Disclaimer: In winter, it's cold,

So wear a jacket. Also,

Naruto's not mine.

Author's note: Alright, so, at this point, the pace seems to be picking up, and hopefully, you'll notice that I'm constructing a center of gravitation for all of the earlier spontaniety to orbit. I want it all to come together smoothly. Thanks again for your patience, story/author alerts, favorite story/author nominations and reviews, they're much appreciated! Please eat tastily!

At the sound of footsteps, Hinata woke up. She rolled over to face the door, and noticed light peeking in from under her door.

What was going on? Who was awake?

"Byakugan," she whipered.

Glaring through the door, Hinata could see that Hanabi, her father, and a couple maids were up. And, there was someone else...

Neji!

Hinata was so glad she washed her sheets before he got home, otherwise, she'd never hear the end of it.

Relaxing her eyes, she got up, slipped on her slippers, and opened the door. Light flooded in.

"Neji," she said, walking out into the livingroom. "When did you get back?"

"An hour ago," he answered, turning. "We had to fill out paperwork."

"Ah," she replied. "Well, welcome back, then."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure you're tired, Neji," Hiashi spoke up. "You should go to sleep."

"Good night," Neji said, turning toward the hallway. Hinata left as well, thanking her lucky stars she'd had the sense to wash her sheets before Neji had a chance to look at them.

As a child, he used to use the Byakugan on her sheets and tease her ceaselessly for being a bedwetter.

"That's disgusting, Hinata. Why don't you just get up and go to the bathroom? Once a baby, always a baby..."

She didn't even want to think of what he'd say if he found out she was masturbating.

Hinata returned to her room, got under her covers, and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was eleven thirty-six when Naruto woke up. He yawned, streching his arms out above his head. Four seconds later, he looked at the clock.

That's when he realized what time it was.

Hissing obscenities, he flew into the bathroom.

Naruto wasn't the type of guy who dealt with buttons on boxers. As far as he was concerned, it was much easier just to pull down the front of the boxers and go on with life. Why did they even put those little buttons on the front, anyway? Who wants to fumble around with buttons when it would be easier just to have an open hole? Why even have the hole, if guys were already used to pulling their meat out from the top? And in the morning, when it was hard, wouldn't it take more time to try to pull it out from the front?

Naruto pondered these things as he pulled his stiff member out of the boxers and leaned over the toilet. He urinated carefully so as not to hit the floor, all the while wondering if they'd ever put a hole in the ass of the boxers for easier bowel evacuation. That would be pretty gross. He stowed himself back in his boxers and flushed the toilet, because Naruto actually couldn't stand to see a toilet unflushed. He even brushed the bowl out after taking a dump, if he left streaks.

Naruto pulled off his boxers and stepped out of them in front of the shower area, wondering why he hadn't just taken them off earlier since he was about to bathe, anyway. Stepping over the tile, he turned a knob on the wall. A burst of cold water fell from the showerhead above Naruto's head, causing him to shiver. It ran over his head, down his face, onto his necklace, and then it warmed up.

Bending over, he grabbed a bottle of shampoo, and squeezed a quarter-sized coil into the palm of his hand. Straightening up, he rubbed his hands together, and then rubbed the shampoo into his now darkened blond hair. Suds formed, and soon the bathroom was filled with the scent of eucalyptus. Massaging his head, Naruto let his thoughts wander...

Today, he'd be taking Sakura-chan out for ramen. They'd sit on the stools and talk, and Naruto would make her laugh, and maybe she'd finally agree to go out with him!

...Did that mean she'd stopped liking Sasuke?

Now that Naruto thought about it, it did seem like Sakura had stopped liking Sasuke. He noticed that she didn't speak to him during training anymore, or even look at him, if she could help it. Was she mad at him?

What the hell had Sasuke done?

And she'd definitely been a lot friendlier with Naruto lately. She didn't tease him about liking her anymore, and just yesterday, she'd pinned him to the ground and nibbled his ear.

His dick pulsed.

"Ah," he groaned, grabbing it.

Had she been trying to seduce him? Or had that been some kind of technique she used, because she was a kunoichi and she wanted to win the match?

Naruto couldn't be sure. He dipped his head under the shower and rinsed his hair, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

He recalled the match, starting from where Sakura had boldly advanced toward him, not seeming to care that her front was wide open for attack. Naruto had stood still puzzled, and then she tackled him.

