A new friend,
The best a man could get.
Wasn't a lot to spend,
So don't you fret.
You have grown
And so have I.
I missed you.
I missed you a lot.

Hinata rushed Naruto down and embraced him, almost toppling him over. "Wooooah... tall," she said in awe as she looked up to the boy, "you got so tall."

"So did you, kehiban," he squeezed her, "Oh, that reminds me. Your gift-ttebayo!" He dug into his bag and rustled around a bit before seemingly getting ahold of something, "Aha!" He pulled something out and held it towards Hinata.

She yelped, "Uh, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, wha- AH!" He shook his hand. He was holding a handful of noodles. He never remembered putting those in his bag. Oh wait.

Naruto and Jiraiya had stopped at a ramen chain off the side of the road, "Come on, baka! We have to go right now!" The boy was still barely even half way done. He wouldn't just leave the ramen, but he did have to go. He drank the broth, and picked up the bowl, dumping it into his bag. 'There, that'll do the trick.'

He scratched his neck, 'Gol-lee! You sure are disgusting. How long have those been there?'
'Yeeeah. Inexcusable.'
"Heh, what's that doing there." They stood there awkwardly for a second, Naruto still rubbing his neck.

"Um..."

"Oh yeah. Sorry. Here you go for real this time," he grabbed a light purple chain necklace from his bag. The color matched Hinata's eyes. It had a purple swirl, the same color as the chain, on the end of it, "I found this while searching the land of the Uzumaki, Uzushiogakure. So I'll always be by you-ttebayo! Look," he pulled a similar chain out from his shirt. His was pure white, "I have one too!"

She held the amulet close to her chest, "I love it, Naruto-kun," she placed the necklace around her neck and grabbed Naruto's hand, "Now your gift. There's three," she blushed a little, "in case you don't like the first one."

"Of course I'll like the first one!"

They had arrived at a large house near the forest, "Why are we at Kibas house?"

"Shh just be patient, Naruto-kun," Hinata knocked on the door.

A young woman answered the door, "Ah, Hinata! Good to see you, lovely," she hugged Hinata, "And Naruto! How's your arm?" He had forgotten about the chūnin exams. It made sense that that was the only thing she really knew him for.

"It's attached, so..." he lifted up his accurately described arm.

"Hey, Naruto's here! How's it going, buddy?" Kiba walked forward, "Oh right! Your gift. Follow me," Naruto gave a quizzical look to Hinata. She grabbed his shirt sleeve and dragged him along.

"Alright, Naruto," Kiba said as they walked outside in front of a fenced area, "Which one do you want?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Look inside the fence."

Naruto obliged, revealing 5 small black puppies. "Wait... so you mean I?" He gestured towards the puppies. Hinata and Kiba nodded.

"I'll ask again: Which one suits you?"

He looked around at the little babies. He was still ecstatic. He saw a smaller one, closer to the corner than the others. He didn't really look like the rest. His underbelly and legs were mostly white. One of his legs was a light brown, but the others were white with black spots. Everything along his back and up to his neck was black. A white stripe started out at his neck. At the base, it was very wide, tapering off as it traveled across his head towards his snout. The sides of his mouth were the same brown as his one leg, and the front was the same white with black specks as his other legs. His ears flopped to the side and his tail looked like a regular black tail that was dipped in white paint. He pointed to the dog, "I like that one."

Kiba looked at him funnily, "Really? He's kinda the runt, not that social. He just barks at the bigger dogs, and he isn't very cuddly."

"That's okay. He looks like he needs a friend-ttebayo!" Kiba and Hinata smiled. They didn't expect any less from Naruto.

Kiba handed Naruto the puppy. The dog assessed the smiling boy, tilting his head and moving closer. He sniffed the boys face and began to lick around his mouth. The dog could smell the Ichiraku still. "Bleh, ew quit licking me!"

Kiba laughed, "That means he likes you. Or you just ate some good food. He's very food-motivated," Kiba stepped out of the pen and shut the gate, "Alright so what are you naming him?"

"Does he have a name already?"

"Well kinda. We call him Rocky, because he's got pebbles on his legs," Kiba laughed.

