I'm sorry for updating later than I really wanted too, but I had a retreat and all that… yeah… I'm so sorry!!!!
I want to thank EVERY SINGLE REVIWER that reviewed… even though I don't put your name in my story or chapter or whatever doesn't mean I didn't read your review or something… I'm just too lazy to put your name and all that.
I just want to clarify something (like for Cagalli Yula Atha, Tears like Crystals, and devilangel123): Sakura will become a kunoichi. Geez, I just have some things planned out first, so yeah…
And for the people who asked about how Sakura knew all those people (WhiteDorian), it's going to explain in later chapters, where I'm going to make Sakura's life flash through her eyes or something…
Anyways, enjoy.
Standard Disclaimer applied.
Chapter 3: Mayhem at the Club
Last time on AiL:
"We want you to come to the party!" Ino piped up happily.
"Party?" Sakura repeated blankly. "What party?"
"Naruto and Hinata's annual anniversary…" Shikamaru sighed. "Seriously, who has a party on the same day they started going out years ago?"
"Don't say that!" Ino snarled, punching her boyfriend's arm. "It's sweet for Naruto to suggest that!"
"Um… Ino," Sakura interrupted the fight between her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend. "I have to work."
"Nonsense!" Mikoto waved a dismissive hand. "I'll let you free for the night! Besides, Sasuke's going too, and he might get into trouble."
Sakura's face paled. So her so-called master was coming too? Great…
"Well, you heard the boss!" Ino chirped. "Come to my place by 6. I'm going to make you go to the party as a goddess."
"Ino-pig, I'm not wearing that," Sakura said stubbornly, partly to the article of clothing Ino was wearing and partly to herself. "You already got these shoes on me, and I will not be forced into that."
Sakura tried her best to balance in the heels that her best friend had somehow gotten on her, shifting uncomfortably. She gazed in disgust at the top Ino was trying to get her to wear. It was pretty, she had to admit, but it just wasn't her type.
"Come on," Ino whined. "I promised Mikoto-san that you'd look like a goddess."
"Yeah," Tenten piped up, coming out of the bathroom in a pair of dark leather boots and a dark red Chinese-style top that reached up to mid-thigh. Underneath, Sakura could spot black shorts with a shuriken holster on it. No matter how much Tenten dressed up, she still imposed her tomboy-like personality on her clothing. Her hair was fashioned into only one tight bun, and sticking out of it were intricate chopsticks (coated with poison, she assumed) with dangling diamonds.
"I'd look like an ugly hag," Sakura retorted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"W-what are you t-talking about, Sakura-chan? You'd look pretty." Hinata said shyly, fiddling with the hem of her silk top. Over that, she wore a simple fur-lined jacket and dark blue cargos and uggs finished off the ensemble. Her short hair was left alone, however, her bangs were pinned up by a pale silvery barrette.
"Yeah," Ino said. "C'mon, Sakura-chan." She wore a purple halter top and a dark purple skirt that reached up to her knees, but had a slit on the right side. Her usually straight blonde ponytail was now curly on the bottom and cascading down to her lower back.
"Easy for you to say," Sakura snorted. "If any guy even bothers to look at you, your boyfriends can just kick their asses. I don't have someone to protect me from some damn pervert."
"How about I show you my Soushouryuu (1) if you wear what Ino chose for you?" Tenten suggested, knowing how much Sakura liked her Soushouryuu, saying it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Tenten smirked when she saw Sakura mulling her offer over. After a couple of minutes, Sakura sighed in a resigned way and muttered, "All right…" Ino squealed in happiness and threw the clothes at a grumpy-looking Sakura, who trudged into the bathroom to change.
"This is stupid, dobe." Sasuke grunted as the hyperactive blonde bounced off the walls, literally.
"You're just jealous 'cause I have a girlfriend!" Naruto retorted. He rolled up the sleeves of his oversized orange sweater and strutted up to an annoyed looking Sasuke in his baggy black jeans. "Besides, I look way better looking than you, Neji, or Shikamaru in regular street clothes."
