DISCLAIMER:

Naruto doesn't belong to me…he belongs to Hinata, puwahaha!

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks to those of you who've reviewed! *huggles reviewers* It seems that some of the reviews aren't showing up on the review page, so I guess is having problems again? What I forgot to mention in my first AN was that the characters are actually much older, being at least sixteen years old (possibly older, I haven't decided, heh). If they seem OOC, they've matured! ^_^ I think I've figured out who I want to end up with who, but of course, the ride WON'T be easy for any of them! *evil grin* Lots of love trianges, squares, pentagons, hexagons…hahaha! A little bit of good 'ole teenage angst is thrown in to kick things up a notch! Anyway, thanks again to those who've read and reviewed the story so far!

Simple and Clean

By: JDArc

The laughter faded from her smile, and she bit her lip, gauging Sasuke's reaction. She was surprised to see the fists gripped tightly together at his sides, and she could tell by the tension in his grim expression that he was bothered, and extremely so.

"Hello, S-Sasuke-kun," she greeted with a forced smile, and she waited anxiously for his response.

Chapter Two

Sasuke's dark eyes met the emerald green of Sakura's as she jumped to her feet in front of him, and an emotion he had no name for somehow forced his heart to beat a little faster, and he frowned at her, almost as if blaming her for making him feel something he wasn't accustomed to. Her gaze was bright and hopeful as he continued to stare at her, and without warning, he felt his cheeks burn against his will. His frown intensified, especially when he felt another look, one slightly more threatening, directed at him. He broke his gaze from Sakura and found himself subject to Naruto's furious stare, one far more severe than the one Naruto usually flashed his way when training.

"What are you doing here, Sasuke?!" Naruto growled angrily, baring his teeth a little when he stood up defensively.

"I'm hungry," Sasuke replied evenly. "That's why people come here, baka."

"Stop calling me that, you arrogant freak!" Naruto yelled out angrily. The tension between the two grew as they stared each other down, and Sakura, once again caught in the middle, looked back and forth between the two, unsure as to what to do. However, as her eyes landed on Naruto, she could tell by the stiffness in his shoulders and the way he looked back at her, that he was scared. It wasn't because of Sasuke, but, she realized with a start, because he was terrified that Sakura was going to leave him for Sasuke once again. An inexplicable emotion flickered within her, and she found herself softening toward the blond, hot-headed ninja. Her feet moved as if they had a mind of their own, and she gently caught Naruto's arm and led him back to their seats.

"Don't mind him, Naruto," Sakura said in a low voice that only he could hear. "He only came to have dinner." The angry gaze melted away from Naruto's face, and she looked over her shoulder to Sasuke. "You can join us if you want to, Sasuke-kun." Naruto bit back a yelp of surprise, and once again, he narrowed his eyes heatedly at the Uchiha survivor.

Damn it, why does he always have to interfere?!

he thought to himself as he glared down at his ramen, but he was startled when Sakura reached over and took a hold of his hand. His head snapped to the side to stare at her with wide eyes, and she merely smiled at him, giving his hand a squeeze as Sasuke walked calmly to take the seat beside Sakura and mumbled his order to the person behind the counter.

Her small act of affection did not go unnoticed by Sasuke, and he sneered in Naruto's direction. His irritation with the blond ninja only grew when Naruto plastered a gloating smile on his face, as if to say, Ha-ha-I'm-holding-Sakura's-hand-and-you're-not!

"So you're together now, is that it?" Sasuke said, breaking the silence, and Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she tried to think of how to answer him, but Naruto didn't hesitate and guffawed loudly.

"It's obvious isn't it!" he replied as Sakura sighed, her cheeks reddening, but much to her surprise, Sasuke glared as his hand formed a fist on the counter. His mouth was set in a grim line, almost as if trying to restrain himself from saying something he needed to say.

"Make my order to go!" he barked out, and a few seconds later, he had his order in a sealed Styrofoam cup, and he slammed his money on the counter. Without another word, Sasuke turned around and silently walked out the same way he walked in, leaving Sakura to stare after him.

"Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura whispered, her eyes wide as she watched his quiet retreat.

