Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"…" Talking
"…" Thinking
Genre: Romance-Romance people!!! :-D
Warning: The characters might not seem like themselves, because I have written them in a matured version of themselves. At least in my version of their older self.
Introduction
The young ninja's have all grown up. They are all around the age of 18. A lot has happened since Sasuke tried to kill Naruto, when they were younger.
Things are finally returning to the way it was.
Sakura is still madly in love with Sasuke. Sasuke however, still pushes her away.
Ino is over Sasuke and now has a boyfriend called Ryu (who looks exactly like Fulle from Scrapped Princess).
Hinata is less but still shy and still has a secret crush on Naruto. As for the rest of the Konoha gang…
Chapter 1 Confusion
"Shikamaru!!! Come back here! Give me back my lunch!" Chouji screamed at Shikamaru who was running away with his lunchbox.
"No, you're on a diet!" He screamed back at him very amused.
"That's not funny! Give it back!" Chouji was running out of breath.
All of a sudden Ino appeared out of nowhere. Shikamaru bumped into her. He fell onto the ground. "Ouch. Watch where you're going!" He looked up to see who he bumped into too, and saw a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Oh it's you Ino." He started blushing. Over the years he had grown quite fond of her. He didn't want to tell her that he loved her. Because there was always the possibility that she wouldn't return his feelings and besides she has a boyfriend.
"Sorry, I didn't see you. What were you doing anyway, running around?" She asked looking down at him, slightly annoyed.
"There you are! Gotcha." Chouji grabbed him by his jacket. "Jerk! You made me run all this way." Chouji had a red head. Either it was because of anger or exhaustion. He snatched his lunch out of Shikamaru's hand and walked away.
Shikamaru smirked. "Well, that was fun."
"How childish. When are you ever going to grow up? How you became a chuunin before all of us is an enigma for me." She gave him one last irritated look and walked away, leaving a baffled Shikamaru on the ground.
"What was that all about?" "What's wrong with trying to have some fun?" He watched her leave. Lately she has been very annoyed by everything that Shikamaru does. He still didn't understand why. He stood up and followed her with his eyes. Disappointedly, he heard her say her boyfriend's name Ryu. It made his stomach turn when he saw them kiss. It was very painful for him to see them together. Every time he saw Ryu it made him wish he was him, just so that he could be the one to kiss Ino.
Before she had a relationship with Ryu, Ino had a short relationship with Shikamaru. Everybody in the village thought that they looked cute together. Those were the happy times. He could remember the time they started dating and what they would do on every Sunday. He would first go to her house and bring her breakfast in bed. Then they would go to their secret place in the woods.
He always surprised her with something new when they arrived there. He would do anything for her, even though he said that women were troublesome. But for her, he was willing to make an exception. One day he had arranged two horses and they would go horseback riding. Of course Shikamaru fell of the horse quite a few times. He thought it was too troublesome to receive some lessons. Or when they went swimming by the waterfall or that one time at night…
-Flashback-
The moon was shining brightly and there were a lot of bright stars in the sky. Shikamaru left a note on Ino's bed saying that she had to put on the dress he left right next to the note.
When she arrived at their secret place Shikamaru's mouth fell open. She looked absolutely stunning in her long, red evening gown. He was wearing a black suit and had a red rose in his hand.
"My, my Shikamaru, you look handsome." Ino smiled at him.
"Thanks. You look…" He paused and gazed at her from top to bottom. "Absolutely stunning."
Ino smiled and kept staring in his eyes. She noticed the rose in his hand. "Is that for me?"
"Uh…uh yes… yes this is for you." He stuttered still amazed of her beauty. He walked over to her and gave her the rose. He briefly kissed her. After that he grabbed her hand and lead her to the picnic blanket that was lying on the ground. It was a romantic sight with candles all around.
They sat down and enjoyed their dinner together. They were laughing and talking and having so much fun. Everything seemed perfect. But something was troubling Ino. It looked like she had something on her mind. Shikamaru decided to ignore it, because this was a special evening. Tonight was the night he was finally going to say that he loved her.
She probably already knew that he loved her, because of all the things he did for her and they were boyfriend and girlfriend for a couple of months now, but he never said it out loud. He gathered the courage needed and grabbed her hands.
"Ino, I have to tell you something… I…" He started.
"No wait Shikamaru. I have to tell you something first." She looked down and paused for a moment. She looked up again in his eyes and continued. "This has been a wonderful evening. It was the most romantic thing that anyone has ever done for me. But…" She looked down again. She stood up.
"But what?" Shikamaru was starting to get worried. Did he do something wrong? Was he going to fast? Ino turned around and all he could see was her back.
"I…eh… I have met someone…" She paused again. This time she turned to face him. She looked him in his eyes. She could clearly see that he was in shock. He wasn't expecting this. To break the silence Ino spoke again.
"His name is Ryu and he is very sweet." She looked at him to see how he would react, but he just stood there with an emotionless face. "Look I don't know what else to say. I like him and I'm breaking up with you to be with him. There! I've said it." She sighed. She knew that it was a very cold way to say it, but she didn't know how else to put it.
Finally Shikamaru spoke staring at the ground. "But, didn't I mean anything to you?"
