Star - Well I got one great response. Hopefully this chapter can be more... establishing. ... or something.


Just One Of Those Things

Ch. 2 - An Experience Thing

Naruto made his quick escape to throw on a fresher shirt and apply a single glide of deodorant before the four of them got the idea to leave without him. He quickly whipped his head around his half of the bedroom, admittedly a hurricane of clutter compared to the 'thunderstorm' in the living room, and he dug his hand through a pile of old laundry, remembering where he had last seen his wallet. He lifted out a wrinkled pair of jeans from the mass like Mola Ram pulled the heart from that poor guy's body, the bulge of his wallet in the back pocket almost rewarding him with an imagined little treasure tune.

He shoved the obese leather into his pants pocket and tugged his cell phone from its charger by his bed, looking forward to eating out more than anything.

He swiveled on his heel and blithely jogged out of there, carefully minding to not acknowledge the immaculate perfection of Sasuke's half.


Naruto was wondering if Hinata was really too tipsy to walk on her own. She had her arm linked with Ino's, yet she had one hand leaning as well, like how a girlfriend would engage with her boyfriend. Sakura appeared to be fighting her instincts to walk closer to Sasuke without looking idolatrous or adulterous (whichever it was) because she would get this guilty look on her face, as if she was meant to keep stride with the girls or be at fault for something if she didn't. She was talking a storm however, perhaps to compensate for not being able walk & talk with Sasuke.

"- And then there were flowers on my doorstep. I go into my intern shift the next day, and the same sweet old man is there in the lobby, and he asks if I liked the flowers-!"

"He bought them from my family's chain, hahaha!" a rather hyper Ino interjects.

"Was there a card with the flowers?" Sasuke inquires.

"Yes! I knew it was from him, but-! I said thank you and that ole usual small talk, but he asked if I would go to dinner with him later-! What do you after that?"

"So you didn't go then?"

Naruto laced his fingers behind his head. He tried to imagine Sakura having a pleasant dinner with a balding senior citizen half her height due to his hunched stature. Then he tried to imagine Sakura visibly uncomfortable in same situation while the old man smiles fondly over their meal. The whole thing looked strange, no matter which version. Maybe it was the 'polite and patient Nurse Sakura' part that was giving him mental block.

"I did," She said finally and Sasuke responded with a quick laugh, "It turned out to be nice actually, I was stupid for worrying it'd turn into a date. It reminded me of the times my father and I would eat nothing but kinpira together when mother's business trips would suddenly get extended."

"What made you decide to be a nurse?" Naruto asked, a vague yet distinct stillness falling over his former classmates. He wasn't sure what happened, only that he felt like he did something wrong, like every other time he apparently did something wrong.

"Are you saying I'm not fit to be a nurse?" Sakura replied cuttingly and cold, too stiff in her agitation to face him.

Suddenly Naruto realized that his deodorant was failing him as he rubbed his palms on the side of his jeans.

"I just asked, I,I mean I can't figure it out..." He caught sight of Sasuke in his peripherals, rubbing his eyes wearily in that tell-tale sign that he was fucking up even more. Hinata was doing something weird with her fingers that he thought only 2D girls did (maybe she's kind of otaku or something?), while Ino was standing close to Sakura with a calm concentration in her eyes, seemingly concerned that things may take a nosedive. Wait, should he shut up then?

"Can't figure it out? What, that I wanna take care of people?" Why was her voice... kind of wavering..? It didn't sound like the same outrage when she'd get insulted on her looks or something.

"Sorry, nevermind. I don't know what I'm talking about," He copped out, only catching at the end how defeated he sounded. It felt pretty ugly to say the thing people had always said to him, but a while ago he realized that was his 'diffuse the moment' phrase, so he was stuck with it.

"No, I wanna know why this is confusing for you," Even without her glaring at him now, her sarcasm was too harsh for him to absorb.

"I think he just missed the conversation," Sasuke added from aside. Huh?

"Wait, what conversation?" The sound and visual of Sakura slapping her palm to her forehead was like someone snapping their fingers by his ears, and the irritated grimace on her face was more evidence that he should shut up.

