Naruto

"What the hell happened?"

Sasuke was ignoring me. Something he'd gotten better and better at by the minute. He walked into his bedroom, sitting down at his desk.

"I'm sick of playing silent treatment with you, Sasuke."

"Why are you interested in my personal life anyway?"

"Because Sakura's apart of both of our personal lives. Why was she crying?"

"I don't know what the hell is up with her today..." He muttered. "Isn't that something you should know?"

"At this point, you see her more than I do. If something's wrong, you should know!"

"'Tch." He grumbled.

I crossed my arms, deciding to just wait him out with silence. Surprisingly, it didn't take as long as I expected.

"I don't like to be touched. And she knows that." He looked at me. "As for her personal feelings, I'll never understand..."

Are you sure it's not just that you don't want to understand?

I plopped down on his bed, zipping my chunin vest down slightly to loosen the neck of it.

"So when Sakura touches you, it doesn't make you feel... Anything?"

"I don't want to talk about this." He stated.

"What do you ever want to talk about?"

"Why are you still here if you were looking for Sakura?"

"Why aren't you packing up to come with me and the guys?"

"I know you aren't that stupid." He retorted.

So, he's serious about staying here alone...

"I want you there, Sasuke."

He said nothing, going back to ignoring me so easily that it immediately tossed me into anger.

This is the only thing I can't get about you... Why do you purposely isolate yourself? Sakura loves you. Kakashi loves you. I love you but you just won't...

Kakashi had stopped coming by to see Sasuke only a couple of months after the war ended. And I only came by every week, or month... Sakura was the one only one who came consistently.

And now he's even pushed her away.

I stood up.

"Sasuke..." I said. "You really need to think about what's most important to you in life."

"I know what that is already." Sasuke replied. "Just because it isn't the same as what's most important to you, doesn't mean it's wrong."

"I didn't say it's wrong. But you don't have to live in the shadows."

"I wasn't planning to live in the shadows. I'm just forced to now that you ruined my entire plan."

"Your Kyoseishu plan did fine!" I reminded him.

"You know just as well as I do that plan was mostly Shikamaru and Kakashi."

Well, you named it... That should count for something.

He turned back towards his desk, moving some of the books there into his specific order.

"You know what plan I'm talking about." He muttered.

"Sakura told me about your other plan... The one to heal all of the sick." I shook my head. "But Sasuke, you can't force things on people. People have to have a choice."

"You've seen what happens when humans make decisions."

"Yeah! They don't become mindless puppets."

"Who the hell do you think you're lecturing?" He yelled.

"The idiot who thinks he can turn every ninja in the world into freaking cattle!"

"At least I have a plan. Instead of walking around pretending to be some kind of hero instead of a leader." He finally turned his eyes to me. "How long do you think you're going to last anyway? Until people realize your head is as empty as your promises."

"Shut your damn mouth." I growled. "You're pissing me off."

"Because I'm telling the truth? Why don't you just admit it?" He asked, lips stretching into a sneer. "...You know you can't do this."

We stared each other off. Hands balled into fists just off of custom and eyes glaring.

We haven't relaxed around each other one time in the past three years... Why...?

I sighed, turning away from him.

"Aren't friends supposed to tell friends that they can do something?"

"Friends don't lie to each other."

With my back facing him, I looked on. Around at the room, walls bare, floor bare, everything neat and in perfect order except for one thing. Something that always stuck out in his room like it didn't belong. A pot of lilacs and violets near his door. Flowers I'd given to him... Just so he'd have something. Anything.

"You're right. Friends shouldn't lie to each other... So... I'll tell you the truth."

I brushed my hand through my hair.

"I don't know much. I'm not a book worm like Sakura or a strategist like Kakashi and Shikamaru or even an intellectual like you." I said, shrugging. "All I really have are words. That's all I've ever had. And you're right, words alone won't mean anything. This world could easily fall back into chaos under my control alone."

I heard him shifting, most likely turning to look at me again.

"If you really think that, then pass me the Hokage chair."

"I said I wouldn't lie to you." I replied steadily. "If you take the chair alone...you'll also bring the world into chaos."

