Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Stranger than the Wild	By : kiddattwell Category: Naruto > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 30155 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I don't make any money off of it.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Chapter 10

----Sasuke

Sasuke was too tired to even be annoyed with himself. Naruto was sitting across from him on his mattress. He had dried blood on his body. He hadn’t even been able to pretend to be alright in front of Sakura. But he had had enough. He couldn’t feel anything else today.

Sasuke had felt this way before, but in the past he just crawled under a rock until the feelings retreated. But now he was trapped and Naruto and Sakura had seen him at his weakest. He knew he would care tomorrow, but tonight he just felt like laying down and feeling nothing until morning.

With a last brief glance at the blonde sitting at the foot of his bed, he crawled under his blanket and fell immediately to sleep.

--- --- ---

Sasuke woke feeling dead and drugged. It was pitch black in his room.

There was creaking of floor boards in the hall and the sound immediately filled him with rage. Didn’t those two idiots ever sleep? He threw off his blankets, confirming that Naruto was indeed missing from his bed, and then rose.

He could believe that Sakura would sneak out of the house at night wanting nothing more than fresh air, but Naruto? More than likely, the idiot was looking around for someone to talk to about what had happened between them and more than likely, that person would be Sakura.

He crept into the hall, cursing them both silently. He had to make Naruto understand that he couldn’t be his friend, couldn’t live like this- having to think and feel and second guess himself all the time. And he was less likely to get through to Naruto if he had Sakura backing him up. Hell, he couldn’t even think about Sakura over the last couple days without a teeth clenching stab of regret and embarrassment. What she had reduced him to saying and doing… No, he could not be friends with them, not in the way they wanted.

But Sasuke’s luck failed him so often that he wasn’t actually surprised when he was too late to stop Naruto from reaching his target.

“Sakura?” the blonde croaked in a whisper from a room away.

He held back a sigh of defeat when she answered immediately.

“I’m awake,” she replied, her voice barely perceptible to Sasuke’s ears.

He thought he heard a shifting, the sound of a sleeping bag rustling, but no light came on. He edged closer to the corner of the hall.

“Sakura,” Naruto whispered again, almost as a sigh, “What happened between you and Sasuke?”

Sasuke felt his heart go cold. How? How had Naruto figured it out so quickly? He thought Sakura would have been able to hide it, that they would have been safe for as long as he was gone. Sasuke didn’t care if Naruto thought he was a bad friend, broken and unfit for human contact. But for him to know he had shown that weakness, an attraction to Sakura, especially when she already belonged to Naruto… the shame clawed at his insides. He almost ran away to avoid hearing anymore.

There was a long silence where the air itself seemed to be holding its breath.

“I… I’m sorry. Sorry that I didn’t tell you for so long, sorry I ran away… Sorry that I made you worry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. Just tell me what happened,” Naruto said. There was a lifelessness to his whisper that temporarily moved Sasuke out of his own troubles. He certainly didn’t sound like the jealous boyfriend he deserved to be.

“It was a few nights ago. Sasuke caught me outside walking. We talked. It was a nice conversation… I don’t know what came over us, but we kissed. And I couldn’t face you afterwards. It was really sudden, the way it happened, but it was still… still… disloyal. I’ve been in agony over it and I’m sure that’s why Sasuke was acting strangely, too.”

“Why do you feel bad, Sakura-chan?”

There was a sharp pause in Sakura’s shaky breaths, “Because!” she exclaimed in a whisper, “Because I betrayed you! Because I love you and I never ever wanted to hurt you! Because it’s my fault that no one knows we’re together! If Sasuke had known, if I had just jumped in sooner instead of waiting until everything was perfect-“

“But we’re not together,” Naruto said.

Sasuke’s heart stopped in his chest.

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, her voice high.

“You said you needed time to make sure of your feelings. You didn’t make me any promises,” Naruto said. The floor creaked, “I don’t need your pity, Sakura. And I’ll be fine. So just do what makes you happy and we can forget about all this. Ok?”

“I don’t want to forget,” Sakura said. There was a thumping sound- heavy footsteps chasing lighter, almost inaudible ones. “I love you,” she said clearly, and it sounded like she had crossed the room and neared the front door.

“I know,” Naruto said and to Sasuke, the suddenly deep tones of his voice sounded like they belonged to another person. “I love you, too. Really. That’s why I’m letting you go.”

There was a sharp sniffle, the sound of a door opening. Naruto murmured something Sasuke couldn’t hear, and then the door shut. He slunk back into his room and was lying down before he heard the sound of crying in the living room, so soft that he thought he might have been imagining it.

--- --- ---

Sakura was gone when he came out of his room the next morning. Sasuke wasn’t surprised.

It seemed he would be getting what he wanted after all, without the trouble he thought he’d have. No matter how much he pretended otherwise, Naruto couldn’t possibly want to be his friend after this. And Sakura, he knew, would be too angry or ashamed to face Sasuke for a very long time.

Waking up in the empty Uchiha house was like waking up from an uncomfortable dream. He could do as he pleased without worrying about what trouble Naruto was getting himself into or what stupid thoughts were plaguing Sakura’s mind. All the things he didn’t want to think about were gone from his conscious. He didn’t have to worry about the past or the future.

He took a long, hot bath in his metal tub, standing on the wooden planks that Sakura had thought to add to the bottom of the barrel.

“Now you won’t get burned if you don’t remember to shift your feet…,” Sakura had said, smiling. She had said it on that day, the day he swore not to think about. It made him wonder, had it really only been a few days since the roof? It felt like a life time ago.

Sasuke watched the streams of steam disappear into the sky. This side of Konoha really was quiet most of the time. By the time he got out of the bath, he felt like he had been reborn.

Sasuke dressed and ventured out to the training fields. Through the woods, in a clearing, he saw some people he recognized from his academy days, people who were also friends with Naruto and would train with him without giving him nervous looks. He watched them for a while, then turned around and walked back into town. He didn’t feel like talking. They didn’t look like they would be worth training with, anyway, he reasoned.

Instead, he stopped by headquarters to pick up his pay check and saw the back of a tall ninja with white hair and for a brief second, thought it was Kakashi. But then the ninja turned and Sasuke looked away from his uncovered blue eyes and unmasked face with an odd sense of disappointment in his gut, which he immediately dismissed as foolish. He had just gotten rid of Naruto and Sakura. Why would he want to invite a conversation with the meddling copy-nin?

He went and shopped for some vegetables to add to his instant ramen, unable to not think about Naruto and how he had filled his cabinets with his strangely and meticulously organized ramen collection. Then he made another trip to the plumber to schedule another consultation for the bathtub, and then went home. The house sighed with restful emptiness. He sat quietly in his bedroom, reorganizing his weapons. When that was done, he paced the house, finding himself walking over to Naruto and Sakura’s sleeping bags, but unwilling to roll them up or move them yet. In the yard, their clothes still hung on the line, but he felt that maybe he shouldn’t touch them.

When night fell, he ate dinner, but found himself glancing over at the door whenever any sound traveled in from the street. After dinner, he grabbed Naruto’s and Sakura’s things and hurled them into the front room closet where he still felt their presence emanating off of the objects, almost as if they had a life of their own. If they didn’t come and get their stuff soon he resolved to throw it all out.

When he fell into bed that night, he lay awake for some time, considering taking another mission while another part of his brain rationalized that he was just on one and he needed to balance missions with training if he didn’t want to get weak.

Why does it matter if I get weak? he thought.

A hot and cold spell came over him and he was suddenly burning with the need to train, to destroy his body. How dare his mind conjure such a thought! But he stayed in bed, tossing and turning, wracking his brain, sinking into a quiet panic when he finally realized he didn’t have an answer.