"He wasn't even paying attention, forget it," Sakura sighed hotly before swiveling sharply on her heel.

The aimless stroll towards the heart of Kobe continued with some muted conversation between the four of them, as Naruto followed awkwardly behind, rubbing the back of his head like it were a magic lamp that would poof away the dour mood he apparently caused.

He realized, albeit begrudgingly, that he would have to ask Sasuke later tonight what he had missed. It was eating at him now. He had to know why Sakura decided to be nurse of all things.


They came upon a row of cafes and restaurants and decided to settle for lunch a bit early.

Naruto was left to watch their table as Sasuke got stopped by a classmate of his and the girls were off to pick their meals from the menu board hanging over the cashier's counter.

The girls had been glancing almost nervously at the blonde, unsure what to make of him today. He was slouched stiffly in his seat a few tables down, his hands shoved in his jean pockets and one leg restlessly bobbing while he continued to stare. He'd been staring intensely and yet almost unseeingly at Sakura since they last 'spoke'.

"God, he's awkward," Sakura muttered in defeatist woe, accepting a fact that felt hard to swallow. That fact she felt was that he was a hopeless case and that not even electroshock therapy could help him. The other thing that was bothering her was that she couldn't determine if he hadn't changed at all or if he had somehow gotten worse. Being unchanged could be the same as worse, she also reasoned, and then she sighed again.

"Hey, we should just tease him all day," Ino piped in conspiratorially between the two vastly different Juniors. "That'll cheer you up, right? It'll be fun!"

Sakura felt a bit of hope stir within her, and like a wilted flower she visibly perked up at the idea, but didn't readily jump on it. It's not like she needed revenge or anything. He's just another dumb guy. Another dumb guy that's their friend though, and Sakura couldn't help but internally shake at that notion. How many of their friends were also of the 'another dumb guy' demographic? Only Naruto was.

Sakura turned towards Hinata to see what she thought of this plan. Their dark-haired cutie was still wringing her forefinger in a nervous grip, her lips pressed pensively together.

"You guys think I should get the jingisukan or should I stick with the gyudon? I don't think all beef meals in Kobe means it'll be Kobe beef though,"

"Hina-chan!" Ino's call from Earth caused the unsuspecting Hyuuga to jump, "We're discussing whether to harass Naruto all day or not,"

"I-I know," The dark-haired girl muttered almost sadly.

"You don't think we're gonna be harsh, right?" Sakura plainly queried the younger girl. Being that Hinata was as sensitive as she was, Sakura had learned to take Hinata's feelings as a sort of Geiger counter or sniffer dog for social situations, instead of taking it as only sensitivity. She was as worth consulting as she was persuading when they still wanted to do something against her recommendations.

She wringed and wringed and wringed, her eyes darting from lower left to lower right as she thought about this and that. Ino and Sakura also recalled Hinata's vague preference for the blonde, and they could see she was in a unique position of hesitation.

"No, I don't think we're going to be harsh," She finally stated, rather slowly though, "I guess we could then, it could be funny,"


Hinata had always wondered what it'd be like to play around with Naruto, to poke fun at him, poke fun with him, to bask in the fun of in-jokes shared between just the two of them, and ultimately to have fun with him like other people have fun with each other.

She used to watch how he would joke around with Sasuke and the other boys, how his grin would light up the room. His exuberance was infectious, like pure sunshine. She always loved to watch them all, just boys being boys. They had great fun together.

It was those memories that solidified her decision to OK their schemes. She felt it would make Naruto feel right at home.


Naruto forced his leg still as the girls approached the table with their orders, his and Sasuke's included. They came to this place at least twice a week. It was easy to run into classmates, and just as easy to order since they got the menu memorized.

Sakura still looked annoyed with him, she was kind of snootily avoiding having to look at him. Ino sat beside her, while Hinata flanked the aisle side of the table, adjacent to Sasuke's empty chair. She placed Sasuke's meal in his spot and began to pass him his meal.

