Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm so glad this story is received well! I never expected it to get any attention really, just like my one-shot too! The reviews for that were a complete surprise! So thank you, especially for the constructive criticism ones, they really help a lot!
Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 3
The paperwork was delivered to her early in the day. Sakura was sitting at the kitchen table, making her way through the piles on paper when she heard a knock at her front door. She went to open it and was greeted by a familiar, red-headed woman.
"Morning!" Karin greeted, tilting her head to the side.
"Ahh Karin! Good morning! Come in!" Sakura replied, stepping to the side.
Karin stepped in and followed Sakura to the kitchen, taking a seat opposite her.
"How are you?" She asked.
Sakura nodded, keeping her eyes down on the work in front of her.
"I'm good. All the paperwork from the hospital arrived at 8am this morning! 8 AM! I was hoping to lie in a bit, but there's so much to do, so I might as well start as fast as I can." She said, sighing.
"Right.." Karin replied, eyeing the work."Listen, I wanna say sorry about the other night. It wasn't supposed to end up like that..." Karin continued, rubbing her forehead.
"Ah, it's ok! Don't worry about that. I spoke to Hinata and Naruto a few days ago and things are all cleared up!" Sakura replied, cheerfully, returning to her work.
"What? You spoke to them? Both?!" Karin questioned.
"Yeah, well actually they kind of ambushed me when I was trying to do some shopping." She replied, grimacing.
Karin chuckled, "So you've talked it through with them?" She asked.
"Yeah! Kind of... Look everything is fine! I told them it doesn't matter, I'm ok with it and everything's all cleared up!" Sakura replied, looking up at Karin, smiling.
"Everything? So you've spoken to him about your engagement too?" Karin added.
"Wait what?! You know about that too?!" Sakura asked, shocked.
"Yeah! Of course I do!" Karin replied, smiling at the girl.
"I can't believe it to be honest! Nor can Sasuke-kun! We-" She began.
"Sasuke-kun knows too?!" Sakura shouted.
"Well, yeah obviously! I told him the second I found out myself!" Karin replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Ahh man! This is so bad! How many more people know?!" Sakura said, putting the work on the table and standing up.
"I dunno. Why? You want to keep this quiet?" Karin asked, slyly. "Do you guys wanna have a secret wedding? In a secluded spot? Somewhere in the mountains, or-" She continued gasping at the ideas forming in her head.
"What? No! Karin! I'm not engaged! At all!" Sakura yelled, snapping Karin out of her daze.
"WHAT?! What do you mean you're not engaged?!" She demanded, eyes glued to the rosette.
"I mean, that I'm not getting married, to anyone, at all! I haven't met anyone either! It's that damn Sai! He got the impression that I was engaged, and now he's been running his mouth off to god knows who!" Sakura explained, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.
The confusion in Karin's eyes was visible. She looked to the floor, trying to understand all that Sakura had announced.
"Right. So you're not engaged. And there's no wedding anytime soon, and it was all a lie." She summed up, with a simple 'Hm' from Sakura, acknowledging her answer.
"Then what the hell am I supposed to do with that new dress I brought?!" Karin yelled, off-topic.
Sakura looked up, annoyed and confused at the girl.
"What? Your whining about... A DRESS?!" She demanded, through gritted teeth.
"Hey! It was an expensive dress, and Sasuke-kun kind of doesn't know that I brought it...yet...so I was gonna surprise him at your wedding..." Karin replied, guiltily.
"Well you can still wear it. Haven't you forgotten there is a wedding coming up." Sakura replied, dryly walking back to her chair.
Karin felt the tinge of hurt in her voice. She looked over at Sakura and spoke quietly.
"So, did you clear this up with him too?" She asked.
Sakura shook her head, looking up and through the window opposite her.
"No. I couldn't. He didnt give me a chance to and then Hiashi-san interrupted us." Sakura replied.
"Oh right. So what are you going to do?"
Sakura sighed deeply, "I am going to get some of this paperwork out of the way and visit the hospital, then I need to go do some shopping, because yesterday was a failure, and then I'm gonna go find Sai and kill him." Sakura replied, cheerfully smiling and shrugging at her threat.
Karin laughed nervously, "Heh, err sounds like a productive day for you then?!" She said, standing up, noticing Sakura's avoidance of her question.
