: notice :
: to catch the attention
"So..?"
Naruto raised a brow as Sakura posed in front of him with an expecting look.
"What?" He asked, a little to insensitive for her taste, making a tick mark appear on her forehead.
In the newly built Senju Park, Naruto was just peacefully scanning over his notes for his upcoming exams underneath a tree's shade, when suddenly, his pinkette friend stood in front of him.
Forcing a smile, Sakura clenched her fist and asked "Are you really not gonna leave any comment?"
"Uh..." Did he forget to say his opinion or something? He was pretty sure he did everything on his list before reviewing...
"Let me give you a clue..." Sakura said in a dangerously low voice as her eye twitched "NEW LOOK!!!!"
Naruto squinted his eyes and studied his teammate. Short hair. Red dress. Black gloves...
His blue eyes suddenly sparkled in wonder, "Did you get a new headband?!"
"HOW DARE YOU!!!"
"I'm sorry!!" Naruto cried as he backed into the tree "I don't know! I'm stupid, dattebayo!"
Sakura had to use all of her self control not to scream 'shanaro' and punch the guy, destroying the entire park in the process.
"Come on!" She whined as she stomped her feet "Don't you at least think I look a bit more womanly?!"
She definitely thought she made a huge change.
Since she turned eighteen, she decided that she would do a little makeover. She's been trying to catch up with the trends lately.
Side bangs and obi pouches. Tenten and Temari were rocking the look lately, so Sakura thought she'd give it a try.
And to be honest? She thinks she's gonna keep her hair like it. Makes her look with a sense of maturity.
Naruto only pursed his lips, remembering the last time this happened, she literally poured her anger on him.
With a sigh of frustration, the Haruno twisted the blonde's ear and marched off with him.
"He-hey-hey! Itai-tai-tai!!!" Naruto screamed as he followed.
The duo walked down the busy street, being greeted with large smiles for Naruto.
"Hinata's gonna be so upset when I tell her I barely studied today" Naruto grumbled as he rubbed his swollen ear "And I'm telling her that I blame you, Sakura-chan"
"Then don't tell her" Sakura said in a matter-of-fact tone, making the blonde gasp and yell "When she asks tomorrow when she comes back what I did today, I oughta tell her-ttebayo! I would never lie to her!"
The pinkette giggled softly.
"Everything surely is changing, huh?"
The Uzumaki raised a brow as he looked down to her, "What do you mean?"
Emerald green eyes looked up at ocean blue ones.
She smiled.
"Well, for one..." She said as she pointed at Naruto, making him groan and say "You're being so cryptic lately, Sakura-chan!"
"I don't know what you're talking about! You're simply too slow!" She fired back "At least that stupidity of yours never changes!"
"Oh! If it isn't Sakura and Naruto"
The duo looked ahead and saw Sai smiling at them in his usual fashion, "Not at the hospital today, Sakura?"
"Not for the rest of the week" The pinkette said as she put a hand on her waist proudly "We're setting off this huge project soon, and it's ready to go then! So for the meantime, it's free time for me. So I call this week... 'Sakura Catch-Up Week'! And today's Naruto's day!"
"Hey, join us, Sai! We'll turn today into Team 7 2.0's day!" The blonde cheered "We can start by grabbing rame-"
"Nope! Not this time, Naruto!" Sakura growled "It's my free-time, so we'll use it on what I want, and I say, we'll kick off the day with some... Salad"
"Eeeeeh?!"
"Shut up!" Sakura screeched as she blushed, her hand going to her stomach insecurely "I've been eating nothing but instant noodles for days now since I was stuck in the hospital dealing with some papers, so I want salad"
"I eat instant ramen all the time, and look at me!" Naruto proudly said as he jabbed his thumb to his puffed out chest "Strongest man in the world!"
"How about we go get some momen tofu instead?" Sai asked, making the blonde glare at him and say "Mahhh, that's so boring, Sai! As bland as you!"
"I say salad, and that's final!" Sakura said with a stomp, making Naruto cross his arms and shake his head "Nope. Not eating plain veggies, Sakura-chan"
"Well, we're going to the cafe whether you like it or not" She sternly said.
Green eyes twitched at the out of place order on the table.
On the table, a savory and healthy mixture of leafy vegetables and fruits, a garnished and designed yet still bland looking tofu with sides of relishes, and then suddenly, a steaming bowl of sweet abomination called shiruko.
"Seriously, Naruto?" She asked as she stuffed a lettuce into her mouth "You should really start thinking about your diet"
"You do you, Sakura-chan, and I do me" Naruto said with a proud smirk.