"Ah come on Shika-kun, don't make this harder than it already is. It's not like we loved each other right?" Shikamaru looked up and stared into her eyes. She walked over to him. She placed her hand on a side of his face. "I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed him on his cheek and left, leaving a broken-hearted Shikamaru behind.
-End flashback-
Just like that, their relationship was over. He always knew that girls were troublesome. He should have never gotten involved with one. But now that he had, he can't get over her. "Women… You can't live with them and can't live without them."
He still doesn't understand what she sees in that guy. Sure he has the good looks and is a great ninja, but he is dominant and flirts with other girls. "I just don't trust him."
He walked over to where Ino and Ryu were standing. He listened carefully to hear their conversation. It seemed that Ino had found some lipstick on his shirt again.
"Who was it this time?! You're such an asshole!" She pushed him away from her and crossed her arms. She had an angry look on her face.
"Baby it was no one! My mother hugged me before I left my house. Her lips must have accidentally brushed against my shirt. I would never cheat on you, sweetie? Honey? Baby?" He pouted his lips and talked with a cute pleading voice.
He began to walk towards her. She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes and smiled a bit. That's a signal that she had already forgiven him and that she believed what he had said. He was standing beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He lifted her of the ground. Ino let out a giggle. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
"I should never have doubted you. I'm sorry." She said with a soft voice, still in his arms. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
Ryu smiled. "Pff, I'd better be careful next time."
Shikamaru knew that Ryu was lying. He couldn't believe that Ino bought into his story. He was getting a little bit frustrated. "How dare that stupid Ryu treat her that way? If I was her boyfriend I would make her happy and never leave her side, no matter how hard it would be to fight temptation."
Suddenly Ryu noticed Shikamaru presence. "Hey Shikamaru, long time no see."
Ino turned her head still holding on to her handsome boyfriend and gave Shikamaru an irritated stare. Shikamaru looked back at them and greeted Ryu. He placed his hands in his pocket and walked passed them. Before he was out of sight he gave one last look behind him. He was surprised to see that Ino was also looking at him. She had a painful and sad expression. Then Ryu said something and she smiled again and kissed him on the cheek. Shikamaru turned around and left the happy couple behind.
"HINATA-CHAN!!!"
Hinata was walking passed the ramen bar and looked up to see who called her, but who else could that loud mouth be than that blonde-haired fox boy she had a crush on. "Na…Naruto-kun?"
Naruto jumped up from his seat and went to stand next to the girl. "Hello Hinata! How are you?" He said with his infamous grin.
"I…I'm fine. How are you?" She said shyly.
"I'm doing great! Say, why don't you join me at the ramen bar. We'll have lunch together." He said as if he had just come up with the greatest idea ever.
"Me a…and you? Together? Like… Like on a date?" She blushed, pushing the tops of her index fingers together.
"Err…sure. Just like a date. Why not." He pushed her towards the stools. Hinata was blushing like crazy when he touched her arms. He released his grip on her and shoved a chair for her to sit down.
"Thank you." She sat down and heard Naruto ordering for the both of them. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "Naruto-kun is so sweet to me. Maybe he does like me in the way I like him. I honestly hope so. Maybe I should just tell him how I feel. Who knows, he might have those feelings for me to." She chuckled at the thought of them as girlfriend and boyfriend. "Come on girl. You can do it. Just tell him."
"Ehh… Naruto-kun. I…" She began.
"Hey Naruto! You've finally snatched a date with a poor innocent girl?" The ramen bargirl interrupted. The girl smiled at Hinata. Hinata looked down and blushed.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Naruto answered.
"Oh nothing." She giggled. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"Who Hinata? NO! Haha. She is just a friend." Naruto laughed nervously. Hinata had a disappointed look on her face.
"Ah, that's too bad. You two look cute together." The girl smiled at Hinata again.
"Well you know, so would we. How about you and me go to the movies sometime and have a few drinks afterwards. What do you say?" He smiled with an evil grin as if he was up to something.
The girl hit him on the head. "Ouch!" xx
"Not in a million years." She said with slight frustration and left.
Hinata regretted going on this so-called date with Naruto. Not only did she found out that he is not interested in her and only sees her as a friend, in addition he is flirting with another girl right in front of her eyes. She wanted to get out of there and cry.
Suddenly she stood up. Naruto looked at her with a surprised face, while rubbing the bump on his head.
"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry but I just remembered that I have to do something. I have to go." She said without looking at him.
"But you haven't eaten anything yet." He wondered where this came from all of a sudden.
Without saying anything else, she turned around and started to walk away. Naruto stood up and followed her. He grabbed her arm. "Wait. What's the matter? Did I say something to upset you?" Hinata remained silent. If she didn't get out of there fast, she was going to cry in front of Naruto and she did not want that to happen.
"Oh, I get it." Naruto said. Hinata looked up. Surprised that Naruto knew what was going on inside her mind. He smiled. "It's because of the whole misunderstanding of you being my girlfriend right? I wouldn't worry about it too much, she didn't know. Besides, she's always…"
"You just don't get it do you?!" Hinata looked him straight in the eyes with an angry look. She immediately calmed down again and stared in another direction. Naruto was shocked to see Hinata like that. What happened to the shy girl he knew. He noticed that she had become more self-confident and conversational over the years, but this outburst still surprised him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I have to go." Naruto let her arm go and she left.