Born To Be Free
Chapter one
caro
Everything about you is how I wanna be
Your freedom comes naturally
Everything about you resonates happiness
Now I won't settle for less
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto Sai wouldn't be wearing such a girly outfit.
There was no way she would go.
"There's no way I will go!"
That day had started off like any other day for the blonde shopkeeper. She woke up, took a shower, ate breakfast, tended to the flowers, and then went out to train with her two best friends. Something unexpected happened, however, and it placed her in a sticky situation that she did not know how to get out of.
Rewind back to the afternoon of yesterday around 11:30 at the Team 10 training grounds. Ino sat back against a tree, wiping her legs clean from the small amount of blood that had seeped through when Chouji accidentally scraped his armor against her.
"Really, I'm sorry-" he continued, placing a hand on her shoulder with sincere apology. She smiled back to him and shrugged it off, "It's fine, and it wasn't your fault."
It ended that way but there was a storm brewing inside Chouji's head.
"Hey Ino?" he asked, watching her carefully as she started to wrap bandages around her leg.
"Yes?" she turned to look at him and worry appeared across her features, "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just... I have a question to ask you?"
"What about?" she asked, looking back to her legs and tying a strong knot.
"It's about Shika..."
"Shikamaru? What about him?" Ino dragged out carefully, eyeing Chouji form the corner of her eye. Did something happen with Shikamaru?
Chouji shook his head when he saw the worry lines show up on Ino's forehead.
"It's nothing serious, don't worry about it. I just wanted to know what you thought of him..." he continued carefully, watching Ino's every move.
The blonde looked at her friend first with surprise, but the element died away when she looked at Chouji defiantly and shoved her nose in the air.
"I don't think anything about him," she stated quickly, tending to her wounds even after they were wrapped up nicely, "...Why?" Chouji looked at her wide eyed then waved his hands, a small sheepish grin rising on his lips, "No reason, no reason!" Ino gave him a skeptic look, sitting up then finally leaning a hand on the tree behind them to pull herself to her feet.
"Don't tell him about this conversation Chouji."
"Why-"
"Don't tell him," Ino said forcefully, looking down at her friend. She started to walk away slowly due to her wounded legs.
What kind of question was that? What did she think of him? Him? Well, they were best friends for quite a long while, but to think of him? How to think of him... Did she think of him as a friend, was that what Chouji was asking?
Or more?
No! Ino would not go that far. There was something to announce to the world. She. Did. Not. Like. Him.
Chouji watched Ino walk away, her back stiff and her chin up. He shook his head, a knowing smile replacing his sheepish one and he gave a small grunt, heaving himself off the grunt.
"You can come out now Shika..." he muttered, leaning against the tree, his armor clanking against the bark.
"Heh, how did you know I was here?" the lazy genius asked, appearing out of nowhere beside him.
"You learned that shadow blending technique from your dad before you became a jounin. You showed me yourself. It's not like I can't sense your chakra or anything..." Chouji replied, turning his head to get a look at his best friend.
"Ahh, yes, I suppose you're right. I knew I shouldn't have showed you. How troublesome... Eh-did she notice me?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as a frown slowly appeared. Chouji promptly shook his head, "No, she didn't. If she knew you were there, she would've forced you out..."
"True..." Shikamaru replied, the smirk reforming, "Heh, remind me again why I'm doing this?"
"You like her..."
"Right, right... Ah-remind me why I like her..."
Chouji chuckled and gave Shikamaru a pat on the shoulder, stepping foreword. Shika followed close behind, his hands in his pockets and his eyes to the sky.
"You like her because she gives you an interesting feeling. You can't stand her, yet you can't keep your eyes off her. Her blonde hair intrigues you, especially the way it bounces when she runs to a shop window, whining about not being able to get a certain dress. Her eyes are like the sky that you watch clouds upon and it hooks you in. You love it when she gets mad at you, scolding you for the pettiest reasons like being late or forgetting to pick something up for her. She-"
Shikamaru had been quiet through the whole monologue, watching the ground roll beneath him until he decided it was enough.
"To think you're such a poet inside, Chouji," he commented with a smirk, looking the other way to hide the slightest tint of pink that had been creeping onto his cheeks when Chouji was describing Ino.