"In your dreams dobe," Neji's voice cut off. He came in wearing a gray button-up long-sleeved shirt, with the collar popped, and black cargoes. However, he was still wearing his sandals.
"It's too troublesome to change…" Shikamaru muttered in his everyday clothes.
"I wonder what Ino will say," Naruto grinned, as Shikamaru grunted his favorite word again.
Neji smirked. "Too cool to dress up, Uchiha?"
Sasuke frowned. "No Hyuuga, at least I don't spend an hour in front of my mirror trying to figure out what to wear."
Sasuke was wearing a simple black t-shirt (with the Uchiha fan on the back of course) and shorts.
"C'mon!" Naruto shouted giddily. "The party starts in half an hour!"
"Whatever."
"Hn."
"What a drag…"
"Guys!!" Naruto whined. "Come on! It's my anniversary! Can't you at least act happy for me?"
"No," his friends replied at the same time. Nevertheless, they got up and followed Naruto out the door.
Halfway during the journey to their destination, Sasuke stopped. "Hold on, I think I left my weapons at your place."
"Why do you need weapons at a club?" Naruto asked, clueless.
"You never know," Shikamaru said darkly, opening his jacket and revealing numerous weapons. Neji nodded as well, pointing to the shuriken holster around his thigh.
"I'll meet you there," Sasuke said, nodding to his friends.
After Sasuke retrieved his weapons, he took his time traveling to the destination. The place he went to was a very popular bar, and Naruto had insisted they have their little party there since it was the only bar that served ramen. He frowned. Seriously, who sells ramen at a bar? Nevertheless, he bravely pushed open the door and stepped in, weaving his way through staring females, crazy dancers, and drunken men. "Oi," he called to Ino. "Where's Neji?"
Ino giggled, and Tenten burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, earning weird looks from the nearest people. Getting irritated at the girls' laughing, he turned to Naruto, who was staring wide-eyed at the dance floor. "Oi, dobe. What's going on?"
Naruto's mouth opened and closed in a comical way, until he rasped out, "Holy shit, Sakura-chan's grinding!"
He followed Naruto's gaze until he landed on a girl with pink hair and gaped. She was dancing with Neji?!
'She looks hot!' Inner Sasuke wolf-whistled.
Sakura was wearing black heels, and attached were cloth straps that snaked up her ankles. On the top, she wore a black spaghetti strapped top that reached up to her knees and had a slit up the thigh. Underneath, she wore dark blue jean capris.
And she was dancing like a pro.
"How did you even get Hyuuga to dance?" Sasuke muttered.
"Dare," Shikamaru said simply. "You know how Neji gets with ego issues."
"And you don't mind?" Sasuke asked incredulously to Tenten, who shook her head.
"Are you kidding me? This is like a show for me!" Tenten gasped in between laughs.
"How'd you get Haruno to dance?" he asked Ino.
"Sakura thinks her dancing sucks," Ino snorted. "But a little bribing makes her do that."
"What did you bribe her with?" he muttered. "to make her do that?"
Ino grinned. "Tenten bribed her with her Soushouryuu, twice."
Then, Ino turned to Sasuke with a Cheshire-like grin. "Hey Sasuke, I dare you to…"
She leaned in and whispered something into the Uchiha's ear, which made him twitch in horror.
Sakura and Neji sighed in relief when the song ended.
"Nice dance, Neji-kun." Sakura smiled and shook Neji's hand, who grunted.
"Let's pretend this never happened, Haruno."
She gave a tinkling laugh at Neji's… um… special sense of humor.
"Aren't you going back?" Neji asked when Sakura didn't get off the floor.
She shook her head. "Nah, I'll have a little fun here."
Neji smirked. "You really shouldn't attract unwanted attention."
She laughed once more and started to dance once more at the sound of a new beat. "See you later, Neji-kun." At once, she lost herself within the beat after Neji disappeared from her peripheral vision.
