Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ It's So Hard Not To Love You ❯ hahahahaha i like pie ( Chapter 7 )

A tear tolled down Ino's cheek, when she felt someone hug her. “Shika…” She whispered. Hugging him back, she gave him a small `Thank you'. Izuma stood by Gaara. “She must have been special to Konoha…” Izuma mumbled to Gaara. All the guys looked sad and Ino and Hinata were crying silently. Tenten was looking sad as well.

“She was…” Gaara said. “Come on everyone…we should get back to Konoha…” Shikamaru said, still holding the sobbing Ino. “Yeah…let's…go…” Naruto whispered, as a tear rolled down his cheek. “H-how long will she be gone?” Hinata asked.

“We don't know…that's why were so sad about it…” Tenten replied. Naruto was getting angry though…Why Sasuke, why? You leave her then you can't live without her? We love her too…He thought angrily, but then a fragile hand touched his cheek. Looking up, blue eyes met with white. “N-Naruto…she'll be back…she promised.” Hinata said, giving him a shy smile. He smiled back at her, and hugged her, making her turn scarlet.

As they headed back to Konoha, everyone was silent. Even Naruto didn't say a word. As they stopped to rest, Ino was still sobbing uncontrollably while Shikamaru held her gently. Tenten even couldn't fight the urge to cry as silent tears fell from her cheeks. Well, they weren't silent to one person…Neji hugged her as she continued to cry. Sakura was a friend to them all…when all the girls had problems, they would go to Sakura, and the guys; they just enjoyed being around her. That night when everyone fell asleep, Ino couldn't. Shikamaru had already fallen asleep, and she didn't want to wake him up, but she wanted so badly for him to hold her again. But his eyes snapped open as he saw Ino clutching herself, still crying. Sitting up, he pulled her into a tight embrace again, but this time he didn't let go. She fell asleep in his arms.

♦

As Sasuke and Sakura returned to the lair, they entered the door, but there stood Kabuto. “Where's Tsunade?” He asked. “Lady Tsunade you mean…mission failed. We tried all that we could…” Sakura lied as her and Sasuke went to see Katara and team Snake. (I know they change it to Hawk later on and that's probably what I should call it, but I like snakes better then hawks…) When they got to the group, everyone was sleeping. Karin's head was laid on Suigetsu's shoulder; Juugo was leaning against the wall, and Katara was lying on the floor her hair draped over her face. “Should we wake them?” asked Sakura.

“Probably not…” answered Sasuke. She nodded. But after a few minutes of letting them rest, Sasuke and Sakura woke all of them up gently. As they woke up, someone stormed into the door. It was Kabuto, and he was smirking. “Princess, Orouchimaru wants to see you.” he said. Katara looked nervous again. “She's not going unless I come as well.” Sakura said, standing up.

“That should make it all the more interesting…” Kabuto said, laughing an evil (And annoying) laughter. “Then let's make it even more interesting. I'm coming too.” Sasuke said, standing up next to Sakura. Kabuto scowled. “You can't come.” he said. “Then Katara doesn't come.” Sakura said, smirking. They were going to win this time. “Whatever…” Kabuto said, as Sasuke, Sakura, and Katara walked past him. When they reached the doors, Sasuke stopped both of them. “I don't know what he has planned for you Katara, but whatever it is, be in mind that he is ruthless. He'll do what ever it takes to get what he wants.” he said. Katara nodded. “But we won't let him get what he wants this time.” Sakura said. Katara nodded again as they headed through the doors. There lay Orouchimaru, sleeping. They had never seen him sleep before, not even Sasuke. But it looked like he was having a troubled sleep.

“Wouldn't he get mad if we woke him up?” Katara whispered. But he stirred and shot up, clutching his arms. “Tsunade…” He whispered. “The mission failed…” Sakura said. Orouchimaru cringed with the pain. “It…FAILED!” He screamed in agony as he fell unconscious from the pain. “Wow…and he's the tough one…the pain must be terrible…” Sakura whispered to Sasuke. He nodded. Sakura walked over to Orouchimaru's bedside. She didn't know why; but it actually made her sad seeing him like this. “Orouchimaru…” she whispered. “Let me heal you…” She said. His eyes opened slowly. “Do it…just end this pain…” He whispered. “On one condition…” she said. His eyes shot towards hers “What…condition…would that be…” he asked her. “You let Katara go.” His expression hardened. “No…I need her for experiments…” he said which made Katara whimper. “Then I can't heal you…I know what healing power you need, one that Kabuto can't give you, am I correct?” She asked. “Fine…” he growled to her. “Secret healing technique…” Sakura whispered as green chakra burst from her hands. She laid each of her two hands on his arms. The healing process took about 15 minutes, and when she was done, her Chakra was drained. Sasuke ran over and caught her as she fell.

