It's been well over three years since I've attempted to write anything fanfiction related. Meaning it's been just as long since I've given an update. Makes me wonder if I'm the only author who has left a story unfinished this long and then decided to come back and finish it. Regardless, I'm going to be getting back into the flow of things. So I hope my readers have matured, since my writing style most likely has. Solo, KingKakashi, I'll be looking for your support again on this. So let's get started.

Chapter 4: Mirage of Opening

The night embraced him like a warm blanket, sending small pockets of air every now and then to balance the heat and cold. The orchestral chirp of crickets and the sound of thousands of leaves swaying together created a relaxing tempo. He lay on the ground, gazing up at the moon, and the small blades of grass tickling his ears. His inertia was the future, and his presence was the force. With nothing but time to think at the moment, he wanted to be able to twist the heavens, move the moon, anything. But nothing he did seemed to change in the way he wanted.

"Naruto-kun, are y-you alright?" The soft voice of Hinata Hyuga called to him, piercing through his transcending melancholy. He smiled at the girl that sat next to him.

"I'm fine." He replied. Hinata blushed and hugged her knees to herself even tighter. Naruto thought she looked adorable. Thinking about it, almost everything she did was cute.

Earlier that day, he had to carry her to his apartment, and wait for her to awaken. On Hinata's part, she accidentally mumbled words she regretted when she awoke.

"What a wonderful dream! My Naruto-kun is in my room!" The Hyuga princess mumbled wiping her eyes. Naruto blushed deeply, having entered the room while she was awaking. Upon realizing that she wasn't in her own room, and the fact that she wasn't dreaming, the heiress promptly proceeded to faint again, until she felt a hand behind her back. Naruto was holding her up so she wouldn't pass out again.

"Come on Hinata-chan, if you faint on me again we'll never get to train together."

The red faced princess could only hold her breath and nod at the close proximity of her secret love.

It took a while, but Hinata slowly began to grow a bit more comfortable around Naruto. At first, it was only because she couldn't believe how clean his apartment was. Then she almost fainted again at realizing that she really was in Naruto's apartment. After a make shift tour of his home, Naruto treated Hinata to his own home made ramen, courtesy of Chef Ayame Ichiraku, before they decided to head out. They trained together for the rest of the day, Hinata practicing the traditional Jyuken and Naruto increasing all around. So after a long day of nothing but fruitful sparring and companionship, Naruto decided to actually get to know the starry-eyed girl better.

"Hinata-chan, this was fun and all, but it doesn't really feel right." The blonde teen stated honestly. His gaze never left the over head canopy of the outlining forest, nor the slightly blending beauty it held with the night sky. His gaze drifted to the moon and it brought a smirk to his face; It reminded him of Hinata's eyes.

"W-what do you mean Naruto-kun? Aren't we sparring partners?" She asked, only slightly realizing the way it sounded. It was only then when she realized what Naruto meant.

"Well…we're friends aren't we? I mean, today we just randomly decided to spar together. We didn't even really talk, not even in the academy. Like what do you want to do when you're older, and what about you're family?" He asked this all while still gazing at the moon. It was funny. He didn't remember doing stuff like this in his visions. Maybe because he did honestly have to be more refined.

"I-I guess we kind of got caught up in the moment." Hinata said and tried to smile to ease the tension that was slowly building. It worked, as she noticed Naruto visibly relax, and close his eyes. "W-well, I guess what I want to do in the future is become a great kunoichi. I want to be able to protect my friends and family, and prove to everyone th-that I'm a capable ninja." She blushed, leaving out the part where she hoped he would be in her future as well.

"That's weird." Naruto stated nonchalantly, making the Hyuga heiress pale, and tears well in her eyes. "I already think you are a great and capable kunoichi." He said, glancing at her out the corner of his eye, fully aware of what the statement would do to the girl. He wanted to take it slow, but he sure in the hell wasn't going to let Hinata get away. They could be friends for a while, but sooner or later, he wanted to make her his. That way, Pein wouldn't be able to…

"Arigatou, Naruto-kun! It's getting late. M-maybe we should head back?" She suggested. Naruto frowned but agreed anyway. He hadn't learned anything about her, at least, not anything that he didn't already know.