"It will be once I get a hold of Sai!" Sakura replied, clenching her fist. "You're leaving?!" She asked, noticing Karin rising from her seat and walking towards the door.
"Yeah, I'm teaching at the academy in an hour, but I need to go see Tsunade-sama first. I'll see you round yeah?" Karin replied, opening the front door.
"Yeah, Have a nice day! See you soon!" Sakura yelled, closing the door.
"Hinata!" Naruto bellowed down the hallway, "Your dad's here!"
Hinata came rushing out of the bathroom holding her damp hair, having had her morning shower. "Good morning father!" She greeted taking a seat next to Naruto, on the couch adjacent to her father.
"Morning." Was his stern reply to his daughter, his coldness causing Naruto to frown.
"So what can we do for you Hiashi-san?" Naruto asked.
"I just wanted to see how the two of you are getting on." He replied, eyes moving from one to the other, pausing each time."I also wanted to give you this." He continued, pulling out two pieces of paper.
"Oh tickets?!" Hinata gasped, happily taking them from her father's hands.
"Yes. They are tickets to go see a musical." He answered, getting up from his seat.
"A musical...?" Naruto frowned, slumping in the couch.
"Yes, Naruto. A musical. Take it as an early engagement present if you want." Hiashi replied, reaching the front door, hurriedly followed by Hinata.
"Th-thank you father!" She exclaimed, bowing to her father, smiling warmly.
"No need for that Hinata. I just hope the two of you enjoy the day, together." He said, looking at both Naruto and Hinata sternly.
"Y-yes! Of course we will! Right Naruto-kun?" Hinata responded, looking over at Naruto, who was peering over his shoulder at the father and daughter.
"Yeah, sure. I haven't really got anything to do all day so-" He began, getting up.
"That's great. Enjoy your day." Hiashi interrupted, opening the door and leaving swiftly.
"Geez, what's wrong with him?" Naruto questioned, stretching.
"Father is a really busy man. I'm sure he's got other things to attend to." Hinata replied, looking down at the tickets.
Seeing the girl staring at the tickets, lost in her thoughts, he expressed his concern.
"Hinata? What's wrong?" He asked, walking towards the girl, who was startled by the sound of his voice, as if she thought she was alone and immediately began smiling.
"Ah no no! It's nothing! I'm going to go get dressed then we can leave!" She replied, walking down the hall to the bedroom, leaving Naruto standing alone in their living room, wondering what was bothering the girl.
"Good Afternoon Sakura-san!" A brown haired girl greeted Sakura at the front reception desk of the hospital.
"Good afternoon...erm..?" She laughed nervously, not recognising the girl.
"Oh right, sorry! I am Natsume Aso, your new assistant!" She said smiling cheerfully.
"Assistant...?" Sakura replied, unaware that she had one.
"Yes, by request of Tsunade-sama! I shall help you as best as I can with anything you need!" She answered, bowing slightly.
"I see, anything I need huh?" She muttered slyly, so the girl couldn't hear. "That's great! Shall we go then?" Sakura asked, smiling warmly at the girl, immediately making her feel comfortable.
"Yes, of course. Erm, your office remains the same as it was before." Natsume told, walking towards the office door and opening it for Sakura, gesturing for her to enter it.
"Ahh it hasn't changed a bit!" Sakura proclaimed, walking over to her desk and placing down the folders in her hand. The room remained as Sakura had remembered. The dark, mahogany, desk was on the right hand side of the room, with a large grey cabinet behind it on its left. Opposite was a white sink with some identically white cabinets. A white bed was to the right of her desk, near a wide window, overlooking most of Konoha.
"Sakura-san, I will leave you to settle in, if there is anything you need please let me know." Natsume spoke walking towards the door.
"Ahh, actually there is something." Sakura said, spotting an opportunity."It's nothing work related really, but I didnt get much shopping in last night, so if you could run and get me a few things from the market, it would be a great help?" Sakura asked, now embarrassed by her demand.
"Yes of course I will." Natsume responded, smiling at her. Sakura quickly wrote down a few things on a piece of paper and handed it to the girl. She took the paper from Sakura and bowed, heading towards the door.
"Thank you!" Sakura shouted before the girl left, then settled into her chair, sighing loudly.
This feels so good. Doesn't feel like I left at all. She thought to herself, leaning back in her chair.
This is where you last met too... Her mind wandered off.
