Chapter Twelve

  "Well don't you look gorgeous." Naruto said to his girlfriend as she walked into his locker room. A smile came to her face as she saw him, "Thank you, Naruto."

Kissing his lips she sat her hands against his bare chest while saying, "I'm nervous." "Aw why, Princess?" He asked, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"If you get hurt I'll cry." A laugh left his lips, "I'm not getting hurt." She nodded, "I know, but your ribs are still bruised, do they hurt?"

"Barely, I'll be just fine, Princess. I just have to go a round or two, and then it'll be over." He reassured her while pulling by her waist closer to him.

She smiled at him though she was nervous, "Do the large crowds not bother you?" "Not at all really. I love the attention." "I could've guessed that. I wish I could be one of those people that just tuned everything else out." Hinata said truthfully, loving the way that he was always so confident.

"I bet you could. You just have to really concentrate, you know?" She nodded, "Yeah you're probably right." "How's the date going?" He asked, "Good I think, he's a really sweet kid."

He smiled, "Right? He was so nervous." "She was too. It's adorable." "It sure is. We should get ice cream or something afterwards." She smiled, "We should, then I'll take the kids home, and I could meet you back at to your place?"

He nodded, "Sounds good to me, as long as Hiashi isn't on your ass about being at my place."

"It should be fine, I haven't seen him here yet, I wonder if he's coming." "He definitely will be, him and his colleagues  just watch from the gallery, it's hard to find if you're not looking for it." He explained while staring into her gorgeous eyes, wanting nothing more than to kiss her glossy lips.

"Oh okay, well I guess I don't have to worry about seeing his business partners tonight." "You don't like them?" She shook her head, "Not in the slightest. They're just weird when my father isn't around, you know?"

"Well you won't have to worry about that anymore, your boyfriend is a boxer." He said while winking at her, making her laugh. "He's a cute boxer." She said while caressing his cheek, before kissing him again.

As she kissed him, she bit his bottom lip, drawing a moan from his parted mouth. He blushed while pulling away, making her pout her bottom lip. "Hey, I'm sorry, but I can't go out there with a boner."

She laughed while shaking her head, "I'm not even touching it." He laughed too, "Yeah, but you're hot." She just laughed while saying, "Well it's about to start anyways, I will see you after the fight, Champ." She said before kissing his cheek, "I'll see you in the crowd, Princess."

When she got back to her seat, she noticed her sister and Konohamaru no longer there. "Where'd they go?" She asked her friend, "To get snacks, was Naruto nervous?"

"Not at all, he loves big audiences." Sakura laughed a little, "I could've guessed that." Before long, Hanabi was back with a bag of popcorn, and the fight was starting.

With the young men in their respectable corners, putting their mouth guards in, and strapping up their gloves, Hinata watched Naruto closely, slightly worried about his bruised ribs. Though they had gotten noticeably better, he definitely shouldn't of been boxing. It concerned her, but she was still supportive.

"Let's go, Naruto!" She cheered, making him smile as he touched gloves with his opponent. Her father watched from the gallery, hoping that Naruto would win so that he could collect the large amount of money he bet on him, alongside the money that other's bet against him.

The rest of the men didn't know much about the random kid that was boxing tonight, but Hiashi knew everything he possibly could know. Initially he was so invested because it was his daughters boyfriend, but now, as he realized just how much he wanted to win his approval, he planned to use Naruto to his advantage. Boxing was just the beginning, and although Naruto was too naive to see it, Sasuke did.

Sasuke stood where he normally was during Naruto's fights, next to his coach, at the boxing ring. Normally he'd be analyzing his friends skill, to tell him how he could do better for the next round, but now he was preoccupied with thinking about what Sakura said. It was so confusing because he thought everything was fine between them.

He genuinely thought that she was okay with how their relationship was going, which was no where. They were standing still, and Sasuke thought that was always better than going backwards; only, Sakura knew that everything was bad if they weren't moving forward.

Surprisingly she wasn't upset with how things seemed to go downhill so fast. She liked Sasuke, but nothing really surprised her anymore. There was nothing that hurt as much as losing a parent, so she knew that she'd be fine no matter what happened between her and a boy.

Besides, she felt as though she was finally pulling herself out of the hole she had dug over three months ago, and the last thing she needed was an emotionally ignorant boy making her question her worth. As she watched the boxing match, she saw how hard the sport really was. Naruto and his opponent were on the second round, just jabbing at each other until they bled, and were bruised all over.

