CHAPTER 4

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through the streets, wondering why they were partly empty. The only people he saw were shop owners or citizens who lived farther away from the rest that they rarely came to the local village.

Another thing he noticed was music flowing from a certain direction, which made him hum. Was there a party going on?

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Sakura walked up to the jimchuuriki with an annoyed look. Her short hair was accompanied by braids that wrapped around her head, and she wore a simple yet elegant dress that flowed.

"What are you doing?" He retorted back stupidly, crossing his arms.

"I'm going to Yuri's party."

His stomach dropped. "How do you know Yuri?"

"Well I don't know her very well, not really. You talk about her all the time, though, so I recognized her in a clothing shops. We spoke once yesterday, and she invited me and Sasuke to her birthday party." Sakura rambled, having to bring up her crush. "Shikamaru's going, too. Surprising, right?

"It's her birthday...?" He blinked.

"Oh my god, you idiot!" She punched Naruto, hard. "She invited you! She told me herself!"

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" He nodded quickly, remembering the whole thing. "I forgot!"

"Well, go on! Before I tell her!" Sakura pushed him forward.

The yellow-haired boy let out a loud groan as he tore off his headband and replaced it with the flower that the bleach-blonde had given them when they first met. He wasn't surprised that it had lasted as long as it has. Yuri had a knack for things that consisted of flowers.

Then he started running, jumping on some shops occasionally to get to the Hayashi District faster then Sakura. Shop owners would yell at him as he jogged away, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was reach the party to celebrate with his friend.

Once he was there, he spotted Yuri sitting down beside Sasuke, laughing at something he had said, causing him to smirk at her.

"Hey, Yuri-chan!" Naruto panted, leaning over to catch his breath. "Happy Birthday!"

"I'm so glad you made it, Naruto!" Yuri got up to give him a hug and an affectionate, yet friendly kiss on the cheek

"I'm surprised you remembered, Dobe." Sasuke commented, shoving his firsts into his pockets.

"Of course I would remember my best friend's birthday." Naruto laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"So then where's her present?" Sasuke cocked his head to the side, stepping forward so that he was now standing next to the shorter girl who was smiling brightly.

"It's.." Naruto licked his lips. "At Ichiraku!"

"Ramen isn't good for her figure." Sakura sang, joining the small huddle.

"I'm sure one time couldn't hurt, right?" Yuri intertwined her own hands on her lap.

Sakura shrugged."Sure, every once in a while. You're already really skinny anyways."

Yuri bit her lip and looked at the glistening grass that they were standing on. Was she really that skinny?

Naruto seemed to notice the drop in her mood. "Yuri, let's go get some food, yeah?" He grinned.

"Sure." She mumbled, grabbing onto his forearm so that he could lead her to the big buffet inside.

While they were walking, some members of her family turned an looked at the two, whispering to their peers about the jinchuuriki boy who was walking with the heiress of their clan. They were utterly shocked to say the least.

Naruto felt their stares and let out a quiet sigh as he stopped at the food table and looked down. They had made his happy mood turn into a sad one.

"Hey." Yuri placed her index finger under his chin to force him to look at her, and set her thumb on his sharp jawline to keep his gaze towards her. "They love you. They've just never would've expected you to be friends with me."

"They don't love me. Don't you see the way they stare at me?" He replied helplessly, leaning against the wall.

She smiled suddenly. "It doesn't matter,"

"Cause I love you."