Don't own anything.
So I was watching a movie called 'Unleashed' starring Jet Li and it gave me this idea. Basically it shows Naruto's transformation from a boy into a dog and then back into a boy again. I really liked the plot and it planted a little worm in my head so I decided to write this.
In case you guys were wondering where I've been, I just want to let you know that the reason I haven't updated my other stories in so long is because I'm in medical school right now and it has taken up all my time. In the moments I have when I'm not studying I promise to work on 'The Dance' and 'Naruto the Gilgamesh' so please be patient. 3
Enjoy!
A man wearing a dog mask shunshined into the hokage's office. His animal mask and exposed shoulder had a tattoo indicating his placement in the Anbu black ops; the special missions division of Konoha. The group of people who report directly to the Hokage himself. As a sign of respect to the village leader, the pad of his knee is on the ground and his head is bowed low. "You called Hokage-sama?"
"Yes I did Kakashi." Sarutobi hugged a small boy to his side. "Do you know who this is?"
Kakashi looked up at the boy. The child's blue eyes were lost and wandering. He looked unregistered and unattached to the world like he didn't care about anything around him. "Yes. He is Uzumaki Naruto." Kakashi remembered him from past missions. More than once he had been assigned to keep an eye on the boy and protect him when need be.
The hokage nodded. "Good." He moved the boy to a couch and sat him down. The child was too lethargic. He almost seemed inhuman. "Earlier tonight several attempts were made on his life." The hokage said simply.
It didn't surprise Kakashi that people tried to hurt Naruto. He had stopped multiple attempts on the boy's life himself. All because the Kyuubi was trapped in his body. "People tend to just use the most convenient outlet for their anger."
"They do." Sarutobi agreed. "But this time was different." He sadly looked over at the boy. "He's become catatonic and I don't know how to snap him out of it."
After all that the boy goes through, it was only a matter time before he broke, but he lasted longer than most people would.
"I already had a Yamanaka take a look at him. There isn't much left of his mind to save. I think the kyuubi has made him unreachable to us." Sarutobi sat back into his chair and crossed his fingers in front of his mouth. "I don't know what to do Kakashi. I can't trust anyone anymore. Just you."
Kakashi lifted his eyebrow. He felt like some bad news was coming his way. "Me?"
"That's right. You're the only one I fully trust. And that's why I'm asking for your help."
Kakashi stood up. "Help with what?"
"I need you to take Naruto and protect him. He's almost completely lost to us now. I want to try and save what little is left and I need your help to do that."
"I don't know anything about raising a kid." Especially not an emotionally stunted jinchuuriki.
"Isn't there anything you can do? I don't want to leave Naruto alone in this town anymore. I would take him out of here if I could, but the council wont let him leave Konoha unless he enlists as a ninja and gets a mission out of the village."
Kakashi removed his dog mask so he could rub his temples. There was an option he knew would work, but he honestly didn't want to do it. It wasn't something he wanted to submit a child to, let alone his deceased sensei's son. "There is an option. It will keep him safe and out of people's reach."
"Good. What is it?"
"My kennels." Kakashi explained. "I can keep him with my nin dogs and train him to be a ninja at the same time."
"Your ninken? You would put him in a kennel?!" The hokage slammed his fist into his desk.
Kakashi waved his hand in defense and eye smiled at the enraged leader. "It's really not as bad as it sounds! I wouldn't actually put him in a kennel and he would be completely safe!"
"I..." Sarutobi rubbed his eyes in exasperation. He's run out of choices. The boy won't even be considered a human if he stays around these people much longer. Maybe he would be happier over there. "Just do it." He said with a wave of his hand.
Kakashi nodded. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" The cyclops slammed his hand to the ground and a small pug with a headband and a cape appeared from a puff of smoke.
"Yo Kakashi. What's up?" The adorable pug spoke in an extremely deep voice.
"I want you to meet the newest member of the Kakashi ninken." He gestured to the apathetic boy quietly sitting on the couch. "Uzumaki Naruto."
The puppy jumped onto Naruto's lap. "Hey boy. It's nice to meet ya." Naruto didn't respond. Instead he just ignored the dog and stared at the wall. Eventually the pup got tired of waiting for a response. "What the hell is wrong with him?" He said to Kakashi.
"He's been traumatized."
Pakkun turned to the boy and looked up at him. "Traumatized huh? I can help with that." The dog grumbled. "Hey boy. Do you want to touch my paw?" The pug lifted the pad of his paw and placed it on Naruto's arm. No one can resist the mighty cuteness of Pakkun!
"Pakkun. What are you..."
Naruto reached over and gently rubbed the back of Pakkun's furry little mitt. The Hokage was surprised the boy had moved. He had spent hours trying to get a response from Naruto with no results and this pup had done it almost effortlessly. It seemed like some good progress was being made and if they were lucky, Naruto might even recover some of his old hyper personality.
Pakkun reacted like the domesticated canine he was and happily wagged his little stub tail. "I like this one Kakashi."
