YOU"RE LATE:cringes at the reviewers' accusation: "I got lost on the road of life..." LIAR! 'Sheesh, this is a tough crowd.' Well, if it helps any, I believe this chapter is worth the wait. It's nearly 7000 words, and wraps everything up quite nicely, if I do say so myself. There's lots of fluff and some decent comedy. My personal favorite was the ending; read through and you should see why. Please R & R; tell me if you agree.

Chapter 10: Departure

"Sakura, tell him how it is." Sasuke said dangerously.

"Oh, is this the lucky man who has your favor?" Sanji inquired. "For he seems far too cold for a flower such as yourself. How will you ever reach your full beauty with one such as him? You need someone with the warmth to help you bloom."

"You know…" Sakura started. This was gonna be fun. She could finally get some payback for all those years Sasuke had ignored her. "I think you're right." She finished with a smirk.

"What?" Sasuke exclaimed.

"My cherry blossom, do not worry. I will fight for your honor. Is there a token you'd like to give me before my fight?" Sanji asked, his face hopeful.

"Here, take my handkerchief." Sakura said, handing him the item.

"You have a handkerchief?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"I've always had a handkerchief." Sakura countered coolly. "You just never cared enough to notice."

"Humph. Whatever." Sasuke said, dropping into a fighting stance. "Let's get this over with."

Sanji charged at Sasuke, attacking with a flurry of kicks. Sasuke blocked each one, grimacing with each kick. 'Damn, I'm still weak from my earlier battle. And this guy's no slouch, either.' Sasuke thought.

"Heh, that was just to test your strength. Now the real battle begins." Sanji said as he started to charge again.

'I can't just stand here defending.' Sasuke thought, as he started a set of hand seals.

Just before the two met in combat, Sanji went off at a sharp angle.

"Wha-" Sasuke said, confused. 'What kind of tactic is this?' "You won't get away from me that easily!" Sasuke said, giving chase.

"Oww. Akamaru, what happened?" Kiba was just recovering from the beating he had received earlier.

"Woof." Akamaru replied.

"What do you mean we got our tails handed to us? Maybe you did, but I gave that guy a good fight. He just got lucky; too bad he ran off, eh Akamaru?"

"Ruff! Ruff!" Akamaru said, pointing down the street.

"Wha- That's him! Uh, maybe we should get a bite to eat first. I heard the conveniently located ramen stand is having a sale. Buy two bowls of ramen, get a bag of gourmet dog food free." Kiba said, turning to leave.

"Woof." Akamaru said simply.

"A wimp, huh? I'll prove I'm not a wimp!" Kiba retorted, turning back to face Sanji. "Hey, you, I challenge you to a rematch!" Kiba called out. When the blonde man gave no response, Kiba repeated his challenge. When he got no response again, Kiba turned back to Akamaru. "See, he's scared of us. He won't even—"

"Woof! Grr!" Akamaru told Kiba.

"Why should I move? That guy knows he can't handle us!" Kiba said, still basking in his "victory."

Woof." Akamaru shrugged, moving off the street.

"What do you mean 'I tried to warn you.'?" Kiba turned around. "Uh-oh" was all he had time to say.

BA-BUMP

Sanji had a puzzled look for a moment. 'Did I just run over something? Oh well, whatever it was, it's probably not that important.' Sanji shrugged, returning his attention to the task at hand.

"I'm not sure what this guy's doing, but I can't let anybody show me up, especially not in front of Sakura." Sasuke said to himself, concentrating on his quarry.

"Oww, that was a cheap shot! Running a guy over when his back is turned, humph. I'll never let that happen again."

"Ruff Ruff." Akamaru said.

"What do you mean, 'I wouldn't say that just yet.'?" Kiba said, brushing himself off.

CRASH

Sasuke tried to avoid him, but there wasn't enough time. 'Where'd he come from?' was his last thought before he crashed into Kiba and rolled to a stop in a heap.

"Bark!" Akamaru gloated.

"Shut up, Akamaru. I don't want to hear it!" Kiba said, irritated.

Sanji, oblivious to the chaos behind him, had finally reached his destination. "Please, I must have your name, oh wondrous vision of beauty."

"You again?" The woman's greeting brought Sanji back to his senses. Well, closer to them, anyway.

"Have we met? I should think that I would surely remember a beauty such as yours." Sanji said, trying to place her face.

"You were one of the pirates that kicked us out of our home!" The young lady accused angrily.

"You were one of the Hidden Harbor ninjas?" Sanji exclaimed. "How dare they…" Sanji muttered before taking her hand to his lips. "I will make sure to punish my comrades for distressing such a lovely lady."

