By this point, the male shinobi and the female shinobi should now be at a perfect understanding. She should know that he's attracted to her, and if all goes well, she will also be attracted right back.
Now, the art of the date requires alot of care.
Simply, just for the ninja to take out the desired female to a movie and a place to eat. That is the generic date.
Though, the male shinobi should be aware that a date boils down to a very few key elements. These are usually two tandem activities; usually one being a place to eat.
General activities include:
-A walk through a park, beach or other area of general interest
-A holiday resort
-A shopping trip for the kunoichi
-A visit to a local entertainment venue
-An accompany to a festival
-An inspection of the museum
-A pass to the closest tourist attraction
and so on, and so on, and so on...
However, activities
involving food are more difficult, as this usually involves
either treating her at a restaurant (usually the more expensive the
better),
packing a picnic or even a basic invitation for a quiet dinner at home
with a
home-cooked meal. All of which, must be taken great care in considering
what she likes to eat and avoiding what she is allergic to.
But remember, just as long as the male shinobi can obtain time together with the kunoichi, it still counts as a date -even if it's not declared out loud. Even things such as a treat at a food stand, paying for her at the shopping district or even a sunset view -anything about being together can be constituted as a date!
So just mix, match and make your own ways of getting together!
The possibilities are endless!
It took Naruto most of a good portion of several hours from morning to noon to complete a standard D-Rank mission with his team.
It took him just a little over an hour to read over the whole of the dating chapter.
It took him less than several seconds to make a connection between the book and the day before.
"No... It's only ramen... We couldn't have... People buy stuff all the time... I mean it's not like...A sunset or nothing..." He unintelligibly muttered in disbelief. "Me and Temari were on a date!-? That's crazy talk!"
After a long silent moment, the young blond shinobi summarised his doubt in a single word:
"But..."
And it was because of this doubt that urged him into action to side with caution that, instead of directly seeking out Sakura or Iruka for their take on things like he usually does, Naruto decided to go looking for Tsunade instead.
It was probably good insight to seek out advice from the elder.
...but if only it was just any other day than this one.
DISCLAIMER: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you.
Single Ninja on the Town
By Arkhe
Chapter 5 : Dating
Subtitle - Kunoichi's Just Wanna Have Fun
Hinata was a feeling a little anxious about today. She had some unsorted feelings towards Naruto and, as much as she wanted time to figure it out, the other girls were starting to see the whiskered-boy under a different light.
In other words, Hinata knew she was going against the clock.
Currently, it was common knowledge among the other kunoichi's that Naruto was on a mission today. Not that it was a problem for the Hyuuga-heiress. Her teacher had dismissed her team's training today (claiming the need to be elsewhere), so Hinata both had the time and the means to be able to search the blond boy out.
So, with the thought of competition and a time limit hanging over her shoulder, the pale-eyed girl had a boost of confidence that, hopefully, would allow her courage to hold out when asking Naruto for more than the time.
She'd wanted to confront him while he was at home, but she stalled for so long that by the time she decided to strive onward, he left his house again -effectively setting her back. However, once he entered into more familiar areas, Hinata tapped into a well of courage and she dove head-first.
"N-Naruto-kun!" She called out to him after he'd walked into more 'coincidental public areas' instead of 'coincidental stalking areas'.
"Hi Hinata-chan!" He paused in mid-step and greeted her. "What's up?"
Before she could get a word out, Naruto followed it up with a question.
"Hey, were you busy on Friday or something?" He asked with a tilt of his head. "When you weren't coming, I went to look for you but I couldn't find you."
"A-ah... My t-teacher, K-Kurenai-sensei-" She was quickly interrupted by Naruto's impatient guesses.
"Ah, teacher held you back, huh? Yeah, Kakashi-sensei does that to us sometimes too." They both nodded understandingly for the well-meaning of their own instructors, though Naruto was quick to add under his breath. "Lazy bastard... If he came on time, then we wouldn't need to stay back..."
"What was that?" Not quite catching that last part, Hinata tilted her in question at Naruto's mumbled after-thought.
Embarrassed at being caught, the blond shinobi shifted topics. "Wow, Hinata!" He exclaimed, looking her over with a wide open mouth in exclamation. "You're going somewhere, huh? Maybe some posh clan-thing, right?"
The loud male's current theory had been based on the observation of the timid female's choice of clothes. Not that it was different from what she normally wore, it's just that Hinata had accessorized to appear more 'dressed up' for a casual outing. This included a necklace and more form-fitting formal pair of black pants, wherein the fabric did look more expensive than the norm.
Hinata shook her head at his guess. She was only dressed up a little more for one reason and it was to catch someone's eye to which it apparently successfully did so...
"Oho! You're going on a date!" Naruto somehow correctly guessed second time around.
The Hyuuga blushed a deep crimson and looked away, a hand of hers going up to cover her features. Not one to be known for being subtle, Naruto took the gesture as an excuse to keep prodding.
"Who's the lucky guy? Kiba? Or maybe Shino?"
The female student of Team 8 blushed further. She hadn't really entertained the notion of having a relationship with her teammates at all. Well, atleast because a certain out-spoken genin was always figuratively standing at the forefront of her mind. Ironically enough, said aforementioned genin was also literally standing infront of her at this current moment.
"N-no. I'm not involved with th-" She was about to deny any links above a professional and friendly relationship with her teammates when Naruto interrupted her for the umpteenth time they started conversing.
"No wait. How stupid of me! I remember hearing this from somewhere!" Naruto blinked with a sort of realisation slowly dawning over his face. "You big hosh-posh clans have some sort of arranged-marriages, right? That means it's someone from your clan!"
The idiot blond then grasped for the only other Hyuuga name he knew of.
"You're off on a date with Neji!"
