Rose Cafe, Konoha.
Sakura Haruno was enjoying one of the rare days off she got. She wasn't needed at the hospital and her team was out on a mission, which she didn't like. So she was in civilian dress, white pants, red sleeveless top, and pink sandals. She looked very much like a normal woman out with her friends. Ino set across from her, Hinata and Tenten across from each other. Temari was in Suna on business and missed out on the girls only lunch. The Rose Cafe had a pasta dish that Sakura loved. Pork, wheat pasta, vegetables seasoned with sea salt, garlic pepper and olive oil. Ino had her usual salad, Tenten and Hinata tried the dish that Sakura was having.
All in all it was a quiet day. They ate, chatted about this and that, mostly about Naruto and Sakura being engaged now. Hinata was a little disappointed, but her and Kiba were doing great together. This was shaping up to be a nice day until…
"Sakura-sensei!" Mogei landed from the roof across the street. She was winded from running and roof hopping. She had been learning medical ninjutsu from Sakura. She was part of the Konohamaru Corps. Naruto's unofficial students.
"Clam down Mogei. What is going on?" Sakura asked her. But from the worried look she saw on her face it couldn't be good.
"It's the Boss! Kakashi-sensei and the others brought him into the hospital. He is hurt pretty bad."
Sakura didn't say anything as she leaped away and covered the distance to the hospital in record time.
As she burst through the emergency room doors, she quickly found her team minus the reason she was panicked. Kakashi stopped her before she ran into the exam room that Naruto was being worked on in.
"Let me go! I need to help him." Her mind was going a million miles a minute and he knew she would be no good to Naruto, or Tsunade and Shizune who were currently working on healing him.
"Tsunade and Shizune are in there with him now. He is in good hands." He told her. Trying to calm her a bit.
She kept trying to get past him. Tears flowing down her cheeks. She was desperate to do anything to save the man she loved more than anything. He finally got her into a chair, she was still panicking.
"Sakura!" Kakashi had snapped back into reality. "I need you to calm down. He is being taken care of. " He could see the fear in her eyes. She nodded. It would be hard for her, but this is Naruto, He was kind of hard to kill.
Hours later.
She was in his room. Tsunade and Shizune had pulled him through. She was sitting in a chair next to his bed. She had his Sage coat across her lap. She had repaired the holes from the earth jutsu that had hit him. He had jumped in front of the client, taking the attack. The client failed to mention that he had a missing Iwa nin chasing after him, which is why he had hired her team to protect him on his trip to Konoha. It was just their luck.
"You know he is a lot like his father, when it comes to self sacrifice." Sakura looked up to see a beautiful redheaded woman with grey eyes looking down at Naruto. "Of course he gets it from me as well. The need to protect others."
Sakura almost seemed to panic a bit wondering how someone had gotten past her.
The new comer laughed. The smile and laughter seem so very familiar.
"Don't worry Sakura. I am not here to hurt him or you. I figured it was time we met." The woman told her.
The look on Sakura's face was one of confusion. She didn't know who she was, but she still seemed familiar.
"I am Naruto's mother. Kushina Uzumaki. Well I suppose Namikaze is more correct for my surname." She looked down lovingly at her son.
"But that means your a…" Sakura seemed frightened.
"A ghost? Spirit? Yes I am. I died not long after I brought the man you love into the world." Kushina smiled at her. Sakura seemed like she was thinking she was dreaming or something.
"Come on. You can heal or destroy with a touch, He has command over wind and has a chakra monster sealed in him. Why is the spirit of his dead mother talking to you that strange."
"I suppose you have a point." Sakura agreed. "I am Sakura Haruno. Soon to be Sakura Uzumaki." She played with the ring on her finger.
Kushina smiled at this news. "So he found someone, and from what I have seen you are a little like me." "And yes I watch over him. I only got to hold him for a little while before all hell broke loose. I hope that is something that you and him never have to live through." A single crystal clean tear slid down her cheek. "Well at any rate I don't have much time left and I just wanted to meet the woman that had captured my son's heart. I hope you have a great life together, filled with endless happiness." With that she faded away.
A few days later.
Naruto was finally out of the Hospital and home. Of course he was not allowed to do much to his disappointment.
"No point in complaining. You have your seals to work on, and you could take the time to focus on reading those scrolls Lady Tsunade sent over." Sakura told him.
Tsunade was giving him things to read on history and strategy, things he would need to know when the Jonin trails happened. It would also help with becoming Hokage as well. He knew it was all stuff he needed to know, it was dull and boring. Naruto had too much energy to just set and read all day. So he opened the first scroll, he figured he get through a couple of the history scrolls then switch to the sealing one.
Across the village.
Kiba and Hinata's relationship was what most would call a rebound. Sure he was happy that someone like her would take any interest in him. He loud, ruff around the edges like most in his clan were. He also admitted to himself, not the smartest guy out there. There was also the fact that Hinata had been in love with Naruto Uzumaki since they were kids. He was now with Sakura Haruno. Which had broken Hinata's heart. He didn't really want to be her second choice, but then again she never really had been with Naruto so…
At any rate he and Akumaru were heading to the Hyuuga compound to pick Hinata up for a date. Dinner, movie, and then a walk by the training grounds. The Village had been rebuilt. He had to admit that he missed the old buildings that had been there for as long as he could remember, but when the village was flattened by a mad man after his best friend for what he contained, not much he could do. He walked up to the front gate of the compound where Hinata was waiting for him.
