"Wow… the sakura blossoms gets prettier each year." Naruto reached his palm out to catch a falling petal.

He smiled at the petal that landed on his palm, thinking how Sakura's hair was definitely much more vibrant.

"They're just the same as they were last year." Sai said unimpressed but his palm was also laid out, trying to catch a petal himself.

Naruto glared at him and he cupped the petal in his hand as if trying to protect it from Sai, "You just can't appreciate beauty when you see it."

"I take offense to that!" Ino shouted as she and Chouji walked towards them. "He asked me on a date to the festival so he appreciates my beauty."

"Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder or something like that." Naruto said and he ducked as a box flew over his head. He caught the box of course, the great ninja that he was, and he just grinned at Ino.

Ino scowled at Naruto and then Sai said, "Forgive him. He's deflecting since he hasn't asked Sakura out on a date."

Ino gasped dramatically and looked at Sai with feigned innocence, "Really? Do you think Sakura doesn't have any other options? She's pretty popular with the anbus, you know. And all my colleagues in the sensory division have asked me for help in asking her out on a date."

Chouji, though the pacifist out of all of them, also piped, "I think Lee will ask her out today."

And Ino continued, "And if you aren't going to ask her out, I might help one of them."

"Hey!" Naruto waved the box he was holding threateningly, "Don't you dare! I'm going to ask Sakura-chan out as soon as I get this delivered!"

And just like a cannon, Naruto blasted off to the village square where he was assigned to deliver the box.

Ino, Sai and Chouji laughed out loud. "He's so easy." Ino said in between laughter. "As if Sakura would go out with anyone but him."

They began walking towards the same direction Naruto went to, to also deliver the boxes they were carrying.

"Is it true what you said? About those people who wanted to ask Sakura out?" Chouji inquired.

"Of course. But she rejected them all. When I asked if it was because of Naruto she just changed the subject." Ino ended with an eye roll.

Sai sighed, "I'm always the one being said to have low emotional awareness but I think those two teammates of mine are just the same as me."

"Do you have any other questions?"

A collective shaking of heads answered Sakura and she smiled at them. "Well then, that'll be all. Thank you and let's have a safe festival tomorrow!"

There were scrambled responses and thank yous before the group of medic-nins began walking towards different directions. Sakura went over to the table behind her and began collecting all of the papers.

"Good job, Sakura!" Shizune hugged her. "Remember to rest, okay? Your plan is well thought of and of course approved by Lady Tsunade."

Sakura heaved a great sigh, "I'll try to rest. This is my first emergency response plan and it's driving me nuts."

Shizune chuckled, "Well, you have done wonderfully and you deserve to rest before tomorrow. And… oh...Oishi, is there anything you need?"

Sakura looked at the direction Shizune was looking at, and she saw one of her medic teammates.

"Uh… Sakura-san," The man began to say, he was digging his foot on the ground.

Sakura patiently asked, "Yes, Oishi? Is there something I can help you with?"

"I uh…" And then he shouted almost incoherently, "You're-amazing-Sakura-san-and-I-would-like-to-ask-you-out-on-a-date-tomorrow-if-you-would-have-me-i'd-be-honored!" he ended almost out of breath.

Shizune covered her mouth in surprise and Sakura's eyes widened a moment before she looked apologetically at the man.

Before she could recite her well used rejection spiel though, a yellow flash passed through between them and she quickly covered her eyes as the projectile hit the table and a huge amount of dust exploded.

As the dust settled, the three of them lowered their arms and found Naruto standing slowly and beginning to take steps towards Sakura.

Once she was at arms length, Naruto placed both of his hands on her shoulders which jolted Sakura. "Naruto, what are you..." she began to blush.

"Sakura-chan! Go out to the festival with me! Let's go on a date!" Naruto shouted before sliding down to the floor.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. Sakura turned over Naruto and placed his head in her lap. Familiar with Naruto as she was, Sakura quickly determined that he was overheating. Sakura looked at Oishi, who still had his mouth wide open, and she shouted "Oishi please get me a bottle of water quickly!"

Oishi stood in attention and quickly got the bottle of water. Once Sakura got a hold of it, she held Naruto up and made him drink the water.

As the final drop of water was finished by Naruto, he perked up quickly as if nothing happened.

Unfortunately for him though, Sakura got a hold of his collar and began shaking him violently while shouting, "You idiot! You overheat so fast but you do stupid things like this! And for what?!"

