Here's the next chapter, guys. I hope that you like it.
"Hello": regular talking
'Hello': thinking
'Hello': Inner Sakura talking
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then the show would be called 'NaruSaku, a beautiful love' by now.
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Day 3: Behind the mask
Opening his eyes, Naruto could see that he was in a big room with a bed, a television and a lot of books in it. He was a bit confused, because he couldn't remember falling asleep in this room. Looking around once more, he was able to see that the room was mostly pink. The bed he was lying on was pink as well.
Even more confused now, he decided to get up. He was only wearing some boxers and a white shirt. Setting his feet on the ground, he was surprised to feel something soft on the ground. He looked down and was surprised to find pink slippers on the ground. "What the hell? Where am I? Everything is pink here!"
He didn't mind though, because secretly he liked the colour a lot. Orange was still his favourite colour, but he has liked the colour pink for a long time now too. Ever since he saw a girl with a bundle of pink hair, he fell completely in love with the colour somehow. He just had to smile while thinking about his favourite girl. 'Sakura-chan…'
Suddenly he heard someone come up stairs. So he was upstairs? He didn't know what to expect, so he put on the pink slippers and stayed where he was. His mind was still full of questions. Just where was he, why was everything pink and who was coming up the stairs right now.
The footsteps were getting harder and he knew that someone was coming his way. He wanted to get a kunai from his pouch, but when he tried to get one, he realised that he wasn't carrying it with him. Cursing himself, he looked everywhere for something to defend himself with. But he wasn't very lucky in his search. A fluffy pink fox had to do.
The footsteps were awfully loud now and then it suddenly stopped. That could only mean one thing. The person was standing behind the door. What if it were those guys from Akatsuki again? Jiraiya wasn't there to save him this time. Clenching his fist, he gathered all of his courage and waited for the best time to strike.
The doorknob turned and Naruto pulled back his hand with the pink fox in it. Maybe something as fluffy as that couldn't do any serious damage, but he was sure that he could throw it hard enough to startle the enemy. At least, that's what he's hoping for. Deep down he knew that someone like Itachi wouldn't be intimidated by a pink fox, but it was worth a try, right?
A small droplet of sweat fell on his knee, when the door started to open at a very slow pace. 'Not yet, not yet, almost, now!' He threw the stuffed animal as fast as he could and quickly jumped behind the bed to form some seals. That was until he felt something land on his head. Grabbing the soft thing, he saw that it was the same fox he threw just now.
He was about to make the cross seal when he heard the visitor speak. "I didn't know that you liked stuffed animals, Naruto?"
His eyes widened. He knew that voice. It was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. There was something like an angelic tone behind it. Slowly standing up from behind the bed, he saw that he was right. Before the bed was standing his pink haired crush, Haruno Sakura.
"S…Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?!" He managed to stutter out while sweating like crazy. That wasn't just because the girl of his dreams was standing before him, but because she was wearing a bathrobe as well. And she had a very seductive smile on her face too. It was almost like a dream come true.
The girl took a few steps and sat down on the bed. She gave him a sweet smile and sighed. "I know that you just woke up, but please don't tell me that you forgot everything that happened last night."
Naruto saw that the girl turned to him with a pouting face. A small blush adorned her face as well. More confusion hit the boy now. What the hell was going on here? It was his summer vacation right? He was travelling with Ichigo to give someone his weapon, so how did he end up in a house with Sakura? And even more importantly: what did he do last night?!
He scratched the back of his head and tried to look everywhere but at her, while trying to say something. "I…I'm still a bit sleepy I guess. Can't you tell me what happened? It would be much easier that way, Sakura-chan?" The nerves were killing him and he just hoped that the girl would buy it.
The pink haired girl sighed and started to play with her hair. "You're still the same Naruto as always. I guess that it's a good thing, eh." Patting the empty space next to her, she gave him a smile. "Come here and I will tell you everything."
His heart was beating like crazy. Sakura bought his excuse, but now he had to go sit next to her. His Sakura-chan had never asked something like that. And what was up with all the smiles. She began doing it just before she left with her parents, but now she was doing it all the time. He knew that he should have liked it, but somehow he became scared.
