Chapter 7: A Change in Pressure

"But we can't hold back from the light of day
And keep on with secrets and make up the meaning.
And we can't hold back 'til the light escapes
We'll lean on the secrets cause we know the meaning."

-St. Lucia


Minato helped his son pack his supplies for the week ahead into the back of the family's Cadillac Escalade. They all knew Naruto's Pinto would not do too well in the mountains, especially with the heavy snowfall they were having up there this season. Minato arranged Naruto's brand-new skis into the trunk and looked over to his son carrying over two suitcases. Naruto dumped the suitcases into the trunk nonchalantly and Minato rolled his eyes as he organized the misshapen pile his son had created.

Across the driveway, Kushina called from the front porch. "Naruto, did you pack enough food for the trip?"

Naruto smirked. "Yeah! I don't need to pack that much though. We paid for all our meals already from the fee to go on the trip." The cost had been a little too expensive for Naruto's liking, but the club had covered half the total cost of the resort's expense. Because their college was private and highly successful in the finance department, the clubs received a generous allowance every semester. The resort was also one of the top-rated in the state in terms of facilities and location, so Naruto deemed the price to be worth it.

Kushina lowered her hands to her hips stubbornly. "Basic meals aren't going to be enough, dear. You're going to be using up a lot of energy on those mountains, so you need to pack extra meals and snacks."

Naruto shook his head with a sense of mirthful admiration. He secretly loved it when his mother fussed over him and acted like all great mothers did when they worried about their children. It showed how much she cared and it took the blond a long time to see that. It was only when he left college and thought about how his parents had prepared him for the real world that he appreciated their antics. "I already did, Mom. I have plenty of food."

Kushina stepped into the house for a moment and brought back a small, orange backpack. She approached him on the driveway and handed the backpack to him. "Well, I packed you some extra rations, just in case."

Naruto took the offering gratefully as he chuckled. "You're a card, Mom, ya know that?"

She stepped forward and kissed his cheek. He was a head taller than her now, so she had to stretch up a little. "I'm pretty aware, dear." Her eyes glimmered as she looked up at the man her son had become. "Now, you better get going. You've still got to pick up Ino and the others. You mustn't keep them all waiting."

Naruto nodded as he threw the backpack into the Cadillac's trunk and closed it. "Alright."

Minato handed him the keys with a bright smile. "Take good care of her now. You're not used to the size of that vehicle, so be cautious."

"Alright, Dad. Thanks for helping me pack!" He waved to his parents as he got into the SUV.

After he drove away and the outlining of the Escalade's smooth frame disappeared down the street, Minato turned to his wife. "Do you think I should have given him your car?"

Kushina laughed at that and headed towards the house. "Now, sweetheart. My car wouldn't handle those mountain roads nearly as much as the Escalade would. Honestly, why do you think you bought that thing anyways?"

Minato shrugged as he opened the front door for his wife. "Well, for the mountains, of course."

Kushina smiled thoughtfully. "You also knew our son would ask for it from time to time." They already talked about this the night before. They had settled on letting Naruto borrow it because of his good grades. Minato had still spent a small fortune to get the vehicle, so he was still slightly reluctant on the decision. Even though he was a successful therapist with his own private practice, Cadillacs did not run cheap.

"I suppose you're right," Minato said. He could still remember those days where he had begged his own father to take the T-bird out to impress his own dates. He supposed he could relate to his son.

Kushina rose her chin up, satisfied. "Of course, I'm right. Now, your sandwich is almost ready, dear." The gorgeous woman walked into the kitchen and took the heated ham she had made for his sandwich out of the microwave. "I'm just glad you took Naruto on those ski trips when he was little. He'll be much safer out there with that experience."

Minato nodded as he leaned against the wall of the kitchen. "Yeah. It's too bad we couldn't ever get Sasuke to join us." He suddenly looked at his watch. "Sorry, honey. I'm going to have to pick up something else for lunch. I have to go to the office for a meeting with a client. I can take your car, right? Thanks. See ya when I get back!" He grabbed his coat and was out the front door a second later.

"Bye!" she called out the moment after the door had shut.

Kushina somberly took a bite of the ham. It had been glazed with honey. However, the discomfort in the swell of her chest took away the sweet taste of the meat. She had not told the two men in her life about the discomfort yet. It was probably just a simple thing. She would see the doctor tomorrow and everything would be fine. She was not sure if she actually believed that or not, but it was best not to make others worry.