Naruto, already feeling dizzy said, "I just wanted to ask you out before anybody else does."

Sakura stopped shaking him but didn't let go as she looked up at Oishi again.

But the man was just looking at the both of them with a smile - and maybe a bit of an understanding - and said, "It's alright, Sakura-san. I'll get going now."

Sakura smiled apologetically at him again and nodded.

As he turned away, Sakura turned her glare to Naruto again, "We were going together even if you didn't ask me to! We've been going to these things for ages!"

Shizune giggled and Sakura turned to look at her, "I'm sorry, Shizune-san. I'll report back to Lady Tsunade once I set this idiot straight!" she gave a pointed look at Naruto who was just happy to have confirmed that he was the chosen one.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura. I'll be going back to the office anyway, I'll report back to her. And I told you to rest up today, right?"

Sakura nodded and smiled at her, "Right… Thank you, Shizune-san."

Shizune nodded and went to get the papers at the table before she jumped to go back to the Hokage tower.

Sakura stood up and brushed her skirt before giving a hand out to Naruto who was still sitting on the ground, "Let's go." she said.

Naruto took a hold of her hand but asked, "Huh? To where?"

"I'll treat you to Ichiraku before I meet up with Ino."

And Naruto looked at her like she was literally a goddess who pulled him out of the darkness as Sakura just rolled her eyes before smiling at him.

"You're such a menace, Ino." Sakura said through a mouthful of sundae. "You didn't have to do that to Naruto. You knew I was going to go with him to the festival."

Ino, who was currently holding up a kimono out of a paper bag and adoring it, laughed, "How was I supposed to know he would run into Lee who had flowers to ask you out and proceed to run like a lunatic around the whole village trying to find you?"

Sakura rubbed her temples, but Ino didn't know if it was from the sweets or from tiredness. "I hate rejecting Lee all the time, he's so sweet. But… ugh."

Ino raised a brow at Sakura, "But?"

Sakura glared at her, "Shut up and stop making love with your kimono already! Your sundae's melting."

"Uh huh…" Ino said as Sakura changed topics again but proceeded to tuck her kimono away anyway.

Once Ino started eating her sundae, she started her intervention as well. "Don't you think it's time you put a label on you and Naruto?"

Sakura, who was holding a spoonful of ice cream, about to devour it, paused and said, "Wha-? Pff… what label? We're… we. We're Naruto and Sakura. We're… you know." she waved her hand that was holding the spoon and her ice cream fell on the table.

Sakura cursed and she glared at Ino.

Ino raised another brow at her, "Can't think straight when we're talking about Naruto?"

Sakura began wiping at the fallen ice cream, "I don't know what you want from me, Ino. He hasn't even said that he loves me. Sure, he likes me, but we're teammates and it's just… you know!"

Ino groaned, "Sakura! Naruto knows a lot of women! I'm a woman! Tenten, Hinata? Hello? And he only has eyes for you? What do you need? A ring?"

Sakura blushed. "Of course not!" She picked up her spoon again and stabbed her sundae. "It's just…" Sakura heaved a deep sigh, "Naruto deserves better."

Ino was taken aback. That statement has never been said between the two of them.

"Naruto… Naruto deserves someone who… who has their head straight and is strong and… and gives as much as he does… loves as much as he does…" Sakura lowered her head.

Ino's brows furrowed, "Is this because of Sasuke?"

Sakura looked at Ino, "Of course not! I don't love Sasuke. I mean I do, but not romantically, we've talked about this. What I feel for Sasuke is different. I still want him back here in the village, with us, his team."

"Then where is this 'Naruto deserves better' crap coming from?"

Sakura licked her lips, "I don't know. I…" Sakura ran a hand through her hair and slumped in her seat. "...I think I love him too much. I'm afraid I'll mess it up. And I'm not... he's perfect and I'm not... I'm… I'm not ready to risk it all just yet."

Ino smiled kindly at Sakura. She reached a hand out to hold Sakura's hand to relay her understanding. "Sakura, I know our insecurities could eat us from the inside out but… give yourself a chance. You're much more than you think you are."

Sakura groaned and looked at the ceiling.

Ino pulled back and said, "But I'm not pressuring you, and I don't think Naruto would too. Just… start appreciating yourself more, you idiot."

Sakura smiled at her and she straightened in her seat again to enjoy her sundae.

"I'm ready." Naruto declared to Shikamaru and Neji.

The three of them were doing last minute errands for the festival tomorrow and Naruto was holding a banner up while Shikamaru was hammering nails to secure it.

