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...*
"Goddamnit!" Temari cursed as she tried to weave in and out of traffic, "So many God damned tourists! Where did they come from? They're like, like, like baby sea turtles!"
"Baby sea turtles?" Sakura asked, leaning to the front of the vehicle from the back seat, deep sarcasm running through her voice and clearly questioning her driver and co-kidnappers sanity, "Why the hell are they like baby sea turtles?"
The car suddenly skidded dangerously around a corner and an unbuckled Sakura flew to the other side of the death bus with a thump! while Hinata clung to the dashboard.
"Because," Tenten said, grinning maniacally as she gunned forward towards a group of tween wangsters who were swaggering their saggy pants selves across the street. Utilizing their underused brains the group scattered and dived out of the way of the vehicle as she barreled through them. They got up as she drove madly away, screaming and cussing at their almost murderer and she flipped them off through her open window. "They're not there one day then suddenly POP! they're all over the beach! Coating the God damned ground in their slow pokey turtliness!"
Sakura and Hinata exchanged a look and both buckled themselves in. "T-Tenten?" Hinata said hesitantly, "we have to buy our dresses and get ready for the dance remember? If you have to run away from the p-police again we might not have enough time left to do everything."
"Oh..." Realization dawned on Tenten's face and the speedometer dropped down to only 10 miles over the speed limit. "hadn't thought of that."
Sakura cursed Hinata's common sense under her breath.
"What was that Sakura?" Tenten asked sweetly, looking at Sakura in her rearview mirror.
"Oh, nothing." Sakura said, beaming back with a cavity inducing smile. She leaned forward towards Hinata. "So Hina, where are we going exactly?"
"I'm n-not quite sure." Hinata said as she looked out at the unusually jam packed boardwalk, "it looks like all the stores are more crowded than usual."
"But you know that means don't you Hinata?" Tenten said ecstatically.
Hinata and Sakura both looked over at their friend, confused, "N-nooooooo..."
Sakura was reminded forcefully of her last visit to an amusement park as Tenten swerved violently again and screeched into a parking space. "It means a sale!"
"Oh my..." Hinata said faintly as Tenten bounded out of the car.
While Tenten bounced around outside and Hinata rummaged around up front for something Sakura tried to yank open the car door and make a break for it. To her frustration the door refused to open and she tried the other one with the same infuriating result.
"What the hell?" Sakura growled at the useless handle. The door was unlocked, why wasn't it opening?
From behind her the other door suddenly slid open and a triumphant Tenten stood there beaming, hands on hips. "Haha! Thought you'd try and escape huh?"
No shit Sherlock IS replied snidely.
"Well I outsmarted you!" Tenten flicked a little black knob inside the door back and forth, "Child locks! Hinata! You got the leash?"
Hinata came into view of the open door and handed something purple and rope like to Tenten. "Yeah I b-brought it."
Sakura looked at the thing in Tenten's hands for a moment, her brain mentally flat lining. "The what!"
The WHAT?
Tenten leaned into the dim car; the light from outside framing her looming figure in the doorway, leash in hand, a sadistic smile on her face. "Yes Sakura. We brought little Hinabi's old leash. Just in case, you know, you tried escaping again. Cause if you tried while wearing this baby, well, you would just embarrass yourself."
"Get that thing away from me!"
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The heads of walking passerby's turned at the sound of shrieking protests and evil cackling. Some even stopped to stare at the violently rocking indigo van from which the rated R sounds came.
Poor, poor Hinata stood in front of the vehicle, reassuring onlookers and ushering them on, her face raspberry red, the pale blue of her shirt particularly contrasting against her heated skin, and stuttering even more than usual from embarrassment.
"Are you sure everything's all right in there honey?" A hefty, platinum blond, middle aged mother stopped to ask. Her children leaned out of their stroller, pointing with sticky hands and giggling at the noisy car.
"O-oh yes." Hinata stammered, "Everything's f-fine my friends are just-"
"You wanna go again bitch? Just try and put that on me I da-Ahhh!"
"Come er you!"
"Shannaro!" Sakura bellowed.
Hinata winced at the sound of a body being thrown into what was probably the rear window.
"Haha! Take that you adrenaline junkie headcase!"
"Sakura you're going down!"
