DISCLAIMER: No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered...

AN:

Alright - I have to admit that this chapter isn't my best. I had wanted to improve the very last part, but I found myself too depressed after reading chapter 700 of the manga. I'm sorry if it falls a bit short, but I decided to put it out anyways as a pick me up to all of you who are as equally upset at the whole thing. Send me your rants if you feel the same... or just your commiseration! I need all the help I can get to encourage me to continue writing... that and because my cousin is here gloating about it and I need the strength to avoid wrapping my fingers around her neck and squeezing until she turns blue! LOL

Oh and if you don't mind lemons - Check out the 3rd chapter to my Icha Icha fic - it's the real chapter 700!

Chapter Fourteen:
Secrets

Now you're adrift in a sea of lies.
A foolish villain in an endless chapter.
The demon's running behind your eyes.
A simple shadow we can fight together.
I'll never walk away.
~Black Veil Brides~

Dawn broke and with it, the early morning sun slipped in through the small opening in the curtains allowing a shaft of bright light to rest upon Sakura's face. She cringed and moaned, "Ugh, stupid sun."

She started to get up to close it, but her legs were pinned by a much longer and heavier one. Panic threatened to overtake her, but last night quickly made its way through her mind. She and Naruto had lain down to watch the movie after talking about Hachiko and must have fallen asleep.

The sound of him softly snoring behind her brought a smile to her face. Trying to move as slow as possible, so as not to wake him, Sakura turned so she was now face to face with this amazing and understanding shinobi.

Even when Naruto was sleeping, he was ridiculously handsome. He must have gotten hot sometime during the night and taken off his shirt, and Sakura had to suppress the urge to memorize every muscle of his chest and stomach with her hands. His blond hair was sticking out in spots and a small line of drool ran down his cheek; seeing that made her giggle.

She must have laughed louder than she thought because Naruto blinked open his sleepy eyes, and that lopsided grin was playing on his lips. "What has you so happy this early in the morning, Pinkie?"

"You're snoring and drooling; it's very cute." He brought his hand up to his right cheek and wiped away the evidence.

"That is not cute, it's embarrassing." Sakura ran her fingers along his other cheek and he turned into the touch.

"I promise not to tell anyone you're not perfect when you sleep." She sarcastically crossed her heart with the hand that had been caressing his cheek.

"I see you have jokes today. Let's see how funny you think this is." Naruto dug his fingers into Sakura's side and tickled her mercilessly.

She tried and tried to get away, but his leg was still thrown over hers and she had no way to escape. She tried to say something, but Naruto doubled his efforts and she laughed harder.

Sakura gasped out an, "I give," finally, and he stopped, but not before giving her a smug little grin.

Small giggles still made their way out as she grabbed onto his hand. "You're an evil, evil guy, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto chuckled. "That'll teach you to make fun of my snoring or drooling ever again." He wrapped his arm around Sakura and pulled her slightly toward him. She thought he was trying to bring her in for a kiss and shyly lifted her lips to meet his.

Naruto wiggled his other arm out from under them just as her lips pressed into his causing him to stare at her in surprise. When she realized he was only trying to free his arm, Sakura was so embarrassed she tried to pull away, but he wasn't having any part of that.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I thought you were trying to…and you were just trying to…" Sakura didn't want to voice her stupidity, so she just said, "Oh never mind."

Naruto enveloped her with both arms this time and rolled so she was now lying on top of him. "That's better." He snuggled his body further into the cushions. "I was trying to get my arm out from under me. I slept on it all night and it was tingly."

Sakura fixed her stare on his chest and refused to make eye contact, but he had other ideas. "Don't for one second think I didn't want that kiss. I always want to kiss you. But seeing as I wasn't ready for that last one, I say we try it again."

The honesty and sweetness in his words made her lean forward and kiss him gently. It was a brief kiss, but the feelings it sparked inside her were very powerful. She smiled down at a now serene looking Naruto. "Good morning."

"Good morning. I think I may need another taste of those beautiful lips to fully wake up." He wiggled his eyebrows comically and it was then that Sakura felt how 'awake' parts of Naruto already were.

