Summary: Sakura has finally decided to go out with Naruto! Will she learn to appreciate him before it's too late? Sakura hides and overhears Naruto saying, "Don't worry Hinata-chan, I will always be there for you." Finally a Saku x Naru
-Be Strong For You-
By Durian
2 Envy
"Hey Naruto, besides ramen is there another food that you like eating?""Hmm… rice balls."
"Why?"
"Eh… A kind lady once gave me a rice ball when I was starving on the streets."
Naruto cringed as he remembered how all the adults had turned their eyes away from him, all except one. A young lady with bright yellow hair came up to him and patted his messy hair. "Are you hungry?" she asked before she gave him a rice ball, which he ate eagerly. "Now be a good boy and promise to smile for me."
A smile crept up his face, which was hidden behind the shadows. He leaned forward to give Sakura a goodnight kiss on the forehead. "Don't look so sad, I'll see you soon, goodnight and sweet dreams MY-Sakura-chan." He caught her off guard and squeezed both of her cheeks before she could retaliate. Sakura was about to hit Naruto but he had already run off into the distance.
Beep Beep!
Beep Beep!
"Why won't you shut up? Naruto was cooking dinner for me!" cried Sakura as she grabbed hold of the cold noisy object and chucked it to the opposite wall. She placed a pillow over her head to protect her from the morning rays seeping in from her window. Sakura was about to fall asleep again but something hairy brushed passed her legs. She tensed up as she felt something moving its way up to her thigh, underneath the protection of her gown.
Sakura threw her blanket aside to check out the thing that was irritating her. Her eyes bulged as she realised what the big hairy black thing was. She screamed as she recognised the spider! She instantly ran out of her room, fearing that the small creature would give her another hairy spasmodic shock. Suddenly she heard an echo of laughter from the room next to hers. She tried to open her little brother's door but it was locked.
"Open up! Open up now!" Yelled Sakura.
"No, no way!" Shouted Kenji.
"Oh yea, Mr Hairy here is going to get squished soon…"
"Don't! Shino gave it to me," cried Kenji who opened his door.
"If it ever enters my room again, it'll die like this," warned Sakura as she stomped the ground in her slipper for a demonstration.
"You're cruel!" Shouted the pink haired boy.
Sakura ignored him and entered the bathroom to refresh herself. She changed out of her gown and fixed up her hair before descending down the stairs to her kitchen. She opened a window to breathe in a gentle morning breeze. Normally she would still be sleeping on this Sunday morning, her only day off from her annoying genin students. However, she wanted to surprise Naruto later by giving him some rice balls.
Sakura boiled some rice in the rice cooker and set out some sushi paper. When the rice was done she added some sugar and vinegar to favour it. She waited for the rice to cool down before using her palms to turn them into triangular balls. She wrapped a small piece of black sushi paper to give it that authentic Japanese look. When she had finished making enough to fit in her box, she put some pink and yellow colouring on the peak of the triangle.
She used a cloth to wrap up the wooden box and carried it by the notch she tied. She took a few seconds to look at herself in the mirror to assure herself. Sakura couldn't wait to see the happy expression from Naruto's face as she raced out of her door. Her long pink hair swayed from side to side as she made her way to Naruto's apartment. Sakura had been to his apartment several times yet today was the first time she felt a shy nervousness.
She stared at the door for five minutes before she heard footsteps and a girl's voice. Naruto's apartment was situated at the end of the hallway; therefore there was some space for Sakura to hide in a corner. Sakura recognised the voice and realised it belong to Hinata. She clutched onto her box tightly, hating the unfamiliar feeling that's taking over her thoughts.
"Don't worry Hinata-chan, I will always be there for you…" Sakura overheard Naruto saying. It hurt her to hear even a plain friendly comment like that because the girl he was telling that to wasn't her. She thought that Naruto only cared about her and yet he was being so nice to Hinata. Suddenly she felt a thud from the wall where she was leaning on. Hinata had pressed herself onto Naruto, thanking him for being there for her.
Sakura dropped her box, which startled both Naruto and Hinata. Two pairs of eyes directed their gaze to the lost pink haired girl in the corner. A tear dropped from her beautiful green eyes before she ran down the stairs, which was also situated near Naruto's apartment. Naruto watched the last glimpse of pink hair disappear into the stairway door. Hinata was going to chase after Sakura to tell her that it was all a mistake but Naruto grabbed her hand.
"Don't, I'll explain it to her," said Naruto.
