A/N: I feel so burned out… My ideas are so jammed up I need someone to help me in the right track. Jeez, I sound crazy! hehe
Anyways, I'm back for the first chapter of this fic. Sorry for the very late update. . I've been very busy these past few months because of work and I'm so stressed, I'm not in the mood to write anything. ~.~ I just transferred from one work to another and so, I had to start all over again.
I would like to thank the people who sent me sweet reviews. Thank you very much! That means a lot to me. ^^
As to where I got the idea of this fanfic, (and as what Rose Elizabeth pointed out in her review, salutes) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one of my inspirations for this fic. When I read the book, the idea of putting the Naruto characters into the roles of Austen's characters seemed to fit. ^^ I even had "inner conflicts" as to how to put the story—it's setting, plot and everything.. After a long contemplation, I've decided to give the story a modern touch, with some variations on the scenes, etc.
So I guess there'll be no more surprises ne? I just love adaptations. ^^
I've read the book, I've seen the trailer, BUT, Sadly, I haven't watched the movie version yet. ~.~ I've been looking for a copy, but I've been very unlucky. T_T
( P.S. The poem inserts have nothing to do with the chapter content. They're just my favorites. ~.^ )
Hail to SasuSaku!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Pride and Prejudice….
COVALENCE
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
Pablo Neruda
CHAPTER 1
WHEN THE PRIDEFULS COLLIDE
It was springtime in Konoha prefecture. The cherry blossoms were in bloom, and the morning breeze still carried on the coldness of winter. Some of the people were doing their morning exercises as they walked and jogged along the park's sakura grove. The sight of children running about and playing with fallen cherry blossom petals was a very entertaining scene to watch.
It was a Saturday morning, and much like any other day of the week, the people of Konoha were busy with their daily routines. There was no place for lazy people in this town, so as they say. The shops were opened early and the market was already filled with people buying their necessities.
It was later that morning when two black cars entered Konoha. There were people who noticed the arrival, and they did nothing but stare to such expensive cars. There were only a few people in Konoha who owned cars, and those were the ones which were already considered rich.
One woman was surprised when the cars halted in front of her flower shop. As the car windows opened, it revealed a handsome young man with chestnut-brown hair, about 25 years old and sitting beside him on the passenger seat was a young woman who has such a resemblance to the former.
"Excuse me." Said the young man.
The woman, acknowledging their presence, hurriedly fixed her apron and smiled warmly at them.
"Yes? Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop. Is there anything you might want to buy for the young lady? We have carnations, daffodils, lilies, roses…" said Mrs. Yamanaka while gesturing to the flowers in front of the shop.
"Ah, Iie. We're here to ask for directions to the Sakurako Villa, we seemed kind of lost."
Mrs. Yamanaka's eyes went large with surprise, "Oh, the Sakurako Villa you say…" It was the same moment when she realized who these people were, "Could it be that you are the new owner of that place? That means you are our new neighbors!" She said with enthusiasm. She then called out to her daughter, Ino, who hurriedly came out to meet them. By this time, the said people had already come out of their cars out of courtesy.
"So, this is my daughter, Ino." Mrs. Yamanaka said proudly while Ino smiled seductively. She knew how pretty her daughter is, and she is not innocent about the fact that this man is a reputable bachelor.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr…" Ino said questioningly, not knowing their names.
"Ah, gomen. Let me introduce ourselves, I'm Hyuuga Neji. This is my sister Hinata. "We also have companions," said Neji as he gestured to the other car. "But I guess they're not in the mood to mingle, very tired, you see, the travel and all."
"Oh." Was all Ino could say while trying her best to see who the other people inside the very tinted windows of the car were. Impossible, very impossible indeed.
"Quite understandable." Said Mrs. Yamanaka
On the other hand, the said people inside the other car were wondering why those people were taking too long. Ami glanced at Sasuke and attempted another senseless conversation to pass time, but seeing that Sasuke was already pissed, she just remained silent. She has been striking a conversation ever since they departed from the city, but to no avail. The only thing she was thankful about is that Sasuke let her inside his car—the passenger seat, nonetheless, and which she considered as a privilege and of course with some coercing courtesy of her cousin Neji.
Back to the others, Mrs. Yamanaka was so insistent to their new neighbors.
"Why don't you come inside so I can introduce you to some people?" Mrs. Yamanaka said, waiting for their answer.
"Ah, Neji-nisan what do you think?" Hinata said.
