Once again, thank you all so much for reading my story!
XOXOX
The Hokage, flanked by Sakura and Shikamaru, and a few steps behind, taking his time, Sasuke, walked through the new building of the Konoha Ninja Academy. An almost religious silence reigned as the group walked through the corridors, their footsteps padding silently on the polished floor. The classes was in full swing judging by the closed doors on each side of the wide corridors and the soft rumble of adult voices, presumably the teachers, talking behind each doors.
The small group was at the academy to meet the four teams of Genins which had been selected for the Chunin exams. The exams being only a month away, it was time for the Hokage to meet the group which would travel to Suna. It was the first Chunin exams to be carried out since the end of the war and since Naruto's ascension to Hokage, and being a bit nervous at facing students in such a formal capacity, he had requested that Sakura and Shikamaru accompany him, with Sasuke, as usual by his side.
Sakura had made arrangements with Shizune to replace her at the hospital for the hour off that she had taken for this meeting. She could not prevent the nostalgic smile as they walked through the school environment, her childhood memories creeping up on her. It was a good change being away from her hectic hospital duties and class schedule. She practically lived at the hospital these days. She went to her apartment only to drop her tired body on her bed, only to wake up early the next morning to restart another busy day. She was lucky that from times to times, her mother dropped prepared meals for her; otherwise she would have been living off outside food. She had got her own place at the end of the war, and she cherished her independence; still, it was great to be still pampered, when needed, by her mother.
"Wow, being at the academy sure brings on memories," murmured Naruto. Even though the building was brand new - the setting different from the old one - the solemn, studious vibe clinging in the air was the same as their old academy.
Shikamaru and Sakura nodded, smirking, while Sasuke got brooding.
"Sure it does," sighed Shikamaru.
They reached near the end of the corridor, and the silence was suddenly broken by a faint ruckus of voices coming from a nearby class. A grown, male voice was speaking loudly, trying apparently to calm the noisy, young voices coming within. The little group curiously walked by the class, which had its doors opened, and by the look of the students within, they deduced that they were the first years. As soon the Hokage and troops walked by, the whole bunch of seven to eight years olds excitedly scrambled from their seats to pile the door, to have a better look, while their teacher tried in vain to get them to return back to their seats.
"Look, it's the Hokage!" was the excited whispers.
Naruto obligingly stopped and greeted them, causing the squeals to go louder.
"They sure look tiny," remarked Shikamaru, looking down at the children from his height. And to think that next year, Shiro, his Godson and Asuma and Kurenai's son would start at the Academy too.
A particularly miniscule boy pointed at Sakura. "That pretty lady is the head medic-nin," he told his awed-struck friends importantly. "I know, because my Dad works with her," he said proudly.
"She sure is very pretty," exclaimed, awed, another equally miniscule boy.
Naruto grinned appreciatively. "They have good taste, these lads," he said, winking at Sakura.
She only rolled her eyes at him; though she made sure to give the little boys an extra sweet smile. She was human, and a girl, after all; she was susceptible to any compliments, especially from males. Even twerps ones. It made her think of another twerp of her class, who now had grown to at least one foot taller than her.
She stole a glance at Naruto. The outcome of the Daimyo's visit was a total, impenetrable mystery. It's been almost a week since the Daimyo and his family left Konoha, but nothing had transpired as to what had been concluded regarding the supposed marriage proposal. No announcements had been made, no clue leaked out. Speculations had been running wild as to what might have happened, and Sakura was one among those who was unbearingly curious about the outcome of that visit. She had been discretely poking around for information, but she had not heard anything from the major grapevines. The one and only time she had casually, with carefully worked disinterest, started to question Sasuke in that direction, the Uchiha had immediately spotted her maneuver and had smirked so pointedly at her that she had immediately given up. Even Ino, the eternal gossiper and source of information did not have any news to impart about it, neither did Ten-Ten.
Despite her itching to know what had happened Sakura had categorically refused to approach the subject with the main concerned party. She did not want her blond former teammate to have a reason for teasing her again; not about this subject, not from him. She certainly did not want to provoke a repeat of the incident as that of the dinner party.
That little episode on the terrace was behind them, much to her relief. In the light of the next day, when her old rational self had been at force, she had chalked the overwhelming emotions which had engulfed her during that short instance as due to the party atmosphere, the intimate setting of the terrace, and her confusion of the moment. In her normal, usual routine of her daily, and especially with Kiyone out of Konoha and out of sight, it was easy to be convinced that she had overreacted during that brief episode. She was greatly relieved that she and Naruto had fallen back into their comfortable, friendly pattern. Naruto had been his usual bright, teasing friend when she met him, albeit very briefly due to their hectic schedules, the days following that incident.
The Hokage and his group left the first years, after Naruto pseudo-sternly instructing them to obey their teacher, to shortly reach the room where the selected Genins and their respective teachers awaited them. Iruka was the one to open the door to them.
