CHAPTER 8: In The Meantime
Konoha Main Hospital, 8 AM, 2 days since Naruto's return
Today is the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the new and improved Sakura Haruno!
To say Sakura was feeling good this morning would be an understatement of the greatest magnitude. She was thrilled, ecstatic, all the positive emotions she could think of. There had been a few moments where she had thought all hope was lost. At the time she didn't think that he would've given her a second chance. But thinking back on what she knew of Naruto, she should have known he always gives second chances.
Beaming as she entered the room of her first patient of the day, Izuku. The 15-year-old green haired, green eyed genin reminded her a lot of Rock Lee. Both were taijutsu specialists and trained themselves even more than she did which always made her shiver thinking about. They both had a drive to prove themselves to the world that was unshakeable. What separated them though was the boy in front of her could use ninjutsu, just not very much of it.
Izuku was back in the hospital again for what must have been the 4th time in these many months. Once again, he had broken bones to mend, this time though instead of the main bones in his arm, he also had somehow managed to break his fingers too. He claimed he was training some kind of taijutsu technique that was super-secret. Despite the injuries, whenever he came in to be mended, he always had a smile on his face.
The boy turned his head to the doorway and looked upon Sakura. "Wow, you sure are in a good mood today." He beamed out, matching the energy of the emerald eyed kunoichi.
Shutting the door behind her and turning back to her patient, she responded with "Let's just say I've been given an opportunity I was dreaming about and leave it at that shall we." She said while still giving him a big smile but not wanting to discuss what happened just yet.
"Anyways, lets see what I can do for your bones." She uttered as she walked towards his bed side.
Feeling it best not to press the issue on the origins of her good mood, the boy simply extended his arm out for Sakura to mend.
A small frown now appeared on her face as she was doing her work. "Honestly, you have to be more careful with what you are doing. We are not miracle workers and one day you might really overdo it and be out of commission for a while."
Izuku turned his head downwards, downcast at being chastised by his medic-nin. "I know, I keep trying different approaches, but they have so far ended like this." he says using his other arm to gesture to the broken one. "But I think I know what I'm going to try next time. Hopefully, this will be the last time you see me under such circumstances." He brought up his head as he finished what he was saying and had a small smile on his face.
"That's good. I hope to never see you in here again." Sakura replied with a smile of her own.
After completing her work, she sat his arm on the bed. "Now then, that's all I can do for now. A nurse will come in for your cast, but you should be back ready within a week."
"Thank you again! You should keep that smile of yours on a lot more. It really made my day." He received an even bigger grin from that comment. His eyes never left her until she left the room.
For the next few hours, she did her normal routine but with a burst of energy she didn't have before. It was almost infectious. Eventually, the other nurses took notice of Sakura's mood change.
"Is it me, or does Sakura seem different today?" One of the nurses said to her colleague.
"Now that you mention it, she does seem to have an extra spring in her step today. I wonder what happened?" Replied the colleague.
Sakura didn't hear her fellow nurses talking. Truth be told, even if she did, she would have ignored them. Not out of malice, but simply because of how light she felt now. For the first time in a long time, she was truly happy.
This caused her work to have noticeable improvement. She was seeing more patients then normal, helping her colleagues, not making any mistakes. Not that she wasn't a fantastic medic-nin before, but a switch had been turned on in her and she was much better than before. Not that Sakura had noticed, she was too busy working to notice the change in herself but everyone else did.
Her colleagues were at a loss for an explanation for the change. Some thought she might have finally gotten through to Sasuke, others thought it was simply getting a good night's rest, the naughtier minds thought she finally got laid and was in the afterglow. Only one person in the hospital had a reasonable hunch. The Gossip Queen herself, Ino Yamanaka.
The night before, Ino had trouble going to sleep. Thoughts of the meeting between 2 of her best friends were running through her mind. Every single bad scenario played out and she was dreading the next day.
To her pleasant surprise, she saw Sakura at work, and the bubblegum girl was glowing. Clearly the talk the 2 had last night had gone well. Ino knew them reconciling in some fashion would be good for her friend, but she had not expected there to be THIS big a change. Perhaps Sakura was in a much deeper hole before than the blonde had realized.
Ino HAD to know what happened last night. She wasn't going to let Sakura go this day without knowing what the two of them talked about. The Gossip Queen in her would not allow it!
When Sakura left a patient's room, Ino took the chance to approach her and ask her directly. "So, how did last night go?"
"...Huh? did you say something Ino?" Sakura was in her own little world for a bit when Ino asked her something.
"There you go spacing out again." Ino said in a huff. "I asked how did last night go?"
"Oh, it went well. Now please excuse me, I'm due for a surgery in 15 minutes." Sakura said, deflecting the question and attempting to leave.
Ino grabbed her by the shoulder stopping her movement. "Oh no you don't, by the end of today, I WILL know what happened. You will meet me at Yakiniku Q after work today. I'll even pay for you."
Sakura considered this for a second. She was in such a good mood this morning that she forgot to bring her lunch with her and had to use all her pocket change to get some meager rations. Ino willing to pay for her dinner would solve her future hunger problems. Plus, she hadn't hung out with just Ino in a long time so it might be good for her. She could also pick her friend's brain on something that has been bugging her today.
"Fine, I'll go with you later. I make no promises though on what I'll say. Deal?"
"Deal"
XxX
Somewhere in Nara Complex, 3pm, 2 days since Naruto's return
"How did your talk go last night Naruto?"
"Shhhhh, don't distract me. I'm thinking" Naruto offered his completely consumed by the task in front of him. Never in his life had he come across a challenge quite like this. He had prided himself on being able to overcome any obstacle in his path. Not even his training with Jiraiya had been as difficult as what he was trying to do now. He was frustrated, angry with himself. He was also embarrassed at just how bad he was doing his current task.
Brute strength and clones would not do it this time. Now, he had to rely on his brain. His small mushy brain that barely could contain the memories of the clones he oh so often created. This was a problem beyond what clones could help with. He was furrowing his brow in deep thought, trying to think of some way to beat this. After a few minutes, he finally came up with his strategy.
