Author's Note:
First, I lied in the last author's note :0 This isn't the Shika-Ino part. This is the Sasu-Saku. And incase your wondering, I still consider Tenten the main character... even if she's hardly in this one.
I'd like to thank the reviewers!!! They deserve (translates to English) spinich pie!! Yes, that probably sounds disgusting, but trust me -- it's delicious :D Haha, okay, that's how you scare away readers...
Anyway, those people - Princess of Storms, Sailor Kunoichi, TotalWeaponFan1010, dreaming.sapphire, niwichan2468, Torture Cat, SnowCharms, Toad321, and Parade!
Plus, the two who put it on alert -- thank you guys as well :)
Uhm, one of you suggested some SasuTen and I asked another what they thought, and they agreed sort of... and I really tried; but since it's prewritten and all... it didn't work out so great. Sorry :(
However, you were inspiration for the other story (One-Shot) I have up! It's only rated M for one word really. Read if you want to. Reviewing not needed, lol. :)
Well... props to SnowCharms who guessed what was going on! Here's the next part..
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other titles that may be named. (boring, eh?)
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FLASHBACK: Tenten couldn't respond, as the noise escalated even higher and her head felt read to explode. She collapsed to the ground, her hands placed firmly on her ears, and she cradled down holding her head. Sasuke immediately flashed to her side, and knelt down.
"Tenten?" he asked sternly. She wasn't thinking straight, but only of the immense pain strangling her mind. It was getting louder and louder. She suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream; one that didn't let up for quite a while. When it did, she was still shrieking (just not as violently), and Sasuke was staring down at her, almost frozen. He gathered his voice, and yelled "NEJI!"
But Neji was already at the door, as well as the rest of the gang. Neji walked into the room, to see Tenten on the floor holding her head, shrieking loudly. He knelt down next to Sasuke, a stern look on his face. After a short analysis, he quickly snapped his head back, and locked eyes with Ino. She nodded to show she understood, and then let her gaze crawl over to Tenten. Ino's pupils slowly dilated, and after a few seconds, she collapsed onto the floor; her face ghostly pale. Shikamaru grabbed her arms, "What is it, Ino?" he asked sharply. Ino was shaking, and looked at Tenten.
"She's in so much pain, her mind…. It's a mess" Ino squeaked out.
Neji stared at Ino, who was being held by Shikamaru. Then he glanced at Naruto sharply.
"Fill the tub up" he commanded. Naruto was confused, but nodded and ran out of the room, with Hinata following to help him.
"Sakura, what's wrong with her?" Neji asked. Sakura frowned and quickly walked over to Tenten. She tried to grab a hold of her head, but Tenten was moving too much.
"I need to see her eyes!" she said, her voice sounding strong and confident. Sasuke and Neji quickly grabbed onto Tenten's wrists, and thrusts her back to the bed, her continueing to move violently. Sakura gripped onto Tenten's chin, placed a hand over her forehead, and used her thumb to open her left eyelid.
There was pain in them, pain and confusion, but nothing else. Sakura bit her lip, and tried not to cover her own ears at the sound of Tenten's high pitched shrieks. She took a step back, and then told Neji,
"There should be evidence in her eyes if it was some type of poison, but there isn't. It's not coming from inside her body"
Neji didn't bother to nod,but pulled an arm around Tenten, lifting her up. He was carrying her, as Sakura and Sasuke held onto her wrists and feet, making sure her thrashing didn't cause her to fall. They quickly ran out the hallway, and then into the bathroom, where Naruto and Hinata were, the tub filling up.
"Faster!" Neji growled. Hinata nodded, and ran out of the bathroom, and into the kitchen. She came back a minute later, with a bucket full of water from the sink (a/n: I realize that won't help that much, but when you want the tub to fill up faster, basically you do whatever your mind thinks of xD). Naruto and Sasuke were outside the door, and Neji and Sakura where pinning Tenten down in the bath tub. Hinata quickly dumped the water into the tub, and then started filling the the little blue bucket up again.
Five minutes later the tub (a/n: I didn't know where to add this in, sorry. So, I guess I'll just tell you here. The tub/shower/bath was a Jacuzzi styled thing. Therefore, it's fairly deep) was filled to the brim, and Neji looked over to Sakura.
"Push her down into the water, don't let her surface" he said.
Sakura gulped, but nodded. They forced Tenten's legs down, and then shoved her head under the water.
