A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.

"W-What is happening?"

Naruto fought off the blush that threatened to consume her as Kusakabe kept gawking at the two of them. She guessed it was expected for the boy to be surprised about the whole thing between her and Hibari. With a reluctant sigh, she removed herself from her seat on Hibari's lap and made her way to the couch.

She watched Kusakabe paced back and forth as he tried to wrap his head of what he had just seen. Blue eyes darted to Hibari and the black-haired teen glanced at her. You deal with it. That was what she understood from his look and the blonde thinned her lips at his demand and shook her head. He is your subordinate. Hibari sighed and flickered his eyes from her to the door before shaking his head.

You are staying here while I talk to him. That was what she understood from his looks and the blonde paused. She should stay while Hibari explained the whole thing to Kusakabe. It was not like the boy would have patience to explain everything. Besides, she was curious to know what the boy had to say to his second-in-command.

"The Little Fox and me are in a relationship."

Kusakabe stopped in his steps and swirled his head at her. His eyes looked at her as if he was asking her if Hibari was being serious about the whole thing between them. She pressed her lips into a thin line. Did he think Hibari would be lying about the whole thing between them? But the fact the black-haired teen was willing to vocalize this much of their relationship spoke volumes to her.

Her heart might have also fluttered a little bit and she gulped down the lump forming in her throat. After a couple of seconds, Naruto finally nodded. Her lips almost twitched into a little smile as Kusakabe continued to dart his eyes between them. Was it really that hard to believe they were in a relationship? Maybe.

She still found it surreal if you asked her.

"It is not that I'm not happy for the both of you but when did this happen?" Kusakabe demanded. The boy resumed his pacing around the room, black eyes looking everywhere but at the two of them. Hibari glanced at her and the blonde understood immediately what her ally wanted her to do. You are answering this question. That was what she understood.

It seemed like Hibari wanted them to take turns when it came to answering Kusakabe's questions. Should she be irritated? No. They were technically in this together and it would be unfair of her to make him do all the answering. Besides, we wouldn't be in this situation if I had just removed myself from him after we were done with the agreement. She relaxed her shoulders.

"We have been together since Valentine's Day," Naruto replied. Black eyes widened and the blonde knew he was doing the math of their relationship. A month. It was not like she was counting the days of their relationship. That would be ridiculous but she did check her phone every day and it was hard not to see the date when it was blasted for her to see every single time.

Kusakabe flickered his eyes to Hibari and the boy nodded his head. I won't be surprised if he faints from the shock. His whole body was trembling and the way he kept looking at them gave her the impression that another shock would just make him fall down. She nibbled her bottom lip and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

I guess he is surprised since Hibari has been difficult with whatever blind date that Kusakabe set him up with. The knowledge made her grimace. It was nice for the boy to be caring about the black-haired teen and Naruto knew Kusakabe was the closest thing Hibari had to a best friend. But she was also irritated at the idea of the boy going on a blind date.

Then again, he chose her and that made her special in a way.

"So the both of you are boyfriend and girlfriend?" Kusakabe asked. His tone was filled with so much disbelief and the blonde thinned her lips. It was not his disbelief that displeased her. She would be reacting the same way too if Hibari came out to her and admitted he was in a relationship. That was not what made her thinned her lips.

It was the fact he forgot that Hibari did not do labels. The fact he had done this much with her was probably better than what most people presumed when it came to the older boy. Actually the fact he showed her this much affection in private did make her happy. He allowed her to cuddle him when she had been stressed out and she knew it had been difficult for him.

"We aren't putting a label on our relationship," Hibari answered.

Kusakabe blinked and knitted his eyebrows together before swirling his head at her. Naruto shrugged. She was happy with not putting a label with their relationships. The both of them had their own goals and there were no expectations for any of them. It suited the both of them. The conventional girlfriend thing was not for her and the same went for Hibari.

