Alright, well here is Chapter 10, wow , already chapter 10, over 23k words (With this chapter) almost 5k views (3.5k of them are from the US :P) 18 reviews, all in 25 days, i am very much happy with how this story is turning out, however, i would like for you guys to review more, i know your reading because of the amount of views i have! So come on guys, review, tell me how i am doing, because if you don't how can i be sure your all liking the direction i am heading in? :) anyway there was one review so far, and its my loyal fan and reviewer
xzavx, once again thank you for the review, and of course Naruto doesn't fully trust him either, but it was a good deal, so he took the chance :P as for the scroll, i know its not mentioned, but its assumed that Naruto is now in possession of it, the fox didn't run away with it if that's what you were thinking ;), thanks for the review again, and i hope you keep enjoying the story as the plot continues to progress
Well, that's that, please review guys :) on with the show
Disclaimer – I still do not own Naruto, or Sakura, If i did, they would have gotten together much sooner in the series :P
This chapter was revised on May 18th 2017. Most grammar errors should have been addressed (Hopefully :P) I did a few enhancements and changed a few things around but the story remained unchanged
Saving old bonds
Chapter 10 (Revised)
Naruto and Sakura were hanging out at one of the dance clubs, they had just finished a song and headed towards the bar, Naruto offered Sakura a drink that she accepted, Sakura had never been this happy in her entire life, Naruto handed her drink. Just then Ino and Shikamaru walked into the club and Sakura flagged them down "Hey Ino! Shikamaru!"
"Hey Sakura, Naruto, I didn't expect to see you guys here" Ino said while joining them
"I never expected to see Shikamaru doing anything other than stargazing" Naruto said teasingly
"I wanted too, but this..." Ino gave him a stare that sent chills down his spine, and made him rethink his next phrase "But Ino wanted to go out"
"Wait, are you 2 dating?!" Naruto asked
"What? No of course not" Ino quickly responded "I just needed someone to come with me, I mean, it's boring to come here alone, and Kiba is, uh busy with something, and well you 2 were out so I was left with him"
"Nice to know I am your last resort" Shikamaru answered
"Well, it's not that, it's well…Shut up and buy me a drink!" Ino said trying to hide a slight blush
Shikamaru sighed "You're so troublesome sometimes" he said as he walked away to get their drinks
"So are you guys having fun?" Ino asked with a smile
"Yeah, it's been one of the best nights in my life" Sakura said with a big smile while holding onto Naruto's hand
"Same goes for me, any time spent with Sakura Chan is great" He responded with a grin
"Naruto, I have to say, you look great in that outfit, I can't remember ever seeing you in anything other than your ninja outfits"
"Well most of the time I am on missions, so I don't bother wearing anything else, but I do actually have a closet with other clothing, this is just my favorite one"
Shikamaru had returned and handed Ino her drink, and something was odd "Wait, how did you know what she likes to drink? She didn't even tell you what she wanted, unless this isn't the first-time you guys have been out together!" Naruto asked, it had caught Ino by total surprise, and even Sakura was a bit surprise because she knew Naruto was right
"Uh well being team mates and…"
"I have been team mates with Sakura just as long as you have been with Shikamaru; I still didn't know what Sakura liked to drink!" Naruto quickly said while cutting Ino off
"So sometimes we come and hang out as friends, what's the problem with that?!" Ino exclaimed
"Well nothing, but why are you being all defensive about it then?" Naruto kept on questioning
Ino was getting frustrated "Naruto, go and do guy things with Shikamaru while me and Sakura have a chat between us girls"
"Guy things?! And are you trying to avoid answering the question?"
Shikamaru shook his head, Naruto didn't know what he was getting into "Come on Naruto, it will get troublesome if you don't do as your told" He said while dragging Naruto away from the girls
Ino let out a sigh of relief, one that Sakura had noticed, although she may be able to get away with brushing Naruto off, she would not be able to do it with her "He has a point you know, is there anything going on between you and Shikamaru?"
