Part 3
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Sakura leaned against the door and sighed. Why? Why did he care so much for her, for over the last two years? He said it himself; she was tsunade's student. Or would Tsunade-shishou have asked him to take extra care of her, now that Akatsuki is after her? That would probably be it. Akatsuki now tried to get to her, to get to Naruto. Tsunade-shishou wanted to keep them thinking Naruto was still in love with Sakura, so that Hinata wouldn't get attacked. It wasn't as if Tsunade wanted to have Sakura attacked, but Hinata was the heir to the Hyuuga-clan. Sakura sighed again. She was happy with the extra attention, but should she be?
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'Hinata?' The whisper pierced through the silence. 'Hinata?' Naruto whispered louder. Somewhere he heard a glass or vase break. 'N-Naruto?' Hinata asked surprised with a soft voice. 'Where are you?' he asked. 'H-here,' a trembling voice came from across the room. Naruto walked towards the place he had heard the voice coming from. After almost falling over the salon table, he reached her. Even though in the dark he knew her face was turning red. He placed his hand tenderly on her cheek. 'There you are,' he said. Hinata was trembling all over, though intense happy. 'You wanted t-to talk to m-me?' Hinata murmured. 'I did,' 'About wha-what?' This was the first time Hinata was annoyed by her own stuttering. She felt so warm from the inside, especially the place his hand was, was burning hot. Naruto smiled. 'I spoke to Ino today,' he said. Hinata stopped trembling and her eyes widened. She had told Ino one of her deepest darkest secrets last week, and Ino didn't even react surprised. Could Naruto have… could Ino have… She wanted to ask him lots of things, but only a silent 'Oh..' escaped the safety of her mouth. Naruto kept gently striking her cheek. She loved the touch. 'She told me you had a thing for me,' he casually said, not knowing where to look. But then again, in the dark they couldn't see anyway. He felt her cheek getting even warmer, she couldn't deny she was blushing. 'D-did s-she?' she squeezed the words out. She had been planning to go with another silent "Oh.." but somehow these words came out. She wondered how come.
She looked up, at the taller Naruto, and he looked her in the eyes. 'So do you?' he said uncertainly. He had never been good at this stuff. Hinata had an inner fight. She thought she was going to faint. This would be the end for her, she would faint and never, ever wake up again. That's what she hoped for. Somehow she was collecting all of the courage she had in her body and transported it to her mouth. She had started trembling again and had turned a white colour. Hinata rocked from one leg to another, not taking her eyes away of Naruto. This might be her only chance. She slowly opened her mouth. Naruto stopped striking her cheek. He didn't know what to do. Maybe Ino had lied, it wouldn't be uncommon. He was making sentences of apology in his head, to fire at Hinata, but then he felt her touch. She reached for his hand again and gripped it tightly. Her trembling had stopped. 'I do,' Hinata spoke up, with a smile. There she stood, uncertain of what to do, but so relieved. She had kept this secret for years, and now she could move on. At least she hoped he wouldn't have any hard feelings. A huge, giant burden lifted off her shoulders. But how would he feel? 'So.. what do you think?' she asked nervously. He didn't answer, but smiled. She couldn't see it because of the dark. He slowly bent his head towards her, giving her the time to back off if she'd like, and she felt the pressure of his lips on hers.
She was too uncertain of the situation, too shocked, to move. He placed his hand behind her head, cupping it. Her trembling finally stopped, and she started kissing him back. It felt like a dream, a beautiful, wonderful dream. The feeling of his lips on hers were enough to bring her to a coma already. Then he stopped. 'That's what I think..' He placed another small kiss on her cheek, stroking her hair. She looked at him, trying to read his eye. 'I think I,' she began. 'You stopped stuttering!' Naruto stopped her sentence. She grinned. 'Hush, Hanabi is asleep.' Hinata said nervously. 'Where's your father?' Naruto whispered. 'Gone, he will not be back till noon tomorrow, I think..' 'Love you? I think I love you? Was that what you wanted to say?' he finished her sentence. She nodded. He kissed her again, and she couldn't help but faint. Naruto picked her up and placed her on the couch, lying next to her. He placed another kiss on her forehead. Sparring tomorrow could wait.
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'So this is what happens when I'm here in time.' Kakashi said. it was Monday morning, not Kakashi's best time. Naruto wasn't there. 'Why are you two the only ones here?' Kakashi asked. 'Bakka Naruto, he's probably stuck at the ramenshop,' Sasuke said. Kakashi sighed. 'You know what, I don't feel like sparring today at all. Lets just forget about today's practise.' 'No way!' Sakura said. He looked her in her pleading emerald eyes and sighed again. 'Fine then, lets start.' Sakura smiled, she loved getting things her way. He just had a weak spot for her. She wondered if she could push him further. As they walked to the training grounds, Sasuke asked if he could practise his chidori. 'Fine, I guess I'll just supervise then.' Kakashi sat down. 'And me?' Sakura asked, bored again. 'Do as you like.' 'That'll be easy then,' she said, taking place on his lap. She blushed a little, very un-Sakuralike. 'You're blushing?' Kakashi asked teasingly. She had only blushed before at the sight of Sasuke. He felt somewhat proud that he, an old man, could make her blush. 'So what if I am, dust-hair?' He smiled. 'Cherry blossom,' 'Ooh, what an insult.' She chuckled. 'I could go back to little one,' 'Don't!' 'What if I do?' he asked. 'I'd beat the crap out of you.' She answered, not really meaning the least of it, and he knew it. He touched her nose, making her blush even deeper. She sighed silently. Sasuke hadn't moved one inch since he got permission to practise his chidori.
He just stood there, watching them, with a slightly disgusted expression on his face. Kakashi placed his arms around her slim thigh. He smiled, then noticing Sasuke's presence. 'Sasuke? What's wrong? Why don't you go practise your chidori?' Kakashi asked, instantly feeling uncomfortable and perverse with the position he and Sakura were in, and getting his hands off her. 'I wanted to ask Sakura something,' Sasuke said, not changing his expression. He somehow was jealous of Kakashi. Sakura raised her eyebrows, getting up. 'You wanna go out with me on a date? Tonight?' Sasuke asked a little nervous. 'Tonight?' Sakura asked startled, trying to read his face, to see whether he was making fun of her or not. Kakashi stared at Sasuke. How dare he, he thought. Sasuke now looked somewhat pleased with himself. 'Yeah, tonight. Naruto, Hinata, Neji and Tenten are going as well. Asuma and Kurenai too, I believe.' 'Erm.. sure,' Sakura's heart jumped. This was what she'd been waiting for, right? After all these years, it came so unexpectedly and spontaneously.. Was jealousy what pushed him to do this, she wondered. And could he be pushed further? Kakashi stared open-mouthed at Sasuke, with a slightly furious look on his face.
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