That's The Trouble With Missions!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...SADLY...

REMEMBER: This is OOC. Sasuke isn't a complete Ice cube.

Also the eight gates idea is not my idea, it is Caike's idea from his story 'Company Of The Worthless' which is a GREAT story with a lot of lemony goodness. I strongly suggest you give it a read if you haven't already. It is a NaruHina fic though. And I had to borrow direct dialogue from the story for the gates to make sense. The gates are not mine nor is the explanation itself.

By the way for those of you who don't know, Jiga was the man Hinata fought on the Bikochu mission to track Sasuke. Yes I know Hinata defeated him back then, but in my story she never really "defeated" him and now he is allied with the enemy stronger than ever.

PS: No children we're harmed in the making of this chapter.

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That's The Trouble With Love

Chapter 4

By: iNaji

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."-Abraham Lincoln

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~Timeskip~: One week later

---

Community service stinks.

Today, Sasuke had learned that first hand. Today was the day he had to start community service, and he owed two hundred hours of this. Sasuke wasn't so sure he was going to make it.

It was about one in the afternoon and Sasuke had been babysitting the toddlers at the civilian daycare since eight this morning. Sasuke, despite wanting to build his clan, could not handle this group of children well. They cried and screamed and pulled his hair. It was hard enough watching one, but 13 of them was just plain torture.

He loved kids, really he did, but he didn't love them currently.

"Sahke! Sahke!" a little boy yelled as he hung upside down from the light fixture on the ceiling. He obviously had a little trouble pronouncing names. Sasuke cursed, which a little kid behind him started repeating and running around the classroom saying it. He mentally scolded himself for his slip of the tongue and pried the boy off the light fixture. The boy giggled and ran away to the back of the classroom.

Just when Sasuke thought he was out of the safe zone, he had spotted a child eating paste. He sighed exasperated and rushed over to the kid, taking the paste and checking the inside of his mouth for anything that could cause hazard. He relaxed a bit when he saw none and then put all the paste on the top shelf.

Yes, surely the great Uchiha was going to die by death of children.

"S-Sasuke-kun can I have a kiss?" A little girl asked with a cute blush adorning her cheeks as she tugged on his pant leg. 'Oh Kami she cannot be serious.' Sasuke forced a slight smile (as big as one would get for the cold Uchiha) and shook his head no, making the girl hang her head in defeat. He sighed, his secret soft side coming through and he instead bent down on one knee and gave the little girl a short hug. She giggled happily and bounded off back to her seat to color. She had hugged a ninja!

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in agony. These kids never got tired and he needed to rest! He had to think fast. How could he get these kids to sleep? Or at least behave.

And that's when an idea struck him. He quickly checked around to make sure no ANBU were near the vicinity and had to pat himself on the back for this brilliant idea. His eyes began to glow red, the tomoe's spinning, as the kids slowly started to fall asleep in their chairs. He then turned off his doujutsu and he moved the kids over to their cots.

Smirking at his genius, he sat down at the teachers desk and relaxed.

"Sasuke Uchiha you did NOT just do what I think you did!" A voice called barging into the room. Sasuke cursed and turned his head to the left to see Shizune right in font of him, hands on her hips, foot tapping, and a look of anger upon her face.

"Shizune-san...I ca-" Shizune cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it. How can you use your Sharingan to put them to sleep? They are CIVILIAN children. I should add 10 extra hours for this." Sasuke's eyes widened at this, but he quickly put his stoic expression back on his face.

"Hn. They are sleeping peacefully, all I did was relax them." Shizune puffed out a breath and looked at the children. They did look peaceful.

"Alright 5 extra hours." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Hn." Damnit all.

---

Four men sat around a table, a scroll laid out in front of them, and a masked man looming over them, observing. He occasionally nodded, pleased with the words being exchanged. They needed a battle tactic once they had revived the Juubi.

Of the four men at the table, one man seemed to stick out to him the most. Danzo, the old war hawk of Konoha. Danzo was his trump card. He had classified information on Konoha. He knew the in's and out's and what made the village tick and thrive.

The masked man knew for a fact that one of his ulterior motives for allying with him was that he wanted to become Hokage so that he could finally lead Konoha into an era of absolute power and each and every Shinobi would be under his control. And once he got what he wanted, could potentially prove to be a fatal enemy.

He knew he had to keep Danzo at bay, and only Madara and himself (Tobi) would truly know the ultimate goal. The infinite Tsukuyomi. They would create an ideal world, where there was only peace and one ruler.

And the Juubi would help them do that. The only matter they had left was the successful capture of the eight and nine tails, which would be their most difficult obstacle. But Madara had a plan.

He would lure the Kyuubi out of Konoha. Danzo's undercover men would give them weekly reports on the activities of the Jinchuriki and from that info we would pin point his one true weakness.

"We need a way to weaken Konoha first. Before we do anything else I think it will be advantageous to weaken the leaf." Jiga said, looking to Danzo for a ye or ne. Danzo thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Yes. Even I hate to admit it but right now Konoha is strong. They have many allies except for Sound and The Village Hidden in the Clouds (A/N: will be explained later) We must weaken them considerably before we go up against, essentially, the nations of the world." Tobi nodded his head at that, still observing.

"We need more allies. We should try and get sound and cloud on our side, it would be most advantageous." Dar said, his massive stature nearly towering over everyone else. Jogo was a rouge ninja from the Rock Village and had only recently joined their team.

"We should launch a surprise attack from the inside. A small one at first, something to raise a disturbance and distract most Shinobi's attention. When the ninja are focusing within the village we will surround the village on all four sides." Danzo shook his head at that.

"That won't work. You must not under estimate Konoha. I agree, we start with a small attack inside the village and once the threat is taken care of we wait. We will hide underground. Konoha has secret tunnels long forgotten since the time of the Shodaime. Once we are given a signal we will then attack when the village is on the rebound, and they believe the problem is taken care of. We will mask our chakra, and I will ensure my root ninja keep any enemies away from the tunnels. We'll attack on the Summer Solstice." Tobi nodded approvingly at the plan.

He wasn't called a war hawk for nothing.

"Excellent...you two...I think you need to pay a visit to the Sound village." Jiga and Jogo stood up, bowing and walked out.

This was only the beginning.

---

"We have to protect Naruto at all costs. That's their main target." Shikaku said, having already been informed previously by the Hokage all of the information she had found out.

"But Naruto has mastered full control of the Kyuubi now. So it won't be so easy to capture him. We'll need him on the front lines. He's strong and he can make a lot of shadow clones to help even for just a little bit." Shikamaru said, also in attendance of this meeting.