I felt his eyes burning into my back, right into the Uzumaki symbol in the center.

"If we're separated, the wars will never stop. Can't you get that?"

I paused, taking in his silence, hoping it was a good omen and began to walk toward the door.

"You're my best friend, Sasuke. You and I both know that I'll always do anything for you. Right now... The ball's in your court. You decide the fate of the world."

I grabbed the door knob, turning it, and leaving him alone, hopefully, with my last words hanging in the air, surrounding him for a while, and then, slowly, sinking in...

Sakura

It didn't take as long as Ino and I expected for everyone to crowd around the village gates. We set off pretty quickly with Rock Lee running around to everyone offering to carry everyone's bags for them just to prove that he could do it, Choji bringing enough travel food for everyone three times over, and Naruto joking around as usual.

"Seriously, this atmosphere is perfect for a horror story." He said, turning to walk backwards. "We should tell scary stories."

"The real horror story is the fact that you haven't stopped wearing those pants since you were like eight years old." Tenten pointed out.

"I know, right? Aren't Hokage's supposed to be cool?" Kiba added.

"Woof!" Akamaru agreed.

"Whaaat?!" He exclaimed. "These are cool!"

"Since when have day-glo orange track pants ever been cool?" Ino probed.

But we did tell a couple of scary stories, ranging from some crackpot tale Naruto and I had heard when we were younger about Ninja Wolves to a Nara legend Shikamaru told about shadows that moved on their own.

"If shadows can be controlled by people, who's to say they can't be controlled by something else?" Shikamaru said shrugging.

"Something?" Hinata repeated, almost slipping on the branch she was hopping off of.

"It's just an old legend. Similar to the one about the Colossal Fly Swatter, my father's brother used to-"

"Okaaaay, Shino." Naruto said cutting him off. "I just decided I'm sick of scary stories."

"More like you're sick of Shino Stories." Kiba joked.

"One day, you'll all appreciate my presence..."

"You got one, Sakura?" Naruto asked completely disregarding Shino's mutterings. "To end it off?"

I looked up, realizing I had been running along with everyone the entire time staring into hammer space.

A horror story...?

But under the pressure of all of their eyes, I opened my mouth and began speaking before I even knew what I was going to say.

"Once there was a prideful blue Lion. He was the king of all the lands and forests within an entire 500 mile radius of his camp. He crushed anyone who opposed him and disregarded anyone who doubted him." I told them.

Our feet hit the dirt, having no choice but to run on land as we got to an outstretch of space that bore no trees. The grassland was flat and ran on for so long, it seemed like the navy night sky was touching the earth.

"But one day, a beautiful Lioness came across his lands. She had heard stories about his bravery and leadership and wanted to rule with him together. But all the years of solitary ruling had him cold and brittle... So, he was paranoid. And after keeping the Lioness around for only a few days, he pounced on her at night and snapped her neck. Then, he dragged her body out to the frontlines of his kingdom and staked her head as a warning for everyone else."

Their eyes gazed at me. Naruto's the most closely. I wondered if he wanted to cut me off like he did with Shino, but something in all of their eyes showed true interest.

"Sooner or later, the pride of Lions that the Lioness came from, tracked the Lion down and confronted him. He tried to fight but there were too many so he was forced to run away from his land. Ashamed and depressed, the Lion jumped off of a cliff and committed suicide as his lands got raided and shredded to pieces by the vengeful pride."

The silence that rang out when I was finished hung heavily, until Rock Lee decided to be the one to test the bait.

"That was sad." He said. "Really sad. And somehow, that makes it kind of frightening."

Everyone nodded.

"Yeah..." Was the general consensus.

I sighed, already regretting having not just said "I don't have a story".

If I got any better at destroying the group atmosphere, they'd have to rename me Sasuke...

I opened my mouth again, attempting to ward them off with an easy joke but Naruto beat me to it.

"That was so weak, Sakura!" He declared. "I'm talking about ghosts and evil monkeys and curses and stuff. Not an asshole Lion that didn't like anybody."

