Ch. Sum: "Naruto, it's a beautiful day. Do you have any special plans?" Sakura asked, and there went Naruto's mind, reduced to a pile of gook.

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CHAPTER 10

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"'Morning, old man!" said Naruto, entering Ichiraku Ramen with more spring to his step than normal. Usually the smell of ramen and the cheerful greetings from the two vendors put him in high spirits for the day, but this particular day he was flying sky high. He would have a smile on his face even if his pants fell down and a dog bit his ass cheek. The sun was bright, the weather was just right, and Naruto was ready to have an awesome day.

He didn't dare speak what was on his mind, or in his heart at the moment in fear that it was too good to be true. Also, though they hadn't discussed it, he knew Sakura would probably want to get used to the idea that they were on a kissing and hugging basis before he went around blabbering his good fortune to the entire village. He was content to wait as long as it took before Sakura was willing to make show of her feelings for him to the world. That would be another truly great day in his life to add to the short list of them. In the mean time, he'd just let the village believe that he was insane with the grin that couldn't fall.

He inhaled his ramen as though it were a breath of fresh air, and went through nine or so bowls before he was stuffed and ready to start a new day. It was still early, so the training fields weren't likely to be occupied. He had a lot of work to do if he was going to throw Hagatha off the throne and take her seat as Hokage. Somehow, he thought Tsunade would appreciate that. She always did say that the paper work would be the death of her. When Naruto became Hokage, he was going to hire someone else to do his work for him so he could go kick some ass for his village.

But in order to kick some ass, he'd have to become the strongest ninja in the village. Heck, the strongest ninja in the world. He couldn't be anything less than the best, not for his village, and not for Sakura.

"Yosh, there isn't a second to lose," he said, pumping his fist and turning toward the training grounds. He was about to make a mad sprint for them, but the most beautiful voice in the world interrupted him.

"Naruto, there you are. I've been looking all over the place for you," said Sakura, knocking Naruto off his feet, literally. A mad sprint starts with the first step, and when she suddenly called his name one foot wasn't enough to support him. Wonderful way to embarrass himself in front of his girl, but he was used to it. He grinned and chuckled nervously. It was strange having her around, but strange in a good way. He could get used to this.

"Hi, Sakura. Nice… um, hi," said Naruto, wondering where all the pesky butterflies in his gut were coming from. There wasn't anything different about her. His Sakura had always been the prettiest girl in the world to him. She never failed to make him smile, or make him feel warm in her presence. Most of all, she never knocked him off his feet quite like this, without using her fists that is. OK, so maybe this concept of him maybe being her boyfriend was not sinking in quite like it should have been.

He just needed to take a deep breath, chill out, and get the hell off the filthy ground before an ant crawled into his underwear, or something. "OK!" He sprung right up off the ground, scratched the back of his head, and sighed. "Let's try that again. Hello, Sakura."

"Are you feeling all right?" she said, placing her hand against his forehead. His heart began throb against his chest, as though it were a time bomb preparing to explode. It was weird, how yesterday in the forest he had no problem being around her on the way back home. They didn't speak much, and if they did they discussed how they were going to explain the Sasuke situation. They were so filled with emotion over their lost friend whom they desperately wanted back home without the risk of his death. Most of their thoughts and feelings flittered back to Sasuke, and they couldn't find the time to discuss where their relationship was going to go since the night in the tent. Naruto was horribly confused.

Even worse, he was afraid of her rejection. He wanted this to be what he had always dreamed. He wanted to take Sakura into his arms and love her the best that he could. What's more, he wanted her to feel that love. In any way it could he wanted that love to put a smile on her face and keep it there. He felt that there was no man in the world more capable of being what she deserved than him. She didn't deserve to be pushed into anything, though. If she felt half as strong for him as he had for her, she would be the one to decide where they took this whole new turn into this relationship. She had said that she didn't like or trust Sasuke, but could she really be over him? It was weird to even think it.

