Chapter 1: conversation and confrontations

It was dusk and a boy in the age of twelve was waiting in the bridge. He wore a yellow corn-like hair with it's end in an upward position as if he always sees a ghost. His forehead protector in his head with the symbol of their village; Konoha or Hidden Leaf Village. He also wears his usual orange clothes. He was still waiting for someone to show up.

"It was late!" he said impatiently. Just yesterday, this certain pink-haired girl asked him in between his trainings to meet in that certain bridge. He was delighted to know that finally, as in, finally Sakura is noticing him. Not just noticing him, she was actually asking him out on a date! He didn't bother to think that it was not a girl-y thing to do but he really likes it.

He blushed to the thought. Sakura is now fancying him! Not that big-headed Sasuke, His other teammate with jet black hair and eyes with matching his 'ever-know' sharingan. He could not blame him for being popular to girls. He could remember when Ino, Sakura are 'bestfriends' in the academy and once let go their friendship into rivalry because of this Sasuke, in the end no one gets notice by Sasuke even Sakura who were their teammates.

"Where was she?" He again asked into the invisible person. When she won't come early, he wouldn't be daydreaming with her. 'Oh! Naruto! Would you go out with me in the Ichiraku Ramen?' His daydreaming character, Sakura pleads to him.

"Oh! Sakura! I'd love to! I'd love to! Sakura! Sakura!" he said yelling at the top of his voice.

"Naruto!" Sakura emerge infront of him and absolutely dissolved his thoughts to ashes.

"Sakura!" he said in surprise. "How long had you been there?" It was true it was the real Sakura facing him.

"Long enough to hear you are talking to yourself…" Sakura said disgusted to him.

"Ohhh… Why are you late?" He said rather in a not polite manner like he use to. "You told me yesterday that I need to be here at exactly 12:00 in the noon. You said you will say something to me an important issue, I had skipped my trainings to get here in our appointment, you know!" he again blurted out. Even he shouts at Sakura he knows she wouldn't be mad at her that is simply the way they communicate.

"I'm sorry, you wart. I had just some things to arrange before I went here."

"Hmp. Apology not accepted!" Naruto again yelled at her as if he just talking to another boy like him.

"I am not apologizing, Naruto!" she snapped. "C'mon now let's not waste time. I suppose you are starving, it was dusk and you hadn't ate…" she said walking at down at the bridge.

Naruto blushed a deep shade of crimson, so they were actually dating! 'This is the time for a drastic action! Bwahaha!' Naruto thought to himself and catches up with Sakura.

"Where do you want to eat, Sakura?" Naruto asked her grinning. Sakura scowled at him. "This is the way to Ichiraku…" Naruto points the streets full of walking people. He takes a step to the road. Suddenly Sakura caught his clothes in the neck. "What is—?"

"We are not going to Ichiraku, Naruto." Sakura simply said and pulled him down to the track. "We are going to eat somewhere else, where no one can listen to what I am going to say to you." And led the way.

'Where no one can listen to what I am going to say to you?' Naruto blinked his eyes twice and catches up with her. Where are they going? Is it really true? Sakura now going to confess to him? He keeps on blushing. Sakura noticed it.

"Naruto, what's with you?" Sakura asked and looked puzzled.

He maybe some kind of an idiot sometimes but he was not that slow! He thought to himself, 'Can Sakura figure out that he had known what will happen next?'

They came inside the pub; he didn't catch the name of the pub and sat in the table. It was big, very big compared to Ichiraku. But then it was not packed, a good place to a confession. Several tables stand on it; it was high enough it almost looks like every table was a compartment.

"Are we going to have a shabu-shabu?" Naruto asked her, she simply nods. He grinned, 'This is the life!' he told himself loudly and grinning. Sakura scowled again to him.

A moment later, the waitress approached their table and asked them. "We want beef, several vegetables and for me a hot o-cha." Sakura insist to the waitress.

The waitress nod at Naruto, "Oh!" Naruto was gone daydreaming again and jumped. "Like hers too, but add an appetizer!"