She should leave now that they were done with the whole thing. They already set things straight with Kusakabe and she probably had to go to her part-time job. Besides I can just imagine Yamamoto using my lateness as a way for him to get me talking. She rubbed the back of her neck and stood up from her seat.

"So is this just a physical relationship with no feelings involved?" Kusakabe asked.

Naruto snapped her head at Kusakabe before looking at Hibari. Feelings? She did have feelings involved. It was hard for her to differentiate between them but she really did like him. I want to say some feelings are involved. The words were on the tip of her tongue but she felt uncertain of vocalizing it.

It was easy for her to say it but what about Hibari? She knew he was fond of her but fondness does not mean he saw the relationship like she did. I don't understand why I'm so nervous about answering it. The blonde looked at Hibari and he had his eyes locked onto her. For the first time since the two of them entered their relationship, it felt awkward.

"No."

It was only a single word from Hibari but Naruto could feel her heart racing against her chest. She gulped down the lump in her throat and blinked back the tears that threatened to come out. Why could a single word make her feel this much? Dear god, she needed to understand her damn feelings again. She rubbed the back of her neck.

Kusakabe exhaled and Naruto looked at Hibari. The black-haired boy stared at her with no emotion flashing through his eyes but she was fine with it. That single word meant more to her than she would ever admit. She curled her lips into a soft smile and the black-haired teen looked away, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well at least now I know why Hibari-san has been in a really good mood for the past month," Kusakabe finally said. Naruto blinked and swirled her head at the black-haired male. His eyes kept flickering between her and Hibari with amusement as if he found the whole thing that transpired between them funny.

She should leave now but Naruto could only focus on Hibari. He has been in a really good mood. Those words made her lips curled into an even larger smile as her blue eyes focused on the clear irritation flashing through the boy's eyes. The fact he was directing his irritation to his second-in-command told the blonde that Kusakabe was right.

"You are that happy with being in a relationship with me?" Naruto asked. She allowed the teasing to seep into her tone and Hibari coughed before looking away. If she squinted her eyes, she could make the tips of his ears turning into a very faint shade of pink. I guess that confirms I'm not the only one affected by this. Her lips curled into a smile.

Hibari finally grunted. "Little Fox…"

A husky laugh escaped from her lips at the faintest hint of embarrassment in his tone. Kusakabe looked confuse as if he did not understand what the boy was trying to say with those words. You have to strain your ears to hear the tone. Her lips curled into a larger smile and the blonde stood up from her seat.

"Blame Kusakabe for spilling your happiness to me!" Naruto sang.

Kusakabe paled at her words as Hibari pulled out his tonfa. She walked out of there with her heart fluttering at the knowledge that Kusakabe parted her with.

"So how have you been feeling since your classmates came, Naruto?"

The blonde looked away from the sink and stared at Yamamoto. It had been two days since her classmate overheard the conversation between her and Team Ten but not once did he bring it up. This was actually the first time the boy questioned her about it, and the fact he took this long to ask her made her raise a single eyebrow at him.

Yamamoto only stared at her as he handed her the dirtied plate. His brown eyes observed her as if he was trying to figure out her own feelings of the matter. She expected him to have learnt his lesson about asking about her personal feelings. But it seemed like he decided that he should vocalized his concerns to her.

But one thing troubled her…why now?

"Is there a reason that you are asking me about my feelings?" She asked. Naruto kept her tone calm and cold as her eyes focused onto the dirty plates. She could feel his eyes staring at her, but no matter how hard he looked at her…she was not going to look at him. The whole talking about her feelings was something that she was not certain she was ready to talk about it.

A sigh escaped her lips and Naruto put down the dirty plate on the sink. Should she talk about it? Hibari was great but she was not going to unload these things with him. It was not that he was incapable but he would listen. The amount of words coming out of him was little and she accepted it. But she did need to talk about it.

