Hello all! Here's a side note before you read.

Notes:

This chapter will be split into sub-chapters, so chapter five will continue on with additional sections after this first part.

Last Chapter recap~

"Wow, well it's good to see that you two are doing well at least." Hatsu smiled and looked over at Tora, who apparently became 'lost' just by looking at her. "Dude." A quick nudge to the ribs, and he entered back into the conversation with them. "Have a safe trip home, and hopefully we'll see you soon?"

Politely bowing her head, she said her goodbyes and excused herself to rejoin Sasuke and Neji. "Who are they?" Sasuke inquired as soon as she came back up to them. "They're former high school classmates of mine, Hatsu and Tora. They also happen to be the ones that attempted to rob Itachi that one night. But they've since dropped their leader, who was responsible for planning that whole thing. They're running straight by themselves now. Neji, I thought you went home?" He shook his head, and checked his phone for any texts from his driver. "Ah, he's here. My driver was late, but it seems they just made it. I'll see you in class. Sasuke, I'll see you around." Sasuke only scoffed, and motioned his head towards the exit. "Let's go home, Sakura." he quietly urged.


Chapter 5

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"Let's talk about it later, hm?" she said, trying to avoid the topic altogether. It had been several weeks since the 'Neji incident' had occurred, and Sasuke was relentlessly pestering her about joining her classes rather than shadowing her from the outside. "Why are you so against me going with you?" A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she turned to face him. "It's just...I don't know. Having you follow me around campus isn't something 'normal' people do."

"But you aren't normal." A few moments of silence passed by before she finally spoke up. "Gee, thanks." The dullness in her voice brought a smirk to his handsome face, she knew he was purposefully teasing her. "You know what I mean. You are a Goddess who requires more protection than others. Since that incident, I regret not staying by your side to begin with. What if he had done worse? Whose to say there aren't more yokai beings out there waiting for their chance?"

He wasn't wrong to worry and try and be proactive. Truth be told, any willing yokai could walk right up and challenge her for the Goddess mark. Chances are they would put up a good fight too, if determined enough. She was lucky Sasuke was there to protect her this time, but what if she was caught alone? What then?

As reluctant as she was to have him follow her around campus, she hesitantly accepted the idea of it and finally agreed to it. "We have to try and get you officially enrolled into my classes. That way we'll have solid proof you're supposed to be there. But..." A thin black brow raised in question as her speech came to a sudden end. "What is it?" She was quiet as she thought of a way to make this work without too much hassle. "The second semester will be starting soon, but my classes are just about full. This may sound bad...but would you be able to use your Sharingan to influence someone's mind?"

A single nod of his head put her plan into motion. After her last class that following Monday, she and Sasuke headed to the counselor's office to get him signed up. The office was lively, but less crowded than her first visit there. They took a seat beside one another and patiently waited their turn until someone was free to see them. "Mr Uchiha?" A man's voice called out from inside a cubicle. "Yes, here." he answered back. They both rose to their feet and entered the older man's office. She knew what they were about to do was wrong, but it had to be done. "Hello, I'm Mr. Yamada. How are you doing?" The counselor greeted the two. "Just fine." Sasuke politely replied. "Great. So Mr. Uchiha, you are here to sign up for classes. Is that right?"

"Yes. I'll take the same classes as her." Mr. Yamada's surprised expression made it obvious that he was thrown off by the sudden request. "Oh, I see. Well let me check my system and we'll go from there. May I have your transcripts?" he asked as he smiled at the younger folk. "It's already in the system, take a look." Sasuke suggested as his crimson eyes bore into Mr. Yamada's hazel ones. A hazy memorized look overcame him, and it looked as if he had completely reset. "It is?" He slowly looked back at his screen and nodded. "Ah, my mistake. You're right, it's all right here. Now let me check those classes and we'll get you taken care of."

Once he obtained Sakura's information, he began scrolling and typing away at his desktop. The occasional "Mhm." would escape his throat as he studied her schedule and the available spots he could offer. "Hmm...it seems there aren't any available spots in Ms. Haruno's classes at this time. Perhaps you'd like to look at other options for the time being until your desired classes are available?"

"I believe a spot in each class has opened up just now. Please, check again Mr. Yamada." Sasuke coolly insisted, as he eyed the older man with his unflinching gaze. "Have they?" Mr. Yamada once again questioned, as he checked over his computer screen. "Hm, it seems you're right again Mr. Uchiha. Goodness it appears I need glasses or less caffeine. I'm sorry about that. I'll get you signed up right away."

Sakura sat in silent amazement as she watched the interesting interaction between the two men play out. It was almost too hard to believe it actually worked. But she knew better than to doubt Sasuke, given all the things she's seen him do before.

"Annnnd done. Alright you are all set up and ready to start classes immediately. I'm sure Ms. Haruno will be able to assist you with navigating through your classes. Here is a copy of your schedule, and the recommended books. I do hope you have a wonderful experience here at Konoha University." She smiled at Mr. Yamada's genuine words, while Sasuke bowed his head in gratitude. Thankfully this went by better than she had expected it to. She had to give him credit for executing her plan perfectly, all she had to do was sit back and watch. She'd just have to remember to send Mr. Yamada a fruit basket as an apology, although he'd see it as a gift of appreciation.


"That was actually really impressive." she said as they walked towards the University's entrance gates. "Glad to hear that intrigued you. That ability works on those whose hearts aren't pure or hearts that contain some degree of evil. So it makes things simple enough, considering that the majority of the population meet that criteria."

Mr. Yamada being somewhat evil? He looked like a decent man though? Well I suppose it's true that looks can be deceiving.

It was clear she was trying to figure out what the counselor could've done to be considered evil. He couldn't help but laugh at how obvious she was at times. Hearing a quiet chuckle beside her, she looked over at him with a questioning look. "If you're that curious about it, I'll tell you what I think." he said. Without words, her face urged him to continue. "I think he's a gambler. There were signs of it all over his office, although he tried to cover it up. They were all placed on the side table behind him, but I could see printed articles of 'how to get rid of debt', 'gambling addition 101' and 'how to hide gambling evidence from your family'."

So it was gambling...dang. That's rough.

"Gather 'round everyone! Gather 'round!" a distant voice announced over a megaphone. "Now as some of you may know, today is a special day. For those who don't, let me fill you in! the male student's amplified voice declared. "Gathered here today, we have just a few clubs that would like to recruit more people. So to make that happen, we got permission to hold a small festival as you see here. Everyone please join us! We have food and beverages available, and plenty of club members that would love to welcome you! Thank you everyone."

With the announcement ending, he had a strong inclination she'd want to check out the festivities. Like usual, he was right. "I was so focused on my main courses that I totally forgot about joining a club! Wanna join a club with me Sasuke? It'll be fun." she asked, giving him a playful nudge. "I'm not so sure about joining, but I suppose we could take a look around if you'd like."

The small festival was located in the front of the school near the gates. There were seven clubs in total that were present, and each one had their own personalized booths set up. Each booth was decorated accordingly which made it easy to tell what their club was all about. As they walked up, the first few clubs that could be seen were the photography club, music club, arts and crafts club and the cultures club. One could tell from looking at all the decorated booths, that each one had hard work put into them. The club members were all stationed at their respective booths, but there were also members walking around trying to welcome people to take a look at what they had to offer.

"Ooo, let's take a look at the photography club first." As they approached the photography club's set up, one member came up to warmly greet them. "Hello my name is Junko Nakamura, and I'm the club president. It's nice to meet you. Please allow me to show you more about our club." With delight Sakura followed after Junko to learn more and get some insight, while Sasuke trailed not too far behind.

Junko went over club activities and what they did on a daily basis, all while showing them a collection of remarkable photos the other students had taken. She was tempted to sign up right then and there, but there were so many more clubs to visit. So she expressed her interest in the club, and that she wanted to explore a bit more before setting her decision. Junko wished them a good time and let them be, but as they turned to leave they were stopped short in their path.

A woman with the reddest of hair appeared before Sasuke, with what Sakura would describe as the 'most flirtatious' expression she'd probably ever seen a woman throw his way so far. She was a fair and petite, yet shapely woman. Her auburn colored eyes hid behind brown rimmed glasses; but even her glasses didn't cover how striking and sharp her eyes were. It appeared she was a part of one of the clubs from what her t-shirt advertised. "Hi there." the woman greeted as she walked up to him. Sasuke only offered a bow of his head, and simply glanced at her as she continued on. "My name is Karin Uzumaki. May I interest you in joining our club? I'm the president of the arts and crafts club, and I think you'd make a great addition."

"No thanks." Sakura watched as Karin's face dropped the instant he rejected her passionate invitation. "Hm? Wouldn't you like to check out our booth? Maybe you'll like what you see." her voice deepened just slightly, making her sound somewhat seductive in pitch. Before he could even refuse, she looped her arm inside of his and guided him back to her booth. As they began their walk over, she was sure to pull him a bit closer to have her body push up against his side.

This shouldn't have bothered Sakura like it did. But for some reason, just seeing this girl they never saw or met until this very minute push herself onto him irked her from within. She almost felt like walking in between the two just to separate them, but that would just be absurd of her to do. All she could really do was quietly follow from behind. She could hear her ask him for his name, at which he did inform her of. The way she was speaking to him was almost sultry, but not too overbearing. It was all too clear that she would be the first of many admirers to come. If the others were to be this way around him, it'd be an interesting semester for sure.

Once they made it to Karin's club booth, she was quick to explain what all their club had to offer and even showed him the different crafts they did. From painting, resin crafts, candle and perfume making and more, this club seemed to offer a wide variety of different options for their members to partake in.

Karin explained and presented everything nicely, but it was obvious Sasuke wasn't buying into anything she had to offer. The slight frown set upon his face made it evident enough, but she wasn't taking the hint. "Sakura." he called out, interrupting Karin's never ending speech. "Oh, yes?"

"Are you interested in this club?" His dark eyes shifted onto her, waiting for an answer. Karin too, shifted her attention onto Sakura for the first time since whisking Sasuke away. But her eyes and expression looked as if she wanted to shun her gone. "Your club seems really interesting. I never really tried crafting something up, but it looks to be a fun pastime."

"Ha! It's more than just a 'pastime'. Some consider it to be a way of life. You should try and be more careful about what you say around people who are into the crafts. You might offend someone."

"Oh, I see. Well I'd still like to check out other clubs first before deciding on one, so in the meantime I think it's best to browse around some more."

"Okay great, I hope you find what you're looking for out there. I'm sure there are plenty of other clubs that will be happy to take someone like you."

The pinched tone of Karin's voice made it clear that she was less than interested in speaking, or even hearing what Sakura had to say. As soon as she was done conversing with the Goddess, she immediately disregarded her and gave all her attention back to Sasuke. "So Sasuke, what do you say? I, myself enjoy making different perfumes, and from what I can tell you have excellent taste in cologne. I can promise you, that you'll have an experience like none other if you join this club. I'll personally see to it, that you do." she purred aloud.

What is this woman trying to achieve here? Getting in his pants or what? She's definitely the bold type.

If it had been any other guy standing before the redhead, they probably would've seized the open opportunity Karin was handing out on a golden platter. But this was Sasuke Karin was dealing with, and she could only be so lucky.

"No. It appears my Lady wishes to keep her options open. Therefore, I will do the same. Sakura, are you ready?" he called out, as he began walking back towards the rest of the festival." The blood drained from Karin's rosy cheeks, while a mix of relief and horror flooded into Sakura's chest.

I can't believe he called me that in front of someone...

Sakura politely bowed her head towards Karin, who only twisted her mouth in annoyance. As she walked away after Sasuke, a pair of auburn eyes followed. There was something 'off' about the rose haired girl that just didn't sit right with her. But what could it be?

By the time she caught back up to him, he was standing near a food vendor's cart looking at what was on the menu. "Do they have anything good?" she asked, standing beside him now. "They have a wide variety of street food that looks decent. But never mind that, do you still want to check out the other booths?" After the uncomfortable encounter with Karin, she was tempted to give up on the whole club ordeal and go home for the day.

But the memories of her high school years as an active 'Japanese pop dance club' member, and what it was like to be a part of a group still sat at the back of her mind. "Actually, I think that photography club really stood out, even though we didn't get a chance to look around more. I've always kind of had an interest in photo taking and such. Well you probably already know that, from all those pictures you saw on my bedroom wall."

"I recall. Then why don't you just sign up then. I'm sure they'll be pleased to have you." The glum look in her usually bright eyes, did not go unnoticed as she turned to head back towards the photography club's booth. "Right. I'll just let them know that I'm in, and then we can go home. I'll be right back." Why did she have to make that look? He knew she wanted him to try out a club with her, but he did not have any interest whatsoever in socializing with other humans or participating in their activities. He was mainly focused on Sakura and her well being as his Goddess. But with that in mind, wasn't her happiness part of her well being too?

"Hi Sakura, so have you been enjoying the festival so far?" Junko asked. "Yes, I've had... an interesting experience so far." If it weren't for Karin, I could've seen more of the festival and clubs. Oh well. "I'm glad to hear that. So have you made a choice as far as which club you'd be interested in joining?" Sakura smiled and nodded as she told her that she decided to join their club. A smile as bright as hers appeared upon Junko's face, she was ecstatic to have a new person join so early into the festival. They went over to the booth's table to add her name to their roster and sign her up. "I'm so glad you decided to join us. You're the first one actually. I was almost certain you two were going to go for Uzumaki's arts and crafts club."

"Why is that?" Junko dropped her voice to almost a whisper as she continued on. "Well I noticed how touchy-feely she was being with your friend, and I thought for sure she was bound to recruit him. But when I saw his face, he looked about as interested in her as a lion is interested in grass." That comment almost made her laugh out loud, but she recovered and brought a hand over her mouth. "Did it really look like that?" Junko eagerly nodded and quietly giggled. "It did! Oh! Hello." Junko's met eyes with Sasuke's as he walked up to the table. "I'll sign up too." he casually remarked, shoving his hands into his pants pocket.

From the surprised yet delighted expression she gave, he could already tell the Goddess was quite content. How easy it was to read her mood from just her expressions. "Oh, really?!" Junko exclaimed. "Okay, perfect. That makes two so far. In honor of that, let us gift you some club t-shirts and mugs. You can pick them up when we meet next time."

Wrapping up their recruitment talk Junko bid them farewell, and so now they were home bound for the day. With that over and done with, she had put some more thought into the idea of him being with her at school. In the long run, having Sasuke by her side would greatly benefit her. But from what she witnessed today with Karin's bold moves, she realized that this wouldn't be the last of her or any others that would surly take up an interest in him.


It was Sasuke's first week of school and in every class they had, he would sit next to her. People would occasionally stare with curiosity, but other than that nothing seemed out of the norm. Neji had been absent from class due to work, so she was sure he would be in for a surprise when he came back to see the Uchiha Familiar there with her.

The last day of their week finally came around, and the final class of the day had just finished. They usually would just go home and continue their shrine duties, but today the culinary club was out in the dining hall selling pork buns. Hearing about this, she couldn't help but gravitate towards the booth for the tasty treats they had for sale. She was a sucker for good food. After getting Sasuke to wait for her at one of the nearby tables, she patiently waited in line to buy some buns.