Immediately, she stood from her seat and nearly raced out to follow him, but a gentle tug on her hand brought her attention back to Naruto whose mouth was turned down into a hurtful frown as he stared at her sadly.

"I thought that you were trying to let him go…?" he said in an uncharacteristically soft tone before letting her hand drop from his grasp. "Why w-would you run after him, then…? Did you just-" he took a deep breath, "-use me…to make Sasuke jealous…?"

"No, Naruto, of course not!" she said, and her face crumbled, suddenly feeling incredibly confused and torn. "I wouldn't do that, especially not to you, Naruto. It's just that…" Her voice trailed off, her words failing her. She wanted to stay with Naruto, and yet…she'd never seen Sasuke react that way, at least toward her. In the few seconds he had been in the shop, his whole attitude screamed that he was upset, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what it was that got him so worked up. The hope she had given up on was once again ignited by his reaction, and she wanted to make the most of whatever chance she had.

Then her eyes locked with Naruto's, and for a moment, she found herself drowning in the oceanic hue of his blue eyes, and she could see his feelings reflected there in his gaze: concern, trust, but more importantly, pure and simple love. Her stomach was churning in some unnatural way as she realized just how much he cared for her. Whenever Sasuke rejected her date offers, Naruto was always there, willing to fill in the void that Sasuke had left in her wallowing heart, and over and over, she refused to acknowledge his presence. Despite her horrible treatment of him, he never gave up on her; he was always there to cheer her on when she needed encouragement, and he was always there to catch her when she stumbled. He believed in her and accepted her for who she was, no questions asked. What Naruto did and endured for her surpassed the conduct of a regular teammate; it was more than that, much more. Drowning in the deep abyss of his cerulean eyes, Sakura found the truth of how large a role Naruto played in her life.

Naruto knew she was reading the emotions on his face and decided not to hide what he felt. Sakura was finally there with him of her own free will; he had waited for so long, and at last, after all their long years together, Sakura was there with him because she wanted to be. Things had been going more smoothly than he had imagined before Sasuke had arrived; without Sasuke there, Sakura was finally able to just relax and enjoy the company of others without having to worry about what Sasuke thought of her. Gone was the girl who cared only about how to impress the Uchiha survivor. In her place was the real Haruno Sakura, free of the oppressive burden of always putting Sasuke above everyone else, including even herself. It was Naruto's ultimate chance to be the one who held her attention, to show who he really was without his rival there to make him look like an idiot. He was going to let her know how much he cared for her, how far he was willing to go for her. He wasn't going to lose to Sasuke this time around.

Damn you, Sasuke,

he thought grimly when he saw Sakura's own emotional battle contorting the features on her face as she cast a fleeting look to where Sasuke had been moments before. It's my turn, Sasuke, and I'm not going to let you ruin this-

But when Naruto gazed into her misty eyes, he saw nothing but conflict in her gaze and, with his heart sinking, realized that no matter how much he wanted to prevent her from running back to Sasuke, holding her there against her will would only make her desire his rival even more. There was no way Naruto wanted to see Sakura with Sasuke, but he'd rather give up his own happiness to see her smile again. When you love someone, you have to learn to let them go, he thought dismally to himself.

"Sakura-chan," he whispered. "Look, I know I may act stupid at times, but it's been years…and I've always been there for you. I don't want to see you hurt again, especially if Sasuke is the reason for it. I'm not good with words, and I always say the wrong things, but…" He reached out and reached for both of her hands. "…But, I c-care about you, and i-if you really don't feel the w-way I do, then…then I won't hold you back."

"W-what?" she stuttered in surprise. "You're willing to let me go…?"

"Like I said, I may act stupid at times, but even I know not to force you to be with me if you don't want to be," he said, giving her hands a squeeze before stepping away from her. "It'll only make you sad, and if that's the case…then, it's only obvious what I should do."

"Naruto," she whispered, gazing up at him as if she were looking at him for the first time. He's really growing up, she thought to herself as she studied him. He never ceases to amaze me…His cheeks colored slightly under her scrutiny, and he turned away to head back toward the counter.

"It's only because I…I-I really love you, Sakura-chan," he said over his shoulder, and he walked slowly over to his seat, unable to believe that he'd finally spoken the words he had wanted to tell her for the longest time.

