Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Losing Naruto ❯ Awakenings ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Naruto had been out for an hour and a half, and Tsunade was getting really tired of waiting. She wasn’t too eager to wake him up, so she had yet to even try, but she figured that sooner or later she would have to deal with the boy, and might as well get it over with now. Concentrating all of her chakra to her palms, she rested both hands on his forehead, channeling it through her fingers. Once he began to stir, she sighed deeply, preparing herself for the onslaught of questions.

Maybe he’ll get amnesia, Tsunade thought hopefully, imagining the possibilities of “reprogramming” Naruto. I could lie and tell him he‘s not an annoying little pest, but would that even work? Guess it’s worth a try. Tsunade smirked, the prospect of a memory-less Naruto was looking better by the second.

“Oi, Tsunade-baba, you enjoying this?” Naruto asked, noticing the small smile on her face. His voice was strained, he winced while lifting his head from the small couch in Tsunade’s office.

“Brat, lower your head, you’ll faint again.”

Naruto scowled. “Don’t tell me what to you ya old bag!”

“Damn you, show some respect!”

“I told you, don’t tell me what to do!”

“Why you annoying little….!”

“OW!”

“Now keep that big mouth of yours shut for once!”

“Uhhhhh...”

“Quit you’re whining!”

“Shove it, hag!”

“AH! My arm!! What is with you, woman?!”

“QUIET!!!”

Silence.

T sunade took a deep breath, trying her best to calm herself. It seemed as if the brat lived to irritate her. She knew she would probably never get him to treat her with respect, but knew it was because that’s just how Naruto is. And that’s how he always will be, Tsunade reflected, imagining Naruto telling off the leaders of the other villages when he is Hokage.

That’s right.

“Hey, Naruto?” The blonde turned his head slowly to look her in the eye, brows furrowed, and frown in place. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve just been beaten by an old hag with superhuman strength, you?”

Must. Not. Strangle. Future. Hokage.

Tsunade’s hands were balled into fists and were shaking with the effort of not punching the boy through the wall. Or the ceiling. Or the building.

“Naruto.” Tsunade began slowly, her voice was low, and both of her eyes were closed. This would have frightened anyone with half a brain…of course, Naruto was never all that bright.

“Tsunade-baba, can you hurry it up? I’m really tired, but I think someone might have given me a concussion when she whacked me over the head!” Naruto’s voice had risen in volume, so much so that by the time he had finished what he was saying, he was practically yelling.

Another deep breath.

And another.

“Naruto, do you remember what I told you before you lost consciousness?” Tsunade asked, keeping her tone even, with great effort.

Naruto’s face screwed up in concentration, before he finally remembered, his face lighting up more and more by the second. He looked like he was gonna explode, and sure enough, he did.

“HOKAGE!!!” He screamed, jumping off the couch and pulling Tsunade into a huge hug. “Hokagehokagehokagehokagehokagehokagehokage-”

“N ARUTO!” Tsunade bellowed, pulling him off her with one hand, and throwing him back on the couch. He looked to be fazed for a second, but quickly recovered.

“You weren’t joking, were you? I’m gonna be Hokage…right?” Naruto asked hopefully, only the tiniest speck of worry in his eyes.

Tsunade sighed. “Yes, of course. I wouldn’t joke about such a serious thing! You will be the next Hokage, which is why I couldn’t allow you to join ANBU. It would be too risky, the future of this village is something I’m not willing to take a chance on.”

“Wow..” Naruto began, his mouth wide open, looking at Tsunade with an expression much like shock. “You really are serious about this. I really am…gonna be the sixth Hokage. Me.”

Tsunade allowed herself a small smile.

“Don’t be so shocked, brat. You deserve it.”

“I…thank you, Tsunade-sama.”

“Eh?” Tsunade was dumbstruck by this sudden display of respect. For a second she thought she was imagining it, but once she saw the Naruto bowing - yes, bowing - his head to her, she knew this was for real. She didn’t know how to deal with a polite, respectful Naruto, and was at a loss.

“Naruto, it’s alright. You’ve earned it.”

Naruto looked up at her and smiled, and she couldn’t help but smile back.

This boy really has softened me.


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


Sakura woke the next morning in good spirits, even though her favorite picture frame was broken and she was freezing since she had once again forgotten to get a blanket before going to sleep. She couldn’t understand why she was in a good mood, but decided it had something to do with her dreamless sleep after waking up during the night. Her relief over that made everything else seem not so bad.

Wait….training.

Except for that.

With a groan, Sakura got out of bed, getting dressed at top speed. If her clock was right, she was already over two hours late to the training grounds. Which wasn’t a big deal, since they had all been late from time to time, but she was hoping to get there before Naruto and Hinata so she could get some real training in before having to deal with that mess.

Maybe they’ll be later than me, Sakura hoped, running out the door without even getting anything to eat first. She’d just have a big lunch, it was no big deal. Sakura cursed not being able to sleep, and decided to blame it on Hinata. She’s barely on the team, and already making things difficult for me. The sooner I get her off my back the better.

Sakura, you’re being mean again.

Gah, I don’t care! I’m hungry already, and lunch isn’t for another four hours. I’m gonna go insane.

Looks like you’re already there.

“AH, shut up!”

“Sakura?”

Sakura spun around, finding herself face to face with her former sensei, Kakashi. He was looking at her over his book, his visible eyebrow was furrowed and his eye expressed concern and a little worry. Oh god, now he thinks I’m crazy, Sakura thought miserably.

“Kakashi?” No matter how many times she said it. Sakura still felt weird calling him by only his name. He refused to allow them to call him ‘sensei’, said it put him on a different level than they were. But Sakura still thought it was too much for Kakashi to expect her to consider herself on his level. She had grown strong over the years…but not as strong as him. Not many were as strong as the great Copy Ninja of Konoha, Sharingan Kakashi. But she would, of course, respect his wishes.

