Elevator
Disclaimer: If Naruto was mine, would I be sitting here at my dad's laptop typing a Naruto fan fiction? I don't think so.
FlamedraSeer7213: Ah it's a new year! I'm so happy and pepped up!
Pom-Pom: You may be, but I'm far from being 'pepped' up…
FlamedraSeer7213: -frowns- Don't start this New Year on the wrong foot…
Pom-Pom: Never should have woken up, you and your stupid crap, waking me up the mere second that it was 2007.
FlamedraSeer7213: Oh come on! That was ten days ago!
Pom-Pom: Hn.
FlamedraSeer7213: Oh never mind you, you're being moody. Enjoy the story!
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"Elevator" is talking
"Elevator" is thinking
AN: Author's Note
AMN: Author's Muse's Note
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Sasuke woke up in his apartment to loud scraping noises. Tired, he quickly glanced at his alarm clock. "7:00 am on Sunday? Ughh… Who's so stupid as to do that?" He settled back into his bed and attempted to fall asleep in vain. Grumpy, he got up and rubbed his eyes. Sasuke groggily made his way to the kitchen, fixing himself a cup of coffee. After downing the contents, he dressed himself in a dark blue t-shirt and white shorts, pocketed his keys and left his apartment.
The minute he got out of his apartment, he noticed the large amount of boxes in front of the apartment next to his. "New neighbors? How annoying." Sasuke sighed and went to the elevator, pressing the down button. He may have been fit, but he wasn't in the mood to run down ten flights of stairs. Finally the elevator dinged and he opened the door and collided with a pink haired girl carrying a few boxes. Sasuke backed up and the girl dropped the boxes in surprise. They opened and sprayed the floor with her things.
"I'm so sorry! I'm such a klutz!" She exclaimed, rushing forward. "You're not hurt or anything right?" He raised an eyebrow. "I think you should worry more about yourself than me." "Oh!" She went on her knees to go and pick up her things. Sasuke sighed, at her rate, things would go really slowly. "Here let me give you a hand." He knelt down and started picking up things. She looked gratefully at him. "Thank you very much!" She said politely. He shrugged. "Aa." She quickly picked up the boxes, squealed a quick thank you, and ran into her apartment, leaving Sasuke holding a pink alarm clock. "Wait! What am I supposed to do with this!?" There was no answer. "…Dammit…"
---The Next Day---
Sasuke walked out of his apartment, scowling while holding the girl's pink alarm clock. Someone crashed into him, causing both of them to land on the ground and the clock to go flying. Out of instinct, Sasuke immediately caught it, breathing a sigh of relief when the bright colored clock landed in his hands. He then turned to the person with narrowed eyes. "Watch where you're- oh." The pink haired girl sat there blinking at him. She then noticed the clock. "Oh! You found my clock! I was wondering where it was." He raised one of his eyebrows. "What are you doing up so early woman?" He questioned, handing the clock back to her.
She took back the clock. "My name is Haruno Sakura, not woman guy." Sasuke gave a tiny smirk. "Uchiha Sasuke. You still didn't answer my question." He replied, walking to the elevator. "I'm going to work!" She pressed the down button. He looked at her. "You'll wake up everyday at this time?" She nodded. "Hn, very well." The elevator dinged and Sasuke pushed his way in first. She frowned and crossed her arms, pressing the lobby button.
"A bit rude are we Uchiha?"
"Hn."
"How old are you?"
"Hn."
"Do you live alone?"
"Hn."
"Where do you work?"
"Hn."
"Do you have any siblings?"
"Hn."
"Can you say anything besides 'Hn'?"
"You're so freaking annoying."
They stood there in silence for a few minutes, only the elevator music playing in the background. Sasuke was describing Sakura in his head. "So far, I find her rather annoying. She has pink hair. Who in the world has pink hair? Did she dye it or something? Why the heck does she talk so freaking much? Is it like some sort of habit of women, talking so much when they know the person who they're talking too isn't listening? Speaking of talking, why isn't she talking now?" He chanced a look at Sakura, who seemed to look nervous. He narrowed his eyes.
