'Ai Shiteru Naruto'

By : QuotheIDani

The pink haired woman softly shut her office door behind her. She didn't want to wake nearby patients sleeping in this hospital. It was much too early for her to start making racket, and besides, she herself had come here to be alone and quiet. Using the privacy of her closed door to cast the illusion of her working, Sakura now sat behind her desk holding a little black box. She hadn't bothered opening it yet, though she had an idea of what it could be in mind. She simply sat there fingering the fine velvet that adorned the lid, wondering to herself what to do next. If she opened it, reality would soon follow, and that meant having to make of break someone's heart. On the other hand, if she didn't open it, if she just sat here like this for a while, maybe…maybe she was just trying to delude herself now.

A deep sigh came from her, and she slowly pried the top lid away from the bottom half. As expected, a beautiful treasure lay within. A pure gold band, interlinking hearts etched on the inside with the letters 'N' and 'S' at the middle, with three diamonds atop, the middle one largest. It was the most exquisite wedding ring she had ever seen in her 20 odd years of life, and had it been on a best friend's finger, instead of in her hands, she would have gone from tickled pink to envy green in under 3 seconds. That simple fact, though, was that this ring belonged to her, and she didn't know what to do with it.

Carefully setting the box on the desk, she ran pale fingers through messy tresses. Kami-Sama what was she to do? Marriage had always been a girlish dream of hers, what girl doesn't at least think of the possibility, but ever since she could remember it had been Uchiha Sasuke she'd wanted to marry. Not him.

Sasuke had been her first crush, eventually blooming into her first love as well, however one sided that feeling had been. He was very special to her, and even to this day she felt something for him. Things like friendship, and compassion, but she wasn't so sure about love anymore. She couldn't remember. Ten years gave you a long time to forget something, and that was where the problem began.

She could remember back to the night he left, when she thrust her heart to him at the city's gates. 'I would do anything for you Sasuke-Kun' she'd said back then,'If you stayed I would make sure every day would be fun, and we would always be happy... I love you...' All those years ago she'd been so sure of whom she loved, and would marry. Now, Sakura couldn't even imagine doing something like that.

She glanced out of the window, night slowly beginning to come to an end, but the darkness was still strong. Had it all been false? Had she lied back then? No. Every word she spoke that night, and every emotion she'd felt had been so pure and honest back then, but was that still true now? She didn't think so.

Had Sasuke never left Konoha. Had he stayed and continued to play his role in their fragmented family they called team seven, then maybe, just maybe, she would have known what to do with this ring. Maybe she would have still loved him.

She wasn't going to lie, he'd really hurt her by leaving. To top it off, it hadn't been him to mend her heart either. No, that honor a certain kyuubi container; And now that she thought about that fact, she felt herself move closer to the answer.

Her emotions swirled all around inside her. She felt like a traitor not loving Sasuke anymore, even after giving him that pledge, but she was also teasing with the idea of life with another person just as close to her heart as Sasuke. All these years she'd said it was the Uchiha who ruled her heart, but now she'd finally started to see it differently. Green eyes fixed themselves upon the golden band on her desk. Silent, and hardly breathing, Sakura fell into a deep trance. She sat like this for a long while.

Finally a hand reached out, and plucked the lonely ring from it's velvety bed. Gently she cupped it in her hands, smiling at it as one would a newborn child. She gave it a good long stare.

"Maybe..." she began,"Maybe love is like trying on clothes. There are all sorts of brands, some designer, some not. Just like brands there are many different colors, sizes, styles, and fabrics as well. And just like that favorite sweater you had in the first grade, sometimes you grow out of it, find something new, and better." She paused to smile, thinking of someone with hair the color of the sun, and eyes as blue as the purest pond. "So maybe I haven't betrayed Sasuke-Kun. Maybe we just grew out of each other, or we weren't right for each other to begin with." She ended her silly metaphor with a light giggle, shaking her head before slipping the ring on.

The night had finally lost it's hold over Konoha, and when Sakura held her hand up to admire it, it sparkled almost melodramatically in a patch of early morning sunlight beaming through the window behind her. That was when she knew her final answer.

The door directly in front of her opened, and in walked a very sleepy Shizune, yawning loudly. Sakura simply stared, waiting for her to realize there was someone else in the room. When the pretty medic nin looked up, her eyes grew wide,"Gomen, Haruno-San! I didn't think you would--"

"Uzumaki-San" Sakura interrupted swiftly,"I think you mean to address me as the future Uzumaki-San"

Holding the hand her ring was on close to her heart, she began to laugh happily, Shizune soon following suit after catching the elegant sparkle on her little sister's finger.

'Uzumaki-San. Uzumaki-San, Uzumaki-San.
I'm marrying Uzumaki Naruto!

Ai Shiteru Naruto!'

A/n - Wow TWO NaruXSaku's in ONE weekend! YEAH! What's even cooler is that this one is a happy fic! That's rare for me. Reviews are always nice!

Vocabulary:

Goman Sorry/Excuse me
Ai Shiteru I Love You