Hello guys and gals! It's been a few months since my last short story, but I'm back again with yet another one shot for you all just in time for NaruSaku Day 2021! This story is based on an idea I've had running through my head for some time now and I was finally able to put words to paper. This is basically an alternate ending to the Naruto series in which Sasuke gives his two teammates a much needed push in the right direction to finally confess their feelings to one another. So without further ado, it is with great pleasure that I present to you, The Bench Where it all Began.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights to the series, characters, places, original plot, etc belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
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"What if I said… that I wanted to go with you?" Sakura asked, her cheeks becoming warm as she looked away.
"This is a journey to atone for my sins, Sakura. I need to see how the world works by myself. None of the crimes I committed during the time I was away have anything to do with you. Therefore, I think it's for the best that you stay here and continue to advance your career as a medical kunoichi under Lady Tsunade." Sasuke reasoned.
Sakura hung her head in disappointment upon hearing this.
"Besides…" Sasuke started to talk once more, making Sakura lift her head up so her eyes met his.
"You need to figure out where your heart truly lies, because we both know that it isn't with me anymore." Sasuke elaborated further.
"But…" Sakura stammered out, but was unable to finish her sentence.
"Until next time!" Sasuke smiled as he tapped Sakura's forehead just as his older brother Itachi used to do to him when he was a child.
Watching as Sasuke started to walk off into the distance, Sakura was left with more questions than answers.
'What did Sasuke mean when he said that my heart no longer lies with him? I know that he doesn't feel the same way about me as I do with him, but who else could he be referring to? Ugh, why does this have to be so confusing!?' Sakura thought to herself.
That's when she noticed that Naruto had been the only member of Team 7 not present to see Sasuke off before he left on his atonement journey.
"I wonder why Naruto didn't come to say goodbye?" Sakura thought aloud.
"He did, Sakura. I think he just wanted to do it in his own way. Take a look for yourself." Kakashi said, pointing to two figures just a little ways off in the distance.
(With Naruto and Sasuke…)
"When I saw only Sakura and Kakashi at the gate, I was beginning to think you weren't going to see me off before I left." Sasuke said.
"Do you honestly think I was gonna just let you leave without a proper goodbye after all the trouble I went to bring you back?" Naruto grinned.
"I suppose that's fair." Sasuke chuckled.
Naruto pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Sasuke, "Here, I wanted to give this back to you before you left."
As he took the item into his hand, Sasuke was surprised to see that it was his old Leaf headband with a line that had been stricken through the center during their first fight in the Valley of the End.
"I'm surprised that you kept onto this thing." Sasuke said.
Naruto just grinned with a determined look in his eyes.
"I'll hang onto this until we settle things next time." Sasuke smiled back one last time before he started to resume the long journey that lay ahead.
Before he got too far, Sasuke stopped and turned around to face Naruto. He then went on to say, "I better see a ring on her finger the next time I return."
"What the heck are you talking about, you bastard?" Naruto asked.
"You're an idiot. Who else would I be referring to except for Sakura?" Sasuke smirked as he watched Naruto's face turn red.
"Oi! You know that she doesn't feel that way about me! Not when she's still head over heels in love with you." Naruto replied with a saddened look on his face.
"I was wrong. You're both idiots." Sasuke jabbed, making Naruto get riled up all the more.
"You may not be smart enough to notice it, but I can clearly see that Sakura's feelings have changed. The way she looks at me now isn't the same as it was the night I left the village. She's just confused right now and needs to be reminded of what has been right in front of her this entire time." Sasuke said.
Naruto just stood there with a confused look on his face, unsure of what to do.
"Go talk to her… Tell her how you feel." Sasuke suggested as he steered himself back onto his original course and started to walk off down the road.
With a newfound determination, Naruto set his sights on going to find his pink-haired teammate, eager to tell her how he felt.
(Back with Sakura and Kakashi)
"I wonder what they were talking about?" Sakura asked her sensei.
"It's hard to say. But if I were to take a guess, they needed to finish settling things." Kakashi theorized. "Either way, you'll get a chance to ask him soon enough because here he comes."
"Hey guys. Sorry I didn't join you sooner. There was something I wanted to give back to Teme before he left." Naruto said as greeted his sensei and pink-haired teammate.
"What were you guys talking about?" Sakura asked.
"About that… Sakura, can we go somewhere private? There's something really important that I need to discuss with you." Naruto requested.