Sounds of shuffling behind her grew louder as the people in line seemed to inch closer to her. A minute or two had passed before she could feel a finger tap her shoulder. She looked back to see two girls standing there, looking as if they had something to ask her. "Hm? Can I help you?" she earnestly asked.

"Hey Sakura, it's us. Megumi and Jona. I'm not sure you know, but we take Biology with you?" The names jogged her memory and their faces looked quite familiar, but she couldn't really recall them since she did not speak with many people in class unless required to do so for projects or lab. They could tell by her expression that she did not recognize them, so Jona spoke up first. "It's okay, we usually sit in the very back corner so we have a good view of everyone else in the room. I know you sit in the front, so it's cool. We just wanted to ask you something. Well, Megumi has something to ask you."

"Sure, what is it?" Megumi smiled and twiddled her fingers together, as she summoned up the courage to ask whatever it is was that she wanted to know. "Well it seems you are close with Sasuke... Sasuke Uchiha? I was wondering if you two were together? Like as a couple?" A couple? Sasuke and I? Does it look that way to others? "I..uh..." Megumi's cheeks blushed a light pink as she waited for an answer. Jona detected the hesitation in Sakura's voice and being the bolder one out of the two, decided to reinforce Megumi's question to ensure no misunderstandings could be made. "Please answer directly. Megumi is only asking because she is interested Sasuke, so she wanted to make sure he wasn't taken before asking him out."

Mhm. I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. I just thought it'd be the latter.

Glancing over at Sasuke who was looking out the window, she returned her gaze onto Megumi and Jona before answering. "We don't have that type of relationship. We're just friends. Nothing more." The last part of her sentence seemed to bring Megumi out of her bashful state and into an excitable one. "Really?! That's great to hear! Sorry...I just find him to be super attractive, y'know? You don't find that type of 'handsome' very often around here. Now all that's left for me to do is summon up some courage to ask him. Anyway, thank you for telling me. See ya later."

The girls proceeded to wave their goodbyes and run off in the opposite direction. Sakura just stood and watched in awe until she was called up to order her pork buns. "Sakura?" She recognized this voice to belong to Tora. He was standing behind the pork bun stand and was smiling at her with that same goofy grin she was so used to seeing, since back when she used to tutor him during their high school years together.

"Sakura, hey how are you?" Tora warmly greeted.


Sasuke sat quietly at a nearby lunch table, waiting for her return. She had insisted on getting some pork buns since hearing news that the culinary club had a stand set up in the dining hall. There was no reason they had to hurry back to the shrine today, so he obliged and told her he'd just hang out at the tables until she was ready to go home.

Scanning the room, he detected no yokai presence in the area so he shifted his view beyond the giant windows. It was supposed to rain, was it not? "Hey Sakura, it's us. Megumi and Jona." Hearing her name, he turned his head to catch a glimpse of whoever was approaching her. Jona, the young woman with short brown hair and Megumi, the other woman with long black hair walked up and began chatting with the Goddess out of the blue.

He recognized them to be from their Biology class. He pretty much had all of their classmates names and faces memorized, to make certain he knew who they came in contact with on a daily basis. The few days he had spent in class, he even picked up on other people's tendencies and personalities. But it was only natural for him to do so, since he couldn't help but do this out of habit. He was always one to be cautious and conscious of his surroundings.

Those girls never expressed any interest in chatting with her before, so it did seem strange of them to approach her to strike up a conversation. But from the looks of it, all they were doing was casually chatting back and forth. So he resumed staring out of the window at the people that walked by. "Why do you keep appearing in places that I least expect?" Neji asked as he sat down across from him. "I signed up to take classes with Sakura, so I may better protect her."

Must I always run into him? I suppose it's unavoidable since he's taking the same Biology class as us.

"Ah, I see. Then that makes you and I classmates. I never would've thought we'd run into each other more often, but I guess it can't be helped. Anyway, I've been gone this week because of unexpected promotionals my manager arranged, but you can expect to see me during our next class session."

Before Sasuke could elucidate how he could've cared less about seeing him during their class together, a cheery male's voice caught his attention. "Sakura, hey how are you?" they heard the voice greet aloud. Both men moved to look towards the direction the voice had come from, to see Sakura speaking with the man running the bun stand.

"It's that guy from before, remember?" Neji said as he openly stared at the young man. Sasuke knew exactly who he was. "Tora." he dully stated. "That's right, that was his name. What an unusual coincidence, and look at that...he's even got that 'head over heels' look in his eyes again. I wonder what they could be speaking of this time."

"Probably something uninteresting such as classes or how their days have been so far. Typical human talk." Neji only nodded in agreement at this. He couldn't deny that humans enjoyed participating in excessive and unnecessary small talk. While they kept watch over the interaction between the Goddess and Tora, they noticed how he placed his hands under hers cupping them, as she attempted to pay for the pork buns. Due to the chatter all around them Sasuke couldn't hear what was said between the two, so he had to go off of their actions.

She seemed confused but Tora only smiled at her. He said something and gently pushed her hands back to refuse the money she owed. He then went on to pack up some pork buns and place them in a gift bag for her. After she received her food, they seemed to exchange pleasantries one last time before she departed and made her way back to Sasuke's table. "Well I suppose that is my que to leave then. I'll see you two in class. Give her my regards." Neji announced before getting up to leave.

"Oh, was that Neji?" she asked, walking up to the table. "It was. He just stopped by to exchange greetings." Rising onto his feet, he grabbed her bag from the table and looped his arm through the strap. "Ready?" She acknowledged she was, but paused and motioned towards her bag. "Sasuke, you don't have to..." He only shook his head, and beckoned her to walk with him towards the exit. "You have those pork buns to carry, so I'll carry this for now." It wasn't like it was the first time he had helped carry her things, but she was always so grateful for the help.

As they walked past the bun station, he noticed from his peripheral that someone was eyeing them. Even with a customer in front of him, Tora kept his eyes glued onto the duo as they walked past him. His eyes were initially on Sakura, but then shifted onto Sasuke who was already looking at him. They had a brief moment of acknowledgment, before Tora turned away to tend to his customer.

This human really must have some type of infatuation with her, for him to be following her out with his eyes. Petty love I assume, is what drives him.


"Master Sasuke, Lady Sakura we have received a letter!" Denki exclaimed, waving the letter in the air before handing it off to Sasuke. Untying the bow that kept the paper folded, he read over the neatly hand-written letter before bringing his gaze up to meet hers. "It appears your company has been requested by the Goddess of Mercy." Her eyes slightly widened with shock. Hearing this name again and just the fact that another Goddess wished to meet with her, was enough to send little waves of excitement through her body. "Isn't that the Goddess Neji had mentioned before? His cousin, Hinata?" He dipped his head in acknowledgment as he re-read the letter once more.

"It is. The Goddess of Mercy is of the Hyuga clan. She is the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's leader, so she is seen as an aristocratic figure among the community. She, along with the rest of their family resides in the Heavens. I suppose it isn't unusual for her to request an audience with you. Her shrine is under the protection of the Uchiha family after all. With only shrine guardians residing there and no physical deity present, it was the agreed upon solution."

So she has a shrine on earth, but she lives in the Heavens. But how does that even work?

"If she stays in the Heavens, how is it properly running without her? I thought a deities presence was required to ensure the shrine's spiritual health?" Once he was finished skimming over the letter, he handed it off to her so she could view it as well. "Those that reside in the Heavens are able to extend their presence to their shrine. So she is able to fulfill her duties from afar."

Oh, so that's how it worked...

"Will I really get to meet her? Like in person?" He looked as if he were in deep thought before actually giving her an answer. This made her worry, but to her surprise he nodded his head. "You shall meet her tomorrow evening. Are you prepared to meet that soon?" It was a spur of the moment, but she felt she couldn't turn down this opportunity. She was going to meet a Goddess, a true Goddess-born being. Even if she wasn't really 'ready', she would prepare herself to ensure she was ready by the time their meeting was to take place. "Yes, I will be." He accepted this answer, and told her he would send back a letter to notify Hinata her request had been granted.

Now that it had been decided, the real excitement began. To make herself more presentable in the presence of the Goddess of Mercy, the shrine guardians assisted her in bringing her clothes out to display them on her bed. She did not bring many dresses with her from her father's house, but the ones she did bring seemed acceptable enough. With how Sasuke described Hinata's social status, she wanted to make sure she did not fall behind on appearances. Who would want to look disheveled or under dressed when meeting someone like her?

She busied herself with picking different outfit combinations, until a knock at her bedroom door brought her attention over to it. "Come in!" she hollered over the chatter of Kiyo and Denki. "Ooo, perhaps this dress? What do you think, my Lady? I think it really compliments your eyes and hair beautifully!" Kiyo excitedly said, as she brought a dress up next to Sakura. "Or perhaps this one? The princess-like flow of the hem seems quite enchanting." Denki remarked, as he studied the flowy dress in his hands.

"I see you're busy with preparations." Sasuke observed. "Yeah I just wanted to try and look the part of a Goddess. I'd feel weird if I showed up wearing jeans and a t-shirt to meet her, but I've got a few dress selections here I can choose from so I think I can make this work."

"I see. I came to let you know I sent the letter out. So our guests should arrive no later than five o'clock tomorrow evening. I'll make the necessary preparations. Kiyo, Denki...when you are finished here please fetch Lady Hinata's preferred treats." The guardian spirits happily obliged and bowed their heads. With nothing else to say he turned to leave the room, but was then called upon by Kiyo. "Oh Master Sasuke, which dress do you think Lady Sakura should wear to the meeting tomorrow?"

Sasuke nor Sakura expected Kiyo to ask him his opinion on the matter, so they both looked equally taken aback. She stayed silent, while he calmly looked around the room at the different outfit choices that were laid on the bed. "I...uh..." All eyes were on him as he struggled to come up with what to say. Kiyo more than anyone was excited to hear what his thoughts were, her hands were clasped together in anticipation as she patiently waited for him to speak.

"Whatever you choose, will be acceptable. I trust your judgement is best in situations such as these." No one said a word, until Denki gave two thumbs up and flew over to the bed full of clothes. "That's right! Whether it be this dress or that, Lady Sakura will look wonderful because she looks grand in everything she wears!" Kiyo joined in on the hype, and began going through the clothes to see what other options there were. While those two were busy, Sakura looked over and apologetically smiled and bowed her head in appreciation for his efforts. He bowed in return, and quietly made his leave.


With no more classes scheduled for the week, it was time they took their minds off of school and onto their important guests that were to arrive. It was morning again, and the day started just like any other. As she began heading out to begin her morning training, she stopped by Sasuke's room to see if he was ready to join her. Two knocks on the door, and he answered almost immediately. "Good morning." she greeted. "Good morning." he replied. "Are you ready to go? I'm thinking this time I'll definitely be able to purify a whole weapon today. I was soo close last time, I know you saw!"

A quiet chuckle escaped his throat, his eyes looked more tired than usual but he still looked as handsome as ever. "I have something I need to prepare for today, so I won't attend today's session. I'll see you at breakfast once you're finished." She had to admit she felt a little disappointed that he couldn't come out with her, but of course she understood he had other things he needed to attend to. She acknowledged this, and left for the field. His absence today only added fuel to her determination to successfully purify a weapon. She wanted to show him all his teachings were being put to good use. Successfully purifying the sword she had been working on for the past two weeks would be competent evidence to prove it, so she was on a warpath to achieving her goal today.

The sword itself was beautiful. It was forged by Sasuke himself, so all the details were carefully crafted to perfection. It was sturdy and light in weight, making it easy for her to handle and wield. Although this sword wasn't made specifically for her, it felt as if it was. For the past three weeks, she had been practicing how to purify objects to no avail. At times she would get really close and convince herself that she was only seconds from being triumphant, but in the end she would always only be so close. It was frustrating for sure, but she's never given up even to this day. "If I can do the impossible and access my chakra, then I can purify this sword! I can do this! I'll show him that I can do this!"

He works so hard all the time. I wish I could do more to show my appreciation for all he does for me. At least if this works, he can see that his time is not being wasted on training me.


"Master Sasuke, we have gathered everything that is needed for Lady Hinata's arrival. Is there anything else you wish for us to do?" Kiyo asked, coming to his side. "No, that is all for now. Once it gets closer to the time of the meeting, we'll further prepare from then on. Thank you." She gracefully excused herself from his presence, and went on to join Denki in making breakfast. Since the first time they tried putting together a plate, their cooking skills had drastically improved. With help from Sasuke, they learned how to accommodate Sakura's tastes. They came a long way from where they started, so he was proud of them.

The busy day carried on with the normal shrine duties being taken care of, and the additional preparations being handled. All day long, she had thoughts and visions of how the meeting would go and what the Goddess was like. From what Neji had previously said, she was a kind person who showed compassion towards him. That being said, she pictured Hinata to be a kindred spirit. The total opposite of Suigetsu, that was for sure. That encounter was one she did not wish to experience again. "That man was crazy." she said aloud. "Who?" Sasuke asked as he stepped into the common room. "Oh, I was just thinking about our visit with Suigetsu and how crazy it was...he was."

"Don't worry, this visit will be nothing like that. I can imagine you will most likely enjoy yourself this evening." Denki came to Sakura's side and lightly tapped her shoulder to make his presence known. "Indeed. Lady Hinata is a respectable woman. Kiyo and I do believe you will get along nicely." A delighted smile spread across her face at all the positive intake she was receiving from everyone. "That's good to hear. Well I guess I'll get ready then. It might take me a bit, so I'll get started now."

"Sakura, wait." he called after her. "Could you follow me out for a minute?" She accepted without hesitation and followed behind. He led her outside to the shed and began messing with the lock. She wondered why they were out there, but kept any and all questions to herself. Surely he had a good reason to bring her here, maybe he had something to show her? "Did you manage to purify the weapon today?" he asked, jingling the keys and lock. "No...I tried but it wasn't enough to purify it completely. I just resorted to going over different exercises." She sounded down, but hopefully she'd lighten up after what he had to show her. "You'll get there. Just keep working at it."

Once he got the padlock removed, he pulled open the doors and stepped inside. She had only been there once before, so she couldn't remember how big it really was. It was dimly lit, but she could spot neatly organized boxes and tubs set upon the shelves, and furniture covered with protective white sheets. They walked just a bit further in, until they came to a complete stop. From there, he began taking down a sealed storage tub that was set high upon the shelf.

He set it down onto the ground and took the lid off to reveal clothing that was inside a tightly sealed storage bag. "Take this." She took the clothes into her arms, and waited as he put the tub back up and led the way back out. They made their way back to the common room, and there she handed the clothes bag back to Sasuke. She watched as he carefully opened it up, and pulled out a beautiful red Kimono. Her eyes studied the beautiful material from top to bottom as he held up the silk garment.

The dress was deep red in color and decorated with dark red flowers. Accents of white and gold helped shape the flowers and added beautiful patterns to the ensemble. The obi belt was colored and coordinately decorated the same. "Oh Sasuke...it's so beautiful." The silky cloth between her fingers felt so smooth and delicate. Just from touching it, she could tell it was of authentic material. "It is yours now. Please accept this as a gift." Did he just tell me this beautiful piece of Kimono is mine to keep? "R-really? I...thank you so much. I love it." Seeing her smile brightly at the dress seemed to stir something within him. When she looked back up at him, she could see the corners of his mouth had upturned into a pleasing smile.

