Whiskers

A NARUSAKU Story

Talking thinking a biju InnerSakura Narration

The sun shone brightly over the Hidden Leaf Village and Team 7 was not going to waste it. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke sat tiredly beneath the trees at their favorite training site as they waited for their ever absent sensei. The team had been waiting since 4am and they were a little more than annoyed.

Sakura's POV

"If Kakashi-sensei doesn't get here soon! CHAAA!" My inner shouted cracking her knuckles with anger.

"I couldn't agree more! It was a beautiful day and instead of spending it on a date with my wonderful Sasuke-kun… I've had to wait here with Naruto keeping us from being by ourselves. And since 7 am." I said in agreement with my inner self.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI! WHERE ARE YOU!?" My blond teammate yelled angrily.

"Shut up Naruto!" I yelled, smacking him in the head. "Stop acting so immature!"

I know that I just though the exact same thing, but Naruto… Naruto just has a way of making everything sooo annoying.

"OWW!" The boy yelped, rubbing his head. "Sorry, Sakura-Chan…"

I spun on my heels, cutting the blond off in mid-sentence and made my way over to Sasuke-kun.

"So, Sasuke-kun… maybe, if Kakashi-sensei doesn't show up, do you wanna go… and do something together?" I asked, digging my heel nervously into the ground.

He's just gotta say yes! He's just gotta!

"Hmph, I don't think so," My love sighed. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back."

Sasuke disappeared the next second and I was left here… with, Naruto. I turned my head slowly to the blond behind me, glaring at him ferociously.

"Umm, actually I've gotta go do something, sorry Sakura-Chan…" My blue-eyed teammate said running off towards the village. "Be back soon!"

I stood motionless in the middle of the field, my mouth agape. I'm left here all... ALONE!?

"Chaa! Even Naruto left us!!!" My inner shouted.

"I knew she was right… and my head dropped in despair. Now what are we supposed to do?" I asked her, flopping back onto a large rock and grabbing a nearby stick.

I traced some lines in the ground and pretty soon I'd drawn Sasuke and then myself right beside him.

"Oh Sakura! I just love you sooooo much! Especially that wonderfully beautiful forehead if yours!" I said in the best Sasuke impression I could muster.

Then I got angry. Stupid Naruto! I continued drawing, soon creating Naruto above us, sporting that stupid foxy grin of his.

"Haha! I'm not gonna let you too have happiness! I'm gonna but in and be A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G!!!" I yelled angrily in a, I have to admit, reeeally bad impression of that blond dobe. "Believe it!!!"

I finished with Naruto's hair and headband and started on his whiskers, before stopping abruptly.

"Hmm, ya know, I've never really thought about it, but what are the things there for? Like are they whiskers? And if they are does that mean Naruto's really some kind of animal? Hmm…" I thought absent-mindedly as I leaned back and looked at a cloud that I though really looked like Naruto.

"Maybe they're tattoos?" My inner said suddenly.

"No way!" I countered, shaking my head. "Naruto's not cool enough for tattoos!"

"True... what if they're really scars?" She replied in speculation.

"Nah, they don't look like it and besides, who would wanna cut Naruto's face? I mean he's annoying sure, but that? Nah…" I argued again.

Good Ideas, but not quite right.

"Maybe they're birthmarks?" My inner said again.

"Six of them? All lined up perfectly on his face?" I asked sarcastically.

"I see your point... Maybe, maybe!" She said, obviously with a new idea.

"Maybe what!?" I shouted back.

"Maybe he paints them on every morning!" She suggested.

"But wouldn't they wash off if he got wet? And we've personally pushed him into a lake or two," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but it could be special waterproof paint," My inner argued.

"Well, I guess it's as good of a hunch as any…" I muttered.

"Whatcha doin Sakura-Chan?" A voice said suddenly as Naruto popped out from behind me, looking at my drawing.

"Naruto!" I screamed, jumping up and wiping the drawing away as I felt my face turn red. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry Sakura-Chan…" The boy muttered, rubbing his head in embarrassment. "I guess I wasn't thinking…"

"Whatever…" I mumbled, standing up and taking a few steps away.

"Say, Sakura-Chan…" Naruto muttered as he stared at the remnants of my drawings. "Mmm, I dunno how to say this, but was that a picture if me you drew?"

I blushed five shades of red, but managed to get myself back under control. "W-what!? Y-you!? Ha! Like I'd ever waste my artistic talent on you!"

"Oh, that's good," Naruto said happily, putting his hands behind his head.