With a roll of her eyes, Sakura looked at Sai and said "I see you got yourself a new gear, too"
"Ino told me I look better in this, but I don't see what I changed" Sai said honestly, making Naruto eye him and say out loud "Yeah! Stomach, scroll, black, shoes, headband..."
"Geeze, you guys!" The pinkette whined "Men really can't see the same way women can, huh?"
"Neh, Sakura-chan, you said you were busy with papers" Naruto said "But aren't you supposed to be healing people and stuff?"
"Oh, yeah! Check this," Sakura said excitedly "I'm gonna be head of a division in the hospital that I myself found! Isn't that great?!"
"I guess... I don't really get how hospitals work, all I know is that they heal'ya" The blonde said with a nervous scratch to his cheek, making the pinkette shrug and turn to the other man "How about you, Sai? What've you been up to?"
"I've been helping with the masons and sculptors to finish Kakashi's carving up in the Hokage mountain" Sai said with a tinge of excitement in his voice "It's amazing how even mountains could such a beautiful canvas"
"You, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"I've studying up for this huge Jònin test!" Naruto suddenly yelled excitedly "If I pass this written test, then I'd become a Jònin, dattebayo! And then, after that, I'm invited to the Academy as a guest lecturer to tell my side of the war, and then I'm escorting this migrating clan here with Ino and Shikamaru in Choji's place. I dunno, but Choji's been doing a lot of travelling"
"Huh, I wonder why, though" Sakura said "Oh! I just remembered, months ago, you guys went to the Land of Waves, right? Did you guys visit Tazuna?"
"Oh yeah..!" The blonde recalled, then shook his head, "Nah, I had no time after the mission. I only had one arm at the time, so I had to go back ASAP since I'm technically still under meds at the time"
"Shame" The pinkette sighed.
It was rare for Team 7 to have a moment of peace, they are infamous for a reason.
So it didn't shock Sakura when suddenly, a huge mob of girls came swarming in, screaming her teammate's name with hearts in their eyes, just like the good'ol days... Except, this time, it was Naruto's name they were squealing.
"NARUTO-SAMAAA~!!!"
"HOLY SHIT!" Naruto choked before rushing out his seat, running out from the Emergency Exit, a mochi still in his mouth.
"THERE HE GOES!!!"
"I LOVE YOU, NARU-SAMA!!!"
"KYAAAA!!!"
The fangirls quickly chased after the famous hero.
Sakura sighed, "Well... There goes our dinner, Sai"
"Were you gonna use him for ramen tonight?" Sai asked, earning himself a nod.
Shikamaru groaned deeply to himself as he walked around the village, a scroll in his hand.
"Come on, chin up, Shikamaru" Shizune scolded with her older-sister voice, "One day, when you become advisor, you'll have to do this whenever the mission's tad classified..!"
"We're hunting down Naruto, not just some random shinobi" Shikamaru grumbled, making the woman shrug and say "Well, sometimes, you gotta search for your Hokage, too. At times like, let's say, they're on their day off, then there's urgent information, you gotta go and find them, no buts"
"But-" "No buts" She said, still in her stern voice, "And look..! There's Naruto right there!"
"Finally..!" He groaned out loud before calling out "Hey, Naruto!"
"KYAAA!!! NARUTO-SAMAAAAA~~!!!"
"Shit!" Naruto flinched as he jumped out from his hiding spot, then speeding off into another direction, his fangirls chasing after him.
"Shikamaru! What are you doing?!" Shizune asked "Catch up to him!"
"Nope" Shikamaru said as he lazily crossed his arms behind his head.
"What do you mean 'no'?!" "I can't catch up to him" He non-chalantly said "I can't run that fast"
"At least try!" She tried insisting, but he only walked off while spinning the fake mission scroll in his hand muttering a low "Troublesome training exercise"
"We've got a long way to go" Shizune inwardly sighed "Even if he knows he can't, he could at least try and not give up so early... Right?"
"Oh, hey, Choji!" Ino called out, a basket of flowers that she's delivering hanging on her arm as she walked towards her friend "What's up?"
"Not much" Choji said as he munched away on his chips "Just got done packing for my next trip tomorrow"
"You've been going to the Hidden Cloud an awful lot lately" The blonde started as she suspiciously squinted her eyes "What have you been up to, huh?"
"Wh-Who, me?" The brunette nervously laughed as he waved off the question "No! You know... Travel is travel! Travel is fun!"
