I blame the end of this chapter on Philosophy. When I was writing it, for some reason one of the enriching activities my philosophy professor decided to grace us with stuck with me when writing this chapter. So I decided to incorporate it into this fanfiction so others can suffer as well. Oh, I have experienced something similar, so it isn't like I pulled this out of nowhere. Anyway, oh how I love the headaches after my philosophy class...NOT!!!

Okay, now that I'm done ranting, on to the story aspect. This will complete the circle. It links back up with the teaser in the first chapter, even though it is written slightly different. It should move a bit faster than the first chapter, though I don't really know since I have been editing it for like a week now. If this is confusing near the end, no worries, it was intended. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter. Thank you to everyone for adding me or the story as a favorite or put it on their alert! I am eternally grateful to everyone who left a comment as well, because it made me work faster - ON WITH THE DISCLAIMER!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! I don't own the Manga! I don't own the Anime! I'm not the creator! The scenes from the manga are not mine nor will they ever be. They belong to Shonen Jump, and their creator. I'm too lazy to go look it up, but it belongs to them. Some of the ideas are probably not original, but I have no way of finding out who came up with them in the first place. I'm simply borrowing the characters and ideas to make my own plot. Yes folks, the storyline is mine. As in the order of events and such are coming out of my mind.

Hope you enjoy this, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!

Gratification

Chapter 2: Goodnight, Sweet Dreams

Naruto had finally reached his house after finishing his battle with Konohamaru. It had been sunset when he left. He turned on the light as he entered the dark apartment, and decided he should lie on the bed staring at the ceiling for a little in his room. He would normally be practicing or trying to learn new jutsu even though he was injured. Maybe a few one-armed push-ups would satisfy that need as well as using a little more charka. He quickly created six clones, and instructed them on what to do. He had three clones perform fifty one-armed push-ups while the other clones walked up and down the side of the wall. He smiled, if it hadn't been for Kakashi-sensei he would have never known about this training style. This allowed him to walk around his tiny apartment hoping to think of something to do. Instead he just ended up sitting back upon his bed a few minutes later.

He glanced over at the team photo from when he was twelve. It felt so long ago. His thoughts slowly drifted back to the conversation he had earlier with Konohamaru.

'Sakura-neechan is always smiling around you, except when you say something about her strength. When she heard you came back, she got really excited for the first time in months. Oh, she is scarier too,' the younger ninja had said.

'Is it true? Did Sakura-chan change that much?' He could understand she physically changed, but she still beat him up for menial things once in a while. Normally it was some quirky comment he had said that she disagreed with. He remembered the first time they had seen each other after two and a half years. She nearly killed him with the punch that sent him twenty or thirty yards back, because she didn't agree with him showing his new sexy no jutsu technique to Konohamaru. Yes, it was perverted and inappropriate, but in essence it always got her attention. He snickered as he remembered the look on Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, and Jiraya's face.

"Okay, what should we do now?" asked one of the clones on the ground, as three clones jumped away from the wall.

"Hmmm...Sit-ups?" One suggested to his fellow clones. The other five nodded, and they continued the exercise.

The real Naruto lay back down on his bed, and allowed his mind to imagine the various things he would never do. He wondered what it would be like if Sakura-chan and him were to not just date anymore, but become much more intimate. He was curious to know what her lips felt like, what it would be like to cuddle with her, or even for her to be on top of him...

He shook his head viciously. The last thought seemed to hit a few cords, for his body felt extremely hot now. It is natural to think about the person one is always around as more than a friend, especially if they are the opposite gender. However, this particular visualization was a little more than he could handle. He looked over at his clones; all three of them were love struck and drooling slightly while they did the exercise. Naruto felt a sweat drop roll down his temple, 'I forgot they feel what I feel.'

