Well hello! Here is a new chapter of Naruko's secret-fanfiction. Inspiration has been sought for this When Marnie Was There-movie, Hoodwinked! 2-movie, Kaguya-hime no monogatari-movie, Magic Knight Rayearth-manga, Let's Dance a Waltz-manga, Alice19th-manga, My Little Pony Friendshipping Magic Equestria Girls-series, The Incredibles 2-movie, Lego Ninjago-series, Otoyomegatari-manga, ERASED-manga, Troy in Danger-AudioBook, Sakurahime no Kaden-manga, Detective Conan-series, and Umi ga Kikoeru-movie, whose rights I do not own. See you in the next chapter.
Naruko didn't show any signs of noticing Sasuke, and Sakura entering Naruko's inner world, but still sat still.
"Naruko!" Sasuke, and Sakura yelled running in front of Naruko.
Naruko again didn't react in any way to Sasuke, and to Sakura's recent screams, but continued to sit while hugging himself.
Sakura bent down to sit on her knees, and touched Naruko's shoulder, but Naruko didn't care about that either.
Sasuke bowed to Naruko, and was going to shake her by the shoulders, but before he could do anything, he heard Naruko mumble something.
"Sa-su-ke," Naruko muttered, crying a little.
Sasuke was surprised to hear Naruko just say Sasuke's name, and to see Naruko cry a little.
Next, Kurama to Sasuke, and Sakura gave to the chakra path he earlier transferred to Naruko, and began to glow brightly, covering the entire area below.
"I want to tell you something," Soft, and a calm voice said, resulting in the ninjas noticing, that the environment had turned yellowish.
Before them stood a beautiful, redhead, and a thin woman, who had dark blue eyes. There was a black patch of hair on the left side of his forehead, with which her kept the hair from falling in front of his forehead. The woman's skin was pale. She was wearing a white blouse, in front of which was a green apron dress. Her was wearing gray sandals. He looked 35 years old. On the woman's left hand was a blue bracelet:
"Sasuke".
"That woman looks somewhat familiar. Have I met her before?" Sasuke thougt:
"How did you get here, and how do you know my name?"
Sakura also looked at the red haired woman curiously, because the woman looked familiar for some reason.
"Ah, yes, of course. Let's try to guess, then, who am i, Sasuke Heh heh!" The redhead woman said with a laugh.
"How could I guess, who her is? I don't remember seeing her, but there's still something familiar about her," Sasuke said:
"Aren't you just...?"
"Did you get it?" The redhead woman asked.
"Aren't you just Kurama's true form?" Sasuke asked.
"Hah mah ha ha! Aha ha ha ha!" The red haired woman laughed hysterically after appearing surprised at first.
"Did you try to cheat by turning into a woman?!" Sasuke yelled.
"It's not just any fox, deuce!" The woman screamed, and punched Sasuke in the stomach with his right fist, causing Sasuke to fall to his knees in pain, and Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "Daddebayo! You definitely haven't inherited your mother, Mikoto's polite way of speaking!"
"Daddebayo? Didn't Naruko talk like that once?" Sasuke asked, after noticing the way she was talking recently.
Sakura nodded in disbelief at, what her had just witnessed.
"Ha ha. I hit it off right away. I've always been an emergency pants, and quick from my mouth. That's why I speak a little roughly. I try to speak normally, but when i speed up, I can't do anything about it. I have to admit, that I am relieved, when Naruko started to learn polite manners, and stopped talking in the same way, like me," The woman said a little shyly, scratching the back of her head with her left hand.
"Who are you?" Sakura asked.
"So Naruko hasn't told you. Well Minato a didn't tell Naruko about me either, when Minato met Naruko during Pain's attack on Konoha. Simply. Exactly. My name is Uzumaki Kushina, and I'm Naruko's mother..." Kushina said.
"You're Naruko's mother?! How are you here?!" Sakura asked in shock.
"You're clearly short, like your mother Mebuki," Kushina told Sakura. Kushina then turned to Sasuke again, and stroked Sasuke's head gently, and lightly poked Sasuke's left cheek with his left index finger. "Sasuke, you may not remember this, but I did this to you, when I first saw you in the arms of your mother, my friend Mikoto, when you were just a baby. Sasuke, you, like Itachi, have inherited your mother's eyes, and hair color."
"Do you know, that why was Naruko crying just now?" Sasuke blushed a little not believing his ears.
"Yeah. I know," Kushina said. "Minato sealed Naruko in my chakra making Naruko the jinchuriki of the Kyubi, so I could help Naruko tame the Kyubi. Minato did it to help Naruko. That's why I can now talk to you too".
"I see. You have the same face, like Naru," Sakura said looking at Kushina's face. "You're beautiful".
"Thank you very much. They heh. Their eyes, and Naruko inherited her hair from her father, but the face Naruko inherited from me," Kushina said:
"Naruko said my hair was beautiful, when she met me trying to control the Kyubi's powers. Naruko said, that her would have wanted to inherit red hair, as well. He is already the second one, who has complimented my hair".
"Who was the first?" Sasuke asked.
"Naruko's father," Kushina said. "When I met Naruko, when she was trying to control the Kyubi's powers, Naruko asked me then, how I fell in love with Minato. I told it like this:
"Yeah...sort of embarrassing! Not me". Our ensuing conversation was like this:
"You're in a rush," Naruko said.
"I'm not out of my way, samper!" Kushina snorted.
"Heh heh!" Naruko chuckled.
"How could that have been embarrassing?" Sakura asked.
"I was just Genin, when I moved to Konoha. Everything was new to me. I met Minato for the first time, when we were still children. My first impression of Minato was:
"He's got a girlish curl". On my first day of school, we were assigned to tell about our dreams. I didn't want others to look down on me, so I said I would become the first Female-Hokage. I got a nasty stamp. I had just moved to the village. The boys teased me as one. I was nicknamed Tomato," Kushina said.
"Tomato? Why the hell?" Sasuke asked.
"I had a round face, and red hair. Like a manifested tomato! Even I had to accept the nomination. It was so descriptive," Kushina said.
"Did Naruko's father defend you from bullies?" Sakura asked.
"No. I gave the bullies a muzzle myself, and I crushed them, like tomatoes! With long hair flying, I beat boys half to death! That's why I got a new nickname, Akai Chishio no Habanero!" Kushina clenched her right hand into a fist, and a tick appeared on his right hand.
Sasuke, and Sakura shivered slightly nervously at what they heard.
"What was Naruko's father's dream?" Sakura asked.
