This is for Jūgo, since he doesn't get a whole lot of attention. Tamaki is the girl who, in the manga, can't a shirt big enough for him in Granny Cat (Cat Granny)'s shop.

Jūgo is 18, Tamaki is 16.

Enjoy!

Tamaki didn't think that day would be any different than the others. She worked at a restaurant from lunch til dinner in her village, but in the mornings she stayed with her grandmother's shop, hidden within the Sky District ruins.

'Granny Cat', as she was nicknamed, was ostracized by the villagers and adored by the cats. The villagers thought her grandmother, who was the only family she had left, was strange for wearing cat ears on her head and spending more time with felines than humans, so it was left to her to care for the old woman.

Thankfully, the exile didn't extend to her. Her pretty face seemed enough to make the locals love her. Tamaki was the waitress that everyone wanted to wait on their table. She was kind, welcoming, smart and pretty, everything that anyone could want in a girl.

Tamaki had slept in that day, but when she realized this, she leapt off her cot and ran as fast as she could to her grandma's munitions shop. Her long, light colored hair was flying out behind her as she dove head-long through the maze-like halls of the Sky District ruins.

She burst into Granny Cat's shop gasping, apologizing for being so late.

"It's nothing, Tamaki," her warbled, uninterested voice mumbled. "No customers here anyway… yet."

The girl perked at this. "Yet?"

"Hey, Granny!" a voice called. Tamaki turned to see the cats Denka and Hina strutting through the flap that acted as the door. Suddenly, behind them came a tall, black-haired young man. Tamaki gasped.

Is that…?

"Welcome, Sasuke Uchiha," her grandmother said.

It is! My childhood crush…

Strangely enough, even with his matured look, she didn't really feel that admiration she'd felt as a child. He was definitely a man to be admired, but she had more important things to worry about now.

"Granny Cat," the dark-haired man said lowly. "We've come to buy supplies."

Tamaki turned her head to see three more people coming in. A white-haired, shark-toothed boy, a red-head woman with glasses and an extremely tall young man strolled in. She caught the tall man's eye and froze at the sight of him. He was really handsome…

She hardly heard the Uchiha rattle off a list of things they needed and barely caught Granny's gaze flicked toward her. Tamaki tore her gaze from the orange haired man and scrambled around the numerous shelves they had, pulling out the scrolls and miscellaneous weapons.

Sasuke glanced over the items loftily, then closed his eyes and sighed. "Jūgo will need some clothes and Suigetsu some water. Ask Karin for whatever she thinks she needs."

The 16-year-old girl nodded when Granny waved her off, hospitably preparing Suigetsu a large water-bottle along with filling his own, and packing all of Karin's necessities in a bag, then sealing it in a scroll.

Jūgo proved problematic, though. She couldn't find any shirts that fit him! Thankfully, she'd found pants and shoes from their clothes bins that would fit, unless he kept growing… Tamaki finally found a large shirt, which she herself would be drowning in.

She suddenly felt extremely short next to the giant, noticing he was nothing but muscle, and she felt very helpless. Shaking the thoughts away, she held the shirt up to the orange-haired young man and found it to be too small.

"Granny?" she asked nervously, a small bead of sweat dripping down her face. "Don't we have bigger clothes that could fit this one?"

The woman dressed up as a cat waved her hand dismissively. "Wrap him in that curtain there, then. We're not a clothing store."

"Granny!" she exclaimed, frowning helplessly. "We're being paid!"

Suddenly, the handsome man grabbed a fistful of the purple curtain and swept it around his shoulders in a single flourish. He smiled in satisfaction and pulled out his arms for mobility.

Tamaki blushed, her mouth in a slight frown, took a step back and sat down on the clothing baskets. Her grandmother continued some business with the Uchiha.

Jūgo stared intently at Sasuke who was ignoring Granny's pleas for him to not go after Itachi. Tamaki watched him curiously, wondering why he was so quiet. She smiled slightly as she watched his still, calm face. He was really handsome… even more handsome than Sasuke…

It suddenly came to mind that she was going to be late for work if she didn't leave right away. She let out a quiet groan and leapt to her feet, rushing out the cloth door. Tamaki didn't notice the tall, gentle giant looking after her fleeing form.

