DISCLAIMER: Read the ones in the previous chapters...I think it's pretty damn obvious I don't own Naruto, but the plot is pretty much mine...except the parts that are from the manga...now that we are all in agreement, hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Gratification
Chapter 3: Chain Reaction - Part 1

Warmth. Rays of sunlight beat down upon his body as he lay partially asleep. He was comfortable lying on his back. Soft sounds of chirping came from nearby, though he couldn't quite locate where. On instinct, he rolled to his right side. His body felt slightly numb; almost as if it weren't there. Slowly, he became aware of the world around him through touch. It wasn't the warm comfy feeling from before, but a coarse, cold, prickly feel on his face. This wasn't his pillow!

Though his eyes were still closed, something felt amiss. He slowly began opening his eyes; half expecting to see the color pink as he did. It took him a few moments to interpret his surroundings. He wasn't in his room where he thought he had fallen asleep, and his pink haired teammate wasn't next to him either. He used his left arm to prop himself up, and looked to his right side only to see the three pillars continuing to stand strong. He realized where he was. He continued to scan the area, hoping to see the pink-haired, emerald eyed, curvy figure emerge from a bush or tree.

"...Sakura-chan?" he said hoping for her to appear. She would definitely be able to confirm what had happened hours ago. After a couple minutes of this action he gave up on that hope, and came to terms with his situation.

He sat up completely, "This sucks! I thought I made out with Sakura-chan," he said, thinking aloud as he pouted.

He thought he had fallen asleep in his apartment with the girl of his dreams next to him, and the rain pouring down outside. At these thoughts, he quickly felt the grassy ground as well as his clothes only to find that neither was moist but dry. He also noticed his jacket was still on him, and only unzipped so his wrapped arm could hang out in the front. He remembered a part of the previous night where he had put his arm with the cast on her back, but now realized it was nearly impossible. His arm was still in the sling which would have prevented him from moving it that far.

"Damn it! That was part of my dream too!"

He decided to see if he could recall what really happened. He rested the side of his head on his hand while the elbow dug into the side of his knee. He was sitting cross-legged as he attempted to search his memory.

He understood he never walked to his apartment with or without Sakura. Though the memories were foggy in his head. He also had laid back down, and looked at the stars with her resting on his shoulder. He only really remembered bits and pieces after that point, though he could even be lying to himself about what really happened. She may have never been there. All this thinking was causing him to have a headache.

'This doesn't make sense!' he mentally yelled, 'w-was this all a dream? Was Sakura-chan never here? Everything felt...real...' He couldn't quite explain the realistic part, but he understood why Sakura had said what she did. It was what he wanted, so his mind created it.

As he looked up at the sky, he realized it was early morning. He stood up and stretched to get the blood circulating through his body. There was only one possible way he could conceive to find out what had happened the night before. He began walking towards the entrance of the training grounds.

'I should go find her...' he thought optimistically. She would be able to clarify what happened.

At that moment, his stomach emitted a loud growl just as he exited the training grounds, "But...I'm so hungry..." he whined.

"I guess I should stop here for now," said the Hokage. The blonde sannin slowly pushed the papers away from where she sat, and took her legs off the desk. She had been leaning back in the chair with her legs up on the desk, enjoying tea, and doing the required paperwork.

Unsure of how long it would take the three genin to come, Shizune said, "We did tell them to report by 9 o'clock this morning, Tsunade-sama. They still have a couple minutes."

"Bah, I found a good place to stop for now," she said as she leaned back in her chair again. Looking out the window over the village she inquired, "I guess it can't be helped."

"Um...Tsunade-sama, what do you mean?"

"We have trained Sakura for roughly three years now...during that time she has become much stronger." She looked seriously at Shizune, "However, there is one significant change I noticed during the middle of her training. This force became her motivation."

Shizune continued to stare at her as if she misunderstood.

"Though she still has her head wrapped around her lost teammate, Sasuke, who is her childhood crush. It seems the mission with Naruto and Jiraiya prior to her asking me to train her had an effect. It was quite evident during her training."

Shizune nodded, this time comprehending what her sensei was getting at.