"Finally, you are doing something. I was getting bored"
"Don't you enjoy being bored?"
"I enjoy being lazy, not bored."
"I can vouch for Shika on that Naruto."
Temari was seated next to the 2 boys, watching intently on the proceedings. Temari's earlier question had still not been answered but she didn't mind. It was amusing to see Naruto in such deep thought. His face went through every contortion she could think of and some she didn't know were possible. She wasn't in rush to see this end anytime soon. All that was missing was popcorn.
"You spent all that time thinking and that's what you came up with? Man, this is a drag, it's not even a challenge for me." Shikamaru deadpanned out, hands in his face.
"HEY!" Naruto shouted with an irritated mark on his head. "I'm not very good at this still. Pervy sage was too busy perving during my rest days to show me the ropes."
"Then why did you challenge me? You know you can never beat me at this. I don't care how many clones you come up with and practice. Somethings just come naturally." Shikamaru grumbled out.
"Because I wanted to see how far you had come and see if I could at least hold out for a bit." Naruto said, folding his arms in front of him.
"You haven't even lasted 10 minutes if you exclude all your time thinking. Just give up Naruto." Shikamaru uttered, clearly annoyed at this point and moving one of his hands to his knee.
"Fine, If I don't win this game, I won't challenge you till I improve."
"Perfect." Shikamaru moves his final piece. "That's game."
"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted again, causing Shikamaru to cover his ears. Naruto looked at the board, desperate to see if there was a way out. There was none. Begrudgingly, Naruto stuck out his hand in defeat, his head down sulking just a bit. Clearly, he had a long way to go in shogi.
Shikamaru took the hand and shook it. "At least you take defeat well. My dad is a sore loser." Once the handshake was complete, he leaned back onto the floor with both hands behind his head
"You actually did last longer that last game compared to your previous ones Naruto." Temari spoke aloud, moving around in her chair to get some feeling back in her bottom.
"Perhaps, but it still wasn't even close." Naruto grumbled to himself, still not liking how easy it was for Shikamaru to beat him. He wasn't THAT stupid, was he?
"Be that as it may, it still took guts to challenge someone in a game you know you will lose." Shikamaru said to his friend while still on the floor. Shikamaru was under no delusion as to why Naruto had challenged him to shogi. Naruto did want to see how smart the Nara boy was now, but more than that, the blonde knew Shikamaru did enjoy the game. One of the few activities he derived joy from, and Naruto was willing to put up with the humiliation of losing often and quickly to entertain him.
"Now that's over with, mind finally spilling the beans on how your talk with Sakura went?" Temari asked again, attention now fully on her fellow blonde. Shikamaru had already informed her of everything he knew between the two teammates. Granted Temari had to ask quite a bit before he finally gave in, telling her she was troublesome all the time.
"What's there to say? We had a talk, and she didn't kill me. Pretty much tells you what happened." Although his tone was neutral, he had a smile on his lips. A smile not missed by Temari.
"Oh no you don't, I need more than that." Temari uttered in a huff, putting her hands on her hips.
"When did you become the gossip queen all of a sudden? Did Ino finally retire from the position?" Naruto gave a half chuckle as he responded to the pig-tailed blonde.
Temari scoffed at this accusation. "Oh please, you and I both know Ino will never lose that crown. Girl is far too stubborn when it comes to any and all gossip." Temari only knows about this from Shikamaru. He would complain about his loud opinionated teammate on days the platinum blonde got especially on his nerves. Shikamaru for his part was happy to just be a bystander in this conversation. He too was curious how it went but didn't want to bother with it himself.
After having his little bit of fun, Naruto replied. "Any particular reason why you are so curious about it? From what I heard you seem to spend most of your time with lazy bones over there and don't seem particularly close to Sakura." Naruto gestured to the young Nara who was still on his back but a half smirk on his face at Naruto's comment unseen by all.
"Two reasons actually. One, you not only saved my brother when he went on his rampage, you also changed him. He hasn't threatened to kill anyone in over 2 years now. He's actually gotten more sociable now, although he's still really awkward at it. That alone would make me consider you a friend. Second, you are one of Shika's best friends and he told me all about what happened with you and Sakura. He won't admit it, but he was worried about you when you were gone and hoped you would resolve your issues with your teammate." Temari finished her statement by glancing at Shikamaru and gesturing to him to see if he responded to her talking about him. He did not.
"Gaara changed?" Naruto asked with full attention to the sand kunoichi, hoping to keep Temari distracted with questions.
"He needed to change, after all he's the Kazekage now."
"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted for the second time today, pulling back in shock as he did.
"Geez Naruto, I was just getting comfortable, and you ruined it." Shikamaru grumbled in annoyance and turned onto his side.
"Ooops, sorry Shikamaru." Naruto apologized to his friend sheepishly. He then turned his head back towards Temari. "How long has he been Kazekage now?" Naruto queried.
"About 6 months now. The whole village respects him now, he's done an amazing job so far." Temari said with pride in her little brother, her arm now resting on the table next to her.
"I need to go see him soon and congratulate him. I'm a little angry though. He got to be Kage before me! It's not fair!" Naruto pouted but only half-jokingly.
"Next time you see him, you can do it then. I'm sure he would appreciate it." Temari beamed out. "Now then, spill the beans, what happened last night?"
Damnit, so close
"Fine, I won't go into details, but I'll give you the cliff notes version." Naruto sighed in defeat. Temari had a victory smile on her face.
Naruto took a deep breath; he turned his head down and in serious tone started. "We went to our old training ground, and she proceeded to dig up our past I had buried. She then went on about how she had changed and the reasons for it." Naruto took a pause before continuing. "She then apologized for everything she had done in our past and also thanking me for what I had done for her. She then asked me to forgive her." By the end his tone had went from serious to somber.