"Iruka-sensei," Naruto greeted warmly, as the dark haired now headmaster of the academy ushered them inside. Their rapport was still as warm as ever, and they always made it a point to share a meal – ramen at Ichiraku - from time to time.
"Hokage-sama," Iruka replied back. He had insisted that he called Naruto by his title when at the academy, despite Naruto's protest. "I must give good example to my students," he had argued.
The din of voices immediately stopped as Naruto stepped in front of the class, and a chorus of "Ohaiyo, Hokage-Sama!' greeted him. Sakura, Shikamaru and Sasuke discreetly stood at the sides, along the four Jounins teachers who anxiously looked upon the students.
Naruto looked at the twelve youths facing him, four girls and eight boys, their faces eager and awed. He had already gone through their files prior to coming to the meeting, and what he had seen had impressed him; they were all very good. They were so young, yet he could see a determination on their eyes already. Sakura recognized four of them, two girls and two boys; they were her medic-nin's class at the hospital.
"Before I start, feel free to ask any questions," Naruto invited the young Genins.
Immediately, all the hands pointed up, and without waiting to be told, a bold looking boy spoke asked:
"What sort of student were you? Were you the brightest in your class?"
Naruto chuckled. Sakura, Shikamaru and Sasuke smirked.
"No, I was certainly not the brightest in my class," said Naruto. "In fact, I was the least bright of my class. And I got where I am today with lots of hard work, the Will not give up, the right motivations and lots of supports from my precious people."
The group listened to him, awed, hanging to every word. Following that, a series of questions about his Jutsus were shot at him, to which he replied as best as he could.
"Did you have a girlfriend back in the academy?" asked black haired a girl, two spots of pink on her cheeks as she looked at him with stars in her eyes.
Naruto smiled. "I used to like a girl," he replied, not elaborating further. Before she could ask anything further, another girl spoke out.
"Do you have a girlfriend now?" she asked, her cheeks equally pink.
Naruto paused. "No."
"Why?" asked a third girl.
"Yes, why?" echoed yet another girl, eyes wide opened in keen interest.
An excited murmur went around the class; whispers of "He's still single!" were heard.
"Err…" Naruto looked helplessly at his friends, feeling harried by the sudden questions concerning his sentimental life.
Seeing the obvious discomfort of the young Hokage, Iruka immediately moved forward. "Settle down now, class!" he said in a firm, authoritative voice.
The clamor of voices immediately quietened. Iruka might be more quiet-spoken than most Jounins, but the years at the academy had toughened him up, instilling into him the experience to deal with difficult students. He has had the most rowdy of them all, he thought with an inner smile, with the Rodukaime in mind. Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru looked at their old sensei in admiration as the students meekly waited for their headmaster to proceed.
"Now the Hokage will address some words to you," he announced.
"Thanks, Iruka-sensei," Naruto whispered from the corner of his mouth. He looked back at the group of Genins, the whiskered face serious and solemn.
"You are all on the brink of crossing a major threshold of your Shinobi career, that from Genin to Jounin. To help in that endeavor, I will pass on the message that the Sondaime gave to me while I was a student."
"Hashirama Senju, the founder and first Hokage of Konoha, based his rule on his life philosophy which he called the Will of Fire. The Will of Fire' states that every true Konoha shinobi must love, believe, cherish and fight for the village's sake, as many previous generations had done before them."
"The Will of Fire is what gives the shinobi the strength to continue fighting against all odds, building willpower and strength of character. It is also symbolic of the hopes and dreams of the previous generation being passed to the next."
Naruto looked at the solemn, silent faces turned up at him.
"We, as I, the Hokage, and all those of and above my generation, have worked hard to bring peace to this world. We have learned the hard way that hatred brings pain, and we make the promise that we will always give our all so that you, the coming generation, will always have a hate-free world to live in. You, in return, must find your Will of Fire to protect this peace that the previous generation has worked for."
"Do your best in the exams; give your all to become proud Chunins of Konoha."
A deep, serene silence welcomed his words. The Genins all stood, straight and proud, watching their Hokage with unbound admiration.
Sakura looked at the blond, her chest swelling with emotions. His initial nervousness to face the students was so futile; he was a natural when in need of inspiring people. He looked so right, so Naruto, in that place, giving this speech. She could not imagine anybody else being where he stood.
And we will always give our all to protect you, Naruto, she thought fiercely, reiterating the pledge she had made to herself years back.
Iruka looked on upon his old student, the usual proud smile adorning his lips. Even Shikamaru had a wondered smile on his face.
A while later, the group left the academy.
"Anyone fancy Ramen?" asked Naruto cheerfully.
Sakura shook her head. "I can't, I have to be at the hospital," she declined.
Shikamaru was not to keen for ramen, but he knew that it was impossible to convince Naruto to have something else. "Why not?" he sighed.
Sasuke silently walked alongside the two as they made their way to Ichiraku, after Sakura had left them.