Even though it was only his imagination, he felt like she had really been on top of him for a split second. This would explain the reaction by his clones. He decided wandering around Konoha for a little would flush the thoughts out. He grabbed his jacket and put it on, but realized he had difficulty with his cast, so he left part of it out in front of his body instead of putting it through the sleeve. He made his clones disperse and felt his real body become a little more exhausted before he opened the window to leave. For some reason he felt like he had one particular place he had to visit. He realized it once he had jumped out his window...'back where they first began,' were the only words that came to mind as the cool night breeze brushed his face...

Sakura had reached her house somewhat exhausted. It was night now, and all she wanted was to be alone in her room. She told her parents she was going to sleep early only to gaze out her window at the rooftops of Konoha. The gentle wind was refreshing and the moon was full. No need for an external light source.

'What did Tsunade-sama want to talk about? Why am I to bring Naruto in two days?' It was unlike her sensei to be unprepared as well as uninformative. However, something about tonight felt different.

"It was a night like this when Naruto and you took on Kakashi-sensei and got the bells," her inner self stated.

Sakura continued to look out the window, 'Naruto...What is this feeling?' she asked herself. She finally remembered why this night bothered her so much, "Sasuke-kun..."

She remembered clearly how she had attempted so feebly to make him stay. In her futile attempt to stop him, she had reminded him of the earlier days. Her words did absolutely nothing...his did everything.

Though they did talk for a decent amount of time, only certain sentences still remained somewhat clear. 'Up until now, we've done everything as a group. But there is something else...I must do...Deep inside my heart, I've already decided on revenge...For that reason only, do I live...I'll never be like you or Naruto,' he had told her.

Come to think of it, she never did want to be seen the same as Naruto. She had seen it as almost an insult until the chunnin exams. Before that time he was her enemy. The reason everything ended up horribly between her and Sasuke-kun. Now though, maybe it wasn't so bad to be with Naruto. She was happy to be his partner for the most part.

'I...love you with all my heart!!!' she remembered yelling at Sasuke's back. Tears freely streaming down her eyes at that point.

She did say other things to Sasuke, but nothing apparently went through. He had his own goal he was going to fulfill, and due to extensive studying she now understood whom he was going after and why. As she continued to remember, it amazed her how four words had shattered her.

'You really are...annoying.'

Those words alone showed how nothing had ever changed between them. Maybe he was doing it to protect her. She had often contemplated those thoughts. Trying to keep her away so she wouldn't be tangled in this mess. She remembered how Naruto had failed to bring Sasuke-kun back; she too had almost left her home village. Except Naruto had saved her with his commitment. He had completely prevented her from going anywhere without him.

She chuckled slightly at the thought of Naruto, 'I was foolish, and so was Naruto. I was wiling to give up everything for Sasuke-kun, but...' she felt ashamed of the childish thoughts she had back then, though she did brighten up, 'Naruto was ready to help me... and I couldn't leave the village by myself to search for Sasuke-kun...'

She smiled hopelessly towards the sky, 'Sasuke-kun...I still love you with all my heart...' She lowered her head slightly; she thought she had seen a figure jump above the rooftops then fall back towards the ground in the distance. She went back to her thoughts since the figure did not reappear after a few moments.

'Naruto always did his best to help me. I want to help him by...continuing to protect him and his dream...I will protect them both this time,' she promised herself.

Once again the same figure jumped above the rooftops and floated down, it was not too far from the first place she had seen it. Either way, the person had come from the same area Naruto lived. Could it be?

Sakura made her way out to the balcony. 'Read underneath the underneath...' Why had Kakashi repeated that particular phrase to her anyway? For the third time she saw the figure rise above the rooftops and float down. This time however, she got a much better look. It was Naruto! The spiky, blond hair and orange, black jacket gave it away. The reason she didn't recognize it immediately was due to his right arm being in the sling and tucked under his jacket. It made his figure look bulkier.

