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bodegacowboy · 25 days

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Striking distance

Bathed in the soft glow of flickering lanterns, a handsome young couple fought. Sweat flowed down their bodies as they faced each other in the exact center of the dojo. Their eyes locked in a steely gaze. It was subtle, barely noticeable amidst the chaos of the battle. However, as they took a moment to assess one another, it became clear. Their breathing had fallen into perfect harmony, as if they were two halves of the same whole. Inhales and exhales merged, a symphony of sound that echoed through the empty dojo.

Sakura broke the ceasefire.

Launching into action, she unleashed a flurry of furious strikes at Naruto. Her fists moved with lightning speed, powerful strikes aimed at his head and torso. Each punch fueled by determination, seeking to overpower her opponent with sheer force. The heavy but precise blows hammered at her opponent’s defense with surgical precision.

Stone faced, Naruto did not back down. With swift reflexes and honed skill, he evaded her with more thunderous attacks. When an opportunity presented itself, he took it. Every strike was a calculated risk, but an improvised movement. Variety was crucial. No repeated strategies, consecutive combinations, patterns, or habits. Flowing like water. While one hand skirted danger by deflecting a punch, the other hand was already attacking. Each hand moved in cohesion, uncertain of the other’s actions.

But the assault did not stop. Sakura pressed on, her attacks becoming more aggressive with each passing moment. Naruto remained unfazed; with confidence he stepped into the eye of the hurricane.

In the quiet embrace of the dojo, lit by the soft glow of paper lanterns, the battle spoke volumes. A mesmerizing dance of skill, strength, and passion. Their effortless grace was a testament to their years of combat.

Then Naruto spoke

“Sakura...” He huffed. “Will you marry me?”

She froze mid punch, her clenched fist hovering in the air inches from his face. Her brow furrowing in confusion, she squeaked, “What?”

Naruto grinned. “Will you marry me?”

Sakura scoffed, “Nice try. But I’m not falling for that. You want to distract me.”

“Why I would I want to distract you?”

“I’m two seconds away from knocking you out.”

“Knocking me out--? I would have dodged that punch...or blocked it—Not important, at least not right now.”

He looked her over. She remained locked up in her punching motion. A spot on imitation of an ice statue.

“Okay...” Naruto pressed on. “It’s a little sudden, but....it came out. So... Will you marry me?”

Sakura’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth now hanging open in disbelief.

She stared at him. He shrugged. Her eyes narrowed, roaming, tracing invisible paths across his face.

“Stop it” Sakura stammered, her voice a mixture of astonishment and bewilderment. “Stop playing around.”

“I’m not playing around,” Naruto said, a hopeful smile on his lips. “We were supposed to be playing and experimenting with this spar, but you-you were off a little intense.”

Sakura unlocked herself. Taking a half step back out of her punching form, she sighed and straightened herself up. “I’m sorry, I was really focused.”

“I noticed.”

“I was feeling it, y’know.”

“Yeah, my ribs are feeling it too. Feeling bruised.”

She stared again, with even more disbelief. “Naruto. Did you just... propose to me?”

He nodded.

Disbelief again, now mixed in with some frustration, Sakura shook her head. “You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”

Naruto nodded again, a small smile playing on his lips. “Absolutely. So, what do you say?”

“You can’t!”

“I-can’t?”

Absolutely not, particularly during a fight.

“A spar...”

“I just-”

“So, that’s a ‘no’ then?”

“I never said no,” she said. “Who said no?”

If not ‘no,’ then what?”

“I said you can’t. Naruto look at me.”

“I’m looking.”

“I’m all frazzled, I’m dirty, I’m sweaty...I stink- I -you can’t!” She exclaimed.

His head tilted in confusion. “But I can, I did.”

“But why now? Why here? I thought...I thought we were fighting.”

“Sparring.”

“Why?” She asked.

“Whyyy...” Naruto said out loud. “I don’t know, I...” His voice spiked “I love you.”

He coughed, clearing his throat. “Is that not a good enough answer?”

She answered with a stare.

“For the record. You’re always beautiful to me, even covered in sweat.”

“I love you, Naruto,” Sakura murmured, her cheeks crimson. “I love you,”

She paused. “But you couldn’t let me shower first?”