"Wait, Hinata-chan! There's something else!" Naruto leaned onto his elbows. "You use the jyuken really well, but it's too rigid of a taijutsu for you."

Hinata pouted in confusion. "What do you mean Naruto-kun? It's the only taijutsu that my clan uses..."

Naruto remembered the newer techniques that Hinata had used in the future, and some of the ones that she had created herself. He knew that she would eventually have a suiton affinity which would most likely lead to her developing such new skills. "Then be different. Do you already know your elemental affinity?"

Hinata nodded, a slightly solemn look adorning her face. "Hai, it's water. I'm the only Hyuga outside of my mother to ever have a water affinity."

Naruto could tell that it wasn't a good thing for her. Most likely, the Hyuga were mostly a Doton based clan, earth. It was evident by their rigid fighting style and stoic demeanor, while Hinata's body was more flexible and fluent, along with her emotions, just like water. Naruto smiled at the girl, snapping his fingers a few times to get her attention. "Hey, don't do that! You're too pretty be all frowned up like that."

His words had the desired effect as her face took on the hue of a rose, but her lips curled into a tiny smile regardless. "A-arigatou Naruto-kun."

"Like I was saying, since you have a water affinity, you won't be able to use the traditional jyuken as well as the rest of your clan. You're too fast and fluent for it. You can improve it Hinata-chan, and make a style that not even your father could surpass. Well, with training of course!"

"D-do you really think I can Naruto-kun?" She didn't want to get ahead of herself. Listening to Naruto, the short explanation did make sense. She had come to the conclusion several times on her own, but never had she dared to change tradition. However, being around Naruto was seeming to give her a huge confidence boost, one that she hadn't felt since the times of her mother.

"Of course you can! As long as you don't give up and don't let anyone stand in your way! As far as I'm concerned, you're the strongest genin kunoichi in Konoha, and one of the strongest genin as well! Pretty sure you can kick my ass if you got serious."

Hinata blushed deeply at his words of encouragement. No one had shown that much faith in her in a long time. It brought tears to her eyes. The feeling was even greater because it was Naruto of all people giving her this encouragement. With a resolute nod, Hinata's eyes, for the first time in years, shown fierce determination. Already her mind was going through several scenarios of new techniques and fluent patterns to incorporate into her fighting style.

"Can I walk you home Hinata-chan?" He asked, jumping up and extending a hand to the reddened princess.

"I-I would love that, Naruto-kun." She agreed, slowly taking his hand. Naruto chuckled to himself as she trembled. It wasn't how he had planned for the day to go, but Hinata had surprised him. She was much more skilled than all of the girls her age and he just wanted to keep pushing her to see how strong she actually was. Wait...what did Hinata just say? "C-can we hang out again? In a few days Naruto-kun?"

Naruto almost stopped walking. "Of course Hina-chan! Anytime you want, you know where to find me!"

'More than you know.' Hinata thought blushing.

They walked to the Hyuga gates in silence, neither knowing exactly what to say to the other. Hinata hadn't expected to spend the day with the blonde shinobi. She even wondered how she managed to go the whole day while only fainting once around him.

"Th-this is it Naruto-kun. I guess...I'll see you later."

"Alright! See ya Hinata-chan." Hinata prepared to turn and go into the mansion. However, Naruto gently grabbed her shoulder and in the same instant, planted a small kiss on her cheek. Hinata froze, eyes wide. Naruto grinned and dashed off back towards his own home. Hinata slowly turned around, opened the gate and walked back towards the mansion. Silently opening the door, she walked up to her room. Her little sister, Hanabi, stood right in front of her room, smirking arrogantly.

