Like a Walk in the Park
Summary - AU The students of Shiniko High School and Takatori Academy are arch rivals. A over summer cruise is set out to attempt to change that. Sakura x Kiba.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.
A/N: Heya, fellow fiction readers. :) Ohmygosh I'm finally back from my half-year absence! I kept making changes to this chapter and I was trying to get some input from my friends. My beta-reader told me to make this a long one, just to make up for the wait. I tried. :) I was pretty surprised that I still got reviews five months after posting the last chapter, but hey, I'm not complaining. xD
Lethal Spirit : Thanks! About your question "Is this the end?" Nope. Far from it. I have a truck load of stuff to write in.
Heartless Ghost : Thanks! Well, Naruto is mentioned in this chapter. Sasuke and Neji will be mentioned, I don't think I'll be able to put Itachi in this story and make it work though.
Mistress DragonFlame : Don't bet on it. :P This story will be full of weird surprises. Aw, I can't believe I forgot all about Akamaru! In my other story, I put him in, and he was completely ignored after the chapter he was introduced, but I'll try to add a twist to this one. :D
EnV : Thanks! Haha. You made me laugh. :) It's weird though, I created him, and I can't even picture what he looks like..
Bunches of thanks to my beta-reader "Mango xx". (Stop changing your pen-name, missy!)
Chapter Three
"FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO.. ONE!"
The school bell resonated loudly throughout the walls of Takatori Academy, signaling that the school year was officially over. Loud cheers, hoots, and applause exploded in every classroom, even a few teachers began celebrating. Less than a second later, the halls were packed with loud, laughing, students, talking about nothing but freedom and summer plans.
There were, however, a couple of people here and there who stood out amongst the crowds. The massive group of students consisted mostly of smiling faces. What made this particular group different was that they wore glum expressions. Yes, these people were the juniors- or more like the ex-juniors. They were not so pleased about the end of the school year, it meant that they had only four days until the cruise. Four days until extreme torture, according to many of the newly appointed seniors.
Sakura, Tenten, Seiichi, and a few other people, were luckily not part of the miserable crew. They were excited about the trip, as they have repeated many times. Most of their classmates looked at them disgustedly, shaking their heads and muttering 'traitor' under their breaths, yet they were ignored.
"All packed yet?" Sakura questioned her best-friend as she slid into the drivers seat of her car.
Tenten shook her head, "I still need a swim-suit." she shifted her body into a comfortable position in the passengers seat and buckled up her seat belt.
"Good, I still need my dress." Sakura stated, she started the car and began to back out of the parking lot, "Why do we need dress clothes anyways? It's a cruise, we're suppose to be relaxing and stuff like that." She paused, and hit the right turn signal. "Well anyways, do you know what the dress is for?"
"Weren't you listening in home-room?" Tenten snorted.
"...No."
She shook her head, "Yeah I thought so. It's for the 'Welcome' party-which is going to be a masquerade ball- and also for the 'Goodbye' party, where we will be unmasked and with the same dresses. I don't know why, I'll ask Yukinta later."
"Oh, really? Is it a costume ball?"
Tenten shook her head. "Not from what I heard. Only masks are required. I heard from the Student Council that it's so we can be more comfortable around them."
They chatted about the cruise for a little while, until they reached the mall.
Sakura immediately dragged Tenten into a swim-wear store, grabbing a variety of them as they walked straight to the changing rooms.
"In!" Sakura ordered, as she shoved the pile into the unsuspecting hands of Tenten, at the same time pushing her into an empty stall. She leaned against the door so she couldn't escape.
Some rustles were heard, followed by a sigh.
"How is it?" The pink-haired girl questioned.
Tenten looked into the wall-length mirror. She spun around and frowned. "I feel like a slut. I was hoping for a one-piece.."
Sakura pouted. "But two-pieces are cheaper- they use less materials to make them."- This wasn't true, of course. Two-pieces usually cost more, in fact.
Inside the stall, Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." She replied monotonously.
"Just try some more on." Sakura got off the door and plopped herself on a nearby couch, picking up a random magazine.
"But-!" An annoying high-pitched voice shrieked.
"I would love to..." A familiar voice said tauntingly. "But how about we just go as friends?"