----Sakura

Ino was holding Sakura to her in a bear hug, trying to force away the girl’s shaking with the strength of her arms. When Sakura showed up at Ino’s at the reasonable time of 10:00 a.m., she had kept her tremoring hands in her pockets. She caught Ino walking out of the front door, fully dressed and polished, on her way to the academy. Ino looked her up and down, then turned back to the house, yelling for Shikamaru. Ino beckoned her to come in and Sakura walked as steadily as she could, her mask already cracking.

Ino wrapped her arm around her as she entered the front door. Shikamaru appeared at the same time, half-dressed and looking disheveled.

“Shika, I need you to go cover my volunteer shift at the academy.”

Shikamaru looked treasonous, but with a glance over at Sakura, just nodded and trudged out of the room.

“What’s going on?” Ino asked, steering her over to the table. Sakura already had tears running down her face.

“He left me,” Sakura said in a tight voice, “I told him what happened and he left me. He thinks I don’t love him, so he left-“ she couldn’t say anymore. Her tears over came her and she wept openly, Ino pulling her into her arms, trying to console her. Between her ragged gasps for air, she occasionally tried to speak, but only got as far as saying, “I ruined it! I ruined it!”

Sakura was feeling lightheaded, the floor seemed to be moving out from under her, but sobs still racked her body. She felt a hand on her head and looked up to find it was Shikamaru’s. Though it seemed that only seconds had passed, he had dressed and his hair was tied and evidently, he was on his way out. His other hand was behind Ino’s neck, just under her pony tail.

“It can’t be as bad as all that. You all love each other. It’ll work out,” he said, his calm, dark eyes staring into her red-rimmed green ones. Then he bent and kissed the top of Ino’s head and retreated with a simple, “Bye.”

Once he had left, Sakura stared at Ino in a haze. Shikamaru had at the very least, broken her out of hysterics.

“He’s right, you know,” Ino said, “Naruto loves you more than anything… Maybe even more than Sasuke,” she quipped with a smile that did nothing to make Sakura feel better.

“But he thinks I don’t love him… He thinks I’m still in love with Sasuke,” she sniffled as her crying stuttered out.

“I think…” Ino said, looking down and speaking slowly, “That’s because… you are.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Sakura shrieked, wiping her eyes with a furious swipe, “That’s why Naruto left! Are you saying you agree?”

“I don’t agree that he should have left, but I also don’t think you should have hidden what happened from him. He had nothing to do but worry about you for days on end while you were staying here and with your parents. And when he found out… it’s probably all the buildup that made it seem like more than it was.”

“You’re right!” Sakura said, suddenly springing to her knees, “If I go to him and just explain it right, maybe he’ll understand. He has to believe me,” Sakura said, looking down at Ino with watering eyes, “I love him. I do love him! I never wanted to hurt him like this.”

“Hold on, Sakura,” Ino said, placing her hand on her shoulders, “I think we all know you love Naruto, but you still haven’t dealt with the real problem.”

“What… the kiss? With Sasuke-kun? That was a momentary blip and Sasuke is hardly chasing me down, asking me to restore his clan with him.”

“Momentary it might have been, but a blip it was not. Here, sit back down,” Ino said, gently pushing her back to the floor, “I know you’re in denial- wait, no, scratch that,” Ino said at Sakura’s outraged expression. “I know you’ve ‘decided’ to be over Sasuke-kun, but the trouble is, you’re not.”

“I am!” Sakura replied indignantly, “I don’t want to date him, I don’t want him around, I don’t-“

“Sakura,” Ino said, giving her a sharp look.

“I mean, of course I want him around!” Sakura huffed, “He’s part of our team! And yes, I want to make sure he’s alright and taken care of, make sure he knows he’s not alone, make sure he’s happy… but that’s what me and Naruto do! It’s like… our hobby! Or maybe a vocation, or…” Sakura said, looking for a better way to explain the complex feelings both she and Naruto had for the dark haired boy, but failing to find the words.

“I don’t think you or Naruto can be together that way if you’re both still trailing after Sasuke,” Ino said calmly, “Hell, Naruto would probably give you to Sasuke if he thought the guy wanted you, even if it hurt him. You’re both entirely too devoted to him and in your case, it makes you forget that you’re not supposed to be in love with him anymore.” When Sakura tried to protest Ino cut her off immediately.

“You have never seen the way you watch him,” Ino said with a finality that stopped Sakura’s protests dead.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Sakura said, “There’s no way we can abandon him. Naruto can’t do it and I… well, I could, maybe. Well, I mean, I suppose I could,” Sakura finally said firmly, but Ino gave her a hard look.

“But you don’t want to,” Ino said.

“Of course not! We love him,” Sakura said quickly, then covered her mouth with her hand. But Ino just nodded.

“I know you do… which means you have two, no, three options.”

Sakura looked up at her, holding her breath.

“One, accept Naruto’s break-up and hope that things go back to normal with the team in enough time… With normal being a state of angst and unrequited feelings, but I mean, whatever floats your boat,” Ino mumbled quietly, but Sakura barely heard her.

Just thinking of accepting Naruto’s break up was one of the most painful ideas she had ever had, but there were two more options. She bit her lip and nodded at Ino to continue.

“Two!” Ino announced, “You and Naruto move on from Sasuke and try to live a normal life. That would be the, uh, most normal route,” Ino said with an apologetic smile.

Have Naruto and I ever been normal? Sakura thought with real concern. Sure, that was probably what was for the best; Sasuke barely ever seemed to show signs of wanting them around, anyway. But it seemed like he was so much a part of her and Naruto; he was in their strength, their spirit, their resolve.

“Cool down girl,” Ino said, noticing the cold sweat that had appeared on Sakura’s pale face, “It’s gonna be alright. Number three… Walk away from this unwinnable situation. You love Sasuke, but you decided to never be with him, both for yourself and for Naruto’s sake. But Naruto probably won’t let his obsession go and would rather you three keep on as best friends, pretending like all three of your hearts aren’t breaking. So… be the one to walk away from them both and stop putting yourself through this, for good.”

“I can’t lose them both, Ino. I really can’t. I think I’d die. I can hardly stand thinking about it,” Sakura said.

“You would be alright,” Ino reassured her, “And you don’t have to do that. It’s just one option. I should have known you weren’t ready for that. I’m sorry. So, option four.”

Sakura looked up in anxiety. Ino had thought of a fourth option? She had really only been able to think of variations of the previous three herself.

“Become a ménage trois and put an end to all this weirdness already.”

“Damn it, Ino! This is serious!” Sakura said, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” Ino said, patting her arm, “Just trying to make you laugh.”

----Naruto

In the end, there was really only one place Naruto wanted to go in the middle of the night.

The floor of Iruka-sensei’s living room was soft tatami. With a blanket underneath him and another blanket on top, he was just as comfortable on his floor as he was on Sasuke’s, but he still couldn’t sleep. When he had first shown up on his doorstep, Iruka asked if he wanted to talk, but Naruto declined. It was still too early, his head and his heart were sorely heavy, but even though he was exhausted and lying down in Iruka-sensei’s comfortable living room, he couldn’t sleep.

But staying awake was unbearable. Sitting still was impossible. He stood in the darkness, putting his shirt back on.

Iruka-sensei’s house used to be full of stuff -furniture, trinkets, photographs- Now it was as bare as Sasuke’s. He paced the living room, wishing there was something around to distract… Then he saw it, slightly glossy even in the darkness, a photograph sitting on the end table beside the sofa.

Naruto picked it up and saw, with a small gasp, that it was a picture of himself. Looking a bit ragged and wild, but wearing a hiate, he was dramatically grimacing at the camera. Naruto shook his head. Of all the important pictures Iruka-sensei had around his house, this one survived.