"You see, Sakura began to realize it was-"

There was a double knock on the door that interrupted the conversation.

"Come in!" Tsunade commanded as she leaned forward.

The door opened and Kakashi came in followed by Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. They made their way to the center of the room before Kakashi said, "Good morning, Hokage-sama."

The three genin followed suit, and greeted her as well.

"I assume you have good news," she replied as they smiled, "But before you begin...Jiraiya, I know you have been outside for a while now. When I told them to come in I did mean you as well."

Jiraiya stood up from his hiding spot so he was clearly seen through the window behind her. "Hehe, How did you-" he said cheerily, but was cut off.

"I could smell sake, and I know Shizune doesn't drink. Also I haven't had a drink for quite some time now."

Jiraiya smiled as he jumped through the window, and stood off to the side of her, "Good to see you again too, Tsunade."

Tsunade smiled. Recalling the meeting the night before, she realized she had left a certain question out but merely told them where to go. She continued, "Kakashi! Konohamaru! Did you say your planned lines to Naruto and Sakura?"

"Yes!" both of them responded.

She then looked at the three genin, "Were they both at the training grounds as said?"

All three genin nodded.

"Then explain to us the events that took place last night between Naruto and Sakura."

All three responded, "Yes!" then began to talk all at once; each starting at a different point in the story. Once they realized what was happening, they looked at one another to glare.

"I want to tell the story!" Konohamaru said disgruntled.

"But I tell it better!" Moegi countered.

"But mine is more accurate!" Udon interrupted.

This argument carried on for a minute or two before Tsunade's vein was about to burst from her forehead. She was becoming impatient with the little genin, however she put her arm on the table and leaned against it. 'Such children...I can't believe we are using them,' she glanced over to Jiraiya who looked disgruntled by the brats. Though she had remained quiet, she couldn't tolerate their bickering anymore.

"Knock it off!" the three genin immediately stopped and looked at her, scared as if they had just awoken a gigantic fire-breathing dragon from its sleep. She cleared her throat as if it was never intentional, "We are going to start from one side, and loop through until the whole story is finished."

The three genin stared at her blankly, "Then I get to start!" Konohamaru yelled.

'Kakashi, I am never listening to your suggestions again. Let them go without a sensei...such nonsense,' she sighed then calmly stated, " We will begin with Udon since he is on my right side. Each of you will dictate the next part of the story from where the other left off. Now, please begin with what happened when you first discovered their location."

Udon nodded, and began, "We went where you told us to go, but Konohamaru said he may have said the lines wrong, and that Hokage-sama was just a-"

Konohamaru immediately jumped in, "I said them right! They were there after all."

Being the tolerant person Tsunade is, she nodded before saying, "Continue Udon. We will pass Konohamaru this time since he just took his turn."

Konohamaru crossed his arms and grumbled with disapproval, "That's not fair! He said the wrong thing!"

Tsunade shrugged, "You should have waited then. Continue Udon," she said for a second time.

"When we got there, they were sitting on the ground looking up. We couldn't hear them all that well, but we know that Naruto-niichan said something Sakura-neechan liked."

Moegi continued with the next part, "That was when Sakura-neechan leaned over and kissed Naruto-niichan's cheek. Then pushed him back and-"

Konohamaru burst in once again, "No! Naruto-niichan fell over and Sakura-neechan fell down on him," he said quickly, and then added in, "We waited for about half an hour to make sure they were asleep."

Tsunade twitched and was about you say something to Konohamaru once again until Jiraiya stepped behind her with a smile, bent over slightly so he was close to her ear, and whispered, "Interesting turnout...wouldn't you say Tsunade-hime?"

He then stepped back and smiled with Kakashi. Though Kakashi's smile was hidden, it was still evident since he tilted his head slightly. Tsunade calmed herself, "I see...Is this all that happened?"

"No, Sakura-neechan wasn't asleep," Konohamaru continued.

Moegi then regained control of being storyteller, "Sakura-neechan sat up and smiled at Naruto-niichan, then touched the cast on his arm with both hands. There was some sort of green glow where she touched. A few minutes later, she put her...uh...left arm..." she looked over at Udon and Konohamaru for approval. Both nodded and she continued. "Yeah, her left arm near his shoulder, she was slightly above his body. Then she ran her right fingers through Naruto-niichan's hair a couple times, traced down the side of his face until...until she pressed her finger on his lips. She was smiling."

