Summary: A promise made with innocent smiles… Naruto and Sakura had become the best of friends for the previous years. On Naruto's return after years of separation from Sakura, will they still look at each other in the same way? Alternate universe (slight) romance story. Still revolves around the plot with minor changes…:D (New summary updated)
Author's notes: Hey there people! Milky here and on a Naruto fanfiction! So please do forgive me if this turns out not as good as I/you hoped it would be. This would be half…fine, it's almost a full alternate universe story and with OOC-ness entailing it. By the way, I didn't place there much setting changes and as much as I would want to explain everything in much more detail, I've restrained myself to not do so and leave your minds to actually work! MUAHAHAHA! Ehem…er… anyways, I'm not revealing much here. It's for you to read and find out. Hope you'll like it! It won't be my fault if you don't like the pairing I like though…And the usual translations are found at the bottom…:D And I recommend you listen to "Home Sweet Home" by YUKI, the theme song for the Seven-colored Chakra movie. The song is quite fitting…Don't ask me what the movie's about though. I'm not about to spoil you for it…hehe…
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own it. Characters and elements belong to Kishimoto Masaki-san…Wish I could own it though…especially Naruto! He shall be mine some day! MUAHAHAHAHA! –cough- Ehem…Well, anyways, must proceed…
Dedication: This first chapter is dedicated to one of my new friends who had just had her birthday! Aries-chan, cheer up! It's your special day after all. Well, at least it just came…Er…I'm late again…:P Oh, and have a nice day Mon-chan! Hehe…:D
"Something of a person's character may be discovered by observing how he smiles. Some people never smile; they only grin."
-Christian Nestell Bovee
I'll Be Home
By
Milky Étoile
Chapter One
First Encounter, First Farewell
"See you tomorrow then Sakura-chan!" The blonde-haired girl waved at her for the last time before following her mother's retreating form.
"Mata ashita, Ino-chan!" The green-eyed seven year old girl waved back until her best friend came out of sight.
Haruno Sakura sighed before she turned around to head for the swings. Her mom wasn't coming for another hour since she had some 'business' to attend to. That actually being a mission. She wasn't told what it was though; no one ever was. Well, missions are supposed to be like that anyway. At least now she could play for a while.
Then again, who could still be around at this time of the day?
She was pleasantly surprised though when she saw the silhouette of someone around her age sitting on a swing alone. As she got closer, she noticed that it was a blonde haired boy whose blue eyes where staring sadly at the ground. She stopped on her tracks as she recognized the boy. It was a classmate of hers.
The melancholic boy was none other than the quiet outcast, Uzumaki Naruto.
The sight of the blonde looking downtrodden made her wonder.
Sure, he might've always been lonely, but how could someone look so glum as if someone had died? Even as an outcast, he would always try his best at class and appeared determined to learn what was taught. That look now plastered on his face was nothing like she ever saw on her friend, Ino's face whenever she would miss the sight of her crush, the young prodigy, Uchiha Sasuke. The pink-haired girl was then jerked out of her thoughts when she noticed her classmate look up to her.
Intense blue met calm green.
They were locked in each other's gazes for a few moments.
It was at that time that Sakura saw, despite Naruto's look of surprise, the glint of loneliness and utter sadness in his clear blue eyes.
The pink-haired girl felt her cheeks warming up as she blushed, realizing that Naruto still kept his intent gaze on her. He looked thoughtful for a moment then flashed a huge grin.
"Haruno…Sakura-chan desu ne?" the blonde asked, startling the girl standing before him.
"Ha-hai…Uzumaki Naruto, right?" she finally blurted out after composing herself. Naruto only nodded, straightening and getting off the swing he was sitting on.
"Well, I guess I should be going. You can play in the swing now. See you around!" The blonde bowed politely at her and walked off, passing her. This startled Sakura even more but she quickly made up her mind.
"Ma-matte, Naruto-kun!" Sakura turned around to see the whiskered boy stopping from his tracks. Naruto turned back, looking at her with a questioning gaze.
"Nani? Is there anything you need with me?" he asked in a slightly nervous voice. He was afraid she might want to say something like the adults always said to him when he passed them.
It took Sakura a few seconds before answering. "Do you…Can you play for a while with me?"
Naruto was floored by this. No one ever wanted to play with him. Nor talk even, except for that old man and one of their teachers, Iruka-sensei. The blonde's silence made Sakura feel a bit down.
"Well…I can understand if you wouldn't want to. After all, I—" She was cut off by the blonde.
"Of course I would want to! I don't have anyone to play with anyway and I don't have anything to do. So, what do you want to do?" Naruto asked enthusiastically, that same foxy grin now on his face once more.
"Eto…ano…" Sakura thought for a moment, having been startled by the sudden outburst of the classmate she thought was silent. "How about we play on the swings for a while?"
