Here's the next chapter, guys. I hope that you like it.
"Hello": regular talking
'Hello': thinking
'Hello': Inner Sakura talking
Disclaimer: I don't own naruto, but I do own this story
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Day 7: Water fun
Naruto woke up with a content look on his face. The demon fox hadn't bugged him for the first time since the vacation began. Sitting up, he stretched out his arms and he yawned loudly after that. He suddenly realised that he wasn't the only one in the tent and he quickly put a hand on his mouth.
Closing his eyes, he hoped that he didn't wake her up. When he heard her breathing, he sighed in relief. The girl was still dreaming. He didn't want to be the one to wake her up, so he was about to stand up, when something held him back. Glancing to his arm, his eyes widened when he saw what was holding him back.
Sakura had both arms around his right one! His face became beef red and he nearly fainted. What the hell was going on! The girl must have done it while sleeping. He was about to remove her arms, when he saw that the girl started to shake. The grip on his arm tightened and he could see the pained expression on his face.
The blush on his face disappeared and he quickly moved to face her. He brought his free hand to her shoulder and quickly moved it around. The girl was having a nightmare again. "Sakura-chan!"
The girl started to shake even more and Naruto got worried now. It was even worse than last time. He removed the two hands that were holding him and started to shake her even harder. The girl's eyes shot open in shock. She was breathing heavily again and he could see that she was still trembling. But what really set him off was that there were tears falling down her cheeks. Acting on impulse, he pulled the girl in for a hug. The girl started to cry even harder after this. "Sssst, you're alright now, Sakura-chan. It was just a nightmare. Just let everything out now."
"But it was so real!" She managed to get out between sobs.
Naruto could feel that she was still trembling like crazy and he couldn't take it anymore. He cupped her face with his hands and looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. It was just a dream. Everything's okay now. Look in my eyes. You know that I won't lie to you. Everything will be alright."
The girl stopped trembling after this and she even got a smile out. "You're a fool, you know."
Grinning, Naruto wiped away the lingering tears in her eyes with his thumbs. "Yeah, I know. But that doesn't keep me from caring." He released her face and kissed her forehead before sitting back down.
Sakura became red and her eyes widened. She brought her hand to her forehead and started to smile even more. She was about to say something, but the boy beat her to it. "So, how about you tell me what you were dreaming about, Sakura-chan."
"I…I don't want to…" Sakura said. She wanted to forget that stupid nightmare as fast as possible.
Naruto sighed and gave the pink haired girl a serious expression. Sakura was taken back by this, because the boy was really serious when he looked like this. There was no more escape.
Sighing, she sat up and faced the boy. "Every time I am walking through the village and everything's fine, but then it becomes dark and I have to walk through a dark alleyway." She stopped for a while, because the tears in her eyes were returning again. "And then I get attacked by that monster from the sand village…"
Naruto's eyes widened. "Gaara!?"
The girl slowly shook her head and sighed again. "He always says that he's going to kill me and then he wraps his sand around me. Just now, he was about to crush me, when the light broke the darkness and I woke up." She then looked the boy in the eyes and let out a smile she didn't know she had. "And then I saw you. Just like last time…You're the one who saved me from him…"
Naruto was taken back by her words. He knew that Gaara had almost killed her during the sand/sound invasion, but he didn't know that she was still afraid of the guy. Hell, he thought that he had it bad with his nightmares, but at least he wasn't dreaming about his own death all the time. "Well, don't worry about that anymore, Sakura-chan. I have beaten him once and I can do it again. I'll always protect you. Count on it. You'll never have to be scared again. Just believe in me and you'll be fine."
Sakura smiled and became very emotional all of a sudden. She embraced the boy with everything she had. The boy didn't know what hit him, but he hugged her back with even more passion. They stayed like that for a long time, when Sakura decided to try something. She backed off a bit, but kept her arms around him. She moved her lips towards his forehead and kissed it, earning her a gasp from the boy. His cheeks were on fire and he started to tremble. "That was for always being there for me."
She looked him in the eyes again and cursed herself for it. She got lost in them right away again and she could see the emotions running through them. They were like the waves in the sea and she couldn't help but smile. She was broken from her thoughts when the tent suddenly opened.
"Breakfast is ready!" Ichigo screamed inside. He then saw the two hugging and started to grin. "I expect you two to be there soon. Don't do things that I wouldn't do!" He quickly left the tent, evading some shoes on the way.
