Chapter Two

"Naruto."

"Hmmm," Naruto grunted as he glanced up from the book that he was looking over.

Tsunade smiled at him as she playfully ruffled his hair. "I can't believe how big you have gotten since the first time that I saw you."

Naruto blushed as he averted his gaze away from her teasing expression.

"But…I believe you have grown into a fine man indeed. I know that your parents and Jaraiya would be proud of you right now."

Naruto glanced up slowly to meet her gaze. "Granny Tsunade, are you feeling ok?"

Tsunade laughed. "I'm feeling fine, Naruto. I am just simply expressing how proud I am that you have made it this far. Tomorrow you will finally realize your dream as my successor."

Naruto smiled as he shut his book and tossed it into a corner of his soon to be desk. "Thanks, that means a lot to me."

"Naruto, as a Hokage you will have to make many decisions that will shape the world around you for the better or the worse, but remember this if nothing else. Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change our lives forever, not just the big ones. So don't disregard something just becomes it seems small and therefore unimportant at the time. It may very well end up being Konaha's downfall in the end."

Naruto blinked as a small bead of sweat trickled down his face. "Uh."

Tsunade smiled freely as she poured herself a shot of sake. "Don't worry, Naruto. I have faith in you. I even bet my life savings that you would be the best Hokage this village has ever seen."

Naruto paled. "Granny Tsunade,…..please tell me that was a joke," he stated weakly as he thought about Tsunade's losing streak when it came to bets.

Naruto's eyes opened into barely concealed slits as his eyes took in his surroundings with mild confusion. 'Dreaming about the past like an old man,' he noted with amusement.

"Good evening, sleepyhead," came a dry response from across the room.

Naruto's eyes glanced upwards until they rested upon the owner of the voice, Nara Shikamaru. Smiling, Naruto sat up and leaned back into his chair. "Hey Nara, what's up," he asked with a yawn.

Shikamaru scowled at him as he threw the folder that he had been looking at down upon his desk. "You forgot to look over these again."

Naruto smiled sheepishly as he picked up the folder and quickly scanned over its contents. "Choosing the upcoming genin teams and their sensei's," Naruto said slowly before his forehead puckered into a frown. "Do I have to?"

Shikamaru sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Naruto, you have to. It is one of your duties as a Hokage after all."

"Doesn't seem very exciting," Naruto said sullenly.

Shikamaru smiled.

"Hey, Shikamaru, do you want to be a Sensei," Naruto asked hopefully.

"But then who will keep you in line," Shikamaru asked.

Naruto waved his hand into the air dismissively. "I am sure you won't be hard to replace," he said with a grin. "In fact, I bet my wife would love to take your place."

Shikamaru smiled as he sat down into a chair. "Speaking of your wife, how does she feel about your little trips to the past?"

Naruto face turned to stone. "She doesn't know about it, yet."

"That's not like you," Shikamaru noted. "Is there a reason you're keeping it from her?"

"Ya," Naruto said as he stood up and walked over to the window that overlooked Konaha. "I'm worried, and since she is expecting our first child. I do not wish to cause her unnecessary worry."

Shikamaru's face turned thoughtful as he stood up and joined Naruto at the window. "So, you are worried about that too."

Naruto's face turned grave as he looked Shikamaru in the eye. "We have worked so hard to secure the future that we have. Every child, every event, everything could change in a matter of seconds now that the timeline has been disrupted. In our original timeline, Sakura did not have a summon. I am only playing along with her so that I can find out what has changed, but I am worried about what will change as a result."

"And your sure that she did not have a summon," Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, and if she did it was definitely not me," Naruto said with a sigh. "Shikamaru, as my advisor, I need your help. I am not sure what's happening, but we need to be ready and prepared for whatever it is."

Shikamaru nodded his head. "Just tell me what you need."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Why won't he talk to me," Sakura grumbled to herself as she idly drew in the sand. "This has been the third time I have tried to summon him, and for some reason he won't stay long enough for me to even say hi."

Sighing, Sakura rocked back onto her heels and stared at the abstract designs of her troubled mind that was etched out into the sand. "Get to know me, he says. How can I do that when you won't even stick around long enough," Sakura growled underneath her breath.