“I carried it with me,” came Iruka-sensei’s voice. Naruto turned to find him standing at the other end of the couch. He continued, “When we got our orders to head toward the battle field, to where you were, I carried it in my vest. As a kind of a charm, I guess. Or maybe a reminder.”

“I guess you heard me in here… sorry I woke you,” Naruto said.

“I wasn’t asleep. Want me to make you something? I have some ramen.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

“This is serious,” Iruka said without a hint of humor, then sat down on the couch, “So what is it, Naruto? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.”

Naruto took a deep breath. The words felt stuck in his chest.

“Last you told me, you and Sakura were staying at Sasuke’s place,” Iruka said gently, “How did you end up here?”

“S… Sakura and I were… together… sort of,” Naruto explained, his voice tight, “But I realized that even though she loved me… I think she still loves Sasuke more… in that way, at least. So I decided to just… get out of the way and hope… hope things would go back to normal.”

Iruka was silent for a long moment. Naruto’s eyes were glued to the sofa cushions.

“Naruto, these past few years, you’ve been a real man about everything. The way you handle yourself in battle, the way you speak to your enemies, and your friends. And now this. You’ve made another hard, selfless decision. I just want you to know that I’m proud of you. For everything. It’s ok, how you feel. It’s ok.”

“Iruka-sensei,” tears formed large in his eyes and he wiped them away.

“It’s ok,” Iruka said again and the boy who used to only come up to his waist now wrapped his big arms around his shoulders and buried his head there.

“I love Sakura,” he said plainly, his voice muffled by Iruka’s shirt.

“I know,” Iruka said, patting his back.

“I love Sasuke, too,” he cried, “And they love me back! I know it!”

“I know. It’s not right… love isn’t fair or just… It’s ok to feel betrayed and sad…”

“No… I’m not sad! I’m glad I love them,” Naruto cried, picking his face up off of Iruka’s shoulder and staring at him earnestly, “They’re more than my teammates. They’re everything… I want them to be happy, no matter what.”

Iruka sighed, “That’s why you’re the strongest person I know.”

----Sasuke

The sleepless night had left Sasuke waking up far too late, but finally gave him the resolve he needed. He was going down to headquarters to take the most difficult mission he could find, then execute it with extreme precision, as though his life depended on it. It would be training and a mission rolled into one. And hopefully, it would be one that would have him out of the village for a few weeks while he got all of the stupid thoughts out of his head.

But at headquarters, it turned out that wasn’t exactly possible. In fact, it was laughable… at least, the mission officer laughed in his face.

“For one, you don’t get to pick and choose your missions. You’re assigned them according to your rank. A ninja your age should know that by now. For another, there aren’t any S ranked missions right now. Or A ranked. There’s hardly any B rank. Any of the war criminals that need cleaning up are being handled by Anbu class. Now, if you’re looking for action, why don’t you turn in your name and test for a promotion like everyone else?”

Sasuke stared down at the little man, chaffing at him from behind his desk. Was it possible that he didn’t recognize him? Sasuke turned and left, realizing it was the Hokage he should be talking to if he wanted important missions. But that would most likely lead to him getting grilled about his ‘motivations’ or whatever the hell it was people were so worried about with him.

“Oh, if it isn’t Sasuke-kun,” said an all too familiar voice.

He turned around to find Kakashi-sensei staring down at him. He wanted to swear, but more than that, he also didn’t want to give away his feelings. He tried to temper his annoyance behind a blank face. The damned copy ninja always appeared when he wasn’t wanted. However, despite the fact that he had decided he didn’t want to see Kakashi after all, Sasuke thought he might be able to use him to pull some high ranked missions.

“Looking for work?” Kakashi continued, his tone neutral, but Sasuke could swear there was mocking in his voice.

“A challenge,” Sasuke said, his voice calm, “A real mission. I don’t want to get rusty.”

“No, I guess you wouldn’t,” Kakashi said, and this time, he was smiling under his mask. Damn him. He wasn’t going to make this easy on him.

“You’re pulling high ranked assignments,” Sasuke said to him. He tried to keep the hint of accusation out of his voice, but Kakashi seemed to pick up on it anyway.

“Some,” Kakashi replied. How could someone put so much sarcasm in a single word? Kakashi could hardly be accused of joking or teasing too much, but he always did seem to be laughing at you on the inside.

Sasuke really didn’t want to ask. He hated hated hated the idea of asking the copy-nin for a favor, but… the idea of facing another sleepless night in town was looming large in his mind.

“Will you push some my way?” He asked, giving the older man his blankest stare.

“Hm… I think so,” Kakashi said, then began to walk past him, “The Hokage called me here. I’ll see what I can do when I meet with her.”

When the infuriating white-haired man was gone, the man behind the desk spoke to him again, “So you know Kakashi, eh? A great man, isn’t he? In line to be Hokage, you know.”

Sasuke prayed that the man was some sort of foreign sleeper agent so that he could kill him at some point in the future.

He hadn’t made it all the way home before a carrier pigeon found him. He was to pack up and leave tonight. Perfect. The mission didn’t sound particularly challenging; it was nothing more than reconnaissance, really, with the caveat that if he found some rogue-nin, he was to take them out immediately. But still, it was all well enough until his eyes traveled down to the list of names that were meant to be his back-up. Then his good mood crashed.

The only name listed there was Hatake Kakashi.

Do I ever catch a break? he thought as he continued toward home to pack for a mission he was no longer looking forward to.

---- ---- ----

It was going to be a long trip.

For one, Kakashi didn’t seem to be in any hurry. It was as if he wanted to give any traitorous ninja hanging around the old Akatsuki compound a chance to escape before they went to investigate. If Naruto was around, he would have definitely complained about Kakashi’s geriatric pace, but with only the two of them, Sasuke silently seethed, refusing to give Kakashi the satisfaction of knowing he was annoying him.

They stopped early, only a three hour walk away from Konoha, at an inn of all places (he thought Kakashi had packed too lightly) with only a few words spoken between them for the entirety walk. Determined not to spend another night too restless to sleep, Sasuke decided to go burn off his excess energy in the woods behind the inn. He didn’t bother telling Kakashi what he was doing. But that certainly didn’t stop the older man from following him.

“Are you under orders to watch me during this mission?” Sasuke asked irritably as he saw Kakashi take a seat in a tree not far from where he was intending to begin his work out.

“Hm? I was just looking for a quiet place to relax.”

“Then do it somewhere else,” Sasuke said, then steeled himself to ignore the man. He was half-way through his warm up when Kakashi spoke again.

“Nnn, are you actually this bored?”

Sasuke turned to him with a glare would send lesser ninja stumbling in terror. Kakashi met it with a bland stare.

“I could give you something else to do,” Kakashi offered. Sasuke, wondering if he meant he wanted to spar, took a few steps forward in interest, then stopped when Kakashi pulled something shiny from his pocket.”

“You never were able to steal the bell from me. Sakura and Naruto managed it when they were fifteen.”

“I hope you’re not under any illusions that you’re stronger than me now,” Sasuke said, throwing him a contemptuous glance before resuming his warm ups.

“I didn’t say all you had to do was beat me in a sparring session,” Kakashi said, falling from his branch and landing effortlessly on his feet, the bell jingling on its string.

Sasuke stood a little straighter and squared his shoulders. He had grown a lot taller since his genin days, but Kakashi still had a way of staring down at him from under his eye cover that was particularly infuriating.

“You know, right now, you look about as hopeless as you ever did,” Kakashi said, blinking slowly as he stared at him, “You’re a real uncute kid. You’ve never taken anything I’ve said to heart.”

