Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and its characters.
Summary: Naruto gets a hickey. Sakura gets increasingly inquisitive. SakuNaru. One shot.
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As I never would have expected, that day struck like no other. It was almost surreal, the way it went on, brushing over me, leaving me clueless as to why there was a sudden shift to my feelings when normally I wouldn't have remarked out loud anything that changed in Naruto. It wasn't fair, in retrospect, that I had never looked at Naruto the way I looked at Sasuke; it wasn't fair that I would get heavily rhapsodic on the nuances in Sasuke's hairstyle, always nearly making a poem out of them, and wouldn't, as far as I was aware, comment on Naruto's even if he dyed it blue or did something altogether scandalous to it. I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference if I didn't peruse him for full thirty minutes, for which I had no motivation and thus, the alteration was often left unrewarded. Ever since I could remember I only had inspired eyes for Sasuke, and only a myopic, half eye for Naruto.
But of course, I pitied Naruto in that regard. Whether or not he deserved pity of the kind was beside the point; it was what I felt that necessitated utmost analysis. He arrived that morning, still groggy from the previous day's training, his large blue eyes only slightly seeping from his perpetually shut eyelids. He had his arms folded behind his head, sporting his standard stance that I always found juvenile. But he was a kid after all and had perfect rights over his actions, puerile as they might be. Only maturity threatened to come late in claiming him and it troubled me that I wouldn't see the day on which he'd begin acting like a man. Well, god forbid.
Naruto gave me that boisterous signature greeting which I had become so invariably accustomed to that I'd just answer it with a slight nod time after time. The day was sunny, the sky mingled with thin sheets of opaque clouds and the temperature admittedly conducive. In other words, it was perfect. After Sasuke disappeared, bereaving me of his beautiful view, Naruto and I started hanging out more frequently than before. It had been wordlessly agreed that we should have one meal of our day together. And I realized, little by little, that it was the least we could do for each other especially now that the gap Sasuke left gaped ever so blatantly open at us, mocking us in our depression, cruelly reiterating to us what we so dreadfully ran away from. Apart from that, I had made a ritual of asking Naruto about his training, which for obvious reasons he enjoyed and at which he'd supply me with endless details regarding his improvement and the general nature of his training. He apparently loved this, I surmised, owing to the fact that he was a world-class braggart. Always was and always would be.
'So Sakura, shall we get our ramen?'
'Oh, yes.' I replied and readily plucked myself out of the musings I was starting to fall onto.
Side by side, we waded our way through the un-cemented streets, the sands beneath our soles occasionally filtering their way inside our slippers. From this angle I could easily measure how much Naruto lagged behind me in terms of height. At most, the top of his head only went as far as a little above my ears and it made me wonder how much a kid he was not only where behavior was concerned, but where looks were as well. We strode further en route to the eatery, relying on our slow steps as if both of us didn't want the walk to be over so quickly. To me, being alone together since then had felt oddly satisfying.
'Here we are.' He said, smiling, as he pried apart the curtain of the entrance to let both of us in. We settled ourselves inside, ordering our ramen and waiting sometime afterwards.
Soon after the food was served, Naruto's immediate attack at the bowl could audibly be heard bouncing against the walls of the four-cornered sanctuary. He slurped and slurped while I silently sipped my soup, observing table etiquette despite the obvious lack of it in my companion. Somehow, I felt justified to make up for him. Then a clutter of porcelain rose in the air. Naruto was going for another round to indulge his adrenaline. He raised his empty bowl, clanging the spoon against it as he did so. Sometimes it scared me how he could greedily clean out a bowl in record time. If he overate again, I was pretty sure to conduct him to the hospital where they'd tell him to eat modestly and watch his diet and augment his vitamin intake as there is not enough nutrition in ramen. To which he'd never listen anyway.
'One more for me!' he yelled. After hearing so much of it I already forgot how to complain about his vociferousness. Another bowl of ramen was promptly placed in front of him. Steaming, its aroma slithered up, making Naruto sniff out in the air as his nostrils dilate in a very comical manner. He clutched his chopsticks then, stretched his arms upwards and clapped his hands in the very gesture of gratitude. And that was when I saw it. Hideous, it seemed at first but ridiculous a while more.
Upon pulling his arms down the collar of his no-frill windbreaker lowered down a bit. It simultaneously exposed a naked part of his neck; and there, unmistakably, was the hickey. It was about the size of my thumb, oblong in shape and against Naruto's natural flushed color, it stood out like a pink rose petal against the even landscape of his neck. It seemed fresh enough. Otherwise, it seemed to be waiting to be complimented. And since I wasn't generous with compliments, I held my silence only to endure it drearily later on.
