Chapter 3: The 'talk'

By

-the-eighth-hokage-

She opened to see a more serious and calm Naruto, 'I shouldn't have helped him to live, but…'Sakura wasn't able to complete her thought, something distracter her. She saw Naruto with one of those 'genuine smiles'. 'That smile, it isn't the same as the others. It's different.' She closed the door and sat on the chair beside the bed, Naruto's smile faded… there was complete silence. 'Well, I need to put my plan onto work now. If I just make Sakura talk first…' Naruto was now determined to let love run over his heart once again, 'I never go back on word. I HAVE changed, but not every single thing about me. I'm still the Naruto you once loved and will again.'

Sakura couldn't take it anymore, it was too quiet.

"So…"

Naruto just looked at her, waiting for her to say something that makes sense.

"Take off your shirt, Naruto."

What she just had said startled him, 'What the hell for?' But he had to follow what she says, in order for the plan to run smoothly.

"Fine," Naruto said with no emotion in his tone. He took off his shirt, not minding her and how awkward it was.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do something bad. I'm already over you, I understand now—

"I know. But, I'm not."

She acted like she heard nothing, looking like she didn't pay any attention, "I just asked you to remove it so I can check those wounds." Naruto gave a slight nod, which made him feel like his head was going to fall out, 'I really am badly hurt, I didn't notice till now.'Sakura examined the wounds on his chest, keeping everything in detail for her report to Lady Hokage.

"Everything is doing fine except for the one which was cut until it reached your ribs. You should've taken care of yourself! You could have died."

"I don't care too much, I've already lost the most important thing in my life, dying isn't something to worry about." Naruto said as he was putting his shirt back on.

"I don't buy it."

Once again silence emerged in the room, tension between the two arouse. Naruto looked at the clock and sighed, 'It's time.'

"Sakura"

"What is it, jerk?"

"I just wanted to say something."

"What is it already?

"I just wanted to say that—

There was a knock from the door, a man emerged into the room. He had jet-black hair, onyx eyes under the very cool pair of glasses he had on and a tall and slim physique. Naruto was dazed 'Sasuke?'Sasuke walked to Sakura and gave her a kiss on the forehead,

"Hey Sakura. What are you doing here? Who's that blonde boy in front of you?"

Naruto looked at him calmly, but his blood was boiling in his veins, 'Why you bastard. You don't recognize me?'

"It's Naruto."

"That's Naruto?! I can't believe it… I never knew an idiot like you could look as handsome as me," Sasuke teased.

"Chicken butt," Naruto said coolly, 'I don't think he's going to pick a fight on me right now.'

"Hn, fine I lose," Sasuke smirked.

"Hey, how had your life been? Why do you have glasses?"

"It was okay, being together with Sakura almost everyday helped me to relax a bit. Uh… the glasses, I started to have a blurry vision, so it's mandatory."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We took Sasuke in after you left, he's now my brother. But he still carries the last name 'Uchiha'"

"Oh."

Again, there was sudden silence. Sakura looked at her watch timidly, 'It's just 10 minutes from 12 and I'm this tense. How could I live up to 6? Being inches away from him just bothers me, I remember everything that happened between us vividly in my mind. I though I was already over him? If I was, I shouldn't feel like this when he's near me. Am I really over him?' She stole a glance at Naruto, 'He looks so calm, I bet he's already over me. I think we don't belong together anymore, we're going to be a misfit if we do. Well, I still hate him for what he did to me, that stupid jerk. CRAP!' She wanted to leave that place immediately, but duty tied her there… 'This was an order from the Hokage.'

"I'll see you later, I got a date so… Sayonara!"

"Bye!"

"Bye."

Sasuke left the room, all was still… no one spoke. Sakura was able to control herself, Naruto in the other hand, looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open. This wasn't uncommon for Naruto anymore, he was already used to quiet surroundings. During those 3 years, his life was full of that thing they called silence. Naruto didn't even bother to look at Sakura, his eyes seemed to be fixed at the ceiling, 'Go on ahead Sakura, say something.'

"What were you going to say earlier."

"Err… that one. I just wanted to say sorry, you know… for everything."

