Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Gift ❯ Deck the Halls ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Deck the Halls

Song: Deck the Halls

It was the beginning of another semester of my sophomore year. Only two more years and then I was off to college. I was looking forward to March when I would finally be able to get my driver’s license. My birthday seemed like a long ways away with all of the snow covering the ground. Fortunately, the sidewalks had been shoveled and salted. It was only an inch or two of snow, but enough for me to slip and fall if I wasn’t careful.

I straightened out my school uniform as I basked in the warmth of the school. I noticed Ino walking towards me with that look in her eye. Knowing Ino, it was one of two things that she was going to tell me. One, so-and-so had finally hooked-up with so-and-so. Or two, there was a new kid in school who was easy on the eyes.

“Sakura, you’ll never guess what I just found out?” Ino practically gushed as she hooked her arms in mine and led me down the hall.

“What?”

“There’s a new kid in school and he’s a real cutie.”

So it seemed that option two was correct. “Is this new kid a rival for Itachi?” I said teasing my best-friend.

“He’s cute, but he’s not sex-on-legs material. Give him a few years then maybe,” Ino said before breaking out into a bright smile. “Hey! Maybe if we’re lucky, the new kid will be in a few of our classes.”

I continued my banter with Ino until we reached homeroom. Sasuke was already sitting next to the window. I smiled at him and he nodded his head in acknowledgement as he usually did. Ino gave me a sly smile, the same one she gave me every time I did anything with Sasuke. It wasn’t as if I was the only female in the school that Sasuke ever conversed with on a daily basis. But Ino always liked to make mountains out of mole-holes whenever it concerned Sasuke Uchiha. The day that Sasuke ever asks me out is the day that Ino starts planning my wedding. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly wouldn’t mind dating him, but I’m not going to fawn over him like one of his love-sick fan girls. If it weren’t for Angel, I probably would have become one of those fan-girls constantly vying for Sasuke’s attention.

We eventually made our way to Hinata and Ino caught her up to speed with the latest news. We all talked about our Christmas and New Years. We also compared notes on our resolutions for the New Year. It was your typical school-day conversation. Of course, all of that ended once the first bell rang.

“So how long do you think Kakashi is going to take this morning?” I asked.

Ino sighed. “Probably fifteen minutes. But it is a new semester so I’ll give him twenty to be safe.”

“You know, Mr. Hatake, probably has a good reason why he’s always late,” Hinata said respectfully.

“Oh Hinata, you’re being too kind. I don’t think I remember him ever being on time and all of the kids in school always talk about how late he is. One of the seniors thinks that he sits in his office reading some smutty novel in the mornings and that’s why he’s always late. But you didn’t hear that from me.”

I rolled my eyes hearing Ino’s rant. Somehow, I couldn’t picture a teacher bringing pornographic material into school. Least of all someone like Kakashi who, though very laid-back and relaxed, was actually a good teacher and head coach of our winning baseball team.

Our conversation was cut short when to everyone’s surprise, Kakashi walked through the door. For the first time in probably the history of Konoha Gakuen, Kakashi Hatake made it to homeroom on time. I was prepared to run for my life in case the end of the world was imminent; because that was the only reason I could think of for why he was punctual. I wasn’t the only one thinking those thoughts as the room was overflowing with chatter and most of all, disbelief.

“Yes, I know it’s unusual for me to be on time, but could we keep the conversations to a void?” Kakashi asked through the surgical mask that he always wore. “Good, now that I have your attention, I wanted to let you all know that we have a new student enrolling in Konoha Gakuen today. He’s new to the area so please wish him a warm welcome to make him feel right at home.”

The next thing everyone knew, a boy wearing a long black coat overtop the standard-issued uniform strutted into the classroom and started writing on the chalkboard. Voices were buzzing around me whispering about the new kid. I was stunned into silence. There was something comfortingly familiar about him. It probably was his lively blond-hair or the brilliant blue eyes that attracted me to him, but there was a certain energy surrounding him that was undeniable. He was so similar to a boy I’ve dreamt of; I started to wonder if he was a representation of what my guardian angel looked like. So rapt was I on my attention to his appearance, I hardly noticed when he finished writing on the chalkboard. The name, Naruto Uzumaki, was scrawled in big bold letters.