"Great! First I have another person in my head that is perverted and now my dad is too! Could it get even better!" She said to nobody in particular.
Naruto became very confused now. "Another person in your head? What are you talking about, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura, suddenly realising her mistake, quickly exited the tent. "Didn't you hear my dad? Breakfast is already waiting for us. I'm so damn hungry. You're not?"
"I guess so..." Naruto said before getting out of the tent as well.
They walked over to Sakura's parents and sat down on the ground. Naruto accidentally touched her hand while sitting down and this caused the pink haired girl to blush furiously. Naruto saw this too and started to blush himself. He didn't understand what was going on. The girl always used to hit him for something like this, but now she acted like she was enjoying it. Was she starting to like him? Shaking his head, he got that idea out of his head. She was still in love with that bastard. He was sure of it. But…why was she looking at him like that…
They all ate breakfast in silence. Sakura occasionally threw a glance at her blonde friend and Naruto did the same. Ichigo saw this and just had to smile. Young love was something to be cherished. He turned to his wife and saw that she enjoyed the show as well. She nodded and turned to the two youngsters again. "Your father and I are going to take our yearly walk today, dear. So you two will have the entire camp to yourselves."
"What kind of walk?" Naruto asked bluntly.
Ichigo smiled before walking towards the boy. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he gave the boy a wink. "Just wait a few years and you'll understand." He said it while glancing over to his daughter, who gave him a confused look back.
"Why don't you two go swimming today? The weather is nice and swimming is something you do in a vacation, isn't it? You didn't buy that new bikini for nothing, dear." Yuki said with a devilish smile on her face. But luckily her daughter didn't see this.
Sakura nodded and stood up. "I guess that we could do that. I'm pretty hot right now after all and I could use the exercise." She then turned to her team mate. "What do you say, Naruto?"
The boy started grinning and quickly stood up as well. "Well, I didn't buy those swimming pants for the show or did I! Let's go. I forgot my training today, so this has to make up for it. I can't be getting fat on this vacation. I can't imagine the village of Konoha having a fat hokage." Naruto then imagined a Chouji/Tsunade combination and it scared the shit out of him.
Sakura smirked and gave the boy a playful push. "You were thinking funny things again, weren't you…?"
Rubbing the back of his head, he got out his foxy grin. "You got me…"
Yuki stood up and headed towards Sakura's tent. "Sakura, do you want me to help you with your bikini!?"
"I'll be right there, mom!" Sakura screamed back. She gave the boy one last smile before standing up. "I'll see you later, Naruto."
"Yeah, see you later, Sakura-chan!" Naruto stood up and walked over to his bag of clothes. He got out his swimming pants and walked towards the smaller tent. He walked past Ichigo on the way. "Good luck, son. You'll need it…"
Naruto quickly turned around, but he was surprised to see that the man was already gone. Raising an eyebrow, he continued to walk. The man could be awfully fast for not being a ninja…
He put on the swimming pants and headed towards the lake. He wasn't surprised to be the first one there, so he sat down next to the water, while putting his feet inside. The water was nice and warm and he couldn't wait to get in. He smiled when he saw some birds and a deer drinking from the lake. He had always been fond of nature. It just made him feel at home. After he retired from his position as hokage, he would go live in a place like this. And he wanted to do it with Sakura close to him.
He has liked her for a long time, but ever since he met up with her in the cottage, it became more and more. He could now say that he was in love with her with a straight look on his face.
He was broken from his thoughts when he heard some noises behind him. He quickly stood up and turned around. His eyes widened at the beautiful sight in front of him. His pink haired friend was walking towards him with a slight blush on her face. Her face was down and he could see that she was nervous. She was wearing a red bikini that showed her curves perfectly. He could understand that Ino was the one who chose pieces of clothing. He knew that the blonde was more daring than his team mate. Sakura would have never chosen this one herself. But for once, he was grateful. This thing made her look so damn sexy!
"Hey, Naruto." She said without looking up. She didn't want to see the disappointment in his face. She knew that her assets were pretty small and this bikini made it even more obvious. She cursed her rival for choosing this one. At the time that she bought it, it looked like the best choice, but she couldn't know back then that the boy she liked would be here as well.