"Minato said he wanted to become a great Kokage, which the whole village accepts. I scoffed at him, when I heard that. A boy so weak could never become Hokage. I was young, and I belittled him for my ignorance, which you also did at first with my daughter, Sakura. I acted like that, until one incident. I had always hated my red hair, but thanks to Minato, I finally learned to like that hair," Kushina said.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked.
"I have some extraordinary chakra. The ninjas of Kumogakure kidnapped me to get it. On the way to Kumogakure, I tore my hair to the ground in agony, for I did it to leave signs of our passage. I managed to do it in secret. Konoha sent immediately on the way of the search-patrol, but I was not found. I was almost at the border of Hi no Kuni, and I thought there was no hope left," Kushina shared. "But I was wrong. Minato was the only one, who found me, and saved me then. Only he had noticed my red hair. He said he noticed them right away, because they were so beautiful. Minato looked really brave in my eyes at the time. I realized, that he still achieves his dream. Above all, he made me change too. The red hair I hated brought me together with the man of my destiny. They became "the red thread of fate" for me. After that incident I started liking my hair, and I fell madly in love with Minato. I love you. These words belong to my husband my daughter, who have complimented my hair".
Sakura didn't know, what said.
"What has happened to Naruko's hair? Her blonde hair suits her much better," Sasuke said.
"Why didn't you tell him that much earlier, and almost immediately after the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War? It would have meant a lot to my daughter for sure. I can show you," Kushina said snapping her fingers, and the landscape changed to Konoha at night.
Naruko walked towards Iruka's apartment with a backpack on her back, and put the envelope inside the mail slot of Iruka's apartment door.
"I'll see you sometime, Iruka-sensei", Naruko started walking towards the Hokage's tower, and when her got there her knocked on Tsunade's office door.
"In," Tsunade said, and Naruko opened the door, and went inside, closing the door behind her.
"What now?" Tsunade asked after seeing Naruko's backpack.
"Could I go on vacation for a while, Tsunade… -sama?" Naruko asked. Her had almost said baa-chan, but eventually changed it to Tsunade-sama. Her would become a mother at some point, who should set a good example for her child.
"For vacation? Is that your request because of your baby?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes, because I don't want to spoil Sasuke, and Sakura's relationship, because Sasuke is the father of my child, but don't know it. I don't want to ruin my friends' relationship, and they hardly even notice I've gone on vacation," Naruko said. Her felt jealous of her friends again, but now it was stronger, than earlier. Suddenly, Naruko's hair turned black with her chakra inside, due to the influence of the envious chakra.
"Good grief!" Tsunade said surprised. Her stood up, and walked in front of Naruko, starting to probe Naruko with his chakra. "You're fine, but mixed with your chakra, your jealous chakra turned your hair black."
"Maybe this is better, because if the baby has black hair too, so her won't wonder about the different colors of our hair, when we grow up," Naruko removed the hair buns from her hair, letting her hair fall loose against her back. She put the hair buns in her pocket.
"Fine. You can go on vacation. How is your vacation?" Tsunade asked.
"I will first travel to explore the ruins of Uzuchiocakure, and then continue to travel. I don't know exactly that, that when I return to Konoha, but I will come back here one day. You won't tell me the reason for my departure, or the baby to anyone?" Naruko pleaded. "If Iruka-sensei asks me, so say I went on vacation, so he doesn't worry too much".
"Alright. I'll see you again," Tsunade hugged Naruko, sealing Naruko at the same time. The seal in question would tell Tsunade of Naruko's location, and at the same time would inform Tsunade about the start of Naruko's labor so that Tsunade would know to prepare for Naruko's birth. "Thanks to that seal, I know your location, and the onset of your labor, so that I know, how to prepare to help you, when your birth begins".
Tsunade sat at the table, and began to write 2 scrolls, one of which he gave to Naruko placing the Hokage's seal on both scrolls.
"Here is a scroll, which contains information about your vacation," Tsunade handed the scroll to Naruko:
"I'm giving Uzumaki Naruko permission to go on vacation for a while, during which he researches the history of his clan, and the old settlement while investigating Konoha's security for outside threats, and reporting them directly to me".
"Thank you very much," Naruko said after reading the scroll, and put it in his gear bag. "See you sometime".
Naruko walked towards Tsunade's office opening the door, and closing the door behind her. Her then started walking towards Konoha's main gate from the village.
"Sasuke-kun is the father of Naruko's child?! How did Naruko suspect that it would spoil Sasuke-kun, and about me?!" Sakura yelled in shock.
"So you still haven't figured it out, that why hasn't Naruko started a serious relationship with a man, or that why Naruko tried to stop Sasuke from going to Otogakure! Sasuke, you're Naruko's first love!" Kushina shouted as the landscape turned yellowish again.
Sasuke was surprised to hear that, that started to shake a little.
"Sasuke, my daughter is the type who, because of her past, is not very good at expressing her feelings, and the same goes for you, but Naruko has loved you for a very long time. And Sakura, Naruko loves you like a big sister. Maybe it's due to that, that you remind me in your shortness, but you've also been a good friend to Naruko back then, when her has had a hard time. After making friends, Naruko understood the meaning of friendship, and then decided to protect her friends's happiness as well," Kushina said starting to disappear. "I believe, that you can still make up with Naruko. Please, to try to figure it out, that what Naruko feels, and try to understand her feelings".
The landscape turned back into a training ground, which Naruko sat on.
Sasuke grabbed Naruko's shoulders, and shook Naruko's shoulders lightly:
"Dobe".
Naruko looked up, but her eyes were different now.
Naruko's eyes were blank, lukewarm, and almost vitreous, and more tears flowed from them all the time. Her had a blank expression on her face, as her looked at her friends. Her slowly tilted her head to the side, and smiled sadly:
"Hey".
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, as he looked at Naruko's falling tears. Sasuke had never seen Naruko cry so much, like now.
Sakura's eyes widened in shock, as her looked at Naruko, which was now like an empty shell of its former self:
"Naruko, what are you doing here?"
"I'll sit here," Naruko said at the same time, in a colorless voice, like just now.
"I didn't mean it. I meant it, that why did you hide here. Can't you come back to reality, and just talk to us directly?" Sakura asked hugging Naruko.
Naruko just shook her head slowly, and formed a small smile:
"No. I'd rather be here. Especially now, when you know Sasuke is the father of my child after talking to my mother just now. I saw your conversation in question, because it happened in my own world".
Sakura looked at Sasuke with concern at Naruko's recent reaction.
"What makes this place so special?" Sasuke looked around trying to understand Naruko, and tried to understand the meaning of the place for Naruko, and poked Naruko in the forehead right front, and with his middle finger.
