"No, no, no, no, I can't do this! O_O"
"Bullshit!" Kiba said. "You dare to battle the Akatsuki, fight Orochimaru and argue with Kyuubi, but you can't confess your crush. Come on!"
It was time for Naruto to confess his feelings for Sakura. That's at least what the other guys said. So Kiba, Sai, Shino, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino and Tenten decided to encourage Naruto to tell Sakura that he loves her.
"But she'll laugh at me!" Naruto said.
"I don't think Sakura is that kind of person who starts to laugh at something this serious" Tenten said.
"Maybe she'll hit me o_O" Naruto said.
"There's no reason for her to do such a thing" Neji said.
"I can't do it! I can't even keep my promises… ._." Naruto said.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Don't be a fool" he said.
"You tried your best and she's aware of that" Sai said.
"But she loves Sasuke x_x" Naruto said.
"Naruto, he has tried to kill her 3 times. She's not stupid, you know" Tenten said.
"No, but she can reject me x_x"
"Maybe she will. Maybe she won't. You can't find out until you've confessed to her!" Kiba said.
Naruto sighed before he looked confident.
"You're right. I'm just gonna go and find her" he said.
"She's behind you…" Shino said.
Naruto turned around and saw Sakura standing a few meters away, talking to lady Tsunade.
"Eh… x_x" Naruto said.
"Well?" Neji asked.
"She looks kinda busy. Maybe I can tell her-"
"Naruto! Ò_ó" Kiba, Tenten and Ino said.
"Okay, okay! I'm going x_x" Naruto said before he started to walk towards Sakura.
'How do I start? Eh…"Sakura-chan, can I talk to you a bit?"…No…"Sakura-chan, got a minute? I wanna talk to you"…No…"Hey Sakura-chan! I gotta tell you something!"…That's not good either' he thought.
Naruto stopped next to Sakura, still thinking of what to say. Sakura and Tsunade looked at him. Sakura smiled.
"Naruto. Hi ^^" she said.
"Eh…H-hey, Sakura-chan :D Do you…eh…have a minute?" Naruto asked.
Before Sakura could answer, Tsunade smiled.
"No problem" she said.
Sakura looked at her.
"But lady Tsunade-"
"It's alright. We can talk later. But don't forget my little task, ok?"
"I won't"
Then lady Tsunade walked away. Sakura turned to Naruto.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Well…You see…" Naruto started.
He scratched himself behind his head.
-With Kiba and the others-
"Come on, come on, come on, come on" Kiba muttered.
"You think he'll do it?" Tenten asked.
"It is Naruto we are talking about. I think he will do it" Neji said.
"I bet he's not gonna do it" Ino said.
"Ha! There's no way that my pal is a coward" Kiba said.
-With Naruto-
"Eh…eh…." Naruto said.
Sakura looked at him with a confused look.
'What will she say? Maybe she doesn't even feel the same way…Maybe she'll hit me in the face! Or…Maybe Kiba is right. I don't really know what Sakura thinks or how she thinks. She won't laugh at me :D Or better! Maybe she feels the same way OwO Then we'll be girlfriend and boyfriend. And go out on many dates, hold hands, kiss each other! And when I become Hokage, she'll be miss Hokage! :D Miss Uzumaki :P And then-'
"Naruto?" Sakura said, a little worried since Naruto was spacing out.
"Eh…Huh? o_o" Naruto said.
"Are you okay?"
"Eh…Yeah! I'm fine! No need to worry, Sakura-chan. Hehehe ^-^'"
"O…kay…?"
'I'm acting like an oddball! I gotta pull it together! …Right! This is it!' Naruto thought.
"S-Sakura-chan, since we were kids, I've-"
"Oi, Naruto"
Naruto looked to the right and saw Kakashi stand there.
"Got time?" he asked.
Naruto could hear Kiba, Tenten and Ino growl. Naruto wasn't so happy himself.
'Why did he have to show up now? T^T' he thought.
"Eh…Actually…" he started.
"It's ok. You can tell me later ^^" Sakura said.
"B-but…Okay…" Naruto said.
Naruto slowly walked over to Kakashi. He glanced backwards and saw Sakura walking the opposite direction.
"Naruto, can you do me a quick favor?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto looked at him.
"Sure…" he answered.
Kakashi held up a little parcel.
"I have a few reports to write. And they have to in within an hour. Can you give this parcel to Kiba when you see him?" he asked.
"E….Yeah, no problem, Kakashi-sensei x_x' " Naruto said as he took the parcel.
"Thanks. Bye" Kakashi said before he disappeared.
Naruto turned around.
"Kiba! It's a parcel for you!" he shouted.
Kiba jogged over to him with Akamaru right behind.
"It is? o_O" Kiba asked.
He took the parcel from Naruto and opened it.
"Sweet! Akamaru's treats! :D"
"Treats? O_o" Naruto asked.
"Yeah! You know, dog candy" Kiba said.
"Raff!" Akamaru barked happily.
"Great for him x_x Now I gotta find Sakura-ch-"
"Na…Naruto-kun…"
He looked to the right and saw Hinata standing there.
'Oh come on! I don't have time to chat with my friends now. I have to find Sakura-chan. I hope whatever Hinata has to say isn't so much' Naruto thought.
"What is it, Hinata?" Naruto asked.
"U-uhm…I…I was wondering if…if you'd like to…uhm…" Hinata said.
She blushed slightly and looked away.
'Come on, Hinata. Hurry x_x' Naruto thought.
"If you…have time, maybe…"
"Sorry, Hinata! I'm in a hurry! o_o" Naruto said.
Then Naruto lightly moved so he was standing behind Hinata. Then he lightly pushed her towards Kiba. Kiba caught her by laying his hands on her shoulders.
"Kiba! Take Hinata out on a date, will you?" Naruto asked.
