Here it is, my new one-shot. I haven't written one in a while it seems.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Enjoy minna!
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For Racheal, because without you, I'd surely go insane. Or maybe I'd be sane. Who knows? But you are the one who takes care of me when I obviously can't do it myself. Thanks for being there for me, loving me when I feel unloved, and kicking the ass of anyone who deserves it (namely AJ)
I love you. 3
--
I was
disappointed. Our mission was a failure. Of course, my partner for
this mission just happened to be one shinobi who was famous for his
failing streak. But this time it wasn't his fault. I was frustrated
that the mission was a failure. That means my paycheck would be
smaller than it should be now. And sadly, my displeasure was being
taken out on my partner who, for once, didn't deserve it.
The mission was simple really. Naruto and I simply had to find and arrest who was suspected to be responsible for the string of murders that occurred in a nearby village. Not hard, I had thought upon receiving the information about what it was we had to do. Naruto and I together were a formidable team, so I never thought we would have a problem. And of course, we didn't have any problems, not until it came to actually making the arrest.
Never had we been informed that the culprit we were after was mentally unstable. The instant Naruto and I had found the guy; we went in for the arrest. At the last second, once the man figured out what was going on, he had put a kunai throat and took his life. Really, it wasn't a pretty sight. Obviously it wasn't enjoyable to watch someone commit suicide and I found myself shaken up. I couldn't do anything but stare, my mouth agape and my eyes wide.
I pushed the image out of my head and focused on where I was going. Naruto and I were on our way back to the village to report the bad news. We needed that man for interrogation and now he was clearly useless. My eyes were narrowed, glaring at the trees ahead of me. It was raining, windy, and cold. I could feel the goose bumps on my arms but ignored them. My body was shaking from the cold, but I pushed through.
It seemed to be instantaneous that the downpour became torrential and the droplets of water now actually hurt. The rain stung as it struck my skin; my arms, legs, and face all under attack. I glanced over momentarily to my partner and noticed his blue orbs were narrowed to keep the rain out of his eyes. His look directed over in my direction. Our eyes locked and we silently nodded an agreement and both of us jumped down to the soggy ground bellow. I could feel the mud squish beneath my feet and made a face. Naruto slipped upon landing, but quickly remained balance. I could see in his face he was hoping that I didn't noticed. I did and shook my head as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"We need shelter," I said, stating the obvious. Stupidly the two of us came unprepared, not having a tent or anything. We had never thought that this mission would take too long, and neither of us had checked out the weather channel before we left. That was stupid on both of our parts and I found myself unable to place the blame.
"I know," he said and began to look around. We were completely surrounded by trees and despite it being late afternoon, the sulky gray clouds darkened the skies and made it feel like night. There really didn't seem like there was a place to take cover. But the rain was too intolerable to stay out for too long. And combined with the cold temperature, I knew we had to find someplace to take cover to avoid getting sick.
"Let's look around," I suggested. Naruto nodded and we both started to walk off, the ground making sloppy noises beneath out feet.
--
We had been searching for what seemed like forever and not once had the rain let up. My skin hurt, I was soaking wet, and I was colder than I had been before. Every time a gust of wind blew, it raked my body with newfound chills. Already my nose was beginning to run, and I could feel sickness washing over me.
I had barley heard Naruto's voice over the sounds of the storm. "There," I heard faintly and I followed his outstretched man. He was pointing to a very large, very old tree. It was hollowed out like a cave, a good portion of it's trunk missing, providing a doorway to it's inside.
The pair of us rushed, running against the forces of nature to the tree. It was rotted but sturdy, and at this moment it was the only thing that was there to protect us.
Naruto stuck his head in, making sure it was clear of any pesky animals. It wasn't my ideal shelter, but since being a ninja, I've learned to never complain. Naruto gave me a thumbs up and he went inside. I followed right behind him and felt as though I had gone blind. It was completely dark and I found my hand reaching out, searching for some kind of support. I grabbed onto the back of Naruto's jacket and held on. I felt him stop for a moment before he led me over to a side of the tree where he sat down. I mimicked him.
And then all that was heard were the sounds of the tearing rain and the howling wind. Our unsynchronized breathing also filled my ears and I couldn't help but feel very conscious of the man by my side. I turned away from him a bit, feeling that unnecessary frustration once again build up inside of me. I wrapped my arms around my knees and leaned my chin on them, scowling into the darkness. I was shivery badly and my teeth chattering together was audible. Not only that, but I could feel eyes staring at me.
"You're cold," I heard and could feel a strange annoyance flash through me.
"I'm fine," I growled with a bite. I knew it was stupid to be upset like I was, but I never liked failure. Or rain. Rain, to me, was depressing. And having to be stuck in a nasty old tree surely wasn't the highlight of my life.
My hair was drenched and sticking to my face, but I was too cold to care. My ears were frozen, and I was sure that my cheeks were red. But I would endure. A little cold never hurt anyone right? I just hated the fact that I was in my red tank top and shorts. Honestly, it wasn't this cold when we left the Leaf village.
Suddenly I felt something heavy being draped over my shoulders. My eyes had adjusted to the dark and I could vaguely make out the color. Orange, bright, even in the darkness. It was Naruto's jacket. He had willingly given me his jacket. Two feelings rose in me. I wanted to shove the jacket back in his face and declare that I was fine, I didn't need it. But then again, I was grateful. I knew Naruto cared for me, now possibly more than he ever has. He had turned from the annoying twelve year old into the fierce nineteen year old, and never over the past years had his love for me faltered.