Shaking her head out of her thoughts she moved her chair forward. Not wanting to waste any time she opened her folder and began writing down a list of names, before filing the folder away.
She had been working for an hour and a half when a loud knock startled her.
"Y-yes, come in!" She yelled, looking over at the time, shocked at how fast it had flown by.
"Sakura-san, there is a man here to see you. He goes by the name Sai." A young woman spoke, peaking her head in the room.
Sakura's eyes darted to the girl at the door, the work in front of her forgotten. She smiled slyly.
"Yes, of course. Call him through." Sakura replied, getting up and walking around to the front of her desk slowly with her hands behind her back.
Sai hadn't changed since the last time she'd seen him. All that appeared different was his uniform, which was now identical to the one her sensei wore. He walked in smiling his usual smile with his eyes shut.
"Well I didnt expect to see you again, Saku-" He began, shutting the door behind him. He was cut off by a fist slamming into his face, sending him flying across the room.
"Argh, ugh," He spluttered, leaning up on his left arm, holding his face. He looked up over at Sakura who was walking towards him, anger visible.
"I didnt expect this either! You greet everyone like this?!" He yelled, remaining on the ground.
"What the hell are you doing telling everyone I'm engaged?!" She shouted, now standing a foot away, clenching her fist at him.
"Wha-you! I come here to welcome you back and you throw me across the room because I told everyone your surprise?!" He shouted back, getting up, using the wall as support.
"What surprise?! I'm NOT engaged!" She screamed stepping closer to him, now seething with anger and frustration.
"What?! No, that's what it said in my book!" He replied, remaining by the wall and holding his right cheek.
Sakura sighed looking at his injury. Guilt digging into her. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the hospital bed sitting him down firmly then walking over to the cabinet by the sink.
She returned with a box full of equipment, ready to heal Sai's injury. Placing the box next to him, she reached for his cheek, only to see the boy duck away.
"Oh for god's sake I'm not going to hurt you." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah? You wanna right that down for me? Punching me the second I enter the room." Sai replied, reluctantly returning to his spot allowing her to fix him.
Once she was finished she went back over to the sink and began throwing away unwanted tissues and plasters.
"So, you're not engaged?" He asked, remaining seated on the bed.
She turned around and leaned against the sink, her hands holding it and sighed, "No, I'm not. Never have been." She replied looking over to him.
"But my book said that when a woman is exceptionally happy around a man that means she is in love with him and likely engaged." He spoke, looking back at her.
"What?" She said confused.
"Ok, so I made the last bit up, but you were really happy with that guy you were always with and then I overheard you and him talking about a wedding..." He replied, defending himself.
"That guy? What guy are y-" She began, confused by her friend, when she realised Sai's confusion.
"Oh Sai you idiot! You're talking about Kei!" She said, walking over to the window, her face in her hands.
"Kei?" He asked, turning his body around to look at her, eyebrow quirking up.
"Yes, Kei! He was my assistant! My student even! I was teaching him everything about the Hospital because he was going to become a head of one of the departments!" She yelled looking over at him, her back against the window sill.
"Oh, he's your student..." Sai repeated, looking down to the floor. "But wait what about the whole talking about the wedding?" He continued, convinced he heard right.
"I heard you two talking about how 'you can't wait till the wedding" and asking if he'd got some list of yours for it?" He finished, looking at Sakura questioningly.
"The-oh that! Temari-sans friend was getting married, and I offered to help out with some of the arrangements! I gave him a list of things to get from town, seeing as he was my assistant, so naturally I asked him to do it!" She yelled, groaning at Sai's misinterpretation.
Sai continued looking at Sakura, his eyebrows furrowed, displaying his confusion.
"So he's your student/assistant and that's why you were always together, and it was Temari-sans friend's wedding that you were talking about." He summed up.
"Yes." She sighed, turning around to look out the window.
"Well, I guess I don't understand people that well then." He said, disappointed.
Sakura smiled, "No. You understand people perfectly well. It's just the situations that you misinterpreted. I guess now thinking about it, I can see how and why you'd think I was engaged. Still, you're an idiot for blabbing your mouth off." She finished looking over at him, narrowing her eyes.
He smiled back, "Mmm, sorry about that, I didn't ask you because I thought you didn't want to tell me or anyone else."