"What appetizer?"

"Anything, sort of." The waitress was out of sight. Then Naruto keeps on glancing to Sakura. He does not know when was it coming. He then glance at the open window. Konoha was really a busy village, he thought as the people keep on going back and forth.

On the other hand, Sakura was eyeing intently the door of the pub. She seems too interested to the wooden door. Her lips trembling.

"This place is surely nice isn't it?" Naruto exclaimed, Sakura jumped.

"Yes, you were right." She said and answered a fake smile, Naruto frowned. She was tense.

"How come you knew this place?" Naruto asked and examined the ceiling of the pub.

"Someone had suggested this place to me…"

The door of the pub swung open and Sakura instantly spun her head to the door. Genma and his other jounin friends came inside. Sakura turn her head again to Naruto and frowning. The waitress had come back and gave them their orders.

"Barbeque!" he shouts with glee as if he had not yet eaten for ages. He cut the beef with the knife the waitress gave them. "I wonder what Kakashi-sensei is doing… I haven't seen him a lot lately…"

"Maybe he is in a mission or something…" she simply replied to him, "Why? Do you miss our sensei?"

"Of course…" He said now putting the cut beef to the grill and adding the vegetables. "I haven't seen his face, I still haven't thought of another strategy to reveal his face to us." He said his eyes full of mischievous gleam.

"Don't bother yourself, Naruto, he'll never ever reveal his entire face to us." She snapped.

"Why not? I would not give up my hopes in revealing his face to us." He said cutting more beef with the knife and picturing out his jounin sensei. Shiny grey-white hair, He always wear those black forehead protector in a diagonal position that he's right eyes is covered, then he wears his endless for eternity heavy pitch black mask covering almost half of his face; only revealing his left eye.

"We had tried everything to reveal his secret face but nothing works isn't it?" Sakura again retorted to him.

"Oh! Sakura, it's just Kakashi-sensei is really bright…" he said examining the beef in the grill with his chopsticks. "He figure out what we are up to, and then he knows how to timing…" he lifted the partly roasted meat with his chopsticks. "We can let slip his face without us knowing it, when he least expecting it… like a counter attack, all of a sudden!" He said brightly and bit the piece of meat in his chopsticks, "Not yet done."

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled at him frantically. "Don't bite the meat when it is not yet done!"

"What! How could I know if it is done if I don't bite it?"

"Just turn it on the other side and if the color changes it is ready, eat that raw meat Naruto." Don't dare put that thing again in the grill!"

"Alright! Don't be mad." Naruto said and threw the meat outside the window.

"You are wasting food, don't you know that!" she said sarcastically.

"Am not! Akamaru is just below the window and waiting for a grace to come to him." Sakura eyed him for a while. "So, what are you going to say to me?"

Sakura was taken aback to what Naruto had asked; she didn't expect it too early. "Not yet now… patience is a virtue you know."

"I know that, I just don't have a clue of what are you going to say to me." He said and grinning, that was a total lie; he knew what she would say.

The door again opened and an unusual tall man wrapped with bandages with a small man accompanies him. Sakura turned her head together with Naruto instantly to the door. They haven't seen those people once in the village. They should be foreigners, he thought. Sakura fixed her dazed to the two.

The two strangers sat to the table next to them. The tall man glance at them, they both jumped and turn to face each other. Naruto pretending to turn the other side of the meat, and Sakura asking him if it was done. The two strange men ordered something to the waiter.

They exchange glances to each other. Naruto nod at Sakura's back, it means the two strange men. "Er… Sakura do you want these soup?" He asked her and pushing to her the bowl of steaming bird's nest soup or nido soup.

"It's alright." She said responding.

The men now talking to each other but not that loud, in fact they were whisperings at each other. Not that talking from the ear but they were leaning against each other. Actually, Naruto was taken aback what he suddenly saw them, he thought they were snogging.