The girl kept indicating for the boy to come to her. "What's wrong, Naruto? Don't you want to sit next to me?"
His head shot up and he saw the girl with a pouting face. He had never seen something as cute as this before. Gathering all of his nerves, he slowly stood up and made his way towards the bed. Putting his left knee on the bed, he quickly threw a glance towards the pink haired kunoichi. She was still smiling at him and now he was sure. He didn't care anymore that he didn't know what was going on. He just wanted to be close to her. He quickly made his way over the bed and sat down next to her with a nervous smile on his face. He was sure to let enough space between the two of them. "Sorry it took so long, Sakura-chan. I'm just not so sure what's going on."
"I know that you don't, but don't worry. I'll tell you." He saw the girl look down next to her and frown. What had he done this time?
"Why are you sitting way over there, Naruto? It's much warmer over here, you know? I don't smell, do I?" He then saw the girl getting a bit sad and he cursed himself. He had done something to hurt her once again.
Sighing, he turned to the girl again. "But I thought that you didn't want me close to you. You have hit me a lot of times before for that very same thing, you know? I think that I have learned my lesson!"
He was surprised when the pink haired beauty suddenly scooted closer to him. He gave her a 'what the hell are you doing' look and he became almost as red as a lobster. He really liked the way things were going, but could this really be happening? This was becoming too much for him. He tried to get away, but was surprised when he couldn't stand up. Glancing to his left side, he saw that the girl had grabbed his arm.
"Don't get so scared, Naruto. I'm not going to hit you, you know. I just want to be close to you while telling you this."
Naruto began sweating more and more now. Not only did the girl want to be close to him, but he was shocked by the sound of her voice too. It was something like the way he was talking while he was in his 'female' form. It was extremely seductive. And to make it ever worse: the girl was blushing. Knowing that going against Sakura, when she had her mind set on something, would be futile, he sat down again and sighed. "Ok, I'll listen, but please make it quick. I remember that I was travelling with Ichigo and I know that we arrived at the village we were heading for, but I don't recall anything else."
The girl smiled a beautiful smile and closed in on the boy ever more. "I will, so stop being so tense. You will understand soon enough, tough guy."
Sakura surprised the boy even more by laying her head on his shoulder. Turning beef red in a mere second, he snapped his head towards her. "Sakura-chan!?" He just knew that the girl wasn't herself. Something had to be wrong with her. He was going to push her away when she grabbed his hand and intertwined it with her own. "So, now I'm ready to start."
Naruto didn't know why, but somehow this calmed him down. He was actually very comfortable right now. "I was walking through the forest with my parents and I suddenly saw you with the owner of the weapon shop. I was very surprised, but happy nonetheless. I called out to you and we started talking. You told me that you had just delivered a sword to someone and was on your way back to Konoha."
He was surprised when the girl tightened the grip on his hand. "It was summer vacation, but I was really bored out here on my own. So I asked you to stay. After some talking with the weapon owner, you decided to stay with me and my parents. They liked you, so they had no problem with it either."
This confused Naruto a bit. It sounded too good to be true. Even her parents let him stay here. Didn't they hate him for the demon fox? He couldn't know for sure, because he had never seen her father before and her mother seemed nice enough, but he had never talked to her. He was brought back out of his own world when Sakura used her free hand to caress his leg. A gasp escaped his mouth, but he calmed down soon after that. His face was becoming even redder now.
"So you came back to the cottage and we had a lot of fun. We went shopping and swimming and you even took me with you to a festival. It were the best days in my life. I couldn't have wished for a better summer vacation. And then I realised something. My heart began pounding whenever I saw you and I started blushing too often for me to tell. I started to like you, Naruto." The girl lifted her head off his shoulder and gave him a smile. He could see that she was blushing too.
"So I asked you to come with me yesterday. Stars were filling the sky and the moon was shining down on us. I took you to the lake next to the cottage and we just sat there looking at the stars for ages. We talked about stuff and I really enjoyed myself. When I saw you then, I was sure of my feelings. I figured out that you were the one for me, Naruto. Sasuke-kun was just some stupid crush, who could never love me back. But you told me how much you loved me so many times. I can't believe that I've been blind for so long."
