Tenten's Hero
Chapter 24: Matchmaker
Senryu: Playing Match maker is fun! Thank you for voting.
Shiirya: The results are: this story will now be Hinata and Akira.
Senryu: also sorry for the match up's in this chapter. I wasn't expecting this myself but it was an idea so I'm working on it.
Shiirya: Also, we know that this story isn't very NejixTenten related…Sorry…
Senryu: It was originally when I was writing the summary but I switched thing up a little.
Shiirya: For example; this story was only supposed to be THREE chapters long o0…
Senryu: and here I am writing the 24 chapter. I love this story though.
Shiirya: We've bothered you enough I guess, here is the story. Senryu52809 does not own Naruto. If she did then she wouldn't be writing this story.
Senryu: enjoy!
Sakura and Ryuku checked the last item off the list. Every last thing was on the vessel, and they were finally ready to set sail. Yoh walked up to the two.
"Here is an extra compass. Make sure you don't get lost."
Ryuku accepted the compass.
"We'll be fine."
Sakura waved her hand as the boat drifted farther away from the dock.
"Bye and thank you Yoh-san!"
He waved back.
Sakura turned to Ryuku as they walked toward the center of the ship.
"Ryuku…how long do you think it will take us to reach our destination?"
He thought about it for a minute.
"About…a week…"
"That long huh?"
"Yeah…that is if we don't have any trouble along the way…"
She remained silent.
He smiled a little at her, making her smile too.
"What's the hurry?"
She blushed for two seconds as something flashed through her mind.
"N-No hurry…just…curious."
Ryuku became serious.
"Sakura-san?"
She faced him.
"Hn…?
"I…heard a rumor that it's the Uchiha you're looking for…right?"
Sakura froze, a whir of mostly grim memories bolting into her mind by the mere name.
"How did you…know…?"
"Sakura…maybe you shouldn't seek him…I mean, he could be setting a trap for you especially…"
She remained silent for a while. Ryuku wondered if he said too much and it was bringing back painful memories. He was about to apologize when she lifted her head, smiling, with a rosy hint to her cheeks.
"S-Sasuke has a girl from my village who was my friend…Trap or not, I have to help that girl anyway I can…That's why I want to hurry to the castle, even though there probably is a trap there waiting for me…"
Ryuku grinned.
"You're a true ninja…and a good friend…"
Sakura smiled blushing from embarrassment.
""Thank you…Ryuku…"
A smiled hovered on Ryuku's face, but inside he felt grim.
'I have to protect her…but…there's no way I can stop her now…this was a mistake…'
He stared at her soft green eyes for a second.
"S-Sakura…"
"Yeah…?"
He looked away, holding his tongue (figuratively).
"It's …nothing…" he sighed.
Kiba and Naruto approached the two.
"Hey Sakura-chan! You want to help with dinner?"
Kiba passed her a fishing rod.
"We're going to need all the help we can get."
She hesitated, not wanting to go.
"What about Neji and Shikamaru?"
Kiba sighed.
"They're in their cabin down stairs planning out the trip on a map."
Sakura accepted the rod and followed the two.
"Ok then, I'll come."
She looked back at Ryuku who was walking in the other direction.
"Do you want to join us, Ryuku-san? It'll be fun…"
He turned around to face her.
"Sorry...I can't……I have stuff I have to attend to…But It'll see you later, ok?"
She watched as he walked farther away from her with every step.
" Ok…bye."
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Ino took her eyes off the compass in her hands to watch Sakura and Ryuku part in opposite directions. Her eyes wandered over to Hinata and Akira who were sitting together on the east end of the boat. She sighed.
'Hinata and Akira…Sakura and Ryuku…Tenten and Neji are already a full fledged couple…now what…?'
Her eyes strayed toward Haku who was steering the ship beside her.
'…No way…'
Haku stared at her.
"Are you okay Ino?"
She snapped back to reality.
"Yea! Uh…sorry…"
Ino observed the compass fumbling in her still half asleep hands.
"We're heading dead north."
Haku nodded his head and tied the massive wheel down with a rope so that it stayed in place.
"The wheel should be fine now. Let's go help with dinner."
Ino followed him, watching the violet sunset blaze across the horizon. Haku looked at her and smiled.
"Once we get north the sunsets will get really beautiful…"
Ino blushed a little.
"Really…?"
He nodded
She smiled and faced then sunset again as they walked.
Haku looked at her and smiled, remaining silent.