"You are right, however, you most not forget son that we aren't dealing with just any man. This is Madara Uchiha we are talking about. He is strong, clever, and patient. As strong as all of us are, at this point in time, the only person capable of truly going head to head with that man is Tsunade herself. We cannot underestimate our opponent." Shikamaru nodded.

"But we must also not underestimate Naruto. If anyone can defeat Madara it will be Naruto. He wont allow a loss anyway. I think we need to focus on a battle tactic just in case they do come after our village." Tsunade nodded.

"Well I have called a meeting of the Five Kage's. You and your father will be escorting me. It is in a couple days time. There we will discuss more, however, I must agree with your father, Shikamaru. Madara is strong, even I fear going against him. My grandfather was a strong man, and the only one to have defeated him." Shikamaru sighed.

"I will get back to you with a plan. I want to do some investigating first." Shikaku nodded in agreement with Tsunade.

"Very well. Dismissed. Shikaku please stay back for a few minutes." Shikamaru bowed to the Hokage and walked out the door. As he was walking out of the Hokage's office he ran into his long time girlfriend, Ino.

"Shika-kun! How was the meeting?" Shikamaru lit a cigarette and inhaled it deeply. He let the smoke out of his mouth. "We don't have much as of now. We have only called a meeting of the five Kage's." Ino nodded and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.

"It'll be okay. Your smart, you and your father will come up with something." Shikamaru took another drag from his cigarette.

"I can only hope. Where are you heading off too?" Shikamaru motioned looking at the bag his girlfriend was holding in her hands. They had moved in together a few months ago and had rented a small apartment near her families flower shop.

"Oh! I'm on my way to Sakura's. Her and I are having a little girl time since she has been a wreck since Sasuke and Hinata came back. A little spa treatment will do her some good." Shikamaru nodded and walked to Ino, removing the cigarette from his mouth and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Troublesome. I'll see you at the apartment later yeah?" Ino nodded smiling. Shikamaru waved from behind as he walked the opposite direction of Ino.

It was kind of funny how they came together. Who would have thought all it took was seeing Temari kiss him for Ino to blow a gasket and loudly profess her love for him right in front of the sand siblings.

Shikamaru at first was torn, he didn't know what to do. He had always viewed Ino as this beautiful girl who would never love a lazy ass like him, but boy was he wrong.

It didn't take him long though to realize how much he truly did care for his blonde teammate. It was really troublesome for him mind you, and he grumbled about it the whole time, but he ended up following his heart and returning Ino's feelings and they have been dating ever since.

'Maybe I should head off to the library to see if I can find anything that I don't already know on Madara.' Shikamaru thought, deciding to do just that and headed to the library, and then planned to take a nice long nap under his favorite tree.

Lord knows all this movement is troublesome.

---

"Saks! Open up!" Ino called pounding on Sakura's apartment door. As Sakura was the second in command at the hospital she lived in a very upscale apartment complex. It was more like a condominium then anything surrounded by many others just like it in a more wooded part of Konoha.

"Hold your horses Ino-pig!" Sakura called, rushing to open the door and let her best friend in. TenTen had stopped by earlier that day by chance and had decided to stick around for what was originally just going to be Ino and Sakura's little spa day. Sakura didn't mind as she quite liked TenTen.

The only girl not present was Hinata.

"Come on in." Sakura said as she motioned towards the couch where TenTen was sitting flipping through the channels on her TV. Ino shook her head at her friend and then set the goods on the base of the kitchen window in the wall (A/N: you know that thing with no glass that you can see into the kitchen and eat on? yeah that xD)

"Hey forehead girl!" Sakura smiled at her and waved slightly. Ino had changed a lot over the past six years, having matured a smudge, but she still loved to gossip.

She turned to look at Sakura, face suddenly serious. "Now down to business. Why did you slap poor Hinata?" Ino questioned, having gotten in touch with the girl recently when she saw her out shopping for new clothes and had helped her out.

Hinata had explained to Ino when she had asked what her and Sasuke were to each other and Hinata had explained that they were brother and sister and the story of how that came to be. And that even though he didn't show it, he cared for Sakura a lot but she made Ino swear not to tell, and she even threatened violence against her. Ino, knowing this was one the thing she couldn't gossip about nodded, secretly fearing Hinata's wrath.

Sakura turned away from Ino and harrumphed, crossing her arms.

"Don't be a baby Sakura! Your 18 for Christ's sake!" Sakura dropped her hands and turned back to Ino though she still had a glower smothered on her face.

"Why else Ino-pig? She knew that I loved Sasuke and she went off with him. He wouldn't even take me when I begged him to let me go with him, yet he let's her come along? And they spend six years together. It would be impossible not to have feelings for each other. I know they secretly have something going on. And I will never forgive Sasuke or Hinata for this." Ino looked at her friend in disbelief.

"Did you ever confront Hinata about this? Ask her yourself. You know she has always been a nice and honest girl, Sakura, and SHES OUR FRIEND. Don't you think you at least owe it to her and yourself to talk to her?" Sakura shook her head.

"No Ino. I will not talk to either of them and that's final. Now either stop talking about this or get out of my house." Ino sighed and nodded, joining TenTen on the couch.

Soon enough their little spat was forgotten and they all started to talk and chat away like they hadn't seen each other in years.

While painting their nails and putting on facial masks of course.

---

Sasuke could have jumped for joy at having been finally released from those little demon brats. He had managed to keep them asleep for about a half hour before they all woke up re-energized and ready to annoy the crap out of him once again.

Now having his freedom for the day, he slid his hands into his pockets and leisurely walked through Konoha.

"Sasu-chan!" A feminine voice called out from behind him. Sasuke shivered as a dark aura surrounded him. Only one person ever called him that and he hated that name.

"Hn. Anko." Sasuke turned around and came face to face with his senior. When he was a Genin, she had taught him the twin assassination technique before he had left the village after he had practically forced her. She agreed only on the condition that she could call him Sasu-chan for the rest of his life.

He was regretting this promise now.

"I heard you were back, but I guess I had to see for myself. So you killed the old bastard eh? I always knew you'd be the one to do it." Sasuke nodded, offering no words in reply.

"Still stoic as ever. You should really remove that stick from up your ass." Sasuke glowered at Anko's laugh as she ruffled his hair.

"Be a good little boy and run along now." Sasuke looked at her in disgust. He simply walked away.

"Hn." Anko shook her head and jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Still an arrogant little brat.

He continued on his trek through the village, taking in the afternoon hustle, and observing the uneasy looks he received from civilians. He walked through an alley to take a shortcut to his house, planning to avoid running into anyone he didn't want to run into. Especially Sakura. Not because he didn't like her, but because he hated to see the way he made her furrow her beautiful face into a look of contempt and hurt.

It hurt his very soul knowing that his blossom, his Sakura with the most beautiful jade eyes, detested him. But he couldn't blame her.