"Oh!" She hadn't expected this.

"But enough about them, they are unimportant at present; let us focus on the two of us. Please, how would you have me address you?" Sanji inquired.

"Not interested." She replied, walking away.

"Ah, it seems that so many women prefer that title. And I have never been one to disrespect a lady's wishes."

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm on a mission. I need to get going." The woman said, walking off.

"I know; I'll help you!" Sanji said, following her.

"Ok, I've heard something about a fruit in the Hokage's office. It's rolled up and has words on it so it can be used by more than one person. Apparently, this fruit roll-up thingy gives the user that power Naruto used to avoid Nami. Now, I don't think they'll just give us such a valuable item, so we're gonna steal it." Two figures plotted in a dark alley.

Tsunade sat in her office, "Shizune, tell team Kakashi that I have a mission for them, and to get here right away."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Shizune bowed, leaving the office.

Naruto barged into her office, "What do you want, Obaa-chan?"

SMASH

Naruto flew through a wall of the office. "How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me that!" Tsunade yelled angrily.

"That hurt, O…respectable hokage-sama." Naruto congratulated himself on his quick save.

"Ok, no more messing around. I have a mission for you." Tsunade said, absently flicking a paperweight into Naruto's forehead.

"What was that for?" Naruto complained, rubbing the indentation caused by the projectile.

Tsunade shrugged, "I'm sure you've done something to deserve it. But back to the mission. You must round up all of the Straw Hat pirates. I don't like having pirates in Konoha, and there's always the possibility of them stealing the Forbidden Scroll, although the chances of that are admittedly slim." Tsunade looked at each shinobi in the room, noticing Sasuke's injuries. Before she could think too much about them, she caught a glance of a smaller girl who seemed to be trying to hide behind Naruto, her hand in his. 'Hinata and Naruto? Together? Had he finally noticed the girl that had been watching him all these years?'

"Bye Obaa-chan!" Naruto's voice interrupted her musings as he left to complete his mission.

Tsunade waited until the door shut, then immediately performed a sound blocking jutsu, "HELL YEAH! Naruto has his first girlfriend! This is cause for a celebration!" Tsunade rejoiced. "A celebration involving sake, of course." She said happily, getting up to leave her office and head to her favorite bar.

"Hokage-sama." One of the anbu poked his head inside, "You have visitors."

Tsunade sighed; she had been so close! "Show them in." She replied.

"Ma'am? We were told to come see you." The woman said hesitantly. "Naruto told us to tell you he sent us."

"Ah! Well, if you're friends with that brat, you can't be all that bad. Come on, I'm about to go get some sake." Tsunade said, walking out.

As they were on their way to the bar on the outskirts of town, an older man with long white hair appeared before them. "Oh no." Tsunade said, putting her face in her hands.

"Ah, a beautiful lady that I have yet to meet. Allow me to introduce myself.

"Here we go again." Tsunade said.

"I am the savior of everything exquisite! The protector of all things just! The dignitary welcomed in whichever country I choose to roam! A man among men! A magnet for the beautiful young ladies throughout the world! I am…Jiraiya: the legendary Frog Hermit!"

"Wow," Chopper said with stars in his eyes, "You're amazing!"

Robin sighed, this man was getting on her nerves. Suddenly, an arm appeared, covering his mouth. "Much better." She said.

Tsunade looked at her in surprise. "That was you?" She questioned. Seeing Robin's nod, she exclaimed, "You deserve an honorary celebration! To be more precise, one with bottomless sake bottles!" Tsunade said excitedly, increasing her pace.

Tsunade was about to enter her favorite bar when she noticed a man sitting outside with a case and a half of beer bottles. Now, if there's anything Tsunade likes more than drinking, it's gambling. So what does she like the most? Drinking contests! "Hey you," Tsunade went up to the man and nudged him in the side.

"Wha do ya want?" The man said, staggering slightly.

"I notice that you seem to like drinking." Tsunade said, "I challenge you to a drinking contest. Loser buys."

"You're on." Zoro said, rising unsteadily.

"Ok, here's the plan. You're gonna…" Two characters conversed in hushed tones. "And that will give me the chance to…"

"Heh, with everyone distracted, emptying this village's coffers should be a piece of cake." Nami said to herself. "Now, I just have to find out its location. Excuse me, sir, do you know where I might find this village's treasury? I'm the new secretary, but I seem to have gotten myself lost." Nami said sweetly.

"Oh, it's right next to the Hokage's office. It has a big sign; you can't miss it." He replied.