She slowly looked up and her cheeks started burning when she saw the boy in front of her. The swimming pants he was wearing were orange of course, but there was a cute design on it. But that wasn't what caused her to blush. It was his body! Her inner self was right. He did have a fine body! The blush on her face deepened when she saw his muscular stomach. That had to be the result of years of hard training.
'Hug him! I need to feel that body! What are you waiting for!'
She then went further up and saw his chest. It looked great as well and she couldn't contain herself anymore. She couldn't wait to lay her head on the powerful chest. A bit of drool came out of her mouth at this moment and she just wanted to touch him!
And then she finally reached his face. But to her surprise, he didn't look disappointed at all. It was actually quite the contrary. He had a dreamy look on his face and he was drooling just as she was. Her eyes shot open when she saw a bit of blood under his nose. She couldn't believe it. Did he really find her that attractive? She didn't dare say anything, because she couldn't trust her voice right now.
The boy was still looking at her and somehow it made her feel really special. She turned to her mother and saw that she had an understanding smile on her face. The pink haired woman nodded and moved her hands, indicating that she should say something. Great, so her mother was actually supporting her to make a move….
Sighing, she gathered all of her courage and she took a few steps forward. "You look nice, Naruto. I love your swimming pants."
'And your fine body as well! Shannaro!'
'Shut up, you're making me nervous!'
'Just make your move and get it over with already, you chicken!'
'But what if he doesn't like my body? He hasn't said anything about me…'
'Get over your insecurity, girl! Believe in yourself a bit more!'
She was broken out her mental war, when the boy in front of her started to grin. He looked more nervous than ever and he brought one of his hands to the back of his head. "You look great too, Sakura-chan! The bikini really suits you. It goes well with your hair."
Sakura's cheeks became redder than ever now. "You really mean that!?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I mean it?" Naruto asked, while raising one of his eyebrows. He didn't understand why she would ask something like that. She had to know by now that he never lied to her.
The pink haired girl was fidgeting with her fingers, before bringing her hands to her chest. "Well, I thought that you would be a bit disappointed because of my small 'things'."
Naruto didn't understand what she was saying, but when he saw that she was pointing towards her forbidden area, his eyes widened. His face became even redder now and he quickly glanced away. Was she really worried about the size of her breasts?! And why would that matter with him. She didn't even like him, right? "Are you silly, why would I be disappointed about something like that and why do you care?"
Her mother turned around and left, because she knew that this wasn't meant for her to hear. This was something between the two of them. She headed towards the tent to get her things for her romantic walk with her husband.
The girl with pink hair sighed and dropped her head. "Well, I'm well aware that almost every girl has bigger breasts than me. And most people I know call me 'flat-chest' or something like that. It makes me really feel bad about myself and I guess that it's true. I'm not pretty or sexy. It's no wonder that Sasuke-kun never gave me any attention…"
She was shocked when the boy suddenly placed his hands on her shoulders. Her cheeks started burning again when she his body, but she felt even more nervous when she saw his face. He looked serious and angry. She was about to say something, when he slightly squeezed her shoulder. "You should never doubt yourself like that, Sakura-chan. You shouldn't listen to all those people if they call you like that. Believe me; I know what it's like to be called names. If you listen to all of them, then you'll never get happy with yourself. Just ignore those bastards. You are beautiful, Sakura-chan. And never let anyone convince you that you're not. Got that!"
Sakura was too dumbfounded to answer. She couldn't believe the boy in front of her. He talked like he was an expert, but she knew that he would never lie to her. She trusted him completely. So the boy must have meant every word of it. He really believed that she was pretty? "You really think that I'm beautiful?"
Naruto smiled and released her shoulders. "I think that you're the most beautiful person on the world, Sakura-chan…" He quickly looked away. He had said too much. Now she would hate him and never talk to him again. Why did he have such a big mouth…?
The pink haired girl surprised him by hugging him. "Thank you so much!"
'Oh yeah! Great move!'
Naruto's eyes widened. He suddenly found it really hard to breathe. Sakura's body was pressed against his and she wasn't wearing anything but a bikini. He had to admit. There were dreams where this happened, but he never guessed that it could become reality. Blood was coming out of his nose and he blacked out before he could even blush.
Sakura felt his body becoming weak and she released the boy. The boy immediately slumped into a pile. "Naruto!?"