Sakura groaned as she fell back into the sand and stared at the sky. "Well, I'm lost," she muttered in defeat.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey, old man, can I have another bowl of that miso ramen with pork," Naruto asked happily as he watched Teuchi bustle around the kitchen.

"Coming right up, Naruto," Teuchi said with a grin.

"My my, Naruto, you sure are hungry today aren't you," Ayame stated as she looked at all the dishes Naruto had accumulated since he walked in.

Naruto laughed. "Ya, Kakashi Sensei had us chasing around that stupid cat again today and I got really hungry as a result."

"So Tora decided to run away again," Teuchi said with a laugh as he refilled Naruto's bowl.

"Ya, and it was a huge pain finding her," Naruto said with a mouth full of food. "Wow, this is really great, thanks for dinner, Naruto said as he fished out some money to pay for his food.

"Ah, don't worry about it today. Our treat today," Teuchi stated with a warm smile.

"Gee, thanks, old man," Naruto said with a grateful wave before he exited the store. Naruto sighed in contentment as he glanced up at the setting sun. "Man I'm stuffed," he stated as he rubbed his now full stomach.

"N-Naruto."

Naruto turned around in surprise. "Sakura? What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're buying food for that bastard Sasuke again."

Sakura blinked in confusion. "What?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "That's the reason you came out to Ichiraku Ramen, wasn't it? To buy more shio ramen for that stuck up prick."

Sakura frowned. "Naruto, I have never bought Sasuke ramen before."

"You haven't," Naruto stated in surprise. "Then who was that ramen for yesterday?"

Sakura blushed. "Uh, nobody," she mumbled.

Naruto frowned.

"Hey, Naruto, have you always hated shio ramen," Sakura asked nervously.

"Well, to be honest, I just started hating it yesterday because I thought that you bought it for Sasuke, but since that isn't the case. I guess I like it again."

Sakura's mouth hung upon slightly as a scene from yesterday came to mind.

Naruto shook his head slowly in mock disappointment as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Sakura, you brought me my least favorite ramen, therefore, it doesn't count," he deadpanned.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Since when do you reject ramen," she asked angrily.

Naruto shrugged. "Since, Sasuke ate it, of course," he said with a jovial expression which caused Sakura to face-fault.

'But if this Naruto just started hating it yesterday…,' Sakura pondered to herself.

"Hey, Sakura, if you're not here for ramen, then why are you here," Naruto asked.

Sakura blushed as she glanced down at the ground. "I was just out for some fresh air."

Naruto glanced at her quizzically. "Well, would you like me to walk you home?"

"U-uh, sure," Sakura mumbled as she started to follow the blond back towards her house. "Hey, Naruto, I was wondering, um, what is your favorite type of ramen?"

Naruto blushed as he stopped walking and stared at Sakura. "Why do you want to know my favorite?"

"N-no reason," Sakura blurted as her face deepened in color.

Naruto's eyes narrowed before realization dawned on his face and then a sly grin. "Does, Sakura, perhaps like me now or something?"

Sakura's eyes widened. "NO, I DON'T," Sakura screeched in an angry panic as she hit him upside his head.

"Ow, Sakura, why do you have to be so mean," Naruto asked as he rubbed his now throbbing head.

Sakura glanced away from him in annoyance as well as embarrassment.

Naruto sighed. "I like miso ramen with extra pork."

Sakura exhaled slowly as she tried to recompose herself. "Why do you like ramen so much?"

Naruto smiled. "Because of Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, that's why."

Sakura glanced at Naruto curiously. "What did they do?"

"There just really nice, that's all," he said with a nervous laugh. "Well, here is your house, Sakura. I will see you tomorrow," he stated with a wave before he turned around and headed for his own house.

Sakura watched him leave before she frowned and headed towards the Hokage monument.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura frowned as she bit her thumb and quickly ran through the hand seals. "Naruto, you better stay this time," she growled as she slammed her palm down upon the stone.

"Sup," came Naruto's nonchalant greeting as soon as the smoke cleared from around them.