"Just let me freshen it up a bit before you wear it. I'll have it prepared for you in a few minutes." She agreed to meet him again after taking a bath, so she left him to it and made her way to get washed up and ready. "Master Sasuke, that was..." Kiyo began. "My mother's kimono." he added.


Drying her hair with a large towel, she watched herself in the mirror inside her room as she spoke with herself. "That Kimono was the prettiest I've ever seen. I still can't believe he gave it to me. But I wonder...did it belong to someone? It looks so new, but the tub he pulled it out of was a bit dusty like it's been sitting in there for a good while."

"Sakura?" he called from behind her door. "Coming!" Squeezing the last drop of water from her hair with the towel, she hastened her step towards the door. "Sorry, I'm about ready now." When the door opened, she watched his eyes grow in size as they instinctively lowered to see her current attire. She wore what looked to be a silky undergarment dress that only reached down to her upper thighs. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were still getting dressed." He gently placed the Kimono in her arms and abruptly left without another word. "Wait! It's fine, it's just an under slip for dresses..."

Not even the wind that followed behind him was anywhere to be felt. With him now gone, she closed the door and began doing her make up and hair. She didn't want to overpower her make up, so a light simple look was chosen. Just a touch of mascara, to enhance her already long lashes and some pink lip tint for her lips. As for her hairstyle she decided to go with the classic half up, half down look and just added a hair accessory. Finally it was time to put on the Kimono. She had some experience when it came to putting one on properly. The only thing though, is that she could never tie the belt correctly. Her mother would always have to be the one to help, but she wasn't here. Maybe Kiyo could help?

"Kiyo? Are you there? I think I need some help here. I'm holding the dress together, but the belt is a bit difficult to do by myself." No movements or any sounds could be heard from outside the room. They're probably still busy out there. I just know this is going to turn out crooked. Oh well, I guess. "Do you need some help?" a deep voice from the other side of the door asked. Sasuke...he came back? She opened the door to reveal him standing there looking more relaxed than before. "Yes, please." Allowing him in and shutting the door closed, they walked over to the body length mirror and examined the Kimono together once more.

Stealing peeks at his tall reflection behind her, it registered that this was the first time he visited her room by himself. "So you were needing help with the belt?" he began. "Oh, yes. I could never tie these right by myself. It's over there on the bed." She watched him go on to retrieve the belt and come back. "Turn for me." She did so, and was slightly startled at their proximity. He was much closer than she expected, but she didn't complain. From her position, she got to get an up close look at his striking features.

For a moment, she was caught in his gaze and couldn't break free. She couldn't help but stare into his ebony eyes. Although they were the darkest shade of color she had ever seen in someone's eyes, she could still detect specks of chocolate brown hidden in the shadows of them. Caught up in the moment, she felt inclined to bring her hand up to trace the outlines of his marvelous face. But she did nothing of the sort. She was sure it'd only freak him out, and mortify her for even trying something like that on an unsuspecting man.

"Hold this in place." he gently asked, placing the front of the belt against her abdomen. She placed her hands over his and pressed it against her stomach. His fingers slid out from under hers and across the material of the belt, until he reached enough to measure around her midsection. Pinching the material, he moved in even closer and began wrapping it around her waist so he could then tie it in place. Now caged between his arms, she could hear the soft sounds of him breathing in and out next to her ear. The closeness of his body made hers quite aware that he was mere inches away.

Again with the urge to wrap her arms around his torso and pull him in invaded her thoughts. His scent wasn't helping disperse said thoughts either, he smelt woodsy with a hint of warmth if she were to describe it. All those factors playing with her senses, were almost too much to bear. She could control herself just fine of course, but when he spoke next to her ear she could've sworn she'd melt right then and there if it were humanly possible.

His smooth voice gave her a soothing feeling as it reached her ear. "There. I'll just finish tying it up from behind." He retracted his arms and walked behind her to proceed with tying up the belt into a bow. Her eyes fell to the floor once she realized her rash thoughts. What the heck am I thinking? Have I gone mad? But he's so... "Okay, it's done. Take a look." Raising her head to look at herself in the mirror, she smiled and twisted around to see the nicely tied bow in the back. "Wow, that's perfect. Thank you so much, it's gorgeous." He didn't smile, but he seemed pleased with her reaction. "You're welcome. My mother would've been grateful someone brought her Kimono back from the storage."

"Your mother? This was your mother's Kimono?" He only nodded in response, before taking another look at her ensemble. "Yes. She liked to wear this one sometimes when meeting with others or when she went out somewhere important." He...he really gave me his mother's Kimono. Hold back the tears Sakura, hold them in! "She must've been so beautiful. I will cherish this for as long as I live... is it really okay for me to have this?"

"Yes. It'd be a waste for it to sit there in the shed. Besides, you..." When he moved to come near her once more, he stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes. He looked as if he were trying to find the right words to say, so they quietly stood there in silence for a few seconds.

Does he have something to say?

"You..." Her eyes filled with hope, as she waited for him to finish. "Lady Sakura, do you require any assistance with getting dressed?" Kiyo asked from outside the room. Her voice startled the two, causing them both to turn their eyes onto the door. "Uh...no thanks Kiyo, I got it." The little shrine guardian accepted this answer and notified her that their guests were set to arrive shortly since the five o'clock hour was soon approaching. "Thank you, I'll be out shortly." With that, Kiyo left to continue preparing the table.

"Since it's near that time, if you're all done here you can get settled at the table and I will lead them in when they arrive." She agreed with his suggestion and followed him out, since there was nothing else she needed to do to prepare herself. She felt she'd be as ready as she could get at this point. As previously discussed, she took her place at the Kotatsu table and waited for her guests to appear. Chatter from the kitchen brought her eyes over to see Kiyo and Denki coming her way with clean plates, empty cups and a dish of cinnamon rolls. "Oh Lady Sakura, you look so very lovely!" Denki adored, as he set the tea cups down onto the table. "Agreed. You look absolutely divine. Like a true Goddess." Kiyo added, placing the cinnamon rolls down in the middle of the table.

"Thank you guys. Does Lady Hinata like cinnamon rolls?" The guardians nodded their heads and backed away from the table to take their place by the wall. "Indeed she does, it's one of her favorites. Later we will serve her other preferred foods, Zenzai and mochi. It's a red bean soup served with mochi. Of course we will also serve one of your favorites as well, Anmitsu the jelly dessert you love so much." Hearing Kiyo mention Anmitsu brought her spirits up even more. The guardians had served this treat once before per her request, so she knew it was going to taste great when it was time to eat it.

They're bringing out the good stuff today. I can't wait!

"My Lady, our guests have arrived." she heard Sasuke present, as he entered the room with two others. The guardians spirits bowed in respect and welcomed the Goddess of Mercy as she made her way inside.


After extending their initial greetings, Hinata and her Familiar took their place at the kotatsu table across from Sakura and Sasuke. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Sakura. I've heard quite a few things about you, all good of course." Hinata began, giving a sweet smile. She was soft spoken, and looked to be a refined young woman. Her speech and even her body posture screamed elegance. Not to mention, she was quite pretty as well.

She could tell she was a Hyuga just from her features. It was mostly the light polar-blue eyes that gave it away. Her hair was as dark as night, and reached the middle of her back. The blunt princess-style fringe that framed her face suited her well. She was dressed in a white Qipao dress that was decorated with blue flowers and butterflies, and her hair was adorned with matching jewels that were stylishly clipped in. Even the light makeup she had on seemed to make her look all the more perfect, if that was even possible.

Thank goodness Sasuke saved me from wearing something too plain. I would've been self conscious then.

Imagining herself wearing any of the casual day dresses she had in her closet, only made her that much more grateful to Sasuke who was kind enough to give her the special Kimono she now wore. "Likewise, Lady Hinata. I was happy to hear you wanted to meet with me." Hinata politely smiled and gestured to the man that quietly sat beside her. "This is my Familiar, Kiba Inuzuka." Kiba bowed his head in respect, and introduced himself. "Hello, it is an honor to meet you. Please accept this gift I bestow upon you. It is Lady Hinata's welcoming gift." Everyone watched as he stood to his feet to present an appealingly wrapped gift. It looked almost too luxurious to even open.

"I'm sorry it's a late welcoming gift since you've been the Land Goddess for a while now, but I still wanted to give it to you. If you'd like, you can open it now." Hinata encouraged, gesturing to the gift. Kiba handed off the gift to Sasuke, who then handed it to Sakura. "I heard the Uchiha Goddess was quite the beauty, and that you had eyes as green as the summer leaves. I see now that what they speak is the truth. But I believe you relate more to the early spring when everything blooms, rather than the summer."

How poetic! She really is a kindred spirit.

"How kind, thank you." Giving into the open suggestion, she began unraveling the bow that held the lid in place. Setting that aside, she lifted the lid to see a jewelry box that homed a magnificent gold plated emerald pendant necklace. She had never received jewelry quite like this before, so she was stunned to see a piece this extravagant sitting before her. "Thank you so much Lady Hinata. It's...wow."

Something this precious can't be worn out just anywhere. I'll keep it at home and adore it for now.

Exchanging pleasantries over cinnamon rolls and green tea, Sakura came to know some of Hinata's traits. She was elegant, graceful and poised. Three traits she wished she could see herself carry at all times. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from her after this was over. She hoped to see her again after all.

"Lady Sakura if I may, there is something I wish to ask for your assistance with." With how well things were going, she gave no second thoughts and beckoned Hinata to continue. "Well you see...um...well I...you see..." Saying nothing further, Sakura began to question what on earth the Goddess of Mercy would want from her. Only seconds before, she seemed sure of herself whenever she spoke. But her demeanor had changed once she asked for help. She was more timid than anything now.

"Lady Hinata, are you alright?" Sakura softly asked. Whatever train of thought the Goddess was on came to a stop, for she finally brought her eyes back up to meet Sakura's. "Y-yes, I apologize. I'm rather bashful when it comes to talk of the heart." Kiba choked on the tea he had been enjoying, and excused himself. "Hem-, Ahem...sorry, excuse me." Sasuke on the other hand, seemed unbothered.

Is she talking about a love interest? Perhaps it's another God? I imagine it'd be a strong Hercules look alike or someone similar. A person like that would look nice beside her.

"Oh, certainly. Would you rather talk about it later?" Hinata shook her head and brought her hands together, before professing what has been heavy on her heart all this time. "I need your help with matchmaking because...I am in love with a human boy!" The room went silent after her initial confession, but then came all the ruckus. Kiba choked on the piece of cinnamon roll he was indulging on, while Sasuke who was at first calm, became unsettled after hearing this scandalous revelation. "What?!" The two Familiars questioned in unison. "Lady Hinata?! It can't be so?!" Kiba managed to say between coughing and choking. Hinata seemed to shrink in her seat as all eyes were on her now.

Sakura sat still in her seat, but was unbothered by the sudden confession. "You're in love with a human boy?" Hinata only nodded her head in response, as she was still too flustered to speak. "I see. Who is it that you admire?" This is big news...a Goddess in love with a human? No wonder those two looked as if they had seen a ghost. "His hair is like sunlit waves of blonde. His eyes are a deep blue, and full of warmth and kindness. His name is Naruto, and he lives in this district. I've decided to fulfill my desire to meet him, and so I've come to you to request your help."

I've never set a couple up before. I'm not sure if I have the confidence to do this...but I'm the Goddess of the land and marriage now. I've got to at least try. She looks so happy when she speaks about him.

"I'd be honored to help."

"Oh you will? Thank you so much! Oh, Kiba are you alright? You look a bit pale." Kiba raised a hand to signal he was alright, but the way he was lightly patting his chest to clear anything left in his airways told her otherwise. "Lady Hinata, you are in lo...ahem. You are in love with a-Ahem!" A coughing fit ensued, resulting from his newly strained throat. While Hinata was busy checking on Kiba, Sasuke nudged at Sakura's leg to gain her attention. His voice lowered into a whisper, so the other two would not overhear. Thanks to Kiba's continuous coughing, they went unheard as they began their own side conversation.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"I do. Why? Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"I know it's a bad idea."

After multiple shots of water, Kiba finally overcame his coughing fit, and cleared his throat one final time. "I think I'm okay now. Sorry for the commotion. Lady Hinata, could we speak of this more? I don't understand, when did you begin having feelings for a human?" Hinata grew quiet and her eyes shifted to focus on the food set in front of her. Expressing her love aloud in front of others was hard enough, but she was bound to explain either way if she wanted help from Sakura.

"When I first saw Naruto, it was many moons ago. He visited my shrine to pray one day, and I distinctly remember him asking why others avoided him. He asked why he had such a hard time making new friends. He was a boy then, but during each visit he would make he'd be a little bit older and a little more sure of himself. He began praying...well declaring he'd get stronger both physically and mentally."

The look in her eyes as she spoke about Naruto, made it clear she was truly in love. There was no denying that look. Sakura had never been in love herself, but Hinata's profound love for the human boy was clear-cut.

"There were times I wished I could reach out to him, and hold him to soothe his worries. There was a time when I panicked because I hadn't seen him for months, until recently when he visited. I thought I'd never see him again, but he showed up to pray. This time around he sounded more confident and lively when he spoke, it made me happy to see him this way. He told me he reconnected with two friends from school, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi." The further she explained, the more invested Sakura had become.

Did she say Shikamaru? I feel like I've heard that name before. Hm.

"He had also gotten a new job at a nearby ramen shop. He said he loved their food so much, he decided to work there." A quiet giggle escaped her lips, as she thought more of the silly proclamation Naruto made for his love of ramen. "He told me about how he was looking more on the bright side of life now, and that he was steadily working to improve himself. When he left me that day, my heart ached for him to come back. My realization for how I felt came to life, and I knew I wanted to be with him. To see him smile at me directly. This is why I am requesting your help, Lady Sakura. Please connect me with Naruto."

The determination and hope in Hinata's eyes grew as she finished strong with what she had to say. Somewhere within all those visits Naruto made, the Goddess had fallen for him. Now all Hinata wanted was to hold the one she considered dear to her heart. From Kiba and Sasuke's reaction to all of this, Sakura could tell this was a very taboo and irregular thing to happen. Perspectives from the yokai world and the Heavens she understood, but even that couldn't sway her own point of view on things. All she saw was a sweet person in love who wanted a chance, so how could she not want to help her?

It was set in stone, she was going to help her meet with Naruto. After agreeing to aid her, they wrapped their meeting up and Hinata left the shrine on a very good note. But now she was alone with Sasuke. They sat on the couch and browsed through several channels, the room was once again silent but it wasn't unpleasant. Although she knew of his disapproval and how he felt on the matter, she still couldn't bring herself to say 'no' to Hinata. After hearing her story, she felt her responsibility as the Goddess of Marriage was being called upon. Whether it be heart break or a love requited, Sakura was determined to help her find some answers.