Naruto landed on a rooftop this time, and started running along it. Sakura watched as her partner tripped on something and face planted onto the roof. Unfortunately for Naruto, he had fallen on an animal. Sakura assumed it to be a cat, because a loud "Meowrrr" echoed throughout the night when Naruto had fallen. She watched as the cat attacked Naruto by biting into his free arm and wrapping its paws around the arm as means of hanging on. Sakura assumed the cat had forced its claws into his arm, because it looked as if Naruto's eyes blew up to be as big as tennis balls. She heard a loud a shriek of pain as she saw him shake his arm furiously, attempting to get it to let go. After succeeding in getting revenge, the cat had let go only to go flying onto another building nearby. Naruto immediately took action in running away, holding in the pain and whining about the "Stupid cat!"

Sakura doubled over laughing, barely breathing from the intensity. 'There is no doubt about it. That's Naruto.' When she finally calmed down, she thought about it more thoroughly. 'What is he doing so late at night? We aren't supposed to be out so late. No, I shouldn't follow him. He obviously has something to do,' she thought to herself.

"BAKA NARUTO! What is he up to?! He should be resting right now! HE ISN'T GOING TO GET AWAY!" her inner self said, sparking her curiosity.

'It wouldn't hurt to see what he was up to as long as I keep my distance...' with that thought in mind, she took off in his direction with the intent of not being detected.

Naruto had soon reached the first training ground where team 7 had been formed. This was also the same place where Sakura and him had to battle Kakashi-sensei for the bells both times.

Sakura took great care in hiding herself in the trees nearby, far enough so she wouldn't be seen, heard, or smelled. She watched him as he went near the three pillars in the middle of the training ground. She remembered their first battle as a team. So many things had changed since then.

Naruto approached the pillar and extended his left arm to touch it. He stood there for a moment as if absorbing the wood in front of him. He chuckled softly at his thoughts. He had changed significantly from the loud-mouthed idiot he was before, contrary to what Sakura-chan said. He glanced over to the pillar where the younger Sakura-chan had sat that day years ago. To him, she was just as attractive and probably even more beautiful to him than before, though it wasn't just her looks or brains that attracted him it was the entire package. He then glanced over to the other pillar where Sasuke had sat. His face turned from that of happiness to remorse. 'Why couldn't I have been strong enough to stop you?'

"Naruto..." she said softly. Something about the scene before her felt lonely. She jumped down from the tree, her hiding spot, and approached him, "Naruto!" she yelled to get his attention. She froze for a moment as she watched him rotate towards her. 'What did I just do? I didn't even want to be seen by him.' She had done everything up to that point on instinct. 'Shannaro! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!'

"S-Sakura-chan?!" Naruto said, shocked and confused as he looked at her, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"You're the one who should be asleep! You need to rest so your body can heal faster!" she retorted.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he said sincerely raising his injured left arm up in defense, smiling as he said nervously, "I didn't feel like sleeping or training. I felt like I should come here," though part of it was a lie, because if she hadn't shown up he probably would have started training again.

Sakura was almost shocked for she had similar feelings of coming here. Something about the place had drawn both of them to it. She wasn't going to tell Naruto that though.

"I'm gonna stay out here for a while," he said, hoping she wasn't going to tell him to go back.

"Geez," she said, "someone has to watch you to make sure you don't try to train, or sneak off to go seriously battle Konohamaru," she said sarcastically.

He smiled at her knowing she was trying to take care of him, "Hehe, what gave you that idea, Sakura-chan?" He gave her the same smile that had caught her off guard from the hospital earlier that day. It radiated indescribable warmth that found its way into her heart.

Within minutes, Naruto was laying on the soft grass next to Sakura. He had put his left arm behind his head to act as a cushion while the wrapped arm rested on his stomach inside the jacket. She soon sat next to him on the cool ground, inches away from him. Her heart scratched the inside of her chest as if it wanted to create a hole to get out and explain itself to Naruto. They sat quietly, both looking at the stars. It was a nice feeling knowing that no words had to be spoken. She glanced over at him to see his complacent smile. The full moon was glimmering overhead, and the night was calm. Her eyes had now focused on his lips...she had the sudden urge to know what they felt like.

"YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO KISS HIM!" Sakura twitched as her inner self ruined the peaceful moment. "It's your dream to kiss a guy under a full moon... away from everything else...the romantic feel!"

'W-WHAT?! When the hell did I have that dream?!'

"Yesterday."

'Oh...'

A few seconds later, the dream came out of her stored memory and into her conscious memory, she then realized what it was, 'WAIT! IT WAS WITH NARUTO IN THAT DREAM!'

"Exactly! Do you remember anything else?"

She blushed feverishly at the next thoughts. The Naruto in her dream had only been half dressed leaving his torso exposed to her. She had been with Sasuke-kun for the majority of that dream, but Naruto had come and made him disappear.

"I thought so," it said curtly.

The real Naruto thankfully broke the discussion within herself, "Sakura-chan," he said quietly.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts then looked at him, realizing it was something serious he wanted to share. "Yes, Naruto?

Naruto continued, "Sakura-chan, I won't break my promise to you. It is my way of the ninja."

She instantly looked away as she could feel her smirk dissolve into a grimace. It was her love for Sasuke, and her failure to stop him that caused so much pain.

"Naruto…" she said as her voice trailed off. She couldn't tell him how she really felt; it would be almost cruel to say she wanted him to give up on Sasuke now. It was almost not worth him going after Sasuke since she had seen the results as an adult. There was only one change she could think of.

"I'm changing your promise to me." Naruto stared at her blankly, she continued, "Naruto, I told you this already. Together we are going to get Sasuke-kun back. I want to be with you."

Naruto, stunned, contemplated those words. 'I want to be with you,' that was something she didn't say everyday. Also when did she say the other words to him? He racked his brain, trying to dig up the sentences. He finally remembered it was around the time they had lost to Sasuke, on the trip back home.

She looked away again and attempted to calm herself. 'Shannaro! Why did I say that?' Once again the same scene from the hospital popped into her head, "But…please," she started, "Don't use that jutsu anymore, it comes with too high a risk like Kakashi said. It was the arm you used this time, but next time it may be worse."

He smiled at her momentarily. She thought he was going to spit out some arrogant phrase before he slowly sat up and looked at her; taking in all her features. Multiple ideas of what to say and do popped into his head at that moment, only one idea stood out to him. He could easily tell her not to worry, or that he would never use the Jutsu again, but it would be rather difficult. It would be the most ineffective way of dealing with her. Naruto hesitated for a moment, but then moved his body closer to hers...They were barely half an inch apart from each other now.

"Sakura-chan, My-" he began, but was cut off.

"If I lose you too...I don't know what I would do, Naruto..." Even though she didn't look at him as she brought her legs up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, she could feel a warm, thankful feeling emitting from him.

Though part of him was slightly shocked from her words, Naruto continued with a much happier tone than before, smiling at her as if nothing was wrong, "What are you saying, Sakura-chan? You won't lose me. My body can handle this, and with this jutsu we can get closer to Sasuke faster...But," he said as he looked down at this arm. He smiled for he could feel where she touched it earlier. "If it weren't for you, Sakura-chan, I wouldn't be here right now. Your strength is what gave me courage to keep going. After all, you make me happiest." He looked back at her and cocked his head with a genuine smile plastered across it. She had finally looked at him only to regret the action.

Her cheeks began to burn as her heart throbbed and muscles tensed. It was as if the sensation invaded her whole body in seconds. She felt giddy and taken aback by his statement, 'should I let go of Sasuke-Kun? No! Sasuke-kun is mine! Ino-Pig isn't going to beat me! But, why am I having the same feelings for Naruto as I did Sasuke-kun...WHAT AM I SAYING?!' She had a strange urge to hit Naruto for putting her into the situation. However, at least one side was happy. Her inner self was bouncing around her head, "YAY! HE'S DOING IT FOR ME!"