She was dancing in peace once more when a foreign person came up to her. He had no forehead protector yet Sakura could tell he was a ninja because of his lean and balanced posture. His dark black hair was tinted a midnight blue in the bright lights and his dark eyes had a mischievous glint. He had an arrogant smirk plastered onto his face.
"What's a pretty lady like you doing alone on the dance floor?" he asked flirtatiously, extending hand toward her. "Do you need some company?"
Sakura smirked; this person looked like a challenging dancer. "I would love your company sir."
The two sets of eyes, black and green, had an almost silent agreement; a competition determining the better dancer, and both were very enthusiastic to show off their skills on the dance floor.
"Abumi Zaku," the teen in front of her offered after a few seconds into the song.
Sakura smiled mysteriously and answered, "Sakura."
The teen acted to look very disappointed. "What, no last name?"
Sakura laughed. "Sorry, I don't give personal information just like that."
"So," Zaku said. "You haven't answered my question. Are you here alone?"
She shook her head. "Are you crazy? If it weren't for my friends, I would never come here, but it's Naruto and Hinata's little 'anniversary' party so they made me come here with the rest of the gang."
She nodded toward her friends' direction, and her dance partner did as well. Zaku raised an eyebrow when he caught the sight of her 'gang' and whistled lowly in awe. "Nara Shikamaru, the genius. Yamanaka Ino, best known as Morino Ibiki the second for interrogating with her mind techniques. Uzumaki Naruto, next Hokage and jinchuuriki. Hyuuga Hinata, known for her infamous Kaiten/Jyuken combination. Hyuuga Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy, and Hyuuga Tenten, the well-known weapons mistress?"
"Yup! It's kind of weird that all my best friends are well-known kunoichi and shinobi, but I'm not one as well," Sakura said.
"What about him?" Zaku turned his head toward the raven-haired young man that a smug looking Ino was whispering to.
She looked toward her 'group' as well. "Oh, that's Sasuke-sama. But I don't know him that well."
Zaku's eyes lit up for some reason. "Uchiha Sasuke? As in from the Uchiha clan?"
She nodded slowly. "I'm a servant for their family; I'm in debt. Itachi-sama rescued me from some ninja go wrong."
"Wow," Zaku said. "The Uchiha Itachi actually rescuing you? You must've been really lucky that day."
Sakura smiled earnestly. "I know, right?"
"Say," Zaku said thoughtfully. "If you're a servant for the Uchiha family… can you give Uchiha Sasuke a message for me?"
Sakura glanced unsurely at him. "Um… I'm not sure…"
"C'mon," Zaku said coyly. The hand on her hips went lower than she would normally want it to. "What's wrong with a servant delivering a message to her master? That's what you're supposed to do."
"Um… can you move your hand?" Sakura asked nervously, trying to pry the hand off her herself.
Zaku smirked; the hand on her rear end slid down to her thigh.
"If you send your master a message for me," he said, getting closer to her.
"Um… Zaku-san, can you please remove your-"
"You know that it's rude to touch a lady like that without her consent?" a deep voice intruded. A hand shot out and gripped the hand that was troubling Sakura so much.
"Speak the devil," Zaku smirked. "Now I won't have to send a cute little lady to send you a message; I get to talk to you myself."
"S-Sasuke-sama!" Sakura squeaked.
His eyes were unusually dark. "Konoha ninja are supposed to have their forehead protector somewhere that people can see it."
Zaku's smirk got darker. "Who said I was a Konoha ninja?"
Both Sasuke and Sakura's eyes narrowed considerably.
Suddenly, Sakura gasped when she felt cool metal of a kunai, she assumed, on her throat.
"Stay back," Zaku warned. "Uchiha Sasuke, I was told to relay a message to you from my master."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And how important would that be, to put a kunai to a civilian's throat?"
"A message from my master, Orochimaru-sama."
Sasuke's eyes darkened. "Let the girl go, and come with me quietly to the Konoha police and no one gets hurt. I have nothing to do with him."
The kunai dug deeper into her throat, drawing a small trickle of blood. She hissed in pain and he frowned.