Like Hinata, she was confused as to why someone would willingly put themselves in the position to inflict such violence upon someone else. It was hard not to cringe at all of the blood that Naruto repetitively beat out of his opponent, but Hinata seemed to be enjoying it. As she looked at her boyfriend, she was actually excited to see him so aggressive, and asserting such brute strength. To her, Naruto was a huge teddy bear who wouldn't hurt a fly, but now she saw a different side to him, and it oddly made him even more attractive.

"Woah! Yeah, Naruto!" The entire crowd gasped as Naruto punched his opponent one last time in the face, making him abruptly fall to the ground, and roll over onto his stomach. When the bell rang, signaling that the fight was over, Naruto's caring eyes were still on his opponent, as their coach alongside a doctor tried to get a response out of him.

His blue eyes watched as his body began to violently quake from a seizure he was experiencing. Everyone around them seemed oblivious to his medical emergency, including Hinata as she rushed up to him with a bright smile on her lips, "Good job!" He smiled back at her, before kissing her awaiting lips sweetly.

"Thank you, Princess. Did you both enjoy it?" He asked Sakura and Hinata while wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing his sweaty body against hers.

"There was too much blood for my liking." Sakura said making him laugh, "Don't you wanna be a doctor, Sakura?" She rolled her eyes while ignoring his remark, "Hinata seemed to enjoy it though, she wouldn't shut up."

He smiled before pecking her cheek, "She's my number one fan obviously." "Always." Sasuke joined the trio and congratulated his friend on the win.

"I checked on that guy, and he's fine by the way, just really stressed because I guess he's a recovering addict." Naruto's eyes widened while he asked, "Really? I wouldn't of guessed that at all." Sasuke shrugged, "It's not really something you can see, unless it's really bad."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but still he must've been hooked on something pretty bad for him to just randomly have a seizure, you know?" "Yeah, I can't imagine." Hinata just looked at Sakura, seeing that she was becoming uncomfortable by the second.

  "Anyways, what are you both up to right now? We are going to take the kids to get ice cream." Sasuke glanced at Sakura, while she blushed.

"I think I'm just going to head home." She said, "Yeah, and I have some errands to run tonight." Sasuke said while scratching his head awkwardly, making Naruto and Hinata glance at each other.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning, Sakura." Hinata said to her with a slight smile, before she walked away, Sasuke watched her walk away, before he asked, "Are you coming over tonight? I should be home late."

Hinata smiled, "I probably will." "Alright, see you guys." He said before walking away.

"They're weird." Naruto said making Hinata nod in agreement. "Good job tonight, Naruto." Hanabi said as her and her date approached them, holding hands.

"Thank you, Hanabi. I'm glad you guys came." She smiled, before Konohamaru asked, "We still on for tomorrow?" "Hell yeah we are, ten in the morning, okay?" He smiled, "Sounds good."

"Are you guys ready for ice cream?" Hanabi asked, "I'm just gonna run back to the locker room, I could meet you guys there?" Naruto asked, and Hinata nodded.

"Okay, sounds good." Kissing the temple of her forehead, he walked towards his direction, while Hinata smiled at her sister and Konohamaru, "Alright, let's go, you two."

Back in his locker room, Naruto talked to Hiashi. "Good job tonight, Naruto." "Thank you, Sir." "Of course, thank you for continuing to do this favor for me, my colleague is very pleased. You're bringing in a lot of business."

"Really?" He asked with surprise practically written on his face, "Yes, everyone wants to fight the new Red Fox. You're the new kid on the block." Naruto laughed a little, "Well I guess that's a good thing, I should start training more if this gets more serious."

Hiashi nodded while looking around the dimly light room, "How about I find you a new gym? This place could use some work."

He shook his head, "I couldn't ask you to do that, besides Danzo was nice enough to let me use this place rent-free, I don't want to seem ungrateful." Hiashi nodded, "I understand, Naruto. He should make it to a match or two."

Naruto smiled a little, "I'll mention it to him." "Alright, well I'll leave you to it. Is my daughter spending the night at your apartment?"

"Yes, Sir. If that's okay with you of course?" Hiashi nodded while patting his shoulder, "Just make sure that she texts me." "Will do, Sir."

