Well… you voted, I wrote.
I hope everyone likes this as they liked my other stories…
Okay, for this story, when I say misunderstandings, I really mean misunderstandings. But they're not what they look like. I swear.
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Summary: After a huge heartbreak, Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, and Ino mysteriously disappear. A couple years later, they come back and bring a huge surprise with them – whole new personalities, abilities, and… kids? SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno, NaruHina
Rating: T (PG-13)
Genre: Romance/Drama
Standard Disclaimer applied.
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Chapter 1: Walk Away
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Drip.
Another step forward, another tear shed.
Drip. Drip.
This time, two tears fell to the flat ground.
Drip.
Her eyes, a shade of dark green in the night, stared straight ahead; her facial expression did not suit the tears falling down her pale skin. 'I may… I may never come back to this place again.'
Drip.
Haruno Sakura was leaving.
'I guess… I was just never too good enough for you, Sasuke-kun.'
She wasn't on a mission, she wasn't on a special assignment… she was leaving... for real.
Her sandaled feet stopped when she got to the gates and her eyes widened in slight surprise. "What… what are you guys doing here?"
The blonde looked up at her, her usually dancing blue eyes hollow. "No, Sakura… what are you doing here?"
"Tenten… Hinata… what are you doing?"
They looked like they were prepared for a voyage too. Simple, light packs and travel clothes.
"I… I… N-Naruto…kun…" Hinata whispered as more tears streaked down her face. Then... Sakura realized and she wrapped her slender arms around the Hyuuga heiress, the most fragile of the four, in a comforting hug.
"You're… running away too, aren't you…?" Sakura whispered, feeling everyone's pain.
Tenten forced a relieved smile. "So… you aren't here to stop us?"
The pink-haired teen shook her head. "I guess I won't be leaving alone… What happened to you guys?"
None of them seemed willing to share their tragedy.
Then, Ino sighed in a resigned way. "I guess… it's better if I got this off my chest…"
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"Shikamaru!" Ino called for the pineapple-haired Nara genius.
Swatting away the branches of the pine tree impatiently, she made her way to Shikamaru's cloudgazing spot.
Yes, Nara Shikamaru had his own spot for cloudgazing.
"Shikamaru!" Ino called again. She needed to tell him… now! Who knew what the consequences could be?
"Shika-"
A high-pitched, falsetto giggle came from the spot where Shikamaru's sacred place was.
Quickly lowering her chakra levels so she could go by undetected, she carefully hid behind a bush and looked.
What she saw broke her heart.
It was a girl.
She looked Shikamaru's age, with wavy blonde hair that reached mid-thigh, with sultry, amber eyes.
'Slut,' Ino thought disgustedly.
But why was she with Shikamaru…? Sitting in his favorite spot on the grass… clutching at his left arm… her head on the upper part of his arm…
She felt like crying.
What a slut.
But she realized that she was as much of a slut as the mysterious girl seductively giggling at Shikamaru. After all, they…
She turned her back and tried to hold her tears in as she ran on her heels.
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"Ino-chan…" Sakura murmured. "I'm… sorry…"
"That was b-brave of you to t-tell what y-you s-saw…" Hinata said softly. "I-I'll tell you what happened to m-me…"
Sakura gave Hinata a faint smile. Even if her stuttering habit was still there, Hinata could be real brave sometimes.
Hinata took a shaky breath and started.
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Hyuuga Hinata slid past the numerous people walking down the many streets of Konoha.
She had one destination: Ichiraku Ramen.
She needed to look for Naruto. She needed to tell him… She knew it wasn't his fault… but…
There – an orange and black jacket and Konoha forehead protector.
But who was the person he was sharing ramen with?
Whoa, wait. Back up. Sharing ramen?!
In her 17 years of living, Hyuuga Hinata had neverever seen Uzumaki Naruto sharing ramen with…
A girl.
Hinata felt something stab at her heart as the girl beside Naruto giggled flirtatiously. 'Naruto-kun… was I not too good enough?'
Even if Hinata could only see their backs, she could tell the girl sitting with Naruto was pretty.
Prettier than her.