The jonin turned to his leader and Hokage nodded to him. "I want weekly reports on him. I want to know he's safe."
Kakashi nodded back. "Hai Hokage-sama." He walked over to Naruto and ruffled his hair. "Hey there Naruto-kun. My name is Kakashi. Welcome to the ninken."
(Line break)
SAKURA POV
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
Our sensei put his hand to the ground and a large puff of smoke rose from under him. He was summoning back up for us and I couldn't be more relieved because only a few yards from us was the demon of the mist Momochi Zabuza.
I lifted my kunai a little higher. It wouldn't save me from Zabuza if Kakashi-sensei didn't win his fight, but all I had to rely on was my fundamentals. I'm only a genin after all. Outside of the basic few jutsu they give us in the academy I don't know anything that could help me against a full fledged killer like the demon from the mist.
I looked to my left and saw Sasuke shaking almost as much as me. For all of his big talk he was only human and had all of the same fears I had. Seeing him like that made me think a little differently about him. Not in a bad way of course, but still I did realize that he wasn't the super ninja I thought he was. He wasn't an all powerful god of shinobi like I fantasized, but at least he was still attractive. And having fear was a good thing. It stopped you from doing things that were just plain stupid.
Behind me stood Tazuna the bridge builder. The bastard that me, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei were charged to protect. Normal squads would have a third member, but our team was an exception due to a lack of available genin recruits. Up until now that was never a problem. We had survived just fine without a third member, but at the moment I was really glad for some back up.
I looked to my right as the smoke from my sensei's summoning finally blew away and I could see a boy about my age with bright blonde hair. I had no idea you could summon a human like that. I thought it would be some kind of animal or something. The summoned boy's tongue slightly hung out of his mouth like a puppy dog and he even had whiskers on his cheeks to complete the canine look. But the most interesting thing about him was the black collar wrapped around his neck. What kind of a guy wears a collar? For some reason, I didn't think he was wearing it as a fashion statement.
He sat down onto his knees and his eyes were happily looking up at Kakashi-sensei.
"Now Naruto." The boy perked up. "I'm going to go fight that man over there." Kakashi-sensei pointed at Zabuza and the dog boy growled at the tall man. Zabuza just laughed and rolled his eyes. "What I want you to do is protect these three." He pointed at me, Zabuza, and Sasuke. The boy yipped in affirmation.
"Sakura. This is Naruto." He pushed the blonde towards me and instantly his nose was on me; sniffing around like a curious dog saying hello. I could feel my blood boiling; I don't know who this guy thinks he is, but I'll break him in half if he doesn't stop being so creepy. My sensei just laughed. "Sakura, I want you to do something for me."
I swatted Naruto away and he moved next to my sensei. "What is it Kakashi-sensei?"
He ruffled the dog boy's hair and turned his head to the side so I could see his neck. "If anything goes wrong with my fight against Zabuza, I want you to take his collar off."
I was confused, but I nodded. Now wasn't the time to argue. If we waited any longer than Zabuza might get impatient and attack us. "Hai sensei."
"When you remove his collar, say his name and he will be ready for an order. Got it?" Sensei stared me down.
I was nervous under his gaze. Maybe this is more important than I thought. I just don't understand how some strange kid would be able to change anything. I mean, he looks to be about my age and I know that I couldn't dream of stopping Zabuza so how much stronger than me could he be? "Hai sensei."
"Only if something goes wrong against Zabuza. Under NO other circumstances do you take his collar off. Do you understand Sakura?"
"Hai." I answered him with as much irritation as I could. I understand already, jeez. I'm not dumb. But I had to wonder what would happen if I took it off. He seemed like a really weird boy, but not harmful. If anything he seemed sweet.
"If you remove the collar, this is the order you give him." Sensei leaned forward and whispered the command in my ear. It only made me more confused.
I nodded and my sensei went to fight the tall Mist jonin.
Their fight was amazing. I couldn't see half of it because of a thick screen of mist, but the small parts I could make out were almost unbelievable. I can't comprehend how strong a jonin is. They just seem too powerful to be real.
Finally, it happened. My sensei was caught in some sort of water bubble that Zabuza created. I could see that Kakashi-sensei was slowly drowning right in front of me and I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop him. Even one handed, Zabuza would kill me. In fact, it seemed like he planned to; he made a water clone that was slowly approaching us. The clone probably only had one-tenth of the originals strength, but I still don't think we can be it.
"Sakura, what are you waiting for? Take that things collar off. I'll hold Zabuza back as long as I can." Sasuke through a few kunai at the water clone, which were blocked right away. I really didn't like how he referred to the boy as a 'thing.' Just because he was a little weird didn't make him a 'thing' instead of a person.
I turned my attention to the blonde boy standing next to me. He looked at me with his big blue puppy dog eyes and I wanted to melt. He was so kawai I just had to pet him! But now is not the time. "Come here Naruto." He happily skipped next to me and I reached for his collar. He whimpered when my hand got close, but he didn't move. It seemed like he didn't want me to take off his collar, but I had to admit I was a little excited to see what would happen when I did.