“Why should I?” and “What do you know?” were Sasuke’s snap retorts, but he stopped himself from saying them. It would just prove Kakashi’s point about him being a kid, even though Kakashi could make any grown ninja blow their top with his deadpan appraisals.

“What are you talking about now?” Sasuke asked.

“A ninja who can’t even show gratitude for his teammates is no ninja,” Kakashi said simply, then added, “I saw Naruto coming out of Iruka-sensei’s house this morning. And heard Shikamaru and Chouji talking about giving Sakura a place to stay while they were at the Academy this afternoon. I thought they were staying with you,” he said, his eyebrow arching slightly.

“So now you’re stalking us?” Sasuke scowled. He knew there was no way that Kakashi could know what had happened, but… Somehow, if it was Kakashi, nothing seemed impossible. He always seemed to know what was in his head, even when he wished he didn’t.

“You’re lucky. Despite your shitty attitude and all of the life or death battles the three of you have seen, you’re all still alive and they still care about you. That’s fate giving you a chance at a different path. You don’t want to know what an empty wasteland life can seem without people to care about. I think I warned you about that before you left the first time.”

“You told me revenge would leave my life empty.”

“I wasn’t quite right, was I? I didn’t count on those two chasing you so stubbornly,” Kakashi said casually, “But you should acknowledge the people that make your life worth living. Otherwise, I’m certain you’ll live an unhappy, meaningless life no matter what you do.”

“You know, I think I preferred it when you were trying to kill me. Are you going to lecture me every time you see me?”

“I don’t think I need to say anything else,” Kakashi said, winding up the bell on his finger and stowing it back in his pocket, “If you want to beat me, don’t make my mistakes. Then you’ll have earned a bell. Right now, it seems like you’re messing up worse than I ever did.” Kakashi then turned from the woods and walked off, waving. It looked like he was heading back towards the trail… towards the village. Sasuke began to jog after him when he heard him call, “I think you can handle this mission yourself. See you in a few days.”

Sasuke watched him walk back down the shady road, reaching into his pocket for a novel and slumping toward home. Then he punched a tree so hard that the wood groaned under his hand.

----Sakura

Despite how badly she wanted to stay at Ino’s house and hide, Sakura had obligations to meet. She arrived at the hospital around noon, giving the excuse of being sick, which everyone believed immediately. She wasn’t exactly looking her best.

Then, she spent the rest of her work day between excitement and dread, praying that she would see Naruto and also, somehow, desperately hoping she wouldn’t. Right before he left, he said he would see her soon, so at least once every five minutes, she imagined him showing up right there, in the middle of the hospital.

The hospital had been bereft of emergencies and unusual cases since the war, leaving her with mostly administrative and teaching duties, so the utter lack of challenge didn’t help. They let her off at three, the hospital administrator (a lovely older civilian man that watched out for everybody), telling her to head home and get some rest.

But the thought of sitting around Ino’s place, not knowing what to do, knowing that Naruto was off somewhere without her, in pain…

She wanted to go to him, to find him, but there was still no resolution. She could be loyal to Naruto, of course, but what were they going to do about Sasuke? Neither of them wanted to leave him behind, not after they fought for him and were seeming to finally get through to him as a friend…

Her feet ended up taking her to the training grounds, where she continued to walk until she was in the woods. Though she could not see them, she overheard the voices of many young ninja training, calling out to each other, bickering and laughing. It was almost ghost like, being alone with their voices in the shadows of the trees. There were new saplings growing where old ones had fallen in the course of training. Of course, the trees were the first thing that were restored in Konoha after the attack.

She was a little startled, but pleasantly surprised when she found Lee and Tenten stretching by the training posts when she came out of the other side of the forest. Lee looked over, his eyes full of light. It wasn’t for her, Sakura knew, at least not anymore. He was just a happy person. Even with everything that had happened, his spark was far from extinguished. It was almost enough to make her feel self-conscious about her obvious wallowing.

Tenten, too, was looking well. Pink in the face and retying her hair as she sat cross legged beside Lee. She smiled openly at Sakura.

“Coming to train?” Tenten asked, “You’ve caught us at the end of our session.”

“No, no. Just walking, really,” Sakura said. Lee’s gaze turned more solemn.

“You’ve been skipping training, Sakura-chan.”

“Well, there’s been work and stuff. And I was away on a mission…”

“A diplomatic mission,” he huffed, but Sakura found it more amusing that he seemed to keep up with her training regimen enough to be upset over it.

“Do I really look that much weaker to you?” Sakura asked, doing a little spin with her hands on her hips.

Lee narrowed his round eyes until they were just glaring half-moons. After studying her, he simply replied, “You know we have a training group, right?”

“Uh, sort of. Ino told me that Chouji forces her and Shika to come when they’re off at the right times.”

Lee sprung to his feet, “He’s a good teammate. I don’t know what Naruto and Sasuke are doing, but…” Lee shook his head, “Come on. I’ll lead you in a quick work out.”

“What?” Sakura squawked, “I… I’m not really feeling up to it today… And I’m not dressed.”

“Sakura,” he said seriously, “When you’re feeling weak and tired, training is even more important!” he declared. It might have just been Sakura’s imagination, but there was a little more manic fire in Lee’s eyes than usual. Maybe he wasn’t lit up anymore so much as burning.

I guess no one could be the same after such a hard battle, Sakura thought. But the green clad boy was staring laser beams of energy at her and his bandaged, sweaty hand now clasped her shoulder. Sakura looked at Tenten in askance, but got nothing but a shrug and a smile.

“No, no. I promise soon though, ok?” Sakura said, trying to retreat.

“I’ll be here tomorrow morning at seven! You could do at least an hour before your shift, right? Or you can come to the academy and do taijutsu drills with the kids. With some modifications,” he added as she glared at him.

“I was about to say…” she said with a small laugh. After a little more small talk, she left them to their stretching.

It was hard to find a place to be alone in Konoha, she mused, coming out of the other side of the dark forest. Maybe Sasuke had been on to something with his missions. Another sigh welled out of her. She wondered if she should have stayed behind to talk to Sasuke. She and Naruto had both taken off with no explanation given… but she was sure he had to have figured out what happened. And it seemed he and Naruto had had a talk about it… she had definitely walked in on something when she came home from work last night.

She walked until the sun began to set and the air turned cooler. She felt a chill on her bare arms, but was reluctant to go inside anywhere. She sat down on a bench by what used to be her favorite tea shop, but was now just a vacant building and watched the lights come on across the village. Thoughts about Sasuke, urges to run across town until she found Naruto and ideas about just packing up and moving to the countryside with her parents floating through her mind without censure. Then all of the sudden, blonde hair pointing straight up glinted in a street light. It took her several moments to realize it was not Naruto, but a young boy, possibly emulating Naruto’s trademark blonde spikes. Sakura clutched her fist to her chest and took a deep breath.

Then her name was called.

“Sakura-chan,” came from the pedestrian traffic until a pale face revealed itself to her.

“What’s wrong, Sakura-chan?” Sai asked, approaching her from the opposite side of the road.

“Oh, nothing really,” she said, waving him closer toward her.

He sat down beside her, but did not stare into the street like she did, and instead turned his full body to look at her. She actually found herself laughing under the intense scrutiny before she asked, “Is there something on my face, Sai?”

“Your face looks strange,” he said.

“Does it?” she asked, too tired to be offended. The sting of hearing Sai calling her Sakura-chan, knowing that he had modeled it after Naruto, was beginning to set in as well and she had another painful urge to go find the boy, even though she wasn’t sure what she would say yet.