What the hell? That doesn't even make any sense, HE went off and told everyone anyways. Sakura thought, rolling her eyes.
"And with something this big, I needed someone to confide in!" He continued shrugging his shoulder.
Her eyes narrowed at his excuse, and was about to turn around and speak when he'd already begun.
"So who was it that told you? Kakashi-sensei? Yamato-taichou? The cake shop workers? Wait was it the market holders?" Sai questioned, smirking at her.
She quickly turned around and looked at him horrified, "What the-h-how many people did you 'confide in'?"
Upon seeing her horrified expression, Sai began laughing loudly.
"Relax! I'm joking! I only told, Sasuke, who told Karin, who told Ino, who probably mentioned it to Shikamaru and Chouji, and I told Naruto too, who told Hinata, who told Neji and her family, who told Tenten and Lee, who told me!" He finished, counting the names on his fingers.
Sakura looked at him, her left eye twitching slightly in annoyance, "Wouldn't it have been easier to just say our WHOLE FRIENDS?!" She bellowed, moving towards him, her waving fist making a re-appearance.
"Not really, Kiba and Shino don't know, but that's because they're on a mission with Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taichou."
"Right. A-and them? Do they know?" She asked, worried.
"Huh? Oh, I don't know. They left so quick I never got to tell them." He replied, rubbing his chin.
"You didnt 'get to tell them'?" She repeated through gritted teeth. "You went around 'confiding' in all our friends, over something you yourself weren't sure about and the only support you had was from a book, and even parts of that you made up!" She shouted, her voice rising as the sentence went along.
"Wait no! I also told Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san!" He said, ignoring the burning anger Sakura was displaying.
"Yeah I got that. She's the one who first mentioned it. Kind of." She replied, calming herself, thinking back to Tsunade's 'own news' words.
"Right. So which one of them actually told you then?" He questioned.
"Erm, Karin came over and asked me and I went around Ino's and she mentioned it too..." She began, looking to the floor."But I guess the one who actually asked me about it first was, Naruto." She continued, her voice now quietened.
"Naruto." Sai replied.
She nodded and turned around walking back to the window, leaning on the window sill, looking out at the village.
"Have you told him it's not true?" He asked, looking at her back.
"No. I cleared it with Ino and Karin, but not him. I never got the chance to." She answered, painfully.
The sun was shining down on the village as ferociously as it was yesterday, illuminating the village and its beauty. She missed this scenery. Nostalgia built up within her and she began remembering the times before she'd left the village. She was blissfully caught up in her memories, forgetting about the present, until Sai's question brought her back to reality.
"So do you know about the engagement?"
She shut her eyes slowly, annoyed, partly that she'd been taken out of her thoughts, but mostly due to the amount of times she'd been asked the same question and follow up questions.
"Yes I do know. And I feel fine about it. I've spoken to them both separately, and I'm happy for them." She answered, turning around and walking to her desk.
He followed her with his eyes, sensing her discomfort around the topic.
"Right. Well, I'm gonna go then. Only really came to say hi, didnt expect to get injured and then ambushed." He spoke rolling his eyes, making his way to the door.
"Ambushed? Is that what I did to you?" She asked, chuckling.
"Yeah! That's exactly what you did! The receptionist told you I was here, so you tell her to let me in so you could beat me up and ambush me about your fake engagement."
"'Fake engagement'" She repeated scoffing, "More like, non-existent engagement! And if I'm not mistaken you came to visit me! I wasn't just going to let you go on telling everyone lies!" She responded looking at the boy.
Before Sai could respond the door was knocked on and via Sakura's permission, Natsume entered.
"Sakura-san, I wanted to know if there is anything you'd like me to do before I leave?" She asked, looking at the pink medic, quickly gathering some paper off her desk and walking towards her.
"Ah yes! Here are a list of names of the medics that I've sorted into groups, if you could let them know their groups and timings it would be a lot of help!" Sakura replied, handing the girl a packed folder.
"Yes of course. I'll get on it right away." Natsume said, walking out the room, smiling at Sakura, leaving the two friends alone again.
"Oh and before you leave, she, Natsume, is my ASSISTANT, so you'll probably see her with me quite a lot, you know, maybe laughing, working together, discussing things. I do hope you don't mistake us for something as well." Sakura finished, sarcastically.
