A/N: Hey guys! Enjoy and leave a review if possible. This chapter is basically part 1 of 2 in the dating section of the story, as it was too big to be in one chapter, around 18,000 words! Yikes, lol well that's all I've got to say, so I'll leave with a very Naruto themed emoticon, enjoy! =^.^=

Kiba and Sakura made their way back to his house while reflecting on earlier happenings, concerning both The Manipulator and Kiba's new-found feelings for his blonde best friend. Kiba led the way to his home at a fast pace, due to him wanting to look absolutely great for tonight, which meant spending a long time getting ready for it.

Sakura lagged behind slightly while still reflecting on the meeting that just happened a few minutes ago, trying to figure out who the rogue was behind this whole crisis. She was often distracted from her thoughts with Kiba talking to her about irrelevant topics like his love of chewy food, and how he hoped the restaurant he was taking Naruto to was full of it.

"Kiba, you gotta make sure there's Ramen! It'll be an uphill struggle to keep him happy otherwise."

"I'm sure there is a BBQ restaurant that sells Ramen around here..."

"The BBQ restaurant was lost from the Invasion of Pain you baka, you might have to go out of the village to find a restaurant that sells both Ramen and BBQ."

"Uhhh! I don't know if I wanna go traveling too far, that takes a lot of effort."

Sakura whacked him on the head and a slowly arising bump was becoming more obvious.

"This is a date you moron! You gotta put the effort in or it'll fall flat. Besides I'm sure it'll score you points if he sees you putting this much time into it."

"I guess you're right, but I don't feel as enthusiastic as I should be..." Kiba's face looked conflicted, Sakura took notice of it.

"I'm sure you're just nervous, you've never been on a date before so you can't be blamed. You'll do brilliantly, I'm sure of it." Sakura caught up with him to patted him on the shoulder, trying to comfort the unsure brunette.

"Heh, thanks Saku!" Kiba hugged Sakura, his brilliant smile emerging.

'Kami he's cute! Naruto, you are one lucky teme if this date goes well.'

Sakura returned the hug, but broke it off quickly so that they could continue into his house and get ready for the big night. They both eventually reached his house and entered through the giant bronze gates while closing it behind them. Both teens walked towards Kiba's house and were generally quiet, while yet again in independent thought, as they knew they wouldn't have much time for it when they were getting ready for tonight. Kiba froze in his tracks and went pale, bringing the attention of the pinkette.

"What's wrong?"

"M-Mo"

"Spit it out Kiba!"

"Who the HELL is she?!"

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw a furious matriarch storming towards them both with a face like thunder.

"You know the rules Kiba! You can only mate with someone who-"

"Mother, this is my friend, Sakura!" Kiba put much emphasis on "friend" to try to make his mother realize they weren't going to be "mating" anytime soon.

Sakura blushed profusely after hearing Tsume accuse her of going to "mate" with Kiba, as she never really heard that word used when describing humans. She remembered however that Kiba's clan were attuned to canines, so it did make sense why she said that instead of just plain "sex".

"Oh, sorry... Sakura." Tsume smiled at the confused teen, "I'm sorry for that, it's just that during adolescence Inuzuka men generally mate with any women they can get!"

Sakura turned an even deeper shade of red, bordering on crimson. Kiba also blushed madly as he never had been so embarrassed as much by his mother until now.

"She's just a friend mom, now can we go?"

Tsume eyed Kiba like a hawk to try to detect what he was up to. She saw no lust in his eyes, so she was happy for them to go ahead. Kiba and Sakura practically ran away from the woman, not wanting to be embarrassed a second longer. They got to his front door and he fumbled for his keys, eventually getting them and opening the rigid oak door. He led Sakura upstairs to his bedroom which he cleaned earlier, erasing his overpowering scent much to her relief.

"So, first off you need to take a shower 'cause smelling good is crucial!" Sakura instructed, much to Kiba's annoyance at such an obvious part.

"I already know that smell is important!"

