A/N: Once again, huge thanks to everyone following, favouriting, and/or reviewing this story- your support is much appreciated!
Disclaimer: I've lost count of how many times I've said this, but it still stands- Naruto is not mine!
Iruka lifted his green tinged hands from Kiba's head, and turned to smile at the anxious form of Naruto crouched beside him. "Kiba's going to be fine- he'll have quite the headache when he wakes up, but there should be no lasting damage."
Naruto beamed at Iruka, and lightly slugged him on the shoulder. "Obviously- he had you here to help him!" After Naruto's exclamation, neither of them spoke, each quietly observing each other. Finally, Naruto's lips quirked upwards and she broke the silence. "Iruka," she whispered, "would you like to go on that date?"
Iruka was motionless under Naruto's gaze, but after a moment a sheepish look took over his features. "I really wasn't planning on this happening, and I can't even think of anywhere to take you off the top of my head- are you sure you still want to have it today?"
"That's okay-" Naruto said with a beaming grin, "I just want to spend time with you!" Naruto gently leaned into Iruka's side, her blonde hair sweeping in front of her face to shield her nervous expression from Iruka's gaze. "For our first date… would you like to go, uh, watch the sunset from the Hokage Monument? It's kinda cheesy, but- um…"
Iruka slyly grinned at the flustered blonde, and carefully laid his arm across her shoulders as he guided her to the exit of the hospital room. "Naruto, isn't that the same kind of first date that Hiro and Rei had? You're quite the romantic…"
Naruto nearly tripped over her feet. She pulled Iruka to a halt beside her. "You- you read it?!" Naruto widened her eyes at the smug man pressed against her side. "But- you gave it back, I thought…"
Iruka snorted. "Of course I read it- once you read Icha Icha, you're a fan for life. Besides- it was written beautifully." Iruka's quiet praise towards the surprised blonde faded into a slightly haunted expression. "Once I read the ending though, and realized… well, that was a bit much for me to handle at the time."
Naruto furiously blushed, and huddled into Iruka's side. They had just turned the corner of the hallway, and had almost reached the back exit.
"But, uh, Naruto…" The Uzumaki muffled out a questioning noise, face firmly pressed into Iruka's grubby jacket. "Icha Icha Sensei Sensei has a bit more… raunchy of a first date then I'll be comfortable having for a while…"
The Uzumaki groaned, and Iruka laughed, raising his hand from Naruto's bare shoulder to ruffle her fluff of blonde hair. Gently, Iruka began to ask her about her writing, and what she planned on publishing next. Naruto slowly withdrew from her shell as she shared her future plans with him, a quiet harmony restored between them. Iruka's arm stayed around her shoulders.
As he listened to the excited blonde at his side, Iruka found himself musing upon the Hokage Monument that they would have their first date at. The same rock face that would hopefully one day hold Naruto's visage, completing the dream she had had even before he had come into her life.
His lips quirked down into a small frown.
A quick glance towards Naruto returned the smile to his face, but it now had a melancholy edge. Naruto's greatest dream…
Together, they left the hospital, and breached the cool air of the summer evening.
Xxx
Kiba woke for the third time that day in an unknown location. Once was happenstance, twice was a coincidence, but three times was a pattern! Was Kiba prime kidnapping material or something? This was getting ridiculous!
With a hiss of pain, he lifted himself from the tangle of blankets, pressing his hand to his head in an attempt to alleviate the pressure building behind his eyes. With a narrowed gaze, he looked around the room. Why the hell would his newest kidnapper take him to the hospital?
And then it all came rushing back. Naruto and… and…
Kiba's face smoothed into an unreadable mask, other than his left eye, which began to nearly imperceptibly twitch. His hands clenched onto the sheets pooling around his legs, and with frigid movements he stared out the window situated to his left. During times of reality crisis, it was only nature that was sure to remain consistent, after all. And what a beautiful distraction nature made- the sun hanged low, painting the sky a brilliant orange.
…No, not all the orange was from the sun- some of it was from… Kiba shakily stumbled to his feet, and plastered himself to the glass of his window. Down below, crowding the streets as it meandered its way along the roads, was a mob bearing hundreds of burning torches. Kiba anxiously followed the flow of their travel, like a snake sliding its way too its prey…
Towards the Hokage monument.