Feeling like this was the perfect chance to pay him back for tickling her, Sakura pretended to think about his statement. "I don't think that's necessary."

"Why not?" he pouted.

She blushed and then, deciding to be a little bold, pushed herself up until she was straddling his lap. Feeling more confident than she ever had before in her short life, Sakura gave her hips a slight back and forth roll over the bulge beneath her.

"Because you already feel fully awake to me." She gave him what she hoped was a seductive smile.

He lifted his hips a fraction, and then lowered them just as quickly. "Are you trying to torture me?" His words came out low and husky and for a moment, Sakura thought she caught a flash of red in his eyes.

"Consider this payback for the tickling." She moved against him one more time, and this time a moan escaped him.

"You're playing with fire, Sakura-chan."

Lowering herself back to his chest, Sakura planned to show him how much she liked the way they were playing. But before she could stop it, some of her fears came out as she whispered, "Just don't burn me."

Naruto brushed his lips across hers and whispered back, "Never."

That one word shifted something inside Sakura that she thought was gone forever. His earnestness moved her. She tried to keep the tears from falling, but one slid down her cheek and dripped onto Naruto's bare chest.

"Don't cry. You never have to worry about me hurting you. I meant what I said last night, Sakura-chan. Trust in me." His voice pored over her like honey, warm and sweet. She loved the way he said her name, drawing it out as if he liked the way it tasted on his tongue. She was still looking into Naruto's eyes as he made his plea. She wanted to trust him more than anything.

"I'll try." As if that was the only thing holding him back from tasting her, Naruto moved forward and kissed her, effectively ending their conversation. He slowly moved her around until he was leaning over her.

His hair tickled her neck as it fell against her. His breath fanned hotly against her face as his lips explored further. His tongue licked at her ear. Shivers raced down her spine when his teeth grazed her neck.

Sakura's thoughts deserted her. It was all feeling now, all sensation, the taste and scent of him. His hands slipped under the back of her shirt and were making a trek up her back, when they heard movement from Ino's room.

Naruto broke off the kiss, looking just as annoyed as Sakura felt, but when she glanced at the clock she knew it was time to get moving. "I didn't even hear Ino come home last night."

With a 'this-really-bites' look, Sakura removed herself from Naruto's hold and stood up. "Ino and I usually share morning coffee and gossip. I don't have to work today, but I need to get packed for our mission."

Naruto groaned, but rolled off the sofa, too. "Sorry if I make anything weird for you and Ino by me being here."

Sakura pushed up on her toes and kissed him one more time. "I'm not."

With a wicked little wink, she rubbed her hip along the still prominent bulge in his pants as she walked by him toward the door. He caught up with her a second later and pulled her back against him.

"What was that you were saying about me being evil? I will get you back for that later."

"Promise?" Sakura didn't know what had gotten into her, but even with the death of her beloved pet, Naruto made her feel light and happy and free to be herself for the first time in so long. "Do you think that you can take me to that place you told me about at your lunch time today to bury Hachiko?"

Naruto eye's drifted down to Sakura's chest and he grinned unrepentantly. "No problem. But uh… you probably should fix that before you give Ino more things to grill you about."

With that he disappeared into the bathroom, and Sakura thought about ignoring Ino completely. She would like nothing more than to follow Naruto and finish what they started on the couch. She looked down and gasped. Her clothing had shifted and her breast was practically hanging out.

She quickly righted the top just as Ino walked into the living room and started with the questions.

"Why are you still wearing the dress from last night, and why don't I smell coffee?"

"Hello to you, too." Ino went straight to the kitchen; probably to start the missing coffee. Sakura followed and was just about to start answering one of Ino's many questions when Naruto exited the bathroom.

"Morning Ino."

She turned toward him, but didn't seem to be able to say anything back. He walked to where his shirt was lying on the floor and put it on. Sakura thought it was a crime to cover such perfection with clothes as he made his way over to where she was standing.