He brought it onto himself.

---

There was a knock on Sakura's door. She angrily stood up to open it. She was angry because that knock had moved her from her nice warm spot on the couch with her friends TenTen and Ino.

Blowing out a breath of hot air she opened the door and on the other side stood an ANBU. She mentally cursed knowing the reason for this visit. She had a mission.

"Sakura-san, the Hokage requests your presence at her office immediately." Sakura nodded and waved the ANBU off, thoroughly pissed. It was supposed to be her day off.

"Damnit all. It's my day off and I have a mission. Sorry girls, we'll have to continue this later. Make sure you lock up when you leave." The girls nodded at her clearly bummed that she had to leave.

"Be safe Forehead! If you die on me I'll never forgive you." Ino smiled at her long time rival and friend with a look of genuine concern, despite using her nick name for her.

"Aren't I always Ino-Pig?" Sakura replied before putting her kunai holster back on her thigh and heading out the door with a ja ne!

Hopping from roof top to roof top Sakura trekked across Konoha, making her way to the Hokage Tower. She had planned to give Tsunade a piece of her mind when she arrived. After all her hours at the hospital and her most recent mission, she deserved a day of rest damnit.

'I wonder what this mission could be. Who will be on it? I hope to god Naruto is there, I don't think I could go on a mission with Sasuke or Hinata without him.' Sakura thought worriedly. She did NOT want to face Sasuke or Hinata. If she had it her way, she would have avoided them both all together.

But Kami was not on her side.

Sucks.

---

Naruto nearly ripped Sasuke a new one when he saw him and Hinata in Tsunade's office when he entered. He had received a message from an ANBU that he was needed for an urgent mission.

He should have known Baa-chan would do something cheeky like this.

"Hn. Look what the cat dragged in, a Dope." Naruto growled at Sasuke and walked towards him, stopping a foot away from him.

"Look what traitor came back, Teme." Sasuke scowled and put his hand on the hilt of Kusanagi, ready to battle it out. Naruto eagerly matched it, forming a Rasengan in his hand.

"ENOUGH!" Tsunade shouted, using her super strength to give them both a good whack on the head. Hinata sniggered at the two before getting a stern look from Tsunade. She stopped immediately.

"Cool it you two and you as well Hinata. We'll wait until your fourth member get's here so that I can debrief you all at once. Until then, you," at this she pointed to Sasuke, "In that corner. Now." Sasuke grunted but complied, facing the wall. "And you, brat, over there. Now." Naruto grumbled and walked to his corner, back facing Tsunade. It was comical really, two 18 year old boys in time out. Each one sulking and grumbling with their arms crossed.

And it just so happened that at this point in time Sakura had decided to appear in the doorway of Tsunade's office, her right shoulder leaning against the door frame as she let out a hardy laugh and Sasuke wanted to die at how embarrassing this was.

"So the traitor and Naruto are in time out? It's about time." Sasuke's stomach dropped and his heart lurched at the new name, but held it together none the less. Tsunade smiled a shook her head a bit before getting serious and down to business.

"Okay enough with this folly. I've called you four here today," At this she did a sweeping motion across the room, "because you four will be going on a very important A-rank mission. Recently there have been sightings of two rouge ninja who were thought to be dead. They have been seen lurking around The Land of Waves and Otokagure. Their objective is unknown but they have already killed innocent people. Your mission is to locate and observe the two rouge ninja before going in and assassinating them. Hinata will lead this mission. Any questions?" Hinata spoke up.

"I have permission correct?" Tsunade, knowing what she was referring to from their private talk earlier nodded her head in affirmation at Hinata.

"Hai, but if you need help you know where to find it." Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura looked at Hinata in confusion but she just waved them off. They shrugged and started to pack, following orders to pack only the essentials and meet at the front gates in an hour.

They weren't sure what the mission would bring, but they knew they couldn't let their emotions cloud their judgement.

Or the results would be deadly.

---

"Damnit where is that Teme?" Naruto huffed in annoyance as he lazed on a tree branch that hung over the watch box that the Chuunin on duty sat in when guarding the gates. His right leg was lying flat atop the tree branch while his left foot hung over the side and was swinging back and forth while his back was up against the tree. His father's cape hung down over the branch and his hair ruffled with the breeze.

Hinata would never admit it out loud be he looked absolutely sexy like that. He sure has grown into a hottie tattie (Hot-e Tot-e).

"He'll be here Naruto-kun." Hinata replied looking up at him. He only nodded to her which made Hinata a little sad. When would he be okay with her?

Sakura on the other hand was glaring daggers at Hinata who was talking like she knew Sasuke like the back of her hand. When Sakura's the one that was Sasuke's teammate, she knows him better than anyone.

'But Hinata knows more about him now. Your jealous of her.'Sakura scowled at her inner.

'Shush up. Hinata betrayed me. She knows nothing.' Her inner shook her head at her outer.

'She spent six years with him, alone. Why wouldn't she know him? Your jealous because she got to be with our precious Sasuke-kun. You hate her because she got to go along and you didn't.'

'Hmph.' Sakura ignored the rest of her inner's comments before coming back to reality.

"Are we ready now?" A deep masculine voice called out. Sakura didn't even have to turn around to know whose voice that was. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Sasuke-kun..." she whispered, clutching a hand to her heart. Why was it beating so fast? She was supposed to be hating him, not having heart palpitations just from his voice. She shook her head and turned around, face and voice hardening. She would not give him the satisfaction.

"About time you showed up, traitor." Sasuke's face remained stoic at the comment, but inside it hurt him. He smirked and gave her a smoldering look that sent her reeling.

"Hn." Sakura growled at his one word response and it only widened Sasuke's smirk. She was so cute when she was angry.

"Enough. Let's go, the sooner we start this mission the better." Naruto exclaimed, swinging down from the branch and landing swiftly on the ground. The others nodded and all four of them bounded through the tree tops into the unknown.

Hinata was leading the pack, her Byakugan activated scouting for any traps or danger. Sasuke was behind her, as the first attacker, Sakura was behind Sasuke because she was the healer and behind her was Naruto who was the other powerhouse on the team who would guard Sakura from behind.

They planned to make it to The land of Grass by nightfall which would be the half way point to wave. It was essentially a three day trip but they wanted to make it in two.

The silence was awkward. Each one not knowing what to say, and the tension could be cut with a knife. It seemed like hours until Sakura finally broke the silence.

"When we get to wave we should disguise ourselves. If the rouge ninja don't think that we are ninja it will be easier to keep track and observe them." Hinata nodded as if agreeing with the idea but Sasuke was the one who pointed out the flaw.

