Back again.
Unimportant Side Note: It's strange that I love Neji and hate Sasuke. Neji is worse in attitude than Sasuke, BUT after Naruto defeated him, Neji became a better person. Besides, he's so DAMN COOL!!! ~.0
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Chapter 5
"There it is," quietly said Sasuke. The three of them were sitting in a tree, hiding from view. The enemy was located in a run-down building, that didn't seem fit for anyone to live in. "Now, how do we act…?"
"…"
"Well," continued Sasuke, still in a low voice. "It's obvious that one of us has to go down there and report back with some info."
Naruto quickly looked up. Sakura was watching the two boys, her whole body shaking.
I was never good with spying, especially since I always got caught.
"I'll do it."
Sasuke-kun?
"B-but," choked out Sakura. "Are you sure?"
"Naruto is wearing an orange suit," answered Sasuke. "You think he wouldn't be noticed? And you Sakura, we can't risk you getting caught."
Yeah, because I can't stand up for myself. I'm not strong enough against them.
"Alright," said Sasuke and with that he slowly lowered himself to the ground. Sakura held her breath and a few times, she looked sideways at Naruto whose face was screwed up in concentration.
Sasuke managed to take about ten steps from the tree before he abruptly stopped. Sakura started breathing very rapidly, her eyes nervously darting back and forth, wondering why he stopped.
Then, Sakura realized that Sasuke had a kunai stuck in his right arm. More than that, there was a seal attached to the weapon.
"SA--!"
Before Sakura managed to properly utter Sasuke's name, she felt two strong arms pull her back, one on her mouth.
Naruto! What are you doing!?
"Shh," whispered Naruto into her ear. "Stay quiet."
Even though Sakura would have obeyed him, Naruto held onto her as though he was afraid she might slip from him. Sakura looked down to where Sasuke was now lying flat on the grassy floor.
What did that seal do to him?
In a few seconds, Sakura realized that someone was approaching Sasuke. Three ninjas, completely covered in black cloth, were standing over Sasuke and looking around. They were probably looking for any more intruders.
What do we do!? What do we do!?
Naruto's grip was starting to hurt Sakura. She wanted to cry out but didn't dare move even an inch.
One of the three ninjas picked up Sasuke and started walking forward, while the other two followed. Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She disentangled herself from Naruto and was about to jump down from the tree when Naruto put his arms around her waist and pulled her back.
"NO!" hissed Sakura. "Naruto, let go! Sasuke-kun…!"
Naruto tightened his grip and Sakura felt hot tears run down her face.
"Sasuke-kun…!" she whispered, before sinking down onto one of the branches, and breaking down completely.
"Sakura-chan," said Naruto with a voice of sympathy. "Don't…"
Sakura looked up at him. Tears were still flowing from her emerald eyes.
"I hate to see you cry," continued Naruto. He reached out one of his hands and wiped the tears from Sakura's face.
"Uuu," replied Sakura and pressed herself against Naruto's chest. More tears leaked out of her face and with her arms, she gripped Naruto's torso closer. "What do we do now?"
"…"
Naruto let Sakura cry as much as she wanted. He wanted her to calm down before they came up with a plan. Sakura buried her face in Naruto's jacket and he only heard muffled sobs coming from her.
I know a shinobi must never show their emotions. Seems like I haven't matured yet, still the crybaby I used to be a few years ago.
"It's getting dark," said Naruto, after a while. "We can't sleep here. Let's go find a cave or something."
He stood up but Sakura still sat on the floor, her head lowered.
"You want me to carry you?" he asked. Even though Naruto didn't notice this, but Sakura's eyes went very wide and she felt a little paralyzed so she didn't answer.
Naruto took that for a yes. He crouched down and turned his back to her. With his hands he pulled her up on his back and stood up again.
"Ok," he said. "Let's go."
Sakura wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and closed her eyes.
His back is so warm.
She snuggled against him and Naruto had a surprised look on his face. He wasn't totally sure of why she was doing that. He shrugged and jumped on a nearby tree. One by one, they made their way away from the run-down building.
"We should keep our distance for tonight," said Naruto. Sakura didn't reply as she was half asleep. Naruto found a small cave that he felt was safe enough to spend the night in.
While Sakura sat against the cold walls of the cave, Naruto went to go get some firewood. He returned with a handful.
"This should hold us off for the night," he said. When the fire was burning at it's fullest, Sakura took out their remaining fish and put them over the fire to cook. Naruto walked over to her and sat by her side.
Jeez, it's even colder in the cave than it is outside.
Sakura scooted closer to Naruto and crossed her arms over her chest, to make herself warmer.
"This is a fine mess," she said through gritted teeth. "We just started the mission, and already one of our teammates is captured."
"Sasuke can look after himself," answered Naruto. "That idiot is a Jonin level shinobi."
Sakura knew that Naruto was trying to cheer her up, but she somehow felt even more miserable. She scooted even closer to Naruto, her whole side pressing against him.
"What are we going to do?" she asked him. She turned her head sideways to look properly at him.
"In the morning," answered Naruto. "We'll go and spy on them. There must be a way to get into the building unnoticed."
Naruto was looking forward, at the opposite wall but Sakura was inching closer to him.
I feel weird. What is this attraction…? My insides are squirming but maybe I'm just hungry. Or…
Naruto turned his head to look at her and their noses touched. He quickly stumbled backward and had a paralyzed look on his face.
"What are you doing?" he asked her, his heart racing.
"I—," started Sakura but couldn't finish it. She had no idea what to say.
Damn it, what came over me!?
"Wait a minute," said Sakura, with a concerned look on her face. "Why did you jump away from me like that? It's not like you to do so."
Naruto had a puzzled look on his face. He was obviously looking for a reason.
"Because," he started. "Well, because it's not right."
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Sakura. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from Naruto."
"Well," replied Naruto, getting a little frustrated himself. "I've been thinking about this a lot, and since you love Sasuke so much… why should I stand in the way?"
Sakura stood up, but then in a few moments slid back down on the floor.
"T-that," she answered very quietly. "I stopped loving him… a long time ago."
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Wow, this sounds weird. Naruto is so mature! Hehehe….