Disclaimer: For fun!
Life had a twisted sense of humor.
Just as soon as Sakura and Naruto came to an understanding, and decided to try dating, they were forced onto a mission that would take up all their time. This mission would shake Naruto to his very core.
Gaara, a man Naruto had become friends with in the past and the new leader of the village hidden in the sand, the Kazekage, had been abducted. He was taken by the criminal group known as The Akatsuki.
There had been knowledge of the organization's existence up until then, but their motives were trapped in mystery. Until Gaara's abduction made it perfectly clear. They were after Jinchuuriki, individuals who had tailed beast demons sealed within their bodies.
"NONE OF YOU KNOW GAARA LIKE I DO! HIS LIFE WAS DECIDED AGAINST HIS WILL!"
Naruto's words echoed through Sakura's head like a ringing drum as she leaned against a lamp post. She thought back to the end of their mission, looking at Gaara's lifeless body. They had failed to save him, or at least they would have were it not for Lady Chiyo, the one responsible for placing the one-tailed beast inside Gaara, sacrificing her life to revive the young man.
The mission was overwhelming for the young woman. She nearly died several times over in her battle with Sasori, the puppet master of the Akatsuki and in another one of life's cruel jokes, Lady Chiyo's grandson. Kakashi was badly injured fighting a pyromaniac known as Deidara, and she could only watch as Naruto suffered to try and help Gaara, now knowing the bond the two shared.
'Naruto… How were you able to carry that burden, while still smiling so brightly?' Sakura asked herself, her tired eyes watching as the streets in front of her darkened and the light from the lamp post above her flickered on.
"Sorry to make you wait, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out to her, walking out of the hospital. "Baa-chan knows I heal fast, yet she was insistent on making sure I didn't break a bone or something…" He explained, rubbing the back of his head.
Sakura shook her head, smiling at him. "That's just her way of showing she cares about you, dummy." She explained.
"True… So, what did you want to do? I know we haven't exactly had time to… Well…" He trailed off, blushing somewhat as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Why don't we go for a walk as a first real date?" Sakura suggested, wanting to keep things simple. Getting an enthusiastic nod of agreement from the blonde, the two began their walk down the streets of Konoha.
They made their way to the park, quietly enjoying each other's company as a warm summer wind gently glided past them as they slowly walked on by.
The boy was starting to get somewhat restless, the time away from the village made him not used to being around Sakura for this long, so his giddiness from when he was a kid was back in full force. He wanted to talk to her, talk about anything if it meant hearing her beautiful voice, but what to talk about?
'I hate how indecisive I get around her…' He thought to himself, chastising his own immaturity as he looked down at their hands. As they walked their hands were so close they'd occasionally brush against each other. He then shut his eyes as he nervously grabbed her hand, they were dating, so surely this was okay… Right?
He opened an eye as he nervously looked at Sakura, where all he could find was a satisfied smile and a faint blush on her face. He felt his body relax soon after, taking solace in knowing he made the right move.
"When did you become so smooth?" Sakura asked, holding up their now clasped hands as she looked at the blonde next to her. Getting a nervous chuckle out of the boy, he looked forward as he scratched his cheek.
"You and I both know that ain't true, Sakura-chan. I'm the same old dork you've always known." He pointed out, rubbing the back of his head.
"True, you always have been a little goofball… Or a big one, these days." She commented, looking him up and down to emphasize his much taller stature.
'And yet he…' Her thoughts trailed off as she looked down, her pace slowed until eventually she stopped moving entirely. Naruto stopped and looked back at Sakura, looking down and seeing she was barely holding his hand with just two fingers.
"Sakura-chan?" He called out to her, not understanding her shift in mood.
"How do you stay so positive?" Sakura asked him suddenly, looking up at the blonde who could only tilt his head in confusion.
"You told me you have the nine tailed fox sealed within you…" Sakura started, seeing Naruto's expression change to one of mild surprise. "I always knew you were treated like a pariah by the adults in the village… All of us as kids knew, but we didn't know why…" She continued as her hand let go of his as her arms fell to her sides; her hands balled into fists.
"You must have felt so alone… So unwanted…" She choked out, as tears built in her eyes and echoing the words he said to her just a few weeks ago. Naruto grimaced as he looked down, shoving his hands in his pockets as she brought up his old wounds.
