Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, as I said in the first chapter. Nothing will ever change that.
AN: Wow, 40+ reviews! And you know what THAT means? Another update! Thanks EVERYONE for their wonderful reviews! I wasn't going to post this until the 30th...but, what the hey, right? SURPRISE! Enjoy the fic...
PS: I kinda forgot to mention that not only is this romance and drama, it's also humor (small doses to keep it flowing).
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The Power of Youth
By SapphireWhiteTigress
Chapter V – My Proposal
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A few hours later, the sun was just setting in Konoha as Matsou, Sakura's father, made his way back to his house. He has done a lot of thinking about what happened just a few hours ago. He was still shocked over the news of his daughter's...pregnancy. Never had he thought that his Sakura could get pregnant. Or, at least, not so soon in her young life. He was NOT ready to become a grandfather at only 42.
He returned home at a little after nine to find his wife sleeping peacefully on the living room sofa, a small trickle of drool hanging off the side of her mouth. He was contemplating rather to leave her there or not but decided that it would be best on her back to take her to their room. He made his way over to the couch, thankful that he hadn't had enough alcohol to be outrageously drunk and the buzz he had earlier was slightly wearing off. He bent down, scooped his loving wife into his strong arms, and made his way up the stairs. Once he reached the top, he walked passed his daughter's slightly ajar door and peeked in. She wasn't there. He cursed under his breath and walked into his own room, gently lying his wife on the soft mattress as he pulled back the covers. He tucked her in, went to his side of the bed, and sat down heavily with his head in his hand.
Everything just seemed so surreal, that this was actually one horrible nightmare that he needed to wake from desperately. He groaned quietly into his hand as he suddenly had a bolt of pain shot through his skull. The bed shifted behind him as his wife started to stir.
"Huh...? What...happened?" She asked, looking around blurringly. She turned to the back of her husband and frowned. "Please tell me that that was only a dream..." She said as she sat up to run a hand through her long pinkish hair.
She heard him sigh. "I wish I could, Miki." He said.
She was quiet for a moment before laying back down. "What are we going to do, dear?"
He shrugged. "There's nothing we can do."
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In the darken room, as the moonlight beamed in through the window as the only light source, Lee rested on his soft bed with Sakura being held tightly and securely in his arms. Both were fully clothed and neither sleeping. They enjoyed the company that the other provided, just being happy and contented in the other's arms. Both of their thoughts were on the present and possible future. They weren't sure what to expect now with a child on the way that could drastically change their lives.
Lee, as gently as he could without disturbing Sakura too much, stood up. There was something he needed to do to make everything right. Sakura looked at him questionably as he walked over to a dresser. After shuffling around a drawer for a few seconds, he found what he was looking for. He took a deep breath and headed back to Sakura, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Sakura sat up and crawled over to him, draping her arms over his shoulders as her head nuzzled the nape of his neck. "Are you okay, Lee-kun?"
Lee nodded, his hand gripping the object tightly. He turned his head to face her and stood up, kneeling on the floor. Sakura leaned back on the bed in confusion at his odd behavior. He took a deep breath once more before looking up directly into the green orbs he loves so much. He took both of her hands in his, the object held tightly between their joined hands. Sakura raised an eyebrow in question at it.
Lee started to speak. "Sakura-chan," His eyes shifted down nervously before he brought them back to her face with determination. "Sakura-chan...would you...would you like to marry me?"
Sakura gasped at his offer as he removed his hands from hers to give her the object he found. Upon closer inspection in the darken room she could see that it was a small box. Lee carefully opened it to reveal an old, but beautiful, diamond ring with two emerald studs. Sakura was speechless and wasn't sure on how to respond. Marriage? At this age? Not that being pregnant was any different...
Lee fumbled with the ring and gulped. "Sakura-chan, I understand if you think it is too soon, but I would like to properly take care of you and...the baby that we have created with love together. Please, tell me that you would become my wife? I love you so much..."
As he finished, Sakura had tears streaming down her cheeks slowly. She gently brushed a hand against his cheek and leaned in closer to his face, their lips only a breath apart. She held so much love in her gaze that Lee was momentarily taken aback. Her eyes lowered down to his lips before rising back to meet his soft black eyes. "...If I don't...?"
Lee eyes slightly widen, but he didn't draw back. "If you do not..." He repeated in a low, almost fearful, tone. The thought of Sakura not becoming his wife was devastating, but if that was what she wanted, than so be it. "...Sakura-chan...if you do not wish to become my wife...I would not hold it against you. I will forever love you, no matter what..." He said softly, barely audible. She was still so close to him and she didn't once move away.
