Story Rating: M
Chapter Rating: T
Chapter Title: It's Hard to Beleive a Liar
A/N: Do note that this story is rated M for a reason. There will be excess swearing, hetero and homosexual intercourse, romance, fighting, alcohol, and possibly other things that may offend you. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did, well, we don't want to get into that.
P.S. See if you can guess the songs my titles are from.
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Beep. Beep. Beep.
Sakura slowly slit one eye open, glaring at the nuisance of an alarm clock in front of her. The red digital digits in front of her read 8:00. She threw her arm out from under the blankets, and slammed her hand against the snooze button. Just five more minutes of slumber, fiver more minutes of peace.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Dammit." Was the only word the pink haired girl could muster up as she flicked the off button on her alarm clock. She stared up at her ceiling for a few moments, blinking her eyes repeatedly, trying to wake up. Sakura hated days like these. The days where she had nothing planned, yet she just knew something would come up. Sakura couldn't remember the last time she had had a day off. Just as well, she couldn't remember the last time she had gotten a good night of sleep either. Her days strung themselves together with a thin piece of string, all colliding into each other, creating one big mess. The mess that was her life.
Sakura unraveled herself from her blankets; she was one of those people who liked to tuck in all the edges real tight. She stood up from her bed, her body shivering when her foot made contact with the cold wooden floor. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out her attire for the day, and grabbed her towel off of her door handle. She exited her bedroom, closing the door softly behind her.
The young Kunoichi made her way down to the end of the hallway and into the bathroom. The bathroom in Sakura's home was rather small; the sink was so close to the toilet that you couldn't even stick your hand in the gap. And don't even get her started on the tub. She literally had to duck her head down so that she could actually get her hair wet instead of just the back of her neck. If there was one thing she had set her mind to in life, it was purchasing a house one day that had a huge bathroom.
Sakura quickly slid her pajamas off her body and hopped into the shower. Nothing woke her up better than the feeling of steamy hot water pounding off her back. She stood there under the faucet for a few minutes, letting the water wash away every ounce of dirt and every impurity harvesting in her skin. She soon grabbed her shampoo and began cleansing herself, readying herself for the day. She spent about twenty minutes in the shower, washing her hair and brushing her teeth and such.
When she got out she quickly threw on her usual attire and gave herself a glance over in the mirror. Everything seemed in check to her. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to add a bit of volume to the flat pink mess.
Sakura quickly after thudded her way downstairs, holding on to the railing as she went. As a kid she had wasted one too many bandages covering up cuts and bruises left from falling down the stairs.
"Morning Mother." She said casually, grabbing a loaf of bread from the fridge. She pulled out two pieces and popped them into the toaster.
"Good morning dear. Someone came by to drop something off for you this morning, a note" She pointed her index finger at the kitchen table, where a small parcel now lay. She could tell by the decoration that it was from the Medical Ward.
She eyed it carefully for a minute before opening it to read its contents. "Shit" She cursed, rolling it back up and stuffing it in her pocket. This earned her a not so happy look from her mother, who was always strong on enforcing rules about the use of the mouth, even if she was eighteen. As she always said, boys didn't like girls with a potty mouth. Hmm, maybe that's why she had never had a steady boyfriend.
She shot her mother an apologetic look. "Sorry, it's just that that dobe has landed himself in the hospital again." She said, referring to her blond teammate.
"He's going to end up killing himself Sakura." Her mother stated, being the one who listened to all of Sakura's nonstop complaints.
"I know, I just, I don't know what to do anymore." She flung up her arms in a helpless matter. "I've got to go check on him." And with that she made her way out the door, leaving her toast behind.
It took her only a few minutes to reach the hospital, after it being her second home for a few years; she had memorized every possible path to the place. She threw the door open frantically, earning herself a few well deserved stares. She shrugged it off; she had saved more than enough lives in this place to be allowed to make as much noise as she damn well pleased. She quickly made her way over to the receptionist.
"I need Uzumaki Naruto's room please." She said carelessly. She gave the receptionist a quick glance over, she looked new. Someone Sakura hadn't seen before.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but he's not currently in the condition to receive visitors."
Sakura raised an eyebrow, a look of annoyance spreading across her face. "You obviously don't seem to know who I am." She said, the tone of her voice making her sound slightly arrogant.
"It doesn't really matter who you are, he has a strict no visitor rule for the next twenty four hours."
Sakura slammed her palms down onto the desk, scattering papers everywhere. If people weren't staring before, they sure as hell were now. "Just give me the fucking room number." She said through gritted teeth. Working under Tsunade-Sama had gained her quite a temper over the years.