"Yeah… apology half acknowledged. I won't forgive you that fast. Remember I still hate you. No, I loathe you."

Naruto looked at Sakura, 'What a lie, Sakura. I know you better than you know yourself. You're lying, I can see it from that pair of emerald eyes.'

Naruto smirked, "As, expected… you loathe me. Guess what? I don't hate you, how I feel is completely opposite of yours."

"Are you trying to annoy me? Or are you trying to make me hate you more?"

"Neither."

"This is ticking me off."

"If this is ticking you off, think of how I am now… I'm freakishly pissed off."

"I hate you!"

"Now look who's acting like a child now? Act your age, Sakura. You're 26 already, act like it, think like one. Your inner is still childish, not like mine."

"Shut your freakin' mouth."

"You act like a CHILD. Haven't you matured?"

Every single thing in Sakura's heart was outraged, it was like her whole body will pop. 'I don't care who you are, but I know your not the jerk that I fallen in love with. I just want to beat the crap out of you, so be ready.'She stood up, clenching her bare fist. Sakura took a chance and punched Naruto, aiming for his forehead. Naruto knew this was coming, everything was going smoothly. He grasped her fist before it was able to touch his head, the grip was loose for it won't hurt too much, 'I love you Sakura, and I will never do anything to harm nor hurt you.'

"Fine, let's just settle this. Let's start a new conversation. A decent one, at least," Naruto said, removing his hold on Sakura's fist.

"Hmph," Sakura annoyingly answered as she crossed her arms.

"So what happened to the others?"

"I think you already know that Neji and Tenten are going to be married soon. Shikamaru and Temari are dating, but they make it look like they're already married, they're like a cat and a dog stuck with each other. Hinata is now the legitimate heiress to the Hyuuga clan. Ino is doing fine with managing the whole Yamanaka Flower Shop and all of us now are well known jounins."

"I expected many things to happen while I was gone and I was right."

"So… what happened to you?"

"Who, me? Going on an S-Ranked mission all alone, for the 3 long years, isn't an easy job. Fighting 3 members of the Akatsuki all at once is one of the hardest things to do."

"Who were they?"

"Hidan, Deidara, and Tobi."

"Then?"

"I managed to kill every single one of them, but someone slashed a big sword against my chest. I think it was Kisame."

"It must have been painful."

"Yeah."

"But I think they survived, the Akatsuki may know some spells that can revive people."

"It is expected from S-Ranked criminals, they may have several forbidden spells under their arsenal."

"You could never go wrong on criminals."

Time flew fast until Naruto ran out of topics to talk about.

Naruto thought deeply on what he should bring up next, 'This plan isn't the best choice for me, but I have no choice but to finish it today. I need to thinks of a topic to bring up… money, power, clothes, ramen… what more? This thinking is really hard even for me.' Finally a suitable idea popped out of his mind.

"Have you found anyone new?"

"What do you mean by 'new'?"

"You know..." Naruto didn't know how to explain it, all that he could do was do some things with his hands. He made his hand form somewhat a heart-shape.

"Oh, that 'new'...

"Sakura, be completely honest with me."

"No, I didn't look for anyone special anymore."

"Why?"

"My heart is sick of it, the feeling of my love being wasted. The time you left me nearly killed me--

"Sakura, I —

"If you want to know how it felt, read this thing. I wrote this for you to know how badly by heart was bruised, I actually though that this would be buried with you if you DID die in the mission… but you didn't so here it is."

Sakura handed Naruto a scroll tied tight with gold cord, it looked like it was written years ago. He opened it to see Sakura's neat handwriting, and also some memorable pictures. Some pictures were from their first date, anniversaries, special occasions and other happy times they shared. Naruto looked at them with joy, 'She was so happy during those times, I miss those smiles full of joy and excitement. I left our relationship for her to suffer less if I don't come back, how stupid of me… I didn't even consider if I come back here alive. STUPID!'

If Only

If only you knew how much it hurts to be left by the one you loved since your childhood. For all of those years I have loved you, you left me. Three long years of a relationship full of love, thrown away… like trash, not needed and never wanted.

