Hello, darlings! It's been a while, but here I am. I finally bring you the next chapter of this story, but in English. This was translated by me with the help of ChatGPT, so if there's something that doesn't make sense or is written strangely, please tell me so I can change it. Thank you!


Day #2

It hasn't been an hour since Ino got disappointed and the plan was ruined as a consequence. Naruto was desperate. He was restless in his bed, hoping that something in his head came up to improve the situation, but the only thing that he got was an upset stomach and a sour taste in his mouth.

He believed that it was partly his fault that the plan was ruined. If he had told Ino about Sasuke's possible reaction to a love confession, maybe she wouldn't even have dared to try and, in case she did it, she wouldn't have been feeling that bad. However, there was still a… tiny problem that could turn into shit really fast.

Naruto was still lying to Sakura. There won't be an opportunity for them to remain friends when she eventually discovers the truth. Unless he says… the truth?

Maybe that would work out in a parallel world where Sakura thinks: "Poor thing!, he was only doing it because he couldn't talk to me without Ino's help. He's just a guy who doesn't know anything about women". But if that possibility existed, he needed to be equally or more handsome than Sasuke, because it was impossible that she could forgive him.

Naruto put his hands over his face and did a slight noise with his mouth as a sign of complaint.

He wished to stay there until the situation got resolved on its own. That would be the easiest way out, but he knew that he endured his issues doing something, no matter if the outcome was positive or negative… Besides, he had thought that he would do the necessary to solve the problem. He wasn't going to ignore that.

Damn his sense of duty for keeping promises.

"Ugh"

He got up of his bed and stretched out his arms, as if he had just woke up.

He looked at the clock that was against his wall. If he didn't do something, he would regret it more than he was doing it now.

He slowly walked towards the bathroom. He washed his face so roughly that his eyes were sore and seeing stars. He blinked and stared at his mirror. He wished that Sakura had given him a hit of reality before causing this mess.

The kid sighed and made a fist. Without thinking it twice, he left his apartment.


Sakura Haruno was still going over the details of their reunion. Not because she was excited, but because she thought that it was some kind of dream. Everything had been so strange.

She made a lot of effort for the reunion to work out. For the first time she felt that they behaved as rational and civilized human beings. She didn't hit him and he didn't spit words that made her crazy…

Was Naruto's behavior that bad to deserve her exaggerated reactions?

"Sakura, are you going to tell me what happened?"

The girl rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time in the day. She was sitting down in the single sofa of her small living room. She wished to be watching the television, but her mother was beside her trying to get more details about her reunion with Naruto. She had already told her what happened, what else did she want?

"I have already told you, mom", she said angrily. "Stop insisting".

"Leave her alone, Mebuki", said the girl's father with mocking tone. "We'll soon know more about the kid that wants to be with our daughter".

Kizashi winked and his wife smiled. Sakura crossed her arms. They were constantly making fun of her because she "loved Naruto with all her heart and she didn't want to admit it".

"You didn't want to go, but you still did it", Mebuki raised her eyebrows. "That says a lot about your feelings".

Right. She felt pity at the begging and guilt once they finished their pretended romantic date.

"Stop it", she said exhausted. As much as she wanted to shut them, her parents were ignoring her petitions for them to shut the fuck up.

"Alright", said Mebuki. That was enough suffering for her daughter. If she continued to bother her, she would invoke the dramatic and extremely sentimental part of Sakura Haruno. Despite that she appreciated those characteristics that she shared with Kizashi, she didn't denied that it was difficult to soothe her strong emotions.

"Good", said the man while looking askance to her wife. He wanted to continue with his mocking, but she denied with her head. He understood that he needed to stop.

Once that the parents left the room, the girl noticed that she was making a fist and her shoulders were tense. She laid down on the couch with her face buried in a pillow, then she looked towards the ceiling. Now she didn't even want to watch the television.

Sakura heard a heavy knock at the door. She couldn't avoid to cover her eyes with desperation.

Now what?

She didn't need to stand up because immediately she heard some steps that surely were towards the entrance to welcome the guest. The kunoichi closed her eyes waiting that it was only the neighbor who wanted a small talk and not one of her parent's friend who wanted to be all the afternoon at the house. She wanted silence.

"Sakura, someone's looking for you"

She had a distasteful hunch that pointed out that Naruto was right outside her house. If she was right, her parents had more reasons to bother her.

