A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourite and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.
"Naruto, are you asleep?"
Naruto blinked and turned around in her sleeping bag, blue eyes fixated on the sleeping bag of her teammate. Since they were the only two girls, they had no choice but to share a tent. Then again, this was the second time that they had to be forced to sleep in the same tent. They slept in the same tent during the Wave Mission but fear and anxiety had made it hard for them to communicate with each other.
This time they had an actual C-rank mission, where they only had to guard some merchant from some bandits. It had been three days and so far, there had been no incidents and Naruto hopes that it would get exciting some time soon.
"I'm awake, Sakura-chan." Naruto clasped her hands together and looked up at the roof of the tent. The wind swooshed and smacked the branches of the trees, almost reminding her of ghosts. Burrowed deeper under her sleeping bag, her heart pounded against her chest. Was her heart so loud that Sakura could hear it? Maybe. Why else would Sakura talk to her? It must be annoying to her.
She wasn't going to raise her hopes again and think Sakura wants to be friends with her.
A part of her hopes that they could be friends.
"Naruto, what kind of relationship do you have with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura twisted her body around and green eyes met her bright blue eyes. Those green eyes flashed with curiosity. No jealously shone through them and Naruto just gazed at the girl. "I mean are the two of you really just friends? Or do you like him?"
"Of course we are just friends! Hell, we aren't just friends! He is also my rival." Naruto blinked. "Why are you asking me this?"
Wasn't it obvious? Had she done something to make her teammate think differently? The blond-haired girl knitted her eyebrows and wiggled herself out of the sleeping tent. She turned back to her pink-haired teammate and knitted her eyebrows. Sweat clung to her skin, probably from the worry instead from the summer night of Hi No Kuni.
"But you know you can be friends with someone and have feelings for them." Sakura lowered her voice and a small frown decorated her lips. Her teammate clasped her hands together over her chest. "It is just hard to believe since Sasuke-kun is good-looking and the two of you spends so much time together."
Sometimes Naruto doesn't understand Sakura and maybe there were times when she gets annoyed with her, but this had been the first time that Sakura actually tried to understand her feelings towards Sasuke. Naruto thinks that was when she and Sakura gets a little bit closer. None of the other girls really asked her about it before.
"It is weird for me to think of Sasuke in that way." Naruto folded her hands over her head and relaxed her shoulders. Her heart slows down and the blond-haired girl giggled. "I tease him, argue with him and hell I even annoy the crap out of him because it is my way of showing him that I care…don't tell the Bastard that I give a shit."
Sakura sighed. "So your way of showing him that you care is getting a rise out of him? And why do you think it is weird? Sasuke-kun is kind, smart and he is very caring too. So why don't you have a crush on him like the other girls?"
"Shikamaru is all of that too." Sakura wrinkled her nose and blinked while Naruto stared up at the ceiling. Was this considered girl talk? She never really do these kind of things with Hinata-chan. They spent more time discussing about how to get her to rise through the ranks. "But I also don't like Shikamaru in that way."
Sakura sighed. "Shikamaru? He is so lazy."
Yeah, Naruto knew that and it annoyed the crap out of her at times.
"The point is that I just don't feel anything like that for the Bastard." The blond-haired girl stared at her green-eyed teammate and offered her a big smile. Maybe she smiled like that because she just wanted to reassure her teammate about the sincerity of her feelings. Even when she leaves Konoha, Naruto wasn't certain if Sakura believes her. She took a deep breath.
"Nothing?" Sakura raised her eyebrows.
"Don't ever tell the bastard this because I will deny it for the rest of the trip: but the Bastard is my best-friend, rival and my brother." Naruto closed her eyes as Sakura curled her lips into an almost amused smile. "I know he will always be there for me but dating him is just plain weird! Can you imagine you dating Ino? Because that is what it feels like to me. I know all of his secrets and know so many embarrassing stories that I can't take him seriously."
Sakura bobbed her head and giggled. "In that case then do you know whether or not he likes girls with long-hair?"
"When we were six? Yeah because of his Mum and his brother," Sakura blinked and Naruto looked up at the ceiling. Was it wrong to spill that secret to Sakura? Yeah. Did she feel guilty? Probably but Sasuke brought it on himself. "Look Sakura if Sasuke actually liked a girl then I would know. He is easy for me to read and if you want a relationship with him…not the right time. Right now, his heart isn't set on romance."
"I realized that," Sakura chewed on her bottom lip and her green eyes flashed with concern. "Sasuke-kun mentioned that he wants to kill a certain man, he told us about that in our introduction."
(Even when Naruto turned fifteen, she hated the fact Sasuke would never let her help him take Itachi down).
Naruto bobbed her head and stared distantly at the ceiling of the tent. I thought she would focus about him trying to revive his clan. For someone that claims to be in love with Sasuke, she expected her to remember something that more. Was she wrong about Sakura? Maybe. But then again it would be hard for anyone to forget. She sighed.