He already left me once when I didn’t say the right things. I have to know what I’m doing, she reminded herself.

She glanced over to see Sai, still studying her like a bug under a magnifying glass. “You look like you’re having a lot of… feelings,” he finally said.

“Oh Sai,” she sighed and shook her head, “I’m feeling them all.”

“Really?” Sai seemed interested, but she wasn’t sure if he was exactly the person she needed to be talking to about this, or if talking about it again would make her cry. That was not something she wanted to do in public.

“Yeah. So what are you doing over here?” she asked.

“Delivering a message, but… Sakura-chan, was that a deflection? Are you purposefully trying to change the subject from its given path?”

She found herself smiling again, despite herself, “Yes. Good catch. Have you been studying?”

She found his smile to look authentic, even a little shy, as he replied, “Yes. I’ve been reading a lot between missions. But did you just deflect again?”

“No, I was legitimately curious,” Sakura said, “Sorry Sai, but I can’t talk about my problems in such a public place.”

“Come to my place,” he said immediately, “There are a few new paintings I want you to see, anyway.”

“Oh, um…”

“Does my offer make you uncomfortable in some way?” he asked, genuinely curious again. Sai was the opposite of a child, Sakura knew enough about his handiwork to know that. But the effort he was making... it was hard not to throw him a bone.

“It’s not that… it’s just… I’m not sure I can talk about my problems that easily…” Plus, I don’t want them announced to whoever I’m with next time I meet you.

“Is it that we aren’t close enough?” Sai asked. Sakura wasn’t sure, she might have been imagining it because of his question, but she thought he seemed slightly… disappointed?

Well, if he’s gonna learn, I have to be honest, “It’s not that. It’s just that it’s a secret and you sort of just blurt things out.”

At this, Sai looked outright smug, “Sakura, I was in a secret group of assassins since before I can remember. I can keep a secret.”

“T-that’s true but... All the name calling and blunt question asking… you lack a certain amount of tact…” Sakura was losing the battle and beginning to feel it. Meanwhile, Sai was becoming surer of himself.

“Tactless isn’t the same as not keeping a secret. It was never any secret that Naruto was dickless, was it?”

Sakura laughed hard at that, “You say it like it’s a fact! That is definitely not a secret.”

“So? Will you come?” Said asked, his slightly smiling face looking nearly angelic at his semantic victory.

Well, it didn’t seem like she had much of a choice.

---- ---- ----

“Look at this one, Sakura,” Sai said. He had invited her inside his apartment and began to go through all of the correct motions of polite guest keeping. He sat her down, put on a pot of tea, laid a plate of jelly snacks in front of her, and then busied himself in the corner where a large cart held an assortment of canvases.

“Have I ever told you how much I like your apartment, Sai?” Sakura said, staring around the room at the paintings on the walls. The minimal furniture that all Konoha residents were working with at the moment actually suited Sai’s home, the Spartan decorations giving it almost the feel of a museum after closing hours.

“You have. Now, come look at this,” he replied, pulling a piece of paper from the cart, grabbing the top and bottom edge and straightening it out. It was as tall and wide as his head and torso. He had just clamped it to an empty easel when he held up an arm to Sakura, urging her to take a step back.

It was a head and shoulders portrait of herself. It was inked in amazing precision and detail and she was sure she had never seen a photo of herself that made her look so beautiful.

“Oh my God… is this really how you see me?” she asked, staring at it agog.

“Sometimes,” he said, a light smile on his face, “It’s still just a little portrait study. It started with sketches, but then I found myself wanting to draw something larger and then I liked it so much, I inked it. I thought about doing it in color, but I think it’s nice like this.”

“It’s amazing,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said, “I would give it to you, but right now, I like it. I think I’m going to put it up over there,” he said, pointing to the far side of the room.

Sakura felt a little embarrassed at the thought, but she couldn’t deny it was a pretty picture. In the end, she just smiled, “Well, when you’re ready to retire it, you know who you can give it to. But… gosh, Sai. I wish I could draw.”

“I could teach you. It’s not so hard, and it’s fun.”

“Do you think I could learn? I mean, I’m practically an old woman now, aren’t I? My hands might be too stupid.”

“Hands don’t have minds of their own,” he said seriously, “And I don’t think you’re stupid… even if you look that way some times.”

“Hmph. You look stupid sometimes,” she said, turning away from the picture.

“Really?” he asked again and she was beginning to wonder if he was doing it on purpose, using his social naiveté to dodge insults. In other words, playing dumb.

When Sakura didn’t answer, he said, “I have some other’s you might like.” And well, Sakura couldn’t help but be curious.

As the sun set until the windows went completely dark, reflecting the room, they looked through his sketches of people she knew. There were a few others, as well, some civilians, some animals. One really large landscape that left her in awe.

“How do you have time to paint something like this?” she asked.

“There’s a distinct lack of missions as the moment and my skills don’t lend me much toward anything other than killing. I’m not exactly fit to take a team of genin or be diplomatic or help rebuild.”

“Who cares about all that when you can do something like this?” Sakura asked, and didn’t miss the real flash of surprised pleasure on his face.

She was leafing through a separate stack of prints when she saw another familiar face, “Ino!” she gasped in surprise, then horror. “Sai!” she shrieked.

“Hm? What is it?”

“This is- this… What the hell is this?” Sakura screeched, turning the page around for Sai to see.

Sai blinked and looked nonplussed, “You were correct. It’s Ino.”

“She’s… you painted her naked! And that pose!”

“It’s interesting, isn’t it? I’ve never seen her naked, so some things I had to guess on, but I think it’s probably fairly accurate, based on her-“

“NO! Ew! That’s not why I’m yelling at you right now! Why are you painting my friend naked?! And so… so… realistically!” was the word she opted for. The only other word that came to her head was pornily, and she was pretty sure that wasn’t a word at all.

“Why not? I paint nudes. You saw-“

“I didn’t know them! This is Ino!” she exclaimed again, “Not only that, but the size! Hers is bigger than mine!”

“Well, naturally. I’m trying to be accurate and hers are bigger than yours-“

“NOT HER… HER… CHEST, YOU IDIOT! I MEANT THE CANVAS!”

“Oh, well,” Sai shrugged, “It’s the same case as the portrait of you. I was just doing some sketches, but then I wanted to do something bigger, so I just drew it. But it’s not just Ino. I do have other nudes. Lots of them. I just keep them in a different area. Here,” Sai said, standing up.

“No, no no. I think I’m done with pictures for tonight, Sai.” God knows who else I might see naked.

“Alright. Then you can tell me about your feelings,” he said, walking over to the couch instead.

Sakura didn’t get up right away, not even to get some distance between herself and the Ino picture she had flipped over.

“You don’t have to be ill at ease, Sakura-chan,” Sai said, “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

Sakura shifted uneasily, but in the end, shrugged and crawled over to the couch while Sai poured more tea into her glass.

Sakura sat there a long moment, not quite sure where to begin. It was weird trying to explain what was happening to someone who didn’t know the whole story already… Although technically, she supposed he knew some things…

“Well, it’s about me and Naruto… but first, how much do you know about me and Naruto and Sasuke?”

“Hm… I know that you both fought to bring him back here… and that you both seem to be in love with him. Is that it? Are you and Naruto fighting over him?”

Sakura buried her face in her hands, “No, Sai…. Just, no… See, it’s like this…”

She told him everything she could think of from the beginning to end. How it was when he first returned, her and Naruto’s undefined relationship, how the diplomatic mission went, team seven’s brief cohabitation, Sasuke’s mood swings… When she was sure she had left nothing out, she looked up at Sai.

“That’s it,” she concluded.

He nodded, “That is a lot going on.”

