Is it too Late?
Eight years old Naruto Uzumaki, walked slowly through the silent night of Konoha. He was looking down sadly, as he kicked pebbles on the street every now and then.
Yesterday he was kicked from the orphanage, so now he had nowhere to go. He thought of going to see the Hokage and ask for money so he could rent a new house, but decided against it. Why? He didn't know. He just didn't feel like mentioning his problems to others. He had grown up alone all his life, regardless how short it was. He dealt with his problems on his own.
He soon stopped as he walked by the 'Ramen Shop'. His most favourite food. Not that he had anything else to know the difference since every other shop would never sell food to him, or ask for a fortune for a pack of milk.
He sighed after pulling the garments of his pocket. He had no money with him.
The shop owner noticed the boy and could see he didn't have money, judging by him walking away after stopping. He never walked away without at least having a bowl of Ramen before.
"Dad, shall we close for tonight?" Ayame asked her father as she finished washing all the dishes for the night. She noticed him staring at someone so she followed his eyes. Her eyes softened seeing the small boy hesitating between going away or approach the shop.
"Shall I call him?" Ayame asked.
"No." Her father who was the shop owner shook his head. "He doesn't like to take free food. You will just make him feel worse."
"But…" Ayame saddened seeing him already gone.
"I don't know what the damn Hokage is doing. Leaving the Fourth's son in the streets like this… it's pathetic." The man greeted his teeth in frustration.
"Maybe h-he has his reasons." She tried to reason, but was unsure herself.
"Heh!" Her dad groaned and walked back inside the kitchen.
Ayame didn't comment on that and just sighed. 'Hope things get better for you Naruto-kun.'
(Scene Change)
"Shu shu…" Naruto picked up a small rock from the ground and threw at the small cat sitting under the Street Lamp. The cat seemed unfazed as the small rock hitting her face felt like a small bug sitting on.
"Meow?" The cat tilted her head, looking at Naruto in confusion. Naruto frowned and sat beside her.
"I was planning to sleep here tonight." Naruto spoke with a frown. He didn't expect the cat to understand him but to his surprise, the cat snuggled against his feet before walking a few feet away from him, and curling up like a ball, ready to sleep.
Naruto looked at the cat and sighed. "Guess you don't have any family either." Soon after his stomach growled. His shoulders slumped lightly as he used his hand to touch his stomach.
'Guess I am starving…' He stretched his arms before faking a yawn as he lied down, trying to sleep and forget about hunger.
He looked up at the stars and used his fingers to connect them and draw mental pictures.
His stomach growled again as he twitched in annoyance.
"Meow…"
Naruto turned his head on the side and saw the cat staring at him, a small fish bone on her mouth.
Naruto raised his eyebrows as the cat left the bone beside him and purred as it snuggled against his ears and went back to sleep.
…
'I am not a cat you know?' Naruto thought but smiled as he saw the cat slowly drift into sleep.
He looked at the fish bone and licked it, feeling obliged to at least taste it and not break the poor cat's heart. Not that the cat cared. It was just a cat after all.
His ears soon twitched as he picked up a noise.
*sniff... sniff…*
"Who's crying this late in the forest?" He wondered out loud.
He tried to go back to sleep but the crying intensified causing him to snarl. Sometimes having sensitive hearing wasn't good.
He jumped on his feet and made his way towards the forest. Before leaving he made sure to bid farewell to the cat.
"See ya later cat, maybe I will come back here again." He waved his hand lightly and received a small 'meow' from the cat, despite her being asleep.
He smiled as he made his way towards the forest.
(Scene Change)
Naruto dodge a few laid down tree trunks, and bushes as he followed the source of the noise. He sniffed as he picked up the smell of a particular wildflower.
Getting past a final bush, he could see who was actually crying. It was a girl that looked to be his height. She was sitting down, her head resting on her knees as she used her arms to hold her knees together.
Naruto walked towards the girl a few more steps, which alerted the girl, hearing his footsteps against the dead leafs on the ground.
She gasped as a sense of panic seized over her face.
Naruto shook his head, trying to calm her down as he showed his empty hands. She slightly stiffened and stood up before glaring at him.
"W-Who are you?!"
Naruto had a better look at her this time. She had short platinum blonde hair worn in a ponytail with few strands of hair sticking out on her ride side of her face.