"I'll get out of here so you can get packed. I'll meet you here at lunch time and take you to that field I was telling you about last night." Ino was still standing with her mouth hanging open, but all Sakura could focus on was Naruto.

"Or you can come to the tower and meet me if you want." He bent down to give her a kiss and before she knew what was happening, Sakura was tilted halfway to the floor.

When he had thoroughly explored every part of her mouth, Naruto stood her back upright. With another quick peck to the cheek, he said, "Have a good day," and walked out the door. All she could do was stare at the now closed door and sigh. That was one hell of a goodbye kiss.

"I may need to go change my panties after witnessing that display. I think the temperature has risen a few degrees in here." Sakura completely forgot about Ino being there when Naruto was kissing her. Now, she didn't want to turn around and face the Ino Yamanaka inquisition.

Knowing there was no way around it; Sakura turned around and watched as Ino was dramatically fanning herself. She tried to make a break for her bedroom, but the persistent blonde was right on her heels.

"Oh no, you don't. You aren't getting away from me that easily," she sang out, "I want details, and I want them right now."

"I need to start packing for my mission. You don't want to be late for work, do you?" She hoped reminding Ino of how late she was would buy her some time; no such luck.

"I'm working the flower shop today and my mom's the boss, so I have plenty of time." Ino flopped onto Sakura's bed like a little kid. "Details. Now."

~o~O~o~

"Well, well, well… look who's doing the walk of shame."

"You had sexual intercourse with Sakura?"

As soon as Naruto entered his apartment, he was hard pressed not to walk back out. Sasuke and Sai were both standing at the counter, drinking tea and (apparently) waiting for him.

"It's not like that. I'm not doing a walk of shame, Teme and no, Sai, I did not."

"No?" questioned Sasuke.

"No," said Naruto firmly. "Sakura was upset last night so I stayed with her."

"Tch, what did you do?"

"Has your relationship reached its inevitable end then?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and sighed deeply, trying to find his patience. "No Sai, our relationship has not reached its inevitable end and I didn't do anything Teme. Why does everyone always assume I did something wrong?"

Sasuke just stared pointedly at him until he finally explained what had happened with the cat. When he finished Sasuke held out his hand with a questioning look on his face. "Wait-wait-wait…" he began, "So you mean to tell me that you spent an hour; a whole hour, petting a dead cat?"

Naruto flushed and defended himself, "I don't know. Sakura seemed so happy that we were getting along so I started petting it. The next thing I know it's dead, but I didn't want her to know so I just kept petting it."

Sai and Sasuke turned to each other shared a look. By nature and training they were the sort of men prone to seriousness, but today was an exception. Sasuke's lip twitched. Sai mouthed, "Is he serious?" Then they burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Naruto, growing more disgruntled by the second, snapped, "It wasn't funny."

"On the contrary," wheezed Sai, "I find it quite humorous."

"A dead cat!" laughed Sasuke, "For a whole hour!"

"It's not funny!"

Sasuke was holding onto the wall to keep himself upright. He glanced at Naruto's face and laughed even harder. Finally after he was able to catch his breath, he asked, "What kind of idiot pets a dead cat for an hour just to impress some old girl?"

Naruto fumed as they laughed at his expense, but then got downright furious when Sasuke called her some old girl. He snapped, "Both of you can go to hell. What you two did to my room last night was so screwed up. Here I am, trying to show Sakura that she can trust me and that I'll never be like you and then you guys go and turn my room into some sort of pervert's paradise."

Naruto stomped to his room and slammed the door. He immediately knew he had overreacted, but before he had a chance to do anything, his door crashed open and Sasuke stood in the threshold.

"What do you mean by "be like you?" he yelled.

Naruto wasn't going to say anything. It was the past. You can't hold something someone did as a kid against them… That would be stupid… "I would never hurt her the way you did," he blurted out.

"What?!"

"Forget it. Just forget I said anything."

Sasuke's eyes turn to slits and a scowl marred his face. "I don't think so. If you have something to say Uzumaki, than say it."

He wasn't going to say anything. It was the past. You can't hold something someone did as a kid against them… That would be stupid… "You were an asshole for hurting Sakura!"

