A/N: Hmm, a particular character may seem OOC in this (depending on your perspective). You'll probably know who I'm talking about once you read this chapter.
Oh yes, two new characters are presented in this chapter as well!
xoxoxoxox
Sakura finally made it to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. She wasn't surprised once she saw the bubbly blonde young man scarfing down a bowl of Beef Ramen. It looked like he was on his fourth bowl. Hinata was sitting next to him, gingerly sipping soup from her Miso Ramen.
"—nata honey! That's what happened on my last ANBU mission! It was hectic like hell, dat-te-bayo!" Sakura heard Naruto explain to Hinata, who was looking at her boyfriend with a smile on her face. "I-I'm glad you're OK from it, N-Naruto dear." Hinata happily replied. "Oh you should thank Sak--," Naruto got cut off when he heard from behind his back, "…me?" The couple hastily turned around and saw Sakura, who was sweaty and battered. She looked really tired.
"Sakura-chan! I didn't even feel your chakra approaching! I guess I was too busy telling Hinata what happened on our last ANBU mission!" Naruto exclaimed.
"T-Thank you very much, Sakura-chan, for healing N-Naruto-kun's wounds that he got from the mission! H-Here, sit down with us and have some r-ramen! Y-You look soo exhausted!" Hinata politely offered as she gestured Sakura to sit on the stool next to her. Sakura smiled at her and sat down next to her. Sakura has been amazed at how much this once shy girl's confidence and social skills has gone up ever since they were young. She also became physically beautiful, just like Sakura herself. She remembers how she used to be extremely shy and stutter on every word she said. Now her stuttering cut down to a minimum and she started to talk more, with a tone that is now audible. Sakura suspected Naruto for boosting the confidence of his girlfriend. She was proud of the both of them.
"Aww Hinata-chan. It's my pleasure. After all, it's my duty to do so and he's my best friend," Sakura replied as she glanced at Naruto. He displayed his foxy grin to her in acknowledgement.
"Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan is right, you look dead tired! Let me guess, you've been vigorously training again huh, dattebayo?" Naruto had a look of concern on his face.
"Yup I was. I've been practicing and polishing my jutsus, especially the summoning one," Sakura replied while rubbing her soar knuckles.
"Oh! How is that coming along?" Naruto was always the type to simultaneously ask Sakura questions. He truly cared for her, but in a best friend type of way. He once had feelings for his roseatte-haired ex-teammate, but once he realized she was extremely head-over-heels for Sasuke, he ended his quest to capture her heart. Instead, he started to take a liking for Hinata, after he spent lots of time with the Jounin sensei. He would frequently drop by at the academy after his mission to flirt with the shy girl after she taught her classes, and he found himself falling head-over-heels for her. Hinata has always had feelings for Naruto ever since they were young, and finally her dream came true: her and Naruto became an official couple. Sakura could see why: Naruto has grown up and his physical appearance changed drastically. He became handsome and grew a head taller than her, but her heart still belonged to the Uchicha. Plus, she only viewed Naruto in a platonic way. He hasn't changed his loud and impulsive behavior and his addiction for ramen though. Oh well, that's what makes Naruto…Naruto.
"…Sakura-chan?" Naruto snapped Sakura out of her thoughts.
"Oh gomenesai! It's great so far! I actually summoned a slug that's as tall as me just earlier!"
"That's great to hear, Sakura-chan! Gamabunta and Katsuya should battle when we practice someday!" Sakura laughed at Naruto's request, "anyway, you need to eat! Your meal is on the house!"
"Wow Naruto! You're actually paying! Am I unaware of an apocalypse approaching or something?" Sakura sarcastically retorted.
"Psshhh of course! I've been getting sweet pay lately from the missions! Plus, this is to congratulate you for the improvement on your summoning technique, dattebayo!" Naruto happily replied. Hinata smiled at her boyfriend for his kind action. "That's very s-sweet of you, Naruto dear!"
Naruto gave a light kiss on Hinata's lips, which made her cheeks blush a furious crimson red. He proceeded to ask for a menu from Ayame, the ramen shop owner's daughter, and gave it to Sakura. After much debating, Sakura chose to get a Chicken Ramen. She got her order within 5 minutes, and started to eat. She hungrily gulped down the noodles.