"I don't think you should be messing with me," Zaku said maliciously. "You don't know how many Oto nin are positioned in this club." He gave off a very high-pitched whistle, and at the same time, Sasuke yelled, "Guys!"
Shikamaru, Ino, Neji, Tenten, Naruto, and Hinata materialized behind Sasuke while some dancers stopped dancing and appeared behind Zaku.
"What now, Uchiha?" Neji asked, irritated.
"Sound nin… with a message from Orochimaru." Sasuke growled out.
One of the people standing behind Zaku smirked. "Damn straight," he said, as he ripped off his entire attire to reveal the standard sound uniform. The horde of people mimicked the Sound nin's action and a second later, the Konoha ninjas were facing about a dozen people wearing the sound forehead protector and uniform.
"So what's it going to be?" Zaku asked smugly. "Come to Oto with us, or let this cute little lady die?"
"Is there a third choice?" Naruto interjected.
Before anyone could say anything, Sakura raised her sharp, three inch heeled foot…
…and brought it down to the middle of Zaku's foot.
The impact made Zaku yelp and let go of his hold on her.
"Why you little bitch!"
The moment he released Sakura from his grip, she scrambled blindly into Sasuke, who grabbed her arm and placed her behind him. He gave her a kunai. "Use it if you must."
As if the gesture was a cue, the fight began. Kunai clashed with kunai, loud smacks of punches and kicks could be heard, and Sakura hurriedly sprinted toward the Uchiha district, since it was close to the club.
Sasuke cursed when he saw his servant's pink tresses disappear out of the door. Stupid girl, she had a high chance of getting captured as a hostage since she had a connection to him and was vulnerable.
"Neji, you lead," Sasuke called to the white-eyed teen, who had just finished his Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou (2) on a particularly bulky looking Sound nin. "I'm taking Haruno to safety."
Neji nodded and turned his attention to the doors. "Well, you'd better hurry because I saw two Sound nins go out the door as well."
"Shit," Sasuke swore under his breath.
Sakura ran as fast as she could toward the direction of the Uchiha manor. Itachi had come back from a mission a day ago, so he could come and do something about the fight… right?
Her body screamed in protest at the pressure she was putting on herself; she wasn't a ninja so she couldn't jump from roof to roof like Ino could, and she just wasn't accustomed to running at such a quick speed for so long."
"And where do you think you're going?" someone snarled.
Maybe it was just an involuntary reaction or something out of fear, but Sakura stopped, kunai held tightly out in front of her, and turned around to see Zaku and a longhaired female Sound nin. She bit her lip and thought hopelessly, 'Well, I'm dead now.'
The female sneered and disappeared. Then she came from behind and knocked Sakura to her knees and grabbed her hair.
"Such nice silky hair," she hissed, fingering the soft pink locks roughly in her hand. "So unlike mine."
"Be careful, Kin." Zaku warned. "That little bitch is unpredictable; look what she did to my foot."
"Haruno!"
Sasuke appeared from behind and hit Zaku's pressure point swiftly, causing the black-haired Sound nin to fall unconscious. "Where did you think you were going?"
"I was going to Uchiha Estate to inform Fugaku-san about this thing," Sakura said breathlessly, still trying to gasp in the oxygen her lungs were demanding for. "I thought Sound nins were forbidden to come inside Konoha's gates or even borders for that matter."
Sasuke blinked and inwardly took back what he said about Sakura being stupid.
"How very smart," the female Sound nin called Kin sneered. "But you've been caught, haven't you, Pinky?"
Sakura growled and raised the kunai.
"Do you think that will actually work?" the she laughed maliciously.
"Who said anything about you?" Sakura growled. She brought the kunai her master had given her, brought it to her hair, and pushed upwards.
Things seemed to go in slow motion as the long hair she had so painstakingly grown out for years flew in all directions. Kin, surprised by Sakura's action, stumbled back as Sakura ran behind an equally shocked looking Sasuke. "I'm going to run, Sasuke-sama," she whispered to Sasuke, who nodded. "On the count of three…"
"One… two…" Sasuke whispered.