I grabbed the cool metal of his collar and undid the clasp.
*clink*
The collar fell to the ground and kicked up a little dust. Now I just had to remember what Kakashi-sensei said. Okay, so the first thing was to say his name.
"Naruto."
His eyes dilated and his head cocked to the side. I could actually see his ears perk so he could hear me speak. The look on his face changed from sweet and kind to cold and apathetic. He didn't even look like the same person. It's like the collar was subduing him and now that it was off he was hanging by a thread; ready to become feral at any moment.
I could see Sasuke struggling with his fight. I need to move on to the next step. It was time to give him the order sensei told me earlier.
"Naruto... Sick 'em."
The second I said the words, his eyes bore down on Zabuza's clone. He exposed his teeth and slammed down onto his knuckles in preparation to pounce. With a guttural growl he charged. He was so fast I couldn't even see him until he was already bombarding the clone.
The poor water copy didn't stand a chance. Naruto grabbed the clone by the scruff of its shirt and by its belt and lifted it above his head. It was hard for me to take in; seeing the sweet boy from earlier turn into such an animal. But the fact was I could see what he was doing. I could only stand and watch as he slowly lowered the clone down to his mouth and tore into it with his teeth. I was happy to see that it just dispersed into water, but Naruto wasn't. He wanted blood.
I watched him look around quickly before locating the real Zabuza. And when he saw that a strange man he didn't know was trying to hurt Kakashi-sensei, Naruto became enraged. I could only relate it to a dog seeing its master in trouble. He was going to do everything to protect his owner.
Naruto cocked his head back and let loose a deafening howl. Before I realized it, he was halfway to Zabuza.
The demon from the mist used his free hand to swing his giant sword at Naruto. The boy just slid under the sword and grabbed Zabuza's foot on the way. He tore the ex-mist jonin away from Kakashi-sensei and released him from his water prison, but it appeared Naruto wasn't finished yet. He kept dragging Zabuza across the ground until he threw him against a tree. Hard. I don't think I have the power in my entire body to do what he just did with one hand.
Zabuza wasn't given a break as Naruto followed his own throw. The blonde moved in and clawed across the jonin's chest; spraying lines of blood across the ground. I can't believe that he's going toe to toe with a jonin! It's absolutely amazing!
Zabuza cocked his fist back to punch the feral child in front of him. Naruto growled and pulled his head back in response before headbutting Zabuza's fist. I could hear Zabuza's knuckles breaking as they impacted Naruto's forehead.
"Naruto. Heel!"
Naruto left Zabuza leaning against the tree, cradling his hand, and ran next to Kakashi-sensei. Our teacher picked up Naruto's collar and snapped it around the boy's neck. As soon as he fastened the metal clasp, Naruto eyes widened up and he began smiling and panting like he was earlier. The change was instant. He went from merciless killer to happy puppy in no time at all. Zabuza's blood was still dripping from his hands, but outside of that it was like nothing had happened.
"That's a good boy, Naruto." Kakashi-sensei patted him on the head and it seemed like Naruto loved it.
Anyways, with Zabuza weakened my sensei had no problem finishing the fight; not that he had to because some hunter ninja came out of nowhere and killed Zabuza for us. I wish that guy would've shown up earlier though.
Once Zabuza was gone I didn't waste a second. I confronted my sensei about the human boy he was keeping as a pet.
"How can you do that Kakashi-sensei?! He's a person not a dog!" I was sickened by it. Nobody should be degraded like that.
"I didn't make him like that Sakura. His story is a lot more complicated than you think."
"Well then why don't you explain it to me?!"
"No."
That was all he said before walking away. I couldn't believe the nerve of that bastard, but I guess it wasn't my place to question. Well, that only leaves one person to ask.
I approached Naruto, who was snoozing in the shade of a tree. I shook him lightly and he groggily opened his eyes.
"Hello Naruto-kun. I want to properly introduce myself. My name is Haruno Sakura, but you can just call me Sakura." I extended my hand and he just stared at it. After a few seconds he leaned forward and rubbed his head against my palms. I think he wanted me to pet him or something. I know that just a few minutes ago I was angry Kakashi-sensei for treating him like a dog, but when I looked in his eyes there was nothing more that I wanted to do than pet him. So I did. And oh was it so cute! He rolled over onto his back and I got onto my knees to scratch his stomach.
"So Naruto. Can you talk?" He looked up and me and yipped. That's not what I meant. I tried to get him to say something, but he just kept barking for responses. Finally, he laid his head down on my lap and fell asleep. I lightly played with his hair while he snoozed.
While he slept, he looked very cute. And not the kind of cute that made me want to pet him.
From that moment on we were nearly inseparable. He spent the entire walk through wave country right next to me and when we ate he would fill his metal bowl with food and sit behind my seat. I tried to get him to sit next to me at the table, but it seemed like he really didn't want to.