"Room 36." The receptionist seemed a bit astounded by Sakura's actions, definitely a newbie.
"Thank you." Sakura stated simply, a warm smile planted on her face. She turned away from the desk and made her way down the hallway, eventually coming across Room 36. She took a deep breath before entering, she never knew what to expect from Naruto these days.
Sakura nearly cringed at the sight of her teammate. He didn't look that beaten up, but then again he never did. One of the advantages of having a monster living inside of you. It was the look on Naruto's face that was getting to her. The pain and disappointment she knew he was feeling was laden all over his face. Sakura hated to see him like this. She wished that there was something she could do.
"Naruto…" She whispered, she slowly made her way over to his bed, and dropped down to her knees. She grabbed his hand closest to her, and gave it a slight squeeze. It wasn't anything romantic, heavens no. Sakura thought of Naruto more as a brother figure than anything else. She was just trying to give him something warm to feel.
"Hey Sakura-Chan." Naruto said softly, a big grin spreading across his face. There were very few times when Sakura saw Naruto without a smile on his face. He was always there to brighten up every ones mood, even if he was the one hurting the most.
She lightly stroked the top of his hand, in efforts to comfort him. "Naruto, you have to stop this. You're going to kill yourself, and I can't be without both of my teammates." She hesitated a bit on the last word. Even to this day, both Naruto and Sakura still referred to Sasuke as their teammate. They would never stop. "Why did you leave without me again anyways?" She demanded with a slight tone of anger in her voice.
Naruto sat solid for a few minutes, not moving a muscle. She could tell that her use of the word teammates had affected him as well. "When I got the lead you were out on a mission with the Suna nin. I had to leave then or the lead would have served no purpose. It turned out to be a complete hoax though; Sasuke was nowhere near where I was." He spoke his words calmly, but Sakura knew that this was eating him up on the inside. "I made a promise to you Sakura, and I vow to keep it"
Sakura shot up at this statement, why must this kid be so damn loyal? "Naruto! I can't have you out there killing yourself over some silly promise!" She was nearly yelling now, her memory of that day was only oh too vivid.
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Sakura watched helplessly at the team of five Genin stood at Konoha's gates, preparing for what would be one of the biggest missions of their lives. They were all so brave, but all Sakura could do was cry. That's all she ever did back then.
"Naruto" She said through stifled tears, her emerald eyes looking deep with the depths of his murky blue ones. "You're the only one who can save him, Naruto." She said, still crying. She was so helpless then, so pitiful.
"I'll bring Sasuke back." Naruto said, with more seriousness in his voice than Sakura had ever witnessed. He stuck his thumb out to her. "And that's a promise of a lifetime!" He said, grinning. Always grinning, some things never change.
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"It was more than just a silly promise, Sakura-Chan." The intensity of his voice was undeniable.
"Naruto" Sakura said slowly, her eyes resting upon his beaten face. "Your life means more to me than the retrieval of Sasuke. Remember that."
Naruto felt his face flush for a minute, had she really just said that? It wasn't like it was hard to believe, it was just amazing to see how much Sakura had really matured over the years. "I already broke my promise once Sakura, I won't do it again."
Sakura stared up at the ceiling. Had this been three years ago, Sakura would have balled her eyes out until she was simply out of tears. But she was different now; never would she let another tear stream down her face. Never again would she show her vulnerability.
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Sakura's heart dropped as she overheard the voices coming from Naruto's hospital room. Sasuke-Kun hadn't returned? Naruto failed? Her hand dropped from the door as she stood there in disbelief. She tried to tell herself over and over again that this wasn't happening, but she couldn't keep lying to herself.
It took all the courage she could muster to open his door, the look on his face almost killed her. She had given him a task that he couldn't handle, Uzumaki Naruto had been defeated. But he made another promise to her, a vow to keep his prior promise. She looked at him and smiled, she had to be strong now; she had to be strong for him.
But as soon as she was home in bed, she let herself go. She let every tear flow from her eyes that she had so desperately tried to contain earlier that day. Everything poured out of her eye sockets like a rainstorm, everything that she had been holding inside. She was so pitiful than, crying over a boy that never even loved her.
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Sakura nodded, she knew there was no convincing Naruto not to do it. There was no talking the boy out of anything. "I'm going to let you get some rest Naruto."
He simply nodded in compliance, resting his head against the hospital pillow. Sakura slowly stepped out of the room, shutting the light off behind him.
Sakura slowly walked down the hallway, her mind clouded with thoughts. She couldn't let Naruto keep doing this to himself. She wouldn't be able to deal with life without him; he was one of her best friends. Something that she cherished.