"Yeah… so?" said Sasuke as he moved into the room. He leaned casually against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "That was a long time ago. I was a different person then."

~o~O~o~

Rolling her eyes, Sakura went to her closet and found a red silk top and black skirt to wear. When she exited the closet, Ino was sitting with her back against the headboard and arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm waiting," she said, a smirk lifting her lips.

"There's not much to tell. We ate some food and watched a couple movies, end of story." She did not want to talk about their other activities, because this day was already going to be long enough; especially after that kiss.

"Nowhere did I hear why Naruto was still here this morning, or why his shirt was on the floor. And let's not forget that kiss he planted on you before he left."

Why had she forgotten that Ino lived here with her? She should have known this was coming. "Hachiko died, Ino. I was upset so Naruto stayed with me. We fell asleep on the couch while watching the second movie and neither of us woke up until a little before you got up."

"Hachiko?" Ino narrowed her eyes like she was trying to figure out if Sakura was telling the truth. "I'm sorry about your demon cat, Sakura. I know you loved that disgusting ball of fur for some odd reason."

"I don't understand why you always claimed to hate him. I saw you giving him treats."

Ino sniffed and looked away. She swiped a tear off her face and lied, "It was poison."

Sakura smiled knowingly. The blonde liked to act like she was tough since her father died, but she was still the same Ino. She still had a warm, compassionate heart that no amount of denial could hide. After all, she was the one that saved the cat and brought it home.

"Sure it was."

Ino shrugged and then to change the subject back, asked, "So, nothing else happened or am I just going to assume you got down and dirty with Naruto?"

"Nope." Sakura made the word pop. What she and Naruto did or didn't do was between them… that and there was no way she was going to tell the noisy blonde what she did. "I'll only say that we had a nice time, and I'm glad I agreed to the date."

"Alright, I'll let it go. But only because you are absolutely beaming right now and I like seeing you this happy."

"Thank you, I like feeling this happy; it's a nice change." As she grabbed her pack and laid it on the bed, snippets of last night and this morning played through Sakura's mind. She groaned as the ache between her legs worsened with each memory she replayed. This was going to be a long day.

"So what are you packing for?"

"Huh?" Sakura's face reddened a little as she was dragged back down to earth. "Oh… I'm leaving for the Firefly mission tomorrow. I want to start packing today just in case I might need to buy something before I leave."

"That's tomorrow…?"

Ino and Sakura jumped as a loud crash reverberated through the room followed by loud, angry shouts.

"What the…?"

Ino shushed her and pressed her ear against the wall.

"Pig! That's none of your business." Sakura heard her name. She chewed her lip and furrowed her brows in indecision for a brief second before she ran to the other side of the room, sent a small amount of chakra to her ears to enhance her hearing, and pressed it against the wall like Ino was doing.

~o~O~o~

"I… I know…" Naruto sighed and sat on the bed. "I'm sorry. It's just… I don't know. I hate that you hurt Sakura so bad when we were young… and a part of me is glad. I hate that I think that way, but what if you hadn't and she still loved you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I never did anything to encourage her. I was never interested."

"That is not the truth."

Naruto frowned and looked up at Sai, who stood in the doorway while Sasuke snapped, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"On the contrary, I always know what I am talking about. When we were out searching for you, I found it confusing that Sakura would maintain such an unhealthy obsession for a rogue shinobi. I asked her why she held you in such high esteem when you had never returned her feelings. She said that you did once. She claimed you told her that she had a beautiful forehead and that you wanted to kiss it, but that you were too shy to do so."

Sasuke's body tensed and he shouted, "I never said that!"

"I did."

Sasuke and Sai looked at Naruto in surprise.

"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, you remember that day after graduation when we met Kakashi Sensei? After I attacked you and tied you up, I henged myself as you and talked to Sakura."

"You did what?!"

"Come on… I was twelve. I mean, I know it's no excuse, but I loved her so much and I… well, I just wanted to see what she thought of me."

