Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the great reviews and favorites! I just finished one of the later chapters and am in good spirits. So here's the next chapter a little early. As always, read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Celebration

"So you got in? That's fucking fantastic!"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh as Kiba slapped him hard across the back and pulled him into a headlock, which he easily broke free of. "Yep, it's official. I'm a part of the ANBU now," he admitted, grinning from ear to ear. As soon as the results had been finalized, Naruto had rushed to the training grounds in hopes of finding someone to share the news with. To his delight, he had found Kiba beating a wooden post senseless and immediately told him the news.

"Aw, man, that's great. Going to get the tattoo and everything? Damn. And at nineteen, too. That's still pretty young," he said as he leaned against the post and wiped sweat away from his brow.

"Not that young. Plenty of others have been admitted at a much earlier age. Kakashi-sensei got in wh—"

Kiba waved off his humbleness and interrupted, "Don't let that old man's accomplishments diminish the importance of this. It's impressive. Hell, you even got in before me." Kiba flashed his teeth in a wolfish grin and straightened against the pole. A moment later, Kiba's giant hound, Akamaru, came trotting over. He barked once to acknowledge Naruto and then nudged his partner's arm as if to ask why he had stopped working. Kiba ran his hand absent-mindedly through Akamaru's fur and continued, "Yeah, Akamaru and I were hoping to get promoted next summer. But right now, we're happy with our current status." Akamaru barked an affirmative.

They exchanged lesser bits of information—how were their teammates doing, had the other had any interesting missions recently—until a lull appeared in the conversation. Just as Naruto was about to excuse himself to spread the news, a devious grin spread across Kiba's face and he asked, "So how are you celebrating?"

It took Naruto a second to comprehend what he meant. "Celebrating?"

Kiba rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Come on, you weren't going to celebrate? This is sake worthy stuff here, Naruto! We should have a party!"

As much as Naruto loved to be with his friends, he was still slightly wary of Kiba's idea. "I don't know, Kiba. I just got in. I don't think I should get wasted right before—"

"Before what? You just got in. All they're gonna do is slap that tattoo on you, read you in, and have you fill out some paperwork. It's not like they're going to send you off on a mission tomorrow. Live a little, man," Kiba chastised him and punched him on the arm.

Naruto smiled despite himself and let out a big sigh. "I guess you're right. What kind of party were you thinking of?"

Kiba hatched a wonderful scheme. He knew a guy who could secure them a big section of the bar. If he talked to him before noon, the spot was almost guaranteed to be theirs. "I'll spread the word. Invite whoever you want, too. It's going to be the best night of your life," Kiba assured him with another slap on the back before they said their goodbyes.

Naruto passed the rest of the day by locating his various friends and telling them the news. Most of them promised to attend, however, not all of them could make it. Shino and Hinata were away on missions. Kakashi claimed that he had not yet stooped so low as to drink with his former students. Lee expressed his aversion to alcohol, but assured Naruto that he would attend anyway.

Even Sakura with her hectic schedule at the hospital planned on coming. "I might have to switch a few shifts around, but I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said while she sorted through papers behind the front desk. Naruto was glad that she was so willing to come. Though he liked Kiba's idea of throwing a huge party, as long as Sakura was there to share the memory with him, that's all he could ever want.

Surprisingly enough, things had not changed much after their kiss three years ago. If anything, they were closer—or as close as they could be with their conflicting schedules. Sakura pulled long shifts at the hospital and only took the most dangerous missions. Her immense strength and exceptional medical skills made her a vital part of any successful platoon, but Tsunade preferred to keep Sakura at the hospital if any medic-nin of lesser status could complete the job.

Naruto took missions whenever he could and trained when he couldn't. Somewhere in the midst of it all, he and Sakura found time to see each other. Naruto felt that their friendship kept him sane. It was something that was permanently rooted to the ground in a world of shifting shadows. Though his love for Sakura remained, he now knew better than to risk their friendship by trying to push his feelings on her too quickly. He knew that if he waited patiently by her side, never faltering in his affections, she would have to feel something in return. She just had to.

Word of the night's festivities soon spread throughout the upper ranks of Konoha's shinobi, and when Naruto finally arrived at the party, he was surprised to see the bar already full of his friends, acquaintances, and even a few people he did not know. A loud cheer rang out when he entered, and Naruto grinned in response to the boisterous charisma of the room. Before he had taken three steps inside, he was attacked from behind as Kiba threw and arm around him and shook him roughly.

