A/N: Last part finally done (mostly - probably be edited at some point)...thanks to those who have read the story so far
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"NIGHT"
"Hmph…it's all so troublesome."
"You say that about everything," the blonde smiled. "Oi, Ayame nee-chan…another bowl please."
"Coming right up!"
"Are you sure you have time for that?" Shikamaru frowned. "I thought you said you were supposed to meet with Tsunade-sama in an hour."
"It'll be fine," Naruto mumbled in between bites of the fresh bowl of miso pork ramen that had been set in front of him. "Baa-chan won't mind if I'm a little late."
Sighing, Shikamaru rubbed his eyes. "You do know it's been almost two hours since you told me that, right?"
The mouthful of noodles at the end of Naruto's chopsticks suddenly fell to the counter.
"Eh?" Naruto coughed, glancing up at the clock behind the counter. "Ah! Tsunade baa-chan's gonna kill me…thanks for dinner, Shikamaru!"
Naruto leapt from his usual stool at Ichiraku and dashed off.
"Oi, wait a minute, Naruto!" Shikamaru started, before lowering his head in defeat. "You didn't pay for your share…"
A yellow blur was all any of the other village residents could see as Naruto dashed up and across the streets of Konoha towards the Hokage's tower. Panting and out of breath, he slid to a halt just outside the doors leading inside. The pair of Chuunin guarding them smirked at one another.
"Late again, eh, Naruto?"
"Y-Yeah…" he said, gasping for air. "Is Baa-chan still here?"
"I'm afraid not," the other guard replied. "She left a few minutes ago with Shizune-san and Sakura-san."
"Where'd they go?" Naruto quickly asked.
"Hokage-sama mentioned checking up on patients at the hospital," he answered.
"Thanks."
Before either guard could respond, Naruto was sprinting towards the hospital. Inside the large medical facility a few blocks away, a trio of women was calmly gathering outside one of the larger surgical rooms. Standing respectfully behind Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune kept their eyes locked onto the sole ANBU who had returned from the recent battle without serious injury.
"And that's all you can tell me then?" Tsunade asked again.
"Yes," the ANBU nodded, his dark eyes veiled in the shadows behind his wolf-shaped mask.
"Very well," Tsunade sighed. "At least everyone returned alive. Good work, Sasuke."
Bowing slightly, the raven-haired ANBU stepped aside as Tsunade and Shizune moved inside the room. Sakura moved forward as well, but stopped beside him.
"You sure you're okay?" she frowned. "I know how stubborn you can be."
"Hmph," Sasuke grumbled. "I'm fine, just need—"
"Tsunade baa-chan!"
The familiar loud-mouthed voice echoed through the halls, causing Sakura and Sasuke to sigh, and Tsunade to poke her head back out of the room.
"Naruto!" she shouted back. "This is a hospital! The patients here require rest and comfort, so don't raise your voice!"
Slowing his pace, Naruto walked passed his two teammates and friends, smiling quickly at them both before approaching Tsunade.
"Sorry," he whispered. "And sorry I'm late for that meeting you wanted."
"You should be," she scolded, massaging her temples. "I have to tend to this patient, so I'll speak with you afterwards."
"How long is that gonna take?" Naruto frowned.
"Not as long as you kept me waiting," Tsunade mumbled. "I'll be out in a few minutes"
"Got it," Naruto nodded, turning back towards Sakura and Sasuke. "Yo, Sakura-chan, Sasuke!"
Sasuke folded his arms across his black ANBU uniform and nodded in response as Sakura greeted Naruto with a smile as he approached.
"You know, Tsunade-sama is going to let you have it one of these days," Sakura playfully teased. "She keeps saying you're getting as bad as our sensei."
"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm not nearly as late as Kakashi-sensei always is…plus, I don't make up crappy excuses."
"That's because your actual reasons for being late are pathetic in themselves," Sasuke snorted.
"Eh?" Naruto scowled. "What was that, Puppy-kun?