Chouji grinned, "Ah-poetry and mediation is a good way of calming yourself down, Shikamaru. You should try it sometime..."
Shika looked to his friend thoughtfully, "You think so? Nah-too meddlesome. I don't want to waste my time doing such things."
"You always waste your time," Chouji teased with a chuckle as they neared the road leading to the town.
"Mmm, and you always take the last potato chip but I don't complain about it..." Shika retorted, the smirk never leaving his face. Chouji smiled and nodded to the houses they were approaching, "There goes Ino. Why don't you ask her now?"
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, glancing from the blonde in the distant to Chouji. It was indeed Ino, huffing away in anger as she thought how complicated Chouji's question before was.
"No… I'd better not. She looks ticked-" Shika sighed, glancing at the floor, his back arching downwards in a tired slump.
"Why not? I thought you loved it when she got mad at you…" Chouji chuckled, raising an eyebrow to his best friend. A blank stare met him when Shikamaru looked up to him.
"I'm serious, Chouji. I'm not going to ask her. The festival's troublesome anyway." Chouji shrugged and looked to his left, "Suit your self. Anyway, I'd better get going. My Dad is going to teach me a new technique today. By the way, I forgot to tell you. When you got back from your mission yesterday, the Hokage told me to tell you to see her."
"Eh! She wanted to see me yesterday? Why didn't you tell me!" Shika gasped, an eye twitching. Tsunade-sama will surely have it in for him now. Chouji shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry, I guess it slipped my mind. I had a mission too, you know."
"Yeah, chasing a cat around the village." Shikamaru snorted, a small smirk forming. It was all right; he could never stay mad at Chouji for long.
"Hey…" Chouji started reprehensively, "It was a fast cat…" They gave each other a big grin and then punched knuckles, "See you later then. Hope you don't get too worked up during your training."
"Doubt it, we'll probably spend more time eating dinner after ward than training." Chouji chuckled then waved a hand, backing away from his best friend, "Ja ne."
"Later-" Shika smiled, giving a wave back as he continued to walk. He could still faintly see the thin outline of Ino's back as she headed home. Perhaps it was the best time to ask her. The festival was in three days, and if he didn't ask her first, someone surely would.
As he mused on the topic, he didn't see a shadow linger in front of him for a moment and with a hard thud, he crashed into that someone.
"Uhf, hey-" he rubbed his head, glancing up with a surprised look when he saw who it was. It was none other than the last survivor of the Uchiha clan.
"Shikamaru…" he stated calmly, backing away a step, his hands in his pockets and brooding as usual.
"Sasuke… What're you doing here? I thought you left on a mission with Naruto?" Shika asked, frowning slightly, knowing full well that he missed his chance to speed up and catch Ino to ask her.
"No, plans were changed."
"How so?" he raised an eyebrow. The Hokage rarely changed missions around lately, especially since Orochimaru was still on the loose.
"Kakashi's on an ANBU mission and Sakura's sick…" he replied emotionless.
"So…"
"Sakura's parents are dead." Sasuke continued, not daring to look Shikamaru in the eyes. Shock filled his bones as Shika did a double take look at the Uchiha. He looked so calm, yet, what was that behind his eyes? Fear?
"Wha-what? Dead? When did this happen?"
"Yesterday, they were caught out of Konoha. Traveling. Apparently they link to Sakura who links to me…" his voice trailed off, as if hinting to Shikamaru he would only go on if he didn't understand. Shikamaru understood all right. The Snake had struck again. This time: close to the heart.
"Does Sakura know?" Shika asked, his eyes narrowing as his jounin instincts kicked in. Sasuke frowned and shook his head, "I'm supposed tot ell her tonight…."
"So that's where you're going…." Shika started, looking to his right. There was a path that led to the Haruno residence. Sasuke nodded and started to walk in his direction, "I'm trusting you won't tell a soul, Shikamaru."
"Of course not…" he answered lowly, watching as Sasuke gave another nod and walked off, his head hanging and the usual confidence in his step gone. Shikamaru stood for a while, looking to the horizon in deep thought. The festival might bring some good news and some bad news. He had a feeling about it.
