SometimeAround Midnight

xXLHUXx

.:: Summary ::.

It's been ten years since the Akatsuki epic that changed Konoha forever. The Konoha Nine are more powerful, skilled, and mature than their early years, especially two in particular. Love, hate, and an amazing ultimatum could change the course of everyone's destiny in a snap of a finger.

Pairing: Naruto and Sakura

Genre: Drama/Romance

Sometime Around Midnight – Installment I: Prologue/No Spell

CLINK! CHING!

The sudden sounds of metal clashing against metal sounded throughout the training grounds near Training Field 44, or the Forest of Death as people know it more commonly. Birds flew away in a cluster in fear of the tones, and leaves fell as they departed.

Heavy breathing could be heard; and more sounds of metal. It was loud, which meant that something intense was going down. In the field, a blond haired shinobi known as Naruto Uzumaki, rushed towards a brown haired shinobi with a kunai, named Kiba Inuzuka. Naruto had cerulean blue eyes that were like jubilant sapphires that shined in the sun's rays; his spiky blond hair matching well with the jewels. Kiba, on the other hand, had a mix of black and brown eyes, which were slits at times; maybe it was his clan's animalistic features that were found in most Inuzukas, but that's the way they were. Naruto was about four or five inches taller than Kiba, being six feet, four inches tall, and the Inuzuka being five feet, ten inches tall.

As the battle progressed, so did the change in weather. It went from calm winds to humid ones that bothered both shinobi uncomfortably. Kiba blocked Naruto's oncoming kunai attack, pushing his own kunai against the other, and forced him back with his own strength. Naruto slid, coming to a halt a few feet away from Kiba, and he smirked; standing up straight, Naruto began to speak.

"Wanna take a break for today?" He asked, rubbing his forehead of all the sweat that had gather from the training.

Kiba laughed, and pocketed his kunai, "You tired already," he teased, "I thought you'd last longer than that!" Naruto rolled his eyes, and sat down on a stump that was near some bushes. Naruto shook his head, "Well, the weather changed really fast…that usually means something." He said, and Kiba shook his head in disagreement, "You are just imagining things," taking a seat as well, "you've been doing that a lot lately."

Naruto nodded, knowing it was true. He had been getting a lot of different feelings lately. But it didn't bother him too much. With a slight yawn, Naruto stood, stretching his arms.

"Well, it was nice training with you, as always." He said, walking towards his long-time friend. Kiba nodded, standing, "Likewise," he said, cracking his knuckles and neck, "can you believe it's been ten years?" Kiba questioned, and Naruto looked downwards a bit, in thought.

"It's hard to." Naruto responded, and Kiba shrugged, "See ya later. Come on Akamaru!" He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. A gigantic, white dog bounded out of the bushes, and sat laid down next to Kiba. Akamaru had been Kiba's companion since he was a little kid; they had been together since. Kiba hopped on Akamaru's back, and waved at Naruto. Naruto waved back, and started walking in the direction of his apartment complex.

Konohagakure had really changed; drastically. Ever since Pein, the leader of Akatsuki, had destroyed all of Konoha, things were redesigned in many ways and repaired. The Hokage tower had been filled with seven heads: the First and Second Hokages, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, the Sixth and Seventh Hokages, Danzo and Kakashi Hatake. Naruto awaited many years for the position of Hokage, always seeming to be passed up because of one reason: He was a Jinchurriki.

Sure, he had saved the village from Pein and Akatsuki, with the help of his father and newly formed Toad Sage powers, but the factor remained; it was dangerous giving control of a village to a Jinchurriki. Naruto felt that was the only reason, and hoped that the elders would see past that and see his true potential. Being twenty-six now, he felt that it was soon to be time for his turn to have his head carved onto the gargantuan mountain.