"Okay then! You sit in it while I push you!" Naruto quickly went behind the swing and watched Sakura as she sat on the swing and held on to the chains.
"Hold on tight! This'll be fun!" The blonde prepared himself to push…
"Naruto-kun, don't push too—AH!" Sakura squealed as Naruto pushed the swing hard. For a boy his age, he sure was strong.
"Gomen! Did I push too hard?" The blonde boy pushed again, but this time with less strength.
"Ah…not real-KYA!" Sakura again cried out after having been pushed even harder.
"TOMARE!"
That made Naruto stop the swing immediately from moving. His expression became a half confused and half nervous one as he looked at the girl in front of her intently. He then became even more confused (if it were possible at the moment; he's, I mean, they're kids after all…) when the pink-haired girl started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" The boy finally asked after trying to comprehend the reason for someone to laugh when here he thought she didn't like it one bit. His tone was laced with a bit of annoyance too since she was the one who wanted him to play with her, and now she laughs after having ordered him to stop.
"Well…It's just that…" she started then took a deep breath before continuing with a bright smile on her features. "I thought it was funny!"
At least now, the blonde understood, apparently, when comprehension dawned on his face and he started to laugh as well.
"It's a bunny!"
"No, that's a frog!"
"No way! That's definitely a cute bunny!"
"It's a frog!"
"A bunny!"
"A bunny frog!"
"It's a—Eh! Nani!" Sakura sat up and turned to the now grinning Naruto, who was still lying on the grass. "What's that supposed to be? And is there even such a thing!" The pink-haired girl stared at her new blonde-haired friend in disbelief.
"There is now!" was the short and soft reply. Naruto's blue eyes continued to stare at the now darkening sky. It had already been half an hour since they've personally met, and only ten since they've been lying on the grass, talking about random things until they started gazing at the few clouds still visible before the sunset.
At first, Sakura had thought the blonde was too quiet and wouldn't be fun to be with, especially with the frown he wore on his face earlier. But now, as she continued to look at him, she thought Naruto was actually a nice person. Not to mention, his looks weren't so bad, although not as good looking as that Sasuke that was also in their class. Even so, when gazing at the blonde's sapphire blue eyes, Sakura felt captured by them. Especially now, when they were filled with kindness and joy, unlike the loneliness that was there before.
"Sakura-chan? Is there something wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?" The voice of the blue-eyed boy was laced with worry, wondering if it was something she was feeling or something he said that made her quiet. He too sat up and turned to the other. The pink-haired girl blushed as she realized she was now in Naruto's gaze once more.
"N-no! There's nothing to worry about! It's just that…ano…" Sakura trailed off, unsure if she should continue.
Naruto cocked his head to the side, giving her a questioning glance. "Nani? It's just that, what?"
"Well…I was just wondering…" Sakura shifted uneasily before turning her gaze at him. "Why…Why were you alone there a while ago and looking sad?" It had been bugging her since she first saw him on the swing. She was mildly surprised when the boy's expression fell instantly. "But if you don't want to say it, you don't need too!" she quickly added after seeing his reaction.
Naruto shook his head slightly and looked back at her. "No…I should tell you. A friend's got to be honest and I'm you're friend, right?" He flashed her another foxy grin before fixing a serious and a rather gloomy look on his face.
"Well, you see…it's quite a long story…"
"Yo! Sakura-chan!"
The sudden outburst of the familiar voice made the pink haired girl jump from her position. She turned around and glared at the grinning whiskered boy that sneaked up behind her.
"U-ZU-MA-KI NA-RU-TO…"
The blonde literally felt Sakura's anger leering off towards him. He felt himself shrink under the green-eyed girl's gaze and started to laugh nervous. It was then he remembered just how a nine-year-old pink haired girl could do when angered. This made him try to come up with some sort of an escape route from the Hokage monument (although escaping her is already considered impossible). That is if ever his best friend wouldn't change her furious attitude when she'd heard about Naruto's good news. Although that came along with bad news as well. He was jerked out of his train of thought when he heard the same person he was thinking of scream into his ear.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU—DO NOT SNEAK UP FROM BEHIND ME LIKE THAT! AND LISTEN WHEN SOMEBODY'S TALKING TO YOU!"
Those statements above said by a certain pink haired girl in the proper way of saying it could almost make every single thing, alive or not, deaf even if the latter didn't even have ears at all. But of course, Naruto was almost used to it already after exactly two years of being her best friend. Almost used to it at least. Twenty five words in three breaths was a new record though.
Naruto only flinched, having heard that kind of tone of her voice only too much. He put up a straight face and tried not to twitch at the memories of being scolded by Sakura after doing something against the rules of the Academy and getting in trouble or her own rules (all of which he only found out in not-so-nice ways). That was a different story though. Now he had to tell her what had happened.
