SUMMERTIME
Part I -- Adjustment
"It was you helped make fire from my ember. Here's a thanks for the summer that I'll always remember." -- Anonymous
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The moment she entered the room was when Sasuke decided that she was the weirdest person on the face of this earth.
It wasn't like this girl was any different from the rest of the people that stayed in their house. Every summer an American student came in to study in Japan. It was all his father's idea, of course: Fugaku taught Japanese classes in some colleges in America. Most of the guys—and occasionally girls—who came here were either one of his brother's students in the language or in the sciences. They weren't all weird. Sure, the last one had a strange craving for ramen but he was smarter than his looks gave off. He passed with top marks in advanced biology, which involved a lot of reading comprehension on Ramen Boy's part.
What made her stand apart from all the other students was very obvious:
One: It was the last week of May, which was the earliest anyone has ever come in to their house…they usually flew over halfway through July.
"I appreciate you and your family allowing me to stay here longer than most students."
Two: Her eyes were the lightest shade of green he'd ever seen.
"Oh, so polite and so adorable! You are a very cute girl, Sakura-chan!"
Three: … well… Her hair was pink.
Pink.
PINK.
PINK!
Pinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpinkpink!PINK!PINK.
Like a pig.
A person of one sex with white (possible!shade) hair and another of the opposite sex with red (possible!shade) locks created a child with PINK (impossible!shade) roots. Was that even scientifically possible for hair to be that kind of color?
Perhaps… it was dyed… Yes. That made more sense. She dyed her hair.
Stupid girl, she sticks out like a sore thumb.
"Sasuke, stop being rude and help her with her things!" his mother scolded him. Snapping out of his gaze, he picked up two of the four suitcases.
And what in blazes was inside these things, anyway—two-ton weights?!
"I'll get the other two later," Sasuke grunted.
"Ah, no, it's fine! I can pick these two up!" the girl replied, taking the remaining cases (with ease!). "Thank you very much…ahm…"
"Sasuke."
"Ah, thank you very much, Sasuke!"
"Hn."
"My name's Sakura Haruno, by the way. It's nice to meet you!"
"Aa."
Sasuke proceeded up the stairs and into the nearest door on his right. "This is your room for the semester," he said. "Your bathroom's right next door. Don't worry about the rest of us using it; it's yours. Okaa-san will be up and awake early and late enough if you're ever hungry. She also likes to make sure that you're back home by ten to make sure you're safe. If you're in need of anything, just ask. I'll give you a tour of the house once you're done un-packing."
Sakura just nodded, keeping her eyes more focused on the room and everywhere else but him. Sasuke frowned even more. It took him fifteen seconds to realize that he might have possibly miscalculated something in his miniature speech.
Three.
Two.
One.
. . .
Oh. Ohh.
She had been speaking in English the entire fifteen minutes she came here.
He just said everything in Japanese.
Fuck.
Good thing his brother wasn't here right now and was out on his mother's errands, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it from him.
Cursing himself once more, he repeated in English, "This is your room for the summer—"
"Yes, my room for the summer. The bathroom's next door all to myself. Mrs. Uchiha is awake early and late enough if I need anything. Curfew's at ten. Ask anyone if I need anything, and the house tour is after I'm done un-packing," she recited, smiling.
It was Sasuke's turn to remain silent, slowly raking his hand through his black hair. She understood everything I said?
Sensing his discomfort, the young girl replied in Japanese, "I can speak and understand Japanese, I just need to get used to using it fluently! Sorry for not mentioning it earlier…I'll do my best to stay in one language from now on."
He shook his head. "No, you're fine. Speak in whatever language you want. Dutch, Spanish, Filipino…"
"Ah, you're all so kind to me!" Switching back to English, she smiled. "Thank you very much!" She thought out loud as she turned to her things, "Now, my laptop is…did I put it next to the dresses or the toiletries…?"
Sasuke dismissed himself and went back downstairs in the kitchen only to see his brother come in with six plastic bags in both hands. Setting them on the island counter, Itachi nodded towards him.
"I heard that our travel-abroad student is here for the summer."
"Hn."
"Well…" Itachi eyed him curiously, "what do you think of her? Sakura's a bright student for being able to receive high marks in both otou-san's language and science courses."
Sasuke was busy putting all the items in their respective places in the fridge and cupboard while digesting the information from his brother. Graduated high school in the top ten percent; is eighteen years-old—about his own age; a quick learner; likes spicy food and romantic comedies; dislikes reading horror novels, her natural hair color is pink, and is a virgin. She recently won her fourteenth gold medal in piano, had a—wait a second, what did he say?!