"Wow Sakura-chan, and I thought I was the only one that could scarf down ramen! I guess I have a competitor now, neh?" Naruto chuckled. Hinata elbowed him on his ribs. "OW! Honey, I was only kidding, dattebayo!"
Sakura ignored Naruto's mocking and continued to eat her meal. It was apparent that she had hardly anything to eat in the past couple of days, and that she trained her guts out earlier.
"Thanks for the meal, Naruto. I owe you!" Sakura said to Naruto, as she gave him a beaming smile
"No problemo, Sakura-chan! You don't have to owe me anything. You're a good pal to me anyways," Naruto replied with his foxy grin. Hinata was in the process of finishing her green tea ice cream that Naruto bought for her after she ate her ramen. Naruto watched with a soft expression at the way his girlfriend took little scoops from the ball of ice cream and eating it carefully. She looked really adorable doing this.
Sakura turned around, and saw the sky turned dark and a full moon came to view. "Well folks, I must depart now. It's dark outside and I'm tired. I'm going to walk home now. See you two love-birds later!" she stood from her stool and hugged both of them. She walked away and they waved her good-bye.
As she started to walk towards her apartment, she suddenly started a series of sneezes. Why am I 'ACHOO' sneezing so much! It wasn't even cold when I was training earlier. In fact, it was hot as hell! 'ACHOO' That can't make me sick at all! So what explains 'ACHOO' these sneezes! Wait, 'ACHOO' is someone thinking about me! I wonder if that person is in trouble or in dire need of my attention? But what for? 'ACHOO' OK, who are you? 'ACHOO' And why are you thinking of me? Geez, you must be thinking about me 'ACHOO' a lot if I'm 'ACHOO' sneezing THIS much! STOP IT! 'ACHOO'
THIS SNEEZING FIT IS FUCKING ANNOYING! Inner Sakura whined in anger.
To her amazement, the sneezing stopped after her mental demand. She didn't know if she should feel flattered, annoyed, dumbfounded, angry, or happy after what had just happened to her. It was weird because she had a sense that someone was thinking about her, but she doesn't know who.
"Hey! Sakura-chan, are you OK!" Sakura cocked her head to the right to see a familiar face on the street. It was one of her ANBU squad mate.
"Hey Kiba! Yeah I'm OK. Thanks for asking," she replied, as Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, walked towards her.
"I'm out here taking a stroll with Akamaru and, geez, we heard you sneezing uncontrollably from across the street. I was wondering if you were going to suffer from a severe case of pneumonia or something. That would be rare since it's summer time. I was even close to running towards you and bringing you to the hospital!" Kiba had a look of concern for his fellow squad mate. Akamaru barked in agreement to his owner's statement.
"Haha, I don't know what came over me just now but the sneezing stopped, thankfully. I was also going to ask you why you're out here at such a late time."
"I should be asking YOU that question. You're a lady, after all, and ladies shouldn't walk alone at nighttime. Akamaru and I will walk you towards your destination."
"Oh no, it's fine, Kiba-san. You and Akamaru are heading towards a different direction, right?"
"Meh, we're not heading anywhere in particular. We're just aimlessly strolling as usual to kill our boredom. We can keep you company. Plus, it's to reward you for all the healing you've done for me on the missions and for Akamaru." Kiba warmly said to Sakura.
"Hmm were YOU the reason why I had that sneezing fit earlier? Because I KNOW someone was thinking of me at that very moment," Sakura curiously asked, as she squinted suspiciously at him.
"Me? No. Sure you're a buddy of mine because of ANBU, but no offense Sakura-chan, I don't see you in THAT kind of way. I have my mind set on this one beautiful lady I encountered at the Hidden Mist Village during one of our missions…" Kiba replied with a huge grin.
"Haha OK, good. I also see you as a friend too, Kiba-san. I also know what mission you're talking about. That was a few months back. Good luck with that lady!" Sakura smiled at her squad mate.