His organ was lengthening. He slid his hand up, and then down.

That was when she put her knee between his legs. Naruto had seriously been confused, but then she nudged his crotch. He now wondered if she had noticed that his rod had gotten hard. He was lying on the grass, completely defenseless against her tactics, and then she did the weirdest thing: she bit his ear.

And strangely, that turned him on.

He switched the water to cold. Since he didn't have time to masturbate before going to meet Sakura, this was all he could do to stave off an erection. The shock of the chilly water was effective; his penis now hung limply beneath a thick patch of straight, dark blond hair. He turned it back to warm.

Well, if Sakura-chan had really gotten over Sasuke, that was good. If only she had come to her senses sooner, maybe she'd be lying naked in his bed now, groggy and immobile from the previous night's passionate screwing. Hell, her ass and tits might be better for it, too, not that he really cared. She'd come a long way from the flat-chested twelve-year-old he once knew; now she was curvier, with a fuller bust...

Naruto had to lower the temperature of the water again in order to regain his composure. After rubbing a bar of soap in a washcloth and washing himself, he rinsed off and turned the water off. He hadn't been keeping track of time, so he rushed over to the sink and brushed his teeth hurriedly.

Gargle, spit.

He dove his hand into a plastic jar of extra-hold gel and scooped some out.

Directons: apply liberally to wet hair for the "wet look".

Naruto rubbed his flat palm into his hair and used his other hand to scoop out more gel. Using both hands, he distributed the gel evenly throughout his hair and pinched the tips of his hair to form his trademark spikes.

He ran back to his room, naked, and searched for clothes.

A black wifebeater, a white pair of boxers, his orange pants, the matching jacket... He glanced up at the clock.

Eleven fifty-three.

"Chikushou!" he swore.

He quickly stepped into his boxers, pulled his wifebeater on over his head, and scrambled for antiperspirant.

"Doko... doko..."

Aha! Under the bed!

After gliding it on under his arms, he hopped quickly, though one leg at a time, into his pants, pulled on his sandals, grabbed the jacket and his keys, and ran out of his room.

It was when he was halfway out of his front door that he realized he had forgotten his wallet. He ran back in, retrieved it, and hurried back out.

"I'm coming Sakura-chan," he said, locking the door.

And Naruto hit skates to get to the intersection, to Sakura.

Jingle, jingle.

Kakashi strode into the shop lazily as the shop-keeper looked up at him.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi," he rasped.

"Ohayo," replied Kakashi.

Within seconds, Kakashi found himself facing the "Sexuality" shelf, as he often had before. He effortlessly found the row of orange, and began the search to replace his copy of Icha Icha Executive Taboo, which was now a pile of ashes.

Kakashi sighed, annoyed.

His eye passed over seven copies of Icha Icha Explosion!, a collection of Jiraiya's more potent, and consequently, more plotless works. There were three copies of Icha Icha Fantasy, which wasn't really Kahashi's bag. He just didn't do syrupy fairytales, and he guessed that this book was an attempt to expand, to reach to a wider audience.

... But Kakashi didn't think women really liked to read sex novels.

... Or did they?

Kakashi pondered this as he looked for the familiar title. Icha Icha S&M, Icha Icha Ransom, Icha Icha Pathology... there! Squeezed between Icha Icha Innuendo and the classic Icha Icha Paradise was Icha Icha Executive Taboo.

He plucked it from the shelf and made his way to the front desk.

"Will that be all today?" asked the shop keep, scanning Kakashi's selection.

"Yes," Kakashi said, pulling out his wallet.

"That's strange," said the old man, adjusting his specs. "I could have sworn you just bought this."

"I did," explained Kakashi. "Unfortunately, while reading it, I had a run-in with a fire-breathing chuunin."

"I thought it was something to do with a stray dog," replied the shop keep, scratching his balding head.

"A dog?"

"Yes, but I guess I'm getting old after all." He placed the book in the bag. "Fifteen hundred yen, please."

"Yes..."

Kakashi paid for the book and stuffed his wallet back into his back pocket.

Jingle, jingle.

He walked out of the store, seriously contemplating what the shop keeper had said. It was possible that the old man had just had an Alzheimer's moment, but as a ninja, Kakashi couldn't be sure he could accept that. A ninja must look underneath the underneath, after all.

