Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Crazy Little Thing Called Love ❯ Until the rain falls, dance in the Blaze Part I ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Multi-part chapter.

 

 

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Until the rain falls, dance in the Blaze Part I

 

 

Naruto sat on the lone swing that hung from the tree in front of the Ninja Academy, his back to the school he put so much effort into as he practiced the hand seals for the clone jutsu. The third exam was coming up, and everyone left in the class was set to pass it, except for him. If he didn't pass it, then that was the third strike and he was out for another year before the next classes began.

 

But that wasn't his immediate concern. What had happened the night before with Ino had been on his mind ever since he had woken up this morning. He had learned a lot from her, and even thinking about it specifically left him smiling like an idiot with his face colored an embarrassing red. It was one of the reasons he was purposefully ostracizing himself from class today, with meeting Sasuke here at the swing the other.

 

Hands in his pockets, Sasuke sure enough walked over and sat down beneath the tree, facing the same way Naruto was. His elbows resting on his knees with his hands interlocked in front of his face, Sasuke looked serious as he joined Naruto in silence. After several long moments, both boys cast glances to one another then peered around their immediate vicinity. No one else was around, everyone enjoying lunch out of earshot of the two in the academy's yard.

 

“So how'd it go?” Naruto asked, now looking forward again.

 

Sasuke smiled at that question. “You saw her new cat, didn't you?”

 

Saw it? He couldn't when all the other girls in class caught sight of it and immediately surrounded Hinata as they cooed and gushed over the cute Ninja Cat that had taken almost permanent residence atop her head. For a girl who never drew much attention to herself, as far as Naruto knew, for a brief moment she was such the focus of the class that even Iruka decided to change the lesson of the day to the benefits of owning Ninja Animals.

 

Nevertheless, Naruto still smiled. “So you have a date with her?”

 

“Tomorrow, I'm treating her to dinner.” The Uchiha replied as his smile grew.

 

“It worked, I knew it would.” It was hard for Naruto to reign in his excitement, but for the sake of discretion it was important to keep it down.

 

“Yeah, and I owe you for it.” Sasuke then glanced over towards Naruto. “After classes today, I'm going to teach you the Windmill of Shadows. It's one of my family's best known jutsu.”

 

Naruto himself grinned ear to ear. “Awesome!”

 

Before Sasuke could remind him to keep it down, he felt the presence of someone approach. Both glance over quickly to the person and found it to be Ino, carrying a bento box in her hands. Her face already a bit red, she grew even more flushed when she saw that Sasuke was sitting right there. Though she wondered why the two of them were sitting in such proximity, as she walked around in front of them she saw both seem like they normally do, annoyed at one another's presence, and her suspicions are allayed.

 

Naruto looked directly up at the girl and blushed. “Hi.”

 

Casting a final glance to Sasuke, Ino just smiled and directed her full attention to Naruto, something she never would've imagine doing only a few days ago. “Hey Naruto, I ate a big breakfast this morning and I'm kind of watching my weight right now, so do you want my lunch?”

 

Sasuke's brows raised at this, was she really doing what he thought she was?

 

Characteristically oblivious to the subtleties of romance, Naruto looked at the bento and grinned from ear to ear. “Sure, Iruka-sensei had things to do so I couldn't get some lunchtime ramen with him!”

 

Taking the box gratefully, Naruto popped it open and peered inside. When she said she couldn't finish it, did she really mean that she didn't eat at all? “Hey Ino, did you eat any of this at all? I mean, this bento looks really full.”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was still an idiot and no amount of planning would make room for that.

 

“You know Iruka-sensei says that a Ninja should always eat properly. You can't skip them, you know.” Naruto went on, oblivious to Sasuke's grimace.

 

“It's alright Naruto, really. I insist in fact!” Ino said, her blush deepening a bit, though her patience with his density was running thin.

 

“Well uh, thank you but you should still eat, you're awfully thin. I know! Why don't we share it?” The sun rises, the rain falls, Kakashi reads Icha-Icha, and everything flies over Naruto's head.

 

Her fantasy finally ruined by Naruto's thick-headedness, Ino sighed and turned to walk away. “Jeez you're an idiot!” She grumbled as she departed.