Udon continued next, "She got closer to his head and stopped about a foot away. We aren't sure, but is sounded like she said 'maybe you will be my first...' or something like that. Then-"

"THAT'S WHEN SHE LEANED DOWN AND KISSED NARUTO-NIICHAN'S FOREHEAD!" for the third time Konohamaru finished the explanation, however this time he was somewhat in turn. "She was so bright red! We could see it from where we were!"

Both Moegi and Udon nodded, "Then she got up and left him there."

Tsunade frowned at this predicament. Though this was good news of what she had previously done, the ending wasn't completely expected. She looked over at Jiraiya and then to Kakashi.

"It seems like we should go with the plan we decided on yesterday. It would be the best out of the other possibilities."

Tsunade nodded in agreement before she turned back to the genin, "For this situation, I have a second mission for you three..." she explained their next act, once again telling them it would be a B-rank mission pay as well as a top secret mission. She explained what needed to happen between the two students, and the specifics as well. Though it was what Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi had decided on, Tsunade had changed it slightly. Jiraiya crossed his arms and turned around dissatisfied at the idea formed by the words she said.

"Naruto isn't the kind of person to let-," Jiraiya began.

"EH?! What did you say?!" Tsunade said angrily as she gave him a threatening glare.

"Nothing...Nothing at all," Jiraiya responded quickly. 'Damn, she gets scary...'

"Then I must have imagined it. Kakashi, do you agree with this change in plan?"

Kakashi's eyes became lazy as if he were annoyed by the question asked. "This does depend on Sakura's interpretation," he thought for a few more moments as to how to escape, "I guess we will see what happens," he then proceeded to pull out Jiraiya's second book and continue rereading it for the fiftieth time. Both Sannins looked at the white fang's son with stoic faces. A teardrop rolled down past both their temples as well.

'You will be the last to receive my next novel, Kakashi, for not supporting me,' Jiraiya concluded.

Shizune, who had remained quiet for the majority of the time finally spoke out, "I think it'll work Tsunade-sama."

"Thank you, Shizune," she then turned back to Jiraiya, "That is two against one."

"Alright! Do what you will."

Looking back at the three confused genin, Tsunade gave the conformation, "Make sure to report back before tonight. We don't have that much time. Am I understood?"

"EH?! BEFORE TONIGHT! That's barely anytime to get ready for-"

"We will be back before dinner," Moegi responded as her and Udon covered Konohamaru's mouth, Udon putting him in a headlock.

"Dismissed!"

The three genin left immediately, making sure to keep Konohamaru's mouth covered until they were out of the room.

"Kakashi!" The white haired ninja who had been waiting patiently responded to her summon. She then continued, "Your mission is to find Shikamaru and have him come here. I would use you, though I think Shikamaru would be a slightly better choice for this."

"Right! Is there anything else I should do, Hokage-sama?"

"That is all for now."

He nodded and left as well.

"Shizune, I need you to take care of this message before you go on your next mission. It is for the sand village, though I am sure they are already aware. I want it delivered as quick as possible."

"Yes!" she too left.

Once the room was cleared, Jiraiya addressed his concerns, "Tsunade, do you really think something like this would work?"

"He trained with you for two and a half years didn't he?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then it does have a good chance of success, does it not?"

Jiraiya sighed. 'Sheesh, such recklessness. Hmm...' He glanced back down at Tsunade quickly, 'Maybe this will be interesting.' Jiraiya's face automatically created his infamous perverted smile at the thought.

"What say we make a bet on this Tsunade? For old times."

There was a few seconds of silence before the storm erupted. "I DON'T MAKE BETS ANYMORE! I'M THE FREAKING HOKAGE!"

She didn't realize she had stood up, but sat back down and crossed her arms, "You know I haven't made any bets since I became Hokage so that I wouldn't prove Naruto right."

Jiraiya chuckled softly, "I remember he called you loose with money, however this is different," he straightened up and placed his hands behind his back, still smiling ear to ear. "Yes, I am well aware of that. We also haven't had sake for a while either," he added absentmindedly. He received another glare from her.

