Hello folks! So after how well my previous one shot called The Bench Where it all Began was received, I have decided to start a spinoff series of one shots to continue that story. If you haven't read that story already, I highly suggest you do that first before starting this one!
The first one entry into this series takes place later that day when Naruto goes to pick Sakura up for their date after she gets off work. This chapter will feature both some fluff and comical moments, including one such case where Sakura gets furious with a group of Naruto's fangirls. So without further ado, let's get onto the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 1: Prelude to the first date!
It was currently five minutes to seven. Naruto was leaning against one of the stone pillars that stood at the gate to the Hidden Leaf hospital, waiting patiently to pick up his favorite pink-haired teammate for their first date.
The hyperactive blonde would be lying to himself if he didn't say that he wasn't at least a little bit exhausted. But who wouldn't be after spending the better part of the afternoon with their face buried in textbooks, studying for the upcoming Jonin exams.
What many people didn't know is that while Naruto was laid up in the hospital, recovering from his recent fight with Sasuke at the time, the Fifth Hokage had decided to pay him a visit and promoted him to Chunin.
Flashback
Tsunade had intended to do it long ago, but the elder council consisting of Koharu, Homura and Danzo either constantly objected or put up countless roadblocks whenever she tried to bring up the matter for discussion. With Danzo no longer in the picture to meddle or interfere, Tsunade decided to try again and ran the idea by Koharu and Homura once more during their first meeting since the war had concluded. After taking everything into consideration that Naruto had done such as defeating Pain and his large role in bringing the war against Madara to an end, the elders wholeheartedly agreed that the only son of the Fourth Hokage had more than earned the promotion.
Once the Godaime had left, the first thing Naruto did was go to visit Sasuke in the adjoining room next to his and tell him the news. Sasuke didn't really say much, instead sporting a cocky grin and said to the blonde, "Promotion or not, you'll always be the deadlast of our class."
This quickly made the hyperactive blonde lose his cool as he shouted, "Oi! At least I'm not a bastard who thinks he's better than everyone else!"
The two friends would continue to bicker and poke fun at one another for a few hours until Naruto finally worked up the nerve to ask Sasuke what his plans were now that the war was over, to which the Uchiha replied, "I'm not concerned about taking part in the next round of the Chunin exams right now. Besides, as soon as I get released for the hospital, my next stop for the foreseeable future is likely to be a cold jail cell."
Just as Naruto was about to open his mouth to protest or argue, Sasuke quickly added, "Before you even think of trying to use your pull with the village higher ups, dobe, I need to face the consequences for the crimes I committed while I was a rogue shinobi. Furthermore, I also need to earn back the village's trust and respect before I can even feel ready to carry that title as a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf again."
End Flashback
As he finished reminiscing on the events of that day, Naruto felt he now had a better understanding of what Sasuke had been trying to tell him. This journey was meant to be one of self reflection, healing and potentially help the Uchiha see the errors of his ways. Plus Naruto knew that when the time was right, Sasuke would return and take the Chunin and Jonin exams on his own terms.
The blonde was pulled from his musings when he finally noticed a familiar figure out of the corner of his eyes exiting the hospital.
Slowly coming his way was arguably the most beautiful kunoichi in the entire village, Sakura Haruno. The pinkette was still garbed in the same attire as earlier that morning, her infamous sleeveless red blouse accompanied by a pair of black shorts and a purple medic apron combo. Her knee-length combat boots completed the look. The only noticeable difference in Sakura's appearance now was the fact that her hair was tied up in a high ponytail.
Naruto had to admit that it felt a bit weird seeing Sakura with long hair again after she had kept it short for so many years. But Naruto wasn't one to complain, because she'd always be the prettiest girl in his eyes.
When Sakura saw Naruto waiting for her by the gate, her emerald eyes lit up with excitement.
"Hey you!" Sakura exclaimed as she ran up to Naruto and wrapped her arms around his torso while nuzzling her head of soft pink hair against his neck.
"Hey yourself." Naruto chuckled in reply, surprised by the pinkette's sudden display of affection, "You seem pretty happy to see me."
Noticing that her bold advance may have made the blonde a bit nervous, Sakura looked up at Naruto and asked, "Why shouldn't I be? It is our first real date after all. Unless you're beginning to have second thoughts." The pinkette teased.
"No, of course not!" Naruto stammered, "So are you ready to go?"
"Yeah!" Sakura chirped happily.
And with that, the two set off for the heart of the village to enjoy a good meal and each other's company.
"So how was work?" Naruto asked.
"Oh it wasn't too bad. I saw a lot of patients for follow-up visits. Nothing really eventful happened beyond that except for one patient that had to have his shoulder popped back into place after he injured it on a job site. I don't want to bore you with the details." Sakura said.
"No, it's totally fine! I'm genuinely curious and interested to hear what a typical day is like for you. If I'm going to be the leader of this village one day, I need to know how some of its inner workings function." Naruto reasoned.
Coming to an abrupt stop, Sakura looked at Naruto with a puzzled expression on her face and asked, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Naruto?"
Tilting his head sideways in confusion, Naruto asked, "What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"
"It's just so weird hearing you talk like that." Sakura vaguely replied.
