The Break Up

Original Story By: Hyper n Smart 1

Adopted / Re-written by: Kahto

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the canon characters (ie. Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha) mentioned in the story; they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and the original writers/creators.

On a side note, I also do not own or take credit for the creation of any mentioned music, cars and/or videogame consoles/games. They belong to the rightful creators, manufactures, and artists.

"I… I can't." Sakura responded, her hand instinctively jerking backwards, hands clutching ring of keys. She looked away from Naruto, who was gazing at her with a confused expression. It just… It didn't add up… He kissed her, and she didn't get mad at him. The next day, she invites him over to her house, he explains the incredibly shallow reason for dumping her all those years ago, and she still doesn't get mad. He wanted to make up for all that time they spent apart, but she had declined…

"Can I ask why…?" Naruto asked, nearly choking on his own words. His Adams apple bobbed as he gulped, hoping Sakura wasn't carrying a secret grudge.

"Well, you see… Sasuke called me last night, and asked if I wanted to go out with him, and I… I said yes." Sakura said as her head lowered more than before. If this happened a few years ago, Sakura would be holding her chin up with pride, shouting it to the world at the top of her lungs. But… Why not now?

"Ah. I see." Naruto responded, walking towards the door. Sakura knew how Naruto worked, when he was depressed about something, he'd immediately shut himself down for socialization and refuse to converse with anybody. He'd lock himself in his apartment, dorm, or any living quarters he had access to until he felt better.

Unfortunately, Sakura was too late. Naruto did not want to talk, or fool around right now. He was certain he needed to be alone, to both think and sulk about what had happened. Sakura was going to feel so guilty, now…

She could hear the McLaren SLR screech and speed off until she could no longer hear the faint purring of the engine. Her head dropped, gently setting her keys back on the counter. She walked over to her couch, curling into a small ball with her head on the arm-rest. Sakura snatched the remote control off the table beside the couch and turned it on, watching whatever she stopped on at random.

Naruto sped through traffic, easily above the speed limit. But right now, he didn't care. Normally Naruto wasn't ever this reckless, ever, but… It feels like his heart has been shred to pieces. His parents had died right before his eyes, and he still never felt like this unbearable pain where he believed his heart to be.

Due to his outrageous speed, he reached his dormitory quickly and safely, unexpectedly. In a single swift motion, Naruto unlocked the doors, released his seatbelt and removed the keys from the ignition, slowly climbing out. He closed the car door behind him, lowering his head so his hair shadowed his eyes.

"I'm just over-reacting… I mean, I don't even like her that much…" Naruto thought to himself… That's what we would be thinking for the next few months.

Season: Winter

Month: December

Date: December 19th

Naruto's Dorm Room

Naruto had regretted the day he began ignoring, and avoiding Sakura Haruno so much it actually hurt his stomach when the thought was brought up. On top of this, the entire band, and their opposing band had just been given their Winter Vacation. It started on December nineteenth, and ended on December thirtieth. To Naruto, this was one heck of a vacation, and he even got to play with his band at the Christmas Eve Concert.

Somehow, Naruto had gotten past Sasuke's Ego and renamed the band. Now, they were known as "System Virus". The instant the band heard this new name, they took a liking to it, and made sure everybody knew.

Now, Naruto was sitting alone in his dorm room, now littered with a ton of guitars. In his hand was an acoustic guitar, though it had an amp plug on the base, for obvious reasons. He was simply strumming a random tune, trying to get his mind off a lot of things.

The classes at Konoha University were great, though they could be occasionally time consuming. It was still nothing to get worked up over. Life was going great for Naruto, aside from certain parts of his more personal life. It's pretty easy to determine the source of most of his problems, grief and depression.

Naruto stood up and set the guitar on his couch, walking over to the stainless steel refrigerator positioned on the end of his kitchen set. He opened the refrigerator door, only to find it void of food normal people would eat. The only thing left was a stack of instant-ramen cups in the back. Naruto shrugged, and figured he could go out to eat. He couldn't be bothered with grocery shopping, though he would have to eventually.