The following day was designated as day one of 'Operation Naruto'. As ridiculous as the name was, Hinata loved it and the idea Sakura had come up with. When they met back at the Uchiha shrine, they discussed details of the plan and how it was to go. This plan was designed to first seek out Naruto and tell him there was someone who wished to meet him. Once he agreed to it, Sakura would then set up the meeting between the two and find a comfortable setting for them. From that point, the two would make contact and get to know each other. Of course the first meeting would be supervised to make certain that the plan didn't plummet south, and also to make sure Hinata was protected from any potential dangers of the mortal realm per Kiba's request. This would be Hinata's first time setting foot out in the open in this realm, so her Familiar's worries were understandably justified.

It was decided Kiba would stay in the Heaven's to assist Hinata with her duties for the day while she met Naruto, so it would just be Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata present. It took some convincing, but the Hyuga Familiar eventually agreed to this plan. So with everything now set, Sakura and Sasuke took to the streets to find Naruto. With the tips they received from Hinata, they figured he would mostly likely be at the ramen shop he worked at, so this was the first place they visited.

As they walked down the shopping center's walkway, she noticed Sasuke was oddly quieter than usual. He made no additional comments nor did he say anything regarding the love between the Goddess and the human boy. It was getting strange to the point where she began wanting to seek out any reaction from him.

Should I ask him what he's thinking? Maybe I'll just leave him be, he would say something if it was really necessary I'm sure.

Once they reached the ramen shop that Naruto worked at, they entered the building and seated themselves at a booth. It was before the lunch rush, so it was empty inside. The place itself was nice, but there was no one to be seen. The most they could hear in the rather quiet restaurant was chatter from behind the kitchen door and the quiet traditional music that played over the speakers. "Maybe they're in the back preparing food?" she suspected aloud. "Perhaps." he concurred.

"Oh, hello!" a male voice welcomed. A server approached the table and introduced himself. "Welcome to Ichiraku. I'm Nobu, and I'll be your server today. May I take your food order? No wait, may I take your drink order? Sorry...I'm new at this, heh." He was tall and blonde, but he wasn't Naruto. Shoot, maybe he isn't on this shift? The doors say this place is open even late into the night. "Actually, we were looking for someone. Do you know Naruto?" she asked, hopeful that this guy knew who Naruto even was. "Naruto? Uh...I'm not sure who that is. The name doesn't ring a bell. Sorry. I just started this morning actually, so I'm still getting acquainted with my co-workers."

Damn.

"Are you family of his? Or friends?" Nobu asked. "We're extended friends. Our friend that knows him couldn't make it here today, so we wanted to let Naruto know that our friend wanted to meet up with him." Why am I sounding so suspicious? Even I wouldn't believe that! I just know Sasuke is sitting there giving me the side eye right now. Proving her right, he indeed was. She gave him a look of her own, which basically said that she could handle the situation. He quietly scoffed at her, further adding to her own annoyance.

"Oh okay! Makes sense, duh. Sorry I asked, I was just curious. If you still want, I can get you drinks while I check if Naruto is in. There are some people in the back so I'll ask around." He actually believed me?! "Sure, thank you!" Nobu took their drink orders and set off to the back to take care of that, and to ask if anyone knew who and where Naruto was.

"I'm not surprised that kid believed you. Given he is an absent-minded individual." Sasuke remarked. The bored look upon his face made it plain as day, that he was less than interested in participating in the plan she had made. She even noticed how withdrawn he became once they sat down. "Are you okay, Sasuke?" He folded his hands together atop the table, and looked her dead in the eye before answering. "I'm fine." But she knew better than to take this unfeeling answer and run with it. "Why are you so against this?" she suddenly asked.

"Do you not realize how much this defies the order of things? A Goddess loving a human? It's something that goes against the natural normality of this realm. They're two beings from two different worlds. A love as such would only end in tragedy." His explanation was understandable, but her feelings on the matter still stood strong. "Even so, wouldn't giving them a chance be worth it? Giving her an opportunity to meet the one her heart yearns for just once might put her at ease. Who knows, maybe he'll reciprocate those feelings."

"Whether he does or not, the ending will be the same. He'll grow old and love her his entire life, while she stays as she is. When his natural life ends, she will be left alone to mourn by herself. What then? Sometimes love cannot be, no matter how hard you try to make it work." His logical approach set her still. Every word and thought he spoke was true. She agreed that the love Hinata held for Naruto would eventually come to that end, and as tragic as it sounded she was more focused on the here and now aspect. She made a promise to Hinata, and she was going to fulfill that promise to the best of her ability.

Before she could get another word in the sound the front door's bell rang, notifying everyone that a new customer had entered. "Welcome to Ichiraku! I'll be right with you!" Nobu's voice greeted from the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure." the customer answered back. The man yawned as he walked over to sit at a booth across the room from their own. Realization hit as she took a closer look at the customer. "Kaito." she uttered under her breath. "Kaito?" he reiterated. "Wait, don't look-..." It was too late. Sasuke turned to look at the man sitting across the room. This attracted the man's attention, so he too looked up to see Sasuke and Sakura sitting there.

"Oh? Is that you Sakura? Never thought I'd see you again so soon...wait is that the same guy from that park?" Kaito leaned closer from his seat to get a better view of the two and smiled. "Hmm..nah you just look really similar. Anyway, what brings you two here?" Her aggravated expression warned him she was about to tell him off, so he beat her to the punch. "Hey what's with the face? What is it? You don't want your man here knowing how you know me? Ha, you know what I hate most about women like you? It's that you all don't know how to shut up and stay put. Like that night you came in like you were some hero. I'm sure it was because you thought that guy was cute or something right? Why else would you try to intervene?"

Kaito snickered and began walking over to their booth. She could tell from his body language that he was cocky, and that he was out to stir up some trouble. "I don't know who you are dude, but let me warn you right now... this girl here is a hellcat. You'll have your hands full. I'm just saying, she likes to poke her nose where it don't belong. Her nosiness is probably why she almost got hurt that night. Tch. She's lucky I don't just go around beating women when they get on my nerves." Her mouth opened to fight back, but he plowed through her words and raised his voice in volume. "You didn't tell him about that day, did you? Why don't you tell him, Sakura? I'm sure it'll impress your new boyfriend here."

The look in Sasuke's eyes were murderous, but Kaito was too engulfed in his own conversation to even notice. "Are you forgetting you ran away that night? Or did you forget to include that part?" she sharply questioned. Bringing up the fact that he did run away in terror, brought out an ugly expression from him. "Shut the f-...Ahhhh! My arm!"

She didn't know what had happened until it was done, but Kaito was now bent down with his face smashed against their table top. His arm was twisted behind his back in a painful position as Sasuke forcefully held him there. "Dare you say another thing about my Lady, and I will have that tongue that loves to speak ill of her removed." Her eyes grew as wide as saucers, as she stared at Kaito's deformed face against the wood. "Am...s...o...rry. So...rry! Pl..ea...se! Owww! Help! My shoulder!" The clatter of the utensils on the table rang loudly as Sasuke slammed Kaito's face against the table once more. "Imbecile."

"Hey! What's going on out there?" a new male voice questioned from behind the ordering counter. Her eyes shot over to view a tall, blonde man making his way over to their table. His eyes were blue as can be, and his hair was as blonde as Hinata had described. It was him. "Naruto..." she whispered. "Sasuke, you can let him go. It's okay." Following what she said, he finally released the troublemaker from his grasp and let him fall to the ground. Kaito quickly stood to his feet and placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "I...he...he almost killed me! I think... he broke... my shoulder." he accused between breaths.

"Hey, aren't you the guy that I banned last week? You're not even supposed to be in here! Get out!" Naruto demanded, now sounding more agitated at Kaito. "Whatever! You... ain't the boss here. Tch...this is a waste of my time. This place sucks anyway! Screw all of you!" Before Naruto could retaliate, Kaito abruptly left the establishment. "Hey you take that back asshole! The ramen here is the best! Don't you say that about my favorite shop you son of a b-..."

"Naruto?" she called out. "Huh? Uh, yes that's me. Do you know me?" She scooted out of the booth and stood onto her feet. As they met eyes, she introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno and this is Sasuke. We were actually looking to speak with you." With a confused look on his face, he crossed his arms and eyed the two before him. "I don't think we've met before, have we?" She shook her head and continued with her first attempt at convincing him to meet someone he's never heard of or met before.

"No, we haven't. But there is someone who would like to meet with you. She's been interested in you for a while now, and asked us to see if you would agree to meet with her?" He definitely looked unsure of the situation and of what she just told him, so she couldn't tell if he was going to say 'yes' or 'no'. "Hmm." He moved closer to her side and leaned down so he could speak to her in a hushed tone. "Let me get this straight, are you talking about yourself here? Are you interested in me?" Her immediate reaction was to flinch away and deny it wasn't her, but she kept her cool and calmly shook her head. "N-no, it's not me. It's another girl."

"Oh okay, sorry. Well you know how sometimes people use others as an excuse, when it really is themselves they're talking about. I guess I kinda hoped it'd be you since you're so pretty. Heh." An audible attempt to hide laughter could be heard from Sasuke, he had been silent this entire time up until now. He couldn't help it, the guy was lame. He had been observing this 'Naruto' person since Sakura first approached him. To this minute he was still trying to find what it was about him that made an actual deity fall for him. His early analysis concluded that it had to have been his looks as a young man, because the impression he took from him was that he was somewhat of a nitwit. Unless the Goddess really did have a thing for cheesy men; how unpredictable this had turned out to be.

"So anyway, how does she know me? From the shop?" She nodded and smiled. "Yes, she does." Thank goodness he said it first. That way I don't have to try and explain and fit timelines and such in... "Oh okay, cool. There are so many faces that come in that I don't really remember them all. So where is it that she wants to meet? I get off my shift late today, so it's probably best to meet tomorrow afternoon. I only work the morning, so maybe around two o'clock?"

Yes, he's making it so easy! Thank you Naruto.

"Sounds perfect! Would the park near here be alright? It's just down this road." He looked to be happy with this choice in location, he even nodded and grinned upon mention of the park. "Sounds good to me, I like to take walks there sometimes. I'll be there." The sound of cups falling to the ground carried from behind the counter and into the dining area. Just as Nobu came to deliver their long awaited drinks, he ended up tripping over his own shoelace and spilled everything he was carrying onto the floor. "Sorry! I'll clean this up right away!" He quickly dropped into a squat and began wiping up the liquids with a cloth he pulled from his apron. "I told you to tie that shoe of yours man. You gotta be more careful." Naruto said as he joined Nobu on the floor to help wipe up the mess.

While those two were distracted, she turned to look at her partner with the smuggest look she could pull off and stick her tongue out at him. Even without so much as a word, he could still hear her gloat about her triumph. "Annoying." Was all he said before strolling out of the restaurant. Her mouth gaped open in disbelief, but soon she found herself quietly giggling. The bell from the front door rang as he left, gaining the attention back from Naruto and Nobu. "Have a great day, thanks for dining with us!" Nobu hollered from the floor. "They didn't even get the chance to dine here Nobu. It's okay to just say goodbye...Oh, Bye Sakura!"


With the date now set, they returned to the shrine to deliver the good news to Hinata. Sasuke sent word via messenger to her and within the hour, she along with Kiba arrived to hear the news in person. After Sakura filled her in on everything, the biggest smile spread across her delicate features. "Oh thank you both for helping me out with this." Filled with delight, Hinata reached over and held Sakura's hands in hers. "You really have no idea how much I appreciate everything you're doing for me. Truly, thank you."

Awe, she's so adorable, my heart can't take it! I'm glad she'll finally get to meet him after all this time.

As the two women continued to converse among themselves, Kiba nudged Sasuke's side and lowered his voice as he began to speak. "Are you thinking this is a terrible idea too? I for one do. I even tried talking her out of it but she has her mind completely made up about this human." A partly serious and somewhat amused look crossed Sasuke's face as he looked over at him. "Sounds like a similar response I received as well. I suppose there isn't anything we can do now at this point, but to follow along and observe." Kiba grunted at this, and shook his head in disagreement. "Easy for you to say. Your Lady Goddess isn't the one who has fallen for a measly human."

That discourteous comment earned him a sharp glare and frown from Sasuke. He wasn't even sure why he felt the need to send a nasty look Kiba's way since he himself didn't think too highly of most humans, but he did and it did not go unnoticed. The regret of belittling humans hit Kiba, as he sucked in his lips to stop any more offensive words from coming out. "Oh right, Lady Sakura is also...sorry."

"Okay Kiba, let us go home. I am to meet back here at precisely noon." Relief blew over her Familiar as he came to be at her side. One minute longer, and he would've made the excuse to walk outside for fresh air. It was known Kiba was short tempered and that he'd be the first to get confrontational, but the heavy gaze he had to endure from Sasuke was almost too suffocating. Plus, he knew he was in the wrong this time. "Ah yes, let us be on our way my Lady. Have a good evening Lady Sakura...Sasuke."

With the duo now gone, she plopped herself onto the couch and let out a breath of relief. "You're really going to go through with this plan aren't you?" he asked, taking his place next to her. "I am. I told her I was going to help, so I really wanted to put my best efforts into this." Flipping the TV on, she went on the anime channel and let it play a random show. They sat in silence for only a minute before she sprung up in her seat. "Oh Sasuke, could we have that movie night yet? I've been doing really well during my training time. You know I have."

"I believe it. But last I recall, you have yet to purify something." A small frown appeared upon her lips, for she knew he was right. Although there were times when she felt she was so close, she always fell short and ended up having to start over. "I know...but I'll get there soon! I just know it. If I...no, once I purify one weapon, let's have a movie night marathon. I'll pick a medley of the best movies out there, and you'll love it. I promise." The smirk that spread across his perfect lips, could've made any woman swoon. Luckily for her she was sitting, so she was safe this time around. "If you say so. I suppose you've given me something to look forward to, so be sure to work hard."


'Operation Naruto' was in full swing now. With Hinata and Sasuke by her side, Sakura led them back to the designated park to meet with Naruto. They arrived right on time, but it looked like Naruto had beaten them there. He was sitting on one of the benches waiting and playing with his phone. Fortunately there were groups of bushes and a large tree in a perfect scouting position nearby, so that's where the trio stopped first. "Are you ready Hinata?" she asked, now just as excited as the shy Goddess. "Y-yes...I think so. I'm just so nervous though. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

No...don't back out. You've gone as far as to set up a meeting with your beloved.

"Lady Hinata, it'll be okay. Naruto is such a sweet guy. You've gone this far already, and he's there waiting for you. If you back out now, I'm afraid he'll think this was a hoax." Hinata looked alarmed at the possibility that Naruto would never agree to meet with her again, so she quietly nodded and shut her eyes closed to focus on steadying her breathing. "You're right. I...I think I can do this. Thank you."

Shaa! You've got this Lady Hinata! I'm rooting for you!

Hinata readily stepped out from behind the tree, and began making her way over to the bench Naruto was at. "N-naruto?" The sound of his name being called upon, caused him to raise his head and his eyes to focus on the beautiful image of the girl standing before him. Immediately, he rose to his feet to greet the young lady. "Oh hey! Yeah that's me. I mean...yes I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, pleased to meet ya."

