I think you know him. He usually orders two beef, one with tomato." Teuchi answered.

"…Oh yeah! Can't forget a weird order like tomato. Did she look like she was okay?" the boy asked, his brows furrowed in worry.

"She looked fine from what I could tell. Don't sweat it kid, I'm sure everything will work out." With that, Teuchi placed another steaming bowl of ramen in front of the boy giving him an encouraging grin. Naruto nodded in gratitude and quickly delved into the bowl, ignoring the dinging sound of someone entering the shop.

"Hey! What can I get for you tonight?" Teuchi asked.

"I'm actually looking for someone." At the sound of that sickeningly proper voice, Naruto cringed and immediately throw his navy hood over his head, cowering down in his seat.

"Well if you describe the person for me I might be able to lead you in the right direction." He replied.

"Shh! Don't blow my cover old man!" Naruto whispered.

"He is a blonde about my height with a permanent idiotic expression on his face. He is also quite dickl-"

"Shut the hell up you bastard!" Naruto shot up from his seat and immediately approached the pale stranger who merely smiled creepily at him.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. I was hoping I'd see you here." Sai said. Naruto growled at the fact that he had blown his cover. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the boy.

"Yeah and what do you want?" the blonde sneered.

"If you don't mind, could we take this conversation outside?" Naruto arched a brow, looked back at the old man, and sighed before following the boy out.

"All right, what do you want?" he asked, stuffing his hands stubbornly in his pockets. Sai merely continued to smile while Naruto's left eye twitched at the boy's content expression. Now Naruto was typically a jovial person who tried to get along with everyone.

Sai was a special case.

"Right to the point, just like Sakura-san." He mused. Naruto cringed and approached him with a dangerous aura emitted from his person.

"What about Sakura-chan?" he asked. His hand was itching to grab the boy by collar in a threatening manner, already ticked off by his earlier comments. Sai just doesn't know when to stop.

"Nothing. I was merely stating a similarity between you two. Speaking of Sakura-san, do you know her whereabouts?" he asked.

"No. And if I did I sure as hell wouldn't tell you." He spat. Sai regarded him lightly as his smile melted away and was replaced with confusion. He averted his gaze downward to the pavement below, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That is unfortunately. You see the job I described to you requires her presence." He explained. Naruto snorted.

"Yeah well, where ever she is, she's gonna be gone for the whole month. So you'll just have to settle for me all right?" he grumbled, crossing his arms as well. Sai chuckled slightly.

"All right then Naruto-kun. There will be a meeting next Tuesday in the basement of the old abandoned government building just passed the city limits, heading north. Make sure you are present."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. Are you done?" he asked, becoming quite irritated with the boy.

"Yes. Have a nice evening." With that, Sai took off down the sidewalk in steady strides while Naruto retreated back to the ramen stand, taking his former seat and frowning at the no longing steaming bowl of noodles.

"I've seen that kid around here before. I don't like the vibes he gives off." Teuchi remarked as he wiped clean a bowl before setting it down and giving his attention to the boy in front of him.

"Sai's an ass who doesn't know how to be a person." He explained.

"What?" the older man was confused.

"He doesn't know that calling someone fat because they look fat is a bad thing." He went a step further.

"How can he not-"

"Like I said, he's an ass." Naruto shrugged. He brought the bowl up to his lips with both hands and slurped the remaining broth before exhaling deeply and sitting the bowl back down on the counter.

"You done for the night?" Teuchi asked as he took the bowl and prepared to wash it. Naruto gave it some thought before he sighed, reaching in his short pockets for his wallet.

"Yeah," he put some money on the counter before he slid off the stool and made his way to the door. "Thanks for the meal old man."

Naruto strode down the quiet streets of Konoha with a thoughtful frown marring his features. It was around ten when he finally reached the place he and Sakura called home for the past year and a half. It was a shabby apartment not too far from the ramen stand that they happened upon on accident.

Rent wasn't so bad and thanks to Sakura's threatening negotiation skills, they were able to stay there without too much difficulty. There was one bedroom, one kitchen with a fridge, one bathroom and a working dryer. They didn't mind doing the washing in the sink.

Naruto sighed as he entered, kicking off his shoes and plopping down on the old brown couch. The carpet was dingy beige matching the white washed walls and a white ceiling. There were various stains that littered both the ceiling and the walls that neither one of them cared to examine. The apartment itself was run down and they had to supply everything but the fridge and the dryer. He couldn't recall the many stores he and Sakura had hit up in search of household items. Like the TV that sat before him. Looking back, he could only laugh.

