Out of habit, Naruto woke up relatively early the next morning. Sitting up on her futon she stretches before relaxing with a jaw-cracking yawn. Gaining her feet, she goes to the chest of drawers to gather her clothes together when the medals she received the night before that were lying discarded on top caught her eye. She picks each up one at a time, gazing at them and feeling a wide range of emotions. She was unsure how she should be feeling about them. She briefly thought she dreamt the whole thing then immediately scoffed at how stupid that sounded.

Now holding both medals in her hands, she considers what she should feel about them. She realizes she should be happy at the acknowledgment. She is. Yet, it's hard to believe she got them. Despite all the hard work and struggle, she's been torn down, denigrated, dismissed, and ignored for so long it's hard to accept the recognition now that it's resting in her hands.

Softly sighing into the stillness, she holds the medals together in one hand while opening the top drawer with the other. Deciding to put off any further thoughts about their significance and ignore them, she places the medals at the bottom of the drawer. Grabbing an item from the drawer she then slides it shut and gathers the rest of her clothing to get ready for the day, determined to focus on trying to spend New Year's the way she usually does, mindlessly training and sleeping the rest of the time.

As she attempts to progress through the rest of her morning it seems as if the rest of the world is hell-bent to not only keep bringing her awards and recognition to the forefront but to disrupt her simple plan for New Year's. By the time she left later that morning, she'd received over a half-dozen invitations to New Year's Eve celebrations later that evening as well as over a dozen other parties over the next few days.

Despite the clear skies, there were very few people outside in the brisk cold as Naruto walked to Kurenai's home. She was going to style the retired jounin's hair for a party later that night.

Adjusting her cloak, Naruto muses on all the invitations she received earlier. A small part of her was flattered by the attention. However, a greater part was annoyed since it was clear she was only being invited for bragging rights if she attended any of the parties. They were only interested in her as the new hero acknowledged and respected by the Fire Country Daimyo.

Rounding a corner to head up another street, she already decided to only go to those parties hosted by her friends. It's a no-brainer when she's faced with attending some elitist snob's party filled with other snobby strangers or the Akimichi clan celebration. Without hesitation, it's the Akimichi. Aside from being more fun, they always have the best food.

Soon Naruto arrives at Kurenai's home. She didn't have long to wait after knocking when she was surprised Shikamaru answered the door and ushered her inside.

"Hey, Shikamaru," she greeted while he helped her shrug out of her winter cloak so he could hang it up. "Where's Kurenai? 'Cause I didn't expect to see you here today."

"She's busy feeding Mirai lunch," he explained while leading her towards the kitchen. "I'm here because I'll be watching Mirai so Kurenai can enjoy a whole night out for a change."

"Thanks for coming over, Naruto," Kurenai greets her as they enter the kitchen. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No, thank you," she declines as she and Shikamaru join them at the table.

He poured out a cup of tea for Naruto as Kurenai's daughter Mirai cheerfully greeted her.

"Hi, Naruto! Are you going to help big brother Shikamaru watch me tonight?"

"Hey, midget," Naruto greets back. Eyeing her, she adds, "Looks like you've gotten bigger, guess I can't call you midget anymore. At this rate, you're gonna end up taller than your dad." She smiles at the little girl beaming with pride before finally answering her question. "I'm going to do my part to help your mom look so gorgeous that all the ladies at the party tonight will be jealous. I'm gonna style her hair into something really pretty."

"Cool!" Mirai replies.

Kurenai smiles fondly at her daughter before looking over at Naruto.

"My hair is still damp from my shower this morning, is that okay?" she asks. "Or should I dry it more with a hair dryer?"

"That's fine," Naruto waves it off. "It's not going affect the style I have in mind and should be completely dry by the time I'm done."

"That's good," Kurenai nods. "Well, I'm done eating, so where do you want me? Would you prefer to work in the bathroom?"

Naruto considers it.

"How about here at the table? I can set everything I need in reach and be able to talk to Mirai and Shikamaru at the same time."

"Okay," Kurenai nods then looks across the table at Mirai. "Finish eating then you can play with Shikamaru while Naruto styles my hair."

At the little girl's nod, Naruto and Kurenai stand up and move to the end of the table closest to where the kitchen area meets the family room. Within minutes Kurenai sat in a chair while Naruto began working on her hair.

"So, is it just you and Mirai hanging out tonight, Shikamaru?" Naruto asks while combing Kurenai's hair back.

