Author's Note: hey readers! So yes, the past reviews I've gotten were all saying that you guys were confused with some stuff. Everything will be cleared up for you if you keep on reading! Get ready for this next one!

Chapter 36: Ayumu the priest and….. the soothsayer?

Our walk to the gates was eerily quiet. I've become a bit paranoid wandering around by myself; it's good that Naruto is with me.

"Say……Naruto…….."

He turned and faced me, "Yeah Sakura-chan?"

"That guy………why doesn't he talk to anyone?"

He shrugged, "I have no idea…….he didn't even respond to me when I said hi. He can act like such a……..teme…….that was the first impression I got from him".

"Well he does seem like one…….I can't stand him already…….."

Before we knew it, the gates were right in front of us while Ryo just stood there not caring if we were right in front of him.

Someone knocked from the other side of the gates. I opened them and a man peeked his head inside.

"E-Excuse me……are you the ninja who will be escorting me?"

"Yeah we are! You better not have a problem with that grandpa!"

I nudged Naruto pretty hard to silently tell him that he needs to have more manners when dealing with the clients.

"Yes, you must be Ayumu right?" I presumed.

"I am" he stated.

We both shook hands and got a better look at studying his features.

This man was short, I mean up to my shoulders short. He was bald but did have all of his teeth. He wore a red robe with a white color cloak on top. His footwear was fairly simple, black-strapped sandals like mine. What really caught my eye was a large, golden medallion which he wore around his neck with a lightning symbol imprinted in the middle.

"Ummm….Ayumu-san, exactly what is that you're wearing around your neck?"

He looked to where I was pointing, "Oh this? This is the lightning country's most valuable and sacred medallion. I wear it to keep in contact with the Gods in the shrine. This antique has been passed down for many generations in my family, so now it is my duty to protect it even if it costs me my life. Just like the jewel of the heavens which many have been dying to get their hands on".

Naruto interrupted, "Well now that you have us here to protect you, you don't even have to worry about a thing old man! Right Ryo?"

The three of us looked at the said man and he ignored Naruto until he said, "I really don't care…..you're wasting my time, let's just go".

"UGHHH!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS HIS PROBLEM!!!!?!?!?!??! TSUNADE THIS IS YOUR FAULT THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH A COMPLETE JERK LIKE HIM!!!!!!"

After inwardly fuming, I calmed myself down and followed the others outside of the village.

We were walking for about ten minutes until someone's stomach growled, "That can't be me! I already had breakfast….."

I turned my attention to Naruto who was rubbing his belly, "Is everything alright Naruto?"

"Ehhh……Sakura-chan, do you have any food on you?"

I started searching through my bag and found a container filled with ramen, "I find some ramen".

"Oh that's perfect! I'll take some please!"

I threw it over to him and he started attacking the bowl like some wild animal.

"Miss, I didn't exactly catch all of your names. Could you please enlighten me?" Ayumu asked politely.

"He's such a gentleman".

"My name is Haruno Sakura. The guy eating ramen is Uzumaki Naruto, and the jerk who never bothers to answer anyone is Hayashi Ryo".

"I see……..Sakura, may I see your hands?"

I gave him a questioning look when he decided to answer me, "Oh well….not only am I a priest, but I also am a palm reader. I would like to see what your palm lines are telling you".

"Oh!!!! A palm reader! That's so cool!"

"Sure you can" I said while raising my hands facing them with the palm up.

He put them close together and determined everything.

"Let's see……….well there are three particular lines which palmists look at when reading. There are the: life, head, and heart lines"

I nodded as he continued, "The life line I'm sure you know represents your vitality and the length of your life. By looking at your hand, you will be living life as an active individual. The head line deals with your beliefs, philosophy, and how you approach life. Well that's interesting both your head and life lines are connecting at the beginning".

"What does that mean?" I asked eagerly wanting to know.

He continued studying my hand, "It means that your strong sense of mind rules over your body. You also look at childhood with a cautious and fearful outlook. How about looking at your heart line?"