She was wearing a pink dress which he could see despite not having much light to illuminate her presence.
"I am N-Nar-." He didn't mean to stutter but somehow it came out due to nervousness. He didn't meet many people so it was something new to him.
"What do you want?!" She growled, still sobbing lightly, but she did her best to no show her tears. She quickly wiped her tears and glared at him again.
Naruto took a step back and looked down sadly. "I am sorry. I just heard you crying so I came to check you… I will go back."
He turned around and was about to leave but could feel a tuck on the edge of his shirt.
"I-I am lost… take me to my papa…" She sniffed lightly, pulling the edge of his shirt tightly with her fingers. She averted her eyes from his once he looked at her due to embarrassment.
'Get lost you demon brat!' The memories of people's hate speech resonated on his head and he winced. He can't take her to her house without him getting yelled. He turned around again to decline but seeing her whimper and hiccup, he decided against it.
…
"Fine, show me the way."
The girl looked up and glared. "I told you I am lost!"
…
"Oh right… at least do you know where you live? Like any signs? Shops nearby?"
The girl looked down thoughtfully before widening her eyes slightly as she got a clue.
"It's beside the flower shop!"
Naruto nodded, already having a clue which flower shop it was, noticing her blonde hair matching a flower shop's owner, he figured out she was her daughter.
"Got it, let's go."
(Scene Change)
Sasuke and her sister was walking towards their house after a late night training session. The Uchiha siblings noticed Naruto and another girl walking past them. Sasuke didn't pay much attention, but his sister halted which caused him to stop too.
"What's wrong Shana?"
The younger Uchiha shook her head. "It's nothing. I just saw Ino… with another boy. What they doing this late?"
"Who cares, probably coming back from playing house and dolls." Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms.
"What's 'house and dolls?'" Shana asked with a flat face.
Sasuke lightly blushed with embarrassment. "Some girly game, who cares! Let's go."
She rolled her eyes and just followed him.
"You need to get better at dodging." Sasuke commented.
"You need to get better at hiding." She spat back.
…
…
"Hmp."
(Scene Change)
Once Naruto and the girl arrived at the flower shop, she immediately ran up to a woman who looked like an adult version of her.
Naruto smiled seeing the younger girl crying on her mother's arms, holding her dearly.
'Mother… huh…' He saddened but still kept the smile present on his face.
(Scene Change)
"Ino where did you run off to this late?" The girl's mother asked after Ino calmed down, and was just hiccupping lightly.
"I-I was following this purple butterfly, and before I knew, I was lost!" She complained.
"Oh, next time don't do it okay?" Her mother patted her daughter which caused her to smile lightly.
"I won't!" She smiled before realizing she hadn't thanked the boy who helped her find her way back.
"Oh!" She turned around swiftly, but was met with emptiness. There was no one standing behind anymore.
"Where did he go?" Ino wondered and walked where he was standing, and tried to look left and right, to see if he was there.
"Who are you looking for?" Her mother asked, seeing her daughter acting strangely.
"The boy who brought me here. He was just here a minute ago!" Ino explained.
"Oh… maybe he left. What's his name?"
…
Ino frowned as she remembered she interrupted him before he could tell his name.
She shook her head. "I don't know."
(Scene Change)
The chirps of the birds reached his ears. Naruto slowly opened his eyes and was met with a bright ray of sunlight. Rubbing his eyes, he sat down.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Looking on his left front, he didn't find the cat from last night. He sighed.
'Looks like the cat left.' He stretched his arms again.
*Growl*
…
He looked up with a huff. "I am not hungry."
*Growl.*
…..
He let out a sigh in defeat. 'Where do I find something to eat L'
He wondered across the streets, not having any plan. He did think about stealing, but he remembered all the tortures he endured for past three years from random ninjas even when he didn't do anything. He didn't want to know what they would do if they caught him stealing.
"What do I do!" He let out a loud groan as he pulled his hair. He was slowly getting a headache from dehydration and hunger.
"You look like something is bothering you, need help young boy?"
Naruto froze on his steps, hearing a feminine voice really close to his ears. It almost felt chilling to his bones.
He quickly turned around, and saw the road behind was empty.