Sakura allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she leaned ever so close into him. It made her happy that whatever her choice, he would still love her. There was nothing that could ever change that. "...Yes..." She whispered before bringing their lips together for a sweet, cherished kiss.
Lee couldn't possibly be any happier than what he was at that moment. If he wasn't locked into a beautiful kiss with his even more beautiful flower, he would be running around Konoha in pure joy. Sakura agreed...she agreed to marry him. He was going to marry the one person that meant more to him than his own life. And they were going to have a family. He was going to be a father and a husband. Tears flowed from his closed his, but he didn't care because they weren't tears of sadness or despair or misery. They were tears of love, life, and joy.
He slowly stood up, without breaking the kiss, and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her to him until their bodies were pressed tight together. Their moment of blissfulness was interrupted, however, when a loud knock came from Lee's front door. Lee reluctantly broke the kiss and looked at Sakura with apologetic eyes. "I will be right back, Sakura-chan..." He whispered as he kissed her forehead before leaving to answer his door. Sakura silently watched him go and sighed, thankful that she was still kneeling on his bed, or else she would've fallen to the ground because her legs felt like jell-o.
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Lee slowly unbolted his door, wondering who would be visiting him at this hour of the night. As he undid the last bolt and unlocked the door, it burst open to reveal none other than Lee's sensei, Maito Gai. Gai looked frantic as he slammed his prized pupil's door shut.
"Lee! I have heard the most unyouthful news today!" He shouted.
Lee took a surprised step back and blinked up at his sensei. "Gai-sensei! What news have you heard!"
Gai took a moment to catch his breath. "You...oh, my Lee! Who could have uttered such things about you and your youthfulness! It just cannot be true!" Gai quickly drew Lee into a constricting hug, nearly cutting off his air supply.
Lee wasn't sure what to make of this as he coughed and tried desperately to relieve himself of his sensei's unrelenting grip. "Ga-Gai-sensei! Wh-what is...what is the matter?" He gasped out in short breaths.
Gai released his student, comically large tears rolling down his face like a river. "Oh, Lee! How could they say such things about you and your beautiful Sakura!"
That caught Lee's attention immediately. Did he know...? "What...things did they say, Gai-sensei?" He asked hesitantly.
Gai's eyes were instantaneously removed of all traces of tears as determination replaced them. "What I have heard cannot be true, even if Sakura's father has said it himself!" He looked Lee directly in the eyes, making the young man feel completely uncomfortable. "Lee, tell me that Sakura is indeed not pregnant!"
Lee eyes widen and he instantly looked away, avoiding his sensei's gaze. He didn't plan on telling him so soon, especially if he heard it from another source rather than himself. He didn't know what to tell the man that stood before him.
The silence stretched on for a whole minute, before Gai decided to break it. "Right Lee?" He asked nervously, frowning at his student's evasiveness.
Lee kept his gaze fixated on the ground. He was afraid of Gai-sensei's reaction. Would he look down on him as a lowly human being for getting his girlfriend pregnant before marriage? Would he no longer want to be his sensei anymore? What should he do? What can he do? He took a deep breath. He wasn't sure who this would hurt more; him or his sensei?
"...She is..." Lee softly said, bringing his eyes up to meet those of his precious person. The first person in the world to have ever treated him with kindness and who treated him as if he was his own son. Would any of that change now?
Gai was waiting for the 'not' that he was sure would come, but it never did. The short sentence was finished. He looked away from his student and heaved a heavy sigh that was different from anything Lee has ever heard come from his lips. He wasn't sure if he was disappointed, upset, angry, or all of the above. Gai finally turned to look at his very young student, as if he was seeing him for the first time. "Lee..." He started, bringing a hand to rest on Lee's right shoulder. "...I have not yet prepared you for the torturous effect that this will bring on you!"
Lee blinked in surprise, for that was not the response he was expecting. "Gai-sensei?"
Gai continued on. "Tomorrow at six o'clock, we will start your training!"
Lee became even more confused, if that was possible. Training? What happened to the yelling at him for being so careless? The 'unyouthfulness' of it all? The 'you are not old enough to father a child'? "Gai-sensei...are you not upset or angry at me for being so foolish and careless? Do you not think so little of me for fathering a child at such a young age?"