Xxx
Hyuuga Hinata smiled serenely, and turned to face the throng of people behind her. "Today, we seek justice! Today, we seek retribution!" The crowd howled its approval, and guided by the many Hyuuga pressing it on, made its way through the streets.
Hinata swivelled her head to lock her eyes upon the monument that looked over the village. Scouts had spotted that man making his way to its rocky slope, with his arm around Hinata'sangel. The audacity of it made her blood boil.
"Today," Hinata whispered, "we seek revenge." Behind her, the combined forces of the hospital, shinobi housing sector, and shopping district cheered, all ready to confront, and possibly dismember, the man that had ruined The Bet.
…Holy shit, shippers are psychotic. Someone needed to stop them- where the hell was the Hokage?!
Xxx
Kakashi was gazing morosely up at the clouds, ignoring the stunned duo at his side.
Next to the grey-haired man, Ino stared incredulously down below at the mass of people migrating closer to the Hokage Monument. At her side, Shino was tense, his eyes riveted to the looming madness. Ino clenched the hand she held in her own, offering a show of comfort to the distraught Aburame.
The unlikely duo had arrived a short time ago, but other than a cordial greeting to Kakashi (who was lying on his back and indulging in a pastime enjoyed by many Nara), they hadn't said a word. The severity of the situation had dawned as evening arrived. The Bet was finished. And apparently, so was Konoha.
"The paperwork nightmare that I'm going to have to face…" Kakashi mumbled. Ino spared a glance in his direction, and was surprised at the sheer amount of despair that the Hokage was capable of emanating. "That damn bet of Sarutobi's has turned into a monster."
Shino reached his free hand up to fiddle with his glasses, before awkwardly dropping it once he realized that his glasses were no longer on his face (having been crushed under Ino's heel earlier that day during his pursuit of her). He lightly coughed, claiming Ino's and Kakashi's attention.
"We must do something. Why? Because you are right; this bet has gotten completely out of hand, and if we don't, paperwork will be the least of our problems.
Ino hummed, and stared up at Shino with a disgruntled expression. "Shino, it's us three against an enraged mob that just lost the world's greatest bet- what the hell can we do!?"
The Aburame hunched his shoulders, but didn't respond. After a moment, Ino sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, offering a small piece of solidarity to the quiet man beside her.
Kakashi took a break from his self-pity to stand beside the duo, and looked down in confusion at the torch and pitchfork wielding mob that was slowly creeping closer and closer to the Monument. "…Why are they coming this way, though?" Kakashi muttered.
No answer was forthcoming. With dread, the three shinobi continued to watch the approaching second coming of the apocalypse.
Kakashi nervously turned his head towards the training grounds; maybe he could escape? But no, he had done enough running. As the Hokage, it was his responsibility to at least attempt to halt the mob. Tenzo was always going on about 'embracing his inner adult', after all! Surely, if they handled this like adults, they could deal with the problem rationally and without violence. After all, it was only a little bet- they couldn't stay pissed forever!
...Right?
Yeah, they were all screwed.
"…and then I plan to have Rei punch out that bitch Megumi, and kiss Hiro after the battle finally concludes!"
"You really didn't like it when I dated Masami, did you?"
"Nope! Which is why Rei gets to punch her in the face- it's very cathartic, y'know. Besides, it's my sequel- I can do what I want!"
In a synchronized motion, Kakashi, Shino, and Ino slowly turned their heads towards the sounds of the approaching voices. Making their way up the path were two people, a man and a woman- Iruka and Naruto. The Umino's arm was gently slung across the blonde's bare shoulders, while the Uzumaki had partially tucked herself into his side. She stared down at her gestating hands as she talked, caught up in whatever she was describing. Iruka simply looked down at her, a small and surprised, though still happy, look on his face.
Ino not so subtly squealed, and flashed a beaming grin at the Aburame beside her. Shino, pushing past the severity of the situation, quirked his lips at the blonde- they were a few of the only people to have won The Bet, after all. They were the victors!