"Ready to what?" Neji asked, not used to Naruto's sudden outburst just yet.

"I'm going to confess to Sakura-chan tomorrow!"

Neji, still confused, asked, "What? Aren't you two together already? Isn't she your girlfriend?"

Naruto grinned and blushed, "We do look good together right?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he began walking down the ladder, banner already secured. "Don't make such a big fuss about it, Naruto. I'm already seeing you buying a ring."

When Naruto didn't answer and he puckered his lips, Neji and Shikamaru smacked their forehead simultaneously.

It was Shikamaru who asked the question though, "Did you… did you buy her a ring?"

Naruto scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed, "No, but I did buy her a necklace." He pulled out a square box from inside his jacket and opened it, revealing a small shining diamond nestled in velvet.

"She's going to kill you." Shikamaru said while Neji said, "I didn't know you had taste."

Naruto looked defeated but Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and sighed, "You didn't have to buy that you idiot. You could've just said you loved her and she'll run to your arms. But… that's beautiful."

Naruto smiled, "As soon as I saw it I thought of Sakura-chan. And it wasn't really that expensive. I've never gotten her a gift ever anyway."

Both Shikamaru and Neji smiled at the way Naruto was looking at the box.

"Well, good luck to you, Naruto." Neji said and he bid goodbye to both Naruto and Shikamaru, their tasks done. And with thoughts of Tenten wearing a similar necklace in his mind, he walked away.

"You're lucky you have me as a best friend! Going to the festival without even a lipstick!"

Sakura came by at Ino's house the next day, only bringing her newly bought kimono and nothing else with the intention of just putting her hair up.

Once she said this to Ino, the woman started scolding her.

Sakura just rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry! I had to check in with the medic-nin the whole day and the last thing on my mind is what lipstick matches with this kimono." She held up the said kimono.

Ino bit her lip smiling, "Burnt orange. Really subtle."

Sakura clung to the kimono and looked at Ino, red in the cheeks. "It doesn't mean anything! It has sakura blossoms at the hem! It's for me!"

Ino rolled her eyes and walked towards her vanity, "I wouldn't believe you even if you didn't blush."

Sakura touched her cheek, "I am not blushing!"

Ino just chuckled, "Just go get dressed. I have some red ribbons here I can place in your hair."

Even as a kid Naruto loved Konoha's spring festival.

The decorations, the music, the food and the raining sakura blossoms just made Konoha so beautiful and alive.

And as the years passed by, the more precious the day became for him because he grew a number of friends to celebrate it with, most especially Sakura.

Sakura who was walking towards him in a burnt orange kimono as orange as his regular jacket was. He wasn't wearing it right now as he opted for his deep blue kimono, but seeing Sakura wear a color that he really liked just made him smile so much his cheeks were aching.

"What?" Sakura asked, cheeks red, embarrassed by the smiling look Naruto was giving her.

"You look much more beautiful than usual, Sakura-chan. Orange suits you, y'know!" Naruto grinned not realizing that his statement just made Sakura's face much more red.

Sakura covered her face with a fan she had brought with her. "You look nice too."

Naruto reached a hand to the red ribbon on her hair. "This color looks good on you too."

"We get it! She's beautiful! I'm hungry!" Ino said and the rest of their friends laughed.

Both Naruto and Sakura looked at their group of friends, embarrassed that they got sucked into their own world.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck and while Sakura chuckled and apologized. Then, as a group, they walked towards the center of the festival to celebrate.

They had a blast. It was truly one of the best celebrations they ever had.

All the food tasted (all sweets for Sakura), all the games were also played (thankfully none resulted in destruction even when Lee challenged Neji in a balloon dart competition), and all the shows were also seen by their group before midnight.

They decided to separate in groups for their personal shoppings and errands, with the promise to meet up at their usual spot to watch the fireworks display in a while.

Naruto and Sakura were left together strolling along the village, not wanting to do anything else but wait for the fireworks to begin.

But at the foot of the stairs leading up to their group's usual spot, stood a new photo booth that caught Naruto's eyes.

Naruto held Sakura's elbow to get her attention, and then he pointed at the photo booth.

Sakura, feeling a little indulgent, went with Naruto without any second thought and even with a smile.

Once they were inside the photo booth though, Sakura realized how close they were going to be seated together. But she hid her embarrased smile by pretending to analyze the instructions written in front of them.

