Sakura stamped down an uncharitable retort (along the lines of 'But I don't want them to have a good time!') and rested her chin on her palm. OK, so she had admitted to herself... and Kiba... that she maybe liked Naruto in more ways than she thought she did, that she liked him in that way - a little. Well, more than a little. (She still hadn't quite got her head around the fact that she could actually feel that way about him, that she could - Oh great now she was thinking about him again). With a grimace, she refilled her cup and gulped down another measure of sake.

Naruto had found a new second favourite dish. Supa-ghetti, or whatever it was called, was like a chunky sort of noodle coated in the most AMAZING red sauce - the flavour was like a punch, spicy and rich and different and... all but impossible to eat with these sodding forks. He swore as his spaghetti fell back onto his plate for the third time in a row and gave it a forlorn look. The downside of the red sauce - it was red. And seemed to want to be everywhere. He blinked when he heard a light chuckle, and looked up in surprise. Hinata, who had red sauce on her cheek (Naruto suppressed a snort of laughter, he was probably messier) had a hand in front of her mouth and her shoulders were shaking slightly. A grin spread across his face. "You're laughing at me," he accused. He was glad - Hinata had seemed a little reserved at first, and it had been an effort not to simply drown her out with his chatter, but talking about her teammates seemed to loosen her up a little and they had been able to talk a bit easier as the meal went on.

"I think I'm drunk," Sakura lay her flushed face against the coolness of the table top and hoped the room would stop spinning. Kiba, who wasn't much better off, happily refilled her cup, making her giggle. They had long since finished the first jug of sake, which was when she had thought she would stop... but carrying on just seemed easier. And more fun. "I sh-shouldn be had any more," she said, and swallowed it down, vaguely wondering why that sentence didn't seem quite right. "Why'd you want to get me drunk? Huh? Kibaa..." she blinked. "Hey, I'm hungry! Let's get somethig to eat! I didn eat anything since lunch!"

Kiba blinked once before shaking his head. ''No i want to stay here'' but his voice really didnt sounded very clear anymore. He poured himself some more sake and drank it in one go. ''just admit it Sakura-chan you like being here with me dont you?'' and moved a little closer towards his pink haired friend. And before Sakura was even able to react kiba had come very close to her face and roughly licked her on the right cheek,before he sat back down on his chair and laughed quite hard.
'''Right Sakura-chan you like me dont you?'' and grinned foolishly.

Meanwhile not far away from were Sakura and Kiba were seated one of Sakuras close friends Ino stood observing the two of them and was very confused with the actions ether Kiba and Sakura were making. Why are you drunk Sakura?' was what the blond woman thought and shook her head but knew that if she were to go to them now all she was going to get was nothing but meaningless talk. She signed and decided to keep watch for a bit longer.

Hinata giggled some more and removed her hand before her mouth. ''Naruto-kun?'' i am sorry but your actions you made when eating this different food made me unable to stop myself from laughing'' but its quite tasteful And took another bite.

Sakura blinked blearily at Kiba and then burst into giggles, pointing at him. "Y-you licked mee," she choked out. "Like a dog! Ahahaha," and she collapsed onto the table, laughing. And then, with a fuzzy idea of FUNNN she lunged and wrapped her arms round Kiba with a poor impersonation of a growl. "Pleeease Kibaa," she whined. "I'm hungryyyy!" and she did her best attempt at puppydog eyes, which she couldn't hold for long before giggling again. "I like you lotsshhhh if you feed me! Even more than baka Naruto-shama!" She blinked. Ehh? She didn't usually call him Naruto-sama, did she? But then, what did she call him? Not just Naruto - he could never be just Naruto... he was the Hokage, the strongest shinobi in the village - in the whole world, if you asked her, with spirit enough for ten hokages and she called him an idiot but really he could be the most brilliant man and he had the bluest eyes and the brightest smile and - and he was on a date right now while she was here getting drunk...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden feeling of nausea. "Kiba," she moaned. "Feel sick," and she lurched from the table, blindly searching for the bathroom... or at least a door.

By this time Naruto and Hinata were enjoying a sweet alcohol-laced desert. The wine had relaxed them both a little and they talked easily. Naruto licked his spoon and eyed his date's half-finished desert. "Hey, Hinata - want me to help you finish?" and he offered a cheeky grin.