If only you knew how lonely it felt when there was no one beside you. No one to talk to you until the sun comes up, no one to lean on when times get rough, no one to tell you "I love you" and no one to give you even the slightest hint of care.

If only you knew how hard it was to know that no one was thinking about how much they loved you. The feeling of being loved gone, vanishing into thin air… being left all alone in this world knowing that no one has that special feeling for you.

If only you knew that when I tell anyone that I'm already over it, I still wasn't. My heart was still crushed into a million tears, those that you couldn't see.

It hurts, the pain can't be out matched by any scratch, burn or bruise. It can't be cured by anything in this world, potions, medicine or elixirs. The pain of being unloved just won't go away.

But now I am over you, I just wanted to let you know that I loved you so dearly. I don't know if this will be read or will just be buried with you in your grave. But now, I'm just happy to lift off so much weight off my shoulders.

Naruto looked at the letter, regretting that he had left her. At the end of the letter, some words were blurred by tear drops when it was written. Naruto couldn't describe a thing he felt at that time, 'If only I didn't love you, you wouldn't be hurt like this. Why did I fall for you?'He turned around to see Sakura's crippled form, on her knees, he approached her and lifted her chin slightly; he saw tears trailing from her emerald eyes. Naruto couldn't take it anymore, it was just too much for one day, and he needed some time alone… to recollect himself.

"Don't cry," Naruto said in his old caring tone.

"You shouldn't have changed, I really missed that tone of you voice."

Naruto gave her a small laugh, "I have changed but not everything about me."

Sakura looked at him with curiosity, "Like how?"

"I still love ramen. Care to treat me?"

Laughing was what he heard… it was rare for Sakura to laugh, "Yeah, when you get back from the hospital. I promise." She smiled and put out her pinky finger, "Pinky promise?" Naruto looked at her, very perplexed but stuck out his finger and made a promise, "Pinky promise."

"Well, look at the time, it's already 7 PM. I should leave you alone right now, you need some valuable sleep," she said with smile.

"So it's goodbye for now, right?"

"It is, Bye-bye!"

"Bye!"

"By the way thanks for the laugh."

"No worries."

Sakura left the door, and went to her office to do some more paperwork, feeling energized for a whole week of work. She turned on the radio and enjoyed the music, while on duty.

Naruto was left all alone in the room, his mind wandering in every nook and cranny of his vivid imagination. He looked at his bedside window and tried to count the stars, just to help him fall asleep, but it didn't work. Many thoughts ran through his mind, Naruto can't relax, 'What is the problem with me?'

Naruto's POV

I'm glad that I made her laugh, it made me feel so happy… so enlightened. That's what I wanted for her, to live life to it's fullest, not ever worrying about anyone. I would do almost anything to see her happy for the best reasons, that smile is very precious. The plan, ugh the plan it didn't go so well. But look on the bright side, I'm still alive. Thank God she didn't beat me up, I'm already at a bad condition today. I need some rest, but I can't get some sleep!

End of Naruto's POV

After several minutes, he finally got some well-needed sleep. Somewhere between his sleep he mumbled, "Sakura… don't cry."

.:Disclaimer:.

I do not own Naruto. If I did, would this be called 'fan'fiction? And I do not own the song that inspired me to do this, We Belong Together by Mariah Carey.

.:Author's Notes:.

Thank you to all of those who reviewed, anonymous or even signed. I didn't expect people to like this story. To every one who read this, Thank you very much.

Back to the story, this is Chapter 3: The 'talk'. This chapter is mainly about the conversation between the two. So don't think why I got crazy writing so much dialogues, this is a conversation, they're bound to talk.

This chapter stressed me so much, because I have difficulties in writing dialogues. I might upload the next chapter of this in two weeks or so, I'm kind of busy... school is going to start again in 3 weeks so I'm going to study.

By the way, I searched the web and found some pictures which can clearly show you how Naruto and Sakura looks like in this story. If you want the links don't hesitate to ask for it in the reviews or Private message me.

Enjoy this chapter. Please review!

"You've spent your whole life running and running, trying to catch up with something that has never been there for you. And all you've done is go farther and farther away from the precious love that's been waiting for you all the time."

Love lots,

-the-eighth-hokage