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W-What are you doing here..."
The slight giggle took Naruto by surprise again, who was pulling himself to his feet more with his own power than with the help of the slender woman facing him.
"I had to find you...I had to tell you something."
Her words were received with a blank stare and than a fiery blush. Naruto cursed himself, feeling the vivid red across his face broaden. He wasn't used to women being so...blunt with him.
This only allowed more cooed giggles to flee her pink lips.
"If granny finds out you barged in on this mission, she will throw a legendary fit, ya know?", he responded sounding a slight bit more controlled, but a bit of interest sparked in his voice.
Mayuko smiled a pulsating smile, a hint of mischievousness in her eyes, "Would you mind me coming along, do you really think I would screw up a low rank mission", one eyebrow rose almost daring him to answer.
Naruto merely remained silent having a internal battle in his mind, it wasn't like he was going to send her back, even if he wanted to he didn't really think she would listen, than again some company wouldn't kill, it might help take his mind of the current issues at hand.
"So, decided if you are going to let me tag along willingly, or if I am just going to have tag along without your permission."
He looked at her bemused, "You can tag along as long as you can ke-"
Before he could finish she was already promptly on the move.
"Why do I bother...", he sighed and chased after her.
Naruto noticed the evident change in her attitude, while she was in the village she seemed so hushed and shy, but this was a sarcastic side of her Naruto had not seen. As not to fall to far behind, he amplified his speed to catch her.
They swiftly flew through the branches, landing with perfect balance, and each exchanging a crafty smile to each other, as if trying to outdo one another in a contest.
"So... you mentioned earlier you has something to tell me", Naruto asked.
It was Mayuko's turn to blush faintly, she needn't turn her head to look at Naruto but she could feel the intensity of his eyes fixed on her.
"Well, I-", and she paused
"You see", and she paused again.
She really didn't imagine it would be this complicated.
Naruto merely remained quiet but the corner of his lip curved upward as he saw her struggle. He wasn't going to lie, Mayuko was a very striking and gifted woman and to see her tongue tied made her seem more humun to him.
"I think, I have developed something....", after she finished saying it out loud her brain instantaneously understood what it sounded like.
"I don't mean developed something bad...well it is just a feeling....well a strong feeling.
"A strong feeling?", Naruto asked a bit puzzled.
"Yes...", she hesitated.
"Hahaha, like heartburn after eating ramen?", he laughed more to himself.
Mayuko let her stunning smile slip to her face upon Naruto's comment, "No, nothing like that."
A short silence conceded before she spoke up again.
"I have developed a strong feeling for...well for...you."
It was in that moment the unexpected happened.
"Naruto...?"
The rain sounded almost faint to her ears, as she tried to sit quaintly on the cold stool, back turned to the furious down pour. Her body felt the cold drops that escaped crashing the ground, instead landing on her smooth, warm skin. She sat slouched very much unlady like, not that she was worried at the current moment how lady like she looked.
The clattering of utensils in the back ground allowed her to focus on the oval shaped bowl of ramen that sat over half full; the once blistering steam dwindled to the cold air. Her hand held her head up, she was sure if it slipped her face would go slamming into the ramen, the thought only brought a smile to her face.
Sakura could see Naruto going face first into the bowl, not much of a surprise there
"Thinking of me?", a warm voice echoed
She spun around in fear more than surprise, allowing a mechanical squeak to come from the aged stool.
Besides the bustle of a few people to get out of the rain, she couldn't find the owner of the voice.
Her eyes encircled the crowd, scanning more or less like a mad woman.
Her eyes caught a hold of a bright orange object, ducking behind the ally, and before she could reason with her mind, her feet had reacted.
She jolted from the icy stool, out into the madding rain, trying to power past the tiny crowd on her quest.
She didn't even know what she was doing, but what ever courage she had in her would only last for a little while, before the urge to mask the way she felt about him took over again.
She had to do this now, rain or no rain. She had to tell him the truth, didn't she owe it to him, and hell didn't she owe it to herself. She had no memories left, but she didn't care, all she cared about what telling him the truth.
As she turned the corner the flash of orange disappeared again. She yelled out, hands extended as if she could magically reach him, she yelled out above the great noisy rain droplets falling feverishly against the pavement.
"Naruto, wait...please just wait."
And the orange fuzz that seemed so far away froze. A head peeked from around the corner to meet Sakura's emerald green ones. But the eyes that met hers where not a piercing blue she searched for, they were almost dark brown.