"So where have you been, nee-san?" She sarcastically added nee-san, showing no respect for her older sister. Hinata didn't reply, angering Hanabi. "I said, where have you-" Thud "Eh...nee-san?"

Naruto smirked to himself as he reached his apartment. It was a last minute thought, but he was sure that kiss let Hinata know how he felt.

'I will save you this time, Hinata-chan. We'll get stronger together.' He thought as he entered the building. Kicking off his sandals and tossing aside his vest, he flopped onto his bed.

"Alright, so what's on the agenda now?" He closed his eyes, slowly drifting to sleep. 'I guess it's that time...'

A chill went down Naruto's spine. He opened his eyes and found himself in front of the Kyubi's cage. The ground was no longer covered in water, but everything else remained unchanged. However, Naruto couldn't see the Kyubi inside the cage.

"Hey fox! You here? You damn well better be!" He yelled. A grumbling sound echoed from behind the bars and Naruto knew the fox was still imprisoned.

"Go away...kit."

"What? Why? Giving up a tail hurt your pride or something?" Naruto chuckled, feeling no regret in taunting the fox.

"I saved your life, you insolent fool. You'd better show a little gratitude."

Naruto sighed. Yeah, the fox had saved his life. But come on, it was the nine tailed demon, the thing that had attacked and damn near destroyed Konoha! Add that to the fact that it was the reason most of his life turned out to be bull shit and seeing it suffer wasn't as bad as it seemed.

"Fine fox. By the way, what's the deal with these visions? I'm seeing into the future and you never told me that was part of the deal!"

"It is a side effect, nothing more. Everything you saw is what is supposed to happen."

Naruto scowled. "That's not true! Something's have already changed! And I know Hinata-chan..."

"I said it's what's supposed to happen, not what will happen. You can change somethings if you try hard enough. Somethings, however, are determined by nature itself."

'Nature...No! I won't accept Hinata-chan's death! I'll save her and everyone else!'

"If that is all you wanted to know then leave. I want to sleep for a few years."

"A FEW YEARS? Wh-what about the chunin exams? And Sasuke?" Naruto asked in a panicked voice.

"You have one tail of my chakra coursing through your tainted veins don't you? You are smart enough to get stronger on you own to defeat the Hyuga and the Uchiha. Now begone! You're voice annoys me."

The fox went silent and Naruto was pulled from his mind. However, the Kyubi opened one eye after Naruto was already gone. It looked back at it's swaying tails...it only had seven left.

In the real world, Naruto groaned and turned over in bed. 'Great...now what do I do?' He thought trying to fall asleep completely. However, as he closed his eyes, he felt himself being forcefully pulled.

Opening his eyes again, he found himself on the ground, several black rods sticking into him and pinning him to the ground.

'Wh-what the hell?' He tried to move but the pain stopped him immediately. 'What's going on here?'

"I'm...just being selfish..."

'Hinata-chan? No! Not again! Why am I still seeing this if it's not going to happen?' Naruto screamed in his mind.

Somethings just aren't meant to change...

"You...you showed me the right way Naruto-kun. You were there for me, you helped me get stronger."

'NO! Hinata-chan! It won't end like this, I promise you!' His voice wouldn't come out and he could still feel the pain from the stakes in his body.

"I was always chasing you...wanting to overtake you...I just wanted to walk with you...You gave me that Naruto-kun. I just wish...I would have told you then..."

'We never got together still? Why?' As if she had heard him, Hinata kept talking.

"I'm sorry father never allowed it Naruto-kun, but seeing you whenever I got the chance kept me going and..."

'Hiashi?' Naruto was on the verge of tears.

"I'm not afraid to die protecting you because I..."

Naruto closed his eyes, cringing as tears stung his cheeks.

"Love You."

'HINATA-CHAN!'

The rain settled over Konoha like a bad omen. Two days prior, an appalling stand still left the village in melancholy. No one knew it happened except one blonde shinobi. Now, on the morning of the third day, the rain was pouring like senbon. The jinchuriki had yet to leave his apartment.