"You asked for advice and I'm giving it, so if you don't want it I'll just leave!"

"No no no please stay!" Damn how can she get so moody so fast?!

She smiled back at him, really earning her title of "the bipolar banshee" as given by Kyuubi. Kiba entered his en-suite bathroom and locked it behind him, trusting Sakura to pick out clothes from his wardrobe while he was showering. She picked out grey 3/4 length shorts, a cardinal colored vest top and some high-top black shoes with a red under-sole. She checked to see how cold it was by opening a window, but was surprised that it was pretty chilly, so she picked out a grey and black hoodie jacket to go with his outfit.

Just as she placed the clothes on his bed he emerged from the bathroom in a blanket of steam, obscuring his view from Sakura. However the steam eventually dissipated and a wet, towel-draped Kiba emerged from the bathroom with his glistening and defined body on show for her to see. She had to fight back a fainting spell as his gorgeousness was almost too much for her to handle.

"Sakura are you OK?"

"Uh-ugh y-yeah! Your clothes are on your bed so I'll just-!" Sakura ran out of the room and slammed the door behind her, leaving Kiba to get dressed.

'She really is weird...'

Kiba got dressed while trying not to crease his clothes too much. He strolled over to the door and let Sakura back in, who was noticeably less red this time. She analysed Kiba's outfit and was impressed by what she picked out for him as the clothes looked better than she had imagined.

"Looking sharp Kibbles!"

Kiba instantly remembered the dream with Tenten and shuddered, not wishing to ever hear that pet name again. Sakura saw the shudder and make a mental note not to call him that again, so she changed the subject.

"We've still got a few hours left so we might as well figure out where you're actually gonna take Naruto!"

"Well Ichiraku's would make his stomach happy but that's hardly a place a date should be... perhaps we should check out the neighboring town and see if they have any good restaurants? We still have a while so it's possible." Kiba said intelligently, much to the surprise of Sakura.

"That's a good idea Kiba, you might not need me after all!" Sakura winked, trying to give him some well needed confidence for the night ahead.

Kiba was glad Sakura had been there to help him, as in fact he wasn't as confident as most people would assume. In fact, he was a cripplingly nervous person and (like Naruto) often put on a façade of being overly confident and as being an extrovert, when he was actually rather insecure.

His mother had always been a control freak, and usually aggressive towards Kiba, so he often worried about how Naruto would be able to cope with it when he eventually moved in, especially if she found out about their possible relationship. It was naturally Taboo for the heir of a clan to be homosexual or abstain from raising children, so that would be a whole other challenge for them to face, and he worried that Naruto wouldn't want to face such intrusive obstacles.

However, Kiba erased the thought from his mind and began to walk to the door when Sakura grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned around and saw her holding the Senju Amulet in her hand, with an aggravated expression. He nervously laughed and hastily put it on around his neck to ward off The Manipulator's abilities, as he/she could quite likely try to interrupt the date. Both teens made their way out of the compound and to the neighboring town of Amatores, intent on finding the perfect venue for the date.

Tsunade walked slowly down the long corridor from her office, leaving Shizune behind so she could collect her thoughts. The Hokage wasn't renowned for her tactical or strategic prowess, but she certainly weren't stupid, so she had a few ideas on what to do in the investigation. She had a few leads on who The Manipulator could be, such as those in Team Guy or Ino. Although she knew it would be unwise not to consider other suspects, so she decided to first focus on finding out if Ino was indeed the rogue controller.

Tsunade spun on her heels and marched back to her office, planning on finding out where Ino was in the village so she could be questioned. She didn't want to have to interrogate such a promising ninja, but if it could erase the threat of her beloved Knucklehead Naruto being harmed, she would definitely chance it. She burst through her office door with as much force as always, causing Shizune to jump as she was just dozing off to a nap.

"Wake up Shizune! I need you to check where Ino is in the village, have her brought back for questioning!" Tsunade strictly shouted at her apprentice, not wanting to repeat herself as her patience was already worn thin.