Sakura stared at him for a moment. He understand what she means now, she wants them to eavesdrop to their little secret conversation. 'How Sakura could said that they would not go to Ichiraku for someone would be eavesdropping to them and yet, they are the ones eavesdropping now!'

Naruto sat next to Sakura and they both leaned against the back of their seats, hearing the whispering men.

"He was here, the right-hand man. He was actually recruiting here in Konoha…." The rat-faced small man said to his company.

"Are you sure, he was getting stronger now, for many followers to help him… now that he's certain creature he fancies is now in his side isn't it?"

"Konoha will now be conquered in no time; even this village had another powerful ruler…"

"Yes, indeed. We will begin our plan when the right-hand man signals us…"

Naruto straighten his bodily, he does not want to listen any more. He had heard enough, he had known what they were taking to… but another attack at Konoha! Who was these person? They were not obviously come from Konoha, and they do not wear forehead protectors. They must be some missing Nin! He thought. The waiter of the two strange men came to them and gave them their orders.

Sakura stared at him for a moment in disbelief in what had she heard, someone was plotting of conquering their village. Naruto too stared at her for a moment. Next thing, Sakura wants to open her mouth to say something but Naruto said Shhh!

Sakura was right this place is the best place to talk about top-secret conversations. And not only has she known about it.

Another swung of door had heard. The two didn't bother who was coming, they are more disturb of what had they heard. What shall he do? Follow these two mad men and what; to be killed in the end, he definitely knew what the end of their journey is. Or walk straight in the Hokage-sama's office and blab these things he heard. Of course, he knew that Tsunade would believe him!

In a second he cannot feel Sakura beside him, she was cold and trembling, fighting her tears to fall down in her cheeks. It was just they heard that black propaganda of these mad jerks, but they hadn't heard those things for the first time!

"Sakura! Sakura! Are you alright?" he asked her.

Sakura just stared at him teary eyed.

"Sakura!" A familiar voice called her, she jumped back. "Naruto!" he then called by no other than Shikamaru. He was a thin boy at their same age his jet-black hair pulled in an upward ponytail his both ears with earrings, wearing a green vest means he is in an upper rank to them.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto screamed at the top of his voice, everyone in the pub spun their heads to see him even the mad men take a deep look at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Shikamaru replied, "I was asked by Sakura to go—?" before Could Shikamaru finished his sentenced Sakura stands to her seat and pushed the two boys away outside the pub.

"Sakura what is the meaning of this?" Naruto said exaggerating.

"I'll explain Naruto, if we could get out of this place as soon as possible!" she shouted at him. Naruto became silent and they three of them rush themselves to the woods.

"You know, we hadn't paid yet." Naruto reminded her.

"I know, I'll just drop there later to pay our bill… this is important!" She said and checking the place if it is clear.

"I know this is urgent Sakura but…" Shikamaru said folding his arms at the back of his neck like he used to do. "Why are you pushing us here in the woods, you said we are about to meet in the pub, you said to me." He said lazily.

"I know, it's just some things had happened before you came…"

Naruto wrinkled his forehead, he really don't know what they are talking about. All he knows is that Sakura and he are dating and Shikamaru is now here ruining his best day ever! "Sakura! You still haven't tell me why is Shikamaru is here!" he said loudly.

"I had told him to meet me in the pub, satisfied?" Sakura snapped to him. It does not make sense, it makes the situation much complicated.

"Why? I mean are we supposed to meet in the bridge this noon and you didn't tell me that Shikamaru is coming!"

"Well, I am sorry. I don't know if you would come if I said he was coming."

"Why? I have no air-borne disease or sort of!" Shikamaru blurted out to her.

"What do you think that I won't be seeing you just because Shikamaru the lazy bum is coming?" Naruto said impatiently to her. "So, go on tell us what you want to tell, we are dying here."

"Alright, it's like this, Shikamaru is going to meet us Naruto in the pub for important news."

"What then!" Naruto shouted.

"It's about Sasuke-kun…" he said in low tone.

"Sasuke…?" Naruto said under his breath.

TBC…