"Aw, Sasuke," Naruko continued to use a colorless voice.
Sasuke couldn't smile now, when Naruko stopped calling Sasuke Teme, which Naruko would normally have used Sasuke annoyed Naruko somehow.
"I can control my emotions now, so I will no longer fall for your provocations, like when we fought on the roof of the hospital, before you left for Otogakure," Naruko said.
Sakura tried to hit Naruko, but before Sakura could do anything, Naruko suddenly disappeared both of her friends, and appeared Sasuke, and behind Sakura, and smote them with the palms of their hands on their heads.
"Predictable, that you always hit someone, who you don't like to say, Sakura," Naruko said to Sasuke, and with Sakura rubbing their heads with both hands.
Naruko looked around with a distant gaze, trying to think of an answer to the question Sasuke had just asked, and at the same time seemed to be looking to the past.
"Well, it's a bit predictable," Sakura admitted embarrassedly, as her stood up like Sasuke, still rubbing her head, even though Naruko had held back her powers during the recent beating.
Sasuke looked into Naruko's eyes, which now seemed to have something, a look that remembers the distant past, which disappeared just as quickly, as had appeared.
Naruko looked at the places again:
"These...were...places..., where I often think about..." Naruko said.
"Sasuke, you're in love with," Sakura said finishing Naruko's sentence.
Naruko froze after hearing Sakura's recent words, and began to avoid the eyes of his friends.
Sakura walked towards Naruko grabbing Naruko's shoulder, causing Naruko to disappear.
Sasuke, and Sakura looked around to see Naruko, but Naruko was nowhere to be seen.
"I never wanted anyone, especially that you know about it, Sakura," Naruko said, appearing to sit on top of the right practice post with her back to her friends.
Sasuke, and Sakura calmed down a bit, and then walked towards Naruko.
"Why did you never want anyone to know, about your feelings?" Sasuke asked.
"It was a complicated thing," Naruko said. "For example, think about, how Sakura stopped being Ino's friend, when Sakura found out, that Ino had a crush on you, Sasuke. I was afraid Sakura would do that to me too, if Sakura found out, that I also had a crush on Sasuke".
"Love is always a complicated thing, and I was young then, and a little thoughtless," Sakura said.
"For me, love was different, for it happened then, when I least expected it," Naruko shook her head, and looked over his shoulder at them, before disappearing.
Now Sasuke, and Sakura tried to stay calm, and looked around expecting to see Naruko somewhere.
"What made it so different?" Sasuke asked not seeing Naruko anywhere.
"Heh. I think it's because, that I believed, that you could never reciprocate my feelings," Naruko said appearing on top of the pillar to the left.
Sakura walked towards Naruko, but Sasuke stayed further back.
"What happened to that, 'I never give up'-attitude of yours?" Sasuke asked. "And what exactly made you think that, that I could never reciprocate your feelings?"
Naruko smiled slightly at Sasuke:
"Everyone has things, which they cannot face. And this was my problem. And I was scared," Naruko said.
"What were you afraid of?" Sakura asked.
"The, that I would reject you, Naruko," Sasuke said after realizing the answer, to the question Sakura had just asked.
Naruko nodded.
"It's simple fear. I know, but I had lived for so long with the feeling of being rejected, with others avoiding me sometimes, that I no longer wanted to feel, that feeling after I was finally freed from, that feeling, when the villagers accepted me. Heh. Funny, for I imagined before, that if the people of my village would accept me, then I would be happy. Now the people of my village have accepted me, and think of me as some sort of hero, so i should be happy, what i am I'm happy about it, that I will no longer be looked upon gloomily, and that I have friends. But one thing hasn't changed."
Naruko disappeared again.
Sakura clenched her hands into fists in frustration that, that Naruko avoided telling them something again:
"What hasn't changed?"
"This is one thing, which I have always kept from you two. When it comes to love matters, I'm even worse than Hinata, and weaker. I didn't dare tell Sasuke about my feelings. I envy your courage, when you were able to tell Sasuke your feelings, even if he rejected you Sakura," Naruko said. "And Sasuke already said so, that I was afraid Sasuke would reject me, or that he would laugh at me, or mock me, if I told Sasuke, I loved him. The latter option would have been really embarrassing".
"Why do you think that?" Sasuke asked walking with Sakura in front of that tree, on the branch of which Naruko was sitting. This was a completely new side of Naruko to her. "You always seemed like, that other people's opinions didn't interest you".
"The last thing you mentioned was the way, with which I protected myself, when the villagers avoided me. And believe it. I used to think like this:
"I would approach Sasuke myself, if there weren't so many rival suitors," Naruko said.
"Did you really think that?!" Sakura asked with wide eyes. It was hard for her to believe, what her was hearing.
"Yes I thought. You may not remember this, Sasuke, but it was you, who inspired me to become strong. Do you remember, when I said, that I hate parties, when we meet Kakashi-sensei for the first time?" Naruko asked.
Sasuke nodded.
"I remember that too," Sakura asked. "Why do you really hate parties? I've been thinking about it a lot lately".
"I don't really hate parties. I hate parties like, where others are mocked. I'm speaking from my personal experience," Naruko said.
The landscape turned into a festival, where 6-year-old Naruko walked the streets of Konoha wearing a pale blue kimono, whose obi was white, and his feet were brown, sandals with blue straps.
"Apparently Kizune also came to the party".
"How tasteless kimono".
"Not at all the right color kimono for that girl".
Naruko tried not to show it, that no matter, how hard you just spoke, the talk of drunkards angered her, and her tried not to cry.
Splash! A man poured alcohol on Naruko, and stains appeared on the kimono, causing Naruko to stop in the street in shock, and could not move:
"Now that kimono fits that girl better".
"Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Naruko started to cry.
"Heh heh!" The drunks laughed at Naruko after seeing Naruko cry, but fell silent as Hiruzen ran over, and Hiruzen hugging Naruko comfortingly, fearing the Hokage would punish them somehow.
Splash! Someone threw a bucket of rotten tomatoes over the drunkards behind them, and they looked back to see Sasuke, who was standing next to Itachi. Sasuke was holding an empty bucket in his hands, but there were some traces of tomato around that area.
"Uchiha brash brat," One drunk said from the spot with the others.
"Men like that are annoying. Brace yourselves, then they won't tease you anymore" Sasuke said to Naruko, and then Sasuke left the place with Itachi.
Naruko looked at Sasuke with a blush, as the scenery changed back to, what it had been before her recent transformation.
"That was the day, when i fell in love with you, Sasuke. You were my first peer, who had ever defended me, from adults like, who teased me. That's when I decided to become as strong as possible, even if you've already forgotten about that," Naruko said.
