AN: Whoot!! new chapter...i feel proud of myself. Okay, for those of you who have been sugesting that i speed up the plot development, you'll be happy to know that the plot makes a little (and I mean A LITTLE) progress in this chapter. You will also be happy to know that I had originally planned on writing out Sakura and Lina's shopping trip (which would have been funny but completely pointless) but ditched that idea in favor of getting to a point where the plot could move quicklly sooner. From the next chapter on, the plot should (and don't quote me on this i might through in another character development chapter just for the heck of it) pick up the pace again.

Also...there is a little (and by little i mean about a sentance, but hey a little is better that none right?) bit of hinting at the narusaku attraction in this chapter. Like i said, i've never written any form of romance before so if it seems out of place then just ignore it. Anyway, enough of my rambling.

Thank you to those who have decided to review, and to Swehaan who was kind enough to take the time to deal with my horrible spelling and give my story a beta read.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto...I don't know what i'd change because it's perfect as it is...but i'm sure something in the series would be different...

Sakura collapsed onto her bed. The five hours of shopping and three hours of sitting at a kitchen table talking with the chatterbox slash shopaholic left her exhausted.

The wolf heiress had taken her to nearly every store in the city, keeping the conversation up constantly as they shopped.

The result was Sakura's new wardrobe and two teens that now knew nearly everything about each other.

Most of the conversation was question and answer; they'd covered everything from favorites to trading stories of things Naruto had done. Sakura was please to find out that the blonde knucklehead hadn't really changed much in the past three years.

By the time the stores had closed and the weather had become unbearable, the two had retired to Lina's fourth story apartment to eat dinner. In the end they'd talked until one in the morning.

Sakura closed her eyes as she listened to the wind howl outside. It was the fierce storm was still raging outside and despite Lina's assurance that it would be over by dawn, the medic nin couldn't help but doubt the guarantee.

She sighed, snuggling into her pillows. She was staying at Lina's house, having declared herself fit to be discharged from the hospital. She tried to sleep as her thoughts wandered back to a certain blonde genin.

She hadn't seen Naruto at all after she'd gone off to shop with Lina, and the kunoichi was more than bitter about being separated from him so soon. She had had fun with Lina, but she still longed for the company of a certain jinchuuriki.

Had he really talked to Gyro? Would he be able to go back to Konoha? What if Gyro had said no? She opened her weary eyes and stared at the ceiling. A determined look came over her features as she thought, "It took me three years to find him. Gyro be damned, I refuse to leave here without him."

All conscious thinking ceased for Sakura as she drifted off into a much-needed slumber.

"SAKURA!!!"

Sakura yelped as she bolted up right in surprise, covers flying off her body. Her hair was a mess and she was breathing heavily as she stared at the teen in her doorway. It took her a few seconds to remember all that had happened on the previous day.

"What the hell, Lina?!"

Lina looked as if she was trying her hardest not to laugh at her fellow medic's reaction. "It's almost noon. If you don't get out of bed soon, we won't be able to meet Naruto for lunch. So I decided to wake you up instead of waiting for you to get up on your own."

Sakura glared sleepily after her companion as she disappeared from the doorway. The cherry blossom yawned loudly as she climbed out of bed and stumbled down the hall to the bathroom.

The kunoichi was considerably more alert after a cold shower. She dressed quickly, pulling on a cream colored sweatshirt over a brown tank. She slipped into a pair of full-length denim pants before putting on her new closed toed shoes. She pulled her pink hair back with her Konoha headband as she walked into the kitchen where Lina was waiting.

Sakura followed Lina through a maze of streets. The explosive teen been right about the weather, the blizzard had snowed itself out during the night and the citizens of Fang once again rushed through the snow-layered streets.

Sakura could see her own breath as they walked silently through the city. She was still amazed that the clothes she was wearing were enough to keep her warm in the frozen outdoors. She watched the people as they walked past her, each one of them dressed in a style similar to her own, some even had on t-shirts. It seemed that the longer you stayed in Fang, the more immune you grew to the weather.

The cherry blossom was snapped out of her thoughts as Lina made a sharp turn into a small alleyway. They walked in between the buildings for a few yards before exiting onto the broad main road of Fang. Lina walked diagonally across the street, heading straight for a classic looking restaurant that stood between what looked to be a two-story bookstore and one of the shops she and Lina had been in the night before.

A bell chimed as they entered the warm building and Lina headed straight for a pair of male shinobi. Sakura couldn't help but smile as Naruto and Kai came into view. She skipped up to the table happily with Lina and sat down next to her former teammate.

Naruto laughed as she reached greedily for one of the rolls in the center of the table.

"I see your shopping trip was fruitful."

Sakura grunted as she bit into the sweet roll, her metabolism was reawakening, and reminding herself that she hadn't eaten in nearly fourteen hours.