"NO!" Hinata was surprised with the quick and vehement denial in her voice. Neji had been alot nicer to her lately, yes, but... a while back, he also wasn't entirely looking out for her well-being. And she saw him as an older brother and they were still mending that rift from that event several years back and... and... and alot of other things! She just needed to think more on it!
The unbidden thoughts had quickly started to eat at her courage, so Hinata forced her hand before it was too late.
"Actually, Naruto... I was wanting to ask if you-" Only to be interrupted again.
"Ah geeze." The blond genin interrupted yet again when he made a glance for his watch. "You're gonna have to tell me about it another time, Hinata-chan! I want to see Tsunade-obaachan and I got to go now before she tries to avoid work and goes to get plastered!"
The whiskered ninja spun on his heel and took a few hurried steps before looking over his shoulder and added as an after-thought. "See ya! Let's train together some time!"
And just like that, Naruto had ran off to the administration building, leaving Hinata to her thoughts. Specifically, the worrisome ones about whether or not she was going to be arranged to her wayward cousin. Most of the Hyuuga elders had Hyuuga wives after all...
Coming to the conclusion that the possibility was all too likely, Hinata headed home to examine her family laws. She knew of only a handful of Hyuuga that married outside the clan and she was determined to make sure that she'd be able to choose who her wayward spouse will be.
Hopefully wayward in a good sort of way.
---
It was in a few scant minutes that Naruto finally reached the Hidden Leaf's Administration building and it took him even less time than that to reach the Hokage's office...
..Only to find the room unoccupied.
"Where's the old lady?" Naruto asked the nearest clerical ninja, as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder and indicated towards the empty work-space.
"She's in a meeting right now." The random nameless passer-by replied, wincing at Naruto's disrespect. "You'll just have to come by some other time." And with that, the unimportant person had disappeared to parts where unimportant people disappear to.
Naruto glanced from hallway to hallway. He more or less knew the whole layout of the Tower (what with his constant visits to the late Third Hokage) and started on his way, choosing a seemingly random direction. Since his reputation preceded him, Naruto knew he couldn't ask anyone where the room was, so he followed his instinct. When he eventually came across a door with two Anbu guarding it, he knew he came across the right place...
The way the Anbu noticed him coming and moved to defend the entry point only confirmed things...
Oh and the sudden appearance of other ninja were proof that it was going to be difficult...
But Naruto loved those odds more than anything and his hands were already in position for a handseal...
---
Several moments prior, an assembly of the Leaf's ninja members of a specific minority had gathered. They're goal was simple. It was supposed to be about brainstorming the recruitment process, as well as a general gathering on group support and exchanging tips in training students and such.
So when Naruto burst in, whilst being unsuccessfully restrained by two Anbu personnel and several nameless ninja clerics/accountants (all except Naruto were bleeding from the nose) and the whiskered boy was claiming that he needed to see the Hokage, everyone was very much interested in what he had to say. Though coming from Naruto, they expected that it probably wouldn't be all too informative.
Knowing exactly how to deal with this, Tsunade ordered Naruto be let go and for the excessive amount of people to leave.
"This had better be important, Naruto..." The blond Hokage growled and prodded the interrupter of their meeting to explain himself.
However, Naruto couldn't find his voice at this point. He'd took one look at the crowd and merely opened and closed his mouth in a startling imitation of a gold fish. When the Hokage tapped her foot impatiently, the action had gotten through and caused the young boy to remember her infamous temper -inconjunction with her even more infamous colossal strength that was usually proven as the follow up to the aforementioned temper.
"Can I... uhh... talk to you... ermm... in private?" The young male squeaked.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and her lips tightened into a thin line. "You have interrupted our scheduled Kunoichi Gathering, Naruto." She stood and indicated to her audience of annoyed females. Among the faces, Naruto was able to easily discern Shizune, Kurenai and Anko.
"We, the female ninjas of the Leaf, are discussing formal events concerning kunoichi enrollment, as well as other very important topics that we have had to schedule weeks ahead..." Tsunade had taken a step to punctuate every word and now stood nose-to-nose with the blond boy.
"And now you want to talk with me in private?" She hissed.
Naruto nodded uneasily.
The Hokage then swiveled, faced her entourage of female jounins and placing a hand around the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure what ever you have to say, can be shared with all here, am I right everyone?"
Shizune, Kurenai, Yuugao, Suzume as well as a handful of other women nodded. Anko leered from her seat. Their reaction had Naruto audibly swallow in worry.
"So you better say it now, in front of everyone, or else I'm having you banned from the Tower unless you make a formal appointment like everyone else." The Hokage casually threatened the youth.
"Banned...?" Naruto squeaked further.
"Banned. B. A. Double N. E. D. Banned. Prohibited. Forbidden. Banished. Exclude. Outlaw. Restrict..." Tsunade counted off a few synonyms as she examined her nails coolly.
Naruto's face contorted to reflect his internal conflict. "It's... It's..." He repeated like a broken record.
After a moment or two of this, the Hokage had enough. "Okay, I now formally proclaimed you, Uzumaki Naruto, ban-"
"IT'S ABOUT A GIRL!" Naruto panicked, willing to sacrifice his dignity to keep his unannounced visiting priveleges.
This had the majority of the females present to blink and start a small round of pointed murmuring.
"Is that all?" Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"Should I go to Ero-sennin about it then?" Naruto folded his arms indignantly. Tsunade and Shizune shared a knowing frowned, being the only people who knew who Naruto was referring to as a 'pervert hermit'.
"I did say we could speak as long as you do it in front of my associates, Naruto..." Tsunade said carefully, an eye on the many faces watching her and Naruto. Her audience had looked alot more disgruntled at her proclamation for the continual interruption of their meeting. That and some people still felt a little apprehensive towards Naruto's history.