"Thank you, sir. Being late on my first day on the job wouldn't have been good. You have no idea how grateful I am." Nami said, a smirk appearing on her face as she walked away.

Jiraiya was walking toward his favorite "research" area. On the way there, he arrived just in time to see a blonde man get slapped by a beautiful lady. Jiraiya whipped out his notebook, scribbled a few notes, and then approached the man. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the famous author of the Icha Icha series, the Frog Hermit.

"You're the Frog Hermit? I never expected to have the honor of meeting you. I've read all your books!" Sanji gushed.

"I see that you're a man after my own heart. How would you like to join me for some research?" Jiraiya invited.

"Would I ever!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Okay, time for you to do what you best." A figure said from the shadows.

Ussop walked out, and started doing what he does best, telling stories. "Stop and stand in wonder, for the greatest hero ever to grace this earth stands before you."

"Who the heck are you?" A man shouted out.

"I'm glad you asked. I am none other than the legendary Captain Ussop!" Ussop announced proudly.

"Chirrup. Chirrup." Two crickets commented on the weather.

"What, you don't know of my accomplishments?" Ussop said, shocked, "Well, I guess I'll just have to take care of that.

"Who knows where that bunch of idiots could have gone? This is gonna take forever." Sakura grumbled, still mad that her plan had backfired. 'That bastard! How dare he leave me just like that?' Inner Sakura was, as usual, more open about her feelings.

"No it won't! Hinata-chan's here; she can find them easily! Hinata-chan, use your Byakugan!" Naruto said excitedly.

"O-ok, Naruto-kun. I'll do my best." She said softly, "Byakugan!" She looked around. Hinata covered her mouth.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Hinata blushed, but whispered in Naruto's ear.

Naruto laughed, "Don't worry, Hinata-chan, I know just what to do. After two and a half years with Ero-sennin, you learn how to deal with this kind of thing. I'll be right back. " Naruto said, sneaking off.

A few minutes later, a scream was heard from the hot springs. "PERVERTS!" A feminine voice yelled. A group of screams ensued, along with several loud slaps.

Naruto reappeared with the Sanji's bloodied body slung over his shoulder, both grinning madly. "You wouldn't believe how many times sexy no jutsu came in handy during my training with Ero-sennin." He said, laying Sanji down. "Now, which one of you wants to take him to Hidden Harbor?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked, "It will be my pleasure." He said, roughly taking hold of Sanji and dragging him off.

"What's with him?" Naruto wondered.

"I have no idea." Sakura replied, whistling innocently.

"Oh well, not my problem. Hinata-chan, do your thing!" Naruto said.

"Okay." She replied, slightly more confident this time., "Byakugan!"

"Okay, so I put my hands like this, then this, then this, and finally, this." Luffy said, studying the Forbidden Scroll and performing the hand seals. "After all of that, I say Kage Bunshin! Ok, I think I have it." Luffy said.

"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked lazily.

"Oh, hey! I'm studying this fruit roll-up thingy right here." Luffy answered, motioning toward the scroll.

"Forbidden techniques, how troublesome." Shikamaru commented, "You know, you're not allowed to be here, right?

"I'm gonna use it to avoid a psycho woman on my crew." Luffy explained.

"Women, even more troublesome. Go ahead and finish, I can wait." Shikamaru said, closing his eyes.

"Okay, I'm done!" Luffy exclaimed a few minutes later.

"Well, I suppose I'm gonna have to take you to the harbor now. How bothersome." Shikamaru walked off, motioning for Luffy to follow.

"Ussop, come on! It's time to go!" Luffy called to his friend.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to finish the account of my adventures next time! Until then, so long!" Ussop waved goodbye to the crowd that had gathered to hear of his exciting life as captain of the Straw Hat pirates.

"I see Nami." Hinata declared. "She's over by the Hokage's office."

"Okay, I'll take care of her." Sakura said, running off.

Just then, Shikamaru walked up, Luffy and Ussop following him.

"Hey Kakashi! Hey Naruto and Hinata!" Luffy called out.

"Kakashi, Hokage-sama wants these two taken to their ship." Shikamaru said, tilting his head to see if there were any interesting clouds out today.

"Why don't you do it?" Kakashi asked. Shikamaru stared at him. "Right, too troublesome. I should have known." Kakashi muttered, gesturing for the two to follow him.

"I'm gonna go watch some clouds." Shikamaru said, heading off to his secret cloud-watching spot.

"So…" Naruto commented, "We're the only ones left."

"I-I guess so." Hinata said, wondering what he had in mind.

"Hey Nami, whatcha up to?" Sakura called out, walking up to her friend.

