Sakura

A pinkheaded genin that was on his own team sat there at a stool in Ichiraku Ramen-bar. She held a glass of water in her hand and seemed more busy with just staring at it than even noticing him. Or anyone else, for that matter.

"Oh, hi Sakura-chaaan!", Naruto greeted his teammate with exuberance.

Strangely, he wasn't greeted with the same kind of sullenness that he knew from Ino this morning. "Hello, Naruto.", Sakura said, although there was also a hint of annoyance in her voice. Then she turned to looking at the water inside her glass.

Naruto couldn't help but notice it again. What was with them? Was being on a team with each other really that? Was that really it? Naruto had to ask. "Oh? What's wrong with you?", he asked.

Sakura sighed before turning to glare at him. "Just thinking that I have to make do with you and Ino-pig being my teammates.", she answered.

Naruto had to fight the reflex of rolling his eyes, yet he didn't say anything to that.

"At least Kurenai-sensei seems reasonable. But really, what am I going to do with the two of you?", Sakura said, more to herself than to the very person she was talking about.

"Don't you think you're a bit harsh, Sakura-chan?", Naruto asked her. Honestly, she could've been off much worse.

But Sakura didn't think so, obviously. "Not at all.", she answered promptly.

Naruto wondered. Why was it that Ino and her always bickered and fought each other? They've always been like this ever since he had first seen them in the academy. That was the very day he had crushed on Sakura, too.

"Naruto, I want to ask you something.", Sakura then said out of the blue.

Not one to deny a girl a favor, Naruto looked at her questioningly, wondering what this was all about. "Umm, alright?", he agreed.

Sakura took a little breath to prepare her for the next question. What was she going to ask, Naruto wondered. "Who do you think will get Sasuke? Ino or me?", she then demanded to know from him.

Naruto sweatdropped. "What kind of a questions is that? Uh, how would I know?", he asked in return.

The reason to Sakura was simple. "Because you're a guy, geez! Who would you prefer, Naruto?", she pressured him again for an answer.

Being cornered like this, Naruto chose the most sensible answer. "You of course, Sakura-chan.", he said. Would he have said that he would prefer Ino, he would've probably been a red stain on the floor about now.

Strangely, Sakura did not take offense to Naruto admitting to liking her this time. Instead, she lit up, a semi-victorious smile on her face. "Oh? And why would you take me over Ino?", Sakura asked, obviously very eager to find out just why he would pick her over her rival.

Since Narutos crush on Sakura had made him pick her, of course he found it rather easy to answer this question. "You're a nice girl, plus you are really pretty!", he said honestly.

"Pretty? Me? What about my forehead then? Don't you think it's too big?", Sakura asked, obviously being self-conscious about this part of her body. After all, she had been teased about it for a long time in her childhood, and even now it was a favorite insult of Ino to hurl at her.

But Naruto didn't really saw it that way. "Nah, it's perfect. Makes you look even cuter, Sakura-chan."

Although Sakura didn't say anything after that, Naruto could tell she was happy with this answer. A slight blush was on her face and the sullen look had been replaced with a smile. Naruto was happy, too, seeing how he could help Sakura feel a little bit better about this situation.

A few moments later, Ino walked into the booth. "Huh, what's wrong with you, forehead-girl? You're really red-faced...", she commented immediately.

"So what, Ino-pig? Mind your own business!", Sakura snapped back.

Just before the two girls would start a fight, Kurenai appeared and seperated the two. "Now now, no arguing here, girls. We're just here to have lunch, not fight each other.", she told them. And so they each ordered a bowl of ramen, which was quickly ready for them to eat.

Just as Naruto was about to devour his ramen, Sakura leaned over slightly and whispered something to him. "Thank you, Naruto.", were her words, briefly before their respective bowls of ramen were placed on the counter.

After the team and their sensei had eaten in complete silence, Kurenai payed the bill and adressed her team.

"Very well, Team 7. As Genin, you will usually be sent on D-rank missions, or C-rank mission in rare cases or if you are specifically suited or experienced for a certain kind of mission. Today, we're going to have a D-rank mission I picked out for you. Even if it might not be the kind of mission you might have been hoping for, I want you to remember that every ninja started out with those mission and it is a mission after all. So take it seriously.", she instructed them.

The three genin nodded and so found them following their sensei to the mission for today.