"... Besides, it is better that you get advice from actual women, rather then seeking advice from Jiraiya." She made sure to pronounce the last part rather loudly for her associates' benefit. This time, their audience had looked alot more agreeable about her decision; Naruto was the lesser of two evils at that point.
Tsunade then brought an arm around Naruto and started guiding him to the head of the table. However, before she could get started on drilling for the specifics, she noticed an extra person within the room. There appeared to be a generic female clericical ninja attempting to look more generic, whilst standing at the door. This had the Slug Sage to narrow her eyes in suspicion.
"You." She addressed the female. "What's your purpose here?"
The interrogated had paused from writing in her notepad, to look up surprised at being pointed out. She sputtered for a second or two, before declaring that she was just keeping an eye on the boy and was ready to call Anbu if necessary.
Tsunade eyed the newcomer with distaste, but eventually let the girl off the hook -provided she stays at her place next to the door, to which the girl quickly agreed.
The Hokage then prompted Naruto to speak on exactly what was on his mind and the troubled boy admitted that it was dating. This had the crowd move into relative consideration about their own abysmal love-lives, which opened up casual talks between the members.
Eventually, Tsunade called order.
"I think we should ask him his plans first." She suggested. "Then we can correct him and give him tips at what he should be doing."
Everyone agreed to this and Naruto was allowed to speak.
"Well, errr... What should I say?" He asked for clarification.
"Like where are you going to for a first, second and third date." Someone helpfully advised.
"First, second and third..." Naruto tilted his head to the side and tapped his chin. "Hey, hey, I was thinking, a movie and dinner?" He concluded with a shrug. "You know? For the first date?"
"Geeze, that's pretty standard." Anko rolled her eyes at the simplicity that she found so absurd.
"It's only the first date." Kurenai reprimanded the scathing jounin. "Don't be so harsh on him. He's still a kid."
The once-snake apprentice relented, but unwilling to be cowed, she'd added in her own advice. "Fine, but don't forget, guys have to pay for the date!"
"No, they don't." Shizune butted in. "It's a mutual decision by both parties to attend a date together." Then she turned and gave Naruto her advice on the matter. "But it usually denotes a chivalrous nature if the man does intend to treat the woman by taking the bill."
Anko childishly folded her arms and hmph'd at her disregarded views, muttering something about 'cheap ramen dates anyway'.
Naruto opened his mouth to ask someone to explain to him what 'chivalrous' meant, but Tsunade prodded him to continue with his thoughts for the second date. So Naruto did so.
"For the second one, I was thinking I'll help her learn how to walk on water!"
The statement got both disapproving and speculating looks, but Naruto quickly detailed how he was thinking about a lunch-time date nearby a waterfall he used to train by. Maybe a picnic lunch and then they could practise water-walking and generally messing around until they were tired -which ought to be around the time the sun would set and figured that they could watch it together.
This had Naruto's audience blinking in wonder and mild disbelief. To the skewed view of the regular kunoichi, it seemed that this was a brilliant idea and none of them had ever expected anyone, let alone the Uzumaki, to even think of it. Each female was suddenly reminded of how terrible and dysfunctional some of their own dates went. If they were even dates, for that matter, as some would admit that their 'first date' anniversaries were based on the day they managed to get their tongues inside their respective partner's mouths while on a mission.
More than a little disturbed at the silence (or rather at how each woman went into their own reverie), Naruto continued with his idea for the third date. It consisted of saving up to go to either a really lavish restaurant or for some luxury treatment at the hot springs which was a lead up to his finale.
"Then I was also thinking of getting her a kunai as a present then. See, see, it's because of our training on walking up trees and we'd have to slash the tree to indicate how far we got, right? Well, I was having trouble, so I asked her for help and though she didn't have to, she told me stuff that helped me out!" Naruto's excitement was getting him a little off-track and he was quick to get back on the issue.
"So anyway, I'm going to go get a custom, good-quality kunai made so I can have it engraved with a picture of a tree and maybe a haiku on the handle so it'd make her remember what she did for me! And if I can afford it, I'll see if I can get someone to maybe add something special -like a hollow handle for needles or tags or something!"
The silence was deafening and when no one was willing to remark, fox-vessel wilted and took it as a bad omen. "Bad idea, huh?"
At this point, Anko would have made some sort of disparaging exclamation, like perhaps 'I need you!' or 'Have my baby!' but she did no such thing on account of being too amazed to do so. She did however, manage a low appreciative whistle.
This started the chain reaction of the other women praising him for his ideas, well-wishes for his own love-life and of admittances to wishing that the men on their dates could have planned better like his would seem. Tsunade even had to call order again, for the cacophony was getting louder than manners would permit in such formal gatherings.
"I bet my student, Hyuuga Hinata, would be pleased." Kurenai's statement received quite a bit of attention from the women present and she preened at the attention. Naruto was an odd topic being that it was he who defeated Hyuuga Neji in the Chuunin Exam Finals and possibly brought out the more friendly demeanor that Branch House member was sorely due for.
"Hinata? Why would I date Hinata?" Naruto blinked. Though it went unnoticed by him, everyone went silent.
"Err... I meant, who are you doing this for?" The genjutsu mistress faltered and attempted to correct her assumption.
"Why, Sakura-chan, of course!" Naruto lit a broad grin.
This caused many of the people there to shake their heads in clear distaste to his choice. Then Tsunade stepped in, so they could finally tie up Naruto's love-life troubles and move on to their meeting.
"You actually have some good ideas, Naruto. I don't think I could actually help you since those sound ALOT better than the dates I had been on."
Tsunade's eyes briefly glanced to a certain cleric who flinched under the
silent accusation.
Then she escorted Naruto towards the exit.
"Well, we have to get down to business now. Off you go."
"Thanks everyone!" Naruto waved enthusiastically as he exited.