"Sakura." The said person snapped her eyes to him, blinking in confusion. He sighed in frustration. "Now do people understand why I like to avoid conference with women!? They're so complex… Stupid elevator music… it's annoying me so much." She tilted her head. "What is it Sasuke-san?" He sighed again. "If there's something troubling you, you should say it." She fiddled with her thumbs, looking unsure. "Sakura." He said again, more demanding.
"Sasuke-san." He scrunched up his face at that title. "Sasuke." He said flatly. "Okay. Sasuke, would you mind riding the elevator with me everyday?" He gave her a questioning glance. "Why?" She looked back at her thumbs. Sasuke crossed his arms. "I can't answer if you won't tell me why." "I… I…" He sweat dropped. "Please don't say that you're one of my fan girls, I will smother myself to death if you do!" Sakura seemed rather tongue tied right now.
"It's embarrassing you know!" She blurted out at Sasuke's smirking face. "What could be so embarrassing that you hardly have the nerve to talk to me?" The elevator finally reached the lobby, the air pressure hitting them like a ton of bricks, causing them to stumble ungracefully. Sakura turned to him. "Well have you made your decision?" She asked. He smirked. "You seem rather interesting. Very well then."
She gave a cheeky smile and held out her pinky. He looked quizzically at her cream colored pinky. "Pinky promise?" He sighed at her childish antics, but nonetheless linked his pinky with hers. "Annoying… fine. Pinky promise." They both gave their hands a shake, sealing the deal before going their separate ways.
---A Few Months Later---
"Good morning Sasuke!" Sakura cheerfully greeted her black haired friend. He gave a grunt and a "Morning" in reply. Sakura skipped to the elevator door, with a silent Sasuke behind her and pressed the down button. "Why so grumpy this morning Sasuke?" He shrugged. "I just have this bad feeling for some reason. I don't know why, but nothings going to happen I think." The elevator arrived with a ding, Sasuke pulled open the door and entered with Sakura following. She pressed the lobby button and they waited, hearing elevator music and occasional dings saying that they passed a floor.
All of a sudden the elevator stopped and the lights went out. "What the-!?" Sasuke swiftly pulled out his keys and pressed on a flashlight keychain. A thin beam of light hit the metallic walls of the elevator. "Sakura? Sakura, you okay?" He heard some movements towards his left and moved slowly towards the sound, feeling his way around like a blind man, calling out her name once in a while. Suddenly, light flooded his vision and he fell in a heap, trying to shield his eyes from the light. "Sasuke? It's just me and a flashlight." Sakura's voice relieved him a little bit.
Sasuke groaned for a few moments. "Just give my pupils some time to get undiluted please…" He heard a faint giggle from her and he got up, glaring at her in mock anger. "You find my pain funny?" She quickly shook her head. "No! Nonononono! I didn't mean that, you just made me feel a little bit better." He looked at her confused. She leaned against the elevator door. "Re-remember a few days ago when we first met that I was nervous about something?"
He thought about it and nodded slowly, noting the slight stutter in her voice. "Um, well, this is still hard to say because I haven't said it to anyone before. So umm…" Her voice faded off a little bit. He frowned and leaned forward a little bit, clasping her hands tightly in his. "You can tell me Sakura, I can keep a secret." She blushed slightly, at how warm his hands were.
He started to stare intently at her, his dark eyes boring into her emerald ones. "All you have to do is say it." The minute the words left his mouth, the elevator shifted; there was a loud screech of metal and it slid down elevator shaft, stopping once it was in-between the fifth and the sixth floor. Sakura threw herself into Sasuke's arms, trying to press herself against him tightly. Sasuke's eyes softened and he stared at the shaking bundle, completely unsure of what to do. A small sob left her mouth and he could feel that her tears were wetting his shirt.
Suddenly remembering what his mother used to do when he was little, Sasuke started to gently stroke her head, occasionally running his fingers through her pink hair. "Shh… it'll be… all right Sakura." He mumbled awkwardly, having never actually done this before. "Sasuke?" Her voice sounded a little bit muffled. "Hn?" He replied, still stroking her head. "Arigatou, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke noted the name change and gave a small half smile.
