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Hello everyone. Sorry for the kinda late update, but I had to iron out something with this chapter and also wanted to upload it alongside a new chapter for Naruto Z. As such, they will both be uploaded together. Not so many words this time lol. In any case, enjoy the chapter.

Prince Bumbling

Sakura could feel one corner of her lips starting to lift when she spotted him. As expected, he was sitting at one of the Ichiraku stools a distance away. Though they hadn't planned a meeting, she had made it her personal mission to seek him out for their next encounter, and considering he ate at Ichiraku's half the time he was free for lunch, it wasn't too hard to find him. After his slick-tongued comments a few days ago there was no way she was letting him off easy.

If she was lucky, she'd catch him off guard. Low chance of it with how well he sensed things out, but if he were distracted by something he was dealing with, or into a conversation he was having with someone, she had learned over the years that it was indeed possible. If she could successfully do it, it would make sneaking up on him that much easier, and the payoff when she finally choked his unsuspecting trachea all that much more blissfully tasteful.

This time, he appeared to be sitting at the stool, his shoulders slightly hunched as he sat over his bowl of ramen, one hand playing with the noodles using the fork he was holding. Ah, a good sign. Usually, he played like that with his noodles when he was thinking a little too hard about something he was dealing with; otherwise, he was quite literally inhaling them.

Masking her chakra and quieting her steps, she continued stalking forward, her grin widening the closer she got without him noticing. Finally, she reached the piece of dusty ground less than five feet from him. Gotcha.

"GURGH!" he groaned, eyes wide from the headlock she'd put him in. "Hey, Narutooo," she said sweetly, her tight-lipped smirk as fake as her sweet-toned voice.

"Oh," he said, chuckling a little nervously as the blue eyes glanced towards her and saw her lingering false eye-closed smile. "Hey, Sakura-chan."

Immediately she noticed his voice was softer than usual, and the subtle change gave her pause. The change in tone was familiar. Over the years it had become known to her as the one that carried a lingering sadness he often tried to hide. Now, normally, he would have her pity and maybe a bit of her loving care, but today...Yeah, she wasn't buying it!

"Oh, don't play the puppy dog act now!" she huffed, pink hair swinging wildly as her green eyes popped open in a rage, her arm forcibly tightening the headlock a bit. "After that last comment about, what was it? My monster forehead! You better believe I'm plotting my revenge!"

His chuckle was light, but his smile not as bright as it normally was. "Well, it's nice to know that I was able to bring out your darker side, but it's not an act." His smile only barely turned up at the corners as he glanced at her over his shoulder. "I ended things with Hinata."

Coincidentally, he said the statement right as she tightened the headlock a bit more, her mouth in an angry triangle, her eyes still white in rage, her constricting hold already turning him a bit red in the face. When she heard the news, however, she could feel her eyes widening and the grip so tight letting loose. Soon her lips had fallen into a startled frown and she spun to his side to look him in the eyes. "Oh," she said silently, the startled jade meeting mellow blue.

On his lips was that sad smile she had seen in short spurts as the years passed between them, that frowning grin he often employed to hide the pain of his darker moments. Quickly sitting next to him, she finished, "Oh, Naruto... I'm so sorry."

"It's alright."

"What happened?" she asked, eyes sad and on him.

"To be honest," he said silently. "I think it's what we both needed. Not too complicated really."

"You sure?" she asked. "I thought everything was going well."

Shrugging lightly, he said, "It was and it...wasn't. To be honest, I don't really wanna talk about it." His gaze fell a bit more before he dug into the bowl of ramen sitting before him and lifted the fork to his mouth; she could feel her heart ripping in two.

"Ok," she said softly. "I understand."

Not a moment had passed when Teuchi reappeared from the back, giving her a small smile as he leaned an arm on the counter in front of her. "Anything I can get you?"

Returning the smile, she answered, "Just the usual."