Naruto looked back up at the moon. It is beautiful, however not in comparison to his partner sitting next to him. He reflected on his thoughts for a moment. "I know this probably sounds like Fuzzy-brows, but I will protect you with my life." He suddenly felt something tender and moist pressed against his right cheek trembling slightly. It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening.

Sakura had leaned towards him and kissed his cheek. She was still holding herself, yet she rested her head on his shoulder still slightly shaky, "You big idiot..." Every shade of red was displayed on her face.

He looked at her completely stunned, unable to grasp what had just occurred. 'Sakura-chan...just...kissed...just...kissed...m-my...CHEEK!!!' He turned as bright red as a tomato, and fell backwards to collide with the ground. He could die at that moment and never feel regret about anything.

Since Sakura had been leaning on his shoulder, she too went down with him. Though she was unsure of what to do, she continued to lie upon his right shoulder, curled up, and comfortable with the position. It was as if his body was a match she had just lit. She was no longer cold for this newfound heat acted like a blanket. She found herself closing her eyes, breathing deeply, and getting closer to falling asleep.

It took a while for Naruto to calm down his body. Not just from the kiss on the cheek, but also due to her laying down upon his right shoulder. He didn't touch her, but kept his arm resting on his stomach, while the other rested by his side. As he watched the stars above, he couldn't help but wish for one simple thing. 'Please don't let this end.'

He felt his eyelids become heavy as he listened to her steady breathing. Feeling the warmth on his shoulder was all he needed this night. He began relaxing, breathing deeper with each breath. He felt his body completely relax. Tonight he would sleep happily. He thought they had both fallen asleep until he felt the body on his shoulder shift. He lifted his head to investigate her sudden movements, and found her face directly in front of his inches away. Her arms were on both sides of his head to prevent him from rolling away, and her legs entwined with his to restrict his movements. She was completely on top of him.

'When did she...' he thought to himself.

It felt awkward to Naruto for the girl on top of him had loved Sasuke with all her heart, yet here she was on top of him moments after kissing his cheek. He was in an awkward situation, and was running out of time to think seeing as her head started to lower towards his.

By her loving him as more than a friend, his training for the past two and a half years to save Sasuke would count for nothing. How did she know if this was what she really wanted? He couldn't go through with this, it wasn't right to steal her away. What if they didn't work out either? It was too much for him to lose her. He didn't care if he had to be just a friend forever. As long as she was around him then it didn't matter if nothing more ever happened.

"Wait, Sakura-chan," she stopped mere centimeters from his face perplexed.

"Yes, Naruto?"

He looked away ashamed. He was so close to getting what he wanted more than anything in Konoha, or it was at least on equal footing as becoming Hokage. His mind was about to blow out of his skull, heart racing around his chest; at least he didn't have stomach problems this time. Yet he couldn't bring himself to obtain his own inner desires that were insanely close to coming true at that moment. "Sakura-chan, I can't do it. "

He felt her continue to look at him as if burning a hole through his temple. He continued, "Its like you said! I can't lose you too! I-Is...t-this what you really want?"

He watched her from the corner of his eye lower her mouth to his ear, and knew she pressed her breast against his chest, securing his injured arm between them, "It is because of the bonds we formed when we were younger, my trials and errors at trying to get Sasuke-kun's affection, and our missions together as Team Kakashi that made me realize my feelings for you. You are what's most important to me."

Naruto's eyes widened and he jerked his head to look back at her. He never knew his imaginations would come true. '...Sakura-chan likes me...'

"Our training wasn't for nothing," she finished as she closed the gap between their heads, pressing her lips against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Unknown to Sakura and Naruto, 3 genin sat in a tree not too far away. They had watched the whole exchange of affection; how Sakura had kissed Naruto's cheek then proceeded to lie down upon his right shoulder. They were flabbergasted.

As they looked at each other, they all spoke at once, "EWWWW!" at least that was their feelings towards the display of affection seeing as they were only 12-13 years old.

