A/N: Well it started as a one-shot, but due to several requests, I've written a sequel (technically another one-shot), this time it is Sakura's point of view over Naruto's black bandana for his forehead protector. Just like the first chapter, this one weaves in and around some events of at the beginning of the arc.
Thank you for all the reviews, the humor and romance genres are not my usual area of writing, so I was very happy to hear it worked. Writing from Sakura's POV this time was a little more challenging. There isn't a canon object, like the red ribbon in Sakura's case, to tie the black bandana too. Instead, I've chosen to be a little creative. I hope it works!
Chapter 02 – Something Black
It was like old times and yet it wasn't.
Sakura followed Naruto outside of the Hokage Tower, her anger still burning at his choice to escape rather than tell her the story behind the new black bandana for his forehead protector. She told him about hers and it was only fair that he told her about his, but the way he acted infuriated her more. Just what about the story did he not want tell her about?
Her anger quickly disappeared as she stepped outside. Naruto was there, standing outside of the tower while looking around with a thoughtful smile on his face, perhaps lost in memories as he recognized buildings he hadn't seen in years.
"Did you miss it?" she asked.
"Yup," he smiled with a happy look in his blue eyes.
"Knowing you, your probably remembering which buildings where you played a prank and where you were caught," she teased him.
They laughed together at the thought.
Naruto the prankster was the first thing that popped into her memories, now things were different, Sakura couldn't just think about Naruto's childhood as a prankster. She now thought of his childhood as a boy with a demon fox inside of him. Sealed inside, she reminded herself. She carefully distinguished the monster the others thought Naruto was as something different from the determined boy she knew.
Sakura now knew the secret. She didn't know how to tell him that she knew and so she decided to act as she always did, yell at him if he said something stupid and give him a warm smile if he said something that made her happy. To her surprise, it was still natural to do those things, but now that she knew differently, how could it ever be like old times again?
Many times on a sleepless night, she reexamined her memories using new information she had learned. She used to think he was selfish, causing trouble because he had no parents to punish him, but now she knew differently, that he was only trying to get attention, even if it wasn't they type he was expecting.
Sakura looked around and realized for the first time she truly seeing it, the reaction of the villagers as Naruto stood among them. She watched the hateful gazes as people watched him from a distance or the small sneer on their lips as they passed by him. Of course, it was likely she had seen them before, but she hadn't known what they meant or likely, hadn't even cared, but things were different know because now she knew the truth.
"Hey, Naruto," she spoke up, trying to keep her voice steady. Even if the glares weren't on her, they made her nervous. "Lets go back inside and wait for Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto turned to her and to her disbelief, he was still smiling, "Why? Kakashi-sensei will probably go through this entrance to get inside anyway."
Sakura's mind was reeling. Didn't he see it? Didn't it bother him? Why was he smiling as if nothing was wrong?
Instead of saying any of this, she smiled and nodded her head yes. She decided if Naruto was strong enough to bare it, then she would stay by his side. Yet, a lingering doubt filled her, knowing what she knew, how could it be like it was before?
"Kakashi-sensei's late like he used to be. He doesn't look different either. I guess he hasn't changed at all!" Naruto looked at her with a fox-smile, grinning ear to ear with his eyes squinted and the whisker-like lines highlighting his face.
"No, I don't think he's changed at all." Sakura was grateful for a change of topic. She searched her memory for anytime she's interacted with Kakashi during the two and a half years. "Same clothes, same hair, and always with one of his perverted books. Did you have to give him a new one?"
"Why not? Perverted Hermit has been busy training me instead of writing," he frowned for a second, "although that didn't cut down on his research. I just thought Kakashi-sensei would be excited to have the new book, although I don't understand them myself."
Sakura sighed, not certain to be upset that Naruto didn't seem to understand adult matters yet or relieved that Jiraiya hadn't corrupted him, although, from what she had seen, even that was questionable.
Before she could reply, a familiar puff of smoke revealed a familiar teacher.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to help an old lady cross the street."
Sakura and Naruto yelled in unison, "LIAR!"
Sakura smiled, realizing there was nothing to fear.
It was like old times.
