Naruto went to the highest point in the village – the mountain of the Hokages' faces.
He scanned the village below hoping to see a sign of pink hair.

There!
On the Administrative Building!
Sakura was sitting at the edge, looking out at the village.

Naruto jumped down and found himself standing behind her within seconds.
"Naruto." Sakura said, not bothering to turn around and look at him.
"Sakura-chan… I…"
"How is Hinata-chan?"
Naruto coughed, "She's… fine."
"Good."
Naruto stood quietly for a long time.

Finally, he said, "Do… you want to… talk?"
Sakura didn't say anything.
"Kakashi-sensei said I should talk to you…"
"Kakashi-sensei knows?" Sakura turned and looked at Naruto, "You told him?"
"He saved me fr-uh, he helped me and I told him. He's… you know, like, an uncle to me. I…"
"What did you tell him?"
"About me and Hinata." Naruto said, honestly.
"And?"
"I…"
"I know Ino saw me. I'm not blind, Naruto. I, just, didn't care. That's all. Did you tell Kakashi-sensei that Ino saw me? I wasn't crying." Sakura stood up, "What do you want, Naruto?"

"I don't want the trust we have between us to dissolve, Sakura-chan. Otherwise, our team will suffer. I don't… want that."
"Why would it, Naruto? For what reason would our trust dissolve? It's not like I'm mad at your or anything." Sakura clutched the daisies Lee had given her, "I mean, why would I be?"
"I don't…"
Sakura's face crumpled and she turned her back to him, "Go away, Naruto."
"I…"
"You always bothered me!" Sakura yelled, "You always tried to impress me. I knew you liked me, Naruto. I'm not stupid! So, Hinata comes along and you just forget all about me!" She turned back to him, shaking the daisies at him, "Who do you think you are, Naruto? Nothing gives you the right to play with my emotions!"

"Your emotions!" Naruto exclaimed, "You really want to go there? Yea? Ok - yea, I did try to impress you, Sakura-chan. I never made it a secret that I liked you but you always snubbed me. With you it was always, 'Sasuke this' and 'Sasuke that'. You ignored me and you yelled at me and you, well, honestly? Sometimes you made me feel like crap, Sakura. So Sasuke leaves and then what? You expect me to wait around for you forever? Or what, Sakura? You finally start to like me and then what if Sasuke came back, huh? Would you stay with me?"
Sakura stared at Naruto, the daisies still in the air.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Sakura, I am. But I'm not sorry about Hinata. I'm not ashamed or anything. I love her, Sakura-chan. And you know what? She loves me too. Me! Just me. Not because I'm around when someone else isn't. Hinata has always had words of encouragement for me, Sakura. She never calls me an idiot or stupid. She always tells me that I can do my best. She respects me! She acknowledges me! She makes me happy – not just sometimes. All the time!"
Naruto and Sakura glared at each other until, finally, Sakura sighed and sat back down on the edge.

Naruto stood for a moment and then sat next to her.
"Do you hate me?"
Sakura sighed, "No, of course not."
"Do you… hate Hinata?"
Sakura sighed again for the umpteenth time, "It's impossible to hate Hinata-chan, Naruto. I've tried."
"Do you… hate Sai?"
"Sai?"
"I'm just askin'."

"I don't hate anyone. Well… no, I'm kind of hating myself right now."
"I'm sorry."
"No… don't be." Sakura looked down at the crumpled daisies that Lee had given her, "You're right. I… I'm lonely… without Sasuke. I started thinking that you liked me so much that I should just, you know, give you a try. I'd been thinking about it… a lot. More so since that first mission with Yamato and Sai. I finally decided to ask you out… sort of. This morning."

Sakura touched the bruised petals, "I noticed you'd been hanging out with Hinata a lot more. I just thought that you were being nice since she… you know, saved your life. I… well, I always had my suspicions that Hinata liked you but I brushed it off. I didn't think Hinata would do anything about it."
"She's the one who told me… she loves me." Naruto admitted.

Sakura looked at him, "She did?"
"When she was injured. Just before you came and saved her life."
"And you kissed her. I thought… I don't know, I guess I just though you were thanking her." Sakura sighed, "I've been oblivious."
Sakura smoothed out the flowers in her lap, "It's just when… I went to your window… I was going to surprise you. And I looked in and there… you were. You and Hinata. I turned and went to the roof of your apartment building. I sat up there, thinking I must be imaging things. But then I saw Neji come to your apartment building and then I saw Neji leaving and Hinata leaving after him. I just ran."

"You went to the top of the stairs in the park."
"Yea," Sakura nodded, "I kept trying to hate you. Hinata. I was going to tell Neji. I knew Neji would go crazy or something. I cried. I wanted to hate you but I couldn't really find the will. I knew… I knew that you weren't in the wrong. Most of all… I kept thinking, 'What would Sasuke think?'"

"I started to realize that you would never really like me and me alone, Sakura, when I went after Sasuke the first time. When I made that life-long promise. You… were crying. I could see it in your eyes. Your heart… it belongs to Sasuke. I don't know if, maybe, one day it could belong to someone else but… I don't think it will be me." Naruto trailed off.