Sakura, rendered speechless and motionless, could only stare at Naruto's back as he shuffled to the counter, and her gaze moved to Ino and Shikamaru, both of whom had been watching the entire scene, and they merely shrugged, not knowing how exactly to advise her. She looked back at Naruto, noticing his slumped shoulders as he leaned protectively over his bowl of miso ramen, and holding her breath, she knew there was only one decision she could make to stop her heart from breaking. She gulped with resolve and took a step toward the exit…

A few blocks away in a deserted alley, Hinata tried to calm herself down by hugging her arms around herself to ward off the chill that had consumed her, but it was of no use. She was still alone, and Naruto was still in the ramen stand with Sakura. Nothing was ever going to change the fact that her crush had finally succeeded in grabbing the pink-haired girl's affections. Another salty drop fell from her exotically clear eyes, and she wiped it away as she tried to stifle back the sob that wanted to erupt from her chest. Breathe, Hinata, just breathe! she ordered herself silently. It isn't the end of the world! Just because they were holding hands doesn't mean they're really t-together! It's not like they're engaged! But try as she might, even her inner monologue could not convince herself that she still had a fighting chance with Naruto. Frustration welled up within her, and she clenched her tiny hands into tight fists, slamming them against the wall she leaned upon.

"If only I'd told him sooner!" she berated herself harshly, and a friendly bark echoed through the backstreet, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Told who what?" a loud voice called out to her, its owner giving her a wide, toothy grin as he sauntered over to her.

"K-Kiba-kun!" she stuttered, hurriedly rubbing her hands over her eyes to wipe the evidence of tears away.

"When you didn't come back to the training grounds with the ramen, Shino and I got a little worried," Kiba explained, and Akamaru gave a bark in confirmation. "So what didn't you say to who?"

"W-what..?"

"You were mumbling about wanting to say something to someone?" he said, and Hinata felt her face flush with embarrassment as her mind raced for a good excuse to use.

"W-well, I-I t-thought t-that I had my money with me, b-but when I got to the ramen shop, I realized t-that I'd forgotten m-my purse at home, so I-I was just thinking outloud th-that maybe I should have taken the money you offered earlier-"

"Was that all it was!" Kiba laughed loudly, patting Hinata on the shoulder as he steered her out of the dark alleyway. "There's no need to fret over things like that! You should've just come back and told us instead of dwelling on it in that alley!" He waved away her apology when she began to speak again. "Don't worry about it, Hinata! Let's go back to Ichiraku and get some ramen!"

"B-but, b-but…" There was no way she wanted to go back. If she saw Naruto with Sakura again, it would only reestablish that the nightmare she had seen was really reality, and she wasn't sure if she could compose herself this time around.

Thinking that Hinata was going to protest about his paying for their dinner, Kiba waved her off again, guffawing noisily. "Really, Hinata, it's alright!" he chuckled. "There's nothing to worry about!" He walked confidently down the sidewalk with Hinata trailing after him, and she dreaded each step that brought her closer to facing the horrible scene she had witnessed earlier. She desperately looked from side to side, searching for a distraction, any distraction, that could occupy her time, just so she wouldn't have to step foot in the ramen stand again that night. But as luck would have it, shops around the area were already closing for the day, and as they neared the ramen shop, Hinata braced herself to face Naruto and Sakura again.

Naruto glared down at his steaming bowl of ramen, almost as if blaming the inanimate object for his rotten luck. He had hoped that by showing that he only cared for her happiness, Sakura would chose him and not run out of the shop looking for Sasuke, but when she didn't sit back down next to him after more than a few seconds of intense silence, he hadn't bothered to look up and concluded that she left the ramen stand, searching for his eternal rival, Sasuke. He snapped a pair of chopsticks and sighed, accepting the fact that no matter what he did, Sakura would never ever return his feelings. Well, at least I have some ramen to cheer me up! he thought as a sad smile spread on his face.

Suddenly, two warm arms snaked around his waist in a fierce embrace, and a soft cheek pressed against the curve where his shoulder met his neck, and he snapped his head to the side, his eyes widening as he looked directly into a pair of brilliant green eyes.