Naruto thought about it for a moment. He plopped the dog on his head, "I like Bolt-ttebayo! His name will be Bolt."

Kiba went inside for a moment. Naruto set the dog down and watched as he ran towards Hinata. He sniffed her leg, and lifted his own. Hinata gasped, and Naruto tilted the dog away from the girl. He peed into the nearby bush instead of Hinata's leg, "Phew," Naruto wiped some sweat from his brow. He heard sniffing again, and felt a nose near his butt. He jumped forward and turned around, looking at a confused Bolt, "Gah! You're so weird-ttebayo."

"Naruto-kun, don't say that. That's mean."
'Yeah I think you went too far.'
'The dog almost peed on Hinata-sama. I like her. If he had gone through with that... ugh. I would have never forgiven him. And the butt-sniffing. Ludicrous!'

"Alright Naruto, I made the collar," Kiba handed it to him and rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't really know where you live, so I just wrote Hinata's address on the tag."

"That's perfect. Thank you Kiba! I'll protect this little guy, I promise!" Naruto picked up the dog and held him. Bolt looked rather uncomfortable, and furled part of his top lip.

Hinata and Naruto were walking through the village on the way to Hinatas. Bolt had fallen asleep atop Naruto's head. "I still have to show you my other two gifts," she said blushing.

"But I thought they were for if I didn't like the first one."

"Yeah but I still have them, so I might as well give you your gift." Naruto nodded at the logic.

"Well if you don't need it, then you can give it to me-ttebayo." Hinata giggled, "Huh? What's so funny Hinata-chan?"

"You really are a knucklehead."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?! What are you saying?"

She just winked and led him along.

The two arrived at the Hyūga residence and Hinata led Naruto to her room. Bolt was asleep still. Hinata grabbed a dog bed she previously purchased, and reached for Bolt. "Hinata-chan, I like when he sleeps there. Can't he just stay there?"

"Naruto-kun, it would be a good idea if you put him in the bed," she took off her necklace and placed it on her dresser.

"Hmmm. Okay. If you say so Kehiban," he placed the puppy, still sound asleep, into the soft bed.

"Okay close your eyes. No peeking."

Naruto grumbled, "Okay but this seems suspicious. You better not scare me or something."

She scribbled something on a note and held it up. The note said, 'if you can read this, say Naruto.'

"Pff, I'm not going to fall for that."

Hinata sighed. She grabbed something and tied it around his eyes. Now he couldn't see.

Naruto heard a slight rustling, and felt the thing being lifted from his eyes.

"N-Naruto-kun, y-you can look now."

He saw Hinata's closed eyes, and felt her lips on his. He also saw Hinata holding two large, round, plump...

"Cinnamon buns!" She held one out to Naruto as she released the kiss. His eyes widened and a wide smile spanned his face. Naruto grabbed the bun and was about to bite in, when he noticed bolt standing below the bead, wagging his tail. The dog was drooling and staring at the treat.

"Do you want it?"

The dog continued to drool. Naruto patted the bed. Bolt looked at him and tilted his head. Naruto hopped off and lifted the dog up to the bed. He took a big piece off of the cinnamon bun and handed it to the puppy. He devoured it in an instant, and was immediately drooling once again. Naruto was only able to have a few bites of the snack. Now Bolt was running circles around the room. After a couple minutes, Bolt collapsed on the cold floor, panting.

"Hey it feels hot in here. Are you hot?"

He looked at the sweating and red-faced (for multiple reasons) Hinata. She let out an almost silent, "ⁿᵒ."

Earlier that afternoon, Hanabi was in the courtyard practicing with kunai. She was 11 and had just begun to learn kunai skills. She was chucking them around wildly.

"Hanabi-sama, please be careful."

"Whaaaat? it'll be okay I promise," she said as she closed her eyes and chucked one through one of the thin walls. They heard a hissing coming from inside the room. The branch family member who was with Hanabi went to check on it.

"You hit the AC."

Hanabi shrugged, "Whoops."

"Hinata, you're so bundled up. You should take some of that stuff off."