In her head, Ino quietly thanked her love of Icha Icha and obsessive reading of her edition of Icha Icha Sensei Sensei: Uncut. Without that gift from Naruto so long ago, and that subtle clue- that she had written one of her novel's to catch her love interests attention- she may never have figured it out. Granted, with the second crisis of the day looming, she didn't have much time to celebrate. Ino broke from her thoughts, and with a serious expression, refocused her attention to the walking disaster heading their way.
The Uzumaki continued to speak, heedless of her audience. "Besides, it's about time I made a sequel. I didn't for a long time because it… It was painful to pretend we were together. But now, there's nothing holding me back."
Iruka and Naruto were too caught up in their conversation to notice their audience, so Ino let out a light cough to capture her fellow blonde's attention. The enraptured duo jumped slightly, and finally met the eyes of the slightly nervous shinobi before them.
Naruto's face broke into a wild grin. "Ino! Just the girl I wanted to see- I need to thank you for that pep talk. You were absolutely right!" Naruto didn't' give Ino time to reply, and instead continued speaking, this time to Kakashi. "And Kakashi-sensei, you and Kiba apparently gave Iruka the 'get your head out of your ass' speech- thanks for that!"
Shino awkwardly shifted in place as Ino and Kakahsi stuttered out quiet 'you're welcome's. Iruka just watched the entire ordeal in exasperated amusement.
The Uzumaki cocked her head to the side. "Hey, why are you guys all up here, anyways?"
"…Well, Shino and I were just enjoying recently winning a little wager, while Kakashi here was just escaping away from Konoha's insanity for a bit," Ino replied with a slightly twitching smile. "Speaking of, you know what you two should do now that you've finally gotten together? Get out Konoha for a bit, go see some sights! I heard there's some pretty nice hot springs the next town over, you should definitely check them out." Kakashi and Shino, at first confused, caught onto Ino's plan and furiously nodded their heads to punctuate her words. Each of the three shinobi stared at the new couple with beseeching eyes.
Naruto wrinkled her brow and pursed her lips. "What are you going on about? Me and Iruka wanna watch the sunset. If anyone should skedaddle out of here, it should be you guys!" Naruto leaned away from Iruka and closer to Ino, eyes wide and demanding. "Kunoichi solidarity Ino…" The Uzumaki narrowed her eyes in a clear threat- 'Don't third wheel my first date with the love of my life, or else'.
Ino audibly gulped, and her eyes involuntarily twitched to the approaching glow down below. By now, the faint smell of smoke had caught the breeze. If that mob got here, and saw Iruka…
Iruka squinted his eyes, and took a step closer to the three shinobi, gently pulling Naruto back to his side with an unconscious move of protection. "You're all acting rather suspicious… What are you hiding." Iruka didn't phrase it like a question, but the demand was clear. He was even unleashing his 'disapproving academy-sensei powers' to the max.
The three victims of the onslaught flinched beneath Iruka's hard gaze, but valiantly held their ground.
"Naruto, you guys should go have your first date at that fancy sushi place near my apartment!" Ino exclaimed.
"Mah, mah, Iruka-sensei, do you really want to have your first date match the one in Icha Icha Sensei Sensei?"
Shino just quietly glowered at the couple- Aburame's were good at that.
Naruto puffed out her cheeks. "No! You guys are acting really weird- now that I think about it, everyone at the hospital was acting weird, too. What the hell is going on, dattebayo?!" Iruka and Naruto narrowed their eyes at the same time, pinning the now frantic three shinobi in place.
At first the victims of the gazes of doom didn't respond, but finally Kakashi caved in under the combined force of the 'angry sensei' and 'pissed off Uzumaki' looks. With a defeated sigh, he opened his mouth to speak- but was interrupted before he could.
"There he is! There's the bastard that ruined everything!"
"I lost thousands because of you!"
"Death to IruNaru!"
As one, the occupants upon the Hokage Monument turned their heads to the enraged mob that had snuck up behind them while they were distracted (even when shipping crazed, the crowd was still stealthy- they were ninja, for crying out loud.)
At the head of the mob, Hyuuga Hinata smiled serenely.
"Time to die, Iruka-sensei!" she happily exclaimed.
Naruto squinted her eyes at the crowd while Ino internally despaired- nearly all of Konoha had managed to sneak up on them. How the hell had they managed that!?
