So first some quick facts about the story before you jump into it:

1. It's AU, but I use a lot of the same concepts, ideas, and character relationships given by Kishimoto. I just made Konoha a country of Planet Earth 2012.

2. The plot's already planned out but not completely written out; it's not going to be abandoned (I just procrastinate a lot).

3. The story title...was chosen almost randomly. It fits the plot vaguely.

4. The first few chapters are fluff, but there's lots of details and foreshadowing that the more astute reader can have fun with. You guys should definitely PM or review me what you think is going to happen next! :)

Anyways, those planning to stick around with me are going to be in for a long ride. I'm actually curious about the results of this story. The couple SakuraSai isn't too canon, so I'm seeing how far this story will shoot.

Aite peeps, enough with my rambling. Let's get on with this story. Here goes nothing!

Enjoy!

Chapter One:

moving in

Sakura woke up before her alarm that morning.

Her eyelids opened, half-dazed, but she quickly snapped into consciousness and searched frantically for her cell phone. It was usually right by her pillow, but she had fallen asleep while texting Ino the night before and in her restless sleep wasn't sure where her phone might have fallen.

She discovered it moments later and cancelled the alarm before it went off, with a mental sigh of relief.

Sakura had woken up about 14 minutes before her alarm would go off at 6:30, and looking down at the half finished text message, finished typing that up and sent it to Ino's number. Ino would probably curse her out later for sending a message that early in the morning, but she knew her pig of a friend was a deep sleeper anyway.

Getting out of bed, she stretched and got ready for her morning run.

divider

She guessed she liked it in the morning, however tiring the running was; it was always nice and peaceful and no one was really awake during that time to actually bother her with anything much.

But what surprised her was that one of the 'On Sale' signs down the street was now gone, a car on the driveway instead. The car was full and someone was at the trunk, sorting out the items. Boxes lay at his feet, and Sakura assumed that he was moving in.

She thought it to be friendly to greet the new neighbor, winding her jogging down to a walk before reaching a finger out to tap his right shoulder.

Sakura was startled—twice. Once because he turned around before she tapped him and once again because he looked like—

"Hi."

Sakura pushed aside her surprise and half stuttered, "Hey," and recalling the rest of what she was planning to say, "Um, just wanted to say 'hi', I live about a few houses down, and, uh, are you moving in?"

"Yeah." He stood up, lanky body surpassing Sakura by a few inches. "Nice to meet you," and he gave her a brief but firm handshake.

"Sakura," she introduced.

"Sai," he replied.

And before awkward silence could claim the rest of their conversation, Sakura commented, "You're up pretty early. I mean, usually people don't do work until way later in the day, especially moving and those sorts of things."

He shrugged. "I'm awake with nothing much else to do." He took another box from his trunk and stacked it on top of another box that was on the driveway cement. "You said you lived around here?"

"Four houses down." She pointed to her sedan when he looked up to see where she was gesturing. "The one with the dark blue car."

"Ah," he replied, returning to lifting boxes, and after a moment, added: "Well, you're a hypocrite."

Guaranteed, Sakura wasn't ready for such an insult in her usually quiet morning. "…What?"

He turned back around to her, pale complexion (she'd say bleached paper white face, but that would be exaggerating) and black eyes locking on her. "I mean, you're up so early, too," he explained. "Running," he clarified.

The small smile he added afterward seemed forcibly tacked on.

She smiled back, with a small laugh. "I just, you know, do what I can to get myself going."

He gave a noncommittal sound. "That's nice of you, though, to introduce yourself."

Sakura took that as a step towards good-bye-have-a-nice-day. "Right, I'm probably going to be late," she looked at her watch, but two minutes wouldn't severely harm her residency at Konoha General Hospital. "Well, I'm sorry if I was interrupting you from anything—"

"Oh, no, it was nothing—"

"—but nice to meet you! I'll see you around!" she exclaimed, beginning to step back and away. "Have a nice day!" she added before running off, relieved that she didn't have to look at this new neighbor's semblance to a friend she once used to know.

laterthatday

"Oiii, Tsunade-sensei!" Sakura groaned to herself, flopping onto her bed when she got home around 6 in the evening.

Geez, she was just a resident.

Well then again, residents always did more work than doctors did, a rite of passage that all physicians had to take.

Still, that woman was crazy.