"All the way down to the bottom of the tub" Neji commanded. Sakura shoved down harder, until her arms were soaked a few inches passed her elbows.
Sakura noticed how Tenten seemed to stop holding her head for a few seconds, but then started thrashing around to get out of the water.
"I think she realized that she's drowning" she mumbled.
She didn't know how this was working, but Neji's face seemingly got even more pissed. "Let her up for 4 seconds" he said, and he slowly started bring her up, as did Sakura. Tenten reached the surface, and greedily started taking in breaths. But, no sooner then she got two gulps of air, she shrieked, pulling her head down tight into her shoulder; an instinctive response to cover her ears since her hands were unavailable.
"Under" Neji said quickly, and they pushed her down to the bottom of the tub again.
This time, Neji half turned to face Sasuke.
"Sasuke, there's someone out there, get them and bring them to me"
Sasuke looked a bit surprised, as much as he could anyway, but he didn't have a chance to let his thoughts wander too muh, since Neji snapped at him.
"Hurry, left side of the house!"
Sasuke took took a second to look at Neji; his eyes were shining a light purple, with veins popping out around them. Not even nodding in reply, he left them and started running down the hall way, his own eyes flashing blood red. Naruto started after him, but Neji called after him.
"No! Stay here!" Naruto winced at the tone, but did stop running down the hall.
Neji looked back down at the water, and saw a Tenten thrashing her arms around to get up. "Again" he said to Sakura, and they slowly let her up. "What the fu-"Tenten started to scream at them, as she sucked in air, before her face pinched up. "Down" he said, and Sakura begun to understand.
"The metal in the tub is stopping the noise from reaching her!" Sakura blurted out. Neji nodded. "Someone outside is sending high pitched noises only her senses allow her to hear?" Sakura said more then asked. He nodded again. Sakura's eyes widened, "A trap to catch Naruto?" she whispered. He knew he didn't have to nod again. (a/n: i hope that made sense?)
--
Sasuke flew open the front door, and quickly sprinted to the left side of the house. He saw a man in all black, holding a rather large gun-looking thing with a screen on it, showing infrared bodies moving around. The odd-looking gun was pointed towards the house, in the general area of where the bathroom was. Sasuke growled, quickly ran over to him, and then easily kicked the gun out of the man's hand. The man didn't scream, but started scrambling for the gun. Sasuke beat him to it, and stepped on the man's hand, using his other foot to kick the gun-like-thing further away.
The man cringed, and Sasuke picked him up by the collar.
"Who are you?" he threatened. The man only grinned.
"Oh well, they probably drowned her by now anyway" he said, laughing. Sasuke blinked his eyes, and immediately threw the man into an illusion; giving him the pain he imagined Tenten was in right now. After he saw the man zone out with a terrified look on his face, he headed back inside, dragging the soon-to-be-severely-punished-man. wtih him.
--
Neji and Sakura pulled up Tenten again, and this time she sucked in air, and didn't flinch back after a few seconds. Sakura sighed in relief, as Tenten continued to breathe harshly, leaning over slightly. She was soaked, tired, and her lungs felt like they were on fire.
She hardly noticed Neji take her out of the tub, strip her shirt off, leaving her in a black sports bra, Sakura slip off her jeans (now in her pink(!) short cheerleading boxers), then wrap a few towels around her, and carry her to her bed. When she finally did notice something, probably five minutes later, she had felt like she could breathe normally, and her thoughts started coming out more orderly . She opened her eyes, as she leaned up and swung her legs around off the bed, not liking the vunerablity she was feeling - she didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that she felt weak, was barely able to stand, and when she looked the only thing she saw was Neji standing there.
She stared at him, blinking.
"You're okay now" he said calmly, his eyes respectively not wandering from anything but her face. Tenten continued to stare, but then burst out crying, slinging her arms around him, the tears flooding onto his shirt. He awkwardly stood there, but then slowly wrapped his arms around her bare skin, in an odd way of comforting her.
Ino and Shikamaru sat on the floor a few feet away, and Ino was reading her mind again. "She's scared to death" she whispered to the rest of them. Sakura bit her lip, trying to understand how horrible it must have been to be completely helpless. Naruto wrapped an arm around Hinata, and let her lean into him as a few tear's formed. Sasuke leaned against the door frame, looking down; that was his sister over there (a/n: not literally. But I am clarifying that this isn't a SasuTen…. Sorry, I tried to add in a teensy bit, but it just didn't fit in since this is prewritten).