However, not even a second passed before the loud genin peeked in again with a somewhat embarassed look on his face. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot my question, Tsunade-obaachan!"
Tsunade's eye twitched, but she let his pet-name for her slide. "What is it, brat?"
"Err... Just because you hang out with a girl..." He asked hesitantly. "Doesn't make it a date, right?"
"Of course." Tsunade rolled her eyes, as did many other women.
"Just checking." He gave a deep sigh of relief.
Then the door shut and the echoes Naruto's footsteps retreated until he was gone.
However, instead of Tsunade positioning herself back in her meeting chair, she moved over and stood in front of the woman -the one whom she'd granted to stand by the doorframe. That woman had alternated between watching the events and writing into her notepad. Currently, she was doing the latter, making her miss how she was currently in the centre of the Hokage's attention and thus everyone elses.
"So what brings you here," Her question was covered in frost. "Jiraiya?"
This had their audience collectively gasp. Some folded their arms over their chests but many more started readying a weapon.
"Oh, erm..." The girl faltered and wisely decided on reverting back into the aged white-haired perverted hermit.
"I'm just following the boy around." He quickly explained. "He's been providing great material to write about!"
Tsunade's eye twitched. She internally fought about whether to either question Jiraiya about some complaints or brain him through a wall. The wise Slug Sage came to an internal compromise. Her professional conduct would come first, then she'd brain him through a wall. It's likely that the first will be the cause of the second anyway.
"I have many complaints regarding you, Jiraiya." Tsunade said smoothly. "All come from the bath-houses. Except one." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "It came from a bookstore, just yesterday. They refused to give a reason."
"The book-signing!" Jiraiya slapped his forehead in realisation. "I forgot all about that!"
"Book-signing?-!" Everyone exclaimed at the same time. That caught even the Hokage by surprise.
"Ermm... Gotta go!" Jiraiya made quick work to follow his student's retreat.
---
Tsunade sighed as she seated herself, as did all the other female jounins present. Jiraiya had gotten away and now was the time for business...
"I can't believe he's doing it for Sakura..."
...then one Kurenai Yuuhi of Team 8 had to bring up Naruto.
"Why's that?" Shizune asked and all the other women leaned in. This was especially good gossip concerning the apparent Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan! How could anyone not want to listen in?
"Hinata had been pining for him for atleast a year now!" Yuuhi had said as a matter-of-factly. "Probably longer."
"I don't know... I admit they're rather cute looking together, but I honestly think Yamanaka Ino would do him good." Said the Academy Female Ninja trainer, Suzume.
"And why would you say that?" Yuuhi folded her arms.
"Ino is the very essence of femininity! As a high graduate in the kunoichi teachings, she has perfect balance between being a ninja and being a woman." Suzume nodded as she stated her piece. "Besides Hinata would be too quiet. The Uzumaki's too restless and the girl he needs should be a girl that could keep up with him." She punctuated her sentence by pushing the bridge of her glasses, further along her nose.
"By that logic," Uzuki Yuugao, Anbu of several years interrupted. "Tenten would make the better partner then."
Everyone got a confused look on their face as they tried to match the name with a face, causing Yuugao to sigh loudly.
"Brunette with hair-buns. Pink shirt and black pants. Weapons-specialist." She listed of Tenten's more memorable attributes but in seeing no one matching a face yet, she grit her teeth and used a description she was forced to bring up. "Got to the Chuunin Preliminaries but was defeated by Temari of the Sand."
"Aaaaah..." Everyone collectively murmured as the realisation dawned.
"Like I was saying, Tenten would be best then. She is just as full of energy as he is, when it comes to determination and she takes her duties as a kunoichi very seriously." Yuugao concluded.
Then there was a general murmur between all the women present, each supplementing a female similar to Naruto's age bracket and how they would look cute together for some trivial reason or another.
"But aren't you all forgetting about the girl he set his heart on?" Tsunade said out loud and it got everyone's attention. "Not only is Haruno Sakura demure, but she can also be spirited too. I think she would compliment him immensely if he ever wins her over. And she keeps him in line!"
"When he grows up, he'll realise it's not good to be stuck in an abusive relationship." Kurenai sniffed in disdain at having her student dismissed so quickly.
"As opposed to one-sided communication?-!" The female of the 3 Legendary Ninjas snorted. "The only way they'll get together, is if Hinata decides to be upfront or if Naruto gets a clue!"
"The likelihood of both is a particularly low possibility." Suzume supplemented.
The Genjutsu specialist bristled and before she could get another word in, Tsunade continued in her tirade.
"Besides, she doesn't really hit him. Those are just love-taps."
Shizune was immediately reminded of something by the blush on her cheeks and the raven-haired young woman started stammering her own contribution. "B-but Tsunade-sama!" Her voice shook. "W-what about Jiraiya-sama?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed at her assistant.
"What about him?" She stated neutrally, though her eyes promised anything but.
Shizune gulped and averted her eyes, a squeaked 'nothing' to mark her jumping off the topic. Everyone caught on to the implication, but luckily for Shizune, it was Kurenai that decided to press it and thus a target had been shifted.
"Yeeeeahhhhh..." The Illusion specialist drawled out. "What about you and him?"
"There isn't a 'me and him'." Tsunade folded her arms defensively. "He's a senile, old pervert."
Seeing that Tsunade was very red in the face, Kurenai didn't want to push her luck (as not to end up being pushed through a wall) and had fallen silent. Though the implication did hang in the air for all to see.
Then, when one person noticed that Anko remained quiet through the whole preceding, like a whirlpool, it started pulling everyone in as to hear what her piece would be. Her silence in itself was worrisome.
"What about you, Mitarashi-san?" Shizune asked. "Who do you think would be good for him?"