"I heard from Tsuna that you had a nickname in your elementary school…Deadlast," Yamamoto commented. Naruto felt her eyebrows twitched at the terrible nickname from her childhood. Taking a deep breath, she schooled her expression. "That girl must have brought up some terrible memories."

Naruto stared at the boy for a good couple of minutes, blue eyes inspecting for any hints of his feelings. Those brown eyes did not look at her with pity, only looking at her as if he was trying to figure out her feelings. She rubbed the back of her neck as a sigh escaped from her lips. Terrible memories? He was right.

That nickname reminded her of the bullying she endured in the Academy. It reminded her of the naivety that Mizuki stole away from her alongside the way how her skipping buddies would never stand up for her. Only Hinata tried and I had to stop her because I didn't want her father to hurt her even more. She grimaced.

But telling Yamamoto that he was right was the last thing she wanted to do,

"It doesn't matter anymore," Naruto answered. It was the truth to a certain extent. Being the Deadlast did not define her as a person or meant she was a weakling. She knew her own worth compared to her time in Konoha. As Hibari would remind her, she was strong. That she should never care of what the herbivores thought of her.

But the way Yamamoto looked at her told her that he was not convinced by her words. She guessed he would not believe it. He was observant and it had been words that made him nearly jumped off the roof of the school. The whiskered-girl thinned her lips. Even though she knew this, she was not going to say it out loud.

"Labels can be very hurtful," Yamamoto observed. His brown eyes sharpened and inspected her as if he was waiting for her reaction to his words. She only picked up the dirty plates, resumed her cleaning and schooled her expression into a blank one. "And you know that very well and I think that is why you never called Tsuna by the label of Dame-Tsuna."

Naruto placed the clean dish onto the rack and looked at Yamamoto. His brown eyes stared at her as if he was asking her if his observation was true or not. The blonde thinned her lips. Should she admit it to him? It would be revealing something personal. Was she actually going to be willing to let their relationship become closer? A sigh escaped her lips.

But Yamamoto was technically the reason that she had a relationship with Hibari. There was also the fact she was done with giving him the cold shoulder for what happened with Jiraiya. Seven months had been long enough. A sigh escaped her lips and the blonde tucked a strand behind her ear. It was time for her to let him in.

It did not mean they were friends but she was willing to let him in just a little bit.

"Yes."

Yamamoto blinked, almost taken back by her willingness to answer this question, and she picked up another plate. There was also no harm for her to admit that had been one of the reasons why Tsuna had never heard the label come out from her mouth. Even though he probably accepted the title, she never accepted it.

It still confused her of why Tsuna accepted such a demeaning title for himself.

"I understand why you were cold to the girl but why were you so indifferent to the two boys?" Yamamoto asked her. The blonde swirled her head at the black-haired boy, eyebrows raised at the sudden question. Her classmate only offered her a nervous smile. "Tsuna, Gokudera and me have been trying to figure out the relationship between you guys. We noticed that the boys were shocked when you called them childhood classmates."

She guessed the we in the sentence had been Tsuna and Yamamoto, since Gokudera had never seen Team Ten. I can expect Gokudera getting very irritated with Ino if she comes into our class. The thought made her lips twitched. It would be nice to see Ino being vivaciously destroyed by a good-looking boy instead of being given indifference.

Of course, this would only happen if Ino did develop an infatuation for Gokudera. She shook her head and locked eyes with the black-haired teen, who had a smile playing on his lips. This only made the blonde shrugged her shoulders.

"Does anyone ever tell you that you are too pushy for your own good?" Naruto asked dryly. Yamamoto raised a single eyebrow at her as if he was not convinced by her words. What did he expect her? She was not going to be pushed into talking into a topic that made her think about things that she did not want to confront.

She shrugged her shoulders and tucked another strand of her hair against her ear. She was going to be focusing on the job instead of listening to whatever therapy session that Yamamoto was trying to impose on her. The blonde inhaled. Her blue eyes flickered to the streetlights before glancing back at the brown-eyed boy.

