(AN) Okay, so I realized that I lied in an absolutely big way when I said that this chapter would most likely come faster than the last one. Uggh, school is presenting a lot of time issues for me, so sorry for the long waits to get the next chapter for this story Oh, how I wish I could update once a week again.
ANYWAY. Without further ado and questioning, read on and I hope you enjoy!
Wow. I wrote that in November. Of 2007. Oh lordy, did I ever go AWOL.
Seeing as I haven't updated in nearly a year…a couple things have changed in my writing style, though I don't feel that it is enough to make a drastic change in the flow of this story. While most of the things that may have changed I can't really pick out, I can say that my use of Japanese words interspersed throughout my dialogue is going to be few and far between. My apologies if any of the changes ruin your enjoyment of this story. For those who are reading this now, thank you for waiting, and/or thanks for finding this story when it's been gathering dust for so long!
- If you're reading this note and are confused about what Japanese words I'm talking about, that would be because you've visited this story after I went back and edited them out. Enjoy the rest of the story!
Sakura could see the bright light signifying the arrival of the sun through her closed lids, causing her to shift sideways, hiding her face in the warmth of the chest behind her in an attempt to shield herself from the unwanted light.
It took a matter of seconds for the sleepy sensation of her body to dissipate and leave in its wake the cold facts of her position.
Suddenly, Sakura found herself more awake and in tune with everything surrounding her than she had ever felt before.
'Today…it's here. All these years of practice, training, trailing, just everything, and today is what makes or breaks our efforts.'
'We have to be strong!'Inner-Sakura's voice rang true throughout the kunoichi's mind, causing the pink-haired shinobi to search her mind for relaxing breathing methods to calm down her system.
Sakura trailed a shaky hand through her pink locks. Willing herself to calm down, she took a steadying breath. She could do this. She was completely prepared for this; she'd trained for years for this very moment. She couldn't back out now, when they were so close she could almost taste it.
The kunoichi lifted her head to gaze at the still sleeping body behind her. Sakura raised a hand to touch Naruto's relaxed face. He looked so at peace when he slept.
"Naruto." Sakura whispered, shifting so that she was kneeling on the tree branch in front of him, in between his legs. The blond made no move to show that he was awake.
"Naruto." She whispered again, gently nudging his body, "Wake up now, we've got to get going." Something clicked in the blonde's mind, his gorgeous blue eyes slowly opening.
"Ohayo, Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered back to her in a low voice, gazing into her eyes as he took his time to fully wake up, something that wasn't usually an option when on a mission.
Sakura held her breath. Just hearing Naruto's voice made all her unwanted nervousness vanish. He had her heart beating rapidly, and just one look from him, just the sound of his voice and her heart caught in her throat. They way he made her feel…just hearing him say her name…
'It's early' Sakura tried to convince herself, looking up through the leaf drowned branches at the rays of early morning sunlight, 'and your nerves are all over the place. You're just being hyperaware of everything. You'll be back to normal soon.'
But soon wasn't soon enough. Sakura was unable to tear her eyes away from Naruto's as he finally fully woke up, as he realized he still had Sakura in his arms.
"I could get use to this." Naruto said softly as he pushed a loose strand of pink hair behind Sakura's ear.
"Get used to what?" She questioned, subconsciously leaning into the palm of his hand.
Naruto smiled at her, showing his fox-like fangs.
"Waking up with you in my arms."
Sakura was speechless; but then again, Naruto didn't give her very much time to respond before he bent his head and closed the distance between their lips.
Naruto's mind relaxed as Sakura kissed him back, throwing her legs over the side of the branch in order to pull herself closer to his chest. He wasn't able to stop himself from kissing her. Sakura in his arms, her beautiful eyes looking into his, her soft hair begging for his touch. He needed to touch her; otherwise he feared he'd go crazy.
Naruto moaned as Sakura's hands delved into his blond hair, her lips soft and delectable against his.
'Oh, Gods,' Naruto mused as he continued to kiss her slowly, lovingly. When he'd heard her say his name this morning…her voice had pulled him from a dreamless sleep to the real world, where he was sleeping in a tree with Sakura to rest up for the final battle with Sasuke. He'd had a severe case of mixed emotions for all of a few seconds about whether he should jump out of the tree and chase down Sasuke as soon as possible, or kiss the pink beauty kneeling in front of him before his chance disappeared.
Kissing Sakura had won out, even as a strange and slightly disturbing thought crossed his mind. If anything went wrong out there when fighting Sasuke…this could very well be his last chance to kiss Sakura, the woman he loved. He could die or, god, it hurt deep in his chest just thinking of it as a possibility, Sakura could die. To never be able to hold her like this, kiss her like this…those thoughts prompted him to keep holding her and kissing her if only for a little while longer.
He slipped one arm beneath her knees, the other pulling her tighter to him, and she opened her mouth to his searching tongue.