Sasuke turned a corner and came to a stop, letting a deep breathe come out of his lungs. It was refreshing to breathe normally then suck it all in and pretend everything was okay. Perhaps it was better if he just stayed with Orochimaru. Nobody he knew would get hurt that way. It was too risky to stay after all. It was too soon to give his body to his master, and he would never do it unless he had killed 'that man' first. Naruto had tried to convince him that giving up his body was useless, especially since he had so much to live for. Sasuke had scoffed in his face and stormed off, a silent Sakura watching him leave. He could still feel her star down his spine and the guilt that passed through his ribs at the sight of her face.
He arrived, promptly on time, giving a small push on the door was enough to open the Haruno door. Sakura never locked her door at night, and every time Sasuke or Naruto did lock it without telling her, the next morning it would be unlocked once more.
"Sakura…" the Uchiha muttered, entering the dark living room. He looked around, and then saw a small light coming from her room. Walking to it and giving a peek through the crack of the door, he saw her asleep, tucked under her sheets. He gave a sigh and pushed the door open, regret and anger spilling into his eyes when he saw who was sitting by her side.
"Naruto…"
The blonde looked up from Sakura and quickly let go of her hand, "Sasuke, she's asleep, don't talk so loudly," he whispered, sitting up straight and perfecting his poise.
"What're you doing here?" Sasuke hissed, confused. Naruto was on the mission with Kiba, right?
"Anther cancel, turns out the one who needed saving was already saved."
"By who?"
"Her knight in shining armor…" Naruto rolled his eyes, "Or that's how the girl put it. He's was a bit of a jerk if you ask me…"
Sasuke didn't reply as he sat next to Naruto and watched her carefully, "Did you tell her?"
Naruto frowned and shook his head, "She was asleep when I cam here." Sasuke looked at the time. It was only 12:30. Placing a hand on the bed, his sigh was cut off by a large tug.
Sakura had grabbed his hand and tucked it underneath her cheek, her breath lightly kissing the back of his hand. Sasuke's eyes diverted to Naruto, almost horrified. Naruto opened his mouth as if to say something, a familiar look glazing through his azure eyes then quickly disappearing as his lips turned into a small fake smile.
With a heave and a small grunt, he pushed off his chair and stood up, stretching, "Ah- I guess I'll leave. I should be training anyway and I'm sure no one will attack Sakura while you're around…"
Sasuke watched him skeptically as he walked to the door.
"I love you…" came the small, exhausted mutter from the bed. Sasuke, wide eyed, swished his head towards the direction as Naruto stopped at the door, his hands behind his head and a small frown on his face. His back was turned tot eh two, but he knew that Sakura was now nuzzling Sasuke's hand.
"Heh."
The Uchiha swiveled his head back to face Naruto still surprised. His expression… What was it?
A small smirk came to his lips as Naruto lowered his hands and slipped them into his pockets, unmoving, "Take good care of Sakura…" he started, a small frown slowly making it's way to his lips, "Or I'll get back at you," he whispered dangerously, not knowing if his best friend and worst enemy heard or not.
With that, he left the residence, broken hearted for the fourth time and smiling. He was still healing from the first time he ever accepted Sakura's love for the Uchiha.
"You really do love him don't you?"
She nodded slowly, "Yes."
Silence overcame the group as Naruto slowly gave a smile.
"Then I'll bring him back, no matter what! I promise! It's my ninja way!"
The blonde heaved a sigh and walked down the road, spotting his favorite ramen shop on the way. He felt that it couldn't hurt and training could be saved for later.
Sitting down, he ordered the same as usual and picked up his chopsticks half-heartedly. Playing with his food a little he popped some noodles into his mouth carelessly.
"Na-Naruto-kun?" a small, shy voice asked.
"Pah!" it was so sudden that Naruto practically almost choked on his food. Coughing and hitting his chest, he glanced to the side to see a frightened Hinata, playing with her fingers as the creases in her forehead folded in worry.
"Na-Naruto-kun! Gomenasai! I didn't think-"
"It's all right!" Naruto interrupted with a grin, laughing his coughs away as he signaled to the chair next to him, "You don't have to be sorry."
Hinata timidly scuttled to the chair and sat down hastily, still as nervous as ever. Her feelings immediately flushed away once she saw the dazed, unhappy look Naruto was giving his ramen.