The boy turned to face the class and addressed everyone in a loud, annoyingly obnoxious voice, “Listen up everybody! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are instant ramen; my dislikes are the three minutes it takes to wait for the ramen to cook. And my dream is to help all of my friends!”

When I saw Naruto finish his speech with a thumbs-up almost replicating Lee’s signature style, I think I nearly gagged. My earlier visions of him shattered, completely obliterating any awe or respect I had for him. A few of my classmates cheered him on though. He definitely had charisma. I looked over to Sasuke and noticed him glaring at Naruto with an expression I had never seen before. It was as if Sasuke knew him and was angry for some reason.

“Well, that was a very energetic introduction,” Kakashi said in his usual monotone. “Now that introductions are over, please take a seat next to Sakura Haruno. Sakura, please raise your hand.”

I obeyed and watched as Naruto’s eyes brighten upon seeing me. The smile on his face only broadened as he started to make his way towards my desk. What happened next shocked not only me, but the rest of the class as well.

“Kakashi, I can let Naruto have my seat,” Sasuke said as he suddenly stood-up.

“Oh? And where would you sit Sasuke?”

“Next to Sakura.”

Naruto smirked as he stood in front of the empty desk. “So you want to sit next to Sakura. Is she your girlfriend or something? Afraid that I might steal her away?”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed in irritation. The tension between the two boys was palpable. Of course, everyone in class was talking in hushed murmurs and I thought I heard Ino squeal in delight. It was the birth of what would be eventually known as the greatest rivalry in our school. And one fact that all of the girls in my class, especially Ino, would remember was how it started over who would get to sit next to me. The boys were hyping it up as a sort of ‘King of the Hill’ competition and the girls were romanticizing it into a love triangle. As eventful as the situation was, all of this was starting to grate on my nerves. Probably because no one asked me my opinion on whom I wanted to sit next to; though I probably would have said neither one at this point just to spite them.

Kakashi interrupted the alpha-male posturing with his sound advice. “Sasuke, that’s very generous of you to give-up your seat. But the empty seat next to Sakura is in the middle of the class. I would prefer that our new student be where I can make sure he’s paying attention rather than next to the window where he might be distracted. So Naruto, please take the seat next to Sakura.”

If looks could kill, Naruto would have been six-feet under based on the glare Sasuke was giving him. I simply shook my head over all of the drama happening first thing in the morning. I was shaken out of my thoughts by an arm draped lazily over my shoulders.

“So, Sakura? What is that Sasuke guy to you anyway? Surely you could do better,” Naruto said paying more attention to Sasuke’s reaction than to my growing irritation.

I couldn’t believe that he was using me to try and bait Sasuke. I did the first thing that came to mind and I threw back my fist and punched him in the face. Seeing Naruto fly out of the chair and land sprawled out into the floor was an exhilarating feeling. At least until I heard Kakashi shout my name sternly.

“Sakura, I expected better from you. Though that certainly was a very nice punch.”

“I’m so sorry Mr. Hatake! I don’t know what got into me.”

Naruto still lay unconscious on the floor groaning in pain. Kakashi looked at his prone form and sighed, clearly not amused. “Since your actions were somewhat preempted, I’ll let it slide. But you have to take Naruto to the nurse’s office.”

“Yes sir!” I stood and kneeled next to Naruto, trying to figure out how I was going to get Naruto to the nurse’s office if he didn’t wake-up in the next few seconds. Looking up, I could see Sasuke arguing with Kakashi, probably over the seating arrangement. All of the other kids in the class were staring down at the prone boy in morbid curiosity. “Can I get someone to help me pick him up?”

Kiba, who was sitting closest to Naruto, obliged by kicking him in the ribs. I would have chewed Kiba out for using violence to get Naruto up, but I wasn’t one to talk and the kick seemed to do the trick.

The blond shot-up to his feet and stared down at Kiba. “What the hell was that for?”

“You must have been faking it if that kick woke you up. Either that or a wuss, but then you were punched out by a girl,” Kiba barked.