Once she got to the restaurant, Tamaki had to braid her hair and pin it to her head in a swirling bun so it wouldn't get in the food. She tied an apron skirt round her waist and quickly went out to take orders from the café customers.

The dirty blonde young woman was greeted by a chorus of happy cheers and people calling her name.

"Tamaki! Come take my order!"

"Hey Tamaki! How are you doing?"

"Tamaki, I have a funny story to tell you!"

She smiled. "One at a time! The chef can't keep up." Walking over to the nearest table, she asked the old couple sitting there what they would like to drink.

"No." Sasuke seemed irritated. "I'm leaving now, Granny, and I will kill Itachi. That I promise you."

The woman with a snoot-stained nose sighed and shook her head, rubbing the backs of the nearby cats. "Fine, do what you will." She looked down at the fox-like cat and tubby cat, Denka and Hina. "You two, lead them out of the ruins to the town."

"Yes, Granny Cat," they chorused, rising up and sauntering out the door. Sasuke rose to his feet and his team followed him and the cats out.

Once they reached the buildings entrance, Sasuke told them that they would stop at a café, rest for an hour, and then head out on their path once again.

When they found a café that wasn't too dumpy and not too crowded, they took an empty table and waited to take their order.

Suigetsu got bored and decided to take it out on Karin, provoking her and making her beat him up. Sasuke stared off into the street moodily, ignoring the screaming duo.

Jūgo observed the people around him, trying his best to ignore his two teammates, as Sasuke had done, but he wasn't succeeding very well. His skin started heat up, all along his back and neck. It spread to his arms and his face, becoming increasingly annoying.

Karin's voice became high-pitch and screeching to his ears; Suigetsu's taunts seemed to be directed at him rather than at Karin. The voices of the nearby customers became as annoying as thousands of flies buzzing about his ears.

"Shut… up…" he growled under his breath. The red-head and shark-toothed boy froze, staring in fear at their companion.

"Uh, Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Um… c-could you-"

"I said shut up."

"Sasuke!"

"What?"

"Shut up!"

Sasuke widened his eyes and tried to ready his Sharingan and Suigetsu and Karin were about to leap out of their chairs when a cheerful voice called out,

"Hello! How I can I serve you this afternoon?"

Jūgo's blackening face turned to the waitress with a blood-thirsty look, panting heavily with restraint. He saw the girl from Granny Cat's shop. She immediately began frowning and leaned over.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. "Can I get you some water or something?"

The young man's breaths slowed and his intense gaze faltered and melted down to that of a lost boy. The light-haired woman rested her hand on his shoulder in concern while Suigetsu and Karin cringed at her act, expecting an aggressive response. Surprisingly enough, the black marks on Jūgo's face receded and sweat began to pour down his face as the curse left him.

"Oh," she said, resting her hand on his cheeks and forehead. "You must've been running a fever. I'll go get you some water." She stood up straight and quickly rushed to the kitchen. Team Snake stared in wonder.

"No one can tame Jūgo like that," Suigetsu whispered. "Except Sasuke… how did she…?"

Karin herself shook her head. There wasn't anything particularly special about the girl except that she had a friendly chakra. She hadn't used jutsu or anything… so how had she tamed the beast?

Sasuke stared at his orange-haired companion, trying to catch his gaze. When he did, he quirked his brow.

What happened?

Jūgo shuddered and shook his head while his gaze fell.

I don't know.

Sasuke sighed and lounged back.

I didn't think you'd be one to be affected by a woman.

Jūgo clenched his jaw and fists.

She's not just any woman…

Sasuke snorted.

Oh?

Jūgo's calm face looked up directly into his leaders.

She's different.

"Wasn't that the girl from Granny Cat's shop?" Suigetsu asked loudly, taking a long draught from his water bottle.

"Yeah," Karin said thoughtfully. "I think it was. I knew her chakra signature was familiar!"

"What was her name again?" the shark-boy asked lazily.