"Naruto-kun? Is anything wrong?" she asked, placing a hand on the counter and leaning foreword to get a better look at him. He gave a small sigh and sat up, "No… Nothing…" Naruto flashed her a grin and hoped it would keep her happy, but the look of determination on her face told him it was a different story.
"All right… Well-" he started, playing with his soup again, watching Hinata from the corner of his eye, "It's… Sakura…"
"Sakura-san? Wha-what's wrong?" her eyes widened with worry and curiosity. Naruto sighed again and tilted his head, "I really shouldn't be telling anyone, but… Well… Something terrible happened to her parents…"
"What!" Hinata suddenly leaned foreword, her heart pumped with compassion for the pink haired chunnin. She suddenly realized how close their noses were and blushed deeply, retracting and looking down, embarrassed, "Ano… I mean… That's… Horrible… What happened?"
Naruto didn't seem to hear her, because he continued after looking away. He had turned the slightest pink also.
"Also… I think Sasuke likes her…"
Hinata bit her lip, unsure of how to respond.
"I know I'm supposed to be happy… But I'm still…" his eyebrows furrowed and he made a face before sighing and giving a grin to the shy girl, "Anyway! Enough of this! I'll treat you to some ramen!"
Hinata gave a small smile, her heart dropping a few notches, "Ah-no. Thank you, but Kiba-san has been waiting for my visit, and-"
Naruto nodded and smiled, "It's fine. He's been moody lately, so I think a visit will do him good." Hinata nodded and hopped off the chair, waving a goodbye and heading out of the shop to leave.
"Ah-Hinata?"
She spun around, her chest heaving with anticipation.
"Ye-yes?"
"Thank you," Naruto said seriously with a small smile, still holding his chopsticks, "For listening…"
Hinata blushed and looked to the floor muttering, "It was nothing…" she gave one last wave and shy smile and was off.
She had had a crush on the blonde for as long as she could remember, but he only saw Sakura. Before, when he decided to get over her, Hinata felt as if she might have a chance. However, that didn't seem like the case now. Of course she'd want him happy. She'd do anything for him. He does so many things for his friends after all. It was just that, it hurt to see him painfully dragging through this. She wished she was a medic-nin like Sakura, only she could heal people emotionally. Naruto was more than a friend.
"Ah! Ki-Kiba-san!" she squeaked as she bumped into him.
"Hm? What's with that look? Worried about something?"
"Oh? No… Not really," Hinata laughed nervously, trying to hide her confusion as she hid her twiddling fingers in her jacket pocket.
"I-I was going to visit you," she muttered, watching Akamaru doze on Kiba's shoulder.
"Really? It's only," he looked at his watch, "Two… Wow, that's strange, I could've sworn it was earlier than that…"
"Two! Ah! My father is going to be mad…" she gasped, looking in the direction of her house frantically.
"Why would he get mad? Whoa, calm down…" he held her shoulder, raising an eyebrow.
"It's… I was supposed to make tea and. Gomen! I'll visit you tomorrow!" she quickly spit out, running towards her house and hoping she wouldn't be too late.
Kiba petted Akamaru and smiled, "Good thing you learned how to shrink and then grow to your normal size again, or else it would be very difficult to carry you around when you're sleeping…"
His dog gave a small yawn and snuggled up against his neck as Kiba continued to walk to his destination. When he reached it, Shino stood at the tree, holding and observing a butterfly.
"Yo buddy!" Kiba called from a while away, grinning and showing his canines as he jogged over, waking up Akamaru promptly. Shino nodded in response and the butterfly flew away, the bug lover making sure it got away safely.
"Training?" he simply asked and Kiba grinned, "Yup! I brought Akamaru, but Hinata can't come…"
Shino raised a brow but didn't continue the conversation. Kiba shrugged and brought out his kunai, "Ready?" he smirked. Shino simply nodded and slipped into fighting stance, preparing to dodge any attacks.
Swish! Clunk!
Kiba stared wide-eyed at the shuriken that had just barely grazed Shino's cheek and smacked into the trunk of a tree behind him. He swirled around to see Neji jogging onto their training grounds.