"What will we be disguised as? We can't just change our appearance and get away with it. Any Shinobi can dress as a civilian." Naruto frowned at Sasuke's tone towards Sakura. He had a point but did he have to be so arrogant?

They thought for awhile before Hinata finally spoke.

"Traveling couples. It's inconspicuous and no one will think that a couple on their honey moon will be fighting ninja. We'll split into two. Sakura will be paired with Sasuke and I will be paired with Naruto. We'll each enter the village separately, and stay in different places. That way we'll be able to cove more ground and to spot them faster. Any complaints?" Surprisingly no one raised their hand. Sakura, because she didn't want Hinata anywhere near Sasuke while she was around (though she wouldn't admit it) and Naruto who wanted to protect Hinata even if he was still hurt. She was still his precious person.

"Hn. We'll set up camp in The Land of Grass and set out tomorrow morning." They fell into silence once again, their pace seeming to quicken now that they had a sure fire plan. They may not have all been on good terms, but they would not fail this mission. What kind of ninja would they be if they let their personal vendetta's get in the way of the mission.

"Who made you leader." Naruto replied with a snarky tone. Sasuke scoffed.

"Dope you couldn't even lead a team of Gennin." Sasuke smirked at Naruto's clenched fists.

"Why I oughta." Hinata stepped in between the two before things could get worse. As mission leader she had to keep the peace.

"Let's stop this. The sooner we set up camp the happier all of us will be." Sakura pulled both boys by the ears and continued on, earning whines and pleas from both of her teammates.

When they finally reached a nice clearing to set up camp, each of them immediately went off to do their own things. Sasuke and Sakura went to secure their camps border's while Naruto and Hinata took care of setting up the tents and catching food.

Hinata leisurely walked towards the river, bucket in hand. She was going to catch them fish for dinner and she had brought her own spices to make the fish taste better. She took off her sandals and waded through the water, coming to a stop in the middle of the lake. She set the bucket upon a nearby rock and let her chakra flow through her body and pooled around her hands where she stuck them into the water and spread her chakra over the surface.

Once she had surrounded herself with the chakra she started spinning gracefully, moving her arms in a windmill pattern while doing so, and catching fish upon fish and putting them in the bucket. Her chakra strings acted as a fishing line and using her chakra she would grip the surrounding fish she attracted with her chakra that was spread over the surface of the water.

Sakura had just so happened to step onto the riverbank to secure the area over there when a chakra spike caught her attention. She looked over to see Hinata spinning and catching fish after fish. The bucket was almost full by now, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

Hinata had gotten stronger. Hinata had been with Sasuke and got to train with him. Hinata had a cool way to catch fish. Hinata this, Hinata that. It was all Sakura could think about when her jade eyes came to rest upon the Hyuga girl.

She couldn't stand to see the girl any longer and so with a smirk she cracked her fingers and punched her fist onto the river bank, sending a shock wave on the river floor breaking it up, and then finally the wave caught Hinata in mid spin and made her fall into the water, drenching herself. Sakura felt a sense of pride run through her at seeing Hinata sopping wet.

Hinata, after wiping the water from her eyes and pushing her hair away from her face, looked up to see Sakura standing there with an innocent smile and a wave. Hinata glared and huffed, picking herself up out of the water, and taking her bucket full of fish with her, walking back towards camp.

When everyone had arrived back at camp the first thing they noticed was a soaking wet Hinata and a bucket full of fish. Sasuke, knowing that Hinata never fell in when she was doing her fish catching jutsu, could only guess it was Sakura's doing. And while he felt bad, he had to admit it was kind of cute that Sakura would do that, in his eyes anyway.

Naruto had to look away from Hinata when he saw her, this time not because he wanted to look away, but because he was hiding his blush from everyone. He had noticed all to well that her clothes clung to her body like water to a mirror and well if he was being totally honest with himself, and being the apprentice of Jiraiya, he couldn't help but admire her bust. Her big, full, bust. 'Okay bad thoughts bad thoughts. Stop thinking dirty things about Hinata-chan. Bad Naruto. Bad.'

"Why are you wet Hinata?" Sasuke asked, trying to hold back his chuckle. She looked absolutely ridiculous.

"Why don't you ask the pink powder puff over there." Hinata spat glancing at Sakura. Sakura snickered back at her. It was one thing to dislike her, Hinata could understand that, but to personally attack her? Now that was something entirely different.

"I was just trying to break up the ground for practice, it's not my fault you were in the way." Hinata shook her head indignantly.

"Yeah and I'm Rock Lee. Let's just eat." Hinata got out some cooking supplies and started a fire, cleaning and seasoning the fish before slow cooking it. By the time she was finished, the smell had wafted through the camp making everyone's mouth water.

"Dinner's served!" Hinata chimed handing everyone a cleaned and seasoned fish. Despite Sakura's earlier actions, she ate the fish with gusto, because as much as she hated to admit it it was really good.

"This is amazing!" Naruto exclaimed happily inhaling his fish. Food made him forget all about his hurt for the moment. The fastest way to a mans heart is through his stomach, you know.

"There's plenty more." Hinata said as she smiled and gestured to the five fish still over the fire.

With their bellies full and their hearts content (for now) they each decided to head in early as they would need their full strength tomorrow, with Hinata and Naruto taking the first watch.

---

They had decided to share one big tent, to save luggage, and so there were four sleeping bags laid out, two of them already being occupied by Sasuke and Sakura. The night was cold, and Sasuke had always been a freeze baby (another secret of his) and he was utterly miserable. He couldn't sleep and his teeth were chattering.

He turned to his right and saw Sakura two sleeping bags away, sleeping peacefully, and not shivering. He sighed at the distance, and debated whether to go over there or not. On one hand he had his pride and didn't want to admit defeat to the cold. On the other hand it wouldn't be all that bad having Sakura in his arms. Even though he knows he shouldn't, that the more he lets her in, the more dangers she's in, but he disregards it right now, throwing caution to the wind.

He's cold and there's only one person who can warm him up.

Sakura.

He slowly get's out of his sleeping bag, and walks over to Sakura's standing above her, just observing at first. The sleeping bag looked tiny, definitely not big enough for two people, but he could care less at that moment.

He bends down to the zipper on her sleeping bag, unzipping it, and then crawling in, suddenly filling up the excess space of the bag. He zipped them up and adjusted himself so that he was lying on his left side, his chest to Sakura's backside, and he let his arms wrap around her, pulling her close. He instantly warmed up to her body heat.

Sakura woke up.

"Uchiha what the fuck do you think your doing? This is my sleeping bag, get out." Sasuke grunted and pulled Sakura tighter, nuzzling his face absentmindedly into her hair. He was tired.

"Hn. Shut up it's cold." Sakura growled and started wiggling around, trying to break free of his grip but to no avail. Sasuke was getting annoyed.