Naruto, who was fixated on the intertwined hands, turned to the pink haired girl next to him. She was smiling while looking up to the ceiling. A blush was still apparent on her face and he thought that it only made her more beautiful. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was his Sakura-chan really saying that she liked him better than Sasuke, that she even loved him?
He knew that he should have been the happiest man on the planet right now, but somehow he was petrified. It was just too good to be true. Nobody had ever told him something like that. When the girl suddenly turned to him, he couldn't help but smile. But when started to close the gap between the two of them, he couldn't control himself any more. If he had died right now, he wouldn't have had any regrets.
"And then, Naruto, I did this." Before he could say anything, she had pushed her lips against his. His eyes widened and he didn't know what to do. He was shocked. The girl of his dreams was really kissing him! He could feel her lips moving against his. It felt really good. Finally closing his eyes, he started to kiss her back and he found out that he really liked the feeling of her lips against his.
After a while they broke apart, because of the lack of oxygen. Naruto couldn't believe that they had only been kissing for such a short time. To him it had felt like ages. A blush was visible on her face and he knew that he was just as red as her. Still in a dreamy state, he wondered if he really had died and if this was heaven.
"I hope that you liked it, Naruto, because I sure did. But if you didn't li-MMM" Sakura couldn't even finish her sentence, because he had crashed his lips against hers once again. The pink haired girl gave in and kissed back with even more passion as the first one. Naruto pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "I love you, Sakura-chan!"
The girl brought her fingers to her lips and smiled. "I love you too, Naruto!"
He was about to lunge at her again, when he felt something hit his head.He was about to look up, but Sakura stopped him by pulling him towards her for another kiss. "What's that, Sakura-chan?!"
The girl sighed and gave him a smile. "Nothing important, Naruto. I must have forgotten to put out the water from the bath. I'll go do that soon. I just want to enjoy myself a bit more with the man I love."
Naruto couldn't believe it. This was really the best summer vacation ever. He could never have imagined something like this to happen. When he about to kiss her again, he suddenly felt a surge of power coming from above. This time he did look up and his eyes widened when he saw the source. Above them was the fox that nearly destroyed Konoha fourteen years ago, the demon fox Kyuubi!
'So you finally have someone you cherish, eh!'
Naruto could see the bloodlust in his eyes and it scared the hell out of him. He had looked the monster fox in the eyes before, but he didn't seem so angry that time. "How can you be up there, baka-kitsune?! You are supposed to be in here!" Naruto said while pointing to his stomach.
'You don't deserve love. Because of you I can't destroy and kill anymore. So I am going to make your life so damn miserable! That pinkie there looks quite delicious. I will start with her!'
The monster showed his fangs and lunged down to devour the pink haired girl. Naruto had to act quickly. He knew that they were no match for the fox. He still didn't know how that bastard escaped, but it didn't matter. He needed to get her away from here. Turning to the girl, he tried to speak to her, but his eyes widened when he noticed that his voice was gone. The girl didn't seem to notice the fox coming to her too. 'I can't let her be eaten. I have waited too long for someone to love me!'
He now tried to grab her arm, but he went right through her. "What the hell?!"
'You won't be able to save her, kit. Just stay there and watch how I devour your precious love!'
"No please! Kill me and let her go, you damn fox! It's not her fault that you have been sealed within me. You should blame me and nobody else, do you hear me!"
He was begging the Kyuubi to spare her, but he didn't listen. He continued to close in to her and his mouth was already wide open. Naruto tried his best to talk to Sakura, but she just couldn't hear him. He couldn't stand this. The girl of his dreams was going to be eaten in front of him and he couldn't do anything to save her. And he had promised himself to keep her safe no matter what. Was that all a lie?
The fox was awfully close now and a sinister smile was apparent on his face. 'Say goodbye to your friend, kit!'
"NO!!!!!!!"