"No! No! Noooooo! Get *grunt* off me!"
"Gotcha now don't I-Ahhh!" Tenten screamed in pain, "Let go of my hair you bitch! Let it go right-Ahhhhh!"
The mother's eyebrows shot up and she hurriedly pushed away the stroller away, anxious to protect the innocent ears of her offspring.
Hinata moaned and sat down on the sandy wood of the board walk, no longer caring if people stopped to stare, the picture of defeat. If she managed to get them to the dance in two whole pieces it would be a miracle...she might as well give up now, they'd been at it for twenty minutes already...
"Hey Hinata look! I got her!"
The white eyed girl fell over onto her side in surprise; she had been so lost in her frustration that she hadn't realized the screaming and thumping had stopped. She looked up now and saw a victorious Tenten, a purple leash wrapped around her hand. The leash led from her hand to the waist of a miserable and disheveled Sakura who was staring at the ground, lower lip out in a defeated pout.
Hinata looked at Tenten, terribly impressed. "How did you?..."
Sakura glared at Tenten, eyes so full of fury Hinata was surprised Tenten's hair wasn't singed. "Someone didn't stop weightlifting after they quit the wrestling team that's how."
Tenten somehow managed to look both baffled and horrified; "What, you think I should have left my poor babies on the rack to collect dust? Are you mad?"
"Well someone here is..." Sakura mumbled.
"What was that Miss I-Just-Got-My-Ass-Handed-to-Me-for-the-Second-Time-Today?"
"Excuse me? Not everyone-"
Hinata grabbed the hands of both young women and started dragging them behind her. "Come on girls," she said, "we don't have time to f-fight, we have dresses to find!"
Behind her she heard Sakura moan and Tenten whoop. Oh ancestors, she prayed, please please please, give me strength...
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Sakura was tired. Actually, she was dead beat. She had been dragged around for almost three hours now and she was sore, drained, and fed up with the entire shopping thing. Tenten had been right about the crowds; the masses of people were tourists who were there for the giant boardwalk Valentine's Day Sale and despite Tenten's vicious and competitive shopping methods there hadn't been anything suitable left for any of the three girls.
From her seat on the bench that she had melted onto, Sakura wearily registered the back of a tall, broad shouldered brunette, clothed from head to toe in all black, who seemed to be flirting with a terrified and stammering Hinata.
"So you three are dress shopping huh?" he said, "Well I know an exclusive little place not too far from here. It's a kinda out of the way though, wanna come with me cutie?"
The store scoping Tenten finally noticed the stammering and nerve wracked Hinata and stepped in to tell the boy off, something along the lines of 'no way in hell would someone as defenseless as Hinata ever be allowed to wander off with a creepy freak like him and he better get his ass out her sight unless her wanted it smeared across the ground.'
The exhausted pinkette blocked out the noises and exhaled slowly, trying to dispel her quickly gathering depression. Fucking men. Fucking Valentine's Day...it was this entire cursed holidays fault. If it weren't for whatever genius who came up with the dumb idea to have a lovey dovey day celebrating couples in the first place she wouldn't be in this predicament...
Hey, IS piped, interrupting her gloomy musings, make them feed us. If they're going to drag us around all day it's the LEAST they can do.
Sakura immediately perked up, an evil smile curling up towards her eyes. Excellent idea IS. I suddenly realize I feel hungry for something very expensive.
Atta girl! Rob 'em blind! Make 'em pay through the eyeballs!
Sakura yanked on her leash and Tenten lurched back a little from where she had been glowering at the retreating back of the brunette. The sudden pull on the leash had caught her by surprise and she turned around to glare at Sakura whose imagination morphed her captors brown buns into demonic horns. "What do you want?" She snapped. "You're not going to try and fight me again are you?"
Sakura cocked her eyebrow at her friend and smirked somewhat sarcastically; yeah, the idea of free for her and expensive for her kidnappers food had really restored her energy all right.
"No, Ii'm not actually. That would be stupid. I just wanted to let you know that," she glanced towards Hinata, whose face was just beginning to cool again, before redirecting her glare at her leash holder, "as the abductee it is my right to demand food and as the abductors you are obligated to feed me. Before I pass out from hunger."