He shook his head with a frown. 'I am even hearing stuff now…'
He continued walking aimlessly. He walked past many shops, selling food, jewelleries, clothes, etc. Some didn't notice him, but other shop owners glared at him like he was some kind of dart. He frowned and looked down sadly, not meeting their eyes.
"Look it's the cursed boy."
"Oh you are right… what's with his left side having a burnt spot?"
"Didn't you know? The demon possesses his left side!"
The two women stopped as Naruto stopped in front of them. His fist bawled tightly in anger.
"I am no demon okay?! Why do you say all the means stuff to me?! What's even a demon!" He yelled with anger. The sadness on his voice was evidently a mixed feeling. For an eight years old orphan, this was definitely not normal. But he endured it so far. A little outburst is the least reaction to be expected.
The two women looked at him angrily before going back to their shopping.
'The whispers… they won't stop…' He closed his eyes tightly as fresh tears fought to exit. He ran as fast as he could, away from them… away from everyone.
"Why are they all like this!" He yelled, while he ran past few Ninjas returning from their duty.
"Hey kid watch out!" One of them snarled as he smashed his way through them.
"Shut up!" He yelled, still running as fast as he could, drops of tears flowing out from the corner of his eyes.
'Everyone… every single one!' He growled mentally as his speed increased.
Soon after, small smoke could be seen coming out from his left side.
'They are all mean to me!' His anger increased, which caused his left side to heat up. You could physically see the redness on top of his already burnt effect on his body.
"You are all mean!" He let out a growl as he came to a halt. This final push caused his left side to be engulfed in what looked like fire.
The flame kept on dancing mindlessly as he stopped. The air surrounding him began to heat up.
He widened his eyes, sensing something wasn't right.
He looked at his left hand, which was now surrounded in a raging intrusion of fire.
He gulped seeing his left side completely 'caught' on fire.
"Wh-what is this! I am on fire!" He panicked as he tried to shake his hand, trying to free himself off the fire.
"I-It won't stop!" He then shook his leg to stop the fire on the leg, but to no avail.
After trying a few more seconds, he noticed he wasn't actually feeling the heat.
"What is wrong with me…" He calmed down, watching the fire raging like a wild animal, surrounding his left portion of the body.
"Look it's the cursed boy." The voice of the women from earlier resonated in his mind as he began to doubt himself.
"M-Maybe I am cursed after a-all." Soon after he said that, the fire seized and everything went back to normal.
"Huh?" He wondered seeing only the remaining heat evident on his body as smokes went off his body slowly.
He rubbed his eyes and kept staring at his left hand. Everything was back to normal.
There was a brief silence before he looked down, his hair casting a shadow on his face.
'Maybe I am just a … d-demon as the mean lady said…' He clutched his palm angrily. 'How do I stop this… how do I not become a demon?' His shoulders shook as he slowly began to sob which soon turned into a stream of tears cascading down his face.
"You are not a demon."
He snapped out hearing the same feminine voice again. He turned around quickly and was met with the same outcome. No one was there.
"W-Who are you?!" He yelled out. "W-Why won't you show yourself?!"
…
The noise of the wind ruffling the leafs could be heard, but no sign of the voice.
He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Fine don't show yourself! I bet you hate me too!" He growled and waited for any response. Not getting any, he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Fine then! I don't like you either! I h-hate you! I hate you all!" His voice echoed as he realized where he was standing. It was at the deepest end of the forest that was closed for any civilian. He didn't notice that however.
It began to rain soon after. The thunderclaps began to get louder as the wind intensified each passing second.
Naruto panicked, sensing he was in an unknown area. He had never come here before.
'H-How do I go back?' He slowly took few steps back, until stumbling against a tree and tripping in the process.
"Geez!" He rubbed his nose as he sat down.
*Growl…*
…
"I am hungry…" He hissed as he felt a sharp pain on his stomach.
He soon felt like everything went blank as he fell unconscious on the ground, rain dripping on his body as he laid.
(Scene Change-Three Days Later)
Life was normal for little Sakura Haruno. She used to play with her dolls, while her mother would be out doing groceries or on work. She didn't have any friends, except Ino Yamanaka.
All she ever knew about life and her family and friends, were her mother and Ino. That however changed when her mother brought a boy, wrapped in a cloth, soaking like a sponge from head to toe.