A mother had to think of her family above all else and that involved facing adversity with a smile. Despite her convictions, the slight agony pressed against her and gnawed the worries of some dark, dimensionless glare. Even as the discomfort deepened and she clutched her chest tightly, Kushina Uzumaki still managed to display a positive smile.


Naruto was late.

Sasuke groaned as he checked the time on his phone. Ino glanced at Sakura's concerned smile that broadened into a grin. "He'll be here any second," she said with baseless confidence. "I'm sure of it."

The dark-haired student nodded as he stared at the empty parking lot surrounding them. With Finals finally over, every able body had evacuated the premises, ran to some distant beach or mountain, cheering, and left everyone else guessing if they would ever return. The other participants of the trip had already left. Rather than spending more money on a van or bus, they had all decided on carpooling. Naruto had claimed he had no qualms with the decision because his father had offered to cover gas expenses.

Finally, a welcomed black SUV came rolling into the lot and stopped right next to the three of them. Naruto swung open the passenger door with a rather unique flair.

"You're late," Sasuke said blankly as he stared at the open car door.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "By like 5 minutes! Don't worry, I'll make up for it when we get on the road." He indicated the back of the Escalade with his thumb. "Throw your stuff in the back so we can go."

Sasuke hardly thought his best friend had any right to tell him to hurry up, but he listened without another word. Ino and Sakura exchanged knowing smiles and followed Sasuke's lead. After the three students had packed all their luggage, they took to their respective seats. Ino hopped into the passenger's seat and Sakura and Sasuke sat in the seats behind them. With everyone ready, Naruto drove out of the parking lot, crossed over the turnpike, and headed for their northeastern destination.

As the blond merged the expensive vehicle onto the freeway, Ino tapped his arm with an effervescent grin plastered on her fine features. "I'm so excited! I've never had the chance to ski before. Will you teach me when we get there, Naruto?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean I'm not really the teacher-type. You said yourself that they have instructors there, so you and Sasuke can learn together."

Naruto could practically feel the glare from his roommate behind him. The dark-haired student did not like it when people pointed out his inabilities and preferred others to think he was more than capable in most activities. Conversely, Naruto thought his friend needed to humble himself from time to time.

Sakura came to her boyfriend's rescue. "Sasuke won't be needing that, Naruto. I can teach him! I used to be an instructor at a ski resort in Japan, so he'll be skiing just fine in no time." She tactfully left out the information entailing she had been an instructor for children. Certainly, that would not have aided her boyfriend's pride in the situation.

Ino looked at Naruto, observing his eyes moving with the road and focused on the miles ahead of them. His jaw was set, strong like stone. She thought he looked so handsome with the way his cerulean eyes were concentrated and alert.

Ino's hand tightened as her motivation escalated towards her goal. This trip was going to change things, she told herself. She was going to confess her feelings to Naruto and make her intentions known. The coming talks between the two of them were going to be extremely intimate and informational. All of a sudden, Ino could sense a sharp point of elation advance beyond the motivation, leading further down the path towards her dreams. She decided she would follow after it.

She was shaken from her stupor by Naruto's cheery voice. He had caught her staring. "You alright?"

She prayed to some higher intelligence that her eyes were not betraying her. "Yeah, I just can't wait to get there!"

Naruto nodded and grinned. "Yeah, me too. But it'll be a while until we get there considering we have to practically cross the whole state."

The next several hours were filled with scattered conversations, listening to Naruto's rock playlist that was sporadically interrupted by Ino's pop music, and introspective thought between the four of them.

Finally, the late afternoon sun divulged the snow-capped behemoths that towered over the rest of the land like some pale sentries. Naruto turned off the freeway and circled around the cliffs towards the other side of the breathtaking peaks. They drove through a narrow valley that was mostly shadowed by the towering wonders adjacent to it. The snowy valley housed a medium-sized ski town where many young athletes traversed the streets with charismatic elegance. Naruto drove past the town without stopping as the entire group had decided to meet at the lodge at the bottom of the mountain.

Once they left the outskirts of the town, the road curved sharply and moved up. The weather reports had been correct when they covered the snowfall of the area. There was at least a foot of the white stuff out there, more in certain places, and was getting thicker the more they climbed. Naruto felt the engine hum with energy as the Escalade powered up the mountain. Sugared pine trees dotted around the road and the girls gazed with child-like wonder at the majesty of it all. Naruto and Sasuke shared the sense of awe but did so silently.