A few moments later, Tenten calmed down, but then passed out from tiredness. Sakura immediately ran to her own room, and got some medical supplies. She came back with two needles, and prep stuff.
"A shot to give more sugar; it's energy running through her, and then a sedation to let her sleep for a while; that's all she really needs" she said, more to herself.
She breezed past Sasuke, and then started instructing Neji on how to help her.
Tenten was on the bed, sleeping beauty style, and Sakura injected the two needles in through her forearm. After that, she pitched the syringe, and told them she would probably be awake this time tomorrow. They all left the room, flicking the light switch off, and then moved out of the way for Neji to deal with the man who tried to kill Tenten… just to get to Naruto.
Neji lifted said man up with one hand, and drug him to the living room, throwing him against the couch so he slammed his back against it. The man groaned, as he woke up from the illusion Sasuke had lifted. He was shaking and disoriented; the effect Uchiha Sasuke wanted him in.
"I should kill you" Neji said, steel dripping from his voice.
The man looked at him, his eyes with flashing with fear for a quick second, before a grin wiped his cocky face.
"Nah, you need information" he said, bordering the line of cheerfulness.
"No; no I don't" Neji said coldly.
With that said, he walked over to the man, gripped his neck, and started to push down on his windpipe. "
W-w-wait, w-wait" the man stammered out. Neji didn't let go just yet, but looked him cold in the eyes. A few seconds later, he did release him though (reluctantly, may I add).
"What was your plan?" Sasuke interjected; he was the only one who would join in on Neji's questioning, the only one not afraid of what Neji might do if it made him mad.
The man grunted, "Thought you didn't need information" he replied, his voice a little gurgly
Sasuke looked over to Ino, to make sure she caught it. Sasuke mentioning the plan would make the man think about it, even if he never answered. Ino nodded to him, and Sasuke was about to call it off with Neji, when Ino suddenly growled.
"ASSHOLE!" she screamed, and lunged at the man.
Neji made no attempt to stop her, and watched as she kicked him hard in the side, and then punched him square in the jaw. The man started cursing, and Ino yelled "Don't even think about thinking that again!"
That was a bit confusing, Shikamaru thought, but interested in what the man had thought to make Ino lose control (which was usually lost anyway, but still).
Ino calmed down a bit, and stared at the men; who looked back at her mightily confused.
"I guess they didn't bother briefing you on us, and if anything that gives you less reason to think such things. Tenten is actually the one who keeps us together, so don't you dare call her that. You're bosses probably wanted her dead BECAUSE of that! She is NOT useless, but in fact, YOU are! Obviously if you're boss didn't tell you that I can READ YOUR MIND than they clearly knew you would most likely die anyway! Useless organizational power-seeking monster-scientist FREAK HITMAN!" she started off calm, but worked back up to yelling.
She slapped him hard on the cheek one last time, before Neji decided to grab a hold of her shoulder. "That's enough Ino"
Ino looked at the man, and then stared back at Neji.
"Get him away from me" she said softly. "Please..." she whispered, a tear falling down her face.
Neji tightened his grip on her shoulder, and turned her around, leading her to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, get her out of the house" he ordered softly, and watched as the genius scrambled up and took Ino's arm, taking her out the back door.
The man only looked up at Neji.
"Can you read my mind too?" he scoffed. Neji ignored him, and looked over to Sakura.
"I want this man sleeping for the next twenty four hours straight".
She nodded, and ran to her room to get another needle, this one full of stronger sedation. When she got back, she walked up to him. He stared up at her, and a perverted smile found it's way to his lips.
"Hey sexy, whatcha planning on doing to me when I'm sleeping? Hopefully nothing too naughty"
Then.. he winked. Sakura peeled back, but then exhaled deeply.
"Is dropping you off a cliff naughty?" she asked sweetly, and then jabbed the needle into his neck. He gasped, but a few seconds later he was out cold.
Sakura stared at him, disgusted.
"Neji, set funds to get Ino therapy. I don't even want to know what she read from his mind" she said coldly, never making eye contact with Neji, and walked away, dropping the needle on the ground. Hinata picked up the syringe, kicked the man in front of her, and looked at her cousin. "Please … take care of him, Neji-kun" she said, barely stuttering. And then she left to go and find Sakura.
