Whoops, sorry it's been a little while since the last UD guys. ^^; However, I did mention I wasn't certain about how often I'd update on this. College tends to be a big factor when it comes to fanfction for me.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" or any affiliated characters; all such belong to Masashi Kishimoto. :)

Chapter Five

"Wow, this place is a dump."

"Naruto!"

"What?! It is!"

Sakura shook her head as they took in the surroundings that would soon become their temporary home. While his observation may have been rudely put, it was true; the village was in extremely poor condition. The buildings were dilapidated, paint grey and peeling while the wood was warped and sunken in on itself, giving the appearance of unsteady structures about to fall in on themselves; any people wandering about seemed just as grey and unsteady as their village. The entire atmosphere was one of disillusionment and despair.

"I guess we should find Noboru-san and plan out our next steps as to what we need to do," Sakura murmured as they began walking together through the village. The villagers periodically glanced at them in confusion, non-interest, or hate; many were not fond of having outsiders, regardless of their purpose.

After a not-so-pleasant walk through the village, the two finally found the man they were looking for in the small building that Sakura assumed was supposed to pass for a hospital. Noboru Satoshi was the village's leader, a man in his late fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and a matching goatee who stood at an intimidating six-foot despite his age. However, in spite of his daunting appearance, Satoshi was generally good-natured and pleasant; he gave his two visitors a quick rundown of the village's needs, giving Sakura a tour of their hospital while promising to personally escort her to the many home-visits that would be needed while explaining to Naruto who to see in reference with helping to rebuild their crumbling village.

"Well, hopefully that's not too much to process at once," he grinned at them when they had finally finished their tours and talks. Sakura smiled at him and shook her head, replying, "Of course not, we're happy to help. When should we get started?" Satoshi laughed, a booming sound that drew attention and smiles from those around him.

"All in due time," he told her, brown eyes twinkling. "I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow. I've arranged for you to stay with my good friend Kiyoshi Amaya; she's a widow and her children have long since been lost to war. She's more than happy to help you with anything you need and provide you with comfortable lodging. I'll escort you there."

A short walk later they were left with a woman similar to Satoshi in age with white-streaked auburn hair and playful, loving emerald eyes. She greeted them with enthusiasm and ushered them into her modest home, giving them a quick tour and showing them their room.

"I'm sorry I can't supply you with individual rooms," she said remorsefully, wringing her hands. "But as you can see, my home isn't very large; just room enough for a single old lady." Naruto tossed a grin over his shoulder at her and waved away her worry.

"No problem! Sakura-chan and I have had to deal with worse, trust me; this is great!" he walked over to the bed and tossed his packs onto it while Sakura gave the woman her own smile.

"We're very grateful for your hospitality, Kiyoshi-san." She told the woman, whose eyes sparkled with joy at having guests to care for after having been alone for so long.

"Amaya, please," the woman replied, giving Sakura a grin that could even have challenged Naruto's. Sakura acquiesced and murmured, "Arigato, Amaya-san."

Amaya's grin widened and she hurried off in order to give her guests some privacy and space to settle. Sakura slid the door closed quietly and turned to find Naruto unpacking and setting up his sleeping-bag in a corner of the room farthest from the bed.

A delicate pink brow rose questioningly and Sakura asked, "What are you doing?"

"Setting up my bed...?" Naruto answered, glancing over his shoulder at her with a look that suggested he thought her eyesight was faulty. Sakura huffed as she tossed her bags onto the queen-sized bed and began to unpack her own supplies.

"I can see that, just as I can see that the bed is plenty big enough for two," she answered in a practical tone, ignoring the squawk that came from Naruto at her words. He floundered for a reply as she silently began to hang up her clothes in the closet before putting her toiletry items in the adjoining bathroom. When she returned to the bedroom, Naruto had finally gained his composure.

"We can't share a bed, Sakura-chan!" he cried, arms flailing as he knelt next to his sleeping-bag. Sakura raised a brow at him, eyes widening as she thought she heard a growl rumble from him at the action.

"Why not? We're adults, Naruto, jeez. There's no sense in you sleeping on the floor when there's a perfectly comfortable bed big enough for the both of us; it's not like I'm asking you to share the shower with me." She smirked as a blush bloomed over his face and then playfully bumped her fist over his head, saying, "Baka, get your mind out of the gutter."

"Nani?! You brought up showering together!" he cried, his blush deepening from tomato to scarlet. Sakura hid her grin; she was actually enjoying teasing him. It wasn't often she got the best of Uzumaki Naruto in the sexual innuendo's department.

"Well, it makes more sense to me for us both to share the bed instead of sleeping on the floor and potentially losing sleep due to discomfort. I mean, we always have to sleep in tents on the hard ground or rocks; let's take advantage of this opportunity." She glanced at his still-flushed face and shrugged. "Of course, if you want to be uncomfortable, feel free to sleep on the floor. It's just an offer."

With that said, she went back to unpacking, whistling softly all the while utterly unaware of how completely she had just upturned Naruto's world with just one recommendation.

XxXxXxX

'Uncomfortable, she says. The sensible thing to do, she says. Plenty of room, she says.' Naruto thought a little hysterically as he lay in bed with the pink-haired kunoichi that night. They lay with their backs to one another but he could easily feel her body heat against his skin, feel every subtle shift the sheets made against him whenever she moved. He rarely slept in anything other than boxers or shorts, but he was thinking he might have to invest in a full-body suit if he wanted to survive this mission while sleeping in the same bed as Sakura. He worried his bottom lip almost abusively with his teeth, staring at the opposite wall blankly.