"Damnit woman! Stop wiggling and let me sleep. It's cold." Sakura huffed loudly and stopped, resuming her previous position. Sasuke, if possible, seemed to hold onto her tighter as he lost himself to the recesses of sleep. Sakura, now awake, couldn't help but be furious at herself. Not because Sasuke was in her sleeping bag, but because it took all her power not to cuddle back into him, to stop her fluttering heart, and to silence the butterflies in her stomach.

She hated this man, damnit, she shouldn't be feeling this way! 'And he's so arrogant, thinking he can just take any old sleeping bag. Why mine? Stupid Sasuke.'

After what seemed like hours of an inner battle, Sakura sighed and gave up deciding that she needed rest and she wanted to be on her A game tomorrow. As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but unintentionally indulge in Sasuke's body heat. It felt so safe and warm.

As much as she hated him, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

---

"Naruto-kun! I see something about 30 miles ahead of us, but I can't make out if it's an animal or a human. It has the qualities of an animal, but the outline of a human."

Naruto turned his head into the direction of Hinata, noticing her Byakugan was activated, and scrunched up his face in thought. A beast human maybe? Like Kiba's beast mimicry?

"Is it a threat?" Hinata shook her head.

"Ie. It doesn't seem to have much chakra, but that doesn't look like normal chakra." Naruto nodded and created four shadow clones. He sent them 30 miles ahead of the campsite to observe what that thing was.

They once again fell back into silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they sat upon the tree branch. Naruto still couldn't bring himself to forgive Hinata, and Hinata couldn't think of what to say to Naruto.

"You know Naruto-kun, I've always believed in you." Naruto looked to Hinata and offered a small smile and nodded. She however was looking up into the night sky, marveling at how many stars were visible in it.

"I know. You never once doubted me, arigato." Hinata nodded, not willing to let them drop back into silence and continued. She thought of the next thing she would say.

"I believe that deep down you can forgive Sasuke." Naruto's eyes widened at what she just said. She didn't believe he would forgive her?

"He isn't a bad person, Naruto-kun. You know that, you can always see the good in people no matter what. You can change anyone, and I admire that. I know your hurt but he is your brother, Naruto-kun, you can't hate him forever." Naruto just nodded and turned away.

"You have a way with words, you know that Hinata?" Hinata laughed trying to conceal her shiver.

"I'm a Hyuga it's in my blood." Naruto nodded and they slipped back into silence...again. After awhile Naruto's keen ears thanks to Kyuubi had picked up the sound of chattering. He slightly looked to his right to see Hinata trying to hide her shiver and calm her chattering teeth.

Taking pity on the girl, he took of his jacket and gave it to her, using the Kyuubi's chakra to keep him warm. She smiled at him and nodded gratefully, inhaling the musky sent of Naruto.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun." Naruto nodded and continued watching the scenery around him for signs of danger. This didn't mean he forgave her, he supposed, but it was a start.

'Baby steps Hinata, baby steps.'She thought as she dug herself deeper into his jacket.

She wasn't cold anymore.

---

"UCHIHA!" Sakura shrieked as soon as she woke up, bolting up right, but being slammed back down just as quick for Sasuke still had his iron like grip around her. Sakura, pissed at the fact Sasuke was in her sleeping bag, cuddling her, and she was enjoying it, tried to get free.

"Ugh. So loud and its early, be quiet." Sakura growled and smacked him. Sasuke finally opened his eyes, still half asleep and growled back. He wasn't a morning person and he had a completely different personality in the mornings.

"IF YOU DON'T GET OUT RIGHT NOW SO HEL-" Sasuke smashed his lips to hers, effectively shutting her up, stunning her. He smirked. Maybe making her mad wouldn't be so bad.

"Sleep." And he precisely went back to sleep, closing his eyes and trying to gain back his warmth, pulling Sakura back with him. Thankfully Naruto and Hinata were heavy sleepers and weren't aroused by her outburst, but Sakura did notice Naruto's jacket around Hinata.

After Sakura had calmed her beating heart and her wild blush, her shock turned to anger and she got out of the sleeping bag, using her strength to break free of Sasuke's grip storming out of the tent. She was reeling from that kiss, and she was not happy about it.

'Goddamn that Uchiha, thinking he can just kiss someone like that! I hate him, he's so arrogant and cocky.' Sakura stomped her way over to the lake to wash up, trying to clear her mind, she needed that after the night and morning she had.

She discarded her clothes and folded them neatly on a rock before slinking down into the water and letting the dirt and grime wash off her body. She felt so much cleaner now.

It wasn't long before Sakura saw Hinata enter the water, discarding her mesh top and in the process of discarding her pants. Sakura looked at Hinata in envy and absentmindedly brought her hands to her chest. Her B's were nothing compared to Hinata's D's.

"Ohayo Sakura!" Sakura glared and turned her back to Hinata. She wouldn't talk to her, she absolutely refused to. Hinata frowned at her friend and tried not to let her behavior get to her. She was stronger now, and she could take a little ice.

After a silent bath on both ends, the girls walked back to camp to find everyone packed and ready to go, and even their things we're packed as well. Sakura looked at Sasuke but glared and quickly looked away, trying to hide her blush because the kiss kept replaying in her mind against her will.

Sasuke smirked at Sakura before turning to Naruto.

"Dope, where to next?" Naruto glared and looked at the map in his hands, making sure they were following the right route.

"Teme. We continue south, and we should be there by mid afternoon if we double our speed." He nodded and turned to the girls.

"Ready?" They both nodded and slung their packs onto their backs and hopped off into the trees, quickly returning to the formation they adopted yesterday.

It was silent again, each was lost in their own thoughts about the other. The sound of wind passing them was all that could be heard, and the tap tap their shoes made when they hit the wood accompanied that. It continued on like that for the majority of the day, until they finally reached the gates of the village.

"Okay so we all know our identities correct?" Naruto voiced to the team. They nodded, Hinata trying to hide her blush as she said her alias.

"Mrs. Yuki Takero. Wife to Hiro Takero." Naruto nodded at the mention of his own "alias" and turned to Sasuke.

"Kyohei Komachi. Husband to Fumi Komachi." Sakura was glaring at Sasuke on the outside, but her heart was fluttering on the inside. She wished it would stop. She wished her heart would do what its told.

"Good. As soon as we get into the village we'll go into the nearest store and buy different clothes. Remember think civilian." Sasuke said turning to Naruto. Naruto nodded as they walked through the gates, Hinata on Naruto's right and Sakura on Sasuke's left.

On initial inspection the village looked like it was healthy and thriving, with civilians milling about the market, and rows of shops open for business, even the land was wealthy and the air was crisp and clean. Much better than how it looked when they were twelve. (A/N: Because they are in disguise they can't visit Tazuna because that would give away that they are ninja.)