Gai's eyes grew soft with emotion as he looked at the young man he considered a son. "Oh, Lee, I would never think so little of you. You are like the son I never had, and creating such a youthful life with the one you love is not a foolish mistake! It is the love that the two of you share, remember that!" Gai grinned brightly at Lee. It was true what he had said. He just only wish that the perils this was sure to bring didn't happen to him while he was still so young and still in the springtime of his youth.
Lee couldn't help the tears that came. His sensei didn't hate him. His sensei's thoughts of him would never change. He still cared for him. How could he have thought otherwise? "Gai-sensei!" Lee cried, throwing his arms over the older man's shoulders.
"Lee!" Gai cried too, holding Lee tightly in his arms. Cue the melodramatic music, the waves, and the infamous sunrise scene.
A soft cough coming from the entrance to Lee's room broke them apart. Both Lee and Gai turned to the source of the cough to see Sakura leaning against the door frame with a raised eyebrow and her arms crossed over her chest. She was about to ask what was going on when Gai suddenly shouted something.
"Lee! Is that what I think it is!" Gai shouted as he pointed a finger at Sakura.
Both Sakura and Lee sweatdropped. "Gai-sensei...that's Sakura-chan..." Lee said slowly as his voice filled with confusion.
Gai shook his head, his finger shaking in the air. "No! Is that a ring on her finger!" Lee's eyes went to her finger and smiled when he saw the ring he gave her with his proposal on her left ring ringer. "It is, is it not!"
Sakura's eyes darted down to the ring on her finger as well. She turned her emerald eyes back to Gai and Lee, wondering where this was going.
Gai eyes refilled with those comical tears again before bringing Lee into a bone crushing hug, weeping all the while. "Oh, Lee! You are finally becoming a man and taking responsibility for your actions! And you used that ring! I couldn't be anymore happier than I am at this very, very youthful moment!"
Sakura watched the exchange in mild amusement, thinking that Lee had a few more seconds before he died from lack of oxygen. "Ga-Gai-sensei..." Lee struggled out before Gai released him again. Lee gasped for breath, breathing in the sweet air that he longed for to fill his lungs. Gai lifted a finger to wipe away a stray tear before finally leaving, saying a very exuberant goodbye, leaving the teenagers alone.
"What was that all about?" Sakura asked once Gai was sure to be gone.
Lee only smiled, happy that everything went well between him and his sensei. He rushed to Sakura and grabbed her into a tight hug, surprising her. He cried on to her shoulder. "Oh, Sakura-chan! I cannot be happier than I am at this moment! Gai-sensei has not rejected me and you agreed to marry me!" By now, he was completely sobbing, his tears soaking through the thin material of her shirt.
She awkwardly rubbed small circles on the middle of his back, trying to calm him down. She understood why he was so happy because she was just as happy, but maybe he was...overreacting? "Um, I'm happy too, Lee-kun." She gently pushed him off of her to look at his face. She was slightly confused as to why he would be crying like that, but Lee was one huge enigma that she just got tired of trying to figure out years ago. "Lee-kun, let's go to bed, okay?"
Lee nodded and allowed Sakura to gently pull him back into his room. He was thankful that she decided to stay with him tonight because he really craved for her company. Lee got on the bed and faced the ceiling, pulling Sakura against him and she rested her head on his chest. This was his own heaven on earth, just to be with her and have her in his arms. They cuddled, content at where they were, and fell into a peaceful and beautiful slumber, dreaming about the one that lied next to them.
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Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha dejectedly. Two days ago he found out that the girl he had a crush on since forever was not only in love with another guy, but was going to have his baby. He was hurt, upset, angry and confused. How could Sakura do such a thing to him? He had nothing against Thick-brows, in fact, he considered the older boy one of his closest friends, but it still hurts that Sakura chose that overly optimistic boy rather than himself.
Sure, he had a few flaws, but who didn't? He'll admit in an instant that he had some weird obsession with ramen. He'll also admit, though you might have to force it out of him, that he is not the strongest in the world. He knows he isn't anything close to being a genius like Sasuke or Neji or being the most brilliant guy around...but aside from all his flaws, he had a few good points about him.
One; he knew he was cute. Who didn't think he was? Apparently Sakura. Two; he knew he was the strongest in Konoha. But, than again, Konoha did lack manpower, so there weren't really much to compare to.
He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets with his head downcast. As he walked, and being that he wasn't looking where he was going, he came so close to colliding into another person. He sidestepped them, murmured a short reply, and went on his way.
"Na-Naruto-kun?" A soft voice questioned from behind him.
