Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, All characters and their rights go to Kishimoto Masashi. Also I would like to give credit to the translators of Sleepyfans since it is their translations I've read on onemanga.
This is a small one-shot that I thought of when reading recent chapters, and my feelings of what occurred from Naruto's perspective, so therefore there will be spoilers.
The Devil and his Love Song
"Naruto… I love you." Her head was tilted off to the side as was her eyes not willing to look at me directly. Whether it was due to embarrassment or nervousness it wouldn't matter. She was lying to herself.
I could always tell when someone was lying. Their true intentions called out to me, making the words coming out of their mouths a big farce. I thought I would never see the day that Sakura-chan would be one of those people.
" I said I don't care about Sasuke anymore and I was crazy to ever love him. Can't you at least listen when someone's pouring their heart out to you?" She says this to me with a straight face. I couldn't believe it.
"But why…? Why? If this is a joke, it's not funny Sakura. What happened that would cause you say this?" I say as my bewilderment changes to unwavering strong will.
I look at her seriously. I watch as her face puts on a smile, a smile I am too familiar with, to mask her true feelings.
"It's nothing. I've just come to my senses. There's no use loving a missing-nin and a criminal. I've grown and so have my feelings. I'm not a child anymore… I'm being realistic." She says as she continues to force that same smile.
"So Naruto… I don't need your promise anymore… You can stop chasing after Sasuke…" So she says. Does she realize what she is saying at all? She's telling me to throw away all our hard work cause of her "realizing" her feelings for me.
Behind me, Yamato-taichou suddenly asks about to move forward before Kakashi-sensei stops him. "What's going on?" I can sense his confusion and worry and Kakashi-sensei's reason for stopping him.
"Did something happen Sakura? Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?" My obvious disbelief rolls off my tongue as each sentence comes out.
"It's nothing! It's just clear why I fell for you…" She says dodging my questions.
What you say and what you think are at complete opposite ends Sakura. Why can't you see what I'm seeing? At what lengths do you have to lie to me and to betray your own feelings?
She looks down in contemplation as her past self flashes back to me in my eyes. Her clear, and dedicated feelings towards Sasuke and ignorance of me. Then the scene of the promise, both of them appeared. The ones she's telling me to break off and forget. That would also have to break the way of life I've been living up to this point in life.
Suddenly, she hugs me while I was focused on the past. "Sasuke keeps getting further and further away from me… But, Naruto, you've always been right by my side. You've given me courage. I realized who you really are. You're a hero who protected the village. The villagers all love you now and I'm just one of them. Little by little you've grown from that no-good prankster to someone wonderful and heroic. And I've watched it happen. Sasuke, his crimes keep growing and it's breaking my heart. He's becoming someone distant unrecognizable." She whispers into my ear all this.
I can't help but know that this is what her real feelings are. Those feelings are also being lied to. She wants comfort from someone that can provide it. Unlike Sasuke, I will never be first in her heart.
"But, Naruto I can touch you. You bring me peace. From the bottom of my heart, I—" That was it I can't let her lie to herself any longer. I tears at my heart knowing that she's trying to bring herself to love someone that doesn't hold first place in her heart.
"Stop it… Stop it Sakura, This isn't funny." My hands tremble as I grab hold of her shoulders. I look into her eyes showing that I'm not buying any words she's directing toward me.
"What are you so upset about? I've just fallen for you instead of Sasuke. They say a woman's heart is like the autumn sky right?" She puts on the fake smile once again getting a rise of anger out of me. Despite my trembling hands I take a firm grip on her shoulders.
"I hate people who lie to themselves Sakura!" This isn't like her and I do not wish to hate her.
"Are you saying that I'm lying to myself?" She accuses me not knowing that her feelings for me have already been said.
"I'm the only one who knows what I'm thinking! If you don't like me then say so! If you're going to make up excuses –" Not wanting her irrational anger to get out of control I cut her off. "It's just weird! You came all the way out here just to tell me something like that!?"
She whispers in a lower tone "Something like that!?"
"Something like that!? You think it's easy for a girl to confess her feelings!? All this way? Of course I'd come all this way! You've always been chasing after Sasuke and putting yourself in danger!" She starts yelling. Which was what I wanted to avoid.
"Akatsuki is after you because you're kyuubi's host! You should be worried for your own safety." She mentions danger but I can't avoid danger. It's never safe around me.
"I don't want you to go after Sasuke if it means putting yourself in danger like that! I've come here because I want you to come back to the village with me that's all!" Sakura you of all people should know that I'm also doing this of my own will.
"That sounds like an excuse to me Sakura. I know you better than that." I state calmly wishing not to cause anymore yelling.
"You don't know anything! I don't care about Sasuke at all anymore now that he's a criminal! So forget about your promise to me!" That doesn't justify your feelings for me Sakura. He's been a criminal since he left us for Orochimaru. That didn't stop you from loving him any less.
"This isn't about the promise. I know why Sasuke is so obsessed with revenge... He loved his family and his clan. I think it's because he loved them so much he can't let go." He's one my precious people too as you are Sakura-chan. He's my rival as well as my brother.
"Then why did he join Akatsuki after he defeated Itachi?" Kiba accuses me.
"That's not what happened. The truth is…" "Naruto!" Kakashi-sensei stops me before I reveal anything as I remember him telling me not to say anything about it. "It doesn't have anything to do with my promise to you." A slight look of shock appears on Sakura's face. "I want to help Sasuke."
Kiba walks up to Sakura and whispers into her ear "What do you want to do? Should we tell him the truth?" He thinks he can't hear me but from this distance he can't hide anything, even if he did whisper that low. Sakura then steps on Kiba's toes stopping him from saying anymore. She turns away from me and says "Fine! I'm going home!! Let's go Kiba! Lee! Sai!"
I watch as she grows smaller and smaller walking away. Never have I wanted to yell at Sakura as I did now. She forced herself and her feelings so it didn't bring the best out of me. It was heartbreaking to have to turn Sakura-chan down like that but I can only accept her feelings if they are truly from her heart. I can read people's true intentions easily and acutely but sometimes it hurts too much to know.
Seems like one of those songs I heard that nee-san sing when I passed by in Konoha long ago really is how I see life.
"Reality is a traitor; It's easy to misjudge things.
So with your own two eyes,
please decide the worth of this place.
Do it with your own standards.
We've arrived in these times.
But somehow things are move on.
So somehow we're standing here
and we're living through today."
Maybe someday in the future I can be truly first in Sakura's heart. Maybe one day. Till then I'll take life day by day.
The lyrics go to Ayumi Hamasaki's evolution. Which is one of my favorite songs.
I had this story come to mind as I was musing a story with a combination of Naruto with Kawai Maria's personality in the manga "Devil and her Love Song". I'm still deciding whether or not to pass the idea to an author who has read the manga or write it myself. My horrible grammar and story structure is what I detest most in my writing so I'm hoping I can find someone to co-author it. (and keep me from procrastinating.)
Please R&R any criticism helps.