Broken Dreams

“I am going to be Hokage one day, Angel, you watch.” Naruto ran a stick through the dirt, drawing a shuriken that he quickly erased.

“Not yet, but eventually,” Angel agreed. “You still have much ahead of you.”

“Mm,” Naruto responded, not agreeing nor disagreeing. He had never had much of an answer to her usual response to his being Hokage declaration. As his best friend, he expected her to agree with him, which is why she did, but not for right away. She wasn’t ready to lose him to a job running a village, not yet at least.

The day that she had become friends with him had been one of the happiest days of her life. Not only had she been trying for a while, a few weeks at least, but she had been on the same squad after graduating from the academy. Squad 7, with Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakura, in some cases, had still been her friend; however Naruto became more of one. She hated Sakura’s constant nags toward Naruto, and she’d made it clear to her from the beginning.

“Oh, just stop embarrassing yourself, Naruto,” Sakura would say.

“Keep going, Naruto! I believe in you!” Angel would fire back, smiling as Sakura would shoot her a glare. It was something that constantly drove them apart, their disagreements over Naruto. From the very beginning, she never understood Angel’s infatuation with him.

“Whose side are you on, Angel?”

“I’m on the side of teamwork.” Angel had finally snapped. “Something you don’t know how to show. Maybe, instead of putting him down all of the time, you could encourage him since we’re teammates! You can’t be on a team and work together, when always putting someone down. It just will not help anyone.”

From that day, Sakura had tried to be nicer to Naruto, whereas Sasuke paid more attention to Angel. His curiosity of her had grown.

Being pulled back into the present, Angel watched as Naruto stood up, stretching. The action caused his shirt to ride up over his stomach, showing off a hint of the abs that she knew were there. This caused Angel to look away, cheeks flushing red. “What are you doing, Naruto?”

“Oh, I’m just going to meet Sakura for some Ramen,” he replied, glancing in the direction of Ichiraku’s Ramen.

Angel sighed, disappointment clear in her voice as she said, “Well, then go. I won’t stop you.”

Naruto grinned and took off, completely oblivious to the way Angel was feeling at that very moment. If he had known, he would have blown Sakura off. Even though he loved Sakura, Angel was still the first friend he’d had, and that loyalty goes far beyond love. At least she hoped it did.

“Bye, Naruto, have fun,” she whispered sullenly, watching his retreating back. Why did he have to be so oblivious all of the time? It frustrated her to no end. Why couldn’t she just tell him how she felt? Right, because he treats her differently than any other girl.

She wasn’t treated like Sakura, with the constant flowers, Ramen dates and walks around the village. Angel was pretty sure that they were a couple now, but didn’t have enough inside information to confirm it without sounding like a jealous girlfriend. Betrayal edged its way up, but Angel tampered it down quickly. She had no reason to feel this way; neither of them knew of her feelings.

Naruto also never treated her the way he did with Hinata, who had confessed her love during the battle with Pain. Her and Naruto were taking it slow, from her point of view, sticking to just being friends. It was different somehow, though. It was real.

Angel pushed herself up off of the ground, brushing dirt off of herself as she went. She turned away from where Naruto had gone, yelling out when a hand clamped over her mouth.

“Sleep Paralysis jutsu,” was all she heard before she passed out.



“I’m sorry, Sakura. Those flowers I gave you yesterday, well, they weren’t actually for you,” Naruto stammered, sounding scared, even to Sakura’s ears.

Sakura’s eyebrows furrowed, confusion in her tone when she asked, “Then who were they for?” She thought that she might know, but she had to confirm it first. There was no use in jumping to conclusions.

Naruto visibly relaxed, his shoulders slouching once he realized that Sakura wasn’t angry. Worry broke out onto his face for a split second before he spoke, “Well, you see, they were for the girl that I love.”

“Hinata?” Sakura threw out a guess, acting surprised when Naruto shook his head. “Then who, if it wasn’t me or Hinata?”

“Ah…”

“Just spit it out, Naruto. If you can’t tell me, then you’ll never be able to tell her.”

“It’s Angel,” he blurted, confirming her suspicions. Red colored his cheeks at his announcement, and he glanced around to see if anyone had heard. “I am so sorry, Sakura-Chan,” he apologized once his attention was back on her. “I’ve been doing this with you for a few weeks now, so I could finally get the courage to ask her out. I … thought that if I can ask you out, it would be … easy.”

“It is never easy, Naruto,” Sakura confessed, referring to the time when she had told Sasuke that she loved him, only to watch him walk away in the end. And even now, he still refuses to acknowledge those feelings. Sadly, she is starting to doubt that he ever will.

Naruto sighed, staring down at his half eaten bowl of Ramen. After a moment, he pushed it away, declaring that he wasn’t hungry anymore, something that he never did.

“You know what, Naruto? How about I go with you and be the support you need to tell her how you really feel?”

“Thanks, Sakura,” he said gratefully.



“Where is she?” Sakura had been the one to speak first, after staring at the spot Angel had originally occupied. It was unlike her to leave anything behind after leaving somewhere, so for her to leave a kunai that Naruto had spent making for her was odd.

She played with the kunai, wondering at what could have happened, when Naruto walked back over, calling out, “Sakura.” His voice was shaky, as if he were fighting a thousand different emotions at once. “I found this.”

In his hand was a small scroll that had the seal broken, showing that Naruto had already read what had been left inside. Now it was her turn to view the letter.





“She’s gone,” Naruto whispered, unable to take his eyes off of the scroll. One emotion was clear to Sakura as she watched him, and that was sorrow.

Not willingly, Sakura silently added. She would never have left without a proper goodbye, especially one to Naruto. “We are going to find her, Naruto, no matter what.”

“But Sakura…,” he started, “she left. Willingly.”

“When has that ever stopped you before? Sasuke left willingly, yet you still went after him continuously.”

His eyes hardened as his gaze went from the scroll to her. “We weren’t the ones to change his mind, Sakura, so why should we be disappointed all over again? She left willingly, without a fight, meaning she doesn’t want to come back. Maybe back then, I was too naïve to think that Sasuke would ever want to stay away from here. I had hopes that when I brought him back, he would stay and be happy again, become the old Sasuke.” His voice was cold, angry. This was not the Naruto Sakura knew. This was one who had been hurt too many times by those he cared for. One who wants to stop caring. “I am going to give up this time.”

“Naruto,” Sakura whispered, her heart breaking. She had never seen him like this before. Not once before had he ever given up, on anything. He was the strongest person that she knew, and maybe that is what broke him now. Maybe feeling as if he were rejected by the only person he truly loved is what has finally caused him to break like a piece of shattered glass.

“Naruto, I don’t think she left willingly.”

“What are you talking about, Sakura? The scroll—”

“Doesn’t matter,” she interrupted quickly. “You of all people know her better than anyone. So now give me a good reason as to why she would leave, without a single notice.”

Naruto stayed silent for a moment, glaring at the ground before he finally spoke, “She has a reason. But that reason, Sakura, is the one that is stopping me.”