Author's Notes: Just some quick replies to questions. Kanaye is indeed a Japanese name. It means 'zeal' or 'zealous' if I'm not mistaken. Also, the suffix '-kun' is typically reserved for males, but it also can be used as a term of familiarity from one of a higher station to one of a lower station, regardless of gender.

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"Oi, Naruto," Shikamaru barked impatiently, "We promised to meet up with Hinata and Ino for dinner in ten minutes. Don't you think this can wait?"

"If it could, you know I would put it off," Naruto replied carelessly, "I'll only be a second." Tossing his friend a jaunty salute, the tall, blonde shinobi walked through the doors leading into the Hokage tower. Shikamaru sighed to himself and sat down on a nearby bench, taking a glance skyward.

Naruto marched down a long hallway toward the very center of the tower, returning the bows and greetings of various shinobi. He had risen through the ranks at a phenomenal rate, eventually becoming a top Jounin groomed to succeed Tsuande herself. But that moment was still at least ten to fifteen years away, and Naruto's main concern was eking out a comfortable living for his soon-to-be Uzumaki clan. Nodding to the ANBU posted at the door, he gave it a gentle knock. After a moment, the door swung open.

"What do you want, dumb ass?" Uchiha Sasuke asked by way of greeting. Naruto simply grinned in return. Sasuke had been through a turbulent five years, defecting from Konoha during his crusade for vengeance, and eventually becoming a pawn of Orochimaru during the Sound Village's final battle with virtually every other ninja village on the continent. Through it all, Naruto never lost hope for his former teammate – fighting against all logic and reason to bring the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan back into the fold.

Following the defeat of Akatsuki and Itachi's death, Sasuke's life ambition had been fulfilled. Despite this, the former Leaf ninja found only emptiness where once there was purpose in his life. On Naruto and Sakura's behest, Sasuke had been granted a pardon by Tsunade for his instrumental role in the defeat of Orochimaru, but he found few willing to accept him upon his return to Konoha. Once regarded as the Number One Rookie of his graduating class, Sasuke's abandonment of the Leaf to pursue his own ambitions earned him the enmity and distrust of his former village. He had worked tirelessly to redeem himself, and had accomplished countless missions for Konoha, but he still remained under constant surveillance by ANBU and several other prominent Jounin.

"Whaddya think, bastard? I told you about my wedding months ago! I need a best man to keep me from screwing up the ceremony."

"Naruto," Sasuke replied with a tired sigh, "We've been through this already. I'm not going to be your best man and I'm not attending your wedding. You have my congratulations and sincere wishes for the best, but I cannot be there."

"Why not? You got something more important than the wedding of your future Hokage?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, attempting to cover his disappointment with anger.

"First of all, I have a mission on the day of the ceremonies--"

"Big deal," Naruto interrupted quickly, "Just reschedule it. Old Lady Tsunade will understand."

"Secondly," Sasuke continued as if Naruto hadn't interrupted, "Nobody wants me there. Me, most of all."

"Sasuke--"

"No. Don't Naruto. I don't deserve to be there - not yet. I need to earn back what I threw away so carelessly. I must do my penance before I can be with all of you again. Here, I was going to mail this to you, but since you're here," Sasuke handed Naruto an envelope that was addressed to him and Hinata. "Again, you have my sincere best wishes. I'll see you later, Naruto."

The door clicked shut, and Naruto looked down at the envelope. Scribbled below the address line was a small note. It read, 'At least you won't be dead last in something, dumb ass.' With a soft grin, Naruto stuffed the envelope in his flak jacket.

"The wedding is in five days," Naruto declared loudly, "I expect you to at least be there. Bastard." He regarded the door for a long moment, then turned and walked back out.

"Well, that took a little longer than a second," Shikamaru commented as he stood up, "Did you finish your errand?"

"Well, actually," Naruto began sheepishly, "I was wondering Shikamaru…"

"Yeah, yeah… I guess I'll be your best man," the skinny Jounin with the top-knot replied irritably, "Jeez, can't your own teammates do the dirty work for once?"

"Well I would have asked Sakura," Naruto countered, "But she's very sensitive about her overly large hands."

"That kind of talk can lead to some real troublesome situations," Shikamaru scolded, "I was hoping more of Hinata had rubbed off on you by now."

"Heh, I'm working it out of my system before I settle down for married life," Naruto replied with a gleam in his eyes, "Come on slacker, we're gonna be late."

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Naruto was late again. Hinata smiled to herself as she enjoyed her takoyaki with Ino. The blonde kunoichi kept glancing around and harrumphing at the tardiness of their male counter-parts, but Hinata was having a good time chatting with her fellow Jounin. It had been several hours since her less than pleasant interview with the Hyuuga Council of Elders, and Hinata was doing her best to keep her mind off of their thinly veiled threats. The Council was a powerful body, but with her father, Neji, Hanabi, and a majority of both the Main and Branch Family supporting her marriage, Hinata doubted they had the support to put their words into action.