"Eh, nothing much." Nami responded, looking around.

"I heard you were looking for the treasury." Sakura commented.

Nami started, but quickly regained her composure, "Yeah, I heard it was an interesting sight." She explained.

Sakura did some discrete hand seals. "Well, Tsunade-sensei told me to come get you, but I suppose you have enough time to see it before you go. It's right down the street." Sakura said, pointing to a small building a little way's off.. "Just come down to the harbor when you're finished." She said, hiding a smile as she walked away.

"Heh, foolish girl. She's just doomed her village to poverty." Nami let out a small maniacal laugh, earning a few concerned glances from random passerby. She walked into the building, discretely picked up the only chest (this must've been a pretty poor village already), and walked out, whistling a happy tune.

Shikamaru watched the clouds float through the blue sky. Suddenly, his world went dark. "How troublesome…" He muttered. "Yes, Temari?"

"Aww, how'd you know it was me?" The sand nin asked, laying down next to Shikamaru.

"I didn't; I just guessed." Shikamaru said, smirking at her.

"Cheater." Temari pouted.

"Well, it not like there's anyone else around here bothersome enough to come visit me during my day off." Shikamaru shrugged.

"What was that?" Temari asked, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"I didn't say anything." Shikamaru tried his best to look innocent.

Temari slid closer to the strategist. "So, what's been going on since I last saw you?"

"Nothing too important; I've been on missions, watching clouds, and entertaining visiting pirate crews." Shikamaru answered, using his hands as a cushion for his head.

"Pirates, eh? They cause any trouble?" Temari slid an arm underneath Shikamaru's neck.

Shikamaru looked at her, shrugged, then continued, "Nah, not really. One of them found our Forbidden Scroll, but he was only using it to learn the Kage Bunshin to avoid beatings from a woman on his crew, so I didn't mind."

Temari rolled over so she was above Shikamaru, "You wouldn't ever do that to me, would you?" She asked, looking down on him.

"Hey, I can't see the clouds." Shikamaru complained.

"Is that a problem?" Temari countered, leaning down to kiss him on the lips.

"Is what a problem?" Shikamaru replied, looking into the eyes of the beautiful woman above him.

"That's what I thought." Temari grinned at his reply.

"I had a great day!" Naruto exclaimed, "What about you, Hinata?"

"Any day with you is great." Hinata said softly.

"You think so?" Naruto asked, looking at her closely.

Hinata blushed; she hadn't meant for him to hear that. "Y-yeah, I love you, I mean being around you." Hinata recovered quickly.

"Hmm, I have an idea." Naruto said, thinking for a minute, "Yeah, I think we have time. Hop on, Hinata-chan." He said, motioning for her to get on his back. "I have something to show you."

"O-ok, Naruto-kun." She said, grabbing a hold of his neck. "Is this okay?"

"Perfect." Naruto said, grabbing hold of her legs. "Hold on tight; we wouldn't want you to fall, now would we?" He said with a grin.

"I-I guess not." Hinata replied, blushing at her proximity to her precious one's face. 'And body.' A part of her thought.

"Of course not!" Naruto exclaimed, "It would completely negate the purpose of taking you to a romantic spot!" Naruto said, then covered his mouth, "Forget I ever said that last part." He commanded her.

Hinata just smiled. 'A romantic spot! With just the two of us!' She thought excitedly, nearly fainting at the thought.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked, thinking that maybe he was having second thoughts about taking her to this romantic place.

"Well, it won't be near as fun if it isn't a surprise. You have to close your eyes." He told her seriously. "And I mean it; if you peek, I'll take you straight to the harbor." He said as he started once again.

'Point taken." Hinata said, closing her eyes. 'Maybe I can use the Byakugan.'

"And no using the Byakugan either." Naruto told her.

"Oh, fine." Hinata pouted.

"Almost there." Naruto alerted her. "Okay…now."

Hinata gasped. She couldn't believe the sight before her eyes. They were in Hokage Mountain. Naruto had carried her to a cave between the faces of the Yondaime and Godaime Hokages. The setting sun lent the cool rock some of its warmth, leaving the cave at a temperature just cooler than the outside. The cave took on the colors of the sunset as well, turning brilliant shades of orange and purple as the last moments of the day passed.

"Do you like it?" Hinata could only nod. "I found it one day after a particularly good prank." Naruto scratched the back of his head by instinct, softly brushing Hinata's cheek in the process. "Heh, I sorta got carried away, so I had to lie low for a couple of days. Let's just say, the Hyuuga elders will never be as respected as before that day. It's hard to be taken seriously when you have a banana in each ear."