"I thought you left?" he stammered, his face growing hot, and Sakura tightened her hold on him as she shook her head.

"I was going to," she answered truthfully, "but…I couldn't." She disentangled herself and took her seat next to him, reaching across to take his hand in hers, and she smiled softly when their fingers intertwined.

"Why not…?" he questioned, his eyes wide as if he hadn't heard her clearly. "Don't you want to be with Sasuke instead-"

"I want to be with someone who cares about me," she cut in, "as much as I care for him." If it were possible, Naruto's eyes grew even larger in disbelief.

"I told myself today that I wasn't going to chase him anymore, Naruto," she said, never tearing her gaze from his, "and I'm sticking to what I said. I d-don't deserve to be ignored…just like you don't either." She giggled a little, her cheeks reddening, but Naruto stared at her wearily.

"You're not doing this because you feel sorry for me, are you?" Naruto said, pulling his hand away from her as he nursed his bowl of ramen. "Because if it's just out of pity, then I don't want to be any part of it-" But his words were cut off when Sakura quickly leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. Naruto, taken completely by surprise, was frozen to his place, not exactly sure of how to move much less respond to her kiss, and after a few more seconds of his not moving at all, Sakura, slightly disappointed, started to pull away. Naruto, finally alarmed out of his immobility, pulled her back to him. He cupped her chin in his hand, and he gulped as he took in the breathtaking sight of Sakura smiling at him before closing her eyes, tilting her head up to wait for him, and without hesitation, Naruto's lips descended upon hers, his own eyes closing as their lips moved against each other's, the sweet friction causing both their hearts to jump around in wild ecstasy.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Ino whispered in a hushed tone as they studied the couple next to them. "This looks familiar, doesn't it?" He nodded in response, a faint smile tugging on his lips.

"It's almost the same," he answered, "but unlike Naruto, I wasn't so idiotic-looking when I…admittedmyfeelingstoyou." Ino grinned at the cute way he rushed his words at the end of his sentence, and unable to let the opportunity slip, her eyes lit up with mischief.

"I beg to differ," Ino teased lightly, and when he frowned, she laughed, leaning close to plant a gentle kiss on his scowling lips.

"I wasn't idiotic," he defended grumpily, his cheeks red.

"Yes, you were," Ino joked, "but it was so cute! I like it when you're like that."

"Fine, fine," he sighed, though a hint of his earlier smile was back on his face. "You're too troublesome."

"But you love it."

"Hai."

"Hey, Ino," Sakura interrupted, just as Ino leaned toward Shikamaru for another kiss, and the blond glared in annoyance at her reinstated best friend.

"What is it?" she questioned impatiently.

"I just wanted to say bye," Sakura replied, smirking as if she had planned to wait until they were about to kiss to interrupt them. "Naruto and I are leaving-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ino cut in with feigned anger before she gave them a tiny wave. "Don't stay out too late, kids." They watched as Naruto shyly grabbed a hold of Sakura's hand as they turned to go, but not before they nearly collided with another pair: Kiba and Hinata.

"Oi, Naruto, watch where you're going, baka!" Kiba greeted with a large smile, and Hinata merely stared at the floor after catching a glimpse of the couple she dreaded meeting.

"Why does EVERYONE call me THAT!" Naruto erupted, fire in his eyes.

"G-go-gomen nasai, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered in a hushed tone so soft that they all had to strain their ears to hear her. "Kiba-kun didn't mean anything by it."

"Hmph," Naruto grunted, still glaring at the boy and his dog as Sakura bestowed a friendly smile upon Hinata.

"Hi, Hinata!" she said cheerfully, but before Hinata could reply, Akamaru whimpered in what sounded like a question, and Kiba tilted his head to study the two standing in front of him.

"Say, are you two going out, like as a couple or something?!" he bellowed loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, and Hinata forced herself to look up, wanting to know the truth. She watched as Naruto and Sakura turned to each other, both their cheeks aflame before Naruto gave a confirming nod, grinning widely, and Sakura answered with a happy, "Yup!"