“She healed you. We're leaving now…” Sasuke said. Picking up Sakura he motioned for Katara to follow him. As she followed him, they heard Orouchimaru yell out, “I can't…move…Sasuke bring that witch back here to heal me!” he screamed. “Wouldn't dream of it…” Sasuke said, smirking. He knew Sakura wouldn't really heal him, she wasn't stupid. As he walked back to the room where his team was staying Kabuto appeared, but before he could do or say anything, Sasuke punched him in the face, sending him flying into one of the walls. He pulled out a couple of kunai's and threw them at him. They got caught on his shirt, pinning him on the wall.

Kabuto screamed at him to come back, and he used some naughty words as well, but Sasuke just ignored him. When he got to team Snake, they left the lair.

“What now Sasuke?” asked Karin. “We track down Itachi.” Sasuke said. She nodded. “It won't be easy…”

♦

Back in Konoha, Naruto sat silently on a cold bench that was located at the ending point of Konoha. Staring at the ground he thought of Sakura; that's all that he could think about. But Tenten interrupted his thoughts.

“Hey Naruto…” she said, sitting down next to him. “Oh…hey Tenten…” he mumbled. “Still thinking about Sakura?” she asked. He nodded his head.

“Are you still in love with her?” she asked. He looked up. “I…I think so. It's hard to say though…you can tell that Sasuke's falling in love with her. And she's already in love with him.” Tenten smiled. “Yea, I noticed that too…but you know there is this one girl that really likes you…” Naruto looked up at her. “Who?” he asked questioningly. “You're kidding right?” she asked him. “You really have no idea who it is?”

Naruto's expression remained the same. Then it turned into a surprised expression. “Y-you like me? Uhh I…I don't really-“But Tenten hit him on the head.

“Ugh, Naruto it isn't me! I like Neji. Think, ok? If you can do that.” Naruto still didn't know. “Ino?” he asked. “No!”

“Izuma?”

“NO!”

“Hinata?”

“For goodness sake, finally!” Tenten called out.

“WHAT! HINATA'S IN LOVE WITH ME!?” Naruto screamed out. “Naruto! Shut it!” she said, slamming her hand on his mouth. “Yes, she is! And she's been for a long time!” she said. “I gotta go talk to her!” Naruto yelled out, after pulling her hand of his mouth. Tenten rolled her eyes. “Idiot…” She mumbled.

♦

Naruto ran around the village frantically, calling Hinata's name. “Hinata, Hinata, Hinata, Hinata, Hinata, HINATA, HINATA, HINATA, HIN-“

He slammed into Hinata. “Oh…N-Naruto…what's wrong?” she asked. He grabbed her by the hand, helping her up, making her turn a deep scarlet. “Can I…talk with you?” he asked, smirking at her blushing and nervous figure. “Umm…y-yes…” She mumbled nervously, but was leaping for joy on the inside. She followed him to small pond, and they sat down on a bench. “Hinata, can I ask you a question?” he asked. She nodded slowly. “Do…do you like any guys in Konoha?” he asked. She stiffened. “W-well…yes…one…” she mumbled. “Who?” He asked. She turned scarlet.

“Umm, well you see…Naruto…I…Naruto…I-I can't tell you…” she stood up, and ran away from him. “Hinata…wait!” he called out, but she kept running.

I just can't tell him…she thought as she wiped a few tears out of her eyes. Naruto however kept searching for her. “Hinata! Wait, don't go, come back!” he called out. He needed to tell her something…

♦

Ino sat in her bedroom, on the bed, staring on the ground. Someone called her name from downstairs. “Ino, someone's here to see you!” her mother called out. She slowly opened her bedroom door. Walking down the stairs, she reached the door. She smirked when she saw Shikamaru. “Thanks mom…” she mumbled, walking out of the house with him. “Why did you come to see me?” she asked.

“I wanted to see how you were doing…” he mumbled. He was obviously embarrassed. His cheeks were scarlet. “Troublesome men…” she said, loud enough for him to hear. He rolled his eyes and smirked. He put an arm around her shoulders. But then Naruto came running by them. “Oh…so are you two like…going out now?” he asked. Shikamaru quickly pulled his arm off her shoulders. They both yelled out, “NO!” while blushing. Naruto smirked. “Hey, and have you guys seen Hinata?” he asked, looking around.

“I saw her running over there a few minutes ago…” Shikamaru said, pointing in the direction of a small river. “Thanks!” Naruto said, running in that direction.

