A/N:
Hmm..POST Sakura's confession during Five Kage Summit? Actually, it's unclear just when these drabbles take place. It doesn't really matter; they're just for fun^^
I know I'm not finished with my other NaruSaku fic, The Fire within the Will, but the idea came to me while I was sitting in Anthropology ( I know, of all the places...but hey, my mind wanders during lecture) and demanded to be written, so here I am, with the first chapter of Trial and Error.
Enjoy & Review!
A gurgling snore escaped Naruto's parted mouth and Sai glanced over at his sleeping teammate whose limbs were stretched every which way. How Naruto could have fought Pain during Konoha's destruction was beyond him. Dickless was hopelessly gullible and always hungry and not exactly the best of suave talkers, yet everyone insisted he was a hero and managed to reveal Hinata's confession.
It didn't make sense.
He spoke to Sakura about it after their meeting with the blonde to stop him from chasing after Sasuke, and what came from their talk was a rather awkward but essentially lifting and curious conversation.
"You like Naruto right?" Sai asked with genuine shock featuring on his normally emotionless face. "And all this time I thought you were asexual or something, Ugly Hag…"
Sakura shot him a scathing glare, a vein popping on her forehead. "Well I'm very much female, thank-you-very-much," the medical-nin flatly stated, viridian eyes fierce and womanhood wounded. "And…it's not like it's Naruto you know…I don't like …"
"Sure you don't," the former ROOT member stretched disbelievingly, clearing remembering her confession to the blond during their meet at the Land of Iron.
A scowl appeared on her features. "Look, can you help me or not?"
Sai eyed the pink haired girl for a moment, studying the look in Sakura's eyes, determined and harsh and maybe a little desperate, before nodding, a small smile gracing his lips. "Yeah alright, I might as well pass on my skills and knowledge to someone deserving."
Even he noticed a change towards Sakura's feelings for Naruto. If the former ROOT member could figure it out, then the rest of Konoha 11 would know.
When the team finally arrived to the village, Sakura threw Sai a knowing glance. And he nodded. Then he took off the opposite direction.
"Alright! RAMEN!" Naruto shouted with glee as he rushed off to the direction of Ichiraku's.
Sakura, with a look of determination on her face, trailed after Naruto. She was going to convince him that her feelings were real. No distractions from anyone.
When she got to the stand, however, she saw that Naruto was already accompanied by Shikamaru and Ino. Sakura gritted her teeth and huffed her way through the crowded streets as she made her way to the group.
Oh no you don't, Pig!
She could see Naruto glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, but she knew and saw it. He watched her, a small smile tugging the corners of his mouth, merry eyes boring straight into her. A tingle rushed up Sakura's spine and suddenly, he scrunched his eyes, and turned his attention to the long-haired blonde in front of him. They looked like they were talking and she could see Ino fall back laughing with Shikamaru gesturing for her to calm down. What were they talking about?!
"Oh, Sakura-chan…" he greeted to her once she came over. Ino and Shikamaru suddenly quieted. And Naruto watched her intently, bent his head forward and peered closely at her face. She hurriedly took a step back, her eyebrows shooting up.
"Why the hell are you all quiet all of a sudden?" Sakura frowned, but with Naruto's unreadable expression on her, she realized they were talking about her. She stiffened. What if he told them her outlandish confession and how irrational she acted and how Naruto had…dismissed her. She fumed silently.
That baka better not have!
Then Ino spoke. "Ne…Sakura. Is it true?"
Sakura's eyes widened and whipped her head to her friend, heart hammering against her ribcage. "Is what true?"
She heard Naruto snicker beside her. Then a vein tickled on her forehead, and her eyes flashed angrily at him. He went back to his ramen silently, obviously head slightly turned to make out their conversation.
Ino rolled her eyes, "You know what, Forehead…what you did to Lee-san, Kiba-kun, and Sai-kun!"
"Huh?" Sakura asked, caught off guard and realized that her friend was referring to the knockout gas she used in order to incapacitate her team and go after Sasuke. She blushed, and mentally slapped herself.
Idiot!
"O-oh that. Of course I did!" Sakura glared as Ino raised an eyebrow in a knowing question, and Shikamaru sighed.
"What do you mean oh that?!" Ino snapped, obviously hurt that Sakura would dismiss her own well-being just to look for Sasuke herself.
"That was probably a foolish thing to do. But then again, it would have been a sight to see how Kiba reacted after waking up from it," he drawled and took a seat next to Naruto.
"Haha! He was pissed as hell! Should've seen his face, that dog!" Naruto replied, a smirk covering his features.
Ino noticed that Sakura was so immersed in her own mental battle that she missed the devilish gleam in her friend's eyes.
"Sooo…what did you mean earlier?" the coy voice broke her thoughts.
Sakura immediately snapped her attention back to her friend. The suggestive way the blonde was waggling her eyebrows made Sakura suspicious that she had been angling towards this particular topic since the beginning.
Schooling her features into a neutral expression, emerald eyes guarded, she replied casually, "What about it?"
Ino gave an impatient sigh. "Come on, Billboard Brow, what do you intend to do about what you try so hard to hide?"
Ino smirked as Sakura did a double take. She didn't notice Naruto raise his head from his bowl to glance at them. Shikamaru stood up from his seat, sighing inwardly, knowing the tension between these two were going to outbreak.
