She never liked you, anyway. Just forget her, kit.
I can't.
Aw, c'mon man! Pull yourself off the floor and stop being so pathetic!
I loved her…
That's better! Past tense! The kyuubi was getting irritated. Kit, it's just a girl. You can mate with another one.
You perv! Naruto felt his cheeks turn red at his demon's blunt statement.
What? The kyuubi asked innocently. Oh, right, I forgot. You humans call it "sex".
It's not like that! Naruto put his face in his hands. She… She just meant so much…
"Dobe." The cool, calm voice was definitely Sasuke.
"I want to be alone, teme." Naruto didn't look up.
Sasuke knew something was wrong with his best friend. "Kakashi wants us to go to some party or something. Tonight. Black tie."
"I'm not going." Naruto really did want to be alone. He stood up and stalked off, arms hanging loosely at his sides, his face bent towards the ground.
Sasuke stared at his comrade's retreating back for a moment. This was not the reaction he had expected to elicit from Naruto. Quite the contrary, actually.
Sasuke followed him, walking just fast enough to keep him in sight. To his surprise, Naruto appeared in front of him with a poof of smoke.
"Sasuke-teme," Naruto said, seeming unusually tired. "Please. I just want to be alone."
Sasuke observed his friend critically. His mouth, instead of spread in that cheesy grin, was straight, turning downwards slightly at the ends. Dark half-moons were present under his usually sparkling blue eyes, which looked more depressively passive than any other feature on his ruddy face.
"Okay, dobe. Just go to this address at eight o' clock tonight."
Naruto continued his slow walk, dragging his feet along the rough concrete of the sidewalk. He eventually arrived at his destination: the Yamanaka's flower shop.
Slowly trudging in, he was greeted by an overly-cheerful Ino. "Hiya, Naruto! What can I do for you?"
"I need a flower that says 'I'm giving up'." He said flatly, his eyes scanning the shop.
Ino observed him. Naruto never gives up… What did she do!? I'm going to kill her… She can be such an & sometimes!!! Ino thought angrily. Ino and Naruto were pretty good friends. He always cheered her up. She always bought him ramen. It was a win-win for both of them. Naruto had the cheer, Ino had the money. Ino could use some cheering up every once in a while, Naruto could use some money every once in a while. Though they hadn't seen each other in a while, they remained friends.
"Ano… I don't know of any flower that means exactly that." She started. Naruto's face fell. "But we can make a bouquet!" She added in a rush. Ino hurried over to a table. 'Now, what do we have here? White clover? Good… Sweet pea? Excellent! Now, where's some peach blossom? There! Add a touch of heliotrope, and perfect!" Ino held up an intricate bouquet of various flowers, which she had plucked out of several vases scattered throughout the store. "And for the last piece…" She trotted outside with Naruto trailing behind, mildly curios. "Would you find a nice, big wilted maple leaf, with a long stem?"
Naruto obeyed, returning with a reddish brown five-pointed leaf, about five inches across.
"Good." Ino tucked it with the other flowers and scurried back into the shop, out of the chilly autumn winds. There she pulled out a piece of silver string and tied the stems together. Handing it to Naruto, the beach blonde seventeen-year-old's expression softened.
"Naruto?" She asked gently as he gazed down at the bouquet in his hands. "Is… Ano… anything wrong?"
Naruto looked up, seeming slightly startled. He smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, Ino-chan. How much do I owe you?" He avoided her question as his left hand fished around in his pants' pocket.
"You can pay me back tomorrow, Naruto-kun. Don't worry about it." Ino tried to sound bright as his hand turned up empty, dissolving the traces of happiness on his rugged features.
"Arigato, Ino-chan. See you." Naruto shuffled out of the shop, holding the flowers delicately against his shirt.
Naruto arrived at the party in his regular clothes. The greeter at the door stopped him.
"I'm sorry, but this is a formal party." The greeter smiled one of those annoying false, sweet smiles. "Black tie only."
Naruto shook his head. "Oh, no, I'm not staying. I just have to see someone."
"I'm sorry, but there are no exceptions."
"Oi! Naruto! About time you showed up!" Kakashi, complete with a tux, waved him in.
The greeter's eyes flashed with anger as Naruto pushed past him, stepping into the party. Ladies in black evening gowns and kimonos mingled amongst men in tuxedos and formal kimonos. Classical music played from speakers distributed evenly throughout the room. A large, crystalline chandelier sparkled in the middle of the ceiling, casting colorful spots on the white walls.
Kakashi absorbed Naruto's attire. His usual training garments, still dirty from sparring earlier that day, were all he wore. "You know what black tie means, don't you, Naruto?"
"Yes, sensei." Naruto heaved a sigh. "I'm not staying. Just dropping by. Excuse me." Naruto headed for the blotch of pink that bobbed up and down through the crowd. "Sakura." He said her name softly, just loud enough for her to hear.
She turned around eagerly. "Oh, Naruto, it's just you." She didn't try even the tiniest bit to hide her disappointment. "Have you seen Sasuke-kun?"
"May I speak to you? In private?" His voice was low, and tired.
"Well, I guess." Sakura followed him reluctantly, keeping an eye out for her crush.
He stepped out onto the patio, holding the door open for her and closing it behind her. Naruto took a deep breath.
Sasuke, who had been lounging on a couch in a corner, saw Naruto, still in his training clothes, lead Sakura, who was clad in a very formal and exposing black strapless dress, onto the patio. Sasuke moved closer to the door so he could hear what they were saying. Or, rather, what Sakura was screeching.
