Naraku's Phoenix: It's great to be back. Thanks to my first reviewer EvilFaerie17 and welcome back! I haven't completely changed the story, but you'll still be in for a surprise or two. Ok, Chapter 2, here we go!
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Ch. 2: Stranger In My Bed
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Sakura and her friends were up and out of the house by the time nine o'clock rolled around. Much to Ino's protest, the girls bundled in their casuals and left the house without any makeup. Tsunade was heard up and down the hall giving the maids and cooks endless instructions, and if the girls didn't hurry out the door the Harunos' busty blonde servant would force them into helping the rest of the staff prepare for that night's party. Guests were coming far and wide, and no expenses were to be spared while no surface was to be left un-dusted. Tenten checked around the corner with her compact mirror and led Ino and Sakura into a tuck and roll across the foyer floor. Unfortunately Ino almost tumbled into laundry-bearing maid who wandered in their path.
"Excuse me - oh, good morning, Miss Sakura! Did you and your friends sleep well?" inquired the cheery maid.
"Girls?" Tsunade's voice fluttered from down the hall.
"Oh, no," the girls mouthed simultaneously. Tenten, who was closest to the exit, flung the door open waving her arms like a madwoman.
"GO, GO, GO!" she yelled.
Sakura and Ino bolted and Tenten slammed the door behind her before sprinting ahead. Even then they could almost swear they heard Tsunade's faint voice from down the hall ask, "Is that you, girls?" Sakura jumped into the driver's seat of her gunmetal green car and peeled out of the driveway before Ino and Tenten could get their seat belts on. 20 minutes later they were fighting with the rush inside the food court and 15 more minutes after that they had successfully snuck their soft drinks and snacks into their first department store dressing room. Sakura and Tenten left to go through the prom racks, first, while Ino stayed behind and guarded their pretzels in the large and coveted handicap stall. Sakura stole a clothes rack from the back and her and Tenten were loading it up. Some of the dresses they pulled were for serious trying-on, but most of them were just for fun. When they returned to the dressing room Ino immediately began sorting through the different gowns.
"So Sakura, you never told us what kind of party this was. Is it a dinner? A soirée? A shindig? A ball? Help me, Ino, I'm running out of synonyms."
"Actually, come to think of it," said Ino, "I don't remember my father receiving an invitation to your house. The only way I know about this party is because you told me about it almost a month ago."
"To answer Tenten, it's a dinner, and Ino…well, I don't remember my father giving me any specifics on the guest list so I just assumed you and Tenten were invited."
"Sakura!" exclaimed Ino, "Call your father, right now, and ask if we were invited. I'd hate to do all this shopping, today, if I'm not going anywhere, tonight."
"Like that would stop you," said Sakura.
"Nevertheless," said Tenten as she fished Sakura's phone out of her purse for her, "I don't remember my family getting an invitation, either. You should double-check."
Sakura sighed and grabbed her phone out of Tenten's hand. The pinkette dialed her father's phone number and turned on the speaker so Ino and Tenten could hear.
"Hello?"
Uh, oh. The three girls started to sweat. That wasn't Kizashi's voice. The person on the other end was much more terrifying.
"Hello, Tsunade," said Sakura as casually as she could, "Where's my father?"
"Oh, hello, Sakura, I thought you might try to call home after your escape, this morning."
"Wh-what escape? Ino had breakfast reservations and-"
"Oh, cut the crap, Sakura. Since when was the last time you woke up before 10?"
"Well, now that you mention it-"
"NO, NOT THERE! ICE GOES IN THE KITCHEN!"
"Um, Tsunade?"
"AND WHO SET THIS TABLE? THESE TWO PLATES DON'T MATCH!"
"Tsu-"
"DON'T FORGET TO SAVE ALL THE RECEIPTS!"
"TSUNADE!" Sakura, Ino and Tenten all yelled in unison.
"Calm down, girls, no need to yell. I might not be having so much trouble if you three didn't give me the slip this morning. Now what is it you wanted to ask?"
"Well," said Sakura, "It's come to my attention that I don't know very much about tonight's party and it seems that the Yamanakas and Tens haven't' received an invitation."
"That's because we didn't send them one," said Tsunade.
"What? Why not!"