XOXOX
Sakura was instantly awake at the sound of the noise. All her senses became instantly alert – she was not a shinobi for nothing – and darted a glance at her bedside clock. 5: 45, it read. She listened intently, then, it was there again, a sharp Crack! which appeared to be coming from the sliding doors leading off to the small balcony attached to her bedroom.
Swinging her legs out of her bed, she swiftly grabbed the kunai which she always kept by her night stand, and in a silent bounce, she jumped over to the doors. Since it was hot these days, she had left one of the panes opened to let some cool air get in. She could not sense any chakra signature in the immediate vicinity; so, she carefully poked her head around to try to get a glimpse of what could be further out there. The dawn light was enough for her to see, and not finding anything suspicious, she took a step closer and carefully stretched her neck to look outside_
_and was almost seared by an incoming, small projectile.
"What_?" She could not help the slight yelp from escaping her – some ninja she was – she thought immediately, catching herself and gripping her Kunai in her hands.
"Oops! Sorry, Sakura-Chan!" came a cheery, very familiar voice from below.
Her apartment was situated on the first floor of an elegant, one storeyed building, and the voice was coming right below her place, from the small dainty garden attached to the building. Quickly checking her attire, and satisfied that she was presentable – the mid-thigh length white cotton shorts and matching spaghetti strap top was more a comfort wear than seductive - she moved outside to her balcony, and peered over the railing. Looking up at her and grinning so brightly that she could see his white range of teeth in the semi darkness, stood their Hokage, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
She stared at him blankly. "Naruto?" She called out uncertainly.
"Sorry for that," he exclaimed apologetically. "I was aiming for the closed door," he said, as if it could explain his presence below her balcony, at such an early hour of the morning, on the precious half-day off she had managed to bag after ages.
Looking back on her bedroom floor, she saw that it was a pebble that had almost hit her head. She turned back to him, annoyed.
"Why are you throwing pebbles at my door at this hour?" she grumbled loudly enough for her voice to reach him down below, relieved that she was not under attack; though who would want to attack her anyway.
She noted that he was wearing a casual jog pants – orange colored, of course, she thought with an eye roll – and a black T-shirt, instead of his Hokage robes.
"I've come to fetch you for some training," he called out. "It's long since we've trained together, and I've already booked ground 50 for the whole morning."
Ground 50 was the largest and furthest training ground, which usually suited them due to her monstrous force which tends to do quite a lot of destruction, and him needing the wide space to practice his Hirashin Jutsu.
"Naruto! It's my half-day off, I want to have a sleep in!" she protested half heartedly. Though the idea of training was appealing; it's been very long since she has had a proper sweat inducing training, due to her hectic days at the hospital. But at the same time, she very much deserved a proper rest; she was always finishing at the wee morning hours, these days, she barely had the luxury for relaxing.
"Come on lazy bones! I would like a partner, and a good training will do you some good."
"Why don't you ask Sasuke?"
"He prefers to meditate at this time." He gave her his best convincing smile. "Come on, Sakura-Chan!" he coaxed.
She suddenly realized their ludicrous posture. She felt as if it was a scene from Romeo and Juliet, what with him pleading under her balcony. Save for her sleepwear and his casual attire, of course. And that she was certainly no Juliet; and he certainly no Romeo. And he was certainly not madly in love with her. Feeling that her mind was digressing, she shook her head briskly to clear her thoughts.
"Come on!" he urged again.
She was glad that it was still very early in the morning and that none of her neighbors were up yet to witness their mighty Hokage pleading to her under her balcony; but if he continued shouting like that, they sure would wake up.
She gave a sigh. Seemed he would not take no for an answer. As usual.
"Okay, give me a minute," she called down, and turned to go back in her room; but not before seeing his bright, happy smile.
"Baka – you are the Hokage now! You shouldn't be shouting under my balcony," she chided him a short while later, as they made their way to the training ground. "You've got to keep up the image!"
"Sakura-Chan, becoming Hokage doesn't mean that I should lose connection with my precious people," he protested, glancing sideways at her.
She had changed into a sleeveless grey tunic, reaching down to the top of her knees, two slits at the sides revealing her usual black tight shorts, her face, as usual, devoid of make up and hair tied into a high ponytail. And looking hot, he thought, furtively admiring her svelte form.
She hmphed, not having anything much to reply to that.
"How come you have so much free time these days?" she asked after a short comfortable silence, as the two made their way through the almost empty streets towards the training ground.
"Huh?"
"I seem to be seeing you around a lot lately," she pointed out. They had been having lunch together, along with Sasuke, almost daily the past couple of days, since the meeting with the students at the Academy, days. Plus he had been dropping at the hospital quite often; albeit short visits, most of the times for idle chats, since they did not have time for any lingering moments anyway.
"I always see you a lot!" he protested.
"But still a lot more the past couple of days," she insisted.
"Hey, I'm not slacking, if that's what you are implying," he said defensively, scratching the back of his head.
"It's not what I was implying," she hastened to say. "I'm glad you are taking some time to unwind." She smiled softly. "God knows you need it." She was on top to know how he had worked himself to the ground these past years. And since their had been no news from the Kumo attack, he did deserve a respite.