A knock sounded at his door.

Someone was knocking again.

It was the third time.

...

He hesitantly stood on two shaken legs. The vision two days ago...it had left him traumatized. To see it again, with even more clarity. With even more feeling. It was as if he was actually there that time...

"Naruto, open the door!" Sakura's voice called just as a crash of thunder sounded. Not knowing what else to do, he slowly opened it, instantly stepping aside to let the bubblegum haired kunoichi inside. Letting down the umbrella she held, Sakura paused for a second, taking in the clean apartment she hadn't expected to see. Getting over it after a second, she turned to the pale blonde. "No wonder you didn't show up to training, you look terribly sick!"

Naruto looked at his hands and indeed, he was as pale as paper. His body even ached, as if he had just been in the fight of his life.

"What happened to you?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. Slowly catching up to speed, Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"What are you doing here Sakura-chan?" He asked, his voice coming out hoarse. Sakura put her hands on her hips.

"I come to check on you and that's the greeting you give me?" She smirked slightly, seeing the small blush pass his features.

"That's just it. Why did you come to check on me?" He mumbled, but Sakura heard him, getting slightly hurt from the statement. She sat on his couch and sighed.

"I was worried baka. I wanted to apologize."

"So you came through the rain just to do that?" Naruto was just saying whatever came to mind. It wasn't intentional, not completely. However, a smack to his face completely woke him up.

"Yes! I trudged through the rain and mud to come and apologize to you Naruto!" She shouted, a tear in her eye.

"Eh...Sakura-chan! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"You know what, forget it Naruto! I thought you were different than when we were in the academy but now I see that you've only become a jerk! I should've known better to think anything else!" She cried and walked towards the door.

"S-Sakura-chan! Wait, I said I'm sorry! You can't go back out there, you'll get as sick as me!" Sakura paused. He had a point but she didn't want to be there anymore. She had thought that she could confirm something by going to him. By going to him while a storm was brewing. She thought that he would welcome her, arms wide open. She just wanted to see what it would feel like to be held by him once. But she wasn't expecting the greeting she got.

"Baka..." She mumbled before returning to the couch.

'Honestly, I don't have a clue what's going on here. Even if she was just checking up on me, why the hell would she come when it's pouring down outside? I really hope Sakura isn't this stupid...'

Sakura sat on the couch, holding herself. She was thinking that she shouldn't be there in the first place. Impulse had made her want to see the blonde since her thoughts a few days prior. She hadn't seen Sasuke and her mind kept drifting to the blonde.

'All because he's nice to me? No, I have to see if I can truly be attracted to him...' She looked up to see Naruto staring at her. She blushed and frowned. "W-what are you staring at baka?"

When she didn't get an answer she looked back up. Naruto lulled on spot and then collapsed to the ground. Sakura immediately jumped to her feet and ran to him.

"N-Naruto? Are you okay?" She shook him slightly. 'Of course he's not okay, he just passed out! Shimate, what do I do?'

Hearing Naruto's breathing grow heavy, she began to panic. 'No, no, no! Why did I have to come over here? Damn you for being sick, baka!' She cursed Naruto, as if it was his fault to intentionally be sick.

"S-Sakura...b...bathroom..." Naruto breathed out heavily. Naruto had a good idea of what was happening to him. The fox was hibernating, meaning he was as close to being alone in his body as he could get without actually releasing the demon. It felt weird, and it was something he hadn't anticipated on happening. He would have to get use to relying on his own strength for a while.

Feeling Sakura's presence disappear into his bathroom, he slowly did several hand signs and focused on letting his chakra flow through out him. He cursed himself for feeling so weak. The amount of his own chakra that he had stored up inside of him was pathetic compared to the amount that kyubi usually let course through him. The only saving grace was that he still could do everything that he could before the Kyubi started hibernating.

"What am I looking for Naruto?" She cried.