"W-What Lady Tssunade?" Shizune dazedly slurred while still half asleep, much at her own peril.

"Water Style: Raging Torrent."

Tsunade spontaneously summoned a stream of high velocity water that spun towards her apprentice, blasting her in the cold liquid and causing her to scream.

"AHHHH! P-PLEASE STOP L-LADY TSUNADE!"

Tsunade laughed sadistically at her students dismay, but quelled the Jutsu as Shizune was most certainly awake now. Shizune shivered madly but got up from her seat and waddled towards Tsunade, looking like she was experiencing hypothermia. Tsunade eventually returned to a serious state to inform Shizune of what she was planning.

"I'll be contacting the Hyuga clan to provide a bodyguard for tonight. And as I said before I'd like you to find out the whereabouts and status of Ino Yamanaka, are we clear?"

"W-Why would you need a bodyguard?"

"Not me, baka! Naruto and Kiba need one for their date, as I'm pretty sure that the Amulet doesn't prevent assassinations, does it?" Tsunade mocked her apprentice.

"O-Oh I see! Well I better find out the status of Ino then, thank you Lady Tsunade!" Shizune bowed to her master and scurried out of the office door, hoping not to anger Tsunade any more than she already had.

"She's such a handful sometimes..." The Sannin mumbled while already making her way out of the office to get to the Hyuga residence. However she thankfully remembered something of great importance, which could have cost lives if she hadn't done.

'Damn my memory is slipping!'

She span on her heels yet again and entered the office, getting ticked off that she was constantly bound to the place. She sat down by her desk and clapped her hands together, summoning two ANBU operatives in front of her desk.

"I need you to set up a perimeter around the village, deploy village guards on patrols in the alleys and even more at night-time, get this done ASAP, you are dismissed." The Operatives both clearly nodded and dispersed into a cloud of smoke ready to complete her orders promptly. She yet again got up from her desk and almost ran out of the office, hoping not to have to go back anytime soon, as she was itching to do some gambling after reaching the Hyuga estate.

"Ohhh yeah! Tonight could be the night! Ohhh yeah!"

Naruto was singing in the shower, exited yet anxious about what was going to occur later that night, his date. He was generally making his own songs up as he went along, like a stream of consciousness, so most of the lyrics didn't make much sense when put together.

"I'm so excited yet nervous, it's so weird... but I shouldn't be though because after all, me and Kiba are best friends, we should have loads to talk about, right Kyu?"

'I'm not gonna help you with the date, so figure it out for yourself!'

"Don't tell me you're still mad about me locking you in that cage? You couldn't control yourself with all the talk about 'Dominance' all the freaking time!"

Naruto had let Kyuubi out of her cage long ago once they formed their bond, but she was still bound within him no matter if she was in a cage or not. However the cage itself was small, claustrophobic and made her cranky, so he often let her out so that she could be a little more comfortable. However he wouldn't hesitate to lock her back up if she crossed the line with issues, and in Naruto's mind she certainly did with the overly sexual dialogue about Kiba.

'I was helping you plan for the part with the bedroom! That's the important part, especially with the risk of him domin-'

As soon as Naruto heard the word "dominating" about to be said he instantly cut her off. He was getting annoyed of her constant talk about "who wears the trousers" and that "Uke equals sorrow" or some other nonsense. Naruto planned to have a meaningful relationship, one that weren't dictated by roles. He was already subjected to that by Sasuke, as he always had to be the dominant figure, which irked Naruto to no end.

"Ugh I'm not gonna think of that scrub, I've got better things to think about!" He smiled to himself thinking back to the date tonight, which was only just a few hours away until he had to go to Kiba's. He continued with the showering and picked out his "Cherry Blast" body wash, along with his new "Silky Strands" Shampoo and Conditioner he bought on his way home from the market. He wanted to smell and look his best tonight, and bought those good quality products for that exact reason.