"Thank you for the offer Yamanaka-san, but maybe some other time. My companions are very eager to have a rest." Neji said with a smile.
"So, if that is the case. But, you'll have to promise to have your first dinner in the neighborhood with us! Oh and by the way, the directions…"
Mrs. Yamanaka ranted on about the directions to the villa. Neji muttered a thank you and went on their way, leaving the Yamanakas to ponder between themselves.
The way to the villa, as described by Mrs. Yamanaka was quite relaxing. The cherry blossom trees lined the streets, and its petals were flown by the wind. It was a beautiful sight. It took them at most ten minutes to reach the place. As the cars entered its massive gates, five attendants went out to meet them. As they left their cars, the attendants then went to get their things to be delivered to their own rooms.
The group went straight to the dining area where a sumptuous lunch was waiting for them. The hallway leading to the said room was spacious. Neji walked side by side with Hinata while Ami with a brooding Sasuke-due perhaps to Ami's constant pestering. The style of this room deviates from the traditional style. Neji personally asked the interior decorator to put a western style dining room. Basically, he has two types of dining rooms in the house, a western style and a Japanese style.
As expected, Ami seated herself beside Sasuke, much to Sasuke's annoyance. Hinata just smiled at the antics of her cousin while Neji just sighed. They have been used to this for who knows how long. From the moment Ami has set her eyes on Sasuke, she has been bent on getting his attention and affection, but Sasuke remained passive. She shouldn't be here in the first place but she pestered his cousin Neji, being Sasuke's best friend, to come here with them.
"Sasuke-kun, what do you wanna eat?" Ami said as she started serving Sasuke with sushi.
"Stop it, Ami." Sasuke said irritably.
"Aww! You're so moody Sasuke-kun!" Ami said, pouting at Sasuke.
"Neji, what's up with the flowershop woman?" Sasuke asked as to totally ignore Ami.
"She's inviting us to dinner." Said Neji as he focused on his breakfast.
Sasuke was about to say something but Ami got ahead of him.
"Really? Maybe she, or rather the whole village is expecting you already. Such an instant celebrity ne?" Ami commented sourly.
"Ami-chan, we also asked for directions. We seemed kind of lost." Hinata interjected.
"Why do we have to ask for some stupid directions?" asked Ami while getting herself a serving of porridge. "I thought Neji's been on this place already?" She moved her chair closer to Sasuke.
"Really, I've never been here, I'm too busy to be here at that time." Neji said. Ami lifted a brow and was about to ask again when Neji added, "It was Kiba who first saw this place."
It was the truth, Neji wasn't the one the villagers saw that day. It was Inuzuka Kiba, Neji's lawyer. Though the villagers were sure that who they saw was a handsome young man, specifically Kiba, they will not be that disappointed once they realize that he wasn't the same man who arrived. Neji's far more handsome than Kiba in most people's opinions anyway.
"Oh, is that it?" Ami said. "Anyway, what did you see in this place anyway? Sure it has great gardens outside, but really, this place just looks so old, and creepy too, might even pass as haunted, looks so isolated! This is so, so far from civilization! Why didn't you just choose something more elegant and modern-looking and near the metropolis?" Added Ami.
Hinata, upon hearing this, had a look of disbelief on her face. "Of course not, Ami! What are you saying? It doesn't look like it and it's quite relaxing in here and the people are so warm and welcoming, if you haven't noticed." Hinata said while glancing at Sasuke.
"And besides, Sasuke was the one who recommended the place." Neji said with a smirk. "Are you implying that whoever decided to buy this property has poor taste?"
At that moment, Ami felt a huge blush on her face and was gaping at Neji with a face full of shock. Why he didn't tell her about this, she didn't know, but as she was about to say something again, something that might save her from embarrassment in front of the guy she wanted, Sasuke rose from his seat, apparently finished from their lunch.
"I'll take a look around." He said, and as Ami imitated his actions, he added, "Alone, preferably."
Sasuke took his time as he strolled along the hallways of the villa, evidently enjoying the silence, and glad that he finally had his privacy back, away from Ami's constant talking— obviously TRYING very hard to impress Sasuke with her so-called "wits."
He went to scan every room that he passed by, pausing every now and then to take a rest on its vast living rooms. He spent most of the afternoon exploring the place. So far, he had visited five bedrooms, three guestrooms, two living rooms, and a study room adjacent to a library. Upon entering the library, he was surprised to see a wide collection of books, from a combination of Western and Eastern minds. Some of the literature here, he thought, cannot be found even in the National Library. Sasuke smiled to himself—Neji's decision of buying the villa was a prize indeed. So caught up with his reading, he didn't realized that somebody had entered the room.