Sasuke growled quietly beneath his canine-inspired mask.
"Oi, will you two give it a rest," Sakura sighed. "It's been a really long day."
"Hmph," Naruto grinned. "Fine…since Puppy-kun here just got back from a mission, I suppose I should take it easy on him."
"If you call me that again, I'll make sure you have to stay here in the hospital a lot longer than you planned…"
"Enough!" Sakura shouted, smacking a fist across the shoulders of both boys.
Thrown back a few feet in either direction, Sasuke and Naruto sat silently on the floor, wincing and massaging their now aching arms. Appearing in the doorway again, Tsunade's clenched fists hung ready at her sides.
"I thought I told you to be quiet!" she yelled.
Naruto and Sasuke glanced at the floor while Sakura politely stood at attention.
"Geez…" Tsunade sighed. "Naruto, I'm finished here for the moment. We can speak for a few minutes."
"Yosh!" Naruto responded, hopping to his feet and racing to her side. "Sakura-chan, Sasuke…I'll catch up with you guys later at the usual spot."
Naruto waved briefly before Tsunade grabbed him by his collar and dragged him off.
"Never changes," Sasuke said, smiling slightly underneath his mask.
"Would you want him to?" Sakura smirked.
"Guess not," Sasuke admitted, turning and grabbing the pack he'd left sitting on of the benches. "Though he'd better not be late meeting us there."
"He will be," Sakura chuckled. "It wouldn't surprise me if he gets caught up arguing with Tsunade-sama, especially after what she's telling him."
Sasuke glanced over. "What's she telling him?"
"You'll see," she said, halfheartedly grinning. "Come on, it's almost dark."
With a polite shove, Sakura started Sasuke moving, following a step or two behind him as the two of them casually made their way out of the hospital. Back outside in the cool twilight air, the duo started off towards their destination. They walked silently, stopping only to allow Sasuke to change out of his ANBU gear. Within a few minutes, they reached the familiar training grounds that had been their "home away from home" during their days as Genin. Moving quietly towards the group of wooden poles embedded in the sole patch of dirt, Sasuke and Sakura each sidled back against the center pole, sliding down to the ground and relaxing their backs against it on opposite sides. Patiently, they waited for Naruto to join them.
"So what is the Hokage talking to Naruto about?" Sasuke asked calmly.
"Just wait until Naruto comes, Sasuke-kun," Sakura replied. "I don't want to take away the fun he'll have telling you himself."
"That guy won't care one way or the other," Sasuke sighed. "I'm already tired of waiting out here, so just tell me."
"Hmph," Sakura glared, brushing a few misplaced hairs from her eyes. "Fine. Tsunade-sama wants Naruto to lead a team of Genin when the next class graduates."
"What?" Sasuke gagged, eyeing Sakura with disbelieving eyes.
"That's what I said," Sakura smiled, looking back. "But she said she'd been thinking about it for a while. Naruto really impressed her with how he handled his job during last month's Chuunin Exam."
"That may be," Sasuke responded. "But he's still pretty young to be a Genin instructor."
"So says one of the youngest ANBU captains," Sakura smirked.
Sasuke grumbled in reply, picking at a few stray blades of grass. "Don't compare me to him. I don't act ten years younger than I am."
"No, you just act about twenty years older than you are," a voice laughed from behind them.
Sasuke scowled, rising to his feet. "Is that supposed to be funny, dobe?"
"Naruto," Sakura said, trying to bypass Sasuke's remarks. "How'd it go with Tsunade-sama?"
"What do you mean?" he inquired, scratching the back of his head.
"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'?" Sakura responded. "What did she want to talk to you about?"
"Come on, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled. "I'm sure you already know. And I'm sure Puppy-kun here begged you to tell him."
"Yeah, but—"
A swift darkly colored blur zoomed by Sakura's view, knocking Naruto to the ground.
"Dobe," Sasuke started, the red color of the Sharingan appearing in his eyes. "What did I say about calling me that?"