"Here he is! The man of the hour!" he called out to the small crowd. Another cheer rang throughout the bar. Naruto smelled the faint odour of alcohol on his breath, and he wondered just how early Kiba had come to the party. "Come on," Kiba said and pulled him towards the bar. "Let's get you a drink."

The drinking age of Konoha was set at twenty, but few bar owners would refuse to serve anyone who was in the service of the village. As far as they were concerned, any man that fought to defend their village deserved a drink. Plus, ninja had a reputation of drinking themselves under the table. Any businessman would be a fool to turn down such a profit.

When the night was still early, Naruto was congratulated by countless people. Choji slapped him so hard across the back that his legs buckled. Shikamaru grasped his arm and asked him how someone as thick as he was had risen in rank so quickly. Even Sai had given his felicitations in his backwards sort of way.

After shaking several hands, accepting multiple hugs, and meeting half a dozen unmasked ANBU operatives who said that they looked forward to working with him, Naruto found himself alone. In that half-second of quiet, he glanced around the room and was disappointed when his eyes did not land on a pink head of hair. Kiba noticed the nervous expression on his face and pulled him back to the bar, declaring that he needed another drink.

Just when Naruto had thought he had met with everyone who had come, he found himself standing with Neji and Lee. They appeared to be the only sober people in the room.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Naruto! I knew that your youthful fire could not go unnoticed for much longer! Perhaps Neji and I will see you around the ANBU headquarters," Lee suggested with a grin as wide as his face. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at his energy. Lee didn't need alcohol to get drunk. He was always drunk on life.

"Yeah, maybe," Naruto said and accepted a handshake from Neji.

"Congratulations, Naruto. You will make a fine addition to the team," Neji assured him in his low, calm voice. Neji had been the first of their group to achieve ANBU status, and Lee had followed a year later.

Most of Naruto's friends were content to remain chuunin or jounin, and he could not blame them. He sometimes wondered if he would have aspired to become part of the assassination squad so early in his career had it not been for his circumstances. Under normal conditions, Naruto would have kept his doubts to himself, but the liquor loosened his tongue, and he hoped that maybe one of his friends shared his concerns. Neji told him that he was simply thinking about it too much, but Lee sympathized with him.

"Sometimes I wish I had stayed a jounin to become a sensei. I could have inspired the youth of today just as Gai-sensei inspired me when I was impressionable," he sighed with distant longing.

"We don't need any more people to be 'inspired' to wear green leotards," Neji scoffed. Naruto doubled over with laughter and had to excuse himself to escape Lee's defence of his uniform.

When he had finally pulled away from the two men, Naruto turned towards the door and spotted a pink head enter the bar. Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto bounded across the room to greet the new arrival. "Sakura-chan!" he called and embraced her. She laughed at the childish greeting and hugged him back with equal strength.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized as she extricated herself from his arms. "This was the earliest I was able to leave the hospital."

Naruto waved a hand at her apology, saying that he understood completely. "But you've got a lot of catching up to do. Ino was gone half an hour ago," he informed her with a smirk.

Even as he said this, Ino stood up at one of the booths and waved a half empty glass in her hand. "Sakuraaa! You made it! Come and have a drink with us!" she called over the commotion and struggled to stay steady of her feet.

The sake flowed like water from a spout. Naruto's head buzzed pleasantly as they sat with Ino and Shikamaru in one of the booths, exchanging stories and memories from their younger days. On several occasions, someone would project their voice to be heard over all the conversation and make a toast to Naruto. They toasted to his good health, to his future, to his fighting skills, and on one instance, to his happiness.

Even though his senses dulled with each drink he took, Naruto was acutely aware of Sakura's presence at his side. Whenever she spoke with Ino across the table, Naruto would glance down at the generous amount of leg her dress exposed. Once, he was sure that she had caught him looking, but she merely smirked at him and went on with her conversation.

People flit in and out of their table until Naruto was unsure of whom they had sat down with in the first place. Kiba slid into the booth at some point in the night, causing Naruto and Sakura to press side-by-side to make room. Naruto silently thanked Kiba for the intrusion. Another one of Kiba's wolfish grins slid onto his face as he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "What did I tell you, huh? It's a great party!" he yelled, and everyone within earshot agreed with cheers of their own.

They remained squeezed into the same space for a few minutes longer until Kiba's short attention span caused him to run off somewhere new. Naruto began to reluctantly scoot back to his original seat, but stopped with he felt a hand touch his thigh. Before his mind hand time to register what this meant, he felt Sakura lean in towards his ear.

"I'm going to step outside for a minute. My head is starting to spin," she murmured and removed her hand from his leg. "Plus, the smoke isn't helping much." Confused, Naruto looked across the table and saw that Shikamaru was halfway through a cigarette. He hadn't even noticed.

