Overlooked [Sasuke Oneshot]

Eriko Endo was average.

Her hair was neither short nor long and it hung limply from her scalp in a lifeless brown heap. It wasn't as attention grabbing as Sakura's bright pink locks and it wasn't beautiful, long and blonde and silky like Ino's hair. It was plain and dry and no matter what Eriko tried that wouldn't change.

Her eyes were small and as dull as her hair. They didn't shine or glimmer or sparkle and they weren't framed with long black lashes for flirting. Sakura had gorgeous green eyes that were wide and innocent looking. Ino had dazzling sky blue ones that a girl could die for. But Eriko's were a plain, boring brown.

She wasn't tall and she wasn't short, she stood at an average height, just a smidgen smaller than Sakura Haruno. Her legs weren't long and shiny, her hands weren't delicate and soft. When she smiled boys didn't stare and they certainly didn't blow her kisses like Rock Lee had for Sakura. She didn't get any attention at all.

She was invisible to her peers (not her friends – what friends?) and even to her teachers. She wasn't a remarkable kunoichi, she wasn't smart or strong. When she threw her kunai she hit her target a regular amount of times. She didn't fail her tests but she didn't ace them like Sakura (the genius).

She had never jumped head first into things, the way Ino did sometimes. She wasn't feisty or bossy like her either. In fact, Eriko couldn't find a single thing in common with either girl whom people envisioned when they thought the word 'kunoichi'. She wasn't a failure but she felt like it (what kind of female ninja is so forgotten?).

Eriko's hands wrapped around her flat, childlike body. Her head dipped to study the ground passing under her feet. Grains of dirt, thousands of them, cluttered together. Boring, brown, unnoticed. Melancholy sapped at her will. Inside her chest, a hard, tightly wrapped ball had been forming, small at first but steadily growing (bigger, bigger).

She hadn't noticed it before, hadn't really thought about. It curled under her breast, stretching and reaching, rolling inside her. A shiver crawled it's way up her spine, her skin prickled. It was a ball of darkness, churning within for years, getting stronger and more determined. It's whispers brushed the edge of her conciousness and she lifted her chin to the sky.

Soft blue (like Ino's eyes) with sparse cumulus clouds sailing across. The sun was high and bright; a fine day. Not fine (why fine at all?) but happy, joyous, a new day. The wind swept through her hair, swirling it about, catching a leaf or two in her thick brown strands. Her lips curved and nodded into the breeze, an unknown strength seizing her.

She strode through the street, her arms swinging by her side, her shoulders arched back, making her look taller, more distinctive.

No one noticed a normal girl. She couldn't even be classed as an outcast because she didn't even register in their minds. They didn't push her out of the way, they didn't grab her and pull her to them, they just past right by her like she wasn't even there.

The wind had carried the smell; sweet, cherry blossom scent (Sakura).

She wouldn't envy her any more, not for her looks, her friends, her shinobi skills. Eriko would not let them dictate her life any longer. This was the last time. The last time she'd follow the flow of 'destiny'. The last time she'd cry over things not worth her attention (she could give attention too). The very last time Ino or Sakura would dominate her thoughts.

The training grounds were in her sights now. Patches of open land scattered throughout the forest where Genin frequently trained. Mostly they were supervised by their Jounin leaders but some (the dedicated ones) went there after hours. Eriko knew the person she was looking for would be there (he always was).

Low whispers; murmurs. The obvious sign she was getting closer. Broad oaks loomed above shielding her from the sunlight. Their green leaves rustled softly, almost inaudible above the chirping noises made by the young girls.

They all crouched behind thick bushes. The bulk of them were still academy students who didn't past the test into Genin-hood, a few were just regular citizens but there were two, two Genins there, hidden amongst the fan-girls. Surprisingly they sat side by side without ripping each others throats out.

They peaked over the shrubs, 'sneaky' spying. Eriko watched them without any of the fan-girls noticing and she wasn't even that good of a ninja. Were they delusional? How could they think he didn't notice them? Sakura's bright pink hair and clothing stood out like the Hokage heads. Ino's sandy hair flowed from the top of her head, like a whale surfacing to blow it's blow hole.

She didn't get it. What was so damn special about this one guy? Sure, he had piercing granite eyes, but what good were they when they saw straight through you? His thin lips were dazzling when curved into his famous smirk but how could that be sexy when he was mocking you? He was strong and quick with excellent shinobi skills but how attractive was it really when he ignored you because you weren't quite as good?

He was mysterious but only because he was too cold to let anyone in, too cruel to think about anyone but himself. His voice was dark and smooth but was it hot enough to distract you from the fact that he's telling you you're not good enough? Was that why he was so popular? Because he was mean?

Eriko broke cover, striding past the shocked faces of the fan-girls and into the clearing. The sun hit her face with warmth. A cherry blossom in full bloom swayed behind him, it's soft pink flowers fluttering. Sasuke's head turned slowly and his raven hair swished either side of his ceramic face. His eyes were dark voids as they fell on her.

She didn't alter her pace, she was unperturbed by the hostility.

Eriko knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that she was one of those annoying fan-girls that had decided to approach him in all her giggly girlishness, that she would say something stupid, something lame. That she thought he didn't know that the rest of her squad hovered with eagerness in the bushes and had been there for an hour.

He looked at her with contempt in his eyes. It sent chills down her spine, not the scared ones that swept through her body and took her under, but the ones that ran up her back and down her arms, they brought a tickling warmth of excitement. He didn't speak, he didn't have to; it was written all over his face.

She didn't hesitate as she stepped into his cold shadow and looked up into his endless eyes. She reached up with a quick, determined movement and caught her hands in the soft hair nestled at the nape of his cool neck. He didn't have time to react and she pulled his head and lifted hers, connecting her small pink lips to his.

The world around her faded so much that she barely heard the gasps of outrage, she hardly had time to feel the victory surge through her veins because he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

Eriko Endo was average.