I've been missing for over two months for a reason. SAT's. Yes, they are truly the time consumers of the educational world. I shouldn't even have had time to write this one-shot but I made it work into my schedule and here you have it.
I'll try to update my other main story soon as well. (no promises though, sorry)
To understand this one-shot you'll have to read the previous chapter, so if you haven't, or need a refresher, then I'd go read again now. :)
Thank you for being supportive and patient with me and my lack of time. I'll try my best to update faster!
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.
"And we treasure those images from the past we call Memories."
Theme 11: Memories
Two months, three days, twelve hours, and twenty-two minutes. That's how long she's been dating Naruto. That's how long it's been since he coughed up the courage to ask her to be his 'woman' as he jokingly refers her as from time to time. Of course those joking moments of his are usually met with an elbow to his gut. All that aside though, she's been in a near euphoria this entire time, unable to believe that's she's really Naruto's...girlfriend.
Sakura Haruno, number one most likely to surpass the last sannin, Tsunade, one of the strongest Kunoichi and top medic nin of her generation. Yea, pretty high credentials, and she's dating the number one unpredictable knuckle-headed ninja, Naruto Uzumaki.
Her green eyes twinkle with utter amusement as she replays those words in her head. Three years ago, she would have smacked someone if they even mentioned her and Naruto together as an 'item'.
She grabs the giant brown teddy bear on her bed and snuggles against it.
Yes, back then all of this seemed improbable. She had thoughts of dating and marrying his rival turned brother, Sasuke Uchiha. She could even show her entire collection of notepads with Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha written on every page to prove her point. She had other plans, and none of them included Naruto as a boyfriend.
Yet, here she was, nearly seventeen years old and dating Naruto. The bear in her arms is held onto more tightly as she delves deep into her mind to recall the memories of that fateful and hilarious event.
--
She had completed her daily training for the day, having destroyed about five trees, which was a good day in her book. She had been out in the forest since the early morning, and had only entered the village at about a quarter past two. Her training shorts were all dusty and covered with clumps of mud and grass. Her shirt was in even poorer condition. Her weapons needed cleaning, and her gloves....well she needed some new ones. Her hair had been down when she started and was now pulled up into a messy bun.
She wasn't exactly the most approachable girl in the world at that time, and she wasn't surprised when half the villagers stared at her with astonishment.
She would have minded their stares, but she was tired from training and found herself not caring as much about her appearance as she usually did.
In fact, now that she recalled deeper, she hadn't really been thinking of anything in particular at all. She was hungry and that was it. She never expected to receive a confession of any kind that day.
She didn't even expect to see Naruto that day. He had gone off on a reconnaissance mission with Kakashi-sensei.
With those thoughts in her head, she had walked towards a small restaurant that sold her favorite sweet treats. If it hadn't been for a fact that she was a regular at that place, she was sure half the restaurant would have scrambled when they saw miss ninja enter the place.
Her green eyes had automatically latched onto the small plates of sweets the owner had always saved for her. She smiled and paid the nice old woman, before heading out of the restaurant and towards her house.
She had intended to reach her home, take a long deserved shower, a nap, and then go see if Tsunade or Shizune needed any help in the hospital.
Of course, it didn't work out that way. She first started noticing that she was being followed, when she had dropped one of her weapons and went to pick it back up. Her own footsteps had stopped echoing through the streets, but another set made a couple more steps before abruptly stopping. She had raised an eyebrow and turned to look behind her. Her green eyes widened when she realized that no one was there.
Now, she had thought she was being paranoid for thinking someone was following her, but she was a well trained shinobi. She knew when she was being followed or not, and she was being followed.
She kept her behavior normal and continued her path home. Every once in awhile she would turn her head slightly to see if she could catch a glimpse of the person following her. All she could manage was a blur of someone following then bouncing up into a building.
It was then she had concluded that it was a nin following her. She had been going at a moderate speed, but slowed down to a mere one-step-at-a-time walk when her thoughts began to group together.
Her green eyes gleamed with a victorious glint as she held her bag close to her body and spoke louder than usual into the empty street.
"I hope I can eat all this ramen by myself. I mean it's quite a lot. Three bowls just for one girl?" her mouth formed a smirk as she heard someone practically bounding off a building to land in front of her.
