Zenith- the strongest or most successful period of time; the highest point reached in the sky by the sun, moon, etc.

xoxoxoxo

"I always thought I'd get married before you forehead."

Sakura smiled, taking a sip of her tea. She'd invited Ino over to talk about maid of honor issues, but more than that she just needed a friend to talk to. It had been so long since she'd had a little quality time with a girl, and Ino knew her almost as well as Naruto. She was comfortable with her.

"I always thought I'd marry Sasuke." Sakura admitted, chuckling after her statement. The boy in question was roped into being Naruto's best man, and he was none too happy about that. She'd ended up having to go and ask him herself, even stooping as low as to say he owed them before he begrudgingly agreed.

"I always thought you'd get him." Ino replied. "I guess that means he's up for grabs."

Sakura shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Good luck with your childhood fantasies Ino-pig."

"I was only kidding forehead. Oh!" Ino reached down beside the couch they'd been sitting on, lifting up a box. "Speaking of childhood, I hope you remember this old thing."

Sakura gasped, touching the outside of the cardboard box like it was precious glass.

"I had forgotten about this!"

Ino slipped the lid off, revealing the contents. Inside were a few notes, practice shurikan, dolls, pictures, and a few other random objects. Sakura pulled out one of the kunai, laughing as she touched the edge of the dulled blade.

"I remember this old thing. It was my favorite kunai. Sasuke dropped it one day and I stole it. It became one of my most prized possessions."

Ino pulled out an old candy wrapped. "This was from the first Valentine's day gift you got. It was a lollipop from Kiba."

"The only reason he even gave it to me was because he hated the smell of it and it matched my hair color." Sakura mused. Still, even while knowing that she had been happy to receive it.

"We traded boxes so that we wouldn't look into them again until the day we got married. You should go through this thing with Naruto. It'll give you two something to laugh about together. After all I'm sure the two of you have been stressed, with the wedding being only a week away and all."

Sakura groaned. "Oh no…I forgot again."

"How do you forget your own wedding?"

"No," Sakura mumbled. "I forgot about the vows. That's what I've been trying to write these past few weeks. Even Naruto finished writing his."

Ino patted her on the back. "Can't help you there. Not unless you want them to sound something like, I can't wait to have you in bed."

"Ino-pig!"

Xoxoxoxo

Sakura layed on her bed, fingering the edge of the box Ino had given her earlier. Naruto was out with Sasuke getting some ramen, and since it was already late they'd probably stay a while. That meant she had the house to herself for a while.

Normally that would have been great news, but she had a mission to complete.

"Stupid vows." She grumbled, slipping her hand inside her box. "I don't see why that knucklehead just can't skip that part and be done with it. At the very least we could have used the optional ones."

Her hand slid along the sides until something sharp nicked her palm.

"Ow!" Sakura growled, yanking her hand out. "Stupid box."

She peeked in to see what had cut her and found an old kunai. A small drop of her blood had gotten on something underneath it though. She pushed the kunai aside and picked up what appeared to be an envelope.

"My best friend project." Sakura frowned, breaking the seal on the envelope. She recognized the first paper as the instructions Iruka would hand out before leaving them to work. She always kept them with her assignments back then, so she could keep them orderly and neat.

Her eyes widened as she read the familiar instructions.

Due to the increase in physical fights and arguments in the Academy between students, the teachers have agreed that a lesson in friendship is necessary. This assignment is mandatory for all students and will be graded on a strict performance scale.

The assignment is simple.

Think of one student in the academy (not restricted to just our class) that you have either had a fight with, or simply dislike for whatever reason.

Write a one page letter to them describing the strengths they possess as a person. These can be traits you wish you had, skills you admire, etc…

Show the completed letter to your teacher when you're finished, seal it in an envelope, and give it to the person you've written to.

At the bottom of the sheet was the grade she had received at the end of that day.

Letter completion: A+

Letter specifications met: A+

Follow through: F

A lot of students had received the same grade she had. All of them except a small few had been willing to do the assignment, but giving it to someone they didn't like was where they drew the line. Ino had followed through, giving her the letter. She'd torn it apart without even reading it though. People like Naruto and Kiba had refused to even write the letter in the first place.