He sat up and tried to control his breathing with everything he had. Looking around, he saw that he wasn't in the pink room anymore. He was actually sitting on some grass. His mind couldn't take it and he lied back down. Was all of it just a stupid dream? He brought one of his hands to his stomach and he molded some chakra. Luckily the seal appeared. Sighing, he was about to close his eyes again when someone kicked against his leg.
Looking up, he saw none other than Ichigo hovering above him. "You alright, kid?"
Naruto got up again and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay now…"
Ichigo patted the boy on the back and gave him a concerned look. "So what happened?"
Sighing, Naruto walked over to a rock and sat down. The brown haired man followed him and sat down next to him. "I just had the nicest dream I have ever had, but then it changed into the darkest nightmare ever. And to make it real, I thought that it was all real. I was about to cry when you kicked me."
The two of them stayed quiet for a while, but Naruto was kind of glad that the man decided to not say a word for a while. He just needed some time to come back to the real world. Deep down he was so happy that Sakura was still alright. The kisses didn't happen, but at least the girl was okay.
After a while he was surprised when the man placed a hand on his shoulder. The man gave him an honest smile and he was very thankful for it.
They had delivered the beautiful sword this morning. The new owner of the weapon wasn't going to pay, just as Ichigo had predicted. The man had hired a few ninjas and they attacked Ichigo, but Naruto had managed to fight them off. He had to use the kage bunshin a lot and he was pretty drained. But at least they had managed to get even more money than they had asked for the sword after Naruto threatened to attack the man.
A new friendship had flowered between the two since then. They were now on their way towards a friend of Ichigo. The man had asked him to join him, because Tsunade had given him the whole week to complete the mission. Naruto decided to go, because he had nothing better to do anyway.
Sighing he looked up. "How long have I been out?"
Ichigo was glad that the boy finally decided to speak and released Naruto's shoulder. He jumped off the rock and stretched a few times before answering. "You suddenly fainted while we were walking. I guess that you were exhausted because of using the kage bunshin technique too much. You've been sleeping for more than four hours. It's almost 5 o'clock now."
Naruto sighed. "That long… But this isn't where I remember fainting. We were still near the village, but now I can only see forests around me." Suddenly it hit him. "No, don't tell me…"
The man started snickering and walked over to the boy to help him off the rock. Extending his hand, he gave the boy a warm smile. "Yeah, I carried you for a while. I wanted to arrive at my friend's place today, so I couldn't afford to wait."
Naruto took the man's hand and jumped off the rock. When he landed, he sighed. He couldn't bear to watch the man in the eyes. He was the one who had to protect and help Ichigo. It shouldn't have to be the other way around. How could he even call himself a ninja? "I am sorry, Ichigo. I will make it up to you, I promise!"
Ichigo shook his head and patted the boy on the head. "Don't apologise, Naruto!"
Naruto was shocked by the tone of his friend. He was about to say something when the man interrupted him. "You have protected me with your life out there! And although I'm not a ninja, I know that the kage bunshin uses a lot of chakra. So don't feel sorry for yourself, you hear me! You are a strong ninja and you showed me how much you care for me. I have just met you one day ago, but I feel like we're great friends already. Now push the depressing Naruto away and show me the confident, energetic, strong boy that I remember!"
Naruto's jaw almost reached the ground now. He had no idea that his friend thought about him like that. Almost nobody had done something like this for him. Tears were dwelling up, but he kept them back. He wasn't going to break down in front of his charge and his friend. He was too strong for that, right? Putting a smile on his face, he started to scratch the back of his head.
"Sorry about that, Ichigo. I needed that. Thanks a lot! You're right. Something like this isn't going to keep the great Uzumaki Naruto down for long. I am going to become hokage, so I can't let this get to me!" He made the nice guy pose and smiled even brighter.
"Now that's the Naruto I remember!" Ichigo said with a big smile on his face. "So, shall we start walking now? I think that we're almost there, so you can tell me the rest on the way."
Naruto nodded and grabbed his backpack. "Lead the way, old man!"
Shaking his head, Ichigo walked over to the boy and hit him on the head. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not that old!"
Bringing his hands to his head, he started grinning. "I know, but I like calling you like that. Don't blame me. I'm a bad listener. Talk to baa-chan and I am sure that she'll agree with me!"