Neji was surprised at the girl's outbursts. What did he say about Tenten? What did he call her? What made Ino cry? Did it really upset Sakura that much? Hell, did it upset Hinata as much to say something to him like that and not even stutter?
He looked over to Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto shrugged, and left, probably to go find Hinata.
Sasuke stared back at him, and said evenly; "I think they're upset"
Neji gave him a short death glare, but then turned back at the man in front of him. "The ocean. Can I trust you to be back by eleven?" he asked Sasuke.
"Yeah"
Neji nodded, and started walking back to his room. But, as he passed Sasuke, he had an afterthought.
"Take Sakura with you"
Sasuke stared at him, "Why?" he asked; like I said, he wasn't exactly the most respectful to Neji.
"Take her out to dinner; get her mind off of it. She needs a different memory then what just happened" he replied, and then left. Sasuke sighed, and began to move the body to the trunk bed of the navy blue truck.
--
Ten minutes later, Sasuke was standing right outside Sakura's bedroom door. He knocked once, and walked in; he never really did wait for permission in. She was on her bed, earphones in, and obviously blasted since he could slightly hear it, and she showed no sign of seeing him. She was also reading a book; some cheesy romance novel he was sure. He looked around briefly, studying the room in the house he was least in. The left half of the room was her bed and drawers; the other half was cabinets and shelves full of medical equipment, medicines, books, and then a desk with an organized stack of papers and books.
When he finished, he walked over to her, and tapped her on the shoulder lightly. She jumped up, and looked up at him. suprised. Her hair was now in a pony tail with pink bangs framing her face. Her liquid eye liner was a little messed up, but it gave her an edge type of look she pulled off. She was wearing a red tank top, with a white one underneath, creating the layered effect. She had on casual jeans which were ripped in random places. Sasuke noticed the jeans were a little loose on her, and he realized she had obviously been losing weight. Whatever, save it for later…
"The shore for dinner and business?" he asked her, snapping out of this thoughts. Sakura's eyes widened, but then she nodded eagerly.
"When?" she asked.
"Now"
She looked down at herself, and got a 'eh' look on her face.
"It's just the shore, come on" he said flatly, but inwardly he desperately did not want to wait an hour for her to get ready. She looked back up at him. "
All right" she said, and placed the book down. She took the earphones out, and put the iPod on hold, then off. She walked over the closet, and grabbed a pair of white flip flops.
"Aren't those Ino's?" he asked. Sakura nodded, "Your point?" she asked teasingly. He rolled his eyes, never understanding girls.
Twenty minutes later, they were in the truck, driving to east side of New Jersey. Sakura was staring out the window, not much in a talkative mood. Sasuke noticed immediately. What was it that Neji wanted? Oh yeah, a 'different memory'. He lifted his hand to the radio, and lowered it some. "Want to eat on the way, or somewhere on the boardwalk?" he asked her.
Sakura didn't look over at him, but just out the window. She had been thinking hard, and was greatly upset and unnerved at what she had realized.
"Whatever you want" she replied.
"Something wrong?" he asked. Sakura shook her head as response.
"I'm driving, it'd be easier if you spoke up" he told her. She raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry Sasuke-kun" she answered, but he could have sworn she said the –kun with a dripping venom.
"Right…" he mumbled.
They sat in silence for a few moments, before Sakura couldn't keep it in much longer; she never could.
"You could just tell me now instead of driving all the way out to some nicer place" she told him, scornfully.
"Nani?" he asked, confused.
"You could of told me like all the others; I'm not any different" she continued. Sasuke looked over at her, and she gave him a 'well!?!' look.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, looking back out to the road.
"You know what I'm talking about. I knew you wanted to go back and like prove yourself to your family or whatever, so its not so much a surprise you'd leave us" she replied, coldly.
"I'm not leaving" he said, wondering where the heck she got this from.
"Do they all know? All of them? You already tell Neji and Hinata and Naruto and Ino and everyone? What are you thinking you could set yourself up all high on a pedestal, take me out, let us talk, and then just spring it on me, 'oh I'm leaving and I know your such a crybaby so I better tell you in a special way'! Well, I'm not a crybaby and I don't need you driving me all the way over to Atlantic City just to tell me you're bailing out on us"
She was rambling on, obviously angered and upset.
Sasuke made a snap decision to pull over. Quite frankly though, that didn't go over too well with passing cars. Sakura looked around,
"Sasuke we're on the freaking highway" she scolded him.