And, just like that, everyone burst into laughter. And then he glanced at me, winking cheerfully and even I had to crack a smile.

Thanks... Naruto.

Everyone continued in the tinkling laughter like a chorus as we made our way running and jogging around the dark green tall trees, ducking under the bushy undergrowth outlining the outmost edge of the Konoha boundaries and coming upon the cliff that viewed a sizeable town with curving, calm waters outlining the south side of it.

"That's it." Shikamaru said. "The Outer Banks."

Our eyes widened at all of the lights, very similar to Konoha but in a different way, these lights were accompanied by all sorts of sounds and smells and movements that I vaguely recalled from my childhood. Looking on to Naruto, I could tell it was all completely new to him. And a grin replaced the wondrous expression on his face, a grin I hadn't seen since we were really young, packed to the brim with mischievousness.

"Let's rock." He said, paving the way by jumping straight off of the cliff.

And whooping and hollering, everyone else mimicked him perfectly.

I sighed, taking my time down the cliff.

And if they all snap both of their ankles in half, who will be stuck with healing everyone?

The moment we got into the city, everyone headed straight for the biggest attraction, the night club, or as Ino called it "The night you won't remember".

Contrary to what Ino had always told me night clubs were like, lights were on everywhere and not everyone was huddled up dancing. Most people were crowded around the sake bar. In the center of the tables that were littered around stretched out really large umbrellas that came together to make up the ceiling of the place. Everyone's feet went back and forth clicking over the brown mahogany floor that made up the dancing area and padding over the soft green grass on the outskirts of the club that made up the sitting and eating areas.

I wandered around keeping an eye on everyone and Ino followed closely behind me, going on about a checklist of forbidden activities she wanted to get over and done with.

Akamaru barked, slightly upset at having been tied to a post just outside the club.

Choji bolted straight for the food bar the moment we got over there. Naruto was dancing with Hinata, Kiba, Tenten and Rock Lee to a song that was way too fast for any of them, not that they cared. The rest of us split up, making their way along the sake bar, or onto the dance floor, or away from the night club altogether and over to a magazine booth or a souvenir shop.

"Looks like the party boy is having fun." I commented, watching Naruto move.

"Unlike you." Ino retorted.

I smiled widely, so wide in fact, that I had to close my eyes.

"What are you talking about Ino? I'm having a great time."

She stared at me dully.

"Whatever, Sakura... Give me that fake smile all you want."

But before I could protect my fakeness, she pointed over the fence and directly down behind the hill the club was stationed on.

"Check that out." She whispered.

We both leaned over the fence looking down into the alleyway next to the nightclub where two people stood underneath a dark green lamppost.

"I didn't bring anything for Naruto."

"Oh, that's fine. I'm sure he'll just be glad you thought to come."

"Well, I wouldn't even have known about it if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, well, I figured Gaara, being his best friend and all, would like to hang out with us and get away from all the work for once. It's probably a real drag being Kazekage..."

"Drag, huh? I haven't heard you say that in a long time."

Then Shikamaru shrugged, leaning up against the stone brothel house across from us.

"Well, I haven't really seen you in a while, so that could be it. But also..." He looked over at her. "There isn't really that much to complain about when you're around."

Temari smiled.

"What a compliment." She said.

And in a perfect, born-for-each-other sync, they leaned in, not wasting a spare second to kiss each other. Shikamaru's arms went around her, cradling her to his chest in a way that was so shockingly divergent from anything he'd ever did. Almost like he cared about something for once.

Ino bounced up and down, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a squeal.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

I cautiously looked down to make sure they weren't startled, they weren't, and then addressed her.

"How the hell could anyone have guessed that?"

"Shikamaru's been hiding something." She explained. "And this is Shika we're talking about, he doesn't care enough about anything to hide it. Unless, it's a woman."

"Well, that'll be good for future relations with the Sand Village. First off, the Kage's are best friends and now the strategic operations ninja are dating." I explained. "Think it's a good omen?"

"Should be, unless Temari somehow reminds Shika of his Mom." She joked.

"Hi, Ino..."

We turned to see Sai approaching carrying a single rose flower.

