Greetings to all who enjoyed the first installment. You must have, if you're reading this second chapter. I'm surprised to have gotten some enthusiasm so quickly from reviewers, and I am so grateful. Thank you.

As I've mentioned, I love NaruSaku fics very much. Nothing else really works. Hinata's kinds cute for him, sure, but I like the Sakura pairing more. People think that Sasuke is more deserving of her. BAH! He's too arrogant and foolhardy. Rock Lee is just too corny for Sakura. I like him better as a close friend for her. I also like the pairing of TemariShikamaru. That's a good one too.

Well, I'll get on with it. (Oh, and I'm not sure what Sakura's parental situation is. I don't know if she has any, but I'm pretty sure she does. For this story, she will have parents, I think.)

Sakura woke up first that morning, with the blankets still half-wrapped around her and Naruto. He was still sitting. Absolutely motionless, behind her, leaned against the wall with Sakura's head on his right shoulder. His head was slightly drooped forward, causing some of his shaggy hair to stray across her cheeks. She suppressed a giggle, and settled for a smile, a genuine smile that she found she was having too few of recently.

She moved slightly, attempting to get up without disturbing the blonde. Though she made no noise, Naruto still stirred and began to wake up. Sakura stood in front of him and crouched down so her face was right in front of his.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and blinked hard a few times. Unless he was mistaken, a very familiar pair of green eyes, belonging to a pink-haired female, was hovering right in front of his own.

"Good morning," she said with a smile. "Sleep well?"

"Hi Sakura," replied Naruto with a yawn. He rubbed his eyes in the sunlight. He remembered Sakura coming to his apartment in the late hours of the night. He remembered it all, how she had confessed and apologized, how she had thrown herself into his arms. He was so happy, but the depression of Sasuke's death hadn't worn off yet.

"Are you hungry?" asked Sakura, straightening up and placing her hands on her hips. "I can fix something if you like?"

"I don't have a very big selection," he said shyly. "I don't usually cook, so there's really nothing to cook. I have cereal for breakfast usually. I don't eat much." Sakura frowned at her friend's lack of nutritional care, but cheered herself instantly.

"Well, I'll go buy some bacon and eggs," she said. "I'll only be a few minutes. You live so close to the grocery district anyways." She ran a brush through her pink hair as she walked out the door. "Be back soon," she said, smiling over her shoulder as she closed his door. He listened to her walk down the hallway and disappear.

He sighed heavily. "I can't believe she spent the night at my house…" He looked up at his ceiling. "See, Sasuke? You could've had her. She would've jumped at the chance to stay with you at your mansion if you weren't such a fool all the time… but now she's with me at my house."

He stood up and stretched, letting out another yawn as his stomach groaned. He realized he'd really not eaten in two days, the day after Sasuke's death. He didn't feel like eating at all during that time, but now, his hunger seemed eager to be heard. He rubbed his stomach. "Hold your horses," he said to himself. "Sakura will be coming with food soon. I bet she's a good cook too."

He looked out the window over the town below. A seventh floor apartment provided a pretty decent view of the people and buildings around. He could see almost everything. There was his favorite ramen bar, Ichiruka (spelling right? Ah, who cares?). There was the old academy, where he used to study under Iruka sensei. There was the Hokage headquarters. He could also see the mountain with the Hokage's faces engraved on one side. Of course, they were still working on Tsunade's picture.

Then there was the forest that surrounded Konoha. He could see the part of the forest where he had been training days ago. That was the last time he had been training in a few days. That was where Sasuke had died. He became sad again. "Itachi," he said quietly. He could see the exact spot where it all happened, and he became reminded of how strong the Akatsuki agent was.

"If he came here again… if he tried to come for me, I'd be so dead." Naruto leaned over the edge of the window. "I don't know what they're planning… but it isn't good. Itachi could probably destroy everyone in this village. He's more than likely stronger than most Anbu with that damned Sharingan of his. They'd all be slaughtered while he looked for me…

"I'm once again a danger to this town, aren't I?" he mumbled. "First because of the demon fox, now because of someone who's hunting me…"

"Did you say something Naruto?" asked Sakura as she walked in the door. She had a brown grocery bag with food in it. Naruto whirled around while she shut the door. "I got some food. So, were you saying something?"

