Reviewers:

Kzzzzzz: Hey Kzzzzz. This is a promise I make to my Viewers. I always complete my stories. I go long times apart, but do consistent updates until I'm done. I'm thinking around 26-32 chapters depending on the Arcs I have planned.

Kindred1994: We're getting there Kindred, I promise! This is 1st Arc after all! Please bear with it a little longer.

AKinkyBear: Thank you so much. To get someone who doesn't review to do so REALLY makes me proud of what I've written for readers like you. O hope these rest of the story is to your liking. Review or PM me on ANYTHING you think for critiques or how you feel.

AND WOW! A Surprise MASS REVIEWER!

AvidNarutoFan: So happy you love my story so far. My three main characters have spoken, but you might get some smaller characters written in certain spots. You MAY or may not cry on some of them though. I look forward to hearing more critiques and likes from you.

RAVING AN: Now, I know I push people to review. It gives me so much pride to get feedback from everyone. I would never delete a review...except this one. A TROLL trying to SELL child porn?! Utterly disgusting. I have deleted this guest post to save people's lives and sanity, but just disgusting that those kinds of things even exist.

OFFICIAL AN: Now that I'm called down...WOW! So many reviews! So glad that people approve of my story. It's truly a PLEASURE to offer this up to you guys and girls for your reading pleasure. Enjoy some more Story!

Glazed Emeralds: A Hallmark Story

Chapter 9: Excursion

At five in the afternoon, Ino was not a happy woman. She, like most of the residents in Konoha, awoke early to get the majority of their work done in the morning hours. Unlike her fellow townspeople however, she had three offices to run. There was the office of the mayor, which in hindsight, was pretty easy as most people were self reliant or easily accepted help from others. It was also true that she only needed to be in the land office in the mornings to match the afternoon calls of the potential buyers and interested parties in other countries.

Heck! At times, she helped her family with her father's small law practice, but then there was finally her main staple job; running the town trading post. Despite her appearing like a damsel and being blessed with luscious curves, she could easily pick up a sack of animal feed and throw it into a flatbed on a truck. Her legs and arms were strong and her core was defined. Ino just made sure to keep a strong diet and keep the fat in only the right places.

Ino leaned over the counter, waiting for anyone to show. It may sound easy with such a small town of people to tend to, but she had already helped Chouji pack his truck full of feed and his farmhand, Shikamaru, the only defense lawyer as his lazy self actually had a brain, had just stood there and watched her! Ino huffed indignantly at the thought of his eyes on her. If he ever had the courage to make a move on her, then maybe she'd say yes, but he was just too lazy.

So with a strong body, sharp mind, and eager for some company, Ino was happily surprised when the bell rang at the front door. Come winter, she would be swamped with work on all fronts from amazed tourist buying private cabins to events for the visitors on behalf of the town, but for now, she turned to beam brightly as her best friend stepped inside the open room.

"Hey Sakura! Shouldn't you be getting dinner ready?"

"Had a few minutes to spare." Sakura smiled as she made her way past the racks of clothes, and picked up a rather special item from the women's section of the store. Ino nodded as she turned to Sakura's page in her ledger and wrote it down. Everything was a tab here, settled at the end of every month.

"Going with some female protection, huh?"

"I've been a little irregular recently." Sakura shrugged as she approached the counter and hugged her friend over it. Ino smiled and squeezed her waist back. They were both very touchy people, so a hug was as basic as a greeting for them.

"What can I get you?"

"Hiking supplies."

Ino nodded and turned away, heading for the counter to her side, where she kept those items. "Surprised you need them so soon. Didn't I give you some last month?" Ino recalled as she picked through her stock. There was no response so she shrugged soon after.

"Oh well! Here you-" Ino began to hand over, but Sakura shook her head and she pulled the items back. "Something more?"

"For two."

"Oh!...Okay." Ino shrugged and doubled the order. "For two, for two, for-..." Ino muttered as she filled the bag up before her hand froze at the last item and she smiled widely. Ino slowly cocked her head to the side as she smiled Cheshire like back at Sakura.

"...Well, it seems like the ice is melting for the Ice Queen."

Sakura fidgeted and cocked her own head. "W-What?"

