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It was one hour left before Sakura heads out of the rented apartment room that she was still in. After taking a shower, she opens the door while wearing a light pink bathrobe with little cherry blossom flowers on the bottom of her right side. She unwrapped the towel from her head and began to hair blow dry her hair, using her fingers.
A few minutes later, she started to wear the same outfit that she has. But this time, her body has grown a little bit maturely as she already noticed earlier. She then folded her ninja headband on the forefront.
"Okay… I'm ready," she said with an enthusiastic smile.
"You better not do anything clumsy," inner Sakura noted with a giggle.
"I won't. I know what I'm going to say," the pink-haired kunoichi pointed out confidently.
"Of course. We're the best. Cha!" She exclaimed out loud.
"You got that right," Sakura said smiling genuinely at herself as she looked up and down to see if she looks fine.
All of a sudden, she started to hear a woman screaming for help, which caught her attention. She quickly slammed the door behind her to find where she was.
During that time, Naruto and Shikamaru were standing outside the hallway while they were waiting for their friends to arrive in.
"Ah. I really enjoyed this kind of occasion, don't you think? People can spend their evening with their loved ones," the leaf jounin leader said sighing in amazement.
"I agree. We should do this more often once we are not too busy with our schedules," the blonde-haired ninja suggested thoughtfully and continued on with a smirk. "So… Are you and Temari dating?"
Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock and prevent himself from blushing in embarrassment. "You wish… No. We are not. We happen to be working together, just because it was only Lady Tsunade and Gaara's orders."
"But you like her," Naruto pointed out with a wide grin.
"As a friend," Shikamaru rolled his eyes at him annoyingly.
"Alrighty, if you say so," the blonde-haired ninja said chuckling.
"Besides, that girl is going to be the death of me," the leaf jounin leader stated lazily.
"You got that right," a familiar voice called out behind them.
Both of them turned around to see who it was.
"Temari," Shikamaru muttered in astonishment and asks nervously. "H-how long have you've been there?"
The ponytail-haired kunoichi snorted and shook her head, saying. "Just now. Anyway, Kankuro is already inside the room, so we should go and find our section."
"Yeah, I'm starving. Do they have ramen in the menu?" Naruto asked eagerly.
"Ugh. You really need to cut that down. It's not always good for your health, you know," Shikamaru noted with an exasperated sigh.
"Hehe. There is, but I suggest that you should try out other meals that they serve here. They are so delicious. Come on, let's go," Temari said smiling.
"Wait. What about Sakura and Gaara?" Naruto questioned curiously.
"They're both going to be on their way. No need to worry," the ponytail-haired kunoichi replied reassuringly as the three began to approach in front of the receptionist desk to sign in. Then, they head inside the room.
In the meantime, the red-haired Kazekage quickly appeared in a swirl of sand, looking calm as always. He looked at the secretary and checks the list of people who have entered in. He thanks him and goes to the specific area where he notices his friends sitting on the way back next to the window.
"Oh, Gaara!" Naruto called out giddily with a wave.
"Just in time, little bro," Kankuro said smirking coolly.
The red-haired Kazekage gave them a greeting nod and approaches their table as he passes by the others. He immediately sat down in one of the empty chairs and asks. "How are you all doing? "
"Great! By the way, I've been practicing a lot of summoning techniques today and I've received a small letter from old man, Jiraiya," the blonde-haired ninja said grinning.
"Yeah. And I was still doing some tutoring with the other students. You know, how to control the puppetry and all that stuff. It's fun. This was the first time I haven't been working with you back in your office, Gaara," Kankuro said chuckling.
"Indeed. It's alright, I have other jounins who will assist in helping me with the paperwork. I understand that you and Temari need a spare time," Gaara said softly.
"Hm. I was mostly with Shikamaru the whole day. Both of us were still trying to analyze the information of the Akatsuki group in the lab. It's a bit tough, you know. But it will benefit us to take advantage of their aggression," Temari explained firmly.
"I see. I'm impressed," Gaara said smiling.