Sakura, by now, was breathing heavily, still enraged by Naruto's actions. She was debating with herself, thinking whether pummeling the blonde until he died was better than throwing him from the top of the monument or not. She was spared the liberty of deciding when Naruto started to speak.
"Naa, Sakura-chan? Do you know what happened yesterday? At the Academy?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Sakura cocked her head to the side and tried to recall what had happened in their class. Her eyes widened when she remembered what their Iruka-sensei had said the day before. The genin tests! How could she have forgotten?
"You were in it, right? Well? Did you pass?" The pink haired girl looked at Naruto eagerly, forgetting her earlier reaction.
The blonde got something from his pocket. He took the girl's right hand and placed something black that had a metal material attached to it. When Sakura looked at her hand, it showed a forehead protector, with the symbol of Konoha etched on the flat surface of the metal. She looked back at the blonde in shock. Naruto gave her one of his genuine smiles.
"Sakura-chan, can you do me a favor? Can you to put that forehead protector on me?" he asked, still with that smile on his features.
Sakura's surprised look turned into that of a curious one. "Why do you want me to do that?"
Naruto looked a bit serious as he spoke. "Because I want you to, Sakura-chan. Please?"
The girl thought for a moment. "Alright then."
This made Naruto to revert back to his cheerful self. "Yatta!" He stood still for a moment as the other put the hitae-ate on him. "Arigato, Sakura-chan!"
The pink haired girl returned his smile. "It's nothing! Say, you wanna go buy some ramen to celebrate your being a genin?"
"Sure! And it'll be my treat!"
"Let's go then!"
"Yeah!" Naruto guessed the bad news can wait until later. Or maybe, never be said.
"It's late already! Okaasan's probably getting worried…"
The pink haired girl glanced nervously at the silver pocket watch attached to a chain that was tied on a belt she was wearing. When her blonde companion saw this, a smile crept on his whiskered face. He recognized that watch. It was the one he had gotten her on her previous birthday with all his savings. Seeing that it was still in very good shape and polished made him feel elated.
"Oi, Sakura-chan! Don't worry! I dropped by your house a while ago before meeting you and told your mom we might be late. She said it was okay too!" The blonde turned to grin at Sakura.
"Ah…That's good…At least she won't be worried…"
Silence ensued as they continued walking on the streets of Konoha. That was, until Sakura realized what the blonde had just said.
"NANI! You asked okaasan! And she didn't object to it!" Sakura loudly exclaimed, the volume of her voice almost able to wake up those around them.
"Shush! You're being too loud!" The other boy stopped walking and turned back to her, holding up his index finger to his lips.
At this, Sakura covered her mouth, her eyes glancing from side to side. When she saw no one was around awake, she continued in a whisper. "Tell me you're lying, Naruto-kun…There's absolutely no way she would allow me to go out until this time of night…"
Naruto rolled his eyes and continued walking. "Hai, I asked her and yes, she didn't object at all. She said she trusts I would take care of you…"
Sakura raised an eyebrow and followed closely behind him. Now as she thought about, her mother probably trusted her that much now because he was now a genin. Yeah, that's it…It couldn't have been anything else…
The silence remained unbroken as they continued to make their way to Sakura's home.
…but now, as the pink-haired girl stared at her newly-turned-genin friend, there was an unexplainable sinking feeling inside her. Why was she feeling uneasy? Was this some kind of foreshadowing of something about to happen? If it was so, what would happen? Would it be something devastating?
Sakura's thoughts were cut off though when she hit Naruto as he halted. She was about to scold her for not warning her when she realized they were already in front of her house. She sighed and waved at Naruto before going to the front door.
"Matte, Sakura!"
Sakura turned back to the blonde, with a confused expression on her face. Did Naruto just address her as just 'Sakura' and not 'Sakura-chan'? So far, she's never heard him do that.
"Nani? Is there something you need Naruto-kun?" she asked, still wondering what made him call her that. Sakura observed Naruto's features. He was wearing a blank expression though the sad glint in his eyes was evident. This made her wonder even more. What was there to be gloomy for?
"Oi, Naruto! Is something wrong?" Sakura repeated, snapping Naruto back into reality.
"Ano…" The blonde hesitated in telling her. If he said it, she'll be really sad and he hated seeing her like that. "…you see…"
"Well?" Sakura's voice had a tinge of annoyance in it, which made Naruto flinch. After a moment, Sakura was surprised that Naruto showed her another real smile.
"Um, well…can you close your eyes first?" At this, Sakura looked even more confused yet she complied. She waited for a few moments before Naruto spoke again.
"You can open your eyes now."
As she did, she saw him now right in front of her, the smile still on his features. Then she realized that there seemed to have been something weighing on her neck. When she looked, she saw a golden heart-shaped locket looking elegant as it hung on a gold chain that she now wore. As she analyzed it closer, she noticed three diamond studs on the side. She opened the locket and what she saw in it made her heart feel like it swell. Along with it, she heard a soft melody playing from it.
