« Funny how we always end up doing things we swore we'd never do, eh ? »
Sasuke read the message before grumbling , switching his phone off. The plane was about to take off, already rolling on the asphalt, slowly getting to the end of the lane. The brunet settled comfortably, then proceeded to relfect on the events that made him climb in that stupid plane, to go to Hawai, where he would have to take another plane to reach Makatea, his final destination.
Yes, his brother could turn out to be very convincing.
He'd asked his assistant to call Lee, figuring that since him and Sasuke would have to work as a team, they might as well get on with the work, since his brother wasn't going to take his forced hollidays. And as he had already payed the guy, he was not going to throw the money away.
Smile like the Devil himself, he had sat down, waiting patiently with Sasuke the arrival of the new partner. His little brother, as stubborn as he was, did not comment on anything, and deliberatly ignored his brother and his fucked up ideas. For all he cared, Itachi could go to Hell !
Well, at least that's what he thought… until said Lee stumbled in the office, wearing a suit. A green suit. Atrocious. Hideous. No taste at all, clearly. But then, he opened his mouth, and talked. A story about a flower… the spring of youth... And that's when Sasuke ran.
He did not flee, because an Uchiwa does not flee.
He had… strategically retreated.
That's it.
So there he was, first class, surpisingly happy to be on the window side. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried to relax as he was, until he felt movement to his right, next to his seat. Opening his eyes, he discovered a young woman. The first thing he really noticed, was the color of her pink hair. It probably would have looked horrible on anyone else, but she wore it quite well. The second thing he caught on, was that she seemed to be struggling to put her bag on the designed place up their seats. On her tip toes, she tried to close the locker without any success, the thing looking like it was stuck open.
Sighting discreetly and cursing his good manners, he stood up, took the woman's bag and stuffed it in the compartiment, tucking the thin strap that blocked the closing of the compartiment in one of the pocket of the purse, then closed it tight in a smooth manner. He shot a quick superior look at the young passenger.
« There you go », he simply said before retourning to his seat.
« oh…well, thank you… » she replied, sitting down next to him, looking at him expectantly.
« …Sasuke. »
« Nice to meet you, Sasuke. I'm Sakura. » On that, she extended her hand towards him. He took it carefully, shook it slowly, then released the pressure.
« Hn. »
« So… what brings you to Hawai ? »
« An obligation. » He answered ironically, smiling as though he just shared a private joke with himself. Ignoring the short answer and the weird laugh he let out, she tried again.
« That's quite a good thing that it has to be Hawai, eh ? What could possibly be better than the sun, the heat, the sea, the sand… for an obligation, they sure could have found someplace worst. »
It seemed as though she was trying to have a conversation, noticed Sasuke. Not that he really wanted to, but he had long hours to come, and the woman looked pretty interesting. So why not ?
« Let's say that the sun isn't really my cup of tea… » he started.
« Really ? » she exclaimed, clearly surprised. « And here I thought everyone wanted to live on an beach under the sun all year long. »
Her smile was warm, and her green eyes were enchanting. Yes, she was a really pretty woman.
« Not really, no », he finally admitted. « But tell me, what brings you to Hawai ? »
« My boyfriend . His name's Sai. He kind of looks like you. Not as squared, I guess, and a little bit smaller though. »
« He lives there ? »
« No, but I join him there because he sent a huge bouquet of exotic flowers and a vahiné holding a ring and a plan ticket. At my work. Looks like he wants to ask me to marry him. » She got out of her right pocket a small paper she handed to the man sitting beside her. Sasuke took it, reading the content of the note.
« If you want to hear it, I dare you to come to me ! ». At the back of the note, a small map of the ocean with a big red cross on one the islands sprinkled on the blue.
« That's not Hawai though, is it ? » asked Sasuke, pointing at the cross.
« It's not. I am transfering at Hawai. In fact I'm actually going to Makatea. » She answered, shrugging her shoulders as if it did not matter.
« …That's where I'm going. Hawaii is only a stopover », explained Sasuke while giving her back the piece of paper. « By the way, your boyfriend is pretty creative. I guess you're excited, right ? » He demanded, a small smile turning his lips upward.