She had said she found him on the forest while she was coming back from a job. She didn't know how to react to that. She just nodded as her mother took care of him for the past three days.
Presently Sakura was sitting beside the boy. She noticed his had some odd marking on his cheeks. Almost like cat whiskers. Then her eyes fell on the left side of his face. It was burnt most probably as it had a light redness to it. Same with his left palm that was resting on his chest as the boy slowly breathed in and out.
Sakura smiled as an idea popped on her head. She smiled again and got close to the boy and slowly poked his cheeks with her fingers.
She laughed happily from her little prank. Hoping no one saw, she was going for round two, but stopped as the boy's eyes slowly began to open.
(Scene Change)
"Naruto-kun…. Naruto-kun…. Naru-" Naruto slowly opened his eyes, as the same feminine voice slowly drifted away from him. He could see the imagery of what looked like pink.
"Candy…" He whispered soundly.
"Candy?" Sakura questioned.
"Candy… huh?" Naruto snapped open his eyes, seeing the girl clearly, who was staring at him. He jumped up from the bed as he sat down, only to feel a sharp pain on his head.
"Ouch…" He groaned as he fell back on the bed.
"Y-You startled me!" Sakura complained, who jumped back from his sudden outburst.
Naruto stiffened from her rise in tone. "I am s-sorry." He apologised. "I will go away." He tried to sit down, but this time he was pushed back on the bed by a pair of small hands that belonged to Sakura.
"No way kitty! Mom said to look after you!" She glared at him. Naruto was at loss of words. He tried to say something, but none came except. "I-I am sorry."
"You know… you say that quite a lot!"
…
"I am.. s-so-" This time he stopped, seeing the intense glare that she was giving him. But he felt somewhat different. This glare wasn't like the ones he gets from everyone. He didn't know the difference, but he didn't feel scared of her. It almost felt… good?
"Hmp. Stay in bed. Do you want to eat candy?" Sakura inquired.
Naruto shook his head.
"Then why did you say 'candy'." Sakura answered, mimicking the 'candy' part like his tone, which was low and groggy.
"I thought… I… thought you were candy." Naruto replied nervously, a feint tint of blush brushing his cheeks.
"Huh?" She didn't quite process what he said at first, but when she did, she was furious. "You! You thought I was candy?!"
Naruto stiffened again, but like before, he didn't feel scared of her, so he calmed down and nodded, which caused her mouth to open into an 'o' shape in disbelief.
"H-how could you! Take that back kitty!" She whined as she threw some imaginary punches on the air.
Naruto grew impatient of hearing the 'kitty' and slowly but carefully spoke up. "I am not… kitty."
Sakura pouted. "Well I am not candy either!" She huffed, crossing her arms.
"I am sorry…"
She glared again which caused him to give a nervous laugh. She gave up with a sigh. "You are weird…"
(Scene Change- One Week Later)
"Naruto, what's taking you so long? I told you we were going to meet a friend today!" Sakura huffed with annoyance.
"I was just getting ready, geez." Naruto walked down the stairs with a frown.
"Don't talk to your elder sister in that tone!"
…
"Since when did you become my 'elder sister?'" Naruto enquired, raising an eyebrow.
"W-Well, since I came here first, so I am the elder sister and you are my little brother." She reasoned happily. Naruto just looked at her flatly.
"You know I am eight and you are like seven?"
Sakura almost stumbled from the revelation. "W-Well that doesn't matter! You are still younger brother! Now let's go." She pushed him outside the door, as she followed behind. Naruto was annoyed by her calling the younger brother, but he was somewhat pleased as a smile crept on his face.
'Family huh…'
Flashback
"So where do you live Naruto?" Mrs Haruno asked the boy after he recovered. Naruto looked down sadly as he had momentarily forgotten about everything this past week, being in care of Mrs Haruno and Sakura.
"N-Nowhere." He stiffened slightly, realising his time here may have come to an end, and he would go back to the streets like before.
"Well then… how would you like to live with us?"
…
:O
(End of Flashback)
"Naruto… Naruto!"
He zoned out from his thought as he looked at Sakura, who was glaring at him.
"What?"