She nodded in agreement.

He sipped his tea.

After a full minute went by, Sakura felt the need to prompt him. “Well?” she asked.

“Hm?”

“Well, what do you think I should do?” she asked.

“Me?” he said, his polite, cold smile sliding into place.

“Well, yeah! When someone tells you their problems like that, they usually expect advice or sympathy in return!”

“Oh really? That’s interesting,” he said. It was only Sakura’s glare that prompted him into speaking again, “Well, I already said that it’s a lot. And I told you what I think.”

“What? No you didn’t…” Sakura said.

“That you and Naruto are both in love with Sasuke and fighting over him,” Sai said placidly.

“We’re not fighting over him, Sai. We’re fighting about him. There’s a serious difference there.”

“You both love him though, correct?”

“Yeah, but it’s not that kind of love. Like, I love Ino, but I’m not in love with her.”

Sai shrugged, “If you kissed him, it sounds like ‘that kind of love’. Have you ever asked Naruto if it was that kind of love? He was pretty obsessed with him.”

“N… no. That would be ridiculous. Naruto likes girls. He’s been in love with me since forever,” Sakura said.

“It seems more like he’s been chasing Sasuke forever…” Sai said thoughtfully.

“You don’t know,” Sakura said peevishly, “You weren’t here.”

Sai shrugged, “Maybe you should ask Naruto what he wants to do about Sasuke.”

“No. What I need to do is stop wasting time, go to Naruto, and apologize for the stupidity with Sasuke. Then see if we can make it official and just deal with the fall out.”

Sai stared levelly at her, “That sounds fine. But… why are you trying so hard to deny that both of you love Sasuke?”

“Because we can’t have a good relationship if we don’t!” Sakura shouted, “I mean, I think I’ll get over Sasuke. I really do. But what I know for certain is that I want Naruto. And that’s not going to change.”

“Why do you have to get over Sasuke?”

“Because me and Naruto won’t be a normal couple until I do!”

“And what if Naruto doesn’t get over Sasuke?”

“What are you… you and your theory! Naruto’s not in love with him, ok? I’m the one with the stupid problems.”

“I guess you figured out what to do then?” Sai said. Sakura nodded.

“The only thing I’m afraid of is… if Naruto presses me about my feelings for Sasuke and then refuses to believe that I love him, just because of my minor, emotional blip- Ok, it wasn’t a blip,” Sakura admitted when Sai looked politely confused, “But, I mean, what if Naruto doesn’t believe me?”

“Has he ever doubted you in the past?” Sai asked.

“Yes…” she said, thinking back so many years ago. Me and my stupid plans…

“Were you lying back then?”

“Yes…” she admitted, anguished.

“But now you’re telling the truth?” Sai pressed.

“Of course. I know for certain, 100%, that I want Naruto. No matter what happens. Even if Sasuke got down on one knee and proposed to me and promised me a life of wild romance. There’s no way I would ever leave Naruto for him. Ever.”

“Well then, you should be safe to tell him. Right?”

“I don’t know,” Sakura said, “Because he might think it’s just loyalty. That I’m not as passionate about him as I was about Sasuke…”

“Tell him it’s not. Show him you are. Sakura-chan,” Sai said in a serious tone that caught her attention. He then stood and walked over to one of his drawers. When he turned around, there was a book open in his hands, “I’ve read some passages that I think would be extremely helpful in that regard. The evil ninja overload, Hiranaga, has a really lovely moment with his only loyal consort, the concubine Hinako. It says-“

“No!” Sakura said, covering her ears, “We’ve been through this. No reading smut to me, Sai! It makes me, and for future reference, most other human beings, uncomfortable!”

Sai closed his book, a slight frown on his face, “You seem to have some hang-ups about physical intimacy, Sakura-chan.”

“I do not!”

“If nude drawings and literature make you uncomfortable-“

“When they’re of my friends! And when you’re the one reading the literature aloud from a pornographic novel!”

“Have you ever had sex?” Sai asked, perfectly straight faced.

“Ok, I’m going home.”

“I’ll walk you,” Sai offered magnanimously, “And on the way, I can give you some tips about se-“

“EhhhHH!!!” Sakura shouted, trying to drown him out, making a dash for the door. But Sai was right behind her.

---- ---- ----

Sai had managed to walk (well, half walk, half run after Sakura if he began to mention something embarrassing) all the way back to Ino’s house. It was only when she reached the door that she realized that this might be an uncomfortable situation. Last she knew, Sai was still interested in Ino and maybe didn’t realize she was taken. The thought made her clench her teeth in nervous apprehension. Despite what a pain he was being, Sakura really didn’t want to see the few emotions that Sai had getting hurt.

“I’ve taken up a lot of your time today,” Sakura said, turning to Sai as she waited for someone to come open the door, praying it would be Chouji who answered it, “Don’t feel like you have to wait here with me.”

“It is polite to see a lady inside to safety,” Sai said, “It was in the third chapter of The Gentleman’s Guide to Courtliness.”

“Well, I’m a ninja, not a lady,” Sakura pressed, wondering where the hell he found such old fashioned books when the library in Konoha had been blown up with the rest of town.

“Kunoichi are still ladies,” Sai said with a pleasant façade of a smile on his face. If Sakura didn’t know any better, she’d say he was actually hanging around in hopes of seeing Ino.

And his luck was in as the door opened with an energetic whoosh that revealed a swinging blonde ponytail and blue eyes.

“Sakura!” Ino exclaimed, “Where have you been? I went by the hospital and they all said you left early! Oh, hi,” Ino said, her voice dropping a few decibels as she registered Sai standing slightly behind Sakura.

“Nice to see you, Ino. I’m afraid I’m the one who kept her out so late. Sorry to worry you all this time,” he said in a heretofore unseen showcase of manners and normal human graces.

“No, no, it’s fine! I’m glad she was with you,” Ino said, a sweet smile playing around her lips. Sakura held her breath. Ino was such a natural flirt. It was pretty much just an ingrained part of her nature at this point. She was already beautiful, so it didn’t take much effort to mesmerize most guys. Regardless, Sakura didn’t want her encouraging Sai any further. One gigantic nude picture was enough.

Sakura turned to Sai and clasped his shoulder with a forced enthusiasm that would have done Gai-sensei proud, “Thanks a lot for walking me back, Sai! I’ll see you in a few days, ok?” Then she backed into the house, waving goodbye with both hands. Unfortunately, she backed right into Ino, who was like a brick wall. A brick wall who gave her a subtle jab in the spine.

“We’re having dinner right now. Chouji made a proper meal and everything. Would you like to come in a join us?” Ino offered pointedly, nudging past Sakura to stand in the doorway. Sakura prayed to the Goddess of Ninjutsu that he would decline, but the Goddess obviously remembered their last encounter because Sai smiled (and it was so real that it stabbed Sakura directly in the heart), then accepted.

---- ---- ----

Dinner was not as painful as Sakura had feared. Chouji had made a monstrous amount of stew and the dining room table was set for a feast. According to him, it was to help Sakura restore her strength. However, she wasn’t hungry, which lumped her in with Shikamaru, which meant she was harassed for most of the meal. But even if she had an appetite, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat anyway- she didn’t think she could ever look away from the spectacle that was Ino and Sai.

Ino was truly in top form. She tossed her hair when she laughed, her eyes sparkled, her cheeks were pink and dewy. You’d swear she was some kind of succubus who fed off of flirting. It had been so long since Sakura had seen her that way, or even seen her around anyone but Academy brats and her team, that she had almost forgotten how vivacious Ino used to be.