"Uh...a warm towel and soldier pills." He said, not being able to think of anything else. She did as he said, coming back and putting the towel on his forehead. At this point, he was starting to feel a little better, though his body felt extremely hot. He began to grow light headed again, however, he felt aware. More aware than usual. His breathing began to grow heavy again. Sakura popped a soldier pill into his mouth and helped him swallow it.

On her part, Sakura was starting to calm down as she noticed his breathing evening out. She let out a sigh of relief and watched as he closed his eyes. He looked as if he had fallen asleep but she couldn't really tell. A small blush found its way to her face again when she realized how innocent he looked in this state. Calm, peaceful, and cute even.

Hesitantly, she reached out and stroked one of his whiskered cheeks, flinching as he shuddered from the touch. When she moved her hand away, his face followed, almost as if he didn't want the touch to end. Blushing even more, Sakura looked away, finding interest in the abundant space of Naruto's apartment. There wasn't much at all, she realized. They were in his living room and all he had was a sofa, a small table with a withering plant and a small analog television. To the left of the living room, facing the door was a small open kitchen area with a small stove and fridge. On the outside of the kitchen area, down a small hall was a door leading to the bathroom and just a bit farther than that, Naruto's bedroom.

'It must be so lonely living here alone...' She thought.

Her thoughts drifted endlessly, though she didn't realize the one true reason she was there. Sakura was at the age where girls dreamed. There was no way for her to realize that what she was starting to feel for Naruto was the same thing she was feeling for Sasuke; a crush. It wasn't a strong emotion, nothing even close to love. Maybe even the base forms of lust. She was attracted to a single, simple thing, and that made the adolescent pre-teen want to pursue those small, warm feelings. This was not something that was rare, or even personal. If someone like Shikamaru or even Kiba would have shown some emotion like Sasuke or Naruto, Sakura may have been attracted to them as well. These thoughts eluded her, however, which in turn, led to the blooming crush that she now had on Naruto.

Her future faded, that very instant. Sakura Haruno's path into the absolute future had become transient.

A small wind blew over her, making her shiver. Naruto cringed as well. She felt his head and rubbed his cheek again, seeing that it made him calm down. However, he was burning up, like he had a fever. The boom of thunder outside let her know she was most likely going to be made into temporary caretaker for the night. But for some reason, that didn't bother her at all. Getting up and going to his room, she pulled the covers from his bed and the single pillow he had. She blushed as his scent was powerful there. It was the first time she had been in a boys room too. Unlike the rest of the house, it was slightly messy. A few clothes were scattered about here and there, and a cup or two of ramen sat discarded on the floor and dresser.

Moving back out into the living room area, she saw that Naruto had sat up, his right arm on his knee. He looked weak, like he was having a hard time moving. "Are you alright Naruto? Don't force yourself if you're still feeling sick."

Naruto just made a small huffing sound before trying to stand. Sakura put the blanket and pillow onto the sofa before helping him. She moved him to the couch and sat next to him. "Thanks...Sakura-chan..." He mumbled out before leaning his head on her shoulder and quickly falling back asleep.

'...This is really weird...' She thought to herself, yet the whole time she couldn't deny that she was enjoying the closeness. This is something that she had always pictured doing with Sasuke, and it made her feel a little insecure. Almost as if she were cheating on Sasuke. But that was just it. Sasuke didn't even give her the time of day, yet Naruto was the one always asking her out and such. She wondered if maybe she should have given Naruto a chance a while ago. 'He...almost died. I wouldn't have been able to experience this at all...'

Once again, something that went above her head happened. Her future was definitely changing, because she was thinking of things that she wouldn't have thought of until several years later. Naruto was almost killed by Mizuki...She didn't know what she would have felt if he had actually BEEN killed. Life and death was going to be something they dealt with on a constant basis as ninja. That thought frightened her to no extent. She didn't have time to run after emotions like she had been with Sasuke, or even the new ones she was starting to feel for Naruto.