They had decided the night before that they needed a TV and didn't have nearly enough money to buy one. Sakura, being the mastermind behind all their schemes, came up with a flawless plan that was to be executed the next day. They had been monitoring the electronic stores activity for quite some time and discovered the trunk carrying the back stock came every other Thursday.

Sakura would distract the driver with her irresistible flirtatious ways while Naruto would sneak to the back of the truck, recklessly subdue any workers that happened to be passing by, and make off with the goods. It was flawless in every sense of the word. Of course, using the method was practical for stealing TV's but acquiring furniture was a totally different method. Garage sales were right up their alley. Sakura would haggle for a decent price and Naruto would provide backup in case any guy decided to take advantage of her.

They were a flawless team.

But now, Naruto found he could do close to nothing without his partner in crime, literally. She was the brains and beauty and he was the brawn. They were like yin and yang! Day and night. You couldn't have Sakura without Naruto. He barely made it through a week without her, he didn't want to think about how the month was going to be.

"Oh Sakura-chan…"

Sakura awoke the next morning, early Saturday, feeling better than she had in months. Ruffling her pinks locks a bit, she sighed while bringing her legs to edge of the bed and standing up. She stretched a bit before mulling over the events that took place the night before. She hadn't expected her and Itachi to have the spat that they did. She also didn't expect to tell him everything or for him to listen. It was…kind of comforting.

But she scoffed and quickly made her way to the bathroom where she hoped in the shower for the day. Stepping into the steaming hot water, she deposited a generous amount of generic shampoo into her hands before lathering her hair instant suds, standing beneath the showerhead. For a moment, she just stood there, letting the water roll of her shoulders and down the rest of her body. For once, her mind was clear of all thoughts, of all worries, and the only thing she was concerned about was the hot water running out, but it wouldn't be the first time.

She had a hard life, as much as she hated to admit it, but it seemed to be finally looking up if only for five days. Granted, they weren't an easy five days and she definitely had the bruises to prove it, whether they were from Chiyo or Shisui, she couldn't tell. She just knew that in the end she'd feel some kind of accomplishment.

With that, she turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping a dark fluffy towel around her person before placing another towel around her head to dry her hair. She sighed as she approached the fogged up mirror and wiped it clean with a swipe of her hand. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the bed, towel drying her hair.

"I wonder what we're doing today…" she commented to herself as she dug through the duffel bag, only it looked vacant. A little too vacant.

Sakura began to panic as she rumbled around in the bag, finding that it was empty, aside from dirty, sweaty training outfits.

"What the…"

"Sakura," she heard the sound of Itachi's voice from the other side of the door. She approached with caution, one hand secured around the top of her towel while the other held the doorknob.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"All of your clothes have been hung and placed in the drawers for convenience." He said. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She was beginning to think someone had played an awful trick on her.

"Uh, thanks." She replied.

"Also, you have tea with Midori-sama today so you may want to dress appropriately. One of the dresses in the closet will do nicely." He explained. Tea with the princess? When was this decided?

'Oh that's right! I have to meet with her once a week to get down her mannerisms and what not…great…'

"Fine." She sighed.

"You may want to hurry, we leave in an hour." An hour? But her hair wouldn't dry in an hour, especially without a hair dryer. She nibbled on her bottom lip apprehensively. Would Itachi own a hair dryer? His hair was so long and silky looking that it would be nearly impossible for him not to own one. But would he loan it to her…well, she was staying in his house. But a hairdryer is much more personal.

"Itachi!" she cursed herself for shouting so loudly, but she wanted to be heard. She even went as far as opening the door to peer out into the hallway, her head sticking out oddly. He turned around to face her, dressed in a simple v-neck black shirt and plaid grey pajamas pants. It looked strange to see the usually formal Itachi dressed so laid back-ish.

"Yes?" he answered simply.

"You wouldn't happen a have a hairdryer would you?" she asked quietly. It was then that Itachi noticed her damp, curly pink locks hanging limply from her scalp in wavy strands. He gave her a scrutinizing glance as if contemplating the idea and he truly was.

Did he truly want to lend this girl his most prized hairdryer? Why, he'd be picking pink strands out of the comb for weeks! Even though it was unlikely that she'd blow it out, she'd probably end up using it longer than he ever would since her hair was longer. And did he mention the pink strands? There was only one thing he could do.

"I'm sure Sasuke wouldn't mind you borrowing his." He inwardly smirked at the thought. Yes, she could use Sasuke's hairdryer. From the way the boy usually walked around with his hair disarray and what not, it was obvious he didn't care for his locks like Itachi did. The hairdryer was probably neglected on a regular basis. Yes, it was an excellent idea.