"I feel sorry for Tsunade-sama…" Ichigo said before walking to the woods on the north.
The woods were dark, but Naruto couldn't deny that the trees and plants were beautiful. Seeing all of these new things, he couldn't help but smile. There were so many nice things to see in this world and if he hadn't become a ninja, he would have never seen any of those things…the wave country, the side villages, the magnificent forests and plains. And if he hadn't become a ninja, then he would never have seen Sakura as often as he did now.
He was broken out of his thoughts when the man in front of him tapped him on the shoulder. "What's wrong, Ichigo?"
"You kind of spaced out on me, kid. I was asking you what you were dreaming about." The man gave him a worried expression when he saw that the boy became a bit sad. "If you don't want to tell me, it's fine too. I don't want to push you."
Naruto gave the man a smile, which was pretty fake, and he shook his head. "Nah, don't worry, old man. I was just thinking a bit about something. I'll tell you about the dream if you really want to know. You're my friend after all and I hate hiding things from people. 'Because I have to hide something from my friends already, so I don't want to lie even more to them.'
"Ok, tell me. Maybe it will help you get this off your chest. You seem really troubled because of it."
Naruto was really grateful. The man next to him was being a real friend and he didn't have much of those. "I was dreaming of a girl."
A mischievous smile came upon Ichigo's face now. "Aha, so you're having trouble with girls. Is that it?"
Naruto grinned a bit and started to blush. "Well, something like that. You see, there's a girl I really really like." He stopped for a second to grab something out of his backpack. Ichigo frowned at this, wondering why the boy suddenly stopped.
Naruto got out the picture of his team and showed it to the weapon store owner. "The pink haired girl in the middle is the one. She's called Sakura, and as I call her: Sakura-chan."
Naruto was too busy staring at the picture to see the surprise in Ichigo's eyes.
Naruto couldn't help but smile after seeing his pink haired friend again, even if it was a picture of her. "She is the prettiest girl I have ever seen. Her eyes are made of the most beautiful emerald in the world and her smile can make me meld. Her short pink hair makes her even more stunning."
Ichigo noticed that the boy stopped. He had a small blush on his face, but it was the look in his eyes what intrigued the man. It was serious, yet dreamy. "Her voice is angelic and I can't help but smile every time I see her. She's the type to always help others out and she isn't afraid to get hurt to protect her important people. There's almost nothing that I don't like about her."
Surprised, Ichigo continued to look the boys in his eyes. The boy wasn't just saying these things. He could see that he was really telling the truth. He was speaking with his heart. It touched him. "It sounds like you really love her, kid."
Naruto made a weak grin, before turning to the man. "Yeah, I think that you're right. Before I was placed in a team with her, I liked her. But what I'm feeling for her now is so different. When I see her cry, I feel like crying too. And when she's sad, I can't help but feel angry. She's really important to me and I wouldn't mind to give up my life in order to protect her."
"I feel a 'but' coming…" Ichigo mumbled with a serious look on his face. Ichigo saw the boy frown when saying this, but this frown was quickly replaced by a smile. The man was able to see it though.
"She likes another boy, Sasuke. He's our other team member and she is totally over him. She didn't give me the time of day when we became team seven, because she wanted to give him all of her attention. I have tried many times to ask her out on a date, but she declined every time without even listening to her. She just called me annoying and went straight to the bastard. And that hurt a lot. It made me feel terrible. Like I'm worth completely nothing, you know." Saying this made the boy feel sad once again.
"But Sasuke doesn't even see her standing. He just completely ignores her. And I have heard him call her annoying several times before too when she tried to ask him out. It makes me so mad when he does that. He's just treating her like trash and she deserves much better. But she just keeps on trying and he just keeps on declining. It's making her sad and when she's sad, I'm sad. So if she doesn't want to be with me, then I hope from the bottom of my heart that Sasuke will accept her. She deserves it."
A smirk came upon Ichigo's face. "It seems like you're really in love with her, boy. I've never seen anyone care so much for someone."
This confused Naruto a lot. "What do you mean?"