After thinking for a moment, Sasuke remembered, what he had just seen:
"I just remembered. You looked so lonely then, that it was bad to even look at it. After hearing some boys talking about me in the Academy, I did understand, that how it feels to be the subject of mockery, but I think those men went too far by pouring alcohol on you, so I wanted to publicly embarrass them, for them to understand, that how it feels, when someone embarrasses another in public. Why didn't you tell me that before?" Sasuke asked.
"You seemed like, that you didn't want others, especially girls talking to you, because you were mostly focused on practicing your ninja-skills," Naruko said. Her then saw Sakura clench her hand into a fist more, and then Naruko's face seemed to enlarge, and her looked at Sakura fearfully:
"Predictable, that you prepare to hit such, who talk about Sasuke in a recent way!"
"Ah!" Sakura was so startled, that fell on her backside on the grass, shaking a little:
"I did not know, that you can be so scary".
"Sorry. And Sasuke, another reason, the reason I didn't dare to talk to you before was that, that I was jealous of you. You were always so good at everything. And because I was always compared to you, I tried hard to win you over, so that I would not be considered untalented, as a simple sorrow, which some people thought I was then. I was lonely then, and I tried to get stronger, for I felt so, not simple, a talentless girl could make friends, if he couldn't even fight, or to protect themselves. But after you defended me from those drunkards, I felt warmth inside for the first time, that reminded me of the feeling of sunshine on my skin, and I even felt that, that someday I could make friends with a child my age, because I really wanted friends then. I took you as my goal, because even though i was in love with you, so I was a bit frustrated by that, that you were always more talented than me, so I used whatever spare time I could to motivate myself by practicing my ninja-skills to become stronger. I believed so, that by becoming stronger you would notice me too, Sasuke," Naruko said.
"Naruko, I didn't know, that you feel that way. And really I envied you, for you never seemed to care about others, about the taunts made about you," Sasuke said in disbelief.
"Really? Sasuke, I don't think it's wrong, that I tried to get stronger, because that's what got me this far. But anyway. Now it's time to tell you something else, which happened soon after, when you had defended me from those drunks," Naruko said. "Like I said, I wanted friends then, and I even missed the company of girls my age, but many adults forbade their children to play with me, because of my jinchuriki-status. At that time, I still didn't dare to suggest to Sasuke that we could be friends. My hope that, that I could make friends with girls my age already started to fade, but one person then changed my way of thinking".
"Who was that person?" Sakura asked curiously standing up.
"You, Sakura," Naruko said.
"Me?! How did I do that?!" Sakura asked. Her eyes widened, and her face crumpled in confusion, resulting in Naruko getting the wrong impression of it.
"Yes...Excuse me, if what i just said, you sounded uncomfortable," Naruko said disappearing again.
"BAKA!" Sakura yelled trying to hit the trunk of the tree, who suddenly disappeared.
Sasuke was surprised to see the trunk of the tree disappear, and looked around to see Naruko. When Naruko was nowhere to be seen, then Sasuke began to speak:
"When did it happen?"
"Heh heh!"
The ninjas heard many children laughing, and looked towards the academy to see a group of children walking by the academy, but they looked almost transparent. As they walked closer, they began to recognize a group of children. Some kids were from Rookie 9, while others were others children, who were in the same class with them, which they had once seen while studying at the academy.
"It happened after we studied at the academy for a while," Naruko said appearing to sit on top of the sign above the academy's front doors. Her pointed away from the crowd to a swing tied to the branch of a lonely tree, where young, transparent Naruko sat alone watching the other children play. He had a grim expression on his face.
Sakura felt like, that now he began to remember something. He then saw a younger version of himself walking in front of Naruko, but they did not hear it, that from Naruko, and Sakura were talking.
"Do you remember, that at that time you were the first, a girl of the same age, who approached me, Sakura?" Naruko asked resting her chin on her right knee.
Sakura saw, as the younger Naruko stood up, but then sat back on the swing after looking at the other children first.
Then the younger Sakura went back to join the other children. Sakura remembered that thing now, but her didn't remember it anyway, that what her had said to Naruko, so her looked at Naruko worriedly:
"What did I tell you?"
Sakura felt guilty just because, remembering Naruko's first smiling, then startled face after asking that question.
"I didn't think you'd remember that, because it's been a long time. And I believe so, that those words, which you told me then were for you really simple for you. However, those words meant much more to me, than you can even imagine," Naruko said looking at her younger self, and then again children playing, who laughed, and play with Sakura. "You asked me that, that I want to play yours, and with others. It was the first time, when someone a girl my age wanted to play with me. I was glad that, that you wanted to play with me, and I felt the warmth inside me again, but it was different, like Sasuke defending me from those drunks, who poured alcohol on me, embarrassing me in public. The warmth I felt hearing your words back then made me believe so, that maybe I could make friends with a girl my age after all. I was so happy, and I was going to agree to your proposal, but then I saw the other children's eyes, when I stood up after first sitting alone on the swing. That hostile, and a scary look, which was similar to, like the gaze of those adults, who feared me, and bore me a grudge against Kurama's invasion of Konoha, and wished I would disappear. I knew as soon, as I saw that look, that if I accepted your offer to play with you, then the other kids would start avoiding you too, because of my jinchuriki-status so, that you would be my friend, even though they didn't even know I was a jinchuriki. Their parents had probably just forbidden them from playing with me. I was even afraid of that, that you would start accusing me of, that how the other kids didn't want to play with you anymore, and that you would stop being my friend. That's why I declined your offer to play with me. That's how I tried not to cause you any trouble. At that time I didn't even know I was a jinchuriki yet, but then I realized something else. I understood that, that there is an invisible magic-circle in the world. The circuit in question has an inner ring, and the exterior. Children, who didn't want to play with me then, belonged to the inner circle of that circle like you. I was outside that circle at the time, but i didn't care about it. However, I didn't want you to be left out of that inner circle like me, so you won't be lonely."
Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes, and now her felt like, that her could no longer hold them back.