"Like what?" Naruto asked once more.
"You dummy. What I meant is it's weird listening to you talk like an actual adult who takes their responsibilities seriously." Sakura explained, hoping the blonde-haired goof would understand.
"You don't have to be so mean about it, Sakura-chan." Naruto pouted, "I have to grow up sometime, y'know!?"
"Says the person who told me I hadn't changed one bit when I asked him if I had become more womanly." Sakura retorted.
"Ha ha… Very funny. I admit that wasn't the best move on my part, nor was it when Konohamaru tried goading me into revealing my new sexy jutsu. Nevertheless, I meant it when I said that you hadn't changed one bit. You were just as beautiful then as you were before I left on that training trip with Pervy Sage. But if it makes you feel any better, you look prettier now than you have ever before." Naruto smiled brightly, making the pinkette blush.
"Even when I'm all gross and sweaty from performing an emergency surgery?" Sakura asked, biting her lip.
"Yes, even when you're gross and sweaty." Naruto chuckled.
"Aw. You're sweet. I think that deserves another one of these." Sakura smiled as she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Naruto's face turned as red as a strawberry, making the pinkette giggle.
"So tell me, what were you up to after our little chat at the bench this morning?" Sakura inquired.
"Umm, well I had to go to the academy to meet with Iruka-sensei. He's helping me study for the Jonin exams." Naruto replied.
"But I thought you were still only a genin?" A genuinely surprised Sakura asked.
"No. Granny came to tell me the news of my promotion herself. So now I'm working towards becoming a Jonin!" Naruto boasted.
"You're nothing if full of surprises. Still, I'm proud of you." Sakura smiled.
Before Naruto could reply, his ears picked up the sounds of women whispering and giggling. Glancing in the direction of the sound, Naruto saw a small group of his fangirls chatting amongst themselves.
"There he is!" A feminine voice shouted.
"Let's go say hi to him." Another added.
'Oh no. Why of all times did they have to choose to pester me now?' Naruto cursed to himself.
"Naruto-sama, please accept this gift." One girl said.
"Will you go out on a date with me?" Another requested.
All the while, poor Sakura was standing there, having to bear witness as Naruto was badgered by his fangirls. The very sight of what was playing out before her very own eyes not only disgusted her, but it also hearkened back to the days when she and many other girls used to do the very same thing with Sasuke.
'These hussies have some nerve trying to interrupt my date with Naruto. I know he's trying his best to be polite and let them down gently, but there's only one way to get them to understand.' Sakura thought to herself.
With her temper having quickly reached its boiling point, something inside Sakura finally snapped and she was about to unleash her wrath on the unsuspecting fangirls.
"He's not interested! So back off you hussies!" Sakura shouted as she began emanating a killer intent.
"Who the hell are you?" One girl asked.
"I'm his teammate, Sakura Haruno." The pinkette responded.
"Well then, Sakura, what makes you think that you have the right to tell him who he can and cannot interact with?"
"I'm also his girlfriend, you skank." Sakura insulted the girl.
"Who are you calling a skank, you ugly pink cow?"
"Excuse me?" Sakura asked, a tick mark throbbing on her forehead.
"You heard what I said. Surely Naruto can do better than a woman like you."
"That's it!" Sakura shouted as she channeled just enough chakra into her fist to make a huge crater.
The girls ran off in fear after seeing this shocking display of power.
"There. Maybe that will teach those skanks a lesson." Sakura huffed in annoyance as she dusted off her hands.
"Uh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?" Sakura sweetly replied, adding the suffix in hopes it would ease some of the awkward tension that had arisen.
"Why did you just tell those girls that you're my girlfriend when we're going on our first actual date?" Naruto inquired.
Sakura smacked her palm against her face.
'Leave it to Naruto to be a dense moron like usual.' Sakura thought to herself.
"Well for starters, we did admit our feelings for one another this morning. Plus we have also shared our first kiss, so I think it's pretty safe to say that we've gone beyond the point of just being friends, doofus." Sakura answered.
"Oh…" Naruto said.
"Yeah, oh is right. Now speaking of which, oh boyfriend of mine, you never did tell me where we were going to eat." Sakura said.
"I made a reservation for us at the sushi restaurant. Hopefully that's okay with you?" Naruto inquired nervously.
"Are you kidding? I love sushi!" Sakura exclaimed in excitement.
'Thank god.' Naruto thought as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Great, then why don't we get going?" Naruto suggested.
"You don't need to tell me twice. Come on!l" Sakura said as she grabbed Naruto's hand and eagerly led him to the sushi establishment he'd selected for their meal.
End
A/N: Okay guys! So I'm going to leave it off right here for now. Because the intention of this spinoff is to be a series of connected drabbles, I don't want them to exceed more than 1,500-2,000 words each.
The cover for this story was a commission I had done for me by the very talented lenacringe! If you haven't checked out her art before, I highly suggest you do. She has done some amazing NaruSaku fan art.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this first entry! If you did, please be sure to drop a follow or favorite and leave a review to tell me what you think! Until next time, this is Nate signing off.