"Oh… It's you guys. TenTen, Lee, and I are training." He started coolly as he popped the shuriken out of its hole. Kiba growled, "So? We're training to and it's best not to bother us."
"Oh you are, are you?" Neji asked with a smirk, fingering the shuriken diabolically, "Then you wouldn't mind if I practiced aim on you would you?"
"Neji!" came a loud yell from the trees. Out furiously came a brunette with her hair rolled into two buns at the top of her head, "Sorry about that," she continued sweetly to Shino and Kiba, "He's been moody ever since Lee beat him that one time."
"I'm not moody," Neji muttered, giving her the death glare as she grinned with a nervous expression coming over her face.
"YOSH! Now I shall conquer you both!" another yell came and Kiba already regretted talking to the Hyuuga. It had brought doom on Shino and himself.
"Ah! I see we've obtained some new sparring partners! Shino, Kiba, what do you say about a two on one, eh?" Lee asked, overly reacting and bouncing on the spot. TenTen shot a glare at him and replied in the corner of her mouth, "Lee, just be quiet…"
Lee made a face and shut up, narrowing his eyes dramatically as if she had just interrupted the Hokage herself. TenTen was about to rant on about how they should head back and continue training when a sudden flash passed by, followed by a yell and another flash.
"Kakashi-sensei! Give me that book!" The group watched after the two racing, confused. Naruto continued tog o as fast as he could, catching up to his former sensei who grinned mischievously behind his mask, pocketing the orange, explicit book.
"Kakashi!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs.
Naruto was almost exhausted, still running after Kakashi after three hours passed. Some training this was.
"There's no way I'm letting a seventeen year old read this yet." Kakashi called back, still chuckling as he made a sharp turn.
"If you do-ufh!" Naruto kidded to a stop when he bumped into a red figure, Kakashi growing smaller in the background.
"Ga… Gaara?" Naruto blinked looking up, stuttering when he realized it was the Kazekage who he had bumped into. Gaara looked down with the usual serious frown he wore, giving a hand to Naruto to help him.
"Business," he said simply, a grave look in his eyes. Naruto could already tell that the rings around his eyes were slowly disappearing, "Meeting Tsunade?" Naruto figured that with Gaara coming with such a serious air it could only mean something bad had happened outside of Konoha. Gaara nodded and looked over his shoulder to his siblings.
"Temari, Kankurou!" Naruto grinned, giving a wave. Temari gave a smirk back as Kankurou scowled and walked over, "Don't grin like an idiot!"
"Excuse him, Naruto, he's been…" Gaara narrowed his eyes to his brother warningly. Kankurou immediately backed down, grumbling and crossing his arms over his chest.
"I must get to the Hokage's office." Gaara continued. Naruto nodded and frowned, "I understand. You know where it is? Okay, then I'll talk to you after you finish with Tsunade-sama." He knew when to be serious and when to be hyper. They exchanged looks and Gaara was on his way, "Temari, Kankurou, do as you wish." He dismissed them with a hand in the air. Kankurou grinned, "I don't know about you sis, but I'm heading to the nearest food shop!"
"There's a close by ramen shop!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning, "We can eat there and you can tell me what's wrong."
"What's wrong? Baka! Nothing wrong!"
"Oh yeah cat ears? Well then why-"
But Temari heard no more. She was already walking away from the two, silently seeking a certain person. She always visited him when she came to Konoha. He would always be there, watching the clouds pass by and it was an escape from the tiresome job she had back at home. Making a few more turns, she came upon the clearing where she would always find him. The Team 10 training grounds. She frowned when she saw no pineapple hair or flash of a green vest.
"…What're you doing here?"
Temari couldn't have been more shocked when she turned on her heel and saw him standing there.
"Shikamaru…" she breathed, then scowled, "Why did you have to sneak up on me like that? I could have thought you were an enemy and killed you!"
Shika wore the same tired frown as he always did when she met him, "I'd better off be dead anyway…"
"Why?" she asked, suddenly curious as to why he looked so worn out.
"Ah- it's troublesome to talk about it… Anyway, what brings you back to Konoha?" he changed the subject. He was hiding something; she knew it.
"Gaara has some news for the Hokage." She simply answered.
A silence passed over them, a slight breeze picking up. Shikamaru continued to watch her carefully, his hands in his pockets and lazily leaning his head to the side. Temari opened her mouth to say something but she was cut short.