I could sense another fight about to begin. How many people did this new kid want to tick-off this morning? What ever happened to his dream of helping his friends if he wasn’t going to make any? I did the first thing that came to mind. It was a maneuver I had seen Itachi use on Sasuke when we were kids. I grabbed Naruto by the ear and twisted.

“Ow, ow, ow! Damn woman, what are you trying to do?”

Looked like the technique worked so I pinched and twisted a bit harder. “Come on Naruto, follow me. I have to take you to the nurse’s office.”

I dragged the new kid behind me as I made my way through the halls. I was infuriated, embarrassed and entertained all at once. I didn’t know which emotion was more prevalent.

“Ow, Sakura-chan! You’re going to rip my ear off,” Naruto whined.

Did he just call me Sakura-chan? I barely know him for ten minutes and he’s already giving me pet names? The boy was going down. Before I could turn to give him a second helping of my knuckle sandwich, I heard him walking right next to me.

“Man, you’ve got a really strong grip you know that?” Naruto said as he rubbed his ear.

I stared at him and then back at my hand that was holding Naruto, but was now grasping at nothing. “How did . . . weren’t you? When did you get over there?”

“Um, just now,” Naruto answered with a shrug. “So . . . you were taking me to the nurse’s office?”

“Yeah. Sure, follow me.”

We walked down the halls in silence as I lead the way and Naruto looked around the school. He held his hands behind his head in a carefree manner. Now that I was standing next to him, I could notice these three lines across each of his cheeks. Must have been a family marking like Kiba and Chouji had. It almost made him look cute if it weren’t for the fact that he had the maturity of a toddler.

“You have a nice school,” Naruto said suddenly.

“Um, thanks. I think it was built in only the last five years, so the building is still quite new.”

“Sakura, I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to get you mad at me,” Naruto said in a deeper, smoother voice that sounded so familiar to me.

I stared back into Naruto’s eyes and was at a loss for words at the sincerity in them. They say the eyes were the windows to the soul and his soul looked like it had seen more than I could even comprehend. There was a myriad of emotions swirling through the ocean of his eyes, I couldn’t help but get sucked in. “I accept your apology. And I’m sorry that I hit you. I usually don’t lash out at people like that.”

“It’s alright! I was acting like a total jackass back there. If I was you, I would have punched me in the face too,” Naruto laughed.

The laugh was infectious and soon I found myself laughing with him. “You know, you can actually carry on a somewhat polite and engaging conversation. I’m shocked.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

“You should. You know you didn’t really give me a good first impression.”

Naruto looked sheepish as he replied, “Yeah, sorry about that. And you can tell your boyfriend that I’m sorry for picking on him.”

“My boyfriend?” I looked at him confused. “Oh, you mean Sasuke? He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Hm, that’s strange. He defended you like he was. Maybe he wants to be?” Naruto said cryptically as he stared straight ahead. “Ah, looks like here’s the nurse’s office. Guess this is where we part.”

“Take care Naruto. I hope your face doesn’t hurt too much where I hit you.”

“I’ll be fine. Later Sakura-chan,” Naruto said before walking into the office.

I shook my head and smiled as I walked back to my class. There was something about that boy. I had never gone through a gamut of emotions as quickly as I have with anyone else. Looks like this would be an interesting year. I hoped that the nurse would be able to help him with his face. The odd thing was I don’t think he had a bruise or even any swelling when I dropped him off. I guess I must not have hit him as hard as I thought I did.

Glancing at the clock in the hall, I noticed that the next bell was going to ring soon. I didn’t realize that I had taken so long to get Naruto to the nurse’s office. I must have been wrapped up in my conversations with him. All of my books were still in Kakashi’s classroom, so I rushed back to class, hoping to make it back before the bell.

I was a few doors away from the classroom when the bell rang. Frustrated, I pushed through the tidal wave of students filling the halls. I was afraid that I was going to be late for my next class. I hadn’t even packed-up my books in my desk. Relief came in the surprising form of a dark-haired savior who grabbed me by the arm and started walking me to class.

“Sasuke! I still need to get my books.”

“No need. I already have them for you,” the boy answered as he briefly readjusted my backpack that was bouncing against his. “What took you so long?”

“I was talking to Naruto.”

I saw Sasuke stiffen when I mentioned Naruto’s name. “Sakura, for your own sake please avoid him at all costs.”