Naruto finally finished showering and towel dried his hair and body, not needing to blow-dry his hair as he could let it dry within the few hours anyway. He opened his bathroom cabinet mirror and reached for his deodorant and aftershave, applying both products sparingly as he didn't want to overpower Kiba's hypersensitive nose, like in the Chunin exams.

"He really got a whiff of that one, and by Kami it reeked..."

Naruto chuckled while remembering Kiba's face when he smelt Naruto's flatulence, as it was what lost him the fight after all. The blonde found it also quite embarrassing though, so he hoped his new fragrances would also help mask the smell of any rogue fart during the date. He put both products back into the cabinet and wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom.

He dropped his towel and felt the cold air snap against his lower body, which was like stepping out into the antarctic after the hot shower he just had. He looked down and smirked at his pride and glory; not at all disappointed in it.

"Heh, I wonder how big Kiba's is..." Naruto almost began to drool whilst imagining what Kiba would seem like under clothes. Toned abs, groomed hair and defined muscles were what first sprung to mind, all of them being some of Naruto's favourite attributes about him. He then thought of his gorgeous smile, messy hair and adoring eyes. His drooling over Kiba's imaginary body, however, began to go after seeing his smile; and somehow made Naruto feel bad about doing it.

"Damn, I can never just lust over him anymore, especially when I see his smile, it makes me feel dirty or.. I don't know." He scratched his head confusedly.

'Well maybe since lusting is meant to be dirty? Baka!'

"Well I know that dobe! I meant it doesn't feel right, like I feel kinda different when I think about him now... what do you think it is Kyu?"

'You're over-thinking it again like everything else Kit, now shut up and go get some clothes on!'

He sighed at Kyuubi's response but knew that she was right about him over thinking; her tough love helping him as usual. He opened his drawers and sighed after seeing a whole mess of clothes that he couldn't be bothered to fold, so he had to pull them all out unceremoniously and chucked them all on his bed so he could sort through them. He closed his now empty drawer and started picking which clothes he wanted that was on his bed.

"Kyu, would these Chino's look better than these shorts?" He held a pale blue Chino trouser along with some thin-material shorts.

'It's pretty damn cold out, so for that you should put on the Chino's, but for sex appeal I'd say-'

"Ok Chino's it is!"

He quickly cut her off, while the blonde then grabbed a plain white tee, not wanting to overly dress for the date, along with a pair of grey suede shoes and began to compile his outfit. He thought the colors matched well and that the overall outfit was perfect for tonight, and after he got a reluctant paws up from Kyuubi, he was pretty much ready. He did however need to let his hair dry while also styling it, so that it would dry into the style without the need for gels or other greasy-looking products.

He went back to the bathroom to style his hair which only took about 10 minutes, until he skipped back out excitedly to jump back on his bed while trying to figure out what else he has to do.

"Clothes, check. Hair, check. Smell... check!" He put his finger on his chin while thinking what else he had to do for the date.

"Kyu, do I look good?!" Naruto wanted her to be honest, especially as he had no one else to tell him if he did or didn't look decent for the night.

'You look terrible.'

"I'm being serious!" Naruto knew that she was kidding, or probably kidding, but was getting frustrated nonetheless.

'Yes, yes you look good Kit, but how long do you have until the date starts?'

The blonde looked over to his clock on the wall opposite him and saw it read 3pm, which was 3 hours before the date even begun.

"W-Well...I think I got dressed a little too early... hehe." He scratched his head, while Kyuubi just rolled her red eyes.

Naruto got up from his bed and went over to the living room and plopped down on his dilapidated sofa, while flicking the TV on. He changed though the various channels and, like always, there was nothing on that he really wanted to watch.

"Wait a minute... I can get packing for tomorrow!" Naruto grinned and bounced up from his sofa into his room to begin packing. He normally hated to pack clothes and his other belongings, but if it meant moving into his best-friends and possible boyfriend's house? He would do it a thousand times over. Naruto commenced with the packing but made sure to keep some stuff unpacked for tonight; which would be his last night in his residence for Kami knows how long.

