Chapter 2 : First kiss?

"I think I love Sakura…"

Those words caused more pain in Hinata's heart than a million kunai in her flesh could ever cause.

Hinata tore her eyes away from Naruto's gaze and bit her lip to prevent the tears that had just flooded her eyes to pour out.

"I love Sakura but I don't think she loves me more than just a friend…" Naruto continued unaware of Hinata's pain. "I was wondering if you could help me get Sakura under a mistletoe…maybe that'll help her realize that I'm not just an immature brat!" he smiled sheepishly.

'I realized a long time ago that you weren't just an immature brat, Naruto-kun' Hinata thought sadly.

"Well...You'll help me, right" Naruto pleaded, giving her one of his cute innocent puppy-dog looks. "Please…?"

Swallowing down on the lump that had had formed in her throat, Hinata said to herself, 'If it'll make Naruto-kun happy…then I'll help him…' Pushing all her other doubts aside, she once again forced herself to look into Naruto's eyes and said "Yes…I know what you can do…"

Time seemed to pass very quickly as Sasuke's dreaded day arrived. As the one week finished, so did the food in the Uchiha mansion.

"Drat!" Sasuke cursed to no one in particular. "One week is going by too fast. Maybe I should ask Naruto come along with me…"

He took a kunai out of his kunai holster and started sharpening it.

"Naruto probably won't come…" he replaced the kunai back into the holster and pulled out another one. "…he'd love to see me get mobbed by those screaming ninnies!"

Replacing the last kunai into the holster, he slipped his feet into his ninja sandals and left the lonely mansion.

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"Hinata's plan sure isn't very forward… although it does sound sort-of romantic…" Naruto said to himself. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a familiar red-head step out of a shop that he had just passed by.

"Ohayo, Naruto."

Jumping in surprise, Naruto spun around to face the speaker.

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, surprised by his presence. "What is the Kazakage doing out of his village this time of year?"

Smiling, Gaara stepped forward to walk next to him. "Just some meeting with the Hokage…"

"Tsunade baa-chan?" Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. Replacing the grin on his face, he asked "So for how long are you staying?"

"Actually, I was just about to leave…" Gaara let out a small smirk. "I've been here for three days already."

"Aww…really?" Naruto frowned. "Did you meet Lee?" he asked, remembering how the two of them had become good friends.

Gaara nodded "He was supposed to meet me in that shop, but he never showed up…"

"Probably got caught up in training with Gai-sensei!"

"No, there he is!" Gaara nodded his head in the direction of a small alley.

Indeed, the beautiful green beast of Konoha was standing there as, though waiting for someone.

"Fuzzy-brows!" Naruto called out to him, waving a hand in the air while running forward, while Gaara kept to his usual slow pace.

"Naruto-kun! Gaara!" Lee smiled a greeting.

Catching up to Naruto and Lee, Gaara leaned against the wall, near the bend into the alley.

"Are you leaving now Gaara?" Lee inquired. "Sorry I couldn't meet you… Gai-sensei held me back with training."

Naruto gave Gaara an I-told-you-so look and grinned. The three boys were silent for a while, but the silence was broken by a cheery greeting coming from the alley.

"There you are!" a girl said. "I have a surprise for you!"

Suddenly she came around the bend and, putting her arms around his neck, she planted a kiss on Gaara's lips.

Gaara just stood there dumbfounded while the girl continued to kiss him. Naruto and Lee stared at the couple in shock. Lee's mouth was hanging open and Naruto's eyes were very wide.

Finally realizing that the man she was kissing was just standing there stationary, she broke the kiss. Her face went from pale to red in record time when she saw that the man she had kissed was not her actual partner, but instead the Kazekage.

"I am so…. Sorry!!!" she practically screamed as she ran away.

Shocked and completely embarrassed (his face was bright red; you couldn't tell which was redder; his face or his hair). At the sight of his face, Naruto and Lee burst out laughing.

"Shut up you!" Gaara snarled in annoyance at the fact that his friends would actually ridicule him. "I wasn't the one who started it.

"So… Gaara, first kiss huh?" Naruto said shaking with laughter. "Was she any good?"

Laughing as well, Lee said, "You really ought to get some smooching lessons Kazekage-sama!" he emphasized on the last two words.

Gaara growled which only made the two boys laugh harder. Then Naruto said, "At least she was good looking!"

"I dare you guys to laugh more!" Gaara said, threateningly.

"What are you going to do about it?" Naruto said in mock seriousness. "Kiss us?" Naruto's and Lee's laughter had gotten so loud; it started to attract attention from the streets.

"I give up!" Gaara muttered under his breath and started walking away, but the pair just followed.

Stopping his laughter, Naruto turned to Lee and asked "Don't you think Matsuri would get jealous, if we told her?"

"I think Matsuri-san would get jealous…" Lee replied, glancing at Gaara to see if he'd heard.

"Jealous?" Gaara stopped in his tracks, after overhearing their conversation "Why would Matsuri get jealous?"

Exchanging a look, Naruto and Lee smiled; the move was not missed by Gaara.

"I'm leaving," he sighed, turning to face his friends.

"Aww…so soon?" Naruto asked. "Can't you stay for a day longer?

"No Naruto-kun," Lee said suddenly, before Gaara could say anything. "Gaara is the Kazekage of Suna; it is his responsibility to stay with his village. He will be needed if anything goes wrong."

Gaara smiled at his friend's understanding. "I know that!" Naruto said stubbornly to Lee. "I was just asking!"

"Gaara, if you were here for three days, how come you never went to see Naruto-kun?"

"Well, I was very busy," Gaara said.

"You managed to meet Fuzzy-brows," Naruto looked hurt.

"We met up in Tsunade-sama's office, Naruto." Gaara smiled. "Besides, you seemed very busy chasing after a certain pink haired kunoichi…"

Lee's jaw dropped as he turned to look at the blond. Naruto grinned sheepishly, as a light hint of pink appeared on his cheeks.

"You've been after Sakura-san too, Naruto-kun?"

"Too?" Naruto arched an eyebrow at him "Waddaya mean by 'too'? Have you been chasing my Sakura-chan?!"

The two boys glared daggers at each other. Sighing, Gaara, once again declared that he was leaving, and when he got no reply, he simply smirked and 'poofed' himself to the Konoha gates, from where he would start his three day journey back to his village.

Well? How was that?

I kinda liked this chapter…

Sorry I took so long to update…but I'm on vacation and I'm too busy to type!

Please read n review!