"What's the matter, Hinata?" Ino asked curiously, interrupting her thoughts, "You've been spacing out ever since we met for lunch. Granted, your Hyuuga eyeballs give you a creepy, drugged out look anyway."

"Gee, thanks Ino Pig."

"Ha! That's the spirit," Ino laughed as she patted her friend on the shoulder, "I don't like seeing you acting all depressed… You've been that way for too long. You want to talk about it?"

"No, it's alright," Hinata said, giggling, "Sorry if I've been behaving…"

"Like 'pre-teen Hinata!'" Ino finished for her when she trailed off. Hinata made a face, and took another bite of her takoyaki in dignified silence while Ino laughed at her own joke.

"Thanks again for agreeing to be my maid of honor," Hinata said softly when Ino had settled down, "It means a lot to me." Ino gave her a delighted grin and a thumbs-up.

"It's an honor and a pleasure, Hinata! I have to compliment you on your good taste…When it came down between me and Fore Head Girl, you made the right decision."

"Well, Sakura has been a good friend," Hinata replied softly, "But you were the one that supported and believed in me while I was trying to sort out my feelings for Naruto-kun…"

"You talk like that's in the past," Ino said with a warm expression on her face, "I'll always be here for you Hinata… you know that don't you?"

"As if any of us could forget… your nagging is a constant reminder, Ino," a wry voice commented. Shikamaru.

"Shut it, Nara!" Ino hollered in reply, "You're thirty minutes late!"

"Don't blame me," Shikamaru replied, pointing at Naruto, "The groom here had an extra errand or two or three to run. I was just tagging along for the ride."

"That's your problem! You never take charge, you just go with the flow and let things happen when you should be doing your part!"

"Spare me," Shikamaru said with rolled eyes, "I heard the same spiel last week when Temari visited."

"It bears repeating," Ino growled, "What she sees in you, I can only guess."

"Well," Shikamaru drawled, "What did you see in Sasuke?"

"Looks, class, style, and the most dreamy eyes in the world."

"That's probably what Temari sees in me… minus the 'eye-thing,'" Shikamaru said with a frown. Naruto and Ino burst into laughter. Hinata attempted to stifle a giggle, but failed beautifully.

"I think perhaps, Temari-san may have a vision problem," Hinata commented softly, setting off Naruto and Ino again. Shikamaru sighed and shrugged with exasperation.

"You know Hinata, you were supposed to be a good influence on Naruto."

"I am," Hinata replied without missing a beat, "Naruto-kun just happens to be a bad influence on me."

The two fiancées took out their pendants and looked at each other fondly. Grinning with pride, Naruto walked over and swept up his bride-to-be in a tight embrace, kissing her with more ardor than was considered appropriate in a public area. Hinata returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm.

"Sorry I'm late," Naruto whispered into her ear.

"So buy me dinner," Hinata murmured back, planting a kiss against his neck. Shikamaru groaned while Ino sighed with appreciation. Naruto dug into the pocket of his flak jacket and pulled out some crumpled looking pieces of paper. It was Hinata's turn to groan.

"I've been craving some honest to goodness ramen for at least three days now! You wouldn't believe the crap that passes for noodles in the Wave Country!"

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata began with a note of warning in her voice. Naruto continued on, heedless of her tone.

"It's a damn good thing I saved these coupons… Ichiraku is having a three for one special tonight. You guys lucked out tonight – I'm buying."

"Naruto-kun!"

"But Hinata…"

"You can have some for desert, Naruto-kun. We've already got reservations at Konoha Bistro…Assuming they haven't given our table up yet."

Naruto muttered something about 'troublesome women' but was brought up short when Hinata turned a stare on him. Sheepishly, he brought his index fingers together and began to rub them.

"What did I tell you?" Shikamaru lectured, "They start out demure and sweet, but before you know it, total bi--"

"You finish that sentence and it'll be your last," Ino warned as a kunai manifested itself in her hand. Shikamaru gulped and put his hands in his pockets, a sullen expression on his face. Naruto just smiled at Hinata and stuffed the worn looking coupons back into his flak jacket before putting his arm around her.

"Hinata's the boss when it comes to the important stuff." Hinata gave Ino and Shikamaru a self-satisfied grin as she leaned into Naruto's chest. "Of course, in bed, it's pretty clear who the boss--"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata half screamed, half squeaked, "Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Naruto laughed at his fiancée's beet red face, and pulled her closer, ignoring her squirming attempts to extricate herself.

"C'mon honey, don't be like that! I just got back from a mission…an extremely lonely, three day mission."

"W-well, you better expect a forth lonely day," Hinata replied as she struggled in his arms. Naruto laughed softly before gently placing a long kiss on her lips. The Hyuuga girl's squirming slowed to a stop and she sighed with a mixture of exasperation and affection as she allowed him to envelope her in another embrace. Shikamaru looked as if he was going to be physically ill.

"Yeah, this is great," Shikamaru said loudly, "You guys keep that up. Those of us who aren't in the process of exchanging communicable diseases will be at the restaurant. Perhaps you'll join us there later?"