"Gosh you are such a kid. Stop zoning out, look I told you we were meeting a friend? Here she is!" Sakura pointed towards a blonde girl as Sakura stepped aside.
Naruto looked up at her and she looked quite familiar.
"You!" The platinum haired girl yelled as she remembered him from back in the forest.
"Uh… have we met before?" He asked, unsurely.
"Well of course we met genius! Why would you run away last time?" She asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.
Naruto processed the information briefly before realising who she was. He didn't see her face properly at night, but now he remembered her.
Naruto slightly felt heat rise on his cheeks, without having any clue. He nodded. "I-I see. Sorry, I didn't know what to say so… I left."
Sakura looked back and forth between Ino and Naruto, not having a clue in the world.
"Well sorry accepted!" Ino replied, with a toothy grin. "What's your name?"
"Umm… Naruto Uzumaki…" He hesitated slightly before continuing. "A..And yours?"
"Hehe." She laughed. "Ino Yamanaka! Nice to meet you Foxy!"
…
Sakura burst out laughing seeing Naruto's face make a complete 360 as he looked at her blankly.
"First Kitty… now Foxy… I am not an animal damn it!"
Ino tilted her head in confusion. So Sakura went to her and whispered something to her ears which caused her to burst out laughing.
Naruto's face reddened with embarrassment, seeing the two girls laughing at him historically.
Ino had her hand on her stomach as she laughed, while Sakura just laughed, leaving her hands loose on either sides.
"Ahh! You are both jerks!"
(Scene Change)
"How do you know him Sakura? I didn't know you had a boyfriend?" Ino asked with a sly smile. She was seven years old, but she at least knew the difference between opposite gender and marriage and the sort.
"He isn't my boyfriend. He is my new brother." Sakura replied proudly.
Naruto was standing facing back towards them, still mad at the name callings from earlier. They had come to Ino's garden where they were apparently meant to play a game.
"No he is not." Ino deadpanned. "He looks nothing like you or your mama." She then pointed towards her hair, implying the hair colour.
"I am telling you he is my brother!"
"No he is not!"
"He is!"
"Is not!
"Is!"
"Not!"
"Not!"
"Is! Wait not wait is… ugh!"
"Gehe! My win." Sakura grinned causing Ino to pout as she crossed her arms. "F-Fine, you got me this time."
"Baka." Naruto commented which caused Sakura to laugh since it was directed towards Ino.
"Na-ru-to!" Ino flared which sent chills down his spines. He tried to wave his hand and say sorry but it was too late.
"Ouch! That hurts!" Naruto held his head as she punched him. "Just kidding, what a girly punch."
"Why you!"
(Scene Change)
Ino cleared her voice and stood few steps away from Naruto and Sakura as she began to explain the game.
"Okay Sakura, you will be the evil… maid!"
"Why?" Sakura asked innocently.
"Because I said so! It's my game after all!"
Sakura nodded and pumped her fist curled up. "Okay! I will be the evil maid!"
…
Naruto didn't comment on how easy it was to manipulate Sakura and just shrugged.
Ino then pointed her fingers towards Naruto. "You will be the Prince!"
He nodded. 'At least she didn't tell me to be her maid."
"Good!"
"So who is the princess?" Sakura asked.
Ino laughed nervously and scratched her nose. "W-Who else, me of course."
She expected Sakura to be angry and want to be the princess, but Sakura just nodded and smiled. "Okay!"
'Baka!' Ino inwardly laughed.
"A-Anyways. You will come and save me, the princess." Ino pointed her thumb towards her proudly.
"Save from what?" Naruto asked.
"Of course the evil maid! She is… um… she locks the door and only opens while giving food and doesn't let me out! So you save me from this evil maid!" Ino pointed towards Sakura which caused her to frown, finally realizing her role wasn't the best.
"Well sounds easy, so how am I supposed to save you?" Naruto inquired.
"Well to save the princess, you have to find ten red flowers from the garden and bring it to me. Then you will throw it towards Sakura, which will cause her to die! And then you will rescue me!"
"Hey! I don't like this role anymore!" Sakura complained.
"Well too late forehead, deal with it!"
"Not fair!" Sakura whined.
"A-Anyways! What you waiting for? Start searching!"
(Scene Change- Five Minutes later)
Naruto did as the game said, brought the flowers and threw it at Sakura, who was frowning the whole time.