After snatching the keys from his counter, grabbing an orange and black coat, and tying his high-top converse tight, he walked out of his front door. He didn't even notice a sketchy figure dressed in dark clothing, with a hood covering his face. Naruto's car was already cleaned off; a volunteer from the school shoveled the snow and cleaned the student's cars every morning. It wasn't awesome, but it was a good way to get some extra cash for whoever was doing it.

After starting up his car and turning the heat on, he slowly pulled out of the white covered parking spot his car had been resting in. It was about time he got out of that house. Of course, the blistering winds of winter weren't exactly inviting, but they weren't unbearable to the point of locking yourself in all winter.

As he was about to pull out onto the main road, his eyes darted to the rear-view mirror. He saw the black clad figure, and squinted to try to get a better view. His eyes blinked, and the figure disappeared, vanishing into thin air before Naruto's eyes could have re-opened.

"That was weird… Bah. It's just the reflection of something…" he muttered, eyes glancing at the road. He pulled out onto the snowy street, and turned to the left. He was sure to look before moving, too… Wrecking this amazing car was not on his daily agenda.

-x-

"He's on his way to… The Maroon Lodge? What a weird name for a restaurant." said a black clad figure, the voice appearing to be deep. Whoever this was, it was definitely a male.

"Good. Thanks." was said through a cellular phone, a more feminine sounding voice on the other side.

-x-

"This'll do." Naruto said to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of a wooden lodge like building, smoke coming out of three different chimneys. With the snow covering the roof, it looked like a real ski lodge. Naruto turned the key and yanked it from the ignition, jamming it in his pocket. He just sat there, embraced by the trapped warmth in his car.

His eyes wandered to the cell phone, in a tray used for holding various things. He picked it up and stared at the camera lenses, then at the screen. He wanted to call her, he really did. But, there was something that held him back… How could he not, though? He –loved- Sakura, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring up the courage to talk to her.

"Fuck this. I'm through being a coward. I'll talk to the girl I love, whether I like it or not!" he shouted to himself, flipping open the cell phone and hastily dialing Sakura's number. He heard her customized ring tone, one of her band's songs… It brought a smile to Naruto's face. It stopped, suddenly, and was replaced with the voice of an angel. That was in Naruto's way of describing it, at least.

"Hello?" Sakura's voice said, her tone not holding a specific emotion. It was just sort of.. blunt.

"Uhm.. Hey, Sakura…" Naruto said, taking a deep breath as his mind began to choose his next words carefully. Naruto could clearly hear Sakura gasp on her side of the call, followed by a much happier tone.

"Naruto! It's really you… What's up?" she asked, voice filled to the top with the utmost happiness. This was a good start. She got happier all of the sudden, after hearing his voice. This could mean she still has feelings for him, or… It could just mean she's happy to hear an old friend's voice.

"Uh… Nothing much, I guess. I was just sitting outside the Maroon Lodge, and wanted to know if you'd like to join me for some dinner?" Naruto asked, trying to sound mature and polite. That's what got her to go out with him the first time around, so chances are, they might work again? Of course, she was still dating Sasuke… But maybe this could help them hang out more.

"Sure! I'll be right there. I'll meet you in the waiting area?" Sakura responded, and Naruto just said "Yeah, sure. See you there. Bye.", before hanging up. He pulled on his jacket and prepared to leave the comfort of his warm car.

Whoaaa boy. Yeah, so. This chapter is so late… So late… I can explain this, guys. A STRING of bad luck came over me. First, My computer had to be wiped. Why? I don't know, it just did. For some reason, it didn't have Microsoft Word installed, the program I use to write in, obviously. This means I couldn't write the story, because I refuse to write in a program I'm unfamiliar with.

So, It took a while to borrow the CD from my cousin. He said it was like, four hundred dollars to buy. I thanked him so much… Anyway, I just wanted to get this chapter out, and I want you all to know that I am –SO- sorry for making you wait.