"What do you mean?"
"Sakura, we've been friends, then rivals, then friends again for ages now. Trust me; I know when you are interested in someone."
A choking sound came from behind Sakura, and she knew it was Naruto, as she blushed furiously.
Anything but that!
"It's nothing like that!" protested Sakura, as she stormed off into another direction, without so much as leaving a goodbye to her teammate.
Naruto smiled to himself as he watched Sakura storm off up the street.
He was perched on the stool but he was too engrossed with Sakura's fight with Ino to pay much attention to his ramen. They were arguing again and Naruto couldn't help but grin stupidly as he watched. Shikamaru got up from his stool, "Troublesome." He hadn't meant to overhear but Sakura's voice was an especially sweet noise to Naruto's ears, and he'd heard her easily through the commotion of the street. Well actually it wasn't difficult to hear her as she was shouting.
"Shut up – PIG!" Sakura's shout caused a few passerby to give throw them both incredulous looks
"Chill out Sakura-chaann! Your secret is safe with me!" Ino smiled mockingly.
"No I will not 'chill out', Ino-pig, because…because it's not true! It's all a lie!" Sakura's expression deceived her, as her face had gone pink with rage, her eyes bright and serious.
Naruto laughed to himself. That look was always a winner. If he remembered correctly that was the look she had given him just after he had dismissed her confession.
Ino looked at Sakura with a questioning look and sighed, then whispered to the girl, making sure they were out of earshot from Naruto.
"Calm down! I promise I won't tell a soul!" Ino grinned.
"It's nothing like that!" protested Sakura. "He's my friend. My best friend. "So, naturally I tend to look after him."
Ino rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever makes you feel safe; but seeing that he has always had a crush on you, why don't you two get together?"
"Ino! Please," Sakura groaned, as she rubbed the ridge of her nose, feeling her headache mounting. "Did you not hear what I said earlier about my confession?!"
"What? You know that he'll jump at the occasion of going out with you," Ino persisted, scrutinizing the medic nin's face closely. "And you must admit that he's not a bad catch at all. The whole village praises him now. He's sooooooo hot!"
Sakura willed herself not to get too reactive. "You're wrong," she said quietly, "he's long over his crush for me."
"No. He's not," Ino insisted. "He has never gone out with anyone too; it must be because he still has the feels for you. I'm sure he would be more than willing to go out with you if you show the slight interest!"
Sakura felt she had to stop this conversation, now. She did not like the way her friend was being talked about, as if he had a weak point. It felt so demeaning to him.
"Ino, stop it. He's not that twelve year old boy anymore."
Ino opened her mouth to protest, but Sakura quickly pressed on. "The only reason he has not gone out with anyone yet is because he has been so dedicated in his fight against this Madara guy," she said, looking at the blond girl almost accusingly. "He had been devoting all his time to protect the village, you know that."
"It doesn't mean that he's not interested in you anymore!" Ino argued. "Why don't you ask him out and see?"
Sakura remained silent, trying to keep her cool.
Ignoring her friend's mounting exasperation, Ino continued, "Sakura, we're emancipated young women, we should not be expected to sit back lamely and expect a good shinobi to fall on our lap! If you like someone, take things in your hands, why should you hesitate to make the first step?"
"Ino!" Sakura hissed, fighting to keep her voice low so as not to attract attention. "Emancipated? In case you don't know, at twelve years old, I confessed to Sasuke that I loved him, and all I got in return was a 'Thank you' and was knocked unconscious and left on a cold bench for the night. And for the record, I did tell Naruto that I love him. But what I got from the Land of Iron was an 'I hate people who lie to themselves'!" Her green eyes glowered with the memory fresh in her head, as she glared at her friend.
"Trust me; I've had my share of taking first steps and being rejected; enough to last me for a lifetime!"
Ino stared open mouthed at her. "Sakura…" But then she stopped.
She realized. Sakura wasn't walking next to her any more.
"Saku-? "
WHAM.
Sakura, with all her strength, had rammed her fist into Ino's jaw.
Naruto watched with mild surprise as Ino flew the length of the street they had just walked down.
A good few hundred meters. Sakura figured she could do this at least to divert Naruto's suspicious glance at them from the restaurant.
"SHUT YOUR FACE – PIG!" screamed Sakura. But then, Naruto thought, it seemed as if she was talking to herself.
"There is more to him than you will ever know..."
Ino stirred from her landing place barely conscious and passersby shrunk to the shadows, so Sakura was left alone to stand in the street as the dust cleared. She gave an inner sigh of defeat.
"I would never hurt him, but it's of no importance anyway. I was too late," she whispered to herself and walked away, but not before her eyes crossed with his. When he saw her, he gave his cheesiest grin, her heart thudded painfully fast against her ribcage.
"And don't mention it to anyone either, Ino."
She bit her lip, holding back tears and walked to the direction of her home, turning her back to Naruto, unaware of the smile that danced on his lips.
When she arrived at home, she noticed the leather bound book on the foot of her stairs.
She sighed, inwardly, realizing who it could have been from. She would have to open the contents later as she helped her parents with the dinner table.
.x.
Dear Ugly, guess this is what you asked for. I have noticed some things that attract those of the male persuasion. When in doubt, use this book. It is the official book of men, for Hags like you going after (dickless) men.
– Sai