"Sakura-chan?" a feminine voice asked the pink-haired girl as she sat down at a small table in a cafe. Sakura looked up.
"Ino! What are you doing here?"
"I'm..." her eyes darted around, as if afraid someone would hear her. She sat down, opening her mouth, but nothing seemed to coem out. Sakura knew instantly what she was trying to say.
"On a date? With who?" Sakura asked, smiling. Ino blushed, which was very unusual for the platinum blond girl.
"...Shikamaru." Sakura's eyes widened.
"He finally asked you? Congratulations!" Ino glared at her.
"Yes he did. So? I'm still waiting for Sasuke-kun!" Ino declared proudly. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Don't lie- you've liked Shikamaru ever since the chuunin exams. Your declarations of love for Sasuke-kun slowed and then stopped. Took me a while to figure it out, but you kept on glancing at Shikamaru that way... and anyways, you'd have a very long wait for Sasuke-kun." Ino looked at her, shocked.
"What? He's taken?" Sakura nodded. "Who?"
Sakura shook her head.
"That's for him to say." Ino looked at her, eyes going a bit soft in sympathy.
"You must be so bummed about it. I feel sorry for the rest of Sasuke-kun's fangirls." Sakura took on a thoughtful look.
"Not really. I think I always knew that Sasuke-kun belonged to someone else, and I kind of like another person... he's sweet and kind, and very strong. He's a little overenthusiastic, but..." Ino took a crafty look, one that just screamed 'payback time!'.
"Don't tell me- Rock Lee?" Sakura looked away, but you could see how red her face was.
"...No." Ino looked at her, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, right. Just like I don't have the hots for Shikamaru." Sakura jerked her head back around.
"You have the hots for Shikamaru?" Ino smirked. 'Victory!'
"You just admitted that you like Rock Lee." Sakura blanched, then blushed.
"Maybe a little. Well, yeah. I mean, it's not like I would say no if he asked me out again..." The normally eloquent girl seemed a bit tongue-tied.
"That means you like him." Ino suddenly glanced up.
'Was that a flash of... green?' Smirking, Ino realized it was.
"Lee! Come over here!" Sakura nearly jumped at the mention of Lee's name. She looked over her shoulder to see the green bodysuit-clad jonin walk towards them, a smile on his face.
"What are you doing!" she hissed at Ino, face flaming.
"Giving you an opportunity." Ino stood as Lee approached. "Hello Lee. Sakura wanted some company and I'm on a date. Gotta go!" She left, smirking. Sakura put her hands on the table, wanting to bury her flaming face in her arms.
"Sakura-san! It's so good to see you again!" Lee said, taking the seat across from her. She smiled.
"Hello Lee. It's good to see you too." The conversation died. Sakura was so unsure of what to say, so she just looked at her lap, not wanting to stare him in the face.
"Sakura-san? Is something wrong? I will fix it for you!" Lee declared, grabbing her hands. Sakura almost jumped, looking up.
"Uh... nothing's wrong, it's just that, well..." Lee stared in her eyes intently, hanging onto her every word. "Everyone I know is dating someone or has a boyfriend, so I feel kinda left out." Lee's eyes sparkled with happiness.
"I'm not dating anyone, Sakura-san! You could date me!" he said, smiling. She smiled back, and Lee thought that he had died and gone to heaven.
"I'd like that very much, Lee."
10 Years Later
"Now class, we should spend our first day getting to know each other and each others families. A shinobi needs to know who his team members are to be successful." Iruka said, standing in front of the class. He smiled at his own daughter, a lovely girl adopted by himself and his lover. She gained confidence from his presence and raised her hand to go first.
"Milika- chan, go ahead." Iruka said, motioning for her to talk. She looked at her feet, but spoke loudly enough so that everyone could hear.
"I'm Hatake Milika. I like to jump rope and play tag with my daddies. I don't have a mom, but my dads love me very much. They adopted me and they say I was the best thing that ever happened to them." She sat down. Iruka glanced around the room, looking for someone else to offer.
"Come now, Milika-chan did it. Who else wants to go?" He saw a boy sleeping out of the corner of his eye. He lightly threw some chalk at the sleeper. The boy jumped, but was now awake.
"Could you tell us about yourself?" Iruka asked the platinum blond. He yawned but complied, standing.
"I'm Nara Makoto. I like to play Go with my dad. My mom likes to talk and boss my dad around." He sat back down, muttering something along the lines of 'This is bothersome'
Not wanting to be shown up, another boy with a very high forehead and a bad bowl-cut raised his hand. Iruka called on him.