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Ichigo started to smile. He could see that the boy had thousands of emotions running through him at the moment. Naruto was like an open book. You just needed to look him in the eyes. "Sasuke is treating her exactly the same as Sakura treats you. Don't you see? But still you want to help her. That requires love, young man. You're willing to sacrifice your own happiness for her."
Naruto was lost in thought for a while. What the man said made sense. But still it wouldn't help him. Even though he loved her, she still didn't love him back. But somehow he didn't care. He just wanted her to be happy. He could live with being alone. As long as she would remain his friend, he would be content in life. "I just want her to be happy, old man."
Now he knew why the hokage called him 'the number one in surprising people'. The boy just never seemed to amaze him. But why did he freak out that much if he had a dream about her? "Then what happened in the dream, my boy?"
Sighing, Naruto turned to the green field that came in sight. They were finally exiting the forest. Inhaling the fresh air, he began to explain. "I woke up in a pink room and soon Sakura entered. I had lost all of my memories from the day before and I didn't know why she was there. She came to me and laid her head on my shoulder. She explained everything and then actually kissed me. She said that we had done it the day before as well."
"That doesn't seem like a bad dream, does it?" Ichigo asked with a confused look on his face.
Naruto gave him a grunt and looked down. "That was the good part of the dream. Then suddenly 'he' came in my dream." He stopped talking and brought one of his hands to his stomach. A pained expression was visible in his face.
"Kyuubi?"
Naruto's head shot towards the man. Any faster and he would have broken his own neck. "What…you know!?"
Naruto was even more surprised when the man started laughing. "I've known from the moment I first saw you in Tsunade's office. You've build up quite the reputation, you know."
"Then why did you allow me to go with you? Shouldn't you hate me just like the rest of them?" Naruto wondered out loud.
Ichigo walked over to the boy and ruffled one of his hands through his hair. "You're not the Kyuubi, kid. It's not your fault that the yondaime chose you to be the container of the fox. I see you as an energetic, amazing, nice boy of fourteen years old with girl trouble. I don't know why all of those people hate you. They're just a bunch of fools."
When he suddenly caught the sound of someone sobbing, he quickly looked down. The ground was becoming wet and the boy in front of him was causing it. Tears were falling out of his eyes like a waterfall. He was about to ask the boy what was wrong, when they boy crashed into him. "Thank you so much, old man! You don't know how much this means to me!"
"You're welcome, Naruto." He pushed the boy off him and wiped the lingering tears away. "So, what did that kitsune do in your dream?"
After shaking his head in order to get the sadness out of his face, he tried to continue. "Well, he said that I didn't deserve happiness and he attacked Sakura. I tried to warn her, but my voice was gone. Then I tried to get her away from there, but I couldn't touch her either. Then when he almost had her, I woke up."
Ichigo put his hand under his chin while thinking what the dream could mean. "So the fox doesn't want you to become happy, eh?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'm afraid that I will lose her if I tell her about him. What if I won't be able to control him and that he will attack her through me. What if he takes control of my body? I can't let him hurt her!"
Naruto was shocked when the man placed both hands on his shoulders while he stared him straight in the eyes with a hard expression. "I know that you can hold him back, Naruto. You're the strongest person I know. And I believe that you can do anything you set your mind to. You just need to believe in yourself."
Looking the man in the eyes, he couldn't find a trace of deceit. He was telling the truth. Clenching his fists, he gave the man a smile. "You're right again, old man. I promise you that I will hold him back no matter what. I'll never let him hurt her. Never! That's the promise of a lifetime."
"I'm sure that she will understand that you're not the Kyuubi either, my boy. Believe me."
Naruto started to smile even more now. 'I really hope so, old man, I really hope so…'
Releasing the boy, he started walking again. "Now that we got you back on your feet, it's time to go. We're almost there. Come here for a second." Naruto complied and walked over to the man. "Do you see that cottage next to that forest over there?"
Naruto used his hand to block the sunlight. "Yeah, I see something that resembles a cottage."