"Well, there's more than that. I'm sensing that there's tension going on between-" Naruto started to tease, but he got elbowed on the shoulder by Shikamaru, who gave him a dirty look. The blonde-haired ninja just tried to stifle laughter from his mouth.
"I'm here," a familiar voice said merrily.
The group looked up and greeted surprisingly in unison. "Sakura!"
"Sorry, I know I'm a bit late. There was a bit trouble down the street. I had to stop a burglar from snatching the old lady's purse," the pink-haired kunoichi said, panting out of breath.
"Huh? Wow, is she okay?" Naruto asked in concern.
"Of course. I've taken her home, which was a long way. But yeah, everything is under control," Sakura sighed in relief.
"That's good to hear. Come on and sit down. We should start ordering our meals," Temari noted.
"Sure," the pink-haired kunoichi nodded in agreement as she sat down between Naruto and Gaara.
Everyone in the group was chatting among themselves and telling different stories about each other. They laugh and cry at the moments that had happened with them.
"Alright, glasses up in the air! Cheers!" Naruto announced gleefully.
"Cheers!" They all replied in unison and cling their glasses up forward noisily. Then, they all drink at the same time.
Later on after dinner, they were all gathered in a circle outside the street post as they were watching the full moon glow brightly.
"Man, this is fun. I really wish the others were here too," Naruto said as he placed his arms behind his head to rest.
"Next time. We'll hang out," Temari smiled at the thought.
"Right. We've been working our asses off too much. I get that we're all shinobi, but we can't waste our youthful years for nothing. We need to enjoy being a teenager and have fun," Kankuro pointed out.
"Gaara… There's something I need to tell you privately," Sakura muttered nervously beside him with her hands folded tightly together.
"Hm. What is it?" He asked softly as he glanced at his right shoulder to stare at her.
"I know that these past few days made me act so strange lately. Since I've finally realized that I've been having these thoughts, I just want to let you know that I-" the pink-haired kunoichi looked down shyly, then raised her head up, but got interrupted.
"So Gaara, what are you going to tell us?" Shikamaru asked clearly as a reminder.
They all stopped talking and stood in silence. They began to look at the red-haired Kazekage directly in puzzlement as they were waiting for him to speak up.
Naruto was blinking his eyes and raises his left eyebrow quizzically without saying anything until they all heard a voice calling out in excitement.
"Gaara… Boo!" The brunette was running towards the group and she quickly wrapped her arms around him and giggled in delight.
The red-haired Kazekage reciprocated as he embraced her, much to the others' surprise. "I'm glad you showed up." He then turns around to look at his friends and declare. "Everyone… I have news… Katsumi and I are in a relationship."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he dropped his jaw in awe, saying. "Ehh?! That's… That's great, Gaara! Congratulations!"
"Woah. That's it. I'm happy for you, man," Shikamaru said smirking with a nod.
Kankuro and Temari looked at each other in the corner of their eyes as their smiles were beginning to falter.
"Yeah…! That is wonderful news!" The purple-faced ninja said, clenching his teeth in annoyance. Then, he got elbowed by Temari, who was giving him a warning look.
"Anyway, yeah. That's great. Congratulations, Gaara," the ponytail-haired kunoichi said genuinely.
"Yay! Ahh," Katsumi jumped a little for joy and hugged the red-haired Kazekage adoringly as she kissed him on the right cheek.
Sakura, on the other hand, was staring at the couple holding hands together, which made her heart drop a little. Her eyes were glistening wistfully but still managed to smile, saying. "Congratulations… Gaara and Katsumi."
"Thank you," the red-haired Kazekage nodded happily towards her as he was holding Katsumi's hand while they were having a moment with each other.
"Anyway, guys. I got to go now. I've been exhausted, so I need a lot of rest… Goodnight," the pink-haired kunoichi said firmly with a wave as she turned around, not looking back at them.
Kankuro and Temari were watching her walk away slowly from the group circle and they couldn't help but feel worried about her.
Little did they know is that a single drop of tear had fallen from Sakura's eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED...