Chapter 3

"Oi! Sakura!" A familiar voice beckoned her. Sakura was fluffing her hair and smoothing her dress in a nearby shop window, around the corner from the restaurant. She was going to attempt to make a confident entrance, yet was caught red handed, awkwardly primping herself. She was definitely more nervous than she anticipated.

"H-hi Takao-kun" Sakura waved, smiling, as he approached her. Ryo Takao, was a renown business man in the hidden leaf. He was a tall, and handsome young man. He inherited his father's company at a young age, and had been succeeding him since. He took a liking to Sakura, who had healed him when his firm had been attacked by rogue ninja, and he had asked her out immediately.

Sakura appraised the man before her, who was smiling widely at her. He had dirty blonde hair, and smoldering hazel eyes, and a tall yet muscular stature. Sakura took careful notice of the business suit he had on, and felt relieved that he had dressed up as well.

"Please, call me Ryo from now on..." he murmured, as his eyes widened, taking in the full sight of Sakura."You look gorgeous" he breathed, as he picked up her hand and kissed it. Sakura blushed, and looked down. SHAAAA, DAMN RIGHT I DO, her inner self exclaimed.

He and Sakura made their way into the restaurant, idly chatting with one another, her arm linked through his.

"Table for two, please" Ryo asked the reception waiter, who instantly looked at Ryo with recognition.

"Ahh Mr. Takao, of course, we have your reserved table ready and waiting" the man said, gesturing for the pairs jackets.

Sakura shrugged out of the silk shawl she had been wearing, and handed it to the man. Once they arrived at the table, Ryo pulled out Sakura's chair for her, and motioned for her to sit.

Smiling meekly, Sakura sat down, and clasped her hands in her lap.

Just why am I so nervous?! Sakura mentally chided herself, thinking back to how confident she was when Ryo had first asked her out. Maybe it's because he's back... Sakura lamented, but that thought reminded her to remain confident. She took a deep breathe and forced her attention onto the man in front of her, realizing he had already been speaking.

"...and so I was incredibly happy to see you standing there! I thought that perhaps something had happened to you, but then I remembered that you are an amazing kunoichi and that the chances of that were slim to none, so I decided just to walk down over to the shop to window browse, and there you were!" Ryo said, laughing giddily.

Sakura smiled, warming up to her date, "Yeah. Sorry for being late, I had a friend show up last minute to tell me something, I ran so fast over here I just had to stop and catch my breathe".

Meeting Sakura's eyes, Ryo whispered, "Yes I can tell. You didn't have to hurry so much though, I don't mind waiting when it's for you". As he said this, he reached across the table, and slowly tucked a loose strand of Sakura's hair back into place, letting his fingers graze her cheek.

Sakura's cheek warmed to the touch, eyes widening at his intense gaze. Jeez, were only ten minutes into this date!, shaking her head, she laughed to break the silence. Ryo smirked at her, and was about to comment on the colour of her cheeks, when the waiter arrived at the table.

"The champagne, as requested sir" the waiter said keenly.

*~FRIENDS~*

"Move your head out of the way Sai! I can't see!" Ino screeched, pushing his head aside to get a closer look. From the bushes, you would think Sakura's friends were stalking her, however on this day, they would refute that and state they were merely 'observing' her from a distance.

"I can't believe she's on a date with that guy! Ino! Why'd you drag us out to see this?!" Naruto asked as he glared at Ino, while he hypocritically pushed around for room in the bush to get a better look.

"Because I want you guys to see how well he treats Sakura! It's only a matter of time before they start dating seriously, and I want you guys to see how happy she is before you make any assumptions about him" Ino said, nodding to herself in approval.

"I don't give a damn how they treat each other!" Naruto growled raising his fist defiantly, "Sakura is supposed to be with Sasuke, end of story. And as for how it's 'only a matter of time', I'll tell ya something else that's only a matter of tim-"

"SHHHHHHHH" Ino hushed loudly, clamping her hand over Naruto's mouth with a loud smack. "Hinata, tell your boyfriend to zip it. Jeez, do you want them to hear us Naruto?!"

Naruto continued screaming unintelligible gibberish into Ino's hand, as Hinata latched onto Naruto's arm anxiously. "N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata began, when a waiter approached the window closest to the bush.

Spying the four of them, the waiter glared viciously at the talking shrub, peering into it. The four shut up, and stared back intently. With one last leer, the waiter huffed and slammed the window shut, before walking away.

"Phew" the four collectively sighed. Naruto, still grumbling and crossing his arms.

"I just don't see what the big deal with this guy is. Once Sasuke comes back, he will set this straight with Sakura and they will be together. There's no point in us getting to know this 'Takao' guy" Naruto affirmed confidently, refusing to look into the window at Sakura's smiling face.

"That's just it Naruto... Sasuke IS back, didn't you hear?" Ino scoffed, as she rolled her eyes at Naruto's ignorance. Naruto's eyes widened suddenly, taking in the information, and his mouth fell open.

Just before Naruto bellowed "WHAAAAAAT", Hinata clamped both her hands over his mouth. The bush writhed while Hinata tried to keep her hold on him, as Naruto scrambled around furiously. Ino sighing, as she pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in frustration.

After Naruto had calmed down a smidge, he pried Hinata's hands off, and asked "Well what the hell are we doing here for? We have to tell Sakura!"

"She knows you genius. And she is STILL here with Ryo. She said so herself that she doesn't care." Ino said, proudly.

Hinata and Naruto exchanged grave looks. As Naruto took in the information, Hinata cast her concerned gaze through the window at Sakura.

"This is so stupid, damn it!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, and rose to his feet. "I'm out of here" he muttered. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked in the opposite direction of the restaurant.

"W-wait! Naruto!" Hinata called, catching up to him.

"Tch. It's hard to believe they were ever teammates. He doesn't even know what's good for her when he sees it in front of him. Oh well, come on Sai!" Ino squealed, dragging Sai by the arm out of the bush, "We gotta go before we get caught~!"

Sai scrambled to his feet with her, looking as perplexed as ever, having not said a word the entire ordeal. Now even Naruto is as confusing as the women, Sai digressed. He would continue to ponder the meanings of interpersonal relationships the rest of the evening, but before he could finish that very thought, a shadow flickered out the corner of his eye. He then sensed a familiar chakra.

*\Authors note/ I hope you are enjoying the story so far! I would really appreciate if you could leave a review. Both negative and positive feedback helps me out quite a bit, as I want to become a stronger writer. This is why I like romance, as it is challenging to me!/*

:) ALL/ANY REVIEWS APPRECIATED :)