"I read a while ago that bringing flowers to girls creates romance. Am I doing well?"

I stared at him blandly, completely lost as to what the hell Ino sees in him, but she grinned, jumping into his arms.

"You're doing amazing! But you know... Another thing that creates romance is asking a girl to dance."

He grabbed her hand, motioning toward the dance floor.

"Do you want to?"

Ino nodded hard, then turned to me, giving me a indecipherable look.

"You know, it's his own fault if he decided not to come with you." She said to me. "I wouldn't blame you if you went and had some fun."

Clearly she means Sasuke... But what the heck does she mean by 'having some fun'?

She winked and went on after Sai. I looked around the club, raising my eyebrows as I saw Gaara, standing in one of his more casual outfits, handing something to Naruto. Naruto looked at it, turned it over in his fingers and nodded slowly. The way his lips curved into a smile and he scratched his hair seemed like he said thank you. But something was off.

Why does it look like he doesn't want the gift?

He slid his hands into his pockets pointing behind him to the exit, where Akamaru continued to try unsuccessfully to bite his leash off, and seemed to give some quick excuse for leaving.

He usually loves the things Gaara gives him...

Gaara seemed to be looking at him suspiciously too but then two racks of ribs flew into his field of vision, hovering there in front of his face and dripping with barbeque sauce.

Gaara looked at it dully, turning his head to Kankuro and Choji who were literally rolling around on the floor laughing at their little 'pork-face' game created by Choji tossing food and Kankuro manipulating it like with his puppets.

I looked to the right again, surprised to see that Naruto had disappeared.

Where'd he run off to?

I turned back to the fence raising my eyebrows at the bright orange spark flicking down the alley way past Shikamaru and Temari and startling the living day-light out of their intimate moment. I pulled myself up and over the fence, allowing myself to drop into the alley way between them, starling them some more.

"Sorry..." I muttered, not making eye contact as I rushed after the orange flame.

I dashed around the corner, spinning out into the town streets where crowds of people went this way and that. I couldn't even completely understand why I was going after him.

Perhaps it's because I know I'm not having a good time. And if he's not happy either, then...

I continued my chase, stumbling a few times and almost tripping over loose blocks in the sidewalk.

...Then what?

The path that I sensed his chakra heading toward led me up a rocky overhang that viewed the crashing waves coast. I continued plowing through the trees until I made it to the very edge and looked down and saw...

There he is. But is that...Hinata next to him?

A slim dark haired girl in a form-fitting sleeveless lavender top and white shorts stood over Naruto talking to him.

She must've been chasing him this entire time, too.

And then an odd feeling came into me... A feeling I couldn't quite place until I watched her back away from him, nodding hard and lowering her head, and then turn, coming back up the bank toward me. As I watched her do that, the feeling immediately changed to relief. And that gave me a clue to what the other feeling must've been.

No way... I couldn't have been feeling...

"Sakura?"

I had been so immersed in my thoughts, I hadn't even realized she'd gotten that close to me. She stepped over some large stones and ducked her head under the leaves and raised her eyebrows.

"You followed him here, too, then?"

She bowed her head, glancing behind her and then shrugged.

"He...needs someone right now."

...Why are you telling me that?

"Aren't you someone who can-" I began.

"There are things about Naruto that I can't understand." She interrupted me.

She looked up then, looking me fully in the eyes.

"His connection with Sasuke is one of those things. And so, my words can't reach him... But you understand Sasuke just as well as he does..."

She ran a hand through her hair, smiling at me in a helpless way.

"He needs you."

And not a second passed before I felt the guilt crashing down on me.

That feeling before... It was jealousy, wasn't it? I was feeling territorial towards Naruto. And now, she's... She's actually...

I knew what her words meant by how she put them. She was giving me what she had previously taken to be her duty.

"Hinata... Thank You."

She nodded, then turned back into the trees, slowing moving up the sloping bank.

