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mikey-apologist · 3 months ago

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First steps

A few days ago, I figured I'd write some NaruSaku fluff for NaruSaku day. Just something light and casual. I started working on it with a minimalist kind of style, since I think that really plays to my strengths. But when I actually started writing, I started thinking, wait a minute...this feels kind of poetic. Wait a minute...is this cinema?

It’s weird, I thought my NaruSaku self peaked a long time ago, but here we are. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

Gaara came to visit. A rare occurrence. When he did, many showed up. The objective, teach Gaara how to have a good time, and have a good time doing so.

Well into the night, only eight remained. Team Seven. Team Ten. And Konohamaru, thrown in for youthful spice.

They packed into the corner booth at Ichiraku. Like old times. Slurping. Stories told. Sides split. Tea spilled.

Naruto sat across from Sakura. She was beside Ino. They didn’t talk much. Just enough. He watched her when she wasn’t looking. She caught him once. Met his eyes for a breath. Then looked away.

Ino poured her more tea. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

“You’re up to something,” she said.

“Up to what?” Ino smiled.

“Something.”

Ino leaned close. Whispered words only Sakura heard.

Sakura blinked. Her head tilted slightly. A twitch at the corner of her mouth.

Naruto caught it, a hint of something. He looked away.

Konohamaru dropped his chopsticks.

“New plan. The hill near the old training field.”

“The overlook?” Chouji asked.

“Clear night sky,” Sai added. “Better view.”

“Less crowded,” Shikamaru said.

Naruto frowned. “What’s wrong with here?”

“Nothing,” Ino said. “Just changing it up.”

One by one, they vanished. Smoke. Disguises left behind. Logs, dummies, a weird ink drawing of Sai.

Naruto stared. “Huh?”

A wry lift of her shoulders was Sakura’s only response.

“The hill,” the drawn Sai said. “Better view.”

They stepped into the night. Cool air. Lanterns above. Broth still clinging to them. Sakura hugged her arms to her chest.

Naruto glanced at her, then shrugged off his jacket. Didn’t offer it. Carried it.

“This is how they treat the future Hokage?”

“It’s sort of funny,” Sakura said, her shoulders rising and falling carelessly.

“Would be funnier if the joke wasn’t on us.”

“You think this is a prank?”

“Konohamaru left me with the bill last month. Classic prank. Though at some point, it stops being a prank and starts being a financial issue.”

Her expression softened.

He looked at her. Really looked. “This isn’t a prank?”

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s walk.”

They walked. Past the stone wall. Cracked. Mossy.

“Remember when you fell off that wall?” she asked.

“Never happened.”

“You landed on that rock shaped like, well, let’s just say it was unfortunate. You remember, it was like a surprise, Thousand Years of Death strike.”

“Didn’t happen.”

“It was hilarious.”

“An innocent man. Betrayed by his village’s landscape. Is funny to you?”

“You had to be there.”

“I was there.”

She bumped his shoulder. He smiled.

They passed by the academy without saying a word.

“You’re being unusually quiet.”

He considered that.

“Am I?”

She jabbed a finger at him. “You always fill in the silence.”

“Not this one. I like this one.”

And for a while, they just walked, letting it settle.

Until she broke it.

“Okay, happier memory. That flood while we were training?”

“Soaked. Mud up to our knees. You yelled a lot, Sakura.”

“I’ll apologize for the yelling. If you apologize for getting us lost.”

“Shortcut.”

“We ended up cutting across a swamp.”

“A muddy shortcut.”

They laughed.

“Sakura, that’s not a happy memory.”

“Sure it is. We survived.”

“Good point.”

Boots crunched gravel between them. Seconds stretched.

“I apologize. For the yelling. Back then.”

A careless tilt of his head “Okay. I apologize for the very muddy quicksand-filled shortcut.”

Not quite a grin from her, but close. “We got home.”

Drawn out seconds passed before he spoke again.

“It’s funny looking back on that. Sasuke went off alone that day. Got himself more lost than we were.”

She didn’t answer right away. “He found his way back to us, eventually.”

Naruto winked at her. “Some people take the long way home...”

She grinned now. “Very Sage-like. Channeling Jiraiya?”

“You're saying I sound more mature.”

She considered it.

“Actually, with all due respect... maturity wasn’t Jiraiya’s strongest virtue.”