One day, when I woke up, he was sleeping at the foot of my bed. Curled up in a ball with a little drool coming out of his mouth. Technically, it was the first time I had ever slept with a boy, but I found I was really not bothered by it. I had the decency to blush because no matter how he acted he was still just a boy and I was still just a girl.
I tried to treat him like another human, but he didn't seem to like it. He just kept acting like a dog no matter what I did, but I still wouldn't give up. I talked to him every chance I had and asked him all kinds of questions; he wouldn't answer any of them though. Well he kind of answered them with different types of barks and the shaking/nodding of his head, but it wasn't the same as a real answer. At least he could understand what I was saying, I guess.
After about two weeks, Zabuza came back. It turns out that hunter ninja wasn't really a hunter. He was actually on Zabuza's side the entire time. Kakashi-sensei had told use Zabuza was still alive, but I was really hoping he was wrong. But of course my sensei was right; he always is.
When we got to the bridge, Zabuza had already killed a lot of people. Their blood was everywhere. I wanted to cry, but I knew I had to stay strong for everyone. Within minutes Sasuke had already broken off to fight that hunter ninja from before. Haku, was his name I guess. Right after that Kakashi-sensei was forced into a fight with Zabuza. Before he started he left me with the same orders from the last time he fought the Mist ninja.
"Only take off his collar if there is a serious problem." He said just before a mist jutsu blocked me from seeing him.
I looked to my side and Naruto was smiling. He was so carefree even though our lives were in such danger. He had zero fear. But I saw him fight before so I know he has no reason to be afraid of anything. On the other hand, I was so afraid that I wanted to take off his collar right now and let him loose. But I didn't because I know there is a reason that Kakashi-sensei only takes off his collar if the situation is critical. I don't know what that reason is, but following my sensei's order is important when we're in this kind of danger.
If I could have heard Zabuza and my sensei's conversation, I would have known that Zabuza was coming for us. He wanted to kill the bridge builder standing behind me. The demon phased out of the mist without me even knowing. I couldn't hear him. I couldn't sense him. That was just the difference between a genin and a jonin. I didn't stand a chance.
Just before he swung down I heard him breath out so he could put more power behind his swing. I pushed Tazuna out of the way as quick as I could. I saved his life, but in exchange I took the sword across my back. I could feel the edge cutting through my skin. I don't know how deep it went, but I was beginning to feel cold before I even hit the bridge.
By the time I hit the ground Kakashi-sensei was already on Zabuza again. He pushed him back and saved Tazuna for now.
I felt myself being turned over and when I looked up I saw Naruto's face. He wasn't smiling like before though. He was sad. It looked like he just didn't understand what was going on. He didn't know why I was laying there or why there was so much blood. He didn't understand that I was dying.
"Sakura-chan." I could tell I had lost a lot of blood because I could swear I heard him say my name.
I tiredly waved him to come closer. My hands felt so heavy, but I reached up and grabbed the clasp at his collar. I removed it and let my hand fall to my chest. "Naruto." He perked up and the sad boy from before was again lost as his eyes hardened into a killers. "Sick 'em."
I gave him the order and hoped for the best. I wanted to watch Naruto as he fought, but my eyes were too tired to keep them open so I drifted off without knowing the fate of my friends or myself. Those were the loneliest nightmares I ever had.
(Line break)
By the time I woke up, even I could tell a lot of time had passed. How could I tell? First, I was no longer laying on the bridge where I had been cut down by Zabuza. And second, because I smelled absolutely terrible. It was like a mix between sweat, B.O., and a weeks worth of dragon breath. All I wanted to do was eat and take a shower.
I tried to lean forward, but pain seared all over my body and kept me down like a ton of bricks. I have no idea how bad the damage to my back is, but I did find comfort in the fact that I was still alive and I still had the ability to move my toes. At least I wasn't going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.
So I was fine for the most part, but I still needed to know what happened to my team. I really hope they're okay.
I could hear panting from my side and I turn to see Naruto standing next to me with a huge smile on his face. He laughed and leaned forward. I thought it was for a hug or something, but then I felt the wet, slimy, softness of his tongue as it quickly brushed my cheek. He licked me!
"Is everyone okay?" I asked. I wasn't very happy with him for licking me, but I had to know what happened to Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei.
Naruto lightly smiled and nodded his head. He lifted my sheets and tucked me in. I fell back to sleep almost instantly. My dreams were much better this time around.
When I woke up the second time, Tsunami (Tazuna's daughter) was there to help me get up. She stripped me and helped me into the shower. She changed my bandages and fed me. I finally got to see the damage to my back. It wasn't great, but it could've been worse. The herbs of wave country were great for healing wounds like mine so all I had was a scar a few feet long across my back, but it was already fading.
She helped me down into the kitchen for breakfast. I saw Kakashi-sensei quietly reading his porn in the corner and Sasuke already had a bowl of food in front of him. I could see Naruto happily slurping up his food next to Kakashi-sensei and as soon as he saw me he rushed over and licked my cheek again. I didn't mind it as much this time as I did the first. It felt more endearing than it did gross.
