Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay. But like I said before in the last chapter, it can't be helped.

But I am trying my hardest to write a story that will leave you all satisfied. These kinds of stories take time. So I hope you guys forgive me for not updating as much as I should.

Haha. I've noticed a lot of you are already pressuring me to make Naruto confess his love already. But I can't let that happen yet. Sorry. These things take time, guys! I want to make this as realistic and relatable as possible.

Plus, if you guys are patient with me and continue to read, I might throw in a MILD lemon scene later on as the story continues. Don't deny it people, everyone secretly loves lemon scenes. ESPECIALLY, IF IT'S SASUKE & NARUTO. Don't deny it…don't deny it….don't deny it….

And if I do happen to write one, I swear it would be at the right time. Not some random stupid pointless lemon that leavepeople disgusted in the end. Believe me, I've read a few of those. And I hate it. I hope you all agree.

But still, I'm not 100 percentsure if I want to add one of those in. Maybe I should take a vote?

All in favor of a mild lemon and/or lemon raise your hand! Or you could just read, review and tell me what you want.

I now conclude my author's note with:

Please enjoy Chapter 5. It's actually sort of a filler-chapter. If those even exist….

Heh.

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"I'm fine, Sasuke…" began Naruto. "I don't have a fever."

"You sure?" asked Sasuke as he began walking towards Naruto, putting his palm gently on Naruto's forehead.

Naruto froze, feeling Sasuke's surprisingly soft and warm hands on his forehead.

"See…I-I told you I don't have a fever…" said Naruto, slightly trembling from Sasuke's touch.

"I guess you're right. You don't seem to be burning up" said Sasuke, taking his hands off Naruto's forehead, an action that secretly disappointed Naruto.

"Let's go then, dobe. Don't want to keep the almighty Hatake Kakashi waiting now do we?"

Naruto laughed softly. "Yeah, let's go."

----

Haruno Sakura groaned loudly. "You guys…are finally here!"

Sasuke shrugged, while Naruto apologized. "Gomen, Sakura-chan, Kakashi- sensei…"

"Try to be on time, Naruto! You've been late practically this whole week. What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing's up. Why would you ask that, Sakura-chan?" said Naruto nervously. "I…I just haven't been sleeping well lately, that's all. Gomen."

Sakura was opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Kakashi.

"Oi, we have a mission to carry out. And we're already delayed because apparently someone is partying too hard at night to get up responsibly in the morning. We have to get going."

---

Silently, the group walked passed the entrance gates of Konoha. After a few minutes, Naruto realized he had no idea where they were going for their mission.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Hmm?" said Kakashi lazily, with one hand in his pocket, and the other holding one of his perverted novels."

"Where the heck are we going anyway?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, if you were on time, you would've known then."

"Don't give me that!" exclaimed Naruto, annoyed. "You're always late too!"

"Hmm, true. But I don't recall ever being late for more then an hour…"

"Yeah, right! Don't you remember our first training session as a team? That day…when you made us get up at the crack of dawn, waiting in the middle of nowhere with our stomachs empty…"

Kakashi looked confused. "What? I don't remember any day like that!"

"Liar!" Naruto growled. "I know you remember it. It was our first training session, how could you not remember it. Anyway, my point is…YOU MADE US WAIT FOR PRACTICALLY THREE HOURS! THAT'S A LOT MORE THAN AN HOUR AND A HALF!"

Kakashi was silent for a moment. Then he spoke. "Hmm, Naruto…were you saying something?"

Right then, the expression on Naruto's face was so enraged, you would think Kyuubi was about to be unleashed.

"Gomen, gomen, Naruto" laughed Kakashi. "I was only joking."

"Well, your jokes aren't funny!" spat Naruto, bitterly.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, would telling you where we're actually heading make you feel any better?" he asked.

Naruto was too irritated to answer. But he grunted, so Kakashi took that as a yes.

"We're going to the sand village. We have to deliver an important letter to the Kazekage."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "We're going to see Gaara?" he asked.

"No, Naruto, we're going to visit my grandpa…" said Kakashi.

"There you go again, with your dumb jokes…" Naruto mumbled.

"What was that?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto mumbled again. "Nothing".

Kakashi grinned. Then he turned back to his perverted book.

The group began to walk in silence again. Naruto began to wonder why they, out of all the other ninja teams in Konoha, were the ones appointed to complete the task of delivering a message to Gaara, the kazekage.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by Kakashi.

"Naruto…" Kakashi began in a low voice.

"What" replied Naruto, eyeing Kakashi cautiously.

"You said earlier…that the reason for your lateness's was because you haven't been sleeping well…"

Naruto turned his head away from Kakashi, already hating where this conversation was going. "Yeah, what about it…" he mumbled.

"Do you mind explaining why?" Kakashi asked quietly.

Naruto didn't answer. He was not about to tell his sensei the truth. The truth about why he was having difficulty falling asleep at night. Seeing that Sasuke was only four feet in front of him, Naruto decided to keep silent. The last thing he wanted to do was to expose his feelings for Sasuke to his sensei. As well as exposing it to Sasuke, who was walking right in front of him.

"Naruto?" asked Kakashi, still patiently waiting for an answer.

"It's nothing, Kakashi-sensei. I don't know why I can't sleep…maybe it's the tea I'm drinking…maybe I should check the box to see if it's caffeine-free before I buy it…or maybe--"

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, stop rambling. You don't have to tell me the real reason if you don't want."

"But there is no real reason!" Naruto lied.

"Hmm, okay. Whatever you say…" said Kakashi, lazily.

"Damn Uchiha…" Naruto cursed under his breath.

"What's that?" Kakashi asked.

""N-Nothing" Naruto replied quickly, biting his tongue, punishing himself for almost giving his secret away.

Naruto sighed deeply.

"When will this fucking ache in my heart go away?" he asked himself, desperately.

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Hmm, I don't know, Naru-chan. When will your love-sick pains go away?

I GUESS IT'S UP TO ME, TO FIND OUT. HAHAHAHAHA! Ahem...

Yeah, anyway. Thank you so much to whoever read this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW!

I didn't proof read this chapter as much asthe other ones. So if there are any punctuation/grammar/spelling errors, please forgive me.

UNTIL NEXT TIME THEN :)