AN: I am not a girl. Most of this story is from the view point of girls. If you feel one of the characters isn't acting realistically, please tell me. I would like to be accurate.
This is a high school fic. What this entails is that I will occasionally switch POVs when it suits me. Also, crack pairings will occur out of unforeseen (as of when I started) complications in story.
Thank you for your enthusiastic encouragement, those kind enough to review.
DISCLAIMER: I own Naruto not. Some cool Japanese guy gets that.
Now without any further ado, the second chapter of Spoons.
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Sakura lay in a hammock in her back yard. She was reading Fahrenheit 451, and nearly done with the required reading for the day. Then something cannonball into her stomach. "Wumph!" Gasping to fill her suddenly emptied lungs, she stared in shock at a thrashing hawk on her belly. She tried her best to comfort it, cooing comforting nonsense. The bird righted itself and glared warily at the pink thing it had landed on. Upon further examination, Sakura noticed a black ribbon tied around one foot, and one wing slumped and bloody. She slowly reached out her hand. The hawk watched the motion carefully. Sakura's hand shook as she stoked the back of the head of the hawk. In a flash of motion, the hawk closed its beak on her hand. The girl froze; it didn't hurt; then the hawk released the hand. Careful not to make any sudden moves, Sakura cradled the hawk against her chest. She slid smoothly out of the hammock and walked inside. Every now and then, the hawk clenched its talons when jolted by a step. In the house, the girl dialed the Inuzukas with one hand. "Hey Kiba, could you get one of your parents? I have something of an emergency."
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Sakura sat nervously in the waiting room . She was too tense to read any of the magazines lying around, so she just stared at her tightly folded hands.
"So he just fell on you? Typical Uchiha. No courtesy."
Sakura let out a squeak of surprise. Kiba vaulted over the back of the chair next to her, landing perfectly.
Then her thoughts caught up with her. "Uchiha? Then the hawk is…"
"Sasuke's, specifically."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Sasuke's fine. " Sakura elbowed Kiba.
"I mean the hawk, idiot."
"Steve'll be fine. His wing just got scratched up a bit. He's had worse."
"Well, that's good. Wait. Worse?"
"One time Steve lost about half his feathers and a decent amount of blood. Apparently he likes to fight flocks of birds."
"What a retard" Sakura said with a shake of her head.
"Yup."
In the end, Sakura ended up carrying the newly bandaged bird to the Uchiha estate. (The retarded bird wouldn't let anyone but Sakura carry him.) A bit hesitantly, she pressed the buzzer at the gate.
"Yes?" sounded the bored voice from the speaker.
"This is Sakura Haruno. I'm here to return ack!" Steve was nibbling on her ear. "Stop that you retard!" Carefully, she pried the beak from her ear. The person from the speaker said, "Understood. Please wait."
The gate swung inward. Sakura, mystified, walked down the path to the front door. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but it opened first. Sasuke gazed inscrutably at her. She suddenly felt very foolish, and lowered her hand.
"I believe this is yours." She shyly murmured, holding out Steve. Without changing his expression, Sasuke accepted his bird. Sakura was about to turnt o leave when the Uchiha spoke up.
"Why don't you come in?"
"O-okay. Um. Thank you."
As the door closed, rain started to fall in a furious downpour. Inside, Sakura gazed in awe at the décor. The mansion could have easily been from the set of a Victorian vampire movie, or, Sakura thought wistfully, of Pride and Prejudice. Sasuke led them to a table before an empty fireplace. She could just barely hear the patter of the rain on the cover. On the table was two cups of tea, gently steaming on each side of the table, and a platter of European wafers and biscuits between. Sakura sat in one chair, Sasuke in the other. Steve hopped of his arm and started to gnaw on one of the wafers. Sasuke laced his fingers into an arch as he gazed over them at Sakura. The poor girl was getting more nervous by the second. The silence stretched unbearably, yet still Sasuke said nothing. Sakura gathered her courage;
"So why'd you name him Steve? I sorta expected something less… ordinary for a hawk."
Sasuke patted Steve on the head, still watching Sakura carefully.
"His name is Steven."
She thought hard for a moment, then groaned. "As in Steven Hawking?"
