Chapter no.18

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There was a lull in conversation between Naruto and Sakura.

After hearing what Sakura had to say about him, Naruto's eyes became wide. The surprise that Naruto had been given was the name "Naruto-Kun."

Sakura looked Naruto straight She saw rage in Naruto's eyes when she looked into them. After what she had said to him earlier that morning, he appeared to still be furious at her. Despite this, she couldn't help but feel both happy and sad at the same time. Sakura had at long last realised how she felt about Naruto, and this moment was It. It was at this point that she was required to come clean and apologise to Naruto.

In a short while, Sakura was the one to break the silence.

"Naruto-Kun..., I'm sorry, extremely sorry," the narrator said. Sakura expressed her regret while offering a hesitant smile to Naruto.

After briefly displaying shock, Naruto's expression reverted back to one of anger.

What do you mean by that? Naruto Interrogated sternly

Sakura was able to sense that, and she was aware that he was still angry with her. She had no choice but to attempt to reason with Naruto in order to escape the situation.

Ino made the decision not to interrupt the conversation, so she remained silent while she watched her friend speak with the man she adores.

"Naruto-Kun. I am aware that you find that statement odd sounding." Sakura spoke out

"What's more strange, the fact that you're here instead of trying to get your "Sasuke-Kun" to go out on a date with you, or the fact that you put "Kun" in my name?" Once more, Naruto questioned harshly.

The question he asked hurt Sakura, and it made Ino angry. In an effort to communicate with Naruto, Sakura explored various alternative approaches. Naruto's outburst cut her off in the middle of her sentence.

"Simply explain to me, Sakura; why are you in this place?" When Naruto asked, there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Both Ino and Sakura displayed expressions of shock and disbelief when they noticed that Naruto had omitted the "Chan" from Sakura's name.

"My name does not end in Chan like he told me it would." Sakura thought, tears forming In her eyes\s"Listen Sakura. If you came here to confront me or do anything else, you should know that you are wasting your time. Simply follow Ino and continue your pursuit of Sasuke. You are no longer important to me in any way." The stern voice of Naruto could be heard.

Ino was currently angry, and Sakura was beginning to cry. Ino made the decision to take matters into her own hands and make her voice heard.

"Listen Naruto! Sakura didn't travel this far just to kiss your mouth, so get over it already! You have that down pat! She came here to offer her condolences to you for the things that she had previously said to you. Okay! Sakura is extremely sorry, and you inflicted pain on her in such a way?!" Ino informed Naruto, a hint of ire in her tone of voice "And what exactly does it matter to you, Ino! Not only does she treat me poorly, but so do a lot of other people! I never in a million years would have guessed that Ino Yakamana would just go and assist her rival in looking for an idiot like me. Just tell me, Ino, why you're hanging around here, huh!" Naruto Demanded

Ino felt embarrassed and looked down at the ground. Indeed, he was correct. Naruto was absolutely correct. Both Sakura and Ino had been equally unkind to him throughout their relationship. There was no way to justify the fact that he was correct. Nevertheless, Ino was required to assist Sakura with this matter. Ino removed the embarrassed expression from her face and stared directly into Naruto's eyes. She was brimming with determination to assist her friend who had pink hair.

"Naruto, would you kindly listen?" Ino begged, "I realise that this may strike you as odd, but Sakura..." Sakura severed all ties with Ino.

"No Ino. I have to tell Naruto. I am the one who is going to have to talk to him about what I have discovered during the time that he was gone." Sakura Told Ino, and Ino gave a slight nod before remaining silent while she watched her friend take care of the problem from here on out.

In spite of the fact that he was still wearing an angry expression, Naruto looked Sakura dead in the eyes.

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes before continuing. Giving Naruto a smile that was barely there.

"Naruto-Kun." Sakura said softly, "I..., need to confess something to you," I began. Sakura continued, stating that Naruto had made the decision to hear this because it had a great deal of interest for him. "I'm sorry to have to break it to you, but... while you were gone, Naruto-Kun... I have been considering, considering you for quite some time now. Since you left, I have not been able to stop thinking about you. There's something that sticks out in my mind about the conversation I had with my mother about you, Naruto-kun. A recollection, an emotion, or some aspect of my past that I have, up until this point, kept secret from myself." Sakura continued to explain, and Naruto began to listen to what she had to say. Something very much piqued his interest. Something that the speaker believed the other person was going to say might be interesting to hear about.