I looked around and noticed that someone was missing. "Where is Tazuna-san?"
Tsunami stopped what she was doing and looked over at Naruto before quickly looking away. Kakashi even closed his book. Sasuke didn't seemed fazed though. I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't know what. "Tazuna..." My sensei began.
Tsunami walked over and put her hand on my sensei's shoulder. "It's okay Kakashi-san." She turned to me. "My father is alive Sakura-san and that is all that matters." Tsunami seemed a little put off, but I don't think she was lying.
My sensei turned to me. "Tazuna is in the other room. He sustained an injury during the battle, but he will survive."
He was injured? I was hoping that Naruto would have saved him after I removed his collar. But at least the old jerk was still alive. "What happened?"
My sensei looked at Tsunami and the back at me. He stood up and took my hand to lead me out of the room. I guess mission details had to be kept from Tsunami, but I thought by this point it was irrelevant if she heard what we had to say. What could be so important that he couldn't let her know? Or maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was something else he didn't want her to hear.
We walked outside and he kept his arm around me to hold me up. Naruto followed closely behind and happily skipped around us. "So what happened after I passed out?" I asked.
Kakashi thought for a moment and peered over at Naruto as he began digging a hole for no apparent reason. "Taking off Naruto's collar was the right thing to do." Is how he started. I thought it was a weird way to start a mission debriefing. "After you did that he saved me and Sasuke. With his help we eliminated both Zabuza and his subordinate very quickly."
"Well okay. But how was Tazuna injured then?"
"Tazuna tried to help you. He was applying pressure over your wound and tried to stop the bleeding until we could get you to a medic, but..." He shook his head and walked next to the blonde boy. "Naruto didn't know that."
Oh no. "What did he do?"
"Naruto has become very protective of you." He looked at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I tried to stop him before he could hurt Tazuna, but he wouldn't listen. He drug Tazuna across the bridge and began to tear into him."
I looked over at Naruto. He was happily rolling around on the ground and kicking up dirt everywhere. It was hard to believe he would hurt anyone, but I saw him do it. I know what he's capable of. "How bad is it?"
"He's got a few broken ribs. A lot of fractures and scratches. And he may never have use of his left arm again, but he'll survive and that is what is important."
It was my fault he was hurt. I was the one who took Naruto's collar off.
"Sakura, I think its time I told you why Naruto acts the way he does." My sensei explained. He had my full attention now more than ever. He pulled the blonde boy close to him and began cleaning the dirt off of his hands. "When Naruto was young he wasn't like this. He was an energetic boy. He was happy." I sat down against a tree and Naruto moved away from Kakashi-sensei to lay his head down onto my lap. My sensei looked at us and smiled. "But even though he seemed happy, he was actually just covering up how he really felt. He had a terrible life filled with loneliness and danger in a way that no one can really understand. Eventually it all caught up to him."
I looked down at the quiet boy in my lap and he turned his head to look up at me. His soft blue eyes didn't show the turmoil of a tortured child. He looked happy right now. Was it a lie? Was he actually in more pain than I realized?
"When he was given to me he was completely unresponsive. Hokage-sama and I decided it was best to take him away from his situation. My plan was to move him to an off site training facility that I use to train my nin-dogs called 'the kennels.'" I frowned at him. The kennels? No wonder he acts like a dog instead of a boy. My sensei must have seen that I was angry because he defended himself.
"Don't worry! The facility had rooms and food for humans! It wasn't my fault he became this way. When he met the rest of my ninken he began to open up a little more. He started to relate with them and eventually he started to act like them. He started barking and growling instead of talking. He ate his food out of bowls on the ground. There was nothing I could do to stop him." He sighed. "Then one day he began having strong mood swings. One moment he was happy and the next he was feral. It appeared he developed some sort of dual personality. The only explanation I could come up with is that his mental stress was resurfacing."
"So what did you do?"
My sensei grabbed Naruto around his collar. "I trained him to separate his personalities using this collar. While he has it on he will remain tame, but if you take it off..."
I know exactly what happens when the collar comes off. He isn't even the same person anymore.
Kakashi-sensei put his hand on my shoulder and eye smiled even wider than usual. "Anyways Sakura-chan; for some reason he seems to just adore you." I looked down and saw Naruto almost purring under my touch. All I was doing was itching behind his ears and he was acting like it was a gift from the gods. "He doesn't usually get quite so attached to people."
"Really? But he seems so personable."
"It's just you Sakura-chan." I don't really know how to feel about that. I guess I like it. For whatever reason, Naruto found something in me that he likes. "So that's why I want your help."
"Help? How?"
"I've tried very hard to get him to act like a normal boy, but so far nothing has worked. I figured maybe you could give it a shot."
I don't fully understand what 'give it a shot' means, but there is no harm in trying to help. Especially if it will help Naruto. "Hai sensei. I'll try."
He hopped up quickly. "Good! Well there's no time like the present!" Sensei said before dashing away to leave me and Naruto alone. I never thought of him as an impatient person before.