Temari heard the tone of Naruto but wasn't buying it. "Quit it with the false messaging Naruto. You were WAY to happy when you came over here too. Now out with it." Temari stated in a huff
Damnit, I wanted to surprise them.
"Fine, spoiled sport. I told her I didn't forgive her BUT I said I was willing to give her a second chance." Naruto grumbled out; clearly not happy his fun was taken from him.
"I can't blame you for not forgiving her, she needs to earn it." Shikamaru chimed in, still not in the land of sleep yet.
"I would have been disappointed in your Naruto if you didn't do that. I mean, you gave my brother another chance and he tried to kill you." Temari further interjected.
"Ya, she needs to earn it. I hope she does. Everything just feels better now." Naruto said honestly putting both his hands behind his head and giving a fine smirk.
Shikamaru debated putting the effort into asking his next question. He was curious about what he saw last night. His curiosity eventually won out and he now pulled himself up into a seated position. "Now that that is out of the way, I wanted to ask you something. What was that sealing formula I saw yesterday on the inside of your jacket."
"What seal?" Temari didn't notice it yesterday, she was too busy eating her ramen at the time when he showed off his weights.
"Hehe, so you noticed huh Shikamaru." Naruto uttered as he sported a look of embarrassment on his face.
"I did, but I was too lazy to ask at the time." Shikamaru truthfully said.
"Man, you really do love being lazy." Naruto uttered as he brought his hands back down to his sides.
"Only when it suits me, which is most times. Now then, what's the seal for?"
"It's mainly just a storage seal, except this one I have customized." Naruto said proudly.
"How is it customized?" Shikamaru asked intrigued.
"Well, when I release it, instead of popping out everything, it will only pop out what I want it and keep the rest stored." Naruto clarified
"So how much can it store and what do you have stored in there now?" Shikamaru probed by now had gotten up from her chair and was seated next to Shikamaru, hoping to get a good view of the seal.
"It can store 5 scrolls, and as for what those scrolls do. I'll bring one out and show it to you both." Naruto opened his jacket and pushed chakra into the seal and mentally thought of which scroll to bring out. He then reached for the seal inside his jacket and grabbed out the protruding scroll. He then unfurled out in front of him after clearing the shogi board.
This scroll had a special seal on the inside. While most of the scroll had the hallmarks of fūinjutsu, the center of the seal was blank and surrounded by an array of different pentagrams, all connected and directed towards the empty center.
"This right here is a special scroll. When I activate it, it can absorb any Fire Release technique and will remain sealed until I release it. I also have a similar scroll for all the other elements as well." Naruto beamed with pride.
Temari was impressed. She had heard about the crazy things you could do with sealing and being able to trap releases seemed up there. "Thats pretty impressive Naruto. Do you know if it has a limit on how big the jutsu can be?"
Naruto pondered for a bit, thinking back to what Jiraiya had told him. "As far as I know there is no limit, except that each scroll can only hold one jutsu at a time."
"I'm surprised you don't have more of those storage seals on you, sounds like it would be pretty handy." Shikamaru remarked as he looked over Naruto's jacket.
Naruto's smirk turned downed slightly as he replied to the comment. "I can only have so many seals on my outfit before it breaks apart. I also have seals to reinforce the armor and a one-time use barrier seal.
Satisfied with this answer, Shikamaru lies back down to stare at the sealing.
"So Temari, how long before you head back to Sunagakure?" Naruto questioned the kunoichi.
"I leave tomorrow morning. The other delegates are finishing up their business today and didn't need me around." Temari answered her fellow blonde back.
"Well, I'm glad I got to see you again before you left. Give my regards to Gaara when you get back if you can." Naruto said smiling, Glad to know his friend was doing alright.
XxX
Yakiniku Q, 6 PM, 2 days since Naruto's return
Yakiniku was busy tonight. There wasn't a special reason it was busy, simply the dinner rush. Shinobi and civilians alike were seated at most tables with only 2 open. Waiters and waitresses were busy seating customers, refilling drinks, taking orders, and delivering food.
The customers were all going about their business as usual. Some of them were talking about work. Others were catching up after not seeing each other. Mothers and fathers had to reign in their children less they cause an even bigger scene.
Being that it was busy and the mix of company in the establishment. There was nothing out of the ordinary seeing 2 young kunoichi now being shown their booth by their waiter. One of these kunoichi had long platinum blonde hair that reached her waist and a bang covering one of her eyes. The other kunoichi had pink hair with her forehead protector being used to hold her hair up.
"Man, today was rough for me. I hate it when the nurses call in sick. Just makes us remaining staff have to do so much more. Don't you agree Sakura?" The platinum blonde said to her friend across the table from her, resting her elbow on the table and her head in her hand.
"It does make things harder on us Ino, but honestly, I'm ok with it. We work with a lot of sick patients already and I wouldn't want even more sickness to spread." Sakura uttered stating her opinion to the blonde.
"Ya, I guess you're right. I still don't like it." Ino quipped back, not moving from her current position.
Their waiter then shows up and takes the drink order from the 2 kunoichi and hurries back. Once he leaves, Sakura starts talking again.
"How has your strength of 100 seal been coming along Ino?" Sakura asked after getting her drink.
Ino took a sip of her drink and answered, "It's still not to the same level as yours but I'm proud of it. I just pray I won't have to use it for a while."
"I agree with you on that, any situation that calls for using it just means shit has hit the fan in a major way." Sakura replied, drinking her drink when she finished.
"So, tell me girlfriend, how's the extra training with Gai sensei and his team been going along. I know Tsunade made you do it, so I hope you are at least getting something out of it." Ino queried, taking another sip of her drink.
"Only reason I'm with Gai sometimes and not you is because of your clan jutsu. Man, what I would give to have something like that. Then I would have saved myself all the speeches about 'youth'. You are lucky." Sakura muttered out with a look to Ino that said how grateful she should be.
"Ok, ok, I get it. Still, you must be learning something from him." Ino retorted.
