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It wasn't until the next afternoon that Ran realized she had completely been avoiding going outside for any reason. She didn't want to face people, she didn't want to face Naruto, and she really didn't want to talk to him about anything that had happened last night. Her only hope was that he hadn't paid any attention or that he had been much too drunk to honestly remember. Sitting against the post in her back yard she closed her eyes as the swift breeze flittered her locks about her shoulders. The sun was warm and setting behind her shoulders causing the rays to cast a gentle heat on her skin. Ran wanted to stay exactly as she was. However, she knew that if she didn't go to Naruto, he would come to her. There was no time to prepare any sort of response. Her answer would be to ignore the entire event. As for Sasuke; she had plans to address him. Once every so many years the ANBU would host a sort of Rally. At said event fomer ANBU, active ANBU, and inactive ANBU were asked to come together and fight. It was a way of showing off the skills they had amassed during the years. Sasuke was an inactive ANBU meaning that if needed he could be called into action but he did not act every day. Ran was an active ANBU. This was where she planned on kicking the living shit out of the Uchiha; in front of everyone in the village. He would regret what he had done and she was going to make sure that if he ever got up the nerve to verbally debase her again that he'd think twice. A bird flew overhead making soft calling sounds signaling the late afternoon. Ran peeled herself off the post and sighed readying herself to meet the blonde.

Naruto was standing half in the small water base at the bottom of the falls waiting for Ran to show up. He was betting on her coming but he wasn't sure after the events of last night. He could still hear Sasuke's smug tone when he'd looked at Ran accusing her of loving him. He could still see her face as several emotions had crossed over it. Most of all however, Naruto remembered Ran's face when Sasuke had first activated the Sharingan. Her eyes had hollowed out with anger and distrust. Her entire body had been ramrod stiff. She had gone into full protection mode; full ANBU mode. It had been a complete act of friendship…he had thought. Naruto wasn't stupid, he knew that he could be innocently naïve at times, but not stupid. He knew that Ran came over three nights a week some months, cooked him ramen, and spent a good deal of their off time with him. He knew a lot about her. He knew that she hated doors being shut to any room whatsoever; she'd never verbalized this but he could tell when she'd cringe as he'd shut his bedroom door. He knew that she liked to read in a corner under the light from a window and that her tea would steep for almost three minutes before she'd even touch it. Naruto even knew that Ran's hair was the color of these tiny flowers that grew on the very edge of the village because Sakura had shown them to him. He knew that her name meant Shield. What he didn't understand was why he knew so much about her and he hadn't noticed the way she'd blushed last night when she'd been cooking beside him; Sakura had had to point this out to him later after the fight had dropped.

"And here I'd hoped you'd have clothes on for once. Were you born in a barn?" Ran's voice perked him out of his reprieve inside his head. She stood over him at the grassy lip of the water arms crossed over her chest. He glanced down over his body realizing that he'd taken off his shirt to get into the water; something she was always nagging him about saying that he never wore clothes.

"I have pants on." He gripped grinning up at her.

"I should hope so." She raised an eyebrow smirking.

"You're late." He responded heaving himself up on the side of the calm pool making small ripples in the water's surface.

"I was trying to think." She admitted before she could stop herself. It might not have helped to keep her mind on track if the tan blonde hadn't climbed out of the water without a shirt. His muscles were highlighted by the water sliding off his body and over his waist. A dark blush covered her cheeks and neck.

"I was thinking too you know?" he said smiling softer. "We might need to talk…" he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't want to talk about it Naruto." Ran said quickly trying to calm herself back down. She started to turn away from him using her shoulder as a buffer. "I want to train."

"Nope." The stubborn fox keeper grinned before reaching forward taking her elbow.

"Naruto." She wanted to protest, to whine even, but when she met his eyes it was nearly impossible.

"I want an answer." He said growing serious. He laced his fingers down her arm and ever so stealthy took her hand. "I didn't really pay attention to some stuff because I didn't want too. I didn't think about it and I should have." He smiled.

"Stop." She said trying to pull her hand back. He gripped it tighter going on.

"I should have noticed that you cooked all my favorite foods…that you were putting up with Sasuke because I'm his friend…that you were training with me and hiding the bruises instead of telling me that I was hitting with too much of Kurama's chakra." He leveled her with a hard stare.

"I'm going to kill Sai for telling you that." She huffed still not looking at him.

"So I think what I want to know is…what he said true?" Naruto asked tilting his head to watch her reaction. He didn't expect the tears at the corners of her eyes that she tried to wipe away swiftly. Her hands were shaky and trembling a little in frustration.

"I don't want to answer that." She yanked her hand free from his.

"Why can't you?" he said bluntly. "I can tell you that after thinking a whole lot about it last night, I realized something." Ran looked up at him pursing her lips before her shoulders fell forward.

"What?" she asked.

"I think I care about you."