Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! イ ノ キ • Inoki
Secret Handsome Host Club
The bud of a Sakura holds many lies and secrets, but when it blooms something beautiful will happen.
They say that if a girl writes her request on a piece of paper and leaves it at the table in the rose garden, a handsome host from the SHHC(Secret Handsome Host Club) will come and grant it for free. The client must keep the host's identity a secret…that is the only rule.
The girl with pink hair and green eyes walked through the garden full of blooming roses.
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this…it's just a rumor, right…?" She mumbled to herself.
She walked around for a bit more until she saw a beautiful pavilion with red roses hovering over a marble table.
"Ah!" She ran over to the table and stared at it. This must be it! The table in the rose garden! But will the host really come…? Even though she still had her doubts, she placed the letter on the table in the center and started heading home.
"A new request? What a drag." The guy with the spikey ponytail sighed.
"Well, what is the story?" The guy with the bob cut asked.
Spikey ponytail read the letter out loud to the others.
To the SHHC,
My name is Haruno Sakura and I have a request.
Tomorrow, March the twenty-eighth, is my birthday and I'd like to spend it with someone…well, a host. Please grant my request, I'll be waiting tomorrow at nine o'clock a.m. At the Fountain Square.
Thank you,
Haruno Sakura
"Hm…I'll pass on this one." A guy with long hair said.
"Anyone wanna take it up?" The guy with messy brown hair asked.
"Heh, well if no one will, then I'll take it!" A guy with blond hair and bright blue eyes grinned as he snatched the paper from spikey ponytail's hand. "I'll make this year, her best birthday ever! And that's a promise, you can count on it!"
Haruno Sakura sighed. "It's nine thirty already…so it really was just a rumor?" She laughed at herself quietly. "I'm just wasting my time, guess I'll head home." She slung the bag over her shoulder and started walking away from the fountain.
Suddenly someone crashed into her.
"Kyaa!" Sakura stared at the person who crashed into her as she fell back.
"Ah!" The blond boy caught her wrist and pulled her towards him. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, securing her.
Her face heated up immediately. J-Just who is this guy!?
"Phew, that was close!…You okay?" He grinned at her.
"Ye—I mean, No!" She pushed him away, picked up her bag and pointed at his chest. "Just what is your problem!? You should look where you're going and running into a lady without apologizing is so rude!"
He scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. "Ah, sor-"
Slap!
"!" His head slowly turned to look at her eyes.
"That's not how you apologize to a lady!" She glared at him.
What's up with her? It's her birthday and she's slapping me!? He thought. "…" The blond guy stared at her.
"N-Nani?" Why is he staring at me like that? She thought.
The guy groaned and bowed in front of her. "Gomenasai. I'm Uzumaki Naruto and you must be Haruno Sakura, ne?"
Her eyes widened in shock. "H-How do you know my name!? Don't tell me you're a stalker or something!?" She prepared to slap him again.
"N-No! No way! It's 'coz of this!" He held up the letter.
"S-Sona! Masaka-!"
"It's true, want me to read it out?" Naruto opened the letter and unfolded the paper. "To the—Itai!"
Sakura whacked him on the head with her bag. "Baka! Don't read that out here!" She was blushing.
He pouted. "Hmph, after I came through all that trouble to get here."
"Tch! But you were late!…Thank you…for coming though…" She blushed slightly and turned away.
"Ara?" He stared at her. She actually looks pretty cute when she's not angry!
"A-Are you coming or not!?" She started walking quickly.
"Hai hai!"
They didn't realize that secretly, in the bushes, they were being watched.
"So, what did you wanna do today?" Naruto asked as he handed her the crepe that he bought.
"Hm…" She thought about it for a while. "How about..."
"I know!" Naruto butted in. "Here, come with me!" He grabbed her wrist and started running off.
"N-Naruto, wait!"
Before she knew it, they were at the beach. She finished her crepe and threw the wrapper at him.
Splat! It hit him right on the cheek. "What'd I do now!?" He scrunched the wrapper up.
"You—Ahaha…" She covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "Ahahahaha! Pfufu…!" Holding her stomach, she almost fell over on the sand.
"Ara? Nani?" Naruto was very confused.