How could the old shop keep remember such a specific detail about an occurence when it hadn't happened?

It could only be one of two things: a short-term memory malfunction, or actual hearsay.

Kakashi doubted it was a short-term memory error, since the old man obviously remembered that he had bought the book before. It just didn't make sense that there was an extra detail that never happened...

...It sounded as though the shop keeper thought Kakashi was replacing the book...

...Again.

Judging from what the elderly man had said, Kakashi's last copy of Icha Icha Executive Taboo had met its end through an incident with a stray dog...

... But his last copy had been his first copy, and it was burnt to a million crisps in a bout of sparring with Sasuke, though he had clearly stated that the pairs were to use taijutsu only.

And what exactly was going on with Sakura and Naruto?

At any rate, it seemed that Kakashi losing his book to a stray dog was hearsay, but who would say something like that?

And why?

Kakashi might have continued to mull over the shop keeper's comment, but he had opened the book and subconsciously (in all his brilliant prodigical genius) flipped through the pages until he found a sentence that he did not recognize.

You see, he hadn't finished reading the book.

I sighed. "Kanako..."

It was nice and toasty out, for a day in early spring. During this season, it seemed like the weather couldn't make up its mind. Would there be clear skies? Would it rain? Last year, it had snowed in April, so Sakura was always prepared for the worst. She was wearing a light, white windbreaker with her family's symbol in pink under her left shoulder, which was perfectly reasonable for this season's unpredictable weather.

Having nothing to say, she fiddled with the zipper.

"So," Naruto began awkwardly. "Uh... how about this weather?"

Sakura looked up to her left, and her eyes refocused as she experienced a moment of mild dizziness. She blinked a few times.

Was it that thrilling to be out with Uzumaki Naruto?

"Oh, yeah," she chirped, smiling. "I love it when it's warm out. I can't stand to be cold."

"Really?" he asked, scratching his head nervously. "I'm the same way! Don't even like air conditioning."

Sakura giggled, seriously doubting that.

"Naruto, you don't have to be so uptight around me," she said, narrowing her eyes coyly. "It isn't like you."

"Heheh," Naruto laughed fakely. "Yeah..."

"Seriously, relax! I'm not gonna eat you." She looked him fully in the eyes now.

"Aw, why not?" Naruto asked, pretending to pout. "I taste pretty good."

"What?" Sakura asked smiling, feigning incredulity. "Ew, Naruto, you're sick!" She giggled, balling her fist.

"Woah!" Naruto laughed raising a hand to block the impending punch. She giggled and swung.

Smack.

Naruto's eyes widened somewhat. He was apparently surprised that he was standing in the same place he was when Sakura landed the punch. It was clear now; she'd pulled it.

Sakura watched Naruto's eyebrows raise in confusion, and after like, two seconds, she realized that they had stopped walking, that their hands were still touching. Naruto noticed it, too, from the way he was looking down at her fist in his palm.

Sakura looked down, too, and watched his fingers curl over her fist, cupping it in what Sakura thought was a subtle sign of affection. She raised her head to get a look at his expression.

He was licking his lips, brow furrowed- Sakura assumed he was wracking his brain for a way to say something sentimental, but, you know, however a guy would say it.

"Sakura..."

"Yeah?"

"...You should wear stuff like that more often."

"Huh..?" Sakura queried, looking down at the target of Naruto's pointed gaze. The zipper of her jacket had slid down low enough to reveal a revealing low-cut top. The cleavage of her bust was just barely peeking out, attracting Naruto's attention.

"Naruto!" she squealed, pink tinging her face. She jerked the zipper up.

Naruto snickered.

"Oh, that's funny, is it?" She jerked her fist back and prepared to steal Naruto, but he took off running. Sakura chased, smiling.

They reached the Ichiraku laughing. Sakura threw another pulled punch, and Naruto blocked it effectively.

"Naruto, you pervert," Sakura gasped, still smiling. She let herself fall against him when the next punch missed him entirely.

"Aw, Sakura-chan," Naruto growled seductively. "I'm sorry, don't be mad at me."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat, and her stomach flipped. She pulled herself from Naruto's grasp.

"Wh-what? No, I'm not mad, I know you were joking." She felt her face heat up, and raised a hand to her cheek to chech the temperature. She'd had no idea that Naruto could be so... sexy.