Avoid Naruto? Was I hearing Sasuke correctly? “Why?”

Sasuke sighed in agitation. It looked like he wanted to tell me something, but couldn’t. I wasn’t sure what Sasuke knew, but I had a feeling that he had met Naruto before and knew more about the boy than he was letting on. “Just, just trust me okay?”

“Alright,” I answered. I wanted to ask him more about what he knew about Naruto, but he had already escorted me to my next class.

The rest of the school day was strange to say the least. Though I had homeroom and one other class with Sasuke, he insisted on escorting me to each of my classes. The gesture would have been flattering if it weren’t for the fact that I felt like I was being used as a bragging tool. It wasn’t hard to notice the glares that Sasuke shot at Naruto whenever we passed by him in the halls. Naruto, for his part, only looked at us with an oddly approving look. And here I thought they were rivals. Somehow I ended up with Naruto in all of my classes. Sasuke nearly blew a fuse when he learned I shared classes with the ‘blond-idiot,’ as Sasuke called him. As if I needed protection from the new kid whom I was able to knocked-out.

I didn’t know what it was about Sasuke and Naruto. If I was alone with either one, I had no problem getting along with them and actually enjoyed being with them. But once the two boys were in the same room as each other, they became immature little brats and all I wanted to do was deck them both in the face. Most other girls would have been flattered to be in my position, but I didn’t need all of the high drama. It probably had something to do with all of the intellectual conversations I’d been having with Angel at night. Having a guardian angel who worked both as a protector and mentor had its perks.

* * *

My parents were being annoying again as they asked me question after question about school. It was the normal set of ‘how was your day?,’ ‘how were your classes?’ and ‘did you make any new friends?’ I tried not to begrudge them for it; after all, they were my parents. They only asked because they cared. I answered all of their questions and told them about Naruto. They seemed interested in meeting him one day because he sounded like such a character. Of course, my mother was interested in what I had to say about Sasuke escorting me to my classes, much to my father’s chagrin.

“You’ve been friends with him for a long time now, haven’t you Sakura?”

“Yeah. It’s just that, this is the first time that he’s shown any interest in me. Is that normal?”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s normal, right dear?” My mother asked my father.

My father looked pained as he answered. “Yes. Boys at this age are still trying to figure things out. But I personally think you’re too young to date. There’s no rush to start diving head-first into things.”

“Dad! Sasuke just escorted me to class; he didn’t ask me on a date!” I said embarrassed. At least, he hadn’t asked me yet.

Thankfully, the rest of our dinner conversation strayed away from the uncomfortable subject of dating and boys. I quickly finished my chores and homework so I could confide in my must trusted counselor, Angel.

I opened the window enough so my voice would carry to the rooftop. “Hey Angel, how was your day today?”

“I had a great day. It was very entertaining. But how was yours? First day back from school go alright?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“I sense that you have an interesting story to tell.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I laughed. I relayed the events of the day to Angel in greater detail than I did to my parents. I mentioned how infuriated and entertained I was by the new student, Naruto. I think I must have ranted for about twenty minutes straight about the boy. “Did you know he called me Sakura-chan? What kind of nickname is that?”

“Aw, that actually sounds cute. It suits you,” Angel cooed.

“It does?”

“Yeah. Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan,” Angel repeated as if testing out the sound. “I like that.”

When I heard Angel calling me by that name, I couldn’t help but blush. I guess the nickname was kind of cute. “You know, if you want, you could call me by that.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Um, well. Not if it was you.”

“But you would if it was that Naruto kid, right?”

“Well, he doesn’t really know me as well as you do. I don’t think he’s quite earned the right to call me Sakura-chan.”

“I see your point. Alright then, I’ll call you Sakura-chan from now on.”

“Thanks Angel.”

“So tell me more about your day. What happened after you dropped Naruto off at the nurse’s office?”

I told him about Sasuke and how he carried my books for me. Angel listened patiently as I narrated how Sasuke walked me to all of my classes that day. It would have been a sweet gesture if not for the obvious showboating between Naruto and Sasuke. I held nothing back as I mentioned my anger over their use of me as some prize to show off. Girls want to be pursued, not flaunted. “Why do guys always have to fight over things?”
“It’s called testosterone. They can’t help it.”