"You…haha…your…fu..your face..!" She couldn't stop laughing while handing him her compact mirror.
"Eh?" He looked at himself and saw that there was strawberry jam and cream on his face. "AHH! HOW'D THIS GET HERE!?" He tried to rub it off but ended up spreading it around. "I-It won't come off! Kuso!"
"Haha…come here!" She rustled through her bag.
He walked over there with a frown. "You threw the crepe wrapper at me…"
"Oh, get over it, will you?" She smiled at him and wiped his face with a handkerchief.
"S-Sakura-chan…" He blushed slightly.
"Here, you can keep this. Sa, iku yo!" She left the handkerchief on his cheek and ran towards the sparkling ocean.
She splashed around in the water for a while and noticed Naruto staring at her.
"C'mon, Naruto!" Sakura waved at him to come join her.
"Hehe, yosh, okay!" He grinned and ran into the salty water, splashing Sakura in the process.
"Hey!" Sakura splashed him back.
"Gah! Salty!" He spat water out.
"Naruto…! Don't spit in front of a lady especially if we're in the water!" She pushed his head under the surface.
"Argh! Glub blub blub!" Naruto waved frantically around. But then his arms stopped and he began sinking. After a few seconds he had disappeared completely.
"N-Naruto? Hey, Naruto!" She searched around trying to find him but she couldn't. Panic started creeping up her spine. Oh no, what if he…no, that can't be! But…where is he…? "NARUTO!" She shouted his name but there was no answer. Tears started to swell up in her eyes. What should I do…?
Naruto suddenly popped up from the water right in front of her and shouted, "Surprise!" He grinned at her shocked face.
"Naruto…?" She quickly wiped her eyes and shook her fist at him. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T DO THAT!"
"Yikes!" He started running away from her fists.
"Naruto, get back here!" She chased after him.
"Hey, I'm sorry, alright!? I'm sorry!" But he still couldn't take that grin off his face.
"NARUTO!"
Naruto ran around the beach for another half an hour until Sakura slowed down and finally gave up, or so he thought. He flopped down onto the soft sand and watched the exhausted girl walk slowly towards him with her hands behind her back, looking innocent. She smiled at him and quickened her pace.
"?" Naruto was confused at her sudden mood swing.
When she was just one meter away from him, she lifted her arms above her head to reveal a heavy rock in her hands.
"SHANNAROOO!"
"GAH!" Naruto automatically put his arms over his head to protect himself.
"Wha-!" She tripped over a pile of sand and landed… on top of Naruto.
"!" Their lips connected as they stared at each other in shock, blushing.
Sakura immediately pulled away and pushed Naruto into the sand as she got stood up. The pink bangs shaded her eyes.
"Gwah!" He fell back and still blushing, stared at Sakura in confusion.
"…N…Naruto, you idiot!" She shouted and quickly ran away from him with her eyes shut tight.
"H-Hey, Sakura-chan!" He called after her.
Naruto, you big idiot…that was my first kiss…! She thought.
Sakura leaned against a big rock, trying to catch her breath. That was the fastest she'd ever run in her life. A shadow loomed over her suddenly. She looked up and saw three girls standing in front of her, looking snobby.
"You…" Sakura recognized their faces.
"Haruno Sakura, don't tell me you've forgotten that we've been watching you this whole time. You're not falling for him are you?" The middle one smirked.
"No way! Why would I ever fall for a coarse, clueless guy like that!?"
"Hm…? Well you seem like it!" The middle girl continued teasing her.
"I told you, I'm not!" Sakura fought back.
"You two seem pretty close, did you forget what you're supposed to do?" The one on the right started talking.
"Yeah, yeah!" The one on the left pitched in.
"I…" Sakura looked down.
Naruto walked around the beach, looking for Sakura. "I just don't get it! Why's she so mad anyways?" He mumbled to himself. After a while he spotted Sakura leaning against a rock, talking to three girls.
"Huh, yeah, alright. We believe you. I mean, why would Haruno Sakura be falling for such an idiot? She's too good for him." The middle girl said, almost sarcastically.
"Yeah, yeah!" The one on the left pitched in again.