Smiling only a bit more, Teuchi turned away and started towards the back. As he did, she returned her gaze to Naruto, her previously held vendetta having been dashed right to nothing. It didn't matter what he had done or said, she hated seeing him like this. So hurt and unlike himself. Missing the brightness and sunshine and cheeriness and glee. Yet it was unavoidable. He went through life like everyone else, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Times like these always reminded her of something Kakashi used to say. She could hear his mask-covered voice drawling in her head even now. 'Eh, Sakura, I've got some advice for you. Whenever someone is feeling down, don't try to pick 'em up, you may drop 'em again.' A light grin played on her lips. The oh-so-thoughtful advice always made her chuckle, but wasn't something she often followed, especially as it related to Naruto. Cheering him up was a cherished task she had taken upon herself over the years, her heart safe in the knowledge that he had taken up the same for her. Of course, she never really expected that she'd be as funny or even cheer him up as well as he did her, but she always tried anyway, faintly hoping to say a word that would bring him some comfort.

Bringing herself out of her musings, she wore a bit of a slanted smile as she eyed him from the side. Finally, she exhaled and hunched over to lean towards him that slight bit more. Letting her lips open, she spoke her nagging word, hoping she could help heal in more ways than one.

"So," she said silently. "Seems that after claiming to be Prince Alluring or Dashing or whatever you called yourself, you've turned out to be more of a Prince Bumbling after all."

His eyebrows nearly shot into his hairline as he scoffed a chuckle. "Wow," he said. "Can't even get a break after a break-up. Jeez..." he finished, one hand scratching the back of his head on the blond locks. She noted, however, that his grin was fairly wide.

"Eh," she shrugged lightly, a light grin playing on her own pink lips. "I'd give it if I thought you really wanted one."

He scoffed lightly. "Yes, Sakura-chan. My true desire is to be mercilessly roasted by my best friend just a few days after my breakup."

"Mhm," she hummed. "You're welcome."

"Tch. Jerk."

"Softy."

The silence that coated them was thick with the looming of the formerly lost resonance and pregnant with the weight of the world unspoken.

"When are you gonna leave me alone, Sakura-chan?" he finally said, eyes still tired despite his grin.

"Hmmm," she pondered. "When you stop seeking me out like one of Kakashi's drooling mutts."

He chuckled lightly. "So, never?"

"Very likely."

Seeming to ponder the reality for a bit, he sighed and said, "Eh, I'll deal with it."

"Naruto Uzumaki ready to tank a lifetime of scalding jokes?" she scoffed, shoving him a bit. "Maybe you're not so much of a softy after all..."

"Yeah, well," He shrugged lightly. "I've had a lot of practice."

Her grin grew. "Yeah, I bet..."

Silence reigned between them for the rest of the time after then, both of them eventually turning away to slurp their noodles in silence. Quite oddly, it felt to Sakura like it may have been the closest they'd ever been in all their years together.

"Well," she finally said, rising to her feet after the bowls had sat empty for a while. "I've gotta get back to the hospital."

"Yeah," he said softly as he did the same. "I think I'm gonna go find Kakashi-sensei. Maybe train a bit."

"Hm. So, I'll see you?"

"Drool and all."

Grinning to one side, she stared at him with a bit of a contented smile, a mild thud resounding in the air as she punched him near the shoulder a bit harder than usual. This time, he returned the favor, his punch more like a gentle nudge than her solid blows.

"Feel better."

"Thanks."

"See you."

"See ya."

"Oh, and Sakura-chan."

"Yeah," she said, looking over her shoulder.

"It was a ten," he said, pausing for only a moment before smiling lightly and shoving his hands in his pockets as he started his walk in the other direction.

The meaning of his statement registered only moments after, and as it did, she could feel a smile similar to his dancing on her lips in the shade.

Author's Note:

Hope you all enjoyed this little chapter. Short, yes, but also very poignant in some aspects. Next one may take me a bit to write, but I'm already having fun with it. Please do leave a review! Engagement with the reader base is one of the most fun parts of writing fanfiction and I'd love to see more of it moving forward. Alright, see y'all in the next one.