I kept his jacket and wrapped it tighter around myself. I felt bad, knowing that he only had a tee-shirt now. I glanced over at Naruto and noticed he was leaning in towards me, as though he was trying to get closer to me. My cheeks flushed, this time not because of the cold. A warm feeling starting inside of me and I growled internally.
This wasn't right. I wasn't supposed to feel this way around Naruto. Him of all people. But the feeling I had been developing, just from being in his presence, was different than anything I had ever experienced. I could remember when being around Sasuke. I would feel a hot flame build inside of me and I would freak out every time I even saw him. But with Naruto, the feeling wasn't hot, it was warm and comforting. He was my best friend after all. I'd always been comfortable around him. It really hadn't taken me long to figure out that I was in lust with Sasuke. Not love. But Naruto…I just couldn't tell.
I wanted to believe that these feeling for him would pass. That in time, I would only see him as my best friend again. I didn't want to know what it felt like to have him hold me. I didn't want to find myself staring at his lips as he talked to me, wondering how they would feel against my own. It was stupid, ridiculous even. He was my friend, nothing more and I wanted to keep it that way. Besides, what if something went wrong? Something that could mess up the friendship we have. That's the last thing I ever want.
"You alright Sakura-chan?"
Normally I would have just nodded, but he wouldn't be able to see me now. I swallowed and cleared my throat. "I'm fine," I answered. A gust of wind blew outside, sending a torrent of cold air into the tree and I found myself shivering even harder.
"Maybe we should…use our body…heat…" I could hear the hesitation in his voice. That would be his ultimate dream, having me in his arms, huddling into his chest for warmth. No matter how badly I wanted to get warm, that was just something I didn't want to happen. Just being held by him, that could result in a different step in our relationship being taken. Yet again, I wanted nothing more than to be swept up by him and cuddled for warmth.
I shook my head to myself. "Really, I'm fine," I said assuring, though I knew I didn't sound convincing. Naruto didn't say anything for a while. I started to wonder when the rain would cease.
"Are you worried about being so close to me? Because if you think I'd try anything, you're really wrong."
I was really shocked by those words and wondered if he could read minds. Not that I was necessarily afraid of him trying anything, I just wanted to know how he knew I was afraid of being close to him. "I know you wouldn't Naruto."
"So why won't you come next to me. It'll be better for both of us. Remember Iruka-sensei telling us that if a heat source isn't close by, to use each others' body heat to stay warm." Naruto always felt proud when he was able to remember something from the academy days that made it seem as though he was smart. I found myself smile. It was only for survival purposes.
I felt Naruto's eyes on me. I knew he could tell if there was something wrong with me, and right now I was just waiting for him to make the first move. I was waiting for him to move over towards me, wanting to do what he knew was best for the both of us. Really now, it shouldn't take too long.
The wind blew ferociously outside and I could feel a few raindrops being blown into our hideout, hitting me in the face. I turned my head over to the side, facing away from the opening in the tree. I nearly jumped out of my skin when my nose was right to the nose of my partner. He grinned, his eyes scrunching up. I glared, my mouth pulling down into a frown.
"I'm just…"
"I know," I interjected before he could finish. I sighed quietly, a signal to Naruto that I was fine, whatever; he could do as he wished. It didn't take long for me to feel an arm slither its way around my waist, then another around my shoulders. There was extra pressure on my shoulder as he rested his head there. Both of our bodies were shaking now, and it seemed like the temperature was dropping with every passing second. I suddenly was grateful for the new warmth I had.
"How long do you think this will last?" I heard. Chills racked my spine, these ones not caused by the cold. His voice, right next to my ear was so clear, rough, deep, sexy. I felt myself begin to melt around the edges, but I tried my hardest to remain indifferent. I couldn't let this happen. No, I just couldn't. Surely if things progressed we would just be setting each other up for failure, for heartbreak, for pain. I just can't go through another heartbreak.
"Sakura-chan,"
I wanted to cringe but I felt my heart flutter when the tone of his voice cut right through me. I wanted to pull away but my body refused, the urge to stay within his grasp overwhelming me. I felt my head slowly sink down to rest on his own. "What is it Naruto?"
Naruto's very blunt nature never ceased to shock me. "You know I care for you Sakura-chan. A lot."
I was speechless, my voice now stuck somewhere in my throat. I had stiffened and knew that he had taken notice because he had lifted his head and looked away. "Sorry," he apologized.
I choked, trying to force my voice to start working once more. "Don't apologize," I answered. I wasn't sure if he heard me over the downpour outside. I could feel his hand mindlessly running over my numb arm. "I mean, you can't choose who you fall in love with can you?" This wasn't the first time Naruto has expressed to me how he felt. Never has he told me that he 'loved' me, but I had a feeling that his feelings went beyond that of a crush.
"I guess your right," he answered and I could picture the smile on his face. I could imagine the things he was thinking now. I was sure that he was waiting to hear something in return; some affectionate words that would reveal the truth I keep hidden from him.
'I'm sorry Naruto,' I speak to him without saying a word.
I moved my arms to return the embrace, telling myself that we were just doing this to stay warm. I knew better, and there was small portion of me that knew I was returning the embrace because I wanted him closer to me, so I could feel his warmth surrounding me.
'Now just isn't the time,' I said to him silently. 'Someday though, I will tell you how I feel. I'll tell you of the journey I've embarked on, one that revolves all around you. Someday Naruto, I'm sure you'll tell me what you really feel.
And I'll tell you the same thing,
I love you.'
There, finished, done, over. I'm happy. Satisfied? Maybe not, but really, find me an author who always feel satisfied with there work?