Disclaimer: Sorry folks, I unfortunately do not own Naruto. If I did, well, it would probably have been called 'Shikamaru and Company' and it would be a sitcom where Naruto makes a casual entrance into the apartment, kind of like Kramer on Seinfeld…moving along…
Chapter 1: Eighteen
Naruto's P.O.V
Morning…
That's what I thought as I opened my eyes and looked out my open window and saw the sun shining through my room.
Wait, my window's open? I never opened it last night…
I reached for a kunai under my mattress and quickly got out of my bed. No one seemed to be here. I plopped back down into my bed and groaned. I slowly looked up to my bedroom ceiling…
"Happy Birthday, Naruto!" greeted a person that I had no chance to identify as I quickly sprung from my bed and assumed a Taijutsu stance.
It was then that I realized who my intruder was, "Oh, hey Sakura-chan. You scared me for a minute there."
"Yeah, you know, for being one of the village's best shinobi, you sure can be easy to sneak up on." She joked, landing on the floor and walking up to plant a light kiss on my cheek, "Go get showered, I'll make you some breakfast."
"What's the occasion?" I asked with a yawn.
"Didn't you hear me? I said 'Happy Birthday'." She beamed.
"Oh…it's the tenth of October already? I-I should probably just stay inside for today…I don't want any mobs to chase after me this year, especially now that they know I'm an adult. That'll convince some to beat me even more than when I was a kid." I said, suddenly feeling tired again.
Sakura frowned, "Naruto, I'm not going to let the village ruin your special day, okay? Now get showered up, we're meeting with Kakashi in an hour."
"You mean three hours." I corrected with a laugh.
"No, he promised he'd be on time." Sakura replied with a smile.
I was in the bathroom, getting ready to hop into the hot water of my shower when Sakura opened the door, "Hey Naruto, you like your pancakes with butte-oh! Sorry, thought you were already behind the shower curtain, so I figured I wouldn't-"
"Yes Sakura, I'd love butter on my pancakes." I said standing in my boxers. I noticed Sakura's eyes wander over my body a bit, a faint blush on her cheeks. I flexed my arms and abs a little, and she blushed even more. She nodded a reply to my answer, and backed out of the doorway, nearly tripping on her way out, and then shutting the door.
I laughed a little, and then hopped into the shower, "Too bad I can't see her like that." I said to myself, a smirk on my face.
After getting out, drying off, and putting on some clothes, I headed down to the kitchen and was welcomed by the aroma of pancakes. My stomach growled, and I heard Sakura laugh as she heard the gurgle of hunger, "Come on and eat, I've got the first batch right here." Then she handed me a plate.
"Sakura, you didn't need to make me breakfast just because today is my birthday." I sighed with an awkward grin.
"I know, but I did, and besides, it's my breakfast too." She stated, serving herself a plate.
As we ate, I heard Sakura hum to herself as she put on some maple syrup.
Okay, in the time that I've known her, especially since we started dating, Sakura hummed only on certain occasions. Usually it was after a stress-free day at the hospital (a rarity for her), when she was going shopping with the girls, or when she knew something I didn't know.
"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" I asked, pointing my fork at her between bites. Her only response was for her to stick her tongue out at me teasingly. Yep, she knew something all right.
When we finished, Sakura and I walked out to the streets of Konoha. Food stands were already setting up and selling food to villagers.
"Great, the festival's already started." I sighed.
"Don't worry, most people aren't going to bother you. A lot of the villagers see the true you now, not a demon. Besides, I won't let them ruin today for you…understood?" Sakura asked sternly.
"Yes ma'am."
"Good, now come on, or Kakashi will be waiting for us."
We walked out to the training grounds; it was about eleven o' clock or so. I noticed that there were no birds chirping…
It's too quiet…
Sakura and I jumped to opposite sides of the clearing, avoiding a spray of shruiken and kunai. Sakura and I quickly spun around and threw a few kunai at a tree. A popping sound was heard, and Kakashi appeared in front of us.
"Not bad, I barely had time to pull off replacement jutsu that time." He smiled as a log fell from the tree.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei, it's been a while!" I greeted. It was true; Sakura and I often spent so much time on dates or with our own training that we barely saw Kakashi more than twice a week, if not less. I felt kind of bad about it, being that he was one of my best friends as well as a teacher of mine.
"So, eighteen, huh?" he smirked at me behind his mask, then turned to Sakura, then back at me, "Are you two going-?"
"NO!!" Sakura yelled, answering the unfinished question. Honestly, I'm glad she answered and not me. I felt uncomfortable about the subject, now that I thought about it.
The Jonin nodded, then went back to his bored look again, "Well, I suppose that's the smartest choice right now. Though, Sakura, didn't you take a course in preventing preg-?"
"Kakahsi!!" she flared, clenching a fist. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, then pulled out one of his books.
Sakura grumbled, then turned to me, "Oh shoot, Naruto, could you quick run back to your house and get my weapons' pouch? I think I left it there."
"You can borrow mine, Sakura. If we're training, I'm sure I'll have more than enough for both of us." I replied.
"No, I'd like to use mine, pleeeaaase Naruto-kun?" she asked in a sugar-coated voice. She just had to call me Naruto-kun.
"Okay, okay. I wish you would stop using that nickname as a means of getting your way with me." I sighed.
"Because it works?" she smiled.
"Yeah, and you have me wrapped around your finger because of it." I finished, then headed off to my apartment.
About ten minutes later I was in my apartment. I walked into the living room and groaned.
"Great, how do I find a dinky weapons' pouch in this disaster?" I asked myself. I've been told by both Sakura and Ino that compared to other men, my apartment was decent. However, it wasn't 'clean'.
"Sakura sure seemed to want that weapons' pouch." I said as I searched through a pile of dirty clothes. Something seems fishy, and I plan to find out…as soon as I can find Sakura's weapons.
End of chap. 1- So, what do you think? I think it's a fairly good start, not too much being given away…well, please R&R, and I plan on putting the next chapter up soon!