"When I was small, probably like when I was three years old, I took my first elevator ride, it was with my mother." She smiled a little bit, like she was remembering fond memories. "I thought it was so much fun, going into a cool box and coming out somewhere completely different from where I started from." The light in her eyes faded and her lips straightened into a thin line. "On the last elevator ride, a blackout just suddenly occurred. We had too many people in the elevator. The wire… it just… snapped." She pulled her knees up to her chest and Sasuke could tell that she was crying again.
"Everyone's voices, they were all loud and terrified. I could hear people saying that they didn't want to die. All of them died… The only reason I lived was because my mother shielded me. I didn't know what happened. I didn't know why my leg hurt, what was the red liquid coming out? Why wasn't my mother answering me? Why wasn't she moving?" Hot tears streamed down her face and she gave a choked chuckle when she felt the tears. "Cry. That's all I can do. I can't do anything but cry, I'm so pathetic…" "No you're not." She hastily wiped her eyes. "Wha-What?"
"You're not pathetic." Sakura stared at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?" He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "You able to face your fear. Even though you were probably terrified to be in an elevator, you still rode it everyday with me. That's not what I call 'pathetic' Sakura." Sasuke placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair affectionately. "That's what I call 'brave'." "Sasuke-kun…" Sakura lowered her head, a shadow covering her eyes. A tear made its way down her left cheek, and she bit her bottom lip. He panicked. "Sakura? Are you crying? What's wrong? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Was it something I said?"
Sakura finally lifted her head. She was indeed crying, but her eyes didn't seem so san anymore. A smile found its way onto her lips. Sasuke couldn't help but give a half smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "If there's anything I can do to help, tell me okay?"
After he said that, the lights suddenly flickered on and the superintendent's voice came out of a hidden intercom. "Good Evening everyone. This is Miyazaki Ryuichi your superintendent. The power outage was due to a loose wise in the system. The problem has now been fixed and the electricity has been restored. I apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused. Okay, have a nice day. Okay… where's the damn button? Ah here it-" Both Sasuke and Sakura sweat dropped at Ryuichi's… odd behavior…
"Umm, what are you going to do now Sasuke-kun? I'm going to go home." Sakura asked Sasuke after about a minute of silence. Sasuke didn't answer her verbally; he went over to the elevator button and pressed the ten, the button lighting up. The elevator roared to life and started to go up, dinging one minute afterwards, reaching the 7th floor. "Same here." He replied, closing his eyes and leaning against the elevator wall. "When I get back, I'm going to get some more sleep. You?"
8th Floor
He opened one of his eyes and peered at her when she didn't respond. She seemed to be looking at him intently with shining eyes. "Sakura?"
9th Floor
"Sakura? Is there somethi-?" She leaned up and pressed her lips to his lightly, shutting him up. His eyes widened in surprise.
10th Floor
Sakura pulled away, and ran out of the door after saying, "That was for thanks!" Sasuke stood there, his lips slightly parted and his eyes still wide. After a while, he walked out of the elevator and into his apartment.
He plopped down in a chair and just sat there for a while. Then he gave a smug smirk, remembering how he described her when he first met her. "Hehe, you're so annoying."
----The Next Day----
"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" Sakura greeted Sasuke cheerfully as always. Sasuke looked over her in what seemed to be an apathetic look. "Good morning." He replied softly, walking with her to the elevator. She was about to press the down button but froze, hesitating a little bit. "Sakura." She looked up at the Uchiha. "If you want, we could take the stairs for today." Sakura's face lit up. "Thank you Sasuke-kun!" She linked her arm with his (despise his insistence to not) and started to skip down the stairs, a slightly pink Sasuke in tow.
----Three Months Later----
"Good morning Sa- what's all this?" Sasuke looked quizzically at the large amount of boxes in front of Sakura's apartment. Sakura stood holding a large cardboard box. His eyes widened when he remember how she looked like when she had just moved into the building. "Sasuke-kun." She mumbled softly, looking a little guilty. "I'm moving." He looked at her in complete shock. "What the hell!? You're moving away yet you don't tell me?" Was the first thought that flashed through his head. Sasuke then sighed and looked at her through blank eyes.