By this point, Shikamaru and Mirai had cleaned up lunch and moved to an open area of the family room floor to play with some of her toys.

"Choji, Shino, and Kiba are joining us at my parent's house," he replies, trying to untangle the hair of a doll from the antlers of a wooden deer figurine. "They decided Mirai needed a 'boy's night out'."

Naruto paused to look over and frowned at him while Kurenai chuckled. Even though she couldn't see Naruto's face, she could sense the younger woman's confusion.

"Kiba's the one calling it that," she explains to the younger woman. "He claims he doesn't want to be sexist."

Rolling her eyes, Naruto gets back to work.

"Of course, he'd say that," Naruto mutters just loud enough for Kurenai to hear. Louder, she adds, "Interesting how it's the clan heirs volunteering to help you, Shikamaru. I bet all of you wanted a valid excuse to get out of attending whatever boring party your parents wanted to drag you guys to tonight, huh?"

"Troublesome redhead," he mumbles, prompting Kurenai and Naruto to laugh.

"You guys are so predictable and obvious," she grins while styling some of Kurenai's hair into a neat circle high on the back of her head. "I'm surprised your parents are letting you guys get away with it."

"Because they're trying to subtly encourage the boys to finally start thinking of getting married and starting families," Kurenai reasons.

Both women laugh and Mirai giggles at Shikamaru's pole-axed expression. Having finished the circle, Naruto was teasing and pinning the remaining hair within the center into a textured poof. Using hairpins with tiny silk flowers, she strategically pins them to accent Kurenai's hair. When she finished, Naruto handed Kurenai a mirror and held up another mirror so she could see the result.

"Mommy it's so pretty," Mirai declares, rushing over for a closer look.

"Yes, it is," Kurenai agrees, looking into the mirrors in amazement.

Setting the mirror she held down on the table, she stood up and hugged Naruto.

"Thank you for doing this." Releasing Naruto, she picks up the mirror for another look. "I can do simple, basic hairstyles and braids, but nothing elaborate to go with a kimono."

"You're welcome," Naruto smiles while putting her tools away. "And your hair texture made it easy to style. There's going to be a lot of impressed women and you'll probably get a lot of compliments tonight."

"Not to be a killjoy, but despite Kurenai looking very nice, why would her hair impress anyone?" Shikamaru asks.

"Whether it's a kimono or yukata there isn't a lot of variety except in colors and patterns," Naruto explains, joining Kurenai to sit on the sofa closer to him and Mirai. "Not like you can have fun with the sandals, so the only thing left is the hair. But even that can be stodgy if women stick with the same old, traditional styles." She gestures at Kurenai's hair. "This is a fun way to be a bit rebellious and scandalous in a sea of colorful kimonos."

"Agreed," Kurenai nods. "Someone is going to be upset my hair isn't traditionally styled, but that's just going to add to my fun tonight. Plus, a lot of women were impressed by Naruto's hair last night and some were wishing they had thought of doing what she did."

"Fussing over hair like that seems like such a drag," Shikamaru shakes his head.

"Maybe," Naruto grins. "But even your mom asked me to style her hair for tonight, so I'm heading over to your place next."

"You're doing the same thing for Aunty Yoshino?" Mirai asks.

"Nope," Naruto shakes her head. "I've got something different in mind, so your mom's hair is going to be unique to her. In fact, in the next couple of days, I'm doing unique styles for Ino and Tenten."

"Wow," Mirai breathes in awe.

"After you finish doing Yoshino's hair, what are your plans for the rest of the night?" Kurenai asks Naruto.

"I'm meeting Kakashi over at Sasuke's house for dinner. We're gonna stay there and watch the first sunrise together."

"Only you three?" Kurenai asks. "Won't Sakura be there at least?"

"Nah," Naruto shakes her head. "Her mom is dragging her to another party. Sai and Yamato couldn't make it either, so it's just the three of us."

"I'm surprised Sasuke isn't going to someone else's party," Shikamaru thoughtfully mused, causing Naruto to laugh.

"He said he already met his quota of parties for the next ten years," she grins. "I think he's desperate to have a nice, quiet New Year's Eve, so he's been declining all invitations for tonight with the excuse he's got his own affair planned."

The two women chuckle as Shikamaru smirks while shaking his head. A thought occurred to Naruto, and she turned to Kurenai.

"Since you're wearing a kimono again tonight, did you need help tying the obis?" she asks, prompting the older woman to shake her head.