« Actually, I'm still debating whether I'm surprised, moved, furious, or extatic. He had already packed my bag when I arrived home, and he was gone… »
« Hn. » Then Sasuke turned toward the window, feeling the engine roaring as the plane took speed, rolling faster and faster on the asphalt. Figuring they would soon be in the air, he took a sleeping pill and closed his eyes.
« Good night». He opened his eyes and nodded briefly.
« Thanks. Could you ask the steward not to wake me up for anything ? » he wandered.
« Of course». He then turned his head toward the window once more, feeling the effect of the pill, slowly putting to sleep his body. His mind wandered… he drifted away.
« Sasuke. Sasuke, wake up ».
Still engrossed in his really weird dream, the young man woke up, not really sure if it was still part of the dream or not. Who was the stranger who thought he could shake him like a bag of potatoes ?
« Sasuke ! »
Eventually, the last bit of dreams disappeared and he tried to opened his eyes, closing them quickly after noticing the light. He brought his hands to his face, rubbing his handsome features, trying to rub the sleep away.
« What's going on ? » He mumbled, his voice and mouth feeling like he had toothpaste in it, preventing him from speaking correctly.
« We're there ».
His mind started working again, and the memories of the last two days came back to him like a slap in the face. Sakura was trying to wake him up. They were on a plane. They had arrived to Hawai.
…Dear God…
He was on hollidays.
He unfastened his belt and stood up, bending his head a little he was too tall to stand upstraight under the compartiments. People behind him, as tired as he was, sported zombies-like faces, much like his, he was afraid. They all had scarecrow hairdo, bags under their eyes and they seemed as lost as he was, standing in line to exist the aircraft. Of course, being in premiere, he did not have to wait to exit.
It didn't took him long to realize he himself probably looked worst than the others, what with the sleepng pill he took earlier, which had the amazing effect of turning a Human being into a Panda for 24 hours.
He hated airplanes.
Struggling his way out of his seat and on the corridor, he noticed Sakura waiting for him at the door of the plane.
« You're not going ? » He asked, wondering why she was still standing there.
« Well, I thought you and I could go to the next plane together… I always manage to get lost in airports, and since we have the same destination…we could keep each other compagny… » she didn't finish, letting the words sink in Sasuke's sleepy head, proceeding the demand.
« Naturally. Thanks for thinking about it », concluded the brunet, walking passed the door, thanking the staff for the precaution they took not to disturb him.
Sakura followed behind, getting out of her purse an Evian Spray she sprayed on her face, before running forward, turning around to face Sasuke, spraying a good amount of water on his stupefied face. She smiled :
« There, believe me, you needed it. You looked terrible. Now look at you, as fresh as a flower».
Sasuke didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, so he shrugged the comment away, in fact refreshed by the cold water that had washed away his sleepiness. He needed to get on of these things.
They located the rolling trails on which their luggages would be put, then Sasuke and his amazing sense of orientation got them through security and in front of an automatic door, opening under their presence. The warm blow of wind made the young man suffocate, not used to the burning air, and the sunlight made him shrink his eyes to slits. Behind him he heard Sakura inhale a good breath, apparently happy with the heat and the sun. Well that would made one of them. Moving his hand in his pocket, he retrieved a pair of sunglasses he put on almost immediatly, letting out a sigh of contentement. He removed his jacket and threw it ungraciously into his bag, turning around to see the pink haired woman putting a boater on her head and a black sweater in her purse, showing off a turquoise tank top, the exact color of her eyes, making them pop out.
Sai really was lucky, he thought as he observed the silhouette of the woman. Not that he envied him.
But then, he turned his head back in front of him, and let out a gasp.
A plane…no… a metal can, a rusty metal can stood there, waiting for them calmly, looking like an unused piece of crap. If the thing (Sasuke could barely call that an airplane) could talk, it would probably mock him. « Hey, comrade, you scared ? Don't worry, the worst that can happen is you die, so… »
That was exactly what scared him.
The worst that could happen was his death.
He had other plans, and dying wasn't a part of them just yet.
His thoughts were brushed aside when a man, in his late twenties, got out of the cockpit, smiling like Santa the day of Christmas.
His skin was tanned, unquestionnably. He probably has spent his whole life under the sun to look like that. He was sporting half of an ugly khaki suit, the pants hanging low on his hips and the rest of the suit hanging off at the side of his legs, the arms of the suit loosely moving with each and every movement of the man. He wore a white tank top covered in sooty.