"Do you know who he wants to kill?" Softness and curiosity laced her teammate's voice and Naruto chewed on her lips. Should she tell her? She doesn't know what to do so she avoided those bright green eyes. She only knew because she kept visiting Sasuke in the hospital and heard all those rumors. Even now, she wanted to vomit at the knowledge.
"It isn't my place to tell you." Sakura nods and doesn't push her but she was going to do it eventually. So Naruto forced herself to smile and looked to the side. This was the time for her to change topic, just in case her teammate brought up more painful memories. "You know if Sasuke was interested in anyone then I would set him up."
Sakura blinked but doesn't question her about the change of the topic. Green eyes flashed with curiosity and understanding, which almost made Naruto think that they could get along. She almost smiles at the thought but then she recalls those cruel words directed towards her, and she dropped the smile. Don't build expectations like last time.
A working relationship was the best idea for them.
"Why haven't you tried setting Hinata up with Kiba?" Naruto blinked and Sakura's green eyes flashed with curiosity. "You keep teasing her about her crush so why haven't you done anything about it?"
Naruto rubbed her chin and looked up at the ceiling. Why haven't she done anything when it came to Hinata? Maybe because it never really crossed her mind to do something about it. Was she being a terrible friend for never actually doing something about her crush? Maybe.
"I don't want to interfere with her relationship." Naruto closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She is my best friend and I don't want to be the reason she might not have a potential relationship. If I want to be a good friend to her then I shouldn't interfere right?"
Sakura hummed and stared at her, chewing on her bottom lip. Naruto knitted her eyebrows. Why did Sakura look so sad? Did she say the wrong thing again? Or did she annoy Sakura again? No, there was no twitching of the eyebrow and so maybe her teammate wasn't going to shout at her or even clenching her hands into a fist.
"You know I think being a good friend means having their best interest at heart." Sakura smiled and Naruto blinked, blue eyes widening slightly. "But you should interfere if you think they have a chance and if you want to help Hinata out…I will help you out if you want."
When Naruto looks back, she wonders whether it had been her imagination that they were becoming friends. Was it her imagination? Or was she the fool? She doesn't know where things went wrong.
Why the hell haven't those two confess their feelings to each other?
It was a Friday afternoon and Bakugou could not stop watching Whiskers and IcyHot as they sat down with Deku and his friends. For the last ten minutes, Whiskers kept flickering her eyes at Todoroki with flushed cheeks. IcyHot wasn't any better, always having a light blush on his face and his eyes either goes from Whisker's face to her chest. Honestly, anyone with eyes can see that they like each other. He scowled.
Shoving his food into his mouth, Bakugou looked at their smiling faces and snorted when Whiskers and Todoroki leaned close before jerking their heads away from each other. His stomach turned and a part of him wanted to make sure that IcyHot wasn't so near Whiskers. First they lean close to each other, next it will be them kissing and…I don't give a fuck about this. He clenched his hands into a fist and shook his head.
It was none of his business.
But Whiskers could do a hell lot better than IcyHot. He blinked and scowled. Why does he even care? Whiskers and him might have hang out the other day and maybe he did have some fun in the arcade with her. But I would rather die than admit this to her. He thrust the steak in his mouth. Whiskers shouldn't be with someone so messed up.
"Are you jealous, Bakugou?" Ashido giggled and Bakugou swirled his head at the pink-skinned girl. Yellow eyes twinkled with mischief as Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero stopped their chatter. "Do you wish Uzumaki is sitting with us instead of getting close to Todoroki?"
What the hell? Bakugou scowled and clenched his hands into a fist as the eyes of his annoying classmates looked at him with wide eyes. He doesn't give a shit about who Whiskers wanted to sit with. So what if he spent years watching her? It doesn't mean he has some sort of feelings for her. Unlike what everyone in the damn class believed, he was very much in tune to his fucking emotions and he knows he doesn't like Whiskers.
If he fucking like Whiskers then he would act like how his mother acted around his damn father.
"Why the fuck do you think I want her here with us?" He chewed on his food and eyed Ashido. Red eyes dared the girl to jump to conclusions again and Ashido grinned, not looking one bit terrified of his glare. If we weren't surrounded by teachers, I would use my damn Quirk. He clenched his hands into a fist and held himself back from smacking the table.
One wrong move and Ashido would think he liked Whiskers.
"Because you like her." Ashido clapped her hands together and sang, earning snickers from Kaminari and Kirishima. Sero inched away as red eyes glared at his classmates. Why the hell were they sitting here? And why was he even sitting with them? No, he couldn't walk away. Walk away and it would prove them right. He scowled and looked at Uzumaki, red eyes focused on the small smile directed to Todoroki.
It really was obvious that she really liked IcyHot.
"If Blasty likes Uzumaki then he needs to try a hell lot harder." Bakugou blinked and swirled his head around, red eyes landing on Tokage and her tray of food. Muddy green eyes twinkled with mischief and locked on Whiskers and Todoroki. "Todoroki is winning the race to Uzumaki's heart by the looks of things."