I smiled signaling for him to continue.

"Hmmmm…….interesting……..your heart line extends boldly across your palm".

"What does this line tell you Ayumu-san?"

"The heart line deals with all the emotions and events that are centered around love, whether it is your ability to love, or to be loved".

Suddenly this caught my attention.

"You have great control of your emotions Sakura. It says that you also have a pleasant and romantic nature with great warmth in your actions. You may tend to give yourself to love no matter what the cost. As I put your two hands together, your heart lines from both hands form a beautiful strong crescent shape. This means that you will have a very handsome husband".

I blushed at his comment, "O-Oh……"

He chuckled at my childish behavior, "You've been thinking about this haven't you Sakura?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"I mean that you've been pondering majority of your life thinking about these kinds of things. Trust me he's just around the corner".

I didn't even understand what he was saying. It was too early in the morning to be thinking too hard.

Naruto finished his ramen and we continued on our journey.

The weather was warm with a nice breeze to go along with it.

As we walked, I noticed Ryo walked in the very front by himself. I started feeling a little guilty inwardly cursing him.

"Maybe I should try having a conversation with him again…….."

I sped up my pace and left Naruto with Ayumu while they had a conversation about what ramen can do to the human body if you eat to much of it.

"Hey Ryo" I said trying to be friendly.

He didn't even look at me and kept facing forward, "What do you want……."

I took a deep breath trying not to get agitated with his behavior, "Look……….I know we didn't exactly get on the right foot earlier this morning so let's start over. Hi I'm Haruno Sakura, and you are?"

Again there was still no answer and my insides were bubbling full of anger, "Ok calm yourself Sakura……….just count up to ten and keep taking deep breaths……"

After counting for ten seconds, I started talking to him again, "So……I've never seen you around Konoha before. Not to sound rude or anything……but……how come you're here?"

That seemed to trigger something in him when he actually looked at me. Well not really look it was more like a glare.

"It's none of your concern. Stop asking me such pointless questions".

He decided to speed up his pace and ignore me, "Oh my god! What is his problem!? I try to be more than nice to him and he just blows me off! You know what? I don't feel bad anymore! He can go sulk in a corner for all I care! I've dealt with jerks like him plenty of times in my life and I don't need to deal with another".

I walked back to Naruto and Ayumu to see what they were up to, "Hello!"

"Hey Sakura-chan! What were you doing talking to Ryo? I thought you couldn't stand him?"

My fists clenched at the thought of that jerk, "I was feeling bad for him and I know we didn't really get off on the right foot so I decided to give him another chance. When I tried talking to him, he just blows me off and glares saying stuff like, it's none of your concern or stop asking pointless questions. I got pretty annoyed with his constant PMSing and just left him alone. I wish he didn't have to be placed on our team!"

I punched a tree to let out all of my anger, and pretty much scared the crap out of the two of them.

"Sakura…..I sense some distress in Ryo's life. As soon as I greeted the three of you, I saw Ryo's eyes. They may look uncaring and indifferent to you but behind that dull exterior lies something more than that. There was so much pain which he is bottling up inside. Maybe the more time you spend with him, he'll become more used to the both of you and slowly but surely, all three of you will develop an everlasting friendship".

I looked at Ryo walking a bit far ahead of us, "I don't know what to believe. Is that possible? Well…….since we'll be on the same team for a long time, then let's just give him another chance and hopefully overtime he'll come around……"

"Sakura-chan, watch out!"

"What's Naruto talking about?"

I slowly turned my face to see an enemy ninja attempting to attack me from behind, but I was too late……

"Why do I always have to tune out!? Now because of my stupid mistake, I'm done for………"

Author's Note: Did you like chapter 36? I've got three big words for you:

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!

Oh also, if you want to know what the name Ayumu means, here it is:

Ayumu-歩(ayu) "walk" and 夢(mu) "dream, vision".

Thanks,

Sweetness.