"Just thinking out loud, Sakura-chan," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"'Kay," she replied, walking over to his stove and sink. "I'll start cooking. It won't be long." The kitchen area was a mess, and Naruto was very embarrassed to have his guest walking around and trying to dodge his disaster area, so he tried hastily to clean as much as he could. He got everything out of the way so Sakura cold cook, most of it being garbage. He then tidied all his clothes and his ninja equipment lying on the floor. Withing a few brief minutes, the apartment looked cleaner than it ever had, and it smelled of wonderfully cooked bacon and eggs.

"It smells wonderful, Sakura-chan," he said as he watched her cook. It was all he could do to not drool while observing her over her shoulder.

"Thanks, Naruto," she said with a smile. She piled some food onto a plate and handed it to Naruto. He held it for a few seconds. "Well? Aren't you going to eat? It's okay, isn't it?"

"I've… never had anyone cook for me," he said slowly. "Thanks Sakura."

"Is that all?" she said. "Don't worry about it Naruto. I'll cook for you as much as you want, if that would make you happier."

"I'll wait for you to finish cooking for yourself," said Naruto as he took a seat at his recently cleaned table. Sakura was soon eating at his side in silence. They were both quiet. It was weird, Naruto thought, to be sharing a meal with the on he'd most wanted to share a meal with for as long as he could remember. Now, he didn't know what to do.

"Naruto," said Sakura finally, breaking that silence.

"Yeah, Sakura?"

"Why do you keep trying?" asked Sakura. "I mean… how come you never gave up on me? When I constantly treated you like dirt, you never seemed derailed in the least. It just seemed to make you try harder to get my attention… Why did you try so hard for me?"

Naruto stopped eating and tried thinking hard. Thinking hard was not Naruto's strong-suit, but he managed to spit out a few words. "That's a really hard question to answer, Sakura," he mumbled, putting his fork down. "I… I've always wanted to be accepted, by anyone really. No one ever paid attention to me, you know? I was just a dangerous kid that nobody wanted to be around or even look at longer than necessary. All the nins, the families, the children, everyone, just sort of treated me with a neglect…

"I learned to deal, I guess," he continued. "But it was so hard… it still is to tell the truth. But the only time I truly focused my attention of being recognized was around you… I guess I figured that, if I could get anyone to realize I even existed, if I could get someone, anyone, to look at me and smile, I wanted it to be you. If I could get you to smile at me, then all the other people wouldn't matter. Any time you would just say my name, I would get so excited and completely forget that no one likes me in this town."

Sakura, of course, was regretting asking the question. She was touched, but it hurt to know that no one appreciated him for so long, and it hurt even more to know that she was one of them. "Sorry, Naruto-kun. I didn't mean to bring it up."

"Forget about it Sakura," said Naruto with a hearty smile. "It's like I said. Focusing on you and getting your attention was all that mattered… It still is."

"You're an amazing person, Naruto," said Sakura. "No one is as amazing as you are." Naruto flushed very deeply. He was turning red.

"Thanks, Sakura." Sakura stood up and picked up the dishes from the table. Leaning over Naruto's shoulder, she placed a kiss on his cheek and walked away smiling, humming some sort of light tune happily.

Naruto turned even redder. He didn't even dare reach up to touch the spot where he's been kissed. He felt hot, pleasantly, on his cheek there, and he didn't want the feeling to leave him.

Ever

Naruto shook his head to bring himself out of his drunkenness. He turned around and saw Sakura standing, washing the dishes in his sink with a grin on her lips. She hummed some more of the same tune, a song Naruto hadn't heard before. She was happy, he thought.

After so much mourning and crying… Sakura was finally happy.

I love this chapter. It's kinda short, but I promised more to be posted about the story. I hope you all liked it. It will probably still continue from this point. It could get a bit more romantic or angsty, or even both. Tell me what you guys think. I'm all ears, really. And if you have any information that I may be wrong, factually speaking, about something, please tell me.