"I'm gonna miss this place Kyu."

"What: this old, unstable, small, decrepit bio-hazard of a building?"

Naruto tutted at her statement, but then looked around to see a hole in his ceiling, a rat scurry along his floor and water leaking from the pipes in his bathroom. There was also a faint purple glow coming from his Kitchen, which was probably the radioactive bio-hazard she was talking about.

"Heh...I see your point." They both laughed and he continued packing to help pass the time, making sure to talk about what to do for the night too.

"T-This place is... amazing!"

Kiba's chocolate-brown eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight he saw. The neighboring town of Amatores was truly a beautiful town; full to the brim with markets, restaurants, cafe's, houses and even a shopping center of sorts. Kiba remained gob smacked at the sight of such a buzzing town, as this far outshone the Village in terms of possible venues for the date. Sakura was also drooling as she stood there just as impressed, however she was the first to snap out of it.

"This place really is amazing! We'll find a place in no time, so let's go shopping for a bit!"

"Sakura...?" Kiba turned his gaze to Sakura, making sure to look her in the eyes with his own cute puppy dog eyes, clearly wanting her to do a favour for him.

"What do you want."

'She's immune to my eyes, she must be on to me.'

Kiba sighed and decided to ask her straight up instead of sugar-coating his question, as knowing her she'd end up getting mad at him for doing so.

"I left my wallet at home... so could you get something for the date? I-I'll pay you back obviously!"

She rolled her eyes and pulled him by the wrist towards the shopping center, intent on him getting Naruto a gift. Both teens browsed a whole range of stores and bought some trinkets from a few of them: Sakura bought herself a new red dress and Kiba a puppy onesie, much to her amusement from his excited face.

Kiba then entered the general gift store to see if he could get anything for Naruto; something that wouldn't cost too much but still make him happy. His wish was granted when he saw a small orange frog-wallet that looked like one of Naruto's summoned frogs, Gamakichi. He grinned and picked the wallet up and inspected the price tag.

"Sakura, Look what I've found!" Kiba shouted across the store. Sakura rolled her eyes again and walked over to him to see what he found.

"You don't have to shout! Ok what have you got?" Sakura's angered features were overcome by surprise as she saw a cute wallet in Kiba's hands.

"Well well, you've hit the nail on the head with this one! He'll love it for sure, but let's see the price."

Sakura held her hand out impatiently as Kiba was hesitant to hand it over, but from the hefty price he couldn't be blamed. Ten minutes later Sakura was at the checkout demanding the manager to explain the "over-priced" wallet and that they were being subjected to"extortion". Thankfully her interrogation method bagged them a 50% discount, but at the price of never being allowed in the store again.

"You'll never come back to the town anyway, right?" Kiba had to stifle a laugh, but she gave him a smile instead of the frown he was expecting. She really was unpredictable in his eyes, but a great friend nonetheless.

"The Town? Yes, but the store? Hell, it was mostly overpriced garbage anyway! Now let's go find a restaurant for tonight."

Sakura jogged towards the town center to find where the restaurants were, with Kiba trying to keep up with all the shopping she made him carry. They eventually found a street full mostly of restaurants split on each side of the street. Their search criteria was first a place with Ramen, followed by BBQ for Kiba.

"Sushi restaurant? No thanks... Vegan diner, are you kidding me?!"

Kiba loudly voiced his opinions of each eatery he passed, gaining raised eyebrows from most people around him. The street was pretty extensive, going on for quite a while.

'We spent longer on the shopping then we planned, so we don't really have much time left... wait, I got an idea!'

Kiba grinned to himself while biting down on his thumb, drawing blood.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

He slammed his hand on to the ground and a large puff of smoke appeared. The cloud faded and a huge wolf-dog was in the center of it, it was Akamaru.

'Arf! - Why in Kami's name did you bring me here?! I was trying to have a nap for once.' The dog growled at his master.