"Anko's coming over in a while to help me with that. Thank you anyway."

"Good," Naruto smiles. "Well, as much fun as it is to keep hanging out, I've got to head over to Shikamaru's place so I can do Yoshino's hair."

"Mirai, go get your overnight bag so we can go with Naruto," Shikamaru tells the little girl who nods and leaves the room. Noticing Naruto's questioning look, he adds, "This way we're not underfoot while Kurenai gets ready."

Naruto nods as Mirai returns with her overnight bag. While Shikamaru and Naruto shrugged on their coats, the little girl hugged Kurenai. Pulling back, Kurenai smoothed her daughter's hair.

"Be a good girl for big brother. But more importantly, have fun," she smiles at Mirai who smiles back before hugging her again.

"I will. You look very pretty, mommy. Have fun too!"

Kurenai laughs. Releasing Mirai to nudge her toward Shikamaru and Naruto.

"Better get going before it gets too late. It's not like big brother lives right up the street."

Mirai giggles and nods. Sliding off Kurenai's lap, she trotted over to Shikamaru and Naruto so they could help her get her coat on.

"I'll bring her home tomorrow afternoon," Shikamaru informs Kurenai while shouldering Mirai's bag when they are ready.

"And have fun tonight," Naruto waves before stepping out the door.

"I will and you too," Kurenai waves back before closing the door after Shikamaru and Mirai step out too.

Shikamaru and Naruto walk together while Mirai runs to whatever catches her attention. They keep a close eye on her but allow her free reign to explore while they walk. After a while, Shikamaru studied Naruto out of the corner of his eye before finally breaking the comfortable silence.

"I'm surprised you're not attending any parties tonight instead of hanging out with Kakashi and Sasuke."

Taken slightly aback, Naruto meets his scrutinizing gaze before rolling her eyes.

"I've got better things to do than attend some stuffy party without knowing anyone. And I didn't start getting invites until this morning before I came over, which I only got because the hosts want to prance me around at their parties for bragging rights." Taking a deep breath while shaking her head, Naruto mutters, "All because of some stupid medals."

"Is it so bad to finally be recognized by your comrades and compatriots?" Shikamaru frowns.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Naruto blushes as her gaze drops.

"No," she quietly replies. "But it's hard to accept. Part of it is because I don't feel like I've accomplished much. That my failures and shortcomings outweigh my successes. All my life that's all anyone ever seems to notice and remember is my failures. I'll always have the dubious honor of being dead last. So, it's hard to understand why I'd be given such prestigious awards."

"Why is it so hard to understand?" Shikamaru asks. "Those awards aren't handed out every year, so it's not like your name was randomly drawn out of a hat. Candidates for the Medal of Excellence are nominated by the jounin, but there are strict guidelines. As for the Emperor's Award, the Hokage submits candidates to the Daimyo who makes the final decision after carefully considering the shinobi's record, background, special circumstances as well as written testimonials requested of their comrades."

"Testimonials were needed?" Naruto gapes in surprise, prompting Shikamaru to nod.

"Tsunade-sama requested it of every shinobi who ever worked with you. Considering the general aversion among ninjas toward writing anything remotely like a report, she was expecting to get maybe four or five testimonials. She got back nearly thirty."

Shikamaru pretends to ignore Naruto's shocked expression in favor of watching Mirai stop ahead of them to peek through the front window of a closed toy store. The little girl moves on when they get close enough.

"Why?" Naruto quietly asks. "Kakashi deserves the Emperor's Medal more for all his years of hard work and I don't think I should've been standing with the others for the Medal of Excellence. They've worked hard and are far more skilled and powerful."

Groaning in frustration, Shikamaru rubs a hand over his face before pinning her with a glare.

"You're wrong. You work hard, pushing past your limits. In some respects, you're more fanatical in training than Lee and Gai put together. Maybe you were dead last in our class, but you weren't content to stay that way." He pauses briefly as they turn the corner onto another street. "And how do you measure the success of a ninja's life? By the number of jutsu they know? By the number of kills? By the number of missions they complete? That's like trying to measure how much sunlight fits in the palm of your hand. It doesn't matter how long it took or how many attempts were made, the fact remains you did what everyone dismissed as impossible and brought Sasuke back. You were picked because of the quality of your work and character."

"No one thinks much of the quality of my character," Naruto scoffs. "That's why they call me baka."