Her eyes met the familiar shock of blonde hair, and the normal colors of black and orange. She resisted the urge to burst out in laughter at the anticipated look shining in his blue eyes as he grinned at her.
"You have three ramen bowls Sakura?!" he asked, his giggles coming out like that of a hyperactive eight year old.
"You've been stalking me Naruto?!" Sakura asked back, mocking the blonde boy by using his same excited tone of voice.
She wanted to laugh again as she watched his grin turn into a smile, then a straight line, then a frown, then into a totally different smile that made him look like some guilty criminal.
He began to laugh nervously and backed away from her slowly. His eyes widened as if she caught him in a lie, and he was about to receive one of her signature punches.
Sakura raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, you gonna stand there like some idiot or are you gonna answer me Naruto?"
Naruto had acted so strangely after she had asked him that. He jumped whenever she talked, moved, or breathed. She had grown agitated by it quickly, and was actually considering punching him instead when he began to mumble to himself.
"Naruto." she frowned when he flinched at her voice again. "Okay, seriously, what's gotten into you? First you follow me for about an hour, and now that I've caught you, you're acting as if we've just met."
Naruto nodded, but refused to meet her gaze. He began to rub the back of his head, and his mumbles increased. She sighed and began to stomp away from him.
She had really gotten tired of his odd behavior, and concluded it was probably because he was hungry and was delirious from lack of food.
It wasn't until she passed right by him, and he grabbed her arm tightly that she began to really worry.
"What now?" she asked impatiently. She had been mad at his behavior and just wanted to go home.
"You have to stay. I have to tell y-you s-something important." the way his voice stuttered caught her attention.
She had never heard him stutter over anything, and she was genuinely concerned. She walked back and faced him. Her green eyes stared at the top of his head, and she began to notice his arms shake.
She spoke softly, gently, a tone she rarely used on him unless he was scaring her with worry. "Naruto...what's wrong? What do you want to tell me?"
"I....I..." he couldn't seem to catch his voice to finish the sentence.
She remembered getting annoyed again as the silence after that lasted for more than five minutes. His arms still latched onto her own, and his breathing coming in and out deeply. She had sighed and tried to pry free from his hold.
"If you're not going to say anything Naruto, then I'm going to..."
"WAIT! J-Just wait Sakura-chan, please! I'm n-nervous. Just please w-wait Sakura-chan." the pleading tone she had heard as he yelled at her, kept her glued to the ground.
Her green eyes were wide with shock and even more worry. The bag in her head was now forgotten on the ground as her eyes stayed glued to his head.
"I've been thinking about this for awhile. I-I've tried to suppress it for even longer." he started out, his hands finally releasing her arms. "For some reason, I really thought that...t-that those two years with the ero-sannin would make those feelings...g-go away."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. She had first thought he was talking about his supposed feelings of being a failure for not being able to bring back Sasuke. Though, after that, she wasn't entirely sure anymore.
"They didn't though. I f-found myself...getting even deeper feelings than before." he clenched his fists together and twirled around, so she wouldn't face him. "I've tried Sakura-chan. You can't even imagine how hard I've tried to stop them. I knew...I knew that they would only hurt me in the end...and...and I knew I wouldn't be able to survive the pain of t-that rejection, never."
She had been surprised, stunned, dumbfounded, all those feelings and more at his words. She was left speechless at the raw emotions she could feel coming from his words. They were the most honest words he had ever said to her since they returned to Konoha on another Sasuke retrieval mission.
"I did try...honest I did Sakura-chan, but I can't anymore. I'm tired." he finally met her gaze, his blue eyes intense with emotions that had left her suddenly breathless.
Now that next moments, she could recall with perfect clarity. It was something she never plans to forget, not for a lifetime.
"Sakura, I'm in love with you, and I want you and I to be together." the bluntness of his words, and the way that goofy smile he usually always had on his face when he'd ask her on a date was replaced with a determined smile, nearly made her fall to ground in disbelief.
She stared at his eyes, for the first time noticing how blue they looked, and how much fear and longing they held.
She took a step back, intending to catch her breath, but the way his brows knotted together, and his blue eyes lost their gleam, made her stop. She had seen defeat and hurt in his eyes, and it had sicken her. She didn't want him to think that way, that she was rejecting him. Still, she had been overwhelmed, and didn't know how to react.