"I'm Lee Hoshi! I like to train with my dad and improve myself! I also like to help my mom with her chores, because men must always be polite to women!" That said, he sat down, looking very proud of himself. A quiet girl raised her hand, blushing.
"I'm Hyuuga Nyhaga. I like to play with my daddy's dog, Akamaru, and talk with my mommy." she sat down, blushing.
One by one, all the class went until one small boy was left. He seemed terribly bored with the whole thing, and already Iruka could see females gazes being drawn to the silent, dark-haired boy.
"And you are?" Iruka asked. The boy stood, sighing.
"I am Uchiha Hayate. I never met my mother, but my fathers take care of me and never mention her. Otou-sama says that he's glad that he's not the last of his clan anymore, and my other otou-sama loves to play with me. They teach me a lot of things and I want to improve myself and be as strong as them one day." Iruka smiled at the small boy as he sat down.
'I felt so sorry for Naruto when the agreement for one heir was signed with that one girl...' Iruka could never remember her name, he just knew that she had been a die-hard Sasuke fan and had offered to bear his child so that the Uchiha clan could continue. 'But I'm glad that Hayate is in my class. I know that Naruto and Sasuke love him very much.'
"Okay, now that we know a bit about each other, let's pick a partner and you can show me how well you throw a kunai."
Owari (For those confused about who the kids are, read the end of author's note)
Okay, that just popped into my head one day. Suicide doesn't always end in death- in fact, more often than not I think that the person trying to kill themself actually winds up in a hospital to tell the tale. I'm not saying that it's not a problem, because it is. Suicide is very real and very deadly. I have lost someone to suicide a few years ago, so I just wanted Naruto to come out all right in the end.
Just FYI. the feelings that Naruto had are not uncommon. The person I lost wrote it down in his note, how he felt. (I also was given his diary in his will, so I know. I think he wanted me to know) He hed felt worthless because his younger brother (they were twins and in the same grade, but he was a bit older) always got better grades, was seemingly doted on more, and had more friends. He felt very alone, and was always trying to help people with a smile on his face. That's how I always remember him, smiling at me. I never knew that he cut himself or that he hated himself for what he had become until it was too late. I found his note in my locker at school and was minutes later told that he had died.
If you think that someone is acting odd, then just ask them about it. Watch for them giving away their possessions (my friend had written out a will that left everyone he considered a friend with something. That made for about two people, not including his family.) Or being happy and relaxed after a period of sadness. Check and make sure that s/he isn't thinking constantly about death- a tip-off is if they joke about killing themselves often.
I miss my friend very much, and I wanted to make Naruto have a bit better luck with his love life. I couldn't imagine him being with anyone else but Sasuke, so I just made is same-sex love instead of writing it out exactly like it happened between him and I.
Just for those that didn't know whose kids they were in the end, I had:
Hatake Milika- Iruka and Kakashi's adopted kid. (2 men do not equal a baby)
Nara Makoto- Shikamaru and Ino's child. (Ino's hair, Shikamaru's mannerisms and last name. Ino and Shika-chan got married, and I might make it into a one-shot if I get requests)
Lee Hoshi- Sakura and Lee's child. (Her forehead and Lee's mannerisms and bad haircut. Last name as well- they got married!)
Hyuuga Nyhaga- Hinata and Kiba's kid. I didn't mention them, but I thought I may as well have their kid in here. (She's like her mother, and she mentions Kiba's dog. You had to think a bit.) Anyways, her last name is Hyuuga because she is part of the Hyuuga clan- ordinarily it would be Kiba's last name, but as Hinata is the head of the Hyuuga clan he joins her family.
Uchiha Hayate- I had to give Sasuke a kid too. Uchiha bloodline has to continue, so he couldn't be adopted, nad two boys don't make a baby. So, he had to sign an agreement with one of his die-hard fangirls so that the bloodline could continue. Naruto wanted a kid too, but it still hurt to know that Sasuke was with someone else. Ah, well, they love the kid and Hayate will just have to get himself a nice wife and continue the bloodline. I may make a sequel in which the kids grow up and interesting... things happen. (I have a few ideas, some of which involve a new Hokage, Orochimaru back to body-snatch, a little bit of love, and other stuff.)
I'll write a one-shot involving any of the above pairings if you send a request. Write in in the Reviews or e-mail me at;