The same smile she had witnessed over the years spread across his bright features. As she longingly gazed upon him, she noticed the 'butterfly' feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. Seeing that smile in person only reinstated the fact that she was really here with him. Without realizing it, her cheeks gradually turned a light pink the longer she looked upon his handsome face. "Hey, are you okay? Is it too hot out here, your face is kinda red. Maybe we should've met when it'd be cooler outside. Sorry."

"Huh? Oh no, no I'm fine." Him being aware of her current state made her feel all the more bashful, but nonetheless she was happy he paid close attention to her. "Would you like to sit? Or we can walk around the park if you want?" he suggested. "Oh, I'd like to sit for now." With her decision made he moved to allow her to sit first, and then took a seat beside her. "So..." he began. She said not a word, as she was waiting for him to speak first.

Back behind the trees and bushes nearby, Sakura and Sasuke were actively listening and watching as they interacted. Up until now it looked like the couple-to-be had been talking back and forth, but now they were just sitting there quietly. She could hear Naruto trying his best to start up a conversation, but it was clear he kept running into 'social road blocks' Hinata unintentionally kept putting up. The way he kept checking on Hinata to see if she was going to say, or add her own thoughts to the subject they were on made even Sakura feel awkward. Hinata wasn't saying very much or even looking at Naruto. At least not when he was looking at her. She knew Hinata was shy and didn't blame her for it one bit, but nothing was progressing conversation wise.

"Hinata looks so...so..."

"Rigid. Scared. Uncomfortable. Horrified"

"Well, that's a bit exaggerated Sasuke..."

"No it's not."

"She's just nervous, she's sensitive. Meeting the guy she likes for the first time is overwhelming for her."

Sensing new movement at the bench, their attention diverted back to Hinata and Naruto. He stood to his feet and gave Hinata a thumbs up and a smile. Soon after, he left her alone at the bench and began walking down the pathway. Confused as to what was happening, Sakura poked her head over the bushes and loudly whispered to attract Hinata's attention. "Where is he going?" Hinata only signaled he was heading to get drinks for them. Giving her a thumbs up, she lowered into a squat to take cover once more.

"Man, at this rate I'm not sure how this will turn out. Maybe I should've given her some tips before sending her off to talk with him."

"Sakura."

"Hm?"

"Stay still."

"What? Why?"

"Just hold still."

"Is it a bug or something?"

"..."

A sudden feather of a swat across her back caused her to flinch in the slightest. Hopefully whatever creature that decided to hitch a ride on her was gone now. She wasn't all that afraid of insects, as long it wasn't a spider. Small spiders to be exact. They were just too quick for her liking, and some were even jumpy.

"I didn't get it."

"What was it?"

"A small spider. It's still on your back."

"Fu-mmmphhh!"

Clasping his hand over her mouth, he warned her to quiet down so their cover wasn't blown. It'd only look strange and would be hard to explain, if someone saw two people suspiciously hiding in the bushes. Once she signaled she agreed to keep quiet, he released her. "Just hurry and get it off of me. I hate spiders." she pleaded with evident disgust set in her voice. "Fine, just stay sti-" Without warning, she frantically squirmed in place as she tried swatting the spider off of her. "Ugh, I could feel it crawling on my arm. Oh God, there it is." Instinctively flailing, she tried to shake it off but the little creature wouldn't budge. Sasuke tried to intervene and stop her from wildly swinging her arms, but only got smacked across the face. "Oh God! I'm so sorry Sas-"

"Be quiet! Let me help already!" he quietly scolded, trying to keep his own voice down. He grabbed her wrists to halt her actions and help, but somewhere in the scuffle she ended up losing her balance and falling backwards. With him holding onto her as he squatted, he had no way of stopping her momentum so he lost his balance and followed after her. Now laid out on her back, she could see the mischievous little spider jump off her arm and run away. "Ugh." With her legs apart, she felt his body lay between them and against her.

He was completely laid out on top of her, and his face was stuffed against the soft pillow-like mounds of her chest. Just as she thought the situation couldn't get any complicated, Hinata came over to express her concerns and worries of what she was to say when Naurto returned. As the shy Goddess came to check on the two, a light gasp escaped her as she witnessed the seemingly provocative scene before her. "Oh my...I'm sorry for intruding!" she quickly uttered before running back to the bench.

"No wait, it's not what it looks like!" Sakura tried to convince, before the Goddess had booked it. It was no use, she was already gone. "Sasuke...could you." Before she could finish, he swiftly pushed himself off of her and knelt in front of her. His eyes seemed to be glued onto her, but where was he looking? It most certainly wasn't her eyes, she could tell that much. When she looked up at him, she was stunned to see a sheepish look set on his face. Was he blushing? Were her eyes deceiving her? Looking down at herself still laid on the ground, she came to realize his eyes were set on her chest. Feeling a rush of embarrassment, she quickly sat up and dusted herself off.

Was he really staring at my chest just now?!

Clearing her throat, she poked her head up to see if Naruto had returned yet but he was nowhere to be found. "Hm, still not back. I wonder how long he's going to take to just get drinks." Hearing no response from her partner, she looked over to see Sasuke still kneeling there staring at the ground. "Sasuke?" Her voice calling his name seemed to bring him out of whatever trance he was in. He quietly rose to his feet and leaned against the back of the tree. "I'm fine. Sorry for...landing on you." When she looked up to see him, his expression was back to normal as if nothing had happened.

The way he was acting now, made her feel like she really did only see an illusion of an embarrassed and blushing version of him. Either way, she'd secretly keep that vision locked inside her mind. It was probably the cutest expression she had seen him make thus far. "Hey there, are you here all alone?" a man's voice questioned aloud. Quietly, Sakura ducked and peered through the bushes at two men approaching Hinata.

"No, I'm not alone." the startled Goddess replied. "Oh? But I don't see anyone else with you. What a shame. If I were your boyfriend I'd never leave your side. I'd be too busy-" The other man slapped his arm to stop him from saying anything more. "Hey man, don't scare her. Look, she's already trembling. How adorable, she reminds me of a cute little puppy. Hah!" The men laughed and continued to poke fun at Hinata.

Behind the bushes, Sakura lunged out to help Hinata but she felt a resistant tug of her arm holding her back. "No. You mustn't interfere. It is not your place to impede. The responsibility to act, solely lies in the hands of the human boy. Seeing as the idiot is taking all the time in the world, he may need a little push. That is something you may assist with, as it falls into your duty as a Goddess."

Taking heed of his advice she took out a talisman paper and special pen she had stashed in the hip pouch she wore, and began writing out the word 'Intuition'. "I really hope this works...that should give him a boost to his senses." Slapping the talisman on the tree, she focused on the paper. "Come on Naruto...if they touch her I'm going out there." Sasuke watched her in silence as she centered herself and focused.


In line still waiting to get a chance to order drinks for himself and Hinata, Naruto began getting impatient with how slowly the line inched forward. "Man, this is taking forever. But I don't want to come back empty handed, she'll think I was fooling around or something." The vendor's voice could be heard from the very front, and he sounded upset at the customer he was currently assisting. They were arguing back and forth on the price of the drinks and other items he had for sale.

If they kept this up, he was sure he'd be waiting in line for the rest of the day. "Hey man, if you don't like the prices then get out of line already! The rest of us are waiting here." Luckily the other customers felt the same, and started shooing the troublemaker away. "Finally. Geez, man." The crowd hyped themselves up as the customer left the line. With them now gone, the line began moving much faster. Just as it was finally his turn, a sudden pang struck him. He felt it in is chest first, then it spread to his neck and head. "What the heck?" Reaching a hand up, he felt around his chest and head but found nothing unusual. It didn't hurt, but it did startle him.

"Are you alright sir?" the drink vendor asked. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright. Anyway, could I get two fruit juices please?" The vendor smiled and handed over the juices. "They're on me. Enjoy." Blonde brows raised with surprise, was he really giving these to him for free? "Wow, thanks! Are you sure I can have these?" The vendor once again smiled and nodded. "Yes, you were the first to help me out earlier. So please take these as a sign of my appreciation. Have a good day."

Feeling good about scoring free drinks for telling someone off, he bowed his head in thanks and began making his way back. "Alright! This day just keeps getting better." As he leisurely walked down the sidewalk, another wave of the same strange feeling he had felt before shot through him. This time he felt that something wasn't right. Like he was needed elsewhere. "Hinata." Shoving the drinks in his pants pockets, he raced down the path to find two goons closing in on the bench Hinata was sitting at. One was already reaching down to grab her wrist by this point. "Hinata!" he yelled from his chest.

The two men looked back to see him running full speed at them. "Don't you touch her you bastard!" he ferociously hollered. "What the he-" The man that was the closest to Hinata took a wild kick to the face, which sent him flying back. "Whoa...how the hell...aye I mean no harm man." the second man said, as his hands rose up to show he wanted no part in Naruto's ass-whooping spree. "Truce, sorry man!" With the second man running away and leaving his friend behind in the dirt, it was now just Naruto and Hinata present. "Hinata are you okay? I'm sorry I took so long, the line was just..." The frightened look she expressed caused him to stop talking altogether and just comfort her. "I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have left you alone like that. I'm so sorry."

"No Naruto...I'm just a little startled, but I am unharmed. See?" Displaying a warm smile, she tried her best to convince him to believe her. "Still...oh, do you want your juice? It's all shaken up though because I put them in my pocket. But they're still cold. You'll feel better after drinking something cool." She happily nodded and waited for him to hand it to her. "Here, let me." Twisting the lid open, he offered the juice to her with a grin. "Thank you, Naruto."

"Hey...you're getting a bit red. Are you sure you're okay?" The concern he felt grew the longer he looked at her, but the beauty she possessed seemed to overpower his senses for the time being. Her cheeks were a soft pinkish-red, but in the moment the added color actually complimented the unique hue of her eyes. Her dark hair that flowed down made her appear as a real life porcelain doll, which only added to the aesthetic that she was. She was a real beauty. He couldn't begin to understand how someone as beautiful and sweet as her would be interested in a plain guy like him. All he could do at this point was stare in awe.

The way he was looking at her made her heart quicken in pace. Naruto was looking at her, no, admiring her. Her beloved was sitting before her, live and in person admiring her features. She had dreamt of when this day would come, and now it was happening. It was almost too good to be true. When his hand came up to press against her forehead and then her cheek, she nearly fainted. The tantalizing feeling she felt when he looked into her eyes like she was the only girl in his world, on top of the touch of his hand against her skin ended up being too much for her to bear for one sitting. Not to mention the rising heat of the afternoon might've also played a factor in her losing consciousness as well. "Hinata!" Was the last thing she heard before the bright world went dark.


Clasping her own hand over her mouth, Sakura couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. "Oh no, Hinata passed out! Sasuke let's go over and help." The two emerged from the bushes and walked over inconspicuously to the bench, where they saw Naruto holding Hinata close. "Oi Sakura, Sasuke over here! She fainted, I think the heat got to her." As they came up closer, Sakura took notice of how delicately he held Hinata in his arms. It was like he was holding the most delicate thing ever, and that he didn't want to hold too tightly in fear of breaking her.

Sakura assessed Hinata and confirmed the heat of the day had gotten the best of the Goddess. "She'll be okay. She just needs to rest." Naruto released a sigh of relief, sitting back against the bench he lifted his arms to clasp his fingers together behind his head. "Thank goodness. I'm glad she'll be fine...she probably won't want to see me again after this. I think I messed up."

You're wrong about that, she loves you! You just don't know it yet.

"What makes you say that?" she asked. "Well first of all, I don't think I could really find a topic to chat about with her. I don't think I tried hard enough or something, or I was talking about boring stuff that she didn't find interesting. So I went to grab us some drinks to give me more time to think about what to talk about, and...well I don't know how to explain the next part." She intently listened to Naruto as he explained his unusual experience and feelings of urgency to come back and check on Hinata. It was fascinating to hear how the person she had reached out to and influenced felt on their end.

"I just felt something telling me to go back to Hinata right away. Whatever that was, it was right for telling me to come back because she was getting messed with by two random men. I wouldn't blame her for never wanting to speak to me again. Will you tell her that I'm sorry for how today went?" She shook her head and furrowed her brows in opposition to this. She so badly wanted to tell him that he had no fault in the matter, and how much Hinata actually adored him. That it was just the cruel world trying to ruin something that was good. Although she would never tell him how Hinata already felt about him, she could at least salvage his feelings.

"No, Naruto. This isn't your fault. It was just an unexpected nuisance that came out of nowhere." Her words were affirming and it looked to be helping him ease his mind at least a little bit, but she knew that it wasn't going to be enough. "Naruto." Blue eyes set onto hers as he listened to what else she had to say. "We'll get Hinata home and have her rested. Would it be okay if I have your contact information?" He eagerly nodded and took his phone out to exchange numbers with her. "Thanks. I'll give you an update when she wakes up. I have a feeling she'll want to speak with you again."

"Really? Okay, awesome! If she wants it, please pass my number to her as well." Mutually agreeing on that note, he got up to see them off. Sasuke bent down and placed an arm behind Hinata's knees and the other behind her back so he could carry her. "Take care Naruto." the rose-haired Goddess said, waving goodbye before leaving.


Dark lashes slowly parted to reveal the beautiful crystal hued eyes behind them. "Lady Hinata, how are you feeling?! Thank the Gods you are alright!" Kiba's voice echoed in her ears, his voice was so loud. Behind her blurry vision, she could partially see the worried look on his face. So placing a hand over his, she rose to sit up in the bed she laid upon.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted her to you, you incompetent woman! Look what has happened to her, she's pale and faint looking now! Uchiha or not, I was so stupid to believe a lowly Goddess of human nature and her Familiar could tend to her properly." he growled out. Who was he yelling at? Surely it wasn't Lady Sakura, right? Her eyes were still adjusting from deep sleep and her ears felt full, so she couldn't quite comprehend who all was in the room.

"Best you shut that mouth of yours, before I make game of you filthy mongrel. I will not tolerate you attacking and denigrating my Lady's good name." Sasuke seethed, as he came to defend his Goddess. As her senses became clearer, she could now see Sasuke standing opposite of Kiba. While Sasuke stood tall in a relaxed yet ready position, Kiba was crouched down as if he was about to lunge at the Uchiha Familiar. Sakura's voice rang loudly throughout the room as she tried to calm the situation. "Please, there's no need for this. Lady Hinata's recovering, she doesn't need to hear all this yelling." As she stepped forward to try and reason with Kiba, Sasuke's arm shot up and blocked her from coming any closer.

"Kiba, stop this at once." A soft voice commanded from behind him. With that order heard loud and clear, he had no choice but to obey his Goddess and kneel at her bedside. "Apologize to Lady Sakura and Master Sasuke for disrespecting them and this shrine. You had no right to pick a fight here. It was my decision to go through with this plan, so they are not at fault for anything that transpired. I fell faint because of the weather, so please stop this madness."

Gritting his teeth, he straightened his face and came forward to kneel before Sakura. Bowing his head down to the floor, he stayed in this position as he spoke. "Lady Sakura, please forgive me for my impertinent behavior. I was wrong to speak your name in vain. If you must, I will fully accept whatever degree of punishment you see fit." His eyes closed tightly as he awaited to be smacked or harshly scolded by the Uchiha Goddess, but nothing happened.