"Besides, you can tell me why you're driving, I already figured it out. Did you think I wouldn't? Am I that dumb looking?" she started on again. Sasuke grunted, finally having enough.
"Sakura I'm not leaving you!" he almost yelled. She stared at him, no emotion apparent on her face.
"I'm taking you out to dinner because we need food on the way, and the business is the fact that there is a man tied up and knocked out in the trunk, and to put it G rated, he needs to be taken care of!"
Sakura blinked. "I'm not leaving, I'm not going anywhere, I promise you that. Now, calm down and get a hold of yourself" he muttered.
She felt a tear fall down her face, and she quickly wiped it away.
"Oh…" she mumbled, looking down. Sasuke looked over to her, and sighed.
"Besides, does it really look like I have the guts to hurt you like that? You'd kill me before I could leave" he said, in an attempt to joke.
It worked, as she smiled. "Probably" she concurred.
He just raised an eyebrow slightly, and then went back to his impassive face. There eyes were locked in a gaze, and Sasuke was immensely surprised to find himself unable to look away.
"We should probably get off the side of the road" she finally said, whispering. Sasuke continued to stare at her, but then looked back towards the road.
"Hn" he mumbled, and put his hands on the shift stick, reversing the car to get it back onto the highway.
--
"Well, this place was great last time we were here. Do you remember that? It was the first place we all went to as our group now. It was Lee's birthday" she smiled, stopping by a Pizza Parlor.
He remembered, very well actually. He was the latest member of the group, and this was the first time he went out with all of them. He found that Ino and Sakura both had child-like crushes on him, which he thought were gone nowadays. Tenten was kind, but more concerned with talking to Neji quietly; nothing changed there. Lee was loud and obnoxious, always dramatic, and used funny vocabulary. It was his birthday, so it didn't help he got a few drinks; just soda really did him in. Naruto had been friendly, annoying, but friendly. The two were best friends these days, all though it hardly seemed it with the constant 'teme' 'dobe' 'teme' fighting that had probably even started that night. Shikamaru and Neji we're welcoming, but both were in there own little words; Shikamaru's being sleep-land. Plus, it was very amusing to watch Hinata blush drastically every time Naruto talked to her; she had that somewhat under control these days.
Sasuke nodded in approval, and she grinned wider, stepping in the warm place. She found a booth, and slid in. He followed suit, sitting across from her. They ordered two milkshakes, and then a medium cheese pizza.
"I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Do you think we'll do anything? I mean, last year we had Secret Santa, but that was kind of boring. I got Neji, and he was so hard to shop for! I mean, what the heck does that guy need that he doesn't already have? It's not like tells you what he wants" she was rambling, he was smirking; the usual.
All though he could call her annoying, she really wasn't. Her babbling was normal by now, amusing, and almost… comforting.
"Don't smirk at me" she growled. He took the smirk off, looking at her plainly. She almost cringed.
"Okay, so you look like dead when you're not smirking" she mumbled. He gave what might have been a smile, but he had a way of making that seem like a smirk too.
"Neji might let us do regular this year. Everyone gets everyone one gift; under 15 dollars each" he told her.
Sakura's eyes gleamed "Really? Sweet!" she exclaimed. She was so naïve, innocent, and naïve. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt; but didn't really know why. Then, the owner, an older man with soft gray hair, came by. There weren't any real waiters, so the man and his wife ran the whole place. He left, after placing the pizza down on a small metal rack.
Sakura's eyes gleamed, but then she gasped.
"I didn't bring money" she mumbled. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm paying, don't sweat it" he told her.
She furrowed her eyebrows, "You sure?" she asked.
"Mm-hm" he mumbled, and grabbed a hot piece, quickly putting it down. She smiled, and quickly grabbed her self a piece.
"The trick is to wait for it to cool down, so the cheese settles" he told her, as he watched her frown at the piece she had, which had the cheese sliding off.
She giggled, and picked up just the cheese, and placed it in her mouth, tilting her head up.
"You know I don't like sauce, Sasuke-kun" she gargled, with the cheese hot in her mouth still. She quickly grabbed the milkshake, and took a sip.
I did? Oh… I guess I did. He grunted, and slid the piece to very edge of the plate, and then picked the whole plate up. The corner slid off slightly, and he bit just that off, not burning his hand on the hot pizza.