Classy.
His bare arms didn't let much place to imagination as to what the rest of the man's body probably looked like. They were firm, strong, sculpted by muscles…
He jumped from the cockpit to the ground happily, approaching the two stunned adults, clearly impressed by his looks. Taking a closer look, Sasuke remarked that the other man's face was very expressive.
His eyebrow seemed to have a life of their own, and his eyes expressed remarkably what was going on in his mind, just like an open book. They were of an icy blue color, darker on the borders, with turquoise strikes of color appearing whenever he would move his head towards the sun. These eyes looked at Sasuke, chilling the brunet to the bone, just before sending him an electrical wave of heat through his entire body. His nose was rather straight, eventhough it raised itself at the end, softening his features. His lips, a little bit darker than the rest of his face, showed a row of immaculate white teeth. His hair looked like a wheat field drowned by the sun, half-long, a blond bang falling before his forehead, stopping just at the limit of his eyes. That was probably the reason why he wore an orange headband, to keep them from blocking his sight.
Outrageously and indeniably sexy.
« Hum…hello… » tried the blonde when no one said a thing.
« Hi ! » Immediately answered Sakura, holding her hand up to shake the man's hand. « I'm very pleased to meet you. You're the technician ? »
The blonde agitated his sweaty and covered in carbon black hand in front of Sakura matter-of-factly, as if the hand was going to tell Sakura how impossible it was for them to shake hands, and that it was probably better if they just stayed in that state of waving back and forth.
« The pilot, actually. Naruto Uzumaki, my pleasure ! You must be Sakura, so I guess you (he pointed his finger toward the brunet) are… Uchiwa ? Sasuke Uchiwa ? » he finished, getting a small paper out of his back pocket, on which the names of the two passengers he would take with him were written. Sasuke didn't answer, his eyes fixing the airplane, then the pilot, going back and forth between the two.
«A problem ? » Called Naruto, following Sasuke's crazy stares.
Sasuke finally took a deep breath before turning to face Sakura, completely ignoring the blond pilot.
« I'm sorry. I'm not going in there. » He informed her.
« I beg you pardon ? »
« There is no way I'm climbing in this old, rusty, full of shit engine. »
« Which one ? » Questioned Naruto, looking around for a plane corresponding to the description.
« I'm not going in this crappy aircraft ! » Repeated Saskue, turning to the blond this time.
« You talking 'bout my plane, bastard ? » Scoffed the outraged blond.
« Exactly ! » Snapped the other man.
Sasuke walked passed a fuming Naruto, offensed that anyone could openly critize his baby, his eyebrows raised up high with indignation, blue eyes shooting lightning. The brunet walked up to the engine and put his hand on the shell, patting it.
« It's unsafe, this… this shit could stand for the model of a real plane. This shit can't fly, it just can't ! What's your plan, killing us ? » he sputtered, not wanting to confess how scared he was of flying in that.
« Sasuke, calm down, it's just a little flight, it'll be oevr before you know it… » Calmly said Sakura, trying to bring him back to his senses.
« But I don't want to die, Sakura ! » He replied.
« Hum…excuse, Mr Sasuke, but my plane is completely safe. » Interviened Naruto, still a little bit mad, but putting it on the account of the passenger's fright.
« It's a pocket version. » Mumbled Sasuke.
« A pocket version that flies very well, thank you. You've got nothing to fear. We'll take off in about ten minutes. I need to make sure the baby's not gonna drop us in the ocean head first, or that the wing's not gonna fall off as it did last time, you know, what with the wind and stuff, then we'll go » Asserted Naruto, obviously mocking Sasuke's comments about the old engine, taking revenge by scaring him even more.
« You heard, Sakura ? » hesitated the brunet.
« He's playing with you, Sasuke », grinned the woman, amused by the pilot's sense of humor.
« … I knew it », he lied, following his remark with a haughty sniffing.
« …Idiot », he added soundlessly for the blond.
« Idiot, not even capable to figure out a joke… » murmured the blond to himself. Then out loud, he continued : « Just in case, put on the life jacket, we never know ». He smiled, shoving the ugly orange safety jackets in their hands. Sasuke took one of them by the tip of his finger, his expression puzzled.
« Say, Sakura… He was joking, right ? » he wandered, unsure.
Sakura could only returned his own expression.
« hum… »