It didn't take long before the four soon spotted a clothing store for civilians and entered the door, ringing the bell as they did so, alerting the shop owner. He merely looked up from his paper and told them to look around until they found something they liked.

Splitting into different directions, Sakura and Hinata went into the womens section, while Naruto and Sasuke obviously went towards the men's section. There was a wide variety of clothes, a style to fit everyone there it seemed, as they sifted through the racks.

After about a half hour of trying on and discarding clothes, the four had all come to terms with the outfit they would be donning for the duration of their stay here.

Sasuke walked out of the store in a black long sleeved T-shirt with a red vest over top of it and a pair of black cloth civilian pants wrapped at the ankles, and traded in his ninja shoes for civilian shoes.

Naruto had quite liked the outfit he had found, which was a white button up shirt with a long black trench coat over top that came down to his ankles and the sleeves were 3/4 sleeves. He wore a pair of black civilian pants and a pair of civilian shoes. He looked like a Yankee. (A/N: Picture Gauken Naruto)

Hinata had opted for a modest housewife look with a yellow t-shirt with a long brown ankle length dress over top and traded in her strappy sandals for regular sandals. She also put in green contacts so that you wouldn't know she was a Hyuga. (A/N: Think pregnant Kushina's outfit except Hinata isn't pregnant)

Sakura had decided to adopt a more modern look with green civilian capri's and a grey long sleeved shirt that stopped just above her right hip in the front, but swooped past her mid thigh in the back. She wore civilian sandals and in place of her headband she had replaced it with a civilian woman's bandana and dyed her hair from pink to brown using a jutsu.

"Kyohei, you take the south end, we'll take the north end. We'll meet up outside the village tomorrow unless one of us finds something. I'll send a clone if I do." said Naruto snaking an arm around his "wife" to look convincing. Hinata tried so hard not to blush and melt into a puddle of goo at his touch. She knew he was only acting, but she couldn't help but slightly hope he liked her even a little bit.

Not wanting to fail the mission, Hinata half turned to Naruto and put her hands around his waist looking up at him. She smiled at him and then turned to Kyohei and Fumi.

"Hn." Naruto rolled his eyes at his ex teammate and started to walk away from them towards the North end of the village, never once retracting his arm from Hinata's waist. Oddly enough, it felt right there, natural, like it was meant to be around her and only her.

---

"Fumi-chan, look to your right." Sasuke whispered to his "wife" as he subconsciously tightened his hold on her left hand. Sakura turned to her right and nodded her head to her husband, understanding that they may have found a potential suspect.

"What do we do Kyohei-kun?" Sasuke looked to the two men that were talking, one a civilian and the other a ninja, and noticed they were next to an alley. He smirked as he thought of the perfect idea, and started to drag a giggling Sakura after he told her to act like she was a giggling teenager.

Sasuke walked over to the alleyway, and entered it. Once he knew he wasn't detected he suddenly pinned Sakura against the wall, covering her small body with his larger one, pushing himself so close to her that she could feel his muscles underneath his clothes, and used his right hand to support himself against the wall while his left hand came to a rest on the back of her neck. He tilted his head to the left side and positioned his mouth right next to her ear.

To any onlooker, they would look like two young adults making out, but to them it was a cover to get possible information on their potential target.

"Fu-mi-chan..." Sasuke voiced huskily drawing out the last syllable of her name. Sakura felt a shiver rack her body as his warm breath fanned itself across her ear. "Listen." and then Sasuke dipped his head lower, resting his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling her wonderful scent. Normally he wouldn't allow himself to ever feel this, to even think of the fact of being with Sakura like this for the risk of being seen by his enemy. But right now he wasn't Sasuke Uchiha, but Kyohei Komachi.

And Kyohei Komachi could have Fumi Komachi because Kyohei Komachi had no enemies, but Sasuke Uchiha could not have Sakura Haruno because Sasuke Uchiha did.

"Kyohei...you...ass..." Sakura huffed out, trying so hard to keep her blush and hormones in check. She could feel Sasuke's essence all around her, and it was driving her crazy. He had that cocky smirk on his face again, she could feel it against her neck, and she wanted nothing more than to push him off of her and never see him again. But she was on a mission and she would not fail it.

"Fumi-chan...is that anyway to talk to your husband?" Sasuke smirked as he kissed the flesh of her neck, nipping it occasionally, and even leaving a love bite.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel his ego swell at Sakura's gasp, and he had quickly decided that he liked teasing and flustering Sakura. She was so cute when she was flustered. Sakura was about to reply, but Sasuke quickly silenced her with his finger.

"Do you have the stuff Tobi asked for?" A tall and buff man said with his hand held out in expectancy. He looked like someone you didn't want to mess with.

The much smaller civilian man deposited a medium sized box in his hands.

"Hai, Dar. We have about 600,000 more of those being manufactured and imported as we speak. These are top of the line, and will surely annihilate any ninja that stand in your way." Dar smiled a crooked smile at the man.

"Excellent. And this village will be the perfect test subject." The civilian man nodded, knowing he'd be spared from the mass slaughtering that would take place in a few days time.

"Here is your pay, so quickly go." The man nodded taking the sac of coins and scurried off to his home, and the sinister man, Dar, walked in the opposite direction spotting Sasuke and Sakura and mumbling something about "young love".

Once Dar was safely out of sight, Sakura pushed Sasuke off of her and glared at him, hard. If looks could kill, he'd have been dead a thousand times over.

"Never do that again you insensitive, traitorous, heartless, bastard!" Sasuke kept his gaze calm and steady, though on the inside, he couldn't help but feel a slight sting at her words. If only fate wasn't so cruel, to dangle what he desired most in life right in front of his face, knowing he could never have a life with her.

Sasuke smirked as he gave her a smouldering look, noting the flush of red upon her face. "Fumi-chan, your doing an awful job at this mission." Sakura growled at the man in front of her, turning her head away and crossing her arms. She was acting like a child.

"Kyohei-kun, let us find Hiro and Yuki...now..." Sakura said grinding her teeth together as she stomped over to Sasuke and looped her arm around his, begrudgingly clinging to him. She kept telling herself she didn't like him anymore, that the butterflies in her stomach when they touched were just a reaction to being by her ex-teammate again and not because she still loved him. She most definitely did not love him.

But that's the funny thing, ignorance is bliss...dear Sakura-chan.

---

Naruto and Hinata's interlocked hands swayed back and forth as they walked together, rings glistening against the suns rays. They had bought the rings in the same shop they had bought their clothes, because not only did they have to act that part of husband and wife, but they had to have some type of believable proof too.