Hinata laughed, "I think I remember that; in fact, I wondered why they canceled all the scheduled meetings that day. I wish I could have seen that."

"Really? I've got pictures." Naruto said, bringing out his froggy purse.

Hinata looked over them, laughing, "This helps explain some of their recent rulings." She said. "I wondered why they ordered three hundred cartons of ramen noodles along with every conceivable topping."

"Heh, you would believe how much you can accomplish through blackmail." Naruto grinned, "Next time they put you down, threaten to call me. They should back off." Naruto said confidently.

"Mwahaha, while everyone is seeing those stupid pirates off, I'll take over Konoha." A shadowy figure said. "They'll never see it coming."

Sasuke dragged Sanji to the edge of the village, where he saw Tsunade staring down the man he had fought earlier. "Hokage-sama, get away from him; he's dangerous!" Sasuke exclaimed, leaving Sanji in the middle of the street.

"Go away." Tsunade said, flicking him into a nearby wall. "I'm about to win this contest." She continued, downing a glass of sake.

"Ha! You wish! I'm just getting warmed up!" Zoro replied, refilling his own glass and downing it.

Tsunade reached for her glass, taking a few seconds to find the correct image.

"Yo." Kakashi appeared with Luffy and Ussop in a puff of smoke.

"Wow, that was amazing! Did you see that?" Luffy exclaimed, "We were like POOF!" He continued, gesturing wildly with his arms.

"Of course." Ussop told him, "How do you think I beat the Giant Goldfish of San Juan?"

Chopper started to respond, but a commotion interrupted him.

Nami walked up, hiding something behind her back. "Well, everyone's here; I guess it's time to go." She said, shooing everyone toward the harbor.

"Hey, we're not finished." Tsunade and Zoro grumbled, not happy in the least that they were moving away from their sake.

"There's a crate of sake on the ship." Nami lied.

The pair vanished before she finished her sentence.

Nami looked at Sanji's battered form, "Now just what have you been up to?" Nami asked

"I have been thinking of you the whole time, Nami-san." Sanji professed to her.

"He means he was doing "research" with Jiraiya." Sasuke, already recovered from his intimate moment with the wall, informed the woman.

"Hmm?" Nami asked the raven-haired man. Before she could inquire further about the nature of this "research", an answer came through a different medium.

"There he is!" A girl exclaimed.

Sanji's face paled, "Please…Nami." He begged.

Nami smirked, stepping away, "I'm sure you earned whatever these girls have in store for you."

Sakura walked up beside Sanji, "Pervert!"

SLAP

Kurenai wasn't far behind her, "I can't stand men like you."

SLAP

Ten-ten.

SLAP

Ino.

SLAP

Anko.

CENSORED

The female Hidden Harbor ninja.

SLAP

Shizune.

SLAP

Moegi.

SLAP

Random female citizen.

SLAP

More random female citizens.

SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP.

Nami.

SLAP

"What, you too?" Sanji cried.

Nami just shrugged, "I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything."

SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP.

Hands appear all over around Sanji, slapping him around for a few minutes before disappearing to whence they came.

Nami raised an eyebrow at Robin, who whistled innocently.

"Hey, I wonder what's going on up there." Temari dragged Shikamaru to the large group of girls.

"Tch." Looks troublesome." He replied, letting her lead him on anyway. "But trying to keep you from checking it out would be even more troublesome."

"They don't call you a super-genius for nothing." Temari responded, "Ooh, they're beating some guy to a pulp. Let's help." Temari grinned widely.

"Better him than me." Shikamaru assented.

Temari walked up to the man and removed her fan from her back, "I hope you don't hold this against me."

"How could I ever hold anything against a maiden of exquisite loveliness such as yourself?" Sanji replied.

THWACK

Shikamaru cringed at the sight of the stranger slumping to the ground.

"So, where were we?" Temari smiled at Shikamaru, returning her fan to its place.

"You were just saying you love me and how you will never do that to me." Shikamaru answered, putting his arm around the older girl.

"I don't remember saying that." Temari said, kissing him lightly on the lips, "But that sounds about right."

Nami looked at Sanji, who hadn't yet recovered from the final blow. "Well, if he's not going to get up, I'm certainly not going to carry him. He can come to the ship when he decides to recover." She said, motioning for Chopper and Robin to follow her out of the village.

Sanji rubbed his head, "That last girl had one hell of a heavy fan." He muttered, massaging the spot where said object had connected with his skull. He noticed Nami and Robin walking in the distance, "Wait for me, my beautiful blossoms!"