"Why?" He asked hollowly. "I found an apartment closer to work." Processing this information through his head, he gave a heavy sigh. "I can't force her to stay, that'd be kind of wrong…" Sakura looked at him a little concerned. "Maybe, I should have told him this earlier. He seems to be taking this a little harder than I expected." Sasuke settled into a forced smile. "Well then, good luck at your new apartment building. I-I'll see you later." And with that said, Sasuke started down the stairs, not even bothering to take the elevator.
----A Week Later----
"Mor- Why the hell am I saying morning to someone who doesn't live here anymore!?" Sasuke crossed his arms, frustrated. Saying morning to Sakura was practically a ritual to him. She would reply with a cheerful "Good morning Sasuke-kun" like she was high on coffee or something. He shook his head rapidly, no, Sakura was gone and she probably wasn't coming back. He gave a heavy sigh and walked to the elevator, pressing the down button and entering when it came.
"Well have you made your decision?"
"You seem rather interesting. Very well then."
She held out her pinky.
"Pinky promise?"
"Annoying… fine. Pinky promise."
Sasuke chuckled a little bit, at her childish antics. "Aa, pinky promise. Why did I even agree to that?" He stood there in silence for half a minute, expecting someone to answer for a little while. "Gah, it's so boring here, without someone giving out noise pollution." He stood there again for a while. "Why am I talking to myself!? Ugh I'm confused… Worse, why am I talking to myself and answering!?"
----In Security Room----
"Hey… Ayumi, what's wrong with the guy in the elevator?" Ayumi looked into the security video and he shrugged. "He's just yelling and screaming at himself, no big deal Shugo." Shugo stared incredulously at Ayumi. "You're just used to these things aren't you?" Ayumi popped the bubblegum in his mouth. "Yup."
----Back In The Elevator----
Sasuke stopped yelling and screaming at himself, realizing how stupid he actually looked. "I had to make some noise pollution myself to even feel comfortable… Wow I'm pathetic, I guess it's cause I miss her." Once again, he shook his head rapidly. "Nononono, I'm UCHIHA SASUKE. I DON'T miss anyone in my entire life! Okay maybe once… twice… WHATEVER! Dammit, I'm getting soft." He sighed and leaned again the elevator wall, eyeing the counter beeping as he went down a floor.
Finally reaching the first floor, Sasuke stepped out, not even bothering to look ahead of him when…
"GEH!"
"AGH!"
Sasuke collided with someone holding boxes and both of them ended up on the floor. "Ah I'm sorry!" He blinked in surprise and he stared at the girl who was picking up her boxes. She had a cap on and her glaze was shifted at the things on the floor. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise when something fell out of one of the boxes, a pink alarm clock.
"Once again I'm really sor- ow!" She reached for the clock, but he roughly grabbed her wrist and she looked up at him. "Could you please let go of m- Sasuke-kun!?" "Hn, so it is you, Sakura." He helped her up and looked behind her, noticing the boxes behind her. "Moving back here again?" She nodded. "Hai Sasuke-kun." "Why did you come back?" She smiled a little bit. "I tried to live in my new apartment, but it just didn't feel like home. This place, has many precious memories for me." She faced him. "This place is home."
Sasuke stood there, flabbergasted for a while but then walked over to the elevator and held the door open. Sakura stood there for a few minutes and blinked. He looked away and muttered softly. "You're going up aren't you? If you are then get in." Her face lit up and she walked carefully into the elevator, Sasuke closing the door after he entered.
They stood there in awkward silence, only the elevator music playing in the background. It wasn't until the fifth floor that Sasuke broke the silence. (AMN: This is quite a first for him!) "Hey." Sakura looked at Sasuke, who seemed to have hair covering his eyes. "What is it Sasuke-kun?" A moment of silence passed and he finally looked at her, a small smile on his face. "It's nice to have you back."
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FlamedraSeer7213: Gah this sucks so much… It's stupid I know it! Note to self, never get Pocky, drink soda and then go to sleep, as it will make bad stories… Please read and review?
Pom-Pom: Happy (late) New Year…