Disclaimer. My disclaimer rule
Because it is a haiku
Naruto's not mine..

That last chapter was pretty well accepted. I'm still sorry for the cliffhanger ending, but it was crucial in the development of the storyline. I sure hope this chapter justifies it.

Thanks to however many reviewers I have had by the time this chapter comes out. I'm really enjoying writing this, and I'm happy you're all enjoying reading it.

Anyway, on with the fic! Here's Chapter Nine!

To Hell With the Consequences
Written by PHreek-Boi

Chapter Nine: Greetings From Ground Zero!

"Naruto and I... We're... Um, well..." Sakura studdered, looking helplessly to Naruto.

"We're dating," he finished.

Nobody at the table spoke. The hubbub of clicking chopsticks and slurping noodles seemed muted. Even Kakashi had fixed the couple with a wide-eyed gaze. Naruto shifted uncomfortably, wishing the silence would end. Sakura, on the other hand, was petrified.

"You're what?" Lee asked. It was obvious from his weak tone and the pleading look in his eyes that he was hoping that he had misheard..

"We're together," Sakura said, grabbing Naruto's hand and squeezing it.

"Oh." Anyone who had been watching the green-clad shinobi would have been able to pinpoint the exact moment his heart shattered. "Well that's... nice." Lee's hands clenched into fists, and his eyebrow twitched more frequently. It was obvious he was fighting back his anger and sadness at the fact that he had lost Sakura to Naruto.

"I'm happy for you, Naruto-kun," Hinata squeaked, swallowing. "C-congratulations." She was on the verge of tears, obviously. She had loved Naruto for almost as long as she had known him. She had always hoped that someday he would reciprocate her feelings, but now, it seemed all hope was lost. "E-excuse me. I have to go. I just remembered that I had promised mother I would run some errands for her. C-congratulations again, Naruto-kun. You too, Sakura. I hope you're very happy together." Without another word, Hinata had disappeared out the door.

"It's about time you two got together," Shikamaru yawned, looking as disinterested as ever. "At least that means there's one less teen melodrama we have to put up with." He smirked slightly. "Congratulations."

"I'm so happy for you!" Ino squealed, pulling both Naruto and Sakura into a tight hug. "I knew you two were meant to be together. If it had taken too much longer, me and Shika-kun were going to lock you two in a closet until you admitted you had feelings for each other."

"You make it sound like you suspected something," Naruto observed. "It's not like we were always slobbering all over one another like you and Shikamaru. Hell, until yesterday I thought she was in love with Sasuke."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "I was pretty sure I was too. What made you two think otherwise?"

"Not just them," Neji interrupted. "I, too, suspected there was something more than friendship between you two. Think about it, Sakura. Who did you go running to when Sasuke broke your heart?"

"Naruto," Sakura admitted, flushing slightly as she smiled at the blond boy.

"And who could always make you smile, no matter how depressed you were?" Neji pressed on, causing Sakura to smile wider.

"Naruto." She leaned over to kiss Naruto gently, and Lee looked as if he might attack the grinning jounin.

"And who, Sakura, would drop everything, no matter how important just to be there for you when you were upset?"

"Naruto," Sakura replied, resting her head on Naruto's shoulder, who draped an arm around her lazily. "You've made some good points. I guess I've been pretty blind, huh?"

"Yeah," Ino agreed, earning herself a death glare from Sakura. "But it's understandable. There was always this mystique about Sasuke. I know it blinded me towards Shika-kun for a while. So you can hardly be blamed for not really noticing Naruto sooner than you did." She smiled, eyes glinting mischeviously. "You've managed to pick up second place in the great game of love." She never could pass up a chance to insult Naruto.

"Gee, thanks, Ino," Naruto replied sarcastically. "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said about me."

"I aim to please," Ino retorted, smirking and sticking out her tongue.

"Yeech, put that away!" Naruto mock-whimpered, covering his eyes. "I don't even want to think about where it might have been."

"Bastard," Ino growled, folding her arms. Naruto smiled triumphantly. Sakura giggled, kissing him again. Lee, who had watched the whole scene unfold, looked like he was about to scream. "So how'd you two get together anyway?"

"Well," Naruto began slowly, looking to Sakura. "It's kind of an interesting story. Y'see..."

"I went over to his place last night to check on him," Sakura interrupted. "I knew he was pretty broken up about Iruka-sensei's death, and I just wanted to know he wasn't blaming himself. I had some time to think while I was walking, and by the time I made it to Naruto's place, I knew I was in love with him. We got to talking, and one thing led to another." She smiled at Naruto, interlacing her fingers with his. "And now we're together."

"It's good you two finally figured your feelings out," Kakashi reasoned, leaning his head on his hand.

"Not that I disagree, but why's that?" Naruto asked, a confused expression on his face.

"It was starting to affect your work as a jounin," Kakashi explained. "It was always pretty obvious you had feelings for Sakura, ever since you were assigned to my cell back after you graduated. Most of your amazing progress at first, I think, was due to the fact that you wanted to impress Sakura. But as time wore on, you became less and less focused on your work as a shinobi."

"I couldn't help myself," Naruto sighed, flushing. "You do wierd things for the people you love."

"Aww," Sakura cooed, kissing Naruto again. Suddenly, a growling Lee had sprung from his seat, leapt over the table, and toppled Naruto to the ground.

"You bastard!" he wailed, smashing one fist into Naruto's face. "You knew I was in love with her! You knew!" Again, Lee's fist connected with the blond boy's face. "You stole my Sakura-chan from me!"

"I didn't steal anything,Lee," Naruto returned through swollen lips. "Sakura picked me. If you can't deal with that, tough."

"I'll kill you!" Lee wailed, repeatedly smashing his fists into Naruto's face.

"Lee, stop it, please!" Sakura begged. "I know you're upset, but I love Naruto. I'm sorry." She moved to lay a hand on Lee's shoulder, but he pulled away.

"Don't touch me, you... you whore!" Lee snarled, standing and stalking towards the door. Just before he exited the restaurant, with one last bellow of rage, he drove both fists down into a table, snapping the legs and splintering the top.

"That went better than I'd hoped," Naruto mumbled, before losing consciousness.

A/N: Sorry it was so short. This chapter was kind of hard to write, but here it is anyway. The next two chapters will be from Hinata and Lee's consecutive feelings about Naruto and Sakura being together. So yeah... Read and review and they'll be up sooner.