"I knew you'd be here. Ami's been looking for you ages ago."
It was Neji. Being best friends most of their lives, Neji had the privilege to cut in to Sasuke's privacy without experiencing Sasuke's death glare slash wrath. They came from wealthy and extravagant families, (if the Hyuugas were wealthy, the Uchihas were wealthier) were rivals at first but eventually became good friends. Blessed with good looks, they were always in the hot list of girls trying to get their attention whatsoever.
Sasuke closed the book he was reading and returned it to the shelves. "It's best she doesn't know."
Neji chuckled, "You obviously don't like her, huh?"
"Yeah, obviously."
"So, how did you manage to get hold of this place? We both know it was never intended to be sold, for the country's historical value." Neji said.
"Connections?" Sasuke said with a smirk. "Never mind about it. What's important is you have this place back. It is rightfully Hyuugas property anyway. "
Both remained silent. It was half past four already, as Sasuke checked his watch. They could hear a soft melody coming from one of the rooms.
"Hinata's playing the piano at the living room, would you like to come? Ami will be thrilled." Neji said teasing Sasuke a bit as he walked towards the door.
"Iie, I'm planning to go out and roam the town a bit." Sasuke said as he followed Neji outside the door.
"I see you just wanted to escape my cousin are you?" Neji said with a smirk.
"Whatever."
Sasuke changed into his casual clothes, took out his Porsche and went to town. He passed by some Inns and hot spring resorts. Shops were aligned side by side. Food stalls on the other. Tourists and residents alike were all over the place. Feeling hungry all of a sudden, he looked for a place to buy food. He parked his car along the sidewalk and, seeing that many cars were also lined up in the place, he has no worry of getting towed, unlike in the metropolis.
He went out of the car and instantly spotted a one-stop shop around the corner. A group of college girls eyed him as he passed by. He could hear them giggling but totally ignored them. Unknown to him, a girl followed him inside the shop and attempted to get information by flirting with him. She ended up unsuccessful though, like the girls before her.
Disappointed by his rendezvous, he checked the time and decided to go back. He started the engine, but as he was about to leave, he felt a bump on his car's rear, he checked his side mirror and saw that he has hit one of the parked scooter outside. He hurriedly went outside again and checked what happened…
"Hey!" said a girl's voice.
'Oh crap!'
A girl was struggling to get her scooter upright. Apparently, her scooter was parked in between the two cars. She was about to hop on when this car in front of her hit the scooter, breaking one of its side mirrors, and dislocating some parts, to the point she couldn't recognize it anymore. The girl looked aghast upon realizing what happened, she searched for the owner of the car to complain, and came face to face with a frowning, but very handsome man she has ever seen.
Sasuke went over to inspect—not the scooter, but the rear part of his car. It has a short gash but very faint all in all. After that, he went over to his car searched for his wallet, pulled out a wad of cash and threw it on the floor beside the fallen scooter.
"That's payment for the damage." He said, and then he walked away.
The girl just stood there looking aghast, mixed emotions etched on her face.
"Hey, wait a minute, is that it? You hit my scooter, when I'm just mere inches from riding it, I could have been hurt you know, aren't you a little concerned about that fact?" The girl said to him.
People have begun to watch the two argue. The commotion has even reached the ramen stand which was just in front of them, capturing the attention of customers.
Sasuke turned to look at her, face impassive as ever, he said, "Of course not, I have no reason to stay longer I've already paid my damages more than what is, I assume, to be paid, what more do you want? That scratch is even more expensive than your scooter."
She was about to retort when someone called her.
"Sakura, is there something wrong?" A young woman with two buns of her hair inquired at her.
"Iie, Ten Ten-chan, it's nothing." Sakura said as she glared towards Sasuke, which in turn gave her a smirk before leaving. She continued to glare at the retreating back of the arrogant man as he entered his car which sped off downtown.
Once he was gone from sight, Sakura continued collecting her battered scooter. She also picked up the money he threw at her, and instantly decided that she would not, in any situation use that money from him.
'That arrogant, good for nothing bastard.'
A/N: So that's it, the first chapter. (I'm not sure whether it has a good ending though. =p) I'm already working out the second one. Trying very hard to squeeze it in my schedule. ^_^ Please read & Review. Thanks!