"Pork miso ramen for Naruto-kun, compliments of our dear Ino-chan who graciously donated a portion of her big thighs for your meal,"

"EHHH?!" What the fuck did she just say?! But all three of them were roaring and squeaking with side-crippling laughter. Really, what the hell did she say? Naruto was almost wondering if he was too shocked by the amount of words she had uttered or if he really was shocked by what actually came out of her mouth, 'cuz he never heard her say such things before. He peered down at his bowl of brothy heaven, the wondrous three slices of brownish meat sitting neatly atop the noodles, accompanied by a soft-boiled egg half and signature naruto slice. If the pork somehow were a piece of Ino's leg... He began to imagine wisps of blood oozing from the meat, swirling around the broth like smoke in water.

He pushed the bowl forward on the table.

"ARE YOU FREAKIN' SERIOUS?!" Sakura and Ino shot up from their chairs, their otherwise attractive faces contorted in perfectly symmetrical incredulity. The looks were fierce, burning, and they practically loomed over him as they vibrated with disdain. Now he managed to piss both of them off. Naruto slunk back, unsure any defense he gave would actually fix this.

"Well, why'd she hafta make a joke like that?" He muttered forcibly, trying to ignore what his body was trying to acknowledge without his permission; that he was committing social suicide with them now.

"SO NOW YOU'RE NOT GOING TO EAT IT?!" They both screeched.

"What's going on?" Sasuke's voice appeared beside him. He nearly didn't notice. Sakura and Ino dropped into their seats with heavy resignation, possibly deciding that he was too distasteful for them to look even in Sasuke's direction.


Hinata poked timidly at her meat with her chopsticks as Sasuke claimed his seat beside Naruto. She was kind of relieved for Sasuke's return, maybe because she couldn't have allowed for the skirmish to continue, or maybe because he was able to be like a visual buffer, something to deflect her attention from the odd blonde or soften the harshness of his presence.

She lowered her gaze from the whiskered blonde and continued to poke at her meal in similar resignation as the girls.

She finally got to joke with him, and it didn't turn out anywhere at all like she had always hoped.

'Well, that's that then,' She sighed.


"What are you doing?" Sasuke's voice was like the low hum of a bass struck once. Naruto had no idea if they were heading for the beach or MOSAIC or what. The girls were keeping to themselves for now while Sasuke decided to hang back with him, clearly to ask more questions like that one.

"What do you mean?"

"How is it that you're pissing them off?"

Naruto shrugged a few times, feeling at a loss since it wasn't like he was even trying to mess up their good time.

"I really don't know... Hinata-chan made this really morbid joke and then the other two got super pissed off,"

"You rejected your ramen because of the joke?"

"Yeah, Hinata-chan said that Ino donated a part of her leg for my meal," When Sasuke laughs - really, truly laughs - it's so faint it's almost stealthy and if you're not used to hearing it, the only way to catch it is to witness it. It starts off as the quickest snicker you've ever heard and then that's it. It's cut short by the true laughter, which is silent, but when you witness him, you see him laughing. Lips are stretched across his teeth. His head is almost forced down as if he tried to catch his laughter before it escaped him, and you can see that despite the stiffness of his upper body, he's vibrating with mirth. 'So that means he's also laughing at the joke I didn't laugh at...' Sasuke tried to clear his throat, but he was having trouble lifting his head. "That wasn't funny to you?"

"That's not creepy to you?" Naruto retorted back sarcastically, a stubborn pout on his face. Well the five of them were having loads of fun already, weren't they?

"How about you just apologize to them, hn? We're all childhood friends. How is this supposed to be fun if you're making them not get along with you?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Are we remembering shit differently? Those two have always treated me like a nuisance,"

"I thought you'd had actually gone shy when they arrived," He smirked, appearing almost a shade wistful, "You weren't even a little happy to see them again?"

Naruto chose silence. He was never one to do the rejecting, and if he made his feelings articulate he felt then it'd be written in stone. But it really hadn't made a big difference if he saw them again or never again. Graduation had been... it had been really anti-climatic. Everyone scattered and with that came the realization: he wasn't missing anything or anyone at all.

"So what's the story with Sakura trying to be a nurse?"

Sasuke released a heavy sigh.

"I really can't believe you don't know this,"


"Aaaaahmygod! The water's so cold!" Ino shrieked as she splashed relentlessly at Sakura and Hinata from the shore.