While he had understood the logic of what Sakura had been suggesting, he had assumed he might have adequate time to prepare himself, but no; they hadn't gotten to the village until mid-afternoon, and by the time all the briefing, tours, unpacking and dinner were done, night had well and truly fallen. Before he had even realized it, Sakura had stripped to her black sports bra and biker shorts and was comfortably in the bed, waiting expectantly for him to do the same so she could turn off the bedside lamp and go to sleep. He had joined her, having no other choice; he couldn't come up with any excuse to stay up later, because they'd already agreed that getting to bed earlier would help improve their work tomorrow, not to mention he was exhausted for various reasons, sleep deprivation being one of the minor ones.

'I am not going to survive this mission,' he fretted silently, worrying his bottom lip even more. He stiffened as Sakura shifted, turning over to face his back; a few moments of breath-holding and intensive listening had him breathing out a sigh of relief that she still seemed to be asleep. Until...

"Damn it, Naruto. Would you relax already? I'm not going to assassinate you in your sleep, you know," Sakura huffed quietly; he could imagine perfectly the frown she likely wore, one that pursed her lips and drew down her brows and made her look oh-so-kissable. He groaned inwardly, the thought only causing his tension to increase.

"What is your problem?!" Sakura growled, grabbing his shoulder and forcibly turning him onto his back so she could look into his eyes. He quickly adverted them and answered lamely, "Nothing, Sakura-chan, I'm just not used to sleeping in the same bed as someone else." Sakura's answering growl told him his lie hadn't gone over as smoothly as he might have liked.

"Stop bullshitting me, Naruto. You've been acting weird ever since Tsunade-shishou gave us this mission! Is it me? Did I do something to upset you?" Her angry tone lessened towards the end and she paused, as though realizing something, before murmuring, "That's it, isn't it? You're angry with me for what happened with Moegi."

"What?!" he gasped, his gaze swinging to meet hers in shock. Her jade orbs were glassy with unshed tears and she looked away, blinking them away rapidly. Forgetting his issues with being in such close proximity with her in the first place, Naruto flipped over onto his side so that they were chest to chest and grabbed her chin gently, upturning her face to his so that she could look in his eyes when he answered, "Hell no, Sakura-chan! That's not it at all! I know what happened with Moegi wasn't your fault; you did all you could and I will never fault you for giving your best! Why in the world would you think I was angry with you for that?"

Sakura shrugged awkwardly, replying softly, "I mean, it wasn't such a farfetched assumption; you've been acting so distant from me and that's the only thing that's happened recently so I thought…I mean, you're so close with Konohamaru and his team, so..." She gazed into his eyes and he saw clearly how open those wounds still were. Cursing lowly, he pulled her into a hug, tucking her head under his chin as he pulled her close to his chest.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't want you to think I was upset with you for anything, especially not that. I'm not angry with you or anything...there's just a lot of shit going through my head right now that I'm trying to figure out and you've just been the nearest person to me lately...I don't mean to take it out on you." He sighed, his breath stirring tendrils of pink hair that immediately wisped upwards to caress his chin. They were silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts before Sakura sighed against his chest.

"What's been bothering you so much? If not what happened to Moegi, what could be...?" she trailed off, but he knew what she wanted to ask: what could be so troubling that it's changing you from who I knew?

"I...I can't really...explain," he told her, wincing at how obvious the lie seemed. Sakura stiffened slightly, recognizing the words for what they were, but she didn't pull away. She seemed to contemplate for a while before slowly releasing the tension from her shoulders.

"Okay. I won't push...this time. But seriously, you need to do something about it; go train your ass off or something and stop taking it out on me." Naruto felt her teasing smile, but her words only made him feel even guiltier; he had been taking his issues out on her and she didn't deserve it. Sakura seemed to notice the tension that stiffened his muscles again and sighed. She shifted so that her head wasn't trapped and looked up, bumping her nose to the underside of his chin in a friendly, playful gesture.

"Relax," she murmured, bumping him again before settling her head back into its previous nook. "Get some rest. There's time tomorrow to sort it all out; right now, you need sleep or you'll be dead on your feet tomorrow." Naruto began to retort that he didn't think he could sleep right now, but she beat him to it.

"Shut up, close your eyes, and try to sleep before I medically sedate your stubborn ass," she growled, looking up to bump his chin one last time with her nose before pulling away, almost instinctively knowing he needed his space. She flipped over to give him her back, snuggling up to her pillow without a word while Naruto reeled from the tender gestures and sudden emptiness in his arms.

He lay there for a long while, staring up at the ceiling, contemplating their conversation and actions; Sakura had long since fallen asleep again, and this time when she flipped over to face him, he didn't flinch at the skin-to-skin contact that ensued when her hand draped over his chest. He smiled a bit, tracing the length of her forearm lazily with the tips of his fingers, knowing she wouldn't be aware of the action. As time passed his actions became increasingly slower, sluggish with fatigue, and his eyes eventually fluttered closed, sleep finally capturing his stubborn mind and providing him with much needed rest.

To his right, Sakura's lips tilted into a satisfied smirk.

Noboru = virtuous
Satoshi = wise
Kiyoshi = quiet
Amaya = night rain

Apologies if the story-line seems to be moving along slowly. I still wasn't certain where I was going with this story at the point that this chapter was written. It'll start to speed up in time.
I'll try to UD again soon. Thanks for reading! R&R is loved!

~Miah-Chan