Sakura stared up at the ceiling before she looked again at the time, sighed, and gathered herself up for her evening job. Walking out of her house (rather a small duplex that she was renting for a relatively low price because Kakashi-sensei, one of her undergrad professors and also the one who recommended her to be able to work with the renown Tsunade-sensei, had connections with other alumni and found the property for her), Sakura grabbed her stack of mail and plopped them in the passenger seat before driving out.

She noticed that—what was his name? Sai?—her new neighbor seemed to have settled in already. The boxes were gone, and there was only a small dim light emitting from his front window.

Well that was quick.

Then again, she remembered that he didn't have too much stuff with him to begin with, having just come in a single car—a black one, she noted as she drove past. She conjured an image of him from memory; he seemed young, maybe late twenties at most (and that was pushing it), and probably was a student somewhere or post grad doing something.

At the stoplight of the block, Sakura reached over to shuffle through the spam mail and bills that she had placed in the passenger seat. Her hands nudged an ad off the top of another envelope and she gave a quiet gasp when she saw the familiar male handwriting.

Screw the green light; she had to read this.

Sakura, as quickly as possible, tore open the envelope, seeing nothing on the top left corner for a return address and trying not to damage the letter inside. She flipped the letter open, but the creases prevented her from reading the actual letter while she pressed the gas pedal after noticing another car coming down the street.

Discouraged, she threw the unread letter back to the side and now drove anxiously to Ichiraku.

She parked in the employee area and shut down her car before reaching back to the letter, noticing the letter's date from about two weeks earlier.

Sakura!

Naruto, she greeted back mentally, reading the exclamation mark. Ever optimistic, wasn't he?

...

Sakura!

Everything's going fine. Quit worrying about me! I'm safe and sound, as ever, believe it!

Well actually, no, the only thing that's being shitty is the General. We call him Frog General but his real name is Jiraiya something or the other. He's just making us do some ridiculous drills that I fail to see the point of, especially since we're wasting our energy and time stalling around when the other army groups have already headed out to the fronts—like, the REAL ones. But that's all that's really happening with me, not much else going on but testosterone and muscle building. I'd say I was homesick but I've made a good deal of friends here in the new unit so it's all pretty cool. Just do me a favor and make sure no one is hijacking my apartment while I'm out here; it'd suck to come home and not have a bed anymore. I forgot whether or not I locked the door before leaving, and you know where I hide the spare keys.

Glad to hear about your acceptance into the residency with what's-her-face! I knew you could do it! Just don't stress yourself out too much like you always like to do; you're going to get wrinkles imprinted on your face—even more than CHIYO-sensei! Anyways, tell everyone I said 'hi' as usual.

Hugs and stuff,

Y'already know who has THIS bad of a handwriting

...

Sakura couldn't help but give a small smile when seeing the ink curl at his last word.

But, sorry Naruto, she couldn't help but worry about him while he was out there.

aflashback!

Naruto downed the last of his fourth bowl of ramen noodles, scooping the remains out into his mouth using the wooden chopsticks that Sakura had handed over to him. He gave a hot sigh of satisfaction when he lifted the bowl from his mouth and stacked it on top of the other finished ones.

"Another shot?" Sakura asked, stirring spoon in her hand.

"Nah, I just wanted to visit you at the shop. Is Ayame-chan still making you do all the work while she flirts around with Kaka-sensei?"

"Pretty much," Sakura rolled her eyes and looked behind her to see if said person was there to overhear their conversation. "That's a big snack for just a visit though," Sakura pointed out.

"Well, kill two birds with one stone, right? You know I can't cook for shit. I can't even tell if milk is spoiled and I burn water."

"True," she agreed, and reached over the counter to fetch Naruto's empty bowls.

Naruto stopped her with a hand and stood up to take his bowls over to her sick behind the counter himself, even taking the sponge and cleaning the dishes.

Sakura smiled to herself, touched.

Naruto did too much for her, going out of his way all the time for her ever since she met him in primary school. He was truly a good friend, someone that stayed for the entire journey.

Unlike some other friend—

"So," Naruto suddenly blurted in the middle of the clinking in the sink.

"Hm?"

"I just wanted to tell you something."

Sakura paused in thought for a moment. "…go ahead."

"Just…don't get upset or something. Promise me that."

She breathed out sharply. "Naruto, if this is something that you know I'm not going to—"

"No, just hear me out, okay?" and Sakura shut her mouth while Naruto continued, "I've decided to join the Army."

She said nothing for a moment, before saying, "Weren't you already in the Army Reserve?"

"Yeah, but I just volunteered to actually go out into the—"

"The frontlines?" Sakura gasped. "Why? Why on earth would you think of putting yourself out like that? Do they need you out there?"