Well I suppose he's right. I want to help Naruto. And sooner is better than later I guess. "Hey Naruto-kun." I smiled and he lit up like a light. He seemed to like when I was happy. "I was wondering if you could do me one teensy little favor?" He nodded his head fervently. "You see, I have this terrible headache right now and I really want to fall asleep, but I'm having trouble." I overplayed the sick and helpless girl and it seemed like he was eating it up. "When I was younger my mom used to talk to me until I fell asleep. Could you talk to me please?"
I moved my head to his lap and he froze up. I've never been very good at appealing to boys before (or at least not Sasuke-kun), but I really don't think I'm all that bad at it. And if I can get Naruto to say even a single word to me then I have made unbelievable progress.
Unfortunately, instead of talking he froze up and didn't say a word. I asked a few more times and he still didn't do anything. I suppose my luck wasn't that good. But I still had another trick up my sleeve.
I grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him down to me. Quickly and lightly, I extended my tongue and touched it to his cheek. If I thought he was frozen before then he was a block of ice now. I watched the blush creep up his face and I couldn't help but smile. "Please Naruto-kun. Just one little word. It would make me feel so much better."
His hand went to the spot where I licked him and he held it in place. He even kept it there when he opened his mouth and choked on his words. "Agh... ugh..."
Come on. Almost there.
"S... Sakura-chan. I... I love you."
Oh boy, I think I've made a mistake.
(Line break)
Kakashi-sensei found out Naruto talked to me and as soon as we got back to Konoha I was summoned to the Hokage's office.
My hokage may be old, but I was more scared in front of him than I was Zabuza. He was warm and inviting, but he was known as the strongest in our village for a reason. Anyways, he basically told me that I had a new mission. And that mission was to rehabilitate Naruto into a functioning member of society (if possible).
To keep Naruto close to me he was placed as the third member on our team full time. So in addition to our normal work, I was ordered to help teach him how to act like a human. Luckily for me, Naruto never said that he loved me again. Thank god he didn't because it was awkward for me the first time around and I know I'm not any more comfortable with it now. I mean, I like him. He's a great guy and now that he's actually communicating with me I know how great he really is. He listens to me when I want to talk. He talks when I want to listen. He holds me when I'm sad (and he still licks my cheek). He's my closest guy friend, but I'm not in love with him.
Slowly, he was starting to act like a normal boy. I finally got him to sit next to me when we eat and he's almost got the hang of using chopsticks. He doesn't dig holes around my yard anymore either. It has taken me a few months to get this far, but I'm proud of him. I even updated his wardrobe! He looks much more handsome without that stupid cape Kakashi gave him. However, I think there are a few quirks that will never go away. He just loves getting petted too much. And to be honest, I love to pet him.
Eventually, the day finally came when he could take his collar off without any problems. I was so happy I cried! He hugged me and lifted me into the air yelling 'thank you' over and over. It was one of the happiest days I could remember having.
He leaned forward and I thought he was going to lick my cheek like usual, but this time felt different. Instead of his tongue quickly swiping my cheek, I felt his lips press against me. All I could think was that it was... nice.
(Line break)
Team seven was getting along great, or so I thought. I must have been wrong because Sasuke left us. The day he left, I noticed he was acting weird. I was worried so I followed him. He was heading towards the gate and I knew he was going to Orochimaru.
I begged him to stay. I pleaded and told him I loved him. I even offered to go with him. I didn't want to leave Naruto behind, but I knew he'd understand. This was love and I didn't want to give it up.
But in the end Sasuke rejected me. He knocked me out and laid me on the bench. When I woke up the next morning Naruto was sitting next to me, gently nudging my face with his hand. I cried into his shoulder and told him what happened. Naruto stayed quiet the entire time and held me until I was finished crying.
"Do you want me to bring him back for you?" He said softly.
"Please." I begged. "Please bring him back to me Naruto!"
He nodded to me and in a blink of an eye he was gone. If I would have been less selfish, I may have noticed how badly I was hurting Naruto.
Within four hours he was back and Sasuke was laying at my feet. I almost couldn't believe it. Naruto was like magic. Sasuke had at least a full night head start on him, but it didn't even matter. Naruto caught him and, judging by Sasuke's wounds, he must have fought him. And he did all of this just because I asked him to. What a great friend.
"Thank..." I looked up, but Naruto was already gone. "you."
(Line break)
After Naruto dropped off the unconscious Sasuke at my doorstep, I took him to the hospital. I told the nurses that he had a training accident and that he really needed help. No one questioned it. I really didn't feel like it was necessary to tell anyone he had tried to leave Konoha. Rogue ninja were treated as traitors and I didn't want that for him. It would wreck my plan for the future.
A few days later we had our next team meeting. I still hadn't gotten the chance to thank Naruto so I was looking forward to seeing him. For some reason he hadn't come to visit me at all for the past few days. It was very unlike him. Usually he would at least come say hi on the days we had off.
