WHY I'M SO STUPID?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Warnings from the last few chapters still apply.

Sakura couldn't help but feel sad at being reminded the words she kept using on the blonde while he was wearing that mask, from trying to cheer her up to just plain old saying hi. 'But what about after the Chunin Exams when I . . .'

'When you what, finally noticed him?' Inner Sakura intercepted 'God I swear you spent more time either keeping your nose in the books or trying to woo the Uchiha then you have in real life. Don't you remember what he said at the flower shop, he wasn't going to take anymore crap from anybody, especially us, and we have to earn his trust by giving him a good enough reason to give it.'

Before she can respond to that, Sakura turned around just as she heard footsteps approaching her. When she saw the blonde approaching her location, "Hey Naruto, how have you been?" She asked, while trying to keep calm.

Naruto walked up until he was near edge of the monument and stops before answering "Oh besides returning home to kick some old bastard's ass, having most of the village kissing my ass after finding out about who my old man is, having to deal with a bunch of people who are too stubborn to see past the fox and cleaning up the messing of a bunch of older fossils, then I'm having a peachy time."

"Oh it can't be any worse then what the Hokage goes through, can it?" She asked, before receiving a tired look that told her everything, "I guess it can be."

"Yeah and unfortunately we are far from done." Naruto said.

Deciding to change the subject, "So how was your trip?" Sakura asked, "I see you managed to learn your father's most famous technique while you were away."

"Yeah, when I wasn't too busy trying to get the little pervert to actually teach me something that Itachi and Kisame didn't know." Naruto said, his face being neutral.

"That's super pervert you ungrateful little brat." Rang out from nowhere, followed by an "Oh crap!" Just as the sound of certain things meeting flesh, from metallic to flesh reached their ears.

"Anyway, how did things go for you?" Naruto asked.

The next half hour was spent catching up with each other, from what went on both in the village and what went on during the training trip. While Sakura's hopes were slowing approaching a very dangerous high, Naruto was still keeping neutral. When they were caught up on just about everything, Naruto decided to get what needed to be done, "Sakura, did Sasuke ever tell you what really happened at the bench after our team assignments?" He asked, making sure that he was ready for anything.

"No he didn't." Sakura answered, "I've was always curious as to why in one moment he becomes a complete opposite one minute and back to his original self the next." She then turned towards the blonde, "Why, do you know anything about it?"

Deciding that it was now or never, a puff of smoke appeared and vanished, replaced by a twelve year old Sasuke, "Your head is so beautiful it makes me want to kiss it." Naruto answered, before transforming back.

Sakura's eyes went wide at this, "T-th-tha-that was you?" She yelled out in shock, only to receive a nod in return, Naruto not once diverting is eyes away from the village, causing her temper to start flaring, "Why would you do such a thing? Couldn't you just walk up and talk to me like everybody else?"

Naruto turned his head and gave her a look that would make Tsunade sober on the spot, "Considering that you wouldn't even bother to give me the time of day, then no I couldn't because you were too busy enjoying la-la land to even bother paying attention to anything else ." He said, "I asked politely to join you for lunch and you toss me aside just because I was the dead last."

Sakura couldn't help but flinch at each and every syllable, "But I was just a kid back then and I wasn't even sure what I was doing at the time." She said, and judging from the look that Naruto was giving to her, she knew that was just as bad as the excuse the villagers used when it came to their treatment of Naruto all those years ago.

"That's just as bad as the villagers accusing me of being the kyubi even though the truth was right under their noses." Naruto said, "What about all those times since we started out as a team that you kept treating me like I was a nuisance?"

Inner Sakura decided to throw in her two cents, 'Are you forgetting which Naruto you're talking to here? He even said so himself more then once that the Naruto we knew was just a mask and that this one here is the real him.'

"Yeah, well, you were too busy acting all immature that I just didn't think you were worth the time." Sakura said.

"Does that include all the times I risk my neck just to save your life?" Naruto shot back, "As for immature, compared to me, you were the worst out of all of us."

Sakura's temper got the best of her, "Take that back Naruto." She threatened, while bringing out her gloves.

"No Sakura." Naruto said, "And this time, I'm not going to cower just because you disagree with me on something."

Not even thinking clearly, "Then I'll just have to give you reason why you should start now." Sakura said, while getting ready to strike him down with a chakra enhanced punch. When she was close enough to make contact, she swung only to be in for a big shock. Naruto batted her fist aside and placed a finger right between her eyes. "You wouldn't dare." She called out, hoping this Naruto wouldn't dare to hurt a hair on her head like he did when he wore the mask.

"Like I told everybody in this village, I'm not going to take anymore crap from anyone." Naruto said, before turning to face her, "Especially you." Just as he said that, he flicked his finger with barely any strength and sent her flying towards a nearby tree. He walked up to her and decided to explain why he was here. "The reason why I called you here is because you were giving me the same look you used to give to Sasuke before I left, and I decided to give you three chances to become my friend before even beginning to think about approaching that level."

Sakura was still catching her breath when she decided to speak. "I thought we already were friends, Naruto."

"No, right now the only thing we are is just teammates." Naruto said, "I gave you plenty of chances to become my friend but you never bother taking them because before the exams, you were too busy trying to fit in and following the crowd and after the exams, well I'm not sure of the reason why at the moment."

While determined to save her own skin, "That's because my mother kept telling me . . ." Sakura started to say before Naruto intercepted her.

"That I was a bad child and you should stay clear of me." Naruto said, "Oh please, I've heard that excuse so many times it makes Kakashi's little habit seem less irritating." He then looked her straight in the eye, "At least you had a childhood. I was denied one since the day I was born. I was despised for something that I had no control over, no family wanted a demon container, except for Iruka, most of the teachers did everything they could to sabotage my training, most of the stores either throw me out or charge me more then I could afford on most things and that's just the start of it. I've started my ninja training when I was five, when both the Third and myself agreed that since I can't fight back, the least I could do is outsmart my tormenters and protect myself. I went to Ichiraku's because that's the first place that made me feel right at home." He then started to walk away, "Now you know something about the real me. I'll tell you the rest when I feel I can trust you a little bit more."

Sakura was now frozen on the spot after hearing that. She knew that Naruto had it roughed, although she seen him pull stuff off that even Sasuke would never have thought about, and she still doesn't know a thing about the blonde. Right now, the only thing she can think about are two words: What now?

Here is the latest chapter. Sorry for it being a bit short, I haven't been doing much writing for over month, because I needed to take a nice long break from it, so now I'm just warming my way back into it. To let you know, in January, I'm going to be moving to another town, so I'm going to try and squeeze out one more, and possibly longer chapter, before that happens. Read and Review and Happy Holidays, in case I don't update by then.