"So how do you stay so positive?... How did you not come to hate me and the others, when we did what our parents told us to and kept our distance from you during the academy?" She asked him, looking at the young man as his eyes were cast in shadow. She watched his shoulders slowly rise and fall, telling her he took a deep breath. She then saw him raise his head and give her his same old, foxlike smirk.
"Because I was never truly alone, Sakura-chan." He told her, walking over and putting a hand on her head.
"True… I have no parents. What I did have was Iruka-sensei looking out for me, what I did have was old man Teuchi and Ayame-neechan making sure I didn't go hungry…" He trailed off, before giving her a toothy grin, trying to hide some of the pain in his now closed eyes.
"And while you might've kept your distance, at first… You, and all the others still gave me the time of day. Even if it was just to chastise me for being the class clown…" He told her, his grin fell to a sad smile as he rubbed her head.
"I don't feel any animosity towards you or the others… You didn't know. Hell, I didn't know until I was 12." He added, trying to absolve her of any guilt she might have felt.
The pink haired woman stared down at the ground; her eyebrows furrowed as she felt something building up within her. Frustration.
'Why does he keep doing that?' She asked herself, rubbing her arm as she felt his hand leave her head. In response, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around the blonde in a warm embrace.
"Even if you don't want it… I'm sorry anyways. I should've been kinder to you… We all should have." She apologized, before looking up at him. "And if it means anything… My parents don't think negatively of you anymore." She told the boy, seeing a delighted smile show up on his face.
"Really?" He asked, clearly not focused on the apology anymore.
"Mhm, after I told them you saved my life during the Chunin exams. It was like the veil of distrust and paranoia they had about you was lifted immediately." She explained, before sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Mom was even thrilled to hear we started dating…" She added, a small brush appearing on her cheeks.
"Well, I'm glad to hear I changed some adults' perspective of me." He told her, smiling warmly at the young woman in front of him.
The two continued their walk through the park, as Sakura stared down at the cobblestone path. Her face soured as she rubbed her arm. Why did she feel this way? Something Naruto did didn't sit well with her.
'Why does he keep trying to shoulder any wrongdoing...' She asked herself, her fingers digging into her arm as she thought about all the times they had fought, all the times she wronged him, all the times she apologized.
And every time, Naruto placed the burden of guilt and responsibility on himself. Always telling her he 'deserved it' or that 'no apology was necessary'. At first, she thought it was just his way of forgiving her whenever she apologized. This time was different. He tried to get ahead of her apology this time, and she noticed.
'Is this his way of being kind?... To take the burden off my shoulders and put it squarely on his?' She thought to herself, as she began to grimace.
'I'm not so weak that I need to be coddled… To take away my agency in the matter of admitting to my own mistakes and flaws…' Inner thought bitterly, adding to Sakura's frustrated feelings. One thing they could both agree on, though…
Naruto was kind. Despite her sour feelings, she knew it wasn't out of ill will from the boy, or from trying to hold her to some 'holier than thou' standard. She knew it was just his way of showing comfort and trying to own up to his own mistakes and failures; He was so kind.
He was too kind. In that moment, Sakura could only think of one thing.
'That kindness will get him killed…'
"You two are dating?!" Ino shrieked as she nearly slammed the two coffee cups down on the counter.
'I'm glad I came here after close…' Sakura pointed out, going to see Ino immediately after her stroll with Naruto.
"Not like, boyfriend and girlfriend level… More like testing the waters." Sakura pointed out, anxiously tapping the sides of her coffee mug before taking a sip. She hoped that it would douse the fires of Ino's excitement, at least a little.
"Look I'll take anything at this point after all the shit you two put me through 4 years ago." Ino told her, blowing some hair out of her face in irritation as she sat down across from her.
"And I'll forgive you for not telling me right away due to leaving for a mission basically the next day. However, I do have one condition to truly forgive you." She started, before leaning over the counter, getting up in Sakura's face.
"Tell me how it's been going! I never took Naruto for the romantic type, so I NEED the details!" She demanded, getting an eyeroll from the pinkette in front of her.
"Well, I don't have a ton to tell you, we've only had time for a single date. In fact, I just came from that date to talk to you." Sakura explained, watching Ino bounce in her seat in giddiness.
"One date is all I need! Better yet it's fresh in your mind!" Ino replied, clearly enjoying living vicariously through Sakura's escapades. Sakura let out a defeated sigh, before talking about her date through the park with Naruto, not leaving out a single detail. She knew better than to do that with Ino these days.