"Quit whining, I need your help to sniff out BBQ and Ramen in the same restaurant 'cause my nose isn't as advanced."

'Arf - I don't see a reason to sniff out food I won't be getting... and you call yourself an Inuzuka? '

Kiba's features turned sour at Akamaru's scowl. Akamaru knew how to ruffle Kiba's feathers and would often do so a lot. However Akamaru didn't know so much about Kiba's insecurities about his clan status and abilities, along with most other people, no matter how close they were with him. Kiba decided to drop the evil glare so Akamaru wouldn't catch on, and decided to compromise as well.

"Look I'll let you eat with us if you help!"

'Arf? - Us? Who else is coming?'

Oh crap, I forgot to tell him about the date, let alone about it being between me and Naruto!

Kiba gulped after realizing he forgot to tell his closest friend and companion of the date, before he invited him as a third-wheel to it. He knew there was no point lying as he had to tell him the truth sooner or later, with sooner being the easiest option before Naruto moved in. He took a deep breath as he was about to show his newly biggest secret to his best friend, hoping it wouldn't somehow drive them apart.

"I-I..." 'Pull yourself together, how the hell could I tell my Mom and entire clan if not Akamaru?!'

Kiba turned pale after imagining his entire clan, and perhaps worse, his mother's reaction. He even doubted going on the date after such a thought; petrified almost of what could happen to him when they found out. He knew though that after tonight he'd then have to make the true decision whether or not to keep a relationship with Naruto, so he put it the back of his head for now and focused on telling his closest companion, who he hoped would accept him either way.

"I'm going with Naruto, it was meant to be..."

'Arf! - Are you saying?' The huge dog had made the link, taking into account Kiba looking for a restaurant with both teen's favorite food, which clearly showed he was taking Naruto into account, and that new frog wallet he held which only Naruto would ever love. The dog looked down to the ground, thinking of what to say, let alone do.

Akamaru whimpered - 'You do know that being the heir of the clan means you can't afford to be homosexual, right?'

Kiba was almost surprised by his response, as the dog didn't make as much as a huge reaction as he expected. But he knew all too well of the clan's protocol, which was shared by most other clans as well. He knew that it would be difficult, and he knew of the arduous trials he and Naruto would perhaps have to endure from his clan. All these problems raced through his mind, clear on his conflicted face.

"I know, Aka, but this could be who I am, so we'll have to wait and see how the date goes, because If it goes bad then yeah, I won't have to worry about my clan position. But if it goes right... I'll find some way to make it all work out, just... believe it!"

Kiba surprisingly beamed with his toothy grin, almost as radiant and goofy as Naruto's. He also used Naruto's age-old motto at the end, which really showed how similar both teens were.

'Arf! But why Naruto? He reeks of fox, has no consideration for others and is annoying as hell!'

"Well you obviously don't know much about him then, do you?"

The huge dog hesitated, but then huffed and said no more. The canine trotted off with its head in the air, sniffing the vast aroma's in the street to try to pinpoint the restaurant the fitted the criteria for his masters date. He galloped over to a quaint diner at the other end of the street, a few buildings down from Sakura. The dog barked for Kiba and he ran there with haste, worried that they were fast running out of time.

"Sakura! Over here!"

Kiba hollered at the medical-nin and she ran over to them and went straight to the menu on the window by the entrance. Her green eyes scanned it vigorously, checking for Miso Ramen in particular. Thankfully, a smile graced her face and she turned around to Kiba and gave a thumbs up, much to his relief.

"Phew, that took longer then I thought! We better get back to my house or we'll be late." Kiba jumped on Akamaru's back and patted his back to signal for Sakura to get on too.

"W-What?"

"Get on already, we'll be late if you don't hurry up!"

Sakura took a gulp and slowly mounted the giant dog, scared for her life that she'd fall off during the journey back to the village. She knew however they had to get back soon, so she held on tight to Kiba to make sure she wouldn't fall off.

"Let's go Akamaru!"