"Since that day, however, I have valued your friendship at that time, and I started doing my best to make friends. I managed to befriend Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and with Akamaru. But as I grew up, I still noticed that, that you grew up more like others, and you gave me the same, hateful looks, like many others. It hurt, but i didn't blame you for that look, when I found out I was a jinchuriki, and I heard the Sandaime Hokage's reason for hiding the matter from me. He had even forbidden adults to tell their children about my jinchuriki-status, because based on, what he had told me, my father wanted the people of Konoha to think of me as a hero, but only a few people, mainly those, who knew my father, honored this wish, and were kind to me. The Sandaime Hokage had tried to help my father's dream come true, that the villagers would see me, as a hero, so he forbade adults from telling their children about my jinchuriki-status. Unfortunately, the adults forbade their children to play with me, and as a result the children in question also avoided me without even knowing the reason for it. Around that time I made a decision to prove to Konoha, that I was Kurama's jailer, and that I wouldn't be Kurama. It was a long road, and rocky, and at the same time I looked at it, that how you worked in the academy, with other children, you fought with Ino, and how you tried to get Sasuke's attention. Then we finally became Genin. I laughed inwardly at that, how Sasuke was in the same group, as you, and with me. I felt so, that fate would consider me some kind of joker. I was in the same group, as the boy of my dreams, and with a girl, who didn't remember long ago that, her wanted to play with me, and who, like me, had a crush on Sasuke. I had to watch from the sidelines, as the girl, with whom I wanted to be friends, trying to get the attention of my secret crush on him," Naruko said.
Sakura was now crying a steady stream of tears, as her listened to Naruko's words.
"But shortly after, when you had approached me, so I saw how Ami, and her friends bullied you. It reminded me a bit of, how I was bullied back in those days, so then I dumped the trash inside the trash can from the classroom window Ami, and on his friends while remaining hidden. Of course I didn't tell you that, for I was not sure that, that how you would react to it. Iruka-sensei, and the Sandaime Hokage, however, saw that matter being in the same room with me at the time, and asked, that why I did that. I told them so, that you looked lonely then, so i wanted to help you, for you too were teased then, because of your forehead. The Sandaime Hokage complimented me, and Iruka-sensei looked a little proud, and I then asked the Sandaime Hokage, that how could I make friends with other girls. He said that, I would then directly suggest that, that we are friends. I decided to try it that day, when we first met Kakashi-sensei. At that time I was starting to envy again, and even feel some kind of hatred towards you, Sasuke," Naruko said.
Sakura, and Sasuke looked at Naruko in disbelief at, what they just heard.
The confession even made Sasuke flinch, and to look at Naruko curiously.
"Didn't you say, that you love Sasuke?" Sakura asked.
Naruko disappeared, and suddenly appeared Sasuke, and in front of Sakura. Then Naruko disappeared again, and appeared near the bridge. This happened a couple of times.
Sasuke, and Sakura followed Naruko again, until they all stood in the middle of the unfinished bridge, and Naruko sat on said bridge, and slid his hand along the wooden floor of the bridge.
"Sasuke, is true, that i love you, but I hated you since then, your arrogant attitude, because then you seemed to be looking down the bridge of your nose at others, and that you think you are better than the rest of us. It reminded me of the way you used to fight with the boys in battle practice. I felt like, that you treated me like a son, before we were named Genin. Sakura would rather be your friend, like my friend, and it hurt me so, much that sometimes I felt like crying, but I didn't want to give you the satisfaction, that you would see me cry I had suggested to Sakura many times, that we could be friends, but her didn't like that idea, for then her seemed to see every one, as the new rival suitor of the girl approaching Sasuke. That's why I came up with such a plan one day to tell Sakura a little about my feelings," Naruko snapped her fingers, and the scenery changed to Sasuke standing by the window of a room, who was eating onigiri inside that room.
Naruko arrived, and shoved Sasuke inside the room, closing the window of that room at the same time, and tied Sasuke to the floor of that room, and put tape in front of Sasuke's mouth, and on the floor in front of Sasuke he left a paper, on which Naruko had written these words:
"I want to communicate with the real you". Then Naruko made a hand signal:
"Henge!"
Naruko turned into Sasuke, and next Naruko opened the shutter, and walked out through the shutter, closed the shutter walking to the park, where Sakura was sitting on a bench.
Naruko stopped smiling at him, in front of a blushing Sakura:
"I want to ask you something. What do you think of Naruko?"
"He doesn't think about my feelings at all. He enjoys, seeing me suffer" Sakura said.
"Don't talk so condescendingly about things, which you do not understand in any way. Naruko might not show it, but really her feels like an outsider. It is because, that how some villagers treat her. Her might want to be friends with you, so she can learn to express her feelings better," Naruko said walking out of the park behind a tree. Her changed back into Naruko, and leaned back against the trunk of the tree behind him, crying a little.
"I know, that trick was ridiculous, but would you have listened to it otherwise, that what i want to say to you Sakura? You have sometimes hit me even when, when I haven't even done anything, what you don't like I'm not your stress-ball" Naruko said looking at Sakura, who prepared to punch Naruko.
To Sakura's surprise, Naruko stopped Sakura's punch by grabbing Sakura's hand, and looked at Sakura really scary, which made Sakura shiver a little.
"Very predictable," Naruko said, and pushed Sakura a little further back, causing Sakura to fall onto her backside onto the bridge.
"You clearly know, that I lose my temper easily," Sakura said.
Naruko looked at her younger self, who cried a little. Her quickly calmed down, and wiped her tears, and then returned to the park to see Sasuke arrive, and Sakura trying to talk to Sasuke. After getting close to the other two Genin, Naruko heard Sasuke say to Sakura:
"Loneliness. It's an unbearable feeling".
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"I can't stand you," Sasuke told Sakura, and walked away from the place without even looking at Naruko.
Naruko glanced at Sakura, and then spoke:
"Sorry, if i'm clumsy and I can't always express my feelings properly, but it might make it easier, if I made friends with you. So, let's be friends".
Sakura looked a little surprised, until he finally nodded.
"Thank you," Naruko said, sitting down on a nearby bench.
The scenery changed back because, which it had been before its recent transformation.
"Sorry about that, but I really wanted to give that message to you, Sasuke. And Sakura, I really wanted to befriend you," Naruko said with a small bow.
"I thought about it, that why did you leave that paper for me," Sasuke said. "What did you mean by the words you wrote on that paper?"
Sakura was unable to say anything, because of her surprise.
