Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, believe it!
Chap. 6: Adopted Family
(Naruto's P.O.V)
I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock. I quickly turned it off, and saw that it read a quarter after seven in the morning. Why did I leave the alarm on again? Wait, now I remember…
"Sakura, hey…Sakura-chan…wake up." I whispered. Sakura groaned like a little kid, and put an arm around me.
"My mom doesn't expect us at her house until noon…we can sleep in Naruto-kun." She said without opening her eyes.
"You know I don't fall back asleep that easily." I replied, yawning despite what I just said.
"Then stay here and keep me warm." Sakura replied, putting her head on my shoulder. She let out a content sigh, and muttered, "I'm not really a morning person, you know that Naruto."
"That makes two of us." I smiled.
One emerald eye opened lazily, "So…you feeling all right after last night?" she smirked a little at my blush.
"I'm a little sore…but yeah, I'm just great otherwise." I answered.
"Hm, well, I can take care of the soreness for you…" she yawned, and let her healing aura of chakra flow from her body into mine.
Next to last night, this healing technique she used on me was the best. I still remember the first time she used it; the night when I returned after a team of ninja I was on defeated Orochimaru. She basically just lied next to me and poured her chakra into me at a comforting, slow rate. Best of all, she only used this healing technique on me…and no one else.
"Hope your mom makes ramen again," I said while relaxing my muscles under the now soothing warmth from Sakura's chakra.
"Naruto, she loves you to pieces, I'm sure she made a good cauldron full of it for you." Sakura answered, slowly drifting back to sleep after ending the healing jutsu.
Ever since I started dating Sakura, I had become a member of her family. I was scared of what her parents might think of me at first, but those worries were immediately washed away when her mother offered to make me some beef ramen, seeing as it was after supper when I was going to take Sakura out. Her mother assumed that I hadn't eaten, and she was right. My first date with Sakura was something that made me nervous enough to skip supper.
Sakura told me that she talked to her parents about me weeks before we thought of going out. Her mother was overjoyed at having her daughter finally find a boyfriend, and her father said that he trusted her judgment. I was still surprised to see that neither of her parents didn't glare at me.
As a result of being accepted by her family, I've made it a ritual to stop by the Haruno household at least once a week to help Mrs. Haruno out when her husbands gone for business, or when Sakura's on a mission that requires a medical ninja. Mrs. Haruno would often talk to me about how she was so proud of Sakura being the Hokage's apprentice, and how she was a medic-nin.
I shifted my thoughts back to Sakura, and smiled at her. She was starting to doze off again. I slowly began to climb out of bed when she wrapped her arm around me.
"No. You stay here." She said…okay, demanded. I laughed and submitted to her request.
It was about half past ten when we decided to get out of bed and get ready. We left at eleven and arrived a little before noon.
"So, what do we tell her about-?"
"Naruto, don't worry. We both are eighteen, and we can make our own choices…in fact, once a person's fifteen in Konohagakure, they're legal…but, it's a little taboo I guess to many." Sakura said, "Besides, I think my mother would feel much better with me having lost it to my boyfriend than to an enemy during a mission."
"Good point." I agreed as we approached the door to Sakura's house. I knocked on the door and we immediately heard the bustling of pots and pans.
"Just a minute!" called a woman's voice in a sing-song tone. Seconds passed when the door opened to reveal a pink-haired woman, "Oh, Sakura, Naruto! Come in, come in!" she smiled, wrapping her arms around her equally pink-haired daughter….I wonder why I never see any pink haired boys around…must be something to do with the XY stuff…
"Hi, Mom." Sakura greeted, hugging her mother.
Mrs. Haruno turned to me, and gave me a smile, "Naruto, how are you doing today?" I returned the smile, and gave the Haruno matriarch a hug as well, "Eighteen…it seems like just yesterday that you walked up these front steps for your first date with my daughter with a boquet in your hand…and they weren't bought either. They were wild flowers. Now how romantic is-?"
"Mom, please." Sakura groaned.
"Right, right…well let's get inside and have some lunch. Now, Naruto, I know you're particular to my pork ramen, but I only had shrimp available." Mrs. Haruno said, ushering us in.
Now, Ichiraku's was wonderful, heaven forbid that I ever say otherwise. However, there was something about the taste of homemade noodles that made me feel even better.