A quick scope of the mob revealed a variety of shinobi raised above the crowd, hands aloft as they performed some unknown jutsu- probably a sound cancelling one of the wind variety. From the corner of her eye, Ino saw Naruto shift closer to Iruka's side. Around them, the crowd split, slowly circling around their trapped group, with the exception of the side headed by the cliff of the monument.
Striding in front of the mob was Hyuuga Hinata, as Ino had never seen her before. This was not the shy girl she knew from the academy, or the strong, kind kunoichi she had fought alongside in the fourth shinobi war. This was the clan heiress of one of Konoha's noble clans- one that had just lost the love of her life.
…That twitching eye and creepy smile of Hinata's were really freaking Ino out. Who knew the once shy girl could be so scary!?
"Uzumaki Naruto!" Hinata called out, silencing the cries of the crowd- by now they knew the drill. When the leader makes their speech, you shut up. The shipper hierarchy was pretty strict like that. "Step away from this man- you are the saviour of the world, the Hokage to be! Please, see that you have been misguided. This man, almost ten years older than you, your old sensei- has led you astray through his devious ways." Hinata's eyes took on a misty quality, and the crowd behind and around her echoed the sad sentiment and their despair for Naruto with their pleading eyes.
"This man can never hope to be worthy of you- he never should be worthy of you! Naruto, as your future citizens, we ask you to leave Umino Iruka- otherwise, we will be forced to take extreme measures to ensure your wellbeing. We cannot accept that any leader of ours would be with such a disgusting man!"
"No Hokage of ours will be led astray like this!" someone masked by the masses confidently added on.
Ino frantically looked through the crowd for a friendly face, but all she was met with was stony resolve. From the mob she was able to recognize some of her friends- Tenten, Sakura- and even that bastard Aoba that had criticized her hair!
The Yamanaka opened her mouth to defend her blonde friend, but found she couldn't force herself to speak. In the face of this shipping crazed entity of evil, Ino was powerless. Her confrontation against Anko, and later 'The Orange', seemed easy by comparison. The crowd before her slowly began to press in, closing for the kill.
It was one of the most intimidating situations Ino had ever been in, and the mob's ire wasn't even directed at her. Within its midst, disgusted faces, fervent muttering, and rolling killing intent formed into an adversary unlike any other.
What must it be like, to be confronted with so much hate? To have the moment of your triumph overshadowed by others' anger? Ino wondered, and knew how she herself would feel. Any happiness she had had would have been swept away, and reality would have made a harsh arrival.
How could you be happy when surrounded by so much hate?
Ino clenched Shino's hand in hers. She turned her head towards Naruto, who was under the pressure of the mob's gaze, and who in addition was having her greatest dream, being Hokage, held hostage. The blonde must be horrified!
…The Uzumaki's brow was wrinkled, and she was looking at the mob like it was an incomprehendable mind puzzle. She didn't seem overly worried, and was still tucked into Iruka's side.
The Umino himself had frozen under the crowd's perusal. Slowly however, his composure thawed, only to be replaced by a look of quiet acceptance. He peered into the looming crowd, carefully taking in their collective anger, then looked back down at Naruto. Something flashed across his face- regret? Love? Resignation? With a gentle pull of his arm and a step to the side, he moved away from Naruto.
The blonde froze, before turning to face Iruka. The crowd abated in their slow prowl, expressions of glee forming on their faces. Hinata triumphantly smirked at the hunched form of her old academy sensei.
Naruto's face was blank, a mask she hadn't worn in years resurfacing in an instant.
"Why?" Naruto whispered. Iruka shifted under her gaze, but didn't respond. Around the duo, the audience waited with bated breath. Kakashi closed his eyes, and turned away.
Iruka slowly lifted his head, before smiling a quiet, pained smile at the blonde.
"Naruto. What do you think is going to happen? If we stay together?"
"…We'll- we'll be happy- I know we will!" Naruto exclaimed. "It might take a while, but someday, were gonna get married- as long as you want to, of course! And then… You're gonna keep being an academy sensei, cause you said you didn't want to retire until you're grandkids had graduated… our grandkids. I'll be Hokage, and, and-"
Iruka smiled ruefully. "Naruto. Look around you." The blonde slowly lifted her head. Around her, the enraged eyes of almost her entire village and more stared back.