"So are you complaining about my visits?" he almost pouted. Thankfully he had given up that habit, she thought.
She gave an exasperated sigh. "NO!" she said, glaring at him, annoyed. "Let's forget I said that, okay? You know that I'm glad of your drop-ins."
"Are you really?" He perked up, smiling brightly at her.
She mutely rolled her eyes at him.
They had neared their allocated ground. Suddenly, two green blurs flashed past them.
"We should have expected them to be here already," Naruto chuckled, watching Gai and Lee sprinting by. The green clad duo reached a distance, literally braked; made a turn about and sprinted back towards the two.
"Naruto-kun! Sakura-san!" Lee exclaimed, stopping a few steps in front of them, while Gai followed a few steps back.
"Is the Hokage going for training?" asked Gai, his face eager.
Sakura could almost see drool oozing from the two training-addicted Jounins. She and Naruto shared a consulting look, and came to a silent agreement, grinning.
"Would you like to join us?" Naruto suggested.
The two black haired men beamed. "Yes!" they yelled in unison. "Let the flame of youth burst forth!"
XOXOX
Two hours of excellent Taijutsu sparring, a crater-littered ground, and some splintered trees later, Lee and Gai departed. It was barely nine O'clock, and Naruto decided to hang out a bit longer. He had already made arrangement with his secretary to look after things as he had planned to be late in office for the day. Sakura agreed to stay – she did have half day off, after all.
The two dropped their bodies on the soft grassy bank of the little stream situated at the edge of the training ground, panting and slightly battered.
"That was some great training," enthused Naruto. "That punch of yours only gets more frightening with time."
She had managed to land some punches on him despite his speed. Sakura beamed under his appraisal. It meant a lot to have his approval.
"And your Hirashin Jutsu is still amazing to see," she replied, smiling.
"It's hot. Fancy a dip in the stream?" he suggested, pointing towards the shallow stream.
"No, you go ahead." She preferred lying on the cool grass to catch her breath.
He swiftly discarded his sandals and T shirt, the orange sweat pants fitting smugly on his hips, and sped towards the water, which reached up to his waist. With a splash, he plunged in, throwing a shower of water around, letting out a loud yell of joy as he did so.
Sakura smiled at his antics. He might be the mighty Hokage, but he still found pleasure in simple things. It was one of the numerous things which she admired about him. Looking away from her blond teammate, she let her gaze lazily roam around, enjoying the quiet and lush green scene. It was such a beautiful day, the blue sky stretching endlessly. In fact, it had been a nice summer throughout, and she regretted not spending time outside enjoying it. The warm sun felt wonderful on her skin, and she gave a sigh of content. She slowly set to remove her boots and gloves, sighing in pleasure as her toes made contact with the soft, cool grass.
"You sure are missing out! The water is fabulous!" Naruto shouted out some splashes later, making Sakura look back at him. Rivulets of water cascaded down his body as he stood up, the spiky blond hair now heavy with moisture and fell down over his eyes.
Wet skin, hard muscles. Sakura shivered.
"Come on, Sakura-Chan!" His boisterous voice broke her out of her contemplation, as he waved at her encouragingly.
Gulping, she quickly turned her head away, not wanting him to catch her ogling at him.
"No I—Naruto!" she yelped, as the blond suddenly appeared in front of her, dripping water all over her and a wide, mischievous grin on his face.
"You need convincing!" he laughed.
With a tug on her wrists, he lifted her to her feet and forcefully pulled her to the stream. She tried to tug him back, but he already had her in the water.
"Naruto!" she growled protestingly.
"Nothing better than a cool dip after training!" he exclaimed, and flung them both into the shallow, cool water.
She cursed as she rose up spluttering – thankfully the river bed was made of soft sand, not rocks - and he laughed, throwing his hair out of his eyes. The water was indeed good, she had to admit to herself, its refreshing coolness heavenly on her trained-induced tired body. But she refused to be treated in such a caveman way.
She lunged forward. He roared and tried to swim away, but she managed to grab his shoulders and pulled him down, shoving him under the water. He retaliated by grabbing an ankle and pulling. With a loud yelp, she found herself immersed again under the water. Struggling to keep her balance, she sucked in a mouthful of water before coming out coughing fiercely. She stood up, her hair plastered to her head as she faced him. He was still laughing gleefully, standing close by. She bunched her fists menacingly.
"Naruto! You don't want me to spoil that handsome face of yours now, do you?" she yelled as she managed to regain her breath. Then she froze as she realized her words. Hopefully he has not caught that?
Her wishful thoughts turned to be fruitless as blue eyes immediately lighted with swift speculation. Suddenly, their water fight seemed to be forgotten. He had stilled, and watched her, eyes full of mischief.
Damn! Was her harried thought.
"So, you think I'm handsome?" His voice was suave.