"Alright, I'll come with you," he offered. Sakura nodded as if that were the most natural thing in the world and slid out of the booth after him. Before Naruto told their booth-buddies where they were headed, he noticed that Shikamaru's arm was draped over Ino's shoulder—allowing his hand to lay dangerously close to her breast—and Ino's hand held onto his knee. He didn't think they would mind a bit of privacy.

Naruto guided them somewhat clumsily towards a side exit, and they stumbled out into the alley together. It was quiet and dark compared to the boisterous bar, and the air felt considerably cooler. Sakura took a deep breath of the night air and leaned against the side of the building. She attempted to fit a few loose stands of hair back into her braid before giving up with a sigh and undoing the entire thing. She wore her hair longer now and often times braided it so she would not have to fuss with it during her long hours at the hospital. Her pink locks hung an inch past her shoulders and framed her pale face so perfectly that Naruto had to resist the urge to reach out and touch them.

She caught him staring at her, but did not appear to be angry. "Quite a party in there," she commented and pulled her hair back so her neck could cool.

Naruto nodded and stepped in front of her. "I think Kiba got a little carried away with the guest list," he admitted and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh nonsense," Sakura said and waved her hand. The motion was clumsy and disjointed. "You deserve it."

"I guess so."

Sakura shook her head at his humbleness and gave him a genuine smile. "I'm proud of you, you know? This is a big deal." As she said this, she placed a hand on his chest so that he would understand how sincere she was being.

When Naruto glanced down at her hand, something came loose in his chest. He felt a searing heat where her skin touched his shirt and a familiar feeling in his gut. If he had been thinking more clearly, Naruto would have recognized the signs and stopped himself before he said something stupid. But as it was, he was not thinking clearly, so he went ahead and did what he felt was right.

Closing his own hand around Sakura's, Naruto took a step closer to her so that their bodies were only inches apart. "I'm just glad you came. You're the only one I needed to be with," he admitted and placed a hand on her cheek. He felt her body tense in response to their proximity, but he didn't care. He had to do this.

Naruto tilted her head upward and leaned forward until their noses touched; he could feel the ghost of her lips against his. She looked at him with that same unreadable expression she had given him three years ago. For one terrible moment, he thought that she was going to pull away from him. Or even worse, that she would just stand there and take it without any feeling. But then something shifted. Sakura's eyes softened. Her body relaxed against the wall, and she let out a soft sigh that tickled his lips and sent shivers down his spine.

Without waiting another second, Naruto closed the small space between them and was relieved when he felt Sakura's lips press back. They kept their mouths closed, but so much intensity built up between them that Naruto heard himself groan in longing. His hands were immediately on her. They ran through her hair—it flowed free from its restraints—over her neck, down her back, and settled on her waist. She did not stop him, so he took it as a sign to continue.

Their lips met again and again with increasing intensity until Naruto found himself pushing his tongue out to meet hers in a sweet, slick embrace. His body pressed up against hers, flattening her between him and the wall. Trapped as she was, Sakura made a strained sound of discomfort and pushed against his chest. Naruto seemed to agree that this wasn't the best position.

Breathing heavily as he broke their kiss, Naruto moved his hands to grip the undersides of Sakura's thighs and lifted her so that they were eye-level with each other. She shifted and flushed in embarrassment. "N-Naruto . . ."

"Shh . . ." he cooed and leaned their foreheads together. The simple touch instantly calmed her. Naruto kissed her again, sucking on her tongue and bottom lip, doing anything to taste more of her. Sakura seemed to welcome the touch and adjusted her position to take the weight off his hands. Her legs wrapped around his hips. Her hands gripped his blond hair.

It wasn't long before Naruto's hands continued their inspection. They ran up and down her bare thighs, pushing the material of her dress back so that he could touch as much skin as possible. She squirmed slightly in his touch, but made no other objection. His hands slid down to cup her backside and pull her closer to him. Another sigh left her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against him.

Naruto loved that sound. He wanted to hear her make it again. He wanted to make her moan and whimper and breath his name into his ear. So he got a little carried away. His mouth kissed along her jaw, his teeth nipping along its underside. She gasped and held tighter. Slowly tracing the curves of her body, his hands slid over her hips and torso to pause right below her breasts. He kissed her lips one more time before running his palms over them and squeezing gently. Sakura gasped. Though her breasts were small, they were still soft and wonderful.

"Naruto . . ." she whispered, sounding nervous and unsure.

