A/N: I'm back! Really Sorry for the super late update…School started.. I hope that this chapter would satisfy you guys! I've decided to just keep on using normal POV for my fanfic. Enjoy~!

Sakura: Naruto is avoiding me!
Naruto: I'm sorry Sakura! I can't face you right now… *runs off*
Sakura: See? What did I do?
Sasuke: Leave him alone. He'll snap out of it soon (probably) …
Sakura: Sasuke! *sparkly eyes*

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any characters associated in this story.

Chapter 22 – Recovered Cheerfulness

Naruto opened the door to the rooftop with a huge smile plastered on his face. His friends stared at him suspiciously. He walked to his friends and sat down.

"Hey, is something wrong?" asked Kiba. Naruto looks normal but he and the others are sensing that there's something bothering Naruto.

"Hmm? What makes you say that? I'm completely fine." Naruto chuckled which only made his friends more suspicious.

"Something smells fishy…" Choji mumbled and the others nodded.

"Oh, maybe it's because of this tuna sandwich…" Naruto chuckled nervously as he showed his friends a sandwich.

"Are you trying to make us laugh with that? Just tell us what happened already, you idiot." Sasuke said sarcastically but he is indeed concerned with his idiotic friend.

"There's nothing wrong with me so let's just eat our lunches in peace…" Naruto retorted with a frown as he munched on a sandwich. The others just looked at him and sighed. They'll just have to let him solve his problem. And so, they all ate their lunch without saying a word to each other.

Soon after finishing their lunch, they all headed back to the classroom. A few more minutes later, everyone else entered the room and their next teacher did as well. Their class proceeded as normal but a certain orange haired boy didn't seem to be listening at all. That boy just looked out the window, his eyes filled hinting two emotions; sadness and confusion. His friends occasionally looks at him, but he didn't notice at all.

"Hey, you think Naruto's sick or something?" asked Lee.

"Nah. Even if he's sick, he will still be a blabbermouth…" said Sasuke, crossing his arms.

"Yeah. Sasuke's right…" Sai agreed and the others nodded.

"Then what's wrong with him?" Neji asked. The others thought for a moment.

"I have an idea on why he's acting that way. Don't worry, I'll handle it. If my guess is right, then I can easily talk to Naruto about it. If he still acts that way tomorrow, we'll seriously make him talk about what's bothering him. Agreed?" Kiba said with a small smirk.

"Sure. That's great." Everyone also smirked.

It was already their last class for the day and Naruto is still in the same state. Their teacher for that class was Kakashi and he is teaching history. Kakashi noticed how different Naruto is acting today. Naruto didn't really pay much attention to class, but today, it's as if Naruto is in another world. When Naruto and Sakura happen to lock gazes, Naruto looks away. The same thing happens when he looks at Sasuke. His friends are seriously getting worried. The bell rang and they were also done with the day's prop and costume making. The girls brought the costume materials home to finish them there.

"Okay Kiba. We'll count on you!" said the guys as they left the school building and headed home. Kiba was at the front gates of the school when Naruto ran out of the building.

"Hey Naruto. Off to work?" asked Kiba.

"Huh? Oh…yeah…" Naruto faked a smile.

"I thought your work for today starts at 7:30? It's still 5pm." Kiba said.

"Oh, yeah. Right. I forgot." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Well, since you still have two and a half hours, why don't we play ball in the gym?" asked Kiba.

"But we're not supposed to be in the gym. The janitor locks it, right?" Naruto said.

"I already asked the principal. Principal Tsunade said it's okay. As long as we clean it after we finish and then lock it up. And we can only stay till 7." Kiba smiled.

"Eh? Aren't you just using your authority as a student council member?" Naruto chuckled. Now he's being a little more Naruto-ish.

"Haha. Who knows? C'mon!" Kiba chuckled and they both ran to the gym.

They played one-on-one. They ran around the court and did some 3-pointers, dunks, lay-up shots, etc. After an hour of playing, they were so exhausted and fell on the floor, sweating heavily and panting.

"Darn it! I lost! And it's so close too! Just one point!" Kiba yelled but still panting quite heavily.

"Haha…it's because you missed that last shot. Anyway…I still won. What did I win?" Naruto laughed but he is also panting as heavily as Kiba.

"Hmmm…how about I treat you to Ichiraku? But you can only have up to 10 bowls." Kiba smirked.

"Yay!" Naruto cheered. If he weren't so tired at the moment, he'd jump up. But he was glued to the floor.

"Anyway, Naruto…what happened earlier? You were okay this morning." Kiba finally said.

"Uh…nothing's wrong…haha." Naruto faked a laugh.

"Nope, you're hiding something…" Kiba insisted.

"What could I be hiding?" Naruto asked.

"That's what I want to know. We're all worried about you so you might as well spit it out so we can do something about it." Kiba looked at the gym's ceiling. [A/N: Well, yeah..of course he'll look there. He's lying on the floor.]

Naruto didn't say anything. There was silence for a minute and then Kiba decided to talk again.

"Does it have to do something with Sakura?" Kiba asked. He saw Naruto flinch from the corner of his eye.

"Hmmm…bull's eye. So it had something to do with Sakura. Let me guess. You heard her say something like…"I love Sasuke!" or something like that…" Kiba added. Silence.

"It..it's nothing…" Naruto looked away and frowned.

"We're friends, aren't we? We should always help one another. The guys are worried…" Kiba sighed. "And I know that you were already aware that Sakura holds feelings for Sasuke, right? You shouldn't be this shocked about it…"

"I know that! But it's just too painful. I don't know what to do..I'm so confused right now…" Naruto said, frustration evident in his voice.

"I know what you feel…but you should also consider other people's feelings, right? You can't just force your feelings on Sakura." Kiba said sympathetically.

"I know…but.." Naruto said, his voice trailing off…

"It's hard…I know that…but I know you can do it. Besides, the battle's not over yet, right? You still have a chance. So don't give up." Kiba chuckled. Naruto looked at Kiba and smiled.

"I guess you're right. Thanks pal. I owe you…" Naruto chuckled as well. His cheerfulness has returned.

"Oh, so since you owe me, I don't have to treat you to Ichiraku, huh?" Kiba smirked as he sat up.

"That's a different matter!" Naruto pouted as he sat up as well. They looked at each other and laughed.

They stood up and cleaned the gym because they're gonna get it from the principal if they leave it like that. Afterwards, they took a short shower in the shower rooms and then locked the gym. They headed to the Ichiraku shop and ate a lot of ramen. Naruto finished 12 bowls while Kiba had 8. Naruto obviously payed for the other two bowls he ate, because Kiba simply refused to pay for them even though Naruto used his puppy dog eyes attack. After eating, Naruto only had 10 minutes before work so he thanked Kiba (for the treat and for making him realize that he made others worry) and ran off.

After he finished his shift, he headed home for a good night's sleep. On his way, he passed the park and remembered Hinata.

"I should apologize to the guys for making them worry. And to Sakura for being rude…and to Hinata as well…" he stared at the bench where Hinata feeds the birds and a smile formed on his face.

Wahhh…I finally updated it but it's still too short. I easily get bored, so I end up doing short chapters…Sorry about that.

I'm also worried about its content. I hope that it wasn't too bad…

I have no experience in these kinds of things (or do I?) so I don't know how it feels…all I have is knowledge from the animes I've watched… ^_^

Anyway, I hope you liked it and please keep on supporting me! :D