The northern face of the largest mountain showcased long, black lines and painted, wooden buildings that promised great comfort, as well as large slopes hinting at adventurous escapades. But the largest building was at the base of the slope and looked like some kind of mansion designed by lumberjacks. It was a long structure spanning two separate wings, boasting five stories, one enormous lobby with several minor lobbies attached to it, and a massive dining room.

The three passengers in the Escalade gawked as Naruto parked next to the expansive building. The blond, in turn, stared at the man-made spectacle as they all exited the vehicle.

"It's way bigger than their website implied it to be," Sakura said with her breath hitched.

Sasuke nodded with widened eyes. "Probably to illicit this type of reaction."

Naruto and Ino ran past the two of them with guileless expressions as they called back for them to follow. "Come on! We can get the luggage later!

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged amused smiles and followed their two friends. There was a doorman standing at the front doors of the lodge and he waved at them as they approached. He told them the rest of their party was waiting for them in the main lobby. They thanked the man and proceeded into a colossal, fresh-scented, room with hanging chandeliers crafted from antlers, and professional paintings and pictures decorated throughout the towering walls of the lobby. The lobby elevated ahead with wide, carpeted steps and relaxed guests idly meandering about in all directions. Most of the guests seemed to have been highly accustomed to such lavish lifestyles.

The four of Naruto's party identified the rest of their group next to the front desk on their left. The head of the Ski Club and the organizer of the trip itself, Kiba, appeared to be arguing with the desk clerk there. As Naruto and the others approached him, they could hear the audacious young man's raised voice. "Look, lady, I'm telling you we paid for ten rooms already!"

The desk clerk, a middle-aged woman with a tight ponytail, was typing anxiously away on her keyboard. "I understand, sir, but my records show that we only booked you for nine."

The fury in Kiba's dark eyes was burning. "Then what the hell did I pay for?! Just check the damn total I paid then? It should cover ten rooms, right?"

The clerk's lips were sunken into the rest of her mouth. "It does. But I'm afraid I just don't have another room for your party. We're completely booked this week and we've had to move many guests around lately. I will make sure you get a refund for your room and I can even get you some extra cots free of charge as well as some VIP passes to our private lounge, but that's all I can do for you."

Naruto quickly noted the presence of a sharp-dressed man, who was undoubtedly the manager, behind the counter who dipped into the back room with a smile. Kiba leaned on the counter with a barely satisfied grunt. "Alright, I guess that'll have to work." He begrudgingly took the keys and began handing them out to the trip members. When he got to Naruto, Kiba grinned brightly. "Well, it's about time! I thought we would be waiting up for you guys until midnight!"

Naruto returned his friend's grin. "As if you would even wait that long. So, I heard we're short on rooms?"

Kiba frowned as he held out the room keys. "Yeah, it sucks, huh? You and Sasuke will have to room with Shikamaru and me. The girls will also need to dual up with some of the other Ski Club members."

Naruto took the keys from Kiba's hand. "That's fine. We'll manage. We left our luggage in the car, so we'll meet you in the rooms."

Kiba then gave them some meeting times for later that night and basic directions of where the important locations were. Naruto and the others then ran outside to get their belongings and finally begin their vacation.


The distant sun irradiated the white slope and made the whole world clear enough to bring awareness to its windswept cracks and other flaws. Naruto swerved and dipped his body with his upper leg muscles to pass the natural hazards and obstacles in his way as he descended the mountain. People and trees whisked past his vision as he raced forward with careful precision and focused perception. He had learned the basics of skiing as a child and had impressed the instructor then with his natural abilities. If the same instructor could see him now, then he might have dropped his jaw in shock at the level of mastery Naruto was currently displaying. Apparently, the sport had a lot to do with muscle control and endurance, which were two attributes Naruto could happily boast about.

It was his first full day at the lodge and Naruto had decided to start it by going to the very top part of the mountain and drop down it. As he was descending, he surmised he could probably do this all day.

The blond rushed by a lower checkpoint where he noticed the gorgeous Ino learning the simplicities of how to ski. He expertly used his calves and slowed down to look up the slope at the amusing spectacle. He saw Ino drop onto the ramp and bring her knees close enough together to come shooting down faster than anybody had been expecting, her blue and white knit hat flying behind her like a flag caught in the wind. The instructor at the top appeared to have lost the color in his face as he gaped down the ramp in horror.

