Title: Love's Cursed
Author(s): Erika (Rikatro) & Mikka (Mikka-kun)
Pairing: Sakura?
Series: Naruto
Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto. Sadly.
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It felt oddly different that morning. For some reason, her mother hadn't yelled at her for taking too long in the bath. She instead encouraged it with a cheery, "Oh, Sakura-chan! Go ahead and take as long as you want!" Another strange event that occured was when Sakura had jogged down the stairs. She found her mother cooking her favorite breakfast. Sure, it doesn't seem weird at first, but when you usually have to force your mother into making your favorite breakfast, it definitely feels like you need to head for the hills exclaiming, "Holy crap, hell just froze over!" Despite this oddity, Sakura welcomed it with a smile and a phrase of gratitude.
As she had gone out the door to meet Naruto and Sasuke at the bridge, Sakura ran into Ino. "What do you want, Ino-buta?" she spat at her rival with rudeness stinging in her voice. Ino had only continued to grin eerily at her, and caused Sakura to blink in confusion. Perhaps Ino had some strange plot up her sleeve, but she hadn't bothered to delve too deep in that idea. Suddenly, Ino had pulled out a large bouquet of lillies, and told Sakura, "Sakura-chan, I just want to strengthen our friendship. So, here's a bouquet of lillies courtesy of the Yamanaka Flower Shop." The girl then shoved the flowers towards Sakura, and headed off in her own direction. Sakura, alone and confused by Ino's sudden change of attitude, had fondled the lillies carefully in deep thought.
Hell hadn't just turned into a giant cave of ice; it had turned into Hotel Shangri-La.
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"Damn, what the hell is going on today?" Sakura thought as she walked along the streets. So far, every girl wanted to become her absolute best friend, and every older woman was incredibly nice to her. It wasn't so bad, until she started to run into people of the opposite sex. Older men gave her compliments that made her shudder uncomfortably, while younger boys blushed around her. And worst of all, boys that were her age suddenly began to confess their love to her. It was so gross.
Her ears suddenly twitched as a voice reached them, calling out, "Haruno-san, Haruno-san!" Sakura inwardly cursed, and swung around with her finger pointed directly at the male, "Don't you come near me! I DON'T want to go out with you, alright?" He slunk back into whatever depth of hell he came from, water spilling pitifully from his eyes. Sakura's eye twitched in annoyance, and she began to stomp off in the direction of the bridge, "Jeez!"
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"Sakura-chan! Ohayou!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he ran up to Sakura, who had just arrived at the bridge. She smiled and gave him a nod, "Ohayou." Sakura made her way past the excited Naruto, and headed toward Sasuke, who was looking down at the floor silently. "Ohayou, Sasuke-kun!" she said to him with a shiny smile, bending slightly to look up at his face. He stared at her and gave no reply. The girl stood erect once more, hands clasped behind her back, thinking, "Ah, atleast Naruto is fine... Oh, why couldn't have Sasuke-kun confessed his undying love for me! Shannarou!" Sasuke leaned against the rail boredly, and tried to busy himself by staring up at the sky. "Damnit, where's Kakashi-sensei? He's always so damn late!" Naruto grumbled, pacing back and forth across the mouth of the bridge.
"All we can do is wait, Naruto-baka, and hope that he comes here fast." Sakura said to the blond shinobi, crossing her arms impatiently. He replied with a groan of frustration and continued to pace incessantly. Fifteen minutes had passed and she grew tired of watching Naruto walk around, "Stop pacing! It's starting to get annoying!" Naruto shrugged, and scratched the top of his head as he began to study the area surrounding them. His blue eyes caught a slight movement. In a puff of smoke, Kakashi appeared sitting on the ledge of the bridge, "Hello! Sorry I'm late, I --"
"Usotsuki! There's no excuse for your lateness, sensei!" Sakura and Naruto yelled, pointing angrily at the grey-haired jounin. Kakashi put his hands up in defense, and said, "Calm down, calm down. Let me explain!" He disappeared in another poof, and reappeared beside Sakura, smiling. The girl flinched as her sensei put his hand on her shoulder, rapidly thinking, "Oh no! Don't tell me..." She glanced down at Kakashi's hand, turning red at the very thought. Her weird and yet conceited thought-bubble burst when Kakashi started to speak.
"Well, on my way here, I kept hearing her name," he began, pointing at Sakura with his free hand, "I listened in on every conversation about her, and apparently... Sakura is the girl of the day! Almost everyone in Konohagakure is speaking about our little cherry blossom -- in a good way, of course. However, it's somewhat strange."
"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked inquisitvely, inching his way towards Kakashi and his teammates, "Maybe Sakura-chan has just improved so much that everyone admires her now!" Sasuke snorted rudely, earning a glare from his male teammate. The jounin shook his head, "No, Naruto, not because of that. From what I've learned, many of the older women, older men and girls keep complimenting Sakura. Her looks, fighting skills, strength and etcetera. Even stranger is the fact that many of the males her age are doing so as well. They all say that they want Sakura as a girlfriend, and want to confess their undying love for her."
Naruto and Sasuke stared blankly at Kakashi, then at Sakura, then back at Kakashi:
"WHAT?"
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Authors' Note:
Mikka: Oho, so begins our first multi-chapter fic. n.n;
Erika: I know! Hmm.. This will be a challenge since we have sophomore year to deal with right now... BUT! We love to face a challenge...!
Mikka: Ohyes! Thanks for reading, and, uh, please read and review!