On hearing her name, Anko focused and she turned to face the expectant crowd.
"Oh, there's one person I've got in mind..." She started and everyone paid close attention. "She speaks her mind, sensible, mature, a sculpted body to die for with matching brains and just about exotic." She grinned a shark's grin.
"You don't mean Temari of the Sand, do you?" Yuugao dead-panned.
"HELL NO!" Anko spun in her chair, arms spread dramatically. "I mean me!"
The 'Naruto-ish' jounin cackled at the ensuing sweatdrops but it had been infectious and soon everyone was joining in.
---
Naruto had just left the tower and wasn't heading in any particular direction. With his mind now at ease that the day before wasn't what he thought it was, the orange-clad genin was now off in search for his pink-haired teammate so that he could possibly convince her to go on a date with him.
"Hey Naruto!"
The boy turned in the direction of the shout and found that it was Ino calling him from the door of her family's flower shop. Always one to put his friends first, he gave a wave and ran over.
"Hey Ino!" Naruto greeted. "What's up?"
"Nothing I guess." The blond female replied.
It was just her luck, really. She was currently tied down to the shop and she was sure Tenten was on a mission today. She was expecting Hinata to be all over him, but the timid-girl apparently wasn't in sight! Truthfully, Ino didn't really understand why she wanted to find the blond-haired boy, but that last discussion with Hinata had opened her eyes more to what type of guy Naruto was capable of being. Suddenly, it wasn't about owing him for a bowl of ramen anymore. Or rather, if she didn't think it'd work out, she'd pay him back by paying for the date -it works out either way!
"Just watching the stall today." She indicated towards the flowers.
"Ah." Naruto grinned and tucked his hands behind his head. "So..." The whiskered ninja began, his next question proving how much he fails at small talk. "Have you seen Sakura-chan?"
The Yamanaka winced. "Forehead-girl? Nope, I haven't seen her." She shrugged.
It was during the shrug, that a brief sparkle caught Naruto's eye. "Hey hey! You going somewhere later?"
And indeed, Ino was dressed in a similar outfit that she always wore, only her current suit was made of a more expensive material. Then there was also the leather boots and the pair of golden earrings that dangled and glistened in the sunlight.
"I'm glad you noticed!" A hand went back to brush a bang away from covering an eye and she briefly paused to cutely pose in her own manner of subtle flirting. Then she went about taking full advantage of the change of direction in conversation. "I'm hoping to go out with someone tonight. Wanna take a guess on who it is?"
The Uzumaki boy narrowed his eyes, his grin catching on. "Someone I know, right?"
"You could say that." She nodded slyly believing full well that the boy was thinking the same thing.
Naruto made his first guess. "Shikamaru?"
His first guess had Ino's face turn blank but was quick to dismiss it. "That bum? No, thanks!"
"Chouji then?" Naruto continued.
"Nope, not the bum's accomplice either!" Ino dismissed the second guess too, now perhaps thinking that the whiskered boy was playing her game as well.
The blond male thought long and hard, thinking a long list of guys but easily ticking them off as people who Ino likely did not know. He hadn't include (the correct answer) his name to that list.
"Nope, I got no idea!" He grinned, whilst shrugging. "Lemme know who the lucky guy is already!"
Ino had to beam at darting in for the kill!
"Actually, the lucky guy is y-"
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing Ino for a loop.
"Sakura-chan?" Her brows creased with confusion. "No, I'm not going out with forehead-girl." Not that she ever thought of ever wanting to do such a thing.
Naruto half-grinned at the thought. "I meant I saw Sakura-chan!" He explained his noticing of the flash of pink-hair from the corner of his eyes.
And just like that, Ino's luck was fleeting.
"Sorry Ino!" Naruto apologised, whilst he ran off in the direction that he saw Sakura in. "I have to get going! Lemme know how it went, okay?"
"I can't let you know how it went if you're not the-" Ino attempted to call out after him, but he was already too far. "-DAMN!" She cursed and stamped a foot. After she pulled herself together, she was just about to head out in the direction he went when...
"Ino! You're watching the shop tonight!" A male voice called out. "Me and your mother are going out!"
Yamanaka Ino could have screamed.
---
Naruto jogged up to Haruno Sakura's side and matched her pace. When she looked over, he held up one hand in a wave and grinned.
"Hey Sakura-chan!" He greeted instead of shouting at the top of his lungs, though with still as much enthusiasm as every time he greeted this particular female.
"Hey Naruto!" She returned the greeting without as much enthusiasm as he gave.
"So..." He grinned and placed his hands in his pockets as smoothly as he consciously could. "You wanna go out and get that anmitsu stuff today?"
His genin partner smiled wanly and looked away. Unknown to him, Sakura had a revelation last night. She saw clearly that, for the past week, Naruto was getting close to her... Too close to her. Sasuke was starting to look questionable in her eyes and Naruto less so, and the thought of her growing confusion scared her. Not wanting to have such doubt on her hands, she made a decision.
"Sorry Naruto..." She replied, unable to stop a little sadness creep into her voice. "But I'm interested in Sasuke." She met his eyes to punctuate her decision. "You know that."
"Well, it's just jelly-stuff," he shrugged, "it's not a like a date or not-mph!-?" In the blink of an eye, her hand covered his mouth and halted him from speaking further.
"It would be." She momentarily averted her gaze but was quick to return to focus. "Don't do this anymore, okay?" She asked. Something flashed in her eyes when she said so, but she continued to lay it all down. "I like Sasuke. Please don't do anymore of this. No more poems. No more sparring with dates as bets. No more pickled plums. No more chasing me around."
"Mmmph!" He tried to protest, but she didn't remove her hand.
"No more. Okay?" She asked again.
There was another flash of something in her eyes...
Almost as if she was
having an internal debate...