"HA! What would a pretty girl like her do with a beas-" He joked, leaping out the door upon seeing a book being flung at him, leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts.
Well at least he hasn't changed.
The sun was beginning to set when she finally left the hospital. Carrying a bag of food in one hand and a folder in the other, she made her way home, relishing the warmth of the sun on her skin.
The shops were still open but the busy streets had died down. As she walked down the street she saw people walking around with their friends and family. Upon seeing the laughing people she smiled faintly, remembering her own nights out a couple of years ago.
As she walked down the road, looking to the floor, smiling, she hadn't noticed the two figures walking towards her.
Naruto and Hinata were walking back home, having returned from attending a musical. The 'gift' Hiashi had given them was in fact a family engagement that he'd made them attend, as a way of introducing Naruto to the 'Hyuga family friends.'
"Argh, that was a waste of time." Naruto whined, walking along side Hinata with his hands in his pocket.
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself though?" Hinata asked.
"Well I didnt wanna embarrass you in front of them all." He answered, shrugging. "What kind of a 'gift' was that anyways?!" He continued sulking.
"I'm sure father meant well." Hinata replied smiling at the boy.
He put his hands to the back of his head and spoke, "If he meant well, then he would've given us tickets for free ramen!" He answered back, rolling his eyes. "Na, I think he did that on purpose. Making me waste the whole day!" He continued, grimacing,
Hinata remained quiet, smiling at the boy, finding his sulking mood amusing. She stopped smiling when his expression suddenly changed, from looking out in front of him in shock, to his hands shooting back to his pockets and his face looking at the floor. She herself, turned around to see what had caused Naruto's sudden change in behaviour
Sakura was walking towards the couple, looking down at the floor smiling. Not paying attention to anything around her, especially not the two individuals now silently approaching her, and so was startled when she heard Hinata's soft voice.
"Sakura-san?" She spoke, worry evident in her voice.
Sakura immediately stopped in her tracks and her eyes shot up, instantly meeting blue ones. She was so caught up in her thoughts of the past that she wasn't looking ahead and was now standing directly in front of Naruto.
"N-Naruto.." She began, shocked by her closeness and immediately took a step back, he remained where he was, looking down at the girl.
"Hinata!" She greeted quickly, looking over at the worried girl.
"Erm, are you ok?" Hinata asked, moving towards Sakura.
"What? Yes, of course I am!" Sakura replied.
She better not be referring to their engagement again.
"Oh it's just that you weren't really paying attention to where you were going..." The Hyuga began.
"Hmm? Oh right, yeah I was just caught up in my thoughts!" She smiled back, shrugging."Besides I think its Naruto you should be worried about! Standing here like he's sick or something!" She joked, slapping his arm playfully.
He shifted under her touch and moved closer to Hinata, Sakura noticing this had moved to the side too, away from the couple.
"Hmm? Really? Are you ok Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, holding the boys arm, who kept his direction away from Sakura.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just tired." He replied, moving to the other side of Hinata, so that she was now in between Sakura and himself.
"Well that's expected!" Hinata said, looking over to Sakura, who upon noticing the boys movement had kept her eyes to the floor. "We just returned from watching a musical, Sakura-san!" She exclaimed.
Sakura quickly looked up at the smile radiating from the girl and warmly smiled back, "Is that so?"
"Mmm! Father gave us the tickets as a present, but Naruto-kun thinks he was just trying to get him adjusted into the fam-" She began explaining before Naruto jumped in.
"Hinata lets go. I'm sure she has other things to do." He spoke grabbing hold of Hinata's hand.
Hinata gasped, "Yes! Of course! How inconsiderate of me! I am sorry Sakura-san, I've wasted your time-" She began, this time cut off by Sakura.
"No dont apologise Hinata! I'm not that busy really!" She spoke, directly at the girl, ignoring Naruto herself.
"Either way, we should get going." Naruto replied, letting go of Hinata and walking away.
When he was out of hearing distance, Sakura spoke to Hinata quietly, "Has something happened?" She questioned, confused by Naruto's cold demeanour.
"What? No! Nothing happened. He was completely fine all day, even though he didnt like the musical." She replied, looking towards his direction.
Sakura, who was also looking at Naruto, walking away with his hands once again in his pockets and his head down, felt a tinge of hurt. "Right. It's probably me then." She answered, looking to the floor, her shoulders slumping slightly.