"You're wrong," he counters with an arched brow. "You haven't bothered to notice, but very few people dismiss you as a baka anymore. Many recognize your strength and determination. You'd have to be strong to survive what you have."

Pausing, he glances over and notes the sad look in her eyes before she turns away, aware he was alluding to both Mizuki incidents. He's one of the few who knows what happened. Sighing, he continues.

"Every one of your comrades is proud of your achievements and we're honored to serve alongside you. Maybe someday you'll see how much you've accomplished and recognize your uniqueness."

He let the silence stretch out so she could think about his words. It wasn't long until they reached his home. As soon as they step inside, Yoshino appears to greet them. While Shikamaru gets Mirai settled in a guest room, Yoshino and Naruto chat about how formal the older woman wants to get with her hair.

Naruto gets as far as setting up her styling tools on the kitchen table, but it takes a lot longer to get Yoshino to sit in the chair so she can get to work. Yoshino is far more concerned with nagging Shikamaru to check on his father and making sure he is ready for the guys coming over.

At first, Naruto's too scared to dare say anything to provoke the woman, but soon remembers one didn't have to do a thing to set her off if watching her yell at Shikamaru is any indication. Finally, Naruto has enough. She has all day to waste but has a sneaky suspicion that Yoshino would be very unhappy if she's late to the party.

"Yoshino?" Naruto succeeds in not flinching when the brunette's eyes lock on her. "What time is the party? Maybe I should get started on your hair?"

Yoshino's eyes widen in realization. With a nod, she goes into the kitchen and settles in the chair Naruto had prepared for her. The younger redhead gets to work combing her hair back into two ponytails set at different heights. She separated a portion of the hair of one ponytail to carefully twist it into a neat bun with the remaining hair cascading out of the center.

"Shikamaru! Ouch!"

Yoshino abruptly turned her head to the left when she yelled for her son, causing Naruto to painfully yank her hair since she was working on creating a bun around the second ponytail.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Naruto apologizes, embarrassed and a little scared.

"I'm fine," Yoshino mutters, gently rubbing near the bun.

Much to Naruto's relief, Yoshino settled properly into the chair, making sure not to make any more sudden moves. She tacitly understood that if she wanted to have any hair left to style, it was safer to remain still.

Naruto finishes the second bun and focuses on the remaining ponytails poking out the center of each. Using a curling iron, she separates small clumps and curls them into cascades of curls pouring out of the buns. Reaching for a wooden box sitting nearby on the table, Naruto opens it to take out Yoshino's kanzashi set of delicate plum blossoms and positions them in the buns to compliment the curls. Handing Yoshino a mirror, Naruto holds the other up so she can see her hair.

"That came out better than I imagined," Yoshino marvels in awe as Shikamaru and Mirai step into the kitchen.

"It looks as good as mommy's!" Mirai compliments.

"I think you've got a backup career if you ever retire, Naruto," Shikamaru smirks just as Shikaku walks in.

"Haven't you heard?" he asks his son. "Naruto's developing a reputation as the premier shinobi hairdresser."

Everyone laughs as Yoshino sets the mirror back on the table and stands up.

"Thank you for styling my hair, Naruto," Yoshino smiles, now in a great mood.

"You're welcome," Naruto smiles back.

"We better start getting ready," Yoshino informs her husband.

Shikaku nodded and followed her from the kitchen while Naruto cleaned up her styling tools. A knock at the front door prompts Shikamaru and Mirai to answer it. Just as Naruto finished packing everything up, the noise levels increased with Kiba, Choji, and Shino entering the kitchen. After exchanging greetings, they head into the living room.

"I'm surprised you're here, Naruto. Are you going to be one of the guys tonight?" Kiba asks her.

"As much fun as it might be to join Mirai as one of the boys, I can't," Naruto smirks. "I'm meeting Kakashi at Sasuke's place to celebrate New Year's."

"It's getting late. You should probably start heading over there before it gets dark," Shikamaru points out.

"Yeah, 'cause I've got to stop at Kakashi's place to pick something up before I go over there," she replies.

"We should escort you because it will be dark before you even reach the gates of the Uchiha district," Shino suggests.

"C'mon," she starts to protest.

"We're going to be indoors for most of the night," Choji points out. "We might as well get some fresh air before it gets colder. Besides, it gives Shikamaru's parents a chance to finish getting ready and leave without all of us underfoot."