Naruto lowered his eyes and looked away. He saw everything crystal clear. She was asking him to promise her to leave her alone.
"I got a present for you..." He said once she removed her hand.
She opened her mouth to reject it, but he was quick to interrupt her.
"Just this last one... I saw it yesterday and it made me think of you..." His eyes met hers and she could see the seriousness behind the expression.
"Then I'll promise you."
She hesitantly nodded her acceptance of his terms. However, when Naruto reached into his pocket... His eyebrows rose in confusion and panic.
"I'll be right back!" He exclaimed and ran off in the direction for home. "You wait right there!"
Sakura watched him go. When he was out of sight, she started for home, unwilling to wait for her love-struck teammate and just letting the possibility of what they could have stop in its tracks then and there.
---
Tenten had been unlucky so far. Today, her team had been given yet another menial D-Rank mission. It was rather long and she'd just been dismissed, and was just heading back home after a long and tiring day when she'd spotted Naruto.
Maybe her luck was about to change...?
She'd honestly had a good time with him when they sparred, him treating her seriously and all, and she didn't think he was a bad guy. Of course, her curiousity grew when she'd met Hinata and Ino who were hounding him for reasons they wouldn't delve into. Maybe he had more attractive qualities after all...
And with that in mind, Tenten seized the opportunity.
"Hi Naruto!"
Naruto turned around and grinned, though it froze as he flipped through his memory to match a name to the face who just greeted him.
"Heya Weapon-girl..." He nearly fumbled in reaching for her name, but caught it in time. "...Tenten!"
"Heh, glad you remember my name." She chirped excitedly. "Not many people seem to be able to remember me for some reason..." And that was a true statement. Gai was a main offender in that sense. On some days, he still snuck glances at his hand, where he wrote all his genin's names down. She knew he only looked there to recall her name.
Naruto smiled apologetically and a hand went to the back of his head.
"Aheheh... How could I forget that great match we had?" The statement was partially true. The match was unforgettable, but unfortunately her name to her face didn't come to mind just as easily.
"Yeah, it was a great match..." She agreed.
The silence stretched as both teens awkwardly looked to the ground, unable to find a common topic to talk about. It was a moment or two in this, that Tenten decided on striving to go forward with a proposition to get to know him better...
"So..." Her eyes trailed along her shoes. "Where were you yesterday?"
...the idea fell flat on its face and she beat around the bush instead.
"I was out shopping for the whole day yesterday." His eyes wandered in thought, briefly recalling that shifty old bastard.
Tenten's eye twitched. No wonder they never found him yesterday! They were looking in all the places they EXPECTED him to be! Geeze, they should've gone to the last place they'd normally look for him!
"Why are you asking?" Naruto asked obliviously.
"No particular reason..." Tenten defended herself too quickly, to which Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How about today? Are you going to be busy today?" She asked a little too quickly as well.
"Me?" Naruto pointed to himself. "I dunno. I might." He shrugged. "You wanna train again sometime, huh?" He grinned at her.
"I'd like that!" Tenten would've accepted even faster if she could. "But uh... I'm kind of going out today." She amended back to her earlier plan.
"Yeah? You too?" Naruto's expressed his surprise distinctly.
"What do you mean? Are you going out too?" Tenten also expressed her surprise; though her stomach did loops in this area.
"Nah, I saw Hinata and Ino. Looks like they dressed for dates!" He exclaimed.
"R-really? Heheh, dates... You don't say..." Tenten choked in surprise, suddenly more than self aware about her current frazzled state of dress.
"Yeah! I wished them all the best, but I've been in a hurry all day!" Naruto shrugged and laughed. "Hope it works out for them!"
"Errr... Yeah, best of luck to them..." The hair-bunned girl forced a laugh. She deduced that those two were in the middle of possibly asking Naruto out, meaning that this was probably her only opportunity to take claim, bath or no bath.
"ANYWAY, I'm going out, you want to-"
"Can this wait, Tenten?" Naruto interrupted. "I still got stuff to do."
Before Tenten could voice her thoughts, the whiskered genin was already down the street.
"I'll spar with you later!" He waved and to which she could only helplessly wave back.
"Smooth, Tenten. Real smooth." She sarcastically congratulated herself. She would have chased after him, but she took this meeting as an omen to get cleaned up and dressed. Evening was nearly upon her and she'd wanted to make a better impression for a better chance at him, so she'd have to hurry if she wanted to have time to shop for an outfit for tomorrow.
---
It was long after Naruto reached his meager home unmolested that he'd located his present to Sakura. A brief lapse of memory had him consider whether he should wrap it or not, but ultimately remembered in time not to.
"Wrapping paper's not gonna get the best of me this time..." Naruto laughed as he pocketed the gift carefully.
Making his way outside, he went on his way to search out Sakura again, when someone else found him...
"Heya Naruto!"
Naruto stopped in mid-run and turned to the source of the greeting. Boy, he was getting stopped often today!
"Oh, hi Temari!" He greeted the older sand sibling as she casually strolled down his direction.
"I had a great time yesterday!" The multiple pony-tailed female gave him a bright smile. "I'm thankful that you went out of your way to show me around!"
"No worries! I had a good time too!" Naruto laughed, safely blanketed in the knowledge that it wasn't a date.
"Want to catch up again later?" She asked excitedly.
"Well, I can't really right now. I got to find someone." Naruto excused himself.
"That's too bad." The disappointment showed clearly on her face. "I'll only be around for a few more days..."
Not one to like a sad look on another person's face, Naruto then exclaimed without thinking. "Let's catch up sometime before you leave then!"
"It's a date!" The fan-using genin agreed, bid him farewell whilst she started in the opposite direction.
Naruto waved and turned around...
...only to freeze in midstep.