♦

Hinata sat down on a rock by the river, crying silently. I'm such a coward…I can't even tell the person that I admire the most that I love him…she thought as she let the tears fall endlessly. But suddenly she felt someone grab her wrists. Gasping, she turned around and saw Naruto. “N-Naruto!” but before she could do anything, he hugged her. He looked down at her crying silently. “Hinata, why are you crying?” he asked her gently.

“N-Naruto…I w-wish I could tell you…” she whispered. “You can…you can tell me anything…” he whispered back. He laid his hand on her soft hair, stroking it gently.

But instead of telling him, she sobbed in his arms feeling worse and worse every second. She knew she would blow her chance of telling him again, she always did, but for now, she just wanted to be held by him.

♦

Ino and Shikamaru had lain down in a field of grass watching the clouds. As Ino looked over to Shikamaru she asked, “Shikamaru, why do you care about me so much?” she asked. He stiffened. “Well…cause…we-we're teammates aren't we? We're…supposed to do that…” he stammered. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “This time…I know why I did that…and I did it on purpose…” she whispered. He looked in her eyes. “If you know why…can you tell me?” he asked. She looked back up into the sky.

“It's…complicated...” she mumbled. She stood up and walked back to her house.

♦

Tenten walked over to the front door of the Hyuga house. She breathed in a deep breath as she knocked on the door. Hiashi Hyuga answered the door. (Neji's uncle) “Who are you?” he asked, looking at her. “I'm Tenten from Neji's team. Is he here?” she asked.

“He's training at the moment…” he said. “Oh…well I'll come back later-“

“No, no. Come on in.” he said to her. Tenten hesitated, but gave in when she saw the serious expression on his face. “So how well do you know Neji?” he asked. “Well…enough to be friends with him…” Tenten said, feeling a little nervous. Then she saw Neji training with a little girl. “Hanabi, you can do better…” Neji said, in his Byakugan position. “Yes cousin. I will work harder on my Gentle Fist Technique.” Hanabi said, as she bowed. “Neji…you have someone who would like to see you…” Hiashi called out. Neji turned to look at his uncle, but saw Tenten. He smirked. “Uncle Hiashi, I'm going to take a break.” He said, walking over to Tenten. As they walked out of the Hyuga house, Tenten grabbed his arm. “Neji…I really need to show you something!” she said. She ran with him until she came to a small lake. There on a large rock was Hinata and Naruto. Naruto was still holding onto her, but Hinata was no longer sobbing. As they leaned down into the weeds, Tenten whispered, “So do you think she finally told him?”

“Well, he's holding her, isn't he?” he said, smirking. “Yeah, but that could mean a million things. For all we know she could have fainted at the sight of him, and he caught her…” she said.

“It's likely…” Neji said. “So you brought me all the way over here for this?” he asked.

“Yep....” Tenten said. “I just wanted you to see…I mean she's your cousin anyway…” she said. “When do you think she'll tell him?” Neji asked. “I don't know, but she better do it soon…or I'll make her.” she answered, smirking. He smirked back. He kissed her on the cheek, and then walked away.

Tenten was in shock…He kissed me back!!! She thought. She stood up silently and caught up with him. “So are you gonna do more training?” she asked. “Yeah…wanna come?” he asked. But before she could respond, he grabbed her hand and led her to the Hyuga house.

When they got inside, Hanabi was sitting on the ground eating Ramen. She looked up and saw Tenten. Running over to where she was standing, she grabbed Tenten by the hand. “Your Tenten aren't you?” asked Hanabi. Tenten nodded. She gave Hanabi a small smile. “Are you…and Neji together?” asked Hanabi. Tenten blushed, and so did Neji. But before they could answer, Hiashi walked over to them. “Back so soon Neji?” he asked. “Yes Uncle Hiashi.” He said, bowing. “Tenten and I have come back to train.” He said. “Very well…Hanabi, finish up, you and I have some training to do.”

“Yes Father…” she said politely, bowing, and then running off to her Ramen.

“Hanabi is so sweet…” Tenten mumbled to Neji. He smirked. “Yea I guess she is…” he mumbled back. As they got ready to train, Tenten pulled out a scroll. Opening it and laying it on the ground, she pulled out a kunai and nicked her finger with it. She smeared the tiny bit of blood on the scroll.