She braved eye contact.

He was smirking.

Apparently, he was on to her.

No, no, Sakura thought, shaking her head. He doesn't know anything unless I tell him.

Not with you flirting so hard, admonished Inner Sakura. Anyone could see you're sprung, even Naruto.

I'm not sprung, parried Sakura.

Right, argued Inner Sakura. Face it, you're spiralling out of control.

I'm not...

"Daijoubu?" asked Naruto.

"Eh?" Sakura asked. "Oh, yeah, I'm good. Where are we sitting?" She pulled off her jacket, and slung it over her arm.

"Uh, anywhere's good, I don't care."

"Um, okay, then..." Sakura looked around the stand, and spotted two nearby empty stools. "Is there okay?" She pointed.

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "Sakura, are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" she queried in a deliberately slow manner, but not so slow as to sound sarcastic, because that totally wasn't what she was going for. She looked at him questioningly.

"I dunno, you just changed moods so fast," Naruto explained. He quickly added, "Not that you're moody or anything like that. You're definitely not moody."

A crack of thunder sounded, and Naruto jumped. Sakura looked at him quizically.

Okay, maybe he wasn't on to her.

"Oh, I was just thinking," Sakura answered. "Sorry about that."

"So I didn't make you... uncomfortable?"

"No, of course not."

"What can I get you two?" asked the chef.

"Three pork flavor, please," Naruto ordered.

"Yes, and for the lady?"

"Um," Sakura began. "I'll just have chicken flavor."

Exactly seven minutes later, all four bowls were placed in front of them, accompanied by two sets of chopsticks. Naruto scooped up both pairs and handed one to Sakura.

"Arigatou," she said. They each snapped their chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu," they said in unison,

Except for the sound of rain and chatter, it was quiet. They ate silently at first, unsure of what to say. It was Naruto who spoke up first.

"Ano.. Sakura-chan?"

"Eh?" she answered pulling her eyes away from the comfortably hypnotic noodles.

"Ano... how come you decided to come here with me today?"

Woah! Awkward.

Sakura scrambled for an answer that wasn't too obvious, but hinted that she MIGHT be attracted to him. Maybe.

"Well," she began. "I mean, you know... I'm always taking you for granted and..."

"And?"

"...I mean, I just feel like I never really got to know you very well-"

"Uh huh-"

"And I've been so close-minded, you know? Like...you know, like I wasn't really here..."

"Uh huh..."

"And like I kind of missed out on a lot, you know? And I mean, like, you're so..."

"Yeah?"

"...Like, I know it seems like, you know, like... yeah, but like I think you're like..."

"I'm like..."

"You're like... so different now, and-"

"Different?" Naruto asked. "Is that a good thing?"

"Well, I mean like... yeah, I guess so. I mean, you know, not that you weren't cool before."

"You think I'm cool?"

"Well... yeah."

"So basically," Naruto summarized, "You're here with me because you think I'm cool?"

"...Yeah."

"Well, I think you're cool, too, Sakura-chan."

Sakura looked up, not realizing that she had been staring into her bowl of soup again. Naruto was smirking, well, kind of, you know, but not as hard as he usually was. It was like he was all like, "Yeah, I know what that really means."

She smiled and lowered her eyes.

"Not cool," Kiba complained, holding his arms over his head. It was really coming down today, and it was chilly. The one day he forgot to put on his coat was the day it rained, and he might have remembered it had he not been so deep in thought, but he couldn't help it. He had reached the breaking point of his patience, and he wasn't very patient to begin with. Still, he had withstood his secret, though not so secret, crush on Hinata for quite a while. This only proved to him that good things don't always come to those who wait. Maybe it was a little dramatic, but Kiba felt like brooding. He dropped his arms to his sides.

Despite the chilly rain, Kiba was hot with anger. What was the reason, really? Why'd she like Naruto and not him? What was the difference? That guy was loud, easily excitable, and kind of slow. No disrespect, but that guy wouldn't know a girl liked him if she tattooed his name on her forehead and told him she wanted his kids. Hinata was being really thick. Fists clenched, he walked on.

A warm-looking glow came into view from under a nearby stand. From the smell and the quickly disappating wisps of smoke, Kiba recognized it as the Ichiraku. He sped to a run, hurrying to get out of the rain.