Please, please, please. I want to see everyone but Naruto.

The door of her house was opened. Only a lock of blond hair peeked through the door frame. Apparently her intuition didn't fail her.

"What?", her tone was more angry that she was expecting, but that was something she couldn't avoid when she had been angry for a good portion of the day.

"Sakura-chan!", He got scared by the sudden apparition of the kunoichi. She was behind him, so that was a huge surprise.

"I want to tell you something!", the kid looked at her immediately. Maybe he wanted to dissimulate his reaction.

"What happened?", she wanted to sound calm. He didn't need to feel an anger that wasn't directed to him.

Naruto looked to his sides while moving his arms and legs with urgency. He was more uneasy than usual.

"It's better if you close the door".

She frowned. His petition was strange. It didn't matter if she did it or not, Naruto would spill what he wanted to saw without thinking it a lot. His impulsivity would let him without delicacy. Why is he now taking his time to be careful?

Something was happening and she needed to find out.

"Okay". Intrigued, she came out of her home after closing the door. She was looking at him with curiosity, in search of a clue to know what'll happen.

"Promise me that you won't…", he looked to his sides with concern. "… overreact".

Me? Exaggerated?

Okay! Sometimes she overreacted! Occasionally she would explode in anger and she would hit him, but he didn't have the right to tell her that. During the missions he was like a child that was constantly fighting with Sasuke and he shouted like as if it was his last day with vocal chords. He had a no-holds-barred speech. He expressed his anger, happiness, sadness and other emotions that was yet to be discovered.

The girl nodded while crossing her arms.

"I want to apologize because you went out with me".

She blinked a few times. Naruto was apologizing because they went out? That was unexpected. He didn't need to feel bad. At the beginning was a challenge not to get angry, but they could coexist in a civilized manner. She learned aspects about Naruto so mundane that it felt like bringing in a new person to her life.

It was a strange sensation.

"I don't get it, why do you say that?"

"Ino helped me so I could go out with you".

Sakura wasn't naive. Ino had claimed that she was going to help him so he could have a chance of going out with her. The only that angered her was that she meddled in other people's business too often. Why did it matter to her if they both went out?

"I love you, Sakura-chan"

It had to be impossible. She never believed she would hear those words from anyone. Love was reserved for her dreams, where Sasuke Uchiha showed that he wasn't just reticent and serious. Love was in her fantasies, where she imagined she could win him over with smiles. Love was found in her desires, where she thought that they would soon be a couple.

Love was nowhere to be found.

Every "I love you" lacked meaning. She never analyzed the weight of his words because she didn't understand how romantic love felt. Her interactions with Sasuke were almost nonexistent and when it did happen, it was to talk about ninja missions. Despite this, Sakura didn't get discouraged.

She was sure that love would write itself soon. Once they were together, they would be able to see how their fingers were intertwined with a delicate, yet strengthened red thread despite time and distance. Sasuke and Sakura are destined to love each other, but... Naruto and Sakura?

"No..." It was all she could utter. The boy's expressions had stopped her. His eyes were teary, his lips remained still, his hands trembled and his feet stood firm.

She wanted to tell him that her heart was reserved for Sasuke-kun, but she didn't want to hurt him. Naruto sought her approval, just as she wished her beloved would reciprocate her. She could imagine his desperation for a show of affection, although by accepting his invitation, she allowed him to dream of a romantic relationship.

She gave him a nonexistent hope.

"Ino just wants to distract you to keep Sasuke," he covered her eyes with his forearm. He feared seeing her.

Damn idiot.

She had only been a pawn to win a fight.

"I'm s-so sorry, Sakura-chan," his voice was breaking.

"Did you... Lied to me?"

She felt used. He had no right to say he loved her. No one who wanted to prevent someone from loving another person should announce themselves knowledgeable about that feeling. Naruto was an hypocrite. She didn't want to listen anything he wanted to say.

"Go away!" She touched her cheeks. When did she started to cry? When had he left her so vulnerable?

Naruto stopped hiding his gaze. She had a trembling hand on the doorknob of her apartment. Guilt began to consume him. He wanted to put his hand on her back in a vain attempt to make her stop crying, but he stopped. The best thing he could do was leaving her alone.

He had done enough, so he walked away from the one he loved most.