“I hope you didn’t do something like that.”

Angel paused for a moment before answering guiltily. “Um, and if I did?”

“Then I hope your wife knocked some sense into you.”

“Oh trust me, she did.”

“Good for her. Ugh, maybe that’s what I’m going to have to do to Naruto and Sasuke. I swear I’ll never understand boys.”

Angel chuckled. “Oh Sakura-chan. A little rivalry among men never hurt anyone.”

“Yeah right. Wasn’t the Trojan War started because of two men fighting over Helen of Troy?”

“Point taken.”

“So why do men have to fight each other all of the time? Don’t they get tired of that?”

“Sometimes one has to face adversity before they can grow to their full potential. Having someone who can push you to your limits and test your strengths is the best thing you can have. Otherwise you are left wandering without purpose or drive. The strongest men are those who have an opposing force to push them to grow. A good example is like if you had an older sibling you were striving to surpass. Then there are some men who were just born to be rivals.”

I listened fascinated with his speech. It was true when they said that men were from Mars and women from Venus. Everything Angel said made sense in its own way. I never would have thought of it in those terms. Maybe that’s why men and women were born with different ways of thinking: to balance each other out. A woman was a man’s opposing force and vice-a-versa. I mentioned my theory to Angel to gage what he thought.

“I think you’ve got it Sakura-chan. Men and women represent different spectrum of a dichotomy. Ying and yang, heaven and earth; they are different, but must coexist with the other in order to be part of a whole.”

“Heaven and earth. I like that analogy. So who’s the heaven and who’s the earth?”

Angel said softly in his deep, soothing voice, “You’re the heaven and whomever you end up with will be your earth.”

I closed my eyes in silent awe. I was someone’s heaven. It was a comforting thought. “You know Angel; I think you are my heaven.”

“Me? How so?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? You’re my guardian angel! I’ve learned so much from you and you seem to help me whenever I’m in need. If that doesn’t qualify you, than I don’t know what will.”

“What if I was more like the earth instead? There to keep you grounded and give you strength?”

“Then you would be my heaven and earth.”

* * *

Typically the school year drags on during the winter months. However, the atmosphere in the school seemed charged with an energy that could only be attributed to one Naruto Uzumaki. He had somehow made friends with everyone in school through either his personality or sheer tenacity. Although he got into many, many disagreements his character was such that no one could really stay mad at him for very long. It was a gift that he had.

For whatever reason, he had to make everything a competition. He tried to out-eat Chouji one day at lunch. That was not a pretty sight. He challenged and lost to Shikamaru in chess. He also tried to race Lee by seeing who could do the most laps around the school. I never thought I’d see the day when someone had more youthful vigor than Lee. But that certainly gave Lee more drive, as if he needed any more. I was afraid that one day I was going to go blind with the enthusiasm they showed towards . . . whatever it was that they were enthused about.

Much to my dismay, Naruto was also widely popular with the females at Konoha Gakuen. Even one of my best-friends, Hinata, had developed a growing crush on the blond. Ino and I tried to encourage her to talk to him and get to know him. But that always unsettled me for some reason. I never liked any of Sasuke’s fan-girls and seeing Naruto with fan-girls only infuriated me.

One small blessing was that the two boys never fought over the number of fan-girls they had. But that didn’t seem to stop them from fighting over just about everything else. It was a constant contest of who was the better of the two. I’ve had to restrain myself from knocking some sense into the pair a few times when their rivalry got a bit carried away, such as the time they tried to see who could hit a baseball the furthest. The idiots ended up spending hours out on the field hitting ball after ball until I had to drag them by the ears back into the school building. It was so bad; I even had dreams about the two fighting. But those dreams ranged from silly play to the more frightening ones where they turned into monsters; fighting in front of a giant waterfall. Though strangely enough and true to Angel’s words, Sasuke seemed to become stronger the more Naruto pushed him.

And that’s what I found myself talking to Sasuke about while he walked me home, a habit he started to pick-up earlier this month. “You know, you’ve really opened up this semester. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so enthusiastic about school or sports.”

“Hm.”

