Hm. I think I've got the pairings for this story down. And no Japanese, eh? No problem. XD Since most of Naruto is in Japanese, I kind of assumed that people here knew the language. -sweat drop- Sorry!
And as for Sakura knowing about Kyubi or not... Yes she does, and she doesn't care. =D Oh, and it's not going to be yaoi. Like I said earlier, Sakura would be all left out, and we can't have that, now can we? XD -gets tomatoes thrown at her by yaoi-fans- SORRY GUYS! O.o I think this'll be Naruto x Sakura, with Sasuke making some forced moves on Sakura...? :O -cough-
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this.
Titled. Chapter Four.
Sakura was silent. Naruto sniffed, and flung his arms around her waist, face buried in her shirt. Sakura almost reacted negatively - but then she remembered his hurt expression from this morning when she told him that he made her sick. Her eyes softened with pity, and she hugged him back.
From the doorway, Sasuke stared silently at them. The beginnings of jealousy were poking at his heart.
No. It wasn't jealously. Why the hell would he be jealous?
Jealous? Of those two freaks? NO FUCKING WAY, screamed his own personal Inner Sasuke. And - but - they were still holding each other! Why hadn't they let go yet? Sasuke cleared his throat loudly and growled, "Make out on your own time, why don't you?"
Sakura nearly jumped a mile out of her skin as his rough voice penetrated her back. Blushing furiously, she released Naruto in a second, and vice versa. She stumbled to her feet, cheeks flaming red. But Naruto was calmer. He stood up and shot Sasuke a withering look. "It's called a hug, moron." The badly hurt shinobi gave the not-so hurt shinobi a sardonic grin.
Sasuke was staggered - the very insult he kept throwing at Naruto was thrown back at him! Hell must be freezing over. "W - what did you c - call me?" He was disgusted at the way his voice shook. As if he were at a loss for words! In an effort to save his pride, dark obsidian eyes narrowed fiercely, anger etched in his face.
"Just moron," Naruto replied innocently, oceanic blue eyes feigning sincerity - much like this very morning when Sasuke had bashed him over the head and told him it was for nothing.
Moron! He's calling me a moron? THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK! raged Inner Sasuke, pumping both fists into the air. Sasuke remained calm, exerting his willpower to not leap over there and punch that stupid grin off of Naruto's face.
"Sasuke, please," piped up a nervous Sakura. "Don't get mad or jealous or --" She promptly shut up as the black-haired shinobi sent her a death-glare, and snarled, "Shut up." Sakura obliged, hurt. The pain of those two simple words reflected in her deep emerald eyes.
How dare he be so mean to Sakura? Inner Naruto raged. He took this opportunity to fully torment the Uchiha, taking Sakura's hurt personally. "It's really okay if you're jealous or left out, Sasuke," he said seriously, though a wide grin had exploded across his face, "I'll help you. What's wrong? Is someone bullying you?" He had to stop there for laughing hysterically, and because Sasuke was looking quite murderous. And then slam - Sasuke was out the front door.
Sakura dashed towards a window, and wrenched the curtains away, watching Sasuke's figure recede further and further into the distance. He finally disappeared when he broke into a run, entering the forest. She sighed, throwing herself onto a couch, pink tresses flopping messily into her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, arms placed over her face. It was easy to say that she would keep the peace... But it was so hard. She found herself thinking, why couldn't Sasuke be a little more forgiving?
She supposed that their seven years together hadn't smoothed all the wrinkles in their friendships yet.
Naruto came limping over, his face creased in worry. "Aw, I'm sorry, Sakura, I didn't mean to take it that far..." He knelt down beside her. "If you really want," he said haltingly, as if his words were a struggle to get out, "I could - go - go get him - for you."
Sakura opened her eyes. Surprised jade eyes met sorry sapphire ones. "You'd do that? For me?"
"Yeah, if you really want me to." He dug up a big smile for her sake, though once again, he was feeling the usual hurt whenever Sakura felt upset about Sasuke.
Sakura took her time to answer, staring at Naruto. Yes, Kakashi was right, he had grown and matured plenty. He hadn't ever been quieter though. She smiled faintly, and then smiled wider. "Actually, it's all right, Naruto, you don't have to." I guess I'm growing up too, she thought. And - it didn't seem all that important if Sasuke wasn't with her. She found that trying to impress to him was done now more out of habit then anything else.
"Really?" Naruto's exclamation of surprise cut through her thoughts. "You - don't want him back?"
"If he wants to go, he can," she replied with determination. Perhaps it was good that she wasn't hankering after him... Maybe she could... give Naruto a chance... he'd probably be a better friend then Sasuke... OH YEAH, that's obvious, screamed Inner Sakura.
And then Naruto laughed as he stared out the window. "Sakura-chan, I guess it's a bit too late to visit Iruka now, eh?"
She followed his gaze. Judging by the sun, it was late afternoon. By the time they wandered over to Iruka's house, it'd probably be nearer to evening. She smiled again, relaxing on the couch. "Yeah."
Naruto didn't have a chance to reply, for her eyes had drifted shut, and her breathing evened out as - within a few seconds - she was dozing.
Naruto watched her for a bit. She was always beautiful to him. She would always be. Gently, he brushed strands of pink hair away from her face. What would it be like to be kissed by Sakura, he wondered. I'll never know though. She likes Sasuke. His face darkened slightly. Oh well. If he makes her happy, then I'll be happy for her! Feeling more cheerful now that he had decided, though still - the immortal hurt remained, he bent over her and - heart thumping - brushed his lips against her cheek.
"Good 'night', Sakura-chan," he whispered, tiptoeing out of the room.
As soon as his footsteps faded away, Sakura's eyes blinked open. She lifted a hand and rested the tips of her fingers upon her cheek. Maybe... Just maybe... This wasn't so bad after all.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest, Sasuke was having one of his silent raging fits... Which consisted of taking his fury out on a tree. But it wasn't long before he stopped punching the tree. Each time his fist made contact with the rough bark, he skinned himself. Ten minutes of this prolonged beating, and the knuckles of both his hands were bleeding.
Damn it. Damn it to hell. He cursed under his breath. Something about the way they held each other made his insides squirm with displeasure. And of course, we all know who 'they' are. The Uchiha sighed. Placing his back against the tree, he slumped down, one knee drawn up close to his chest, his other leg out in front of him. As for his arms, he just let them fall limply beside him.
You were starting to like her, lectured Inner Sasuke. Sasuke ignored his conscience. And now you think that she might just like Naruto back. Sasuke ignored it still. And then Inner Sasuke began panicking. HELL NO! What if they got MARRIED? And Sasuke couldn't ignore it anymore. If he were completely truthful to himself, he would admit it. Yes. He had always liked Sakura. He liked the undying love she had for him, liked the way that she trailed after him... And if he hadn't liked it, then he had grown used to it. And now he missed it, in a subconscious sort of way.
Except... Three minutes ago, this unconscious knowledge that he liked Sakura turned into conscious knowledge. Maybe he even had a mild crush on her now. Sasuke had grown rather... dare I say it, fond of her. He was even fond of Naruto and his loud, eardrum breaking ways, though he wouldn't admit it. He liked his friends - and that was what they were. Friends.
He sighed. Deciding that he would not return this night, he climbed a tree and draped himself over a thick branch, watching the sun, which was beginning to set. Ah, night was coming on. Good.
One day down - six more days of torment to come.
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A longer chapter then my previous two, but I'm not so sure that I liked this ending very much... And I'm positive that the short kiss scene was stupid and badly written. Or maybe I'm just looking for sympathy. -giggle- Read and review!