 

Sitting there, completely confused by Ino's behavior, Naruto looked over to Sasuke with a look of helplessness written across his face. “W-what did I say?”

 

“When a girl gives you a lunch box, you're supposed to accept it with a smile and leave it at that.” Sasuke responded sagely.

 

Naruto opened the bento completely and began to eat. “Well, you shouldn't skip meals. I was only trying to help her out.”

 

“She made that bento for you, I'm pretty sure her saying she already ate was an excuse to give it to you without looking suspicious."

 

“Why would she do that?” Naruto began to shove a rice ball into his mouth.

 

Sasuke intentionally waited until he began to chew and swallow to answer. “Well, it's because she has a crush on you.”

 

Like with everything so far, just as planned. His eyes wide, Naruto choked on the rice ball and pounded himself in the chest to dislodge it, and turned to Sasuke upon success. “What did you just say?”

 

“She has a crush on you.” Sasuke answered. “It's the only reason a girl does that, I mean think of all the times you've seen girls offer me lunches.”

 

When Naruto did think about it, his blue eyes grew wide as dinner plates, the left twitching somewhat as he tried to make sense of it. “You're joking, right?”

 

“I rarely do.”

 

“Come on,” he said in exasperation, “She's your fan girl! She nearly fought Sakura-chan to the death over you!”

 

Calming down, Naruto looked down at the bento and sighed before digging back into it. Seriously, this was suddenly way too weird and out there for him to accept. Why would Ino of all people suddenly stop liking Sasuke and start making lunches for him? Why wasn't it Sakura? Oh well, the food was really good at least, and it still felt nice to have that sort of attention for once.

 

“So…what do I do?”

 

Sasuke looked over to him, seeing that the bento was now empty. “Huh?”

 

“What do I do now that Ino likes me? Do I talk to her now, or what? It's kind of neat to have a girl crushing on me, I guess but I uh…I don't know what to do. I like Sakura-chan after all, so I don't want to hurt Ino's feelings…”

 

After a moment of consideration, Sasuke answered his newfound friend with raised brows. “Why not ask the one person who knows the most about Ino?”

 

Naruto blinked. “But that would mean…Sakura-chan!”

 

“Exactly, you go talk to Sakura about Ino and I'm sure she'll tell you how to deal with her.” Sasuke explained clearly.

 

A broad grin appearing, Naruto tossed the empty bento to Sasuke and stood up. “That's a great idea! Thanks Sasuke, I'll go find her right away!”

 

Naruto was a blur after that, racing off towards the other side of the Academy. As soon as he was alone, Sasuke chuckled as he tossed the empty box to himself. “Just as planned.”

 

“Yes, very clever indeed.”

 

Freezing, Sasuke turned and came face to face with the top Genin in Konoha, and the personal bodyguard of the girl he longed for, Neji Hyuga.

 

Like a deer in the headlights, Sasuke stared in horror. The Genin stared impassively back, no emotion present in his face, and for a long time the silence prevailed between the two before one finally spoke.

 

“I am not here.”

 

Sasuke raised a brow at Neji's dry words, but seeing that he was not a fine paste all over the ground it was readily apparent that he wasn't here for his life. “Alright, so what are you not doing here?”

 

“I am not observing you at the request of Hinata-sama.” Neji drawled back at Sasuke.

 

So Neji was in on it too, and going by appearances it seemed that he didn't care much for whom Hinata's affections were if at all. In all likelihood he was merely doing this as per his role as a Branch House member. At any rate, it meant Sasuke could relax a little.

 

“Okay,” now fully playing along he asked, “Why are you not observing me?”

 

“She is not anxious about dinner, nor is she trying to figure out what would please you for said dinner.” Neji returned. “Do not read too much into this, please.”

 

His brow arched again at those words. Going by the rules of the game was Neji telling him to read between Hinata's lines, did that mean that she was beginning to reciprocate? Or perhaps revealing an opportunity to? “I won't, I don't expect much of anything to happen.”

 

A smirk appeared on Neji's lips at that. If not for his misgivings for the Main House, Sasuke would be the paste he feared he would become for that.