"What I meant by those words was, that i want to be friends with you, for I did not receive, what was in your eyes then, your lonely look out of my mind. It was because, that I had often seen the same look in my own eyes, when I looked in the mirror. That's why I believed so, that if we become friends, so we could ease each other's loneliness at the same time. At the same time I thought so, that if I managed to make friends with you, then at some point I could tell you my feelings after gathering enough courage to do so. The beginning of Team 7 was difficult, and I lost to you very often. If i said, or I did something wrong then, so in your eyes my company was clearly embarrassing, so it's no wonder, that I haven't always told you that, that what I really feel. I was annoyed again, and embarrassed by it, that how you sometimes criticized my behavior at that time. Sasuke, I was very often sad to lose to you, that's why I envied you so much. I tried to hide my feelings to wait for the right opportunity to express my feelings to you, and until then I used the ninja- competition between us to forget the goal I just mentioned for a while. And it worked for a while. I decided, that if I kept my distance from you, I might forget my feelings for you for a while, but I couldn't forget my feelings for you for a while Sasuke. I made that decision after noticing, that how many girls liked you like me. And sometimes you treated me like a boy, which pissed me off. Then many laughed at me, if i failed, and I embarrassed myself badly. It, that they laughed at me pissed me off beyond measure, and sometimes I thought you were laughing at me too. I tried not to cry, so that no one gets satisfaction from it, to know that I'm crying because, that some laughed at me thinking, that by becoming strong enough, no one would dare to make fun of me anymore. When we practice, and as we worked together I forgot my jealousy of you, and I focused all my attention on getting you to acknowledge me. It just changed, when we completed our Nami no Kun mission," Naruko said. "Our cooperation only started to work, when we fought Zabuza. Before that we fought Gozu, and against Meizu, and when I had poured out of my hand the poison which, I had received from their weapons, and Kakashi-sensei had bandaged my wound with gauze, you called me a coward after I froze for a while with fear, and when I had to fight Gozu alone, and against Meizu while you protect Tazuna, and Sakura, so until then all I wanted was to earn your recognition, and make friends with you. But after hearing the then, your mocking words I understood one thing. That's when I realized, that you would never see me as a woman, Sasuke".
Sasuke just looked at Naruko unsure of, what to say:
"Naruko…I never guessed, that you felt that way..."
Naruko nodded.
"It wasn't, until we fought Haku that I realized, that how much i love you, although at first I had tried to suppress that feeling for the reasons I mentioned earlier. I realized that when, when you protected me from Haku, and I thought you were dead. I felt like, that part of my heart would be ripped out, and thrown into the grinder. When I looked at you then, and i thought you were dead, my heart seemed to scream at the top like this:
"I misjudged! I should have confessed my love to Sasuke earlier, like we even came to Nami no Kuni!" I was then filled with anger, and I attacked Haku with Kurama's powers. It was the first time, when i lost someone, a precious person to me. Funny, that's when I realized that, how precious a person you really are to me," Naruko said.
Sasuke, and Sakura saw Naruko still crying.
"When Sakura told you that you were alive, and I saw you standing, then I felt immense relief, and i realized, that I would still have a chance to tell you my love. After realizing this, I did the only thing, which I thought made sense at the time. I would hide my feelings from you, and I would tell you my feelings only then, when I was strong enough to make sure of it, that the situation would not happen again. I then found my own way Zabuza, and thanks to Haku. Namely, I get stronger by protecting the people, who are important to me. I later asked Kakashi-sensei like this:
"Zabuza, and Haku were enemies, but I couldn't help liking them. Is that wrong?" To which Kakashi-sensei said:
"No. I liked them too". It sounds just like Kakashi-sensei to say that, right?" Naruko asked.
Sakura nodded.
Naruko disappeared again.
Suddenly it started to get very windy, and the bridge was destroyed.
The landscape now changed to another, a familiar place. After all, the landscape turned into the main gate of Konoha, to the rocky terrain of Cha no Kuni, and into a dark forest, where Naruko appeared, and a bonfire was lit on the ground, on the log next to which Naruko sat.
Sasuke, and Sakura sat next to Naruko by the campfire.
"After becoming friends with Sakura, I started to think of her as a type, as my big sister-figure," Naruko said throwing a twig into the campfire.
"Your mother mentioned something like that just now," Sakura said.
"I managed to hide my feelings for you for a very long time, Sasuke. And I tried to keep hiding them. However, I finally decided to tell you my feelings, when i was tired of hiding my feelings from you, Sasuke. It was then, when we tried to see Kakashi-sensei without the mask. We were in Ichiraku then, and I hid a letter in your trouser pocket, where I asked you to come to Ichiraku. I was going to tell you my feelings then. I stood for an hour in the water-rain waiting, that you would come to Ichiraku. You didn't show up though, and finally I passed out on the street Ayame, and as Teuchi came into the street, and they took me home to recover, and asked Shizune-neechan to heal me. It was so embarrassing for me, that I didn't even dare to talk about it. That's why I kept hiding my feelings, Sasuke. When we protected the runner in Cha no Kuni, and the Amegakure ninjas then attacked us, I saved Sakura from the whirlpool, which I had created with the Rasengans after attacking the Amegakure ninjas, but after taking him to the beach at Cha no Kuni, I then saw him squinting, and looking at you. That's when I realized, that after I took him to the beach he only pretended to pass out to get first aid from you. Shizune-neechan had previously taught me a bit of first aid, but I decided to try another way first after seeing something moving under Sakura's dress. It was about that way," Naruko said pointing to the shore of Cha no Kuni, where Sakura played a passed out Sasuke, and with Naruko standing on said beach.
Naruko backed up to stand in front of a rock on the shore, and looked at the creature crawling under Sakura's dress, which looked long and narrowly:
"Oh no! Did the sea snake go under Sakura's dress then, when her was in the whirlpool?!"
"Sea Serpent?! Where is it?! Take it away from me!" Sakura shouted standing up, and pulled out a fish from the collar of her dress, which he threw into the sea in disgust.
"Well, let's continue with the mission" Sasuke said starting with Naruko walking forward.
"Sure, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said.
Naruko remained silent.
"Sakura, at the time I mostly found it really annoying, and embarrass it, that how hard you try to agree with Sasuke to get his attention by trying to please him. Sometimes I had to really push myself, that I wouldn't have thrown up, because of the grossness of what I just mentioned," Naruko said looking at Sakura, who prepared to strike Naruko, but Naruko stopped Sakura's punch again by grabbing Sakura's hand, looking at Sakura fearfully, causing Sakura to abandon her attempt to hit Naruko.
"Sasuke, hiding my feelings from you got harder, when you left Konoha," Naruko said releasing her grip on Sakura's hand, which resulted in Naruko binding Sakura to the trunk of a nearby tree with the chakra-chains that had just appeared from Naruko's back to prevent Sakura from trying to hit Naruko again. "I'm about to let you out of those chains, but don't just plan on hitting me, Sakura, or I will bind you again with those chains. I don't always have to put up with all the insults."
Sakura nodded in shock.
Cha no Kuni disappeared, and Naruko looked like the others at Konoha's main gate, where Naruko stood Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Akamaru, and with Choji as they prepare to forcibly retrieve Sasuke back to Konoha.