Naruto dragged himself along the sidewalk of Konoha, being worn out from the excessive training that had progressed for hours. He had his hands in his pockets, and his eyes forward. Villagers that passed by would wave at him, and smiled. Naruto returned the smile or occasional wave, but really wanted to hurry and get home. He wasn't a Gennin anymore, but a full-fledged, official Sannin or Sage of Konoha, and he was proud of his title; anything was better than Gennin, to be honest. As Naruto finally reached his apartment door, he proceeded to take out his key, to see something pinned to his door with a shurriken.

'Another thing I have to repair…' Naruto thought, pulling the note off. He read it:

Dear Naruto,

Kakashi-sensei said he needs to see you tomorrow at his office. He also wanted Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, and Ino. Of course me too, but most importantly, he wanted you there. I suspect it must be something REALLY crucial that he wants you there the most. Anyways, don't be late tomorrow! 7 AM sharp, okay?

Sincerely,

Sakura

Naruto sighed, and put a hand through his hair, dodging his hitai-ate on his head; Naruto crumpled up the note, and opened his door. Slamming the door, Naruto kicked off his black ninja sandals, and walked across his wooden paneled floors; his warm feet meeting the cool, wood. The blond walked into the open kitchen, and opened his plain-white refrigerator. It had pictures that were held on there with magnets. One picture showed Naruto at his Sannin graduation ceremony. He had taken the picture with Sakura, who had given him his second hug; the ones that he wished had gotten when he was younger. Naruto chuckled a bit, and looked at few other pictures.

The second one he saw made him frown. It was the Team Seven picture that they had taken when they passed Kakashi's Gennin Exam. Sakura was in the middle with a slight blush on her face, while Naruto was being held by Kakashi's left hand, Sasuke being held with his right hand. It was a comical photo, and Naruto sighed. He could never talk to Sakura the same after what had happened…

Flashback

In the Iron…

The Kages were about to rage into a battle, until a loud and huge explosion blew through the wall. Three ninja flew in; and Gaara recognized them immediately.

"Suuigetsu…Karin…Juugo…" He mused, his eyes furrowing a bit at the sight of Team Hawk in the presence of all Kage. The Raikage growled, and yelled.

"What is the meaning of this!?"

Suuigetsu smirked, showing his shark like teeth, and laughed, "So foolish…I'm surprised you don't know the meaning of this." Karin adjusted her glasses, "And I'm quite surprised you guys haven't found our fourth member yet." Gaara's eyes widened, and he didn't move; but he did move his eyes around the room.

Was Sasuke already inside?! And if so, for how long…

Juugo kept his nonchalant frown, and looked at all the Kages, "He's been here the whole time." That's when the room darkened, and everyone turned to see Sasuke Uchiha, the missing nin from Konoha, crouched on the ground. His hand was consumed with lightning chakra; but it didn't look like a Chidori. It was something new.

Danzo laughed, "Perfect. I can get the job done without even having my ninja do it!" He said, and Sasuke smirked, "Are you saying you are going to kill me?" He asked, his voice monotone. Danzo nodded, "Definitely. There's no way you can stand against m—UGH!" Danzo yelled, as a clone of Sasuke appeared behind him, and slit his throat with a new-steel kunai. Danzo's blood sprayed, his jugular vein had been sliced open, and leaked down the side of his body. The newly made Kage fell to his knees, and dropped dead. The Kages gasped, and the Sasuke clone disappeared.

Meanwhile, the Kumo ninja and Naruto's group traveled quickly to the Kage meeting. Naruto growled, "I can already tell that Sasuke is there…I know it."

Flashback Interrupted

Naruto's flashback was interrupted by a knocking at the door. The blond turned towards the door, and walked swiftly over to the door. "Coming…" He said, unlocking and opening the door. Naruto rose an eyebrow, and to his surprise, he saw Shikamaru. Naruto and Shikamaru hadn't talked a lot recently, so it startled Naruto to see him here at his door.

"Shikamaru," he paused, "what are you doing here?"