The giant dog galloped off towards Konoha, while a screaming Sakura attacked both the dog's and Kiba's eardrums along the way.

"Well, looks like I've done most of the packing, the time is..." the blonde looked up the clock on the wall again, "5:30pm now! Better get moving, right Kyu?"

'There's nothing else to do so you're right, let's get moving already, I wanna see how this mutt will try to win my kit over!.'

Naruto sighed and went to the front door to leave the apartment. He grabbed his house key and his amulet, checking if he needed anything else before he left for Kiba's house.

He had everything he needed, so he took a deep breath, and left his apartment for his first ever date.

He felt the cold air nip at his skin, much like the day at the training field, but hoped that tonight would be different, it had to. Naruto smiled and walked calmly down the staircase towards the bottom of the complex. He reached the bottom and crossed the street, however this time not taking any alleys as he learned not to do so the hard way before. The blonde walked through the market while also ogling over frog-based merchandise.

'Keep moving Kit, I'm sure you'd prefer a puppy to a frog any-day!' Kyuubi snickered, knowing Naruto wouldn't catch on to what she was implying.

"You know I like frogs! Frog themed stuff are so much better than dog themed stuff and-"

'Now I'll never get him to shut up!' Kyuubi now regretted making that slight sexual innuendo, realizing that Naruto could be extremely dense at times.

The blonde continued to debate his undying love for Frogs as he journeyed across the Village, while Kyuubi formed ear plugs half way as she was losing the will to live with his commentary. They almost reached the Inuzuka estate; Naruto saw the huge bronze gates and took a big gulp, trying to ready himself for the fateful night.

'Ok, Compose, compose, compose!'

Naruto internally repeated his faithful mantra to try to calm his nerves, as he certainly didn't want to spoil the date by turning into Hinata again. Naruto walked up the cobbled stone steps towards the bronze gate, getting more and more nervous the closer he got.

"I've been best friends with him for months now, It couldn't be awkward... r-right Kyu?!"

Naruto once again asked Kyuubi for answers, hoping the fox demon could help soothe his nerves as he was almost getting second thoughts. Kyuubi invited Naruto into her cage while putting his body on an autopilot mode of sorts, which wasn't too difficult as he only had to go up steps. Naruto entered her living area and sat down on the familiar cosy red sofa, ready to have a one-on-one with Kyuubi before he entered into the unknown.

"Is it wrong that I'm having second thoughts? I'm just freaking out 'cause I don't know what's gonna happen... and I could mess this up and he'll-"

'Stop talking and think about it for a sec kit, everything is gonna be fine, you know that!'

"Well I don't, 'cause what if he turns me away?!"

'He's the one who invited you dumb-ass! I'm sure he's just as nervous, and I'll be here kit."

Kyuubi took Naruto into a hug, embracing the troubled blonde. He was thankful of her support, as he'd have freaked out if she weren't there to calm his nerves like always.

"It's just... I don't want him to be another Sasuke."

Kyuubi didn't expect Naruto to come out with that statement, but at least she now knew some of the cause behind the blondes anxiety.

"Look, you know he's a nice guy, even if he does smell like a mutt... I'd know if he was like that Uchiha scum from a mile off, and from your friendship with him it's clear he really holds your interests to heart, trust me."

Naruto looked up into her crimson eyes and saw they were full of compassion and importantly, the truth. He smiled at her and got up from the sofa, thanking her as well.

"Now without further ado get your ass to the gate already! It's almost 6.p.m."

Kyuubi banished Naruto from her cage and hurried him up, making sure he got there early rather than late. He picked up the pace slightly as he also wanted to arrive early. The blonde had reached the top of the cobblestone steps and was approaching the gates, anxiously waiting for Kiba to let him in when it was 6.p.m.

A/N: Thanks for reading! As I said this was pretty much Part 1 of 2 in the dating arc of the story, which I had to split into two parts as it was so damn big! haha leave a review if you can, I'd love to see some. :)