Naruto shut the water. He sighed and turned to face her. "Regardless of what's on KonohaTV, there are always people fighting out there for us. They can always use the extra help, and I can provide it." He held up a hand to motion for her to let him finish talking. "I mean, I'm just taking a year off before going into the workforce. I figured that I have nothing better to do and nothing else is going to make me be stronger than the war experience."

She tried to keep her answer as supportive as possible, even though she was intensely worried about Naruto's decision. Wasn't being in the Reserve risky enough? They could call him to battle at any time if he was enlisted in that program! And now, he was taking the job itself even though they hadn't called him? Sakura guessed that maybe Naruto didn't want to risk being taken away without warning, but even then…was that a real reason to volunteer himself out there?

"Well, where are you going? And how do you know that you're going to be back in a year? They might have you there for like…I don't know, more time than a year."

Naruto shrugged folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the sink. "I don't know where I'm going to be assigned. I…I don't really know how to explain it. I just feel like…I'd be a better person if I went out there and fought for Konoha myself. I don't know, that's just how I feel. And I hear all these stories from veterans and they cursed shit about the battleground, but I guarantee you that each and every one of them didn't regret taking that step forward to fight. It's like…honor, Sakura, I don't know how to explain it. I just want to be part of that. I want to feel that." He looked back up at her. "You understand?"

Sakura honestly shook her head no, but added, "That's okay. You do what you want."

He said nothing, but then shook his head as well. "No, you're disapproving."

She more vigorously shook her head. "No, I'm fine with your decision. I'm just worried about you."

"Please don't. You worrying is the last thing I want."

backtothepresent

Sakura placed Naruto's letter aside, carefully back into its envelope and stepped out of her car, locking it before heading toward the back employee entrance of Ichiraku, where she held a part-time job in the weekday evenings, just to get a head start in financial balance rather than starting from a pure zero after all her medical training was done.

She needed to keep herself occupied anyway.

"Sakuraaaaaa!" Ayame greeted when Sakura opened the door to the kitchen.

"Hey," Sakura replied as she reached for an apron and tied up her hair. "Naruto-kun says 'hi'. He says 'hi' to your 'tou-san, too, I guess."

"A letter back from him?"

Sakura let out an affirmative grunt.

"He's doing fine?"

"Apparently."

"That's good to know," Ayame said, picking a bad noodle out of the boiling pot. "Could you do the counter today? I feel like cooking today."

Sakura headed over to the front, but seeing that Teuchi-san had taken care of the orders already and that there were no customers in line at the moment, pulled out a pen from her pocket and snatched one of the outdated flyers on the counter, flipping it to the back.

Naruto, she started to write.

What to say? Was there much to ask? He probably wouldn't be able to give her any information aside from his General's name anyway. And she didn't have anything interesting to say on her side anyway, besides the fact that perhaps she missed him and another reminder to not do anything stupid.

The door of the ramen shop opened and Sakura tucked aside her incomplete reply to Naruto, looking up and ready to take this customer's order.

Oh.

She saw in his slightly surprised gaze that he hadn't been expecting to see her either.

"Hi," she smiled, and he nodded.

"Didn't know you worked here," he said, pulling out a wallet while checking out the prices on the menu above her head.

"Only weekday evenings."

He gave a silent laugh. "That might as well be full-time."

She typed in his order and gave him the change before attempting to recall his name from the morning.

"Sai, right?"

"Sakura?"

And she confirmed.

"You'll be seeing me a lot, I guess, then," Sai said. "I can't cook for shit."

She laughed quietly, covering her mouth and avoiding the awkwardness.

Ayame stepped out of the kitchen in curiosity of Sakura's giggles. Ayame's eyebrow rose when seeing Sai talking to Sakura from across the counter, although clearly his order had already been transacted.

"Stop flirting and get back to work, Sakura-chan," Ayame teased her soon after Sai had exited the ramen shop. "Your boyfriend wouldn't like you off task, now would he?"

Sakura's face soured. "Ayame, he and I are not like you and Kakashi-sensei."

"Hey! SHHH!" Ayame hissed at her. "It's not even official yet!"

Though Sakura knew Ayame was just joking, she still couldn't let her tense frown go from Ayame's teasing.

Boyfriend?

Oh no, Sasuke was far from that.

Ah…just realized that this happens to be my 69th story…well then. Review please!

thir13enth (who also just realized that she just passed her seventh year anniversary on Fanfiction! Geez, how time flies by!)