"So do I win?" Naruto asked.
"Sakura! You supposed to play dead!" Ino whispered from her hiding place.
Sakura rolled her eyes and then dramatically fell down on the grass. "Oh no! I am poisoned! Ahhhh! Dead…" She snarled the last part as she fell.
Naruto stared at her blankly, not having a clue what in the world got into her. 'What's wrong with these weird people.'
On que, Ino popped out of her hiding place and did her drama queen entrance. "Oh my hero!" She hugged him catching him off-guard.
She let him go and swiftly kissed him on the cheeks.
Naruto was surprised as he whipped the spot where she kissed and could feel slight moisture. Unwillingly he blushed.
"Why did you do that for?" He asked with a frown.
"Well the princess is supposed to do that when the prince saves her. Didn't you read in the books?"
Naruto looked down sadly as he shook his head. "I-I never read a book before."
"Huh? Wow really? You must be dumb." Ino blurt out innocently.
Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at her, not seeing the innocence behind her comment.
"Hey! Stop picking on my brother!" Sakura yelled as she sat down as was done 'playing dead'.
"He is not your brother!"
"He is!"
"Is not!
"Is!"
…
(Scene Change)
Naruto was sleeping in the bed until his sister came in barging like a gorilla and began to pull the blanket off him. She began to whine and beg him to play with her. But this time he could hear a second voice, which belonged to Ino.
He groaned as he sat up, looking at them with sleepy eyes. "What?"
"Come play with us!" They said in unison causing him to sweat drop.
Naruto stared at them blankly before falling back on the bed, with the blanked swiftly covering him.
Sakura looked at her partner in crime as they both grinned.
They jumped on the bed and began to pull his arms either way.
"Come on Naruto wake up!"
"Wake up!"
"Come one~"
"Why won't you wake up~!"
"Hey! You are pulling too hard!"
"No you are forehead!"
Naruto pulled his arms which caused both the girls to collide against each other, causing their lips to collide against each other.
"Eww! You kissed me!" Ino faked a vomit which Sakura copied doing the same.
"No you kissed me!"
Soon after their arguments began. Naruto just couldn't take it anymore as he slowly walked to the toilet and brush his teeth. When he came back, they were still arguing.
"Well you didn't say 'eww' when you kissed Naruto!"
"Well that's because he is a boy! Not a girl!"
"What difference does it make!" Sakura growled.
"A huge lot!"
(Scene Change-Six years later)
Naruto: 14 Years old
Sakura: 13 Years old.
Ino: 13 years old.
Life was good for Naruto since the day Mrs. Haruno adopted him. He had almost forgotten all the hardships he had faced in the past. But a new problem had arrived in his life. Sasuke Uchiha.
Ever since Ino and Sakura met the Uchiha kid, they began to spend less time with Naruto. Also he hated the fact that Sasuke was causing the two girls to fight more often about who gets to like who.
Naruto had developed a crush on the Yamanaka heiress for the past two years, but he didn't have the courage to say it out loud. But what completely broke his hope was when Ino said she was in 'love' with Sasuke.
He didn't know how to deal with these feelings. He didn't know whether he hated Sasuke for that. He knew he shouldn't since it's not his fault, but there was still a part of him that hated Sasuke for taking away Ino from him.
Naruto picked up a pebble as he threw it on the river. It made two bounces before disappearing in the midst of the water.
He sighed as he looked on his left. There was no more pebbles left. He had been doing it for the past three hours as he contemplated on what to do.
'Should I tell her… that I love her?' Naruto quickly shook his head. 'No I should support her… well sister loves Sasuke too… I should support her too I guess.'
"Ugh! This is so confusing!" He yelled, pulling his hairs in frustration.
"What is confusing?"
Naruto was startled from the sudden question. He turned around and could see a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair tied by ribbons of multiple colours in a small ponytail to the right side of her head, leaving rest of her hair loose. He also noticed her eyes had a different shade of brown which almost sparkled under the sunlight.
Naruto quickly shook his head and blushed in embarrassment as he was looking at her more than he should.
"Who are you?" He questioned, not meeting her eyes briefly.
"I am Lucy! I just arrived at Konoha today! I am joining the ninja academy tomorrow!" The girl declared happily as she took a seat beside him.