Sakura was a bit perplexed by Naruto's sudden request. The pinkette had to go to work soon, but she rationalized that there would be enough time before her shift started to talk about whatever was on Naruto's mind. She then went on to say, "Uhm, I have to be at the hospital in about an hour before my shift starts, but I think I can make a little time. Why? What's up?"
"Just come with me and I'll tell you more once we get there!" Naruto said as he grabbed Sakura's nearest hand and started dragging her off into the village.
"Hey! Let go of my hand, you baka!" Sakura shouted angrily, but Naruto paid no attention to her protests.
Kakashi could only watch on, trying his best to contain his laughter, as Naruto took Sakura off to god knows where to talk. The Copycat ninja had to wonder if maybe Naruto was finally going to tell Sakura how he felt about her. Furthermore, Kakashi also was curious if Sasuke had nudged Naruto in that direction. Only time would tell.
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After dragging her through the village for about ten minutes, Naruto and Sakura finally came to a stop in front of a familiar bench. This was the very same one from all those years ago where Naruto had secretly disguised himself as Sasuke to meet with Sakura and ask her what she really thought of him. It also was the first time he had worked up the courage to compliment her about a feature that she had always been very insecure of.
The hyperactive blonde was pulled from his brief reminiscing when he felt Sakura pinch his ear a bit.
"Ow! What the heck did you do that for, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he looked at a now very peeved off Sakura Haruno.
"Gee, I wonder? Oh, how about the fact that you started off by saying that you needed to talk about something important and then next thing I know, you're leading me on a wild goose chase through the village until we finally ended up here. So what the heck is going through that thick-headed skull of yours? Because I most certainly didn't come here to watch you daydream, idiot!" Sakura shouted.
"Sorry, Sakura-chan. Why don't we have a seat on the bench and I'll tell you what's going on?" Naruto suggested, getting a reluctant nod from the pinkette.
"So the reason I brought you here, to this bench of all places, is because this place holds special meaning for me. To be more specific, it's the spot where I told the girl of my dreams that she had such a large and charming forehead, it made me want to kiss her." Naruto began, watching as Sakura's eyes widened upon hearing those familiar words he had uttered while disguised as Sasuke.
"That… That was you?" Sakura managed to stutter out, getting a small nod from Naruto in response.
Tears began to trickle down Sakura's face as her biggest fantasy suddenly came crashing down on her. Words couldn't even begin to describe how angry and upset she was right now. Sakura was going to get answers from him one way or another.
"Why would you do such a thing!?" Sakura shouted through her tears.
Naruto sat there in complete and utter silence as Sakura lashed out at him. He knew that if the day ever came when he revealed the truth of what really happened that she might react in such a manner.
"Why would you pretend to be Sasuke and get my hopes up by complimenting my worst feature, all to make me think that he really liked me?" Sakura sobbed.
"No, that was never my intention! The reason I went to all that trouble, tying Sasuke up while I pretended to be him, was because I wanted to know what you thought of me. I knew that if I came to talk to you as myself, you wouldn't have even given me the light of day because of how much you despised me at the time." Naruto reasoned.
"Then why compliment my forehead when you knew it's the one thing I have always been insecure about?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know. I guess I always thought it was cute. Your abnormally large forehead is what makes you who you are. Anyone who couldn't see past that clearly didn't know what they were missing out on." Naruto said.
Naruto's response took Sakura aback. She decided to press him for more, "What do you mean?"
"Remember how you told me once about how you used to get bullied by some of the other girls in our class like Ami until Ino finally stood up for you?" Naruto questioned.
Sakura nodded gently.
"Well, from the moment I saw you, I thought to myself; 'Man, she must have an amazing mind hidden behind that beautiful forehead'." Naruto said.
"Really?" Sakura asked, totally surprised by Naruto's answer.
"Yeah! It's no secret that I've been crazy about you since we were in the academy. That's why I figured that since I wasn't confident enough to talk to you the day of team assignments as myself, I did so while under the guise of someone you would." Naruto said.
"I see. So did you really mean it when you said that I had such a large and charming forehead, that it made you want to kiss it?" Sakura asked, biting her lip a bit.
"Of course! You know I would never lie to you about such a thing. Plus now, when I look back on the whole experience, it reminds me of the story my mom told me of how she met my father." Naruto continued.
"Wait! When did you meet your mother and why am I only hearing about this now?" Sakura asked.