Sakura's head was lowered; this whole conversation had made her day worst. She absorbed their words and stored them in her mind. But it wasn't only their words that made her down; it was also her own words. The terrible things she had said about Naruto and lying to herself for others to accept her.
Naruto didn't like what he was seeing. Are those girls making fun of her? He thought.
"Well, Sakura-"The middle girl was about to continue bad mouthing Naruto. Until Naruto, himself, stepped in.
Sakura looked up at the figure standing in front of her. "N-Naruto?"
His head turned as he grinned at Sakura. "Hey, those girls must've said some pretty mean things to you, huh? Just leave everything to me!" He glared at the middle girl. "What do you want with her?"
"Er, uh, we…we were just leaving!" She quickly backed away.
"Yeah, yeah!" The left one added.
"Ahaha…! Uh, l-let's go….!" The right one started running away and the other two quickly followed."
Naruto got annoyed at their cowardice. "Oi! Come back here and apologize to her!" He shook his fist at the trio.
"Naruto, it's okay, just let them go. It's fine, really." But she didn't look fine.
"…Tch, fine." He looked at her. "Ne, sorry for earlier…" He blushed as he remembered the accident.
"…That's alright." She replied simply.
Naruto was slightly surprised. No yelling? No hitting? Something is really wrong here! He grabbed her hand. "C'mon, let's go somewhere!" He felt responsible to cheer her up; it was her birthday after all.
"Naruto, where are we going!?"
"You'll find out!"
"Kara…oke?" She blinked at the flashing sign.
"Yep, that's right! Heheh, you can sing your heart out!" He grinned.
She laughed a little. "Haha, you're so strange, Naruto."
After singing a lot of songs they went to go have dinner. At Ichiraku Ramen, the best ramen store in town.
"Eheh, sorry, I know it's your birthday and this isn't much but…uh, I'll treat you." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Ah, arigato." They ordered and ate in awkward silence. (Apart from their slurping.)
They walked out of Ichiraku Ramen and Naruto still tried to cheer her up. "Ahh, that was great! What'd you think, Sakura-chan?"
"…Hm? Uh, it was…really good." She was still slightly gloomy but better than before.
"Hn…" He grabbed her hand again and started running off with her. If this doesn't make her smile, then I've failed my duty as a host! He thought, determined.
The two arrived at a steep hill above the village. There was a clear view of the cloudless sky.
"Naruto, what are we doing here?" She saw nothing but grass and landscape.
"Wait here for a sec!" He ran off down the hill.
"Hey, Naruto!" She called his name but he waved her off. Sighing, she sat down onto the soft grass, waiting patiently.
Ten minutes later…
A cold breeze blew by. She shivered and hugged her knees, realizing that she didn't bring a jacket with her. How could I forget…? She cursed silently. A jacket was slipped onto her shoulders; she looked up to see who it was from.
Naruto grinned at her. "Sorry I took a while but…here it is!" He held a cake in one hand and some candles with matches in the other.
"F-For me…?" She blinked twice.
"It's your birthday, right? You should at least have some cake!" He placed the cake next to her, sat down and started poking candles into the sponge. "I wasn't sure what type of cake you liked, so I just got this strawberry one…I hope this is okay." He said as he lit the candles.
"Ah, it's fine…" She stared at the cake. Soft plain sponge and whipped cream topped with strawberries. There was a chocolate rectangle with the words 'Happy Birthday' written on it. The cake looked like one that could be bought from any convenience store.
Naruto cut a slice and handed it to her on a plastic plate, then he cut himself a slice.
"Itadakimasu!" They said at the same time.
Their eyes were glued to the plastic plates as they awkwardly ate in silence.
'Kay, so, the cake hasn't cheered her up…eeto…think, Naruto, think! Naruto scrunched up his eyes while trying to think of something else.
Naruto's been doing so much for me and yet I can't even smile for him… Sakura sighed, loudly.
"Sakura-chan." A voice called her name softly.
"Hn?" She turned and saw Naruto sitting closer to her. So close that their faces were just a few centimeters apart.
"N-N-Naruto!?" W-What're you doing!?" She blushed while her head jerked back.
"Sakura-chan, look up." His voice was still soft.
"Eh?" She looked up and saw the starry lights spread out across the dark night. "Kirei, ne~?" Her worries seemed to have been stolen by the stars.