Tenten raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. She looked over at Hinata, exaggerating her movements and making Sakura roll her eyes at the ridiculousness of her best friend.
"Well Hinata," Tenten asked, "Do we owe the violent heathen food?"
Sakura puffed up and started sputtering at the comment. Violent heathen am I?
Hinata once again sensed the ominous ripples of another battle. "O-oh yes!" she said hurriedly, stumbling over the words, trying to get them out fast enough to prevent yet another skirmish. "Of course! I-it's lunch time, of course we should all eat! Umm, w-where would you like to go Sakura?"
"Hmmm..." Sakura looked up and down the boardwalk. She then realized with a great deal of frustration that all the nearby restaurants would probably be filled with the hundreds of tourists that they had been fighting off all day. The walk was a lot more spacious at the moment as well, lending support to her theory.
"Maybe we can...look for a very secluded café?"
Tenten scowled in confusion before scanning the area with her eyes. Sakura watched her friend and saw understanding dawn in her chocolate eyes as she figured out what Sakura had already noticed. "Hm," she grunted, "probly the best idea."
She started forward again, dragging Sakura with her as she turned into a filthy, dimly lit, empty alley way.
"Hold on a second," Sakura protested, "Tenten you idiot we shouldn't go running off into dark, deserted alleys that we've never been down before! You might as well hang signs around our necks that say 'Please mug and rape us!'."
Tenten kept on walking, dragging Sakura along with Hinata, whose pale eyes were wide as she hurried nervously behind, clutching Sakura's sleeve, "Who says I haven't been back here before?"
Hinata exhaled shakily in relief, "Oh, you have? Thank good-"
"Oh I didn't say I had either Hina." Tenten chirped far too perkily.
That voice makes me want to kick her.
Agreed
Sakura reached out and wrapped her hand around poor Hinata's shaking one. "Have you or not Tenten?" she demanded crossly; she hated it when Hinata was frightened. It gave her very vio-aggressive feelings.
"Well...no. But!" Tenten cut off Sakura's protest, "This is an adventure! Who knows where it could lead us!"
"Um, I don't know," Sakura growled in aggravation, "the afterlife!"
Hinata whimpered.
"Aw pish, Hinata don't be scared! Life isn't worth living without a little risk!" Tenten stopped at a fork and closed her eyes. "Eni-meni-mini-mo..." she mumbled under her breath.
Oh that's just GREAT. Our lives could depend on which way the tiger hollers. That's just WONDERFUL. DO SOMETHING BEFORE WE ALL DIE.
Sakura strongly agreed with IS but past Tenten experiences told her the best thing she could do for the moment was to try and comfort Hinata. The girl was scared of almost everything, something that made her life pretty difficult at times, but she would always try to act as tough possible. And, unfortunately, abandoning their idiotic leader wasn't really an option.
"You okay there Hina?" Sakura whispered as they walked carefully around a suspicious pile of rags and danger.
"Y-yeah," Hinata whispered back, "I-I'm just fuh-fuh-fine, d-don't worry Sa-sakura."
Sakura sighed. When you start stuttering like that of course I'm going to start worrying you silly girl.
She squeezed the anxious young woman's hand, "It'll be okay Hina, Tenten and I are here. You know we could take on three thugs apiece." Tenten hummed from ahead of them and took another random turn. Sakura's anxiety rose from itchy anxious to raging anxious.
Hinata forced out a strained laugh, "Y-yeah I k-know Sakura."
Tenten came to a sudden halt in front of them and the distracted Sakura bumped into her stiffened back.
"Tenten what the?..." Sakura peered irritably around her friend's shoulder, eyes searching down along the dingy path.
The three girls had come to a stop in the middle of a three way junction. They had just come down one dim lane and at the end of the right turn, the direction Tenten had started walking before coming to her jolting stop, was a shadowy group of what looked like six hulking men, or, at least, that's what Sakura thought they were. The one in front was definitely a guy and the leader of the other five; tall and broad shouldered with familiar brown hair and bizarre purple make up on his cheeks. His arms were crossed and he stood with his feet apart, a stupid smug smile on his face that clearly said 'Uh uh uh little girls. You're not comin' though this way.'
Sakura didn't like him, in fact she really didn't like him.
