Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or even any of the flowers mentioned in this story.
FLOWERS
Kakashi sighed as he watched his students start fighting again. Everyday was always the same. Sakura would scold Naruto, Naruto would yell at Sasuke, and Sasuke would ignore them both. They were constantly fighting, and Kakashi just wanted them to get along. Then an idea came into his head. He put his book down and appeared in front of his students.
"Yo!"
"Kakashi-sensei! You are three hours late!" Naruto and Sakura yelled. Kakashi just smiled. "Actually, I have a reason this time!" Naruto was speechless and Sakura just stared.
"You guys haven't been acting like a team lately, so I have decided to give you today off to have a bonding activity."
"Bonding?"
"A day off? To do what?"
"Hn."
Kakashi sighed. "Your activity is to get to know each other better. Go home and research a flower that most reminds you of your teammates. Including me."
With that, Kakashi disappeared, giving his students the day off.
"DAY OFF! WOOO!" Naruto danced around with joy, saying something about how many coupons he'll use to buy ramen that day.
"We still have to research, dobe." A brooding Sasuke pointed out. "It's not like we're going to a fair."
"Still. How often does Kakashi-sensei give us a day off? Like, NEVER!" Naruto pointed out. He left both of them to stand there and ran to Ichiraku's.
"Sasuke-kun! Do you think that Naruto will get his assignment done on time?" asked Sakura, not really caring at all.
"Hn." Sasuke stalked off to his house, thinking about how annoying Kakashi was for giving him that bonding exercise. How were they supposed to bond? By impressing each other with long flowers' names?
Sakura stopped by the bookstore on the way home to buy a book about gardening. Equipped with all flower knowledge, she skipped home wondering about which flower Sasuke-kun would say she was.
The next day Naruto got to the meeting spot early. When Sakura arrived, it took all his self-control to only shout out "OHIYO SAKURA-CHAN!" and not his flower choices. Sasuke strode to the area last, hands in his pockets. The team sat there for two hours, Sasuke sulking, and Sakura and Naruto chatting. Finally, Kakashi appeared.
"Hello!"
"KAKASHI!! YOU ARE TWO HOURS LATE!" Yelled Sakura and Naruto again. This time, though, they weren't so angry.
"So… who wants to go first?"
"OOOOH! I DO KAKASHI-SENSEI! PICK ME!" Naruto shouted. Clearly he was excited about this bonding activity.
"Okay! For Kakashi-sensei, I picked a wildflower!" He explained first.
"Why? Do you think that I'm wild?" Kakashi asked, excited by Naruto's choice.
"No, just your hair." Naruto deadpanned. Kakashi hung his head. "I see."
"For Sakura-chan, I picked a Sakura Blossom! 'Cause her name is Sakura! Get it?" He looked around for some sort of reaction, but all he got was blank stares.
"Okay, and lastly, I picked a dandelion for Sasuke-teme."
"That's a weed, dobe!" Sasuke fumed. "Why am I a dandelion?!"
"Well, just one look at one is enough to get people pissed off. Especially if it's in someone's yard. Dandelions are annoying! They appear everywhere, and people just want to kick it! " Naruto explained.
"Naruto, that's not the kind of bonding that I was talking about about…" Kakashi said nervously, holding Sasuke back. "Sasuke, why don't you go next?"
Sasuke frowned angrily. "For Sakura-san I picked a rose. For Sensei I picked a bush."
"WAIT! Why am I a bush? That's not even a flower!" Kakashi yelled, disappointed about not getting a tulip or something.
"Bushes are always in the way." Kakashi pouted. "For Naruto, I picked Marigolds."
"Sasuke-teme! Why am I a Marigold?" Naruto yelled.
"Marigolds are bright, obnoxious flowers. They are easy to spot, and full of pollen. Almost everybody avoids them for fear of getting allergies."
"SASUKE-TEME! HOW AWFUL! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?" Naruto jumped up and down frustrated. No better than what you said! Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura thought together.
"Sakura, why don't you go now." Kakashi said, trying not to start anything.
"Sure. For Sasuke-kun, I picked a Cactus Flower. For Naruto-kun I picked a sunflower."
"Sakura-chan, why am I a sunflower?" Naruto asked, confused.
Sakura smiled. "No matter how dark it is, you always face the sun. While others might be blinded by it, you keep one growing towards it, never faltering until you die!"
Naruto grinned. "SAKURA-CHAN! HOW DEEP!" HE ran over and hugged her, and she blushed before continuing. "For Kakashi-sensei, I chose Ivy. While other plants have to stay rooted, Ivy can climb up and around walls."
Kakashi smiled. Even if it wasn't a flower, it felt good to have a normal plant. "Thank you Sakura."
They smiled, but the moment was ruined by Naruto's stomach growling. "Kak-sensei! Treat me to ramen!" Kakashi was then dragged along by a hungry Naruto, leaving his other students behind.
Sakura looked at Sasuke nervously before asking what was on her mind. "Sasuke, uh, why did you, you know, um, pick a rose for my flower?" Sasuke looked up at her. "Well it made sense. A rose appears delicate, but poke it in the wrong places and you'll get hurt.
Sakura blushed. "You really think so?" Sasuke nodded, before asking a question of his own.
"Hey Sakura?" She looked up questionably. "Why did you pick a cactus flower for what fit my personality best? I've never even heard of one!"
Sakura looked surprised. "Well the cactus flowers don't open up that often. But when it does, I believe that it is the most beautiful flower of them all." She blushed and looked down again.
"Sakura?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
"Thank you." Then he smile, a genuine smile. Sakura felt her cheeks flush once again as Sasuke turned around to walk home. Sakura smiled at his back and walked home too.
Kakashi sighed. That was probably the least effective bonding exercise in the history of the world. All it did was allow his students to insult each other with the excuse of using flowers. He walked home but came upon a peculiar sight, a smiling Sasuke! Was the world coming to an end? Then he saw who the ice-cube was smiling at.
SAKURA! Kakashi grinned and had only one thought in mind.
Let's see just how good at matchmaker I really am!
END!
WOW! I actually did some research on this one! It turns out that a certain cactus plant only blooms once a year! It fit right in!
R&R!