Chapter 9
Sakura woke up the next morning wrapped up in Naruto's arms, a feeling of love filled her. She was now his fiancée. That is, unless he changed his mind after last night.
Sakura's breasts were pressed against Naruto's chest, and her arms were wrapped around his broad shoulders. She kissed his jaw, waking him slowly.
She longed to be with him forever. She remembered the night before as he cried and asked her to marry him. She closed her eyes and hoped she wasn't dreaming.
"Sakura…" he muttered, as she took a nibble out of bottom lip. He finally opened his eyes, they glowed a soft blue. His whole expression looked relaxed. He looked so sexy when he just woke, like he was the happiest man alive.
"Have you changed your mind?" Sakura blurted, unable to hold back her curiosity.
"No." he said, knowing immediately what she was asking. "Have you?"
"No."
"Good." Naruto said, kissing her lightly.
"We're going to have to go to work."
Naruto nodded, then sat up slowly, turning and grabbing for his boxers.
"Oh my god, your back…" Sakura muttered, sitting up, running her fingertips over the bright-red scrapes over his muscular back. Now there were almost half a dozen more that covered his back and down his arms. "I can't believe I did that to you…" Sakura said, softly laying her palm on his lower back and sending her healing chakra through his body.
"It was worth it." He said, pulling his boxers on.
"Don't move, I can't concentrate my chakra with you fidgeting."
"Sorry."
Sakura finally finished healing his back and he stood, pulling his pants on and walking into the bathroom. She wrapped the sheet around her and leaned against the windowsill, the sun poured in and a gentle breeze blew the sheet against her skin. She was happy. More happy then she's been in a long time. She was now engaged. It was a strange realization that she wasn't quite used to yet.
She closed her eyes and giggled. She thought about how Ino would react to the fact that she was going to get married before her. Her smile then turned to a frown as she imagined how her parents would react. She knew the moment she decided to stay with Naruto that she would have to sever ties with her family. They were too awful to Naruto, they treated him like dirt. Sakura had treated Naruto like dirt too when their influence was still over her but as she got to know him she realized how good of a person he truly was. Then after they were united after the two and a half years she realized that not only did he grow up a good person, but he grew up a good man.
Sakura heard a loud bang on the door, it startled her out of her day dream. She heard the shower in the bathroom running. Standing she quickly threw on her pair of shorts and Naruto's t-shirt. She could smell him on it, making her smile as she reached for the doorknob.
She opened the door and her eyes widened when she saw Jiraiya on the other side of the door. He seemed just as shocked to see her.
"Tsunade-chan told me Naruto was here." He said, his eyes lingering a bit too long on Sakura's body.
"He's in the shower." Sakura muttered, her face turning red as he walked into the room, the floor was littered with her panties and bra, along with Naruto's jacket.
"Well, something happened last night..." Jiraiya said, closing his eyes and smiling and Sakura turned her head to the side, she wondered if he was actually proud of his student for having sex with her.
Sakura made a grossed out face and grabbed her things, throwing them under the pillow.
Naruto came out of the shower wearing his pants and toweling off his hair.
"Well, if it isn't my pupil." Jiraiya said with a bit too much fervor.
Sakura crossed her arms and sighed.
"Pervy sage?" Naruto asked, looking up at him.
"I was just talking to Sakura," he said, beaming.
"What's going on Pervy Sage, why are you acting so weird?" Naruto asked, his brows furrowing.
"No reason." Jiraiya said, winking at Naruto. "I just came by to see if you felt like getting breakfast, but I see that you have a guest so I'll just leave." He said, patting Naruto roughly on the back.
"Ow…" Naruto muttered. Then looked over at Sakura. "Hey Sakura, I'm going to need my shirt."
Jiraiya's eyes widened and he suddenly sat on the bed. "Or I could just stay for a bit." He said, eyeing Sakura.
Sakura crossed her arms. She walked over to Jiraiya and punched him with so much force that he hit the wall.
"Hey… I'm an old man… You can't punch me around like that!" He whimpered, rubbing his swollen cheek.