Sakura looked back at Naruto after breaking off from her trance. "This is…for me?" she managed to choke out. The boy only nodded.
"Why are you giving me this? I'm supposed to be the one giving you a gift yet you put this on me?"
"I just wanted to. Is it wrong to give someone a gift when he wants to? Besides, I wanted to see if I could actually make one of those…or help at least."
That wasn't a lie though. Naruto had actually met a woman a month ago whose expertise was dealing with metals. When he had asked suddenly if she could make a necklace with gold, she said yes to which Naruto almost immediately asked her to teach him to make one. In the end, the woman, who had introduced herself as Mika, said she could but not until she got out from him the reason for wanting to know. After he stated his purpose, she declared she'll teach him a few basics on making that kind of jewelry and would allow him to only help in doing the necklace. When it was finished, Mika said he could keep it with a minimal payment only if he came back again to buy some weapons if he would need them.
Sakura was surprised at that but didn't show it. Instead, she returned the smile. "Then I'll take good care of it." She closed the locket and kept it in her hand. "I promise."
At that, Naruto showed another foxy grin. "That's good to hear! Now, I think you should be going in now. Your mom might be waiting!" Sakura only nodded and went up the porch, only to run back to him. Naruto became surprised as she engulfed him in a hug and pecked him on the cheek before going back to the door. The blonde then had a blush as he stared at his friend.
"Arigato! Naruto!" Sakura said cheerfully, giving him another smile which made him turn a deeper shade of red. Naruto shook his head furiously and returned the smile.
"Iie! Thank you!" They both smiled at each other before Sakura broke the silence.
"Ja, I'll see you then!" Sakura waved her right hand at him.
"Yep! Mata ne!" Naruto raised his right arm.
"Oyasumi!"
"And to you too!"
"Be careful on your way home!"
"Hehe…take care, Sakura-chan!"
"I will! See you then…" Sakura opened the door and went in. She waved one last time before closing the door.
Naruto looked towards the window in Sakura's room. He smiled when the lights there opened and waved at room's owner before leaving towards his apartment. A soft whisper went with the gust of wind as it blew softly against his clothes.
"…sayonara, Sakura…"
"I wish you all good luck for tomorrow and I hope you're all prepared! Class dismissed!"
Slowly, the students went out of the classroom as the teacher, Iruka, sat back on his chair and started to read his class record.
After a few minutes, all students had gone except for one. It was a twelve year old teen who was lost in her thoughts. Iruka noticed this and looked at the girl.
"Why are you still here? Is there anything you need?" he asked the pink haired girl. The girl shook her head and made her way to the door. She turned back to the teacher before leaving.
"Arigato, sensei. I'll see you tomorrow then." She bowed politely to him.
"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you'll do your best then, Haruno-kun."
"I will, sensei! Ja, mata!"
The girl then went out, leaving the chuunin alone in the classroom. Iruka sighed as he saw a small note that he had found on the teacher's desk that morning.
'He's finally coming back…I wonder how he's become…'
Sakura walked out of the Academy and went along the streets of Konoha. As she did so, she absently started to fiddle with a chain on her neck. She was again lost in her thoughts.
'Tomorrow, I'll be like him…tomorrow…I wonder…'
'…will you ever be back?'
つづく
What can you say? Good? Bad? Stupid? Annoying? Crazy? Mixed up? What! Come on! Just…please review…And advanced happy birthday to Naruto for Monday! Hehe…Well, here's my translations…
Translation Notes:
Mata ashita-See you tomorrow
…desu ne?-…isn't it?; …right?
Hai-Yes
Matte!-Wait!; Just a moment!
Eto…ano…-Um…well…(said when stuttering or something of the sort…-.-;)
Gomen-I'm sorry
Tomare!-Stop!
Nani?-What?
Yatta!-Yeah! All right!
Arigato-Thank you, thanks
Okaasan-Mother, mom, mommy…(you know…)
Iie-No
Oyasumi-Goodnight
Sayonara-Goodbye, farewell (I'm not putting in a note about this anymore! Geez…as to why, look in Kibou no Etoile…Drats…)
Well, that's all! I've got to go now…And now I got Naruto's song, "Gyu-ru-ru" stuck in my head that I almost wasn't able to do this! Darn…Takeuchi Junko does quite a nice way of voicing for him…Well, anyways, I recommend that you listen to it if you want to find out why at the moment, I'm finding it hard to say anything! Gah! That's it! I'm leaving! See you next time then! Please leave your review, okay? Take care! Ja, mata ne!
Chapter posted on October 8, 2005. Reposted on Oct. 15.
Milky Étoile signing out! ;)