AN: Note that I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either Anime. This work is a fanfiction written out of my love for the series and not in any attempt to make a profit.

Proofread by: Author and Kyluxia

Oh god, I feel rusty. Writing this chapter was like pulling a tooth. I just couldn't get it all out in one sitting, delaying both its release and plaguing my consciousness. Finally, it is here, however. Although, to be honest, not in the way I had anticipated.

Chapter 46: Games played for heart and happiness

"This is going to suck," Sakura told Heikō as she spotted Naruto leaning against the door to their room, brooding.

"Well, he has been asking us for dates since the Academy, and we've always rejected him. Yet, here we are, years later, and just accepted a date from a stranger we met not even ten minutes ago. With the teenage hormones, it's not entirely unexpected that something might trigger a response in Naruto." Heikō pointed out, making Sakura frown as she tried to prepare herself with confronting Naruto. Thinking about it, it made sense that he would be upset, but it hadn't been their intention to hurt him.

"How bad do you think this is going to be?" Sakura wondered, knowing that Heikō had been more on top of the situation than herself.

"Oh, that's a tough one. See, this is Naruto we're talking about. Caring, loyal, and sweet. Considering Hinata's goodbye, he's unlikely to be actively aiming for dating us, instead considering Hinata, figuring out his feelings for her. On the other hand, a crush is no easy thing to get rid of, especially not one you've held for years. The hormones certainly won't be helping. The way I see things working out…" Heikō began, before wincing. "Okay, this might be pretty bad actually. Not in terms of Naruto's current reaction, but what he'll feel afterward. If we hurt him here, chances are high we annihilate the crush he has on us. Unfortunately, this will put a severe strain on our friendship with him. Another possibility is that we manage to talk this out reasonably, and things stay the same. Naruto's crush on us hanging in the air. Or… well, I very much doubt Naruto would force himself on us, but if he gets very angry, I don't see his teenage hormones working all that well with the beast in his belly." Heikō explained, making Sakura stop at the horrific possibility that Heikō had drawn up for them to consider.

It took Sakura a moment to recover, before shaking her head. "No, Naruto would never let that happen. He's stronger than that damn fox. Even if he might let some of its power out when angry, he's been angry without it leaking out as well. Besides, he's been training with Jiraiya, hasn't he? Naruto would never do something like that." Sakura concluded, calming herself, and to her confusion, feeling Heikō radiate amused approval.

"You're right. There's no way that'll happen. Naruto values our friendship too much to blow up at us. He'll let us explain before jumping to conclusions. I just needed you to reach that conclusion yourself." Heikō explained as they stepped close enough to Naruto to catch his attention.

Looking up at them, Naruto didn't say anything. His expression, however, gave his feelings away clearly. He was confused, hurt, angry, and ashamed all at once. At least, that was the impression the twins got from him.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, trying to start the conversation, seeing as Naruto was struggling slightly.

"Uh, hi Sakura, Heikō… I uh I was wondering… What made you accept Sai's invitation for a date?" Naruto asked, looking slightly nervous to be asking them.

"Well, I wasn't actually initially interested, but-" Sakura began, only for Heikō to take over, flipping the braid on their right shoulder over to the left one.

"I convinced her that it might be a better idea to give Sai a chance," Heikō explained for Sakura. "Tell me, Naruto. What you really want to know isn't why we accepted Sai's invitation, but always declined yours, right? Tell me, what is a date to you?" Heikō decided to ask him.

Naruto looked startled, then baffled and finally unsure of how to respond. "I guess… I never really thought much about it? A date is a date, right? Couples are supposed to go on dates, or going on a date with someone made you a couple, right?" Naruto eventually said, looking unsure.

"Ah, that explains it, slightly at least. Well, in general, that isn't too far off. A date or an outing with someone doesn't necessarily have to be romantic in nature, Naruto. At least, that is the way Sakura and I view it. A date is an agreed-upon meeting between two people to explore the potential of or deepen the connection of a relationship between them. Most commonly, straight up asking someone of the opposite gender for a date does carry some romantic connotations to it, but the core concept of a date is to get to know the other person. There exist all kinds of different dates, people just don't think about it all that often. Playdates as children allow parents to introduce their children to each other, in a dating sense, there are more obviously potentially romantic, hopeful and desperate blind-dates, or simply dates for people to hang out, although they are rarely referred to as dates." Heikō explained, glad to see Naruto listening to her, and the gears in his head turning as he began to comprehend that dates weren't as simple as he might have thought.

"Now, as for the reason why we accepted Sai's invitation for a date, it is because of several reasons. For one, we barely know him. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know him while allowing him to show his own appreciation for what we helped do for him. It is also an opportunity to find out in private why he decided to ask us, or rather, Sakura on a date in the first place. Lastly, it is also a good opportunity to allow Sai to grow as a person. You know that Danzo tried to put us in ROOT, we know, roughly what happened down there, and we want to help Sai leave all of that behind." Heikō clarified, before sighing, knowing the hardest part came last.