"Naruto, I'm being pushy because I do care about you," Yamamoto answered. "I know we messed up with your Godfather but I really do think that you need to have a talk."

He is definitely not going to rest about this topic. The knowledge made her head throbbed and the blonde focused her eyes on the plates in the sink. The chatter from the customers behind the curtains filled the quiet kitchen, allowing her to think of her next response. He did mess up with Jiraiya but it had been seven months and in a way he gave her space.

But it was not going to be reason for her to talk about her feelings.

"Give me one reason why I should talk about it."

The words hung in the air and Naruto waited for the boy to say something. Five minutes. That was how long she would give him to think of an answer before telling him that their small heart-to-heart was going to be over. She nodded. There was still a lot of work for her to do. Customers for her to take their orders and maybe even help Tsuyoshi with his meals.

"The benefit is that you can have a second perspective to the whole issue," Yamamoto finally answered after three minutes. "You will also feel better if you talk about it."

The whole feeling better was not something that brought her any benefit but a second perspective would be interesting. She did not want to think that maybe she was being too emotional about the matter. Besides I don't want this to affect work. The thought made her grimace and the girl relaxed her shoulders.

It would be a good idea for her to talk about it.

"I used to hang out with Shikamaru and Choji," Naruto explained. He jerked his head at her and the blonde raised a single eyebrow at him. If he was going to react like this, then she was stopping the whole conversation. He offered her an apologetic smile and she sighed. "I thought we were friends but I realized that I was the only one to make an effort. I mean I once tried to make a meal for them…but that failed."

Her lips twisted into a scowl. I probably would have done a good job if the damn bitch didn't increase the price so much. Naruto shook her head. It was all in the past now. The woman was stuck in Konoha, stuck in the past while she was living her best life. She was probably doing better than the grocery store woman.

I'm richer than her.

That thought made her smile.

"I also gave them gifts for their birthdays even though I didn't have much money to support myself," Naruto explained. Yamamoto stared at her and the blonde closed her eyes as more memories flashed before her eyes. She kept her tone calm and collected. "On my birthday…I only got a happy birthday from them and I was just happy they remembered my birthday."

Yamamoto nodded and his eyes looked at her. His eyes flashed with confusion and the blonde wondered if maybe she was the one that was being driven by her emotions. Maybe I'm being very self-centered. The thought made her grimace. She did not like the idea. It meant that she was no different from Ino.

Brown eyes sharpened and the blonde tilted her head. What the hell was going through his mind? Did he think she was being childish for now wanting more from those two boys? A part of her had wanted to just call them friends but she was not the naïve little girl. Not the same naïve little girl who did not know her own worth.

"What changed the whole relationship between the three of you?"

Naruto sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Time and the lack of abuse being thrown by me. She could say the first but the former was not something that she wanted to talk with the boy. Hibari was a possibility but maybe when her heart was at peace with what happened to her. A sigh escaped her lips.

She would have to go with another explanation. What will be a better explanation that could I give him? Her lips curled into a thin line as her blue eyes focused on the curious eyes of Yamamoto. Her hand picked up the plate, twirling it around as possible explanations flashed through her mind. Only one explanation stood out to her.

"I realize what is the difference between acquaintance and friends."

Yamamoto stared at her for a long time as if he was trying to dissect her words. She kept her expression blank, not allowing him to figure out her own emotions about the whole thing. This was maybe the furthest that she was going to talk with the boy about her feelings towards Shikamaru and Choji. It was better than he should hope from her.

"You miss them, don't you?" He asked. His tone was soft and quiet while Naruto paused at the question. Miss them? Did she miss Choji and Shikamaru? There had been some good memories between them. Pranks that she included them on. Conversations that they had whenever the three of them skipped class.