"Uh-huh..." The Yamanaka continued to press "I didn't know you were into travelling that much, though. And I've known you most of my life"
"Just looking for new hobbies! Hehe... He..." The Akimichi said in sweat, then he quickly changed thw subject by pointing at a tree "Oh, is that Naruto?!"
"HE'S OVER THERE!! KYAAAA!!!!"
"Choji! You gave me away-ttebayo!" Naruto whined in panic as he jumped down the tree, dashing off into another direction, a mob of a mix of women and girls chasing close behind him.
Ino watched as the other blonde get chased before putting a hand on her waist, "He seriously thought he could hide in a tree wearing clothes like that? Anyway, Choji- Huh?!"
Her blue eyes widen in shock as she realized that her big boned friend disappeared.
"I swear," She thought "With the way he's acting, if that guy's courting someone, I wouldn't even be surprised"
"Aaaaand... We're open for business" Tenten said proudly as she flipped the 'closed' sign to an 'open'.
Smiling proudly, she took a couple steps back and looked at her newly opened shop.
"I don't know why I haven't thought of this before!" She said with a bright grin, her hands resting on her waist with pride, "It's opening an opportunity for me to get in good trades with different lands to see different weapons!"
"Well done, my youthful student!"
"WHAT THE-?!" The brunette jumped as she looked beside her, seeing a pair of legs instead of a face, then down to the head smiling proudly up at her from the handstand, "GAI-SENSEI?! W-Where is your wheelchair?!"
"Nonsense!"
"Lee?!" Tenten jumped again when she turned to her other side, seeing Lee in a handstand.
"We can freely walk on our hands! It's great exercise! Sitting on a wheelchair will give Gai-sensei a rest when we're clearly not tired!" Lee claimed proudly as he pumped his one hand and balancing on his other with fire in his eyes.
"But don't you think that it's dangerous to walk around without it?" Tenten asked, clearly worried.
"Ha ha ha! Oh, dear youthful Tenten, you doubt my abilities too much!" Gai laughed, then he reassured "You have seen me march home all the way from Hidden Sand to here on my hands on a sunny day... Worry not about my legs!"
"Oh, Gai-sensei! You are very confident! I admire your persistence!"
"Thank you, Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"You have made me very happy, Lee! For that! Let us make five more victory laps around the village!"
"Yes, Gai-sensei!"
"W-Wait, you guys!!" Tenten tried to stop them, but as they ran ahead, from the alley, Naruto suddenly appear and collided straight into Gai, "SENSEI!"
"E-EH?! Gai-sensei!" Naruto yelled in panic as he watched Gai catch himself and laugh it off, "I'm really sorry, dattebayo! I didn't know you guys were coming! And the people! They're crazy! They're chasing after me, dattebayo!"
"Worry not, Naruto-kun!" Gai said as he nodded in an understanding manner "You have not harmed me! Go! We shall hold off your pursuers!"
"Indeed, we shall, Naruto-kun!" Lee said proudly as he stood up and faced down the alley with his arms spread out, "Go ahead!"
"Alright then! I owe you guys ramen, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a nod before running off.
Tenten twitched in horror as she watched the blonde run off and see her sensei and teammate try and hold off a large group of women and children.
"Oh, Neji" She thought as her eye twitched "Look at what you left me with"
"Just where are we going?" Kiba grumpily asked as he followed close behind Shino with Hinata, "You've been dragging us around the village since we got here!"
"W-We just got here" Hinata politely pointed out with a sweatdrop, making Kiba cross his arms and groan back "Well- Yeah! But, he just said, 'Come with me', and then started dragging us around!"
Shino suddenly stopped before passing an intersection, hiding them in the shadows of the street, "Stop"
Akamaru quickly got in front of Shino, realizing what he was up to, and sat, as if ready to hide them at any moment.
Seeing how his dog reacted, Kiba quickly knelt down behind Shino, followed by Hinata who was also on high alert.
From the distance, they heard it. Screams and shrieks, fast stomping of feet heading towards their direction.
Shino then held out his arm and quickly caught a flash of orange, pulling the man he caught down behind Akamaru.
Naruto was gonna scream in protest but was cut off by the Aburame who quickly commanded "Remove your presence, now"
The four ninjas fell silent as they kept their presence behind the dog hiding them, and soon enough, an entire fanbase of all ages and genders ran passed them, all looking for that one hero that suddenly disappeared.
With a sigh of relief, Naruto stood up and said "Finally lost them. Eh?! Weren't you guys not going to be back until tomorrow? I mean! It's not that I'm not happy to see you guys or anything!"