After we ate, Mrs. Haruno gave me a large box full of clothing, both casual and formal, as well as some new ninja attire…I had an inkling suspicion that she received the idea from Sakura. I was disappointed, seeing as I didn't particularly like wearing the same sweaty shirt every other day with the way my odor gets.
"Naruto dear, could you do me a favor and bring in those bins of vegetables out in my garden? They weigh quite a bit for me, but you shouldn't have a problem with them." Mrs. Haruno asked me while she and Sakura did the dishes.
"No problem, it'll be done in no time, believe it!" I said rolling up my sleeves. Usually while I was busy with something in such times of getting together with Sakura's family, Sakura and her mom would have a talk.
Sure enough, as soon as I walked out of the kitchen and into the back, I heard the murmur of their voices.
"Hey, Kyuubi, you think Mrs. Haruno will be angry with me after she finds out?" I asked the demon fox.
"Hard to tell, Kit…I've been around for a good couple of centuries and I still don't get the other gender most of the time…it's just something we put into a higher power I guess." Answered Kyuubi, "There are just some things in life that are too troublesome to deal with for us males."
"…You've been listening to Shikamaru too much…you have a point though." I replied.
(Sakura's P.O.V)
Yep, should have saw this coming…Naruto turning eighteen not only made more opportunities open for him, but for me as well. Mom knew this, and was having a heart to heart talk about with me.
"Sakura, I know you're an adult now, and older than Naruto as well by quite a few months, so I just want you to be smart about your choices." She continued.
I had surprised us both when I openly confessed what Naruto and I had done last night. She took it rather well…she almost gave me the impression of…relief.
"So…you're not angry with me?" I asked.
"Should I be?" she asked rhetorically, "Naruto's a fine young man, even if he houses the Kyuubi…even then, if it wasn't for the fact that he harbors the demon, you may not be here. He's protected you countless times…I owe him a lot." She hesitated, then spoke, a little shaky, but not a scared kind, "Sakura, I hope this doesn't bother you when I say this, but, Naruto has your father and my permission to marry you…should that occur. Your father told me this last week before he left for his business trip."
I gave her a blank, yet content look. Marry Naruto? Well, that idea of marriage used to be Sasuke, but now I couldn't possibly think of anyone else besides the blonde haired ninja. I smiled, and little to my surprise, I heard a voice in my head announce my feelings with ten times the intensity.
"Cha!!!! Naruto belongs to no one else but us!!! Sakura Uzumaki, that has a nice ring to it!!!"
"Thanks Mom." I said, feeling my voice crack with emotion.
"We can start packing your things in your room when you get back from your mission." She added.
"What?"
"I mean, if you still want too…you did say that you wanted to move in to Naruto's, correct?" she replied, turning to me.
"Oh, right. Heh, I thought you were throwing me out." I sighed with relief.
"No, I wouldn't dream of doing that. What kind of mother do you take me for?" she laughed.
Naruto walked in, followed by three clones, all carrying large crates.
"Come on, you're slowing us down!!"
"Hey, don't rush me! I'm the one carrying the tomatoes, since they're so easy to squish, so I have to take my time!"
"Will you two quit arguing, you're holding up the line! We got two more guys coming with the melons, and that will be at least a ton on its own!"
The clones hauled the crates into the storage area, and headed back out, still arguing over the crates.
My mother snickered, and then as soon as they were out of earshot, burst out laughing, "I swear Sakura, he's a one man circus sometimes. The way he argues with himself is just…just so…"
"Just so Naruto-like?" I suggested.
"Yes." She said, recovering from her fit of laughter.
After Naruto and I said goodbye mom, and left to my soon-to-be-former residence, I gave Naruto a peck on the cheek.
"What was that for?" Naruto smiled.
"For being yourself. Don't ever change on me anytime soon, okay?" I answered.
End of chapter 6- Yay, another chapter reeled in, gutted, and mounted…never mind. Well, this chapter was one of those 'filler types' until we get to the mission…there will probably be another few until then, but they'll be important nevertheless. Just for the Temari and Shikamaru couple supporters out there, I'll be having chapters with such content, so keep an eye open, okay? Until then, please read and review, because it makes me grin. Thanks!