"No! I m-mean," Why am I stuttering! She quickly fought to regain her composure. "At least, all the girls of Konoha think you are," she said, aiming for a mocking tone.
"And do you agree with their opinion?" he asked, keen, interested blue eyes pinned on her, while a teasing smile fluttered around his lips.
She pretended to study his face as though it hadn't already been implanted in her mind. "I think," tilting her head to one side to get a better view of the handsome features, her tone purposely sardonic, "you're a bit too much of a baka to be truly handsome."
A low, rumbling sound of laughter followed her words as Naruto, with a bounce, reached out to enclose her waist with his hands. "Haruno Sakura, you're flirting with me!" he accused.
Her head snapped up at that, while at the same time rolling waves of warmth spread out from where his hands held her, the heat of his touch searing through her wet clothes.
"What? I wasn't!" Her chocked protest was followed by her hands moving out to grab the tanned arms in an attempt to ward him off, her face burning deep red.
She felt a sudden jellying of her knees under the water. This is not happening again, she thought almost frantically, locking her knees tight.
"You were, too, and you're going to have to pay the consequence," he laughed, the cerulean eyes dancing with mischief as he tightened his hold on her, playfully drawing her closer to him.
Move! Her mind screamed at her sudden stupefied body, and she finally geared into action. She shoved him forcefully down in the water again, and immediately waded a safe distance away, trying to hide her flusteredness. He surfaced, laughing, but did not insist as she moved away, though he still held the wide, open teasing grin.
"Time to go now, unlike you, I have lots of work to do!" she called out beyond her shoulder as she sprinted out of the water.
Her heart was hammering against her rib as she sat back on the grass, and started to pull her boots over her still wet feet. It had only been some harmless playing around, but she was so not used to this type of flirty banter. It has left her feeling totally out of her depth. It was just some fooling around! Get a grip of yourself! She repeated like a mantra. She tugged harder at her boot, the thing stubbornly refusing to go over her ankle. After a short battle, she decided she was being stupid; she should just let her feet dried before attempting to put them on again.
What the hell was happening to her? She thought again. This was twice now that she had been reduced to a stuttering, pathetic mess, and she did not like this at all. She felt so juvenile. This was Naruto, for God's sake. She was supposed to be his punching, scary teammate, not a blushing, spluttering, shy maiden!
He has had a teasing, open look throughout the whole thing, and she was sure that had not been any ulterior motive behind it all. She was the one making a mountain out of a molehill. She was terrified that things would become awkward between them due to her foolish, uncontrollable emotions, and she did not want anything to mar her friendship with Naruto.
She took some rapid, deep breaths to calm her clamoring senses and steadied herself, while Naruto walked out of the water at a slower pace.
XOXOX
"You're not joining in?"
Sasuke gave an inner sigh before slowly opening his eyes. He had sensed her presence long before she had talked, and had hoped that she was not coming his way. Tough luck. He turned slightly to look at the Yamanake girl, who had joined him on his perch on the huge, tall tree.
"I prefer to meditate at this hour."
"Hmm. They seem to be having fun," she remarked.
They both watched their Hokage and their head medic-nin splashing in the stream before Sakura walking out.
"Hn."
A short silence followed, while he hoped that she would leave him alone. He closed his eyes pointedly, hoping she would get the message. He was still uncomfortable to have lovey-dovey social interactions with the others, most especially when he was without his two team-mates as buffer.
"Can't you do something for them?"
Seemed she had the intention to linger, he groaned internally. Ino could be pushy when she wants, that he knew very well. He looked at the blond, at first wanting to pretend not to know what she was talking about. Then decided it would be useless as he faced the sharp, knowing eyes.
"No, it's up to them to do it," he replied.
"But a little push would help."
"He is right. It's their private business, and they should be the one to do something," came the lazy, annoyed drawl of Shikamaru, as he joined them on another branch. "Stop pestering everybody about pushing them together, Ino."
Sasuke quietly nodded a greeting at the Nara. He liked the guy's down to earth attitude. A crunching noise made him look down, seeing Chouji munching on his chips. He gave another long inner sigh. It seemed that he would not be going back to his meditation soon.
"How long do you think it will take them to get it?"
The four of them jumped slightly as they turned to look at Kakashi, as usual an Icha-Icha book in his hand. Sasuke was irked. His sensing abilities seemed to be getting worse, if he had not been able to detect their old teacher approaching.
"I'll say not earlier than a year, at the slow rate Naruto is moving," snickered Chouji.
"I'll say six months," Shikamaru drawled after getting over his surprise at seeing Kakashi, while Ino still had her mouth hanging opened at the almost casual way the Team 7's sensei was discussing his two students' love-life.
"Huh? You really think they'll get together so soon, if ever?" Ino asked, her still surprised eyes leaving Kakashi.
"Sure they will," drawled Sasuke.
"Wanna bet?" Kakashi looked challengingly at them.
"Ok, done," quickly agreed Ino, always the quick one to recover.
"Count me in too," Chouji said.
