A SIMPLE THANK YOU
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters.
Point of Views: Sakura's, normal
My life couldn't get any better after today. Right now I'm cradling my daughter, to whom I spent most of the day giving birth to. Even though I'm still a little tired and look like hell, I can still feel my husband's hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, to see that he was wearing a big smile on his face, before I turned towards my friends, who were all giving me their smile. I was even gladder when I was given another chance at having their friendship again, and this time I'm not going to waste it.
It took some insistence from both my husband, who was just my boyfriend, and the help of three of the wives of Kiba, Lee, and Shino, to convince us that we should try to forgive and forget, even though the latter is hard to forget considering the names I used on Naruto all those years ago.
The atmosphere was like being in a sauna. Right now all the adults were in the living room of the Namikaze estate, while the parents left their kids with Kakashi and Shizune, who wanted to practice when they have their own, and in Naruto's and Sasuke's case, a way to payback Kakashi for all those Team 7 meetings that he was always late for.
"I don't know about this Leon . . ." Sakura started to say, wanting to anywhere else but here right now.
"There is no backing out of this Sakura. I can't stand to see you all happy one minute only to wallow in your own misery the next. Right now you all need to get this done now." Leon said, while getting up, "Anyway, Daisy, Violet, Nat, we should leave them alone to fix their differences."
All three nodded before giving their husbands a look that spelt danger if they chose not to cooperate with anyone on this.
When they left, Ino couldn't help but ask "What would they have done if you chose not to come?" Causing all three men to shiver, Shino most of all.
"Daisy threatened to neuter both me and Akamaru, which in turn caused Akamaru to turn against me." Kiba explained, causing the rest of the males to cover their jewels.
"Violet said she would shave off my head and make me look like Ibiki." Lee said this time causing everybody to shiver since that would even make them more than willing to go through with this.
"What about you Shino?" Naruto asked his friend.
"A can of Raid." Shino said. While the rest don't find that scary, they can still sympathize since they all knew how important bugs are for someone like Shino and his clan.
"Anyway, who should start?" Hinata asked, not sure how to start this since they and Sakura had split apart on really bad terms.
"I want to start since I'm the reason behind this." Sakura said, getting their attention. Having all those eyes on her didn't help her much, yet she knew that it has to be said if she doesn't want to go through life as a hated person. 'Now or Never.' She thought. "I want to apologize for the way I acted ever since Sasuke came back. I was so determined for things to be the way they were, that everything went over my head. When Sasuke asked me out for the first time, I felt like that little fan girl whose dream has just come true, that for some reason I had to act like nothings changed before he left, which included treating everybody like we were just fresh out of the academy."
"I know, although I can't help but feel a little bit responsible for that." Ino said, guilt evident in her voice, "When we were little, I've chose to help you out with your little problems involving the bullies and your little insecurities, I never even bother to realize how selfish I was back then. I was too focused on my looks and my reputation, that in the end, it felt like I help created a monster."
"Actually you did help me with my self confidence and everything, the rest I came up with on my own. I want to also apologize to Hinata, because I was way out of line when I let my bruised ego get the best of me and I hope that you aren't sore with me about the way I treated you." Sakura said, looking at the blue haired girl.
Hinata just looked at her for a bit, "While I do understand the reason behind why you were so upset, that I will forgive. The one thing I probably would have trouble forgiving is how you started to act like some of the villagers still do when it comes to my husband." She said her voice half forgiving, half over protective.
"I don't blame you, I would feel the same way, and Sasuke," Sakura continued, getting her ex's attention, "I'm sorry for acting like the proper girlfriend by treating you like some kind of trophy. I realize that I wasn't really in love with you in the first place it was just so I could fit in with the other girls, and I really hope we can be friends again."
Sasuke just looked at her for a little bit before giving his reply, "I know that you were a little too excited about dating me, it's not just how you treated me, but rather how you treated everybody else, especially Naruto." He said, "Although I would still like to be friends with you again, the only thing is that I'll leave it up to Naruto to decide if you're worth the risk or not." The rest of the group nodded in agreement since in a way, Naruto was the lynch pin that kept everybody together.
Sakura took an even deeper breath because the last person she needs to apologize to is the one that she abused the most, not only apologize, but owe him something else, "Naruto, you're the one I owe the biggest apology to. You've always treated me like a friend, even though I never even bother acting like one. All I ever did was treat you like you were nothing more than a nuisance, and whenever you do something to help me, or even something phenomenal, I would berate you and try to give Sasuke all the credit, even though he didn't want it. To tell the truth, I did enjoy our time together while Sasuke was gone, and I never forgot them, the only problem was that I was too focused on myself to even care. I even started to treat you the same way the villagers did, even called you the same names you were forced to grow up with." She said, a small tear coming out of her eyes, "I also still owe you a big thank you for being there for me as a friend and a teammate. I also thank you for risking your life for me, and also for all the things that you deserve credit for. Right now I really hope that you would give me this chance to actually become a true friend to you."
Naruto just sat there for a bit, making sure that the girl in front of him was telling the truth or not. When he picked up no lies, "I'm welling to give it a shot," He said, getting her attention, "Although just don't expect old wounds to heal so quickly." He finished with one of his trademark smiles, "You can come back in now."
Sakura couldn't help but feel a heavy burden lift off her chest, "Thank you."
When the rest of the group was with their loved ones, Leon couldn't help but ask, "By the way Naruto, I can't help but wonder what move you used to defeat Sasuke?" When he asked this, he couldn't help but notice that the subject was a little touchy, especially for guys.
"Leon, the one thing Naruto is capable of is finishing a fight using the simplest of techniques, and in our fight, even though he could use his strongest technique against me, he went for a move that is both effective, and very painful, even when I'm still in my cursed seal form." Sasuke explained.
"Okay, so what attack did he use?" Leon asked again.
Naruto just fidgeted for a bit, "Let's just say that the curse seal doesn't strengthen every part of man's body, especially down below." He explained, in a way that told him not to ask for anymore details.
He didn't catch on until he noticed the uncomfortable looks that the males were giving, and when realization dawned on him, his hands instinctively covered his privates, with only a small 'oh' as a response.
And that was only about a little over a year ago, it even took a little convincing from Naruto to convince Tsunade to forgive me as well. Afterwards, things started to get better for me, since I was now a part of the gang again. A few months later, me and Leon were married, with all of our friends there to attend, with Ino, Hinata, and Tenten as my bridesmaids.
Now here we are at the hospital, greeting a new life into this world. Naruto is standing there in his hokage robes, with his children, and a five month pregnant Hinata. Sasuke is holding his son, while Karin is holding their newborn daughter. Lee is currently holding Violet, who in turn is holding their young daughter, alongside everyone else with their own little family. The only thing we can do now is to make sure that this next generation gets to live a nice happy life, and to help them avoid the same mistakes we made. Right now though, my little one is crying to be fed, and everyone is gracious enough to give us some private time.
"I'll be leaving you alone as well." Leon says, while giving me a kiss on the lips just before he leaves. I just sit there with a small smile on my face. Yes, my life just continues to be better since I have everything I need, and then some.
Well, here is the ending. Hope you like it, and if you were expecting me to throw in an explanation on how Sakura and Leon met, I just wasn't in the mood. Read and Review, and have a Merry Christmas.