"Kiba.." The voice sounded almost venomous.
Sakura heard footsteps and quickly shielded her face from view.
"Err... Yukari.." Kiba said, "I'm not looking for a girlfriend right now, but maybe next week?" he finished lamely, mentally slapping himself for his own stupidity.
Murase Yukari raised an eyebrow, "Fine." She turned around, flipping her highlighted orange hair over her shoulder dramatically before walking away, not forgetting to sway her hips as she strut out of the store.
Kiba winced and turning around, he fell onto the couch and sighed loudly. "You can stop hiding now, I see you."
Sakura closed the magazine and threw it on the floor. "How-"
He cut her off with a snort. "Genius- there aren't many people out there with pink hair."
Sakura shot him an annoyed look. "Why are you still here?"
Kiba shrugged. "Seiichi's almost off from his job and he's my ride home-"
"You mean to our house..-"
"-so I went to the only place with a leather couch."
"Oh."
"Yeah.."
A pregnant silence settled between the two, the only noise being the clinks and clanks of clothes hangers being moved.
"I hate you."
"Don't worry, my dear 'Kura," Kiba responded immediately, "It's not one-sided." He got up and blew her a kiss before walking away snickering.
"Yeah? Well, you're ugly!" Sakura shouted, springing up from her seat. Did they just almost have a civil moment? She let out a deep breath and moved back to the changing stall. "Tenten? Almost done?"
"I just finished." The door flung open, hitting Sakura on the back of her head. "Oops, sorry 'bout that." Tenten came out holding a jade green two-piece bathing suit with matching board shorts hanging on her right hand and a pile of rejected ones on the other. "What do you think of this?" She asked, holding her right hand up.
Sakura moved her hand to her head, wincing as she felt a bump form. Her eyes slowly moved up. Mint-green orbs blinked rapidly for a while before finally resting on the swim-wear. "Perfect."
Tenten smiled proudly. "I'm craving some ice cream now, let's go. We can get your dress after."
Sakura agreed. They walked down to the food court, waving to Seiichi as they passed Pizza Palace. The two girls stopped at Kira's Cones ice cream parlor.
"Hello there, what can I do for you two pretty ladies?" Azure eyes shined as Sakura and Tenten took their seats on the brightly colored high-chairs, dropping their bags on the counter.
"Shut it, Naruto." Sakura said, sticking her tongue out.
"The usual?" Naruto asked. He didn't wait for an answer and quickly grabber two waffle cones and an ice cream scooper. "So," He started, scooping up green tea ice cream for one cone, and cookie dough ice cream for the other. "Are you two psyched about the cruise?"
"Very. Are you going?" Tenten nodded her head as a sign of thanks as she grabbed her green tea ice cream from his outstretched hand, handing him a five in return.
"How can I miss seeing my two favorite ninjas everyday for a month in their bathing suits?" Naruto joked.
Uzumaki Naruto wasn't from Takatori. He, actually, attended the adversary school, Shiniko Highschool. Sakura and Naruto met back in junior high when the two were partnered up to play against an opposing couple in tennis for gym class, and they were friends since. Sakura introduced Naruto and Tenten to each other a couple years back, near the end of their freshmen year. The two immediately befriended each other, which was surprising at first. Naruto's outgoing, carefree, and bubbly character broke through her small barrier as quickly as she put it up when she heard he was a serpent. Not only was his personality fun, but the fact that he was absolutely adorable helped too. Naruto had short, spikey, golden hair that stuck up in all directions. He had big, blue, eyes, and he had a permanent grin plastered on his face at all times. He might come off as immature at first, but it's all an act. He loves making people laugh and smile, which he does a lot. It was as if his grin was contagious.
The three chatted for a while before Naruto's break ended. Waving goodbye, Sakura and Tenten walked slowly towards the escalators- waffle cones still in hand. By the time they reached Yutsuko's Formal Wear- or just what most called just Yutsuko's- they had finished their frozen treats.
"Hello, welcome to Yutsuko's. Just to let you know, there is a fourty percent off sale for all summer dresses. Last season's spring formal wear is now on clearance. If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask!" The cheery voice came from a tall bleach-blonde girl. She had bright cerulean eyes and super-model-like features.