When Sasuke was still around, things were different. She didn't give Naruto the respect he deserved; he was always just second best to Sasuke. She was so stupid to think along those lines, and she didn't know why she ever did. Oh yea, because she 'loved' him. But did she really?
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"Sakura eh?"
Sakura's head turned slowly around, it was as if everything was moving in slow motion. Before she knew it, the boy she once swooned over stood in front of her. It had been three years since she had laid eyes on him.
"S-Sasuke-Kun." Was all she could muster.
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Was she really that pathetic? Up until she saw him again, she swore that she was no longer in love with him. But the moment she laid eyes on him, she became tongue tied. She experienced everything she once felt for him all over again, it was horrible.
She clenched her hands into fists, next time would be different, and she swore it. If Naruto was willing to risk his life over her for a stupid promise, than she was going to make a vow of her own. She vowed that no matter what, she would be by Naruto's side when they met up with Sasuke again. She swore that this time, she would help him take Sasuke down for good.
But did her promises really mean anything?
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"Ino-Chan!" Sakura called, running up to the young girl. Ino was sitting on top of the hill near the academy, watching the sunset. They used to do this together all the time. It was like, their special little thing.
"Hey Sakura, it's about time you showed up." Ino smiled upon her best friend arriving, they had been friends for quite some time now. They may have only been nine years old, but Ino felt like they had been friends forever by now. In reality, they'd only been friends since about age six, so only three years. But still, in little Ino's eyes, it felt like an eternity.
"Sorry Ino, I got held up at home." She answered this truthfully. Her mother was having another one of her fits about something not being clean enough. Their house had been spotless ever since her father died; her mom had to keep herself distracted with something.
"Hey, Sakura." Ino looked over at her, a look of sorrow spread across her face.
"What's wrong Ino?" Sakura asked, finally taking her seat on the hill. The sun was starting to sink its way into the ground by now.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking. Sakura, do you think that we'll be friends forever?" Ino asked timidly. She didn't want to sound stupid, but she was really fretting over this. She didn't know why, she just was.
Sakura thought about it for a minute. "Of course Ino-Chan! Don't be so silly." Sakura smiled, and in response Ino's face lit up. But Sakura could still see a slight look of discontent in Ino's eyes. "Ino-Chan, we'll be best friends forever. I promise." And with that, Sakura saw a true smile spread across Ino's face.
They sat there in silence for the rest of the evening, watching the sunset. It was better this way, some things were meant to be left unspoken.
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Sakura rubbed her temples. Why was she thinking about this, why now? It was Naruto she was worried about. But…
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The weather was windy; an obvious sign that fall was starting. Ino sat on a bench near the park, waiting for Sakura to get there. She couldn't wait; they had so many plans for the day. First, it was off to the flower shop to pick up some flowers for Iruka-Sensei. He had a bad fall on a previous mission, and was in the hospital with a broken leg. Then it was off to harass Shikamaru and Chouji, one of their all time favorite activities. They would then convince them to play hide and seek with them, Sakura's favorite game. And then it would be back to the hill to watch the sunset, the perfect ending to any day.
"Ino-Chan." Ino's head turned immediately upon hearing Sakura's voice. But when she turned her stomach dropped, Sakura look really angry. Ino was scared, had she done something to upset her?
"I heard you like Sasuke-Kun too."
Ino felt her heart leap into her throat, where had she heard that? She racked her brain, but couldn't come up with an answer. She didn't like Sasuke-Kun at all. But before she could answer, Sakura began talking again.
"Than we're rivals from now on."
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Sakura felt her heart drop, she tried her hardest to never think of these events. But it was true, how could she expect herself to keep a promise to Naruto, when she couldn't even keep a promise to her supposed best friend? A very important promise at that.
"Sakura-San" Called a voice form down the hall, knocking Sakura back to reality. Sakura glanced over to see who it was. It was none other than little Udon, running a messenger mission, those were always the worst.
"Tsunade-Sama said to meet her in her office right away!"
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A/N: Wow, I certainly do love writing flashbacks. I think they add a certain emotion to the story that you couldn't get any other way, especially with the pair involved. Any who, Ino will be introduced soon, so don't start freaking.
Ok! Now remember, reviews help to inspire me, so get those fingers typing! This is my first romance fic, and my first Yuri fic at that, so please no flames. But, constructive criticism is something I adore. Of course, I always love reading positive comments as well.
Next chapters will be much longer; I'm rather horrid at beginnings. My apologies, expect better from me in the future.
And believe me; I have this whole story planned out in my head. So I won't be ditching this fic as some writers do; I'm in this until the end!