Ino blushed a bit "No, there is nothing going on, seriously, we just like to hang out together that's all…"
"Then why are you blushing right now huh?" Sakura asked teasingly
"I am not blushing! It's the lights in here, now enough about me, I want to know how your date with Naruto has been going, you promised to tell me everything remember"
Sakura sighed "She is trying to avoid things with me as well huh? Well she won't be able to hide it from me for long" Sakura though to herself "Ino, I have to thank you"
"What?" Ino asked slightly confused
"You were right, about everything"
"Well of course I was right, I am right about a lot of things, but please, tell me what I was right about this time…Wait are you talking about your date?!"
Sakura nodded her head with a big smile, which made Ino grin "It has been the most perfect night ever! Naruto has really changed, not that I didn't like the old Naruto, it's just, it's nice to be able to sit down and eat dinner with him that isn't consisting of ramen, and some perverted conversation. Tonight, he was the perfect gentlemen, and god Ino, I can't believe how good looking he is in that outfit. Well he is good looking in anything but I mean really…."
Ino giggled a bit at her best friend's excitement "Yeah, I know what you mean, I saw you guys walking down the street after my shift, and I had to look twice to make sure that it wasn't some other guy you were holding onto, Naruto is so hot! You're lucky, so don't let go of him, or else, I may move in" Ino said with a grin
"Ino! Stop going after the same men as me, first Sasuke, and now Naruto. Well Naruto is mine and I am not letting go of him!" Sakura said with a laugh knowing Ino was just playing around "So yeah, thank you Ino, you know for giving me the push I needed to ask him out"
"Hey, don't mention it, seeing you smile and radiate happiness is thanks enough for me"
And while the girls were having there talk inside, Naruto and Shikamaru were outside taking in some fresh air, well at least Naruto was, Shikamaru lit up a cigarette "When did you start smoking?" Naruto asked
Shikamaru let out a puff of smoke "I don't know…Shortly after Asuma Sensei died"
There was silence as Naruto was remembering Shikamaru's former Sensei. Although Naruto wasn't a part of team 10, Asuma trained Naruto to help hone his skills in controlling his wind elemental ability. He also remembered how Asuma use to smoke "So, since I wasn't able to get anything out of Ino, maybe you can shed some light on the subject, so are you two, you know, going out?" Naruto asked
Shikamaru took in some smoke before blowing it out from his nose "Not really, it's as she says, we hang out a lot together, you don't need to be dating to hang out"
"Yeah I guess, it's just, you guys would make a cute couple you know, and she is just the girl to balance you out"
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"You're a lazy bastard, she is full of energy, I don't know, it just seems like you two would be a good fit for each other"
Shikamaru took another puff of smoke but stayed silent; Naruto stared at the stars as Shikamaru finished his smoke
"Come on, let's get back in there, if we give them too much time, they will begin to plan 'things' and that would be troublesome" Shikamaru said as he went back inside
"Plan things?" Naruto wondered as he fallowed Shikamaru inside he saw Ino and Sakura giggling and talking to each other
"Ah Naruto, perfect timing!" Sakura said with a huge grin
"I told you they were planning things" Shikamaru whispered into Naruto's ear
"Uh, really Sakura Chan?" Naruto asked a bit afraid of what the girls had planed
"Yeah, I just asked the DJ to play a special song for us" She said with a smile "Please Naruto, would you dance with me?" She asked, once again tilting her head slightly shutting her eyes and smiling at him
Once again, Naruto was under her control, he could not resist that face, not that he wanted to, he just nodded and Sakura took his hand and led him to the dance floor while Shikamaru sat next to Ino
"I feel sorry for him" He simply said
"What? Why? It's just a dance, unlike what you may think, we don't always plan the downfall of men you know" She said teasingly
"No, I mean, he is already under her control, the poor kid will not ever be able to refuse that face of hers"
"Shikamaru, that boy has been under her control from the first time he laid eyes on her" She said with a slight laugh
Naruto and Sakura had begun dancing, Sakura had requested a slow song be played, she wanted to be held by Naruto while she laid her head on his shoulder
"Aww look at that, don't they make the cutest couple?" Ino said
"I guess" Shikamaru said simply
Naruto held Sakura tighter against him, he didn't want the song to end, neither did she for that matter, the entire dance floor had stopped dancing and began watching the young couple, but somehow, they didn't notice anything, it was as if they were in there own little world, however the song had to end sooner or later, and it did, Sakura reluctantly let go of Naruto and he did the same, they both realize that the entire room had been staring at them dance, a few girls had some tears rolling down their cheeks, thinking that it was so romantic, some guys cursed Naruto for being so lucky as to capture Sakura's heart, but most of them were happy for the two of them, Naruto and Sakura both blushed as they left the dance floor
"Aww you two were sooo cute, it's like you were made for each other!" Ino said to her friends
Some of the staff walked into the room and began to say that it was closing time, Sakura checked the time and realizes that it was 2:00 AM "Wow, the time just flew by, I can't believe it's this late"
"Yeah, we should get going too, right Shikamaru?"