I wagered it wasn't more than one day old and hence concluded that not more than twenty-four hours elapsed since it had been implanted there. Swift as a blink, I started rewinding inside my head what had come to pass within the duration of twenty-four hours or less. The hickey sure wasn't there yesterday when we had our breakfast, after which we parted and didn't see each other until now. Which all went to say that something outlandish happened while I was away and that--
'Sakura, something the matter?' Naruto mumbled, struggling to speak as he hastily masticated the clumped noodles stuffed in his mouth. I jerked instantly awake as it dawned on me that I had been ogling at him all this time. How witless of me.
'Nothing.' I nearly gasped. I resumed sweeping my plate off but the thought didn't abandon me all the same. I ate, unfocused, my mind elsewhere, my ramen ignored and given unfair treatment. I couldn't grasp how delicious it was since the very sight of my teammate had come to distract me no-end. In a nutshell, my mind couldn't register anything else but the malignant presence of that damned hickey. It wasn't just an eye-sore; it was an insult! The more I constrained myself from eyeing him, the bigger my curiosity grew. I stole sideways glances at him, careful not to be caught. The hickey got larger and more visible the more often it got noticed. Where did it come from, or better yet, from whom did it come?
I couldn't come up with anything sound other than blunt generalizations and futile cogitations. What I learned from years of studying at the academy failed to come to my rescue. But then, away from all that, I knew that there was another resort; to go and ask him straight-faced. They also taught me at school not to be ashamed to ask; because people learn all what they could from asking. Not being able to reassure myself of good results, I wished myself luck.
'Uh, Naruto.' I muttered.
'Mmh?'
'I…you…erm, there's something I want to ask you. I mean, I just want a clarification. Or something…' I stammered. The words were so hesitant they seemed barely there. I saw Naruto's arched brows. I saw his lips curling, seeming impatient, and to my nervousness, annoyed at being interrupted in the middle of its chewing spree. Even his gums looked pretty irritated by me.
'What?'
'Is your ramen okay?'
'No…It's bloody great!' He said cheerily and consequently daubed his chopsticks into the bowl and ate, ate rhythmically with immeasurable pleasure I began to have second thoughts about proceeding with my question. It wasn't a good time to ask him, I guessed.
I kept myself quiet. After all the stops and go's clamming myself shut was all I could manage. It embarrassed me to ask him, I could promise that much, but I was more freaked out by whatever answer he could give. I wondered if it was worth it, risking my curiosity like that. I thought about the exchange we had the day prior. The only substantial knowledge I had at my disposal was that he was going to train that day. I couldn't determine whether or not those were his exact words; all I knew was, he was going to embark on his harsh training, or skylark as I had been so fond of terming it. But still! None of it sufficed my query. And the thought kept on deviling me. I needed to know, badly…
'Hey Naruto, where did you get that?' I blurted out and openly pointed at the thing, almost touching it. I can't recall if I was meaning to be polite or not; for all I know, it came out very demanding.
'This?' He said, grinning. Oh god, the audacity.
'Yes.'
'I used my expertise, of course.'
'What the hell are you talking about?' I snarled. By this time, he was already grating on my nerves. His naïveté no longer appealed to my sympathy; rather, to my temper. He probably meant that he used his charms for a girl to get to suck his neck; he always vaunted of how he could easily charm the female species off their skirts, which nobody bought. Had it been Sasuke to say that, I would be the first one to give my assent. But since it was Naruto; nothing could've been more far-fetched.
'My jutsu. My specialized jutsu.' He said proudly.
So he applied self-sufficiency to give him the damned hickey. I sighed. The day hadn't even started and I was almost thoroughly and mentally worn-out. I wouldn't be surprised if I crawled all the way home on my belly at the end of the day. But sooner than it all crashed on me, my memory came piecing the puzzle together. I remembered then what he told me yesterday; he would look for Jiraiya-sama to extract a cool training from him. Naruto specifically pointed out to me that he'd scour through the country to look for the hermit. He seemed hell-bent on it. And if he was successful in his search, possibly, the outlandish thing I'd guessed happened DID happen there.
Favors should be returned, that was the rule. If Naruto asked Jiraiya-sama to train him, there should be an incentive. And being the pervert that the old man was, the price was none other than…
'YOU USED YOUR SEXY-NO-JUTSU TO GET JIRAIYA-SAMA TO GIVE YOU THAT HICKEY, DIDN'T YOU! OH, I KNEW IT. THAT'S THE ONLY TECHNIQUE YOU'RE GOOD AT. ARGGH. NARUTO, YOU'RE A PERVERT. I'M DISGUSTED, HONESTLY. GETTING THE OLD MAN IN FOR THE TRICK, NEVER IN MY IMAGINATION…FOR CHRISSAKE, HAD YOU NO BETTER THINGS TO DO? YOU KNOW, YOU TWO SHOULD STICK TOGETHER. REALLY.'