'But this feels so nice...' She thought as she moved the blanket over herself and Naruto. She was starting to get frustrated. Thinking was hard when you couldn't understand half of what you were trying to comprehend. Even more, she had been wanting to be held by Naruto, not hold him. But for the life of her, she couldn't see a problem with it as much as she wanted to. After exhausting her tolerance for the unknown for one day, Sakura slowly closed her eyes, her own head leaned against Naruto. In only a matter of seconds, she was asleep as well.

She was reading. Not that it was much of a big deal, but at this time and the thing she was reading was something to take note of. Ino Yamanaka was known for being spoiled by her father, pampered by her peers, and uppity to most everyone not within her social circle. Her reading materials were usually of the latest fashion magazines, gossip tabloids, or the occasional flower arranging paper. However, at that moment, Ino had gotten her hands on some very different literature. Though she swooned like every other girl to Sasuke, she wasn't one for romance or fairy tales. Her dream life consisted of becoming the strongest Kunoichi, being promoted to Jonin, marrying Sasuke, having two children, and living out her days in the interrogation unit. It was practical, she assumed, and much more realistic than the 'happily ever afters' most other girls her age sought after.

But just as Sakura, she was at the age where girls dreamed.

She didn't realize that she was simply only crushing at the moment. Even though her plans were practical, she felt that they were set in stone within the ever changing ripples that was the future. However, those plans were questioned when she got a disturbing visit from her friend/rival, Sakura. Expecting some talk about Sasuke, she was surprised to hear nothing but 'Naruto this' and 'Naruto that' out of her mouth. After checking the younger girls forehead to make sure she wasn't sick, she teasingly asked if Sakura had started falling for her loud mouth of a teammate. Even more surprisingly, the pinkette blushed. She didn't say yes, but she didn't deny it either. Instead of inquiring on what in the world could possess her friend to shift her attention onto their other blonde comrade, Ino decided research on 'love vs. lust' was in order.

"The Aftermath, by King K. Dark Destiny, by VW-DP. Beyond the Horizon, by TSU. I've read all three, and I still don't get them." Ino hung her head.

She started with The Aftermath, which was an epic length story, and still unfinished by the end of the book that she read up to. It was about a teen that uncannily resembled Naruto. He had a huge battle with his best friend, who turned out to be much more of a dick than he originally showed. The two boys had a friend that was a girl. She had a crush, in Ino's opinion, on the best friend that was the dick. And even when the main character, the one whom resembled Naruto, was injured after their fight, she only cared about the one who had betrayed them.

She understood that the Naruto-like character had always had a crush on the female, and that it had developed to the point where he would probably give his life for her. But she just didn't see it, and in the end, she would lose her chance to a girl whom had always truly loved the Naruto-like character.

'That is so Hinata.' She thought while reading.

Ino read as much as she could, leading into a much deeper and epic story that she couldn't recount at the moment. It was full of challenges, love, anger, sadness, death, and happiness. But the main thing she drew from it was the 'regretted loss of love'.

'Sakura may be trying to fix her relationship with Naruto before that happens. But I just can't see Sasuke doing something so terrible like that. I mean, that guy even...' She stopped her line of thinking due to a scene she found extremely mortifying. Continuing on her research, she thought about the next story on her list.

'Dark Destiny...' She sighed. This one had sent a chill down her spine. It was a tale, almost like the previous, where the main character was betrayed by his two best friends, being a guy and a girl. Once more, the girl had a crush, in Ino's opinion, on the best friend who ultimately turned out to be a dick. The characters were older, and their feelings should have been more developed. However, the girl showed her immaturity by denying the feelings of the guy she should have went for, crushing his heart in a much more hurtful way than necessary. The guy, having had his heart shattered, swears revenge on the girl and the best friend, leading to him betraying his own home and friends, giving up almost everything to avenge his own emotions. What caught Ino's attention in this story was the extra female that ended up having a romantic tie in with the main character. This one hadn't seemed like Hinata at all.

