No One Else But Me

Shadow

Chapter 1: The Heart of the Matter (Prologue)

He had been gone for three years, and had been back for six months, but Naruto had not changed a bit.

"Please!" Naruto was on his knees in the mud, clenching his fists tightly together in front of him. Streaks of mud and dirt lined his face, and his jacket was spattered with a few dried bloodstains. His hair was disheveled, pointing in every direction imaginable. Several of the clumps were weighed down by dried hunks of mud. Naruto was an absolute disgrace. At least he had the courtesy to bring her a gift this time.

Sakura looked down at her hands, idly playing with the styrofoam bowl he had given her. She could hear the dehydrated noodles rolling back and forth inside as she turned it over and over in her hands.

"I…I just don't know, Naruto." Sakura dipped her head an inch or two and sighed to herself. 'The least he could have done is gone another block and gotten her flower's from Ino's shop, rather then these damn noodles he seemed to love so much'

A few passer-bys turned to see who was making a scene. Recognizing Naruto they all just decided to ignore him and carry on with their days. "It's a shame he's back," one of the men grumbled, "It was nice and quiet when he wasn't here." Naruto shot the man a glare, but if he noticed, the man didn't show it.

Naruto snapped his attention back to Sakura, who still seemed to be milling over her decision. The fact that she was actually considering it was a very good sign, every time he had asked her before, she had flat out denied him and walked away.

'Why am I still considering this? He's asked me out on a date so many times, and it's never the same. I should just punch him in the stomach and walk away like I always do.' But for some reason she didn't. There was something different about this time, and she couldn't figure out what it was. Sakura looked down at her gift again, 'must be the noodles.'

"….Well?" Naruto was almost too nervous to break the silence.

Sakura locked eyes with him.

Naruto gulped.

"…..When and where?" 'Damn noodles…'

Naruto's jaw almost landed in the mud patch where he was kneeling. "Wh…what!" he couldn't believe she had finally agreed, something had to be wrong.

"Naruto, you better answer me before I change my mind." But he was no longer there. He was down the street, running in circles and shouting for joy, disturbing the neighbors and causing a scene.

Sakura glanced once more at the ramen noodles in her hand, and then looked back up at Naruto. 'What the hell do they put in these things?'

Hinata watched from around the corner of a nearby brick building. Her eyes expanded slightly, and then half closed, looking defeated. She lowered her head and turned to walk away. This time she had meant to go through with it. This time she would have told him. This time would have been different, but this time had been too late. She closed her eyes and hung her head, as she quietly walked away. A single tear rolled down her right cheek. Her grip loosened and the flower in her hand drifted slowly to the ground. It landed in a puddle, left over from the recent rainstorm. No longer caring she stepped on it, splashing the water everywhere, and leaving the trampled flower behind her.

Okay, I have done some writing before, but I stopped after a while. Eventually I came here, and now I am thinking about getting started writing again. Please leave me a review, and I would particuraly appreciate it if you made it at least one sentence. it's not too much to ask is it? Reviews, particuraly good ones, are what fuel me to keep writing. If you like the story, let me know. otherwise, I just stop writing. last story i did when I stopped writing was only a few chapters in, so I have no reservations about stopping at any time. If you want more writting, let me know. Thank you all, hope to get to know you all better.

-Shadow