"Yeah, it really is." Naruto stared at the sky as well.
The two of them watched the night in awe while Naruto tried to put his arm around her shoulder, sneakily. He paused for a moment to look at Sakura's smiling face. You finally smiled… He thought. She's so cute like that! To stop himself from hugging her, he pushed her head gently onto his shoulder.
"Hm? Naruto…" Sakura blushed even more.
"Uh, i-if you're getting tired then, you can just uh, you know, um…" He was stuck for words but she simply laughed a little.
"Mhmhm! Arigato, Naruto." She smiled kindly at him.
He blushed and nodded his "you're welcome" to her.
Two 'lovers' under a bright starry sky, on a steep hill with a great view of the city beneath, it was a very romantic setting.
Eventually, Sakura fell asleep, so Naruto piggy-backed her home. She awoke on the way back and sleepily noticed her surroundings. They were outside of her house. Naruto let her down and smiled at her.
"Well, here we are!"
She rubbed her eyes and bowed slightly. "A-Arigato gozaimasu for today! I really enjoyed myself!"
"Haha, me too!" Naruto rubbed his head awkwardly, he wasn't used to people bowing to him.
"…"
"So, uh, I guess this is where we say goodbye." Naruto waved.
"Um, yeah…will I ever see you again?" She asked, slightly hopeful even though she already knew the answer.
"Sakura-chan…" He looked down on her, depressed.
"Naruto…I…." She looked up into his eyes.
They stared into one another's eyes, slowly coming closer to each other. Their eyes started to close, preparing for the touch of lips. Only a few centimeters apart, now one centimeter and then three millimeters. Naruto's heart was pounding against his chest while Sakura's felt like it was about to burst. His eyes closed, waiting for the kiss. But it never came. He heard laughter and opened his eyes to see the three girls from earlier with Sakura standing behind them.
"Ahahahaha! Did you girls see that? He was all like…" The girl on the right mocked Naruto, leaning forward, eyes closed, lips in a pouty position and making fake kissing noises.
"Haha, good job, Sakura! We thought you didn't have it in you." The girl on the left patted Sakura on the back.
"Well, you passed the test, Sakura, you can start hanging out with us! Broke that host's heart in two!Ahahahahahahaha!" The middle girl was enjoying herself too much.
"Uh, no! I—" Sakura couldn't say much over their laughter and words.
Naruto felt cheated. His chest hurt and his mind was getting angry. His fists were shaking, trying to keep the rage in. "Yeah, I got it. So, all of that was just a set-up, huh? It wasn't really your birthday." His eyes and voice were cold. "Haha, how could I be so stupid?" He hit his head and started walking away without even looking at them.
Sakura felt a big stab of guilt in her chest. "N-Naruto, matte!" She called after him.
He stopped but didn't turn around. "I…I actually had fun, but I guess that's all pointless to you." He ran off after saying those words.
Sakura ran into her house, crying. Her guilt overwhelmed her heart and soul. How could she ever face Naruto again? His cold words echoed inside her head. "Yeah, I got it. So, all of that was just a set-up, huh? It wasn't really your birthday." After hugging her knees for hours on her bed, she cried herself to sleep.
At school, the three girls would hang out with Sakura just about every day, always saying bad things about Naruto, how she tricked him, the look on his face when he was tricked. Everything that would make any person feel bad, especially because they kept repeating it. It was always: "Haha, that guy was such an idiot! I can't believe he actually fell for it!" or "Sakura, you're way too good for him."
Even though it was sort of a compliment, the girl's words annoyed her and before she knew it, she was standing up for Naruto. "Sure, Naruto might be a bit of an idiot sometimes, but you have no right to judge someone who you haven't even met before! At least, he's kind, a little considerate, and trustworthy, but most of all…Naruto always keeps his promises! So, don't you ever, ever, call him an idiot ever again!" She had the urge to slap all three of them at once but instead, she turned and left them.
A whole week went by and Sakura still couldn't get over Naruto. A few times around town, she would see him with another girl, grinning his stupid grin, shouting with his loud voice. She found out that they even went to the same school and he was in the bottom class. It always hurts to see him with another girl… She sighed.
