In The Leaves | A 'Naruto' fan story | SasuNaru

I'm sorry for loving him

Naruto and Sakura sat inside Ichiraku in silence, especially Sakura, who thought she understood what Naruto was going through but to her surprise-it was about Sasuke. Not only her crush but his also. 

"Naruto..." Sakura finally said, her eyes on Naruto, who hid his face in his hands. 

Naruto sighed. "What?" 

"What did you mean by you don't know if Sasuke loves you or not?" 

Naruto took his hands off his face and folded them on the table. "Sasuke...Sasuke left the village after kissing me, and telling me goodbye. He told me he liked me beforehand during our mission at the Land of Waves. But...I don't know if he really means it. His expression stays the same and he always stays to himself."

Sakura felt a sharp pain in her heart hearing that Sasuke kissed Naruto, making that their second kiss, and that second kiss wasn't no accident caused by someone. It was on purpose and by Sasuke himself. She swallowed the words wanting to escape her lips, and looked down at the table to hide the pain in her eyes. "O-Oh..." 

"I know you like him..." Naruto said sniffling, his voice getting lower to a whisper-like tone. "And I apologize." 

"What are you sorry for?" Sakura asked, her monotone giving away her pain that she was feeling. 

"I'm sorry for loving him." 

Sakura quickly wiped away her tear that tried to fall, and let a laugh escape her lips that she didn't expect to come out. "It's fine. If he loves you, who am I to stop him? And if you love him, I won't stop you either. I'll just...give you two space to hope that your love becomes mutual and happens one day."

Naruto looks at Sakura. "Someone will love you, Sakura-chan. I believe that for a fact." 

"Who?" Sakura licks her lips, the tears she failed to wipe away streamed down her face. The salty tears were a sign she wasn't okay, but she didn't want to be selfish to separate two people that love one another. 

So she kept her emotions to herself. 

"Maybe Ino?" Naruto shrugged. "She seems like a match for you." 

"Ino?" Sakura scoffs. "Her? No way! She's my rival." 

"Just a suggestion." Naruto smiled at Sakura's defense at the idea of Ino being the person that'll love her. 

Sakura went quiet for a while and sighed. "Even if we did...you know...fell in love...why would we? I hurt her by announcing my crush for Sasuke, which made us rivals, and we haven't viewed each other as a friend in years." 

"You never know, Sakura-chan." Naruto eyed the menu, his tears was dried and wiped away. "She might be the one." 

"What do you know about love?" 

"I know that it's the most irreplaceable thing on Earth." 

"Big word for an idiot." 

Naruto pouted. "Meanie." 

~

"You have a C-rank mission." Tsunade says, pointing at the file in front of her. "Will you handle it?" 

"A C-rank?" Naruto lets out a disappointed sigh. "Why give us an easy mission?" 

"Naruto!" Sakura pinched Naruto's ear. 

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelped, trying to swat away Sakura's hand but her grip got tighter. 

"Don't be ungrateful, you idiot!" Sakura shouted, she turned to Tsunade and bowed. "I'm sorry for his rudeness." 

Sakura let go of Naruto's ear. 

Naruto rubbed his ear and pouted. "That hurt." 

Tsunade sighed and shook her head. "Same old scene, same old Naruto." 

"Hey, Dattebayo!"