"That's our destination, young man. Now let's hurry, because I could use a good night rest. And I don't mean sleeping on the ground. No, I mean a nice and warm bed. When you're having a vacation, you should use that to rest yourself, boy. And I haven't seen you resting very much. So the faster we get there, the sooner we can sleep."
His lips curled into a smile and he turned to the man. Pointing towards the forest on the right, he pretended to see something. "What was that, Ichigo?!"
The man fell for it and looked. When he didn't see anything, he turned again to face the boy, but to his confusion there was nobody there. "What the?" Knowing that the small boy was a ninja, he quickly turned to look at the cottage. His suspicion was correct. Naruto was running towards the cottage. "Wait up, kid!"
Glancing over his shoulder the boy gave the man a sly smile. "The last one to arrive has to pay the ramen when we get back!"
"Damn, you cheater. When I get my hands on you! Don't you know that I'm an old man?! I can get a heart attack because of this!" Ichigo managed to mutter between heavy breaths.
Naruto had to admit that the man was pretty fast for his age. For not being a ninja, he was putting up a good fight. The Kyuubi container wasn't using chakra to increase his speed, because he knew that it would be unfair, but when he saw the man appear next to him, he just had to smile. "Not bad, old man!"
The two of them gave it their all, but in the end they reached the cottage at the same time. Both of them were having trouble breathing and sat down on the ground. "I can't believe I tied with you, old man."
"Hehe, you shouldn't judge someone by their age. I've got a lot more experience than you. So what are we going to do about the ramen? Neither one of us lost…"
Naruto closed his eyes and was actually thinking. "What if we just split the costs? That's the best thing to do."
Ichigo nodded. "Deal, kid."
Naruto stood up with a devilish smile on his face. 'The poor fool doesn't know how much ramen I can eat…'
"Let's go, kid. I can't wait to find myself a soft bed."
Nodding, Naruto followed the man to the wooden door. "Looks like a nice place, Ichigo. So, who's this friend of yours?"
Looking away, Ichigo began to laugh nervously. "There are actually two of them inside. And I think that you know one of them already."
"Oh, that's good to hear, I hope." Naruto said with surprise written over his face. After walking away from the door, he tried to look inside through the window.
'I hope that this will go well…' Ichigo thought while knocking on the door.
Naruto became a bit nervous now. He couldn't wait to find out who was there. He still wasn't standing in front of the door. Ichigo would introduce him soon enough.
Footsteps were coming their way and the door started to open. "Are you finally here? It took you long enough. Mom was getting worried about you."
Naruto's eyes widened. That voice! The door finally opened completely. The girl looked Ichigo straight in the eyes. "You told us that you would have been here early!"
Angelic voice
"Sorry, but the trip was longer than I had expected." Ichigo replied with a tired expression on his face.
Beautiful emerald eyes
The girl sighed. "Well, let's go inside. I'm sure that mom will be glad to see you, daddy!"
Short pink hair
The girl was about to turn around. "Wait, I brought someone with me. I think that you like to meet him, dear."
The girl turned to see who was there. "I don't think that mom will…N..Naruto? Is that you?!"
"Sa…Sakura-chan…"
The last thing he saw before blacking out was a bundle of pink hair.
Ichigo brought a hand to his face. "I knew that something like this would happen…"
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AN:Finally finished the next chapter. I'm sorry for the late update, but I couldn't get it done before my birthday. I hope that this long chapter of 6500 words makes it up to you. Thanks for the nice reviews, guys. I can't believe that you found the third chapter so good. You really made my day guys.
I think that this chapter was much better than last one. I managed to put some fluff in, although it was just a dream and I hope that you like the emotions that I tried to show you this chapter. It shows that deep down Naruto is really uncertain because of the fox and he is afraid that he will lose his friends because of it.
I hope that you guys like Ichigo. I tried to make him resemble an older form of Naruto. And did any of you guess who he really was. I tried to make it obvious several times. Next chapter will explain more on this. I hope that you guys liked the ending of the chapter.
Please leave a nice review, because I want to know what you think about this chapter. I really enjoyed writing this one, so I hope that you enjoy reading it too. I haven't proofread it again, so there might be spelling errors and grammar mistakes. I think that the next chapter will come tomorrow or the day after.