Naruto let out a deep sigh, "The reason you're just hearing about it now is because it's something I haven't really wanted to share with anyone. But long story short, when I went to Kumo to train with Killer Bee, my mom appeared while I was facing off against Kurama in a grudge match to gain control over his chakra. My dad wove some of her chakra into the Eight Trigrams Seal so she could help me when the time to face Kurama finally arose."
Sakura's eyes widened, prompting her to ask, "Really? What was she like?"
"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, also sometimes known as the Red Hot Habanero because of her temper. Nevertheless, she was a beautiful woman, with long red hair and these striking purple eyes. She was also very kind, had my sense of humor and also a bit scary too." Naruto chuckled as the part when his mom told him how she used to beat up bullies in her youth replayed through his mind.
All the while, Sakura had been listening intently to Naruto as he talked about his mom. The pinkette couldn't help but be amazed at how similar she sounded to Naruto's mother. She was pulled from her train of thought, when she heard Naruto start to talk.
"The final request she made just before she died was that she wanted me to find a woman like her to settle down with. After spending what little time I had with her and learning more about what she was like, I can safely say that there's only one woman I know who is like her. That person is you, Sakura-chan." Naruto boldly declared, taking Sakura by complete and utter surprise.
Giving herself a moment to let everything sink in, Sakura finally replied by asking, "Out of any girl you could choose to be with, why are you so determined that it has to be me? You are the hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Surely you could do better than someone like me, a self-centered girl who has caused you so much pain and hardship by asking you to make a promise of a lifetime just to bring Sasuke back to me."
"That's not true, Sakura-chan. After Sasuke left the village, you were always the one person I could count on to be there beside me. You've also gone to great lengths to support my stupid dream of being Hokage, including one such instance just recently when you cut the side of my abdomen open and kept squeezing my heart while you performed cpr to keep me alive." Naruto said.
"Gaara told you about that, huh?" Sakura inquired.
"Yup! And I'm glad he did too, because it proves that I gave my heart to the right woman, who has literally held it in her hands." Naruto chirped happily.
"Naruto…" Sakura began, unsure of how to respond.
"It's okay if you don't feel the same way. I just wanted to tell you how I felt, although Teme really deserves all the credit for giving me the extra push I needed to do it." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"So Sasuke had a talk with you about your feelings too, eh? Glad to know I'm not the only one." Sakura chuckled.
"Regardless, I never said anything about not having feelings for you, Naruto. Truth be told, ever since you got back from your training trip with Lord Jiraiya, I started to have these weird feelings whenever I was around you. I honestly didn't know what to make of them whenever people such as Captain Yamato and Sai brought it up, but now that I think back on what Sasuke said to me before he left, I think I finally understand." Sakura explained.
"The man that my heart belongs to now is you, Naruto." Sakura finished as she gave him a warm and sincere smile.
"Really?" Naruto asked the pinkette, only for her to nod her head up and down a few times.
"Yatta!" Naruto shouted in excitement.
Sakura couldn't help but giggle as she watched the hyperactive blonde.
Once he calmed down, Naruto looked at the pinkette eagerly and asked, "Ne, Sakura-chan? How about we go on an actual date?"
"I have to go to work shortly, silly!" Sakura giggled once more, "But my shift ends around seven. So pick me up at the hospital entrance and we can go eat wherever you want."
"Yes! You're the best, Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled brightly.
"I'll see you tonight, you big doofus. But until then, this'll have to be enough to hold you over." Sakura said as she got up from the bench and walked over to Naruto, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in for a steamy kiss.
When the two separated, the only thing going through Naruto's mind was one word. 'Wow." Naruto thought to himself.
"Bye, Naruto-Kun." Sakura said as she left, giving the blonde a small wave with a small smile on her face.
Watching as the pink-haired kunoichi walked away to head to work, Naruto broke out into a loud cheer. Nothing else mattered to him right now because he had finally confessed his feelings to the woman of his dreams and got her to go out with him on a date all in the same day. And Naruto's life would only get better from here on out.
The couple would later get engaged in this very same spot three years into the future, where it had all started when they were just two freshly minted genin setting out on their journey.
The End
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this short story! I'm still trying to gain my bearings with writing, as I'm pretty rusty after taking such a long break from my main project, It's Better to Share the Pain. For those of you who've been eagerly waiting for the next chapter to release, please know that I greatly appreciate you all hanging in there while I work on it and try to balance everything else I've got going on. Feel free to drop a favorite and let me know what you think! I may continue this story with another chapter or two depending on how well it's received. Until next time, this is Nate signing off.