Their eyes met, and their breaths aligned. Glances interlocked, freezing time as they sparred again.

With a slow, almost imperceptible nod, Naruto spoke up, “I’m surprised.”

“Surprised?”

“I’m surprised. You’re so surprised that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I’m not,” she stopped short. Her eyes wandered the room for a moment before a nervous laugh escaped her lips. “OK... maybe....sometimes you wonder, right? You wonder if it’s real.”

One more round. Their eyes locked once again in a fierce embrace.

“It’s real, isn't it?” She said.

“Yeah it is.”

“I never imagined," she said following an audible gulp of air. "Someone would ask me to marry them while I’m sweating in a Gi with my dirty bare feet out.”

Naruto scratched at his cheek, “Alright I accept I got a little carried away with the moment. But it felt right.”

Sakura licked her lips. “I was going to win the fight.”

“The spar?”

“Yeah that...”

“Nah, I would have countered you at the perfect time. Maybe with a spinning dropkick.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah....Probably -Anyway if things started looking bad I’d summon some back up. I know a couple of frogs itching for a good figh-spar.”

Affection poured out from Sakura to the man standing across from her. Her cheeks flushed. She turned her head away from him. A tremor ran through her body. A ripple of emotion coursed along her shoulders. Her lips formed a question. She said nothing, however, as tears welled in her eyes, shimmering like dew drops. Then, a shy smile appeared on her face; it peeked out with caution before blossoming into joy. The dam burst, and the tears cascaded down her cheeks. Her body relaxed as she faced him, her eyes now showing more than affection.

“S-Sakura,” Naruto began, his voice shaky. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to say anything right now. Think about it. Take all the time you need--“

“Shut up,” Sakura whispered, her voice filled with emotion. “Idiot... Why did you do this when you already know my answer?”

Naruto drew in a sharp breath, “Is that a maybe?”

She moved fast, much faster than she had during the spar. She was on him before he could dodge, block, or blink. With a laugh, Sakura threw her arms around Naruto.

“Yes, Naruto. I’ll marry you.”

Naruto pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, his arms wrapped around her.

“I know that wasn’t that the most romantic moment Sakura but I promise I’ll be very romantic on our anniversary.”

“On all our anniversaries,” she declared, snuggling deeper into his embrace.

“All our anniversaries,” he corrected.

She rested her head on his chest. His arms embraced her. They swayed across the dojo floor. Their movements were fluid and effortless, as if they had danced together many times.

“Naruto, if someone asks about how you proposed, how will you explain what just happened? “

“She was going to knock me out, so I proposed.

Sakura smothered her laughter into his neck and shoulder. “Sounds about right.”

The end.

If you like the story, please let me know!

#narusaku #sakunaru #naruto sakura #narusaku day #narusaku fanfic #narusakuday2024 #nsday2024 #naruto fanfiction #naruto uzamaki #sakura uzumaki #sakura haruno

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bodegacowboy · 1 year

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The fragments of this blip of a story came to me two days ago and it just happened to remind me of NaruSaku day. So after many years away from tumblr and the fanfic game, here is my meager contribution to you NaruSaku fans on NaruSaku day. Hopefully you will enjoy it.

Sakura read the last page for the last time and with a soft shake of her head she slammed the book shut. A long pensive sigh escaped her lips as she tapped her fingers along the book cover. She drew in a deep breath and frowned. She brought the the book up to her face and her frowned deepened . She flipped the book, back and forth from the front cover to the back, once and then twice, before quietly hurling it across the room.

The book's flight from Sakura's hand consisted of a quick bounce against the wall and a noisy crash onto the floor. It settled on the floor with a new crack in it's spine to match the crack on the wall.

"I'm guessing you won't be recommending this one."

The voice startled Sakura out of her frustration. She looked over to see her husband grinning at her from the entrance of their kitchen.

"Huh?" She replied, blinking back at him.

Naruto pointed at the book. "I can't say for sure but my gut is telling me that you did not like that book.”

Reality returned to Sakura. She was sitting by the window in their living room. This was her spot to lounge and read, a sacred space of relaxation. She sank into the arm chair with a groan, embarrassment overcoming her.