Naruto looked down remembering what date tomorrow was. He, Ino and Sakura was going to Join the academy tomorrow as well.
Lucy looked at him confusedly as he remained silent as if in deep thought.
"Yohello?" She waved her hand in front of him. "You listening?"
Naruto zoned out of his thought and apologized to the girl. "Oh sorry, Nice to meet you Lucy. I am Naruto Uzumaki, and I am joining the academy too!"
(Scene Change)
Ino sat on the balcony of her house, dangling her feet in mid air on the edge. She was bored. Her father was out on mission, and her mother was busy running the flower shop. She had an argument with Sakura earlier, so she didn't want to go meet her so soon. 'Maybe tomorrow when things cool down.' She nodded. After a brief moment she sighed. 'I shouldn't have argued that much because of Sasuke-kun…'
She stiffed from a pair of hand covering her eyes from the back. She calmed down after hearing his voice.
"Guess who?"
"It's been six years we been friends, I know your voice Naruto." Ino giggled as he let her go with a grumble.
"Whatever."
She turned around facing him. "What's up?"
Naruto sighed. "Sakura said hello to you, and said she wasn't going to lose to you."
"Well then tell forehead that I won't lose to someone as ugly as her." Ino replied with a grin. Naruto laughed lightly and a faint blush was present on his cheeks seeing her grin. She looked cute.
"I will tell her you said hello." Naruto replied with a smile.
Ino rolled her eyes. "Always playing the peacemaker"
"If I didn't you guy would kill each other over… Sasuke." His tone lowered as he said his name, which Ino caught.
"You hate him or something?" Ino inquired suspiciously.
Naruto slightly panicked. "W-Why would you ask that?"
"Hmm… I don't know. You guys don't seem to talk even when we go to their house and he seems to frown a lot when you go there too."
Naruto looked down. "S-Sorry."
"Huh? What for her?"
"For… making him not like me… that must be embarrassing for you… and-"
"Baka, what got into you? Geez." Ino punched him lightly on the head.
Naruto didn't answer that and just shook his head, keeping his eyes on the ground.
"Nothing…"
Naruto quickly remembered the second reason he came here for. Next week was Ino's birthday and he was itching to give her a present. He bought a small hair clip a month back and couldn't resist anymore so he took the small box out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"What's this?" Ino asked, as she shook the box lightly.
"Uhh… it's a birthday present for you. I know it's early but in case I am not here to give it to you… I thought I would give it now." He replied shyly.
Ino gasped as a faint tint of blush appeared on her cheeks. She surprised him with a tight hug, causing him to almost faint.
"Thanks a lot foxy! I will treasure it!" Ino chirped happily.
"It's n-no problem… princess."
Ino let go of him and groaned. "Oh come on stop teasing me!" She pouted. "We haven't played that game for many years now!"
Naruto laughed. "Well that's because Sakura got fed up of 'playing dead'.
"I know right?! She was such a stupid when we were kids!"
"So were you." Naruto playfully poked her on cheeks as he turned around, ready to leave.
Ino rubbed her cheeks as she spoke. "Where are you going?"
"Training." He answered as he vanished instantly from his spot.
Ino groaned. 'This guy takes Ninja training too seriously. Thanks to Kakashi sensei.' She rolled her eyes and then looked at the box. She wanted to open it straight away, but decided to open it on her birthday.
"I wonder what Sasuke-kun will give me?" She blushed on all the possibilities. "M-Maybe a kiss?!"
…
"Kya! No way!" She lightly slapped her head. "I am going nuts."
The END
Author's Note: Well a new story! Hope you like it. It's still going to be heavily focused on Narutoverse, but there will be a few characters from other major anime franchise, Lucy being one of them in this chapter.
Pairing is still to be decided, but it will most likely be between NaruSaku and NaruIno with a really small possibility of something else if I change my plan later.
Well for now review! And in case you didn't notice, this is an AU not a canon-ish kinda fanfic!
()()()_()()()
Hinata-chan: Anno… can y-you leave a review p-please?
Boruto: Mom you need to calm down! Let me tell you a joke!
Hinata-chan: W-What joke?
Boruto: Hashirama Cells! HAHAHAAH!