"As for why we never accepted any of your invitations Naruto, there are several reasons. First of all, we were being shallow. Or rather, since I didn't exist back in the Academy, Sakura was." Heikō began explaining, and while Sakura felt like defending herself on principle, she knew that it was entirely fair of Heikō to call her out like that. She did regret how she used to behave towards Naruto after all.

Flipping the braid back to the right shoulder, Sakura took back over. "Heikō is right. I was being a stupid kid back then, and I didn't look any deeper than your loud and mischievous exterior. I saw you as a loud and annoying troublemaker and thought that I had seen all there was of you. Since I never thought to look any deeper, any attempt you made to get to know me better was… seen as an annoyance. I'm ashamed to admit that when you didn't get the hint, I began to consider you as stupid as well, and the bias everyone else showed, and the grades you got didn't help." Sakura admitted while Naruto looked at her in disbelief and some amount of hurt, but he understood, as he nodded for her to continue. Swallowing, Sakura did just that.

"That's how it was at first. Until we graduated from the Academy, I didn't so much as give you a second chance. However, after we became a team… slowly, and without me realizing it, my views of you began to change. As we interacted more, I learned more about you than I ever bothered to find out about you on my own, and I'm ashamed to admit, that it took me so long. I suppose my crush on Sasuke was also a big, ugly obstacle against you as well that I wish I could change." Sakura admitted with a tired sigh.

"After that, however, there were other factors that kept me, as well as Heikō from considering you," Sakura began, only for Heikō to mentally interrupt her.

"Speak for yourself. I've always been open to the idea." Heikō reminded Sakura.

"Hush you, not now!" Sakura responded while continuing her explanation for Naruto.

"One of the bigger issues was that with how I had seen you previously, and with Sasuke as the only other option to compare, I simply didn't see you as dating material. By the time I even came to consider it, you were already a friend, and I might have felt that if I were to date you, I wouldn't have deserved it." Sakura admitted, shocking not just Naruto, but also Heikō, who surprisingly hadn't seen the admission coming. Something attributed to the fact that Sakura had only realized it herself as she said it.

"Not to mention that Hinata, the one who has been crushing on you since the first day in the Academy, had first dibs on you," Sakura added, hoping to gloss over her own admission slightly.

"Huh, you learn something new every day," Heikō commented, amused, before taking back control, flipping their braid back to the left shoulder.

"For the record, unlike Sakura, I was never a prude, or against keeping an open mind for another boy if things didn't work out with Sasuke," Heikō informed Naruto with a smile, taking some satisfaction in seeing Naruto blush.

"Heikō!" Sakura protested in their mind, making Heikō laugh at both of their reactions. "That was inappropriate, and what about Hinata?" Sakura demanded to know.

"While I agree that Hinata has first dibs and deserves a guy like Naruto, we need to take care of ourselves as well. Just because you agreed to go on a date with Sai, doesn't mean I won't keep our options open. Besides, we can't make it that easy for Hinata, can we? I won't try to steal Naruto away from her, but this should be Naruto's choice as well. If he chooses to be with her despite my advances or suggestions, then their relationship will only end up being all that much stronger for it. I might take some pleasure in being a tease and getting a rise out of people, but I'm also tempering him… that, or making our own future sweeter. It's a win-win, you know?" Heikō offered as an explanation for her actions.

"That's… that's equally understandable and fucked up." Sakura decided, a little confused as to why she was equally disgusted, yet respectful of Heikō's answer.

"I try. Now, we have a date to prepare for. You want to look pretty, or casual?" Heikō wondered, surprising Sakura.

"I thought we agreed on casual?" Sakura responded, a little confused.

"Well, if you're not interested in keeping our options open, sure. But Sai is pretty handsome. If he really is interested, I am willing to give him a shot." Heikō explained. However, before Sakura could respond, Naruto decided to continue their conversation, having not been privy to the sister's mental one in the middle of theirs.

"Um, ah… Thanks? I, uh… In that case…" Naruto began to say, only to cut himself off with a hesitant shake of his head, rethinking his decision. "Actually, never mind. Sorry for keeping you from getting ready… I guess, have fun on your date?" Naruto offered instead. Heikō gave him a smile in return.

"Thank you, we will try our best, although we can't speak for Sai. Now, while Sakura would absolutely hate it, I think it's too good of an opportunity to pass up, and considering Jiraiya's lessons this last week, don't you think this is a perfect opportunity to spy on our date with Sai? I'm sure Jiraiya will approve, and if you tell Sasuke and Karin, it'll be more of a challenge." Heikō told Naruto who was now staring at her, wide-eyed, making her giggle in amusement, while Sakura let out a drawn-out, suffering sigh in their mind.

"Might even make it interesting with a bet," Heikō added, musing, barely restraining herself from offering Naruto a date if he managed to keep himself, as well as the rest of team seven from being seen. She wasn't that evil, and it really wouldn't go over well with Hinata if it ever got back to her. Besides, it really wouldn't be fair towards Sai either.

AN: The direction of this chapter was actually heavily influenced by something said in one of the reviews left on the last chapter, which got me thinking more about how Naruto would have reacted to his crush accepting a date from some stranger, right in front of him. I also wanted to get more into resolving the teenage drama between the three in this chapter, because of course, Heikō can't resist it. But, it isn't entirely groundless either.