Lina piped up, her usual talkativeness returning. "Of course. You really should have come along, you know."

"And carry your bags all over town for you? Thanks, but I'd choose crack missions over that any day." Kai answered groggily. He looked as though he hadn't slept for days.

Sakura glanced at Naruto again, seeing that the blonde looked weary as well. The observations didn't escape Lina either.

"Where were you two last night? Did you talk to Dad?" She asked a little concerned.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I asked him if I could go back to Konoha. He originally said no flat out, but I managed to get him to consider it. He said he'd think about it and then sent me on a crack mission."

"And of course I had to go along; guilty by association." Kai muttered sleepily.

"What's a crack mission?" Sakura asked, a little lost.

"It's what we call a mission that no one will take on either because it's too impossible or too easy, or it's something Gyro makes up off the top of his head just to give you something pointless and exhausting to do." The blonde explained, yawning. Even with his amazing stamina, the genin was feeling the effects of fatigue.

Lina paled. "He sent you on a crack mission in the middle of a blizzard? What did you have to do?" Sakura looked equally disturbed.

The waitress walked up before they could answer. "What would you guys like to drink?" She asked, obviously familiar with at least three of the ninjas seated at the table.

Kai laughed. "Bring the most caffeine filled drink you have."

The girl nodded understandingly and turned toward Naruto. "The same for you?"

Naruto nodded.

The waitress turned to the two medic nins. "And you two?"

Lina grinned. "Coffee."

Sakura smiled politely. "Same, please."

The girl nodded and rushed off to get the drinks.

Lina rounded on the boys again as Kai laid his head down on the table. "So…what exactly did you have to do?"

"He sent us out to Carneithia to deliver a scroll and told us to be back by dawn." Naruto explained.

Lina grimaced. "Ouch. You think that's better than shopping with me?"

Naruto laughed. "If you were a guy, you would too."

Lina rolled her eyes as the waitress came back with their drinks. They ordered their food, Sakura picking something randomly off the menu.

The rest of the lunch passed comfortably; Kai praising the fact that the restaurant served cappuccinos with six extra shots of espresso, Lina and Sakura giving a step-by-step report of their shopping trip, and Naruto laughing along.

The cherry blossom followed her former teammate down the street after they parted with the siblings, who had once again begun to argue.

They walked in silence. Naruto headed in a random direction, deciding to just start walking and see where they ended up. He mentally tried to shake the sleep from his thoughts as he attempted to regain some small spark of energy.

Sakura looked up at the blonde beside her. She still couldn't get used to some the changes in his physical appearance. The fact that she now had to look up to see his face still seemed odd.

As they strolled through the town, Sakura couldn't help but feel hyperaware of the man beside her. It was as if there was an electric current running between the two shinobi. Sakura fought against the instinctive urge to reach out and intertwine her fingers with the genin's.

Eventually they ended up stretched out on a hill in the snow. Naruto sighed in contentment. "Stupid Kyuubi," he thought as he fought against the exhaustion, "I wish caffeine had a bigger effect on me."

Sakura sat down next to the blonde. She looked over at the jinchuuriki as he sighed. "Naruto," she began, unsure if it was the right time to ask, "You talked to Gyro again this morning didn't you? What did he say? About going back to Konoha, I mean."

Naruto chuckled humorlessly. "He says he wants to meet you first."

Sakura blanched.

The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Naruto strayed in and out of the realm of the conscious as they lay there. After a while, he decided it was time to do something entertaining.

Sakura sat quietly as she stared off into the distance. Her thoughts were everywhere as she waited for Naruto to regain some of his childhood liveliness. She was focusing on what people back in Konoha would think of her disappearance as a glob of cold slush collided with the side of her head. She yelped.

Naruto laughed, his hands returning to their places behind his head.

Smirking, she began building a snowball of her own and hurled it at the genin.

The frozen rain collided with his ear, the cold doing an excellent job of waking him up completely.

They began to hurl balls of snow at each other as they circled each other on the hill, each one trying to get the advantage over the other.

The fight ended when Naruto was tackled by a blur of black fur as he was dumping a hand full of snow down the back of Sakura's sweatshirt.

Sakura shrieked and shook out her clothes frantically as the cold solid came in contact with her warm skin.

Naruto sat up bewildered rubbing the spot on his chest where the fox had collided with him.

Taka paced in frantic circles around the blonde, looking warily in every direction.

AN: Okay, I wasn't sure where to end this chapter so i decided on there...though it probably wasnt' a good idea. Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon (and you should know by now the word 'soon' has a very loose meaning for me).

Review if you wish, it's nice to know someone's reading my story, but if you don't want to fine by me, i don't truly care. Flames are excetped as long as flamers except colorful replies.

Colonel Z