The meeting for their mission assignments had gone well, despite her having to restrain Naruto before he said something that would set off the Fifth Hokage, although the news that the Akatsuki had captured Gaara had left her worried and not for Gaara.
The team agreed to meet in front of the gates at a certain time and they went their separate ways to pack. Naruto had it the easiest, since he had just gotten back, but Sakura knew she had to take special care in packing an assortment medical supplies in case she needed them.
She rushed to her home and laid her backpack on her bed while gather camping gear, ninja weapons, and medical supplies. Her thoughts were on the new mission and on Naruto while she did so.
Naruto seemed almost happy to be leaving Konoha so quickly, but she couldn't blame him. She began to wonder what sort of life Naruto had outside of Konoha, without villagers who gave him angry glares and children told to stay away from him.
"I guess if they didn't know about Kyuubi or were never told that he was a bad person, then maybe they would see him for who he is," she told herself.
With her backpack packed, she approached a mirror for one final inspection. She straightened her forehead protector and looked at the red ribbon it was attached him.
Sakura giggled at the thought of what conclusions Naruto had come to about the origin of her red headband. Then she looked serious, if Naruto came to the idea so easily that she had a boyfriend to give her the red headband, then perhaps it was because he had a girlfriend who gave him his. In fact, the more she thought about it the more it made sense, he did run away quickly after she asked.
Come to think about it, he hadn't acted his normal self, she thought he matured, but he hadn't noticed how she changed or said 'Good Morning Sakura-chan' once!
"He probably met someone who treated him with a bit of kindness for once and he attached himself to her like a lost puppy," she told her reflection while frowning. "But what about me? He used to follow me around saying Sakura-chan all the time at the worst moments, interfering with my love life, and since he's been back hasn't done it once! I thought it was maturity, but am I that replaceable!"
"Damn it!" yelled Inner Sakura inside her head. "How dare that bastard get a girlfriend after leaving me here alone!"
Sakura shook her head in a moment of inner conflict, telling herself that Inner Sakura did not sound jealous. "What am I thinking? Of course, it's good if Naruto met someone nice. He deserves it. Why should I care if he has a new girlfriend?"
She chuckled softly, but turned her back from her reflection in the mirror, afraid to look at her uncertain eyes any longer.
To Sakura's surprise, she was the first one to the gate.
She hadn't expected Kakashi to be there on time, but figured Naruto would have been there packed and impatient to leave, especially since he just got back to Konoha, assuming he hadn't unpacked his gear yet.
Sakura found a place to wait that was out of the way and started thinking. Her thoughts should have been on the mission, but she found herself thinking about the black bandana again.
She started to think of it as a puzzle to solve. The first piece was figuring out where he was during the two and a half years.
"He wasn't in the Fire Country, no one has seen or heard anything about him during their missions, besides if someone was looking for him the Fire Country is the most obvious place to look. He probably wasn't in one of the greater counties either, besides for the Suna, the others have dangerous rival villages, and he wasn't in Suna or he would have known about Gaara. Jiraiya-sama probably took him to a lesser country, but anywhere near the Rice Field Country would have been dangerous too."
All that left were a handful of lesser countries, but she didn't have any more information.
"But some of them are so foreign."
Her mind began to work into overtime, thinking of every possibility because unlike Naruto, she didn't have a list of suspects. Except for Temari, she didn't know any foreign women personally and she was often so busy with training that she hadn't left the Fire Country except for her second Chuunin exam and when she followed Tsunade on official business.
"I wonder why it bothers me so much?" she asked herself.
"What is?"
"T-Tsunade-shishou!" she stuttered in surprise. She was nervous like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Nothing."
Tsunade smiled. It wasn't a regular smile, it was a smile she got when she could see someone was bluffing, which would mean a big win for herself. She knew it wasn't nothing and Sakura knew that she knew.
She straightened up, trying to save some dignity and spoke as if it was just a curiosity, "I was wondering Naruto got his new black headband for his forehead protector, but he won't tell me."
"Oh, that. I noticed it as well, but it hadn't bothered me." There was a teasing tone hidden in the woman's voice.