Kiba laughed even louder and didnt mind at all when Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck. He had enough alcohol tonight and finally gave in to her whining. ''Ohh you want me to feed you huh?'' why not i rather hungry myself'' But when Sakura knelt down on the ground complaining about being sick he with much trouble managed to get her to the ladys room and waited outside leaning against the wall. well tried to with his head spinning this much from all the sake that he had drank didnt made it all that easy to keep his balance.

Hinatas face turned completely red when Naruto offered to help her finish her dessert and all she could really do was nod meekly. while staring at her dessert suddenly feeling very shy and uneasy.

Sakura washed her mouth out and squinted at the clock on the wall of the bathroom. Midnight already? Ugh, drinking was horrible, she was never doing it again ever. Still, she felt a bit better now, she could almost walk straight and finding the door to leave wasn't as difficult as it had been on the way in. She looked around for Kiba, wondering if he'd gone back to the table without her, the meanie, before she spotted him sitting on the floor. Giggling, she poked him with her foot. "Why are you on the floor, stupid?"

Kiba blinked at her and lurched to his feet, and they wondered out of the bar leaning against each other for support. Halfway down the street Sakura halted. "Where are we going?" she wondered out loud. Kiba reminded her about getting something to eat, and she pulled a face. "Ewww, I can't eat anything now, it might -" she was interrupted by her stomach rumbling. "Eh...heh... maybe something small."

Naruto pulled back where he had been about to reach over with his fork when he saw Hinata's expression. "Uh, was that the wrong thing to say?" he frowned in confusion. "You.. you go ahead and finish it. It is yours after all! Ahaha," great now he had made her feel awkward. And things had been going so well - he scratched the back of his neck, wondering what to say. Luckily she seemed to recover, and they sat and talked over drinks until he realised everyone around them was leaving or had already gone. They thanked Carina, who looked embarrassed when he tried to pay and point blank refused him, and then headed off down the street. "Ummm, Hinata? D'you want to walk for a bit instead of going home? We could sit by the lake or.. something." He waited for her answer, hoping she had been having a good time.

Sakura giggled as she tripped over a rock, almost dragging Kiba down as he was leaning on her. "Whoops," she caught his yakitori skewer before it fell to the ground from his hand over her shoulder, and then began to eat it herself. He didn't notice at first, and then began trying to snatch it back before she finished it, which was even funnier. It was as she was trying to pull away that she caught a familiar flash of blonde hair - without thinking, she grabbed Kiba's arm and dragged him into the nearest doorway, another bar. It took her a moment to realise she had been running away from Naruto. She peered through the window, absently ordering more sake (she was going to regret that later), and watched Hinata and Naruto walk past. They were talking. They looked happy.

Kiba struggled to stand on his feet leaning on Sakura for support. with all the sake that he had been drinking made his mind all blurry and he didnt saw very well ether anymore. But when Sakura all but dragged him in yet another bar, he managed to look outside for a split second and thought he saw Naruto and Hinata pass them by. and wondered if that might be the reason why she had pushed him inside the bar.

He blinked a couple of times to make his eyes getting used to the brigth light that shone in this bar and followed Sakura inside further.

''Sakura heeh another round then huh?'' He grabbed the bottle that stood in front of him and chuckled loudly. not really able to say anything clearly without laughing,before he gulped it down without much trouble.

Hinata gave a soft nod and gave him a friendly smile. ''That be lovely Naruto-kun'' Show me the way''

She felt really content right now walking side by side with Naruto like this. He had been such a gentleman all evening which had surprised her a little. It made her wonder if he was enjoying this nigth just as much as she did.

''Uhhm Naruto-kun i was wondering if you enjoyed tonight with uh me ?'' and kept her face back at the ground the minute his eyes met with hers again.