"Get to the point."

"This plan does have the possibility of working properly, though I think the brats will cause it to backfire. You believe in its success more than me. You believe it will work out exactly as you plan it to...Sounds like it would make a decent bet."

After a few moments of silence, Jiraiya thought he had struck a nerve in the Hokage since she responded, "You will pay for my day at the hot springs."

Though Jiraiya didn't like the choice of offering, he couldn't exactly complain, 'Hot springs are expensive...hmm...maybe it's not that bad an idea...' He smiled once again at his thoughts.

She finally looked up at him, "What are you going to bet, you perverted toad hermit?"

His smile only became bigger. He started blushing slightly at the thought, and brought his hands up and pushed his index fingers together, pulled them apart slightly, and then repeated the process, "Spending time alone with you, Tsunade."

After a moment, he added, "I assume one would call this a date."

He felt her gaze become an intense glare. Her eyes also became narrow, and her lips tightened. He thought he was about to die, because her right eyebrow began to twitch which was the last warning signal.

Though Tsunade didn't want to have his winnings be what was just proposed, she couldn't exactly resist the urge. It was unlike her, however the opportunity rarely appeared and old habits die-hard. She knew she would win. "Alright! It's a bet!" she said as she looked away irritated, "So you know, Jiraiya. You will be paying for the whole day. Everything I eat, my use of the hot springs, and all the sake I drink."

"I didn't think you would have it any other way, though it seems regardless of who wins I will be paying. I guess this will determine what it is for."

"We will know by the end of the day won't we?" she added.

"I will be waiting for our time alone together then," he said as he began to leave through the window.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade said as he stopped with one leg already out the window, looking back at her confused, "Naruto is in the process of becoming another you. Hopefully he doesn't inherit all of your perverted qualities."

"And Sakura is definitely becoming a second you, Tsunade-hime," he said as she smirked knowing it was partially true. "However," Jiraiya continued.

"Hmmm?"

"A sensei can learn many things from their student's growth and mistakes."

"Oh? How so?" she said as she looked at him. She knew the answer, yet wanted to hear it from him.

"One needs to let go of the past so they can embrace the future fully," with that, Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Humph, for once he didn't say something completely stupid at the end." Tsunade smiled as she picked up the papers she had been working on earlier and continued.

When Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon finally reached the street, they realized something extremely crucial.

"We need to look all over Konoha for Sakura-neechan and Naruto-niichan, but we can't break up into single person groups incase something happens."

After a few minutes of all three thinking, Konohamaru spoke up, "What if I made a bunch of clones like Naruto-niichan and had them search?"

Moegi and Udon both cheered for their leader being able to think of a brilliant idea.

"How many should I make?" Konohamaru asked.

"Lots of clones! We will find them faster," Udon replied.

Konohamaru put his hands together to make the necessary hand sign, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Nine clones appeared out of a cloud of smoke next to him. "Alright! Lets go!"

"Uh...Konoha...maru..." Moegi started, but decided it would just be best if she pointed at the clones next to him instead.

Konohamaru looked over only to have his eyes pop out of his head, and his jaw drop at least a foot. All his clones were on the ground unable to move yet alone stand. "EH?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Moegi and Udon sighed as Udon said, "It looks like you're not as good as Naruto-niichan..."

"NO WAY! I'M WAY BETTER THEN NARUTO-NIICHAN! Just wait! I may not be able to do it now, but I will soon!" He made his clones disperse then made the necessary hand signs again, and created a single clone.

"Okay, this way we can at least split up into two groups. I will go with Moegi, and Udon can go with my clone."

Udon and Moegi nodded. "We'll wear the headsets so we can communicate, and your clone won't since it can disappear," Udon added.

They all put their headset on, and adjusted the frequency.

"Okay, so who is going to go look for who?" Moegi asked.

"Hmm...if we find Naruto-niichan first, then Udon and my clone will look for Sakura-neechan," he said, but then added a more logical option, "Or the other way around. It just depends who we find first. However, we'll start by looking for Sakura-neechan."