'Hiking for two...birth control…' Ino's mind thought happily. "How many hours did you stay up the last few nights? Huh?"

"What are you implying?" Sakura's nose dusted with the slightest blush.

Ino sighed as she turned back to the supplies for a hike. Her friend was always a hard nut to crack, and while she loved the challenge, she also knew when to just give in and tell her. "It's okay, Sakura. I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat for that stud of a man."

Ino didn't need to turn to see Sakura gap like a fish and blush as bright as her hair. "S-Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

Sakura huffed and left the counter, turning around to idle through the rack of clothes that the trading post had for sale. Ino finished with the supplies and edged around the counter, and paused to look at her friend muttering under her breath. A few years ago, Sakura was shy and reserved and...broken. Her past had shattered her heart and it was hidden underneath a layer of permafrost that most could not penetrate.

But looking at her backside, seeing a change in her posture as she held herself up as if posing; it made Ino happy for her. Sakura didn't move as Ino stopped beside her and grazed her fingers along her forearm. "Honestly, Sakura. It's good to see you opening up again. You're finally getting over it."

"...I'm just being Neighborly, Ino."

Ino grinned lewdly. "Oh yeah."

Sakura blushed hotly. "Geez! Not like that!"

Ino leaned closer, her eyes telling Sakura that she didn't believe her. "Then like what?"

Sakura sputtered and floundered before her baby blue eyes, like a doe caught in headlights. Sakura bit her lip, and smiled a little at her and shrugged. "Well, I meant...like...I just...helping him out...s-showing him around."

"Well then," Ino shrugged, sliding the bag of supplies into her hand. "I hope that you both make a lasting memory."

Sakura waved goodbye as she left and Ino sighed. She had thought of perhaps tempting Naruto over to her place next week, to maybe seduce him...but it seemed like Sakura had already beaten her to the chase. Ino turned and began to clear the counter, shrugging. Hey...if it got her over that bastard, then Ino was more than happy to keep her hands away from Sakura's crush.

"You got everything, Naruto?" Sakura called over as she watched Naruto step out of the truck and join her next to the trail head.

"Yeah. Water pack, binoculars, hat. I'm all ready." Naruto grinned. A small smirk graced Sakura's lips as she gazed over at him, her eyes looking him up and down.

"Did you put sunscreen on?"

Naruto's own lips curled down. "Um, no? Sakura, I'm pretty tan."

Sakura sighed, turning to put her pack on the hood of the truck and dug into it. "That doesn't mean that you can just not wear any. You don't want skin cancer when you get older, do you?"

"Well no, but-" Naruto shrugged lamely.

"Here."

Naruto's breath stalled as Sakura was suddenly in his face, looking right through him. He mentally whimpered as he smelled her shampoo wafting into his nose. 'She smells so good.'

"Oh!" Naruto physically shivered as a glop of cream hit his cheek.

"Oh, don't be a baby." Sakura frowned as she slid her palm across his cheek, coating it with sunscreen. Naruto watched at the dedication she exuded as she softly coated his cheeks in the protective substance and smiled.

"Don't smile." Sakura complained as she moved to his nose and chin. "You're going to make it uneven….gosh, are you even listening?...You must have been the worst kid growing up. I swear, your mother must have been fed up with you."

"Actually, my parents died just when I was seven…"

"...Oh...sorry…" Sakura grimaced as her hands rubbed into his neck and began to slide along his arms.

"Don't be. I was happy to hear so many stories about them. They were great people."

"That should do it." Naruto heard Sakura sigh and turn around, and sighed himself. That was close. Her hands had been all over him, her inside his personal space, and he'd wanted to pull her close and kiss her so bad-

"Naruto? Hurry up." Sakura interrupted.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up and silently gasped. Sakura had turned around, but she held out the sun screen now to him. She wanted him to...touch her? Naruto gulped at the copious amount of skin showing, from the huge gap of her boots to her tight and small shorts, to the delicious small of her bare back, completely exposed except for a thin strap across the middle to cover her chest.

"Naruto, stop staring and help me, okay?"

"R-right." Naruto gulped back his nervousness and began to sculpt her. 'She feels so soft...and toned.' He thought dreamily as he began on her arms, rubbing it in until he got to her wrists. His hands paused for a second above her skin, and then he pushed his limit, as his fingers deftly splayed across her backside.