"Three!" Sakura shouted as Sasuke jumped up and engaged Kin in hand to hand combat while Sakura started running at top speed again.
In a couple of minutes, she arrived, panting at the front of Mikoto and Fugaku's room and burst in.
Mikoto looked surprised, as did Fugaku. "Sakura-chan, what happened to your hair?" Mikoto asked worriedly, eyeing the messy, badly cut hair.
"No… time…" Sakura gasped, gulping in air greedily. "Sound nin… at the bar… Sasuke-sama…"
Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "Let me call Itachi-"
"No need, father. I'm already here."
Itachi walked in. "Sakura-san, why don't you take us to the place where the fight is taking place?"
Sakura arrived where she had left Sasuke on Itachi's back, since she was too tired to run. Sasuke was standing over the still body of Kin, looking disgusted. "About time, Itachi." Sasuke said. "What's Haruno doing on your back?"
"She was too tired to run," Itachi said, letting Sakura down. She stumbled a bit when her feet met the ground and winced.
"There's something wrong with my leg," she mumbled and squeezed her right knee. "I think I popped something while running."
"Here."
She squeaked when she was lifted up and looked into the face of an embarrassed-looking Sasuke. "Sasuke-sama, you don't have to…"
"We need Neji to look at your leg, and Itachi needs to go to the Hokage to report this," Sasuke said, nodding at Itachi who inclined his head as well. At once, both brothers, one headed for Hokage Tower and the other headed going to the scene of the crime carrying a flustered 17-year old female, ran at top speed to their destinations.
Obviously, Konoha's ninja won. The Sound nin had no chance from the beginning to most of the best ANBU in the village, to start with. Sure, the attack had come as a surprise, and there were a few innocent people injured, but nothing prepared Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, or even Naruto, who always had something to say, to the sight that greeted them when Sasuke came in.
Naruto's eyes bugged out. "Whoa, Sasuke! What are you doing holding Sakura-chan like that?"
Sasuke was holding Sakura bridal style, Sakura with her eyes shut and her face buried into his dark shirt. Everyone stared at her until she opened her eyes. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I'm still not used to this high-speed running."
"Sakura-chan, what happened to your hair?" Ino demanded.
Sakura laughed nervously. "Um… it's a long story, Ino-chan… I'll tell you later."
"Well, everything's taken care of, I see," Sasuke said calmly, as if he didn't carry a beautiful girl during the last three minutes. "Neji, I want to see what's wrong with Sakura's leg. Ino, you know some basic medical ninjutsu so maybe you can heal her leg."
Neji nodded and activated his famed bloodline limit. "Nothing big," he said after a few seconds. "Ino can probably fix it."
Ino grinned. "Of course I can! I mean, it's to heal one of my best friends, right?"
An accidental electrocution and one chakra-filled hand later, Sakura's leg was back to normal.
"Ino, I think you electrocuted my wound too much," Sakura said dryly. "I can barely feel my leg."
Ino giggled.
As if nothing happened, people started to file into the club again as the DJ started to set up.
"Oh yeah!" Tenten snapped her fingers. "Sasuke, did you complete your dare?"
Sasuke turned an unnoticeable shade of pink and Sakura cocked her head curiously. "What dare?"
"Oh, nothing…" Naruto said airily. "Just to ask you for a dance."
Sakura turned a crimson hue. "Ino… haven't you had enough? I mean, you already dared me and Neji…"
"Come on!" Ino whined. "It's for your master's pride. And 3,000 yen," she added thoughtfully.
Sakura's eyes lit up. "Come on, Sasuke-sama."
He raised an eyebrow.
"What, you don't know how to dance?" she smirked.
"Are you challenging your master?" Sasuke retorted. Inside, he was getting excited. No girl had ever acted like Sakura in this situation…
Both confidently walked to the dance floor.
"Did you tell them that the song they're going to dance to is a slow song?" Shikamaru asked his girlfriend, who grinned wickedly.
Sakura had expected a fast, upbeat bass, not the type of song lovers danced to.