“Hey, he was very wise. He taught me a lot about life.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

“I remember we were in Koka and...”

He hesitated, coughed, turned away.

“Actually, that story might not be the best.”

She tilted her head, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“If I remember my geography, Koka’s famous. Or infamous, for hostesses and nightclubs.”

“There were parks there too, and a really nice rose garden.”

“So what happened?”

He licked his lips. “Eh. The message is more important than the plot.”

“That bad?”

“No. Just… eventful. There was a happy ending.”

She gave him a look, amused, skeptical.

His hands rose, placating.

“A nice, happy—innocent—ending. Eventually.”

“No ladies of the evening were involved?”

He scratched his cheek.

“Define involved.”

“I think you need to define innocent.”

“Okay, I know he had a reputation. But around me? He was a gentleman.”

“Really?”

"No, not really. But he could’ve been worse."

She laughed, shoulders shaking, ribs aching.

He tried to hide his smile, his glances.

She noticed them. Felt their weight.

Brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear.

The laugh softened. Became a smile.

He held out his jacket.

She took it. Slipped it on.

They kept walking.

***

The breeze cooled. Not cold, but close.

A slow breath left him.

He kicked at a loose stone, sent it skidding.

Shoulders low. Hands buried deep inside pockets.

She bumped his arm again.

“You’re thinking too loud.”

He glanced over.

“Something about this is a little mean.”

“Mean?”

“Sorry they pulled you into this,” he said.

“This?”

“I’m fair game. But they know better than to put this on you.”

She listened.

He continued. “It’s just... not fair. Putting you in this spot.”

“And what about you? Are they putting you in a spot?”

“They shouldn’t assume,” he said, meeting her eyes.

She blinked, just once.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What is love?”

“What?” he asked, his voice low.

“Love. To you. How do you define it?”

His right palm found the back of his neck.

“Going out of your way for someone, even if it hurts.”

“That’s loyalty.”

“They’re family,” he said. “But love is something more than loyalty. When it’s the one... the difference is in the feeling. Different kind of hurt, different kind of joy.”

“You believe that?”

“I did. Still do. It's complicated.”

He breathed in. Let it out slow. “Jiraiya loved Tsunade. She loved Dan. Sometimes it hurts. But it’s still love. I think.”

She nodded. “Do you think you can believe something for so long, and then… start to wonder.”

“About love?”

“About many things but also about love. You wonder what you were feeling. And what you weren’t.”

“I think of my parents,” he said. “When I think about...”

She watched him close as he spoke.

“The idea of it. Their kind of love. That helps me make sense of things.”

“So you would agree there are kinds of love,” she said.

He nodded. Shifted his weight, “Sure. Again, I love my friends. I fought for them. Even when it hurts. But...”

“But romantic love is different ”

“Yeah, that... that can sneak up on you.”

“An ambush.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“How do you know Naruto? When it’s real.”

He swayed on his feet. “I don’t know how to define it, really. I just know it when I feel it.”

“That’s a Naruto answer.”

“Well, I’m Naruto.”

She didn’t answer. Just smiled.

Silence.

They walked in it.

Rested in it.

Then she spoke.

“Can I try something?”

A quiet yes.

She rubbed her thumb against her palm.

“Tell me,” she said softly, “if this sounds like love.”

“Alright.”

“It’s feeling safe. Not because the world is safe, but because of who’s beside you.”

He didn’t speak. Just listened.

“It’s being quiet together, and knowing nothing is missing. You can be wrong, but not feel wrong for them.”

His breath slowed.

“It’s missing them when they’re gone. Breathing easier when they’re near.”

Her voice dropped, barely a whisper.

“Sound familiar?”

“A little...”

Two deep breaths. A humming pause.

“That’s not what I had with Sasuke.”

He kept pace with her.

His eyes were fixed ahead, locked on nothing in particular.

Jaw tight.

“It’s easy to believe it has to hurt,” she said. “Like training. Push past the pain, and you’re getting stronger.”

She shook her head. “There was no strength. Only the hurt.”

Her gaze drifted past him. Searching for something.

“I thought I knew. But maybe I didn’t.”

Naruto shook his head, hands in his pocket. “What if he'd stayed. If he’d wanted to stay.”

She slowed. Wind picked at her hair.

“I’m not sure if that’s fair,” she said.