She smiles at him. "Hey." She leans up to kiss him. They hadn't been any farther than that, but he wasn't going to push her considering she was still getting over the heartache.
After they broke the kiss He smiled, it had a bit of sadness in it. She saw that, nothing got by her eyes. A gentle hand touched his cheek. He looked at a reassuring smile.
"I want to be with you." She told him. He could tell she wasn't lying. He put his arms around and pulled her close.
"I know. I am just being silly is all." He told her. He knew she still might be hurting.
"You should stop. I want to make this work. Do you?" It was a question that he wanted to ask her, but god yes he wanted her, and to make this work.
"Yes, I do." He holds her to him. She has become his world, He could believe his luck, she was beautiful, kind, caring. "Naruto was a fool to pass her up." He thinks to himself. He looks at her and smiles taking her hand.
"Come on, let's get going." He tells her as they walk to a small cafe close to the movie theater.
Rose Cafe.
"So Naruto is out of the hospital now?" Ino asked her dinner companion.
"Yes." Sai answers. "Surprised you didn't know that already. You and Sakura being friends."
"I haven't seen her for a few days. She probably tied up with dealing with Naruto and working at the hospital."
Sai and Ino have been spending more time together. He finds himself drawn to her for some reason, She is like his blond teammate, loud, full of life. She glows like the sun. Due to the training that he went through in Root, Sai doesn't understand emotions very well. Ino was helping him with that, she also had to admit that there was something about him she liked. She couldn't put her finger on it. At any rate they would spend time at her family's flower shop, training and of course dinner dates. Sai enjoyed these more than anything, it gave him alone time with her, and from what he had read that was important in a relationship.
As for the other couples in the village, Tenten and Neji were doing good. Their relationship had progressed along the same lines as Naruto and Sakura's had. Of course they had a bit more history together, being teammates a year longer. Neji's proper behavior got, and the fact he lived in a compound where everyone could see through walls, made being intimate hard. Lucky Tenten had her own apartment so it wasn't like nothing ever happened. Even someone as proper as Neji couldn't hold out forever.
Shino dated quite a bit. His analytical view of things made things strange. He was always polite and considerate to the girls he was with, but some didn't last more than one date. Dating someone that was a living hive was difficult to say the least. All though Kiba's sister Hana had been the longest and current girlfriend. As a matter of fact they were walking through one of the training grounds now, with the triplets. Her three niken partners.
"So my little brother and Hinata are doing good?" She asked him.
"Yes. Kiba seems a little worried that Hinata is with him to fill the place of Naruto, but she doesn't see it that way." He was sort of a third wheel with his teammates. Sure they spent time together, but he blended into the background more than most.
"Good. Maybe she will calm him a bit." She looked down at her hand, somehow he was holding it. It felt right. She was at least four years older than him, and remembered him as this kid that hung around her little brother.
"Maybe she will." He added.
The triplets ran around. Something would catch their attention here and there. They never strayed far from their master. She looked over at him, a smirk on her lips. She quickly pulled him to her. Pulling down the high collar that covered the lower half of his face, smashed her lips to his. This took him by surprise, but that didn't last long as he returned the kiss.
As they broke the kiss. "What brought that on?" He asked.
"Wanted to. Hope you don't mind cause I want to do it again."She told him as she closed the gap between them.
"No I do not mind. I would like to do it again as well." He told her.
"Good." She captured his lips again.
Across town in the apartment of one Anko Mitarashi.
Anko was laying half covered on her bed. She wasn't alone.
"Mmmm.. That was fun Kakashi." She snuggled into his chest.
"Glad my efforts are appreciated." He smirked looking up at the ceiling.
Two brown eyes looked up at him. "So. Maybe grab some of the take out you brought and then head into the next round." She moved up his body, until there was little room between them.
"Sounds good." He closed the distance between them. The kiss made her head swim.
"Glad I took the chances." She thought to herself.
In another part of town.
Shikamaru was glad he had his own apartment. Considering how little time he had with Temari.
Which usually meant dinner then a walk back to his place for other activities. He was standing on the small blaconing off his apartment. He had picked up smoking from his sensei Asuma. Of course Temari didn't like it, but she let him because of the reason behind why, and he only smoked out here. Two delicate hands moved around his waist he felt press up against his bare back.
"Sorry if I woke you." He told her. He closed his eyes lost in the feel of her against him.
"Gets cold when you aren't next to me." She tightened her arms around him.
She was troublesome, but he could see his life without her in it.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked. Her voice was sleepy sounding.
"A few reports I have read. Things are brewing, someone is going after the people like Naruto again." He told her.
"Thought all that stopped when Naruto defeated Pien?" He felt her move away from him a bit.
He turned around, his arms circling her. He could see the concern in her eyes.
"Don't worry. Naruto has improved a lot since then. I have faith in him." He told her, softly kissing her forehead, taking in her sencent.
Naruto would overcome the odds. He had to, He was to be the next Hokage. He would be his advisor and help him further his goals of bring peace to this war torn world.