As she continued to assess his face for any sign of illness, Naruto's hand cupped hers against his cheek. When she didn't move, or show any signs of disapproval, he dove right in and gave her a kiss so wrought with weird emotion that his heart wouldn't be his only internal organ to explode over this. She was so pretty, so kind, and so possibly his.

Just as he kissed her, he remembered that the two of them were in public. There could be several pairs of eyes observing this little scene, so Naruto backed off and let her hand go. "Sorry, couldn't help it."

She didn't look ready to kill, so he assumed she was OK with being kissed. He really did hope so, because she had the softest, pinkest little lips that brought out the pink in her cheeks. He couldn't help loving the way she looked. She just seemed so flawless to him, the perfect fit, and the perfect eye candy. This little package had so much to offer. She didn't even know.

"I guess you're still getting used to the idea, too," said Sakura, her gaze everywhere but on Naruto, but her smile betrayed her awkwardness. She was in the same boat as him, and if they were standing any closer they could hear each other's erratic heart beats. Naruto grinned and blushed for a bit, but somehow gathered the courage to say a few things he had to unscramble from his mind.

"Believe me, I can get used to kissing the best girl ever," said Naruto, thumbs up and everything. Her eyes glowed, though she tried to make it seem like it was no big thing. It was just like Naruto to be a little corny, but then again the romantic in Sakura couldn't help but eat those types of compliments up. When she caught herself with nothing to say, she rolled her eyes and threw her hands behind her back in a ditch effort to not hang all over him. The relationship was in an experimental stage. No need to fan the flame before it could withstand it.

"Naruto, it's a beautiful day. Do you have any special plans?" Sakura asked, and there went Naruto's mind, reduced to a pile of gook. He could barely remember what his name was at the moment, let alone think of where he supposedly needed to be. Let's see, he was about to run west, and that way; pubs; Jounin and ANBU apartment complexes; more pubs; Extended Training Ground B-that rang a bell. He planed to train in the widest training ground with 500 shadow clones, and he was going to perfect his Rasengan in due time. He was going to become Hokage so he could scratch his friend's name out of the Bingo Book and bring him home, then appoint him as his right-hand man as punishment for his crimes. Sasuke as his paperwork bitch, Naruto didn't mind that possibility one bit.

He could train any old day, and he was sure Sakura would do the same. She already mastered the art of being a mini-Tsunade, much to Naruto's chagrin. As long as she never grew her boobs out to be the size of her head, he'd be cool with that. There was no way that was natural.

In any case, rather than patiently waiting for his answer she was starting to stare at him funny. "Training! If I'm going to kick several shades of ass then there's no time to start like the present," said Naruto, his fist pumped in the air as he laughed a determined laugh. He was just like a big kid, minus the complete idiot he made himself out to be when they were still just genin. It was endearing, not to mention an inspiration.

"Let's make it a training date," said Sakura, pumping her fist up now. "I'll take you on."

"Is that a challenge? You know I won't hold back, no matter how much I… how cute you are," said Naruto, so caught in the heat of his determination that he almost said the dangerous L-word. Naruto may not have known much about being a good boyfriend, but he knew that word could make or break the two of them, so he had to keep it to himself until he was ready to say it. It didn't help that he'd felt that way about her for years, but now that she was with him, it was hard to hold anything back anymore. A strip of pink heat crawled across his nose once again, and he tried to shake it off to no avail. Sakura just had that affect on him.

"Well quit standing around like an idiot and move it. No time like the present, right," said Sakura, and she sprinted toward the training ground faster than he could blink. So she was going to play this game with him, was she?

"Kage bushin no jutsu," yelled Naruto, and he and fifteen other clones barreled down the street like a herd of angry bulls. For those in Konoha who were still asleep, they were no longer. One lady even threw and old shoe at one of the clones, causing him to disperse in a cloud of smoke. It didn't matter, though, because if even one Naruto caught up with Sakura then all would be well. It wasn't such a bad warm up, either.