I turned the opposite direction, looking back down toward the bank where Naruto sat alone, tossing stones at the large patch of grass right before the sandy bank that he sat in. I moved, legs jumping into action pushing out one after the other. The wind blew, carrying the cool salty breeze of the waves toward my face, blowing my hair back off my neck and exposing my stomach slightly as my feet pounded into the dark green earth. I slowed to a walk as I got closer but it didn't matter, he knew it was me without even turning to look.

"I yelled at her..." He said, playing with a stone. "I didn't mean to, it's just... She's always telling me to just ignore Sasuke."

His lips pursed together.

"She doesn't get it. Sasuke is... He's me."

I lowered myself onto the wooden log he was sitting on.

"He's who I would be if I hadn't met...him."

I nodded.

"...I know." I told him.

Naruto turned, looking at me fully.

"Your cheek didn't bruise up like it looked like it would." He pointed out.

Oddly, I smiled.

"How lucky..."

"He shouldn't have done that, you know." He grumbled. "These days he really has no control over himself at all."

I shook my head.

"It wasn't his fault. I was...pushing him."

"Pushing him?"

I rubbed my hands together between my legs.

"It was really stupid but... I kind of started comparing him to other boyfriends and relationships." I shook my head. "But I should've known not to do that. Sasuke isn't like everyone else. I knew that when I decided to..."

I sighed, looking down at what was in his hands, other than stones, and reached for it.

"Gaara's present?" I asked.

He looked down at it and turned away curtly.

"Yeah... He gave it to me for becoming Hokage."

I held the necklace in my hand with a black tweed chain and a crystal light blue gem piece that matched the necklace that he'd previously had before it was destroyed in the Pain fight. It matched his eyes perfectly.

"How the hell did he replicate this?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in awe.

"With like countries worth of money, I bet. I think they said that thing was worth like three mountains of diamonds or something when Hashirama had it."

"So...what's wrong with it?" I asked, lifting my hands to his neck.

"I don't deserve it." He muttered. "Even though Sasuke's in the village, I..."

He looked down, pausing, as I clasped the necklace for him and let it hang down onto his chest.

"I was a real idiot when I was younger. I thought just bringing him here would solve everything but now it's just creating more problems." He explained. "He's still...isolated. And distant. Even though I brought him back... He's still not really home. I can feel it. And... Worst than all of that... I need him with me, Sakura."

He nodded hard, lifting his eyes to mine.

"I... I can't do this without him." He looked down at the gem piece. "Hinata kept saying I could do it alone and that I'd be fine but she doesn't get it. I can't stop worrying about him... When I was alone and two seconds away from becoming history's worst nightmare, he was there for me. Even if he didn't know he was doing it, he was the first friend I ever had... And... I have to do the same thing for him."

He gripped the gem piece hard.

"But he still won't acknowledge me..." He gritted his teeth. "We're twenty years old now and he still just won't..."

"I want his acknowledgement, too." I replied. "I just want him to look at me, talk to me, hold me, hug me...tell me he loves me..."

My fingertips began shaking.

What is it about me? Why can't Sasuke love me? What's wrong with me?

"But... Maybe I'm asking for too much. I mean... It isn't really that different, is it? Sasuke... He's never really been emotionally invested in that way. He's never really spoken his feelings. Never really physically shown them. So... Why the hell did we think that when he came back, it'd be any different?"

"Yeah... In the past, you could tell how he felt on the inside by his actions. It was obvious he cared. But I don't really know if he even has that same inside anymore." He smiled sadly. "We're such a pair... Rejected by the person we love the most. How desperate is that?"

"Desperate...?" I shook my head, lifting my eyes to his. "No... I..."

Every second, every minute that I'm not around him I'm worrying about him, thinking about him, it's like my life force is being sucked away, I can't enjoy any day and when I'm with him, it's like he doesn't want me there anyway... I can't stand it. But I can't stand away from it. Because I feel like I can't stand without him.

"I'm just..." My voice cracked, with the rush of warmth threatening my eyes.

Everyone else is so happy in their lives. In their relationships. And the person I want acknowledgement from the most... I can't even get him to smile at me.

"I just feel so...lonely."

I'm getting it now... A bitter taste of the reality that was Naruto and Sasuke's childhoods. What if feels like to be surrounded by all kinds of people and truly alone in your own nightmare.