And Sai, well, if Sakura’s heart wasn’t already broken, it would be breaking for him. He was so happy. Even a stranger would have been able to tell he was being genuine. And the small talk… it was all normal! Casual! Even funny, at times! Sakura had always thought Sai was too literal to be funny on purpose! Sakura wasn’t sure if Sai was firing on all cylinders just to impress the blonde or if talking to Ino somehow granted him the power to be normal, but knowing it could never work out for him made Sakura squirm in her seat.

Every now and then she’d throw a glance to Shikamaru, but he mostly just poked reluctantly at his food, complained to Chouji and sighed. Sakura wasn’t sure if he was oblivious or simply didn’t care that Ino was sparkling at another dude. He knew her even better than Sakura, so he probably knew that her flirtation was nothing, but… could a relationship really be like that? Totally without jealousy?

Eventually Sai left and Ino and Sakura hung out for a while in her bedroom, but soon it was time for bed. The lights went out and the windows were dark and the only sound in the whole house was the methodical ticking of a small clock that Ino had returned home with after a mission. The clock was in the living room- her door was shut and she was sure the walls were reasonably thick- but still, Sakura could hear the clock slowly ticking. And after a few sleepless hours, it felt like it was slowly draining the life out of her.

Sakura had been nervous before. She was a ninja; she felt a nervous thrill before every battle, even the small ones. And she had faced powerful enemies, opponents that made her fear for her life. But she had never felt like this.

Her whole body shook. The muscles in her legs felt so tight that she felt she had to move them constantly. When she rose to get some water to break the monotony of lying down, she found that she was dizzy when she stood up. When she tried to read, the words swam away from her, her mind unable to focus on them and her fuzzy head barely able to take in their meaning in the first place. After a few hours, her hands started to tingle off and on and she found it difficult to breathe.

She had enough concentration to check herself over with chakra and found nothing wrong. What is this? PTSD? Anxiety? She thought as she stared miserably up at the ceiling with no rest in sight. She eventually passed out as the sun rose through her window. When she rose again after only a few hours, she vowed to herself that she would never spend another night like that. She knew what she had to do.

----Naruto

Naruto laid on Iruka’s couch, much as he had the day before. He didn’t intend on leaving any time soon. He had tried to go and teach at the Academy, continue his schedule like nothing had happened, but he just couldn’t be himself. Every time he was outside, he was looking for his team and every time he looked into someone’s eyes, even the kids, he felt like they could see right through to his pain. Sensei had forced him to go pick up dinner for the two of them after he had bailed on teaching and he ended up running into a few friends. He smiled his way through the conversation for as long as he could, but eventually, he had had to make something up and run away.

He had never felt like this before, not wanting to see other people. And despite his speech to Iruka-sensei on the night of his arrival, Naruto couldn’t see the upside to his situation. So he mostly just slept and ate under the ever watchful eye of Iruka-sensei, and even that was tiring for him. Today he had slept from the moment Iruka-sensei went to work, to the moment he returned, eight hours later. Now the sun was setting again and soon Iruka-sensei would probably come around and force him to move around a bit, maybe even try to face the world outside of the living room.

He had been lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling and contemplating that horrible idea when he saw a flash of pink from the corner of his eye. The windows on the opposite side of the living room were open, but no one could be seen on the street. His heart had barely returned to normal when there was a knock at the door.

He sat staring at the door, his mouth open. Was it really her? Was she looking for him? What if she wanted him back?

You can’t take her back. You can’t keep her stuck with you out of pity.

Iruka-sensei appeared in the hall and glanced over at him, “Did I hear the door?”

“Oh, yeah,” Naruto said, scrambling over to it on slightly tingly legs, not sure what he was hoping for. Then he opened the door and saw her.

Her face was white, ghost white. Her eyes were rimmed red and it looked she hadn’t slept in days. Naruto was suddenly conscious that he had done nothing but, hardly even getting up to shower.

As she studied him, he saw her head sink into her shoulders. She took a deep breath. His eyes lingered on her mouth until she suddenly stiffened her spine and shouted, “Naruto!”

He jumped, “Y-yes? Sakura-cha-“

“I love you!” she said, her voice reverberating around the empty street. She seemed to swell as she said it.

“I love you!” she repeated, “I want to be with you. I’m not gonna doubt it or analyze it anymore and I’m not taking no for an answer!”

Even as his heart felt like it had skyrocketed out of his chest, his head was still clear, sharpened from pain.

“Um, that doesn’t really sound like you, Sakura-chan. I don’t want you to jump into something blind because-“

“Well I do! I want to jump in! And I don’t have to think because this is something I’ve known for a long time. Do you want to know what else I know?” she asked with a sudden fierceness that left Naruto only able to nod in return. “I need to see you. If I don’t, the day doesn’t feel complete. I need to know that you’re happy and when I suspect that you’re not, all I can think about it how to fix it. Your smile makes me feel warm, especially when it’s directed at me. Your determination makes me feel safe and calm. Your strength makes me want to be stronger. Knowing you has made me a better person. I don’t ever want to be away from you. I love you. More than anyone else. Forever.”

Naruto felt like he couldn’t breathe and he wasn’t sure if it was from joy or pain or a legitimate medical issue. She seemed sincere. But she couldn’t be. He willed his body not to do anything. Not to freeze and not to heat up or go crazy. Just stay still and try to talk.

“I…” he began. It was barely a word, more of a cough. He tried again, “I feel those things too… Sakura… but… there are two- two kinds of love-“

“Come with me. Right now. No one’s home at Ino’s place. I’ll show you exactly what kind of love-“

Naruto heard Iruka-sensei shift slightly behind him. He’d forgotten he was even there. Judging by Sakura’s suddenly red face, she had just seen his movement through the door crack.

“Ah… is… is Iruka-sensei…” she asked quietly.

But Iruka was already edging out from behind Naruto, waving apologetically over his shoulder.

“Hi Sakura. I was just coming to answer the door… I didn’t want to interrupt you or anything, but I thought I’d give you both some privacy…”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Let’s take a walk,” Naruto suggested mechanically. His heart was beating so fast. His face was probably as red as Sakura’s. Part of him wanted to go inside and beg Iruka-sensei for advice, ask him if he thought she was serious. He didn’t know if he had the strength to push her away again when she said she loved him…

Sakura fell into step beside him, also unwilling to look back at Iruka’s house. Outside of the neighborhood, the streets were busy with comings and going, people getting dinner, returning from missions and trudging to headquarters, academy kids playing in the street. The sound of shuffling feet and children and food wafting out from restaurants were all things that felt like Konoha and normally would have calmed his mind, but now he barely noticed them. It all felt a little surreal. Every so often someone would shout Naruto’s name and he’d wave at them without breaking stride. He took quick glances at Sakura and she seemed to be regaining her steam. She wasn’t flushed and she was staring determinedly ahead. Without warning, she took Naruto’s hand in hers and suddenly pulled him to the right, down a back street.

“Let’s go out of the gate for a minute,” she said, pulling him behind her as she picked up her pace. Her hand was a little cold. Naruto held firmly to it.

Soon they were over the wall in the darkening woods, just off the beaten path. It was quiet there, hidden from sight. There was still the light din emanating into the forest from town, reminding them that civilization wasn’t far. But the trees blocked out what little light was left of the day and it felt like they were shaded in a small green world of their own.

“Do you believe me, Naruto?” Sakura finally asked. They were facing each other again. Sakura had let go of his hand and was searching his face. He had to look away.

“I want to believe you. I want to believe you more than…” he took a breath.

“Then just do. I promise I’ll never do anything to make you regret it.”