Naruto mumbled something to himself as he gingerly stood, dusting himself off. In a flash, he disappeared and then suddenly reappeared beside Sasuke, leveling him with a kick to his midsection.
"…I don't know…" Naruto said between gasps. "Maybe kicking the crap out of you again will refresh my memory."
Standing, Sasuke grinned back at his friend and rival before charging. Naruto followed suit, dashing in to meet Sasuke with his fists. As the two collided and began an impressive display of Taijutsu, Sakura sat grumpily off to the side. She'd seen the two of them do this at least once a week since the three of them had been reunited. She had tried to intervene at first, but found it more productive, and less tiring, to just let them wear each other out. Thankfully, twenty minutes later, sweaty and exhausted, the two young men collapsed in a heap beside one another.
"I…win…" Naruto muttered wearily.
"…You wish…" Sasuke replied, equally worn down.
From her seat beside the wooden logs, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Neither of you look like winners to me. Can we just say it's a tie and get going?"
"Like I'd draw with him," Sasuke smirked.
"Teme…" Naruto grinned. "You wanna go again?"
Sakura was quickly standing above them both, dragging them to their feet by their sleeves.
"No one's starting anything again," she threatened. "It's getting late, and Naruto, you still haven't told us what Tsunade-sama said."
Brushing some dirt and bits of broken leaves from his hair, Naruto nodded. "Baa-chan asked me if I would take a Genin squad when the class graduates in a few months."
"We know that," Sakura said impatiently.
"Then why did you ask me—"
"What did you say?" Sakura continued, cutting him off.
"I told her I'd think about it," Naruto answered.
"Think about it?" Sakura repeated. "Why would you have to think about it?"
"I don't know," Naruto shrugged. "It's a big decision, isn't it?"
"Dobe," Sasuke muttered. "Why wouldn't you want to do it?"
Naruto frowned, rubbing the back of his neck as it started to tighten up from the fight.
"Hmph," Sasuke added. "Regardless, I can't imagine you passing up a chance at gaining experience for becoming Hokage. You know all of the previous Hokages were Genin teachers, too, right?"
"I-I know that," Naruto replied.
"Sure," Sasuke grinned. "Think about it, dobe. I'm sure you'll make the right choice."
Sasuke turned.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura began, noticing him starting to leave.
"I need to get back and check on the rest of my squad," he said calmly. "The Hokage made it pretty clear that I should be there when they come to."
"Chickening out on a rematch," Naruto taunted.
"Next time," Sasuke replied.
"Hmph," Naruto responded, glancing away. "Whatever…"
Sasuke chuckled to himself. "Later, dobe."
"See ya, teme," Naruto shot back, feigning an angry sneer.
"Honestly," Sakura murmured, waving goodbye as well.
Sasuke was out of sight in moments, disappearing into the shadows created by the cloudy, moonlit sky.
"So, Sakura-chan, want to walk me home?" Naruto smiled.
"Walk you home?" she said, cocking her head to the side.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Unless you want me to walk you home?"
Sakura laughed, shaking her head. "Baka…"
Flashing his trademark grin, Naruto shrugged as he and Sakura began heading in the opposite direction, back towards the center of the village.
"So are you going to say yes?" Sakura asked him after a few minutes. "To Tsunade-sama?"
Naruto frowned. "I want to, but I don't know if I should."
"Why shouldn't you?" Sakura asked. "Like Sasuke-kun said, it's a good step toward being Hokage."
"Yeah, but…" Naruto tried to counter. "Sakura-chan, with the way things are now, if I take the job, then I'll get to see you and Sasuke even less than I do now."
Sakura slowed, glancing at the ground.
"Sasuke's always busy with ANBU stuff, and probably always will be until he feels he's redeemed himself," Naruto continued. "And you've got all of those responsibilities at the hospital and with Baa-chan. I guess it sounds kind of selfish, but I thought that after we brought Sasuke back, things would get back to normal and I could finally spend time with you guys without Orochimaru or Akatsuki hanging over our heads."