 

“That isn't good to hear.” He was beginning to enjoy himself with this game—even Neji had a sense of humor, for all of his dour seriousness.

 

Sasuke nodded to this. “I'm not making dinner myself, so Hinata shouldn't wear something nice for our date.”

 

“Hm, I won't tell her then. Also, Hanabi-sama does not want you to know that Hinata-sama is ticklish and enjoys back rubs.”

 

A grin appearing on his lips, Sasuke nodded at this and got up from where he sat with bento in hand. “Hmm…that isn't very useful information. Thanks for nothing, I guess.”

 

“You're not welcome.”

 

 

Sakura Haruno had an inkling something unusual was going on. For the last few days Sasuke had been a lot more evasive than usual, the number of obnoxious incidents from the class clown was at an all time low, Ino wasn't even paying Sasuke half the mind she usually did, and suddenly Hinata of all people had become the center of attention with her adorable kitty.

 

By far one of the smartest students in class, Sakura was a bit quick on the uptake which is what brought her to the conclusion of something strange afoot. Fortunately for Sasuke however what it exactly was still a point of conjecture with her therefore she tried to dismiss it all as coincidence and for the most part resumed her usual activities.

 

“Hey Sakura-chan, hey I need to talk to you!” Maybe normalcy wasn't that far off. Like clockwork there was Naruto, dopey smile and all waving her down like they were on such good terms, so annoying.

 

Turning a dismissive glare onto him, she answered the boy. “What do you want, Naruto?”

 

Oblivious to her snarl, Naruto submitted his query with his usual finesse. “I need your help, you're smart right?”

 

“Compared to you, anyone is smart.” She groused back, arms akimbo. “What is it, and it better not be a date or something because the answer's already no.”

 

“It's not that!” Naruto said quickly, surprising her as his smile dimmed away. “I really need help with something and you're the only one I can talk to.”

 

Her hands falling from her sides, Sakura furrowed her brow. For once, the boy seemed actually concerned about something. “What?”

 

Looking around nervously, Naruto leaned closer to Sakura, needling her personal space. “Well, I think Ino has a crush on me.”

 

Sakura's eyes rightly bugged out at Naruto's revelation, he hit his head on something? Ino having a crush on anyone other than Sasuke was as likely as a pirate made of rubber and an alien monkey man coming out of nowhere and fighting a man made out of pure lightning. She was saying something.

 

“…A man made out of pure lightning!” She blinked at Naruto's blank expression then quickly shook her head. “Did you hit your head on a rock or something? Eat some bad ramen?”

 

“No, I'm serious! Let me explain!” Sakura rolled her eyes but allowed him to continue. “I have this friend who has a crush on Hinata, you see? So I went to ask Ino about Hinata for him. But you know me being me and stuff right? I tripped and fell over on her.”

 

An eyebrow came up as Sakura spoke. “So?”

 

“Well, she began acting really weird.” Naruto replied.

 

“Weird?”

 

He nodded vigorously. “Well, she didn't hit me or anything. She just got all red-faced and felt me up.”

 

Part of Sakura wanted to beat the shit out of him for his slander, but something about his confusion made her hold off from it. For the moment, she gave him the benefit of the doubt. “Okay, that is weird.”

 

“But it gets weirder!” Naruto exclaimed. “But you gotta promise you won't call me a pervert and hit me if I tell you anymore okay?”

 

If Naruto was telling the truth then what he was about to tell her was downright bizarre. Morbid curiosity gripping her, she looked around again and then nodded slowly. “Okay, I promise.”

 

Relieved at this, Naruto took a nervous deep breath and began, using what he had learned from both Sasuke and Ino. “Well, I got really turned on from lying on top of Ino, and I think she felt it but she still didn't beat me up. So I went back to my friend and when I told him what happened he told me all about sex and stuff.”

 

Sakura blinked and looked around. Was she trapped in a genjutsu or something? Did she fall into some sort of parallel universe where the weirdest possible things happened without warning or provocation? For a moment she wanted to call him a liar and pound his face in, but the sheer surrealism of everything gave her pause.

 

“I…see…” She said slowly, her curiosity mounting. “Then what happened?”