Naruto showed no alarm as he turned around and successfully matched Ino's speed down the slope. He turned his body and looked to his side where Ino was meeting him at the same pace. She turned to him with as much fear as could be expected as someone in her situation. He smiled confidently at her. "Use your hips to turn around obstacles in the snow," he called out over the sound of shredding snow. "It'll slow you down and give you more control. When you hit the bottom, extend your calves out and make your skis look like a pizza slice. The instructor mentioned the pizza slice part, right?"

Ino nodded with a flushed face that was still showing some fear, although it was drifting away by the bright smile she was witnessing before her. She followed the blond man's advice and used her hips as best she could. She was so surprised she never fell during the descent that she barely remembered any of it by the time they reached the bottom together. She extended her calves out like Naruto had told her and rushing snow finally seemed to catch up with her. Ino looked behind her to see Naruto lift his orange-tinted goggles over his forehead. His ocean-blue eyes faced her with all their splendor and she felt a stronger rush in her stomach than whatever she had felt coming down the mountain. His entire outfit was comprised of the solid colors of orange and black and even though it did make him stand out on the slope, it certainly looked tacky up close. Still, she had to admit even he made it look good.

"Did ya like going fast?" he asked with a shiny grin.

"I could have gone faster." Her deep breaths stole the confidence in her voice, but Naruto was gracious enough not to point it out.

"Great. Should we wait for the others or should we go get some—" He was suddenly struck by a gigantic rubber tube that immediately buried his face into the snow, robbing him of any suave attitude he had been attempting to convey.

Ino moved her startled eyes to the person on top of the tube. Kiba's strong laugh reverberated across the area as he got off the tube to help his friend up from his unfortunate position. "Sorry, Naruto. Didn't see you there."

The blond's face was red from the blood rushing there as he glared daggers at his friend's gall. "What the hell, man! This slope isn't for tubing! How did they let you up there with that damn thing!"

Kiba shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm going back up. You wanna come with?"

Naruto reached down to fling the greatest amount of snow he could at the cheeky bastard before he ran away, but Kiba was already happily trotting away up the slope with his tube in tow. Naruto turned to glance at Ino with an abashed expression and saw her burst into a fit of laughter. He blinked at her antics and somehow joined in as the full force of the last few moments hit him too. Sasuke and Sakura found the two of them at the bottom of the slope several minutes later and saw them still laughing. They could only stare at the odd scene with a mix of confusion and happiness as the two college students shared a ridiculous moment together.

Later that night, the slopes had been closed early due to a snow flurry and the occupants of the enormous lodge were all comfortably situated within the warm confines of the building. Naruto was seated at a round table in the private lounge on the top floor of the lodge with the other three members of his close-knit group around him. The crackle of the dancing fire was resounding from the other side of the room but its ancient warmth still managed to reach him. The dim clangor of the other guests around them barely muffled the noise of the fire and the whistling wind outside the gigantic windows on the side of the lounge that faced the slope.

Sakura, seated on Naruto's right, took a sip of her hot chocolate. "How are your guys' room arrangements going?"

Naruto groaned. "They would be just fine if Kiba had never brought his damn dog on the trip! That mutt woke me up at four in the morning with its slobbery mouth. Plus, it sheds everywhere and chews on our shoes!"

Sakura noted the passive glance Sasuke gave to indicate the dog bothered him as well, although not nearly as much as it did Naruto. Ino, on the other hand, chimed in from the other side of the table. "You guys are so lucky though! I love dogs. They're so cute and all they want to do is just play and love people."

Naruto's mouth slanted into some obtuse angle. "Yeah, well someone should tell them that people don't always want to play."

Sakura giggled and the subtle shift of Naruto's attention to it did not escape her notice. She cleared her throat. "Well, Ino and I are enjoying our roommates. Tenten and Hinata are just wonderful to be around."

"I'm sure they are considering they don't own a dog!" exclaimed Naruto. Sakura released some more giggles at that and Ino did the same.

Suddenly, Sakura was reminded of an important plan that had yet to be fully executed and turned to her boyfriend. "Well, Sasuke and I will now be going to explore the first floor of the hotel." One of Sasuke's eyebrows rose in puzzlement as he watched his girlfriend stand up from her seat. "Come on, sweetie. I think they have a bowling alley down there and I'd love to check that out." Sasuke obediently grabbed her hand as they retreated from the room.