When I arrived at the meeting place, I saw Sasuke waiting there. He still had some of the bandages on his face, but he looked handsome anyways. I tried to talk to him after the incident, but so far he hasn't said anything to me, but he also hasn't tried to leave again. I wonder why? Don't get me wrong; I'm ecstatic he isn't trying to leave me again, but I don't really know what had changed between a few days ago and now.
Naruto arrived shortly after and exchanged a glance with Sasuke-kun. I heard Naruto growl and Sasuke-kun looked away, almost like he was afraid of something. I think I'll have to have another talk with my blonde friend later about treating Sasuke a little nicer.
It took a few hours, but sensei did eventually show up so we could have training. As soon as we finished up I called Naruto over.
"You left before I could thank you." I said sternly.
He whimpered. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan."
"What happened between you and Sasuke-kun?" I asked.
Naruto itched his chin. "Ugh... nothing really. I just made sure he wouldn't try to leave you again."
I blushed. "Thank you Naruto. But what did you do?"
"It doesn't really matter. But there is something I want to talk to you about."
He grabbed my hand and brought me over to a bench to sit down. He didn't let go of my hand though. I'm used to being affectionate with him, but for some reason it felt different this time. "I... I understand that you love Sasuke." He started. "I wasn't sure about it until you asked me to go get him. I thought maybe you just didn't want our team to be split up or maybe you wanted to help a friend, but I know now that I was wrong. You wanted him back because you love him."
I nodded my head. I wasn't afraid to express my feelings for Sasuke-kun. "I do love him." I said.
"I see." He tightened his grip slightly around my hand and scooted closer. "And how do you feel about me?"
I smiled at the ground. I knew that he had feelings for me since the first day he told me he loved me. "Naruto. I care about you." He smiled at me. "As a friend." His smile dropped. I hated having to do this, but it was for the best. "I'm sorry, but I love Sasuke-kun."
He nodded his head. I was happy to see he was so understanding. "You know... I've loved you since I first saw you."
"Naruto..."
"When Master (Kakashi) summoned me to help you against Zabuza, I came by you first. I smelled you to communicate my intentions, but I understand now that it wasn't normal for a boy to do it that way. Normal boys would ask you out or give you flowers."
I tried to say something, but he held his hand up to stop me.
"I'm a whole new person now! I eat with people. I talk to them and they smile at me."
I looked at him and saw how happy he was. I'm glad I could help him like this. It felt like lately he was the one who was doing things for me in these past few weeks, but all he thought about was how I helped him. He's the most unselfish person I know.
"I feel like I'm whole again and it's all thanks to you Sakura-chan!"
"Naruto. I... can't..."
He waved his hands and smiled. "Don't worry Sakura-chan. I'm not pressing you. And I'm not going to get all mopey on you. I don't sulk like SOME people."
His comment was obviously about Sasuke. I couldn't help but giggle a little bit.
"So what I wanted to ask you is... would it be okay if I tried? Would you let me try to win your love?"
I took a sharp breath. Would it really hurt to let him try? What reason do I have not too? Maybe I might be leading him on, but he seems so dead set I don't have the heart to say he doesn't have a chance. "Uhh... alright Naruto. You can try to win me." His smile was so bright it was nearly blinding. "But Sasuke is the one I love so don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out. Okay?"
He just looked me in the eyes with the same carefree expression I had seen a thousand times before. "Okay Sakura-chan."
I had a feeling that he wasn't worried at all. He almost seemed smug about it.
(Line break)
Can you guess how long it took me to fall in love with Naruto?
Three days.
It only took him three days and I was head over heels in love with him. I don't know what happened. It was like one second he was this friend and the next he was this handsome, sexy, charming gentleman that could push my buttons without even trying. Whatever it was I had felt for Sasuke-kun was gone in an instant. Maybe I was just being fickle, but the feelings I developed for Naruto made Sasuke pale by comparison.
The first day I knew something was different about Naruto. He appeared outside my house holding my favorite flowers in one hand, and my favorite food in the other. He asked for a date and I accepted. I wanted to get my hands on that food of his. I don't know when I told him how much I loved anko dumplings, but he had a great first start in my book.
He took me to a field outside of Konoha I had never seen before. It was so beautiful I don't even have words to describe it. The best I can do is say it was an endless landscape of flowers with a small opening in the middle for us. We were surrounded by pinks, blues, reds, yellows, and every other color in the spectrum. Ino would've really liked it.
He was like an entirely different person from that point on. When he spoke to me I blushed. He didn't say anything inappropriate at all; it was just the way he said it. His voice was deeper and sexier than I remembered. When he touched me I felt like I was on fire and his fingers were the cause. They felt delicate enough to make me tingle, but strong enough to make me blush.
His smile used to be carefree, but now it was focused. He looked at me and I could tell his thoughts were focused solely on me. He was appreciating me in every sense of the word and I could feel it.
Two days and two amazing dates later I was so flustered when I thought about Naruto I would have to sit down whenever I did. Though, I held back how I felt when he was around because I don't want him to get too smug. I was happy to hold his hand, but I don't want him to get cocky and think he can kiss me. I want to keep some of my chastity, you know.