"Bye everybody!" Luffy waved enthusiastically. Unfortunately, his wild waving caused his arm to stretch, nailing Nami right in the face.

"Why you!" Nami yelled, bringing out her nail-covered board.

"Ha, I'm ready for you this time." Luffy went through a set of seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke enveloped the ship.

"Your little smoke screen won't help for long!" Nami said, preparing her board.

When the smoke cleared, Luffys could be seen from bow to stern.

"I think I might have drunk a little too much." Zoro said, swaying slightly, "So many Luffys…"

"Ha! Try to find me now!" Luffy said triumphantly.

"Well Luffy, I guess you don't need my services anymore." Nami said.

"How do you figure?"

Because you don't need a navigator to guide a SINKING SHIP! Even you can figure out it's going DOWN!"

"AHHH! WE'RE SINKING!" The Luffys screamed, running around randomly. Of course, due to the lack of available running room, the pretty much just ran into each other and the crew.

"Hundreds of Luffys, still less than one brain." Nami muttered.

"Luffy, get rid of these guys right now!" Robin commanded.

"I didn't get to that part of the fruit roll-up thingy!" Luffy cried.

Well, there's only one thing to do. Beat them until they disappear." Nami said, striking out at a clone that had the misfortune to be standing next to her. "Come on everybody, join in. It's fun." She said, taking out a few more clones.

Zoro unsheathed his swords, stumbling slightly, "You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment." He slurred, slashing one clone after another.

Chopper transformed, "Wheee! Time to smash Luffy!"

"You guys don't have to enjoy this so much." Luffy commented.

"Maybe not, but it makes it so much more entertaining." Sanji replied, kicking a clone into a couple more and watching them poof out of existence.

Nami swung her board at another Luffy, "Ow! Hey, I'm not a clone!" He protested.

"I know." Nami grinned evilly as she continued to assault him. "Found him!" he called out to the others.

"Those clones were just a warm-up. Now it's time for the real-thing." They said, surrounding him.

"Why me…?" Luffy complained as they started to knock him around like a ping pong ball.

Once the ship was a way's out to sea, Nami started laughing, "I wonder how long it will take those fools to realize I robbed them clean."

"What are you talking about?" The rest of the crew asked her, looking at each other in confusion.

"Yeah, I put it right here." Nami said, uncovering her chest (TREASURE chest, you perverts!)

"RAMEN!" Luffy exclaimed, snatching the carton and running to the kitchen. "Sanji!" He called, "Prepare some meat for the ramen!"

"WHAT? HOW?" Nami screamed, sinking to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

Sakura laughed.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Nami was looking for the treasury, so I cast a simple genjutsu on her to make her think she was seeing the treasury. Instead of the treasure chest she thought she was stealing, she took a carton of ramen." Sakura couldn't continue through her laughter.

"Haha-wait, an entire CARTON?" Naruto exclaimed, "How could you do this to me? What if that was their last carton? I'll have to wait for the next shipment to come in before I can get more ramen!" Naruto clung to Hinata.

Hinata blushed, letting him hug her. This was the perfect end of the perfect day. But it wasn't over yet.

Naruto's face suddenly brightened, "Hinata-chan, I have an idea!" Naruto told her excitedly.

"It's a miracle!" Sakura announced.

Naruto went on, undeterred by Sakura's comment, "We can eat ramen at your house!" He said, motioning for her to get on his back.

Hinata did so, blushing again. She had spent the entire day with Naruto, and now they were going to her house!

Naruto jumped from tree to tree, maneuvering his way to the Hyuuga complex. The guards noticed the pair, but took no action.

"Now why aren't we supposed to chase the demon child out anymore?" One of the guards asked.

His partner shrugged, "Those were the orders given by the Elders. Personally, I think they're going a little senile. Maybe it's time for some of the Elders to become ancestors, if you know what I mean." He said, nudging his friend. The two guards shared a small chuckle, continuing on their rounds.

"Hinata, I have come in peace. Take me to your feeder." Naruto said, looking around.

"My feeder?" Hinata looked at Naruto skeptically.

"What? I couldn't think of anything else to rhyme with 'leader' and still make sense." Naruto said.

Hinata laughed, "Our 'feeder' is the third house on the left." She told him.

"An entire house? Hinata, you're awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, sprinting the last hundred meters.

Hinata blushed (actually, she just never unblushed from the previous blush); his openness was another one of his traits she admired.

"What flavor would you like?" Hinata asked, putting the water on the stove to boil.