She kneeled next to him and waved her hand in front of his eyes. The boy made no movement at all. He was out cold! Sakura became confused. Why would he black out like that? She only hugged the boy, who was only wearing some swimming pants, while she was wearing nothing but a bikini! Realisation hit her and her eyes widened. Drips of blood came out of her nose and a perverted smile came upon her face before blacking out.
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"Let's tell the kids that we're going to go, dear." Yuki said before grabbing the hand of her husband.
Ichigo smiled and gave the pink haired woman a kiss on the cheek before nodding. They reached the lake and he was about to say goodbye, when he saw that both of them unconscious. "What happened over here!?"
He quickly ran towards his daughter and her friend and checked them for injuries. He stopped though, when he saw their faces. Yuki finally reached the area and sat down next to her husband. "Are they alright!?"
The man stood up sighed. "They'll be fine, dear. I just fear that we've raised a little pervert…"
Yuki raised an eyebrow, but when she saw the remains of a nosebleed on her daughter's face, she just had to smile. "I don't even want to know what these two have been doing. Let's go, dear. They'll be fine. I just want to be alone with you right now."
She grabbed Ichigo's hand and led him towards the woods.
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Sakura woke up and looked around to see where she was. Sitting up, she saw that she was near the lake. Bringing her hands to her head, she tried to figure out why she was sleeping over here. Her eyes widened when she remembered the things that had happened and her face turned red within a second. Glancing to her side, she could see that the boy was already gone.
Standing up, she looked everywhere for the boy. Just where was he? He didn't leave her all alone, didn't he?! She walked towards the water and put her feet in the warm water. It really relaxed her and she became comfortable right away. She lied down and watched the clouds fly by. So this was why Shikamaru was so fond of those clouds. It was just so relaxing.
She closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep, when she suddenly felt something grab her ankles. She shrieked, before getting dragged under the water. Her ankles were released and she quickly swam upwards. The moment she got her head above water, she inhaled as much oxygen as she could. Looking beneath her, she could see that a shadow was swimming underneath her.
The shadow came up and Sakura was about to punch it, when she saw that it was no other than her own team mate. The boy was grinning like crazy. "You should have seen your face, Sakura-chan!"
The boy was too busy grinning, so that he didn't see the anger on his friend's face. She wasn't really as angry as she was showing, but she still felt that the boy had to be punished. Nobody had the right to scare her like that, not even he. She brought back her fist and hit him straight in his face. The boy was sent flying and landed on the shore. He brought his hands to his face, because it hurt like hell.
"Don't think that you can get away with this, Naruto!"
He looked behind him and saw the pink haired girl running to him. His eyes widened and he quickly stood up. He shouldn't have tried to be funny. Things always ended up like this. He started running for his life, but somehow the pink haired girl closed in on him. There was only one option left. He gathered chakra in his feet and ran over the water. Maybe the girl would be slower on the water.
He stopped when the screaming behind him stopped. He turned around and saw that Sakura was still standing on the grassy fields with an unbelieving look on her face. Why did she stop? Shaking his head, he brought his hand to his head. Scratching it, he tilted his head. "What?"
Sakura finally broke from her trance and pointed towards him with her finger. "You're standing on the water…"
Raising his brow, Naruto looked down. Then it suddenly hit him. Jiraiya had thought him this while training for the chuunin exam finals. So there was a good chance that his pink haired friend didn't even know how to do it. Smirking, he walked over to his team mate. She seemed to have calmed down, so he was safe for now. "Don't you know how to?"
She just shook her head. The anger was now replaced by admiration. "Kakashi-sensei never taught us that. How in the world can you walk on water? That's amazing!"
Naruto blushed because of the compliment, but quickly shook it off. "Ero-sennin thought me how to do it. It was to help me train my chakra control and I have to say that it worked. I have become much stronger after the water walking exercise."
"Can I do it too?" Sakura asked with a cute look on her face.
The boy smiled and extended his hand. "Sure! You're really good with chakra control, so this should be easy for you. You just have never tried to do it before, but when you know how to do it, it becomes very easy. Just focus your energy to the bottom of your feet and sent it down the water to stay standing. You need to change the amount of chakra you use the whole time, because you'll fall through if you don't. Here, take my hand and I'll help you."
The pink haired girl smiled and grabbed his hand, causing both to blush a bit. "Now, let's take this one step at a time. Just focus the energy at the bottom of your feet and step on the water. I'll hold you, so you don't have to be worry about sinking."