Kakashi continued to eye her with curiosity, before finally looking back down at his book. “So, Sakura. Who were you speaking to just now?” he asked casually, turning a page.

“Me? What? Oh, yeah, well I was, um..”

“Arguing with yourself?”

“Wha-? N-no, of course not!” Sakura replied defensively, cursing herself for sounding so nervous. It’s not like he can read minds, Sakura!

“Right.” Kakashi said simply, turning another page in his novel.

Silence fell between them, and they stood in the walkway before they finally began to walk side by side to the training grounds on the other side of Konoha. After a few minutes Sakura began to think about the issue of Naruto and Hinata, and how the day would go. She had no doubt it would be a bad day, since it seemed that lately everything involving those two somehow made her life harder.

They were her friends still, of course, but all these feelings of jealousy she had been feeling lately made her want to strangle them both in their sleep. This of course made her feel horrible, but that only lasted a few minutes before an image of Naruto and Hinata kissing would somehow pop into her head, causing her to throw the nearest object against the nearest wall. Or at the nearest person, depending on the circumstances.

“Kakashi, I think I’m going crazy.”

“Hm?” Kakashi muttered, looking over at her from behind his book.

“Well, can I ask you something?”

Kakashi looked taken aback for a moment before finally nodding, putting the small book into one of his pockets, shocking Sakura completely. Wow, guess I really have his attention. Now I feel kind of on the spot. Just perfect.

“Um, well you see, it’s like this..” Sakura began, not even knowing where to start. She did know that it would be wise to leave out details, just in case. “I have this friend, who asked for my help.” Sakura looked up at him expectantly.

Kakashi waited a few moments, then rose an eyebrow, obviously wanting her to continue.

“Oh, that’s it. She just wants my help.”

“Well, what did she need help with? Is it a mission of some sort, because you know how busy it’s going to-”

“Oh, no, nothing like that!” Sakura quickly cut in, deciding she would have to get a bit more specific. “She wants my help in getting something, something she’s wanted for a while now.”

Kakashi nodded once. “And you could help her?”

“Well, yeah, there is some stuff I could do. But lately, It’s like, for some reason I just don’t want to. And I’ve been losing sleep over it, it’s really starting to interfere with my life.”

“Well, Sakura” Kakashi began, “Perhaps you should say no this time, If it’s giving you this much trouble.”

Sakura groaned.

“That’s just it, Kakashi! I already agreed to help her, I promised and everything.” Sakura replied miserably, hanging her head low.

“Well, that’s an interesting problem you have then.” Kakashi casually said, earning a dirty look from Sakura, which he ignored. “Could it be possible that you want the same thing she wants?”

Me…want Naruto? Sakura frowned, taking a few moments to think about what Kakashi said before responding.

“But it’s been in my reach for so long, practically begging me to take it-” Literally begging me, Sakura thought to herself “-and I haven’t even thought twice about it. What kind of person am I if I only want it after someone shows interest?” Sakura questioned, feeling sickened with herself.

“Well, Sakura, that depends.”

“It depends?”

“Yes. You see, on one hand, you could really have no interest in this thing and now only want it out of selfishness and greed. On the other hand, you could have wanted this thing all along, but never noticed it because, as you say, you never thought twice about it. This friend of yours showing interest caused you to see what you didn’t before, and now you’re faced with the prospect of losing it.”

Sakura was struck dumb. She could suddenly hear her heart beating, she felt as if the smallest gust of wind would push her over. Kakashi’s calm voice brought her out of her shock, saying what deep down, she also knew to be true.

“Sakura, if you don’t mind me saying, I think it’s the second one.”

“What?” Sakura asked in disbelief, quickly pushing all her feelings far from her mind. “No, Kakashi, it’s nothing like that at all.”

“…Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course.” Sakura lied. She felt horrible about it, but had no choice at this point.

“Huh. Well, I suppose you would know better than me. I’m sure it’s not the other one, though. You’re simply too kind a person to be so selfish and greedy.”

“Yeah?” Sakura questioned, looking up at Kakashi hopefully.

“Yeah, trust me.” Kakashi answered, his eye crinkled, evidence of a kind, wide smile underneath his mask.

Sakura sighed with relief, glad to have that off her shoulders. Kakashi had become very special to her, and she trusted him above many others. If he had that much faith in her, it couldn’t possibly be misplaced. He was simply too wise for that. Sakura knew, that no matter what, she couldn’t break a promise. She also couldn’t risk losing her friend. She knew what she had to do.

I have no choice.

“Thank you for your help, Kakashi. I’m sorry for troubling you with this.”

Kakashi lowered his head for a moment before raising it again.

“No trouble at all, I’m glad I was able to help. I trust you know what you’re going to do, then?”

Sakura smiled, picking up the pace , moving a few steps ahead of Kakashi in the process.

“Yup! I’m going to be a good friend, and follow through on my promise.”

Sakura looked back at Kakashi one last time and smiled, before hurrying ahead to the training grounds. Once the familiar area was in sight, Sakura noticed Hinata and Naruto already there, waiting for them under a tree.

She knew that one day she would have to deal with the nagging feeling deep inside, the one that told her that Kakashi was right. The feeling that told her that her worst fear is losing the boy she once deemed worthless. That same feeling that reminded her the boy had grown up, that he was still the sweet, generous, person. Only now he was maturing into a man, strong and handsome.

That same feeling…she would just have to ignore.

Because she made a promise. And while she watched Naruto training, the sun illuminating his golden locks, his smile making the day ten shades brighter, she came to yet another realization.

I don’t deserve him.