"It's a date...?" He muttered disbelievingly and did a 180 to ask Temari about that.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe she didn't mean it like that..." Naruto mumbled doubtfully, his safety net now feeling not so secure.
All the same, he went out on his search for that cotton-candy-haired girl. It was possibly going to be the last time he'd get to chase her ever again...
---
Evening had dropped and Naruto was out on the town. He'd returned to where he last left her and wasn't surprised that his female teammate hadn't waited for his return, thus he opted for another search for her. His second search for Sakura was failing and the last few moments of daylight was fading away. Not one to put things off for another day, he kept looking for his teammate, not once considering giving up.
However, a loud and boisterous ruckus was quick to catch his attention. There was laughing and shouting and the demon's vessel was quick to recognise the bearer of one of the voices and had head in their direction.
Little trivialities like say, 'You must be this tall to ride', 'Keep Off Grass' or 'Women's Changing Rooms' had never stopped Naruto before, much less being of legal age to gain entrance into the premises of a bar. For Naruto, a fog of smoke was more of a deterrent than the actual debauchery taking place within the walls. It had taken some careful maneuvering (and heavy abuse of his stamina and preferred ninja techniques) that got him to the table of...
"Tsunade-obaachan!"
And indeed it was.
---
Several minutes' after Jiraiya's departure, Tsunade's gathering of kunoichi's had quickly devolved to banter concerning Naruto's love-life and general exchange of gossip to feed the rumor mill. Without anyone even remotely trying to make a conscious effort at working, Tsunade dismissed everyone for the day, considering that she'd luckily made the effort to schedule this meeting to more than a single day.
Now when Tsunade made proclamations that she was going for a drink, invitations were quick to be handed around the table. In the end, most women from the gathering had joined in and the decision to hire out an entire place to themselves was spontaneously and immediately thrown in. A few hours passed, the larger numbers dwindled and several drinks later, the topics concerning love-lives rose again... Or rather, everyone's lack of it.
Then in walks Mr. Uzumaki.
---
"You shouldn't be drinking, Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto admonished the older woman. "You're making a very bad impression since you're supposed to be the leader of the village!"
Oh yes, the loud-mouthed ninja wasn't above telling off the village's figurehead. Any chance he got in pushing the Hokage's buttons, he'd take it in a heartbeat!
"Hey!" Tsunade growled. "I am in a discussion with my electorate board, thank you very much. We are merely in a more social setting to take up such matters!"
Her speech would probably have been more impressive if she wasn't leaning backwards and forwards so much... Or sloshing the sake in her cup... Or spilling it in her ample cleavage... You get the idea.
The banter exchanged for a while longer and the village representative was soon reduced to arguing at the level of a 12 year old -which, though not Naruto's age, was his first type of banter to always resort to. Everyone watched the duo going backwards and forwards as each accused, retorted and counter-retorted about frivolous and utterly ridiculous claims.
Eventually, one Mitarashi Anko had enough of the less-than-intelligent debate. More than a little red in the face, she stood up and walked over to the young male with her own agenda driven by a haze of alcohol. The blond boy had ceased arguing once he realised he wasn't looking into the hag's visage by way of someone yanking hard on his chin to face them.
"Pucker up!"
That was all warning he was given before their lips locked. Naruto immediately tried to voice his distaste, but it worked in Anko's favour as she snaked her tongue into his mouth. He tried to force her tongue back into her own mouth, but failed miserably as it just deepened the kiss. In a last ditch desperate attempt to pry Anko off of him, one of the whiskered genin's hands went to the jounin's shoulder and the other went and got a grip on Anko's hair. The former appendage went to push her away, while the latter tried pulling on her hair. For a reason beyond anyone, except the once-snake-apprentice herself, the jounin moaned into it and her hands became a little rougher on holding onto Naruto's flailing form.
Only when the younger ninja had gone blue in the face and was fast losing consciousness, that he'd started to relax and slide in her grip, had Anko finally broke it off. He gasped for breath and sputtered indignantly, whilst the other women laughed it up.
"He's a pretty good kisser! I'd give him atleast an eight on my scale!" Anko gasped between breaths, as she lewdly addressed her audience. "Maybe even a nine!"
"Have you been practising, Naruto-kun?" Tsunade poked Naruto cheekishly.
The only other kiss, the boy could remember, happened a long time ago with...
"Feh! I'm outta here! I gotta find Sakura-chan!" He turned into a bright red hue at the unwanted memory and promptly made his exit, the women shinobi tracing his movement out the door. It was a long quiet moment of everyone staring at the exit the young man made before someone went to comment.
"He's going to be a formidable opponent someday." Yuugao said, instantly starting a chain-reaction of comments.
"And a good father." Suzume leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling.
"And a stud." Kurenai toyed with the miniature umbrella in her drink.
"And a hero." Shizune sighed with a small knowing smile.
"And Hokage." Tsunade mumbled into her sake.
"And a heartbreaker!" Anko swooned as she'd fallen back into her seat.
There was another round of drinks as the laughter escalated.
They all raised their glasses for possibly the only worthy bachelor in his time. Each wishing there had been one of him in theirs. The drink went down, more drinks came to replace the old and everything quieted down... Atleast until Anko decided on breaking in on the silence.
"You know..." Anko started, whilst focusing on her empty sake bottle a little too oddly.
"What's that?" Kurenai prodded the other jounin to continue.
"He's going to be old enough for marriage soon..." One of Anko's fingers continuously trailed up and down the neck of the bottle.
The statement was left hanging as each woman let the thought hover and promptly took a drink.
Everyone was blushing...
But not thanks to the alcohol.
---
Sakura was desperately leaning on the rails of the bridge her team regularly meets at. Her face had been stained with tears and her form shook as she sobbed quietly. Truthfully, she'd have rather gone to Ino's, as this place wasn't even on her list of places to go to at this point.