“It’s about what’s real. Not about what’s fair.”

She regained her pace. “This is not about Sasuke.”

Confusion flickered across his face. “I don’t know what this is."

She bit her lip before saying.

“This is me. Catching up."

She let go of a breath.

He took one in.

The lanterns were behind them now. Trees framed the sky.

They walked on. Branches overhead.

She started again. “You can think you’re brave. Until something really scares you. Then you learn.”

Then she met his eyes.

“Right now, walking with you… I think I’m learning.”

She tugged at the sleeve of his jacket. Fidgeting.

“I’m new at this,” she said. “So I might need your help.”

He didn’t respond.

They passed a garden. Lavender hung in the air. Soft but firm.

It stirred something in him.

A moment he’d forgotten. Until now.

A forgettable mission. Not like the others.

He’d gotten hurt. He laughed about it. Said he could still fight.

He believed it.

She didn’t.

Just pressed her hand to his chest and told him to shut up.

He did.

They kept walking.

“You think this was Ino’s plan?” he asked.

“Most likely.”

“Not Konohamaru?”

“He doesn’t plan like this.”

“Shikamaru?”

“Could be, but I can’t think of a motive.”

“Chouji?”

“If Ino told him to.”

“Sai?”

They paused.

“Sai doesn’t meddle.”

Naruto grinned. “So Ino.”

“The mastermind.”

“What do you expect we’ll find when we get there?”

“Too much.”

A sharp exhale through his nose.

“What did she whisper to you?”

Sakura’s lips twitched. She said,

“Don’t overthink it, forehead.”

Naruto’s gaze fell.

His hands disappeared into his pockets.

Toes scraping the dirt.

“Still upset?”

He shifted. “Sort of.”

“They mean well,” she replied.

A stiff breeze passed through. It knocked him off balance. Or he tripped on a rock. Or his feet.

Something happened.

He stumbled. Her hand found his arm, quick, gentle. A touch, an anchor.

He didn’t fall. Didn’t lose stride. But it stayed.

Not the touch. The moment.

He assumed she was looking past him. That he’d have to let her go.

But she wasn’t waiting. She was here.

“Don’t overthink it,” he whispered.

A quiet street emerged before them.

They turned down its shadows.

He stopped.

He studied her face.

She saw it. Didn’t blink.

She let him search.

He wasn’t lost anymore.

When he leaned in, she didn’t stop him.

He kissed her.

She leaned in. Just a little too fast.

His hand found her waist. Steadied her.

She flowed.

Gentle. Sure.

A breath shared.

Eyes closed.

Silence.

Her hand brushed his chest. Stayed for a second.

“An ambush?”

His smile was small. Sheepish. Bright.

“I don’t know how to define it, really. But I know it when I feel it.”

She nodded.

“So do I.”

***

On the hill, the others waited.

Lanterns glowed. A table had been set. Flowers. A band set up.

Too much.

Naruto turned to Sakura.

She was already turning to him.

His grin came slowly.

Her smirk followed.

A nod passed between them.

Poof.

The hill was quiet again.

When the smoke cleared, two logs lay on the ground.

Konohamaru scratched his head. “That was unexpected.”

Ino chuckled.

Chouji exhaled. “They bailed.”

“What now, Mister Mastermind?” Konohamaru asked.

Shikamaru looked at his co-conspirators, then at the setup. Then at the logs.

Then he just sat down.

“She’s wearing his jacket.”

Konohamaru gestured wide. “That’s it? Wearing a jacket? I expected fireworks.”

“The fireworks were for later,” Sai added.

“For the record, I learned the choreography.” Chouji said. “I would have nailed it.”

“Also I had prepared a special genjutsu,” Sai noted. “Just in case.”

Shikamaru released a quiet breath. “It's okay.”

“Okay? What about the shamisen trio you booked?” Chouji wondered. “That cost money.”

“It’s fine,” Shikamaru said.

“So what, it worked?” Chouji asked.

“I don’t know. I hope it did. I’m just tired of watching them dance around it.”

Ino tsked. “You guys missed it.”

“What?” Konohamaru asked.

“The smiles. The look,” Gaara announced.

Ino shrugged, satisfied. “If you know, you know.”

Somewhere else, they walked.

Nothing planned.

Nothing expected.

Just them.

Steps shared.

And lavender in the air.

Soft. Firm. Familiar.

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