He just nodded in agreement
"Alright Sakura, I will see you tomorrow at the hospital then" Ino said while waving goodbye to Naruto and Sakura
Naruto and Sakura were just outside of the club, other people were hanging around chatting "Naruto, would you walk me home?" Sakura asked
"Of course Sakura Chan, how can I let such a cute girl walk home alone at this time of night, who knows what kind of people are lurking around" He said with a huge grin, knowing full well that any unfortunate soul stupid enough to try anything on Sakura would get the surprise of their life when she unleashed her fury onto them
But it was still enough to make her giggle a bit "Thank you Naruto" She said while grabbing his hand as they began walking towards Sakura's house, they walked in silence enjoying the warm air, Sakura was content with just holding his hand, she felt safe, the village could be crumbling and burning all around her, she knew she would be safe for as long as Naruto was by her side
They arrive at her house, it wasn't anything fancy, but still, for a girl her age, Sakura had quite a bit of money, being a Ninja of Jounin rank and the executive chief of the hospital, as well as one of Tsunade's assistants and apprentice had its perks. Naruto walked her to the door, she opened it and turned back to look into his deep blue eyes "I had lots of fun tonight Naruto"
"Me too Sakura Chan, I hope that we can do it again sometime"
"Of course!" She said with a smile
Naruto smiled back at her; unfortunately, the night was coming to an end, he thought about kissing her, but didn't want to ruin everything by doing something Sakura wasn't ready for, he figured when she wanted him to kiss her, she would let him know, he was about to leave
"He is leaving STOP HIM!" Inner Sakura demanded, Sakura grabbed Naruto before he could leave and pressed her lips up against his and wrapped her arms around him, she wasn't going to let him go that easily
Naruto surprised at first began embracing the kiss as he pressed up against her lips, they were so soft, just like her skin, she pulled him inside and shut the door behind them, Naruto was even more surprised now, was she thinking about doing it on their first date?! He pushed her lips away from his for a second so he could speak "Sakura, what are you doing?"
"I don't want you to go, I had been afraid of the night ending because I didn't want to be separated from you, and I thought long and hard, and Naruto, there is no doubts in my mind any more, I love you…" Sakura said while blushing, she was putting her feelings, her heart in the open, hoping that Naruto would return them
"Sakura Chan…" Naruto was almost speechless "Sakura, I love you too, but are you sure about this? I mean it's our first date and…I don't want to ruin it"
"Aww, isn't he cute, but he needs to shut up and do as he is told" Said a grinning Inner Sakura, and Sakura kind of agreed with her "Naruto, shut up and kiss me" She said while pressing her lips once more against his, she took his hand and lead him to her room
Meanwhile Shizune had reported back to Tsunade
"Are you sure?" She asked
"Yes Lady Hokage, there was no doubt, it's the Mizukage" Shizune said
"Where is he now?"
"I have a team of ANBU guarding him in one of the rooms of the hospital Lady Hokage"
"His condition?"
"When we found him, he was on the verge of death, but I was able to save his life, he should be conscious tomorrow, perhaps we will be able to get some answers out of him then"
"Damn right we need answers, also have a team of ANBU sent to the mist village, just in case something happened"
"Right away Lady Hokage" She said before bowing and leaving
"I don't like this, not one bit" Tsunade said while staring out one of the windows of her room
End Chapter 10
For those of you that were hoping for a lemon there, sorry :P But this is still rated T ;) I still haven't decided to change it to M, maybe i will in the future, i don't know, lets see how the story turns out :P
Also, i want to explain why i focused so much time on Naruto and Sakura's relationship, it had to be done in order to create a plot in the future of the story, you will understand in time, but now that there relationship had reached the point i needed it to reach, look for all hell to break loose soon ;)