"If that's not the stupidest thing I've ever…"

"I know, I know! I was twelve," he reiterated, "I just… I don't know… sometimes I just did things without thinking. It was no big deal."

A vein pulsed on Sasuke forehead as he shouted, "So you henged yourself AS ME, told Sakura she was beautiful… AS ME, told her that you wanted to kiss her… AS ME, and you say it was no big deal?!"

"Um, when you put it that way, it does sound kind of bad…"

"You think?! It's all your fault that she thought she was in love with me for as long as she did."

"Hey, now wait a minute, she was crushing on you long before that. Every girl in class was."

"Yeah, and they all grew up and got over it quickly enough when I ignored them."

Sai, listening quietly the whole time, interjected, "Most girls would have lost interest after not having it reciprocated for such a long time, but you made her think Sasuke actually did like her, but was too bashful to do anything about it. Sasuke is right, it is your fault."

"But that's… I didn't…" Naruto furiously tried to deny Sai and Sasuke's words, but in the end he knew that they were right. He had made Sakura think that Sasuke returned her feelings.

"Oh god, I'm such a fucking idiot."

"You were," agreed Sasuke.

"She will probably hate me."

"You are right," agreed Sasuke again. He added, "Just like you should for the way she treated you."

"Shut up, Teme. I could never hate her. She was just a kid!"

"Just like you were?"

"Okay, I get it."

"Do you?"

~o~O~o~

Ino was at a complete loss for words as she looked at Sakura - who just looked like she was stabbed with a very sharp kunai.

Sakura didn't know what to feel, she was so overwhelmed with emotion. Anger, guilt, shame, indignation, and even love swirled within her. She stepped away from the wall and hastily ran into the living room.

With a muffled curse, Ino quickly followed. She stopped short as she saw Sakura sitting on the sofa and crying.

"It's not that bad. I mean, come on, he was twelve. He was so annoying then. Remember how Iruka Sensei would always give us extra work because of something he did. He was always pulling pranks and being loud. Face it, he was an annoying little shit!"

Sakura looked up in shock and outrage. "Ino, how can you say that? You know why he was the way he was."

"It doesn't change the fact, Sakura. I love and respect Naruto now and I'm truly sorry for the way we all treated him, but we were kids too. We didn't understand anything back then. Our parents told us to stay away from him and that he was a bad kid. We were wrong and they were wrong."

"But I said such mean things about him that day. I hurt him and then I continued to hurt him because I thought I loved Sasuke."

Ino sighed and sat down next to Sakura. "Listen, I know you still feel guilty about your obsession with Sasuke and the way you treated Naruto, but you guys talked about that ages ago. He forgives you so why don't you forgive yourself?"

"But what if they were right and I would have gotten over Sasuke sooner?"

"Sakura, you were twelve. Don't kid yourself, he was on your team, he was a powerful shinobi and not to mention - super hot. Every girl liked him, especially me, so why should you have been any different? It was only when we were older that we found out what real love is. Sasuke may still be incredibly good looking, but you two would kill each other if you dated."

"I know all that Ino. When Sasuke returned to the village we had a long talk. Why do you think I don't feel for him the way I did when I was younger? We are just two very different people. I could never be myself with him the way I can with…"

"Naruto?" asked Ino sagely.

Sakura nodded her head and gave a small smile. "Naruto," she agreed. "Oh Ino, you heard him… he feels so bad about that day. I can hear it in his voice. How can I be mad at him for something he did as a kid? I need to do something to let him know that it doesn't matter to me."

"Well, we can figure that out today. I'm going over there and let him know that it's just going to be you and me today."

"You and me?"

Ino's lower lip trembled for a second and her eyes grew misty. "You're going to be spending the next two weeks with him so one day doesn't matter. After all, we have an ugly, old furball to bury, don't we?"

Sakura looked up in surprise. She knew what her friend was saying. She wanted it to be just the two of them because she would be at her most vulnerable. She didn't want anyone to see her cry. "Oh Ino, are you sure?"

"That's what friends are for."