Shoulder-length auburn hair, brightly colored, manicured nails, and an expensive-looking outfit for royalty.
The girl was laughing like there was no end of the world – at one of Naruto-kun's numerous funny quips, Hinata bet.
She felt something tug at her throat and she tried hard to quell the sobs rising in her chest.
Turning around with all hopes of a happy ending gone, Hyuuga Hinata went home.
To pack.
'Maybe you'll be happier without me, Naruto-kun.'
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Hinata bit her lip, thinking her friends were going to call her weak.
"Hinata-chan…" Sakura said quietly. "You were strong. You didn't cry when you saw..."
Hinata sniffed. Crying was a sign of weakness. A proper kunoichi should keep a stony countenance through everything.
Even if it was getting her heart broken by Uzumaki Naruto.
A hand was placed on her shoulder.
Hinata looked up, and saw Tenten, smiling sadly. "It's okay to cry, Hinata… It's okay…"
Hinata nodded as the salty liquid flowed freely, playing tag with each other down her pale cheeks.
"I guess it's my turn to share now, huh?" Tenten said aloud.
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Tenten tapped her foot impatiently as she absentmindedly twirled a kunai on her index finger.
Neji was late.
Her brows creased in confusion. Neji was never late. It was usually her that was always making an excuse for being late.
But today was flipped. Tenten was the early (or on time) one and Neji was nowhere to be seen, or heard.
The corners of her lips quirked down into a slight scowl. Where was Neji? She needed to tell him…
She heard a giggle.
Letting her curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way through the many trees and bushes; she knew this place, like the back of her hand. In her spare time, she had explored the forest in hopes of better training grounds.
Then she saw it.
Hyuuga Neji was hugging a girl.
She couldn't see their faces but she could see the Hyuuga prodigy's back as he hugged some random girl.
Judging from how the girl's long, chestnut hair flowed to the ground, Tenten could tell the girl was definitely a looker.
Tenten didn't know that Neji preferred good-looking girls.
The kunai stopped twirling, as her vision grew blurry from unshed tears. 'I thought he… I thought he…'
'No,' a nasty voice in her head told her. 'He wasn't himself. You saw for yourself.'
'But he said it himself!' A tear slid, slowly and gracefully, down her cheeks and past the quivering lip.
'Did you think he really meant it?'
Turning her back, she ran, leaving behind the horrible sight, the nasty little voice of truth, and… her heart.
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"I'm… I'm so sorry, Tenten-chan…" Hinata whispered.
"I thought I had it easy," Ino murmured softly.
Sakura smiled sadly. "You guys have been though so much… it really pains me to see my best friends like this…"
"What about you?" Tenten asked. "You need to have some reason for… walking away."
Sakura's sad smile warped into a bitter one. "Oh, yes… you see…"
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Sakura slid past the wooden gates of the Uchiha compound.
Finally, she could tell him… but would he believe her? After all, she was unconscious, and he was… possessed.
'Well Sasuke-kun… I guess your goals are accomplished without you even knowing it.'
She had gotten out of the hospital five minutes ago, so her chakra was almost gone. Sasuke would not notice her due to her low chakra levels, so she decided to try to surprise him.
Sakura turned left at an intersection. She knew the whole place well – after all, when Sasuke was on probation, she was the one, with Team 7, that watched over him.
She opened the door to Sasuke's room, opened her mouth to say his name, when…
She saw him and the girl.
He was… on top of… a girl.
'I never knew Sasuke-kun was more attracted to prettier girls,' Inner Sakura mused miserably.
Sasuke was straddling someone's stomach, and was pinning her arms to his bed. His head was lowered and his hair was covering his face, but Sakura could tell they had been getting… um… busy.
The female had long, purple hair and twinkling turquoise eyes. She was scantily clad and seemed to be staring at Sasuke with unmistakable lust in her eyes.
Sakura vaguely noticed that the stranger had an average-sized forehead.
Sakura, forgetting for a moment she was invisible to them, gasped.
Sasuke immediately looked up and his dark eyes widened a fraction. "S-Sakura!"