Naruto ducked his head to get a better look at Hinata's face again. Why did she always try to hide from him? It made him feel kind of awkward, and like he'd done something wrong. "Sure, Hinata! I had a good time! It's really great when you're not being scared of me and we can talk! Ahaha," oh, that was really tactfully put, Naruto. He winced. "I mean... ah, when you're nervous - it makes me feel kind of nervous too," he gave a sheepish grin. "I guess I'm not good at being.. you know um, subtle." By this time they were walking along a quiet path by the lake, watching the further lights of the village reflect off the water. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and felt his face heat slightly at what he was about to say. "Hinata do you... really love me that much? I mean, I... I never wanted to cause you pain. I want to know you better. Would it... hurt you... if we were friends?" he hoped she understood what he was saying, that he knew what it felt like to be hurt by unrequited love - that he would understand if she would find it painful being friends when he wasn't offering anything more. Maybe she would rather distance herself... he didn't know what else to say.

Sakura watched the room swaying as Kiba let out another shout of laughter, and wondered vaguely if she was going to be sick again. Or had that happened a different night? Ugh man, five minutes ago she had been singing with Kiba and now she was really sleepy. Strangely, the loud voices of the bar were kind of soothing, she could just close her eyes for a bit. She listened to Kiba yelling cheerfully for a refill on their sake, his voice growing fuzzy and distant as she felt herself sinking in her chair. Well, his shoulder was kind of comfy, she would just rest on it until everything stopped swaying like a ship at sea... She flopped against Kiba's side.

When Naruto confessed to her to only wanted to be friends she really wasn t surprised all that much and gave a soft sighn before she replied back. ''I am glad you enjoyed tonight Naruto-kun i really am.. she stopped talking for a sec and continued then. ''And being your friend is very special to me I know you cant ever really love me in the way that I do, i know Sakura is far more special then me in your heart, but thats ok it makes me satisfied with only being your friend Naruto-kun''

and for the first time that nigth she really looked at him without ducking away whenever their eyes met and gave him a confident smile, happy to look at him with new found strength, knowing that tonight had been special for the both of them.

Kiba didnt even notice Sakura falling asleep on his shoulder until he wanted to refill his cup and heard a soft snore coming from the pink haired woman besides him he gave her a confused look and blinked once before he was able to shake her awake. ''Heey Sakura wake uppp.. youu cantt sleepp hereee'' he grabbed her shoulder and tried to wake her up.

"Eh... weh..." Sakura half woke up and found herself leaning against something warm and sturdy. Naruto, her mind translated, and her muzzy thoughts decided it was a good idea to wrap her arms round him and hold on tight - usually she would be more likely to leap back with an angry yell than do something like that, but right now it didn't seem to matter so much, in fact she couldn't remember why she wouldn't want to. She squeezed, snuggling her head against his shoulder with a smile.

He smelled of dog. How strange. That wasn't his usual scent at all.

.

.

Must have been hanging out with Kiba.

Naruto met Hinata's eyes and smiled warmly. "You're still one of my precious people, Hinata," he blushed a little at the admission. "And who knows, maybe one day I'll stop loving... well... But you shouldn't wait around! There are lots of people who care about you, and someone will love you as much as you deserve! You should keep an eye out for them, right?" He grinned, but it slowly faded. "I'm bring hypocritical, aren't I? I'm... sorry." I can't imagine being able to look at someone else. "But... we'll always be friends, Hinata, I won't ever turn my back on you. It's a promise! And I never go back on my word!"

Kiba signed and decided it was about time they headed back home. he was barley even able to think clearly any more. standing up with Sakura still snuggled up against his shoulder he stumpled very slowly away from their table and with much blinking of his eyes made him able to see the exit just enough to walk towards it.

''Come lets get back homeee'' he said with a loud voice and stumbled outside.

Akamaru saw them coming back out of the bar and yawned when he stood up from the ground.

his master really went to spend lots of time inside a bar drinking this night, the dog thought when he went to greet him and the weird colored girl he seemed to be hanging with tonight.

Akamaru ran towards Kiba and stood up on his high legs to lick him in the face happily. But kiba who still was very much under the influence of all the sake that he drank wasnt able to see the dog coming running towards him that he and Sakura both fall down on the ground hard.

''Akamaru heey boy whattt you doinggg here'' Kiba said sounding very confused.

The dog turned his head and barked loudly. ''What ohh yes we need to get bacckk home'' Kiba translated his dogs words and tried to stand back up on his feet.

Akamaru all ready knew that without his help he never was going to stand up until the next morning, so he quickly came to his masters aid and knelt down for both Kiba and Sakura to climb on his back.