"Good?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, cause I was gonna say that it looked nothing like me! It was awful!" The blond said laughing.

My eyes widened and then narrowed with anger.

"NAAAAARUTO!" I shouted, punching the boy across the training field.

"Aaaaaaaah!" Naruto yelped.

"Hmph, is Kakashi here yet?" Sasuke asked, suddenly appearing beside me.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! N-" I started, grinning at my long time crush.

"Yep, just arrived. Sorry to have kept you waiting; I was lost on the…" Kakashi said, also appearing suddenly.

But of course, since he says, THE SAME THING EVERYDAY, both Naruto and I finished his sentence simultaneously with him.

"Road of life," We said.

"Kakashi-sensei, you always say that!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Yeah! And today your 10 hours late!" I said, on the exact same page as him.

"Oh? Am I? Sorry, sorry, but in fact I only came to tell you that

there will be no training today," Our sensei said casually. "And, apparently I'm late for a mission."

And with that he disappeared. All our mouths dropped, THIS WAS INSANE!!!

"WHAT!?" Naruto shrieked, astonished at his actions.

"Eh… This was a waste of my time…" My crush said walking off. "Wait! Sasuke-kun! Ugh... This was so stupid!" I yelled, throwing my fists down in annoyance.

"Yeah, now I've gotta go train by myself! Unless… you wanna come with me…" My teammate asked looking to me hopefully, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Like I would ever!!! Shanarooooo!" My inner yelled.

"I don't think so Naruto," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, alright…" Naruto muttered, walking off sadly.

Hmm… I feel a little bad, weird. I headed off in another direction as I decided I'd get something to eat. Later, around eight or so, I really had no idea what to do.

"Now what? Ino's on a mission and my parents are out of town…" I said to myself as I walked by the pet shops.

"Chaa! What a cute kitty! And such long whiskers!!!" My inner squealed as we looked at an adorable cat.

"Hmm, whiskers... I still don't know any more about Naruto's whiskers than I did before…" I thought quickly.

"Well, let's go spy on him!" She suggested happily.

"Why not, at the very least it'll kill sometime," I said, running towards Naruto's place.

"Ah! That some awesome training today!" Naruto said as I watched from a tree outside his balcony.

He stretched upward, throwing the ramen bowl away as he slipped off his jacket.

"Wow, I never knew Naruto's home was so tiny…" I thought nonchalantly.

"I think I'll take a shower," The blond said suddenly, pulling of his shirt to reveal… well… umm…

"N-n-n-naruto!? H-h-h-h-he's…" My inner stammered, unable to say anything.

"HOT!" I finished, my eyes as wide as saucers.

"H-how!? B-but! N-n-naruto… Naruto can't be hot! IT CAN'T BE! Aaaaah… short circuit…" Inner me disappeared and for once I really couldn't hear her.

"This is insane!" I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away.

"Ah! It'll be so nice to be in some new clothes!" My teammate announced, taking out some clothes as he pulled off his towel.

"AH!" I screamed, closing my eyes and blushing furiously as I fell out of the tree and onto his balcony.

"S-s-sakura-Chan!? AH!" The blond shrieked, his eyes widening as he grabbed his towel and tried to cover himself. "W-what… what are you doing here!?"

"I… umm, well you see…" I stuttered, blushing as I played with my hair. "I just… look! Maybe you should close your windows when you're changing!"

Really it was completely my fault, but I needed to try a dodge the blame. Naruto eyed me and his eyebrow raised, but it fell soon, a light blush covering his cheeks.

"I suppose your right… hehe, sorry Sakura-Chan," Naruto admitted, laughing awkwardly as he went into the bathroom with this clothes. "Umm… just uh, take a seat and I'll be right back… with some clothes on!"

"Alright…" I agreed, looking around as I thought. "Not much to sit on… I guess I'll just take the bed."

I sat on his bed, taking notice that it wasn't nearly as messy as I thought it would be.

"Quick! Let's get out of here while we can!" My inner shouted.

"Aww, come on. Let's wait and maybe… we can find out the secret behind those whiskers!" I argued, waiting patiently for the blond to come back out.

"Umm, I really am sorry Sakura-Chan, I didn't mean to… well let you see…" Naruto apologized, blushing as he sat beside me.

"Haha! He's so gullible! Believes everything we tell him!" My inner said laughing.

"No, he's just trusting! He believes in us and we… we're using it…" I said, feeling slightly ashamed of myself.

"Ah who cares!" My inner said happily.