"No! Sakura-san! It's not you! It's like he said, he's just tired that's all." Hinata replied, looking to the girl, who had started to turn away from her.
"Yeah, maybe your right." Sakura said, smiling faintly at Hinata. "Have a nice evening Hinata!"
"Thank you, you too Sakura-san." Hinata said, returning the smile and hurrying after Naruto.
Sakura remained standing, looking in the direction of which the two were walking down, watching Hinata run up to the boy and grab his arm. She saw him return to his cheery self, smiling at the ever worrying Hinata. The change in his demeanour now that he was away from her, brought about a hurting pain she hadn't felt yet. She looked down sadly, and walked back towards her house, the distance between Naruto and herself, surfacing.
Her mood had visibly changed from earlier when she was reminiscing old memories, smiling at them, to now, head down, dejected, feeling more lonely than ever. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed the footsteps coming from behind her, until a familiar male voice spoke.
"Sakura." He said, causing the girl to turn around, startled.
Gaara was standing directly in front of her, hands in his pockets, with Temari and Kankuro on either side of him. Before she could greet them, Temari spoke.
"Hey! You settled in yet? Happy to be back?" She asked, moving towards the girl.
Sakura smiled faintly, "Yeah, yeah I've settled in well, like I told Gaara-san, this is my village!" She joked.
"What are you guys doing here?" She questioned.
"We came to see you." Kankuro answered.
"Me? Why? Is everything ok?!" Sakura replied, worried.
"A-ha ha, dont be like that! It's nothing bad, we just came to see how you are!" Temari assured Sakura, putting her arm around her.
"Oh right, thank god. I thought it was something bad! But you dont need to check up on me! I'm great!" She replied, smiling at Gaara.
Gaara sensed falseness in her answer. "Well I'm quite hungry now. Can we come around yours for dinner?" He said, more as a demand than a question, walking past her and towards her house, followed by an excited Kankuro and Temari.
"Yeah that's a great idea! Let's go Sakura!" Temari shouted, walking along side Kankuro in front of a calm Gaara.
"W-what? Wait! Wait! I never s-" She began, running after the three, but gave up, knowing they wouldn't take no as an answer, so walked beside Gaara, sulking.
"Geez, you guys just invite yourselves over to people's houses for free food huh?" Sakura, who was now washing the dishes, said to Gaara, who was bringing in some of the leftover food.
"Not really." He replied, nonchalantly.
She rolled her eyebrows, finished with washing up, she walked over to the table where Gaara was tidying up.
"So what would you call this then?" She asked, helping him.
"I'd call this, being a friend." He answered looking at the girl. "I can see you are lonely." He continued. "On our way to see you we bumped into Naruto and Hinata. She mentioned that they'd just seen you, and I thought you would like to have some company." He finished still looking at Sakura, who was now making a lot of noise moving things around.
"Well, thank you for that. I appreciate your concern and I guess it was nice to have you around, but I am not lonely! I'm back in my village, with my friends!" She replied, laughing.
"You can be surrounded by millions of people, regardless of if they're your friends or not and still feel lonely." He stated.
She stopped messing about with the packages on the table and looked up at him. After a long pause, she spoke.
"I-I guess I am-I do feel quite sad. Sometimes." She said sighing, sitting down on the chair, Temari and Kankuro being occupied in the living room with the TV, Gaara too took a seat.
"All of them, they've all moved on. Married, having kids, responsibilities. I guess I just feel like I haven't done much you know?" She said, playing with her fingers.
"That's expected. People move on, they change, their priorities change." He said, receiving a nod from Sakura. "I've heard about Naruto's engagement too. That was unexpected." He continued, keeping a close eye on the girl.
"Yeah, tell me about it!" She said, leading to a few more minutes of silence.
"I think he's angry at me." She finally said, sighing, looking up.
"Angry? Why do you say that?"Gaara questioned, relieved at the girl finally opening up to him.
"You should've seen the way he was earlier. When I met them in the street. He wouldn't look at me or talk to me. Hated it when I touched him, and he even went so far as to move away from me, to the other side of Hinata." Sakura answered, sadness evident in her eyes.
"I think it's got something to do with my supposed engagement." She continued, confusing Gaara, who questioned her about it.
"Sai misinterpreted some things when he came to Suna, and he told everyone I was engaged." She explained, shaking her head.