Just as that group was about to set out to find Sasuke, so young Sakura came over to talk to Naruko.
"Sakura, when you asked me to save Sasuke, so it must be said, that I was a little hurt, and jealous of you. I couldn't help it. I had hidden my feelings for Sasuke, and i knew you loved Sasuke too. I couldn't help my feelings at the time, and I hated myself for it. I wanted to save Sasuke so badly back then, but I couldn't help but feel jealous of you Sakura," Naruko said.
"You were jealous, that he rloved me enough to ask you to bring me back to Konoha?" Sasuke asked with a spective look on his face.
Naruko shook her head, as her looked at Shikamaru's group, who left Konoha to complete his mission regarding Sasuke:
"No. I was jealous that, that her could so openly confess her feelings for you, and I went to hide mine until, until I was strong enough to protect my comrades, so that I could finally share my feelings with you to prevent you from experiencing the same situation, what you got into while protecting me from Haku, when we were in Nami no Kuni. Me too, i love Sasuke I didn't have the confidence to say that to you before. Then I could not yet tell you that, that i love you, Sasuke. That's why I went to do that, that I hid my feelings, for I was afraid, to laugh at me, or that you would mock me," Naruko said as Konoha's main gate disappeared.
"Why did you feel like, that you had to hide your feelings for me?" Sasuke asked grabbing Naruko's shoulder, when Naruko had thrown the branch on the ground into the campfire.
"The reasons I just mentioned scared me. It's hard for people like me to find love, for great power, that we carry inside sometimes evokes great fear," Naruko said.
"You, Uzumaki Naruko you were afraid of it, that what others would think, if they found out you love me? You've never been afraid like this before. You used to face everything with your head held high proudly," Sasuke said with a hint of anger in his voice.
"No. I never cared, that what others would think of me. I used to be so lonely, and others looked before me with such angry eyes, that I didn't care at all, that what they thought of me," Naruko said, and then started singing(My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship - Invisible. I don't own the rights to this song):
"You don't see me fitting in I'm sitting here alone Right beside my shadow Always on my own
If I could share my wildest dreams Maybe they would see I'm more than just a wallflower There's so much more to me
I'm invisible, invisible A droplet in the mist Invisible, invisible It's like I don't exist
Right beneath my picture This is what you'll read A laundry list of nothings Not likely to succeed
A yearbook with blank pages That no one wants to sign A memory forgotten Until the end of time".
"I've never heard you sing like that before," Sakura said, crying again. It had never even crossed his mind, that Naruko had once felt that way.
"Because that's how I felt, before I made friends," Naruko said. "When I finally made friends, so of course I didn't tell them about my jinchuriki-status, or even about, that what I felt, that they may not consider me a burden, or as an annoying whistling whistle, because the last thing I wanted was to, that my friends would have thought of me as some pitiful whiner. And seeing the sadness of some of my friends, I found a new goal for myself, which would be to protect my friends's happiness," said Naruko.
"Why didn't you tell us, that what did you feel then?!" Sasuke asked.
"You already answered that question. I was afraid you would reject me, if i told you how i feel. And I was terribly afraid, that my friends would abandon me, if they found out about my jinchuriki-status. That's why I hid those things from my friends. After returning to Konoha from your redemption trip after the Fourth Great Ninja War, we had a homecoming party for you. However, parties are not my thing, and I have never organized such parties in my home before. That night we kissed, and when i was in your arms, so i felt, that I could finally be strong enough to tell you my feelings. I even believed so, that you would finally see me as a woman. I don't remember all the details of that night, but when i woke up in the morning, you slept next to me I didn't want to argue with you about it, so I spread myself on a tent bed, to which I put you to sleep for a while, fortifying myself with Sennin's Modo. Then I threw away the sheets on that bed, because of the blood- stain on them. I put new sheets on the bed, and I put you to sleep in it, and then I laid myself down to sleep on the tent bed, pretending, that nothing had happened. It was the first night though, when I had been so close to the man. Later I found out about my pregnancy. Then I decided that, that I finally dare to tell you my feelings, Sasuke. So I told you I love you after practicing it for a while in front of the mirror. Sakura was also there, when i told you my feelings you said so, that you should think about it for a while, and you asked me to talk to you again the next day" Naruko said blushing, and at the same time touched his stomach with his right hand.
"I remember that," Sasuke said.
"I was really relieved that, that I finally managed to tell you my feelings, and after returning home I decided to change my behavior to the behavior of my ideal self in order to be a good example for my child, and to the young ninjas of our village, and that you may no longer reproach me, or find my behavior embarrassing. Well, when I came the next day to ask for your answer to my declaration of love, so i saw you, and Sakura kissing. Of course I tried not to show you that, that how much it hurt me, because I didn't want to feel like a third wheel in the relationship, and I didn't want to cause you any trouble either. But when you two started dating, so I could no longer be with you in the same way as before, because I didn't want to disturb your relationship. I couldn't say anything more about it, that i love you Sakura had loved you for a long time, and you clearly only thought of me, as your teammate. But you still thought of me, as just a friend. I could live with that. I didn't want you to hate me, and losing it, what we already had. But when I heard you two were dating, it broke my heart," Naruko said, crying now more.
Sasuke's eyes widened, and Sakura was crying more now.
"Do you have that little faith in us?! Did you think so, that we wouldn't accept your feelings?!" Sakura yelled in shock.
"Things rarely go as planned. I want to say this, so now listen closely:
"Uzumaki Naruko also loves Uchiha Sasuke. I love Sasuke even when if he was in a relationship with another woman, and even if that woman is my best friend. I love you, Sasuke. I know I can't now, when you two are dating, but I can't help it," Naruko said.
"Baka! Who fought to show the world, what are you made of?! Who fought the claw, and a toothy war to end it?! Who brought Sasuke-kun back to Konoha without ever giving up hope, even though everyone else had given up a long time ago?! For three years you tried to get him to return to Konoha! to become a woman, who fights for the happiness of others, wishes, and for dreams with such conviction, should not give up easily! You sure gave yours up so easily, baka," Sakura said.
Naruko stood up, and walked in front of Sakura looking at Sakura fearfully, and made Sakura shiver again, after which Naruko hit Sakura lightly on the head with the palm of her hand:
"Stop calling me baka. And you, Sasuke, stop calling me Dobe, or Usuratonkachi, because it's embarrassing for me and annoying," Naruko said.
"Fine. I deserve your anger. At one point I didn't think about your feelings at all. I did doubt it at one point, that you have a crush on Sasuke-kun," Sakura said.
"You really are a bad liar," Sasuke said walking up behind Naruko, and wrapped both of his arms around Naruko, causing Naruko to blush a little.