"He's my teammate, I'm only curious about his experiences outside of Konoha!" Sakura argued, but decided it was safer to change the subject, "Did you come to see us off?"
"Yes and I wanted to tell you that Temari has already left and headed back to Suna. She left before the news about Gaara arrived, so I doubt she's in any hurry. If you see her on the way, you should inform her of the situation. I suspect she'll want to travel with you the rest of the way. She would also be helpful to get your team through Suna as quick as possible."
"Right," she answered.
Sakura thought about the foreign kunoichi. She was on friendly terms with the older girl, technically a young woman now. Temari was coming and going from Konoha a lot. She was also with Shikamaru much of the time, although the two quickly deny it is anything but professional work.
Could Naruto have met an older kunoichi that was beautiful and exotic?
She laughed at herself, realizing she was being silly about the whole matter. What did it matter to her? He probably met many people, some dangerous, some beautiful, and some who were both. It didn't mean he found a girlfriend out of any of them. She couldn't picture Naruto with someone like that.
"I'm being silly thinking he had a girlfriend. He was suppose to be training like me, if I didn't have time then why should he have the time?"
Tsunade smiled at her, enjoying her situation. "True, but if I would guess, maybe someone gave him the bandana in return for something he did."
"Not everyone bets her most valuable possession to a stranger," Sakura told her.
"What? I didn't mean they had to bet him for it, it's just a headband after all," Tsunade argued, but she smiled slyly as she looked at Sakura, "But he could have gotten it for rescuing a girl. You know there are all sort of tales of the hero rescuing the princess and being rewarded with her silk scarf. Naruto seems the sort to do anything to rescue someone."
"Eh!" Sakura looked at Tsunade in shock. The very possibility had her eyes about to jump out of their sockets in disbelief, but she remembered that Naruto fought his hardest to save her from Gaara, but she never got around to thanking him. What if he did the same for some other girl and she had?
Tsunade was enjoying herself as she continued innocently, "I wonder what a kunoichi might reward him with for saving her life? The bandana, of course, but maybe also a kiss."
"EH!"
"That's assuming it was a kunoichi, after he was traveling with Jiraiya!" She let her own anger at the frog tamer out, "He made a new book, that must have means he had to do his research somewhere and who knows what sort of places he dragged Naruto into and what type of women he met or who may have rewarded him."
"STOP IT!"
Sakura froze, realizing everyone in the area heard her scream. They might not have known why she screamed, but she suddenly felt embarrassed for feeling this way.
"Sakura-chan!"
Naruto suddenly appeared, surprising her as he dropped to his feet inches away from her after he jumped from the roof of nearby building. He looked around frantically with a serious face, but it changed into confusion as he couldn't see anyone but Tsunade standing near Sakura.
"Naruto! What are you doing?" she yelled, changing her embarrassment into anger.
"I-I heard you scream," he told her as he backed away carefully as he watched her sudden anger. "I thought you were trouble so I ran here as quick as I could."
Tsunade stepped between them and patted him on the shoulder, "Ah, it was nothing Naruto, I was just teasing Sakura a bit."
Sakura turned away, feeling her face burning as she blushed.
Kakashi arrived as usual, in a puff of smoke and a perverted book in his hand.
"Ah, everyone is already here," he said casually, although he looked back to look at a blushing Sakura, a smiling Tsunade, and a confused Naruto in-between them. "Is something wrong?"
"N-Nothing!" said Sakura with a nervous laugh.
Kakashi didn't think it was nothing, but he let it go, "Well then, should be off?"
However, Naruto shook his head, "But Iruka-sensei said he was going to see us off! He's not here yet!"
"Alright, we can wait a little bit."
Tsunade's smile grew a little as she thought of something to pass the time. "You know Sakura, some of the greatest ninja in Konoha are perverts. There is a long line of them, from teacher to student, including the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Naruto."
"What!" yelled Sakura. Tsunade was clearly trying to bring back the topic of their previous conversation to her displeasure. Of course, if Naruto were pervert then he wouldn't have minded where Jiraiya would have dragged him to: bars, clubs, and brothels!
An image entered Sakura's mind. She imagined a mature, voluptuous woman in a brothel taking away Naruto's innocence in a loveless night of passion.