Glancing over at Kiba, Naruto saw his answer in his face. Even Akamaru sitting nearby nods despite the cuddling chokehold Mirai has on him. Sighing in resignation, Naruto agrees. Within minutes they're all shuffling out the door.

Mirai is having a blast playing with Akamaru as they head back into the village.

"She's going to conk out early at this rate," Naruto observes as Mirai chases Akamaru ahead of them.

"That's the idea," Kiba grins. "Best way to put her to bed early."

"You're all squandering a golden opportunity," Naruto loftily scolds him, earning a confused look. "You guys are getting some real-world practice being daddies so when your parents finally marry you off, you're all set to go."

Shino, Kiba, and Choji stop dead in their tracks to gape with expressions ranging from dumbstruck to horror. To anyone not familiar with him, Shino's expression is inscrutable, but Naruto knew he was incredulous she'd dare suggest such a thing. Shikamaru just shook his head as she bust up laughing as they start walking again.

"Don't you dare say that around my mom," Kiba mutters. "She's been dropping too many hints lately."

"But that's understandable," Choji points out. "We're all in our twenties and my parents were already married by now."

Now all the guys gaped or arched incredulous brows at Choji.

"We shouldn't be pressured into marriage simply because most of our parents are married by now," Shino argues.

"Definitely," Naruto agrees. "I'm only teasing. Besides, we've all been doing some dangerous work lately, so it doesn't make sense to start a family now."

"And we'd have to retire as active shinobi once we get married," Shikamaru points out. "As troublesome as it is, I didn't get this far to quit already."

The others murmur or nod in agreement when Choji turns to Naruto.

"Are the councilors still harassing you?"

"No," she shakes her head. "They've backed off, but they're probably too busy because of the holidays. They'll eventually pick up right where they left off and come up with some other new scheme."

"That gives you and Sasuke the space to officially become a couple without their interference," Kiba muses thoughtfully.

Naruto stops dead in her tracks to glare at him, prompting Kiba to laugh at her expression.

"C'mon!" he goads. "Everyone knows there's a genuine attraction between you two. Sasuke still isn't one of my favorite people, but he might be a good change of pace for you."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Naruto resumes walking with them.

"I can't believe you. How do we go from being archrivals to being a couple?"

"Easy, you stop bickering long enough to kiss," Choji teases, earning chuckles from the others while she gives him a flat look. "You two know each other so well and don't take each other's crap. You balance each other out."

"Granted there are some serious issues you both have to address should you decide to try being a couple," Shino reasons. "But to Sasuke's credit, he is putting forth the effort to atone for his past mistakes."

"That's all good and well, but we're all just focusing on the apparent chemistry between them," Shikamaru points out. "We're all overlooking the fact that one of Sasuke's main goals is to rebuild his clan. He may be interested in Naruto as more a wife than a girlfriend."

Scowling, Naruto considers that for a few minutes before replying.

"That may be what he wants, but that's not what I want right now. I'm not ready to retire and start a family just yet. I still want to be Hokage. Which I could do while married with a family, but the old coots would use that as a reason for me not to become Hokage. Besides, the Akatsuki are still after me. They're not going to care who they have to go through, or use, to get to me. I don't want to give them more targets."

The silence stretches out again for a few minutes before Kiba breaks it.

"If Sasuke can hold off on the wife search, dating you would be a good experience for him. His social skills are more stunted than Neji's and you worked a miracle with that one. Ow!"

Kiba rubs the back of his head where Naruto smacks him while the others laugh.

"He makes a good point, Naruto," Choji reasons. "You have a knack for improving your boyfriends."

"Not really," Naruto rolls her eyes. "Genma was a complete failure."

"You can't succeed every time," Kiba snorts.

Naruto shakes her head in amusement as they laugh again.

"Well, Choji didn't need any improvement. He was fine."

"You were the one who reminded me that I was fine as I am." Choji looks at her seriously. "Ino had been getting on me to lose weight and my confidence wasn't the greatest, but you bolstered my ego more than Shikamaru saying to ignore Ino." Smirking, he adds, "Yeah, you'd definitely benefit Sasuke."

Naruto thinks about it as they arrive at her building. It doesn't take her long to run upstairs to retrieve a large paper sack with handles and rejoin the group so they can continue toward the Uchiha district.

"It's too soon after Genma," she breaks the silence minutes later, drawing their attention.

"Is it?" Shino asks. "You admitted your relationship with him felt like it had already been over for some time."

"That doesn't count," she irritably growls.