She knew that her eyes were probably glassy from her tears, bowed so she could conceal her watery eyes. "A-ah, S-Sasuke-kun… I'm sorry… for… interrupting… I'll be going now…"
She spun on her back with the most grace she could muster as a kunoichi at the moment.
"Finally!" She heard as she left the hall. Typical female model voice, she mused. Perfectly pitched falsetto, oozing with honey. "Who was she? What a wide forehead!"
"Shut up," Sasuke's voice came from the room.
"Sasuke-kunnnn…"
'Yes,' Sakura thought bitterly. 'Just shut up and get back to what we were doing, huh?'
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"I never thought Sasuke had the balls to do that," Ino offered at a horrible attempt at humor.
"I guess we're all the same, huh?" Sakura mused. "But… guys… what were you trying to tell the guys?"
Hinata looked away in what looked like shame, Tenten grimaced, and Ino turned paler than her normal skin tone.
"I… you remember that party Konoha threw for the new Jounins?" Tenten asked.
"Of course," Sakura said. This was how she had… "It was thrown for us."
"Well, you know how the guys drank too much sake and… we took them home?"
"Hold it," Sakura said slowly. "You guys are…"
Ino nodded miserably. "I shouldn't have let lust gotten the better of me…"
"Yes," Hinata agreed softly. "I was just… overwhelmed by… Naruto-kun…"
Tenten nodded as well, seemingly drowning in her guilt.
"You're lucky…" Sakura smiled sadly. "I got knocked out…"
"What?!" Ino hissed. "What do you mean?!"
"I… he… he was overwhelmed by the curse seal," Sakura's green eyes lowered to the ground. "And… he knocked me out."
"It's… It's… I shouldn't h-have b-believed h-him…" Hinata wept. "He… He t-told me he… l-loved m-me…"
"Ditto," Tenten said morosely.
"We were all fooled," Ino said bitterly.
"Well… leaving… I don't feel bad at all," Sakura admitted. "I just feel… empty."
"Yes," Tenten agreed slowly. "Well then ladies… ready to become runaways?"
Sakura picked up her pack as the others followed suit.
As the four walked out of the village of Konohagakure, Sakura started singing softly.
I saw you with your new girl just yesterday
and I feel that I must confess
Even though it kills me to have to say
I'll admit that I was impressed
Ino joined in with an equally sweet voice. As tears rolled down the blonde's cheeks, her lips never stopped moving to the song.
Is it calling just showed up affection
gotta commend you on your selection
Though I know I shouldn't be concerned
in the back of my mind I can't help but question
Tenten, staring straight ahead, also moved her lips in motion for the song. Her full, strong voice made a perfect harmony with Sakura's and Ino's.
Does she rub your feet when you've had a long day
Scratch your scalp when you take you your braids
Does she know that you like to play PS2 till 6 in the morning like I do
The three already singing stopped for a moment to look at the shortest teen. Their somber, hollow eyes all seemed to be asking one thing.
'Will you sing with us?'
Hinata nodded slightly and opened her mouth to start the chorus.
I can't explain this feeling
Hinata's soft voice became stronger and stronger as the four voices became a melody for anyone's ears in range.
I think about it everyday
And even though we've moved on
it gets so hard to walk away
Walk away, walk away
Walk away…
As the last note faded into the air, Sakura looked back at the bright lights of her (former) home once more.
'Sasuke… Even though it's not me… I hope you're happy. Walking away is hard for me… every one of uss. But… please… be happy… with whomever it is.'
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Tsunade stared at the four teenagers in front of her.
Naruto was up front, with a furious expression. Shikamaru looked unusually alert and interested in something other than the sky, and both the Hyuuga and Uchiha prodigies looked a little more angry than impassive.
"I want to go look for them, now!" Naruto demanded.
Tsunade looked at the four. "Guys, it's nighttime… and the girls must have a plausible reason to just leave."
"You can't just do that!" the Kyuubi jinchuuriki howled. "They're kunoichi of Konoha!"
"They're missing-nin now if they leave voluntarily," Tsunade said calmly although her heart was aching.
'Sakura… why?'
"You have no proof they're missing-nin," Neji said stubbornly.