I should have listened to Shikamaru when he warned me about Mizuki. The thought made her bitter and maybe that had been the one time he acted like a friend to her. He could have kept his mouth shut during that time. But that was it. When Ino had been an absolute bitch to her, Choji and him kept quiet.

She defended them when Ino had been cruel to the two of them.

"Even if I miss them but forgiving them just because of that feeling of longing…I can't do that," Naruto finally answered. She hunched her shoulders and took in a deep breath. "That is something Sawada would do but I can't do it. I just want them to understand that I'm different and if they want my friendship again…they better work for it."

That was the end of their conversation and Naruto would admit that she was glad he did not try to tell her that she should forgive them.

"Naruto stopped considering us her friends."

Shikamaru sat beside Choji in the park that was close to Naruto's apartment. His black eyes focused on two little kids who were playing a game of ninja or tag as he overheard the afro-haired kid screamed. That kid kept glancing at him as if he had seen him before, which was possible. From the moment Naruto got them their clothes, both Choji and him wasted no time exploring this small town.

Ino was here too, but she was getting them some sweets. Troublesome girl is probably going to choose sweets that she likes. The thought made him grimace and he looked back at his best friend. The brown-haired boy opened the bag of cheesy chips and began munching it like there was no tomorrow. His black eyes looked thoughtful and sad, telling him that the boy was deeply considering his words.

He knew that they were only skipping buddies but Shikamaru never thought of the day when Naruto would acknowledge it. It was hypocritical of him when he thought about it. Neither him nor Choji put much effort with befriending her. But it never bothered Naruto before. She had been happy with what they could give her.

"Naruto has every right when I think about it," Choji commented. He poked his tongue against his cheeks and locked eyes with him. It was clear to Shikamaru that his friend was upset from the way his eyes shone. Between the two of them, his best friend had always been the more sensitive one. "We weren't good friends to her especially when I compare us to Hinata."

He thinned his lips at the response and nodded. There was some truth in those words. Compared to Hinata, they were terrible friends to the whiskered girl. A sigh escaped his lips and Shikamaru looked at the café before glancing at the two kids running around. They were probably five years old, around the same age when he and Choji met Naruto.

The black-haired teen closed his eyes and inhaled. Most of the other kids stopped Naruto from playing with them but he had wanted the girl to play with him and Choji. She had been interesting. All the other kids, including Ino, taunted the boy beside him for his large weight. The blonde just smiled at them and accepted them without any questions.

"Yeah we sucked big time," Shikamaru admitted. "We played with her until our Mums came and lied about hanging out with her since we were terrified of getting scolded by them. We hanged out with her whenever we skipped classes."

It had been fine when they were kids but then again it was different for Naruto, wasn't it? He curled his lips into a frown and looked to the empty swings in the corner. When they passed the Academy exams, Shikamaru could still vividly recall Naruto sitting on the swings with a look of despair on her eyes. He nearly took a step forward to go to her but his mother stopped him.

Don't go near her, Shikamaru. The coldness in his mother's eyes made him stop and he could only watch as Mizuki-sensei tried to cheer Naruto up. Hinata tried going to her too but the servants of her clan stopped her. For Choji, it had also been his own mother. When Shikamaru thought about it, what would have happened if they just disregarded their mothers' wishes and took the first steps.

"Remember when Naruto brought me a cookbook for my seventh birthday? It was one of the best gifts that a person could give me," Choji said with a smile on his lips. Shikamaru nodded. He had never even thought of giving his friend that kind of gift but it showed how caring Naruto was. "I remembered you loved the board game that she brought for you."

"Asuma-sensei and me play with it whenever we have the chance," he admitted. A frown played on his lips as more memories came flooding through his mind. There were a lot of gifts that Naruto gave them for their birthdays. Each one of them had been gifts that suited their taste and nothing generic like what Ino would give them.

Although their teammate had been getting better with giving them gifts for their birthdays.

"We never gave her any gifts," Choji commented. "I remembered trying to buy her present and when I told my Mum about it…she threw a fit. Dad tried to convince her but she would never budge from what I tried to do."