VIRGIN?!
The now-stunned brother glared at him. "Itachi, how the hell do YOU know that she's… she's a… a…"
"She's pure? I asked her, stupid," his brother replied cooly. "I met her with otou-san while in America. You know how weird his interview questions can be. I just happened to be in the vicinity when they were talking." He cocked an eyebrow, amused by Sasuke's look. "Don't tell me you've already taken a liking to her."
This comment only made Sasuke's glare even more dangerous. He was about to reply with a snark remark of his own when she came by.
"Sasuke-san, I'm don—oh, nice to see you again Itachi-kun!" Sakura smiled, unknowing that her sentence made Sasuke scowl even more. This only made his brother smirk in response, walking over to the pink-haired college student.
"I had some errands to run. Your Japanese is much smoother by the way," he replied, patting her head. "Sasuke, be a good gentleman and show her around the place. And don't try doing anything suggestive to her."
Growling in response, Sasuke blindly took Sakura's hand and pulled her away from the kitchen. He monotonously pointed out all the rooms to her, noting any reason to stay away from them if necessary. The last room he came to (ironically), was his brother's room.
"Itachi sleeps here. Try to stay away from this room as much as possible."
"You talk as if he's going rape me, Sasuke-san," Sakura chided, "I'm a big girl, you know. I knock out anyone if I need to. Thanks for your concern for me, though."
"Whatever."
"What, you don't believe me?" she pouted. "Then bring it right here, right now, mister!"
Sasuke only stared back, amusement clear in his dark eyes. "You? Against me?" In less than a second, he had her arms securely behind her back. "I win."
Sakura's voice lowered. "I don't think so." And just as quickly as he had caught her, she was free. He, on the other hand, was face-down on the floor with a one-hundred pound, five-foot tall female on top of his back, who was securely holding his arms in place. He had to admit, she had some skill…but just how much? And there was only one way to find out, so why pass up the opportunity? There wasn't anyone around at the moment…
"Is that all you got? C'mon, my grandmother can do better than this!"
"Lame taunting, Pinky."
Grrrowl.
"Hm, and definitely not human, either."
"UGH, THAT'S IT. TAKE THAT, YOU ARROGANT—"
Several minutes, karate moves, and ninja-like dodges later, the two stumbled into the living room, trying to out-due the other. Sasuke had her pinned against the wall, only to forget once more she was flexible with her legs, earning him a kick on the thigh and enough seconds for her move. Sakura finally pinned him down on his back and grinned in triumph. It was only then that Itachi happened to saunter by and lean against the doorway, letting his stern (yet midly amused) voice fill the air.
"Sasuke, I told you not to have sex with otou-san's students. Foreplay falls into this category, too, you know."
The pink-haired female merely smiled at both of them, not knowing exactly what he had said, though his voice said everything. Her face slightly reddened as she got off of Sasuke. Helping each other up, she dismissed herself from the room. After all, coming straight from a twenty-two hour flight was exhausting, and she needed time to adjust to the new time-setting.
"I believe that this will be a very, very interesting adjustment. More for you, though. You think she's feisty in bed?"
"Leave me alone."
"Glad to know you're not gay. Or asexual. Now all we need is to make sure you aren't—"
"Itachi."
"But I'm sure that Ramen Boy can come on by. He might sweep you off—"
"Itachi. FUCK. OFF!"
Itachi gave his brother an all too-uncomfortable evil grin, and left him alone in the living room. Sasuke only scowled, pulling at the ends of his even spikier hair more than ever.
She was a weird adjustment indeed.
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... To Be Continued ...
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't need to be in school to have an education so that I'd find a place to work somewhere…Masashi Kishimoto is a freaking a genius.
Dedication: To Mariegurl, because I've delayed far too long for her. (smile) And also to my beta, SakuraUchiha4, because she rox mai woild. (grin)
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Almost all of the Japanese schools have a three-term year. The first term is from early April to mid- or late-July. From here, the summer break lasts until roughly the end of August. The second term begins on early September and ends in late December with a winter break. The third term starts on early January and ends in the beginning of March, ending with the graduation ceremony. A brief, spring break lasts up to the enrollment ceremony in April, where school starts once again. However, there are some schools and universities in Japan that have tried the two-term year that resembles much of the American academic terms.
Information courtesy of Wikipedia and AllExperts.
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This will be a story revolving around summer themes. Why? Mine is going really, really soon. (sniffle)
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Reviews give the energy needed to write stories. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed reading it. Thank you!
-- ahzheejhei.