(Moan) Naruto shuddered as a melodic throat uttered a pleasant feeling. "...That is cold...I thought your fingers would make it warmer."

"N-no problem." Naruto managed to cover her backside, and turned to her top half, finishing up at the nape of her neck and stilled there. Naruto leaned forward, his lips descending as he pressed them on the back of her neck, leaving a soft kiss at the base. He heard a soft gasp and chuckled morosely at his action. He was an idiot.

"I um…I can do my legs." Sakura stumbled forward, grabbing the bottle as Naruto grimaced. She cast a hidden glance his way and then brought her leg up to the bumper and began to apply it.

'She is such a tease.' Naruto thought as he guiltily watched her lather herself up, his eyes not leaving her direction once. She glanced over a few more times as she did her face, and then grabbed her pack and joined him again.

"Okay! So we're just going to follow this trail." Sakura pointed along the mountain, but the way Naruto just smiled at her made Sakura quirk her eyes curiously and hoped that he was listening.

"A-anyways," Sakura refocused into the distance. "We can just follow the mountain. There's this secret tunnel that miners made years ago and it made ...a...g-great...Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura stalled as Naruto reached up and rubbed along her cheek.

"You had some sunscreen left."

A blush ripped across her face as she gazed at him stoically for a second. Her hand came up to brush her hair behind her ear, and Naruto felt that she looked cute like this.

"Well?...R-rub it in." Sakura ordered with a cute stammer. Naruto took his time and the substance eventually disappeared into her skin.

"There." Naruto stepped back, gazing all over her. " …Perfect…"

"Um...thanks." Sakura bit her lip, holding back a smile before punching his arm and jogging off ahead of him. "Come on!"

"Aw!" Naruto winced as he rubbed his arm. What was with this girl and the punching?! Naruto hissed as he looked up and only amazement filled his emotions right now. She was something else entirely.

"Let's go!"

"Coming!"

Two hours into the trek, and the mood had turned playful for the two hikers. Out here in the wilderness, with nothing to do or escape to, Sakura really began to open up to Naruto. As they pushed up the trail, he heard about her hobbies, how she had trained as the town nurse when she was a teen. Her favorite part? Delivering Kurenai's baby with her husband passed out on the floor. Her worst? Well, seeing Sarutobi, the old mayor pass away while she watched over him, ensuring it was peaceful while tears stained her eyes.

Naruto watched and commented with her on various things himself, about how at his high school and college, he met the strangest of girls. He'd never told anyone before, but he told Sakura how this one girl had straddled him during study hall his freshman year and asked him for a baby. He swore that Sakura's eyes had widened at that rather absurd instance.

Sakura knew where they were going, having passed through the tunnel that they stopped to take pictures of each other at, and found that there was a great reason to not know where to go. He could always watch her ass! Where else could he watch the way her legs bent up and sideways, as they crawled up rocks and boulders, how her shoulders screamed of power while she convinced him to bouldering around the side of a small crevasse instead of simply going the long way.

Sakura suddenly stopped in the middle of the trail and Naruto joined at her side. "What's up? Are we there?"

Sakura shrugged nonchalantly, and pushed him forward, and ahead of her. "It's a straight shot the rest of the way. Besides...it's my turn."

Naruto's eye quirked. "Your turn? What could you-" Naruto turned his head back and gapped. Sakura's head was turned away from him, looking out after the hillside across from them, but after a few seconds, her eyes flicked back to him and then away again. Naruto turned ahead and began to move forward, stunned and amazed. She was checking him out!

As Naruto moved up, Sakura blushed as she followed, eyeing his backside as if she was deciding on a horse to mount, not that Naruto was a horse. He was more a fox like person, matching her vixen craftiness and all and…

Sakura froze as she watched his shoulders pull back. A shiver ripped across her throat and she gulped back her own saliva as a soft smile began to etch upon her face. Yep...Ino was right...he was a stud...and studs were ogled...so she let her eyes roam...and she ogled him...it felt nice to ogle after so long. And...it felt nice to flirt too.