Naruto raised his hand to the back of my neck, cupping it softly as the waves crashed against the sandy beach and letting his fingers drift to my cheek.

I just want my nightmare to end...

He brushed away my tears.

"Sakura-chan..." He whispered as he put his arms around me, pulling me into a hug.

I felt my heart-beat speeding up and I didn't know why.

This is just Naruto, isn't it...? Just...

But those thoughts couldn't overpower the new ones cropping up.

It's only him at this point... He's the only one who understands me. The only one who cares enough. Naruto is...all I have.

He held me in that hug with his body, that had at some point grown firm and muscular, and I couldn't stop what happened next. He didn't seem to be able to stop it either as he pulled back, face inches from mine and met my lips calmly.

And the moment that happened, it was like I could understand all of the 'sick' ones in one explosive blow.

If this peace was a dream... Why would I ever want to wake up from it?

And so I didn't stop it. His hands went over me softly and cautiously like he was hunting a deer he didn't want to startle. On the soft grass near the water, he pushed me down in such a way that felt more like a gentle lying than anything forceful.

His hands explored my body as I grabbed his hair, keeping him pressed against me, losing myself in the feeling of my tongue begging entry into his mouth. Which he allowed, similar to the way I allowed his hands entry into my shirt and he didn't waste a moment pulling it off of me.

Now with new things to explore, his hands paused on my chest and like an immediate direct relationship, I could feel his excitement pressing out through his pants and onto me.

I expected him to immediately try to get my pants down at that point but I was surprised when he pulled his lips away from mine, blushing slightly on his ears from excitement and beginning to scratch his hair.

"Are you okay with...?"

This guy... He's actually asking for permission?

"Because if you're not, I'm totally cool with-"

I grabbed his head again, pulling him down, kissing him fully when he was there and lifted my lips to his ears.

"Just do it."

All hesitation was out of the window with that simple phrase. I zipped his jacket down and got the shirt he was wearing underneath off and over his head and then he pressed his lips against my neck, kissing there so softly I could barely keep my head clear.

He surprised me again. Instead of going straight to pulling my pants down once I gave him the okay, he worked on me, letting his kisses move down toward my chest and pausing on my nipples. While I was sufficiently distracted by that feeling, his left hand moved, finding the waistband of my shorts and pulling them down. I lifted my own hands, unbuttoning his pants, zipping them down and helping him get them off. Our underwear was next, though he didn't rush that either, somewhere between the kisses he delivered to my stomach and navel, they came off too. And then he hugged me like I was as fragile as glass and whispered my name and said something, something I wouldn't allow my brain to process just then and he pushed in.

Hesitant at first, gauging the tightness, the hardening, and then more quickly as he got the hang of it.

"W-Wow... This is..." He gasped.

Better than your wildest dreams?

He squeezed his eyes shut, picking up more of a pace, enough pace that I was reaching his level of excitement.

The strangest thing of all had to be how naturally it came. My grip on him with my arms curled around his neck, his lips still finding time to meet my ear or neck or cheek, his hands grabbing at the dirt and our bodies rocking together in a synchronized rhythm as we reached the end.

This is the way it's supposed to be...isn't it?

I'd always wondered when I was with Sasuke if we were normal... If he loved me... If I'd be happier somewhere else... If I would grow to be seventy eight one day and feel like I wasted my life... But with Naruto...

All of those questions are answered...and even questions I've never even thought to ask.

Naruto gasped, shuddering. I bit my lip, arching my back.

"Ahhh, Sakura..." He moaned.

I moaned along with him, burying myself in his chest as he let himself down onto me.

"I won't let you be lonely anymore..." He said between gasps. "I promise I won't..."

"Y-Yeah?"

He nodded, pressing his face into my neck.

"Even if I have to stay with you forever."

I let my eyes settle on the stars above, using his heavy, but slowly calming, breathing as my background music.

"I'll hold you to that promise..."

I didn't realize that I'd fallen asleep until my ears picked up the dizzying sound of chirping morning birds. In the brisk cool morning air, it became clear to me that I was warmer and much more comfortable than I should've been.