Shikamaru sighed. "I thought about it but then Mum would have nagged me about doing it. I could have told Dad but he will eventually spill to that nagging woman."

The two of them exchanged glances and grimaced. Our Dads are too much of cowards when it comes to their wives. Shikamaru groaned and hanged his head up. Why do men marry such troublesome women? Especially ones that nagged too much. He darted his eyes to the two young boys and wished not for the first time that he could go back to a less troublesome time.

"We were too terrified of our Mums," Choji commented lightly as he stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth. Shikamaru nodded. There was no denying that it had also been fear of their mothers that kept them in place. The only mother in the Academy who did not have a problem with Naruto had been Kiba's Mum.

The woman seemed to adore Naruto for her wild behavior and Shikamaru knew that Kiba had been interested in Naruto for that reason. Too bad for him that Naruto would never take her best friend's crush. A sigh escaped his lips and he looked up at the evening sky. It was a good thing the blonde had been dense about the boy's feelings.

"We were kids," Shikamaru finally said.

"Hinata was a kid too," Choji pointed out. The black-haired teen grimaced at the reminder that between the three of them, the blue-haired girl had been more willing to stand up for Naruto. The moment the whiskered girl was brought up, the meekness in Hinata would disappear and replaced with a fierceness that could even scare the Uchiha. "She was in an even worse situation but she tried to defend Naruto when Ino was being—"

"—Bitchy," Shikamaru finished dryly. The brown-haired teen nodded and the black-haired teen grimaced. There was no way for him to think of an argument when Choji reminded him of Hinata. Neji tried to use Naruto to make the girl give up. But like a switch, Hinata fought against the male like there was no tomorrow.

Naruto would have been proud of the fight that Hinata gave against her arrogant cousin.

"I don't know what Naruto plans to do about our training," Shikamaru said. He groaned and looked up at the drifting clouds before flickering his eyes to Choji. The teen did not look one bit bothered by his words, reminding him that his best friend did not mind the uncertainty. "She won't tell me a single thing."

Choji eyed him and Shikamaru could only guess what was going through his friend's mind.

"Are you going to make amends with Naruto because you hate uncertainty? Or because you miss being around her?" Choji finally asked. His black eyes looked at him with disapproval and Shikamaru closed his eyes. "Because I'm going to make amends because I miss Naruto. She has always been accepting when it came to our flaws."

She also knows how to bring out our strength when you are least expecting it. The thought made his lips smile as he recalled the subtle ways that Naruto would probe him about her plans for her pranks. She did a terrible job but he did not care about it. She would talk and talk whenever he tried to look at the clouds.

It annoyed him but he liked it at the same time. When he thought about it, Choji and him had always felt at home with Naruto. They did a terrible job with her. He was a hypocrite. He was also a lazy ass as Ino would constantly complain to Asuma and even to Sakura. She was a loudmouth but he did not want a headache from her.

Between Ino and Naruto, he liked being around Naruto. She gives me my desire of a peaceful time. The thought made him pause and he looked up. But what did he ever offer her? Maybe he should learn what happened to her. But this Naruto was different. She was never going to open up to them since they were terrible friends.

"She is not going to make it easy for us," Shikamaru commented. "Naruto is very vindictive when she wants to be. I will need a couple of weeks to observe her before making a strategy of how to make amends with her. One wrong move and we can kiss being her friends again bye."

Choji nodded.

"We deserve her anger, don't we?"

They did.

A/N: So Shikamaru admits that he has been a crappy to Naruto and both he and Choji wants to make amends with Naruto. Here are the next couple of questions:

Question 1: What do you think of the conversation between Kusakabe, Naruto and Hibari?

Question 2: What do you think of Yamamoto and Naruto's interaction during this chapter and the interaction of Choji and Shikamaru?

Please review and tell me of your thoughts about this chapter.