"Good one" she remarked, peeling the rest of the cheese off her own. He made no reply but continued eating. After about twenty minutes, Sasuke having two pieces, Sakura two with just the cheese, they ordered coke's since milkshakes didn't really help all too well with quenching thirst.
"What you doing this weekend?" she asked him, watching the guy take away the pizza tray and rack.
"Naruto, Tenten, and I had tickets to the Comic-con (a/n: LUCKY!!!) tomorrow, but I don't know if we're still going" he replied. Sakura nodded; boys (and Tenten…).
"Saturday night?" she asked. He shrugged. "You?" he finally asked.
She thought about it. "I'll probably stay home for Tenten's sake. Tomorrow night, well I had tickets for Breaking Benjamin, but I just sold them online a few days ago. Needed money for books" she scoffed.
"You could've borrowed some" he said, almost scolding her.
She shrugged; "Whatever, Ino was bailing on me anyway, and Tenten wouldn't have been able to go, so it worked out. Probably have to do major girl support tomorrow night; which is a bit redundant, cause normally you would have a sleepover, but we live with each other, so I don't know. Then.. Sunday is library for studying"
Sasuke nodded, as they received there cokes.
"Tenten confuses me", he admitted after a little while. Sakura looked up at him, surprised, and inquired "How so?" He sighed.
"She cares so much, and doesn't know when to stop. She's killing herself, and is still trying desperately to do it in a 'right' sort of way. Then she believes one thing, but wages a war with herself on whether or not its right just because Neji doesn't want to believe it is, when deep down even he does"
Sakura smiled, which also confused Sasuke. Damn girls…
"Why are you smiling?" he asked. She shrugged, "It's a girl thing" she told him.
"Smiling?" he questioned. She shook her head, laughing some.
"Well, actually, yes; but, I mean Tenten… Relentlessly staying strong no matter what; even if it's only in appearance. But, the more you hold yourself together on the outside, the more you fall apart in the inside. Tenten cares for Neji; she needs him and she probably doesn't know why. She'd hate to do anything that would disappoint him" she explained, not really expecting him to understand.
Well, he sort of did. She sipped at her coke, and told him,
"It's love verse common sense. When you think about it, at least. Love blinds you, causes you to feel things you haven't before, influences the things you do; ones that might not be the best ones. It doesn't do right and wrong, it does what feels right, and that's it. Common sense, though, keeps you independent and smart. It doesn't let you feel, it lets you do what's right and doesn't let the wrong happen. It makes you practical, reasonable, and unimaginative. You don't take chances or risks, you stick to facts and the truth. Tenten's torn between the two, and she's ripping herself up inside because of it. As soon as she realizes what's going on, and accepts it, she'll be able to have a balance; and then she'll probably be smarter and stronger then before"
Sasuke stared at her, "Is this from one of those romance novels?" he asked.
Sakura smiled lightly, "Nawh. Experience, more like" He took a sip of his coke, and then placed it down softly.
"You've been in love?" he asked. She laughed, shaking her head no. She glanced away, "One-sided love is different I suppose; but still, creates the same general effect" she reasoned. He nodded.
"Who was he?"
Sakura laughed. "Is" she corrected.
He raised an eyebrow. "Naruto?"
Sakura choked on the coke, and finally answered "Hell no! Are you crazy?" He said nothing, and she rolled her eyes. "No, Sasuke-kun, it's not Naruto. Are you sure you feel okay?" she asked, a concerned look on her face. He just continued to stare at her blankly.
She pulled out her cell phone, and looked at the time.
"We've got to be home by eleven?" she asked him. She just completely changing the subject… But, he nodded none-the-less.
"Well, it's eight now. Should we uh, go for the business?" she asked.
He shook his head. "You walk around, I'll do it" he told her.
She frowned, and retorted "I'm a big girl, you know?" He stared at her, and shook his head again.
"I don't care; I don't want you there" I'm not going to let you go through that...
She furrowed her eyebrows, "Then why the hell did you invite me?" she asked, a bit angry.
He figured saying it was orders would be rude, but he found himself not exactly lying with his answer.
"Because I wanted to go out somewhere with you" She stared at him, with empty eyes. Evenutally, she got up, and right before she walked out of the door-less parlor, she looked back over her shoulder.
"You're definitely not feeling well" she said, her voice etched with what sounded like disappointment, and then walked out.