Luckily, Naruto had not picked up the reasoning behind his friends' departure and Ino was left with him at the table alone. Surely, she would not mess up the golden opportunity. She held her warm cup of hot chocolate in both her hands. Naruto's eyes were focused on the fireplace beyond her. But when she began speaking to him, those cool orbs flickered over to her. "I had no idea you were so proficient at skiing."

"Yeah, I really liked it as a kid and I guess some of that stuff just kind of sticks," he said as one of his arms wrapped around the back of his chair. He was wearing a form-fitting thermal that really showed off his more impressive features. Ino ignored it to the best of her ability.

"Who taught you?"

"Mostly my dad."

Ino smiled sweetly. "Are you close with him?"

Naruto took a sip of his hot cider. "Yes, but not as close as I'm with my mom."

Ino tilted her head in interest. Her family had its own odd intricacies between them and were satisfied in the distance they cautiously placed. To hear about fine connections between family relations, pleasantly bemused her. "How so?"

An involuntary smirk had emerged on Naruto's face. "I've always kind of been my mother's son, if you know what I mean. A 'momma's boy.' She was always just kind of there, ya know?" Ino nodded and allowed him to continue. "She's always been a stay-at-home mom even though she had a culinary degree. Although, that degree does always help out in her cooking." He chuckled then. "I'm always amazed at how hard she worked for me, taking care of me and all. I could never really understand how much she actually sacrificed for me." He paused. "I still don't."

Ino took a long swig of her drink, the melted chocolate coaxing her throat and allowing it to loosen to some level of freedom she had to obtain to speak properly. "Sounds like she's really important to you."

Naruto was as serious as she had ever seen him be, which frankly was not very often. "More than anything. I'm not very good at explaining things like this, but I feel very strongly about her. Sasuke is really close to me, but there are things I don't mention to him that I do to her." His eyes glazed over for a moment. "Things I could never tell him. Out of all the people I've ever known, Mom has seen me at my weakest moments more often than any other person. I think that means something about a person. I think that makes them extra special, ya know? Someone who knows you the most because they've been there when you needed them whether you knew it or not. That kind of connection is really important. It makes it so you continue to go to them with deeper and deeper things and become even more vulnerable with them. We all need someone like that, I guess. I think that's why people get married, so they can have someone be there when they need them. I think that sounds really amazing. My mom's really good at being that for me. I'm sure I'll eventually have a wife who's that for me when the time comes, but right now I'm just fine with my mom." There was a bloated second between the two of them that floated calmly about. The icy wind sighed against the huge window next to them, promising some eerie temperature of insight.

Without thinking, Ino's hand brushed over his. "I think you explained that beautifully, Naruto."

His face flushed from the compliment. "Thanks, I guess I surprise myself sometimes."

"Well, you definitely surprised me." She looked down at her cocoa and summoned the necessary courage. He had been open with her a little and that was something she cherished greatly. "You know, I'm not very close with my family."

Naruto's face flooded with almost instant empathy and attentiveness. That quality may have been the single most attractive thing about the man and there was nothing Ino could do about its potency. She managed to continue despite his latent power over her. "I mean I have great parents and a wonderful older sister who has always looked out for me, but I've always struggled with what I needed to be for them." Her brow creased a little as she tried to concentrate on her words. She knew she was coming off a bit strong all of a sudden, but she had to do this. She had to make herself known to him. "When I was little, my parents had a divorce. Needless to say, it was pretty traumatic and I had trouble as a kid because of it. For several years, I had problems with other kids and my emotions about the separation. I thought I had to put on a smile for my parents and show them I could manage it all, that I could handle whatever was thrown at me. I could tell it really helped them and gave them some strength. Remarkably, after a while, they got back together. Isn't that crazy? They actually re-married! I remember everyone, including myself, being really shocked about it. It's a thing you only ever hear about happening, but they somehow made it work."

"The funny thing is that you would think I would have found some kind of resolution within that reunion, but I didn't. I only found more agony. I thought they were back together because of me, you see. I thought for some crazy reason that I had been responsible for this amazing thing, that my very attitude had just magically changed everything! It put more pressure on me and I kept working hard to make sure they were happy for most of my childhood and into my teenage years. High school was easier, I suppose, because I had figured out how to balance myself and not cause trouble for anyone. My sister had gone to college and I was left by myself to try to keep things stable. Things got shaky sometimes, but I managed to hold the family together. I felt like I was constantly watching a top being placed on a wire, running around trying to make sure it wouldn't fall off." A sad smile crossed over her and she could not erase it. It was a part of her and she had to show it to him. "Eventually, I realized what the whole balancing act was doing to me, and I just kind of stopped trying. I became apathetic to my family. They didn't even really respond to that, as if they were just waiting for it and had barely noticed any of my prior accomplishments." Her eyes sharpened then. "I think I may hate them a little for that. It's like they never even cared about what I tried to do. I sometimes wonder if they ever viewed me as a nuisance, but that's a little cold, I think. I know they love me and I love them too, but there's just a lot of scars there, I guess. Scars that I suppose are going to take a while to heal."