Sakura buried her face in her hands, "I miss him so much, Naruto. I… I can't stand it."
"I do, too."
She rubbed her eyes, "I… when he left, I tried to stop him. I begged him to stay. I pleaded. I… I even told him that I would come with him. I… I begged him to let me stay with him." Sakura's voice cracked, "And I would have, Naruto. I would have!" She sobbed, "If he had let me, I would have followed him to Orochimaru… and I-I would have deserted K-konoha and betrayed you and our f-f-friends!"
Naruto put his arm around her shoulders.
"I… think… if he a-asked me to leave now… Naruto… I think… I'd go…" She shook her head, "B-but… he… he wouldn't… let me…" Naruto could barely understand her words.
"He… he rejected… m-me…"
"No – don't think like that, Sakura-chan."
"H-he… did!"

"I don't believe that!" Naruto squeezed her shoulder, "Sasuke… you know that idiot! He always wanted to do things on his own. He just… he didn't want to involve you in all that danger. To be stripped of your friends, Sakura, your family! I'm sure Sasuke just didn't want to put you through that whole ordeal."
Sakura wept into her hands for several more minutes before she began to calm down.

"He knocked me out, Naruto." She murmured, "He came up behind me and said, 'Thank You, Sakura-chan' and then he knocked me out to make sure I couldn't follow."
Naruto couldn't think of anything to say.
Sakura sighed and gathered her crumpled flowers, "You don't have to sit here listening to me cry, Naruto." She gave him a watery smile, "Actually, I kind of want to be alone now."
Naruto nodded and stood up.
Sakura grabbed his hand, "Thank you, Naruto… for listening. For… missing him, too."
"I won't give up on looking for him, Sakura. I promised you that."
"I know. I won't either." She released his hand, "You… don't have to tell anyone what I said."
Naruto grinned, "And you don't have to tell anyone what you saw."
Sakura laughed, "I won't."
Naruto lingered for a moment but Sakura grew silent. She watched the village below, holding the abused flowers from a friend.

Naruto returned to the Hyuuga house.
Hanabi opened the gate. She was huffing and puffing, "Good! You're here, Naruto-kun."
"Eh? What's wrong?"
"Hinata is teaching… me… the Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou…" Hanabi panted, wiping sweat from her brow, "I didn't know… it would be this hard!"
Hinata walked out of the house, into the yard. She hadn't even broken a sweat, "You're not going to learn it if you keep asking for breaks, Hanabi."
"Father doesn't even train me this hard!" Hanabi laughed, "Hinata is a stern teacher," she told Naruto.
Naruto smiled at her, "Good, if she were a lazy teacher you wouldn't be able to learn."
"Hai, hai." Hanabi said, "Are… you going with Naruto, Hinata? Are we done for the day?"
"We only started fifteen minutes ago!" Hinata exclaimed, "You're already tired?"
"I wasn't ready to train! You caught me by surprise!" Hanabi protest, "I have done any stretches or anything…"

"Ok, ok, we'll start again tomorrow, Hanabi, but early! And you'd better be ready then because I'm gonna pound my jutsu into your head!" Hinata warned her younger sister, "Be ready for it!"
"Hai!" Hanabi saluted and scurried into the house, "See you later, Naruto-kun!"
"Bye, Hanabi-chan." Naruto called back.

Hinata turned to him, "Did… you talk to Sakura-chan?"
Naruto nodded, slowly.
"I-Is everything… okay?"
Naruto looked guarded, "A lot of things were said and some tears were spilled. But… we're still friends…"
"Are you okay?"
Naruto smiled, "I don't feel awesome but I've got you and you always make me feel better."
He pulled her into a hug and buried his face in her hair, "Thank you, Hinata."
"Ano…? For what?"
"For not choosing me second."
"What?"

"Nothing." Naruto laughed, "I've got to go find Kakashi-sensei. Do you want to come with me?"
Hinata nodded, "If that's okay… with Kakashi-sensei."
"The old guy will be fine." Naruto waved away her hesitation, "Let's go."

Hi-hi.

So, don't get me wrong, I like Sakura as a character (more than I used to. I always thought she was weak and she has something of an anger management problem but she's gotten stronger and I like that's useful as a medical nin) but I really dislike the idea of her and Naruto as a couple.
They're more alike than Sakura would probably like to admit and I think she would spend too much time hitting him or something.
I always disliked the way she called him stupid and all that. I get it from Sasuke - they're like brothers but Sakura as a love intrest just annoyed me.

So, I finally got Naruto to say some things that I've been thinking.

Plus, Hinata is so much nicer. I think she compliment's Naruto's personality more, especially if she gain a little more confidence.

Also, the relationship between her and her sister - well, I'm a little sister and so I know Hanabi's pain.
I think it'd be a good relationship even though Hiashi thought Hinata couldn't cut it as the heir and began training Hanabi instead.
I think Hinata would still love her little sister and take care of her and they'd have a somewhat normal sister relationship.
I think Hanabi respects her older sister because more often than we'd like to admit, we younger ones respect our older siblings - especially the nice ones and I think Hinata would be a cool older sister.

Anyway, this is one of the shortest chapters but I hope you enjoyed it.

This fanfic will eventually end but I have an idea for another one... I'll finish this one and start fleshing out the other.
See ya'll later!
-4ng3legg

Next time:
Kakashi's Story!