"Bullshit," Kiba retorts. "Yeah, Genma burned you pretty bad and like the ass he is, he's already moved on. This is your chance to do the same. You know Sasuke and how to deal with him. Even if it's short-term, give it a try and enjoy it for whatever it is."

Naruto rolls her eyes.

"You're all assuming Sasuke's gonna ask me to be his girlfriend."

"He will," all four guys reply in unison then break up laughing.

"Sasuke wouldn't admit it," Shikamaru begins explaining. "But he has to work up his courage because you're likely the only girl who ever sparked his interest to date. That isn't a ninja technique he can learn from a scroll and that probably has him scared shitless to make the first move."

Kiba playfully wraps an arm around her neck, his weight causing her to stumble slightly.

"Don't stress about it. If Sasuke breaks your heart, we'll all happily finish off the Uchiha clan for you."

Shoving him off, Naruto rolls her eyes as they all laugh and start tossing out creative deaths befitting the last of the Uchiha. One of the favorite methods they come up with is on Valentine's Day summon all eligible females, regardless of age, to the front of the Hokage tower, strip Sasuke naked, and toss him down into the crowd.

Soon they arrived at the main gates of the Uchiha compound, and true to Shino's prediction, it was dark.

"You sure you don't want us to escort you to Sasuke's house?" Choji asks.

"I'm sure," Naruto smiles. "Besides, you guys should get Mirai back to Shikamaru's place." Gesturing over at the little girl sprawled like a ragdoll across Akamaru's back, she adds, "She already looks like she's done for the night."

Laughing again, the guys take turns hugging and kissing Naruto, exchanging New Year's greetings before leaving her by the gate to wave at them as they leave for Shikamaru's house.

Turning, she steps through the gate. Walking down the darkened streets of the Uchiha district, she looks around at the silent, empty buildings. Idly, she realizes that to some people, being the only living thing moving among all these empty husks might be creepy, but she finds it sad. She could almost hear the laughter and excited chatter of the Uchihas visiting each other, exchanging New Year's greetings.

It wasn't hard for her to imagine all the years Sasuke dealt with the memories on his own before he left. She can relate, having spent many New Year's alone, watching others celebrate from a distance. It likely was another reason for Sasuke to desert Konoha without looking back. The weight of the memories had to be suffocating for him.

Sensing a new presence, Naruto instinctively reacts, spinning around and drawing a kunai in one fluid motion as a figure jumps down from a nearby tree. Recognizing Kakashi, she rolls her eyes and holsters her kunai.

"I thought you'd be at Sasuke's already."

"Too early," he shrugs, causing her to laugh as they start walking together. "Why are you walking alone?"

"'Cause I'm a big girl with lots of kunai," she retorts. "I'm not afraid of the dark, so I dismissed the Testosterone Troop from escort duty."

"Testosterone Troop?" He arches a brow.

"Yep," she playfully nods. "Consisted of Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, and Choji. However, they're watching Mirai and made her an honorary boy for their boy's night out." She pauses to give Kakashi the chance to finish chuckling before continuing. "Anyway, they insisted on walking me over here after I got done styling Yoshino's hair, but I shooed them off because it was dark, and they needed to get Mirai back to Shikamaru's place."

Kakashi nods in understanding as they settle into a companionable silence as they continue to Sasuke's house. Naruto's glad Kakashi seems to be at peace. She knows he spent the day with the spirits at the Memorial Stone. The same reason Sasuke spent the day alone. It was their way of closing the old year. She considered following their examples to visit her father's grave, but it didn't feel right without knowing where her mother was buried so she could visit her too.

Arriving at Sasuke's house, they don't have to wait long before he answers the door. Exchanging greetings, he helps Naruto out of her cloak as Kakashi removes his and hangs it up. After hanging up Naruto's cloak, Sasuke turns back to his guests and is surprised when she presents him with the paper sack.

"Happy New Year's, teme. I brought you a bottle of toso."

Kakashi then hands Sasuke a box.

"And you can't drink toso or regular sake without a festive serving set."

"Thank you," Sasuke bows slightly in pleased surprise as he accepts the gifts. "Come join me in the kitchen while I finish preparing dinner."

"Anything we can do to help?" Naruto asks as she and Kakashi follow him.

"I've already set the table and I'll have dinner ready soon," Sasuke states as he returns to cooking.

Naruto and Kakashi settle at the kitchen table to keep him company. When Sasuke finishes cooking and plates their food, they move to the dining room and start eating.