She'd written it of course, for the grade. She'd briefly considered writing to Ino, but there had been one person she'd hated more than the blonde girl.

"Dear Naruto Uzumaki,"

Xoxoxoxo

"You're brash, reckless, and the biggest idiot I've ever seen. You're always off getting into trouble and trying to start something with anyone who looks at you wrong. You are the worst student in the class behavioral wise and academically and you have earned that title truly."

Sakura kept her eyes downcast on the letter in her hands, instead of up at the man she was about to be officially married to. She could only imagine the look on his face now, and it would only make her nervous to see it. She wanted him to hear this letter, more than anything.

"Yet, at this moment in time I am forced to look at you in a new light. To start with I'd like to say that you aren't terrible to look at. I think with time you'll grow up to be a handsome man. I doubt you'll have as many fans as Sasuke does, but perhaps a few."

"You need to stop being such a loner though. Some days I think you like to be alone, and then others I notice the small things. Not to say I'm looking at you a lot, but I do notice. The way your eyes linger to long on a group of people laughing, or the way you sit on the swing outside the Academy. I used to sit alone to, when I was smaller. While I still think you are stupid, I also think it's really brave of you to keep trying like you do."

Sakura felt her eyes water, looking to the end of the note.

"I think your dream is really admirable, but you have it all wrong. If you want to be Hokage just to prove you're strong or something then you are going about it the wrong way. Perhaps someday you really will be the strongest ninja in the village, but that won't make you Hokage. People make you Hokage. Without the support of others you will never get anywhere and I guess that's why I hate you. You try to do everything on your own and focus on stuff that isn't even important. Hurry and grow up."

She felt Naruto's hand on her arm, sliding to her hand that was gripping the letter.

"In the mean time I'll try and grow up too. When we're both grown up I'll promise to stop hating you. Who knows, maybe we will even be best friends one day."

Naruto's free hand slid under her chin, and she finally met his eyes.

"Why didn't you give me that letter? Why now?"

There were two reasons why she didn't give Naruto the letter that day. One being because she was embarrassed by what she had written. The second reason was because Naruto had the most letters given to him out of the entire class. When she'd started walking toward his desk he'd just looked at her like he was going to cry. If she'd given him that letter, he probably would have never even read it. He would have assumed she hated him like everyone else.

For some reason, even though she had hated him, she didn't want to see him suffer.

"I wasn't ready to change anything between us. I wasn't the girl I am now. I just wanted you to know that even back then, as a shallow little girl that didn't like you; I still knew that someday you'd be someone important. I finally grew up."

Naruto smiled, caressing the ring on her finger. "It's not fair, you know."

"What isn't fair?"

"I wrote you forty-three letters, and you only wrote me one."

"I now pronounce you man and wife…"

"I'd rather tell you how I feel now."

"You may kiss the bride."

Naruto moved his hands around her waist, brushing his nose against hers. "I couldn't ask for anything better."

As the crowd of people cheered for the happy couple, one voice in particular managed to reach Sakura's ears.

"Would you like to share my home tonight?" Sai.

"Why would I want to do that?" That one was Sasuke.

"I have heard that intercourse between shinobi can be loud and destructive. Seeing as you live with them I had thought you may want to be away from that. Then again, you have kissed Naruto so maybe…"

He never saw her fist coming.

Xoxoxo

FINALLY! It is finished. Thank you faithful reviewers and readers who have stuck by me these many chapters. (Also thanks Guest for the word suggestion. It really stuck with me). This one was extra difficult to write because I wanted to end it with a bang somehow. I hope it met expectations.

I will hopefully be starting a new story, but I have yet to decide the pairing. Good luck to me.

Just a note, this is the first story I've ever finished on Fan fiction. I feel somewhat accomplished. Also I did go over this chapter for errors more than usually, but I am human. Forgive me.

Thanks again! I look forward to reviews!