Did I really sleep outside?

I sat up fully, blinking slowly as I looked around. I saw the waves of water coming onto the sandy beach before I heard it, then I smelled it.

Salty.

And overtop and around me were piles of warm, soft blankets and other such bedding.

Yeah... I really did sleep on the beach.

It wasn't until I moved my hand back, touching a warm, soft body, the same body in fact that my face had woken up upon, that everything came back to me.

Naruto? Oh... Naruto. Oh shit...

He shifted, aroused by my movement and blinked up at me.

"Hey..." He said, smiling.

This is bad... Did I... Did I really just use him?

He raised his arms, pulling me down into his chest where, too shocked to do much else, I curled into him replacing my head on his chest.

"Sleep well?"

"Naruto..." I said tentatively.

I couldn't have really done this. I'm... I'm with Sasuke. And on top of all that, Naruto's just... He's like my kid brother, isn't he? What the hell was I thinking? How could I have...

"Sakura, there's something I wanted to ask you yesterday."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised.

"Uh... Okay."

"Why did you follow me here?"

And then the rest of the night came back... Wandering around watching everyone, but in particular the couples of our group, the people who had found someone, how they acted with each other, and being unable to stop wondering over and over again if that was what love was supposed to look like.

I immersed myself in the feelings I felt the night before and suddenly all the indecisiveness and guilt of the moment before was gone.

"Because I could tell you felt alone... And I did, too, so I guess I was thinking that we could be lonely together."

I could feel him smiling, my eyes locked on the blue crystal shinning on his chest.

"I guess we checked that off the list!" He said, laughing.

And then, strangely, I wanted to ask him questions of my own.

"Naruto... What's my favorite color?"

"Huh?" He asked.

"My favorite color. Do you know it?"

He was silent for a moment.

He's taking a long time. Maybe things about people like their favorites aren't things people in relationships should know. Maybe that's just all... Nonsense.

"Isn't that obvious, though?" He spoke up.

I lifted my head, raising it so that I was looking him in the eyes.

"It's pink." He said, then he raised his hand and ran it through my hair. "You love pink."

Then he grinned.

"Do you know mine?"

"Even people from other villages would know yours, it's orange." I told him, poking him in the cheek.

"Do you know my favorite thing to do?" I asked.

He lifted his hand to my cheek.

"That's easy. You love exploring." He said. "When we were younger, going on missions, you were always the one taking pictures and recording the land and places we went. I can tell you really like traveling."

That's right, too.

"Yours used to be pulling pranks. But now it's different." I told him. "Now, I'd say your favorite thing to do is just hanging out with friends."

"Yup!"

"And my favorite food?" I asked.

He frowned slightly.

"That's a trick question. You have like three favorite foods, fruit cups, syrup dipped dumplings and salt plums." He explained. "They're all desserts because you have a sweet tooth. I figured that out while we were tracking Sasuke down around the time we met Sai."

"...What else do you know about me?" I found myself asking.

He shrugged.

"I dunno... All sorts of stuff. Like... How you wash your hands twice before eating, because when you were little, you were afraid of germs. And that you used to be afraid of heights, so one day, Ino pushed you out of a tree to get rid of your fear and it only made you more afraid..."

I laughed, cutting him off.

Ino's really something special...

"And also... Stuff I shouldn't know..." His ears began to tint red. "Like that you used to talk to yourself in front of the mirror to get the courage to talk to real people. And that...you used to wish your parents didn't exist because you felt like everyone else had cooler parents than you."

"How do you know any of that?" I asked.

He smiled, leaning back into the sheets and putting his hands behind his head.

"I used to follow you around a lot when we were really little." He said. "The first time I met you was when I was four years old... But you probably don't remember."

"What happened?"

"Your Mom was taking you somewhere and you dropped some flowers on the way, I picked them up to hand them to you but... Everyone in the village hated me at the time, so your Mom pulled you away from me and everyone tried to scare me off."

How horrible...