"Hmm…" Naruto mused, sorting through the cabinets, removing a package every once in a while. "Ok, I think that's it." Naruto brought the stack of items over to the stove. "Thanks for preparing the water, Hinata. I think I can take it from here, if you don't mind."

"Ano…Is there anything I can do to help?" Hinata asked slowly.

"Hmm…I don't think this pot is going to be big enough." Naruto said, looking at it closely.

"Oh, okay. I'll get a bigger…pot?" Hinata ceased her search when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Naruto?" She asked, her face reaching a new level of red.

"Nah, just get another…Are you alright Hinata?" Naruto said, putting a hand to her cheek, "You're quite warm. We had better get you to your room. It's a good thing we're close. Don't get up; I'll take you there." Naruto said, picking her up bridal style.

Hinata promptly fainted.

Now, as everyone (except Naruto) already knows, Hinata has loved Naruto for a long time. She may be too shy to do anything about it, but that doesn't mean she never dreams about someday being able to hold her Naruto-kun. She was having one of those dreams right now.

"Naruto-kun…" She mumbled, latching onto her dream boy.

"Hmm?" Naruto looked down at her. "This seems familiar; does she always cling to something when she sleeps?" Naruto questioned.

"Only when she dreams about a certain someone." A voice informed him.

"Oh, hey Neji! How's life treating you?" Naruto asked, turning toward his friend.

Neji smirked, "Well enough." He said walking off, "Oh, by the way, Hinata lives right over there." He told Naruto, pointing at a small house nearby.

"Heh, I guess I would need to know that." Naruto grinned, "Thanks, Neji."

"I just didn't want you to bother everyone in the compound trying to find it. Not everyone would be as understanding as me if they saw you with Hinata." Neji said.

"That's what you think." Naruto said mysteriously before laughing and entering Hinata's house.

Naruto set her down lightly on her bed. As he expected, her hold on him was as firm as ever. He found himself staring at the face of the Hyuuga heir. Neji's words came back to him. "Could I…be that person? But why?" Naruto pondered the point for a moment before hesitantly returning Hinata's embrace.

Hinata smiled, a faint blush tinting her face. "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

"I'm thinking we're going to have some things to talk about when she wakes up." Naruto smiled at the unconscious girl.

Tsunade stumbled into her office. "Why do I have to do paper work? I should be sleeping."

"Hahaha, you're too late to stop my sinister plan!" A dark figured exclaimed.

"Wha?" Tsunade wasn't exactly thinking straight. 48 shots of sake will do that to a person. "Why are you in my office?"

"Mwahaha, I am the new ruler of Konoha! Bow to me!" The figure commanded.

"Go away; I want to sleep." Tsunade said, lightly flicking the young man over the village walls.

"Blast! Foiled again!" The man yelled as he flew off into the sunset.

"Much better." Tsunade mumbled, clearing a space on her desk before laying her head down.

"3…2…1…Now." A young woman counted off.

CRASH

When the dust settled, she walked over to the small cater and kicked at the prostrate form in the center. "I told you your plan wouldn't work. Come on Kazuki; get up." She told him, offering a hand.

"It could have worked." He insisted, taking her hand. Suddenly, he yanked on it, bringing her down on top of him. "But that doesn't matter, as long as you're with me." He whispered in her ear, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Ooh, somebody's frisky." The woman placed her hands over his.

"Is that a problem?" Kazuki purred.

"Did I say that?" She replied innocently.

"Would it matter if you did?" He countered.

"Yes, because you always listen to me." She said confidently.

"It's not fair; I just can't resist your beautiful bod-I mean, personality." He recovered quickly.

But not quickly enough. "What was that?" She said dangerously.

"Nothing, Moriko, nothing at all." Kazuki said, trying to look innocent.

"What were you going to say?" Moriko looked at him closely, "Tell the truth; you know how much I hate lying."

"I said I can never resist your beautiful body, which is second only to your charm." He said, searching for possible escape routes.

"Kazuki…" She said, getting a tighter grip on his hands, "Normally I'd hurt you for such a comment. But…"

"But?" Kazuki's face lit up.

"But…" Moriko turned around, moving his hands to her shoulders, "You're not the only one that's feeling frisky." She said, giving him a lingering kiss.

"Mmm, must be my lucky day." Kazuki said, pulling her in for a deeper kiss.

Hinata was having the best day of her life. Naruto had just professed his love for her, and it was everything she had ever dreamed it would be. Suddenly, she realized the reason for that; it was all just a dream. She opened her eyes, barely able to keep the tears from escaping her eyes. She knew it probably wasn't possible, let alone likely; he still hadn't noticed her after all these years. This was just like every other time she had woken from that dream; she didn't know why she expected anything to be different this time. Yet there was. A note lay on the pillow next to her head.

