I Do Not Own Naruto

Chapter 4

Sakura made it through her day, half dead on her feet but alright. When she left the hospital at thirty passed noon she was greeted by a smiling Naruto. She smiled at her friend, they were walking to Ichiraku's. it was not a strange sight to the villagers, she knew this, but Naruto was acting nervous again as they walked side by side. They were in silence as they walked but she knew he was in a serious thinking mode with his frown and the furrowing of his brow. She would pester it when she had food, she decided, she was starving and hadn't had anything since she grabbed a bite to eat before leaving her apartment this morning.

"So, you want to tell me why this started eating at you last night rather than yesterday while we were at the meeting?" Sakura asked after they took their seats and were sitting at a table.

"Well…" he trailed off.

"Naruto! I actually do not have all day, and we can either discuss this over a nice bowel of ramen or I can beat it out of you after lunch for an hour of training before I go to Tsunade's office!" she snapped.

He straightened up and seemed to snap out of his stupor, she at her lunch and eyed him cautiously.

"I thought it was all going to blow up the council's face yesterday!" he finally snapped.

"Ah," she sighed and continued eating as she listened.

"I mean come on! When the hell has Uchiha Sasuke ever done anything anyone has ever wanted him to do!? He doesn't listen to anyone but your mother and that's only when she has her rolling pin in hand! I didn't think he'd actually go through with this! I thought he'd lash out, knock the council down and leave, I never thought he and Hinata would actually end up…" he looked disgusted as he scowled down at his bowel of ramen. She sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

"Naruto, Sasuke would do what the council wants because he's on very, very, very, very thin ice with them after his bout as a rogue ninja," she reminded Naruto.

"You know, I now that, but this isn't making me feel better. I still want to beat the shit out of him, rip his throat out and shove it up his ass. Maybe I could get whatever stick is up his ass, rip it out and beat him to death with it," Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto! He is your best friend and I am not patching you two up after you break each other, again! Remember what happened last time!" she snapped.

"I know that! That's why this sucks!" he hissed out. She sighed again.

"Naruto, perhaps you should talk to Sasuke about this, after all, he's in the same boat. I sincerely doubt he wants to marry, remember he's after revenge, not marriage." Sakura knew he was still digging into his clan's deaths, he didn't believe Itachi alone had managed the slaughtering of his clan.

"Yeah, well, he does want to revive his clan Sakura," Naruto pointed out.

"Naruto, Sasuke wants to revive his clan on his terms, and probably with a woman of his choosing. He's being forced into this arrangement because the Hyūga elders finally have something that has never happened in the history of either clan. A lone, vulnerable Uchiha, and before you say that doesn't have anything to do with this; think of it this way; if there were one Hyūga member left standing after they were slaughtered by one of their own and the Uchiha clan was still standing; don't you believe that they'd exploit this vulnerability and arrange a marriage?" She was stating something she was a well-known fact.

Pointing out weaknesses of the clans, and how those two clans hated vulnerabilities.

"I know! It's just… ERGH! I want beat him to a bloody pulp," Naruto declared with a pounding of his fist on the table. Sakura rubbed her brow, her headache was coming on in full force with this conversation. Mostly because she was in the same boat as Naruto, she wanted to beat the hell out of the Hyūga heiress and shout Sasuke was hers' and not for the taking. The only reason she hadn't lashed out yet was actually for a simple reason, Uchiha Sasuke was not hers and she not his.

"Naruto, I get it, I do, but please don't beat up Sasuke again, I will patch you both up and beat you both into a bloody pulp if you do," she assured her friend. "Can you tell me why you didn't react until yesterday afternoon?"

"Well, it just… it didn't sink in until yesterday afternoon when Neji had demanded why didn't Sasuke marry you instead… he said a few things about no one being worthy for Hinata and it just… I don't know, it just sunk in then and it was like… Shit! Then I wanted to beat Sasuke up, he looked like he had just been poisoned, and so I… I left, sparred with Sai and then you came and I don't know… It just didn't sink in until then," Naruto groaned as he dragged his hands through his hair.

She was stunned at the mere suggestion of her marrying Sasuke; she had almost missed Naruto's confused state because of that off handed suggestion.

"Naruto, talk to Sasuke about this. Do not say anything to any Hyūga about this; they won't like it and I don't need you on thin ice with the council and Hyūga elders as well as Sasuke. And Naruto, you and I will get through this. If nothing else, you have me," she informed him as she paid for Naruto's untouched ramen and her own and stood.

"Sakura, did you ever love someone so much you didn't notice until they were gone?" he asked.

"No, but I know how you're feeling Naruto," she assured him as she patted his shoulder. "We'll go sparring soon, for now, I recommend you speak with Sasuke about this. I have to go, sorry, but I have a meeting with Tsunade."