As they approached the training grounds, a third (sixteenth?) party joined the onslaught of clones and a laughing Sakura. A green blur was sprinting beside the Naruto in front, and that's when he knew things were going to get interesting. "Naruto-kun, hello. I could not help but be drawn by your method of speed training, allow me to test my speed against yours," said Lee, suddenly dashing well ahead of Sakura and out of sight. Well, that was strange. Tasting Lee's dust wasn't something Naruto was going to take lightly. As if the future Hokage could lose to that bushy-browed weirdo.

Naruto summoned fifteen more clones, half of which barreled on past Sakura. Each one that did grinned happily and waved at her, and one even blew a kiss. The kiss turned her brows into twitching slopes, and her inner roared with rage and beat her chest.

"ALL RIGHT, DAMN IT!" said Sakura, pumping great waves of her chakra into each of her legs, so each step she made left a mini foot-shaped crater behind. She was soon dead even with the Naruto in front, and could easily catch up to Lee at this rate, assuming he was on his way to Training Ground B. Knowing him, he probably wouldn't stop until he was halfway to Sunagakure, or something. These were the kinds of freaks Sakura attracted.

She loved her freaks, though, not that she would ever admit that out loud or anything. Speaking of Lee, assuming he still had a thing for her, she'd have to explain to him that, well, Naruto finally won. He won over Sasuke of all people, and that was saying something. Rolling the concept of Naruto's victory around in her head was a little unnerving, but that's why she didn't. She didn't want to think today, she just wanted to be.

As she shook the onslaught of unwanted thoughts from her head, a few shadow clones slipped by her. Once they stopped at the training ground, Sakura slammed right against one of them, and was thrown back into another one from behind who caught her. As one Naruto disappeared they all did, except for the one who had caught her, and the real one. The real one approached them and offered Sakura his hand.

"Sorry about that, Sakura. Some of my Shadow Clones are idiots," said Naruto, and the clone who had heard that grumbled and disappeared once the real Naruto had Sakura. They stood with their hands cupped together for awhile, forgetting why it was they had even come when this was such a perfect opportunity to get really close, and…

"You've still got a long time before you achieve my speed, Naruto-kun! Sakura-san, you did very well. I was impressed!" said Lee, popping quite literally out of nowhere. Surprised, Sakura gripped Naruto's hand tighter, but she felt as though Naruto were trying to yank it away. Was this supposed to be some kind of secret? She thought of all people Lee would be the one Naruto boasted to about, you know. It was still a concept her mind had the worst time letting sink in, but she was done denying what was, so why…

"Sakura, you're…" said Naruto, and Sakura looked down and noticed his fingers were turning purple. Eh, whoops. She loosened her grip on him slightly, and he slipped his hand out of hers, probably trying to make sure she hadn't broken any of his fingers. Sometimes Sakura didn't know her own strength.

"Lee-san, would you like to train with us?" said Sakura. Not that she really wanted him around during hers and Naruto's little training date, but then again they would just be so distracted if left all alone. Besides, she wanted to improve her speed and her taijutsu, and who better to turn to then Lee? She'd leave Naruto up to his own methods for now. He obviously had some if he was so eager to get started.

"Your spirit has enlivened me today, Sakura-san. You seem to be glowing, even," said Lee, and Sakura couldn't help but blush. She didn't think she felt or looked all that different than any other day. Then again, Lee did have a habit of turning the smallest details into tremendous things. "If you allow me, I would like to assist you in any way I can."

"Good, because I was thinking the same thing," said Sakura, taking a look over at Naruto to make she he wasn't plotting ways to rip Lee's head off. Quite the contrary, there were 500 shadow clones in the distance filling up the east block of the grounds, yelling and firing up Rasengans left and right. He didn't even pay her and Lee any mind. That was good, because she didn't think she could handle being the girlfriend of the jealous type.