"My name is Tamaki," the waitress replied with a tiny smirk. It seemed that she had returned and caught the last part of the conversation.

She handed the glass of water to Jūgo and leaned down to examine his face again. She either didn't notice the red tint on his cheeks or thought that it was a result of his newly broken fever.

"I'm fine now," he insisted. "Thank you for the water."

She smiled pleasantly. "My pleasure." She came to stand behind Jūgo's chair and rested her hand on the back of it. "Anything else I can get for you guys?"

"Well!" Suigetsu declared with a wink. "I wouldn't mind a slice of-" Surprisingly it wasn't Karin that cut him off with a slap, but Jūgo.

"Cut it out," he said gently, contrary to the blow he'd just dealt.

"I'd like some okonomiyaki (pancakes)," Karin said, breaking the almost awkward silence.

"I'll have a yogurt," Suigetsu grumbled, massaging his cheek.

Sasuke simply closed his eyes. "Just water."

"And you?" Tamaki looked down at Jūgo with her head cocked.

He shook his head, "I'm fine, thank you."

"Alright!" she smiled. "I'll be back in a bit!"

"She's chipper…" Karin grumbled, shoving her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"At least she's nicer than you!" Suigetsu teased. He leaned over and loudly whispered to Jūgo, "She's cute, ain't she? First pretty girl I've seen in months."

"Excuse me?" Karin exclaimed angrily. "I've been travelling with you for months!"

"That's his point, Karin," Sasuke said with a bemused expression. The red-head was quiet after that.

"What do you think of her, Jūgo?" the white-haired boy teased. "Do you like her?"

The tall man closed his eyes and ignored his obnoxious companion. Let him think what he will.

"Here you all are. Enjoy!"

"We will!"

After they left the café, Jūgo took the hour Sasuke gave them to walk through the nearby forest. There was a clearing of soft, trodden dirt surrounded by rich grass and tall trees. He sat down in the exact center and closed his eyes to meditate.

Whilst he did so, one by one, birds flew down and came to sit on his arms and head and legs. It tickled sometimes and he'd let out a small chuckle, but the birds continued to hop about on him.

He reflected on his afternoon as he practiced breathing to calm his nerves. I almost lost it there, he thought worriedly. Right in the middle of the café…with all those people. Sasuke almost didn't stop me in time… but Tamaki did. How did she do that?

Jūgo opened his eyes and lifted a tiny sparrow up to his eyes and watched it. "What do you think, sir sparrow?" his deep voice asked playfully. "Do you know the secret behind her taming powers?" The brown bird chirped with a hop, then flew away.

His smile shrunk a little bit, until he saw the newcomer to the clearing holding a hand out for 'sir sparrow'. It was Tamaki.

The gentle giant smiled softly to himself as he watched her talking sweetly to the sparrow. She walked over, her long hair swaying behind, and a smile in her eyes.

She's beautiful…

"What brings you out here?" she asked, taking a seat across from him on the ground.

He carefully moved his head, but still sent five or six birds flying into the sky. "Sasuke said we have an hour's rest before we leave."

Tamaki let out a small, 'ah.' "And you wanted to get away from your two loud companions," she said with a smirk.

Jūgo smiled. A few of his birds flitted over to her and chirped along with her laughs. He wondered how she managed to tame them… how she managed to tame him.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Why do the birds listen to you?"

Tamaki pursed her lips in thought, looking up at the blue sky, peeking through the tree branches. "Um… I'm not sure. I talk to them and they listen. I've kept my promises to them when I say I'll bring food or I'll be back again, and they come back too."

"You keep your promises to them?" Jūgo raised his eyebrows. Promises to birds?

"Mh-hm!" she said with a giggle. "My Granny always taught me that if you don't break your word to an animal, they'll listen to you. Animals don't trust people, see," she leaned forward, explaining it like it was a secret. "Especially cats." Jūgo leaned forward with a smile to listen.

"They think we're two-tongued, back-stabbing liars, but they only deal with the people who buy weapons from Granny. They don't know that most of us are honest. The only way to gain their trust is to keep your promises and be kind."

