The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, casting the leaf village Konoha into varying shades of gold and blood orange (it's fucking red) and encouraging shadows to creep forward over the dusty streets. The evening air was swiftly becoming cool and was heavy with the promise of rain the coming hours though few clouds could be seen in the darkening sky. Couples could be seen walking hand-in-hand down the streets along with some last straggling tourists pointing or taking photos of the newly built village and hokage mountain. Children were returning home from the ninja academy and many shinobi could be seen darting across rooftops and changing shifts as they finished the last of their daily errands for the hokage.

Naruto Uzumaki was not one of those shinobi. He sat upon a rooftop where he had a direct view of hokage mountain and the stone faces of all the previous hokage. Their sightless eyes seemed to be glaring at him, judging and sneering like the faces of grown ups from his past. With his arms wrapped around his legs, chin resting on his knees, he let out a deep, troubled sigh. The usually cheery shinobi was not smiling today. He had not smiled once since leaving the office of the 5th Hokage that morning with news that weighed strangely in his mind and continued to occupy him. He had just been told that he had been nominated for the position of 6th Hokage and the council had approved it. However, he had to become a juunin first and train under Tsunade for a full year before that could happen. At first he had been ecstatic but then the reality of it had sunk in. Reaching Juunin status was extremely difficult. It required brains as much if not more than combat ability. Only one ninja, Sakura Haruno, had succeeded in becoming a Juunin last year out of the 30 or so that had applied. Naruto had never exactly been known for his wits. His dream of becoming hokage seemed further away than ever.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice someone approaching until she landed beside him, having just crossed from the next roof over. "Naruto, what are you doing?" the pink-haired kunoichi said in a light hearted tone. Sakura stood over him, arms crossed and a small smile gracing her lips.

"S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. His heart did a funny spin as it always did at the sight of his pretty team-mate. He stared at her for a moment before dropping his gaze. "I needed to think for a while." All he had been doing all day was thinking. Thinking and thinking and thinking. So much thinking it made his brain hurt.

Sakura sat down beside him, close enough that he could feel the warmth emanating from her skin. His breathing increased slightly. "Thinking? I didnt know you were capable of that," she joked. His heart dropped and he covered his face with his hands. He knew she was teasing but even so, the words stung more than he had expected.

"You're harsh, Sakura-chan…" he muttered into his palms. Sakura's brow creased in a frown. While his response was ordinary it lacked the pouty appeal he usually poured in. Her feeling had been right; Naruto was not his usual self. She had expected him to be all smiles and cheers. This forlorn anxiety worried her. The pair were quiet for several moments. A hawk hunted overhead and its shadow flashed over them.

Naruto was glad to be in Sakura's company. No matter the situation, having her nearby always seemed to lend strength to his limbs and fill his spirit with bursts of chakra. The overwhelming urge to both protect her and prove himself to her could steady his mind like nothing else. However this time it was different. If anything his anxiety was only worse. It certainly didn't decrease when he felt her fingers brush his own as her hand settled timidly on his.

"You shouldn't be this worked up over it Naruto. This was your dream right?". Naruto lifted his face from his hands and found Sakura's face startling close to his. She was only a foot away. Heat scorched through his cheeks and he jerked back in surprise. Her green eyes widened fractionally. "What?" Naruto cleared his throat and focused his gaze on the diamond mark on Sakura's wide, charming forehead. Meeting her eyes from this distance made his head spin. He tried to get his thoughts in order before opening his mouth.

"It-it was. Now I'm not so sure I guess." He let out a strained chuckle. "I'm having all these doubts. Sakura-chan, what if..what if i'm not as cut out for it as I thought I was? I have to pass the chuunin exam and the jounin exam and then there's all that training under Obachan. I'm a fighter not a thinker. I'm an idiot"

Sakura's heart thudded painfully in her chest. It had been years since she had seen Naruto so distressed. He hadn't looked this unsure of himself even when he had broken things off with Hinata a year ago. Naruto was always smiling so warmly and full of energy; Sakura had taken to thinking of him as her personal sun. Now he was avoiding her gaze and hiding. The kunoichi was very unused to seeing the strong man she had always relied on looking so broken. Her familiar protective instincts rose in her again and she lifted her hand from his to gently touch his cheek.