Sakura didn't have to think very much about what she had been 'taught'. Yes, her conditioning had improved massively under Gai. Her speed had massively improved, and her reflexes were also razor sharp. That wasn't really teaching though. The only things she picked up were a few taijutsu combinations from Gai and also a technique she had been impressed with from Rock Lee. The boy had reservations about teaching her it but once she demonstrated her chakra control and her making promises to only use it in certain situations did he relent.
Although her time with team Gai really had eaten into almost all he free time in the past. At the time she was glad for the distraction. It kept her mind occupied when she wasn't with Tsunade or at the hospital. Now that she no longer needed the distraction, she felt a chill go up her spine. Necessity can power you through a lot of things, lack of it can just remind you of what you are about to do. By now the waiter had returned and taken their food order and refilled their drinks.
"I have learned a few things, but I'm gonna ask Lady Tsunade if I can take a break from all the training. I need some me time ya know?" Sakura stated as she took a sip.
"Alright, who are you and what have you done with my friend you imposter." Ino spouted out as she pointed to the person across from her.
"Geeze Ino, of course it's me. What would make you think otherwise?" Sakura questioned, stopping her drinking when being accused.
"Well let's see, one, you have been exceptionally more upbeat today than I have seen you in a long time. Two, we had to force you to take days off in the past. Hell, Tsunade had to order you to take time off before you actually would. Now, out of the blue, YOU say you need to take some time off." Sakura replied going through her reasoning.
"Oh, come on, I wasn't that bad...was I?" Sakura had not really noticed the change in her today and now that she looked back on it, she really had not taken any days off in a long time.
Continuing to point to the stranger across from her, Ino further stated. "Yes, you have been. You have been working and training yourself into complete exhaustion for a long time now. You have basically no social life outside of me and the other nurses at the hospital and you only interact with them there. I do hope you have been at least talking to your parents at home."
"Of course I've been talking with them." Sakura said in a huff. "And I've just been very busy trying to become a better kunoichi is all. I think I'm at a good point and can take off a day or two."
"Or could it be the third blonde in your life has returned?" Ino teased her friend.
"W-W-What? Of course not! Why would you even think that?" Sakura shockingly asked her friend.
"Easy, yesterday during our rounds you were even more gloomy than normal. Then you see Naruto, run off with him, and today you are shinning so bright I had to put on sunglasses." Ino quipped back but still teased her friend.
"Ah, have at it Ino-Pig. It's just time for a break, nothing else. And maybe I just had a good night's sleep last night." Sakura answered, trying her best to give a plausible explanation.
"Uh, huh, ya, sure forehead." The blonde kunoichi said now leaning back against the seat with a smirk on her face.
Sakura could only bang her head against the table in response.
"That reminds me, you still haven't talked about what happened last night after you left. I mean, I can guess the outcome, but I want the full details girl!" Ino uttered wanting all the juicy details of what happened between Naruto and Sakura last night.
Still with her head on the table, Sakura grumbled out. "He's giving me a second chance; that's the important thing."
"Oh no forehead, I want to know EVERYTHING. You know I will continue to annoy you till you do so save us both sometime and just spill it out already." Ino still had the smirk on her face as she was continuing to be a nuisance to her friend.
Seeing no way out of her predicament, Sakura blurted out. "Fine, I'll tell you. AFTER we eat though.
With an even bigger smile than before, Ino replied with, "I agree to these terms Sakura. Pleasure doing business with you."
"Uhhhh, why me?"
Eventually, there food did arrive, and both started chowing down on their selected dishes. Ino had a dinner salad for her entree while Sakura opted for the salted beef tongue the place was famous for. Once both were done eating, Ino popped the question again.
"I've been dying all day to know what went down with you 2 last night. Now it's time to spill girl."
Sakura let out a hefty sigh. There was no getting around this. Ino would just continue to bug her until she got what she wanted. It's not like anything embarrassing happened. It just felt private to her. But Ino was her best friend, and they shared similar hardships outside the Naruto situation.
"Ok, I'll talk, but not here in this crowded place. Let's walk and I'll talk then." Sakura suggested.
Ino was getting irritated by now. She kept on accommodating her friend and the emerald eyed kunoichi kept asking for more. "Fine, but this is the last concession I'm making. I swear if you don't tell me what I want in the next hour, I'll go into your mind myself and get the information that way." She declared.
Sakura knew she was joking about going into her mind. Although she knew what Ino might do instead could be just as bad for her. "I promise I will."
Ino paid for the 2 of them like she agreed to earlier and the two left. Once they got away from the crowds and headed towards the Hokage mount, it was Sakura who spoke up first. "Ok no one can overhear us now. This is really private to me, so I hope you understand I don't want this getting out. I know you love gossip, but I also know you value our friendship so I'm willing to trust you."
The two continued their trek while Ino replied. "Alright, as much as it pains me to keep this quiet, I will for you."
"Thanks, I guess I should start this from the beginning huh?" Sakura received a nod from Ino. "Well at the start I was actually too nervous to even speak. I wasn't ready last night just like I wasn't ready almost 3 years ago. Both times caused him to leave, this time though I stopped him by thanking him."
"You thanked him?" Ino questioned.
"Yes, for saving me. Not just during the invasion, but also for being the reason why I decided to change who I was for the better."
"I kinda figured he was a big reason for that. Anyways, continue please." Ino said with rapt attention.
"He then recalled all our past history together, mostly the bad stuff." Sakura uttered, still feeling the shame of her past actions. "Then he brought up Sasuke and compared how I treated them both. It wasn't a pleasant experience to hear him talk about it."
"I bet, you were a real bitch to him at times." Ino stated as they continued their trek.
"I hate to agree with you on that but it's true." Letting out another sigh, she continued. "After that, I told him about what I did while he was gone, especially with Sasuke. When I told him I had moved on from Sasuke, he didn't believe me."
"Can you blame Naruto? You were all up on that Uchiha boy since you first saw him at the academy. Kinda hard to shake that image of you after years of pining for Mr. brooding."