"Sakura-neechan really does like Naruto-niichan. Go Naruto-niichan!" said one of the male genin.

"I thought she liked Sasuke-kun. He was so cool!" said the only female genin.

"Keep it down! If we're found then the whole mission is a failure," the other male ninja said.

"We still know what we need to know."

"That's not the point! We don't want to fail the mission, Hokage-sama won't be happy if we're caught. She told us no one is allowed to know about this."

"You mean Granny Tsunade? Eh? What does she know? Besides, they don't look like they know what's going on around them. At least once they laid down."

"We gotta respect her, Konohamaru. She is the Hokage."

"That old hag never gives us any good missions. It's always just D-rank missions."

"Knock it off! Lets finish collecting data so we can report to her everything tomorrow morning," the female ninja said, trying to silence both of them.

"If you think about it, she did let us go without Ebisu-sensei. Even though this may be considered a D-rank mission, she said she would count it as B-rank pay."

"Does this mean she may move us up to C-Rank missions?"

"It is a possibility now since it seemed like an important mission."

As if she had been restraining herself the whole time, the female ninja blurted out "I don't want to be a real woman anymore!" Her two teammates looked at her blankly, unable to think of a response to the unusual comment.

Ignoring the comment, the three genin continued to discuss their opportunity of a promotion. However, one other thing caught their attention.

"Whoa! Look...Sakura-neechan...she..." the female ninja said alerting her two teammates.

"We need to report that to Hokage-sama. I'm sure she would want to know about that..."

"Yeah, that old hag better have something good for us to do after we report this cra-" Konohamaru was cut off by his two teammates covering his mouth and strangling him. They were both watching the rest of the exchange with their jaws dropped.

It was as if 10,000 fireworks had gone off in Naruto's head at the touch of her lips. He thought he was hallucinating. Everything was happening so fast. Upon realizing what Sakura-chan was doing, he removed the arm between them, and wrapped it around her waist, succumbing to her wishes. Her lips were tender and moist, and he could still taste the remnants of the ramen they had earlier. He could feel her mouth parting, and her tongue slipping through. He decided to engage in the activity and allow her access into his mouth. What caused Naruto to become completely aroused was when she ran her fingers through his blond hair as if she were combing it. He moved his uninjured hand to her lower back to slip them under her shirt, but decided against it. He didn't want to scare her off immediately, so he decided to keep his hand on her lower back; however he could feel himself become firm down below. Her thigh just happened to be pressed against it.

Naruto kept his eyes closed, he knew she pushed herself up. He opened them when he heard her giggle nervously. "You were Sasuke-kun's first kiss, and now you're my first kiss as well."

"Thanks Sakura-chan," he said sarcastically then more seriously, "Be happy your first kiss wasn't accidentally with someone the same gender as you."

He watched as she smiled down at him, and then closed the gap once again. As they continued to kiss, Naruto couldn't quite figure out who should be on top. At first he had been on the bottom, but that didn't last long since he forced Sakura-chan to roll to the side so he could move on top of her and passionately kiss her. Using that momentum though, Sakura easily pushed him towards the same side he had pushed her and pinned him down to kiss him.

"Sakura-chan…" he murmured as he sat up slowly, keeping her in his lap. This solved the struggle for dominance. He lifted her chin and leaned forward, kissing her softly on the lips. They were perfect like everything else about her. He then tilted her chin down to kiss her forehead. This moment for Naruto was almost a drawback. Though he enjoyed having Sakura-chan on him, kissing him, loving him...he could feel as if something was different. As if everything was almost too perfect to be true and there was something wrong with this whole scene.

"Sakura-chan, is this what you want?" he asked again. He watched her pause for a moment, and look down towards the center of his chest.

It felt like an eternity of silence. Not liking the awkward feeling he had just created, Naruto tried to divert her attention. "It is rather cold out tonight, and I don't want to see you get sick," he said as he unzipped his jacket, removed it and placed it around her. She didn't respond, almost as if still in an unbreakable trance.