Was she not going to punish him for blatantly disrespecting her and Sasuke? From past experience and mistakes, he had endured a few good scoldings from other Gods and Goddesses he had offended. The scoldings from them were the worst because they did not hold back. Things that were said to him, could've made anyone else want to dig themselves a hole and jump in it.

Sometimes he just had a hard time controlling his tongue when it came to Hinata. Yes she was his Lady and he was her Familiar, but he saw her as more than just someone who he served. Dare he say, she was like his family. She was the little sister he never had, whom he wanted to protect from the cruel mortal realm and anyone else that tried putting her in harms way. All he wanted was for her to be happy and safe. So being called to the Uchiha shrine with news that she had fainted panicked him. His first and initial response was to attack and protect.

As he stared at the floor in front of Sakura's 'bunny' slippers, his thoughts ran long over these topics and such. It wasn't until she had knelt down in front of him and lightly touched his shoulder, that he realized she had gone down to level with him. Bemused at what exactly was happening, out of turn he raised his head to look up at her. She didn't look angry or annoyed, frustrated or offended. All he could see across her face was a look of understanding. But why? He spat out the kind of insults, that if it were any other deity, they'd either have his head or have him exiled.

"Please get up." The dumbfounded look he expressed almost made her want to laugh, but she held it in and kept her composure. "But...no. Not until I have been reprimanded. My words were too harsh, my Lady." Again he bowed his head to the ground and waited for her response. She said nothing, but she didn't rise to her feet either. Instead she placed gentle hands on his shoulders to help raise him back up to look at her. "I forgive you. Now please, stand to your feet." This time around he did as she said and rose to his feet. Without even thinking, his hand stuck out to offer her a helping hand. She gladly accepted it, and allowed him to pull her up. When she thought to take her hand back, she noticed that he wasn't letting go just yet.

"Lady Sakura...I misunderstood and was so worried about Lady Hinata that I..." Becoming more passionate in his apology than the half-hearted one he gave before, he clasped his free hand over top of hers so he had her hand fully enclosed within his grasp. "I thank you for caring for my Lady, and ensuring she was taken care of in the end. If there is anything I may do to assist you in the future, please let me know and I will be quick to be of service to you."

She graciously accepted all he had to say and politely smiled. After respectfully bowing to her, he took his place back beside Hinata and waited for her word. By now Hinata was on her feet and was stretching her stiff limbs. While she was getting herself all loosened up, Sakura turned back to give Sasuke an appreciative smile and nod. Mouthing the words 'Thank you' to him, he only frowned and turned away to leave the room.

"I'm glad to see you're okay and well, Lady Hinata." she greeted, coming closer to Kiba and the Goddess. "Yes, I'm feeling much better. I guess my body isn't used to the weather in the mortal realm. I apologize if I gave you a scare." Once they came together to chat again, they discussed what happened after she lost consciousness and how worried Naruto was for her well being. Sakura also mentioned how she obtained his number, and that if Hinata would like to contact him she was very welcomed to do so. From the way Hinata's eyes lit up once she heard she could contact him again, Sakura knew she had to come up with another plan to get them to meet again. This time however, she'd make sure it would be without any distractions or intrusion from outsiders.

It had been decided that Hinata and Naruto would meet once more. Hinata used Sakura's phone to call and make new plans with Naruto sometime soon. With Sakura's suggestion, she told him she'd like to meet at a nearby Boba shop. Everyone in the room could hear how loudly and excitedly Naruto agreed to this meeting spot.

The date was set for a day during the following week to come, so they had plenty of time to prepare. The Boba shop would be a more controlled area, so there should be less instances where something could go wrong. This time Kiba was allowed to attend as well, but he was told to keep his distance and watch from afar. He agreed to this, and happily obliged to whatever else they had planned.


With a new week beginning and school being over for the day, Sakura and Sasuke returned to the shrine to attend to their duties. Later in the week was when her newest plan 'Operation Naturo 2.0' was to take place. With all the time they had to prepare, she decided to give Naruto a call to check in on how he was. He answered on the first ring and eagerly greeted her thinking it was Hinata. "Hey, it's Sakura. This is my phone, sorry."

Geez, eager much lover boy? Haha!

"Oh hey Sakura! Sorry, I thought this was Hinata's phone since she called me first from this number. So, what's up?"

"Nothing, I'm just checking on you to see how you are. Are you ready for your next date?"

"Gee, when you call it a 'date' it makes it sound all official and stuff. Heh heh...but yeah I'm alright. I'm just kinda nervous, y'know? I thought some about our conversation last time, and well...I still have no idea what I'm going to talk about with her! I tried coming up with some topics, but I don't really know anything about her to even cover anything she might be interested in."

Sounds like he needs some help.

"How about I help you? I can fill you in on some things she likes, dislikes and stuff you could maybe talk about."

"Really? You'd do that for me?! Sounds good to me then. I get off today later this evening around four o'clock. Is there anywhere in particular you'd want to meet up?"

"Sure I think I'm free this evening. Hm...could I send you a location pin?"

"Alright sure, no prob! Man...with you helping me now, I feel ten times better about this, best believe it!"

Helping Naruto was the least of her concerns, she was certain he'd only need a little help. Maybe a little advice over what to talk about was to do the trick. "Piece of cake. I'll go ahead and tell Sasuke about my meeting with Naruto later." Off she went to tell him of her plans for that evening. First she looked in the common room for him, but he wasn't there. Next she knocked on his bedroom door, but heard no response from behind the door. After that she headed to the prayer hall, but saw no sign of him there either. "Where could he be?" Thinking of checking the offering hall, she began walking back towards that room until Kiyo saw and stopped her. "Oh, hi Lady Sakura!"

"Hi Kiyo, by chance have you seen Sasuke anywhere? I have something to tell him." The little guardian pondered for a moment before clapping her hands together. "Oh yes, I do! I remember he said he was going to tend to the garden." The garden? It's a bit late in the day to garden, it's so hot outside. "Okay, thanks." Wondering thoughts as to why he would be out working the garden filled her mind. Usually he liked to tend to the garden early when the sun wasn't out yet.

Once she made it to the back door, she watched her step going down the wooden stairs. "Sasuke?" she called out. "Over here." she heard him call back. Turning her gaze to the left, her eyes witnessed a jaw-dropping sight. There he was standing in the middle of the garden, shirtless and glistening with beads of sweat. The sun and the shadows that cast down on him made his already impressive body look even more defined. His broad shoulders and chest had dribbles of sweat rolling down as he moved from his bent position. Once he stood up straight, she could fully appreciate his back and all of it's 'well built' glory. It was evident that all that muscle he had built up was from years upon years of training.

"I was just..."

Why did I come out here again? Oh! Naruto...yeah it was something about Naruto.

"I was just coming out to tell you I made plans to see Naruto later. He just needs some pointers for his date with Hinata." She hoped she didn't show it on her face, but she was internally screaming. Any decently attractive man could've walked past her in this moment, and she wouldn't have known they walked by or even existed. Why were her eyes focused on that one little sweat droplet traveling down his torso?

Why oh why did she have to torture herself like this? "Is that so?" he said, placing the gardening tools down. "Yeah...he's just a bit nervous about seeing her." She watched as he began heading towards her now. "Why would he be nervous?" He came to a stop before her, and reached down towards his neatly folded shirt that was on a chair and threw it over his shoulder.

Now mere inches apart, she could feel herself losing her breath. "Well you know...he likes her a lot and wants to impress her." The way his dark eyes captured and locked her own into his, made her wonder how someone could be so breathtakingly gorgeous. "Well he shouldn't have to try too hard, since it seems she is already smitten with him."

"Right...smitten." If she wasn't so absorbed with the previous images her brain had mentally saved, she would've realized he already left her and was going back inside. "You should come inside, it's hot out there." he warned before heading further in. "Yeah...hot." she murmured. Quietly, she proceeded inside to her room where she then released all her pent up emotions into her pillow.

If he was going to spend more time shirtless while he gardened, then she'd have to watch herself and steer clear of the backyard if she wanted to keep her cool. How was she supposed to know gardening could be sexy?


Before she knew it, it was already time for her to meet with Naruto. He was to arrive at the shrine within a few minutes. She chose the shrine as the location for them to meet because it was simply easier for her. That way she didn't have to wear her hat out, and Sasuke could be at ease without the need to worry about some yokai snatching her up.

Although he did express some concern for Naruto coming over, she managed to convince him that everything would be okay. He only agreed to it under the conditions, that she at least carried a small concealed weapon such as a kunai on her while Naruto was present. She hesitantly accepted his terms, just so she could get to her meeting. With how foreboding he was being, she wanted to give him something to do so he wouldn't lurk around them while she coached Naruto. So she ended up requesting he go to the market early to pick up their usual tea package, so they could enjoy it later that evening. He begrudgingly accepted and excused himself to get ready to leave.

Three loud rings of the prayer bell rang throughout the shrine, alerting her someone was out there. She peeked through the cracks in the window and realized it was Naruto standing there. He couldn't come inside the main building since it was off-limits to all beside the Goddess herself, Sasuke, other deities and privileged visitors. So she took to the side entrance so she could meet with him outside. Just as she rounded the corner, she got sight of him and stopped in her tracks. He had his head bowed and his hands clasped together. He was praying, and she could hear every word he thought.

Dear Kami, I've never been to this shrine but I want to share my respects to you. I know this is the shrine that the God of Land and Marriage resides at...not that I want to suddenly get married or anything like that, but I do hope you'll grant me a stroke of luck with this girl I really like. She's the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I still can't believe she wanted to meet with me first. A goof of a guy like me. I hope to get along with her well, and that I'll make her laugh and smile more in the future. Thanks for listening. Yours truly, Naruto Uzumaki.

After he was done, he finished up by bowing once more. She knew she should've gone to greet him so he wouldn't be confused as to where he needed to go afterwards, but she had stuck herself against the wall behind the corner out of view. She needed a moment to gather herself before she ended up bawling in front of him. His prayer and thoughts were so innocent and sweet, that she could feel the raw emotion behind his words.

"Hey Naruto." she greeted as she rounded the corner again. "Hm? Hey Sakura! I was about to start wondering where I was supposed to go. Ha!" She smiled and ushered him to the outdoor pavilion that was set up to the side of the shrine's main building. "It's really nice out here, but why are we meeting here exactly? Do you work here or something?"

If he only knew.

"Yeah, you could say that. Long story short, I unwillingly ran away from home and ended up here. I had no place to go so I was invited to stay, in exchange for help around here." It was the first time she had ever told an outsider her story, strangely enough it felt pretty good to share this with another person. "Ah okay, well I hope you're doing better here. It seems you are." Smiling at that, she nodded and looked at the shrine. "Yeah, I think I am. So, are you ready to learn a few things?" Honestly she didn't even have to ask, she already knew he was more than ready to receive whatever she had to offer him. "Of course! I'm prepared for whatever you've got!"

"Sakura." a voice called from near the shrine. "Oh hey it's Sasuke. Hey Sasuke, what's up man?!" Naruto yelled as he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Naruto I can hear you fine from here." As he approached the two under the pavilion structure, he scanned over Naruto as if he were checking for any illicit items on him. "I'm heading out to the market. I should be back in about half an hour." Once she acknowledged him, he turned to take his leave. Now that it was just the two of them, she turned back to Naruto and smiled. "Alright. Let's get started."


The market place was a bit calmer than usual, but the people's chatter was just as loud as ever. There also appeared to be brightly colored decorations scattered about the area. Each vendor had their own stall decorated in the same style. When he looked around he saw some of the young women wearing floral-decorated headbands that sat atop their heads. The style was quite similar to that of a halo.

"Greetings Mr. Uchiha. It's good to see you today." the herbal vendor, Mr. Tanaka greeted from his stall. "Likewise, Mr. Tanaka. What's going on around here today?" The cheerful man smiled and pointed out at the crowd."Oh that? Well it's a new thing we shop keepers collectively decided upon. It's just to make things a bit more fun and lively around here. Like it's not already lively, ha! But you know what I mean."

Taking another look around, he saw all the people's smiling faces as they conversed with one another. Everyone did seem happier than usual. "I have your order of tea leaves right here for you. I included some extra goodies in there for you too, I got this new flavor of tea leaf so just try it and tell how you like them the next time you come back. By the way, where is Ms. Sakura?"

"She is busy today. Why do you ask?" Mr. Tanaka finished wrapping the goods up and handed it over to him. "Just curious. She's always a joy. Here, take this too. Give it to her, she'll like it I'm sure." Along with the tea goods, Mr. Tanaka handed over a floral halo. Please tell her Mr. Tanaka said 'Hello.'." Dipping his head in thanks, Sasuke took the goods and handed over the due amount. "I'll be sure to tell her. Thank you." Bidding him farewell, he turned to leave for home again but hesitated in his step. "I didn't know you shopped here as well, Neji."

"I don't. But I saw a familiar face in the crowd, and decided to stop by and see if there was anything worth getting here. Got any recommendations?" As Neji approached, Sasuke took notice of his 'incognito' attire which included a dark hat and sunglasses. "Nice. I'm sure no one will recognize you in that." That sarcastic comment earned him a frown and a scoff from the actor. "It's been working so far. I've been here five minutes and still haven't been approached by anyone. Anyway, what do you have there?" he motioning towards the bag of goods, and peered in to see what was packaged inside.

Is he really here just because he saw me? Why is he being so nosy all of a sudden?

"Tea leaves from that stall over there. He sells a variety of herbs. If you're that interested you can go ask him about his selection."

"Hm. I see. I might just go and do that. I've been looking for different teas to try."

"Okay, see you."

Sasuke began walking off after those brief departing words, he didn't know why Neji suddenly appeared but he wasn't all too interested to find out. Sakura was alone with that human boy Naruto. She told him before that Naruto was harmless, and he believed that to be true but there was still a part of him that just didn't trust him. Humans could be unpredictable. "How rude, I wasn't even finished talking." Neji uttered as he kept pace with him. "I've been thinking about visiting that shrine of yours. I have yet to see it and it's Goddess at work. More so seeing her, and how she functions there. What's your opinion on her? Does she make a good Land Goddess?"

"She carries out her duties as a Goddess should."

"That's it? You don't have other personal thoughts or opinions?"

"What answer are you looking for here?"

"Hm. Perhaps your true thoughts on how she is as a Goddess? Would you rather not have an actual deity in that position?"

"I picture no other serving in that position. She has shown and proven her worth more than a handful of times. I don't doubt her in the slightest."

Up to now, the TV star had been watching for any signs of doubt to cross Sasuke's face, but nothing of the sort happened. Either he had a great poker face, or he was genuinely speaking the truth. Thinking on those last few words, he looked at the path ahead and pursed his lips. "Hm."


"Okay so say you and Hinata are sitting at the Boba shop now, and she isn't saying much at this point. What will you say?" Naurto sat back and looked up at the ceiling, thinking through the brief pieces of advice she had previously given him. "Oh, I know. I'd say 'Hey Hinata, I heard you liked pressing flowers as a hobby? I know a good flower shop, if you ever want to check it out for your future pieces?" Nodding with approval, she gave him a thumbs up. "Perfect. Don't forget she likes her sweets too, so if they have cinnamon rolls there, they're her favorite." He brought a finger to his temple and tapped twice to show he had that information locked in. "Got it. Hey there's also something I wanted to ask about too. Y'know in case it happens? I just want to be ready for it."