"Oh, Sakura-san is Naruto-san back?", he yelled over the rain, using his umbrella to cover her.
The man dressed in orange Sakura had been trailing, the man dressed in orange she had been chasing and building up her inner strength to spill her guts to, wasn't even the one she was looking for.
"No..he isn't. I just...saw your scarf, and..."
"Oh, hahaha yes whenever I wear this thing and people get a glimpse of it they all assume it must be Naruto-san. I should be flattered to be mistaken for a legend like him", he aimlessly replied, not even realizing Sakura's lack of attention to the conversation.
"Yes...well I should be going."
The young nin insisted on Sakura taking the umbrella with her, but Sakura found the comfort of the rain drops soothing against her aching body. She didn't care if she got sick, this feeling, this feeling she was feeling now was all she could think about.
She crossed her arms over her chest as to shield herself slightly, as if trying to magically block out the cold. The streets were nearly empty now, those that walked along the road all held on firmly to their umbrellas.
She knew if she didn't get out of this rain soon, it really would be the death of her. A large black umbrella shielded her once again, causing the droplets from the end of her hair to become visible.
"You are trying to get sick?", the tone of his voice was not mocking or mean, but a plain simple statement.
"Sasuke..."
Sakura turned around, her wet cloths making noises as she moved her body.
"Now I would like to ask you, what you think you are doing in the middle of town, in this rain?"
"We didn't go all the way to save you, so you could come home and try to die by sickness.", this time a hint of sarcasm did appear in his voice.
Sakura let a laugh slip, she didn't know why but she felt at ease with Sasuke, when she wasn't trying to get him to seduce her. She never realized how good of a friend he really was because she was always so busy chasing him around.
They stood there a few moments, Sasuke managing to help Sakura forget about her depressive state.
He held the umbrella high above her head, his hand never tiring. It wasn't until he began to close it that she noticed the rain had stopped. She ran a hand through her hair feeling the damp moisture locked in.
Sasuke reached out and ruffed it, returning her electric smile with one of his own, "Look Sakura, the real reason I came to find you was, I wanted to know...well this may sound weird, but I wanted to know what made you, or what makes you like me so much. Is there any sort of memory you came across, because it seems the first few days you were very distant, which is understandable after you ordeal, but it seems one day you decided that I was the one. What brought on the sudden change?"
Sakura looked up to his dark onyx eyes, true she had been harboring feelings for Sasuke's best friend, but she did want to tell Sasuke the truth about what she read. She wanted to tell him the truth about what she remembered the day she decided she wanted to be with him.
Fate however had other plans.
"Naruto-san is back!
"Naruto-kun is back already!", little boy shouted excitedly
Sakura moved her eyes from Sasuke, to a small child running past them. Sasuke noticed the smile Sakura had on her face grew ten times wider and brighter all at the same time. He could not remember seeing a smile this big on her face, even before they went on their life-changing mission. In this smile, Sasuke could see what Sakura wouldn't even admit to herself. In this smile, Sasuke could see right past Sakura's words, straight into her heart.
"Why don't we go greet Naruto at the gate?"
Sakura tore her eyes away from the area the child had run off to, and back to Sasuke's onyx orbs. She hurriedly shook her head, as her once damp hair was almost dry now.
The two turned and walked in a casual manner up the hill to where they could see a good view of the gate. And true enough, the vibrant blonde hair was easily visible. But it wasn't the blonde hair that caught either Sasuke nor Sakura attention.
It was the other nin who the blond had his arm around, that caused the uproar of jealously, and almost pain to swell up in Sakura's heart. Whatever courage she had, whatever she wanted to say to Naruto had just flown out the window.
As the children gathered around him, as if he was some kind of new toy, his arm never left Mayuko's side. Soft, laughter could be heard even from on top of the hill, though it seemed nothing less than bone-chilling to Sakura.
She swiftly turned on her heal, and began to walk back toward her apartment.
"Sakura-wait aren't you goin-", but Sasuke was abruptly cut off.
"I have so much to do before tomorrow; I want to look wonderful for you Sasuke-kun. I will see Naruto tomorrow. You are still escorting me right?", her voice softly questioned.
Sasuke sighed and let a small smile set in, even though she could not see it, "Yes, of course I will escort you."
She nodded her head and mumbled a small, "Thank-you", before she swiftly disappeared. Sasuke stood atop of the small hill looking at Naruto and Mayuko make their way through the crowd of children.
Something caught him off guard as he looked up to the sky once again.
"Looks like rain", he stated out loud in an exhausting tone.