Feeling as if her entire chest had just collapsed, Hinata felt her knees grow unsteady at the news, and she forced her lip to stop trembling; she had to do something, anything, to keep herself from running away.

"B-but," Hinata stuttered suddenly, just as Kiba was about to congratulate them, "what about Sasuke-kun…?" She immediately regretted her words when she saw Naruto's face fall at the mention of his name, and instead of going starry-eyed over Uchiha like Hinata expected her to, Sakura, taking notice of Naruto's reaction, merely straightened up, holding on firmly to Naruto's hand.

"Sasuke-kun had his chance," Sakura said in a confident tone, shrugging and smiling brightly at the shy girl as Naruto's face lit up at Sakura's reply, "and I stopped being foolish."

"Good for you!" Kiba declared, laughing.

"Sh-Shino-kun is wa-waiting for us," Hinata said, wanting more than anything to get away from Naruto and Sakura. "We-we should hurry with the food-"

"Right!" Kiba agreed, and Naruto and Sakura waved goodbye as they walked out of the stand together hand in hand, and as they left, a pair of sharp eyes heatedly trailed after them from the shadows just around the corner of the shop.

Sasuke had been finishing the last of his ramen in silence when Sakura had finally walked out, but much to his dismay, he realized that Naruto was still with her.

"What the hell is going on…?" he muttered, and he had to admit to himself that when he had left the ramen stand in a hurry, he expected Sakura to come after him seconds later, and he waited to see if it would happen, only out of mere curiosity of course. As the minutes passed by, however, there still had been no sign of her, and he was about ready to go home when she finally left the shop…with Naruto.

"What the hell is she thinking…?" he asked himself as he stared at the pair making their way down the street, once again connected at the hands. Not knowing what he himself was doing, Sasuke followed a good distance away, but close enough to hear her giggle when Naruto paused a moment to pluck a nadeshiko flower from a group that grew wild on the side of the road, and Sakura tucked it behind her ear, the colors of the flower nicely complimenting the color of her hair.

"This isn't right…" Sasuke murmured as he felt his heart thump madly in his chest, adrenaline pumping through each of his veins, but he grew cold when Naruto leaned down and closed the distance between himself and Sakura. It was as if time had suddenly decided to torture Sasuke further when Naruto's lips met hers in seemingly slow motion, and Sasuke let out a low snarl as he pivoted around in anger. He didn't care if they heard him or not; all he knew was that he wanted to get away as fast as he could.

He didn't slow down even when Sakura called out his name, and he increased his speed when he heard footsteps running after him. As he turned the corner, he collided with two other boys and with a painful thud, all three landed in a heap on the floor. They were scrambling to their feet just as Sakura finally reached them.

"Sakura-san!" one of them greeted as he flashed her a wide, toothy grin and dusted off the dirt from his green bodysuit.

"H-Hello, Lee-san," Sakura muttered in surprise as the other rose to his feet, "and hi, Neji." The older ninja merely nodded, his clear eyes studying her as she offered her hand to Sasuke, who begrudgingly took it to pull himself up. Sasuke tried to ignore the tingling sensation in his stomach when her hand touched his, but he held onto her longer than was necessary before letting go.

"So, what are you doing on this fine evening, Sakura-san?" Lee asked, smiling madly with a twinkle in his eye.

"Chasing after Uchiha again?" Neji commented, smirking slightly, and Sakura shook her head fervently.

"No, it's not what you think-" she stammered, frowning a little at Sasuke, and Lee laughed enthusiastically, seeing the look of contempt she flashed at Uchiha.

"It's my chance!" Lee whispered to himself in excitement. "She seems angry with him!" Then, a little louder, he addressed her. "Uhm, if you're not doing anything, let's go out on a date, Sakura-san!"

"YEAH RIGHT!" a loud voice called over as Naruto caught up with them. "NO WAY IS SHE GOING ON A DATE WITH YOU, THICK-BROWS!"

"Like you have any say in it, Naruto-kun-" Lee scowled, but blinked twice when Naruto walked over to Sakura, taking her hand in his to establish his new role in Sakura's life. "What the…"

"Uhm, Lee-san, Naruto is…uhm…" Sakura stammered nervously. She hadn't exactly been expecting to let the whole entire village know so soon. "We're together," she finally decided on saying, and Lee looked thunderstuck at the news.