The girl nodded and collected energy at the bottom of her feet. She then took her first step and she had a bit of trouble to keep standing, but her feet stayed above the water. Her balance was the problem.
"Great job, Sakura-chan. You're doing much better than I did on my first try. I fell right through!" The boy said laughing.
Sakura smiled as well, but she was too busy concentrating to laugh. She took another step and Naruto was surprised to see that she was already doing it. She took step after step and a smile came upon her face. "Look, Naruto, I'm really doing it!"
"Yeah, you're awesome, Sakura-chan! I almost feel jealous! You're a natural!" Naruto exclaimed with a big smile on his face. He slowly released the girl and took a few steps back. "Now try it without me holding you."
She nodded and took a few steps. Everything went well and a few minutes later she was even able to jump on the water. Naruto couldn't believe it. He knew that the girl was good with chakra control, but this he hadn't expected. He was proud on her and a bit jealous as well, but he walked over to her with a smile on his face.
The girl was about to say something, when she suddenly fell down. She closed her eyes, awaiting the water to come, but to her confusion the water never came. She opened her eyes and saw that Naruto had caught her. Her back was against his chest and it made her blush. "Seems like you used up too much chakra again."
Sakura sighed and looked down. She felt really disappointed in herself right now. "Then we're going to work on that after our vacation! You could show me how to control my chakra better and I can help you to get more stamina. What do you say?"
"That would be great, Naruto." The pink haired girl replied with a blush on her face. Even now the boy cared about her. She really never wanted to lose his arms around her anymore. It just felt right.
The boy suddenly gave her a pleading look. "Baa-chan told me that there's a festival in some village close to here. Do you want to go there with me when we go back?"
"Sure, I would love that!" Sakura replied with a smile on her face. He was actually asking her out on a date. He used to do that all the time, but lately he stopped doing it. Probably because he was scared of her forwardness. The rest of the way nobody said a word. They both just enjoyed the comfortable silence.
Naruto helped the girl back to the tent and he laid her down on her mattress. They were both pretty sleepy and it was getting pretty late. Time seemed to fly when having fun. Her parents weren't back yet, but they would understand. He wasn't hungry anyway, so he could wait until breakfast. He brushed some of the pink hairs from her forehead and gave her one last smile. He pulled the sheets over her body and turned away from her.
He was about to crawl to his own spot when the pink haired girl suddenly pulled him down and gave him a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. He became redder than ever and nearly fainted. He didn't trust his arms anymore, so he quickly lied down on his own mattress. "Sakura-chan?"
When he didn't get a response, he sighed and turned around. The girl was already asleep. With a dreamy look on his face, he brought a hand to the kissed area. She had really kissed him! She really liked him! This was too good to be true! In his mind he was dancing like crazy, but he knew that he would wake the girl if he started dancing now, so he just smiled and went to sleep.
He just wanted to crawl over to her and kiss her, but in the end he decided against it. He would only end up with a lot of pain. He expected some nice dreams this night. "Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan…"
Unbeknown to a certain hyperactive ninja, the pink haired girl was smiling devilishly with a face as red as a lobster. She brought a finger to her lips held it there for a while. When she heard the sound of snoring, she turned around and saw that the boy had a happy look on his face.
'Score!'
'I bet that he never expected that one!'
'Seriously! You even surprised me! I didn't know that you had it in you!'
'People can change. Naruto helped me become the person I am now. The real Haruno Sakura. No more pretending, no more lying, From now on I'll show the real deal. And that one isn't crazy about some Uchiha, but about the nicest person in the world!'
'Just kiss him on the mouth next time. You were so close!'
'Sorry, I lost me nerve at the last moment…'
'I guess that it's better than nothing…'
'Just let me sleep now. I'm very tired…'
'Yeah, we have to look good tomorrow for our date!'
'Yeah, I want to look good for him. Maybe tomorrow I'll kiss him for real. If he let's me.'
'Great plan! Shannaro!'
She sighed and closed her eyes once again. "Sweet dreams, my sweet Naruto…"
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AN: My shortest chapter until now, but again it became too long. I was getting tired, so the end may seem rushed. I hope that you liked it and I hope that you guys leave a nice review, because I made two chapters in one day! I need to make three of them tomorrow, but the last one will be kind of like an epilogue and it will be small, so I think that I can finish it on time.