After another hour, Sakura had directed her client through the backside of a meadow and up onto a small ridgeline that overlooked the open area. Moving silently, the two of them dropped to their knees and peeked over the edge of the hillside.

"Wow…" Naruto uttered, as before them was a herd of deer or at least a very large family. They were just peacefully grazing out in the meadow, and their ears drooped and sprang up as they listened for danger.

Sakura silently pointed into the distance, and Naruto followed the finger to widen his eyes as ten or so wolves snuck through the trees and began to make their way into the tall grass of the meadow.

Sakura watched as Naruto leaned even more precariously over the edge, and grabbed his hand to steady him. He turned and grinned in thanks as he went back to watching. Sakura sighed as she looked out.

She had expected to see a small gathering at this time of day. Even the locals missed this event most days. It seemed like God was giving them a very good day. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked down, as Naruto readjusted his grip, as their strong fingers interlaced to better grip onto the other.

"Sakura...this is…amazing." Naruto uttered, his whole focus on the scene before him.

Sakura smiled behind him and gripped harder. Yeah...it was.

"You know what, Sakura?" Naruto called over as the two occupants slammed the car doors as they had made it back into town. "That was a really good day."

"I'm glad you liked it." Sakura casually shrugged, hiding a smile behind her hair.

"You have to be one of the best guides in all of Konoha! Or even the country of Fire!" Naruto boasted, stroking Sakura's ego as she bit her lip to keep her smile down.

"Oh what utter nonsense. Naruto." Sakura denied as she reached the entrance to the inn with Naruto beside her. "Anyone in town could have taken you there."

Sakura prepared to open the door when a hand gripped her wrist and turned her around, her back to the wood as she gazed up at him. Sakura's eyes widened at the smoldering eyes that pierced within her chest and rooted her to the spot. "But no one else took me...you did."

Gulping back her nerves, Sakura turned her eyes away and shrugged. "Well...yes…"

"The time I spend with you, Sakura...it's always time well spent."

"Oh...y-you flatterer…"

Naruto smiled. "Could I call on my guide again soon?"

'His guide'..."O-of course." Sakura affirmed, feeling the pad of his thumb brush softly along the underside of her arm. "There are many beautiful places and things to see in Konoha."

"And I've seen two today. I'd love to see more."

'Two?' Sakura quirked her eyes. 'I only showed him-'

"Sakura Haruno," Naruto broke into her thoughts, derailing her barriers as he stared right across at her eyes. "You are utterly amazing."

"Uh…" Sakura's throat constricted as she took a step back, her back flush with the door. Butterflies of excitement rushed through her chest, beating on her ribs with a mad fury at his words, calling and pleading to be released. Without warning, Sakura threw her hair back, and a gleaming white smile, as big as could be, came to rest on her face. "Tell me something I don't know."

'Where did that come from?' Sakura thought madly as her words reached her own ears, but even she knew that it was lost. She was flirting with him, and no one could deny it.

But as she gazed up at Naruto, the sunset cast an ethereal gaze of light between them, their white teeth gleaming back at the other, as their eyes sparkled and fizzled between them. The air was warm and there was nothing else in the world in that one moment. There was...only the two of them.

Naruto's snort broke that precious moment, and after a second one from Sakura, the two broke into a fit of giggles, leaning into the other to hold them up.

"That was bad Sakura."

"You started it, Baka."

"Hey! Takes one to know one!"

"How am I one? I'm smarter than you!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Then when is dinner?"

Sakura's eyes shot open at the witty comeback. "Oh Shoot! I have to prepare dinner!"

An hour later, Sakura's hands stirred the large pot of soup before her, humming a quiet tune to herself. She smiled whimsically. It'd been forever since she hummed happily.

Above her, she could just make out the squeak of the shower turning off in one of the rooms, and a dust of blush coated her nose. Naruto was such a strange person...she liked strange. He was so...mesmerizing and she felt so happy when he was beside her.

A bubbling sizzle pulsed inside of her, and Sakura looked past the stirred pot of ingredients to just below her stomach. She smiled at herself, resigned at the blooming idea in her head.

Her libido was stirring.

AN: DUH Duh Duhhhhh! This adventure I've gone on when I went backpacking in Yellowstone, so this chapter has a lot of good imagery from that memory of mine.