"That is because I haven't really tried." Kaminari declared, smoothing his hair and flashing a smile at Lizard. Bakugou's eyebrows twitched and he narrowed his eyes at the resident flirt of their class. This really was not the time for Pikachu to try and act like he could get a date. Beside since when had there been a race? Whiskers liked IcyHot since the damn Sports Festival.
He scowled and looked at the knowing eyes of Spikey Hair, scowling at him.
"I don't fucking like Whiskers!" The others blinked and swirled their heads at him. Ashido giggled while Kaminari just raised a single eyebrow at him. Lizard curled her lips into a smile, muddy green eyes flashing with amusement and Bakugou clenched his hands into a fist. Several heads turned to them, eyes widening with surprise and Bakugou narrowed his eyes.
"Everyone knows you love her," Bakugou opened his mouth to protest and muddy green eyes dared him to contradict his claims. Understanding and amusement shone through her eyes. Why does she act like she knows shit? He doesn't like Whiskers. He doesn't love her. He was just indifferent to the blond-haired girl.
"I don't like her!" Bakugou folded his arms against his chest and looked at the flushed cheeks of Whiskers. The solemn face of his six-year-old Uncle flashed before his eyes alongside the furious eyes of his mother. He scowled. "And you guys are idiots if you think any one of you have a chance with Whiskers! You have to be fucking blind not to see that Whiskers likes IcyHot and that IcyHot likes Whiskers!"
Pinky sighed and stared at Whiskers and IcyHot with hearts in her eyes. She pushed the tray of food away from her, putting her head on top of her hand and let out a sigh. Bakugou inched away from the girl while Kirishima shook his head, looking faintly amused at the longing looks thrown by the pink-skinned girl. Of course he is. Bakugou sighed.
"But even if Uzumaki and Todoroki like each other, they are just too dense to realize they like each other." Ashido groaned and hugged herself. "How the hell do you get two dense people to realize they like each other? I just want to see them get together!"
Lizard eyed them, curled her lips into a frown and slid into the empty seat right beside him. Muddy green eyes flashed with thoughtfulness, looking almost like she was debating about telling them something, and Bakugou felt his stomach turned when the girl bobbed her head. Why does he have a bad feeling about this? And why does he even care?
This was none of his business.
"You will have to get them alone together but that is impossible," Tokage pushed her meatballs back and forth, green eyes locked onto the bright yellow eyes of Ashido before flickering her eyes to Deku's table. She sighed. "Uzumaki and Todoroki are sitting with Midoriya and his friends more often and are talking less than usual. Uzumaki is even talking to Yaoyorozu even when she wants to say something to Todoroki."
Ashido blinked and knitted her eyebrows. "And?"
"Basically they are avoiding being alone together," Tokage said dryly. "That hasn't happened before so something must have happened between them. Whatever happened to them is making it hard for them to spend time together alone. They are avoiding being alone together because they must be afraid to bang each other."
Kaminari spit out his food while Kirishima flushed red. "What the hell, Tokage! Don't say that shit when we are eating!"
"I'm just pointing out the tension between them," Tokage shrugged her shoulders. "And they must know it or why else would Uzumaki keep stressing to me and Kendou-chan that she was only hanging out with Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki? She doesn't need to keep stressing it."
Ashido clapped her hands together. "Why don't we convince Midoriya and Iida to abandon them and they can be on a date?"
"Midoriya will be easy," Kaminari commented. "Iida is the problem."
Kirishima groaned. "Why do you guys have so much interest in Uzumaki's relationship with Todoroki?"
"Because they will be so cute together!" Pinky replied, rolling her eyes at the red-haired boy. She let out a dreamy sigh while Tokage bobbed her head, muddy green eyes twinkling with amusement. Bakugou blinked and scowled, wrinkling his nose at the thought. Yeah, this was not the time for him to think about it. "I just want to witness their love bloom and grow!"
Bile rose up into his throat and the images of Whiskers and Todoroki pecking each other in the cheeks alongside calling each other by nicknames. God, he just wanted to vomit at the thought of Whiskers acting so in love with someone. Wait, what would affection be like between two emotionally-dense people? Probably weird.
He rubbed his forehead and scowled.
This was not his business.
"We need to make sure that Midoriya and Iida don't go to the theme park," Ashido declared, rubbing her chin. Yellow eyes twinkled with mischief as it locked onto him. Why was she looking at them like that? Why does she look at him like he was going to get involved with this shit?
Red eyes widened and Bakugou slammed his chopsticks, the plates jumped up. Kaminari blinked while Kirishima put his tray on the other side of the table. The blond-haired boy grinded his teeth together. "Don't get me involved with this shit!"
"Okay so you are in," Tokage declared, shrugging her shoulders.
"What part of not getting involved, do you not understand?"
"We all know that you say one thing but mean the other thing!"
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter? What do you think of the flashback?