He watched her go, not able to move his eyes away, even when she was gone. "Son, that's called love. .. Good luck" the owner said, chuckling, and then walking back behind the counter. Sasuke frowned, threw thirty dollars down, and left.
--
Around nine forty five, Sakura was walking around the boardwalk, a bag in her hand, purse slung over her other shoulder, and a confident stride marking her way. She felt vibration, and quickly snapped the phone out of her pocket. She opened it up, "Yello?" she answered.
"Where are you?" Sasuke asked.
"Pier 3. You?" she responded.
"Same, meet me at the end on the beach" he told her.
"Got it" she nodded, even though he couldn't see that. He hung up, as did she and headed towards the end of the pier. He's still not much of a talker…
She walked down the sandy stairs, and as soon as she got down them, someone slipped there arm around her waist, placed a hand over her mouth, and pulled her back. She tried to scream, but person's hand was obviously expecting that, and it came out muffled "ahh!"
She knew better then to use her powers right away, but she still tried to wiggle free with her human strength.
"It's me" she heard Sasuke hoarsely whisper, over her left ear. She felt her skin tingle, as his own was brushing up right against hers.
She stopped squirming, and settled. He sunk down into the shade (it was night, but there was still tons of lights), past some tall beach brush by the stairs. He let go of her, and whispered
"Don't be seen, don't make any noise; just follow my lead". She nodded, worry showing in her eyes. From behind the brush, leaning up against the wood 'wall', Sakura had her back up against it, walking sideways slowly and quietly.
The area was tight, and Sasuke had to push up against Sakura, his head hanging over her right shoulder, as they inched over together. Sakura felt her face completely red; her whole body was up against Sasuke's. She was so zoned out, she didn't even realize she should be thanking Kami-sama it was dark out, and he couldn't see her face.
After about three minutes, they reached the edge. Sasuke moved off her, and she exhaled sharply. He smirked, and looked out towards the street.
"Let's go" he whispered, and took her hand. Then he started sprinting off, and she held his hand tightly, running right behind him. After a good four minutes of running, they reached the truck. He opened the door, and quickly helped her in. Then he raced to the driver's side, and hopped in. He put the keys in, started the ignition, and pulled out of the parking spot, as if it was all one motion.
"What's going on?" she asked, breathing a bit heavier then usual. He didn't answer, but put his hand on her back, and pushed her down, saying "Stay down. Your hair makes you stand out"
She listened to him, and pushed herself down, all though his hand was still on her back; his thumb, right on her bra clasp, awkwardly enough. After five minutes, he lifted his hand up, and put it back on the wheel.
"Safe to breathe?" she asked. He grunted, and nodded.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Newboes; everywhere" he responded.
Her eyes widened, "What are they doing over here?" she wondered.
He shrugged, "I don't know but it sure as hell made things ten times as difficult".
"Is it done though?" she asked after a few seconds. "Don't worry about that; don't even think about it" he said, edge on his voice.
"Sasuke-kun… I'm fine" she mumbled.
He didn't say anything else. She let it go, and just reclined her seat. In the next five minutes, she was already in a deep sleep. Sasuke looked over, and saw her leaning back with the chair down, her head tilted slightly, her hands on her stomach, and legs outstretched (as far as they could anyway).
Forty minutes later, they were home. He took the keys out of the ignition, got out, and walked over to the passenger side. He opened it up, and stared at her expressionlessly. He sighed, and unsnapped the seat belt, guided it off her, skimming past her stomach as he did so. Then he slipped a hand under her knees, another one behind her back, and picked her up bridal style. He used his elbow to close the door, and then walked up to the door.
He managed to get it open, and then stepped inside. He headed towards her room, and headed in. Not even bothering to switch the light on, he went over to her bed, and gently placed her down. He slipped her (Ino's…) shoes off, and then refolded the blanket over her. He looked down at her for a few seconds, and then went over to the desk and wrote on a little post-it note, sticking it on the mirror. After that, he went to Neji's room to inform him of the evening's events.
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No cliffhanger! YAY! Unless, you consider the post-it note thing a cliffhanger xD
Uhm, there were tons of Author's Notes I had in there, and I deleted most of them... with intent of putting them down here.
Well, I forget, so I'll just have to trust that it's all understandable?
Well...
Next Chapter:
-tiny bit more SasuSaku
-Tenten wakes up... & it doesn't go over so well :0
Review's appreciated. :D