Kiba blinked his eyes and grabbed some of his dogs fur in his hand there by also helping Sakura get back up behind him. When the dog thought Kiba was seated safety enough he started to run in a swift pace back to their home.


Hinata giggled at his words and gave a soft nod. ''I will remember it always Naruto-kun and gave a soft smile in return. She supressed a small yawn and looked at her watch. ''Uhm Naruto-kun I think its best that you should walk me home now ore else father is going to be very mad its getting pretty late after all'' and waited for Naruto to respond back.

"Sure Hinata! I should probably get to bed too," he stifled a yawn, "'s tough being Hokage," and he grinned. They walked side by side back to the Hyuuga residence, smiling. Naruto said his goodbyes on the doorstep and made his way through the quiet streets back to the Hokage residence. He paused after shutting the door behind him, drinking in the empty shadows and not bothering to turn on the light as he made his way to bed.

Sakura dragged herself out of a crazy dream with a groan. What the hell happened? Oh no wait, she winced as her headache spun and pictures from the night before began to seep into her mind. I think I may have gotten horribly drunk. And then what? Did they go to more than one bar or was she just confused? She couldn't remember anything too clearly from her sixth cup onwards, although she had a weird memory of bouncing around on Akamaru that might have been a dream. Groggily, she opened her eyes and groaned at the light in her eyes. As the room came into focus she felt a delayed sense of panic - this wasn't her room! Where the hell was she?! She froze as she heard a soft snore, and turned her head very slowly. She was in a bed that wasn't hers... and Kiba was sprawled half of the bed next to her. With a yelp of shock and horror, she lurched backwards, and then moaned in pain when her head protested and her leap sent her off the side of the bed. Landing in a heap, she clutched her head. OhgodohgodwhatdidIdowhenIwasdrunk?! Please tell me I didn't... with Kiba... she buried her face in her hands, not noticing that the both of them were still fully dressed.

Kiba moved around a bit when he heard a loud yell coming from close by and softly growled a little when his eyes met with the light of the room but what he saw when opening his eyes made him yelp as well and moved away from the bed swiftly. omg we didnt no this cant be true all did was taking her out for some drinks and that made us really drunk Clutching his head Kiba slowly stood up again and tried to think of how this might have happend. ''Sakura uhh i am really confused here did i do anything to you last night? i cant really remember anything all that much. and ohhh my head is really killing me here arrgh'' and made himself sit down on the bed while still clutching his head.

With a groan, Sakura tipped forward and let her head rest on the side of the bed. "Ohgod, please don't talk so loud. Did we... what did we do?" she couldn't bring herself to look at Kiba. I can't believe I woke up in his bed. We didn't... did we? I can't remember anything! I am never touching sake again, dammit! Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the window and she looked up to see two small birds perched on the windowsill. "A mission? Guh, now?" she struggled to her feet and realised with relief that she had slept in her clothes. She saw from Kiba's slump that he had noticed it too - geez he didn't have to look that relieved. "Um, Kiba? Can I borrow your shower? I guess I'll just have to wear this... oh, damn. I don't suppose your sister has any clothes I can borrow?" she hated wearing dirty clothes, and the rumpled ones she had on were hardly suitable for a mission.

Naruto stretched back in his chair as the ANBU captain he had been briefing disappeared. He had woken up in good spirits that morning and after dragging himself out of bed (why was it that no matter how big his bed - and this one was pretty big - he always managed to pull the covers off and throw the pillows on the floor? Yesterday he'd fallen out of it too) and eating two cups of ramen had hurried out to get in a quick warm up. He was interrupted halfway through his katas by a messenger with an urgent message from the Daimyo - having read it, he wasted no time summoning who he needed and made his way back to the hokage tower to brief the team.

Kiba shook his head and growled when the headache that he felt right now really started to became worse.

''Sakura please i cant really concentrate on what you are saying when my head is really given me trouble'' And growled once more.

''Let me get a painkiller first, while you borrow my shower, its around the corner you cant miss it''

Without given her any further instructions of what she could do grabbed the door frame to very slowly making his way towards his kitchen to grab the antidote for his head killing headache.