"These are the people you want to lead… But to be Hokage, you need their unconditional support- which you should have earned ten times over!" Iruka hurriedly assured. "But… None of them want you and me to be… Well. They made their position on the matter quite clear. And… Kami Naruto, I've just been kidding myself- they're right. I'm your old sensei- even if you can see past that, it doesn't change the facts! All I'll ever be is a sick, sick lecher who lured the most amazing, beautiful, and kind person in the world to their demise… And I can't- I can't do that to you."
Naruto and Iruka's gazes were locked. Though he had pointed out their presence just a moment ago, neither of them paid a lick of attention to the crowd around them. Naruto's eyes were panicked.
"But- but I love you, and- and this is what I've wanted since I even learned what love was. I don't care what anyone else thinks- you're Umino Iruka; you hate liars, but you love to gossip. You pulled your first prank when you were eight, and never looked back. You wanted to be an academy sensei so you could look out for kids- because even though you're a hard ass sometimes, you care about every single one of your students. You were the first person to accept me- not because I was the Yondaime's kid, or because I bled for you- you just… Accepted me for me, the orange screw up always screaming to the world she was going to be Hokage, and didn't know when to quit. You're not some lecher like these idiots think you are!" Naruto imbedded every piece of her willpower in her next words as her eyes began to mist. "Please, Iruka- don't do this! I love you! When I achieve my dream and become Hokage, this isn't gonna matter, and-"
"Your dream." Iruka whispered. Naruto paused, and with the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes, stared beseechingly at Iruka. "You're dream has always been to be Hokage… But with me in the picture, thanks to that damn bet… It won't become a reality." Iruka's eyes misted with the force of his emotion, but his voice became hard and un-malleable. "I'm sorry, Naruto- but I care about you too much to make you give up your greatest dream for me." Iruka humourlessly laughed, the broken sound echoing on top of the silent Monument.
"People do stupid things when they're in love… But I'm not stupid enough to ruin your bright, bright future just so that I can foolishly cling, with these filthy hands, to you. You're worth more than settling for some old sensei that turned you away for so long… Goodbye, Naruto."
Iruka turned away from the love of his life, and with hunched shoulders, walked towards the edge of the Hokage Monument. The crowd watched the Umino depart with expressions of glee, but a few of its members had turned their attention to Naruto. Their previously euphoric expressions faded as they took in the blankness of her face.
Naruto sightlessly stared at the edge of the cliff, hands clenching her blue dress, make-upped face blank and emotionless. Iruka had always clung to his image of her as the orange kid focused on becoming Hokage. She had managed to make him see her as a grown woman… But now her old dream was the greatest wall between them.
The orange of the sunset illuminated Naruto- the lone woman on top of the world.
Slowly dying- piece by little piece.
After a prolonged moment, the crowd began to mutter amongst themselves.
"…It's gotta be GaaNaru now! I'll be rich, and-"
"Idiot! She's obviously meant for Kiba, they always go to Kaiza's pet wonderland together-"
"KakaNaru all the way! He may be older and her old sensei, but it's not the same as it was with Iruka. These two are actually meant for each other!"
The crowd continued to grow in volume, the blissful Hinata its serene figurehead. The Hyuuga heiress was lost to imaginations of her future with her love, sure that with Iruka out of the way, they would inevitably be together. But within the crowds midst, not all was well.
Tenten trembled slightly on the outskirts of the crowd. She had hurt yet another friend today…
Aoba's left thigh twitched, his old injury incurred so long ago from a blondes wrath acting up. With solemn eyes, he watched the frozen form of Naruto.
Lee, who had pushed his way into the crowd, was staring with despondent eyes at the lack of life and Youth around him.
Sakura stared down at her white knuckled fists, heedless of the slightly smug Tsunade beside her.
Those closest to the Uzumaki- Ino, Shino, and Kakashi- wore identical distraught expressions. Ino reached out her hand towards Naruto's frozen form, but let it drop. Slowly, she turned away from her friend. Kakashi inhaled through his nose. With slow strides, he carefully made his way closer to the blonde. It was time for him to finally end this farce, and be the Hokage that his village needed him to be.
Naruto interrupted him before he could.