Kiba rubbed the back of his head as he started to blush. "Haha thanks a lot, Sakura-chan." Akamaru started to bark at his owner's embarrassment, as if he was laughing at him. "Haha shut up Akamaru!" They continued their conversation as they walked towards Sakura's apartment.
"Thanks for walking me to my apartment, Kiba-san," Sakura politely thanked and hugged him. She petted Akamaru's head.
"Oh yeah, Sakura-chan! I forgot to add one more thing to how I can become closer to Nozomi-chan…" Kiba started to rub the back of his head again, with a nervous look on his face.
"What is it?"
"Well…umm…she told me she has this cousin who is single and is an eligible bachelor…" Kiba started.
"Don't tell me…" Sakura had a sense of dread in her voice.
"…Yeah. Even though she is an only child, he is like an older protective brother to her. If any guy lays a hand on his cousin, he would decapitate their head with his katana. Since I recently discovered that she is fond of me, she asked me if I had any friends that are girls who are willing to date him…"
"KIBA! I—" Sakura's voice started to raise, and she cut off the suffix from his name.
"Sakura-chan! Don't worry! From what she told me, he's a handsome guy who is a year older than us. He's very intelligent, responsible, and a skilled shinobi. He's currently of Jounin rank in the Hidden Mist. He and Nozomi-chan also come from a wealthy and powerful family…" Kiba added so he can persuade Sakura into agreeing to his offer, even though he was slightly trembling. Akamaru barked to what his owner said.
Sakura didn't know what to think. This whole day has been exhausting, and this just added to it. Why couldn't he ask another girl? Why did it have to be her? She wanted Kiba to hook up with Nozomi-chan, but in order to do so, she has to date the cousin. Why did it have to become such a predicament? Sakura just stood there, deep in thought, with a slight cringe in her face.
"…Please Sakura-chan! It would mean soo much to me if you did this for me! I know Nozomi-chan would be thankful if you did this too! Please, please, please!" Kiba feebly begged his squad mate. Akamaru feebly wailed aside his owner. Sakura's face melted into pity and confusion mixed together.
What's the harm in doing this for her ANBU squad mate? It's not like she will die or anything. She let out a huge sigh.
"Fine, I'll take your offer. Remember, I'm only doing this for YOUR sake, OK!" Kiba jumped up in joy and hugged Sakura so hard, that she started to suffocate. Akamaru barked with excitement as well.
"O-K, Kiba-san, you c-can s-stop hugging m-me now! I c-can't breathe!" Kiba released his tight embrace from Sakura. He beamed his fanged teeth at her.
"Thank you sooo much, Sakura-chan! Who knows, maybe something might actually develop between you two! You can finally forget about that Uchi—," he was cut off with a jab on the head by Sakura's fist.
"By the way, what is this guy's name?" Sakura asked. Kiba was rubbing the huge bump on his head.
"Oh yeah, his name is Yasashiku-san, from what I remember Nozomi-chan told me. Hey, I'll try my best to convince and bring those two to a future social event! I'll tell you if both of them will come for sure, and you can meet-up with them! It will be like a double-date!" Kiba beamed.
"Sure…" Sakura was secretly actually hoping that Kiba won't inform her about their arrival in Konoha.
"OK, I really need to rest now. So I'll see you around, Kiba-san. Thank you for escorting me once again!" Sakura fumbled for her keys and opened her apartment door.
"You're welcome, Sakura-chan, and thank YOU!" He and Akamaru ran as they waved her off.
Once she walked in and closed the door behind her, she positioned her back against her door and slowly slid her body down. "As Shikamaru-san would say, how troublesome…" Sakura sullenly told herself. What have I gotten myself into! I hate blind dates!
She lazily picked herself off the ground and shuffled towards her bedroom. She hastily grabbed her pajamas from the closet and went to the restroom to take a refreshing shower. She plucked out the splinters from her toes and knuckles.
After getting changed into her pajamas, she dragged her weary feet to the bed and plopped herself on to her bed. She turned off the light and immediately knocked out once she felt her cozy pillows and comforter under her body.
Once again, a sneeze escaped from her. Sakura wailed weakly and continued to sleep.