Upon reaching the stand, he resisted the urge to shake himself dry. He settled for smoothing back his now soggy hair.

"What can I get you?" asked the ramen lady.

"Uh..." Kiba stalled, "I'll take beef ramen, if you don't mind." The least he could do was order something, since he'd be sitting under their ramen stand.

"Of course," she chirped.

Kiba took a seat on a vacont stool, and rested his elbows on the counters. It was at that moment that he heard a painfully familiar laugh, and swiveled around to find the source.

Naruto!

And there he was, seated not too far from Kiba, right next to Sakura.

Kiba wasn't sure how to react, so he sat and stared. On one hand, he felt wronged that Hinata was pressed over someone that quite obviously liked someone else, so he was mad. On the other hand, he wondered if Hinata ever felt like he did now, watching the object of her affection fawn over another girl, so he felt bad for Hinata. Everyone and their mom knew that Sakura liked Sasuke.

Or did she?

Kiba had never seen her act so... so girly with Naruto. It was almost like she was flirting.

What the hell was going on?

Sakura giggled, and flipped her hair a lot, and she kept giving him those slitted bedroom eyes. Then, Naruto, whose back was facing Kiba, mumbled something that made Sakura squeal "Chotto!" like how girls usually do. And then, Sakura did something so... not like her.

She punched Naruto, right, but he didn't go anywhere.

Well, he slid back a little bit.

Then, he swiveled around.

"Hey, Kiba!" He waved.

"Oh," answered Kiba slowly, still confused. "Hey..."

"Your ramen," said the ramen lady as she placed Kiba's bowl on the counter.

"Arigatou," he replied, watching Naruto rise from his stool and walk toward him.

"What are you doing here?" the blond asked stupidly. Before Kiba could answer with another question ("What's it look like?"), Sakura spoke up.

"He's obviously here to eat, Naruto."

Kiba's head turned to the sound of her voice. Up close, she was pink in the face, and looked like she couldn't stop smiling.

...Was it possible that she liked Naruto now?

When had that happened?

What, was she tired of Sasuke shitting on her now?

Weird...

"Oh," Naruto replied, grinning. "Yeah..."

"So what are you guys doing here?" Kiba asked quickly, narrowing his eyes for that "What's really going on?" look.

"Oh!" Sakura gasped, looking at Naruto from the corners of her eyes.

She bit her lip.

There was no doubt in Kiba's mind now, Sakura was flirting with Naruto! She did the sexy lip bite! That's like the most obvious sign there is that a girl likes you!

Naruto, of course, didn't seem to think anything of it. Grinning, he announced, "We're on a date!" and Sakura's face reddened further.

"Naruto!" she squealed, averting her eyes to the floor.

Kiba waited to hear her say anything else, but she didn't. No denial, no violence, nothing...and that was as good as an admission.

"Seriously?" Kiba asked, staring pointedly at Sakura, who looked like she might piss herself with pleasure. It seemed like she really was crushing on Naruto, and Naruto seemed to have at least an asshair of a clue.

"Definitely," confirmed the whiskered ninja.

Sucks for Hinata, thought Kiba indifferently. He was still kind of mad about being turned down the day before. And then he was struck with an epiphany...

Before Kiba even realized what he was saying, the invitation slithered casually out of his mouth. Sakura looked up, and Naruto raised his eyebrows in a way that looked like he'd had his own epiphany.

"Hey, yeah!" Naruto said, a little louder than necessary. "That would definitely be awesome! You should definitely come, Sakura-chan!"

"You're talking about the restaurant you went to last time?" Sakura asked, smiling.

"Yeah!"

"Well..."

Kiba watched Sakura, amused. She was pretending to consider the offer, talking shit about wondering whether or not she had plans that evening, and Naruto was eating it, pleading with her to come.

That was the difference between Kiba and Naruto.

Maybe Hinata was intimidated by smart guys. If her cousin was any indication of a smart guy, Kiba didn't blame her; the guy had tried to kill her during the chuunin exams. And even though Neji was cool now, you still don't forget something like that. Still, if that was the reason, it wasn't fair that Kiba had been shot down because of something some other guy did.

But that didn't matter, because Hinata was going to get a reality check soon...

"Sakura, come on," Naruto coaxed. "Say you'll go with me."

She bit her lip again. Kiba smiled.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll go."

"Sweet," Kiba said, snapping his chopsticks.