Sakura nodded, hesitantly wiping at the tears forming in her eyes. "You're not the only one who wanted that. It's barely been a year since Sasuke-kun's been home, but we're just now starting to get back to doing normal shinobi things."
Naruto didn't really respond, simply agreeing silently with her words.
"It's kind of funny," Sakura smiled weakly. "I think we actually had more time together as a team when we were fighting Sasuke-kun during the last battle with Orochimaru than we've had in the past month…"
"That's pretty sad," Naruto chuckled. "Even if you count all of the hours we spent in his hospital room after I kicked the crap out of him…and the hours you probably spent weeping over his sleeping body when I wasn't there…"
Sakura slugged him again, shaking her head and ignoring his whining. "I didn't weep over anyone…and I've done enough crying for you both to last me for a while."
"Really?" Naruto smiled. "When did you cry for me?"
"Naruto!"
"Eh? What…I just want to know," Naruto laughed. "I won't tell anyone."
"It's none of your business," Sakura snapped, looking away.
"Come on, Sakura-chan, I promise I won't say anything" Naruto grinned. "And I always keep my promises, you know?"
Sakura stopped, glancing up into his comforting blue eyes. Naruto continued grinning back at her, his smile fading as he saw the pained expression on her face.
"I know…so, do you remember what you promised me then, after we saved Sasuke-kun?" she asked hesitantly.
Naruto gulped, but brightened his smile again as he nodded. "Sure. I promised we'd always be together from then on…you, me, and Sasuke."
"That's right…" Sakura said anxiously. "…And I made a promise, too, remember? That I wouldn't let you keep that promise alone. That I'd share it with you…"
Sakura gently grasped Naruto's hand, intertwining her slender fingers with his. Stepping closer, the pink-haired kunoichi pressed her head into the crook of Naruto's neck. The lingering scent of sweat and muddy grass from the scuffle with Sasuke startled her nose. Yet, as she heard his breathing quicken, and felt him swallow heavily, Sakura couldn't help but smile. Slowly, she lifted her head up, gazing into those blue orbs again. She blushed slightly, her own eyes affixed to the boy's handsome face.
"And I also promised myself I wouldn't take anything for granted anymore," she went on. "I wouldn't let you or Sasuke-kun try and deal with things on your own. I wouldn't let us drift apart again. And I promised myself that I wouldn't hold anything back anymore…that I wouldn't let you be the one always supporting us…"
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto started, before noticing the reddish tint to her cheeks.
Sakura stopped him, pressing a finger to his lips. Nervously, she began tracing that finger slowly around the outline of his mouth and then along the three whisker marks on his cheek.
Giggling softly, she moved her fingers down his jaw line and stopped just above his chin, pressing down with just enough strength to force Naruto's head down closer to her level. She leaned in closer, eyeing his trembling lips and feeling the nervous sweat coming from both of their hands. Sakura paused, biting her lip and looking away as doubt unexpectedly flashed through her mind, until she suddenly felt Naruto turn her head and press his lips against hers. Both of them tensed, their open eyes meeting briefly before gradually closing. Wrapping a hand around the back of his head, Sakura tugged gently at the blonde locks hanging down his neck as she pulled herself closer, deepening the kiss. Naruto's hands instinctively found their way around to the small of her back and began slowly massaging up and down her sides.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sakura hesitantly pulled back and stepped away, licking her lips as she smoothed the top of her uniform. Her face flushed, she looked down at the ground, hiding the bright, joyful smile on her face.
"I'd better get going," she said faintly, glancing back up at him. "Want to meet at Ichiraku's for breakfast?"
"S-Sure," Naruto nodded, his mouth still slightly agape.
Sakura chuckled, shaking her head. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night…Naruto…"
She turned and headed anxiously down the street to the left, bringing a hand to her still burning lips. A few feet behind her, Naruto did the same. A subtle grin appeared across his face as he rubbed the back of his head.
"'Night…Sakura-chan…"