"But I-"

"Here, I got it," Naruto lifted the girls hoodie up over her head. There was something blocking it from getting all the way up. He shook it around a little bit, and something fell out of the hoodie. He was easily able to get it off after that. "There we go," he looked down to see something. It was something for sure. When did she get these? They might as well have been magnets, and Naruto's eyes might as well have been solid iron.

Hinata blushed and covered them with her arm as she looked down. "Y-you're not supposed to s-see me like this."

"Hm? Why not?"

"It's... there's a rule... embarrassing..."

"Oh, sorry, " he averted his gaze, "Hey wait!" He turned back, "We've seen each other shirtless before."

She shook her head, "No we couldn't have. Because of the rule," she moved closer to him and twiddled her fingers, looking away, "But if we're both shirtless, then it cancels out."

"Is that the clan rule too?" She closed her eyes and nodded. He reached for his shirt, "Geez, your clan has a lot of pervy rules-ttebayo," Hinata just shrugged.

Seeing Hinatas body, an actual woman, was kinda different than peeking at pictures in magazines, or even the last time he saw her. For two reasons. His jaw dropped a little, and a tiny gasp escaped, 'She definitely... has grown.'

'Rather inelegant, if you're asking my opinion.'

'I wasn't.'

Hinata had already seen the boy like this countless times, but it didn't make it easier to stay alive. She glanced over his body, his own necklace hanging there. She tried to cover herself with her hands, 'He probably thinks I look repulsive, my underwear looks weird... There's no way he could be attracted to me. I'm just making a fool of myself.'

"Hinata why are you covering yourself?"

"Oh, it's... it's nothing..."

"You shouldn't cover yourself up. You're beautiful-ttebayo," he said with a smile, "You don't have to hide."

'He's just saying that. So I don't feel bad. Well I'm not going to fall for it!' She reached for her jacket and Naruto grabbed her arm, pulling her closer. He held her close to him and looked into her eyes. She felt that warmth, that comfort. She felt safe.

"I'm telling the truth-ttebayo. When I say something I mean it."

"I know." She let out a sigh. Now she was just upset with herself, 'I feel so stupid. How could I have ever doubted him?'

"It's okay, it's okay. quit beating yourself up about it. Nothing you can do now-ttebayo."

'Can he read my mind?'

"No I can't," the girls jaw dropped, "I can read your eyes though. We've spent a lot of time together-ttebayo. It's like I can see what you feel through your eyes."

'That's kinda weird...'

"It's not weird-ttebayo!" Hinata giggled, snuggling closer. The sun went down and the room cooled off. The two lie there, peacefully .

Sasuke and Tsunade were sitting in the break room of the hospital, "The situation with Sarutobi-sensei has really got me down. It just hurts seeing my old teacher like that."

"Uhh, you know I'm not great with emotions." Man, he really wished Sakura were here right now. She knew how to handle stuff like this.

"Well think of it like this: out of nowhere Kakashi just forgot about everything. Team 7, all of your missions, his goals, his love for icha icha."

Sasuke looked down, "Maybe that would be for the best," Tsunade looked at the boy and raised an eyebrow. She was interested to see what he meant by that, "Kakashi has been through a lot, from what people have told me."

She nodded at that. She didn't know exact details, but he knew that all of his teammates, his sensei, and his father had died when he was pretty young, "But what about the good memories?"

"It wouldn't effect me directly. Me and him didn't have that kind of relationship, it was pretty much just student and teacher, nothing more. Naruto and Sakura. They both would take it hard," he paused and looked away, "It would hurt to see them upset."

Tsunade was one of the small group of people who really knew Sasuke. After 3 years of talking to the boy, he revealed to her that his broody, dark nature is mostly a facade. He liked talking walks, skipping stones, reading, tomatoes, and rice balls. Tsunade tried to bring one of the food items along when they met. She learned that he really did care for his teammates, and considered them to be his closest friends. Naruto and his family knew this as well. Sakura, Kakashi, and Konoha were left in the dark.

"Didn't expect to see you two together," Sakura said as she walked in, "Hey Sasuke, are you even supposed to be in here?" Sakura was a new medical-nin and was working on her in-service. You couldn't go straight from training to performing surgery. Cutting open a dummy is a lot different from the real thing.

"Me and Sasuke like to chat every once in a while. It started a while back when I was living in his house."