"Daang, time has done wonders for that idiot if he can be that smooth on a first proper date." Ino commented, Sakura not being shocked in the slightest that Ino would have the same reaction she did on the date. Their tastes in men were admittedly similar.
"Still, uh… Sakura." Ino started, as a look of concern showed on her face. "Were you supposed to tell me about… That other thing about Naruto?" She asked, subtly mentioning Sakura talking about Naruto being the holder of the Nine Tailed Fox.
"Well, I told you in confidence, because I know you won't tell anyone." Sakura replied, smiling gently as she got a nervous laugh out of her blonde friend.
"Duly noted… Still, it's a shock." Ino commented, staring down at the counter as a more somber look showed on her face. "Makes a lot of sense, though…" She added, thinking back to how the adults in the village treated the boy.
"I know it probably wasn't the best time to bring it up… But it had been racking my brain ever since he told me. I needed to talk to him about it, and while it was still fresh in my mind." Sakura explained, before taking a long sip of her coffee. She stared down at the mug sadly, as her grip tightened on it.
"I wanted to know more about him… For a guy that wears his heart on his sleeves, there's so much about him I don't know…" She admitted, showing her desire to truly understand Naruto.
"Well, that's the point of dating him, Forehead." Ino jabbed, smirked before sipping some of her coffee, indulging in Sakura's eyeroll at hearing her old nickname.
"I know, Ino-pig." She jabbed back, before the two girls laughed a bit at their childish barbs.
"Now tell me HOW you started dating." Ino told her friend, smirking as she saw Sakura shake her head dismissively.
"I doubt it's really that interesting to you…" She started, before Ino slammed her palm on the counter.
"Oh, you don't get to tell me that. I need closure for all that drama from 4 years ago, dammit!" She demanded with a fire roaring in her eyes that cried out for juicy details.
Sakura took one last gulp of her coffee, before setting the mug down in front of her. She clearly didn't want to talk about it.
"Well… It didn't start great. You know where my head was with Naruto before he came back. I reunited with him; he got up to speed on some things… And then we had a fight." She told Ino as she picked her head up to look at her. "I mean that literally. I convinced Kakashi-sensei to let us have a sparring match to demonstrate our growth." She explained, causing Ino to rub her arm.
"…Which was just an excuse to vent your anger?" Ino asked, already knowing the answer as Sakura nodded in response.
"You knew what I was like… I was so full of pain… Sadness. I needed to get it out." Sakura added, before looking down.
"I poured my heart out to him, prepared to never forgive him… Until I saw the look on his face." She said, as her eyebrows creased upwards.
"The pain on his face… The fear of realizing the pain he put me through. I had never seen him look like that in my life…" She pointed out, before taking a deep breath. She then wrapped her arms around herself as she kept staring down at the countertop.
"When he embraced me… I felt his trembling touch, almost like I could feel the hatred he felt for himself in that moment… And the words he spoke to me… I knew I was gonna forgive him, but it wasn't just because of all that." She slowly spoke out, before laughing pathetically as she looked to the side, barely whispering out.
"It's because the moment he hugged me, I realized how much I fucking missed him…" She admitted to Ino, as she let go of herself and rested her arms on the counter.
"I missed his touch… I missed talking to him, seeing him… Being with him…" She slowly admitted, a sad smile appearing on her features.
"Damn girl, you sure you're not in love with him?" Ino asked, getting an annoyed look from the pinkette.
"Anyways… We talked after that, sorted everything out… Then we talked over dinner… And both concluded that we should try dating." Sakura finished, ignoring Ino's question.
"I feel like you're still leaving some details out, but I'm satisfied with that!" Ino replied, before leaning over with a smirk. "Seriously though… Are you sure you only just kinda like him?" She asked Sakura, who only huffed in response.
"You know how I—"
"I know, I know! You 'aren't in love with him', I get it!" Ino replied, interrupting Sakura as she shook her head. "But with how you were talking about him there… You seriously telling me that you still don't even know if you genuinely like him or not?" She asked, as Sakura looked to the side, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Look… I won't deny I have some romantic feelings… But—"
"—But nothing! You just talked about how you missed him embracing you! And the way you said it sounded more like a lovesick puppy!" Ino interrupted once again, before folding her arms. "I want you to think long and hard about this, Sakura. Because I don't want you dating him half-heartedly, got it?" Ino instructed, receiving a sigh of mild annoyance from the pinkette.