"Sup? What do you mean 'sup'? I have been trying to summon you all day, and when you finally decided to stay all you can say to me is 'sup'," Sakura screamed with her finger pointed indignantly up at Naruto.

Naruto frowned as he sat down cross legged upon the ground. "What's up?," he mock asked in an attempt to change his greeting, but in truth he just wanted to get under Sakura's skin some more.

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously as she also sat down cross legged upon the ground. "Cute," she muttered.

"Flattered," Naruto retorted with a smug grin.

Sakura growled low underneath her breath.

Naruto smile lost its smugness as he leaned back against a tree. "So what did you summon me here for this time," he asked with a bored yawn.

Sakura huffed. "Naruto, why do you love ramen so much?"

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Sakura, you could have just asked my younger counterpart that. I am sure he would have loved to tell you."

"I did ask," Sakura mumbled in annoyance.

"Ah, I see," Naruto responded vaguely.

"See what," Sakura asked with irritation starting to build up in her voice.

Naruto smiled. "Well, let's start with the basics. How much did I tell you already?"

Sakura paused in surprise. 'That's the first time I have ever heard him talk about his younger self in first person before.' "Well, he…or you said that it was because of Teuchi and Ayame."

Naruto's eyes softened. "I see," he stated thoughtfully. "I guess that makes sense. I never did like talking about sad things to my special people for fear that it would make them worry or be sad. So I can see why I didn't wish to talk about it any further."

"Talk about what," Sakura asked.

Naruto smiled as he patted her head. "You see when I was younger a lot of the villagers hated me. Their hate was ill conceived as well as misplaced. I grew up alone as an orphan. I had no friends and no family to speak of." Naruto glanced up at the sky as memories flooded his mind. "I was four when I first met Teuchi. I had skipped class that day and ran down to the river to hide. I wasn't paying attention and I slipped and fell in. Unfortunately, the river's current was really strong that day, and I was really small so before I knew it I was sucked under."

Naruto paused from his story for a moment to regard Sakura with a small smile. "Teuchi happened to be out fishing that day and saw me thrashing about in the water. He dove in after me without hesitation and saved my life." Naruto chuckled. "I woke up in his house and was greeted by his daughter Ayame. They were both so kind to me, and they had treated me as if I was a part of their family."

"Their kindness towards me and the warmth they showed really surprised me, and feeling curious I started dropping by their ramen stand frequently. Well, a few bowls of ramen later and I was hooked," Naruto concluded with a grin.

Sakura stared at Naruto in surprise. "Wow, I never would have guessed."

"Speaking of ramen, I had the weirdest urge today to go and get me a bowl of that shio ramen with shrimp," Naruto stated with a laugh.

"WHAT?" Sakura screeched as she jumped up.

"Funny, huh," Naruto said sheepishly.

Sakura cracked her knuckles. "You threw me off of a monument yesterday, because you said you didn't like shio ramen."

Naruto's face turned impassive although there was a hint of teasing just underneath the surface. "And? I am the Hokage, remember? So I can do whatever I want."

"No, you can't," Sakura screamed as she threw a hard punch at his face.

Naruto dodged the punch easily and before Sakura knew it she found herself being picked up and thrown off the side of the mountain again.

'H-he threw me again,' she thought in surprise before she felt herself land softly in his arms.

"Trying to assault the Hokage is treason, and therefore is punishable by law," Naruto stated sternly before he set her down upon the ground. "Be grateful that I was so lenient this time," Naruto said with a smug smile before he dispersed himself with a laugh.

"Naruto!"

-END-

Reviews are the best motivation ;)

A/N:

Hey, everyone I am back! : D I hope you all really enjoyed this chapter. I have to admit it took this past month just to write it. (wipes sweat off forehead)

I would like to thank everyone for their support and all my lovely reviewers. I must say I was major shocked at how popular this story had gotten that it kind of made me feel a bit nervous about the direction I should take for this chapter. -_- BUT! I hope that it wasn't a disappointment, cuz that would make me sad.

Oh! Btw I love suggestions. And all of ya'lls suggestions really gave me some interesting thoughts to add into the story. So if y'all have a thought on anything or see something wrong just let me know!

Posted: 6-15-11