7 : Naruto
By: Kokoro Kakera HP ^^
Disclaimer: Naruto, (Manga, anime, products, etc.), belongs to Kishimoto Masashi
Author's Notes:
Yep, yep. The usual... People e-mailing me about the couplings here... OF COURSE shounen-ai will be in here! But it's not the ONLY type of pairing! There will be hetero. pairings too.
Naruto watched as Sakura waded into a stream with one of the children they had been assigned to take care of. As Chuunins, their missions had become slightly harder, but were still hardly worth calling noteworthy when accomplished.
"Jeez! Just my luck, getting stuck here to babysit!" Naruto whined.
"Shut up and take care of your kid, Naruto." Sasuke said, pointing to the little girl. "You'd better start paying attention to her before it's too late." Naruto looked down to see the toddler on the verge of tears.
"Ahh! Hey, hey, hey, there's no reason to cry little- WAUGH!" He gave a cry of surprise when she kicked his shin, sat down, crossed her arms and cried.
"You little...!" Naruto pouted and sat down in front of the kid, glaring at her. She grabbed and yanked his cheeks, pulling another cry of pain from him. "That hurts you know!" He growled, rubbing his face. She laughed. "NOW you're laughing!?" Naruto threw his hands up in the air. A snicker surfaced from the side. In an amazing show of self-control, Naruto chose to ignore it. If he got caught up in a fight with Sasuke and neglected the girl, then he'd get into trouble with the clients that hired them and Kakashi.
"Having trouble, Naruto?" Sakura grinned and sat down beside him, holding her assigned kid close. He had fallen asleep while playing.
"NO." He returned the sneer the kid sent him. "That kid's just acting like a brat." Sakura chuckled at his frustrated comment.
"She's just like you in a way."
"Sakura-chan!"
"Joking, joking! But you know..." Sakura said softly, checking the boy in her arms. "That was one of the parts of her that I liked."
"Sakura-chan..." Naruto, touched, sat back and quieted.
"Did you really mean that?" He grinned mischieviously and Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Don't read too much into it, Naruto." Naruto gave a sad sigh, but it was more playful than anything else.
Sakura was the first girl he'd ever really liked. Liked as in... Well, he couldn't explain it accurately. From the moment he'd met her and on, he'd always enjoyed being even just near her. Even during the period of time before they became friends - when she ignored him - he'd loved to look at her. From her lovely pink hair, cute forehead, pretty green eyes that shined and a smile that lit up the entire room.
Becoming a team had given him a chance to gain more insight to her personality and although Sakura wasn't perfect, he'd liked what he found. She truly cared for her friends and when she could, tried to protect them, even if it meant she would die in the process. She couldn't do much, but tried anyway. She had risked her life against the sound ninja for them. Had risked her life against Gaara for Sasuke.
Sasuke... Naruto closed his eyes. She loved Sasuke, and it showed. He'd dreamt, many times before, of having her give as much attention and adoration to him as she did Sasuke.
He knew now, that such a thing was as palatable as what it was. Just a short dream that disappeared when he woke up.
He nearly jumped when he felt the girl he'd been babysitting crawl onto his lap, curl up and sleep. "Jeez, you're so weird..." He mummered. "Hating me one minute, then suddenly so friendly at another." He blinked as a sudden image of Sasuke flashed in his mind. "Ya... you're just like that weirdo."
"What did you say?" Sakura growled.
"Not you! I mean- Nothing!" He squeaked.
It became quiet as Sakura let go of his outburst and checked the boy in her arms. Hating silences if there was no reason for it to be there, Naruto thought of something to say. What came out of his mouth surprised him.
"Hey, Sakura-chan?"
"Yes?" She looked at him. She seemed a little tired and he wondered if it was because of all her games she'd played with the children, or the curse on her arm.
"Why... do you like Sasuke so much?" She looked as startled as he felt.
"Why?" She looked down, mouth turned upwards in a small, sad curve. "Naruto..."
"Huh!? What's wrong?" Naruto panicked. "What did I say?" He could handle it if he made her mad, but to ever make her cry...
"You got it all wrong, Naruto." She lowered her face so that her hair fell over her eyes as she spoke. "I may have felt something for him before, but now... Sasuke-kun is... Sasuke-kun is no longer the one I love."
Perhaps the curse had affected more than Sakura's arm.
Or maybe he was still asleep.
Sakura didn't love Sasuke anymore.
And he wasn't overjoyed about, or celebrating the fact like he thought he would.