It was nothing but shrieks, giggles and high-pitched cries down that end, the sounds carrying on the salty ocean spray. Naruto was spread on the sand with his fingers laced behind his head. The sky was fairly clear. It was rather boring to look at. He had to look at his blue eyes in the mirror every day, after all. 'Three-hundred sixty-five times twenty-one...' An airplane crested into the plain blue sky. Naruto was fighting with himself whether to get on his hands and knees and beg for Sakura's forgiveness or whether to not do that at all.

Apparently the story was that Sakura's father had suddenly had a heart attack right in front of her when they were all in their second year of high school. She had taken care of him herself, somehow she knew everything she had to do. ... Then again she was like the Hermoine of their hometown, so maybe it's not so surprising, but it still feels kind of miraculous. Maybe she'd always had that fear with having a much older father than her peers. She was so freakin' smart.

He used to have thoughts about her - her short hair, her bright eyes, her small shoulders... When her breasts never changed and her body seemed to remain as skinny as it'd been in childhood, he didn't care that she hadn't 'matured'. Somehow he felt it refreshing that she remained the same. And he used to think about her. He used to think about stroking her hair on the school roof, the sun glinting on her lips. He used to think about how she'd weakly protest as he captured her entire breast in the moist outline of his mouth.

Those are the things he used to think about.

There came a point where her lack of change became a kind of change in itself, because she had never softened towards him, because his feelings weren't going to be reciprocated, and in the end he didn't want her the way he used to.

Those faded feelings were rekindling however, and despite himself he was indulging in them like some sick form of self-abuse - he wasn't ready to admit that he might be masochistic, there wasn't enough evidence to argue against him - but he was thinking about her again, thinking about her saving lives, bettering her skills, tending to the wounded and curing the ill, working under intense pressure for long hours, coming home in her nurse uniform... Yes, that's the type of woman he would have in a heart beat. Maybe... Maybe she could still soften towards him... She just needed the time to mature on the inside.

It was decided.

Naruto shot upright, scrambling to his feet as he stumbled across the sand to chase towards the giggling, shivering nymphs.

"Sakura-chan! ... SAKURA-CHAN!"

"Eh?" The three of them all stopped their somewhat forced frolicking to see what was going to happen.

"I have something I need, need to tell you," He fisted his hands in conviction, completely ready to lay his pride down on the line for her.

"U-uh, okay," He ignored the bemused look on her face, he wasn't going to let anything discourage him.

"Wait! Just here me out!" Sakura had been about to follow Hinata and Ino's lead and leave the water, but he needed her to know he was serious.

"Naruto..."

"Wait, I'm sorry, okay!? I'm sorry I hadn't known-!"

"Okay, Naruto, okay, just let me..." She was still trying to leave. Dammit, why?! Naruto rushed towards the water to reach her.

"No wait, Sakura-chan! I'm sorry I hadn't known what had happened to your dad!"

"Narutooo-"

"I'm sorry I hadn't known what it was that inspired you!"

"AaaUGH! ALRIGHT, FUCK OFF ALREADY!" Sakura's hand swept angrily through the water and in seconds Naruto's clothes were sticking to his skin, cold and sticky with salt. Salt water was in his mouth as he sputtered it out. It stung at his eyes and he tried to wipe his face dry with his shirt collar. "Isn't there a warm shower somewhere?" He heard her say a ways off from him and he saw her sandwiched between Ino and Hinata, all three of them clinging for warmth. "Why did we decide to do this with our clothes?"

The blonde and dark-haired girl giggled at her feisty complaints.


Being as it were, the girls had no change of clothes and were too cold and sticky to continue the rest of the day with the boys. So they walked them back to their hotel, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to walk back to their apartment in one-sided pensive silence.

Part of Naruto kept humoring the thought of trying again with Sakura, to keep trying and trying and trying. But the rest of him was pretty settled in the status quo and figured any willful changes could be like invoking the wrath of god.

Maybe if he chose to study instead of hang out with them, she would be impressed?

'Nah...'


Star - Holy crap, I did this in one sitting! ToT I'm so happyyyyyy! Reviews are still appreciated pwease. Pweaaaaaaaaase. lol