"I cleared it with Ino and Karin, but I haven't had the chance to speak to him about it properly, but he knows. He asked me." She finished, looking down.
"Well if you're so determined to clear this up, you'd have told them when you met them earlier." Gaara answered, causing Sakura to shoot her head up and look at the red-haired boy in front of her.
"What does that mean?" She asked.
"I just mean, that you should clear this with him quickly, rather than drag it on. As in the next time you see him you should tell him." He answered calmly, getting up.
"You know, sometimes, the wrong decisions are made over the false information." He stated, walking to the living room, with a confused Sakura after him.
"Temari, Kankuro, we should get going now." He commanded, walking to the door.
"What did you mean by that?" Sakura asked, walking after him.
"By what?" Gaara replied, turning around with a straight face.
"What you just said." She answered, confused.
"What did I say?"
"You forgot?"
"When?
"What?!" Sakura shrieked, taking a step back from the Kazekage.
"Ok...erm, maybe you should be getting back." She said, turning around to usher Temari and Kankuro out.
He is losing his mind. She thought.
Gaara smiled faintly at the girls confused state and walked out the door, followed by his siblings bidding farewell to the pink kunoichi, who went back in to her empty apartment.
"He's got a point though. I really should tell him before someone else does." She said talking out loud.
"Great, now I'm talking to myself. Maybe I'm losing my mind." She said, rubbing her head.
"Naruto-kun, are you sure you will be alright?" Hinata asked, standing by the door, clutching her purse tightly.
"Yes, of course I will Hinata! I told you I'm fine!" He replied, walking to the girl and opening the door for her. "Now go and have fun!" He said smiling widely.
She smiled back at him, naively convinced he was ok and kissed him on the cheek then disappearing out the door.
He went over to the couch and slumped down on it, flicking through the channels, nothing catching his eye.
He'd been watching meaningless TV for about an hour and decided to go to sleep when there was a loud rhythmic, knock on his door. He recognised the owner instantly and went to open it.
"Hey Naruto!" Shikamaru walked in hugging the boy.
"Shikamaru!? What are you doing here?!" Naruto replied, surprised at his presence.
"What? Is that how you greet me?" Shikamaru joked, standing in the building by the now closed door.
"No no, it's just I haven't seen you for a while. This is unexpected." Naruto defended.
"Yeah, I've been busy with the baby and Ino. No matter what that girl does it's always so troublesome." He spoke, in his usual, tired voice. "Where's Hinata?" He questioned looking around the room.
"Oh she went out with her sister and some family. A girls dinner or something ..." Naruto answered, shrugging.
"So why are you here then?" Naruto asked, looking at the boy.
"Its Ino's birthday soon, and she's planning a party. She says she wants to get us all together, saying how busy we all are and it'll be good to catch up, but I think it's just so she can show off the baby." Shikamaru explained , shrugging.
Naruto chuckled at his friend's usual unfazed attitude.
"I was on my way home and I thought I'd drop by and tell you. it's not set yet, but I wanted to tell you, you know what with you being busy with your engagement things." He continued, seeing a change in the boy's body language.
"Oh r-right. Yeah!" Naruto quickly perked up. "Thanks for that! So I'm the first one to know right?" He continued, proudly.
"Well, yeah I think you are. Chouji's gone on a mission, and I dont think Ino's told Sakura yet." He answered, smiling. "Sakura!" He chuckled, smiling to the floor, shaking his head.
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, confused, "What about her?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"You don't know? About her 'engagement'?" He asked, using his fingers to emphasise the word.
"Yeah I know about that." Naruto muttered, looking to the floor.
"So dont you think it's funny?" Shikamaru asked looking at him.
"Funny?" Naruto replied, in a less than amused tone.
"Yeah! How we all thought she was engaged and it turns out that Sai's been thinking the wrong thing!" Shikamaru answered, laughing.
"W-what?" Naruto asked, confused.
"You dont know?" Shikamaru responded, looking at Naruto intently, who shook his head.
"Well, according to Ino, Sai got the wrong impression when he visited Sakura a couple months ago. Turns out she's not engaged at all! She's not even with anyone!" He laughed.
Naruto stood looking down at the hallway behind Shikamaru, shocked at what his friend had told him. Confusion, mixed with anger was now visible on his face, as Shikamaru snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Hey! You alright?" He asked, worried.
