I do not own Naruto, but if it were up to me, I'd own Kakashi and Gaara and keep them in my basement (if I had one).

He found her sitting on the swinging bench outside of the academy. She was staring into space, her green eyes gone from the now and present in the past. He knew who she was thinking of, what she was thinking of. She was startled when he spoke, but too drained of emotions to scream at him.

"We'll get him back, don't worry." Naruto smiled encouragingly at her, smiling with joy he didn't feel. But he was so used to pretending happiness, pretending joy, that it was almost as though that was what he truly felt.

Sakura saw right through that smile, but she didn't know what she was looking at instead. Well, she did, but it hurt too much to acknowledge.

"I know, but..." Sakura sighed, eyes swelling with tears. Her pink hair blew lightly behind her. Naruto's bright blue eyes had dimmed, as had his smile. His heart was breaking, all for reasons which had plagued him ever since... Well, he wasn't sure.

"But what, Sakura?" He plopped down in front of her, eyes filled with genuine concern. Why couldn't she fall in love with Naruto? wondered Sakura. She loved Naruto, probably more than she was willing to admit to herself, but nowhere near as much as she loved the vengeful boy. Her love for Naruto wasn't enough to make either happy.

"I wish I could've tried harder to keep him here, when he left the first time. I said everything I could, even told him I'd go with him. Maybe... Maybe if it'd been you there then Sasuke would still be here." Sakura cried harder, her own heart broken. So much had happened, so much hadn't happened. She missed him every day, but... Why? Why couldn't she forget him? Why had she loved him even when he called her annoying with a vicious face? Why did Naruto still love her sorry excuse for a person? He deserved so much better than her, Sakura saw that now. He deserved someone who loved him back. Someone whose heart was fully his, someone whose heart wasn't selfish and torn.

It was as though Naruto could hear her thoughts.

His smile was resigned. He sat, back hunched, eyes restraining tears.

"Sasuke is my best friend; that's why I want and need him back. He... he was, at least, the person I most admired. But he's not himself anymore, Sakura. Sasuke Uchiha, the one we knew, is lost. I fight to bring him back in hopes that there's the slightest drop of our Sasuke still in him." Naruto clenched his fists, eyes lost in thought. "And... I know you'll always love him, no matter what. Not like I love him, as a friend, but as... More." Any other term would've been too painful.

"Naruto..." Sakura tried to see into his tearful eyes, but Naruto had his sight on he grass in front of him.

"It's fine, really. I mean, I never really expected otherwise. You love him like I love you." Naruto chuckled weakly at the irony.

"No, Naruto, don't-" Sakura sobbed. She knew what was following, and she seriously didn't want to hear it.

"So I've realized I have to set you free." The words were choked, a lie. Sakura's heart hurt, too. Stop, she wanted to yell. But she was paralyzed. No! "I'm not the twelve-year-old annoying kid anymore. I've grown, and I know how to recognize a lost battle. You were never meant to be mine."

Sakura had lost her voice. She didn't -couldn't- want to lose another important person. Almost as important as Sasuke, second only because her love for them was different.

He looked up at the girl he'd loved since he was a little kid. The girl who'd screamed, smiled and cried at him. He was going to miss loving her, and hating her for not loving him.

"Well, I gotta go. Promised Kakashi I'd sign his mask. Better not keep him waiting." Naruto joked, standing up. He dusted off his pants, extended a hand to the pink-haired girl.

She looked at it strangely, glanced up at the blonde and launched into his arms. She repeated she was sorry about five hundred times, and by the time she was done, Naruto was all but drenched in her tears, and if he was truthful, a few of his own.

"Goodbye, Sakura." He kissed her forehead lightly.

"Goodbye, Naruto." She let his hand go.

The ramen spot was empty. Naruto was silent, pondering, swirling his food around. The chef was worried; Naruto had never taken so long in eating his favorite meal. What was wrong with the teen?

He was about to ask the Uzumaki kid what was wrong, but then a girl sat down next to Naruto.

He turned to look at her, eyes vacant, stomach empty.

"Hey, Naruto." Her eyes were pained, the sadness in his eyes too great not to notice.

"Hi, Hinata." Voice hoarse, hair disheveled, fingers stiff.

The Hyūga girl looked down, gasping at his voice. She loved him so much.

"I just..." She stopped, not knowing what to say. Naruto didn't pressure her, letting her gather her thoughts. "I just..." She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing deeply. "What's wrong?"