"Indeed."
Steve started to choke on a wafer. Sasuke irritably smacked the back of the bird's head. The half eaten cracker hit the table with a wet splat. Sakura laughed. "Too bad he doesn't take after his namesake." Sasuke smiled and said, "But he does have good taste in victims."
Sakura paused; then blushed.
In time, the rain stopped, and Sakura returned to her car with a smile and Sasuke's phone number.
Sasuke closed the door.
"Foolish little brother."
Sasuke irritably raised an eyebrow at Itachi. The elder Uchiha emerged from the hallway to the west wing. He wore sunglasses, but not out of light sensitivity, nor fashion. "You're going to break one of your rules." Sasuke glared at this brother. "You see too much, blind one."
Itachi chuckled.
"I'm just watching out for my foolish little brother."
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Ino walked with Sakura to their Language Arts class.
"So did you see his bedroom?" Sakura blushed a little.
"No, we just talked for a while, then I went home. I don't see why you're so interested."
"Oh come on! My new best friend arrives at her crush's place under mysterious circumstances. What's not to be interested in?"
"I'm telling you, it's a coincidence. I found his bird, and I return it. It's not like there's a conspiracy or anything."
Sakura pushed the door open with her foot. An eraser barely missed her foot. Ino sighed.
"Sakura!"
Naruto was too energetic for morning, Ino decided.
"Naruto, have you been eating chalk again?" asked Sakura. Ino stared at the rim of white powder around the boy's mouth.
"Hey! I only did that once!"
"Then what's that on your mouth?"
"Cocaine" Ino guessed.
"What? No! Powdered sugar. I only at the fillings, though. Stale doughnuts aren't as irresistible as you may think."
Sakura looked a little disgusted. "Don't tell me you ate out of a trash can."Naruto shifted his weight a little. "…Maybe… but the box was on top. I had to check, you know. People throw away perfectly good things all the time."
Sakura face palmed.
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Kiba, Ino, and Sakura were chatting on their way to lunch. Out of nowhere, Sasuke slipped in next to the pink haired girl.
"Care to join me for lunch?" His voice thrummed. Sakura blushed. "Sure. See ya guys!" As she walked off, Ino saw her hand reach for Sasuke's, but pull back. Kiba raised his eyebrows. "When did that happen?"
Ino shrugged. "Yesterday. She caught his bird."
"Huh. I could a sworn he was gay." Ino pushed Kiba playfully.
At the table, Naruto was hysteric. "Stay away from him Sakura! Beneath his Fabulous exterior lies the heart of a bloodsucker! An bloodsucker I tell you!"
Ino heard a low chuckle. She was startled to find Shikamaru asleep at a nearby table. As for Sakura, she blissfully ignored Naruto. She and Sasuke were eating at a table a deliberate distance from where Naruto was.
"Nothing good will come of this." The blond boy muttered, eating in a huff.
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Ino and Sasuke were at their lab station, taking everything out of the drawers and cabinets. Inventory is annoying, but necessary. Ino smirked at the goth. "You broke one of your rules." Sasuke's eyes widened then narrowed as he started cursing under his breath. Ino raised her eyebrows.
"What's with you?"
Sasuke snapped out of it. "I just realized my brother played a trick on me."
"Ah, the joys of having siblings. Sadly, I am but an only child, so they are forever beyond my experience." She did not look sad at all. Ino's face suddenly turned serious, and she pointed a Bunsen burner at her lab partner. "If you break her heart, I'll break you."
Sasuke looked at the burner, then at Ino. "I doubt you could. Regardless, I don't have any intention of breaking her heart."
"Good."
It was the second day Sasuke and Sakura retreated to their "honeymoon island", as Naruto called it. Every few minutes, Naruto checked on the two as they had lunch. As the lunch period progressed, so did the boy's restlessness. At one point, he growled in frustration.
"What's wrong?" Ino asked. Naruto sighed.
"I want to do… something, but I can't. Sakura would only get angry." He sighed again, folded his arms on the table, then set his chin down where they crossed. As he stared blankly forward, Hinata started to blush. Naruto was staring right at her, without realizing it.