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The Konoha Bistro billed itself as the classiest restaurant in town. To Hinata, it meant the perfect ambience to welcome back her groom-to-be with a meal that had as much style as it did flavor. To Naruto, it meant lighting that was too dim to read an overpriced menu filled with names of dishes he couldn't pronounce. He also would've bemoaned his inability to tip correctly, but Shikamaru was there to help him with the math. Ino cooed with pleasure as the well-dressed maitre d walked them to their table, admiring the paintings illuminated with recessed lighting. To Naruto, the paintings, which were each priced well over his monthly salary, resembled a tapestry of vomit combined with bird droppings.

"Hinata, I have to say, this is beautiful!" Ino practically crowed, causing several of the people seated at other tables to cast angry glances in their direction. Seeing who it was however, their glares quickly melted to surprised pleasure. Naruto and the rest of the Rookie Nine had become slight celebrities within the walls of their own village, and the people that once regarded him with distrust and fear now held deep admiration and pride for his dedicated defense of the Leaf. It was quite a reversal, but Naruto's behavior had not changed; he remained an enthusiastic, overly friendly, hyper-active, unpredictable shinobi known for his infectious smile, and fondness for pranks.

"It must have taken you forever to get reservations for this place," Ino commented as the waiter poured their drinks. Hinata nodded with a blush and took a sip of her water.

"Three months in advance, actually."

"Three months? That's outrageous isn't it Naruto!" Ino gave Naruto a pointed glare, causing him to give her a blank look of confusion. It's not like this was news to him. It was precisely because it took so long to get a table here that he never tried. Shikamaru surreptitiously kicked him under the table.

"What?" Naruto hissed with irritation. Ino and Shikamaru sighed simultaneously. Hinata just laughed, and opened her menu.

"It's okay ," she said softly, "I'm just happy we could have this meal together. Besides, it'll be good training for Naruto-kun. We'll be having a lot more meals like this once he's formally recognized as my husband; my father insists on Hyuuga dinner parties at least once a month."

"Dinner at the nicest restaurant in Konoha, or the cheapest noodle stand in the Wind Country…the location isn't important," Naruto replied as he slipped his hand over Hinata's, "It's the company." Hinata blushed slightly, then gave him a sweet smile.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Naruto-kun, but you're still taking me here at least once a month." Naruto groaned while Ino and Shikamaru gave Hinata a thumbs-up. The waiter soon arrived and began to take their orders. Naruto was last.

"Yeah, um… I'll take this one," he muttered, pointing at an item on the menu that had the lowest price. The waiter gave him a patronizing look.

"Sir, I recommend you order something from the entrée section."

"Uh…" Naruto began to blush, "Why? What's the problem?"

"You ordered a side of mushrooms."

Hinata laughed softly, taking the menu from Naruto and placing an order for him. Naruto was inclined to pout, but Hinata's quick peck on his cheek lifted his mood swiftly, and he was in high spirits by the time Shikamaru and Ino began to discuss the wedding ceremony with them.

"Good news," Naruto declared, "Your dad agreed to pay for everything!"

"That doesn't sound like something my father would say," Hinata replied suspiciously, "Did he tell you why?"

"Well…um… I guess he's so grateful you're marrying someone as attractive and talented as me."

"The bride dowry," Hinata said in an agitated voice, "Naruto-kun, you know I don't want to use it!"

"Why not?" Naruto said with a careless grin, "That's what it's there for."

"Yes, but if I'm truly leaving my clan, I don't want to depend on them for anything anymore! Between my salary and yours, we have enough to pay for the wedding."

"Yeah," Naruto replied thoughtfully, "That's true…"

"So why not use our own money?" Hinata asked, her eyes narrowing. She knew Naruto wasn't the kind of person who would marry for money, but she hoped he understood that they would not be tapping the Hyuuga clan for monetary support under any circumstances. She refused to be beholden to that family any longer.

"It's just that…well…no, maybe you're right…"

"Just that what, Naruto-kun?" Hinata's voice remained even, but her eyes betrayed a rising uneasiness.

"Well, it's just that… I did calculate our combined salaries," Naruto said with an impish smile, "And it's just enough to buy a comfortable piece of land not far from the Academy… The Old Lady even used her connections to get us a nice discount."

Hinata's eyes widened and began to water with tears. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop a ridiculous smile from spilling over her face.

"You mean… you… a house…?"

"Of course!" Naruto crowed, "You didn't think we were going to stay in my apartment for the next few years, did you? The place is a dump! Besides… we're going to need a bigger house to raise a family…Trust me, the Uzumaki clan will require its own property if Konoha is going to survive."

Hinata let out a most undignified squeal of utter delight, and threw her arms around her grinning fiancée. Blushing with a mixture of pride and eagerness, Naruto held her tight.

"So," he whispered into her ear, "We can still get ramen after dinner, right?"

"I want my dinner to go," Shikamaru commented with a sigh.