Another few days went and Sakura finally decided to fix it. I can't continue on like this…I have to do something! After school, she waited by the school gate for Naruto to come out and when he did, she quickly grabbed his collar and shook him hard.
"NARUTO, LISTEN TO ME! I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I'M SORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED AND THAT I…I CAN'T GET OVER YOU!" She blushed as she shouted the final words into his ear.
He grabbed her hand and forcefully pushed her hand away from his shirt. "It's fine. But…I'm a host, there's no way that I can get back with you, so you'll just have to forget about me, unless if I quit." His tone of voice was in between cold and warm.
"Quit…?" Sakura asked.
"Once I quit, I can never be a host again. That's just the way it works."
"Oh…" She started walking away, trying to decide what she should do next. I don't want Naruto to quit what he's doing if he likes it but I…I don't like seeing him flirting with other woman! It's natural to think this way, right? But I guess I'll have to try and convince him to quit…
The Next Day.
"Naruto, planning on quitting the SHHC anytime soon?" Sakura shot her prettiest smile at Naruto.
"Nope!" He grinned at her.
The Day After.
"Naruto, let's go eat some ramen, my treat!"
Naruto slurped on his tenth bowl of ramen, loudly. "Ah thanks, Sakura-chan!"
"You're welcome. So, about quitting…"
"Nope, no way!" He slurped some more ramen.
The Next.
"Naruto, darling, will you quit the SHHC for me? Pweddie pwease with the cherry on top?" She tried to make her voice sound cute.
"Eh? Sakura-chan, what happened to your voice?"
"Just quit already!" She whacked him on the head.
"Itai! Nope!"
And so on. This happened for another week until Sakura was out of ideas.
"I…don't know what to do anymore…" She flipped through some Manga pages, bored. Until, something caught her eye. She quickly flipped back and stared at the page. This…this will be my last resort! That night, she sat at her desk with a pen and paper, writing and chucking paper in the bin all night long.
At school, Naruto opened his locker and a letter came fluttering out. "Ara?" He picked it up and turned it around. Shocked, he read the contents.
When school was over, Sakura got a note from her friend to meet at the rooftop, and so she did. But at the rooftop wasn't her friend, instead Naruto was waiting for her.
"N-Naruto? Where's…" She stared at his back.
Naruto turned slowly, the wind rustled his hair and the sunlight made his eyes almost sparkle as he grinned at her. "Sakura…I quit the Club."
"E-Eh!?" Her eyes widened. Did it actually work!? She thought.
He held up the pink love letter with a cherry blossom sticker. "Well, you kinda have to quit the Club when you receive a love letter like this!"
"Naruto…arigato!" She tackled him to the ground and hugged him with excitement.
"W-Whoa, Sakura!" Naruto blushed.
Wait…what am I doing!? She quickly let go of him and punched him to the ground instead. "Y-You idiot, pulling me down like that!" Her face matched the color of her hair.
"Ow! What the heck!?" Naruto rubbed his cheek.
"That day…" She remembered his words. Yeah, I got it. So, all of that was just a set-up, huh? It wasn't really your birthday. "That day…it really was my birthday!"
"ARA!?" Naruto thought everything REALLY HAD been a set up.
"And so, since you messed up my birthday, you better make up for it next year!" She said, almost smugly.
Eh…? Naruto thought. "We're going to be together for that long?" He asked, bluntly.
Sakura laughed. "Mhmhm, who knows?" She smiled cheerfully.
So, that was chapter one of SHHC! How'd you like it? Let me know in your reviews, thanks!^^
SHHC Special Bonus!
"So…Uzumaki Naruto left?" A guy with dark shades said in a monotone voice.
"Man, that idiot's finally gone!" A guy with red marks on his face and messy brown hair added.
"Hey, come to think of it, the 'King' hasn't been around much lately." A guy eating a bag of chips pointed out.
"You're right. And I thought this request was perfect for him too." A fake smile showed on one of the guys' faces. "Guess we'll have to get the girly-man to do it."
"And just what are you implying?" The guy with long hair glared at his fake smile.
Footsteps were coming from the distance. They all turned to see the 'King'.
"That request…I'll take it." The guy with spikey dark blue hair smirked slightly while taking the letter that held the request. "This should be interesting."