"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. We understand" Hinata assured with a gentle smile "A-Actually, we overestimated travel time by a day or so"
"No. Only Kiba did" "Hey! It was just one tiny mistake I told you guys!" "Lucky for you, I have sensed the bug that I have planted on you moving at an erratic pace and sending off a distress signal" Shino said as he adjusted his goggles "Why do you have a bug? Doesn't matter"
"See, Naruto?" Kiba smugly said as he patted Akamaru "We had to save your sorry ass from your own fans! And to think that you'd start running away from attention!"
"I was not running away, Kiba!" Naruto argued "I was... Keeping my personal space..?"
"Yeah, right" The Inuzuka teased.
"Eh? Hinata! You cut your hair again!" The Uzumaki pointed out "You know, if you want to keep your hair short, just do it in one go!"
"As much as I want to have my hair short, i-it isn't that simple" Hinata hesitantly said "M-My clan's tradition doesn't work that way"
The change in Hinata's hair wasn't as subtle as the last trim, so she wasn't that surprised he noticed. Her bangs were now even and the fringes framing her face now was thicker and rested on her shoulders.
Then Naruto noticed something.
"Is that the new flak jacket?!" The blonde yelled in awe, pointing at Hinata's new top.
"Didn't think you'd notice, Naruto" Kiba laughed, then he flexed his arms and said "But, yeah! The new design! And I think I'm gonna keep using this! It's much more easier to move in this one"
"I, too, will keep on wearing this. Why? Because this new design allows me to move more freely and adds more protection than my last gear" Shino explained.
"I think I prefer my own gear over this..." Hinata shyly said, making Naruto raise a brow and ask "But why?! It's super cool on 'ya, Hinata!"
"You think everything's cool on her" Shino pointed out.
"W-Well-" "It's tight around her boobs" Kiba casually said with a shrug, his hands raising to in front of his torso mimicking a woman's chest, "She said even the last flak jacket squished-"
"K-Kiba-kun!" The Hyūga shrieked, her entire face red, she then quickly changed the subject and ask "Did you review, Naruto-kun?"
"I was reviewing!" Naruto suddenly yelled, his arms flailing around, "But then! Sakura-chan suddenly pulled me away! And then she complained about my eating habits! And then, suddenly, out of nowhere! People started running after me! So I tried escaping them! But then, I-"
"Sheesh, shut up!" Kiba yelled "You could just have said 'Yes, but I got caught up in something'!"
"I reviewed, I promise!" The blonde said again, as if to clarify and convince them one last time, making the bluenette giggle at his antics and say "That's great, Naruto-kun"
It was as if that short phrase made the entire world brighter and sparkle. Naruto looked like a child given candy as his eyes shone and his huge smile appear.
And all too suddenly, Naruto became aware of the 'change' Sakura was talking about.
Maybe he was just too caught up in the moment, enjoying everything, that he didn't even realize how much Konoha had changed.
There were still things that didn't change. Like people chasing after him, screaming. But unlike before, it wasn't out of hatred, it was out of admiration.
He remembered that he would run around the village to gain attention. But now, he would run around the village because he had too much attention.
People didn't hate him anymore. In fact, everyone basically loved him!
His friends, they changed, too. Sakura is now a full-time medical ninja. Sai was starting to do some volunteering. Shikamaru is training for a job. Ino is running her shop. Choji started travelling. Tenten started her own shop. Lee is more enthusiastic than before. Kiba is a lot more confident. Shino is becoming more of a leader. And Hinata...
She was finally opening up to him. Naruto remembers how she used to not even be able to talk to him, since she was too shy. She stuttered less, too! The only time she stutters is when she becomes overwhelmed or embarassed! Not only that, but she's also more sure of herself! She rarely doubts herself anymore. There is more, the list goes on and on for Naruto.
It was intriguing, Naruto himself noticed that he can notice all the little changes Hinata makes. It was as if all his attention goes to her when she's around. Since when was he so attentive? Since when was he so 'fascinated' by her? Since when did he seek her approval?
It doesn't matter. All Naruto cares about is the now and the future.
No more of the sadness of yesterday. No more of the struggles. No more of the hatred.
He made it. And he will keep going.
Hey, guys! It's meeeeeeee!!!
This is basically just a chapter showing the changes around them, haha
Will it only go up from here? I dunno! Who is to say? No one!
Well- I mean, that's a lie, 'cause I'm the one writing this book, and what I say goes hahaha
Anyway!
Costume change, anyone?
That aside, see'ya guys soon!
-OrenjiRabenda