Tsunade pointed to the crumpled piece of paper in each of they boys' hands. "I believe they left those. That is enough proof. And even if I send ninja after them, they won't be you four. You'll just let your emotions get in the way. I'll send ANBU after them tomorrow morning, at dawn if that will shut you up."
Sasuke opened his mouth to retaliate, but Naruto beat him to it.
"NO!" Naruto roared. "I WANT TO GO AFTER THEM! IF YOU WON'T LET ME, IF… If… you won't let me… I'll become a missing-nin myself to look for them..."
"You are in no position to do that, Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade said harshly. "Maybe it's what you did that made them leave."
The loudmouth fell silent.
But not everyone was.
A faint sound filled the air. Was it… singing?
I saw you with your new girl just yesterday
and I feel that I must confess
Even though it kills me to have to say
I'll admit that I was impressed
It was a single voice, but was sweet and sad at the same time. It was soft but drew the listeners to crave more. It was…
"Sakura," Sasuke muttered.
Another voice joined in, this was more loud and bold. It was sweet, like the first voice, but it had a certain air of confidence that the first one didn't have.
"Ino," Shikamaru looked a little more than pained.
Is it calling just showed up affection
gotta commend you on your selection
Though I know I shouldn't be concerned
in the back of my mind I can't help but question
Another voice joined in. It had a slightly lower pitch, but its slightly husky yet alluring voice gave Neji a heartache.
'Tenten…' Everyone in the room could see Neji's inward pain.
Does she rub your feet when you've had a long day
Scratch your scalp when you take you your braids
Does she know that you like to play PS2 till 6 in the morning like I do
Then, there was a little pause. But, as they say, the show must go on. A new voice joined the chorus. It was not very distinct, but it got louder and more confident.
Naruto bit his lip. "Hinata…" Unusual. She usually stuttered and fumbled over every sentence, but when she sang… softest out of everyone but most emotion, after maybe Sakura's singing voice.
I think about it everyday
And even though we've moved on
it gets so hard to walk away
Walk away, walk away
Walk away…
The last note drifted off somewhere.
"Naruto," Tsunade said softly, as if worrying that her usually loud, commanding voice would break the blonde teen's heart. "I don't think I'll be sending anyone after them…"
"Why not?" Naruto whispered.
"Yes," Shikamaru, ever the tactician, spoke up. "Even if they're not the type to betray Konoha's secrets to everyone else, we, as shinobi of Konoha, have a job to keep."
The blonde woman smiled sadly. Yes, she understood everything. Why they sang the song, why they had been so sick lately, why they had left…
After all, she was the Godaime Hokage. She could add two and two together.
"Let's just say… they're suffering from a disease," Tsunade said quietly. "And I've given them permission to… take a break."
She knew she wasn't telling the whole truth, but the girls needed to… recuperate. 'Oh Sakura, if only I had known sooner…'
"What would that disease be?" Sasuke asked roughly. "For them to…"
"Suffer." Neji finished. For once, the Hyuuga and Uchiha were working together. How odd.
'What do those girls mean to you?'
"A very common disease." Tsunade said calmly. "Although many experience it, there are varying levels of the disease. The girls… seem to have the worst case I have seen in my whole life."
"What's the name of the disease?" Almost all four boys spoke up in unison.
"It's called… heartbreak."
The Nara's eyebrows furrowed as his mind was racing. When… heartbreak?
Oh...
Every other male seemed to have realized the truth. Their missions, and the girls had seen…
But now, they knew, it was too late. Each boy's hand, the ones with the papers the girls had written, clenched and the neatly written Goodbye'swas crunched up with each boy's hope.
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A simple misunderstanding.
Four broken runaways.
Four males in denial.
Hearts broken, tears shed… will this vicious cycle even end?
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So… this is Runaway Love chapter one… I hope the first chapter wasn't a big failure…
Next chapter will be after 6 years. And, it'll have what really happened. So don't think this is like, a love triangle, I feel as if love triangles aren't really necessary in this story. And because if I put triangles in this story, it'll probably ruin the whole thing.
Um… Father Figure is next, and I'll probably have the first chapter up in a couple of weeks… or sooner. No guarantees.
Well, hope you enjoyed it!