Hinata was in absolute bliss walking beside Naruto as his wife. She knew this wasn't real, that Naruto was simply acting this way towards her, but she didn't care. Hinata had dreamed of this since she was a child in the academy, becoming the wife of Naruto and being the mother of his kids. That was her life's goal, to become Mrs. Hinata Uzumaki-Namikaze.

Soon after Hinata had returned to the village, she had found out about Naruto's lineage from Tsunade and how he had adopted the Namikaze name as well, making him Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. She was happy for Naruto, knowing he had had a loving family and that he was indeed no orphan, but in fact the son of the fourth Hokage as well as Whirlpools red demon, Kushina Uzumaki.

Naruto glanced over at Hinata and couldn't help but crack the slightest of smiles. Even in civilian clothes, she looked absolutely beautiful. As much as he hated to admit it, being like this, being with Hinata again, his heart and resolve to keep her away was slowly fading. As his hand was entwined with hers he remembered the day he realized he had fallen for her.

~Flashback~

"Every man should learn this, Naruto." A drunken Jiraiya had drawled as he burst into the room of the inn they were currently staying at, rousing Naruto from his thoughts. Naruto looked at his pervy Sensei and shook his head, he made no sense.

"Learn what, Ero-sannin?" Jiraiya grinned a lecherous grin and sat down next to his pupil, throwing an arm around him and laughing.

"How to please a woman of course!" Naruto scrunched up his face at his Sensei, having no reason or desire to learn that, whilst blushing at the thought of being with a woman like...that.

"Listen here boy, with this technique, any girl can be yours." Naruto just shook his head at his Sensei. Must he come back completely drunk every night?

"I want to learn the Rasengan damnit! Not this stupid crap." Jiraiya just patted the boy on the back.

"You'll thank me one day brat! Learn this and I'll help you summon Gamabunta." Naruto's eyes widdened at this, having been unsuccessful in summoning the boss toad.

"Fine Ero-sannin, what is this...technique you speak of..." Jiraiya grinned and proceeded to hold up one finger preparing to give a lesson

"These techniques function like the Eight Gates of chakra, except that you perform them on someone else. They can, however be just as dangerous, in the wrong hands." Naruto looked at his Sensei, now slightly curious about these techniques. Jiraiya continued. "They act by inserting chakra into your lady's body via a refined chakra blade, finer than that of a syringe. Don't worry. It won't hurt, and the more chakra you put in, the better the effect." Naruto nodded, mentally taking notes. Though he couldn't imagine using this on any girl, who would even want to be with him anyway?

"Well I don't want to sleep with just anyone Ero-sannin." Jiraiya grinned at the boy deciding to help the boy out a bit.

"Close your eyes," Naruto nodded and did as he was told. "Picture all the women that you would consider a potential partner in your head." Naruto conjured up the images of his comrades, Hinata, Ino, Temari, Sakura and TenTen.

"Okay now what?" Jiraiya continued. "I want you to eliminate the girl or girls who you would feel the most uncomfortable with." Naruto nodded and erased Temari, TenTen, and Ino from his mind, leaving only his teammate Sakura, and the shy beauty Hinata.

"Now this is where you will need to do some thinking. Do you love either of the girls that are left? Who could you see yourself with?" Naruto furrowed his brows together as he compared to two in his mind. He had always had a crush on Sakura, wanting to be noticed by her, but he had knon he never had a chance when she came to him begging to bring Sasuke back. And Hinata had always been nice to him, encouraging him, and even adopting the same nindo as him. Both of the girls were his precious people, but did he love Hinata? He knew he loved Sakura...but it felt more...sisterly to him now that he thought about it, where as when he thought of Hinata he felt his face heat up and his heart start to flutter.

"I think...I think I love Hinata-chan..." Jiraiya grinned at his pupil, finally realizing his attraction to the shy Hyuga. When Jiraiya had first seen the two together, he could tell Hinata had loved Naruto, and even though he didn't know it himself, he had feelings for the Hyuga as well. Having years of experience, he knew these things.

"You should only use the technique on the one you love, however." Naruto nodded and went into silence after that, thinking more on his new found feelings. He felt ill at the thought of Hinata with another man, and he felt even worse when he thought of her getting hurt, or dying.

'Is...is this what love is? Caring more for someone else's safety than your own? So does this mean that I love Hinata?' As Naruto thought about it more and more, he had come to find that he did have feelings for the Hyuga, and he would get her back one day. He would be with her.

With thoughts of Hinata on his mind, he slowly found sleep gripping him, and snuggled into his bed, a grin on his face.

~Flashback End~

Naruto turned his head back from Hinata and scanned his eyes around the area once more, staying vigilant and alert should he spot sign of the rouge's. As this was a purely civilian town, it wouldn't be that hard to find ninja in it.

"Hiro-kun, look..." Naruto's attention was immediately drawn to Hinata's light and soft voice as he turned to his left and couldn't help but smile.

"Ramen! Yuki-chan can we go?" Hinata giggled at Naruto's child like behavior and nodded as he nearly dragged her over to the stand. She was happy that Naruto was still the child like Naruto she had come to love when it came to Ramen. Naruto's eyes scanned the menu and he decided to have three of the shrimp and three of the beef Ramen.

"I'd like one chicken ramen please." Hinata ordered turning to look at Naruto already devouring his first bowl. It wasn't Ichiraku ramen of course, but any ramen was good in Naruto's book.

"When is your due date, dear?" The ramen server asked with a smile. She was an elderly woman and if Hinata had to guess she was probably the owner's wife.

"Excuse me?" Hinata questioned having no idea what she was talking about. The elderly woman laughed and pointed to Hinata's stomach.

"Your child, sweetie. You are wearing maternity clothes are you not?" Naruto nearly choked on his ramen at this information and Hinata's face blazed red. So the reason she was getting smiles and free fruits when they were walking through town was because people thought she was expecting?

"Ahhh y-y-yes w-well-" Naruto cut off Hinata's spluttering by taking a hold of her hand. He could do this, he told himself. Just make up a date.

"The child is due in August." The elderly woman smiled at the couple and nodded.

"You are the cutest couple I have ever seen! Modest too. I am sure your child will be absolutely beautiful." Hinata and Naruto both blushed at this but nodded and smiled back.

"Arigato!" Naruto called as he placed a chaste kiss on Hinata cheek. If she was her younger self, she would have fainted ages ago. But her heart was still fluttering like a mad man.

After Naruto had eaten a few more bowls, the pretend couple thanked the owner and his wife for the ramen and continued on their way, both still blushing from the fact Hinata was in maternity clothes.

"Hiro!" A voice called out from down the hill. Naruto turned his attention to the voice and saw Sasuke and Sakura walking towards him. He could only guess they had information.

"Kyohei whats up?" Sasuke shook his head.