 

“The thing is I couldn't believe any of what my friend told me. I mean, that sex stuff sounded like it hurt, you know? So I went back to ask Ino about it.”

 

Oh God, Sakura knew where this was going, and if it did then…then…then suddenly she had herself the beginnings of a marvelous plan. Doing her best to hide the small smile that threatened to bloom across her face in a huge grin, she nodded. “Go on, what happened next?”

 

She needed confirmation, and Naruto was more than happy to oblige.

 

“Well, Ino started acting really nice!” He said. “She told me all about why sex feels good, she even told me about master-something or other that feels really good.”

 

“Masturbation…?” Sakura gaped at Naruto.

 

“Yeah, she even showed me how girls do it. She even said that I could you know, touch her there, but I thought was a little too weird.” Naruto replied, before growing pale. “Ah! But you can't tell anyone I told you that! I promised her I wouldn't.”

 

Naruto must've grown two heads, and one was smarter than the other, given the look on Sakura's face. Ino masturbated in front of Naruto? Showed him everything? A bright blush appeared on her face at that, and she just shook her head in shock.

 

“I…I won't tell a soul, p-promise.” Her body felt numb all of a sudden. Was this some sort of twisted dream?

 

“Oh, thanks!” He was relieved and oblivious to the turmoil he had incited in Sakura. “So anyway earlier I was sitting outside having lunch when Ino comes up and gives me a bento! She said it was because she had a big breakfast, but my friend said it was because she had a crush on me!”

 

Sakura sat down on a convenient bench, her hand coming up to rest on her forehead. This was almost too much to take at once, but there it was. Sure, she had only his word to go by, but there was an uneasy sincerity in Naruto's confession that compelled her to believe his insane story. More to the point, the plan that was forming now had something to go on.

 

“Well…” She spoke plainly. “…That's because she does. Girls always give a bento to a guy they like, don't you know anything?”

 

Naruto grew wide-eyed; he never imagined anyone having a crush on him, especially someone as popular as Ino. He suddenly felt even more lost than before he came to Sakura. “So…so what do I do!? I don't know what to do!”

 

“You reciprocate of course!” Sakura exclaimed as she shot to her feet. “Trust me on this one Naruto, a girl isn't going to let just anyone see her naked or touch her in those places, she never even given thought of letting Sasuke do it! You can't just hurt her feelings by saying no, definitely hook up with her!”

 

“Uh…receipt…what?” Naruto shook his head, man he hated those big words so much. “How do I not hurt her feelings?”

 

Sakura masked her wicked grin, though her Inner self loomed large overhead, bearing it proudly. “Well it is simple: you go out with her, you woo her, and then ultimately…you seduce her.”

 

Inner Sakura threw her head back and roared with laughter as Naruto's face became a bright red. Remove the rival, remove the idiot crushing on her, and there'd be nothing stopping her from having Sasuke! None of the other girls would dare try to stake a claim on him and Hinata is the furthest thing from a factor! Yes!

 

“S-seduce, you mean…?” He grew wide eyed. “S-sex…I hadn't even thought of doing that with you, Sakura-chan!”

 

She canned her Inner self's prohibitively loud laughter and coughed to clear her throat. “Yes, well, if Ino's shown that much trust in you, letting you see, and giving you the option of touching her down there? You shouldn't turn it down. It'd break her heart! She'd be utterly shattered by your rejection!”

 

She lowered her arms from her dramatic tirade and stared resolutely at Naruto. “Would you want that on your conscience, Naruto? She may be my rival but I do care about her, you know.”

 

Her tactic worked, guilt beginning to weigh down on the indecisive boy as he looked aside. “Well…no, not really…but…”

 

Oh no he didn't, he wasn't going to shuffle his feet out of this one! Glaring, she stepped forward and jabbed Naruto in the chest with an accusing finger. “So you'd rather break Ino's heart into teeny tiny pieces, making her feel absolutely terrible and used, just to have a crush on me?”

 

Looking back up at her, Naruto grew aghast at the dire implication of her words.

 

She continued her assault. “You would just ditch her for me, when I don't like you like that, and probably never will?”