"I do!" I yelled, unfortunately out loud.

"You do what?" The blue-eyed boy that sat before me, asked.

"Hmm? Oh… well I… the real reason I came here, the real reason I almost… umm," I started, blushing. "Anyway, I wanted to know…"

"What is it Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked curiously.

"What are those marks on your cheeks? Your whiskers? Why are they there?" I asked, finally making my curiosity vocalized.

"M-my whiskers?" He asked, putting a hand on his cheek. "Umm… well I…"

He looked down sadly as his eyes glazed over with a look of pain.

"Naruto?"

"I suppose… I mean I should tell you… b-but…" The blond muttered, a few tears falling from his eyes. "I… I don't w-want t-to… I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"

He cried and gripped his knees… and I felt… terrible.

"N-naruto…"

"Why… what does he mean by that?" My inner said, a very good question by the way.

"Naruto… what is it?" I asked, scooting closer to him, my arms wrapping around him. "I promise you won't lose me, I'll… umm, I'll always be your friend…"

"Really?" He asked, wiping his eyes of the tears. "I… don't know. But… I have to trust you."

"Why?" I said, completely without thinking.

"Why?" Naruto asked, surprised. "Because its you Sakura-Chan and… I trust you."

"That's… that's so sweet…" My inner said, and it was totally the truth.

I smiled. "Naruto…"

"Well Sakura-Chan… my whiskers… are proof of my… my demon," Naruto said finally, suddenly finding his feet really interesting.

"Demon?" I asked, my eyes widening with surprise.

"Sakura-Chan… the Kyubi was sealed inside of me… I am… the Nine-tailed fox…" Naruto explained his quiet and serious, the complete opposite of normal.

"Naruto!?" I said shocked.

"NO WAY!!!? I knew he was evil!" My inner announced.

"No, Naruto you aren't the Kyubi, even if it was sealed inside of you, you're not the same," I told him, smiling softly as I shook my head.

"Sakura…" He said, as he held onto me tightly. "Sakura-Chan! Only one other person's ever said that to me!"

"Naruto…" I whispered, hugging him back before smiling and pulling back. "Now, will you tell me what your whiskers do?"

"Yeah! Sure… I mean… well I…" Naruto stuttered, a blush appearing on his face.

"What?" I questioned, my curiosity growing.

"Well it's just… if you like… stroke them, or even touch them… I… well something happens…" He started, unable to really elaborate.

"Something like what?" I asked, raising my eyebrow and grinning.

"Umm…" He mumbled, leaning forward and blushing, a loud gulp echoing around the room.

My eyes glistened and I reached out to touch his whiskers. He flinched and I pulled back quickly, but he replied with a simple "sorry… your hands are cold." I grinned and moved my hands back up to his cheeks, stroking the marks slowly.

"Mmmm… Aaaah… S-saaaakura-Chan… w-w-woooooow t-that feeeels soooooo gooooood!" My teammate purred, inching closer and closer to me, though it seemed involuntary.

I giggled and continued, now stroking both sides.

"That's so cute!!!!!!" My inner squealed.

"OH GOD! S-SAAAAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto moaned, falling helplessly back onto his bed.

I grinned and climbed on top of him, my body under complete autopilot as I continued the relentless stroking of his whiskers. "SAKURA!" He shouted, his eyes snapping open as he grabbed my hands.

Suddenly out positions were flipped and he was on top of me, his blue eyes staring into mine.

"N-naruto…" I breathed, blushing as I looked into his eyes and thought. "Wow… his eyes are really beautiful…"

"You can say that again! Way better than Sasuke's stone cold orbs!" My inner said, and… for some reason I really agreed with her.

"Oh, I'm… sorry Sakura-Chan… I just… the whiskers… I mean…" Naruto muttered, mostly incoherently as his face heated up.

Though, he made no move to change our position.

"Don't be… and you know what Naruto-kun?" I asked grinning.

"Wha- wait Naruto-KUN!?" He asked shocked, his face continually flushed.

"Yeah, has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" I asked happily.

"Mmhmm…" He muttered, still blushing a deep red.

"So, do you wanna guess?" I asked coyly.

"Hmm? Oh! Right… umm… what?" Naruto said, snapping out of his gaze.

"I love you," I admitted and it felt good… it felt good to finally face up to my true feelings.

"And I'll always love you Sakura-Chan," My new and only love replied grinning back at me.

"Ya know what else?" I continued.
"What?" He wondered aloud.

"I reeeeally love those whiskers of yours."