When he finally arrived at his destination, he quickly pushed open one of his kitchen closets and grabbed his medicine box to take out a small bottle with small pink tablets inside of it. opening it with great hurry he took two of the small tablets in his hands, went to the sink, made himself some glass of water and took them in his mouth,swallowed took some water after it and signed in relief when he slowly felt the headache started to fade from his head bit by bit.

But then he remembered Sakura was still inside of his apartment room and a slight panic started to spread through his mind.

She was inside his shower now and with her complains about needing new clothes made Kiba rack his brain of were to get them. Slightly annoyed with himself he went through his messy uncombed hair and gave up. Maybe the mission wasnt anything special and would give her enough time to go get some new clothes to change into. With that thought in mind made Kiba walk back to his own room to grab some fresh washed clothes and changed quickly.

They were in a hurry soo that made his decision of what to wear simple.

All he needed was his ambu uniform, his mask, his black t shirt, his black pants and his ninja sandals.

in case it was a dangerous mission,he grabbed his collection of suriken and kunai that would make him prepared enough if there was to be a fight.

Taking a deep breath Kiba walked back to his bathroom and knocked on the door softly.

''Sakura uhm I wasn't able to find you some new clothes to wear but maybe you will have the change to get back to your own home before we need to leave.. he waited till she responded to his words and hoped she wasnt all that mad. you never knew how she would reacted to bad news was one thing Kiba knew all too well.

That same morning Hyuga Hinata had woken up with a smile upon her face. after her date with Naruto everything had become clear to the young woman. She was finally able to go on with her live and with Naruto calling her one of his special people made her feel very cheerful and happy this morning.

She could'nt wait to tell Kiba the news. But when she thought of Kiba she became worried once more what had he been doing while she went on her date, she hoped nothing awful.

Well knowing Kiba he probably had searched up one of his friends to hang out with and just enjoy himself while he had the time. yes that probably might be it Hinata thought and grabbed her brush to comb her hair. fully satisfied with that answer.

Sakura frowned as she put on the same clothes she had slept in. They were icky and no way was she going to sniff them... god this had better not be one of Naruto's stupid 'friendly' missions or she'd kill him. She really wanted to change... but friend or not, when the hokage summoned, you went with all haste. At least she had dealt with her headache - a hot shower, a big glass of water and some healing ninjutsu and she no longer felt like the sky was crushing her. They left the house together bleary eyed, chewing on fruit for breakfast, and failed to notice Ino quickly whip out of sight round the corner of a nearby house. She had been walking to her usual training ground to meet her team... she hadn't expected this. Sakura... spent the night? No way! Kiba and Sakura? I don't believe it I was sure she had a thing for Naruto... she watched them leave, her mind working a mile a minute as it digested this interesting new development.

Naruto sealed his hastily written message just as Kiba and Sakura entered the room. He stared at them in surprise - they weren't dressed for a mission at all, in fact they both looked like they slept in their clothes. What was going on? He shook his head abruptly, this was no time to think of things like that. "I'll be quick," he said, "I've already briefed Aoki, who will be your captain for this mission. I received a message this morning from the capital - the daughter of the Daimyo of the Land of Water, who was visiting her cousins there, has been kidnapped. Half the shinobi assigned to guard our Daimyo and his family are already in pursuit, and it may be that by the time you arrive this will already have been resolved - however they may well need back-up. I'm sending a team made up of my best tracker and medic nin to assist, along with Sai who is skilled in covert ops. The little girl was taken without any of the guardsmen noticing, so there is a strong chance that enemy ninja could be involved. This could become an international incident. She needs to be rescued as quickly and discreetly as possible - When you have her safely back," the gaze he fixed on them conveyed his faith in their ability to succeed, "I want you to do everything needed to make sure that things are resolved. Peacefully. If that means escorting her back to her home country, send me a mission request and I'll sign off on it. Understood?" He waited for their nods, and then rubbed his forehead (a gesture he'd picked up since becoming hokage and discovering what stress was). "You'd better swing by the ANBU quarters to pick up some gear," Sakura flushed at his frown directed at her rumpled civilian garb. She'd never felt so irresponsible. "Your team meets at the main gate in 15 minutes. Oh and take this with you, it's to be delivered to the Daimyo. Go."