"You know it's funny I thought I'd seen all the forms of your angry face. But while watching you read that last page over and over I might have discovered at least five new forms."

Blushing, Sakura sent her gaze up to the ceiling. “Ha, ha ha.”

"Feels really good knowing that I've never made you that mad."

"How long have you been standing there watching me read?"

"Maybe around eight minutes, ten minutes at most” Naruto answered.

Sakura turned her attention to Naruto. "What's weirder me rereading the same page for ten minutes or you watching me reading the same page for ten minutes."

Naruto held up his hands, framing Sakura between his fingertips. "I am not embarrassed to say I watch you read. You get so peaceful and still. It's not that different from looking at a painting."

Sakura nodded. "So you're saying I'm a work art."

"Is that what I'm saying?"

"That's what I am hearing”

"That’s an it's an interesting interpretation, I won’t fight against it."

Sitting up in the arm chair Sakura sighed. "I wasn’t so peaceful just then."

Naruto glanced back at the book on the ground. "Usually, you are very peaceful."

"I've been betrayed Naruto.”

Naruto ran his fingers across his whiskered cheeks. "Ah, well if you feel you’ve been wronged, present your case to me and perhaps I the Hokage of Konohagakure will be able to execute justice on your behalf."

She smirked. “Absolute justice?”

“The most absolute type of justice.”

Sakura glanced at the ground feeling, her face tinged with red again. "Ok listen I am biased. I am a sucker for a happy ending. I love a happy ending."

"And that's not want you got."

"That...” Sakura pointed at the book. “That was a terrible ending.”

Naruto began to speak but she put up a hand to stop him. Sparks of passion flickered in her eyes. .

"Hold on, let me say this first. I get that art is subjective. I understand that. This is not my first book, I read Naruto..."

"I can vouch that you do read. I’ve seen you do it.”

"I'm not new to storytelling, or archetypes and literary themes and motifs.."

"You are a professional reader, no a veteran, no a reading sage."

Sakura continued, "The people who think that book is great, I know what they're going to say. The ending is great because it goes against the expectations of the audience. There's no conventional "happily ever after" with the main leads getting together. Despite them having excellent romantic chemistry-

Naruto nodded "I'm sure there were fireworks."

"- and despite the fact they were a couple we as the audience could easily root for and we did root for them. We rooted throughout the entire book-"

"Of course we wanted to see them win."

"Exactly!” Sakura exclaimed. “But I get it, right, the idea is that keeping the couple apart-in theory-at the end is a “fresh” and innovative decision. The heartbreaking ending, the leads going their separate ways, it has a more realistic ring to it.”

"I see." Naruto said while vainly attempting to conceal his amusement.

"I know what you are going to say Naruto, I know--

"Well I don't know so please go on."

"You’re going to say that the story is not a romance per se, the heart of the story is about two people following their dreams. Yes, it’s a story about people hoping to find success in a harsh world, it's about two people following their dreams. See, I get it, y'know. You can't have it all. In the end they're not together but they do, bitter-sweetly, achieve their dreams. I really know what you're going to say Naruto, you're going to say Sakura it's realistic, and it's about the journey y'know, the fascinating journey they embark on during the course the book.”

Naruto nodded in affirmation. "Sakura....it's realistic and it's about the journey y'know, the fascinating journey they embark on during the course the book."

"I disagree!" She snapped back.

Naruto took a step back in mock surprise. "You do?”

Throwing her hands up in the air Sakura snorted. "Alright you can argue it's realistic, maybe, again art is subjective for the most part. Whether it's realistic or not, that’s up to how you interpret the psychology of the characters."

"Of course, absolutely. I couldn’t agree more” Naruto said.

Sakura looked away from her husband and stared daggers at the book. “All that said, I totally disagree. I DISAGREE.”

Stifling his laughter, Naruto turned away from his wife. He looked back at her when he finally regained his composure.

"So its safe to say, the ending didn’t work for you."

"That ending Naruto, honestly the last few chapters of that book were so uncalled for, it could have ended in so many other ways then the way it did. Yes I'm biased, I understand that. I am not here to tell you that all books should supposedly have a happy ending or that all main characters should get together. But the author--taking the audience through a journey of hope and optimism and then to go ahead and betray your themes, to ignore your own clues-I'm just saying the story deserved better.”