"No, I can't. He had every right to not believe me. I just hope I can show him I was telling the truth in time. Now, where did I leave off? Oh yes, I then told him how I regret him making that promise to bring Sasuke back to me and all the damage it did."
"Naruto isn't one to go back on his word. I can see why at the time you wanted him to make the promise but the only good thing it has done is keep Sasuke in the village." Ino muttered out in acknowledgment.
"Ya, it's one of his endearing qualities I'll say. After that, he started talking about his battle with Sasuke. How even if he died then, he would have been happy if it meant he kept his promise. He could die knowing he did something right by me." Sakura felt terrible remembering him say that. She never wanted him to think his life was that worthless again.
Ino had known that Naruto did technically die back then. She didn't know just how far Naruto would go for those he cared about. It both warmed her heart and filled her with sorrow. She was glad they were friends.
Not hearing anything come from the blonde beside her, Sakura elaborated further. "Then he said... he said... he said he loved me back then. Despite everything I did to him, he said he a small piece of him still loves me." There was a look now in the eyes of Sakura, hidden beneath the guilt and shame. She didn't know what that look was at the time but in the future, she would know what it was.
"No duh Sakura. That boy was so hopelessly head over heels for you that it was sad, but also charming. I hope one day to have a man be like that with me. Both you and I didn't know how good you had it." Ino said as she imagined her dream husband.
"I did have it good, didn't I?" She replied without expecting an answer. "I eventually told him how sorry I was for everything and how he was the best thing in my life. I asked him for forgiveness and to be his friend and for a second chance."
Before Ino could say what she wanted to say, Sakura interrupted her. "I got really upset when he didn't initially give me an answer. Instead, he started putting himself down. Saying he would always be dead last and never deserving of first place. He was speaking from the heart Ino, and it was ruining me." She hugged herself as the words left her.
Those words also struck Ino. Nobody should think of themselves that way. Least of all her best blonde friend.
Shaking off the coldness she felt, Ino got a word in. "That dead last name really got to him I see. I'll have to have a word with Kiba for starting that nickname in the first place." She said, raising her fist in anger.
Sakura laughed at Ino's anger, breaking the tension that had slowly formed. "Just make sure I get a piece of him when you are done girlfriend."
"Can do. Now, I'm glad he's forgiven you and you are both now friends. You looked so cheerful today that I swore puppies and rainbows were following you wherever you went." Ino chirped out.
Both had been walking for a while now and didn't really pay attention to where they were going. They now were at the top of the Hokage monument. Sakura stopped and let Ino walk a few paces ahead of her.
"He didn't forgive me, nor are we friends in his eyes." Sakura clarified.
Ino immediately spun around and looked her friend in the eye in confusion. "Then why were you so happy today?"
"Simple, he said he was willing to give me a second chance. It's all I could have expected." The pink haired kunoichi secretly wished that he would have forgiven her that night, but it was a pipe dream. Plus, if he did just immediately forgive her then would have felt like she didn't earn it. No, it was better that she earned everything he was willing to give.
In a serious tone, she went further on. "Ino, I will not let this second chance go to waste. I've fucked up too many things in my life. I will NOT fuck this up. I will not allow it. He deserves nothing less than the best of me."
Ino could see her friend wasn't lying. This wasn't a prediction of the future; it was a spoiler. Despite the seriousness in the emerald eyed kunoichi, Ino saw the passion in her words. Never had she said something as truthful as this. Ino could only smile wide at her friend's declaration.
"I have no reason to doubt you friend. I haven't said it to you yet but I'm proud of you. You have changed so much in a short amount of time. You have become a better kunoichi, a better person, a better friend. Naruto will undoubtedly see this and eventually forgive you and become your friend again." Ino couldn't have been much happier in this instance for her friend. The blonde knew just how much this second chance meant to her fellow apprentice. She saw the pink haired girl radiate positive energy all day, she could only imagine what it will be like when the bubblegum kunoichi and blonde shinobi truly become friends for the first time.
"Well, that's pretty much how it all went down. I hope that satisfies you." The pinkette mouthed out feeling a wave of relief wash over her.
"I'm more than satisfied. Thank you!" Ino beamed out a nice little smile for her friend. With those last words, the two friends departed back to their respective houses in high spirits.
XxX
Ichiraku Ramen, 7 PM, 2 days since Naruto's return
"Thanks for letting me take you out for ramen Hinata! I was looking forward to this ever since I made you that promise before I left." Naruto announced to the Hyūga princess seated next to him. Both Hinata and Naruto had just placed their order with Ayame and were waiting for the first bowls to arrive.
"It's my pleasure Naruto! I know you love this place, and I think it's growing on me as well." Hinata said in a peaceful manner. Finally, she was on a 'date' with Naruto, even if he didn't realize it.
"Be honest with him young one. You have been coming here at least once a week ever since he left, sometimes twice. We have more than grown on ya." Teuchi laughed while he was preparing their order. Hinata turned a light shade of crimson on being called out like that.
"You like Ramen like I do Hinata? That's great! Finally, another lover of the food from the Kami!" Hinata turned an even darker shade of crimson upon hearing his words. It seemed his praises could still get to her sometimes.
"Hai, I wanted to see why you always ate here and I found I liked it." She did like this place but in truth the only reason she initially came was so she could have something in common with the boy. Her liking ramen was simply a bonus.
"Not that I don't love talking about ramen, but I want to know how you and Neji have been getting along. I know you went to him for training and I'm glad he took you on." Naruto commented while looking to his partner.
Happy for the change of subject, Hinata returned to her normal color and answered the whisker cheeked boy. "He's been an excellent teacher. I'm still not close to his level in terms of Gentle Fist but I'm way further along than I was when I started. He's also the reason I took up the bow."
"I think it's really cool that you use one now! Do you know why Neji did it though? Isn't the Hyūga clan's whole thing Gentle Fist?" Naruto probed.