I was panting, remembering the first time I met Jiraiya-sama in person. His legendary passion for women underrated the rumors I'd heard beyond all reason. Hearing him rave about young, attractive women not only nauseated me but solidified the hypothesis that he was a major pervert, no less. Hence, his published series cum novel. Hence the moniker Naruto shamelessly dropped on him, Ero-sennin. I looked at Naruto and only one sentence loomed before me: birds of a feather flock together. He and Jiraiya-sama would do well to prove the truth behind that maxim, really.
'What are you saying?' Naruto gaped at me. He looked bewildered. Possibly shocked at the speed of my uptake. I could see that his whole body was frozen stiff, his face close to unforgiving. 'What are you saying?' He repeated.
'Oh, I know now. You'd tell me that you just did that on the pretext of getting a kick out of the pervert old man. But yeah, you can say that all you want. Excuses, excuses-'
'Sakura, I didn't use my sexy-no-jutsu.' He protested weakly, but still not about to proclaim his defeat.
'Well then you probably developed a new perverted technique to beguile him. Sexy-no-jutsu is now getting old, I guess.'
He scratched his head out of force of habit. He did that, often, whenever he was in a fix. And right then, he more than surely was. Oblivious now of the unfinished ramen before him, he leaned closer to me. If it started getting cold, Naruto wouldn't probably notice it then. He seemed centered on reasoning with me. He flipped his arms, baffled and not knowing how to begin. These perceptibly strained actions all the more led me to believe that my assumptions all hit home. Until he spoke, that is.
'Just so you know, finding ero-sennin is the hardest thing ever. I might as well shoot a fish in a barrel. It was past midnight when I gave up and went home.' He paused, then, 'Sakura, you're the pervert.'
'Excuse me?' I asked, incredulous.
'You heard me right: You're the pervert.' He said with overt satisfaction lingering on his face. I was raged big time at his having struck the false note. Me? A pervert? Get lost.
'…'
'You have a dirty mind, Sakura. It hurts. But what hurts more is your underestimating me. You thought sexy-no-jutsu is the only technique I'm awesome at. But you're wrong; I'm also a master of the kage-buunshin technique.'
He burst into a hearty laughter, which I immediately hated. Everything became lucid to me now, like the light that comes after an eclipse. He used his kage-buunshin to obtain the hickey. How smart. I felt like a prize idiot strolling along the path of damnation. How could Naruto, arguably the most feeble-minded of our class, outwit me like this? I began picturing a copy of himself smooching his neck and taking immense pleasure from it. Gross. Icky but clever, I thought. It took me a few seconds before another question emerged from the back of my head.
'Okay, I will overlook the fact that you've made a borderline moron of yourself by giving yourself a hickey. But why do it?'
'It didn't require much chakra so I thought, 'what the hell; I wanted to have fun'…For the record, Sakura, I did it for you.' He said.
His words came shooting through me like a blade. Taken aback, I could feel blood scraping its way up to my cheeks. I could feel it so potently I thought I was hearing it as it rushed along inside my veins. There was no sense to what he just said, as far as my common sense went, and as far as I could tell he said it in a very jocular way. He probably wasn't serious at all.
'Yeah right.'
'Well, you haven't been yourself lately I've begun thinking you no longer see anything around you. So I thought that if I gave myself a hickey, you'd notice. And you did, bravo.'
'Oh.' I said, not without trepidation. Emotions that lay dormant started filling me up; and the intimate revelation he gave me was their channel. It wouldn't be right to suppress myself into silence after learning the cause behind his hocus-pocus. It would be unfair, once again. 'You know, it takes gumption to kiss yourself so…great job. Plus, you had a very subtle and hilarious way of doing it. You made it seem like accidental, the way you showed it. You got me there, Naruto.' I smiled, finally granting the hickey the compliment it had hitherto begged for. It wasn't the lunch date I bargained for, but it would do.
'Thanks. I didn't want to go home empty-handed after I just made that hickey. I said to myself I wouldn't let you go home until you say something about it. Man, it sucked.' Naruto said and massaged the spot where the hickey was located.
I held him in my gaze as the tension between us gradually melted and vanished. I felt like laughing. Or to be more exact, I felt like laughing because his words just about tugged at my heartstrings. I continued looking at the fiasco I came to call Naruto and saw how happy my acknowledgement made him, how he was so far from loneliness which I knew was caving me in. And for the first time I never felt the prejudice I always had for Sasuke. With Naruto, everything seemed so strangely easy, so light, so different in a very good sense. There wasn't a grain of pretense in him, not a hold barred. He would always be the Naruto I came to know and appreciate and later, possibly love. I laughed along with him, our voices suffocating the small ramen stand, filling up the atmosphere with the messy notes of our heedless guffaw. Looking around me, I couldn't tell if Sasuke had gone or if he was never there at all, because the Sasuke I knew only lived inside Naruto and through the contrast between them. If Naruto wasn't there, I knew that there couldn't be Sasuke. Then I felt how alone I was and yet, all at once, not so.
Leaving the place, I started putting everything behind me. I realized, after all, that wallowing in the past was harder than looking forward to the future.
END