Though Sasuke’s been a bit more outgoing, he was still reserved: a trait I had gotten used to over the years. “So have you decided which sport you were going to join this spring? I’m thinking about tennis.”

“Baseball.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t decide to do soccer like your brother. Didn’t you get enough of baseball that one time you and Naruto played it for hours straight?” I laughed.

Sasuke’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Don’t remind me of that. I thought I’d try something different from Itachi. I don’t want to try and follow in my brother’s footsteps all of the time. I’m going to carve my own path.”

“You know, Naruto has really brought out the best in you. You seem less agitated.”

“Probably because I’m more agitated at that idiot,” Sasuke snorted.

We walked the rest of the trip in relative silence. I admired how some of the early spring flowers were already blooming. The daffodils my mother planted in our front yard looked gorgeous. I was taken away from my admiration of flowers when Sasuke suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Sakura,” he started to say with a bit of hesitance. “Your birthday is coming up soon and . . . I was wondering if you wanted me to treat you to someplace nice?”

My eyes widened in shock. Did Sasuke Uchiha just ask me out on a date? Ino had constantly teased me about dating Sasuke, but now that he actually built up the courage to do it, I was at a loss for what to do. So I said the words that I’ve been practically conditioned to say, “Of course I would Sasuke.”

* * *

My mind was still reeling from earlier in the day. I wanted to talk to someone with a clear mind so I opened the window and stuck my head out.

“It’s a little late for you tonight. Ino must have been talking your ear off on the phone,” Angel said.

“You could say that again.”

“Sakura-chan, are you okay? You sound a little out of it.”

I didn’t know why I was hesitating. A part of me didn’t want Angel to know anything about my feelings towards Sasuke and another part wanted to pretend that my heart hadn’t already chosen someone and that someone was less than a few feet away from me. “Angel, would you get mad at me if I started dating?”

“No, why should I? I think it’d be great. Isn’t that what teenage girls your age do?” Angel said plainly, giving away nothing of his true feelings.

“Well, today Sasuke asked me out on a date.”

“That’s great! It’s what you’ve been wanting, right? No wonder Ino wanted to talk your ear off. I’m sure she’s ecstatic.”

Ino was more than ecstatic; she was practically through the roof. Of course, she also wanted to dress me up like a porcelain doll for my first date with Sasuke. That didn’t worry me as much as what else she threatened to do that day. “Do you think I could ask you something a little strange for my birthday present?”

“Besides the usual?”

“Yeah, besides the usual, which you still refuse to do anyway. I swear I’m going to install cameras up on the roof one day to try and get a picture of you.”

“You can try, but a shinobi knows how to mask his presence and gives nothing away, not even a picture.”

“Oh, I forgot that you’re a master shinobi,” I joked. “Please excuse me if I try to beat your elusive shinobi skills with a digital camera.”

“Good luck trying. But what would you want for your birthday instead?”

I sighed remembering my conversation with Ino. “It’s about my date with Sasuke. He’s going to take me to a nice restaurant for my birthday and I made the mistake of telling Ino the name of the restaurant.”

“And that’s bad because?” Angel asked, not quite understanding where I was getting with my narration.

“To put it simply, Ino wants to spy on me and Sasuke with all of my friends from school.”

“Oh! And you want me to prevent Ino from disturbing your date. I can do that.”

“I want Ino no where near us. She means well, but I’m just afraid of what she might do if she sees us. I want to be comfortable on my date, not looking over my shoulder with paranoia. I would ask Sasuke to pick another restaurant, but he said he was going to make the reservations tonight so I’d hate to call him up and tell him that Ino might spy on us and start making him paranoid.”

“Hey, it’s only fair that the first date with the guy you like is special.”

I pouted and sulked when I heard what Angel said. I was tempted to shout at him, ‘I don’t like Sasuke,’ but I knew that would be a lie. I’ve grown quite fond of Sasuke over the last few months. He’s been more open towards me in a way I’ve never seen before. I suspected it had something to do more with Naruto egging him on than his true genuine efforts, but it was still nice. “Angel, do you think Sasuke’s the right guy for me?”

There was a long pause before he finally answered. “I think he could be the one if given the chance. I can’t tell you who you should and shouldn’t love. But I think you need to get to know him a little better and see what your heart decides.”