Oh no, what is he thinking now?

"What is it?" The less than confident tone in his voice made her unsure of what he was to say, but nevertheless she was open to hearing his concern. "Well I know it's too soon to even try but if there comes a time when it's appropriate for me to kiss her, how would I go about it? Do I play cool, or be slow with it? I don't want to scare her, and I don't think she'll make the first move. So would I just go in and kiss her?"

Asking about kissing this early in their relationship was a reasonable question to ask, at least he acknowledged the fact that he wanted to take things slow. "Uh...kissing...well you're right about needing to wait for the appropriate moment to do that. Just please don't try to pull anything weird or else you'll have me to answer to. You've kissed a girl before right? Or would this be your first time?"

He thought back to when, and if he ever kissed anyone before. The long pause between the conversation led her to guess what the probable answer was. But when he pushed himself off the back of the seat and sat up straight, she had second thoughts. Maybe he did have a previous encounter? "Does kissing a girl in the third grade count? Well she pushed me down afterwards but it still counts I think."

Jeez, Naruto. Well it's not like I really kissed anyone before either. But I'll try to help out best I can. I watch a lot of romance dramas so I have at least SOME knowledge when it comes to that. Wait. Does the kiss with Sasuke count? But that was a 'contractual kiss'. It shouldn't count as a real one right? It all went by so fast and I hardly remember it, because at the time I was falling to my death. Hm. Let's just say it doesn't count.

"Sakura?" She was so deep in thought that she had forgotten to answer him, but she quickly came back into the conversation and shook her head. "No, I don't think that counts for this situation. How about we go over some general scenarios?" He seemed to like this approach and smiled brightly. "Sure. Anything helps. Especially when the advice is coming from a 'Pro.'" Being called a 'Pro' was a laughable statement for sure. She guessed from the outside perspective, she looked to be someone who knew a lot about true romance?

"I'm not a 'Pro' anything, really. I'm just working with common sense here, and adding a little bit of romance stuff I've seen in my romantic dramas. Plus I have a 'woman's perspective' on my side, so you can trust that I'll be able to help." Why did he look so baffled? It was like she had shared her deepest revelation with him or something. Was it so hard to believe that she too had no experience? The unsuspecting glare that she flashed his way caused him to raise his hands as he plead his conclusion. "Sorry, sorry. I just thought that way, because you just seem so confident when you talk. But hey, I'm all for whatever I can get."

"Right, Naruto. First tell me how you would go about it?"

"Hm, let's see. I would probably look at her and see if there was any signal she wanted me to kiss her."

"Yeah looking at her is good, but you don't want to stare too long and freak her out. Especially if she looks away, but you're still there staring. That's creepy."

"Right, right. So don't stare too long, but still look for the sign. Got it. What about if she doesn't give me a sign? How will I know what her sign looks like?"

"Hm, you're right to bring that up. Try feeling out the moment. Like if you look at each other and there's a spark-like feeling in your chest... it's an undeniable feeling that your body will recognize. Oh! Like in season two of 'Destined Lovers', the male lead walks up to the female lead and they get the 'look' in their eyes. She's usually shy, but this time she can't help but longingly gaze up into his eyes. Then he goes in for the kiss and they share a romantic moment together. Man, that was such a good show."

"But that's a show. Does that actually happen in real life?"

"Well...the world is huge. Somewhere out there, it must've happened at least once! Hm, roll with me for a second here. Stand up and follow me, I've got an idea."

As they reached the middle of the pavilion, she turned to face him once more. Clearing her throat, she went into 'acting mode' and lowered her gaze to shyly look down and push a strand of hair back behind her ear. When she looked back up at him, she made the cutest 'bashful' face she could make and attempted to imitate Hinata's persona. "Naruto, shall we go for a walk?" she said, her voice much softer than usual. "What the heck!? That was a good impression, Sakura!" Breaking out of character, she frowned and crossed her arms. "Naruto! Just go with it. This is a hypothetical scenario, so just follow along." Once she got him to be serious again, they proceeded to continue with the scenario. "Sure, let's go for a walk 'Hinata.'"

"Okay so you both come to a stop, for the sake of the example let's say you're at a park. You approach the bench and you-.." Out of nowhere Naruto gently walked her backwards and pushed her against a pillar. From there he then placed a hand against the wood of the supporting beam and put his 'serious acting face' on. "N-naruto, what the hec-" A finger came up to shush her into silence. Once she became speechless he continued on with his own scenario.

"Hinata, you're my ideal girl." His blue eyes lingered on hers for a few longing moments, until he backed away and grinned. "Eh? What do ya think? Pretty good huh? I seen that in a romance drama I watched before." She knew exactly which show he was referring to, and even the side character he was imitating. But the character that tried that on the female lead, ended up getting smacked and cussed out.

Once she explained this to him, the smile he wore so proudly shrunk. "Oh...well it's been years since I last saw that show, so I may have forgotten that minor detail. Do you have any examples or suggestions then, Sakura?" She did in fact have a few examples in mind that didn't derive from any shows, if only Naruto would listen and pay attention. She hoped he would take her seriously moving forward.

"So you and Hinata come to a stop. You talk about some of your hobbies, and then about hers. Now that you got to talk and converse more, she feels more comfortable." As she went through the scenario, he eagerly listened and paid close attention. "Are we standing? Or sitting now at this point?" he asked, honestly curious what the setting was. "Naruto, please. Here, let's try something different. I'll be you, and you be Hinata." A rumble of laughter erupted from his chest, as he let out a suppressed laugh. "Sorry about that. I'm really not so good with acting. But I'll keep giving it a shot."

I thought giving him a more realistic approach would help since explaining things doesn't seem to work very well. Hopefully this will reach him, and make him understand.

"Okay, Naruto. I want you to put yourself in her shoes. Follow me." Beckoning him to follow after, she pinched the sleeve of his shirt and stopped near another pillar. With her voice lowered in pitch to imitate a man, she turned and grabbed both of his hands to hold them in her own. From there she looked longingly into his eyes and confidently spoke her mind.

"Hinata, you're the most beautiful, amazing girl I've ever met. I'm still surprised you wanted to meet with me, but I'm glad we did. I had such a great time with you today. I hope you enjoyed yourself as well?" The shock that appeared across his face told her that what she was saying hit home. "I...I..." he began. He blinked and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "I...yes, I had a wonderful time as well."

"I'm glad to hear that. Oh you've got something in your hair. Allow me." He nodded in agreement and watched as her hand came up to pick an imaginary leaf from his hair and flick it away. But she wasn't done there. Again came her hand, as she reached back up to push his long imaginary hair behind his ear. Letting her hand linger near his cheek, she made sure to keep casual eye contact.

"And this is where 'the moment' would come in. You'll look into each other's eyes, and feel that special connection." Stepping away from him, she took a seat and spoke from the heart. "It'll be like a moment in time that your body just knows. When you're both feeling it, then you'll lean in and kiss her. Of course it most likely won't happen exactly like that, but the main focus that I'm trying to get across here is to just be yourself and speak your mind."

It seemed that what she was saying, really spoke to him. All the playful remarks and expressions he once displayed ceased, and he was actually being serious about this now. "She likes you for you, so when 'the moment' appears don't be afraid to seize it. Also, don't forget to compliment her. That'll help with showing your interest in her, and she'll appreciate hearing things like that."

"Not bad for an amateur role player." another voice spoke from afar. The voice resonated from near the shrine, so she turned to look back and see who was approaching. She came to find Neji and Sasuke standing there watching them. Sasuke still had a bag of goods in hand, so they must've just arrived. "Hey I had Naruto totally in the zone just now! Right Naruto?" Everyone turned their attention to Naruto who gave a thumbs up in agreement with her. "Yeah, she's pretty good. I feel like I've got a better understanding of things now."

With new company in their presence she wrapped things up with Naruto, and answered any lingering questions he had to ask. Sasuke and Neji entered the shrine while Sakura led Naruto to another building. Usually official shrine business transactions were supposed to take place in the room they entered, but since there weren't many visitors they really had no use for it. When she and Sasuke cleaned up the vacant room, they instead set it up to be a separate tea room. With Naruto waiting there she headed back inside the main building, and asked the little guardians to prepare some tea for their guests.

When the tea was finished she placed the tea kettle, cups and snacks on a tray, and carried everything out and set the table. Once everything was set properly, Sasuke and Neji came to join them. It was quiet at first as everyone sipped their tea. Only the clattering sounds of their cups filled the silent room; this seemed to add more pressure onto her to think of a topic to discuss with this unusual group.

She was racking her brain to think of what to say or mention, but thankfully Neji spoke up first. "So are you trying to impress a girl?" His celestine eyes pinned onto the blond haired human as he began answering back. "Yeah I just needed a little advice to make sure I don't mess up. I really like her. She's a friend of Sakura. Actually, weirdly enough she kinda looks like you."

A low chuckle came from the actor as he set his cup down. "I don't have any relatives that live near by." Sakura's eyes darted over to Sasuke. She wasn't sure what Neji's reaction would be if Naruto mentioned Hianta's name. She didn't think of it beforehand, but Neji had no idea that she had met with Hinata. More importantly, he didn't know that his Goddess of a cousin was deeply in love with the same human boy that sat right across from him.

Damn. Maybe I should've just sent Naruto home after our talk. But Neji's cool right? He won't freak out in front of everyone. I'll just have to hope for the best here...

"Right. It's probably just a weird coincidence then. Sorry. I figured I might as well ask since Hinata's eyes are the same color as yours." As he listened to Naruto mention Hinata's name, the hand that rose to bring his tea cup to his lips stopped mid-air before he could take another sip. Placing the cup down, he looked across the table at Naruto who was now happily munching on the treats that were set out. His suspicious gaze then averted between Sakura and Sasuke. She knew he would be demanding an explanation from her as to what was going on, and how this human met with Hinata. "How exactly did you meet this 'Hinata' girl?" Neji asked, his focus solely on Naruto now. "Oh, Sakura helped us meet."

Here we go...

Neji's mouth gaped open in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hinata wanted to meet with a human? It was so unheard of and out of the blue, that he had to take some time to process this new information. Sakura was fully aware of how touchy this conversation was, and how Neji must've felt hearing this so suddenly. If things couldn't have gotten any more uncomfortable it'd be great. But with her luck, what else could she expect?

From the cracked window of the room Sakura, Neji and Sasuke could clearly see Denki walking by and carrying a sack of freshly picked citruses on his back. He was currently in his 'human sized' form, so he could carry more than he would if he were his normal size. It was understandable considering he was usually the size of a child. Before he was out of their sight, his bag ripped and some of the fruits came tumbling out and spilling all over the ground. He immediately knelt to the ground and began picking them up, but noticed their eyes were on him. He apologetically waved a hand in the air and continued picking up the fallen fruit.

While this happened, Naruto had been happily enjoying the variety of snacks until he too looked out the window. "Hey, that guy dropped his fruit. I'll be back, I'm going to help him out." He hastily stood to his feet to put his shoes back on, and ran outside to help Denki. "That shouldn't be possible. Regular humans shouldn't be able to see the guardians. What the heck is going on?" she whispered. "I don't know, but does anyone mind explaining to me what the deal is with Hinata and him?" Neji digressed, wanting to talk about the relationship between the Hyuga Goddess and the human boy. "We'll explain later. Let us tend to the current situation." Sasuke stated as he rose to his feet and made his way out.

When he made it outside, he saw that Naruto was actively speaking with and helping Denki. It was clear that he acknowledged Denki's presence, but how was this even possible? Unless Naruto had some sort of gift to sense other worldly spirits. If that were the case, did that mean he could see and sense Sakura's Goddess mark too? Why didn't he notice anything about him sooner? But then again, there wasn't anything that appeared out of the norm with this guy.

He knew full and well that when Hinata met with Naurto at the park, her secret was safe either way because her Goddess mark is located at the very base of her skull. So unless she intentionally showed him her mark, he had no way of seeing or knowing about it since it was hidden under her hair. But now that he knew this human was able to detect and even socialize with spirits, he became concerned for Sakura's identity. There was no way he'd let Naruto go without giving him a proper warning.

As Naruto placed the last citrus in the sack, he smiled and waved goodbye as Denki got up and scurried away. "Ahh! What the hell?!" he suddenly yelled out as the tip of Sasuke's Kusanagi came to be inches away from his face. "Hey where the hell did that sword come from?! I was just helping hi-.." The sword came closer to his face, as Sasuke stepped forward. Not wanting to meet the sharp blade, Naruto fell onto his bottom from his squatted position and tried leaning away as much as possible. "Tell me what you know." The deadpan tone in Sasuke's voice brought everyone to a standstill. As Sakura and Neji came out to see the commotion, they stopped only a few feet from the confrontation.

"Sasuke, please stop!" she pleaded. But it was no use, he was adamant to get answers one way or another. If he knew who or what Sakura was, it meant danger was destined to meet her. "What do you mean?! I don't know what you're even talking about! I just came here to get some help from Sakura that's all!" All this blabber Naruto was spewing out only seemed to agitate him even more. Taking another step forward until his blade met the bare skin of Naruto's neck, he questioned him again.

"How is it that you are able to see the guardian?"

"Uhh...a what? Guardian you said? Are you talking about that guy I just helped? Why wouldn't I be able to see him. He was right there. I saw him as good as anyone else could. Is he some sort of spirit or something? ...Damn, it happened again."

"So you can see them. What do you mean 'it happened again'?"

"First...could you put that sword away? It's making me nervous."

"Tell me what you know. Now." he demanded. As he held the sword firmly in place, he felt a surge throughout his body as Sakura yelled from behind. "Sasuke, put that sword away!" Her order was absolute this time, so he receded his sword and put it away at once. The knowing glare he shot her way could've made anyone else cower in fear, but she stood her ground. Naruto jumped to his feet and ran over to join Sakura and Neji. He had no clue what he did to make Sasuke act this way, but at least he was safe with Sakura around. The intense dark-haired man seemed to listen to what she had to say.

Bringing the conversation back inside, they all made their way back into the tea room to straighten things out. She knew the situation couldn't be avoided, so she readied herself for the discussion to come.

Naruto went on to explain how ever since he was a child, he had a special gift that he kept to himself. He told them that he could see strange creatures of different varieties lurk around during the day and even at night. He shared that this was also the first time he's ever told anyone about any of this. When asked if his parents knew anything, he let them know they had passed when he was just a baby. Moving past that fact, he went on to mention the time he visited a traveling fortune teller who informed him he had a spirit inside of him. A fox spirit to be exact. At first he did not believe it either, but he came to realize that the random fortune teller he visited spoke the truth. It was proven true later on in his life when he fell into danger.

One of the creatures had cornered him one day and wounded him. Although he tried his best to fight it off, the creature he was up against was too strong and big for him to handle by himself. Just when he was about to give up and die, his vision blurred red and a rage that was so intense filled his veins. He thought he was bleeding out since all he could see was red, but soon he was on his feet again and fighting the creature. He never felt as strong as he did that day.

