A Bright Future {Naruto x Reader}

Chapter 34

Naruto's POV:

"Naruto, I really don't think you should delay it much more." Neji tells me as we sort out some scrolls in the archive room. I sigh and stare at the shelves. "It's not like I'm enjoying this, you know. Things are so weird between us now, and I don't even know how to fix it." I admit to him, and he looks at me. "Just do it, I understand you're trying to give it a special meaning, but even without it, it will be special." he tells me, and I nod.

"What if..." I don't even want to think of my plan not working. I'm sure it will kill me if it doesn't go the way I think. "Don't think like that, Naruto. You have to stay positive." he reminds me, and I get back to sorting out the scrolls to distract my thoughts. "If you insist on waiting a couple more days, I can think of a way to distract her for you." he reluctantly tells me. I know he wants me to refuse, but I really want it going a hundred percent right.

"H-How would you distract her exactly...?" I ask, and he rolls his eyes. "I might have some news she would like to hear every detail of." he shrugs and tries to turn away, but I swear I saw his ears go red. "What kind of news? Now, I'm interested." I try to get him to tell me, but he shuts me down. "Do you want my help or not?" he asks me again. "Yes, please. I even asked Sasuke, but he says I'm pushing it too much and that I should just do it." I pout as I remember his answer.

"I share the same opinion, but I know if you've bothered yourself to think that much about it and insist on your way, it must be extra special." I don't know how to react to that. "Thanks? I'm actually not sure if I should take that as an insult in some way..." I awkwardly chuckle, and he smiles. "I meant it in a good way. Now, how much longer do you need for this plan of yours?" he asks as he puts some scrolls away. "Just two days, I promise." I smile at him, and he sighs. "I'll think of ways to keep her busy for you." 

I thank Neji for all the trouble I'm making him go through to help me with this, and we try to finish our tasks as fast as possible. I've gotten help from almost everyone I know. I've obviously never done anything like this, and never thought I would until I met (Y/N). Kakashi teased me all day when I told him, Obito was excited and started throwing ideas at me. 

Tsunade kept telling me to get it over and done with? Apparently, she's entered a bet about it, and she obviously wants to win. Jiraiya... as excited as he was about it, his ideas weren't helpful. There's no way I could have considered anything he told me to do... 

The only person who really seemed to know what could work was Iruka. He shed a few tears when I told him, which made me tear up a bit, but it was a good bonding moment. I told him how separated I feel from her because of this and how she might be suspecting something bad. "Her mind will jump to all sorts of conclusions, but it will all be okay once it's done." he told me... I want to believe him on that, but every time I'm in the same room as her, I worry she will find out.

Once I was done with everything Kakashi asked me to do and helped around the offices, half the day passed. I needed to get to Itachi's to get his opinion on the last few details. He's proven to be a lot more helpful than his brother. At least he understands where I'm coming from and what I'm trying to do.

He did warn me not to take too long with it, but it's not like I planned for it... If I didn't care about the details, I would have done it ages ago. But I want it to be different than anything else.

I knock at his door, and I hear him telling me to enter. "Itachi~" I whine. "I'm in trouble." I tell him, only to realize that he isn't alone! "(Y/N)! I-I didn't know you were here!" I looked between her and Itachi, and I didn't know what else to say. "Hi, Naruto." she says without any energy in her voice. "I always visit Itachi after my training with the team. You know that already." she reminds me, and I awkwardly laugh about it. "R-Right, I forgot. Thought you would be talking with Tsunade about training or something." I continue to laugh.