Hinata turned her head to Naruto now, her shyness threatened to return but she was able to overcome it. "He said it was time for new traditions to be born in the clan. Our byakugan gives us a huge field of vision, in some cases miles. He thought it was time we took more advantage of that fact."
"Woah, I didn't know you could see that far away with the byakugan. Man, I wish I had eyes like yours Hinata. They are so awesome." Naruto worded out with a wanting look on his face while looking back at his friend.
Hinata had to turn her head away for a second. She had to recompose herself. He likes my eyes!
"I hope I can join you on your next mission. I really want to show you just how much I have grown." Hinata said.
"Orders up you two." Ayame exclaimed while placing the pair's first bowls in front of them.
"Alright, time to dig in!" Naruto enthusiastically verbalized and proceeded to wolf down his ramen. As he was about to slam his bowl down the counter, he heard a similar thing right next to him. Hinata had eaten her bowl faster than he did.
Did she actually eat ramen faster than me? NO WAY! I mean I am super excited she likes ramen as much as I do but I have a title to defend!
"Teuchi, another bowl please." Hinata said in a quiet tone, much different from how she ate her food.
"Oh, I see, you are coming for my title of ramen king Hinata. Well, I won't give it up without a fight!" Naruto declared with determination in his eyes.
Hinata gave the boy a small smile in return. "That title is mine Naruto; you forfeited all rights when you failed to eat here in a year. I'm the ramen queen now." Hinata said in jest to the person she cared for most dearly.
"Teuchi, another bowl for me as well. I have a title that needs reclaiming!" Naruto shouted out to the owner.
"2 bowls coming up kiddos!" Teuchi replied.
"You are going down Hinata. I worked hard for that title and its coming home!"
"To be the shinobi, you have to beat the shinobi, I doubt you will."
With these fighting words, both teenagers went to war. Each attacked their bowls with an animalistic intent. For some it was a scary sight to behold. Both were evenly matched but, in the end, Naruto was able to reclaim his title.
Letting out a heavy belch, Naruto patted his stomach and gave praise to his opponent. "Oh man Hinata, I thought you had me there in the end. I haven't eaten this much in such a long time."
Hinata was close to being in a food coma. She was happy though; she knows Naruto loves competition and she could almost match him in this arena. She just needs some more practice and one day she can take back HER title.
"Don't get used to this Naruto. That title belongs to me and next time you won't be so lucky." She grumbled out, not having the energy quite yet to look at him.
"I swear you two, give us more forewarning next time you do this competition again. We had to go deep into our stocks to satisfy you both." Ayame scolded her two best customers.
"Hehe, will do Ayame. You and Teuchi are the best." Naruto then looks over to Hinata to discover she had her head on the table. "You feeling ok?" He said, concerned for the pale eyed girl's wellbeing.
A feeling of warmth started to crawl through the girl at hearing her man be concerned for her. "I'll be fine, just... just give me a few minutes." He gives her a nod in acknowledgement even though she can't see it.
Both sat in silence for a few minutes, taking in the sounds of the outside crowd, the smells coming from inside the stall, the fullness both were feeling. Both felt content and happy with life. For just these few hours at least, nothing else mattered.
Hinata eventually recovered from her near food coma and lifted her head off the table and turned towards Uzumaki. "Do you have any plans after this?" She asked, hoping the answer would be no.
After taking a second to think, he responded with a no. "If you don't mind then, would you mind if we went somewhere?" She quietly asked.
With no hesitation at all he blurted out. "Of course, Hinata, I like hanging out with you a lot!"
Feeling relief that he agreed to her proposal, the kunoichi stood up from her stool and put her money on the table to cover her portion of the competition. She then gestured for Naruto to follow her. He too stood up and paid for his 'meal' and soon started after the woman.
"So where are we going?" In truth he didn't really care, he was still riding high from reclaiming his title and could probably be convinced to do anything this night.
"That's a secret until we get there." She winked at him as the words came out. He could only give his goofy smile in response and put his hands behind his head.
The two walked in comfortable silence for the next 10 minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Hinata wished though that he had kept his arms by his sides. She would have been tempted to hold his hand but now never got the chance too. Eventually, she led them to her destination, the newly refurbished Cineplex. To celebrate their reopening month, the theater was running the Princess Gale movies that had currently been out.
"When you said you were going to be in the next Princess Gale movie, I looked to see if they were playing the first one tonight. Turns out they are. Do you want to see it with me Naruto?"
Once again, no hesitation on his part. "Of course! I'd love too!"
YES! Ok, time to put the plan into action!
With these thoughts, Hinata led them into the establishment and bought the tickets for both, much to the boy's chagrin at being paid for but she insisted. Once the tickets were bought, both headed to the correct theater and took their seats.
"There's a lot of people here. I didn't know these movies were that popular." Naruto looked around in genuine surprise. Now that he saw the crowd, he wondered what it would be like when his movie was released.
"It will be completely full when your movie gets released. I hope you are ready to become world famous." The kunoichi said as she got comfortable in her seat.
"You are talking to the prankster king of Konohagakure! I'm used to the attention by now." Naruto retorted, getting comfortable as well.
After a few minutes, the movie started. At first Naruto wasn't all that interested in the movie. To him it was boring but after the first 30 minutes it started getting intriguing. It was at this point the first action scene started.
"Alright now we are talking." Naruto said low enough for only Hinata to hear. This caused her to freeze what she was trying to do. She had been building up her confidence since the start of the movie to grab her loves hand. She was about to do it when he spoke. This caused all her built-up spirit to leave her. She would have to try again later.
It took another 30 minutes for her to steel herself to make another attempt. During that time, she noticed that her 'date' was a lot more interested in the movie, despite no action scenes going on.
"Hey, I'll be back Hinata. Gotta goes to the bathroom before the next action scene!" He uttered as he stood up to leave.
Damnit, not again! Ok, ok Hinata it's ok. You know the perfect scene is coming up soon. Use that one to take his hand in yours!