There goes that girlfriend thing again, still causing her gut to ball up and her face to "glow" as Lee put it. Oh well, it wasn't a miserable feeling. That was a good start.

"Yes, my footwork's a little sloppy. I hoped you could help me with that, Lee-san," said Sakura, taking a fighting stance. "Don't go easy on me, because I won't go easy on you."

"I would like nothing more. I will assess you starting," said Lee, disappearing and then reappearing directly behind Sakura. "Now!"

His fist flew past her cheek, and she was barely able to avoid being clipped by it. That meant only one thing. Lee was going to go easy on her. Everyone always did, except for Tsunade. She was the goddess of causing torment and ache, and she beat the previous sniveling damsel right out of Sakura, much to her relief. Sakura would sometimes reflect back to her old self and see her slow progress in comparison to her team's, and her love for Sasuke, as a great, big joke. She didn't know what it was that caused her to become such a painful person to be around, but enough was enough. She was practically addicted to doing all that she could to acquire more strength, smooth out rough spots, and not hope for the best, but make the best happen now.

That was why a Lee who went easy on her ate dirt when a chakra-infused leg he didn't see coming slammed him down.

"That was me just warming up, Lee," said Sakura, and in a blur he was gone. Before she knew it, a fist connected with her dead on, and she flew back what would be a good village block or two. He was beginning to take her seriously.

By midday Sakura was so sore she could barely move. She had gotten Lee so excited that, at one point he even removed his weights and had her try them. It took her half and hour to take one measly step, and that was with her chakra giving her a hand. The fact that he wore those weights like socks was more insane to her than ever before! On the flip side, Naruto looked like he was having the time of his life, tearing the place up with Rasengan, after Rasengan. He was just so focused and determined, almost like he was living in another world where she couldn't reach him. It was like the whole Kyuubi fiasco all over again, where her words and her presence did nothing to bring him back. That scared her.

"Good work, Sakura-san! I have gained a lot from your spirit and lack of fear. You are a splendid kunoichi!" said Lee, looking down at a Sakura who was lying flat on the ground and could barely move, whereas Lee still looked like he could run around the world in the blink of an eye. His energy was just… unfair! She didn't know what she'd be getting herself into by asking for his assistance. "I only regret losing you."

"Losing me?" said Sakura, pealing herself up off the ground. "This exercise hasn't exactly killed me, you know, but I'll be feeling it for about a week."

He was looking toward Naruto, all 500 of him, but she knew he wasn't going to pounce or anything. On the contrary, he had satisfied smile on his face, and seemed drawn by the way Naruto was pushing himself to the limits out there. She was glad that, in general, she didn't attract jealous psychos, or there would be blood, and she would be the one shedding it.

"I'd much rather lose to a hard-worker than a genius. First he beat Neji, now he has won your heart," said Lee, and now tears were spilling down his face. If Sakura weren't used to that she would be feeling extremely awkward at the moment. "Naruto-kun is amazing!"

"He is," said Sakura, thinking all the way back to when they had first become a team. Naruto was such an annoying loser once, but he changed. Rather, what she saw in him changed when she noticed what was beyond that loud, obnoxious boy whom she once could not stand. He had wonderful qualities, in that he worked for what he wanted, and he faced any challenge he had head-on. Naruto wasn't afraid to lose, and he always did things his own way, at his own pace.

He was so handsome, too. She loved the way he smiled, and how mature he looked once he was finally taller than she was. His face thinned out, and his body became more defined underneath that jacket, which still had more orange than she cared to see. In any case, with her heart thrumming in her chest as it was, even long after her body settled down from her sparing with Lee, she knew this was the real deal. Nothing in her mind could tell her otherwise anymore.

"I have to get going. We should do this again, sometime! I will always be happy to help you, and will always stay true to my promise that I will protect you," said Lee, giving her his nice-guy grin and thumbs up.