"Oh, Sakura, I know you can hear, but do you ever take the time to listen? For the past six months your father has been saying how he's been wanting to get involved with some newer families - outside of central Konoha."
"Are you sure, Tsunade? Because I could swear this is the first time I'm hearing any of this." Tsunade started spluttering nervous laughter.
"Oh, Sakura, of course he told you! He gave you all the details. Your his daughter, why wouldn't he tell you? Everything! Tch! Maybe if you stopped making googly eyes at Kabuto-"
"Tsunade!" interrupted Sakura, but the damage was done. Tsunade took the opportunity to end the call.
"Tell Misses Ino and Tenten that you are sorry for leading them on and they may see you after dinner."
Shattering glass erupted over the phone and Tsunade yelled, "YOU IDIOTS!" before Sakura hung up on her and ended the call. Sakura sighed.
"Sorry, girls. Looks like our shopping trip was all in vain."
"Not so fast, Sakura," said Ino, "First, this is better than shopping four ourselves because now we can shop for you." Ino grinned wickedly and Sakura suddenly felt like shrinking into her shoulders and hiding her head like a turtle. "Second," continued Ino, "I want to know why Tsunade thinks you're making googly eyes at Kabuto, after hours." Tenten joined Ino in staring down at Sakura and even went as far as crossing her arms and clearing her throat before Sakura cracked.
"Ok," confessed Sakura, "So I've been staring. What's wrong with that?"
"What's wrong is that you're attracted to our punching bag! He's not horrible-looking, but, oh my gosh - you want to sleep with him! Sakura, shame on you! Turning the tables on him, like that, is going to mess with his head, big time! There could be some serious consequences and if this is something you're going to pursue-"
"Ino!" yelled Sakura, "Listen to yourself! I like looking at Kakashi, but how many times have I invited him to my bed?" Ino shed a tear on cue and turned away from Sakura. She sniffed.
"At least twice, and not once did you let me know if he was as magnificent as the rumors of him are."
"What rumors!" yelled Tenten, "I want to meet this freaking source!"
"Well, rumors aside, I haven't done anything with him, and the same goes for Kabuto! Besides," Sakura looked downward and to the side, "I hardly go near him for anything outside of practice or official Haruno business." Sakura returned her gaze and pouted, "Why does everyone, even Tsunade, think that I'm having affairs with all our male employees?"
Ino observed her friend's stress and sighed before wrapping Sakura into a hug."Oh, I'm kidding," she said, "but seriously Sakura, if something might possibly happen with you and Kabuto outside of the interrogation room, the three of us should discuss it." Sakura nodded her head and groaned. She changed the subject.
"Fine. Now, am I getting dressed for this party, or what?"
That last sentence put a spark back in Ino's eyes. The blonde immediately flew through the rack of clothes Sakura and Tenten forged, and for the next four hours they played dress-up.
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By 6 o'clock, that evening, Sakura returned home with the outfit Ino picked. She stopped by the salon, beforehand, to fix her nails and hair. Sakura was sad to drop her girls off, but she would make arrangements to see them, later. The party hadn't started, yet, and already Sakura couldn't wait to dish out all the details.
Sakura skipped over to the side door so she could get to her room through the kitchen. Peeking around the corner she noticed some new cars filling up the driveway. Unfortunately she didn't have time to be nosy and slipped inside. The last thing she needed was to be caught by Tsunade before the dinner.
Three cooks were darting back and forth all corners of the kitchen trying to categorize the courses. Sakura did some bobbing and weaving and went by virtually unnoticed. She reached the servant stairs and started sprinting upward as gracefully as her her bulky shopping bags would let her. At the top of the stairs she barely spun on the ball of her foot in time to avoid crashing into Kabuto. They both stopped in their tracks and stared at each other. Sakura's eyes roamed over the fresh bandages on Kabuto's cheek and nose, then to the shiner on his left eye. Kabuto eyed Sakura up and down, from her scuffed sneakers all the way to her polished makeup. Sakura twitched her foot to make an exit but Kabuto stopped her with his voice.
"You look nice, Sakura-sama."
Sakura eyed Kabuto, again, this time with a glint in her eye, and said, "Ironic, isn't it?" She gently stretched her fingertips toward the bandage on his cheek and he flinched before she made contact. Sakura bit her lip and continued to her room.