"It looks like it's about to rain too," Naruto said absentmindedly. It had been clear when they got there, but slowly the dark clouds had drifted their way.

He thought she was about to say something in response to his statement, but instead she murmured, "I love you." Naruto almost didn't catch it himself except his cheeks burned, and his stomach felt like it shot up into his chest, caught his lungs, and took away his breath. He jerked his head down to look into her emerald eyes only to see them looking into his.

Automatically, she grabbed onto his shirt and leaned backwards. To prevent himself from being pulled completely on top of her, Naruto extended his arms to catch himself so he hovered about a foot above her upper body while his lower body rested on top of hers. She still held his shirt.

"Sakura-chan-" but she had cut him off by pulling him down and kissing him. Naruto enjoyed the kiss. Every time that night they had kissed he felt as if something within him eased a little more. Like some vicious beast was finally settling. Even though his body was easing, he had the feeling of her becoming progressively farther away.

It finally began to rain as the drops came down and had no effect on his body. He couldn't even feel them, but he could see them landing everywhere around Sakura and himself. He didn't mind this rain; it only made everything about the situation better. However, he didn't like it when she slowly pushed him up, but her words made up for it.

"I don't want to be separated from you."

Naruto grinned at those words. "Would you like to come back with me then?" Naruto could feel red alerts going off everywhere in his head, and immediately added, "I-I don't mean to...we're too young to-Uh-Um...share a bed, Sakura-chan. I mean-uh-"

Naruto felt her index finger against his lips to silence him. "I don't feel like going home tonight. I want to go back with you."

Shocked but still functional, Naruto detached himself from her to stand up, and then offered her his one good hand. She grabbed hold and he pulled her straight into a one armed embrace. Her head seemed to fit right in the nook of his neck. He rotated his head to whisper into her ear.

"If that is what you wish, Sakura-chan," he said. They walked hand in hand through the rain towards his lonely apartment.

The three genin had left the area as well. However, there was one left no one had noticed. A female chunnin with white eyes and long blackish, blue hair. She had been crying the majority of that night. Mostly when Sakura had kissed Naruto's cheek. Due to the Byakugan, she was able to stay much farther away from her fellow ninjas. She had watched her crush finally gain some acceptance from his teammate. A part of her felt like it had been shattered while the other was genuinely happy for him. However, from the ending she had seen, there was still hope for her to acquire his feelings, though she had no idea how to go about it. She slowly stood up from her hiding place.

"Naruto-kun...I-I'm...I'm not giving up," then left the scene to head home. She would express her feelings to him tomorrow, though she didn't know how since she was too shy.

Since there are people supporting both KibaHina as well as NejiHina, I have another question that should be a better indication of how I should go about with the minor couples. Okay, I know some of you are thinking I just totally went against what I said earlier about going OOC, no worries, I realize I did. Yes, it was intentional. Damn philosophy. Anyway, I'm pretty much trying to open up the story here. There are so many things I can do from this point, as well as so many things I need to put in the next chapter. I'm hoping to explain the end of this chapter with the next chapter. Okay, to save some time, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The end of the chapter question is: Should it be Lee and Tenten or Neji and Tenten?

Special thanks to all those listed below for being the firsts to comment on my story:

Gouald, dbzgtfan2004, Meca Vegeta, Momochikd, Shintenshin no Jutsu, Dreamergirl92813, Rufos, HeWhoWalksTheEarth, Show.Me.The.Stars, Silver mist cloud, Jho, DrendeSalkash, IronicEnding, Rickp2006, Gnosismaster, Shadow the Hedgehog 07, Lina Granger

I hope I was able to reply to all the questions everyone had. Thank you for commenting! Also, I won't answer questions that reveal what will happen in my story. Constructive criticism is definitely nice, but I don't mind flames as long as you have a decent reason. Until the next chapter!