'Gods', Naruto moaned as he slipped his tongue into Sakura's mouth, slowly, languidly re-discovering her mouth and playing with her own tongue. He wished he could stay like this forever, but…
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered as Sakura pulled her lips away from his, breathing deeply, "ah, God." Naruto brushed her hair off her right shoulder and kissed her neck. "I wish we could stay like this…" He breathed into her neck.
"Naruto," Sakura slid her hands down from his hair to the nape of his neck and whispered a breathless plea into his ear, "please…"
Naruto pressed his forehead against hers, holding her tightly to his chest. Gods, he wanted her. But the mission…their mission…it had to be done… and yet, he couldn't stop how he was feeling inside his heart, his mind, his body.
"I know what we have to do," Sakura said as she looked back into Naruto's conflicted blue eyes, "but, if something were to go wrong…I can't…I don't want…" She bit her lip, unable to find the words that she wanted – needed – to say.
But he didn't need to hear the words. Naruto knew what she meant; he was thinking along the same lines. If the worst-case scenario were to happen, and they lost each other…how could they possibly walk into that without being with each other when they had the chance?
"So… would you please-" Sakura started, but was silenced by Naruto's lips pressed tightly to her own.
Sakura's whole body was experiencing hot and cold flashes as she kissed and touched Naruto like it was the last chance she'd ever get.
'Don't think that way!' Inner-Sakura tried to push the kunoichi's very realistic worries from her mind. 'It's the here and now!'
In the here and now, Sakura felt Naruto slip her gloves off her hands and then lift her into his strong arms. In mere seconds, Naruto had her pressed up against the wooden trunk at the base of the tree. She let out a sharp gasp as Naruto braced his knee between her legs and took hold of her waist, pressing them closer.
"Gods, Sakura-chan…" She heard him say before his lips met hers once more, kissing her more strongly and desperately than before. She melted into his arms, holding him just as tightly as she matched him in emotion. She needed this, so much more than she ever thought she could have. She could feel his erection through their clothes, and her body temperature instantly rose.
Naruto pulled back and bent down slightly, catching the zipper on the front of her shirt between his teeth. His blue eyes looked up into hers as he slipped down onto his knees, taking the zipper down along with him. Sakura took in a deep breath and leaned her head back against the tree as her bandaged down chest was exposed to the sensation of the early morning chill and Naruto's heated gaze.
Naruto pressed a hot kiss to one of her battle scars on her stomach, just above her naval.
"How-" The blond was starting to ask before Sakura cut him off with a short, "occupational hazard." Naruto looked up at her once more, before delving his tongue into her naval and kissing and licking across her stomach.
Sakura moaned at his touch, slipping her hands into his short blond hair as she slowly slid down the side of the tree to sit across from him on the grass and reclaim his lips.
She pushed Naruto's sweater off his shoulders and slipped her hands beneath his snug black shirt, marveling at the feeling of his chiseled abs. For such an out-there kind of guy, Naruto sure knew how to keep his assets hidden.
The blond reached down, helping her as she pulled his shirt up and over his head, leaving them both topless and staring. Sakura knew he wanted to simply reach out and pull at the bandages holding her breasts tightly to her chest, but guessed that he realized that if he did, it would take too much time for her to re-wrap herself after. Reluctantly, and to her admiration and slight disappointment, he left the bandage on.
Leaning in closer, Sakura pressed her lips to his chest and kissed, moving slowly up to his shoulders, his throat, and then to his jaw. Naruto tilted his head slightly to capture her lips as he pulled her down into the grass, his hand sliding down her body from her neck to fumble with the clasp of her skirt, and then with the shorts beneath.
When the blond finally managed to undo the clasp, he slipped his fingers beneath the waistband and looked down at her with his gorgeous cerulean eyes.
"Sakura-chan…I don't think I'm going to be able to stop this time," Naruto admitted, his voice hoarse as he placed another soul-stealing kiss upon her lips, plunging his tongue into the recesses of her mouth while his fingers played by her hips.
Sakura's breath caught in her throat. "I don't want you to, Naruto," she managed to breathe out, lifting her hand to cup the side of his face as he slowly began to pull down her shorts, "I want to be with you."
Naruto pulled back, slipping her shorts and panties off all the way. Sakura felt heat rush through her as he knelt before her, his eyes roaming up and down her exposed body. She watched him watch her as his hands went to his pants and pulled them down and off. Naruto was neither a boxer or brief guy.
Sakura's breath quickened, and in one swift moment Naruto was back down upon her, pressing their warm aroused bodies together, kissing her deeply and desperately. She wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders, trying to pull him closer to her and raising her hips to meet his.
"Ah! S-Sakura-c-chan…" Naruto gasped out through clenched teeth.