As Naruto settled beside her, they began taking photo after photo since there were lots of designs and filters to choose from plus, they had a few minutes to burn as well.

Their stomachs were aching from laughing as they were adding filters, doodles and stickers in one of their photo where they were goofing off; Naruto had his tongue out as Sakura was pinching his cheeks.

When Naruto finished laughing and he cleared his throat, "One last photo, Sakura-chan?" he grinned at her.

Sakura wiped a tear that formed from the laughing they had done and then she nodded, "Yeah, a proper one." she chuckled.

As Sakura fed the machine a coin to begin taking their photo again, she didn't expect Naruto to boldly place an arm on her shoulder and pull her closer to him.

Three… two… one… the machine counted down and they both smiled at the camera.

The machine was counting for another photo but Sakura turned to look at Naruto.

Naruto was looking at her too and he was smiling at her. Sakura smiled too, a warm feeling beginning to engulf her entire being.

They just stared at each other, as the machine clicked again.

Their lips were so close now, that soft flutter before they would touch.

And Naruto, confidence fueled by Sakura not pulling away, decided to close the gap between them and he pushed himself forward.

But Sakura lifted her hand to cover his lips. Cover their lips before they even touch.

Naruto took a moment to process the hand but as he did, he pulled back, looked her in the eyes and said, "Is it because of Sasuke?"

Sakura froze and she couldn't answer. She wanted to cry. Wanted to scream at him that it wasn't because of Sasuke but it was because of her. Because she didn't deserve him.

But Naruto just took the silence as yes.

Naruto smiled at Sakura, pocketed the box that he subtly pulled out of his pockets at his other side, and stood up to leave Sakura inside the photo booth.

Shikamaru, Sai and Ino caught Naruto coming out of the photo booth, wiping his face with the sleeve of his kimono and they heard him sniff. But when Naruto looked up and saw them, there weren't any traces of tears or sadness so they didn't know how to react.

Naruto grinned and waved at them but then he turned to the photo booth again and reached out to help Sakura out of the booth.

Sakura looked like she was on the verge of crying so Ino walked towards her immediately and asked her if she wanted to walk together the rest of the way, which Sakura took gratefully.

The men watched the retreating backs of the two, then Naruto collected the photos that were dispensed by the machine.

As Sai and Shikamaru looked over Naruto's shoulder to check on the photos in his hands, their eyes widened.

"You kissed?!" Shikamaru said, voice louder than he intended.

Naruto was shocked at the volume of Shikamaru's voice and he accidentally let go of the photos and it went flying.

Since they were ninjas after all, they were able to snatch the photos before they landed on the ground… except for one.

The photo of Naruto and Sakura looking at each other, lips close together landed on a puddle and was immediately ruined.

Naruto took the photo and stared at it sadly while Shikamaru apologized. Naruto grinned at Shikamaru, "It's a sign from the universe, I guess." Naruto sighed and crumpled the paper and threw it over his shoulder.

Then they began to walk the same direction Ino and Sakura went.

They didn't notice Sai picking up the crumpled photo before he ran to catch up with them.

Ino cooled her hands with a neat trick of her chakra and placed them over Sakura's cheeks. The effect was instantaneous and there wasn't any sign of her crying anymore.

Sakura sniffed, "You always forget to teach me that trick."

Ino smiled at her, "Remind me to teach you."

Sakura nodded. She fixed the red ribbon in her hair before they walked to join their group again.

She saw Naruto craning his neck, obviously looking for her, and when their eyes met, Naruto just smiled at her like nothing happened.

Naruto ran towards her, still with that stupid smile, "Where've you been? I got our pictures! I call dibs on this cute one." He showed her all the pictures.

Sakura just looked at Naruto who was still smiling. Was the moment they had inside the photo booth only her imagination?

Naruto looked up at her, "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blinked, "Oh… right." She looked at the photos, "I'll take this one." she took where Naruto had his arms around her.

Naruto looked at it a little too long before he plastered his grin again, "Okay. C'mon! I saved you a seat beside me."

Sakura let Naruto lead her to a bench that gave them an overlooking view of Konoha.

And as the fireworks started coloring the night sky, Sakura looked over at Naruto who was in awe like a child and she smiled at him.

I'll be deserving of your love, Naruto. You just wait, I'll be ready soon.

A/N: A sneaky little update for everyone! ( ❛ ᴗ ❛ ) Reviews are greatly appreciated and it fills the NaruSaku shaped void in my heart LOL!