All the wounds he received healed up and burned as the cuts and slashes on his body closed up. He jumped higher and punched harder than he ever did before, and soon enough the monster fell to the ground. Dead. From that day forward, he could hear the voice of the fox spirit within him. It didn't speak all the time but when it did, it was like it was all he could hear.

"That guy spirit out there was actually the first 'spirit' I've seen in a while, so I forgot how to distinguish them from real people I guess. Saying that now, I do have a question. Sakura..." Neji and Sasuke's eyes darted onto him at the mention of her name. The tension in the air rose as they all waited for him to continue. "Sakura are you a spirit or some kind of fairy too?" The question he asked was most definitely not the question everyone was expecting, but at least he didn't mention anything about Gods or Goddesses. "Uh...why do you ask, Naruto?" she nervously questioned.

"That diamond on your forehead. I thought it was just a jewelry piece, but when I got a closer look at it...it looks like it's mended into your skin. Plus you've got this strange angelic glow around you. I didn't notice it at first, but now I see it clearly." He leaned in to take another look at her mark, but the sound of Sasuke's cup being firmly placed onto the table caused him to lean away from her. "I'm not a spirit or a fairy, I'm a real person. It's just..." What am I supposed to say? She looked across the table at Sasuke, but he made no indication or sign that he'd assist her with this one. It was all on her this time. "I'm a messenger."

"A messenger? Like a spiritual messenger?" She eagerly nodded and continued on that thought. She was grateful Naruto was so easy-going. If he was anything but, he more than likely would've been much more skeptical of the situation and asked all the hard-to-answer type of questions. Thankfully he was making things easier for her by adding to the answers she provided. "Yes." she quickly added. "Whoa, really? So that means you deliver messages between spirits or the Gods right?"

"Mhmm, something like that. But I can't really speak too much about it. There's a confidentiality pact I've made. But now that you know, you can't tell anyone. Not a soul. Please promise me that you'll never utter a word to anyone about this." Naruto nodded and stuck a hand out to offer her his word. "I promise...no I vow that I will never tell anyone what I saw or what you are. You've got my word." When he swore to her, she believed him. When she looked at him, she had a feeling he would not turn his back on her. With that thought in mind, she decided to put her faith and trust in him and shook his hand.

With everything settled between Naruto and Sakura, he decidedly called it a day and said his farewells before making his way out. Neji on the other hand stayed behind so he could get a full explanation of what the situation was with his cousin and Naruto. "I'll see Naruto out. I'll be back shortly." Sasuke mentioned, as he rose to his feet to follow after Naruto. She was a bit wary of Sasuke seeing him out, since he did have the blade of his sword against his throat less than an hour ago. But he was already gone before she could say a word.


He was almost past the Torii gates, when Sasuke's voice rang out. "Naruto." The blonde-haired man turned to face him with a questioning look. "Uh..yeah?" Once they were within talking distance, Sasuke offered a hand to him. At first Naruto was hesitant to take it, but he went ahead and accepted the handshake. When they met hands, Sasuke's grip was firm and still. His glare had gotten colder and needless to say, his eyes warned him to listen closely.

"I respect Sakura's decision to trust your word. But hear me. It is dire you speak nothing of what you saw back there. If anyone were to find out or overhear you speaking on the matter, she could be at risk. I'm saying her life is at stake. That being said, if she meets danger because of you I will not stand still. Know that I will come after you." The ominous look in Sasuke's eyes sent chills all throughout his body. His calm yet threatening tone of voice, made it clear he wasn't just talking and that he would follow through with that threat if he had to. "I get it. I understand." Hearing Naruto's confirmation, he released his grip and dipped his head.


The conversation between Neji and Sakura had since moved to the common room, so they could talk over everything that transpired between Hinata and Naruto. Well, Minus Hinata's complete love confession of course. She just mentioned Hinata's interest in Naruto, and how she helped them meet in person per her request. Anything regarding how Hinata felt, she kept quiet about. She wanted to leave it up to her to decide who she wanted to share her true feelings with.

Neji sat there absorbing all of this information in. He just had such a perplexed look set upon his face. She was sure he didn't know what to think of the matter. "So you're telling me, that my cousin is in love with that human boy. Is that right?" he asked. "Because that's kind of what this sounds like. I know my cousin...well I thought I knew her. She never expressed any kind of interest in humans, so I'm sure you know how shocked I was hearing this for the first time. To think she'd fall for one...and of all people, it would be that peculiar Naruto fellow."

"Are they to meet again?" he pressed, now curious of what future encounters Hinata would have with Naruto. "Yes. Since the last meeting was cut short, I set up another meeting between the two. They are to meet at a Boba shop in a few days." Don't tell me he wants to go too? "Hm, I see. Well tell me how it goes. I'm curious to see how this plays out. Thanks for the interesting insight." They sat still for a few more moments, until the sound of a door sliding could be heard.

"Your knight in shining armor seems to have returned. I'll take that as my sign to be off then." With nothing more to add, he rose up and bid her his farewell. As he passed Sasuke, a knowing smirk spread across his lips. But the annoyed expression he received encouraged him to hurry out, before he was reprimanded for spying on the encounter between Naruto and the Uchiha Familiar.

With only Sasuke in her presence, she let herself fall backwards onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "Whew." All that happened today was not what she could've ever expected, but thankfully it was over and through with. While she ran through all the events that went on that afternoon, the sound of someone sitting down next to her and the feeling of the couch depressing, made her look up to see him sitting there. "Sasuke..." The image of his icy glare when she commanded he put his sword away, flashed through her mind. Although she still thought it was wrong of him to direct his blade at the young man, she could understand why he did it. Like everything he has ever done for as long as she knew him, all of it led down to his desire to protect his shrine and her as the Goddess of this shrine.

"I'm sorry for earlier. I just wanted to keep the peace." she confessed. He shook his head and lowered his gaze. "You don't have to apologize for anything. The situation was strange indeed. I didn't even detect anything different or 'off' about Naruto. He claims and shows proof that he has the ability to see yokai and deities, so I'll have to look more into that later. By the way...it was wise of you to tell him you were a messenger. It was a good cover up, you did well."

He's complimenting me?

Surprisingly enough, that small compliment went a long way for her. It made her feel warm and good inside. She really thought she messed up, but it was good to know he was on her side. "Thanks, Sasuke."


The day that Naruto and Hinata were to meet finally came around. With school out and everyone gathered at the shrine, Sakura went over the plan with everyone one final time. She and Sasuke were to sit across the street at another local restaurant, while Kiba was to sit at a table nearby Hinata and Naruto. Everyone agreed to this plan and set out to the Boba cafe. By the time they got there it was noon. Everyone who was scouting went to their respective places, while Hinata went to greet Naruto who was already seated at one of the outside tables.

Since Sakura and Sasuke were seated indoors, it gave them greater coverage from being seen or recognized. Once they were seated, she checked across the street to see Kiba sitting down a few tables away from the couple. He was happy to be a part of the plan this time, since he could be present and act quickly if anything were to happen to his Lady.

"May I take your order Miss?" The waiter asked as he came up to service them. But she was too preoccupied with what was happening across the street, that she didn't even think to pick out what she wanted. "Huh? Oh, I'll just have whatever he's having. Thanks." The waiter then turned to Sasuke, and awaited an order from him. "We'll have this and this." The waiter peeked over to see what he was pointing at on the menu and smiled. "Good choice. I'll take your menus and I'll be back with your order."

The BBQ place they chose as their 'hideout' was the type of place to allow customers to choose a meat selection and sides, so they may grill the food themselves on the convenient grill built into the middle of the table. She's been to places such as this before, but it's been years since the last time she got to go out like this. On special occasions when she and her parents would go, they'd always have a grand time eating and sharing different combinations of food pieces each one had put together. She missed those times, since those memories were filled with laughter and fun.

"Sakura there is no need to keep your eye on them every second that they are there. She has Kiba there to watch out for her, if that's what you're worried about. Also...did you really have to wear that thing out?" Turning her attention back to onto him, she looked down at the table and nodded. "You're right...but I'm just so curious about them. Call me nosy, but I am rooting for them. I know how you feel about this whole thing, but I can't help but feel the need to give them a chance. If it doesn't work out then so be it, but at the very least they were given a chance to figure things out. Oh and why not? I love the flower headband you brought back. It matches my outfit today."

Her reasons behind her opinion on Naruto and Hinata were understandable, although his mind and opinion still hadn't changed on the matter. But they have already gone this far into helping the Goddess of Mercy, so why not just finish this out to the end? Only a short while later, the waiter returned with a tray full of the selected meats and beverages he ordered. He placed everything neatly on the table for them and took a step back to see the looks on their faces. "Please enjoy."

The amazing view of the fresh meat and side dishes set before her, had her eyes roaming all over the table. "Wow this all looks so tasty!" Wasting no time at all, she took to her chopsticks, but stopped to look up at him."Sorry, I'm a bit excited to try everything. I guess skipping breakfast wasn't a good idea." She could hear him quietly sigh at her stubborn ways. "I told you not to skip out. Your body needs nutrients after all that training you do in the morning. Next time just eat, no matter what."

He always scolds me over things like that. But he's right. He's just looking out for me, but I couldn't help it. I got too absorbed into going over the plan one more time.

"I used to go to places like this with parents every now and then." she mentioned, as she took some pieces of meat and placed them on the grill. The nice sizzling sound of the meat filled her ears. "I've never dined at a place where you cook food at your own table. But I have been to a place similar to that of a 'Hibachi' back in the Heavens." Hearing this, she could only imagine what the food of the Heavens tasted like. The food of the mortal realm probably wasn't even on the score board to compare.

Ever so often she'd glance over at the Boba shop to check on Naruto and Hinata. Every time she did, she'd see the two looking quite happy as they chatted. Hinata seemed more relaxed this time around, and it looked like Naruto was helping the situation by making her laugh and smile. To see her new Goddess friend happy like this, made her happy as well. Her eyes then rested on Sasuke; she watched as he munched on a piece of meat with vegetables. She knew it must've been a nuisance to follow along with a plan that he was opposed to, but she appreciated his presence. He could be a bit extreme at times, but she was still grateful for his part in this.

"Sasuke..." Her voice brought his eyes up to meet hers. He waited for her to say something, but she kept silent. Why did she call his name when she didn't even know what she was going to say? He swallowed down his food and wiped his mouth clean of any residue, before giving her another questioning look. "Yes?" Now that she had his complete attention, her mind conveniently went blank. Giving up on thinking of what to say in that moment she took some pieces of sauce-dipped meat and rice, and wrapped it all up within a large piece of lettuce. Holding it in her hand, she offered it to him. "Ah." she said, encouraging him to open his mouth. At first he looked at her as if she had lost her mind, but with all the insistent looks she gave him he hesitantly gave in and opened his mouth.

The satisfaction on her face could've been read from miles away. As she leaned an elbow on the table and rested her cheek against the palm of her hand, she couldn't help but smile at the mystified look he expressed. "What was that for?" he asked, wiping his mouth clean again. "Mmm, let's see. It's my gratitude towards you for helping me through all of this." He didn't look pleased nor displeased at that answer. But when he began fixing the same combination of food, she had an inkling of what he was about to do. But she crossed out that possibility as soon as she thought it up. There was no way he would do that, right? Once he was finished preparing the mimicked wrap, he offered it to her with a straight face. With one hand holding the top of the wrap together, the other held the bottom of it for support. "Ah." he quietly said, as he reached the food out closer to her face.

Is he really...about to feed me?

This time she was the one hesitating. She could feel her face start to warm up at his approach, but what really got to her was that smile of his that broke through his expressionless face. "What's with that look? Aren't you going to accept it?" he pointed out. Once again he motioned for her to accept his food offering, so finally she leaned in and opened her mouth. As she began munching on the delicious wrap, the soft pad of his thumb gently swiped across her bottom lip to help rid the excess sauce that dripped from the food. Her motions paused as did his but soon she was back to munching away, while he leaned away and back into his seat. "Thanks." she said, wiping any leftovers from her face.

He said nothing. She dared to peek back up at him, to see he was back to eating from his dish as if nothing had happened. "How are we doing here?" The waiter asked, as he came up to the table to check on how the food was. "Everything tastes amazing." she concluded. "Excellent. Oh and I just got word from your friend Kiba. He asks whenever you are finished here, to meet with him outside." The mention of Kiba's name had her eagerly looking out the window for the happy couple. They were no longer sitting at the cafe. They were gone! The mistake of letting herself enjoy her meal too much came back to bite her. She thanked the waiter and asked for the check and some 'To-Go' boxes, before getting ready to leave. "Where the heck did they go?!"

"No need to get worked up, they probably just went for a walk." Sasuke calmly suggested. "Well I guess you're right. Since Kiba is still on watch, everything should be fine." As soon as the waiter returned with the containers, she exchanged the amount due with him and they packed up to leave. Just outside the building, Kiba was waiting for them. "There you two are. I just wanted to give a heads up since I didn't see you come out yet, but they are in the next shop over looking at flowers. Apparently he knows Lady Hinata enjoys pressing flowers, so he proposed to take her there."

Way to go Naruto! He's putting my tips to good use.

Kiba was ready and willing to spill everything to them, but before he could she put a stop to it. With him hanging out and hearing everything that was said between the couple, she felt his knowledge alone was sufficient enough when it came to the details. Besides it couldn't have gone too bad, with how much bantering the two shared from what she saw. She just wanted to give Hinata that freedom to choose how much or how little she wanted to share with her.

"I applause your courtesy, Lady Sakura. I'll just tell you this then; they are to end their time together after they are finished at the flower shop. So if you would like, you may return home at this time. I've got it from here. It seems my Lady is enjoying herself quite a bit with the hum-...er...Naruto." His slip of the tongue made him bow his head in embarrassment. "It's been a long while since I last seen her smile that big...thank you for bringing happiness to my Lady. I'll just keep my eye on that Naruto fellow for now, but so far he seems to be a likable person."

Hearing this sent joy to her heart. It sounded like the two really hit it off, and without any mishaps at that. Since Kiba was there to keep watch and the day was escaping them, she decided to take him up on the offer to part ways. "Please tell Lady Hinata to contact me at her earliest convenience. I'd like to check in with her to see how things are. Thanks Kiba." With a polite bow and a wave of his hand, Kiba made his way to a nearby lookout spot to wait until the date was over with.

"I guess your plan worked out in the end. I commend you for your hard work." Sasuke praised, as they walked down the sidewalk. "I was happy to help... it might be too early to say such things but I think they look good together. Plus I got a treat at the end." Lifting the bag of left overs, she let out a small snicker. "So she was in it for the treats. I should've known." he sarcastically commented. "H-hey! That was just a joke. You know I was joking right?"

The chance to further convince him went out the door, as a couple dozen flyers came spiraling through the air. Most of them whizzed past her, but a couple loose pages managed to smack right into her face. "What the-?!" Pulling the papers from her face, she looked down at them to see what they were. Right then, the voices of a couple students could be heard from a distance. They were arguing about their own clumsiness, and how wasteful they were being because of the lost flyers they were supposed to hand out.

"Relay day at Konoha University...they're hosting a relay day?! Sasuke check this out!"


Thanks for reading. I'll be working on the sub-chapters from here. More character introductions and our little Goddesses first successful match-make! If you enjoy reading this so far, follow or fave for more as I continue to update! :)