"Nothing good. Madara has these machines that are being manufactured and they are supposed to be able to take out ninja. The man we saw was one of the Rouge ninja's his name was Dar and they are planning to test them out on this town in two days!" Hinata gasped at this horrid information and involuntarily clutched onto Naruto's arm even tighter.

"We have to stop them! We can't just let them level this town." Naruto exclaimed thinking back to the nice elderly couple that owned the ramen stand and Tazuna and his family. They couldn't let these innocent people loose their lives.

"We have to come up with a plan. We have to intercept these things before they reach the village. And we have to find the villager that was in cahoots with the rouge ninja." Sakura spoke up to this.

"He owns a vegetable stand, I remember seeing him walk out from the vegetable stand." Hinata spoke next.

"We need to keep a close eye on the vegetable stand. Hiro maybe you should make a shadow clone and keep it there?" Naruto nodded and made one clone, putting a henge on it so that it wouldn't look the same as him.

"What should we do about the villagers? If we start evacuating them it will be really obvious." Sakura voiced as she turned to Sasuke. Sasuke thought of this and sighed

"Fumi's right, we can't have them leaving." Hinata turned to Sasuke.

"Kyohei remember the jutsu Sou and Harumi-sensei taught us? Wouldn't that work?" Sasuke thought about it for a few moments before nodding. Sakura couldn't help but become a little angry at Hinata's comment and made it a point to glare harder at her. Even Naruto couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Naruto looked to the group and started to speak, he had an idea and it might just be crazy enough to work.

"Okay so here's what we do..."

---

Sakura was lying on their bed at the inn lost in thought, the sound of the water running from Sasuke's shower could be heard throughout the room, and the sound of the wind outside seemed to be howling at her. She couldn't help but to think back on their conversation from earlier. Did he really mean what he said?

She didn't have much time to dwell on it anymore, however, because the door had open to reveal Sasuke in only a towel. Sakura looked towards the door and tried so hard not to blush. The steam had all but surrounded him, flowing out of the door, and drops of water from his still damp hair cascaded down his toned chest and abs.

Sasuke smirked and leaned against the door way crossing his arms, indirectly flexing his biceps and triceps. He was going to have fun with this. Sakura scoffed at him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Put a shirt on, Uchiha! No one wants to see that." Sasuke chuckled and walked towards his pack, pulling out a pair of black boxers and red sweat pants. He walked back into the bathroom and put them on, and this time when he walked back out he was clothed except for his torso.

"You sure about that? Sa-ku-ra..." Sakura growled at him. She had told him not to elongate the syllables in her name. It drove her insane...in a way she didn't want to admit or like.

"Well I wouldn't want to see you." Sasuke only smirked wider and plopped himself down onto the bed, resting his head on Sakura's outstretched legs right on top of her thighs so he was looking up at her.

"You really sure about that?" Sakura looked down at her now occupied legs and kicked them, making Sasuke move his head. There would be none of that. He wasn't coming near her, she wouldn't allow it. Not this time.

"Don't touch me, traitor." Sasuke frowned slightly at the name but shook it off, trying not to let it bother him. It was better of that way, for her to hate him, because he would only put her in danger, and he couldn't stand the thought of her in danger.

"You like it, Sa-ku-ra..." Sakura had just about had enough and turned to look him dead in the eye. As she was about to tell him off, she squeaked in surprise as she was suddenly pulled into a firm chest, and was now lying down on the bed instead of sitting up.

"Not again." She nearly whined as she flailed about to break free. Sasuke grunted.

"Sleep." Sasuke said as he held her tight, making sure she couldn't get away, and even went so far as to put his leg on top of hers to make sure she wouldn't flail.

"Sasuke..." Sakura growled out and tried to fight his grip but to no avail. She would not be in this position again. She would not let him just sleep near her again like she did in her sleeping bag.

Sasuke smirked. He finally got her to say his name. After much more struggle, Sakura had finally relented and let out a puff of hot air, trying to keep as far away from him as possible.

Sasuke again buried his head into Sakura's hair and inhaled her scent. He loved the smell of cherry blossoms, even as a child. And she kept his nightmares away, which he would never admit to anyone, not even her.

"Asshole..." was the last thing Sakura had uttered before she closed her eyes and gave up for the fight for freedom.

"Hn." Came Sasuke's only reply as he squeezed her tighter.

Finally he could sleep.

---

"Naruto-kun, you take the bed. I'll take the couch." Hinata insisted as she sat at the little table they provided in the room eating an orange she had packed. Naruto, always the gentleman, shook his head at her.

"Nonsense Hinata, you sleep in the bed and I'll take the couch." Hinata shook her head as well.

"No Naruto-kun seriously take the bed." Naruto looked at Hinata and sighed. This was going nowhere.

"Look, Hinata, you sleep on the bed. End of discussion." Hinata saw the look on Naruto's face and nodded, knowing that there was no point in arguing with him because she wouldn't win anyway.

"Do you want to take a shower first or can I?" Naruto asked her as he motioned towards the bathroom. He didn't know why but he felt really dirty and grimy for some reason.

"You can go first Naruto-kun." Naruto gave a hint of a smile and nodded grabbing a pair of green boxers with ramen bowls on them and a pair of grey sweat pants. Hinata had heard the door shut and the water turn on, the constant flow of water sounding throughout the room. As Hinata sat there two beings appeared on each shoulder. One was a miniature Hinata dressed in a white knee length dress and a halo with wings, while the other was a miniature Hinata dressed in a red leather corset outfit with horns and a tail.

"Girl, you know you want to use your Byakugan to..yanno...see how much he's grown.." Hinata blushed at what her evil miniature was implying and shook her head. She couldn't possibly do that. The angelic version of her nodded her head.

"For once, I agree with evil Hina, girl you know you got to do it. What does Harumi-sensei always say? If the opportunity arises, you always take it." Hinata looked at the angelic miniature skeptically. Evil and Angel Hina gave each other a high five and poofed from existence.

'Maybe they were right, a little peak wouldn't hurt would it?' With that thought in mind Hinata turned toward the window and stealthily channeled chakra to her eyes activating her doujutsu. Soon enough her world went from one of color to one of grey as her vision increased ten fold and she could see 364 degrees around her.

She spotted Naruto in her vision and couldn't help but blush as what her eyes beheld. Suffice it to say, that boy has GREAT genetics because he certainly wasn't average.

Her face was blazing red as she stared for a few more minutes before deactivating her doujutsu not wanting to be spotted, unbeknownst to her that Naruto had already known she had peaked because the Kyuubi had told him so when he sensed a spike in chakra. Naruto couldn't help but feel a swell of his ego at that.

Our little Hinata's a naughty girl, isn't she?

---