Sakura opened her mouth to tell him that she loved him. To thank him for everything. To say that this moment was one that she was never going to forget. But all that came out was "please, Naruto, please."
"Unnh", the blond let out an almost tortured sounding moan as she continued to press herself against him, "Fast…or slow?" He managed to ask.
Sakura held her breath as she felt his calloused hand take hold of her hip and lift her slightly, his other arm down on the grass beside her head to hold his weight.
"…Fast."
Naruto pressed his lips down hard against hers and muffled her gasp in a hot, passion filled kiss as in one swift motion he buried himself inside her.
'Ah,' Sakura's mind filled with a multitude of thoughts and emotions as she lay still in the grass with Naruto staring down at her, waiting. 'He feels…so…amazing.'
She smiled up at him, aware that he was waiting for some sort of conformation that he could keep going, "I'm okay, Naruto," she said softly, moving her hips and taking him in deeper.
"Gods, Sakura-chan…you're so-" Sakura didn't let him finish what he was saying. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him with everything she had, biting his lip and pushing her tongue into his mouth as he pulled out and thrust back into her.
Sakura held tightly to him, wrapping her legs around his hips and breathing him in as he kissed her, took her, loved her.
'I used to imagine what this would be like…with him. This, the real thing, is so much more amazing than I ever thought.'
Beside her head, Naruto's left arm was starting to shake with the strain of keeping himself from crushing her. Her mind and whole body was hazy with pleasure; she could feel herself getting closer…so close…
"Naruto…I'm…I…" She was so close, so full of the pleasure of having him moving inside of her that she hadn't noticed the absence of his right hand on her hip until she felt it down between her legs, pushing her over the edge.
"Ahhn! Naru!-" Sakura cried out into his mouth as she clung to him, her body shaking with her orgasm. A few more thrusts and Naruto came inside her, moaning into her mouth and holding her tightly.
Naruto held the small pink bundle in his arms, riding out the last few waves of his orgasm. Gods, he had just slept with Sakura Haruno, the love of his life, and he was feeling amazing.
"Mmm…" Naruto smiled fondly at the green-eyed beauty as she snuggled into his chest, not wanting to move. He could relate.
Naruto nuzzled her ruffled pink hair.
"God Sakura-chan…I love you."
Naruto felt her lips move against his chest in a silent confirmation of the love that they shared, and he wanted nothing more than to stay like this, lying in the grass together, forever.
But he knew he couldn't. What he had thrust to the back of his mind as he'd pulled Sakura out of the tree with him was now raging at high speeds back to the front, nagging at his wishful thinking.
Sasuke. They had to find Sasuke.
Naruto made a move to sit up from the warmth of Sakura's embrace, and his senses were instantly assaulted, a cold as ice and hot as fire chill raking down his spine and through his mind.
Naruto quickly reached his hand back and shook Sakura's shoulder.
"Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan! We need to get dressed. Now."
Sakura sat up quickly, shot him a confused look, but didn't waste any time in gathering her clothes.
Fuck. This was bad.
Naruto grabbed his pants and pulled them on. Looking around, he picked up his shirt from around the base of the tree and quickly pulled it over his head.
Shit! Where were their bags?
In the fucking tree.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto turned around to shout for her to get them fast, but she was already up the tree and grabbing them from the branch where they'd placed them last night.
"Catch!" She shouted down to him, and he reached up and grabbed his sac, rummaging through it. He found his weapons case and strapped it to his thigh.
"Naruto," Sakura questioned as she jumped down from the tree, pulling on her gloves and reaching down to strap on her weapon's case, "What's going on?"
He hadn't told her?
Fuck it. He was panicking. His adrenaline level was way too high. He needed to calm down.
"Sakura-chan, it's-" Naruto turned to face the kunoichi, but her emerald eyes were staring right past him.
"…Sasuke."
(AN) And that's the end of this chapter! I'm not too good at chapters like these, but I tried. HUGE SUPER BIG SORRY for the wait time on this one! On top of that, and whoever reads this story is going to kill me, I can't make any promises on the release date for the next chapter. As we all probably know now…my guesstimates have been pretty off.
I CAN say that the next chapter is going to be action packed, and it's the one I've been waiting for! I hope nothing was too drastically different in the way I wrote this chapter as compared to my others.
Extreme thanks to all those who reviewed my last chapter! Traekor, darnod, ANDREA1114, The Dead Prince, cherryblossom279, a fabricated_truth, templar132, jere7782, Shintenshin no Jutsu, growlergrowl, Starlight – Wild Koneko, rickp2006, Useful76, Ryan-Draven57, kusanagi1345, moons requim, Jack Shit, and SoundNinja589. Your review notifications in my email inbox were a huge encouragement for me to continue updating this fanfic! THANK YOU!
Thanks for reading Stand Alone and I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter! Please review if you can, I love the feedback!