"Ok, I'll ask him then." With that, Sakura retreated back in the guestroom to get dressed. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Sakura trudged over to the sliding closet and was met with a row of simple dresses. There were long ones and short ones of various different colors and for the first time in a long time, Sakura found herself unable to chose one. She never had a problem with picking out clothes. She'd wear whatever she had, as long as it fit and was clean.

"I guess this'll do." She shrugged, her hand wrapping around the wooden hanger that held a white dress with blue flowers stitched all around with a bow sewed on the side. Situated below the dresses was an assortment of shoes. She chose a pair of white slipper-like shoes and was about to step out of the closet when her eyes caught sight of various handbags on the top shelf in the closet. She had never been one to carry a purse, but she supposed this was a proper occasion to do so.

Sakura dressed quickly, noting at her still wet hair. She placed a towel over her shoulders to keep the dress from getting wet. She opened up her door and walked down the hallway to Sasuke's room. As she prepared herself to knock, she noticed that his door was open. She blinked lightly, looked up and down the hallway before shrugging and entering the room. It was surprisingly clean. The bed was made, there were no clothes on the floor, the dresser was bare save for a simple alarm clock. It didn't even look like a teenage boy's bedroom.

"Hmm, now to find that hairdryer," it was more of a thought to herself as she walked about the room, searching.

"What are you doing in here?" his still voice startled her. Sakura jumped at turned around to face him with a slightly nervous expression.

"Uh, I was hoping to borrow your hairdryer?" she asked cautiously. Sasuke arched a brow as he fully stepped into the room with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Why mine? Go borrow Itachi's." he commanded. Sakura frowned at him, mocking his stance.

"Itachi said to ask you." Was her reply. He looked taken aback before a scowl came across his features.

"Figures he'd tell you something like that." Sasuke rolled his eyes and brushed passed her, into his own private bathroom. He emerged with a simple, black, hair dryer with the cord wrapped around the handle. He extended it out to her, but a kept a firm grip on it once she reached her hand out to grasp it.

"Don't get any of your hair stuck in the comb. And keep it on a medium heat." He said, finally letting go. Sakura held it in her hands and nodded.

"Thanks Sasuke." She replied with a small smile.

"Hn."

"…what does that even mean?" she asked, adjusting the towel. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you want it to mean. Do you need anything else?" he was obviously uncomfortable with her using his blow dryer and Sakura felt the need to entertain herself. She smirked.

"You don't like me, do you?" she asked, mirth dancing in her green eyes. He sighed heavily.

"I never said-"

"Oh no, it's fine if you don't. I really don't care. Thanks again for the hair dryer." And with that Sakura gave the boy a devious smile before she left the room. Sasuke plopped down on his bed and could only smirk in response. She certainly was interesting.

Sakura soon found herself back in the guestroom's bathroom, blow drying her hair in the mirror. She sighed as she did it, thoughts flying to her tea session with the governor's daughter. Her mind wondered just how this girl was going to act. If she was a stuck up princess, a dainty pain in the butt, a quiet goody-goody, or just plain normal. She couldn't help but feel nervous. What if she didn't measure up to the governor's expectations? It was one thing to look like the girl, she had to act like her too.

"I hope this works out."

A/N: I'm later than I usually am. Which I can explain! See while I was away, I had limited access to the internet and I was unable to update. I apologize! I didn't mean for it to take so long. But anyway, it's here now so…yeah! Moving on!

Naruto has reappeared after his second appearance in chapter 5. Don't worry, his role in this story will be explained further. Sai's role as well. And don't you just love Teuchi? He kind of reminds me of Brock from pokemon. They can both cook and they both have those weird squinty eyes. And who knew Itachi was possessive over a hair dryer of all things. It's hilarious, ne? Next chapter we'll finally meet Midori! I'll let you make your own assumptions on how she's going to be.

Thanks go to: Aerith102, Sped03, always-kh, Xx4ying4yangxX, kurohime1024, 22keng28, Orijinaru Al, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, whitefang245, javelin seer, yammy23, Team THEFT, Lady Lauren, firefox just went emo, DarkAngel2412, Echo Uchiha, missmn28, .Imagination, VeelaSophia, lovelyisu, YukoxxxIchikawa, VampireTwin234, Spannlica, Horseluver15, and Cassa-di-di-loves NaruHina. That's the biggest turn out yet! I think last chapter was the most popular. I really hope this one wasn't a letdown. Please continue to support this story!