Okay! Second fic that I've made! Try to stay with me, and, when you get to the end, review for yourself and not me. Flame if you want… I need some sort of helpful criticism! Hope you enjoy!
"Ahhhh… Sakura-chan! Look at that!" Naruto exclaimed.
Sakura whirled around, annoyed by Naruto's failure to stay quiet.
"Naruto…" She growled dangerously.
The blonde gulped.
"Let's just find that stupid cat and get this over with." Sakura decided, her anger with Naruto coming to a boil.
"I hate cats!" Naruto said loudly, nodding.
"Baka! Be quiet! If you don't shut up, we'll never find the dumb animal!" Sakura delivered a sharp blow to the back of Naruto's head.
Unaware of Sakura's already agitated mood, Naruto yelped noisily in surprise and fell on his face.
"It's not all my fault!" Naruto tried to get Sakura to cut him some slack. This, however, was not a task done easily, especially if Sakura was agitated.
"So I had a part in making Tsunade-sama glued to her office chair and as angry as hell?" Sakura scoffed.
"Not with your knowing, anyways…" Naruto mumbled.
"What?" Sakura questioned, turning, wide eyed, to Naruto.
"Nothing!" Naruto vociferously said, trying to cover his ass with his boisterousness. Needless to say, this only infuriated Sakura further.
"Naruto, be quiet! I've already told you to shut it a dozen times, already! Don't you know what will happen if we can't complete this stupid little D-rank mission? We'll have to take an impossibly hard evaluation, or worse, just have our ranks stripped from us! Did it occur to you that failing these little things have consequences, for you and I especially? Maybe you didn't realize that, if he's located again, we won't be sent on the mission to retrieve Sasuke if we can't-." Sakura stopped herself, unable to let her tirade continue.
Even though she knew Naruto hadn't wanted her to see it, Sakura glimpsed it.
Yes, she noticed that his normally bright and cheerful eyes narrowed and darkened, clouding over with a torment beyond what she could understand, and his whole body tensed at the very mention of his name.
Then, he banished it to the back of his mind, even if it tugged at his heart like she knew it did.
The blonde pasted on a fake grin and turned towards her. "Okay, Sakura-chan!" He agreed with unneeded volume and enthusiasm. "I'll be quiet!"
Sakura felt her heart clench at these words.
There was no smile in his eyes, only hurt and depression that she brought about, once again.
That stupid fake grin was becoming increasingly more lackluster and worn. It was platitude and she could see right through it.
He used that smile so much now, it had become dilapidated, and that was all thanks to Sasuke.
That bastard.
Thanks to him and his lust for power and vengeance, everything's broken apart.
They would have been better off without him, and yet… They wouldn't be who they are without him.
"We'll get him back, Naruto." Sakura soothed.
Naruto gave her a look of surprise. "But, Sakura-chan, the cat is a 'her,' not a 'him.'"
Sakura blinked. Wow, Naruto sure was inane.
'It can start with a cat.' Sakura decided.
"Yeah… That was a stupid slip up, I meant 'her.' It happens to the best of us." Sakura shrugged.
"Alright. I promise I'll get 'her' back for you!" Naruto winked and gave her the thumbs up.
Sakura looked appreciatively at the boy.
'I guess he got what I meant more than he let on.' Sakura smiled to herself.
"I won't fail, even if it takes my life to get the damned animal back home!" Naruto declared.
'That's an odd take on Sasuke…' Sakura thought.
"No matter how much she whines, scratches, and bites, I'll get her!" Naruto laughed.
"Uh, okay, Naruto. Sounds like a good plan." Sakura complimented encouragingly.
"Wait, I think I see her!" Naruto said excitedly.
'I don't think he's talking about Sasuke anymore.' Sakura considered.
"Hold- very- still. I'll- move- first, you- go- in- for- the- kill!" Naruto said in a tensed up, slow voice.
"What?" Sakura inquired.
"I get it, you don't like animal cruelty! Neither do I Sakura-chan, but you gotta stay strong!"
"Um…" Sakura murmured.
"Alright! You hold her, I'll-!" Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence, because, at that exact moment, the cat darted out from under a bush.
Naruto dove at it. The cat scratched him. He howled in pain. He made to grab it. It slipped between his fingers. He lunged and caught it by its tail. The animal hissed and spat. It scratched harder, but Naruto held fast to the out of control cat.
"Hurry, Sakura!" Naruto shouted over the cat's screams.
"Uh!" Sakura replied, uncertain of what to do.
She walked. Then tripped on her feet. Naruto stared. The cat spat and screamed. Sakura landed on Naruto. Naruto turned bright red. The cat wriggled in his grasp. Sakura blushed. The cat mashed between them, still crying, hissing, spitting, and screaming.
'Damn cat,' thought Naruto, 'if not for it, this would be perfect.'
'If not for it, neither of you would be in this position.' The Kyuubi said tetchily.
'What's biting your ass?' Naruto asked.
'It's not biting my ass, it's biting my face, jackass.' The Kyuubi riposted.
'It's my face, wise-ass.'
'I share a body with you, dim-wit, so, basically, it's my face too.'
'Go away.' Naruto commanded.
'I would if you let me out of here.' The Kyuubi suggested in a half-assed attempt to get out of the kid's body. (End of ass profanities)
'Okay.' Naruto shrugged.
'What?! Really?' The demon asked suspiciously.
'Nope!' Naruto laughed.
'Brat.' Growled the fox.
Suddenly, something pricks him hard in the butt. Something sharp.
"Owww! Dumb cat!" Naruto yowled.
"Now that we have her, I think we should get her back to her owner."
"'Ya sure you don't want to put a muzzle on it and put the demon in a metal cage before we go?" Naruto asked, glaring at the now purring cat.