At the Ice Cream parlor, the four of them sat with smiles on their faces while talking about Naruto, and his passion for boxing. As he talked about it, Hanabi watched her sister look at him so lovingly with a twinkle in her gorgeous eyes. She had never seen her look at anyone like that, and it made her wonder if that's what love looked like.

None of them knew that kind of love, but Hanabi wanted someone to look at her the way Hinata looked at him. "Why do you want to box anyways?" Naruto asked Konohamru before taking a sip from his chocolate milkshake.

"I stopped a few years ago once my grandfather passed, because he trained me until he got sick. Once he passed, I just stopped having as much of an interest in it, but recently I've just missed it a lot."

He said making Naruto nod with a small smile. Hanabi smiled too, although she had a gut feeling that he wasn't being completely truthful. She had known him for years, and she knew when he was lying, because of the way he always had to crack his knuckles after he told a lie.

The boy took her mind off of it, by intertwining their fingers underneath the table. "How's your family anyways? Your mom was always the sweetest." Hinata asked, "We're good, we haven't been up to much."

She nodded with a smile, "Well we'd love to have you guys over for dinner sometime, just like old times." "Like old times?" Naruto asked. "Oh yeah, our mothers were good friends." Hinata said, making Hanabi nod, although she didn't have that many memories of her mom.

"And how's your Stepdad?" She asked, and his hand unintentionally tightened around Hanabi's, as they held hands underneath the table. "He's good too."

Hanabi pinched his hand, making him loosen his grip before stroking his thumb across her petite fingers. "Well that's good." She said with a smile, "How's Hiashi? Should I like talk to him, since we're dating?"

"No." They all said in unison, making him laugh a little. "Not if you can help it." Naruto warned making Hinata playfully nudge him, while giggling cutely, "He can be scary from what I've heard, but I promise you it's nothing against you. He's just over protective."

"Yeah, but he liked you and your family, I think you'd be fine." Hanabi said, "How'd it go for you, Naruto?" Naruto blushed at the memory while scratching the back of his neck, "Could've been better."

"It wasn't that bad." Hinata said, "Yeah, you did better than Toneri." Hanabi tried to reassure him, but Hinata rolled her eyes. "Anything is better than Toneri." She nodded in agreement, "Agreed."

"What's up, Sasuke?" A group of young men said to the teenager as he walked through the warehouse doors. "Who's this?" He asked dismissively, as he noticed a guy around their age, with tattooed on his arms and neck.

He just looked at him, amused for some reason. The smirk on his lips irritated Sasuke, though he didn't show it. Hidan and the other guys laughed a little, "Chill, little one. This is Sasori, he's a friend of mine. Sasori, this is Sasuke."

"It's nice to meet you, Sasuke." He just sent a nod in his direction, and didn't bother to introduce himself. He wasn't in the best mood, and he already hardly liked them. Hidan just chuckled before getting to the point.

"Danzo is away, as you know, but this is your cut from the job we finished before we relocated." Tossing the heavy duffle bag at him, Sasuke caught it before unzipping it, and skimmed over it, making sure it was the amount that he was promised.

He nodded while drapping it over his shoulder, "But while we're here I thought I'd tell you how Sasori is an old friend of Itachi's." That peaked Sasuke's interest, like Hidan knew it would.

"He has some pretty important information about his latest where abouts." Sasuke looked at him, awaiting for him to elaborate. "Are you going to tell me?"

He crossed his arms with a smirk on his face, "I will, but tell me something first." He started, before asking, "You're still in high school still, right? Do you know Sakura Haruno?"

Sasori watched his eyebrows scrunch, giving away his answer. "Why?" A chuckle left his lips, "So you do. How is she?"

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest."Again, why do you ask?" "I don't know, maybe because her father died recently and I want to see if a friend is doing well. Why else?" He questioned sarcastically.

"She's fine, I guess. We're not too close." Sasori eyed him as he said that, but didn't question the kid. "Hm. Well I last seen Itachi in Otogakure about four weeks ago. He mentioned how you were moving to Konoha, so I guarantee you that he knows every move you make, Sasuke."

Sasuke eyed him, "Why should I trust you? How do you even know him?" "We're cut from the same cloth really. Itachi and I just happen to know most of the same people, I'm just telling you this information because Danzo filled me in on your little obsession."

Sasuke still eyed him, hardly trusting him. It was beyond him how and why his brother remained so close, while staying undetected. "If I were you, I wouldn't trust me either. The only thing we really have in common is a girl that we've both smashed."