Jūgo's face was glowing with a kind of smile he hadn't used in a long time. It faded slightly as a thought came to his mind.

"What if the animal is human? What if…" He winced, letting his eyes fall to his hands. "They're a monster? How do you tame them then?"

Tamaki's face fell at the gravity of his words. Her hand slowly crept from her knee over to where his own knee where his hand was resting. Jūgo's orange eyes flashed up to meet her own brown ones in surprise.

She smiled shyly. "They only need some love."

A toothy grin began tugging at his lips. "Love, huh?"

Everyone has a path. They meet people along the way.

Some people walk alongside each other for miles and miles, then part without ever having affected each other.

Some people walk alongside each other for mile and miles, and are loathe to part for they've made such a lasting effect on one another.

Some people walk alone. They've never met another path. They've had paths that almost meet, but never touch and those people soon leave. But for those people, a path will meet with theirs swiftly and suddenly.

They're thrown together with the other person and find that they don't quite like being alone anymore. It's nice to have someone walk with you.

It is these certain two people who by happenstance meet, who prove love at first sight; these two certain people know that they're meant to stay on that path together until the end.

The two stood on the branch of a tree, looking at the birds flying off into the afternoon sun. One tall, a giant, and one small, a mere hobbit in comparison; holding hands with each other, enjoying what time they had left before Sasuke decided to leave.

"Will I see you again?" Tamaki asked, looking up at her handsome companion.

He sighed and clenched his jaw slightly. "I don't know… I hope so."

The girl's brown eyes sparkled and she squeezed his hand a little tighter. "I hope so, too."

Jūgo smiled again, for the mayhap hundredth time in the hour he'd spent with her. He opened his mouth to speak when he heard Suigetsu's voice calling out obnoxiously from the forest below.

Tamaki looked down in worry, then her eyes flicked back up to his own questioningly.

"Wait for me?" Jūgo asked urgently.

"Of course," she nodded. "When will you be bac-"

"No. Wait for me."

For a sickening moment, Jūgo thought she might say no. Why should she make a promise when she herself said she made a point to never break a promise? How could one break a promise when there wasn't a promise to break?

His gut clenched and he felt like throwing up, when her sweet voice said, "I will. If you wait for me."

Jūgo gave a smile that would rival one of Suigetsu's toothiest. "I will."

"Juuuuuuuuugoooooo!" Suigetsu hollered from below. "Where are you? It's time to go!"

The 18-year-old began to jump down when Tamaki caught his large wrist in her tiny hand. "Jūgo!"

He stopped and turned around. She grabbed him by the curtain he used as a shirt and stood on her toes, planting a soft, gentle, lovely kiss on his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered. "Come back soon."

Jūgo froze at her touch, staring into her dark brown eyes, searching for an answer.

What if… they're a monster? How do you tame them then?

They only need some love.

I understand.

"Juuuugooo!"

Jūgo lean down and kissed Tamaki's forehead before flying down to where the former Mist ninja stood on the forest floor.

The girl with dusted blonde hair looked down and smiled lovingly at Jūgo.

"I'll wait for you," she said. "And that's a promise."

*Two Years Later*

Tamaki swept her Granny's shop with a make-shift broom, making it presentable for their new customers.

Since the war had ended, they had gotten a significant increase in Uchiha business, as well as Hatake and Uzumaki, and Tamaki wanted the sudden influx to stay, so she made the place look nice.

Her blond hair had stopped growing at about her calves, becoming wispy and thin at that point. Most times, when she was in the village, she tied it up so it was out of the way, but the kittens loved to play with it as she did her chores, so she let it down at Granny's shop.

Sasuke Uchiha came in with Hina and Denka, once again, and greeted Granny Cat, rather respectfully. He asked for some scrolls and kunai, paid for them quietly, got up and left. Tamaki thought she heard him say to someone outside of the shop, "Come on, Sakura. A pregnant woman shouldn't be travelling."

She had been gravely disappointed that Jūgo wasn't with Sasuke anymore. He'd promised to come back, and if the war was over… why wasn't he here?