Immediately he flushed tomato red and his sky-blue eyes flashed with surprise. She took his jaw in her hand and forced him to meet her eyes. Naruto's heart leaped into action, beating faster than ever and flooding him with adrenaline. Sakura's eyes were lit by the sinking sun and he was drowning in their emerald depths like a million times before. Her rosy pink hair framed her face with a soft curtain and set a peachy tinge to her fair skin. Yet again he was mesmerized by her beauty. She truly was a second-tsunade, though Naruto had always though Sakura was prettier by far.

Even as a kid he had been able to sense a steely strength beneath her cute appearance and bright eyes, from the moment she had tied her hair back with a red ribbon to proudly show her foreheard and thwart the same bullies that had made his life hell. He had seen it when she had climbed vertically up a tree trunk within seconds on their first mission and when he had woken to find her hair chopped, kunai stab wounds in her forearms and her face strained pale with exhaustion during the chuunin exam. It had shown itself when she had forced Ino from her mind through sheer force of will and when she had travelled with him and Jiraiya to find Sasuke. Not to mention all the times she had nearly killed him with her brute strength and demolished enemies with single punches. Naruto had recognized her strength along time ago and knew her to be one of the most courageous ninjas he knew. He loved her for it.

It was several long moments before Naruto realized that Sakura had been speaking to him. She was gazing at him expectantly, that adorable smile lighting up her features. It was short lived. Sakura scowled heavily, dropped the smile and smacked him upside the head. "You didn't listen to a word I just said, did you?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed his head where she had hit him. He admitted to himself he had deserved it this time. "Sorry Sakura-chan. I uh, spaced out." She crossed her arms with an annoyed sigh.

"I could see that. I'm not gonna repeat that whole speech either. I know I call you an idiot a lot but you are not stupid nor an idiot, Uzumaki Naruto!" Sakura said fiercely. Naruto froze in surprise. She continued, "You're one of the smartest ninjas I know, including Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru. And I'm sorry for not telling you that before. Don't underestimate yourself. That's not the Naruto I know and-" she seemed to cut herself off and took a deep,shaky breath before meeting his eyes with renewed vigor. 'And what?' Naruto wondered. "You'll easily pass the chuunin exam. And Kakashi-sensei and I will help you with the juunin exam. You're not alone Naruto."

A warmth spread through Naruto's chest at her words. Of course. Of course he wasn't alone. He had been dumb not to realize it. Sakura had always been by his side and Kakashi-sensei was always at his back. He could hardly believe her words about him being smart though. However, she had said so with such conviction and passion, how could he not believe her? Sakura was too terrible an actress to fake that though he treasured his life too much to tell her so. If she said he was smart, he was smart. A bit of confidence began to bloom in his soul. Maybe he wasn't a hopeless case. He was the hero of Konoha after all, he thought smugly. In mere minutes Sakura had managed to lift his gloom.

It was significantly colder now than it had been before. Naruto noticed that Sakura's skin was covered in little goosebumps. Guiltily, he realized she must have been freezing.

"Naruto?" Sakura questioned. He had stopped. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks when he draped his jacket over her shoulders and hesitantly

"You always know the right thing to say, Sakura-chan." With a strange surge of bravery he reached forward and wrapped his fingers around her hand, surprising her this time. His stomach did a weird flip. He hoped he hadn't gone too far. Sakura-chan always got a bit violent when he tried to touch her like this. But this time she didn't yank her hand away and elbow him in the ribs. Instead she rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do, idiot. Now how about we go get some ramen?" Sakura smiled knowingly.

Naturally at the word 'ramen' Naruto beamed delightedly and got that same dopey look on his face that he reserved specially for food. Sakura felt a wave of affection rush over her.

The words she was expecting came next. "You mean like a...like a d-date?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Sakura smirked, "If it's your treat," she responded as usual. Naruto cheered loudly and jumped to his feet, pulling Sakura up with him. They jumped to the ground below and walked side by side towards Ichiraku's. "You know...there's still the problem about Obachan," Naruto said suddenly. "She almost killed me with one finger before. What if I die before I even complete my training?"

Sakura laughed and said, "Please Naruto. I managed to survive two years of combat training with her. You can survive learning how to handle paperwork and meetings. That's the least of your worries." Not entirely truthful, but if it made him feel better then she wasn't going to hold back."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto made a 'Heh' sound of amusement and walked with his usual swagger, Sakura ambling along beside him. With this girl beside him becoming Hokage would be a breeze. It was a familiar sight to the people of Konoha. The yellow and pink haired young shinobi were often seen walking together when they weren't on missions or when Sakura wasn't working at the hospital. However, this time something was different.

Naruto didn't let go of her hand until they reached Ichiraku's.