“Weapon Tornado!” she called out. A swirling vortex of weapons cascaded towards Neji, but using his Byakugan, he broke all of the weapons as they landed on the ground. “Good…but can you beat this?” she asked smirking. She pulled out two scrolls this time. As she laid them on the ground, she called out, “Rising Baby dragons of the Mist!” two pink dragons that were quite small, shot towards Neji, but using his Gentle Fist, he beat them. “Wow Neji! You've gotten better since the last time we've trained!” Tenten called out to him. He smirked. They trained until Hiashi came over to the two. “Neji, the sun has gone down. Your training will have to stop for today.” He said. Tenten bowed to Hiashi. “Thank you for welcoming me into your house.” She said. “Your welcome…come back any time…” he said, bowing back at her. “Arigato…” she said. But as she walked out of the house, she bumped into someone. “Hinata!” she cried, helping her up. “Sooo how did your conversation with Naruto go?” Tenten asked. “I…well…I didn't tell him…I was too scared…” Hinata mumbled, squeezing past Tenten into the house. “I can help you Hinata…don't give up…” Tenten mumbled back, giving her a small reassuring smile. Hinata smiled back. “Thank you Tenten…” she whispered. Hinata closed the door. As Tenten started walking away, the door opened again. Neji ran out, kissing Tenten on the lips quickly, then ran back in the house, smirking. Tenten's eyes were wide with shock. But the shocked expression quickly turned into a smirk, as she walked back to her house.

♦

As the moon came out from behind the clouds, Izuma sat on a bench. Sitting there, she thought about everything the Naruto team had brought her…she felt different with them; loved…but suddenly someone sat down next to her. Looking up, she saw that it was Gaara. “Are you…ok?” he mumbled. She looked up at him, giggling. “You care?” she asked. “Maybe…” he mumbled back, smirking. “I love you…” she said, leaning over, but this time capturing his lips. When she pulled away he looked at her questioningly. “Why do you say that?” he asked. “Say what?”
“Say that you love me…” he mumbled. “Because I do…” she whispered. She looked down at the ground. She then felt a hand on her bare shoulder. Looking over, she saw that Gaara was looking at her. “Something is wrong…” Gaara said. She looked away. “No…it's nothing…”

♦

It was nearly 6 in the morning, and Ino had already gotten up and was strolling around Konoha. But as she passed Shikamaru's house she saw that the lights were already turned on. So she walked up to the door and knocked. A man that looked almost exactly like Shikamaru answered the door. “Who are you?” he asked.

“I'm Ino…is Shikamaru awake?” she asked. The man smirked. “Yea.” He then looked behind him and yelled out, “Hey Shikamaru, you're girlfriends here!” Ino blushed. She saw Shikamaru run down the stairs, blushing as well.

As he got out of the house with Ino, they started walking. After awhile without talking, Shikamaru noticed that Ino was crying. “Ino, what's wrong?” he asked, stopping in front of her, putting his hand on her cheek. She threw her arms around him. Then he realized. “Does it have something to do with Sakura?” he whispered gently. She nodded. “I used to think she was such a pain to be around, I used to think she was such a loser, but now that she's gone and her life's at stake, I realize how much of a good friend she is and it's hard to live without her…” she managed to say in all in one breath. “And also I'm in love with someone and I'm totally freaking out cause' I don't think they have the same feelings as I do!”

“Who are you in love with?” he asked.

“See! And he doesn't even realize that I'm in love with him! He's supposed to be a genius! HIS IQ IS 200 FOR GOODNESS SAKES!!!” Then it hit Shikamaru. His eyes widened as he looked down at Ino. However, she pulled away from him, and ran away. “Ino!” he called, but she didn't even look back, she just kept running. When he had finally caught up with her, he grabbed her by the wrists, and made her face him. She struggled and pulled, twisted and kicked, but she couldn't get out of his grasp.

“Ino, just listen to me!” he said gently, but forcefully enough to let her know that he was serious. When she wouldn't stop struggling, he let go of her wrists, but put his hand on her back, hugging her, and grabbed her chin. He leaned down and kissed her. He felt her stiffen, but then relax. After a few moments, Shikamaru pulled away. Ino's eyes were wide open, but she blinked and looked up into his eyes. He started smirking. “What are you smirking about?” Ino asked him, as she started to smirk. “Well, aren't you supposed to tell me now?” he asked. “Tell you what?” she asked him. “Tell me that the guy you were talking about is me.” he said, his smirk growing wider when she turned scarlet. “Can I just show you cause' it would be awkward to tell you…” she said. He was about to answer, but she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. When she pulled apart, she started giggling at his tomato red face. They both laughed as they started walking back to Shikamaru's house. When they got to the door, Shikamaru's dad threw it open, looking at the two, smirking. “Sooo what did you two do while you were on you're little outing?” he asked, looking at Shikamaru, then at Ino. “Talking…” Ino answered. She looked at Shikamaru. “Bye Shika…” she said, kissing him on the cheek. Shikamaru blushed looking at Ino with his you-shouldn't-have-done-that-because-now-my-parents-will-totally-bug-me-to- death-torturing-me-about-us-being-together-you-troublesome-woman- look. (Lol I know I'm hilarious…) But she just giggled as she walked back to her house.