Naruto watched Hinata nod her head and leave in the same direction as Sakura. He crouched on his knees to pick up the box and carried it gently to his dwelling. Fortunately the cloth was still intact as Naruto unravelled the fabric to open the box. He lifted the lid slowly and was surprised to see two rice balls with yellow dye and two other in pink. In that instant he was both touched and proud to have found such a sweet girl. He picked up a rice ball to taste it and had to hold his breath to gulp it down because Sakura had added too much vinegar.
Sakura ran blindly out of Naruto's apartment building, she didn't feel like going home so she decided to go to Ino's house. Over the years, the two girls had become great friends ever since Ino had turned her attention to Shikamaru. Whenever Ino had her boy problems she would always call Sakura. The two of them were also great shopping buddies. Sakura wiped away any remaining tears before she knocked Ino's front door.
The door opened abruptly to reveal a distorted and wrecked Ino with swelling red eyes. Ino had thought that Shikamaru had come back to make up with her but she was now disappointed. They had broken up several times already but each time Shikamaru would come back in the morning. Ironically it was always Ino initiating the break up over little things like not spending enough time with each other.
"Sakura-chan, Shikamaru broke up with me. He doesn't want me anymore!" cried Ino as she hugged onto Sakura for support.
Sakura didn't know how to interpret this because she had never been in a relationship. She had only been in a one sided romance with Sasuke and had only spent one evening dating with Naruto. Ino and Shikamaru had been together for three years and they've always managed to pull back together.
"Don't worry Ino-chan, he'll come back to you." Assured Sakura as she helped Ino to the sofa.
"You don't understand! This is the first time he broke up with me! Maybe he finally found another girl…" Accused Ino.
"Don't jump to conclusions, maybe he just needs some time off." Said Sakura.
"Choji told me he's been hanging around some girl named Temari a lot lately!" Cried Ino before she burst into tears again.
"Another girl?" Whispered Sakura.
"YES! Another girl, why? He doesn't love me anymore."
"Did he really say that to you?" Questioned Sakura even though she had jumped into conclusions on Naruto and Hinata herself.
"NO! He said, 'I need to take some time away from you.' He didn't even give me another word or look and left." Cried Ino.
"Well he hasn't actually broken up with you then! Just wait a while more, he'll come back to you trust me!" Declared Sakura.
Sakura had spent a whole afternoon and evening trying to calm Ino down. She had finally succeeded when Ino stopped crying and was tucked safely in her bed. Sakura had tried to make Ino some food but she only ate a small amount of it. Ino has been taking care of her family's flower shop as well as living alone since her mother had passed away due to some illness. Her father was always away on missions so there was no one left to take care of her.
By the time Sakura decided to leave it was already dark and the sky had started to rain. She burrowed one of Ino's umbrellas and decided to face the cold wet weather outside of the warm house. Both of her parents were out on missions therefore she had to go home to supervise her six year old brother. 'The good old big sister who has to go home and cook for her little brother,' she sighed.
A wet figure was waiting for her as she reached the porch of her house. She recognised the man was Naruto with his wet blonde hair. He wasn't wearing his usual orange jumpsuit but a long sleeved blue shirt, which had become all tight around his figure because of the rain. Sakura stopped for a second to admire his sexy build and shook her head profusely. She wondered if he had waited the whole day for her and if he was she was a little impressed. Naruto didn't strike her as a patient person yet he had waited for her for all these years.
The thought that Naruto had only gone out with her to pay her back for rejecting him crossed her mind. She clutched her fist to shake away the sick thought but it had been bugging her the whole day. She didn't know, she didn't know why Naruto had liked her. What he had found in her. She didn't even treat him that well but why did he remain in love with her. She wanted to know. She wanted to know badly.
"I love you, that is the only reason I can give you," Answered Naruto like he could read her mind. He assured her again, "There's nothing between Hinata and I, and you have to trust me because I love you."
Sakura felt like someone had taken a whole load away from her and finally her heart was freed. He loved her and she trusted him that was all that mattered to her now. She dropped her umbrella and decided to hug him even though he was all wet. Naruto embraced her back and he didn't want to let go of his princess. The truth was that Naruto had spent the whole day playing with Sakura's brother before she came back.
To Be Continued…
3 Dilemma- Sasuke returns back to Konoha and the only person he can remember is Sakura. Does he have the power to break this couple up? What is the relationship between Naruto and Hinata? Does anyone care about Ino?
Author's Note: Please note that this Naruto fan fiction is set in a parallel universe and any out of character that you may see is due to the fact that they are older! Great thanks to everyone who has reviewed and I've decided to continue with this one.
As long as there is one person reviewing this I'd continue. Please review!