But before she knew it, she was already here.
She had come on instinct alone.
The reason for her being here, was because just prior, she was at home,
speaking with her mother. The conversation had been friendly at first,
but the mood had officially been set when the Haruno matriarch had
scolded Sakura for pursuing the Uchiha survivor -voicing that her
daughter should now know better than to chase after a pointless dream,
considering that the boy hadn't returned her affections after so many
years.
At this, Sakura rolled her eyes and joked whether Naruto would have been
a more appropriate choice, since he was a nice boy and had been rather
taken with her since the academy.
Her mother appeared mortified and offended at such a thought,
and suddenly turned to defaming and demonising Sakura's blond teammate
with extreme prejudice -eventually concluding that the boy was a far
worse choice and worth less than trash.
Sakura was shocked by her mother's tirade. Naruto was nothing like her
mother described him to be! He had helped her time and time again,
both on and off missions! Sure, Sakura conceded that the boy could be
rather annoying, but he surely didn't deserve to have been villainised
like the way he was!
Though improbable to her, Sakura found herself defending her blond
teammate -from her own mother no less!
The argument quickly escalated to shouting.
Things were said.
Sakura ran out crying.
And thus she found herself at the bridge.
It also happened to be the same place where Naruto found her.
---
On pure fluke alone, Naruto had finally located Sakura at his team's regular meeting spot. At first he was going to approach with his usual loud and boisterous greeting that he usually reserved for her, but was quick to determine that something was wrong.
He approached silently, stopping only when he was a few feet away.
"Sakura-chan?" He whispered, tilting his head in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her face.
She briefly looked up -just long enough for Naruto to catch the reflection of her tears in the moonlight, before she sharply swiveled away. She didn't want him seeing her like this.
"Please... Just go away, Naruto..." Sakura choked, trying to hold back the sobs. "I don't want to see you right now."
Usually one to fold under a request from Sakura -more so from a crying female- this was one instance that Naruto did not do so. Instead, he chose to move closer and stood by her side, staring out over the water. He winced when Sakura started to cry harder.
And so, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a handkerchief, offering
it out for Sakura to take.
She reluctantly did so.
She dabbed at her eyes, wiping until her face was devoid of the tears, though it still took her effort to hold back more from escaping. When she was satisfied enough, she held it back for Naruto to take, but he made no motion to do so.
"I saw that in a shop yesterday." He started softly, eyes on the water flowing under the bridge. "It reminded me of you..."
Sakura blinked and took the chance to slowly open the hanky. Under closer scrutiny, it was a pure white expensive-looking cloth. And amongst the damp areas, was a stunningly crafted embroidery of a simple black tree with elegant individual pink blossoms... A cherry blossom tree, much like her name-sake. However, she was a little confused by the blob of black and orange at the base... Atleast until Sakura squinted and saw through her tears, she easily made out the image of a sleeping fox, curled up with half of its face obscured by its own tail. She smiled at the odd abstract connection between both figures captured in the hanky, in comparison to themselves -she being the steady and beautiful tree and he being the mischievous and attention-attracting animal. However, the current moment held even more of a reflection, as both gathered silently and serenely for this single moment.
Sakura glanced back over to Naruto, who grinned awkwardly and started rubbing the back of his head.
"I wanted to give it to you earlier but I guess I had lots to do, so I guess I forgot." He admitted.
She smiled at that, allowing a single tear to take flight. This time, she took her time to dab at it, instead of rushing to banish it harshly away. That tear didn't represent the feeling of sadness. Neither did the ones that followed it.
And they stood there, side by side, staring out over the calm water, under the soft aura of the moonlight. Then Sakura slowly, but hesitantly lowered her head until it rested on Naruto's shoulder -much to both of their surprise. Her supple pink locks swept around Naruto's shoulder and the ends tickled at his bare neck. Her scent reminded him of strawberries and sunshine and happier things. It caused him to smile.
"I think I would like to get to know you better..." Sakura whispered, unable to trust her full voice just yet. "I think it's time we go on that date I owe you, since I can't promise that I won't change my mind about it soon..."
She paused to take a deep breath and a big chance.
"How's tomorrow for you?"
Naruto let his own head rest on hers, cushioned by her soft flowing hair.
"I think I'd like that, Sakura-chan."
And time would hold still as the rest of the world broke away, the stars winked from above, the moon bathed everything in a soft glow and all of silence reigned with the exception of their beating hearts and their content smiles.
It was a perfect moment.
---
Jiraiya smiled and slipped away unnoticed.
"Well, that's that then."
He jumped past another tree and retrieved a leather-bound manuscript.
Single Ninja on the Town - Amendments
Amended Chapter Five ... Dating
Then, for once, Jiraiya blinked and looked over the titles with a blank expression.
"Oh right!" The open-pervert slapped his forehead. "I don't have to change anything! I had everything covered! Hahahah!"
"Oh well..." He conceded, returning the manual back into his robes and replacing it with a familiar notepad.
"Anyway, you're gonna be alright kid." He mumbled to himself, pencil tapping his chin. "You're gonna be alright..."
Then he started scribbling furiously in his notepad.
"Too bad my ending's not so tame!" He grinned lecherously.
---
End of Chapter 5 ... Dating
Finale Up!
Final Word ii
Epilogue
Author's Notes:
I considered putting in Inuzuka Hana, but I decided against it. I wasn't entirely sure whether she was jounin or not. -Updated: my thanks goes to Clark Cradic for confirming that she is a chuunin!
Anyway, one more chapter left... Who's betting on the proverbial feces hitting the proverbial fan? XD Uploaded: December 28th, 2005.
First Revision: February 7th, 2006.
Second Revision: August 14th, 2006.
Third Revision: January 12th, 2007.