"I don't understand… Why do you care so much?" Sakura asked, getting caught off guard by Ino's warm smile.
"Because I want you to be happy."
The night before gave Sakura a lot to chew on mentally as she did her morning routine. She went on an early morning jog, before going to the training fields and doing her workout regimen that Tsunade had created for her.
'Annoyingly… Ino's not wrong. For how insistent I am about only kinda liking Naruto… I sure talk about him in a more lovey-dovey way…' Sakura thought to herself, taking a drink of her water bottle before moving to her next bit of work out.
"Morning, Sakura-chan!" A voice called out, knocking Sakura out of her thoughts, all while doing handstand push-ups.
She looked over, balancing herself on one arm as she saw a flash of blonde. "Oh, good morning, Naruto. I forgot you used to come here in the morning to do training exercises." She greeted him, before continuing her exercise. She then noticed the blonde walk over and lean over in front of her.
"This is an interesting work out you're doing. This Baa-chan's regimen for you?" He asked her before watching her vault off her hands and wiping the dirt off them.
"That's right. She has me do this every morning to keep myself in shape and to keep my strength up." She replied, taking a drink of water, before putting a hand on her hip. "I know, it's kinda weird seeing me train like this, isn't it?" She asked, wiping some sweat from her forehead.
"No no, not at all! Rather, it's awesome seeing you work so hard, no wonder your punches are so strong!" Naruto complimented, before looking at her. "You're way more muscular than you normally look. I'm guessing she gave you a regimen to keep your muscles lean?" He asked the pinkette.
"That's right. It's the one she used to do, but she modified it to better work for my body." She explained, flexing one of her arms, showing a surprising amount of muscle.
"She put me through the wringer, but now I'm stronger than most of the jounin in the village." She added, smiling a bit as she let her arm relax.
Her eyes perked up as she noticed Naruto trying to avert his eyes from her as he stretched his arms, causing her to look down at herself. She was wearing her typical workout attire, a sports bra and yoga pants, but Naruto had never seen her in it before and it showed. A coy smirk appeared on her features as she looked over at the blonde.
"While I appreciate you trying to be polite, Naruto, we are dating now. You can check me out." She told him, satisfied when she saw a flabbergasted look on the blonde's now reddening face.
"S-Sakura-chan, I wasn't intending to—" He started, before his face getting redder at the pinkette walking over and placing her finger on his lips.
"For a guy that made the "sexy" jutsu back in the academy, you're quite modest." Sakura teased, before backing off and placing her hands on her hips. "Besides, you caught me in a good mood, and I want to make sure I haven't developed too much muscle. So, feel free to stare." She told him, all while giving him a wink.
'I forgot how easy it is to tease him!' Sakura thought in glee as she watched steam rise off the blonde's head.
Naruto, for his part, managed to recompose himself somewhat as he started looking at Sakura. Checking out her body as he rubbed the back of his head, trying to be respectful.
'Sakura-chan's been so hard to read these days… She used to deck me for much less than this.' He thought to himself, before looking Sakura in the eye.
"Well, I think your muscles fit you perfectly. You're toned, but not showing too much. It really fits your figure." He pointed out, giving a surprisingly analytical commentary on her looks.
'Well, someone has matured. Mostly.' Sakura thought to herself, still smiling at his 'compliment' nonetheless.
"Why thank you, Naruto. But don't underestimate a woman's eyes, I saw you checking out my boobs and butt." She pointed out, causing the blonde to hang his head in shame.
"Sorry…" He apologized cutely, a pout showing on his face as Sakura giggled in response.
"I said you could, so I'll let it slide." She told him before walking past and giving him a wink. "I'll assume they look good, given that look on your face." She added, leaving Naruto a stuttering mess as she walked off, a satisfied hum escaping her lips.
'I'll take that as a win! To both my self-confidence, and that I was able to get him shaken up for once.' Sakura thought to herself, pleased with her accomplishments.
As she walked back to the village, she found someone standing in her path. A young woman with long black hair she only occasionally talked to; the last person she was expecting to see.
"Sakura… A-Are you dating Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked while staring at Sakura; eyes filled with quiet determination.
Post chapter comments are back! Mostly to explain why the story is still going, despite them "getting together". I didn't originally plan to have them date so soon, but I wanted to take a different approach compared to the usual with NaruSaku, and a bit more like how real life works!
So just because they're dating now, don't expect it to be smooth sailing from here!