It read: Hinata, meet me on your roof when you read this.

Hinata turned it over, but there was no signature.

She walked leaned out of her window, flipping upwards to land lightly on her roof, unsure of what to expect. She saw Naruto sitting on the opposite edge, dangling his feet off the edge.

"Hey Hinata-chan, grab a seat." Naruto said, patting the spot next him. "There's something we have to talk about."

"W-what's that, N-naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, fearing as she sat down that being around her so much today had caused him to think less of her than he already did.

Naruto closed the rest of the distance between the two, "I have a personal question to ask you. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Ano…" Hinata pushed her fingers together, suddenly finding the ground below to be of extreme interest.

"Hinata-chan…" Naruto turned the pale girls face so he could look into her lavender eyes, "You were talking in your sleep."

Hinata's face paled; her dreams had involved a certain blonde ninja today, even more so than usual. "W-what d-did I-I s-s-s-say?" Hinata barely managed to ask.

"You said, 'I love you too, Naruto-kun.'" He told her slowly.

"Eek!" Hinata squeaked, hiding her face in her hands. 'Of all the times I could let that slip, why'd it have to be in front of him? Now he's gonna still think I'm a weirdo, just to a greater extent.'

"Is that true, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked slowly, gently taking her hands away from her face.

'You don't have to tell him!' A part of her mind insisted, 'He said as much when you sat down!' Yet Hinata couldn't even consider that option. She knew that no matter how much easier it would be for her to run away without answering, doing so would hurt her Naruto-kun infinitely more so. She steeled her nerves and prepared for the rejection she just knew was forthcoming, "It's true. I've always loved you. Ever since our days in the academy." She said, her calm voice concealing the raging emotions she was feeling at the moment.

"Wow." Naruto said, shaking his head, "That's a long time."

"Yeah…" Hinata agreed.

"And I never noticed?" Naruto asked.

"Apparently." Hinata replied.

"I must be the densest person alive." Naruto shook his head again.

"Quite possibly," Hinata smiled, "but that's just another of the traits I love about you."

"You've loved me for all this time?" Naruto was still in shock.

"Yes."

"And I hardly noticed you." Naruto's face fell.

"But I treasured every moment you did." Hinata tried to cheer him up.

"Remember when we met before our first chuunin exam?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Of course."

"Well, I still think you're a shy dark weirdo." Naruto told her.

"Ah…I understand." Hinata said, standing up so she could go cry alone. By the way he had been talking, she thought that it was possible he returned her feelings…but it looked as though he was just being a good friend, like he was to everyone.

Naruto put his hands on Hinata's shoulders, turning her to face him, "But now I'm sure: that's definitely the kind of person I like." He told her softly, softly kissing her cheek.

Hinata blushed, the man of her dreams had finally noticed her. Hell, forget noticed, he had kissed her. Hinata suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss, this one on the lips.

"I never knew you to be this bold." Naruto said when they parted.

"I never thought you'd notice me." Hinata countered.

"I'm so sorry for that." Naruto's smile dropped for a moment, "How can you ever forgive me?" Naruto asked.

"Because I love you." Hinata answered simply.

"Wait a minute, all those times your face was red when I saw you, you were blushing because you liked me?" Naruto realized in a flash of insight.

Hinata nodded, allowing a small smile to grace her face.

"This explains a lot of things…" Naruto mused.

Hinata laughed, "So…"

"Hmm?" Naruto looked at her.

"Well, we're sitting under the full moon at my house, it's late, and you just realized I liked you. What are we going to do?"

Naruto suddenly jumped up, "The ramen's still on the stove!" He exclaimed, turning to run.

Hinata caught him mid-turn, bringing him in for a passionate kiss.

"Well, you have plenty of ramen; I'm sure it won't matter if it burns." Naruto said afterwards.

"I thought you'd see it my way." Hinata said, smiling.

"As you said, we've got a lot of time. I think I've got quite a few years to catch up on."

Hinata kissed him again, 'I could get used to this…"

"Yeah, we can catch up anytime; I guess we could-"

Hinata cut off his statement with a kiss.

"My thoughts exactly." Naruto grinned, going in for another kiss.

Hinata sighed, now this was the perfect end of the perfect day.

A/N: Wow, that was loooong. I hope you found everything to your satisfaction. I'm not sure how soon the sequel will come out, but I do know it will be more focused on shikatem, in case any of you are interested. Please drop me a review; I'd love to hear everyone's thought's on the conclusion of A Strange Meeting.