Return of the Flash by Kamikaze132

Chapter 14

As Naruto stared at the number of dango sticks in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. Back when he was still being trained by Anko-sensei, he had noticed her obsession, more like an addiction, to dango. She was never seen by him without dango, or a dango stick dangling between her teeth. Whenever she was in a good mood, she would always treat him to dango. It was always a very touching gesture for him, so he didn't have the heart to tell her that he preferred Ichiraku ramen.

They had been on the dango stand for over two hours now, and Naruto had told her everything that had happened to him ever since he became a student of Kakashi. He was careful to leave sensitive parts out, such as the massacre on the bridge or that he knew the famous jutsu of the Yondaime.

Anko whistled when he was finished, "Wow, you sure haven't been bored after you became a team member have you?"

Naruto shrugged, "Not if you count doing D-rank missions as exciting. I'll pick a C-rank or training over them any day." He ruthlessly pushed away the memories of repeatedly catching Tora. He would try his utmost to become a chunin, if only to escape from doing that mission again.

Anko hummed, not saying anything else. She avoided any topic that was related to Orochimaru.

Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled, slowly getting up. "Well, it was nice catching up with you sensei, but I gotta rest for tomorrow. I would want to be fully rested for the exam of which you are the proctor of," he said, tweaking between his teeth with the dango stick.

Anko also got up, grinning savagely. "Damn straight. I better not see you losing in this phase. You got that, Naruto?"

Naruto smiled wide and gave a thumbs up, "Loud and clear!"

Anko turned to leave, but seemed to remember something and turned around, "Oh, almost forgot to tell you. Come to the training ground 44 tomorrow at nine o' clock."

Naruto tilted his head, "Wouldn't this be considered cheating on my part to receive information from the proctor, sensei?"

Anko smiled and shook her head, "This is the information your team sensei would be telling you. I'm just saving you the trouble of finding your team or Kakashi. All the best, kid!"

She vanished in a swirl of leaves. Naruto nodded to himself and turned around, heading towards Ichiraku. He felt quite good today in the exam, so celebration was required. Dango was good and all, but it wasn't dinner. Inside his mind, Kurama scoffed, muttering about pathetic excuses to eat unhealthy food.

As Naruto neared the ramen stand, he saw something that caused his heart to skip a beat.

Temari was roaming on the street, apparently taking in the sights. The best fact was that she was on her own. None of her brothers were with her, not even Gaara.

He didn't know why, but suddenly his palms started to feel sweaty and his heartbeat seemed to increase. This was his perfect chance of spending some time with her!

'Go for it, brat,' came Kurama's encouraging voice. Wow, he and him were on the same page!

His steps automatically began to take him in her direction. Every step felt like he was going too slow, but at the same time, he was going too fast. He had no idea on how to approach her or what to say, but at the same time he wanted her to spend time with him, to enjoy spending time with him.

'Oi, Naruto! You will not stutter in front of a mere girl! You are my jinchuriki and you won't embarrass me!' Naruto wanted to tell him that she didn't even know that he was a jinchuriki. And how the hell did that fact relate to what he was about to do?!