"And well..., Naruto-Kun, I was concealing it for years and burying it deeper and deeper within myself. I followed the villagers, and when I saw how awesome Sasuke was—just like everyone said he was—it made me want to be with him so badly that it masked my feelings for you, Naruto-kun. I love you." Sakura admitted it while maintaining the feeble smile she had been wearing and with tears coming from her eyes.

When the confession was made, Naruto's eyes widened significantly. It had been a long time coming, but the girl of his dreams had finally confessed her love to him. On the other hand, it was too late to do that for Naruto.

After appearing shocked earlier, Naruto's expression shifted back to one of anger.

"And after everything that you've said, you still expect me to go to the village?" Naruto Asked harshly

In a state of deep melancholy, Sakura opened both of her eyes wide. Ino felt terrible for her friend and was dumbfounded by what Naruto had to say.

"To heck with it. It's clear that Sasuke-Teme is the only reason you want me back. You must not have been successful in getting a date with him because you wanted me to love you in the hopes that Teme would become jealous of you and begin dating you instead." Naruto Guessed

Sad that Naruto thought of Sakura in that way, Sakura said to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest and clenched her fists.

"Naruto-Kun no! That's not how it works at all! I actually do love you!" Sakura protested, worry audible in her tone of voice.

"I don't think so! Like you would ever love me Sakura! Sasuke is the only thing that interests you! Always something about Sasuke, and always something else about Sasuke; in fact, everything was about Sasuke! How, then, does this demonstrate that you genuinely care for me!? Instead of relying on me to win Teme's affections, why not try other methods?" Sakura didn't respond to Naruto's demand because she was too upset by his words and attitude to speak. She was on the verge of tears as a result of Naruto's behaviour.

"Exactly as I had anticipated, Sakura. You are unable to respond given that it is accurate. All you want Is Sasuke-Teme, not me, never me." Naruto said to Sakura in a chilly tone.

Sakura jerked her head up and yelled at Naruto as she approached him "NARUTO-KUN PLEASE! I LOVE YOU! I'M SORRY FOR HURTING!"

"WELL, THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT WHAT YOU SAID WAS MEANINGFUL," she exclaimed. Naruto stated "BUT NARUTO-KUN! WHAT I SAID IS NOT WHAT I MEAN AT ALL! WELL, I INTEND TO SAY IT, BUT RIGHT NOW I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT! PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON ME!" The tears that were falling from Sakura's eyes made her beg, "SHUT UP!" Naruto snapped at Sakura

Sakura and Ino were aware of the fact that from that point on, Naruto was extremely angry. Sakura was in a terrible state of melancholy; in all of her years, she had never been this depressed.

"I CANNOT STAND IT WHEN YOU LIED TO ME LIKE THAT ANYMORE. DON'T YOU KNOW SAKURA! WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M A HUMAN? NOT A MONSTER, AS YOU HAVE REFERRED TO ME! MY EMOTIONS ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF ANY REGULAR BOY! If I give in to your scheme, I am well aware that I will be rendered useless and discarded like garbage." Naruto let out a rage-filled scream.

"N…, Naruto-Kun. I would never do something like that to you..., P..., Please pay attention. I'm sorry for what I've done to you this morning..., I..., I admit that I was just blinded by the crush I had for Sasuke..., But I figure that It's no excuse for what I've done to you in the past and today..., I'm very sorry....., Naruto-Kun. I'm sorry for what I did to you this morning." Sakura murmured her apology quietly.

"If that is all you have to say for yourself, then I'm sorry for you and the mistake you've made, but it's too late for either of us now. My absence has made the community much stronger." Naruto's response was icy, and he confronted Ino and Sakura by turning his back on them.

"N….., *Sniff* …., Naruto-Kun…., *Sob* ….., I beg you, stay here." Sakura begged while dabbing away the tears that were falling from her eyes "Goodbye Sakura, Ino. I sincerely hope that we won't cross paths again." After saying that, Naruto got up and started walking away.

""I'm sorry, Sakura-Chan," Naruto mumbled as he hugged Sakura. "N...., *Sniff*....., Naruto-Kun...., *Sob*," Sakura mumbled to herself. But that was it for me. I hope you can forgive me." Naruto reflected on his own thoughts as he wiped a tear from his eye.