"Your girlfriend gets mad, if you keep it up, so stop behaving like that," Naruko said lightly stroking her stomach. Because of Sakura's powers, her wasn't sure that, that how long her could hold Sakura in place after binding Sakura with her chakra chains. "If you want me to return to Konoha so badly, then never again kiss each other in a public place, or at least to me, for to watch it was torture to me. Sometimes I felt like the two of you enjoyed introducing me to your relationship then, when I was there, even though I myself had previously confessed my feelings to Sasuke. My heart always ached, when I looked at the two of you together. At first I tried not to show it to you by keeping my distance, but I had enough after watching you two dating for a couple of months. Sometimes I even think so, that you two didn't care about my feelings in any way. That's why I decided to distance myself from the two of you after leaving Konoha for a while on vacation to sort out my feelings in peace, and I really wanted to explore my clan. I decided at some point that, before I found out about your relationship to transform myself into the ideal self of my dreams, so that Sasuke would notice me. Because my love for Sasuke made me care more about him, than even my dream of becoming Hokage. I had enough, as long, as I saw Sasuke smiling. That's what I used to think. Sakura, I once thought of you like this:
"You ruthlessly took Sasuke for yourself! I know. I'm not as fashionable as Ino, and not the Iryo-nin trained by Tsunade-sama, like you, Sakura. Sasuke didn't even give me a moonstone bracelet." My last thought is, because that I showed Sasuke that mountain, where you can find moonstones. The Sandaime Hokage showed me that place sometime long ago, and said, that I could show the place to my best friend then, when i get a best friend, and that only I my best friend, and Sandaime Hokage we would know that place. I showed that place to Sasuke after he returned from his redemption trip to Konoha, and I hoped so then, that Sasuke would give me a moonstone bracelet at some point. That would have been a really nice birthday present. Then I found out he gave one to you, Sakura. I thought then, that I made a mistake in showing that mountain to Sasuke. made me angry, when you showed it off your bracelet in a public place saying so, that you got it from Sasuke. And when another woman said she wanted a bracelet like that, so you told him, for him to get one, if he asked Sasuke for it, and that Sasuke would have any number of them. For example, during the Chunin Exam, when Sasuke said he wanted to fight me too I was happy to hear his words, and I remembered those words after he returned from his redemption trip to Konoha. I wanted to be the right woman for him. I was even afraid of losing Sasuke to other women, and that's why I tried to transform myself into the ideal self of my dreams to be able to even be a good example for Katsuhiko, to Tatsuya, or to Arisa. I've been thinking about names for my baby during my vacation. And as I already said, so I wanted to change myself. When you guys started dating so I even started having dreams, where I dated Sasuke. Then in that dream I saw myself in two places at the same time, and then me, who grabbed Sasuke's hand turned into you, Sakura. So I was still hoping to make Sasuke see me, as a woman worthy of him. However, it is not right for you, because I don't want to disturb your relationship. That's why I hid my feelings from Sasuke after you two started dating. I even imagined so, that if I were positive about your relationship, i might forget my feelings for Sasuke at some point, but i couldn't do it. When you started dating, so I felt left alone, and that you would no longer care about my feelings in any way. I was even afraid that, that I might become a complete stranger to you while watching your courtship. Kakashi-sensei once asked me that, that why don't I date someone, with another man. However, I told him that I loved Sasuke too much to even think about that. I didn't want you to hate me, because that i love Sasuke, but I tried to pretend that I was happy for you, so that I don't disturb your relationship. I really love Sasuke though, but at the same time I tried to make sure you were happy, even if I myself once wanted to be the woman of Sasuke's dreams. At one point I even thought that, that my child might not want to see his father with another woman, and that my child would be my own secret. I tried to keep suppressing my feelings to make sure, that you would be happy, even if I am not a part of your happiness. But I can't help it, that i love Sasuke, and that's why I tried to protect your happiness by staying away from Konoha for a while."
"Well, I think you're good like that, and you don't have to change yourself," Sasuke said.
"Naru, I'm moved by your feelings. I move into the background with the slightest of noises. You clearly love Sasuke-kun more, like me. You even went as far as, that you were willing to protect our happiness from afar. You did it for your friends. You can't be mad about something like that," Sakura finally said, crying more. "Sasuke-kun, I think we went too far".
"This plan was definitely not the best thing to do trying to understand Naruko's feelings. Why did I even come up with this plan? I should have just talked to Naruko directly, that what I really think about her, right?" Sasuke asked wrapping his arms around Naruko more than fearing, that Naruko would disappear, if Sasuke would release his grip on Naruko.
"I...What exactly do you mean?!" Naruko asked angrily.
"We deserve it, that you are angry with us, because I guess we didn't think about it at all from your point of view. Forgive me, Naruko!" Sakura said with a small bow.
"What are you apologizing for, Sakura?" Naruko asked.
"I came up with this little plan after you confessed your feelings to me," Sasuke said. "I didn't know that though, that it would cause you such pain".
"I don't understand anything," Naruko said.
"So I'll start from the beginning. I was quite surprised to hear your declaration of love. Women often surround me just because of my looks, but it's not something, what i want from a woman, that I could fall in love with. So I wanted to be able to be more open about my feelings like you. After all, like you, I'm the type myself, who is not very good at expressing her feelings due to his past experiences. I suspected so, that you weren't interested in me just because of my looks. So I wanted to test you, and I suggested to Sakura, that her would introduce my girlfriend soon after, after I had heard your confession of love. I understand now, that it wasn't fair to you. Naruko, I love you. I'm not very good at this sort of thing, but forgive me. I just wanted to know, that how you feel, what you really feel for me are, although I guess I didn't think about it at all from your point of view. Sorry, that I doubted your feelings".
Naruko looked at Sasuke in disbelief, and in her ears, and tried to find Sasuke, and something lies in Sakura's eyes, or signs of fraud. Finally he decided to speak:
"Well Sasuke, I think you're better like this, that you don't lie, or present any false relationship in a public place. I'll say it straight. That lie really pissed me off so much, that I can't forgive right away, but I would also like to give you a chance to atone for your actions. If you still do this, you get back the same amount. I will not hesitate for a moment to avenge such a trick on you. Is that clear?" Naruko asked, and finally began to cry all her tears, which he had kept inside over the years.
"It is," Sasuke said.
When Naruko cried, the world around them began to crumble, and crumble slowly.
The pieces fell apart, floated in the air, and disappeared, and faded away.
Everything faded slowly, until there was nothing left, like the three of them.
They didn't notice, when they disappeared from the white world.