"Not if I end up being the one to protect you," said Sakura, and that was just the attitude that got Lee so excited. He placed his weights back on, and dashed away faster than Sakura could blink. After having tried said weights for herself, she had come to the conclusion that Lee was crazy. Then again, was there any guy in her life that wasn't?

In any case, she wanted to take a break from all this, and judging by the way Naruto's chakra began to leak red around him, it was time for him to stop, too. She didn't want to have to track down Yamato for this, assuming he was even in Konoha at the moment.

With all the strength she had left in her body, Sakura stood and ran up to the clones, trying to figure out which was the real one. She didn't have the energy to play poke and hope, so she really had to focus her attention on them. Sometimes when she watched him train this way she could correctly guess where the real Naruto was, judging by which clone stood and assessed the situation most. The real Naruto could generally be found in back of the fakes, so she didn't bother giving any thought to the first of them who she walked by. They were all tired, and the Nail-Tail's chakra was really dense around them. That, too, could cloud her judgment, but no matter what she would find the real one.

"Naruto!" she said.

When they all answered "Yeah?" she knew that method was useless. She just kept on walking through the clones, punching a few in frustration along the way and hoping she'd get lucky in the process. No deal.

"Naruto, stop this! You've done enough! Dispel your clones and take a break, you're scaring me!"

Please!" said Sakura, ready to cry at this point. She was surprised to hear that most of the yelling had stopped, and five-hundred pairs of red eyes melted back into their normal blue. One by one the clones were released in various puffs of smoke, and she couldn't see where the real Naruto was at all. It was ridiculous how hard the two of them felt the need to push themselves really, when that wouldn't bring Sasuke back any faster. Things would fall into place at their own pace, and everything would be back to the way it should be, someday. She didn't want to see Naruto shorten his lifespan like this for the sake of Sasuke, or worse, her. It was unnecessary. Naruto did so much for her just by being by her side.

"Sakura?" said Naruto, approaching her from behind. She turned to see him pretty beaten and worn out, though his eyes were very blue as they should be, and he was smiling. For that she was glad. He was already strong enough on his own without the help of that damned fox.

Noting the previous worry in her voice, Naruto reached over and cupped her cheek in his palm. His smile betrayed his concern, but he didn't want her to worry any longer either. "You OK?"

"I should be asking you that, idiot," said Sakura, and if she had the energy to punch him she would have. He could really be a careless idiot sometimes. "You should have stopped when the Kyuubi's chakra started taking over. What if the fourth tail came out?"

"Sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I was just so into it I couldn't stop. I think you saved me."

She wasn't the vessel of a chakra powerhouse, so bit her tongue on that one. What he said brought her back to the time where his voice saved her from Ino during the Chuunin exams, and little tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. There was something grossly romantic in the way that they'd both saved one another just by yelling at one another. Lucky for him, she was a girl who liked romance. The only things she could do for him were so small, but size didn't always matter. What mattered in the end was the result, and today ended in the two of them trained beyond their limits. Sakura could safely say she admired and aspired to protect him more now.

"That's what I'm here for," said Sakura, now leaning in to kiss him. They stood propped up against one another like that, ready to pass out while lip locked. All in all, it wasn't such a bad first training date. They got work done, and all ended well for now.

to be continued…

A/N: I just want to say, first and foremost, THANK YOU for all of the support and love you all have given this story. Writing this has been heart-warming, in that it has gotten so much positive feedback, and it has been a blast to write! I want nothing more than to spread NaruSaku love all around.

Unfortunately, this fan fic seems to be approaching its end. I am running out of ideas for it, and I want to write new things now. I guess it is obvious that I was having difficulty with this chapter, seeing as I have not updated in over two months (it was partially uni's fault for giving me too many papers and exams, but I usually can work around that.) I apologize for being slow updating. I hope that all of you are still reading and enjoying this fan fic. It still will have at least three more chs. until completion. If anyone has any ideas or questions about this story please feel free to address them in a review.

Thank you for your patience, and again I am truly sorry about the wait.