Shikamaru smirked, and yawned, "Are you going to invite me in?" Naruto hesitated, but nodded, moving out of the way so the ANBU Captain could get in. Shikamaru had changed a lot himself as well; his hair not shorter, about shoulder length and kept in the same ponytail. He had let a small goatee grow on his chin, and he was about two inches shorter than Naruto. Shikamaru leaned against the wall, and Naruto closed the door, walking back into the kitchen. "You want something to drink?" He asked, and Shikamaru nodded.

"You've got Chuhai?" He asked, and Naruto nodded. Chuhai is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored beer; which was one of Shikamaru's new favourites. He only drank it on special occasions though, so this surprised Naruto indeed. "What flavor?"

"What do you have?" Shikamaru asked.

"Lemon, lime, mikan…" He offered, and Shikamaru rubbed his chin.

"I'll take a mikan." The lazy ninja said, and Naruto tossed him the Mandarin Orange Chuhai. Shikamaru opened the can, and Naruto took one out himself, lemon. "So…you usually never drink these unless something really good has happened," Naruto took a drink, "spill it."

Shikamaru swallowed his sip, and sighed, "I'm getting married." Naruto almost choked on his Chuhai, and he looked at Shikamaru like he had gotten stabbed. "Are you serious?!" He asked, and Shikamaru nodded.

"Yep. Ino and I have decided to take it up another step," he took another sip, "I proposed to her last night." Naruto smirked, "During the meteor shower? How romantic!" He teased, and Shikamaru gave him the middle-finger glare.

"Wow…I never expected Shikamaru Nara to get married." Naruto joked, and Shikamaru nodded, "I didn't think so either, but I feel like I've found what I've been looking for. And it shouldn't be that bad…" He said, finishing off his beer, and Naruto threw away his own can, "Well, I wish you good luck man…But there has to be another reason why you came over." He said, and Shikamaru nodded, "Wanna be my best man?" He asked, and Naruto rose an eyebrow, "Me? A best man? Pfft…I doubt you really want ME to be your best man."

Shikamaru shrugged, "I thought you'd be the only one who could handle it. No offense to anyone else…but I trust you the most. So will you do it or not?" He asked, and Naruto looked a little reluctant to answer. "Can I sleep on it?" Naruto asked, and Shikamaru nodded, "Sure…Well I should be going. Ino is going to divorce me before we even get married if I come home late." He joked, and Naruto laughed. The blond ninja opened the door for his lazy friend, and let him out. Closing the door, Naruto locked it and sat down on his couch.

'Me? A best man? That's a high honor…I don't know if I should take it…' Naruto thought to himself, looking at the time. It was about 10 PM, and he decided it was about time to hit the sack. Besides, he had to get up tomorrow anyways. He didn't want to carry his sensei's reputation of being two hours late just because he couldn't wake up. Naruto removed his orange and black jacket, slightly altered to fit his toned body, and hung it up on the coat rack next to the door. Removing the rest of his clothes, Naruto got into bed with his red and black boxers that had Konoha's symbol all over them, and slid beneath the covers. It was unusually cold, and Naruto could tell something would be up soon. He soon fell asleep, thinking about tomorrow.

xXLCUXx

The next morning, Naruto awoke at 5:47 AM; he wiped his eyes of sleep, and stretched his arms above his head. He had blond armpit hairs, showing that he had grown a lot during his training and years of life, and he yawned. Naruto scratched his cheeks, and kicked his feet over the side of the bed, placing his feet on the cold floor, and got up. Naruto walked into his bathroom that was across from his bed on the right side, and flickered on the light so he could see. The mirror showed his hair, bedhead, and his eyes droopy. He needed a shower. Naruto removed his boxers, and turned on the shower head. Letting the water run for a bit, he got in, and let the cool water roll over him. He didn't like taking hot showers, as it made him want to sleep, so he took cold ones to wake him up. After fifteen minutes, Naruto turned off the water, and stepped out carefully from the tub.