Sasori joked, pissing Sasuke off. Shrugging the duffle bag off of his shoulder, with his perfect eyebrows furrowed he asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm sure she's talked about me. I was pretty much her first everything." He said while laughing at the memory of the naive girl, "Sakura is basically in love with me. Does she still do that thing with her?"

Sasuke cut him off by pulling the black pistol from his hip, and aiming it right at his head. "Chill, Sasuke! He's kidding!" Hidan yelled while Sasori still had his dumb smirk on his face.

"Does she still do what? Finish what you were going to say, I dare you." He said, and as Sasori parted his lips to finish his sentence, Sasuke cocked the gun, signaling to everyone that he was serious, and that the gun was loaded.

Sasori finally seemed to take Sasuke seriously as he put his hands up in defense. "I'm kidding, Sasuke." He said, "Right." Sasuke said while putting the weapon away.

"Let's make this clear right now. In here all we talk about is business. I don't know you, nor do I want to. I don't care about your history with her, but regardless, you're not going to insinuate that she's a whore. Are we clear?" Sasori nodded, "Crystal."

Almost an hour away, Sakura was paying for her gas at a gas station a few miles outside of her neighborhood. As she walked around the convenience store, looking for a snack she heard the bell above the door ring, signaling that someone had just walked in through the front door. "Welcome in."

The cashier said to them as they watched Sakura wander the store. Settling on a frozen drink, she grabbed a cup before filing it to the brim with a frozen blue liquid. As she reached for a lid to place on the drink, her hand touched someone else's.

"Oh sorry." Looking up from the drink to see who the hand belonged to, she looked right into onyx eyes that looked extremely familiar. The guy had to be in his mid to early twenties, with his tattooed bicep, and the bags underneath his eyes.

"No, I'm sorry." As she examined his face, she couldn't help but see the striking resemblance this stranger had to Sasuke. "You look incredibly familiar. I'm Sakura."

The stranger just smiled while shaking the hand she had stuck out, "I don't think we've met, I would've remembered you."  A blush came to her cheeks as he said that, "Are you from Konoha?" She asked, "Just a small town a few hours out, how about you, Sakura?"

A smile came to her face as he said her name, "Sadly yes." She said, making him laugh a little. Her eyes noticed that the tattoo upon his left bicep was the same one Naruto and Sasuke had on theirs, but she didn't know what it symbolized."Well it seems like a nice enough place."

"It definitely is." She said as they started to walk to the front of the store. "Let me cover that, are you getting anything like gas or something?" He asked, "Oh no I can't let you do that."

Winking at her he said, "It's my pleasure. Is that your car?" She nodded at the car he pointed at, and watched him pull out a wad of cash before paying for her gas.

"Well thank you, Stranger." Sakura thanked him as they walked out of the store and he held the door open for her. "You're welcome, Sakura. Have a good night." He said with a smile, before going to his nice sports car and driving off.

As she pumped her gas, she pondered with a smile on her face, at the memory of the kind stranger who resembled Sasuke almost identically. When she finished, she got into her car to see a white envelope in her passenger seat. It confused her considering she had locked her doors, and closed all of her windows before getting out of the car initially.

Buckling up, she decided to reach over and open the envelope. When she opened it, she was even more confused. Her eyes scanned over the words as her lips parted to say, "Sasuke Uchiha."

It was his birth certificate, alongside a picture of him as a newborn baby. She reached for her phone that sat in the cup holder, and scrolled to his name, about to call him. Her finger paused before pressing the icon, knowing that if she called him, he wouldn't tell her anything.

Sasuke would act as if everything was okay between them, and get what he wanted, because she had a soft spot for him, and they both knew it. Tossing her phone in the passenger seat, she drove home with Sasuke on her mind.

"No, but seriously I think it's amazing." Hanabi said to Naruto and Konohamaru while they walked out of the almost empty diner, "You could always join us in a session."

Konohamaru suggested, "Really?" She asked with clear excitement in her voice, Hinata just glanced at her, surprised that she was so excited about the violent sport. "You should come too." Naruto said to his girlfriend, making her cringe at the thought alone.

He laughed at her reaction, "I promise you it's not that bad, and I could teach you some things." "Yeah, if I do it you have to." Hanabi said to her sister, making her roll her eyes."I guess I could try it, Hanabi." Naruto threw his arm around her with a smile on his lips, before kissing the temple of her forehead.