"Go, and while you're at it, get us a kick ass mission! We haven't had a cool mission as a team for a while!" Naruto called to her as she left. She waved her hand in acknowledgement as she walked, her heart broke a bit but she shoved it to the side as she focused on the moment and staying awake. Kami was she exhausted! Emotionally drained, and physically exhausted, she was pathetic today or what!?

Sasuke was again being forced to spend time with Hinata today, but he had managed to get her alone; without an escort; mostly because he had made her. He was not being spied on all day by some Hyūga who was obsessed with keeping the family name honorable; it wasn't like he was going to attack the girl. Besides, she wasn't his type for thos kinds of advances, she was too… lush in the body and timid in nature.

Sasuke knew he didn't have a type of girl he liked, but even if he did, Hinata would not be the type he wanted.

"Hello Sakura!" he heard his fiancé say timidly just as a flash of pink caught his eye just before she crashed into him and sending them both sprawling on the ground. He glared into the green startled eyes which were owlishly staring at him.

"Ack! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" she said as she clambered off of him, he groaned when she kneed his stomach and narrowly avoided her hitting his groin as she scrambled up. He got up after her, he noticed the bruises under her eyes and grabbed her chin before she walked off on him.

"Sakura, when did you last sleep?" he demanded.

"Uh… last night, I believe you woke me when Sai came to get me for Naruto," she yawned and pulled away to stretch. He frowned, he was clearly going to have to intervene on her reckless behavior before she fell asleep in surgery; honestly, if the annoying pinkette could run into him, in broad daylight, in the middle of the day, when Hinata had said hello there was a problem. And she clearly needed more sleep.

"Hn," he glared.

"Don't give me that look, I'm fine! Oh and my parents are expecting you two for dinner tonight, they want to celebrate the prodigal son's engagement, my mother came to see me at work about this, so don't think you're slipping out of this Sasuke; I was procured to personally see you arrived at home at seven for dinner, tonight or my mother will come at you with the rolling pin; again," Sakura warned him. He refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Oh, that was kind," Hinata said softly. Sakura turned her sleepy attention to the girl with a bright smile then.

"Yep, mom's happy to be seeing him get married, she is most eager to meet you Hinata, dinner is casual before you get dressed up, and Naruto and Sai will be joining us," Sakura said happily.

"Not Kakashi or Yamato?" Hinata timidly asked.

"No one has ever seen Kakashi eat with us; oh that reminds me we've never seen his face…" Sakura trailed off. He frowned, they were on this again! No one ever saw Kakashi's face, but now that he thought about it he was certain that bringing this up with the dobe would lead to another round of ambushing Kakashi to see his face…

Entertainment for a minute! He liked that idea.

"Oh, and Yamato has never joined my family for dinner; my dad and he always argue whenever they see each other so Yamato won't be over for dinner," Sakura explained quickly.

"Oh, alright, I'd be happy to join you," Hinata offered a smile.

"Excellent, Naruto's over at Ichiraku's if you two would like to join him for lunch," Sakura offered sweetly. She smiled as Hinata turned red and Sasuke felt another bout of nagging guilt in his gut about this situation.

She clearly liked Naruto rather than him so why the hell was the council imposing this on them!? No matter, he thought, he just nodded to Hinata to go ahead of him, but the girl looked confused.

"Hinata, that means go in the language of Uchiha, he'll join in a minute," Sakura told Hinata who smiled happily and hurried off.

"So what do you want Sasuke?" Sakura asked as she looked at him. "I'm in a hurry, I have a meeting with Tsunade," she snapped as he didn't say anything.

"Get. Me. Out. Of. This. Marriage." He hissed out slowly so passerbys didn't over hear what he said.

"Why?" Sakura sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"She's in love with Naruto!" he snarled back softly.

"Look, I can't do anything about this now Sasuke; I have a meeting to get to, we'll talk about this after dinner, alright?" she demanded wearily.

"Hn," was his response.

"Good, now if anyone comes looking for me, I'm not here, alright? I'm late and Tsunade's going to kill me! I'll see you tonight!" she called out as she glanced at the time and then ran off. He didn't say anything to the contrary.

Instead he turned around to see Hinata blushing as she smiled happily while Naruto seemed to happily talk to her, through the window of Ichiraku's. This was all wrong, was all he could think as he reluctantly walked towards the ramen shop. Those two looked happy, he noted, then he walked in and Naruto turned from happy to dobe in a second and Hinata seemed to retreat back into her shy shell.

Sasuke sighed, he didn't want to marry a girl who he made nervous and he clearly made Hinata uncomfortable and nervous. Damn the council!

Damn Itachi!

And damn him and his luck for that matter while he was at it!

Silently he joined the dobe and Hinata for lunch.

Yeah, still in a Naruto sort of mood...

Anyways, that's all for now folks!

Enjoy Rid of the Monsters! =)