Drawing in a breath Naruto stepped into the living room. He then walked over to the book and picked it up off the ground.

“It was that bad huh?” He asked.

“The end made the journey pointless, subjectively, to me” She answered. “I know people will say the story is not about their love specifically, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a critical part of their story, I mean again, I'm not one who thinks that every story needs a happy or romantic ending. But their arc was there from the beginning, it was always there, they were pursuing their dreams together and supporting each other during their struggles. They supported each other more than anyone else.They could have overcome it all if they were just given the chance.”

Sakura stopped, taking a moment to catch her breath. Naruto considered the book and then his wife. He offered her a warm smile.

"Naruto it's not a smart clever subversion of the audience expectations, it's not literary, it’s not a realistic refreshing take. It's a cynical dull ending that leaves it's audience with at best apathy at worse a deep lingering sadness.”

Naruto met her gaze. Her eyes glittering with fiery passion. Twin tears escaped the flames running quickly down her cheeks.

Sakura swiped at both cheeks with both hands. "OK, maybe soft-hearted saps like me should stick to nonfiction."

Naruto shrugged. "I don’t know what soft hearted saps should read. I just know, I like soft hearted saps like you. I think they’re kind of sweet, and they’re passionate and usually they are really cute.”

Smothering a smile, Sakura rolled her eyes. "That can't be true. What type of person likes saps who cry over books?"

Naruto raised his hand. "I am that type of person."

"No, be serious"

"I swear. I married the exact type of person we are talking about."

Losing the battle against her smile Sakura asked, "How's that been working out for you?"

"It's been real-real interesting."

She laughed. "I'm sure it has."

Running his free hand through his hair Naruto feigned a heavy sigh. "There is no way to get around it, love will take you to interesting places."

Sakura tsked, "You know Naruto I'm sitting here doing my best to be depressed over a terrible book and here you are trying to invalidate all that hard work by cheering me up."

"You're right,” Naruto said walking towards her. He handed her the book. “I should really let you stew in peace."

"Well” she said taking the book from him. “Since, you're already here interfering with my mood, you might as well stay."

"Oh, you sure?"

She grinned. "To be perfectly honest Naruto, I don't mind looking at you.”

Naruto put his hands up, “Hold on we’ve already been through this. I’m more than just a pretty face Sakura.”

“I didn’t imply otherwise” Sakura said. “I’m just acknowledging, that looking at you makes me feel better.”

"Wait let me get this straight, I like watching you read and you like watching me cheer you up."

"It makes perfect sense."

"I'm starting to see why we got married."

Their eyes met again and they laughed. Somehow in perfect unison, somehow in sync, their laughter filled the entire household, warming it like the rays from a summer sun. When the laughter finally subsided, after it had taken up most of their energy Sakura held the book up and scrutinized it once again.

"This was almost my favorite book."

Naruto reached down to caress her cheek. "There will be better books."

"Yeah” she agreed. “Maybe, I'll even write one."

Pleasantly surprised Naruto asked, “Sounds great. You got any ideas?"

"Yeah, a stubborn boisterous brat who grows up to become a virtuous hero. Here's the hook, on his way to becoming a hero he falls in love with a slightly neurotic but brilliant beauty. Hold on, a slightly neurotic but brilliant beauty who happens to cry over books."

Naruto grinned. "I like it so far. So is it an action adventure or a mystery?"

"I was thinking a comedy. Literary people will call it a surreal fantasy because of how absurd and intellectual it is."

"I feel smarter just by hearing you describe it."

Sakura paused for dramatic effect. “You know what, maybe it will have have some romantic elements to it."

"Would that make it a romantic comedy?" Naruto inquired.

"Hmmm, I guess you could say that. If you had to put a label on it. I expect there will be some cute moments here and there.”

"I can't wait to read it."

"I can't wait to write it. Shouldn't be that hard I already know how how it's going to end."

Naruto leaned down and planted a small peck on Sakura’s forehead. "Now I don't want you to give too much away, but I have to know, should I expect a happy ending?"

Sakura smiled. "Of course, I already told you Naruto. I am a sucker for a happy ending."

#NaruSaku #narusaku day

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