“I know I wouldn’t regret it,” he quipped quickly, “It’s you I’m worried about. I don’t want you to force yourself into this because you don’t want to disappoint me or because you think it’s something you should do…”

“I’m not!” she pleaded, “I swear I’m not! Look, our feelings for Sasuke are complicated. We’re both a bit weird when it comes to him. But he’s not the one I want to be with. You’ve got to trust me,” she said, taking his hands in hers again, “Even if I don’t know anything else, trust me on this one thing. I’ll never hurt you again, I promise. I just want to be with you.”

As she spoke, she drew closer and closer. After years of standing eye to eye, Naruto had finally surpassed her in height; if he leaned down just a little, his forehead could have rested against hers.

When he breathed in, he could smell her. Her hair, her body. He took a deep breath. He was still nervous; there was a tingling in his stomach and throat.

“I love you,” he said, his voice barely over a whisper.

Her eyes filled with tears, “I love you too.”

He wasn’t sure who moved first, but he didn’t care. They were kissing. Her lips were soft and a little wet, but her mouth was moving firmly against his. He snaked a hand behind her head, his fingers cradling the back of her skull, tangled in her hair. Her arms were around his neck, pulling herself closer to him, pressing her chest against his, their legs twining together. He let his other hand splay between her shoulder blades, drawing them closer together. Everything he had been feeling had been replaced, not with joy, but with need. A need to hold her and keep her and never let her go. To be as close as two people could be.

There was a painful urgency to the feeling, only kept in check by the force of her mouth, her lips parting slightly to his invading tongue.

She moaned, a short, almost surprised sound and the feeling inside of him expanded into it. He lowered them to their knees and pulled her ont o his lap, hooking one her thighs over his. She gasped, another hypnotizing sound, and he released her lips to explore the sides of her neck and jawline with his lips, occasionally scraping a sharp tooth over her skin. With a steady rhythm, he rocked her against his leg, the top of her thigh occasionally brushing against his member for a few seconds, sending shock waves of pleasure that were so strong they were almost painful.

As his hands slid up her legs to cup her butt and pull her against him more firmly, he briefly regained his senses, wondering what her boundaries were. To him, what they were already doing was more sexual than grabbing a butt, but girls were weird about their bodies.

However Sakura didn’t even seem to notice other than to draw herself even closer to him, breathing unevenly into his ear in a way that sent shivers through his entire body. She pushed him even further when she pulled her other leg around his waist, straddling him, rocking against him through his pants. He groaned and leaned her back to the ground, keeping her hips locked with his. If he could move against her with just the right amount of pressure, at just the right angle, then maybe he could get some relief.

Her back was arched as he pressed against her, her head touching the ground and the zipper of her vest shining tantalizingly before his eyes. He grabbed it with his teeth and pulled it down to her navel. Sakura’s eyes fluttered open and met his. Seeing that she didn’t object, he unzipped it the rest of the way and it fell open, revealing only her short fishnet undershirt. With her eyes on him, he nipped the skin of her stomach, nosing her garment out of the way as he made his way up her abdomen.

“Hey!” called a voice that seemed to only be a few feet away from them. They both jerked upright, but there was no time to untangle her legs from around his waist or even zip up her vest before the voice was upon them.

“What are you kids do…ing… ah…” It was a jounin academy teacher with a flashlight in hand, but thankfully not turned on. He looked a little sheepish as he instantly recognized the pair and put the flashlight back in one of the pockets of his vest.

“Naruto-kun. Sakura-san. Sorry about this,” he said, staring pointedly up at the sky. Sakura quickly resumed zipping her vest over her shirt and bra as Naruto gently detached their legs from one another. “My neighbor grabbed me on my way home and said they thought they heard some kids, uh… getting into trouble just outside the wall.”

Of course, Sakura had been making some sounds and Naruto wasn’t even sure what noises he might have been making, but had they really been that loud?

“W-we’re so sorry. We were just talking and… things…” Sakura tried, but quickly gave up as she realized no explanation would really help. Naruto held in a laugh and bit his lip to stop his grin. She was really really cute when she was embarrassed.

“Well, I’ll leave you guys to it. Um… yeah,” the jounin said and tramped back from whence he came.

When he was out of hearing range, Sakura buried her face in her hands. “No…” she moaned in quite a different way than she had been a few minutes before. “What if this gets around? What if Iruka-sensei hears about it?!” she suddenly gasped, “He heard what I said about going to Ino’s! Now he’ll think we just went to the woods instead and… ahhhh!”

“It’s ok. I think he’d understand,” Naruto said, giving her a peck on the lips. She stared up at him and, even through her miserable expression, she smiled.

“Maybe we can bribe the guy? Or threaten him?” Sakura said hopefully.

“I’m sure he’d be easy to hunt down, but… Where exactly is Ino and her team, anyway?” he asked with a casual air.

“Shikamaru got an assignment this morning and Ino and Chouji both said they’d go with him. They’re still feeling a little protective of…” Sakura began, but then trailed off as she read the expression on Naruto’s face. But she couldn’t help but smile. “Baaaka,” she said.

He stood and pulled her to her feet and then into a kiss, his hands resting lightly on her neck. However, that kiss quickly deepened, leaving them both breathing heavy when he broke away.

“We’re going to get in trouble again,” he snickered, leaning against a tree and taking a deep breath.

“How about I race you to Ino’s? If you can steal a kiss before we get there, you win,” Sakura said.

“What will I win?” Naruto asked, his grin threatening to take over his whole face.

“A lesson in teamwork,” Sakura said with a grin of her own and, with that, took off with a dash that left Naruto a little stunned. But he shot after her not a second later, running at full speed. A ninja without teamwork was garbage, after all.

----Sasuke

Sasuke had completed his mission two days faster than the estimated time-frame. It was easy when he decided to run the entire way to the compound after Kakashi had left. It was even easier when he arrived to find the compound completely empty, looking like it had been abandoned for weeks.

Even more interestingly, there were signs that Konoha nin had already scoped the place out.

He was going to kill Kakashi.

It was that thought that motivated him as he then turned back and sprinted home, only stopping for one night of sleep where, after a day and night of running, finally came to him with no trouble. The promise of more sleepless nights ahead was the only thing that motivated him to keep up his breakneck pace until he reached Konoha.

It was nearly dark when he made it to the north gate. There were families walking up and down the street, sitting behind windows in warm, cheery scenes that he refused to look at, but were all around him. There were a few ninja on the street and they glanced at him warily as he walked toward HQ. It seemed there was no where he could peacefully rest his eyes, but he refused to look down. Holding to the straps on his pack, he soldiered onward.

After the mission had been turned in (thankfully, it was another ninja, a woman, sitting behind the desk), he walked outside and paused. He didn’t feel like going in to any shops or restaurants, but he was hungry. It was truly a dilemma.

That’s when he saw it.

In the last light of the day, as the sun exploded over the tops of the buildings in one final burst before it disappeared over the horizon, two figures could be seen dashing over the roof tops. He heard a familiar bark of a laugh and a high pitched shriek. Impressions of pink and yellow hair both turned gold by the sun flashed by as one figure chased the other.

Sasuke followed their progress across the horizon until finally, one managed to grab a hold of the other. Their bodies met in an almost surprised collision. There was a distant girlish squeal, but the sound was cut off by the other, swiftly leaning in until their faces met.

The kiss was brief, interrupted by their own laughter. But when they finally stopped, the pursuer picked up the pursued and carried them away, jumping down into the street below and out of Sasuke’s sight.

He stood there until nightfall, which was when the ninja receptionist at HQ peeked her head out of the door and asked if he was alright. He didn’t answer, but walked home.

--- --- --- ---

A/N: This baby is officially novel length! It would be a short novel, but by NaNoWriMo standards, it’s novel length none the less!
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Stranger than the Wild