Naruto eventually returned to his seat. Now his entire focus was on the movie. This was way better than he was expecting when he came here. Near the end of the movie, right before the climax, came the scene where the princess sees off her retainer before the final battle. When princess Gale gave him a kiss to bring him back, Naruto noticed Hinata was fidgeting in her seat a little bit.
This was because she was losing her nerve. She thought this would have been the perfect moment to finally grab his hand. Seeing the affection on the screen though had caused her to think of similar things with her love and she just couldn't bring herself to go through with her plan. She cursed herself for missing this perfect chance.
Naruto turned his attention back to the screen, oblivious to his companion's sorrow. The movie unfortunately for Naruto had to come to an end eventually. Once the credits started rolling, the couple left the theater.
"Man Hinata, I'm glad you took me here. That was awesome! Thank you so much!" He tried his best to communicate his gratitude to his friend and partner for the night.
Despite not doing exactly what she wanted to do this evening, she still felt like she made very good progress. She finally got him out on a 'date', even if he didn't know about it. "I'm glad you liked it Naruto. Would you like to see the next one with me another day?" She hoped he would say yes.
For the third time tonight, there was no hesitation in the boy's response. "I'd love too! Can we do ramen before like tonight?"
Smirking at the boy's love of ramen, the pale-eyed kunoichi answered with. "Of course, I'd love that as well." The pair then walked in silence side by side, Hinata still leading the way back to her home. Once they got to the gate, they stopped in front of it.
"I guess this is where we split for the night. I had a great time. Thank you!" Naruto said as he looked down to the girl next to him, giving her a warm smirk.
"I had a great time as well." Hinata said gently.
Naruto was just turning around to leave when he felt something. Hinata had grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go.
"Hinata, is everything alright?" Naruto asked, worried he might have done something wrong.
Hinata brought her other hand up and placed it on top of his and her other hand before speaking. "Nothing is wrong, tonight was perfect. Thank you for spending time with me. You are truly wonderful and I'm glad to have you in my life."
She had finally done it. After almost giving up hope earlier she would get to hold him. She now finally got the courage to do it. Saying her words to him caused her to go lightheaded a bit but she pushed on through, not wanting to ruin the moment. In the pale moonlight night, the girl could have sworn she saw him blush ever so slightly when she was finished.
Now letting his hand go, she finished the night with these words. "I'll see you later Naruto. Have a good night!" She uttered as she skipped into the compound with absolute delight.
"You to Hinata." He shouted back as he turned and headed home.
Tonight was awesome! Got to eat a ton of ramen with someone who likes it almost as much as I do. A woman no less! Got to see an awesome movie. And, walked Hinata home like a gentleman. She even held my hand which felt really nice. I could get used to this. Wait a minute. Dinner, movie, walking her home. Was this a date?
XxX
Hokage Office, 5 PM, 3 days since Naruto's return
Tsunade was in a happy mood. Despite all the money she spent on sake during Naruto's return party, she had not felt this good in years. The only thing that could have made today better would have been a nice foot massage.
Naruto giving her the tip on shadow clones had made these past 2 days enjoyable. She and her clones were finally making significant dents into the mountains of paperwork she had to do as Hokage. She could take long breaks now and still make progress. That time to relax and drink sake was heaven to her. She thought that she might need to thank Naruto later, but decided his ego was already inflated enough as it was.
She allowed herself to hope. To dream if you will. She prayed to the Kami that her cursed bad luck would not show up any time soon to ruin this small amount of peace she had managed to get.
Knock Knock
"Lady Tsunade!"
Last time I pray for anything.
"An urgent message has arrived from Sunagakure." Shouted the person at the door
"Well come in already, don't keep me waiting." Tsunade grumbled out.
5 minutes, I couldn't even get 5 minutes more of peace and quiet?
The Jōnin opened the door and strolled inside. He walked up to the desk of the Hokage and handed over the scroll. Tsunade took the scroll from the Jōnin and opened it. Her sour mood took a turn for the worse by the time she had finished reading it.
"How long ago did this arrive?" She asked in her Hokage tone.
"About 15 minutes ago, Lady Hokage!"
Damnit, this is bad. That means it happened last night.
"Shizune! Get me a list of every experienced shinobi and kunoichi currently in the village!" She barked out to her assistant who had just arrived in the door.
"At once my lady!" Shizune quickly went back to her own desk and started taking out the necessary documents to find out who was in the village.
"You are dismissed, good work." Tsunade said to the Jōnin.
"Thank you, lady Hokage!" With these parting words, he left his Hokage in her office alone with her thoughts.
It seems the Akatsuki have finally made their first move after all this time. I hope we are ready for them. I'll need a drink after this.
After about 15 minutes, Shizune returned with a roster of experienced shinobi and kunoichi currently in the village.
"Thanks, Shizune." She uttered as she took the list and started pouring over it. She didn't like what she saw. "Is this all we have?" She queried her longtime friend.
"Hai, we are unfortunately running thin at the moment. My apologies." Shizune bowed to her teacher.
Grunting her acknowledgement, she continued searching the list for a good time. She then came across a name she had just been thinking of, and it gave her an idea. She took another look at the roster to make sure all the other pieces were there and to her delight they were. She took out her own scroll and wrote on it 4 names and handed it to her assistant.
"I want those 4 in my office 5 minutes ago, now go!" She worded out in authority.
"Hai my lady" and Shizune went back out and started the prep work to bring the 4 in.
As much as Tsunade wanted to drink after hearing this news, she stopped herself. She was the Hokage for crying out loud. She needed to set a good example for her village. She will drink after giving out the assignment like a good Hokage should.
Unfortunately for her, it took some time before even the first one showed up. "What up granny Tsunade?" Naruto chirped as he ducked an incoming paper weight and came through the window up to her desk.
"Damn brat. You are lucky I need you for a mission. Else I'd knock some sense into you." Naruto gave his sheepish grin in response.
The next one to show up was Sakura. "I'm here as requested my lady." Sakura said as she bowed to her sensei, entering the office from the proper entrance.