"Listen you old pervert, I'm not taking off my shirt in front of you!" Sakura yelled.
"Come on, just pretend I'm not here." He said, opening his eyes hopefully.
Sakura grabbed Jiraiya and punched him out of their room, slamming the door behind him.
"Remind me to thank Tsunade-chan for training you so well." He muttered, walking down the hall, grumbling to himself.
Sakura brushed invisible dirt off of her palms and smiled over at Naruto. She walked up to him and hugged him tightly. He smiled and hugged her back.
"I wish we had enough time to have a repeat of last night, but I think granny Tsunade would kill us." Naruto whispered, and Sakura nodded.
"Well I have to get a shower before we go to work." She said, grabbing her things and setting them, folded, on the bed. She pulled Naruto's shirt off of her body and threw it at him. He was going to make a comment about his shirt smelling like perfume now but he was shocked silent when he saw her topless. She pulled off her shorts and grabbed a towel.
Naruto mouth had become dry. She walked by him and kissed him on the cheek as she walked into the bathroom and started the shower. Naruto gulped down a large knot in his throat. That girl was going to be the death of him.
A few minutes passed and Naruto heard a loud bang on the door.
"I'm comin'." Naruto said, standing and answering the door. It was the fifth Hokage.
"Granny Tsunade?"
"Naruto… Where's Sakura?" she asked, looking around the room.
"She's in the shower." Naruto said, a little nervous at having his village's Hokage know about the relationship between him and Sakura.
"Jiraiya told me that she's going back to work, is that true?" She asked, seeming worried.
"She had a little trouble last night, but this morning she's been fine."
"Okay, but just keep an eye on her." Tsunade said.
"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked, walking out of the bathroom in her ninja uniform.
"Hello Sakura."
"What's going on?" Sakura asked, walking to stand beside Naruto.
"I just came by to make sure you were feeling better." Tsunade said, setting her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Are you ready to return to work?"
"Yes ma'am, I'm doing a lot better." She said, elbowing Naruto in the side. "We're getting married."
"What…?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yep."
Tsunade furrowed her brows together. "You both are only 16, you realize you have to have approval from both of your parents in order to be allowed to get married."
"What, why?" Sakura asked, her mouth agape.
"It's a rule set down by the 2nd Hokage." Tsunade said.
"C'mon Granny Tsunade, you're Hokage, can't you just order for that order to be eliminated? I mean who am I supposed to get permission from anyways?" Naruto asked, his arms crossed.
"Listen, Sakura has to have her parents permission, I can't change the rule without it going through the elders and if they find out that the carrier of the nine-tailed fox spirit wants to marry at 16 then I'm sure there will be chaos in the upper brass, can't you just wait?"
"For how long?" Sakura asked, she wasn't happy about this at all.
"The rule is eighteen."
"Eighteen!?" Naruto asked, his voice raising. "That's almost two years from now!"
Tsunade sighed. "Listen you two, I didn't make the rule, I wish I could help you, but my hands are tied."
Sakura nodded sadly and Naruto grunted.
"I'm sorry guys, I'll let myself out." Tsunade said, turning and leaving.
--
Sakura and Naruto sat at the booth that stood parallel to the road leading out of the village by the Eastern gate. Kiba and Hinata had welcomed the break appreciatively.
"This sucks…" Sakura said as she flipped through an old law book that she had gotten from Tsunade's library. "There isn't one loop-hole in here."
Naruto rubbed his temples. "It looks like our only option is to somehow convince your parents to let us get married."
Sakura shook her head furiously. "It will never work."
"Maybe if they met me, or maybe if I talked to them."
"I couldn't ask you to do something like that." Sakura said, closing the dusty book. "They'd pick you apart, they'd insult you to no end."
"I've had to deal with that since I was born Sakura, I'm the most hated person in the village, the people who don't hate me are too afraid to speak to me." Naruto said, sadly.
"Don't say that Naruto, I love you."
"Then let me speak to your parents after work."
"I…" Sakura said looking at the ground. "I don't think it's a good idea."
"But will you come with me at least?" Naruto asked.