"Ummm, Hina? I know I said Tenten and I can take three guys each, and don't get me wrong we totally can! But I think it might be the best idea to try and avoid it if we can...Tenten? Let's go back okay?"
Tenten didn't look so keen on her adventure any more. "Sakura, I totally agree with you. Let's go back. Right now." The brunette turned around hurriedly and Sakura followed, her hand tight around Hinata's, keeping an eye on the six at the other end of the brick canyon.
She suddenly thumped into the back of her friend for the second time. She looked up in annoyance. "Tenten what're you doing I thought we were..."
Sakura felt a cold wash of fear rush over her. "Oh shit..."
From behind the girls, down the same stretch of alleyway that they had just come from, was a group of six more men. Ominous leers loomed at the girls through the murky light.
Sakura felt her eyes expand and her grip on Hinata tightened even more. The end of the leash slipped from Tenten's slack hand. "Oh shit!"
"Tenten! Hinata! Run!"
Sakura sprinted left, down the only stretch of road not blockaded by strange and threatening men. She dragged Hinata behind her and heard Tenten running at their rear, heard her speedy friend's feet sometimes come to hurried stops and the scrape and crash of trash against the ground as she grabbed and released her crude artillery at the pursuing footsteps. The echoing sounds mingled with the merry laughter of men as Tenten's makeshift weapons missed their targets and clanged against the asphalt, she heard the curses that flowed from the girl's mouth as she ran again. Sakura felt her heartbeat pulse in her fingers tips, in her throat, in her pounding feet, and she didn't think; her actions were instinctual but if she could have put the emotion, the resounding need she felt through her blood, into words, they would have been protect Hinata.
The girls came to another junction and Sakura bolted left, only to come skidding to a stop and wrench back around, Hinata whipping around behind her with a cry of surprise. At that end of the alleyway was the smug brunette and his five lackeys.
"The other way Tenten! The other way!"
Tenten, ever the natural athlete, turned around smoother and quicker than Sakura had been able to and sped back to the way they had come. She raced to the junction and started throwing more alley junk at what must be the oncoming other six, obviously trying to keep the pathway clear long enough for her slower friends to get through.
Sakura put on another burst of speed, hauling the stumbling and gasping Hinata behind her. We just need somewhere to go where they won't follow!
The two made it through the junction, Tenten following close behind, but Sakura could tell her friends were tiring and she hadn't seen anywhere safe damnit!
Look! A door!
Sakura jerked her head to the right where IS was frantically directing her. Yes, she was right; a pair of glossy wooden doors were on corner at the end of this stretch of alley. They looked like church doors strangely enough, and...there was sunlight again! Clear, blessed, unblocked sunlight!
"Tenten! Go for those doors!"
"Right!"
Sakura heard her friend's footsteps quicken and watched the white and brown blur pass her and Hinata to open the doors. What was frightening was that the velocity of their pursuer's footsteps also seemed to increase.
Tenten had reached the door and had it held open for her friends. "Come on girls! Run! Hurry! Run!"
Sakura told her tired legs to go faster...but they seemed to be ready to give out. No! No, we're almost there, almost there!
She pushed harder and pulled Hinata through the opened wooden door, crashing down to her knees. Hinata fell beside her, and Tenten yanked the door closed behind them.
"Quick," Tenten gasped, "give me your leash."
Sakura struggled frantically with shaking fingers to unwrap the rope around her waist. As soon as it was off Tenten snatched it from her hands and wrapped it through the handles of the door. Her deft hands wove it boa constrictor tight through the metal loops before her knees gave out and she slide down to the floor in exhaustion.
Then, through her wheezing pants and the blood that beat in her ears Sakura heard the sound of shuffling footsteps. Someone else was in the building.
Sakura felt another rush of adrenaline fill her veins and she struggled to force her suddenly immobile muscles to move, but fell back down to her knees when she tried to stand. From her uncomfortably vulnerable position the bedraggled pinkette looked up and found herself nose to tooth with a dazzling smile, the owner's happy face framed by cascades of blond hair that spilled over blue covered shoulders.
"Well hello there!" The smiling face said, "Welcome to Fairy Godfather Deidara's Boutique and Salon!"
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Reviews are loved, Critiques are needed! Please help me help my baby grow! :)
xoxo
Rose