The other two mindless comrades nodded. They debated where they would search for the time being. Once decided, they took off in opposite directions in search of their older considered siblings.

"Sakura-san...I mean, Sakura?"

'Was this a mistake? Why did I say that?'

Sakura couldn't quite decide as she walked towards the entrance to the village to pick up Tsunade's important mail. She had always overlooked Naruto due to her crush on Sasuke. Come to think of it, she had never disliked Naruto for being the Kyuubi container, but mostly due to his attitude and the way he interfered with her love for Sasuke. Well, at least her own ideas of what Naruto was trying to do.

"Uh...Sakura-sa...Sakura? Um..."

It wasn't until Naruto came back did she realize what he meant to her. Deep down he had always tried to protect her and fulfill her wishes. She had always relied on him to change everything, and in return he was a main factor in her strength. Though one other concept had never quite occurred until recently: she had to change for Sasuke, but never Naruto.

"Uh...Sakura-sa...?"

Mildly confused, Sakura turned around to see who had said her name. Sai was standing behind her looking at her unfazed.

"...Huh?" was all the konochi was able to say.

"Uh...you have been standing in the same place for fifteen minutes now..."

It took a few seconds for his words to register in her head until she started freaking out. "EHH?! Wait! Sai, how long have you watched me stand here?!"

"Pretty much the whole time. You didn't move no matter how many times I said your name."

'This is weird,' she had never been so focused on issues when she walked. She tended to just keep going.

"Where are you heading?" she asked Sai, trying to change the subject.

"I was sitting over there finishing up a sketch when you came into the picture and stopped."

"Oh...I'm sorry! I didn't know. I was heading towards the front gate to get Tsunade-sama's mail."

"Do you mind if I join you...S-Sakura?" he asked, making sure he didn't say the suffix again, "I would like to take a break," though that wasn't his only reason. 'Maybe I can understand their bond a little better...'

"Sure, I would enjoy the company," she responded with a smile as they began heading for the front gate.

Naruto had wandered around most of Konoha, but was still unable to find his teammate, the pink haired kunochi, Sakura. He had happily approached her house in hopes of finding her.

He knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer. After repeating the process a couple times, he determined she wasn't home.

'Damn it, now I gotta go look around.' As he began to walk down the street, he noticed her house was on the corner, and it would be possible to climb to the roof of the building across from that side to at least peer in and see if she was home. Though it was a good plan, there were many people around for some odd reason. They were hanging lights and making decorations. Naruto quickly made a clone and had it climb up the side of the building to do his wishes.

The real Naruto calmly walked over to a middle-aged man who looked like he was making another decoration. "Hey, what is everyone setting up for?" he asked.

"Don't you know?!" the man said, taken aback, "It's the Konoha festival! We are also celebrating our alliance with the Sand!"

Naruto couldn't help but smile at those words, 'I didn't think Granny Tsunade would allow this. I completely forgot about the festival with everything going on.'

"When does it start?"

"A couple days from now, kid. Hokage-sama said it'd be the biggest event of the year." He was smiling ear to ear.

Naruto sensed his clone disperse, and he acquired the information it picked up. "Thanks old man! I gotta get going," with that he took off down the street past the other people setting up.

He could hear the man yelling behind him, "OLD MAN?!? WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' AN OLD MAN?!?"

As soon as he was far enough away, he dedicated his thoughts to analyzing what his clone had brought back. Her room had been empty and clean, and her bed was made. However, there were no shoes by the door. He knew it was the right room, because the team picture was on her dresser. He had no way of knowing what would show she had been there or hadn't been there.

'This still sucks...She isn't even at home...and if she left this morning, then she probably wasn't with me at all last night.'

He slowly gave up slightly in finding his partner. Though his stomach may have been growling, he had wandered around most of Konoha looking for her. It was a rarity for him to put something between his wants and needs of ramen. In the end, he continued to just walk around the streets hoping to get to Ichiraku ramen bar before he died.

He finally looked down the street to see two people walking towards him not too far away. One sat upon the top of an enormous dog, while the other walked next to him.

"Yo KIBA! HINATA!" Naruto yelled out and waved to get their attention.