Shikamaru gave a deep sigh. "It's so troublesome, but count me in too."
"Count us in too, we say four months." Two shadows suddenly materialized out of nowhere, as two ANBU appeared. They had been at the trail of the Hokage, as usual, since the latter had left his domicile, and the little morning's escapade at the head medic's Nin had really caught their interest.
"EEEEEP!" Ino screamed. Staring at the masked ANBU in astonishment, she spluttered, "Geez, aren't you ANBUs supposed to be the serious types? How come you're interested in others' lovelife, let alone bet on it?"
The two men shrugged. "Can't lose such a great opportunity," one of them said.
"I say eight months!"
"Tsunade sama!" immediately came a chiding protest, as Shizune appeared, panting, behind the ex Hokage. "Tsunade- Sama, you shouldn't overdo yourself like that, you know your lifetime…"
"Shizune, a little run like that won't use up my life time!" Tsunade impatiently cut her off, and looked at the small group, eyes gleaming with interest.
Shizune sweatdropped. A little run like that? The two of them had been taking their routine morning walk in the greens of the village, when the Ex Hokage had disappeared in a blur. Shizune had followed behind, trying to catch up; to land up here. Sometimes, Shizune wondered just how much of a truth had there been in Tsunade's claim that her lifetime had shortened. She felt that the cunning woman would live another fifty years, the things she did sometimes.
"Tsunade-sama!" Ino gasped, going from surprise to surprise. "What brings you here?"
"The word "BET'," growled Shizune.
"So, what's the stake?" asked Tsunade, all business. It's been a long time since she's had a good bet going on. "As said earlier, I think it'll be eight months." She hoped with all her heart that her usual losing jinx will work this time too, and the two bakas will get together much, much sooner than that.
"I'll say less than two months." All heads turned in shock towards the Uchiha. "Count me in too."
"Uh…can I change my bet?" one of the ANBU asked.
"No."
Soon, all of them had grouped together, and they discussed the conditions.
"I'll have to tell the others about it, they would want to join in too," said Kakashi.
Shikamaru gave another, the umpteenth, sigh. "How troublesome, I'll have to send a hawk to Suna. Temari will skin me alive if she founds out about this and that I didn't let her in."
Ino glared at her team-mate. It was the first time that he has talked so openly about Temari. She didn't know whether or be glad, or angry that he had talked only under a betting occasion.
"And Temari means Gaaraa and Kankuro as well," he continued. "So, you will have to include them as well. I'll tell you their reply when I get their hawk back."
Before they parted, Tsunade gave them a warning. "No cheating on this, though. This is too important and we do not want to mess anything between these two. So, no pushing, no hints, not arranging situations, nothing! I need your solemn words for this."
They all agreed, and dispersed.
XOXOX
Back to the stream, Naruto felt the grouping at the outskirt of the training ground. He was curious, though not alarmed. If it would have been something urgent, they would have come to get him. He did not want to end his time with Sakura – they had another half an hour or so, during which he wanted to enjoy her company. It's been so long since they've had such a time, just the two of them together. He slowly reached her side, and dropped his body on the ground besides her.
"That was nice," he sighed, pulling his arms over his head and using them as pillow while he laid on his back, looking up at the sky and letting the sun dry the moisture off his skin.
Sakura carefully avoided looking at the sculptured body lying next to her; trying her utmost best not to even allow her thoughts to stray anywhere near the wonderfully tanned skin, glistering in the sun as it shifted over his muscled chest when he raised his arms to place them under his head. Desperately, she blurted the first thing that came to her mind.
"What happened about the Daimyo's daughter, have you heard from her?"
She immediately berated herself. That was the last topic she had wanted to broach; it was like an invitation to get him to tease her about being jealous again. She cursed her sudden, uncomfortable inability to keep her cool and reign on her tongue while being in his presence these days.
"Why are you so interested?" he laughed, turning his head to look at her.
There, she asked for it. "Okay, I won't ask if it's something which you don't want to discuss," she huffed. "I didn't know it was a taboo subject."
"Sakura-Chan!" he immediately protested. He hoisted himself up on an elbow, facing her. "You know it's not that! Of course you can ask." He shrugged, "It's just that, nothing happened. I didn't give the Daimyo the opening to make any proposal, if any."
By the second day of his visit, Naruto had realized what could probably be on the Daimyo's mind. The heavy hints the man had been dropping, and the flagrant flirting of Kiyone, even in the presence of the Daimyo and to which the man had not seemed to have any objection, had been revealing enough. After the dinner party, while accompanying the Daimyo and his family to the guesthouse, Naruto had openly claimed his undying love for a certain Kunoichi, enthusing about how he so looked forward to be tied with her, forestalling the Daimyo from making any approach. It had worked. The Daimyo had splutteredly asked whether Naruto already had a potential wife in mind, to which Naruto had replied affirmatively. Kiyone had been speechless – for once – and before they could react, Naruto had hurriedly took his leave.
"But he had been about to propose?" Sakura asked, curious.