After our first three days together, he had to go on a mission somewhere and he promised he would be back as soon as possible. While he was gone all I could think about was Naruto. I found myself tripping over air because I was too wrapped up in thoughts of him.
Two weeks later he was finally back, but he wasn't alone. By his side was this beautiful, busty, blonde haired woman with the symbol for gamble on her back. Any citizen of Konoha would know exactly who it was. Tsunade, the greatest medic ninja of all time and my idol.
"Baa-chan, this is Sakura-chan."
She extended her hand but I was too star struck to shake it.
"Naruto has told me a lot about you." She smiled and leaned forward to whisper to me. "He likes you, ya know?"
"Ugh... uhh..." That was all I could come up with.
"He told me you want to become a medic. I have some stuff to take care of, but come to the Hokage tower tomorrow and we can talk about an apprenticeship."
I watched her walk away and it wasn't until she was out of eyesight that I finally found my voice again. I turned to Naruto and grabbed his wrist. "Come with me."
I yanked him into the nearest ally pushed him up against the building. I kissed him as passionately as I could. I didn't have any practice with it, but judging by his dazed expression, he thought it was good.
And just like that, my libido went into overdrive. I don't know what that kiss did to me, but I wanted more of it. If we were alone for even a second, I would do everything I could to get him flustered. I'd nibble on his ear or french kiss him and then I'd walk away like nothing happened. I loved seeing him get frustrated.
(Line break)
Three years down the line and I was garbed in a beautiful white dress. I walked down the aisle and I could see Naruto at the end of it in his black tux, standing next to Kakashi-sensei (his best man). Next to my sensei was a line of dogs wearing adorable little tuxes. Naruto decided he wanted his groomsmen to be less man than canine. I was fine with it because the ninken were like Naruto's first family and I didn't want to take that away from him. Plus, they all looked so kawai in their little suits! I just had to let them be a part of the wedding.
Naruto smiled at me and I knew I was making the right decision. We were a little young to be getting married, but I had no doubts that this is what I wanted. Plus, we're ninja. We kind of come with a time limit.
The priest pronounced us man and wife and we kissed. The crowd of our friends and family went crazy and clapped until their hands were sore. Then I licked Naruto on the cheek, which made Pakkun and the rest of Kakashi-sensei's ninken howl. Naruto joined in with them. There were a few things he stilled enjoyed doing with his old crew.
The reception we held that night was crazy. Lee got his drink mixed up with Shikamaru's and ended up drinking some sake. It took Naruto himself to hold Lee down when he began breaking things and slurring about the fires of youth. But outside of that snafu the rest of the night went smoothly. The music was wonderful and the food was excellent. We had a famous chef in Konoha cooking for my side of the family and we imported brand name dog food for Naruto's side of the family since nine out of ten of them were dogs. Overall, the whole night was perfect.
The day after our wedding we went on our honeymoon in this small resort in Wave country. They gave us our own private section so we wouldn't be disturbed. Do you want to hear about it? Well that's too bad. What we did that night is our business. Also, what we did constantly over the rest of the honeymoon is our business too (wink wink).
At the rate our sex life was going it was no wonder I got pregnant. Tsunade-shishou personally helped me deliver and I had my first child without any serious problems. I held my baby in my arms. She was so small and fragile. So beautiful. She inherited the little tuft of pink hair on her head from me, but her big blue eyes were all Naruto.
Naruto held both of us in his arms. "Yume." He said softly. "Because you're my little dream." He tickled her large belly and she grabbed his finger in her tiny hands. She couldn't even get both of her hands around his finger.
"Yume is a wonderful name." I brought her closer and kissed her on the forehead.
"Sakura-chan. Thank you so much." I didn't feel like there was anything he needed to thank me for. Him and Yume were everything to me. Just being with them was all I could ever want. "And not just for Yume. For everything. If I hadn't met you I don't know where I would be right now. I feel like I could take down the world so long as your next to me!"
He smiled at me and my heart skipped a beat. No matter how long we are together, I know I'll always feel like a girl with a crush so long as he is around. I can't believe he still makes me blush.
Just thinking about everything that we had done to up to this point made my head dizzy. When I met Naruto he wasn't even really a boy. He was just a lonely pup. I had helped him because he seemed hurt, but in the end he did more for me than I did for him. At least that's the way I feel. He likes to say opposite.
I never want this moment to end. I'm so happy that it feels surreal!
There is something Naruto likes to say to me. He always says 'You filled this part of me I thought I had lost.' At first I didn't know what it meant, but right now I think I understand. I look down at my daughter and it's like I feel complete. There is absolutely nothing else I could ask for. This feeling that I have right now is the best feeling of my life. But that doesn't surprise me.
It seems like I've had the best day of my life every single day since I met the boy who acted like a dog.
I hoped you enjoyed it. I had originally planned to make this more angsty, but I guess I'm just a big softie at heart. I just love happy endings!
I apologize if anything seemed rushed or was misspelled. I've been out of the game for a while haha.