Sakura sighed and looked up at him. "Fine."
--
Sakura knocked on the door of her parents house, feeling kind of strange for knocking on the door of what used to be her home. After a few moments her Mother answered the door, but as soon as she saw Naruto she closed her door, but Sakura grabbed the door.
"Sakura, get him away from our house."
"Let us in, Mother." Sakura said, sternly.
Naruto rested his hand softly on Sakura's shoulder. Her mother let the door swing open.
"I'm getting your father." She said, stomping off.
"Good, I want to talk to him too." Sakura said, walking in through the door of her old home. Not much had changed since she had left, except for the fact that not one frame had her in it anymore. It was as if they had erased her from their lives.
"Calm down Sakura, I can feel your chakra." Naruto whispered. "I'm here and I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."
"It's not me I'm worried about…" Sakura said, leaning against one of the pillars in the kitchen. She heard heavy footsteps and took a deep breath.
"Sakura Haruno, you get that filthy monster out of our house." Her father said, he was livid, as was her mother who followed in behind him.
"Don't yell at her Mr. Haruno, I talked her into coming here." Naruto said, standing in front of Sakura. Sakura gasped as Mr. Haruno reared back and shoved his fist toward Naruto's face, but Naruto caught his fist in his palm.
The man punched for Naruto again but Naruto caught his other fist and shoved him against the wall.
"I don't want to fight you Mr. Haruno, I just want to talk to you and then I'll be out of your house and I'll never return."
"What's this about?" Sakura's mother asked, as Mr. Haruno struggled to get free but Naruto's hands were tightened strongly over Mr. Haruno's fists. He spat in Naruto's face and Naruto fell back, wiping his eyes.
"You wanna talk, we'll talk on the dueling pad." Mr. Haruno said, pointing to the back yard that held a large dueling area where Shinobi could practice on their jutsus and duel other Shinobi.
"I told you that I didn't want to fight you, Mr. Haruno." Naruto said, his voice stern but calm.
"Then leave."
Naruto crossed his arms and took a breath. "Fine, I'll fight you."
"Naruto!" Sakura said, and Naruto turned to see her shaking her head.
"Don't Sakura, this is between your father and I."
Sakura's jaw dropped. "But…!"
"If the boy is willing to fight, then we will!" Her father spat, as they walked to the dueling pad outside. The sun was setting behind the Hokage mountain.
"You're not allowed to use genjutsu or ninjutsu." Mr. Haruno said.
"Taijutsu only? Sounds good to me…" Naruto said, and he turned to Sakura, her open mouth was covered with her fist as she looked at him with worry. He wanted to comfort her but couldn't. He had to do this.
They stood on the opposite sides of the dueling pad, the wind blew roughly through the grass as they ran towards each other with intent to kill. Naruto swung his fist first but Mr. Haruno got under him, landing a punch in Naruto's stomach. Naruto cringed then chuckled, he finally figured out where Sakura got her rough uppercut from.
"Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Mr. Haruno asked, a grin lit up on his face.
"I want to marry your daughter." Naruto said, kicking him to the ground and lifting him up by his collar. "But since we're underage, they won't let us get married without our parent's approval." He spat, sending him across the grass.
"Parents…?" Mr. Haruno asked, running up to him and pushing Naruto the hard ground. He hit it with a deafening thud. "You have no parents."
Naruto laughed, twisting his leg underneath Mr. Haruno's leg, twisting him off of him. He jumped Mr. Haruno and pinned him to the floor. "That's why I'm here."
Mr. Haruno kicked Naruto off of him and Naruto hit the ground again, Mr. Haruno slowly walked up to Naruto.
"What makes you think you deserve the right to marry my daughter?" He asked, stepping on Naruto's chest.
Naruto grabbed his foot and twisted it, tripping him. "I don't." He said, kicking Mr. Haruno roughly. "But she loves me anyways, and I think that's enough!"
Mr. Haruno grunted and dived on Naruto, punching him in the face. Blood poured down Naruto's nose and Sakura gasped.