"NOOOOO!" screamed Inner Sakura in frustrated agony, about ready to pull out her hair. That is if Inner Sakura had real hair. The real Sakura managed to keep herself in control. It was okay, of course, that couldn't happen, the idiot didn't even notice her when she tried to get him to comment on how her curves had filled out. It simply wasn't possible, she hoped…
Meanwhile, Kakashi placed his book back in his pouch in nonchalant way, as if he had no idea what she was talking about, "That isn't true."
The Fifth was tapping her foot in irritation, she obviously didn't believe him. "Uh huh."
"Why are you talking about this all the sudden?" asked Naruto with an uneasy look. He still had a lump from Sakura for talking about his new perverted technique.
"What a minute," said Sakura as she was thinking about in her head. "You said from teacher to student, but didn't you miss someone…Kakashi-sensei teacher?"
Naruto thought about it too, "Which would be Perverted Hermit's student."
"The Fourth!" they yelled in unison.
Kakashi cleared his voice, "It's best not to talk about that." He quickly looked around for something to change the subject. "Hey, Naruto, I noticed you have a new headband!"
Naruto blinked in surprise as the conversation changed tracks, but he suppose it was better than the previous one, especially with a volatile pair of females near him.
"Y-Yeah, I got after my old one got torn up," he told them. He pointed to it proudly, "But it's the same forehead protector that Iruka-sensei gave me."
Sakura listened carefully, while trying not to appear that interested in it. After all, why should she care? It wasn't like she wanted to be Naruto's girlfriend instead of some foreign girl and she certainly wasn't jealous that someone else got to show Naruto some affection that he was never given in the past. It wasn't as if she cared that some other girl was in his heart instead of her.
Really, she didn't or so she told herself.
She hadn't let go of Sasuke despite Tsunade's warnings and told herself that she would protect him. In order to understand him, she did a lot of research on Sasuke and the Uchiha clan over the two and a half years. She only learned that Kyuubi was sealed inside of Naruto due to the connection between Naruto and Uchiha Itachi.
It wasn't like she was searching for the secret of Naruto's pain, but now that she knew, she learned to understand him instead.
Sakura couldn't hold it in anymore, "But where did you get the bandana itself?"
He blinked in confusion, prompting her to grab him by the collar.
"I…don't…"
"Did you get it from a girlfriend your hiding in another country!" she yelled as she shook him around. By now, Inner Sakura was in control.
"What?"
"Or did some girl give it to you after rescuing her from bad guys!"
"N-No."
Sakura looked at him with eyes that scared him as she spoke in a tone that hinted at barely controlled rage, "Don't tell me that you got it from some prostitute you slept with in brothel that man took you to!"
"WHAT! Sakura-chan, what are talking about?"
Sakura let him go, laughing nervously in embarrassment. She realized that Naruto hadn't done anything she feared.
"But why did you run away instead of telling me?"
"Ah…well…I promised to help someone a while back, which Perverted Hermit said was pretty stupid to start with, but I fought some really tough opponents, but I was hurt pretty badly for a while. I nearly died, but when I woke up the person I helped gave me the bandana. I was afraid to tell you since I was almost killed."
"What?"
He gave her a big ear to ear grin, "If I died I wouldn't be able to keep my promise of a lifetime to you, Sakura-chan."
Sakura looked at him shock, realizing he felt bad for almost breaking the promise he made years ago. A promise he intended to selflessly fulfill no matter how much he hurt himself, as long as she was happy in the end.
It was like old times, but this time she swore she would protect him as well.
Author's Note: Some of you might be surprised by that "origin", but I didn't want to give him a girlfriend or something if he was thinking about Sakura like he did in the previous chapter. It would make him hypocritical and I didn't want that. Instead, I thought it was more amusing that Sakura believed all of these things. So I left a rather vague origin to the bandana.
Actually, I left the ending the way it was in the first chapter to be humorous, but after actually thinking about it, I don't think Naruto would have thought Sakura thought about him in that way since he accepted her feelings about Sasuke years ago. It had to be for a different reason that made sense. I hope it did at least…
Version 1.0
1.0: Original