A/N: My first little mini-something! Whoo-ho! Gotta love those WaMu commercials. Any who, this was my little triplet child until I found out the last chapter was never ending. Now it's a quartet. Next part probably out tomorrow, unless I get really bored or I get lots of wonderful reviews. The latter is probably the most effective way. Don't think of it as bribery, think of it as inspiration.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be upset that there was no manga update after that huge, we all secretly saw it coming, at least the Itachi-lover's did, revelation. So yeah, not mine.

Today was nearly guaranteed to be horrible. The blond's sleep had been fitful; he woke repeatedly throughout the night. When he finally abandoned the idea of getting actual rest Naruto saw how unbelievably late he was. The old hag had wanted to meet with him more than two hours ago. He just knew she would spend the better part of the day chewing him out for it. And to top it all off his best friend was now gone. The kitsune had planned on seeing him off but the red-head would be long gone by this point.

It was the last one that depressed him the most. Naruto had already admitted, to himself and a select few, the existence of his crush -no, it was so much more than that now- on Gaara. Not being able to wish him a safe journey and to beg him to come back soon would have the blond in a slump for days.

Naruto swung his legs over the edge of his bed and sat there for a minute, soaking in the sun splashed across his skin. There was no use in rushing; he'd still be late and in trouble no matter how fast he moved. After showering, getting dressed and eating breakfast, he opened the door to take a step out. This action was hindered at the sight of the small square of white set before him. Written across the top was Naruto.

The script used to craft those six letters was careful, flowing, and beautiful. Blinking a few times, he picked up the envelope and placed it on the table inside his apartment.

Naruto left then, a small smile gracing his features. Maybe today wouldn't be all bad…

His head was pounding. Tsunade had yelled, and yelled, and yelled, and then he had no idea what was going on because he was drifting in and out of sleep. A chakra-charged punch brought him back to reality.

"Damnit hag, I was having a nice dream too," Naruto had complained, rubbing the swelled area of his head.

"Cheer up brat. He'll be back in a few weeks."

And Naruto did, well as much as he could with the thumping in his head.

When Tsunade let him go home, the kitsune went straight to bed, forgetting dinner and that oh-so-interesting letter. The pain in his head was just too much.

He reawakened at about 11 o'clock to a grumbling stomach. With a cup of steaming instant ramen, Naruto sat at the table to sate his hunger.

The envelope rest across from him, calling to him and begging his attention. Unfortunately, it didn't beg enough to get the young man to abandon his precious ramen but he did stare at it while he ate. Finally, finally, he was done and tearing open the envelope to read the letter.

Dear Naruto,

I know that if you ever discover I wrote this, you'll surely laugh. But I know you will understand my reasoning. I have never been good at expressing my feelings and this was the only way I could bring myself to tell you. I'm in love with you. I have been for a while. You have saved me countless times and all you ask in return is my friendship. That is something I give wholeheartedly.

Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? At times I know I'm staring but I can't stop myself. If you've ever caught me, you never said anything and for that I'm grateful. Those eyes of yours, they have the habit of mesmerizing people. The only thing more beautiful than those crystal clear depths of yours is your smile. Oh Kami, it's like the radiance of a god. My heart beat quickens and rouge colors my cheeks when I look at your happy expression.

There are so very many things I love about you, Naruto. It would be best if I stopped now though. If I continue on I'll never be ready when you arrive. I will write again, unless you'd rather I didn't. Should that be the case I will never bother you again.

Love, Writer

Naruto read and reread the letter until he could see every dip and curve of the words in his head. His conclusion was that whoever wrote it was smart.

"Writer" said they weren't good at expressing their feelings. The shinobi knew so many people like that. Well, not many many, but more than one. With more than one name he couldn't figure out who exactly sent it.

The "you have saved me countless times" bit wasn't helpful at all. Naruto made sure to always protect his precious people. And the only thing he ever asked anyone for was friendship.

One paragraph analyzed and he didn't even know if the sender was male or female. So Naruto did the best thing he could think of. He told every single person he knew so he could gauge their reactions. The blond had become adept at reading the slightest changes in expression and body language after falling in love with the young Kazekage.

He began with the most obvious, Sasuke. He always swore that boy's emotional growth had been stunted. Naruto had saved him from the life of a missing-nin by dragging him, literally, back to Konohagakure.

So it made sense that it could have been him. Alright, it made so sense whatsoever but Naruto really wanted to make sure it wasn't him. The thought of "Writer" being the Uchiha actually scared the shit out of the blond. The raven had the tendency to become more than obsessed about things.

Unfortunately, that would all have to wait until morning. The demon-holder dropped the empty ramen cup in the trash and the fork in the sink before trudging back to bed where he was haunted by images of Sasuke chasing him through the streets, declaring his love for the entire village to hear.