“And if he isn’t the one?”

“Then he isn’t the one.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, I’ll go out with Sasuke. But he has to be the one to ask me out.”

“If I see him I’ll tell him that,” Angel joked.

As if that was likely to happen. There was no possible way that any of my friends, least of all Sasuke, knew about Angel. Though I should have known better to ever assume things whenever it came to my guardian angel.

* * *

As promised, Angel was able to keep Ino out of my hair during my date with Sasuke. Ino insisted that it was Naruto’s fault for getting them lost or something silly like that, but I knew better. I was pleasantly surprised with how nice the date was. I didn’t think that anyone looked better in a suit and tie than Sasuke did. The dinner was fantastic, the atmosphere was wonderful and Sasuke was a true gentleman. He left me that night with a chaste kiss on the cheek and a promise to take me out another night. At this point, we weren’t officially a couple; just dating. He still hadn’t asked me to be his girlfriend and I didn’t have the gall to ask him out.

Throughout this awkward period we were both peppered with questions from our friends about our relationship status. The two main instigators were Ino and surprisingly, Naruto. I had to give a lot of thanks to Naruto though. He helped stave away some of Sasuke’s more jealous fan-girls. Gradually, Sasuke and I grew more and more comfortable with the idea of becoming more than just friends. He finally asked me out one evening when we were taking a stroll through the park.

“The stars are really bright tonight,” Sasuke said as we took a break on a park bench.

“Yeah, they are. I’m really glad we went out for a walk. The weather’s getting warmer and the stars are beautiful.”

“Ah.”

We sat in content silence before I braved a brief glance at my date. I was shocked to notice him looking at me intently. He had an expression of awe as if he hadn’t really seen me until now.

“Your forehead really is quite kissable,” Sasuke said in a daze.

“My . . . forehead?” I must have been beet red. I had been constantly teased as a child about my rather large forehead. It had been my dream that some cute guy would compliment it. Angel had tried to compliment me on it, but it was different and more meaningful when you had a guy in front you, looking you in the eye while they professed their endless adoration.

Before I knew it, Sasuke had leaned in and kissed me softly on my forehead. His right hand cupped my cheek tenderly. “I think I understand my feelings now. I think I know why . . . why I should be with you. Sakura, would you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes,” I answered absolutely breathless. The atmosphere, his words, the mood; it was all perfect. How could I say ‘no’ in a situation like that?

What made the setting even more enchanting was the cute smile Sasuke had when he heard my answer. “Sakura, thank you.”

We walked back to my house holding hands, both simply content. When he left, instead of the chaste kiss on the cheek he had been giving me, he leaned in and gave me a real kiss. It was my first kiss, simple and sweet. But my heart didn’t skip a beat; there weren’t fireworks exploding in the sky. It was missing something and I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t show any of my conflicting emotions to Sasuke as I smiled and wished him a good-night.

It wasn’t until I got up to my room and stared at the window that I realized what it was lacking. It was lacking pure passion and love. Sad as it was, I had felt more emotions erupting from my heart when Angel held me that one time in December. Sasuke’s kiss paled in comparison. I reminded myself that Angel and I had a more open relationship with each other than Sasuke and I did. I was also sadly reminded that I could never be with Angel in the same way I could with my boyfriend. My boyfriend; it felt silly calling Sasuke my boyfriend.

I wanted to talk to Angel tonight, but it was late and I had to get up early tomorrow for school. I didn’t want him to chastise me for neglecting my health. The last time I tried to talk to him this late, he used some strange shinobi technique to put me to sleep. Something I probably could have used tonight. My mind was racing a mile a minute.

“Sakura, stop comparing Sasuke to Angel. It’s not fair to Sasuke. Remember, Sasuke’s your boyfriend now,” I said to reassure myself.

It was best to deal with those issues in the morning. And so that night I dreamt of having a conversation with Sasuke over a park bench. For some reason, I was crying. I was begging Sasuke not to leave me. But despite my pleas, he did. The dream ended with me lying unconscious and alone on the bench. I didn’t know if it was a reflection of my insecurities or a warning. I never told Angel about these dreams, but in hindsight, I wonder if maybe I should have.