Sakura hugged Ino and knowing what would make her feel a little better, whispered softly, "We can go shopping afterwards if you want."

AN:

Yes, this is a very long AN, but one that I thought was very important. One of my reader's, Logan Locke and I have been discussing something which I think bares great significance to this story. Naruto's actions to Sakura during the team selections. I thought his statements towards this scenario should be shared so please read this so that you can understand where I am coming from in my story.

From Logan Locke:

One of the most glaring omissions in arguments towards Sakura's feelings for Sasuke...is the very reason WHY she fell in love with him!

Like most girls her age, Sakura had a crush on the Uchiha due to his lineage, good looks, and talent. In fact that is a typical trait most prepubescent girls (and boys) display: the longing for the affection of the most popular person. As such - they disregard their personality and demeanor...

So why would she fall in love with a boy who never shown interest in her or another girl? Simple, really: when Naruto disguised himself as 'Sasuke' and complimented the very feature she finds hideous about her, it reached her heart. Sakura, as a child, was mentally and emotionally bullied for her forehead - creating a feeling of low self worth and no confidence.

When she met Ino, she finally had a friend; one who helped her build confidence in herself! Sadly it was a boy that tore them apart (for which BOTH are responsible for), thus leaving her alone again. She became popular, and due to her intelligence - became the top kunoichi of her class.

And yet...she still felt insecure. When she was on that bench, she questioned whether Sasuke could ever like her. Her forehead, underdeveloped breasts, her self esteem, everything there put her in a dour mood. When Naruto did that, he fed her the belief that Sasuke loved her secretly - that he was just afraid to show his emotions around others.

Now you might say to yourself, 'Why would she believe that? He never shows any affection to her!'. Look at the circumstances; she was only around him alone twice during the first half of the series. The first was after the disguised Naruto took off, never saying what 'Sasuke' was going to do! When she met the real Sasuke, she tried to continue where "they" left off - only for Sasuke to question where Naruto is. Believing the blonde did something wrong, she made immature remarks about him not having family, angering Sasuke in the meantime. Thus the famous 'You're annoying' line...

After that Sakura began to change. She still tried gaining Sasuke's affections and smacked Naruto around (when he was being a complete idiot). However - she was growing closer to her teammates, earning two new friends in the process! She began to see how special Naruto was, and that there was more to Sasuke than she had in her fantasies.

As for the second encounter alone...that was when she had her heart broken by Sasuke. Seeing how dark(er) he was becoming thanks to the curse mark, Sakura tried to stop him from leaving. She brought up all the good times as Team 7, offered to go with him, and then admitted her love for him - believing that would assuage him from his path of vengeance.

All that did was leave her on a bench all night from being knocked out...

One could say that Sakura is to blame for her own broken heart. There is truth to that. Yet the same could be said of Naruto as well. When he disguised himself as Sasuke and nearly kissed Sakura, he helped push her towards thinking Sasuke loved her. Naruto was heartbroken, yet he never really took time to question 'why' she fell in love with the Uchiha.

Many give him a free pass because of her comments during that scene about him not having any parents. Those were the comments of young and immature girl who did not know better, yes. Yet her opinion of him was shaped not only by the adults in Konoha, giving her a misguided view in the beginning that she has come to regret. Still, if everyone is going to talk about how her confession in the Land of Iron hurt him, they need to acknowledge how he has hurt her as well!

Thanks to everyone that followed/favorited/commented on the last chapter! I happen to be very, very sad, shocked, appalled, horrified, depressed, and extremely angry (you name the negative emotion and I feel it!) after reading chapter 700 of the manga. It will probably be a few weeks before I update again, but I promise that I will. Unlike Naruto in said chapter, I will NOT give up my nindo to never give up!

Story Recommendation from Logan Locke: Ten Days by SakuNaruLover. A older, but immensely, underrated story that sees Naruto and Sakura grow close during time where shinobi are given a ten day vacation. It's set right after the Tsunade arc and before the Sasuke Retrevial arc. It's a very sweet and charming read by a unappreciated author!

Ja Ne,

AZFAERYDUST