'She's like an older me...' She thought. It was frightening how much the characters in the stories resembled herself and her teammates.

The final story, however, is what did it for her. 'Beyond the Horizon' was an emotional tale, based on the same characters from the previous two stories. This time she couldn't help but feel like she was gazing into the future. This tale, much like the last one, was about the Naruto-like character being betrayed by the obvious Sasuke-like and Sakura-like characters. However, this time, the Naruto-like character pretended to not care and receded into a depressed state, away from the rest of the world after having saved it. Once more, the Sakura-like character gets a dose of reality when the Sasuke-like character drops her like a bad habit. She tries to go back to the Naruto-like character, however, and the biggest part that got to Ino, was the extra female once more.

Once more, the Ino-like character sees what the Sakura-like character couldn't see. However, while it was too late for the Sakura-like character, the Ino-like character takes advantage of the situation and finds out that she could fall in love with the Naruto-like character. After spending time taking care of the Naruto-like character, the Ino-like girl slowly but surely falls for him, and even grows to hate the Sakura and Sasuke-like characters for the things they put him through.

'Why...why do these feel so real? And why do I get the feeling that these are blatant signs...' Ino wasn't stupid. Being raised by Inoichi made sure she was logical when she actually took time to think. Since her talk with Sakura, she's had nothing but time to think. With her mind kicked into overdrive to initially find out why Sakura had changed, she found out that it was for the better. Looking at all the tales, she found out that she was in desperate need of changing.

'But...Naruto? Seriously?' She thought skeptically. There was no way in hell she was going to just up and fall for Naruto like that. It was like she said, there was no way Sasuke would do any of the terrible things depicted in the books, nor would Sakura, she hoped. And the way that it depicted the Naruto-like character was way too farfetched. It made it seem like Naruto had a rough life growing up, far worse than any of Ino's nightmares. It also made it seem like his problems would only continue far into the future, and there was no way that could be true.

"I mean, he's Naruto for Kami's sake! Always laughing, joking, and being annoying..." She trailed off as there appeared to be three things all the stories had in common. Something that Ino couldn't help but swallowing at. 'Always wearing a fake mask...'

For a moment, Ino smirked. This was impulse. Something inside her had changed after reading the three tales. 'Maybe...I should take a break from the Sasuke hunting game.' She thought to herself before laying back with all three books in her grasp and falling to sleep...thinking of Naruto.

"How could we have been so fickle? It was only a crush at first..."

"Yet we almost killed each other over him. It was pretty funny."

"But you two didn't love him like I did...and he still chose you both..."

There was a small silence on her part, yet the other two patted her shoulder.

"He chose us both, but he didn't deny you either. That's why we should look for him now. Because he decided to make us all happy, even though we hurt him first."

"...Let's go! We'll show him that as fickle as our younger hearts were, our hearts now beat only for the one we love."

"And they'll beat on, now and forever."

"We're coming for you...Naruto-kun!"

A/N I admittedly cut this chapter short. I had already started on this chapter three years ago and after all this time, didn't know where I was going with it. So instead of making up a bunch of random bullshit after the main part of the chapter was already finished, I decided to start establishing all three girls part in the story. The next chapter will continue the plot of the story itself.

Most of you know that I have never been a fan of Sakura, as evident in my other stories. However, after taking the time to look at the relationship she had at this time and point in the series to Naruto, I felt if not now, then Sakura would never be redeemable. That's to say, if she was able to realize that what she had was just a crush back then, I don't think she would have been that bad later on in the series. The same goes for Ino. But, seeing as Naruto is a Shonen series, romance is in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, I won't make promises about the next chapter, but it surely won't take another three years to get it out. I'll be seeing about an epilogue to Dark Destiny soon, and the continuation of Forever Darkness later.

Hope KingKakashi, author of Naruto Vs. Sasuke: The Aftermath, and TearStainedUzumaki, author of Beyond the Horizon found the references tasteful. Hope to hear from you all. Until next time.