So, she collapsed to the ground, her arms holding her tightly as she let his words sink in at last. Naruto had been by her side in a heartbeat. His arms gently holding her as she stared at the ground below. She couldn't help but marvel at how warm he was, and how his breath made her heart beat faster.
"Y-You love me?" She managed to ask.
He nodded, his eyes saddening again. She then began to laugh. She doesn't know why she had laughed, but she did, and to say this stunned the blonde would be an understatement.
She laughed and laughed, then punched Naruto in the shoulder, causing him to fly into a fence behind them. Still, she laughed. Laughed as if there weren't a tomorrow.
Naruto had coughed up the dust he had swallowed from the impact to the fence, and watched with bewilderment at her bizarre behavior.
She wiped away tears and turned to face Naruto with a wide grin.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see if this was a dream, so I punched you."
Naruto blinked at her words and then pouted, rubbing his injured arm. "You're supposed to pinch, and it's yourself not the guy who's confessing to you Sakura-chan."
"I know, but I like punching you." She retorted, finally calm enough to go over and help him up.
He had stared at her then, his blue eyes gleaming with love as she stared at him. She had blushed at that and looked away as soon as he was back up on his feet.
A part of her had always known the idiot loved her. Well, he had made it obvious numerous times, who could blame him for not knowing the meaning of discreet. She had smiled as she heard him dust himself off and grunt something about painful confessions.
"I'd like that Naruto." She whispered quietly as she turned to face him again. "You know...being your girlfriend. I think it'd be nice."
She had left him after that. She picked up her bag and continued her walk down the street, a blush all over her face, and smile to match. She was sure Naruto would be frozen in that spot, with that same stupid yet adorable face for about two hours.
She had been right too, when she came back, cleaned and properly dressed, he was still there. When she waved her hand in front of his face he had finally reacted and turned to face her with the biggest smile she had ever seen him wear. His whiskered cheeks brightened with a red blush as he abruptly picked her up and whirled her around. He had been yelling about how he was the luckiest guy in Konoha, and she simply laughed as she was whirled around. She had let him have his moment, he was getting a kick to the face afterwards anyways.
--
Sakura giggled into her bear as she remembered that shortly after that he asked her to go to the spring festival with him. That was how she had her giant teddy bear now. Yes, she supposed it was only natural that Naruto would be as unpredictable in revealing his feelings as he was doing everything else.
She never expected him to be so blunt and nervous in telling her he loved her. Then again she never expected to say yes to his request.
She rolled off her bed, bear in tow, and sat near on her window seat to stare out at the Konoha night.
It just happened, she said yes, he acted like some love-struck monkey, all in all, it wasn't such a bad way to start a relationship with him. She's happy with him too, so it worked out for the best.
"Ne, Sakura-chan you okay?" Sakura gave a small glare to the blonde hanging upside-down on her window.
Blue eyes blink at her innocently and Naruto grins at her as he spots the teddy bear in her arms.
"Naruto, how many times have I told you not to sneak a visit through my window, it's creepy." she shivered to prove her point as Naruto made his way down to sit on the window's edge.
"Sorry, sorry. Won't do it again Sakura-chan, promise." He grinned mischievously and sent her wink.
Sakura rolled her eyes and hugged her bear more tightly. "You're so immature you jerk." She giggled nonetheless and bobbed his head lightly. "Are you coming tomorrow?" she asked.
"Late. I have a mission with Sai, you have one with him tomorrow remember?" She nodded. "I'll bring you something if you want." He asked.
"Sending me gifts won't help you get out of getting punched for things you deserved to get punched for." She spoke coldly, her eyes narrowing.
Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "I know, I promise I'll behave better in my missions Sakura-chan." His eyes held warmth as he grabbed her hand. "I just wanna get ya something, that's all."
Sakura blushed and let her hand be held. "Fine. Do what you want idiot." She couldn't help but smile as Naruto grinned at her like some child allowed to have his dessert.
"So, what were you thinking about just now?" He asked, after a few minutes of silence between them.
She shook her head and played with the bear's ears. "Memories."
Naruto nodded and leaned against the upper edge of the window. "Memories are nice."
"Yes, they are."
I hope that didn't make anyone's eyes bleed....-cough-
Sorry if it looks rushed, I tried to make it as best as I could with my limited time
Reviews are appreciated, though not expected.
End.