"Wh-what?! Me? O_O" Kiba asked and removed his hands from Hinata's shoulders.
"Yeah! You like her, right? See you later!" Naruto said before he ran towards the direction Sakura was walking in. Hinata blushed slightly, a little embarrassed. Kiba was blushing too.
"H-hey! No, I don't!" Kiba shouted after Naruto.
"Vaff vaff" Akamaru barked.
Kiba glared at him.
"Whaddya mean with 'Stop lying'? ò_ó" Kiba asked.
"You lied"
"GAH! O_O" Kiba shouted and turned around. "Geez, Shino! Stop sneakin' around x_x"
-A few mintes later / With Naruto-
'Where is she? She wasn't at her house or the flower shop or with granny. Where can she be?' Naruto as he was running down the street.
"Hi Naruto" Sakura said when she saw Naruto run towards her.
"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he ran passed her.
A few seconds later, he started to slow down. Then he stopped. He realized that he had just said "Hey" to the person he was looking for. He ran back to Sakura.
"Sakura-chan! :D" he said.
"Uh…Yes?" Sakura said.
"Now I'm gonna tell you what I wanted to tell you :D" Naruto said.
"Okay…Go ahead" Sakura said.
Naruto smiled goofily. He was still kinda…No…very nervous. But Naruto decided to hide it behind his smile. Too bad that the best smile he managed to show was his goofy smile.
"H-here's how it is! Ever since we were little kids, I've been-"
"Hello" said a voice.
Naruto glanced to the left and saw Yamato stand there.
"Oh come on! Why can't I just tell Sakura about how I feel?!" Naruto asked.
"How you…feel? About what? o_O" Sakura asked.
Naruto froze. He realized that he had just talked out-loud. He looked at Sakura again.
"D-did I say 'Feel'? o_o I-I meant…eh…'Deal'… x_x Yeah! Deal! Deal with all evil ninjas! :D" Naruto said. "Right Ya-"
Yamato was gone.
'Where did he go? O_O' Naruto thought.
"Naruto… -_-" Sakura said.
Naruto sighed.
"I…I kinda…love you…" he said.
Sakura raised her eyebrows.
"I…" Naruto said.
He scratched himself behind his head.
"I've liked you since we were kids…I wanted my crush to fade away since, you know, you were in love with Sasuke…But instead of fading away, it become stronger…I know you still have feelings for Sasuke and all, but I love you anyway. Don't hit me! x_x" Naruto said.
He covered his face with his arms, ready for Sakura's punch. But nothing happened. Sakura was only blushing slightly.
"Naruto…" she said and laid her hand on his shoulder.
"AH! O_O" Naruto said and fell to the ground.
Sakura facepalmed herself.
'He's hopeless -_-' she thought.
"Naruto, I didn't hit you" she said.
Naruto looked up at her.
"You're not mad at me? O_o" he asked.
"No, why would I?" Sakura answered.
Naruto quickly stood up.
"S-sorry. I thought that…you know…" he said.
Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I'm not mad at you and I don't want to hit you either" she said.
She got her serious expression.
"And what do you mean with 'I know you still have feelings for Sasuke'? I've already told you, Naruto. I don't have any feelings for him anymore. Things can change in 3 years" she said.
"I know that x_x I just…He's so…"
"He's so what?"
"You know…Good looking...Smart…Cool…But I'm stronger ;D"
"Just because he's good looking, it doesn't mean he 'looks the same' on the inside"
"Love is blind… o_O"
Sakura smiled slightly.
"True. Sometimes…Sometimes you won't realize that you're in love even if she or he is so close… ^^"
Naruto stared at her for a while. And before thinking, he blurted out:
"Do you love me? O_o"
"Ha? o_o"
"Do you love me, Sakura-chan?"
"Eh… o_o' "
Sakura blushed slightly, crossed her arms and looked away.
"I've never said that…" she said.
"So you don't love me?"
"I didn't say that either"
Naruto was quiet for a while.
"When you said you loved me…Before I saved you from Sasuke…Did you mean it?"
SMACK.
Sakura smacked Naruto on the head with her right fist.
"Ouch! Sakura-chan, what was that f-"
Naruto was cut off by a kiss from Sakura. He couldn't really do anything. He was completely frozen since a kiss from Sakura was the last thing he thought would happen. A few seconds later, Sakura pulled away.
"Th-that was for being a baka! How come you realized my feelings so late? Ò_ó"
She looked sadly at the ground.
"Why didn't you trust me when I said I loved you..? Did you really think that I'd lie about my feelings?"
"I'm glad I did"
"…?"
"If I would've believed you, I'd probably be in Konoha by the time you were with Sasuke. Then I would've been able to save you from him…If that had happened, I would never forgive myself"
"…"
Naruto smiled brightly.
"So you do love me? :D"
Sakura growled a little, getting a bit annoyed.
"Do you even have to ask?" she asked.
"Does that mean that we're a couple now? OwO" Naruto asked.
"If I say yes, will you eat lunch with me tomorrow?"
"Heck yeah! :D Oh there's one more thing I have to tell you ^-^' "
"What is it?"
"Remember when you almost kissed Sasuke 3 years ago after he had given you a compliment about your forehead?"
"Yes…But how do you-"
"That was me! :D I used the transformation jutsu to act like Sasuke ^_^ I didn't plan the kiss though. I just wanted to tell you that I like your forehead!"
Naruto quickly kissed Sakura's forehead before he took off.
"Bye, Sakura-chan! See you tomorrow!" he shouted before he was gone.
Sakura raised her right hand and placed it on her forehead, where Naruto had kissed her. She just smiled for herself. She stood there for a moment. Then the remembered something.
"Oh no! Lady Tsunade" Sakura said before she started to run towards the Hokage building.