Naruto's smile was slight but there. Hinata gave him strength unimaginable to him. After all, he barely knew her.

"Nothing." But he backtracked when he saw Hinata's cocked eyebrow. "I finally gave up."

"On what?"

"Sakura and I."

Wind chimes blew. The chef's back went rigid.

Hinata smiled.

"About time, too."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. The chef cried in joy and relief. It was time someone told him of his stupidity.

"What -What did you say?" He couldn't believe his ears. Was Hinata growing a backbone?

"I said, that it's about time you let her go." Yes, the pretty girl was indeed growing a backbone. Naruto didn't think he'd ever heard her speak her mind so clearly to him, and the part of him not torn apart by Sakura was glad.

Naruto didn't know what to say to that.

"She was never right for you. You got her, but did she get you?" Hinata didn't wait for an answer because she already knew it. "I think... I think that there's someone right for everyone out there. Don't you?"

Yes.

"What are you suggesting then?"

Hinata was slowly closing off again.

"Just -let her out of your system." She blushed, looked to the side. The chef was snickering inside. Oh, Naruto, were you so oblivious? "Take some time away from her doing something you like."

Naruto was considering this.

"Something I like, huh?" Naruto said to himself, and his eyes brightened. "Of course! The best way to forget about Sakura is to train harder and use my anger to bring back the one person that will make her absolutely off limits! Thanks, Hinata, you're a genius."

Hinata blushed harder. What she meant was slightly different, but it worked, too. Her goal was making Naruto see he could let go of Sakura.

Hinata had never cared much for the pink-haired girl, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she held Naruto's heart. Sakura had always had an air around her, like she felt superior to everyone else. She didn't think Sakura had a bad heart or anything among those lines; Hinata had never paid attention to the girl, because she wasn't interesting enough. She still wasn't, but Hinata didn't hold any anger or hatred towards the girl for anything. Not due to Naruto, not due to her indifference.

But there was a line, and Sakura had crossed it. She'd hurt Naruto Uzumaki one too many times, and Hinata was thankful towards whatever opened the teen's eyes.

"You're welcome, Naruto."

One smiled brightly, the other shyly. The chef chuckled. Oh, the kids of today.

Months passed. Naruto trained, Hinata waited, Sakura cried, Kakashi read. Almost every day, Naruto had met with Hinata for ramen, and they'd talked about anything and everything. Within a few weeks, Naruto had grown to think of the Hyūga girl as his best friend, second only to Sasuke and possibly Sakura. Naruto was far from a nasty person, so it wouldn't be fair to Sakura to dislike her simply because she couldn't return his feelings. Lately, though, Naruto found he'd been getting closer and closer to Hinata in a way different than as just friends. He wasn't sure about how far he was ready to take their friendship, though. For how dense people told him he was, he truly wasn't. He just hadn't wanted to acknowledge her attraction to him, knowing that hurting the beautiful, shy girl was the last thing he'd ever want.

Now he knew that acknowledging her feelings was the only option for him. He had to let Sakura go, and he knew, without a doubt, that Hinata Hyūga was the right girl for him. He knew it, mind and heart.

"Hey, Hinata? Do you want to go with me to the movies? Like... In a date?" Naruto asked Hinata nervously, moving around the ramen nervously in his plate. They were eating at their usual place, the night still behind them and the flowers blooming around. He sneaked a glance at her. Her face was stunned, the chef was practically crying in joy. Finally!

"You... Do you mean that?" Hinata asked timidly; she didn't want to push him into something he wasn't ready for. But Naruto winked and smiled widely, his old smile back for the first time.

"Of course. I never go back in my word." He declared. Hinata gasped, looking down. Her heart hammered in her chest, almost leaping out in pure joy and love.

"I'd love to go on a date with you, then."

This was right, they both thought. Hinata had waited for that sentence for such a long time, it almost seemed like a bad joke from the universe. But it wasn't; it was the reality she'd always dreamed of.

"You'll go on the best date ever. Believe it." They both turned back to their plates, nervous, happy, anxious for the day of the date.

The chef couldn't contain himself. He just had to say it.

"FREE RAMEN TO CELEBRATE!"

Hi, I'm here again. I'm trying my hand at this anime, cause right now I'm absolutely obsessed with Naruto at the moment. I don't hate Sakura, the way, I just hate her for Naruto because she's absolutely obsessed with Sasuke. I'm actually still not sure who I want to end up with who, but this is the couple I mind the least. Hope you liked it :)

Leah C. Drawn