Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Recap:

"Ready?" Asked Sakura, with an excited smile on her face, ready to finally go on a real mission.

"I haven't been this ready for anything in a long time," said Naruto, determination was written all over his face, his eyes were as bright as they could be.

The two Leaf ninja exchanged a nod and walked out of the big, wooden gates.

End Recap.

Naruto and Sakura started walking on the barren dirt road. After walking deeper into the thick, green woods, the two ninja decided to go into the trees, jumping from branch to branch.

"Sakura, how much longer until we reach the hideout?" Asked Naruto, his bushy, blond hair moving with the light, evening breeze that blew with every jump.

"For the twenty-eighth time Naruto, I don't know!" Said a very exasperated Sakura, pushing a lock of pink hair behind her right ear, "But it is getting dark. We should probably stop for the day."

"But Sakura! I bet we're almost there!" Naruto whined, while giving Sakura the puppy dog face, "Please, can't we just keep going!"

"No Naruto. Besides, if we keep going then we will get tired. And if we're tired then we can't bring Sasuke back. And if we don't bring Sasuke back then there's no way you'll ever become Hoka-"

"OK SAKURA, I GET IT!" Naruto said, sticking out his lower lip.

'Don't you think you were a little harsh there?' Said Inner Sakura.

'Ugh... you again. But I couldn't help it! I was just kinda... mad. Actually, more like irritated. I had to get him to stop complaining somehow. And besides, that was the only way to make him stop... OK, maybe ramen, but I didn't bring any!' Sakura said to herself, 'Besides, when do you care, anyway?'

'I don't think that it's Naruto that's making you so... irritated. I think it's the thought that you might be seeing a certain Uchiha again,' said Inner Sakura.

Sakura's left eye twitched as her Inner said that.

'Who? Itachi? I actually wouldn't mind seeing him right now,' Sakura half-joked.

'You know who I'm talking about. And besides, my hypothesis is correct,' said Inner Sakura. She always loved sounding smart.

'Is not.'

'Is so,' Inner Sakura retorted.

'Is n-'

"Shit! Ow...," said Sakura while rubbing her nose.

'And if you were paying attention, then you probably wouldn't have hit that branch,' Inner Sakura teased.

'Shut the hell up you-'

"Hey Sakura, are you OK? That was a pretty big branch...," Said Naruto, interrupting her fight with her Inner, which, as much as Sakura hates to admit it, was winning.

"Yeah, I'm fine Naruto. Everything is just peachy...," Sakura said, her nose hurting like crazy now.

"I was just making sure...," Said Naruto with a frown, looking at Sakura with hurt filled eyes.

Sakura let out a big sigh and said, "I'm sorry Naruto. It's just that I've been on the edge lately. It's just... this mission... and... Sasuke...," pain crossed her face when she whispered the last part.

"It's OK Sakura. I understand," Naruto said with an encouraging smile, "I've been like this too, ever since we got this mission... But I've had this feeling right here," he said while pointing to his heart, "This feeling that we might find him... we might actually find him and bring him back..."

Sakura smiled at here teammate. He always knew how to make her do that.

"Thanks for the pep talk Naruto. And... I've had the same feeling too. I just know that we'll succeed this time. I can feel it right here," Sakura said, pointing to her heart.

Naruto returned the smile.

'Sakura always knows how make everything better. She's always been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on, but now it's time for me to return the favor. I need to find that idiot and bring him back, now!' Naruto thought, more persuaded than ever, 'But Sakura's nose is looking kinda bad...'

"Hey Sakura, how about we stop for today? It looks like that nose of yours needs a rest. Is this a good place to stop?" Said Naruto while stopping on a branch and looking down.

Sakura stopped on the same branch and followed his eyes. The area below was a circular, flat, and grassy spot surrounded by trees. There were flowers of many different shades of the rainbow scattered here and there. The dense leaves above them and the wide trunks surrounding them also kept them camouflaged. No one would find them unless they wanted a rest stop in the same place. Naruto and Sakura jumped down onto the soft, green ground. They didn't need to make a fire because it was spring time and it was already starting to warm up. Also, the fact that it was getting dark helped a lot.

"Yeah, looks great. Do you mind taking the first watch, Naruto? Thanks," said Sakura. She was now pulling her blanket from her backpack, trying to get comfortable on the ground.

"I guess I don't mind, considering you didn't give me much of a choice...," Naruto grumbled to himself.

He sat across from her, keeping his eyes and ears alert for any signs of an enemy while Sakura quickly healed her nose and fell asleep.

"Hey Sasuke, today I heard from Ino that when a boy and a girl are best friends, they kiss," said Sakura.

"Well, we are really good friends, right? Why don't we kiss then?" Sasuke said.

"OK."

There faces got closer and closer until their lips met. They shared a small peck on the lips that lasted only about two to three seconds before they pulled apart. After staring at each other with light blushes on their cheeks, they both fell into a fit of giggles.

"Haha- So how- hahaha- was- ha- I?" Asked Sakura, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Hahaha- girls are- haha- so nasty," said Sasuke, gasping for air.

This made Sakura punch him on the arm half-jokingly while trying, but failing, to put on a serious but hurt face. This only made them both laugh even harder. They were both sprawled on the floor, clutching their stomachs, trying to stop the laughter.

Sakura woke up from her pleasant dream with a faint smile on her lips. The light from the moon and stars above highlighted her perfect face. The time when Sasuke and her had their first "kiss" was one of her most unforgettable memories. They were both only six years old, but she remembered that moment like it was yesterday.

"It's my watch now, Naruto," Sakura said to the blond, who had a tired expression on his face.

"Hhhhwaakay Sakawa...," said Naruto while yawning.

Sakura climbed onto a low tree branch above Naruto while he snuggled into the still-warm blankets.

'Yo,' said Inner Sakura.

'Yo.'

'So, what would you do if we did meet Sasuke?' Inner Sakura asked curiously.

'I don't know... punch that smirk off of his face I guess.'

'More like kiss that smirk off of his face...,' her inner said, muttering to herself.

'That made no since at all...,' Sakura mumbled.

'But you know it's true.'

'Shut up.'

'Haha, I knew it. You're in denial,' Inner Sakura teased.

'I said, shut the hell up...'

'…'

'…'

'So... how's your nose?'

The moon was still up when Sakura woke Naruto up. After packing up the blanket, the two ninja started jumping in the branches, following their map again.

After covering a reasonable distance, Naruto asked, "How much longer, Sakura?"

Sakura just let out an annoyed sigh and said, "About thirty minutes, maybe sooner. We're getting close now, so be quiet!"

After running for about another five to ten minutes, Sakura asked, "Naruto, do you feel that?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she stopped running, trying her best to hide in the dense foliage.

"Yeah. The chakra feels so... familiar," said Naruto, his eyes squinted together in concentration, trying to figure out who it was.

"Sasuke," the two ninja whispered simultaneously.

They looked down from the branch that they were on to find their former teammate walking out of his hideout, hidden in the leaves of a bush.

Thanks for reading and I hope you all liked it.

E person

4-3-11

edited on 6-18-11