Naruto blinked quickly and turned to see his concerned friend. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just didnt know that." He answered, looking to the floor, his mind racing.
"Right...well I should get going, Ino's probably going out of her mind wondering where I am...you sure you're alright?" Shikamaru questioned, walking towards the door.
"Yeah, dont worry. Thanks for letting me know about the party yeah!" Naruto replied, smiling at his friend, who nodded slowly, still not sure about Naruto's state of mind.
"Well, if you need anything let me know." Shikamaru said, walking out the door.
Naruto shut the door slowly and walked over to the couch, leaning against the armrest. Staring up at the blank, beige wall, his mind processing the information Shikamaru had relayed to him.
"She's not engaged." He said out loud.
"She's...not...engaged..." He repeated, anger and confusion returning. He got up and marched out of his apartment slamming the door shut.
She was on her way to bed when a loud, aggressive knock, pounded at her door. She groaned loudly, expressing her annoyance and went to open the door, not expecting to see an angry tall blond standing in the door way.
He barged in, pushing the door so hard he almost hit Sakura in the face, if it wasn't for her quick reflex of moving out of the way.
"Na-Naruto?!" She shouted, looking back at the boy in her apartment.
"Why didnt you tell me?!" He yelled at her.
She closed the door quietly, then turned to face the raging boy standing in the middle of the room.
"What are you talking about? You can't just barge into my house and-" She began, getting angry herself.
"Your engagement! It's not real!" He yelled impatiently.
Sakura was taken aback with his statement. She looked at him with wide eyes, realising the reason for his unfamiliarly, enraged demeanour.
"What?" She said, breathlessly.
"I know all about it! I know its fake!" He bellowed, his anger rising upon seeing her confused state.
"Wha-I-" She said, clearing her throat she continued, "How?"
"Does that even matter?!"
"I said how!" She screamed back, her temper mirroring his.
"Shikamaru came round and told me!"
"Shi-Shikamaru." She repeated, quietly, looking to the floor.
"Yeah him!"
"W-well, why are you so ang-" She spoke, trying to make sense of his irate behaviour.
"Four days! You've been back for four days! We last spoke four days ago and you didnt even try to set it all straight!" He screamed, his arms flapping about as he turned his back to her.
She had now moved to the small round table to her right, leaning against it for support, her hands holding it on either side.
"Wha-I wante-"
"You had enough time to tell Ino though!" He cut in as if knowing what she wanted to say.
Sakura remained silent, not responding, looking to the floor. Noticing the lack of words from her, he too stayed silent for a while, staring out of the large window, his hands behind his back.
"How did he get this wrong?" He finally spoke, unmoved.
"Sai? He mistook my assistant for my...f-fiancé." She replied, hesitantly, her eyes moving slowly up, towards his direction.
"Naruto, I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you before but I-" She started, trying to make the boy see sense. She moved nearer to the couches, trying to get him to look at her.
"You're sorry!" He scoffed."You're so sorry you couldn't even tell me earlier!" His voice, raising. He turned around and walked past her to the table.
"D'ya know how stupid I feel?! I'm supposed to be your friend! Your closest friend and I'm probably one of the last to know!" He shouted turning to look at Sakura, who sighed, pursing her lips together.
"Sasuke. Does he know?" He asked through gritted teeth.
Sakura looked over to him and nodded lightly, her eyes returning to the floor.
"HE knows too?! Right, so I really am the last to know!" He yelled failing at containing his anger.
"It's not like I didnt want to tell you! There just wasn't the right time! I only came back on Tsunade-sama's orders, how was I supposed to know this rumour was flying about?!" She screamed back at him, her arms moving in front of her to emphasise her innocence.
He looked away from her and marched over to the door.
"Wait, wha-" She called after him.
"I'm going home. This. All of this is...it's just...it's too annoying for me right now!" He cut in, opening the door.
"Right. So I annoy you if I'm engaged and I annoy you if I'm not." She spoke, her voice quieter and shaking.
He stopped in the doorway. His arms by his side, fists clenched. Looking to the floor on his side, so only half of his face was visible to her, he spoke quietly.
"No. You dont annoy me...you-...you dont annoy me." He said shutting the door behind him, leaving Sakura alone, standing in the middle of her apartment, now recognising the tears built up in her eyes.
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