"But I ended up seeing you again around a year later, getting picked on by some assholes because of your forehead." He looked at me fully. "That probably is a negative memory for you but for me... It showed me that there could be other people in the world that feel lonely like I did. I knew you'd understand me. Understand how it felt to be me. And so, it was then, as a little kid, that I vowed never to let you be lonely again."

...Really?

"So... What happened?"

He shrugged, looking toward the ice-blue waves that matched his eyes washing in closer.

"I...could never get up the courage to talk to you." He said. "I could never get the courage to talk to anyone, really... So... I followed you around. I saw all those things happen, like Ino pushing you and how you washed your hands and how you talked to yourself in the mirror."

He really saw all that... All because he thought we were similar?

"You know... One day, I did try to get the courage to talk to you." He revealed, turning his eyes back toward me. "It was right after we started at the academy, right before Sasuke's clan was annihilated, I think. And I was going to say hi to you and just ask if we could be friends but I overheard you telling Ino and some other kids that you had this crush on Sasuke."

He closed his eyes.

"It might sound stupid but I kind of gave up at the point. I knew I couldn't compete with him. But... That's kind of what made me start wanting to compete with him. Because I wanted to impress you."

It was mind-boggling to think that something like that, him believing that I would be his salvation but me being too preoccupied with Sasuke to notice, is what indirectly sparked their life-long rivalry.

In a way that means... None of us would be who we are today or where we are today if Naruto hadn't cared for me.

"Too bad it never worked..." He muttered.

I leaned over him, willingly kissing him fully on the lips. He raised his eyebrows, seemingly shocked.

"It worked." I reassured him.

I lowered myself into his chest and he hugged me.

"...You probably hated me back then. Always putting you second best to Sasuke."

He shook his head.

"Not really." He replied. "If it wasn't for that, I never would've worked as hard as I did. Stuff like love is motivation. Keeps people going."

"Is that so?"

"Oh, totally! Take Obito for example. I mean, that Moons Eye Plan had to have some SERIOUS dedication."

I couldn't help the burst of laughter exploding from between my lips and he snorted, joining in, too.

But this is it, isn't it? This is what I was looking for...

Somewhere between the laughing and joking, he kissed me again and our next make-out session began to resemble the one from the night before.

Some kind of sign that I wasn't crazy. That love was something more.

"You're growing your hair out." Naruto mumbled, as he buried his face in it.

"You like it?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. I always liked your hair long, you know?"

"Okay... Then I'll keep it up."

Something that began with understanding, carried through with trust, and ended with mutual affection.

I like you, Naruto. Not just because I trust you. Or just because we understand each other. But I actually like you. The person that you are.

And as I thought that, another memory occurred to me and I addressed him.

"Last night... While we were into it, you told me you loved me..." I said. "Did you...really mean that?"

He gave me a matter of factly look.

"Sakura, I've loved you since before I even knew what love was."

"But you said we were both a pair." I reminded him. "Because... We were both rejected by the person we loved the most."

Suddenly, he started laughing.

"You really don't get it?"

I blinked at him.

"I was talking about you." He confessed. "...For a smart girl, you're really-"

"Hey!" I interrupted. "Don't push it."

He held his hands up in surrender, but continued laughing.

"If you don't believe me, I'll say it again." He replied, then he bent down, looking me fully in the eyes. "I love you."

Naruto... I'm touching you, feeling your pulse, feeling everything that a medical ninja like me has been trained to feel for years and you're definitely not lying.

"Isn't this the part where you're supposed to say it back?"

Yes...

"I love you...more."

"No way." He chuckled.

I reached out, tenderly moving my fingers through his wispy yellow hair.

"You're saving me, Naruto..."

Rejected... We both are... I mean, were... Rejected lovers.

"Together, we don't have to be..." I trailed off.

Rejected.

But he didn't need me to finish my sentence.

"I know." He said, hugging me to his chest with the calm breeze.

Up Next: Dive into the story of the OTHER reject who, unlike the rejected friend (Naruto) and the rejected lover (Sakura), may have a host of other rejects to call his own. Keep leaving me reviews about how you liked this part! I greatly appreciate it!