"Oh right. I had forgot about that. Hey, Sasuke, if you're free, a bunch of people are going to head down to get barbecue," she blushed and swayed a little, "Would you, I don't know, would you want to come with me."

He glanced over at Tsunade. She was staring at him, her eyes glowing red. She didn't know about Sasuke's feelings for Sakura. Not even Itachi did. She sure knew about Sakura's feelings for him, however, "Hmph. Sure I guess I'll go."

Sakura squealed, "Okay. Let's go now, I bet Choji's already ordered the whole menu."

"Right," he looked at a now smiling Tsunade. 'Grrr. Curses, Tsuna. You're going to make me blow my cover.'

The two arrived at the restaurant, and easily found the group when they heard Choji shout, "Three more orders of filet!"

They arrived at the table. Ino's eyes lit up and she gestured to the seat next to her, "You can sit here Sasuke, I saved it for you!" Sasuke ignored her and just sat down in the closest seat that had an open one next to it. Sakura followed him and plopped down.

"Hey, Kiba, do you know where Hinata is?" Sakura asked across the table.

"Oh right. Naruto's back," the group stopped and looked at him, "Yeah they came by and Naruto adopted a puppy."

"Awww," the girls replied.

"Well why didn't she bring Naruto along? I definitely invited her earlier today," Ino looked down.

"Don't take it personally, Ino," Shikamaru added, leaning back a little, "It's been over a year since they've seen each other. I'm sure they just want some alone time," he winked.

"Gee, Shikamaru. You sure sound knowledgeable for somebody who knows so little about women," Ino said. Everyone shared a laugh at the Nara's expense.

"Wha?! I'm not that clueless."

"I don't need the byakugan to see that the girl from the sand has a crush on you," Neji added as he took a sip of his drink.

"Well put, Neji. I can see the sparks of youthful love flying around the both of you during conversation," Lee was beginning to tear up.

"SNAP OUT OF IT LEE!" Tenten shook him violently.

"Temari? No way. She's still pissed at me for beating her in the chūnin exams. She holds grudges like that."

"Sure thing, Shikamaru, I believe you," Shino stated. Even though he was talking in his regular tone, it was obvious he was being sarcastic.

"You too Shino?! Man I wish Hinata were here, she wouldn't let you guys be so mean to me," Shikamaru dropped his head as the others laughed.

Hinata let out a sneeze before realizing something, "Oh no! I forgot." Hinata slapped her forehead and pushed off of Naruto. She was now staring at his bare body. 'What was it that I forgot?'

"What is it, Hinata."

"Oh uh," she flopped back down onto Naruto, rubbing her hand along his chest, "I forgot."

"Yeah I know. What did you forget?"

"I forgot what I forgot," Naruto laughed, "Naruto-kun! Don't laugh at me," she faked a scowl.

Naruto faked a sad face, "Oh no, are you mad at me, Kehiban-sama?" They both stared at each other with their fake faces before breaking into laughter.

The group had finished their meals and were talking outside. After their conversations finished, they all went their separate ways. Sasuke stood still, "Sakura," he called out, causing the girl to turn and look, "Can I walk with you?"

The girl pretended to think about it for a moment. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I don't know." Sasuke began to walk towards her and rolled his eyes, "Okay. I guess you can walk with me," Sasuke chuckled.

The two walked in silence for a while, when Sasuke spoke up, "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh? What is it Sasuke?"

"I just wanted to tell you," he looked away, "I'm proud of you. For becoming a medical ninja. Tsunade told me how hard it is. You're very strong."

Sakura didn't quite realize what he said, "Thanks, Sasuke. I'm not technically a med- wait. Did you say... you're proud of me?"

Sasuke nodded, "And that you're very strong. Don't let it go to your head."

"Too late," she said as she blushed, covering her mouth with a hand, "That's the first time you've ever complimented me."

Sasuke just stuck up his nose, "Come on. It's late. Stop wasting time."

She drooped, 'Typical.'

Hey all!
This chapter got a little lewd, sorry if you weren't prepared for that. From now on I'll try to warn you of any explicit stuff. Also, Bolt is based on my real life dog. I even referenced his real name, Rocky.