 

Turning away, she crossed her arms and shook her head. “I had thought better of you, Naruto! Even if I didn't date you, I always thought you were at least a good ninja, an honorable ninja!”

 

That was a bold-faced lie, but anything more to drive home her point, and for someone who idolized her like she idolized Sasuke, the effect was immediate and positive. Bringing his hands up to his head, he scratched his scalp in frustration with both hands. “Aw man…this is so hard! I don't want to make Ino feel bad like that, but…but I still like you, Sakura-chan!”

 

Sakura tsked at that and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Naruto tell me, why do you have a crush on me anyway? I'm always mean to you, every time you ask me out on a date I turn you down, and I don't help you in class! Besides, you know how I am with Sasuke.

 

Naruto made no comment on that last part, but still explained himself. “Well I've liked you from the moment I first saw you.”

 

Okay since the first day of the Academy three years ago, nothing surprising there. “Uh huh, go on.”

 

“I remember it like it was yesterday! It was a year before I started going to the Academy, I was out watching the cherry blossoms when I fell asleep under one of the trees.”

 

“Wait, what?” Sakura blinked at this, Naruto saw her before the start of the Academy?

 

“When I woke up, you were walking up the path with your mother and you were dressed in a red and pink kimono that matched your hair perfectly! You were so pretty!”

 

Sakura remembered that kimono, and that day. Was Naruto being for real? Had he seen her and fallen for her right at the start before the Ninja Academy? Before she had declared her affections for Sasuke? If that was the case then …

 

“He thought I was pretty, before Ino helped me out…” She thought in realization as she stared at him. She had learned a lot about Naruto today, more than she thought she'd ever want to know, but from this all she could gather several important things:

 

One: He was a lot less perverted than she realized, with that awful jutsu of his. Hell, he was downright naïve!

 

Two: There was a sincerity about him that made her want to trust him. Not think that she could, but outright made her want to trust him.

 

Three: The feelings he had for her weren't as superficial as she had long thought. He didn't like her because she liked Sasuke, no…there was a genuine level of attraction, and his struggling with Ino illustrated it all perfectly.

 

“Naruto…I…I'm really flattered.” Sakura was sincere with this. “But, I don't think I can like you that way. I'm in love with Sasuke, remember?”

 

He sighed and looked at the ground at that. Feeling genuine sympathy, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “You can't force feelings, and I don't think I can force myself to like you like that, but how about this?”

 

Naruto looked up to her and saw that she was smiling to him. “Yeah?”

 

“How about I become your friend, instead? I can help you out with Ino…that is if you think you can like her back.”

 

He nodded. “Well, Ino is kind of nice to me, you know? She's really pretty too and stuff…I guess, well it would be nice to have another friend.”

 

Sakura's smile grew. “That's good, because I'd really like to be your friend Naruto.”

 

Again he nodded and smiled again. “Thanks, Sakura-chan.”

 

Putting her arm over Naruto's shoulder, much like how Sasuke did the other day, Sakura leaned close to him. “Well then, how about this? Tomorrow you should meet Ino at her shop and talk to her, bring her flow—err…actually bring her a gift! A nice barrette for her hair, she'd really like that!”

 

Naruto, his face a little red at Sakura's nearness, smiled. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

 

“Great, I'll go see Ino later tonight and set up everything with her. Meanwhile you should go buy her that gift, and maybe some better clothes. Maybe something black, you can't go wrong with that.”

 

To Sakura's suggestions, Naruto nodded quickly and then pulled away. “Alright, I'm going to breeze through the rest of class and spend the rest of the day getting ready, thanks again Sakura-chan!”

 

He held out his fist to Sakura, who smiles and struck it with her own. “It's nothing, Naruto-kun. Now come on, we're going to be late!”

 

Both Ninja in training took off like blurs at that, as she raced alongside Naruto back towards class, Sakura's inner persona was singing praises at the success of her machinations. Naruto was now completely off her and leaning towards Ino, a final push was all it would take and then they'd be happy and she'd be happy with Sasuke! Everyone wins.

 

“Alright, next up is stage two of my plan…and then Sasuke, you're all mine!”

 

 

No plan survives its execution. Sakura's was already dead.