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Not all fairytales end with “I Love you”
Isn’t it ironic how that little thing can change a lot?

“Are you sure about this Mai?” Tsunade asked sternly. “Yes. I want to do this to protect the village; and if it means risking my life, then by all means, I will,” Mai said, her voice getting a bit softer with each word. “This isn’t one of those missions where you have a better chance to survive; a mission like this is just the same as suicide. You do understand that?” She answered, somewhat trying to talk you out of it. “Yes, and I don’t care what the consequences may be; I’m going. It’s the right thing to do for the village.” She replied, looking to the ground. “Ok then. You will leave tomorrow before nightfall. I suggest you get a good night’s rest and pack up.” She informed, as she shuffled through a few papers on her desk and formed the only neat pile visible to the naked eye. Mai nodded in agreement and walked out. The entire way home, she tried to recall every memory she had here in the village of Konoha. She walked to the bridge and leaned ever so slightly on the railing; glancing at the reflection of the moon on the dark river below. “heh…. So many memories, yet so little time,” she sighed and looked up at the moon above, fiddling with the necklace that Naruto had given her for her last birthday, “my most treasured memory began here; at this very bridge I stand on.” She smiled, as she remembered the day she met him: Uzumaki Naruto.
If he would have never of tried to find a faster way to the Ichiraku noodle shop, he would have never approached the bridge at the exact time she did. Most importantly, they would have never become the best of friends. And if she weren’t alone, she would have never stumbled upon the fair village of Konoha, and would have never laid her ocean blue eyes on his sapphire ones. Funny, how a little thing can change a lot.
One could call it love at first sight, but Mai wasn’t one to keep her head in the clouds. Ever since the slaughter of her family; dreams, wishes, goals, meant little to her. They didn’t until she met Naruto. Naruto opened up a whole new world to see for her, and she had no regrets for following him in. She felt good around Naruto, as if all her cares left. She loved being near him, and she grew to like him more than just a friend. She may have even loved him, but, she was smart enough to know that life is no fairytale. Yet tomorrow, she had to do the worst thing she ever had to. She shivered at the thought and rubbed her arms to warm up. She slowly got up from her position and began to walk to Naruto’s house, where she had taken room and board since her arrival 3 years ago. All she left on the bridge was a single tear the drifted ever so softly from her face.
She opened the door, quietly and slowly, as to not wake the sleeping Naruto. She walked through the house, and stopped at the door right before hers; Naruto’s room. She slowly opened the door to see Naruto shivering on his bed; blankets on the ground. She chuckled softly to herself as she silently walked over and spread the blanket over the cold Naruto. “idiot she whispered. She looked upon the face that filled her mind with so many wonderful memories, and wanted to take in a good look of him before she had to leave; possibly forever.
He has grown; these past few years. Yea, he is still the same Naruto as he was when he was only 12, but he has matured. Same humor, same smile, same ol’ Naruto. Those 2 ½ years with the ero-sennin did him some good. I just hope it will help him enough to prove himself.
She stayed not a minute longer, as she crept out of his room to hers. She collapsed on her bed and sighed heavily, dreading the fact that tomorrow, she had to finally say goodbye.
She arouse a little later than she usually did, and Naruto had already left to go practice his new technique that he has been trying to get. She decided to spend most of her day walking around Konoha, exploring the village one last time. “As the saying goes,” She commented to herself,” You really don’t know what you have till it’s gone.” After she explored the village, she used the rest of her time watching Naruto train.
The day had gone quicker than she hoped, and her time here was running out drastically. She filled her pouches with kunai and shuriken and threw her pack over her left shoulder. It was time for her to depart from Konoha. She reluctantly walked out the door and headed for the gates. As she reached the bridge, she saw a familiar voice greet her. “Oi Mai! Where are you going?” Naruto greeted and asked as he walked up to you. Not even daring to look at him, she replied,” On a mission.” “Oh. Well I guess I’ll see you when you get back.” he paused for a second, “When will you be back?” She sighed deeply, as she felt her heart tearing in two with every passing second. “Naruto. I doubt that I will ever be back. I am leaving for good.” She began to walk right past Naruto, not daring to make even a glance toward him; she held back the tears that were fighting their way out. She continued to walk, until Naruto came up from behind and embraced her in a hug. “Mai,” he said, beginning to tear up, “Don’t’ go!” She tightly closed her eyes as she coldly replied, “Naruto. I have too. I accepted this mission and I’m not going to back down now.” “Fine; if you’re going, I’m going.” “Naruto; Why would risk your life just to come? There in no point for both of us to die.” She again replied coldly. Naruto released the hug and took a few steps back.
“I don’t care if we’d both die. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to live without you. I’ve always thought of us as more than friends, and after time, I realized that I like you more than a friend. I mean, I thought I liked Sakura, but I think about you, care about you, and love you much more than Sakura.”
“What are you saying Naruto?”
“I love you, Mai.”
She took a deep breath before she responded; a long, deep breath.
“Naruto; I need to tell you something. You see, ever since I met you,” she paused for a bit, “I’ve hated you. Yea at first I acted kind, but the only reason I stayed your friend was out of pity. I never loved you Naruto, and I never will. You’re not coming with me; and that’s final.”
Naruto stared in disbelief, as those words ran through his head, over and over. Silence filled the air until it was broken by a:
“Goodbye Naruto. Goodbye for good.”
The very place where the two met and became friends is the same place where she broke his heart; and her own. When she finally passed out of the village, a tear escaped her eye and cascaded down her face to the ground.
“Naruto; I’m Sorry, but I did it for your own good,” She said to herself quietly.
Before she carried on any further, she whispered four words.

“I love you too.”

I loved you
I loved you all along
And I miss you
Far away for far too long