"…This is bullshit…" she whispered. Kakashi froze. Around them, the mob didn't pay attention to the true danger; many had even started to carelessly depart, now that their duty was done.
They should have known better.
"THIS. IS. BULLSHIT!" Naruto exclaimed. A demonic aura exploded from her tense form, and she slowly lifted her head. Carefully, Naruto pivoted in a place, turning blood red eyes upon the entire crowd. Silence instantly descended as the most horrific killing intent that any of them had felt since the fourth shinobi war five years ago surrounded them.
"YOU'RE ALL FUCKING HIPOCRITES! YOU PRETEND YOU'RE MY COMRADES, MY FRIENDS, BUT WHEN THE BEST THING IN MY LIFE HAPPENS, YOU SPIT ON IT! YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF SELF-OBSESSED ASSHOLES, AND I WISH I NEVER HAVE TO BE HOKAGE, IF IT MEANS LEADING PEOPLE LIKE YOU." Naruto's chest heaved with the force of her rant. Her stunned audience couldn't scrounge of the courage to reply.
Naruto continued in a quieter voice, still laced with poisonous anger. "… I love Umino Iruka- but that damn bet of the old man's ruined everything."
No one spoke, frozen under Naruto's hard gaze. Until someone clearly incapable of reading the mood spoke up from within the crowd.
"…Wait a second, how did you find out about The Bet? Did someone break the rules!?" A distraught Kiri chuunin exclaimed, going to show that even idiots can be promoted.
Naruto turned frigid yet incredulous eyes upon the moronic chuunin. "I've known about the stupid bet since the chuunin exams. The old man wasn't subtle at all- 'How do feel about young Sasuke, Naruto?', 'Why don't you go train some more with your team, Naruto', 'When do you think you'll confess you're undying love to Sas- I mean, any particular shinobi, Naruto?'"The Uzumaki snorted. "Not subtle at all." Naruto's eyes soon lost the small amount of mirth that had formed, and she continued her next words in a stony, unyielding voice.
"I was gonna tell people I knew about it eventually- it was supposed to be one of my greatest pranks… But I would have squashed this cockroach of a bet from the minute I learned about it if I knew it would be the reason Iruka left. And you hypocrites! One of the damn rules of that bet was not to interfere with contenders- you should all be banned from it! Now, Iruka is never going to accept me, because you've put in his head that he's unworthy, that he'll hold me back. But let me tell you something- I'm the only one that gets to decide what I feel! Not the old man, not some bet, and definitely not any of you."
Naruto laughed hollowly. "My greatest dream is ruined. I hope you're all happy now."
The crowd anxiously shifted as they took in Naruto's broken form, many of them overcome with guilt. Naruto slowly crumpled in upon herself; she looked much like she had earlier that day, so long ago with Ino in the dress shop. Glassy eyes stared sightlessly down at her feet.
Uzumaki Naruto was the image of defeat.
…But she wouldn't be for long if Haruno Sakura had anything to say about it! With determined eyes, the pink-haired kunoichi pushed through the crowd to stand confidently in front of her old teammate. A sly grin slid onto Sakura's face.
"…Go." Sakura whispered. Naruto broke from her stupor to turn dead-eyes up at the pink-haired woman.
"Go?..."
The Haruno smiled. "Go confess to the love of your life, you idiot!" The crowd, which had mostly been broken from its shipping craze after Naruto's furious speech, took up the call, swamping the stunned Uzumaki with support.
"Go, gaki! Before it's too late!" Tsunade cried.
"Please Hokage-sama, you deserve this! Don't give up!" Ebizo commanded.
Various pleas and cheers descended upon the stunned blonde. Naruto lifted up her head, and slowly turned as she took in the support from so many of her village. The dreaded hold of The Bet had been broken. The people before Naruto knew her. And more than their love of money, gambling, or chaos… They wanted their saviour to be happy.
Just like Ino had gotten through to Naruto, and Kakashi to Iruka, Naruto's words had reached them.
She was their future Hokage. And they would support her to the end.
A trembling smile returned to Naruto's face, and, after dragging the back of her hand across her eyes to wipe away the tears that had formed, she pumped her fist to the sky.