"See Naruto? THATS how you enter the office of your superior. Learn from her." The Senju muttered pointing her finger at the young blonde. Naruto gave only a shrug at the impromptu lesson.
The third person to show up was a little surprising to the blonde and pinkette. "Hinata? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he saw her come into the office.
"I ordered her here you brat. Now that just leaves one more." Tsunade announced to the 3 young shinobi in front of her.
Sakura stood on one side of Naruto and Hinata stood on the other side. Hinata would have glared at the bubblegum girl if she could, but Naruto was in the way. She was still not happy with everything she had done to her love and didn't know if she would ever forgive her. If Naruto would give her a second chance though, then she would begrudgingly do the same. She wasn't happy about it but much like the boy next to her, she too was a forgiving person. You just had to earn it and it was a lot more difficult now. That didn't mean the pinkette was out of the woods. Hinata would be watching her and thanks to her byakugan, that would be an easy task.
The last to arrive was, unsurprisingly, Kakashi. He would say he was fashionably late but that would mean he cared about fashion to begin with. "Yo, sorry I'm late. Someone had opened a ladder in front of my door, and I had to go around it by a couple miles."
"A likely story." Both Sakura and Naruto deadpanned.
"Good, now that you are all here. I can explain this mission to you all." Tsunade declared from her seat. "I'll get right to the point. The Kazekage, Gaara, has been taken by the Akatsuki."
His attention now fully on the Sannin in front of him, Naruto reiterates. "Gaara has been kidnapped?" Tsunade nodded her head in confirmation.
"We received this information just this evening. He was captured around this time last night. Meaning we are a day behind them. I want you 4 to head out within the hour for Sunagakure. Your mission will be to assist Sunagakure in any way you can to retrieve the Kazekage. This is being rated an S-Ranking mission. Kakashi, you will be team lead on this one. Any questions?"
"Hai Hokage, not that I'm against Hinata joining on this mission but is there a particular reason why Sasuke isn't here given the rest of his team is?" The cyclops Jōnin questioned his leader.
"Despite giving him more freedoms around the village and more missions outside here, I still don't fully trust him with such a highly sensitive mission. I don't want you to have any distractions by having to keep an extra eye on him. Especially if his brother is somehow behind this kidnaping."
Satisfied with this answer, Kakashi gave a nod of understanding. If Itachi was somehow behind this, Sasuke being there would more than likely undo all the progress Kakashi had made with his student.
"Umm, who are the Akatsuki exactly?" Hinata pipped in. Unlike the Hokage and team 7, she never had any run ins with the Akatsuki before nor had she ever heard of them.
"They are a group of S-rank criminals whose goal is to capture all of the jinchūriki and extract the tailed beasts inside of them. The beast you saw during the invasion a while back was the one-tail sealed inside Gaara." Tsunade clarified to the pale-eyed princess.
"Do we know why they want to extract the beasts?" Hinata asked further.
"We don't know their ultimate goal, but it can't be good. That's why we are helping out Sunagakure." Tsunade responded.
Hinata, having no further questions, stepped back. Seeing as there were no further questions, Tsunade gave them some final parting words. "I'm putting a lot of trust in you four. Get Gaara back, but most importantly come back alive. Konohagakure needs all the shinobi it can muster now."
"We will not let you down Lady Hokage." Kakashi said with confidence.
"Good, you are all dismissed." Tsunade announced.
Naruto was a bit distraught upon hearing his friend and fellow jinchūriki had been captured. The Akatsuki were already on the move and were now ahead of him. He thanked Kami he returned early, or he might not have been able to do anything.
Gaara buddy, just hang in there. We're coming for you. Don't you go dying on us!
As they left the office, Kakashi gave them their marching orders. "Ok, go home, pack for a 2-week journey, and meet me at the main gate in one hour. Don't be late." Once he finished his prep talk, he body flickered out of the building to get himself ready.
"Well Naruto, it seems I'll be able to show off for you much sooner than I expected. I hope you are ready." Hinata was hoping his reaction would be one of happiness. What she initially saw was a look of sorrow. She didn't know about the bond that Naruto and Gaara had, so she was taken aback just a little at seeing that look on his face.
Naruto recovered quickly and looked to Hinata before replying. "Ya, I just wish it was under better circumstances." He tried his best to mask the fear he was feeling but some of it was still visible on his face. "Anyways, I'll see you at the main gate."
Naruto then left the building as fast as his non swift release body could go, followed by Hinata. Sakura took a second to take everything in. She could see clearly what Naruto was feeling. She didn't know how Gaara was connected to him, but she knew it went beyond simply enemies turned friends. On the way to Sunagakure, she was going to ask him about it.
This was also her chance to prove she was no longer the useless girl he once knew. She would show not just him, but herself the fruits of her labors. This would be a step on her road of redemption, and she would not fail this endeavor.
Authors Notes
First off, Happy new year everyone. I know this chapter might feel like chapter, but I really wanted both a scene with Naruto, Shikamaru and Temari. I also really wanted to have a scene with Naruto and Hinata. Not to say the other scenes were not important, it's just I realized I haven't had scenes with just those pairings yet and wanted to rectify that.
As for an update schedule going forward. I'm going to try and do it every other week going forward. This allows me to do about 1k words a day at least and then 3 days of revisions. Now I won't hold myself to that. Some chapters may just require me to think more but I would still like to keep to bi-weekly as much as possible.
As for reviews. I do read all reviews, and I appreciate the feedback people have been giving me. As this is my first fic and legit critiques I learn from and try to implement them in future chapters.
Now then, not a whole lot will change with the Kazekage retrieval arc but I do have a few things that I'm going to change from canon. One just makes logical sense given how the characters have changed and the other change I'm making because it will make a much more impactful moment than what we got in the show and will echo throughout the rest of this fic. I also plan on having this arc be 4 chapters long including epilogue.
On a personal note, January 3rd, 2025, marks me losing 170 pounds since I started losing weight on October 31st, 2023. Also, down from near 50% body fat to now 22%. Can't stop, won't stop.