He sighed. "Yeah, I think so." He didn't say anything further, and she didn't push.
"It's strange to think that I would get a marriage proposal from a Daimyo for his daughter," he chuckled. "Me."
She smiled. "You're certainly not anybody now, Naruto." Remembering what Temari said, she said, "You being the most powerful shinobi of Konoha, young and very eligible, it's not surprising at all. You are bound to attract a fair share of proposals, and from the best of all."
"Sakura-Chan!" he chuckled awkwardly, embarrassed at her teasing and almost proud smile, "It's not this way, really."
"Temari was saying that proposals had started to rain in for Gaaraa as well since he's the Kazekage," she told him.
He chuckled. "Gaara has something else planned, anyway."
Sakura jerked her head at him, eyes wide opened. "He has someone?" she pounced.
Naruto nodded, eyes dancing. "Yap. Matsuri, remember her?" he said before she could phrase the obvious question in her mind.
"Matsuri?" she squealed. She used to form part of Temari's squad, and Sakura remembered how she seemed very taken with Garaa.
"But don't leak that out. Especially not to Temari," Naruto quickly said. "Garaa has specifically asked not to let Temari know – yet."
Sakura nodded, a smile on her lips. "I'm so happy for him,"
"So," he started after a short silence, toying with a strand of grass, "being Hokage does seem to have its positive side when concerning wooing girls, then." He stole a glance at her. "I'm sure you would not be too impartial if I was to ask you for a date now, would you, being the Hokage and all?" he asked, half teasingly, half nervously.
Caught off guard, she jerked her head towards him. Having been in an emotional rollercoaster the past couple of weeks, having fought the continuous battle within herself, his choice of words made her immediately riled up.
That stings, she thought, face darkening.
Her brows slammed together with annoyance, she scrambled to her feet and glared down at him, affronted.
"You think I would accept a date with you only because you are Hokage now, if you were to ask?" she asked in a deceptively calm voice.
"Uum…?" he was unsure how to respond, and watched her nervously.
"Are you trying to insinuate that I'm that shallow?" she demanded, her eyes flashed furiously at him.
"Huh?" he looked up at her, totally dumbfounded by her sudden, inexplicable anger. "Sakura-Chaan, I didn't mean it like that!" he spluttered, not really knowing which part to take back.
But she was too riled up to listen. "Don't always presume you know what I feel!" she snarled. She spun on her heels and marched off, desperate to get away from there before she said anything that would end up humiliating herself further.
By the time Naruto had got over his stupefaction and scrambled to his feet, she had disappeared in a huff. He stood there, mouth opened and totally bewildered. He scratched the back of his head, not understanding what had just happened. Girls! He thought, feeling like pulling all his hair from his head. He had never and could never understand them!
But still, the idea of Sakura being angry with him, for whatever reason, was definitely not something that appealed to him, and he hurriedly put on his clothes, collecting her boots which she had forgotten in her haste and made his way towards the village center.
XOXOX
A while later…
"Sakura-Chaaaaan. Please, come on!"
"No."
Leaving the training ground, she had reached her apartment in a blaze of anger, and had just finished shedding off her damp clothes when he had arrived at her door, knocking. Forsaking the shower which she had been planning to take, she had quickly slipped into a dry set of clothes, and had mutinously refused to open him. Having not managed to get her to open her front door, Naruto had resorted to throwing pebbles at her balcony doors again to try to convince her to talk.
"Sakura-Chan…"
"I said NO! Stop hollering under my balcony!" She stood at her balcony, looking icily down her nose at him. "And doesn't the Hokage have better things to do than to harass Kunoichis?"
Not waiting to hear his reply, she stepped back from the balcony into her bedroom, sliding the door closed with a bang. She drew the veiled curtains over with good measure, wanting to close him out completely. She hoped that now he has got the message that she was in no mood to talk. At least, not now, not when she felt so riled up.
She had barely taken a step away when there was a knock this time. Swerving around angrily, she saw the outline of the blond through her veiled curtain. Impatiently drawing the curtain a little, she found him crouching precariously on the railing, the lithe way he maintained his balance on the thin metal rail top impressive; but she was in no mood to admire his dexterity.
"Narutooo!"
"I'll not budge from here until you talk to me," came his muffled voice. He could have stood safely within the balcony, but he stayed crouched on the rail for reasons only known to himself, Sakura noted darkly.
"Go away!"
"No. I'll stay here even if it takes the whole day and night. So, please open the door and let's talk."
She debated leaving him hanging there, but rationality took over – she could not let their Hokage perched on her rail like a crow now, could she. And unlike the morning, her neighbors were all up and starting to look out of their windows curiously. Her building was in a very quite part of town, but still, she did want to give her sparse neighbors a free show like that.
Scowling, she slid the door open.
"Can I come in?" he asked almost timidly.
She snorted, and turned around to walk away.
"Ok, I'll take that as a yes," he warned, before lithely jumping from his perch and walking in her room.