He wrapped a soft white towel around his waist, and leaned against the counter. Then, he glanced into the mirror; he felt that his hairstyle was getting old. Maybe it was time to change it up. Naruto got out a comb, and began to comb his wet hair forward, instead of back. Instead of it being spiky, it turned out that his hair covered his eyes slightly and there were some points here and there, but he liked it better. After that, he brushed his teeth, applied invisible smooth deodorant, and sprayed on some low-scent cologne. Walking into his bedroom, Naruto headed to his closet.

Today, Naruto wanted to feel different; fresh and new. Of course, he loved the orange jumpsuit…it was his attire for most of his life. But now, he wanted to change. So, Naruto searched through his closet, looking for something other than orange. Alas, there was nothing. Naruto looked at the time on the wall, and noticed that it was about 6:10 AM. He had time to go to a clothing store and get new clothes; luckily, there was one store that was actually open. Naruto put on his regular attire, and slipped on his ninja sandals, also putting on his headband. He walked out the door, and took out his key to lock it.

He made his way towards the store to find new clothes, and smiled. The morning air always soothed Naruto; it was so peaceful, and cold. He liked it. As Naruto arrived at the clothing store, luckily he had one hour to get dressed. Opening the door and walking in, Naruto looked at the cashier, and smiled, "Hey Miss Haruno. How are you this fine morning?" He asked. Sakura's mother, Tairi, smiled and looked at the blond ninja.

"Oh, Naruto! Hello," she greeted, "I'm fine this morning. How 'bout you?"

Naruto walked up to the counter, and smiled, "Fine…I just came to get some new clothes. Can you help me out?" He asked, and Tegome smiled, "No worries! Tired of orange?" She joked, and Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I need something new." He laughed.

Tairi nodded, and disappeared in the back. After fifteen minutes, she came back with a stack of clothes. Naruto picked it up, and nodded before going into one of the dressing rooms. Two or three minutes passed, and Naruto came out. Tairi laughed, "Wow! You look great!" She said, pointing at the mirror. Naruto looked into it, and was shocked himself.

The outfit was WAY better than the normal orange and black attire. He had on a black and red waist length coat that was in between leather and regular cloth. It had a zipper, and fit perfectly on him. On his legs, he had a pair of regular black pants with normal black ninja sandals. He also had a pair of jet black, fingerless gloves on his hands with the Konoha metal plate on the top of them. Naruto laughed, and smiled, "Wow! This looks so cool! Thank you Ms. Haruno!" He said, walking up to the register. "How much?" He asked, taking out his wallet.

Tairi waved her hand downwards, and smiled, "Don't worry about it…this one is on the house." Naruto hesitated, "Are you sure? I am willing to pay." He said, and Tairi shook her head, "Nope! Go ahead. No need to thank me." She said, and Naruto sighed, "Thanks again." He said, before leaving the store.

Sakura's mom smiled. 'Sakura…why can't you see that he's the one for you?' She thought, walking back into the backroom.

Naruto rushed towards the Hokage Tower, and the ANBU nodded, unblocking his way as he arrived. Naruto nodded to them, and walked up the stairs. He knocked, and Kakashi's voice announced, "Come in, Naruto." Naruto opened the door to see Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Neji, and Kakashi all already there. Naruto closed the door behind him, and Sakura blushed at his new appearance.

'He ditched the orange?' She thought to herself, and Ino laughed, putting her hands on her hips, "I like the new look, Naruto," she said, "fits you better." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, and smiled, "Thanks." He took a stand next to Sakura, and waited for Kakashi to speak.

"Well, now that everyone is here, I'd like to tell you all why I assembled you here," he spoke, walking out from behind his desk, "a new organization has risen." Everyone's eyes widened, and Naruto looked at Kakashi in disbelief, "Like Akatsuki?!"

Kakashi reluctantly spoke, "No," he looked out the window, "they are way worse."

A/N: Hope you liked the first chapter of "Sometime Around Midnight"! Reviews would be appreciated, and suggestions would be accepted as well. Thanks for reading, and I'll have the next chapter up soon hopefully!