"Sakura will marry Sasuke Uchiha!" He yelled and Naruto rolled on his stomach and sat up slowly. Mr. Haruno stood too, he was out of breath and was holding his side.
"Sasuke Uchiha shamed his clan by joining with Orochimaru." Naruto said, his breath heaving. "He attempted to end your daughter's life before she broke his ribs."
Mr. Haruno's eyes widened. "Impossible, he was only seeking revenge, he was supposed to return to Sakura after he achieved it."
"Despite whether we get Sasuke to return to the village or not, he's not going to marry your daughter."
"Why is that?" Mr. Haruno asked, standing up straight and preparing to attack.
"Because I won't let him." Naruto said, running towards him, full force. He dove on him and sent him to the ground. Mr. Haruno grunted and gasped, blood dripping out of his mouth.
"What if I refuse to sign your permission form?" Mr. Haruno asked, as he flipped Naruto under him, crushing him into the ground.
Naruto coughed up blood, his eyes blurring. "We'll have to wait two years before we can get married."
"Mom, they're going to kill each other!" Sakura yelled. Mrs. Haruno looked just as worried as Sakura did.
"We have to stop them." Mrs. Haruno agreed, they both approached the two men were now rolling around in the dirt. Both Naruto and Mr. Haruno saw Sakura and Mrs. Haruno approaching them, they sat up and pointed their fingers in unison, except Naruto pointed his finger at Sakura and Mr. Haruno pointed his finger at Mrs. Haruno.
"Stop! Don't interfere!" they said in perfect unison.
Sakura and Mrs. Haruno froze, mostly at the shock that they had yelled the exact same thing at them.
Mr. Haruno looked over at Naruto and tackled him, shoving his face into the dirt. Naruto flipped Mr. Haruno's hand over, landing the man in the dirt.
Naruto stood. "I'm going to marry your daughter with or without your permission, I just don't want to have to wait two years." He stood back as Mr. Haruno stood up, both of them looked like they were standing on their last legs.
"Signing that paper would be announcing to the whole world that I approve of this relationship that you have with my daughter." He said, panting.
"No…" Naruto said, taking a gulp of air. "Signing that paper will tell the Hokage that you wish for your daughter's happiness and respect her enough to grant her wishes."
Mr. Haruno began to run for Naruto again, Naruto took a breath and ran toward him.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "Stop!"
But it was too late, in one last brutal attempt both Mr. Haruno and Naruto reared back and connected with the others face in unison. They both stood up straight and looked at each other in the eyes for what seemed like minutes before they both fell backwards and hit the dirt, a cloud of dust surrounding them.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, running up to Naruto, she slid on the grass as she fell to his side. He had passed out.
"You stubborn boy!" Sakura said, sending her healing chakra to her hand. After a few moments of being out cold, Naruto's eyes opened. He held Sakura's wrist as she attempted to heal his wounds.
"Stop." Naruto muttered. "There are some wounds that shouldn't be quickly healed"
Sakura looked confusingly into his eyes. "Stop letting your pride get in the way of your safety."
"Asking me to stop being a man is like asking you to stop being a woman." Naruto said, and Sakura's eyes misted.
"This woman doesn't want her man to be bleeding out of ever hole in his body."
"I'm fine." Naruto said, standing. He looked to see Mrs. Haruno supporting the badly beaten Mr. Haruno. Their eyes met again and Sakura looked up at Naruto, worried. Naruto had a stern expression on his face.
"I'll sign those papers." His father said. "But then I never want you to enter this house again, and if I hear that you hurt my daughter in any way, I will hunt you down and kill you."
"Agreed." Naruto said, and Sakura's eyes widened. He had convinced her father that easily?
Mr. Haruno was barely able to sign the papers, he had a few broken bones and a bloody bruise under his right eye. He definitely looked pretty beaten up, but so did Naruto. Naruto had a broken arm and a few broken ribs. He had a swollen lip.
The two men looked into each other's eyes as Mr. Haruno handed the permission form to Naruto. A strong look of mutual dislike with just a twinge of respect was shown in their expression. Sakura supported Naruto as they exited the house, walking down the street to the Hokage mansion.