"Here's your cat." Sakura offered the large woman the cat.
"There's my precious little girl! Aren't you an angel?" The woman squealed.
Naruto cringed. "No." He coughed.
"Oh, dear… you are so unlucky to have a cold in the summer!" The woman clicked her tongue.
Naruto stared at her in disbelief while Sakura barely contained her laughter.
"Have- a nice- day!" Sakura choked, her eyes tearing up.
"You two should really go to the doctor." The woman advised. To Sakura, she said. " I think you may have a sore throat or something."
"Don't worry, ma'am, I'm a medical ninja, I'll be just fine."
"Thank goodness! I just hate to see the country's youth in pain!" With that, the woman left with her squirming cat.
"If you hate to see the country's youth in pain, why do you own that thing?!" Naruto asked aloud, never to receive his answer.
Sakura giggled. "Funny, Naruto. Now, let's go to Tsunade's office."
"Hag, it was so well executed, you would be proud of us!" Naruto exclaimed, bursting into the Hokage's office.
"Eh?" Tsunade's eyebrows shot up.
"That cat, man was it uuuuhhhhhgggglllly(ugly)! It took a while to actually put it at ease." Naruto bragged.
"I don't get it. It sounds like you put it to sleep, not returned it."
"We should've put that thing to sleep." Naruto said darkly. "That monster is a hazard to every man, woman, and child in this village."
Tsunade looks questioningly at Sakura, who was currently wearing a 'don't ask' expression.
The pink haired medical Nin sighed. "It hates our guts. It is a nasty animal." She agreed.
"Try telling that to that brute's owner. She thinks it's an angel." Naruto muttered.
"It looks harmless." Tsunade stated. Sakura shook her head.
"That's why it's pure evil, I'm telling you!" Naruto exaggerated.
"And I keep listening and listening." Tsunade rolled her eyes and took a swig of sake.
Naruto looked at her, annoyed. "Listen, hag, we did what you asked us to do and now I want action on your part! Clean out your ears old lady! I want action! Can't you find w-Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Naruto yelled.
A thump was heard as Naruto smacked into the opposite wall.
Sakura grimaced as the plaster on the wall cracked and broke.
"Don't- call- me- old!" Tsunade snarled. "Show some respect, brat."
"Calling you old is the only way you pay attention!" Naruto retorted.
Tsunade's anger released a little bit.
"Besides, you are old and you are a hag!" Naruto added loudly.
Tsunade stalked up to him in a growl.
Naruto shrank back a little, but otherwise held his ground. "I keep telling you to listen, but do you? Noooooo!"
Sakura winced when she heard the plaster crack again.
"Granny, I said listen, not try to beat me into a pile of flesh! Need a hearing aid?!"
"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura ordered.
Naruto shook his head defiantly. "Can't you look for Sasuke harder?"
'So that's what this is about?' Sakura wondered. 'Sasuke? It seems to be a common argument…'
"We already are looking for him hard enough!" Tsunade roared back. "I keep telling you!"
"If you were, then we would've already found him! You're the Hokage! Make your ANBU look more than hard enough!"
The wall cracked again.
"We'll find him, but you might not be on the mission to retrieve him if you keep acting this way!" Tsunade finalized it, pushing against Naruto's shoulders in an attempt to calm him, but Naruto wasn't giving up without at least a lame fight.
He opened his mouth hotly, but, finding nothing to say, turned his head away from Tsunade angrily.
An instant later, Shizune skid into the room, huffing. She moaned in despair at the state that the walls were in.
"Not again!" She cried. Then, Tsunade and Naruto caught her attention.
"Oh! Sorry to interrupt, Tsunade-sama!" And Shizune strode out of the room.
Sakura watched in incredulity. This also seemed to be quite a common occurrence between Tsunade and Naruto.
"You can go, now, Sakura." Tsunade shrugged towards the door. "The mission is over and you've basically reported all the specifics."
Sakura nodded mutely, surprised at how Naruto had conducted himself in front of Tsunade.
Naruto removed Tsunade's hand from his shoulder moodily.
Tsunade retaliated with a light, harmless shove.
Naruto glared, but, unable to hold the glare, he turned away, running after Sakura.
"That wasn't so bad, ne, Sakura-cha- ow!" Naruto exclaims.
"You are an idiot, Naruto!" Sakura admonished, speaking sharply.
"But, what did I do?" Naruto asked.
"I can't believe you talk to Tsunade like that, and you didn't feel the need to say anything of it to me! Didn't you think that you could tell me, since we are in the same-!"
"This is about Sasuke?" Naruto asked gloomily.
Sakura shook her head. "No, it isn't about Sasuke."
"Then who the hell else could it be abou-?!"
"It's about you."
"What about me?" Naruto said quizzically.
"You've changed…" Sakura started.
"I've changed? What do you expect out of me when-?"
Sakura interrupted him and pushed on willfully. "I wonder how much? Would you leave me to get what you need done, to reach your objective, to achieve your ambitions?"
"What? Sakura, do you really think that I-?"
"Would you leave me here alone, without me knowing, again?" Sakura repeated firmly.
Naruto stayed silent for a few moments before answering. "I wouldn't go off like that."
"Not even if you could get him?" Sakura asked.
He hesitated momentarily again, then said, "I wouldn't leave you, at least, not without saying goodbye."
"Goodbye? Why 'goodbye?'" Sakura asked.
"I'd say goodbye because the only way I ever plan of leaving you is my death."
Good? Bad? Please review! I know it was long, but I can't help myself. If I start writing something, I can't stop and I have the incessant need to make my writing longer. Review, PLEASE!
-WarRain