"What…?" His unnaturally large eyes were even wider than normal as he stared at her in disbelief, looking back and forth between her serious face and the idiotic grin Naruto had plasterd on his. The girl he had had a crush on for years was finally taken by, out of all people, Naruto, and Lee was shocked speechless and made no protest when Neji merely shrugged and dragged him away. Sasuke saw his chance to escape when Sakura looked dejectedly at Lee, but when Sasuke turned to leave, she called out to him.

"Sasuke-kun, we need to talk," she said, and he paused, sighing in exasperation.

"There's nothing to talk about," he replied flatly.

"Yes, there is!" she argued angrily. "You have absolutely NO reason to act the way you are right now!"

"And how exactly am I acting?" he growled back at her, his eyes narrowing.

"You don't know?" She gawked at him when his only answer was an indifferent shrug, infuriating her even more. "First, you come into the ramen stand, looking at me as if I'd done you wrong, and afterwards, you have the audacity to follow and spy on me and Naruto! We've done nothing to you, and yet you're treating us as if…as if…" She struggled with her words when tears started to build in her eyes. "As if we betrayed you."

"You did," Sasuke found himself whispering at the sight of her tears.

"What?" she questioned, confused and slightly even more enraged. "How the hell did we betray-"

"You're always saying you love me, Sakura," Sasuke blurted out, "and yet, you leave and run off with him. How do you expect me to react-" His words were cut off when he found his head whipping to the side at the impact of her hand slapping against his cheek, and he had to shake his head a little to keep the ringing in his head to a minimum. He was stunned that she had actually hit him that hard, and when a metallic saltiness found its way onto his tongue, he realized that he had bit the inner lining of his lip when she had slapped him. He stared at her in silence, watching as her shoulders heaved with emotion, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Don't you dare say any more," she muttered in a dangerously low voice. "I loved you Uchiha Sasuke. I loved you and chased after you for years, always forcing myself to do better, to be stronger, just so I wouldn't be separated from you. I took your insults without question, I tried to do my best just for you to recognize me, and not once, NOT ONCE did you ever acknowledge me. I stayed by your side when you were injured; I took care of you when no one else was there, but you never ever showed your gratitude. And yet, I stuck by you, hoping, always hoping that maybe, just maybe you'd flash a rare smile in my direction. That was all I wanted from you, but I never ever got it." She paused long enough to wipe her tears away, and for the first time in a long time, Sasuke felt as if he couldn't breathe, couldn't move. He couldn't do anything to stop the pain that throbbed within his chest, and he realized that this unpleasant sensation was coming from his heart, and it was breaking. Sakura sniffed and cleared her throat before she continued. "How do you expect me to stay in love with you when you never gave me a reason to, Sasuke-kun?" Her watery eyes turned to look at Naruto, who gave her a feeble smile, encouraging her to go on, and she leaned against him for support. "Naruto isn't like you because he has something that I don't think you even have: a heart." With that, she tugged on Naruto's hand, and they started to walk away, just as Sasuke blinked back the sudden wetness in his eyes, but he wasn't going to let her walk away just like that.

"Of course I don't have a heart!" he yelled at them as they continued on their path. "You stole it from me a long time ago, Sakura…" He saw her stiffen as she looked back at him, biting her lip to prevent herself from crying. "You've had it for a long time," he went on as Naruto sneered at him.

"SHUT UP-" Naruto started to yell, but Sakura motioned for him to stop.

"I give it back to you, then, Sasuke-kun," she shot back, turning away abruptly as she pulled Naruto along. "I don't want something that's of no use to me, especially since its dysfunctional." A severe pain stabbed into him, as if Sakura had in fact butchered him with a knife; her words were sharp and intended to wound him, and he felt he was dying. His vision blurred, and turning in the opposite direction, he ran home, grateful that the sun had now completely dipped beneath the horizon. He didn't want anyone to witness his falling tears.

TBC…

Sorry about all that angst! And I haven't exactly checked over my grammar or spelling for that matter since it's pretty late, and I'm sleepy. Please review! No flames! Arigatou!