Kiba and Hinata both looked to see who had called. Kiba immediately knew and responded, "YO! Naruto! Whatcha up to?" and waved back. He then jumped off Akamaru so as to be on the same level as Naruto.

Hinata however had a much different response when he finally approached them, "H-Hello, Na-Naruto-kun." She was even more nervous today than she had been previous times, though Naruto once again didn't notice.

"Hey Hinata! How are you doing?"

"G-good. Tha-Thank you, N-Naruto-kun!" She said as she started to sweat slightly. She looked as if she were about to pass out, 'what do I say? I saw everything last night...but...I can't...tell Naruto-kun my feelings in front of Kiba-kun...I wish I never overheard those three children...What do I say...Um...Um...' she couldn't think of anything that would be possible to talk about.

Naruto was the first to speak, "Have either of you seen Sakura-chan anywhere?" Hinata stopped with her thoughts, and immediately felt saddened a little, but smiled anyway and shook her head. She was blushing every shade of red uncontrollably.

Kiba shook his head as well, "Nope, we haven't seen her around."

Naruto made a slight frown, he had hoped they had.

"So how long are you gonna wear that big cast for anyway?" Kiba continued, changing the subject, "Looks like you could use it to knock out other ninjas."

"Hmm...Sakura-chan and Shizune-san said I should be able to get it off today or tomorrow, but I'm probably healed now. Sakura-chan helped me yesterday," he said with a smile.

While Kiba and Naruto talked, Hinata continued to try and calm herself down. Though she was failing miserably, and telling herself 'I can do this! I can do this!' as she prepped herself for the moment she would tell Naruto her feelings. It seemed as if the thoughts of confessing her feelings got the better of her though.

Naruto leaned over and smiled at Hinata as he gave her a wink, "Looks like the double date will have to wait," Kiba blushed so hard at his words.

"What're you talkin' about, Naruto?" Kiba spit out.

"Hehe, you gotta make a move, Kiba," Naruto said jokingly as he nudged his friend.

'So...so...soon?' The last thing Hinata heard was her beloved Naruto, "Eh? Hinata? Are you okay? I was just joking. Hin-...Hinata!?! What's wrong!?!"

"NOT AGAIN! THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS AROUND NARUTO!" Kiba responded, completely flustered, and unable to catch her.

"YAY! Alright! We finally found Sakura-neechan!" the female genin whispered happily. They had finally found a target, and had resorted to following her down the street while staying on the rooftops out of range.

The young genin said into his radio. "Have you two found Naruto-niichan?"

A male voice responded, "No, but I don't think it will be that much longer..."

A faint voice was heard in the background moments later, "THERE HE IS!"

"Roger that, we've found him! Now we are hiding in a tree observing his actions. He's talking to an unidentifiable person, and a huge dog. It looks like there is a girl resting on that guy's dog, but she is unconscious."

The other male genin smiled happily, "All right, give us the location! This is gonna work!"

Hey! Sorry for the wait. I didn't put anything before the title this time, so people could jump right into reading it. Okay, I realize I probably should have made the last chapter clearer...Ahem, anyway...Now we all know what really happened. Yes, I was planning this all along. (evil laugh) Story aspect: This chapter ended up being a little longer then expected. Thought I should reward those who leave comments, so trust me, I took them into consideration. Believe it! -- Number one phrase I think they should take out of the English dubs. (though it is extremely fun to say!) Also, I realized that this is actually the first part of a 2 chapter sequence. Yes, there isn't much NaruSaku (they don't even meet!), however it would be too long if I put the second part within this chapter. So, even though it wasn't really stated, the next chapter would complete the events in this one. Once again, coming together...for the most part. The next chapter is going to be focusing back onto Sakura and Naruto, because Yes! This is Naruto and Sakura fanfiction!

(sighs) This is random, but sometimes I wish I could actually draw, but I guess I will just have to do my best to put this idea (Naruto/Sakura Moment) into words in a later chapter. This is where another idea came in and made this chapter longer. Damn. Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Comments, flames...really any sort of feedback is acceptable and appreciated as long as it isn't something derogatory and without explanation. Yikes! Sorry I don't have a 'couple' question this time. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!