Ino finally took a deep breath and moved her eyes up to see what Naruto's reaction was. To her bewilderment, he looked almost apologetic, appearing as if he himself had wronged her in some odd, indirect fashion no one could have predicted. He swallowed as he realized she was finished. "I'm sorry to hear that happened to you, Ino, that it still is happening to you." Simply by the tone in his voice, she knew he was sincere. "I had no idea you struggled with all of that. I can't imagine the pain and stress it took for you to be working like that. A family shouldn't be like that at all and you grew up thinking it had to."

Ino fidgeted with her cup. "Well, I think I was being a little melodramatic there. I mean—'

Naruto interrupted her adamantly. "No, you shouldn't downsize something like that, Ino. You were being honest with your past and it's important for you to be real with it."

It was then Ino noticed they were alone in the lounge. Everyone else had retired for the night and the glow of the fire had died down considerably to the point of crispy silence. The only sounds present there now were their own voices and the wailing wind outside. The snowflakes were heavier now and glowed blue from the moonlight that creeped through the dusky clouds in the night sky.

Her surprise drifted away with the snowflakes and Ino responded: "You're right. I shouldn't undermine my experiences." Her pale blue eyes shined in the dim, firelit room. "Thank you, Naruto."

The blond man was miraculously caught in a web neither of them had spun. It was a web derived of intentional words and fortunate circumstances. Naruto knew where his feelings of affection were placed and now it felt like he could put those aside. Maybe not forever, maybe not even completely, but Sakura would have to step aside. He had to stop putting her in front of everything, and while it would be painful and probably a tad unfair to himself, he had to do it.

He would accept Ino.

"You're welcome, Ino," he said. "You're a very special person, you know."

Ino could see it. There was some subtle sign of acceptance within Naruto's eyes that she could actually see clearly now. There had only ever been a wall there, a type of obstacle she had to avoid using her hips. She felt a smile creep across her lips as she thought about how it reminded her of skiing. She felt the air circle around her and give her the proper energy.

She could tell him now.

"Naruto, I like you," she confessed. Naruto did not show much surprise, just the base amount it took to hear such a confession. Despite that, he allowed her to continue. "I'd like to, well, start something with you. A relationship, I suppose. I think you're an amazing guy and have been such a good friend to me these past few months. I also think you're really attractive and I would be a lucky gal if I had you as my significant other. You were right about how we all need that special person in our life that we can confide in. And while I could never replace a figure like your mother, I'd like to try being someone special, nonetheless."

Naruto suddenly leaned over the table and kissed her. It was a simple kiss and not her first, but it carried her out into the snow, pleasantly throwing her into the frigid wind that excited her very core and demonstrated a thorough picture of wonder and joy to her.

Their lips separated and she leaned her head against his broad shoulder. She felt relieved and safe finally. It was all fine now and the world was made simple for a moment. "I like you too, Ino," Naruto's voice said and they laughed mildly at that. "I would love for you to be a special person in my life."

Naruto felt a bittersweet chill run through his spine. It was comprised of an odd blend of gratitude and disillusionment. Sakura had pitied him enough to give him Ino and that only made her a greater figure in his eyes. While he had not been lying when he said he liked Ino too, it was not as if his heart was completely hers yet. Something like that would take time, but he would do it. He had to give it all to someone who would accept it and that was just not going to be Sakura. It simply could not happen.

Still, somewhere deep in his heart where the wailing wind brushed through his knotted branches, he carried a sliver of hope.


Finally! 2016 is actually over with! What a year. I just wish this year is better than the last and less shitty, but one can only hope, right? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this nice little chapter. It was one of the first ideas I had about this story and I'm glad it turned out like this. I would greatly enjoy to hear about every little thought or comment you have about the story thus far. Please, shoot me a review or PM to let me know what you think.

Unfortunately, my internship will be starting next week, so updates will be spaced out even more, I'm afraid. However, I do promise they will come, so look out for those!

-CM