He grinned internally. His pressure strategy had worked. He knew she would not have let him stay perched like that for long. But all smug thoughts immediately flew out of his mind as he watched her angrily exiting the room. He had to placate her, and fast. He was used to her apartment, having been over countless of times, so he followed her to the living area.
"Sakura-Chan, why are you so angry?"
He was met with a mutinous silence.
"I was just teasing; I'm sorry if I've offended you."
She didn't reply, and busied herself with aimlessly arranging the decorative cushions on her couch. She was starting to feel childish to continue sulking, but she was still too riled up and hurt to snap of it.
"Sakura." He moved behind her, gripped her shoulder and turn her firmly around. "Sakura…what is it. Talk to me." He was suddenly serious, all teasing having left his face. "We are best friends. You know I am very bad at reading between lines. What did I say? I told you I was teasing."
His clear blue eyes looked genuinely distressed. She hung her head, starting to feel guilty of her outburst. "Well, it…hurt how you depicted me as so …so opportunist," she finally said after a short silence. "You made me sound so shallow, as if you becoming Hokage and famous are the only reason I am your friend."
His mouth opened in surprise, but before he could say anything, she hurried on. "I mean, okay, I know I was a nasty, vain girl during our Genin days, only chasing after the most famous one." A red tinge of shame crept up her cheeks. "And being mean to you at the same time. I do have remorse for that and I apologize for that girl I used to be. But surely it's obvious that I've changed now?" she asked in a small voice.
He looked at her, exasperation and something else which she dared not interpret in his eyes. "Sakura-Chan, if I was Sakura, and you Naruto, I would have gladly punched the daylights out of you and called you a baka," he said solemnly.
Her eyes widened. "Huh?"
"Surely you know that I do not think of you like that! I've received your acknowledgment long way back, when I was still a nobody. Iruka sensei, Sasuke, Kakashi and you were the first people to believe in me, when no-one else did." His smile was soft, his eyes blazing, as he looked at her intently. "Even when you were chasing the coolest guy of Konoha back during our Genin days, you had already acknowledged ME."
"Naruto…"
"And what are you apologizing for? I have become this strong due to you and Sasuke. You two have been my motivation to get where I am. And you have always been my strength, and support pillar during all those years," he said in a low voice.
His gaze stopped on the four-inched scar on her bare forearm…scar which he had given her, those years ago, while being in four tails level. A scar made by the Kitsune does not disappear, they've learned. He had stopped letting his eyes be plagued with guilt when he looked at the white fleshy mark, as she had threatened to resort to long sleeves if he continued to bear the guilty look every time he saw it.
He raised his right hand to slowly, smoothly run his fingers over the scar. She shivered, goosebumps rising on her skin at the contact. She struggled to keep her attention on his words, not wanting her reactions to overwhelm her again.
"Don't undervalue our bond again, Sakura." He dropped his hand to his side. "How can you even think for one second that I see you as vain because of what we share now?" he asked.
"Naruto _," She stalled, words missing her. His words were a balm to the guilt she had carried since years now.
"You better not have such silly doubts again," he said, flashing her a wide smile. "Please know that you'll always be my best friend, my most precious person, whatever may happen."
She opened her mouth, but he put a silencing finger on her lips. "Always, Sakura-Chan. Nothing will change that."
The moment was intense; then he carefully took a step back. Right then, their friendship was more precious than anything else for him to say or do anything further. He would continue with that endeavor another time, he thought. He smiled brightly.
"Okay, I think this call for a good ole hot bowl of Ramen!" he said enthusiastically, pulling her by her arms. The atmosphere lightened.
"I don't have much time left to start my shift!" she protested.
"Come on, you surely don't intend to go to work with an empty stomach," he remarked. "And nothing better that to have a hot bowl of ramen right after a training," he laughed.
He was right. She was suddenly ravenous. A quick bite won't hurt.
As they exited her apartment building a very short while later, she said firmly, "Naruto, still, I've never really apologized for how I was often mean to you during our Genin days. I'm sorry for that nasty brat that I was."
He immediately stopped to face her. "Then, in that case I apologize for being that annoying, pestering baka that I was back then; and still am!" he promptly replied.
"Hey, don't say that. You're m…"she stopped suddenly, a red tint creeping up her cheeks. She had been about to say you are my baka. This was being a too current occurrence, her talking without thinking first, she thought, appalled.
"Don't change Naruto," she said instead, as he looked at her expectantly. "Baka and all. Don't change too much! Try to retain some of the Naruto that you have always been."
Naruto looked at her in surprise, remembering Tsunade's words some weeks back. He grinned. "Don't worry, I won't."
With a swift movement, he leaned towards her ear. "I will always be your baka," he whispered, and discreetly brushed his lips against the side of her forehead. And instantly jumped a few yards away, where the Konohan crowds were milling about.
Sakura stood there, mouth opened, as a deep blush crept up her face.
"Come on, Sakura-Chan! The ramen is waiting!" he called out cheerfully, grinning brightly.