"Mmmm," Naruto hums after taking her first bite. "This is really good! Seriously, Sasuke, when you finally retire you should open a restaurant and become a chef!"

She grins at the flat look Sasuke gives her.

"Considering how you're in demand as a hairstylist with all the appointments you had today and the upcoming ones with Ino and Tenten, you could follow your own advice, Naruto," Kakashi points out.

It's Naruto's turn to give the older jounin a flat look while Sasuke arches an intrigued brow.

"That's a good backup plan if you change your mind about becoming Hokage," Sasuke fires back.

Unsurprisingly, the two spent the rest of the meal teasing each other about becoming ninja hairdressers and chefs, much to Kakashi's amusement.

"In the spirit of starting over, teme, maybe you should consider a new hairstyle," Naruto observes while eating dessert. Ignoring Sasuke arching his brow again, she adds, "I'd be happy to help you. I mean, you're starting over again in the village, so it's time to retire that tired, old, chicken-ass hairstyle you've had since the academy. You should try something a bit more badass. A nod to your former avengerly ways. How about dreadlocks?"

While Naruto sports a too-innocent expression, Kakashi busts up laughing at Sasuke's look of complete disgust.

"And it doesn't even have to be true dreads," she eagerly continues trying to convince him. "I can style your hair to look like dreads. Then for once, you'll look as cool as you think!"

Giving her a dirty look, Sasuke tries to ignore her while he starts cleaning up. The other two help and Kakashi watches in amusement as Naruto gleefully continues trying to convince Sasuke to change his hairstyle to dreadlocks.

The trio sticks to happier topics and memories the rest of the night, avoiding anything related to the investigation, the council, Danzo, or the Akatsuki. At midnight they break out the new sake set Kakashi gave Sasuke and toast the New Year with the toso Naruto made.

"Do you still want to sleep before getting up for the first sunrise of the New Year? I've readied the guest rooms." Sasuke asks when they finish toasting with the toso. "Or do you just want to stay up and wait for it?"

"We should sleep when we can because we've got Gai's Birthday-New Year's party tonight, remember? We all need as much rest as possible for that," Naruto reasons with a grin.

"You had to remind me," Sasuke rolls his eyes as he proceeds to clean up the sake set.

"It doesn't matter to me since I'm not going," Kakashi shrugs, causing Naruto to whirl on him.

"Yes, you are," she tersely insists.

"No, I'm not," Kakashi calmly replies.

"You promised!"

"Settle it with Rock-Paper-Scissors and be done with it," Sasuke growls in annoyance after drying the dishes in an attempt to ignore their argument.

"Good idea," Naruto growls as Kakashi nods his agreement.

Holding out their fists they shake them up and down three times before Naruto presents paper to Kakashi's rock.

"Rematch," Kakashi narrows his eye in annoyance. "Best two out of three."

"Fine," Naruto retorts. "You must have a thing for rivalries. Do I have to start keeping score like Gai does?"

Kakashi glares at her.

"Fine. I'll go," he sulkily concedes.

Naruto smirks in triumph and Sasuke rolls his eyes before leading them to the guest rooms. All three settle in their beds and sleep for a few hours. Rising a half-hour before dawn, they climb to the roof. Wrapped in blankets, Sasuke and Kakashi flank Naruto as they huddle together in the frigid morning air, watching the sunrise over the Hokage monument.

Naruto can't remember ever feeling so content on New Year's Day. There isn't a better way to start the year than this moment with Sasuke and Kakashi. Silently she hopes this means this year is going to be a great one.

A/N: Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it?

I'm sorry it took so long and probably a lot of you guys probably, and understandably, thought this story was deader than a doornail. I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't update any other story until I finally updated Facilitating Between Heaven and Hell. Got major writer's block on that one.

And on top of the writer's block life happened, especially some not-so-good things that I had to work through this past year. In a good way, writing ended up helping me through it all. First, I got the creative juices flowing with my Diagnosis Murder story, which I NEVER thought I'd ever touch again and finish. Then I was able to go back to Facilitating and get that one moving again.

So, I'm back and will be updating all of my stories in due time.

I appreciate all of you guys. I hope everyone is doing well and are enjoying my stories. Thank you for your patience.

Toso- Basically a seasoning mix promoting good health that gets soaked in sake or mirin. Traditionally drunk New Year's morning. It's a very old tradition with lots of variations.