"What kind of bouquet is this?" She threw it down in disgust. "Naruto, I told you; I will never, ever return your feelings!"
Naruto winced at each of her words, but said nothing.
"I don't love you, Naruto! Why can't you get that through your thick skull?"
She whirled around, stomping back inside, managing to crush the flowers on her way.
"I thought you would understand, Sakura-san." He whispered, staring at the destroyed bouquet before jumping off the balcony and fading into the darkness.
Sasuke strode onto the balcony and rescued the abused bouquet from the cold cement. Sweet pea, white clover, heliotrope, peach blossom, a dead leaf. Sasuke knew what these meant. Sweet pea symbolized departing; white clover whispered "think of me"; heliotrope revealed devotion; the peach blossom stated "I am your captive". The dead leaf, one point broken off from the harsh treatment, showed his sadness. Sure, it wasn't the prettiest of bouquets, but its message was obvious to the trained eye. Any person raised with a parent devoted to flowers, like Sasuke's mother, would understand the meaning.
This bouquet screamed, "I'm letting go of my beloved." In Sasuke's face.
Sasuke admired his best friend's acceptance and poetic way of trying to communicate with his crush. Sasuke held onto the bouquet as he stepped through the crowd. Suddenly sea-green eyes topped by a rosy bun appeared in front of him.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura nearly squealed. "I was looking for you!"
He thrust the bouquet in to her hands. "Look up the meanings." He growled before striding purposefully out the door.
Sakura's heart was pounding at receiving flowers from Sasuke. Inner Sakura pumped her fist.
Wait… These are Naruto's flowers! Inner Sakura screeched. Sakura gasped, running out the door (in her four-inch heels) to find her crush.
"Sasuke-kun!" She called. "I don't understand!"
Sasuke twitched at the shrill voice echoing along the street. Was she ever not annoying?
Naruto was training. Well, more like venting. He repeatedly punched a tree, shattering his bloody knuckles. Blood was smeared all over the bark of the poor tree, the victim of his pent-up frustration. Why? Why? He thought she would understand! He'd never be good enough, would he?
"Kuso!" A loud, angry stream of curses poured out of his mouth like a bursting dam (A/N: No pun intended!).
"You know, hurting yourself won't exactly solve your problems." A calm voice mentioned from above.
"Aa, but it'll sure make me feel better." Naruto snarled as he punched the tree again.
"Well, I guess it's better than getting wasted." Sasuke landed in a crouching position as he hopped down from the tree limbs.
Naruto stopped and looked at Sasuke for the first time. "Actually, that sounds pretty good."
Bloody hands still balled into fists, Naruto abruptly turned on his heel and began to walk in the direction of the nearest bar. He was acutely aware of Sasuke following him.
"Will you just leave me alone, teme?" Naruto snapped, glaring at the Uchiha over his shoulder.
"No." Sasuke stated simply.
"Why?" Naruto's fingers twitched as he resisted the urge to beat the living daylights out of his comrade.
"Because I have you make sure you don't do something stupid."
"You're not my freakin' mom! Back off!" Naruto took a swing at Sasuke, who ducked under it and caught the wrist, twisting it.
"See? You're already being stupid. Now come on."
"Where are we going?" Naruto struggled to get out of the avenger's grasp, but was to tired to put all his effort into it.
"Shut up, dobe."
Naruto grumbled angrily as the Uchiha led him to Naruto's apartment, breaking in with a simple unlocking jutsu. Sasuke sat him on the bed, and picked up the phone.
"Oh, yeah, help yourself to the phone." Naruto muttered sarcastically.
"Stop complaining." Sasuke glared at him as he punched in a number. "Hello, this is Sasuke. Hey, could you do me a favor? Can you come to Naruto's apartment? He hurt himself, and you're the only medic-nin either of us could stand t be around right now. What? Oh, he shattered his knuckles. Thanks, Hinata. See you in a few minutes."
"Hinata?" Naruto asked blankly. "I didn't know she was a medic-nin. Why do you know her number?"
"We were study partners in an exam awhile ago."
"Ugh! You're so irritating!" Naruto fell back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
A few minutes later there was a tentative knocking on the door. Sasuke opened it, letting Hinata into the small apartment.
"No, it's okay Sasuke. I'll get the door." Naruto grumbled as Hinata, dark locks of hair framing her fair face, shyly followed Sasuke to the bed.
"Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, blushing. A beam of light struck her as she kneeled by his bed and examined his hand gently. Her indigo hair fairly glowed, giving her a supernatural, enchanting appearance. She really was quite beautiful.
"I'll go get some bandages." Sasuke stepped out of Naruto's bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Hinata cleansed his fingers in a bowl of warm water, her smooth fingertips lightly caressing the wounds, ridding them of debris. She dried them carefully, dabbing at them with a soft towel. Naruto felt a bolt of courage surge through him.
"Hinata-chan, would you like to go on a date with me?"
Hinata nearly dropped the tube of antiseptic. Blushing cherry red, she nodded shakily. "H-Hai."
Outside the room, Sasuke smiled.
A/N: Wow! That turned out kinda NaruIno in the middle! That wasn't really planned, but I was flying by the seat of my pants the whole way. I don't even like that pairing. It was actually meant to have more NaruHina, but oh well. I'm surprised that Sasuke became the matchmaker in this! That wasn't planned either… WOOT!!! GO FLYING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS!!!