So when the song started, she was caught by surprise when Sasuke's hands when on her thin waist.
"What the-" she began to utter, until she heard the music.
"Oh…"
"Real smart, Haruno." Sasuke smirked, and she blushed and bowed her head.
They were dancing to Everytime We Touch (Candlelight version) by Cascada. (A/N: Candlelight version is just the slow version of the real song... it's kind of old but I like Cascada :D)
"I love this song!" she exclaimed softly.
He raised an eyebrow as she sang in perfect harmony with the music.
"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me
I still feel your touch in my dreams
Forgive me my weakness but I don't know why
Without you it's hard to survive…
'Cause Everytime we touch, I get the feeling
'Cause Everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly
Can't you hear my heartbeat fast
I want this to last
Want you in my life
Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky.
They wipe away tears that I cry.
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.
You make me rise when I fall.
Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling.
And everytime we kiss I swear I can fly.
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.
Need you by my side.
Cause everytime we touch, I feel this static. Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling.
And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky.
Can't you hear my heart beat so
I can't let you go.
Want you in my life
And everytime we kiss I swear I can fly.
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.
Need you by my side."
She hadn't noticed that she had her head in his chest, or that her friends had come onto the floor too, or that the music had stopped but she was still singing. So when she stopped, everyone was still swaying to the beat in blissful silence. Of course, when she noticed their position, she turned red and pulled away.
It was even weirder to Sasuke that he didn't mind. If a girl even tried to touch him, he'd glare like there's no tomorrow, but he almost missed the warmth of her head on him.
"You know," he said. "You're going to have to explain what happened to your hair to kaa-san and Yamanaka."
She smiled. "I can just tell them I needed a new hairstyle and cut it wrong."
"No one's going to believe you."
"Gee, Sasuke-sama. What a great sense of optimism you have." Sakura said sarcastically, temporarily forgetting that the person she was talking in that tone to was her master, Uchiha Sasuke.
He smirked. She was definitely intriguing.
"I got it!" Ino whispered excitedly, waving around her camera.
"Lemme see!" Naruto demanded to a giggling platinum-haired blonde.
Everyone, even including Neji, crowded around Ino, who showed them one of the pictures she had taken of Sasuke and Sakura dancing.
Her face was a perfect painting of peace as it leaned on his chest. His usually angry or impassive face actually looked… content. They looked as if they were a real couple.
"Kawaii!" Tenten squealed, clinging onto a smirking Neji's arm.
"I got the whole thing on video," Neji offered smugly, whipping out a camcorder.
Everyone stared at the conniving Neji, shocked… and satisfied. "Lemme see!" Naruto shouted.
"See what?"
Neji and Ino both hid their camera/camcorder when they saw Sasuke and Sakura approaching. To their surprises, Sasuke didn't look pissed or irritated and Sakura… was demanding 3,000 yen from Ino.
"We have so got to show this to like… all of Konoha!" Naruto whispered to everyone (except Sasuke and Sakura, of course), referring to the proof of Sasuke and Sakura's… erm… little moment together.
They all laughed, blissfully unaware of the problems their friends were going to be dragged into.
Soushouryuu (1) : The user of this technique will pull out 2 scroll then perform the needed Hand Seals to summon a Twin Dragon. The Twin Dragon will turn into 2 roll of scroll. Using the scroll, the user is able to summon numerous weapons into the field. He or she will tie each weapons using wire so she can control her point of attack.
Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou (2) : Using a highly advanced form of Byakugan, the user is able to see the chakra holes on a person's body. And by using Hyuuga's Taijutsu Style, he then closes all main chakra holes with quick blows, stopping the flow of chakra through one's body.
I'm sorry this was hastily done, or if there were a lot of mistakes.
I have a project due the next day, but I feel indebted to my reviewers… and now you know why I didn't put anyone really specially or whatever. But I promise I will for next chapter…and ideas for battles for my other story would be awesome, if you're reading it.
Thanks again, and I look forward to your comments/compliments/insults!