"There's a festival in a couple of days."
"A…A festival?"
"Hai. Are you going?"
Temari scuffled inside herself to keep her breath smooth and her cheeks blush free, "No… Why would I go?" she scoffed, looking away with a scowl. Shika simply shrugged and started to walk past her, "Just asking. It's getting late, you should head back to a hotel."
"I just got here…" she replied with a glare, his shoulder grazing against hers.
"It's six…" Shikamaru retorted, looking over his shoulder at her. She looked up at him with a frown. He's gotten taller.
"Where are you going?"
"Home." He sighed and continued walking, holding up a hand as if saying, 'Later'. She gave a huff and scowled off, Shikamaru walking the opposite direction of which she went. Once she was out of hearing range, he let out an exhausted sigh. She was the only one who could make him tense up so badly that he needed to hold his breathe. Looking up at the road, he saw his oncoming house. Dinner would be served soon.
Entering and taking off his shoes he called to his mom, "I'm home!" His father was off on a mission and he was left on his own with a house filled with girls since his mother's friend was staying for a couple of days.
"Mom, I-" he stopped when he entered the kitchen, his hand on the doorway when he saw whom it was cooking in the kitchen.
"I-Ino?" he coughed, today was filled with surprises.
"Hello Shika!" Ino exclaimed with a smile as she concentrated on cracking some eggs.
"Why?"
"You're mother asked me to help her. She caught me at the flower shop and invited me over for dinner. Her friend got injured on her shopping spree."
"Injured? How do you get injured on a shopping spree?" Shikamaru asked, tired of all the shocks to his brains. All this was giving him headaches.
"She fell." Ino simply stated, returning her concentration on her cooking. He watched her for a few moments then gave a shuddered sigh, "I'll help you." He frowned and started to walk over when she turned around and gave him a look.
"No way! You sound terrible. A nap is what you need!"
"Ino…"
"Shika! You're exhausted! What have you been up to?" she huffed and turned around again, continuing with the soup, "Never mind that. I don't need any help anyway!"
She kept her stubborn attitude up for the rest of the night, refusing to accept his help with anything until after dinner was over and his mother and friend were upstairs.
"Shika?"
"Hn?" he was beginning to get annoyed with her, "What's the problem?"
"Could you…" she stepped down from the porch, biting her lip, "Walk me home?"
"What?" he looked at her confused and filled with laziness.
"Please? It's just that. My parents aren't home and I don't… Did you hear what happened to Hinata? They…" she narrowed her eyes and whispered into his ear after tugging on his sleeve, "cooed at her…"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and glared at her, "Troublesome… You think some thugs will jump on you or something? You're a ninja!"
She pushed him slightly, frowning, "It's not funny Shikamaru! I was scared when Hinata told me what happened…"
"It's only eight!"
"Shika-"
"Fine, fine, but next time you're on your own…" he muttered, walking down the steps and getting ahead of her. This was going to be a long walk.
It was beginning to get dark and Shika was standing outside Ino's door, waiting for her to find her keys in her pockets and get inside already. He observed her back, his mind trailing away with his daydreams as he traced his eyes over her golden locks. If only he could just-
"Shika?"
He straightened up suddenly, distracted from his mind when she called for him, her backs still turned to him.
"Thank you for not accepting another mission for a couple of days…"
He was silent, already knowing that she didn't like him being gone all the time.
"And thank you… For…" her voice stopped as the door clicked open. Ino looked over her shoulder, blue eyes searching his chocolate ones for any meaning.
"Walking me home…" she ended hastily, giving a sad sigh and a smile.
"Ja ne." she whispered, her tone adjusting to the dark atmosphere around them. With that, she closed to door behind her and looked around her living room. He always seemed to make her act her weirdest, fussy one minute and nostalgic the next. She was ready to stop thinking about him right then and there. Alas, she could not. Flopping the keys onto the counter then heading into her room, she changed into her short shorts and tank top for a long night of staying up, her mind swimming with thoughts of the brown haired boy that kept her up every night and woke her up early in the morning.
"Perhaps tomorrow I should ask him…" she muttered to herself, slipping off to a fairytale of wonders.