Once inside she shut the door and dropped all of her shopping bags beside the vanity. Walking over to her dresser she fished out some lacy white undergarments to go under the light blue dress Ino picked out. It was a satin halter dress that hugged her curves from her bust to her hips and splayed out just enough for her to let it swish around her knees. The fabric was a little longer from the backside so the dress tastefully showed off her legs. Sakura pulled the dress out of its cover bag and hung it on the wall beside her vanity. She picked up her underwear and retreated to the bathroom.
10 minutes later Sakura reemerged in her lingerie and stopped by the mirror to freshen her lipstick. Going back to her dresser she pulled out a new pair of nude stockings and focused on bunching up one leg on her way to the bed where she carefully pushed her toes through the opening. Sakura leaned backward to help pull the sheen fabric up to her thigh. She lost her balance and fell backward on the bed, only what she fell back on wasn't pillows. On instinct Sakura just thought it was some of her personal items that she forgot to remove before she left, but when she reached behind to push away whatever obstacles were there she barely got them to budge, let alone move. Cautiously, she glanced over her shoulder and saw a pair of fine leather shoes out of the corner of her eye. And her hand was resting on someone's knee under a pair of slacks. A deep voice from the head of the bed broke her away from any thoughts she might have been having.
"So you're Victoria's secret?" This comment fully snapped Sakura back to her senses. Gazing down at her lingerie and then back up at the man lying on her bed, she screamed to the top of her lungs.
"AHHH! PERVERT! WHO ARE YOU? GET OUT OF MY BED!" Sakura then took a pillow in each fist and proceeded to beat the life out of her intruder. The man's wild red hair was all she could make out through the flurry of fists and pillows.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM? HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE? WHAT DO YOU WANT?" As Sakura continued her pummeling across the bed, she finally succeeded in assailing her victim, who did nothing more than put his arms up in defense, off onto the floor. But unfortunately, against her will, gravity took over and she fell down with him. It was then that the man suddenly decided it was urgent to try and escape. "OI, I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!" Sakura grabbed his pant leg, let him fall smack back down on the floor, and dragged him towards her. Crawling over him she continued the attack, screaming with every hit. The sound of footsteps could now be heard running down the hallway. Her bedroom door thrust open.
"Miss Sakura, are you alri- OH MY GOSH!" And the door was slammed shut. On the other side, however...
"What's going on, Kakashi?! Is she in danger? Let me through!" ordered Tsunade as she swung the door back open.
"...Miss Sakura! With all due respect, have some decency!"
When Tsunade spoke Sakura's rage evaporated and she suddenly became very aware of her predicament. Kakashi and Tsunade were standing flushed and dumbfounded at her open door, and she was on the floor straddling a complete stranger in her underwear. Gripping with reality she jumped up and flew back against her wall using one of the pillows to try and hide her nearly naked form from view.
The man on the ground slowly rose from the floor and regained his bearings. He brushed off his pants and pulled on his jacket trying hard not to let his breathing go irregular. From there, he left the room and only stopped once at the door to have Tsunade whisper something to him.
"Our apologies, Gaara-dono."
"...Accepted," replied Gaara with a side-glance. And without another word or gesture he walked down the hallway and back downstairs. Kakashi left, too, rather hurriedly, and Tsunade glared at Sakura.
"I was under the impression you were up here getting dressed - not getting laid," she said, and Sakura blushed something fierce.
"That wasn't what it looked like, Tsunade." Sakura couldn't bare to make eye contact with her. Tsunade raised her brow and pulled Sakura's dress down from the vanity.
"Whatever you say, Miss Sakura."
Thirty minutes later Tsunade was escorting Sakura to the dining room. Stopping before the lavish doors Tsunade turned around to face Sakura. Even as she spoke Sakura could tell she was still upset about what happened, earlier.
"Our other guests are already seated. After you greet your father, you know the drill." Sakura nodded and Tsunade stepped aside, pushed the doors open, and revealed the room inside.
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Naraku's Phoenix: Thank you to all my readers and story followers, thus far. Don't forget to check my dA account for corresponding fan art made by yours truly. The link is in my profile. Please review!
Preview for Chapter 3: Dinner
"Again, welcome. Thank you for considering my request with great care, and congratulations on being invited. My family and I hope you enjoy your stay and we look forward to doing business with you in the future."