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Ino was lying on her bed, working through her math homework. The phone rang, once, twice.
"Ino, phone for you." Mrs. Yamanaka said, standing in Ino's doorway.
"Thanks mom."
"Hello?"
"I-Ino, what should I do?" It was Hinata.
"What's wrong?"
"How do I get Naruto to notice me?"
"Um, Hinata, I may not be the best person to ask. I've only known him for three days."
"Sakura's… busy, and Tenten… you're more feminine."
Ino lay on her bed face up, resting her head on her math textbook.
"Alright. You're gonna hafta help me help you. What are Naruto's interests?"
"Ramen, most sports, and um… Sakura."
"That's not much to go on. Ramen?"
"He really likes it. It's all I've ever seen him eat."
"That can't be healthy."
"That doesn't seem to affect him."
"Amazing."
Hinata sighed wistfully. "Isn't he though?" She was in danger of slipping into a daydream.
Ino was in a bit of a pickle. She herself had never dated, and thus had as much experience as the girl on the other side of the conversation. Then Inspiration struck.
"Say, do you know how to cook ramen? I mean, not package ramen, but the actual soup, noodles, and stuff?"
"A little. Maybe I could get our cook to help…"
"Good. Wait. Your cook?"
Hinata sounded a little embarrassed. "My mother doesn't know how to cook, and our family is kinda rich, so father sorta hired one."
"Um. That works too. Alright, here's what you do. For lunch tomorrow, bring a thermos of ramen, and a granola bar or something."
"Why a granola bar?"
"Naruto's going to want some of your lunch, so you should be prepared to share."
"Sh-share? Do you think it will work?"
"Tell me. Is dry ramen the only thing he eats at lunch?"
"Yes."
"There's your answer."
"Thank you, Ino."
"Don't thank me yet. Wait until you snag him."
Hinata giggled. "I'll start right away! Bye Ino!"
"Bye."
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Naruto was staring at his ramen pack despondently. Life was a procession of grays and the blandness of starch permeated his days. The blonde was peripherally aware of Hinata as she sat down in front of him., at least, until a heavenly scent wafted towards him. He opened his eyes wide and inhaled deeply. Hinata poured herself a large bowl of ramen, steam rising with the grace of a goddess. Naruto had never seen homemade ramen; it was only because of some animal instinct that he knew the girl's meal was somehow related to his, not unlike how the eagle is somehow related to a pigeon. Hinata delicately raised a fork full of noodles in the air, then blew softly on it. The boy forgot his lunch completely as he watched her suck the noodles in slowly, savoring the taste. Hinata raised her eyes to look at the boy, and for the first time, they both blushed.
"W-w-would you l-like some?" Hinata squeaked out.
"You don't mind sharing that?" The last word was spoken with profound reverence. Hinata nodded shyly, and offered him a fork. (She had brought a spare.)
Ino arrived to find her diabolical plan proceeding beautifully. Naruto and Hinata were chatting amicably, occasionally eating from the bowl between them. She slid in next to Hinata, smiling smugly. Kiba sat down next to Ino, and asked, "What are you so happy about?"
"It's girl stuff. You wouldn't understand."
"That time of the month, eh? Thanks for the warning."
Ino punched him. "Matchmaking, you idiot."
Kiba held his hands up defensively. "How was I supposed to know that?"
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Sakura looked at Ino in surprise. "He won't be pining after me anymore? How'd you manage that?"
"I had Hinata seduce him."
"WHAT!"
Mr. Ebisu glared at the girls. Kiba was shaking in silent laughter. A bee buzzed lazily around the nearby overhead projector.
"What?" Sakura repeated, whispering. Ino explained what happened, resembling a Cheshire cat towards the end.
"I don't know if I should be relieved or insulted. Outdone by a bowl of soup!" Ino shrugged.
"No accounting for taste."
Kiba let out a bark of laughter, earning another glare from Mr. Ebisu.
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AN: Though I am usually against KibaIno, that seems to be the way this is going. As for the pairings I anticipate in this fic: obviously SasuSaku, NaruHina. KibaIno, ShikaTema, and KankuTen.
If you're wondering when the vampires come in, be patient. As for who you think they are, you are most likely wrong.