"I'm gonna tell the love of my life that he's my greatest dream- believe it!" With a quick turn, Naruto raced for the edge of the monument, aided by chakra as she made her way down and after Iruka. Many of the monument's occupants had satisfied smiles on their faces, and others cheered their approval, finally freed from their shipping mania thanks to the mystical powers of a classic Naruto speech.
Rock Lee, in particular, was enthused by the turn of events.
"Sakura!" He called. The woman in question turned to face the direction of his voice as he pushed his way the crowd, heedless as he knocked over those in his path.
"Lee? What are you-" Sakura froze as Lee finally came into view. His beloved, signature jumpsuit was singed, but that wasn't what had captured her attention. Neither was it is lack of eyebrows, or the gleam of his bald head. What ensnared Sakura instead was the gentle smile that overwhelmed his face.
She blushed under its force.
"Sakura! Naruto's Actions Have Inspired Me To See The Truth! You Truly Are A Youthful Woman! Pushing Past The Bet to Help Your Friend- I See Now What I Have Always Known, But Never Truly Confronted Because I Was Too Scared!"
"And- and what is that?" Sakura asked in a rush. She jerkily tucked a piece of hair behind her hair, while the shinobi around her snickered and watched the show.
Lee beamed. "That You Are A Worthy Adversary!"
Sakura froze. "Adversary…?"
"YES! I Respect Your Strength, And I Challenge You To A Spar!"
Sakura blinked dazedly. Kakashi sidled up behind her and gave her a nudge with his elbow. "Mah, mah, Sakura, Tora got your tongue? Or maybe the fact that your crush has finally stopped asking you out when you actually want him to-" A fist suddenly whipped back in Kakashi's direction, but he had already shunshin'ed away. Sakura turned back to the waiting Lee with a beet red face.
"F- fine! I accept! One week from now, training ground 27!"
Lee beamed, and extended a thumbs up. "It's a date!"
Those who witnessed Sakura in the following moments claim that her face turned even redder, and that she actually squeaked. They weren't lying.
Romance was in the air, the masses had been saved from psycho-murder tendencies, and all was well.
A few of the diehard shippers, however, were not so easily swayed.
"No…" HInata whispered, finally having recovered from the shock of Naruto's departure. "NO! I refuse to accept this! If you agree with me, help me in taking care of Iruka- permanently!" A large portion of the mob broke ranks to follow the Hyuuga heiress as she made her way to the edge, nearly all of them the well-rested Hyuuga clansmen that were still in prime fighting condition, having been sequestered in their compound for most of the day.
Naruto's supporters pressed back against Hinata's force, angry exclamations that would soon lead to angry brawls breaking out. Before the situation could worsen, an ominous presence approached.
"Stop." Nara Shikamaru commanded. Upon the arrival of the Nara, everyone froze. On top of his crazed appearance, the sheer presence he exuded was terrifying . Loose black hair fell to Shikamaru's shoulders, emphasized by the aura of darkness emanating from him. It was his eyes, demonic in their blankness and inhumanity that really struck the fear of God into the surrounding shinobi, though.
Black tendrils of darkness peeled away from his form to swallow the few dissenters that attempted to attack him. The mob parted like the red sea around the intimidating Nara as he made his way towards the enraged form of Hinata.
"NO! I won't let you stop me, Shikamaru! You won't get in-between me and my love, and-" whatever words Hinata had been about to say were swallowed by the descending darkness. The Beast (for he could be nothing else) turned black pits masquerading as eyes upon the few remaining defiants. They immediately paled and cast their gazes downwards.
"…This entire day has been the worst drag in the history of Konoha." Shikamaru rumbled. "The Bet has driven you all insane, and because of it, you almost ruined the life of your saviour. On top of that, you pissed me off. So right now, you are all going to wait here while Naruto sorts out her shit with Iruka-sensei, and then you're going to clean up the village." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "Any objections?"
The same moronic Kiri-chuunin from before piped in, apparently incapable of feeling fear. "What about The Bet? No one's going to win anything! Will we get reimbursed, or-"
"Shut. Up."
The chuunin shut up.
"…There were a few winners of The Bet. They will simply have a larger payout than expected." Shikamaru, finally finished his piece, raised a hand to surround the mob in darkness, silencing the problem of the shipping crazed morons. No one would intrude upon Naruto and Iruka now…