He kissed her again to reassure her before trailing his mouth down her neck. His hands played with her breasts, lifting and rubbing and squeezing them to his heart's content. Sakura made another whimper of discomfort, but he ignored it. The feeling must have been new to her; she would need a few minutes to adjust. His mouth dropped lower and lower until he began kissing what little cleavage she had. He pressed her breasts together to make the mounds more defined and ran his tongue over one arch.

"Naruto." Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the change in her tone. He heard how she had become serious and warning. He felt her push against his chest. But he did not care. He was in bliss. One hand pulled her dress down while the other slipped into her bra to bring the breast into his mouth.

"Naruto!" she screamed and punched him square in the nose. He heard an audible crunch.

Blinded by pain and tears, Naruto released her and stumbled backwards, clutching his nose the entire time. He felt her weight disappear from his hips and neck and guessed that she had managed to untangle herself in time to avoid falling to the ground with him. Cursing as he tried to stop the bleeding, Naruto opened his eyes to see Sakura quickly pull her clothes back into place. Anger suddenly replaced his lust.

"Gah! Sakura, what the hell!" he hissed in a strained whisper so he wouldn't alert all the people on the other side of the wall.

Sakura fixed her eyes on the ground and pulled her dress back over her thighs so that her panties were no longer visible. "I warned you. I wanted you to stop," she said, shaken and disoriented.

"But you never said 'stop'! What was I supposed to—"

"You should have known!" she snapped back at him, silencing him in an instant. "I was uncomfortable and you knew it. Yet you kept going," she pulled her dress higher over her chest and looked away from him. In the dim light, he could see tears swell at the rim of her eyes.

Naruto's anger melted away. Oh God, what had he done now? Still holding his nose, he reached towards her, a sincere apology in his eyes. "Sakura . . . I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to . . ." he broke off. What exactly did he mean to do? He hadn't meant to upset her, that much was true. But he had wanted to touch her. He wanted her to be completely his—if only for a moment—and he would have taken her right then and there if she would have allowed it to go on for that long. But she had not wanted the same thing, and that, more than anything, hurt.

She was quiet for a moment as if she was trying to decide if she should accept his pathetic apology. Then she stood with difficulty and dusted the dirt off her clothes. "I think I need to go home," she whispered.

"No, Sakura! Please, just wait. I'm sorry—"

"Good night, Naruto." She started walking. "And I'm sorry about your nose," she called over her shoulder before rounding the corner. But she must not have been too sorry because she didn't stop to fix it.

Naruto groaned and clutched the sides of his head, willing the world to stop spinning long enough for him to sort out this mess. He sat brooding over his rejection and stupidity until the pain from his nose could no longer be ignored. His hands gently patted the sensitive area to try and determine which way it had been broken and how he needed to snap it back into place. Once he thought he had it figured out, he pulled it hard to the right and cursed as a new wave of pain washed over him. It wasn't long before he felt the Kyuubi's chakra begin to take care of the rest.

He sat out in the alley longer than he would have cared to admit. The voices coming from inside the bar were too jovial for his distraught mood, and he could not force himself to face them just yet. So he waited until the noise died down to wipe the blood from his face and quietly re-enter from the side door. The bright lights and cheerful laughs both blinded and deafened him, and he stood at the door in a daze until Kiba—or at least he thought it was Kiba—grasped him by the shoulder.

"Naruto, where have you been? You missed it! I swear I saw Tenten come out of the bathroom with—Jesus, what happened to you?" he asked when he noticed Naruto's appearance.

Naruto shrugged, lacking the energy and the will to repeat what had just transpired. "I think I'm just going to head home. Thanks for the party," he said with as big of a smile as he could muster before exiting the bar.

The cool night air helped to sober him up as he walked back to his apartment. With a strange sense of irony, he realized that his walk of shame was eerily similar to his walk home three years prior. He tried not to think about it. He was too emotionally drained to reflect on any part of the night. All he wanted to do was sleep until Tsunade summoned him to the Hokage tower to pick up his new uniform and go through initiation. And surely that wouldn't be for another three days. After all, she had assured him that unless an emergency came up, he would have plenty of time to rest before he was given his first mission.

With the prospect of sleep his only comforting thought, Naruto arrived at his apartment door and fished around in his pockets for his keys. As he slid the key into the lock, Naruto noticed that an envelope had been tacked to his door. His curiosity peaking, Naruto opened the letter and immediately recognized Tsunade's handwriting.

Be at my office at 8:00 a.m. sharp. I have something to discuss with you.

Naruto's head hit the door, all the happiness slowly draining out of him. Wonderful.

To be continued . . .