Naruto paused in his step and lifted his head up, turning it around to face the source of the voice. He had almost run into the ever so shy Hinata. He plastered on a fake smile as he saw her. "Oh, hey Hinata-chan."
Hinata blushed as Naruto noticed her. She was just returning from training to become stronger so she could impress him and wasn't expecting to see him. It was a pleasant surprise. She wasn't sure why she called out to him in the first place, but every time she saw her crush, she desperately wanted to say something to get him to acknowledge her. Tonight, however, he looked extremely distracted and almost ran into her and when he apologize, his voice sounded distant. She tapped her two index fingers together as she started to stuttered, a habit she never really grew out of, especially when she was around him. "N-Naruto-kun...ar-are you o-okay...?"
Naruto looked into her clear eyes and his smile instantly dropped. He was finding it hard to lie to such a sweet and innocent girl. He sighed and started walking, mentioning for her to walk with him. Hinata stared after him, willing herself not to faint and fell instep next to him. It was a moment before he actually replied. "No..."
Hinata looked up from the ground and blinked. It took him so long to respond that she almost forgot that she had asked him anything in the first place. Not only that, she was pretty happy to be walking side by side with him. "Oh..." She said and they once more fell into silence. She wasn't sure where they were going and she didn't really mind where they ended up.
"Sakura-chan's pregnant." Naruto suddenly said, startling Hinata once more. She looked up at him expectingly, shock in her eyes.
"Sh-sh-she is...?" Hinata knew that Naruto always liked his pink haired friend and that hurt her. She was almost afraid to ask who the father was, but she summoned up her courage and asked anyway. "Um...who...who's...?"
"Lee." Naruto answered before she could finish.
She wasn't sure if she should be relieved that Naruto wasn't the father or even more surprise that Lee was or sad that Naruto was hurting because of it. Lee didn't strike her as someone to do something like that at so young of an age. She remained quiet as they walked, lost in their own thoughts.
A few minutes later, Hinata noticed that her home was just around the corner, which meant that they just walked in a complete circle. She started tapping her fingers together and paused in her walking. Naruto stopped a few inches ahead of her and tilted his head to look over his shoulder.
"You okay, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, turning fully around to face her.
Hinata gave a small shy nod and opened her mouth to speak. "Ye-yes Naruto-kun. I was, um, I-I-I..." She stuttered, finding it increasingly hard to talk around him. Her cheeks flared up, her heartbeat quicken, she felt like she was going to faint. Why was she so nervous around him?
Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he waited for her to say what she wanted to say. As she continued to fiddle with her fingers, he shrugged. "It's okay, Hinata-chan. I'm fine. I should probably get back home soon so I'll see you around." Naruto gave her a backhand wave before leaving the stuttering girl by herself.
Hinata eyes dropped to the ground as she gave out a sad sigh and watched the boy she loved the most leave her, once again. Why couldn't she be brave and tell him what she wanted to tell him? Why must she always stall and stutter in his presence? She hated when she did that but it was something that just couldn't be helped. It was a habit she desperately wanted to break but couldn't. She felt alone and dejected as she walked into the place she called home. The huge house felt as lonely as she did and silently, she made it up to her room to once again cry herself to sleep.
Why didn't Naruto love her?
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AN: Poor Hinata-chan. She's so sweet and she loves Naru-kun so much. Anyway, I know, I kinda strayed from my LeeSaku pair, but, I wanted to show how Naruto was feeling and not only that, but this is also gonna have a few other pairings. And no, Naruto isn't gonna use Hina-chan as a 'rebound'. He's not the type. Sorry if I got the two wrong, the NaruHina part was pretty hard to write (it took two days!). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Please, leave a review! -- Also, I didn't mean anything about what I said in my last AN's, except that it's gonna take time to probably answer everyone's questions.
Standard Thank Yous to my greatest friend in the world; EIT and to everyone who reviewed! This means a whole lot to me that I have so much support to keep this little thing going and do not worry, for I will never give up on it! ...If you like this one, I have many more (not like this one) coming in the near/far future! Once again, thanks for reviewing and special thanks to EIT! You know I wouldn't be here without him.
Next Chapter Teaser: Her face was nestled ever so sweetly on his shoulder. She took a deep intake of breath and slowly let it loose, tickling his neck. He laughed gently to himself, a soft sound in the back of his throat. If he could, he would stay this way forever. But, he had to meet Gai-sensei in– he glanced at the clock – fifteen minutes.