I've known you for many years now, and it has always been my dream for you—especially you—to acknowledge me. When we were placed on the same team, I actually began to feel like I'd come one step closer to achieving that dream…
But you don't have eyes for me. I am not so blind that I cannot see at least that. And for some reason, it doesn't sadden me anymore. Sakura-chan… even if you never return it, the love I feel for you will never die, because it is, as the Mist Missing-Nin once told me, a precious thing. I cannot throw it away that easily no matter how foolish it is.
But that does not stop me from thinking that your precious "Sasuke-kun" is an idiot. I can be jealous of him for being a showoff and I can dislike him for being a jerk who makes rash decisions and doesn't consider the consequences that his teammates have to suffer—and I can hate him more for the beating you'd probably give me for speaking ill of him like this—but I cannot hate him for you loving him. That would almost be the same as hating you for not loving me.
But that Sasuke… for someone who is fighting for such a noble cause as avenging his entire clan, he sure does everything the wrong way. All he's doing is abandoning his old attachments and seeking the most foolish, desperate power he can find. In essence, he is doing the exact same thing as the brother he is trying to kill, which is ironic, since the moron is clearly trying to prove that he is morally superior to Itachi in some way. But I digress…
You're a girl. You're twelve. Just like any girl your age, you have crushes, but unlike any girl your age, your devotion is not a fickle thing. Perhaps that's why I love you so much. If I were ever to be the focus of that devotion, I know that you would never turn your back from me, which is why I hoped you would get over this whole Sasuke thing. But then I realized that because your love is not as fickle as others', you wouldn't just get over it; your heart and spirit would be broken. That is the type of love you hear about in those old stories. Yes, I sigh at those stories too. What of it?
You crush like a twelve-year-old, but your love is far more mature than that of any adult I've ever seen. Such a strong, foolish, desperate love… a jerk like Sasuke should appreciate that more. After all, it's the same kind of love that made me fight for you back during the Chuunin exam. Of course, you probably thought that, too, was Sasuke; I haven't proven that reliable any other time, so why would this have been different?
Your love is probably so important to me because I've never known that love… ever. I wonder if my mother and father loved me that way, so much that they would give up their own happiness, that they would sacrifice their lives to let me know that I was loved. It's such a tragic love because it's rarely returned, and Sasuke has not returned those feelings to you once, but if you were ever to love me, then unlike Sasuke, I would return that love to you twofold. You would never feel unloved by the object of your deepest, purest affections and devotions.
I'm writing this out to you because I might never see you again. I'm going on a long journey with Ero-Sennin. We're going to look for Sasuke and drag him back from Orochimaru. You may hate me for this, but I'm going to kick Sasuke's ass when I find him, and I won't stop until he realizes what he has waiting here for him.
Sakura-chan, you once said that I don't understand your feelings (don't ask how I know; I just do), but I beg to differ. I will show you the truest devotion known as love by doing the one act that would make you happiest; I will return Sasuke to you so that I can see you smile again. I have learned that when something is truly precious to you, you should protect it with everything you have, and protecting it at your expense is nothing to you if that something is as precious as you claim it to be.
What is the expense? I could live with you loving Sasuke because I never had to do anything to contribute to it. But bringing that bastard back is not the same as doing nothing at all, and this may very well be one of the most difficult things I've ever pushed myself to do.
All the same, I hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you. I hope to bring you something good when I return. Until then...
Love,
Uzumaki Naruto
"Is that everything you wanted to say?"
Naruto double-checked the letter, looking for anything that was slightly off or missing entirely. He'd asked Jiraiya to write it for him, since he, to put it frankly, sucked at writing. Not only that, but he needed someone to make sense of his incoherent feelings and translate them to paper as best as could be done. He looked up with a rather cheeky grin at Jiraiya, who smiled warmly down at him.
"Wow! You really are a good writer, Ero-Sennin!" he chirped.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
"Whatever." Naruto jumped down from his bed and started packing his things. Before the letter was finished, he had been completely worried about leaving, and the fact that he was bringing Sasuke back had left him feeling rather unnerved, but now, all of his doubts had vanished, for that letter was also the declaration of his Nindo.
I'm not going to take back my words…
"I'm serious! If you don't want me to leave you here, stop calling me that! I am Jiraiya, the greatest of the Legendary Three!"
Naruto glared at him.
"If you're so great, you'd have killed Orochimaru back when we were looking for Tsunade. You're just a stingy perverted old man who can summon frogs and steal money from kids, so shut up and help me pack."
Jiraiya was looking quite murderous now, his eyes and the edges of his lips twitching constantly.
"Why… you…"
"Morning!" came Kakashi's unexpected voice as he appeared in Naruto's bedroom window, beaming. "I heard you two were about to set off, so I was just… uh… is something wrong?"
Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he looked at Jiraiya, whose fingers were widely outstretched in a creepy way suggestive of intent to strangle Naruto's neck; Naruto, on the other hand, looked back defiantly with a screwed up bratty face that only he could muster.
"Now, now, you two. Kiss and make up. We've got work to do if we want to catch up to Orochimaru before he gets too far."
"That's true," Jiraiya said, calming down. Naruto returned to packing as he let the two talk.
Kakashi stepped into the bedroom, peering down at the piece of paper on the bed written with beautiful calligraphy.
"So, this is the letter?" asked Kakashi, picking it up and looking it over.
Jiraiya beamed.
"Yep! I must say it's one of my finest works ever!"
"Really? You write?"
"Of course! I'm sure you've heard of me. After all, you never could put those naughty books down, Kakashi. I'm the author of the Icha Icha Paradise series."
"You mean… you…?"
"That's right!"
"No way! I've read every single book you've written! That's my favorite series of all time!"
Naruto stared blankly at the animated faces of his sensei and his mentor. For once, Kakashi was no longer the collected, cool ninja he usually was. In fact, if one were to put his appearance into words, he was acting more like a blushing, incoherent fangirl at the moment. Naruto fought back a snicker.
"Ero-sennin… Ero-sensei…" he said, pointing from one pervert to the other. They both turned to him, Jiraiya's face looking murderous and Kakashi's one visible eye glaring daggers at him.
"Beg your pardon…?" they both said.
"Nothing, nothing," said Naruto who continued packing, whistling as he did so.
"Anyway, back to business, Kakashi. Naruto would like you to deliver this letter to Sakura."
"Why me? I really think he should deliver it personally."
At this suggestion, the nape of Naruto's neck up to his ears glowed crimson. If he were to turn around, his face would probably look the same.
"I see… very well, Naruto. You can trust that I will deliver this to Sakura for you."
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei. That means a lot to me."
"Anytime! You are, after all, one of my students. And since only one of my team will remain in Konoha after this, it's not like I have much to do anyway. I'm running out of excuses not to accept Gai's challenges."
He heaved a heavy sigh.
"Anyway, good luck! Jiraiya-sama, can I get an autographed copy of your next book before it hits the stores?"
Jiraiya laughed and Naruto simply glared again at the two of them.
"How could I say no to such a big fan of my work? It'll be out in a couple months. I send a messenger frog to deliver it to you."
"You don't know how much that means to me. Well, later!" With that, the generally carefree Jounin was gone.
"Ready, Naruto?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto looked up, grinning from ear to ear.
"Ready whenever you are!"
As they set down the streets of Konoha to the front gates, Naruto smiled as he thought about Sakura's reaction to the letter.
I love you Sakura-chan.
And there is absolutely nothing that I wouldn't do for you.