"Maybe he forgot…" she mused, sweeping the dirt out the shop door, dusting some cats that got in the way.

"Maybe who forgot, Tamaki?" Denka asked, rubbing between her ankles.

"No one, Denka…" Tamaki sighed. She leaned on her broom and looked down at the cat. "I just was wondering… now that the war's over, wouldn't everyone be done fighting and go home?"

The fox-like cat arched his back and yawned. "Not everyone wants to stop fighting, my girl."

"But what if they wanted to?" the 18-year-old woman asked desperately.

Denka looked at her with a lofty expression. "Then they would come home. Is it seriously that hard for humans realize such things?" He walked away from her dismissively, his tail flicking from side to side.

Tamaki grumbled and fingered the handle of the broom. Was it that hard of a decision to make, to come home? Was it that hard to believe, that he would if he wanted to? A groan escaped her lips.

I don't know what to believe anymore…

Right when she was about to turn back into the shop, she saw something orange bobbing over the walls and heard one of that cats, maybe Hina talking to someone.

"-'s, but I'm sure Granny won't mind." The fat cat ambled around the corner and up the stairs into the shop. Tamaki waited curiously to see who it was that had gained the cat's trust.

Her heart stopped at the sight of him.

It was Jūgo. He came back.

Tears sprang to her eyes; his face lit up to see her.

"Tamaki!" he exclaimed. She ran to him, laughing through her tears. He swept her up into his arms and pulled her up to his chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, biting her lip and he buried his nose into the crook of her neck, shutting his eyes tight, his brow furrowing deeply.

They stood in place, holding each other and relishing in each other's touch. Finally, Tamaki couldn't stand on her toes and Jūgo couldn't lean over anymore so they pulled apart.

She wiped her cold tears from her eyes. "Y-you came back!" she laughed. "I was beginning to think-"

Jūgo put a finger over her mouth. "A promise is a promise."

A statement and a question all in one. 'I promised I'd come back and I kept my promise,' and 'Did you keep yours?'

Tamaki nodded. "I waited for you."

A relieved smile broke out on his face. "I was hoping you'd say that." With that, he swept her up into his arms again and hugged her fiercely. She pulled him just as close, never wanting to let him go, lest he be swept away in the tide of another war.

"Eh, Tamaki," Granny Cat called out, wobbling over to the door. "Who came? Do they want to buy something?"

She paused when she saw her granddaughter in the arms of the giant young man. He was the one who had accompanied Sasuke a couple years ago. Apparently he'd stolen her granddaughter's heart in that one day. Maybe she'd stolen his too.

Granny looked down at the cats about her feet. "Why don't we go inside for a bit and I'll get you all some warm milk. Let's leave these two alone for a bit."

Once the parade of cats left, Jūgo pulled away from Tamaki. He gently brushed her bangs behind her ear, caressing her cheek.

"I forgot to tell you something before I left," he whispered.

"Yes?" Tamaki didn't care what he'd forgotten. He'd remembered to come back and that was enough.

Jūgo touched his brow to hers. "I love you," he said, laughter bubbling from his lips. "I love you."

The dusty-blonde wrapped her arms around his thick waist.

"I told you," she whispered. "You only needed some love…"

This was supposed to be for Valentine's Day, but I had to read it over three times to fix all the mistakes. If there are any typos, misspellings or grammatical errors, let me know! I hate missing those things. :)

Jūgo – 18-years-old (first half), 20 years (second half), 6'7½"

Tamaki – 16-years-old (first half), 18 years (second half), 5'5"

The Newest Naruto Official Data Book says that Tamaki poster girl at the restaurant she works at, treats the customers who come by with sincerity. :) I saw the picture in the manga, (Volume 39, chapter 354, pg. 90) of Tamaki holding up a shirt to Jūgo and I immediately thought that they'd be a sweet romantic couple.

And for all you SasuSaku fans, that's for you. ;) You know what I mean. Haha! Enjoy! And sorry for the long author's note. I don't normally do them this long.

In Christ,

~Timber Wolf