The two girls smiled and nodded at her before continuing into the store to begin their search for the perfect dresses.
After about an hour, Sakura and Tenten slumped down against the wall, sighing dejectedly. All dresses either totally clashed with her hair, was too skimpy, or wasn't her size.
"Miss," a voice called out, "If you are looking for a formal evening gown, I have one perfect for you in the back room."
Sakura immediately brightened up. "That would be a lot of help, thanks." She smiled, silently cheering in her head.
The blonde haired girl from earlier motioned for them to follow her. The three girls walked into the back room where tons of clothing racks and boxes were kept. She then held up her hand, signaling for them to stop. "Wait here please, this will only take a minute." She walked past a pair of old curtains and sounds of boxes being moved were heard.
Sakura noticed the weird look that spread over her best friend's face. "What's up?"
Tenten squinted hard at the curtains, as if trying to see through it and then shrugged. "She looks kind of familiar. I'm not sure, but I think I met her before."
The pink haired girl was about to respond, but her eyes caught sight of the beautiful dress behind Tenten, distracting her.
"Here you go, miss."
Sakura openly gaped as she slowly brushed her fingers on the silky baby-blue material. It was as if the gown came straight out of an urban Cinderlla story.
"It's beautiful.."
Periwinkle eyes sparkled and a grin plastered itself on the girl's face. "Go ahead and try it on. This dress is one of a kind- hand woven by Ms. Yutsuko herself. I would know, I'm her granddaughter," Her smile was proud.
"Thanks...?"
"Ino. Yamanaka Ino."
"Thanks a bunch, I'll go try it on now." and with that, Sakura made a beeline to the changing rooms, but not before thanking Ino once more.
Tenten's eyes were wide open. So that's why she looked so familiar. She's Ino Yamanaka! Shiniko's star volleyball player. I'm lucky she didn't recognize me. People say she hates us Ninjas as much as vegetarians hate eating meat. It's a dumb comparison, but it works. The mentioned girl didn't seem so bad though. Maybe they could become friends?The brunette thought it over once again before debating on whether or not she should tell Sakura. Knowing her, she would immediately question the girl about it. Her mental battle was cut short as Sakura came out of the stall. She quickly glanced to her right, making eye contact with a tall figure who was looking through the glass display cases outside of the store. With a quick nod, she turned her focus back to the pink-haired girl.
"Hey! Do you have these in size-" A voice was heard. Tenten grinned. Perfect timing. Footsteps stopped short as two boys caught sight of the green-eyed girl in a dress.
One of the boys let out a low whistle. "Lookin' good little sis!" Seiichi hollered, holding up a thumbs up sign.
Sakura smiled and did a small twirl before looking expectantly at the boy beside her twin.
Kiba couldn't stop the slight pink hue that lightened up his face, though it went unnoticed by everyone due to the red-triangular tattoos that were permanently marked on his cheeks. Sure, he was use to seeing girls like that all the time, throwing themselves all over him, but there was just something about the way the simple gown blended with her hair and eyes, giving her face a softer look that made Kiba feel slightly attracted to her.. Of course this was just a phase, you're not suppose to be attracted to your best-friend's sister, much less twin. It was an un-official law for guys. Sort of like the "can't date best-friend's ex-girlfriend" rule- except that law was always broken. It'd be too weird, anyways.
Seiichi inwardly grinned when he saw the expression on his friend's face. Whatever the boy said next could either make the whole set-up easier, or make it a helluva lot harder. "Don't ruin it, Kiba." He whispered.
Tenten looked in anxiously. "Say she looks beautiful, dammit!" She said softly, it didn't go unheard by Seiichi. She stuck her tongue out back at him when she heard him chuckle.
Sakura raised an eyebrow at the delay. She was ready for an insult, she had prepared a comeback and a back-up during the two minutes of stalling Kiba had done.
"It looks... Okay."
Sakura rolled her eyes and then turned, doing a questioning gesture to Tenten.
Tenten cursed in her head but smiled on the outside, also giving a thumbs up. "You look great."
"I guess I'm getting this one, then."
"You might wanna get a second one, just in case you're too fat to fit it in a month."
Sakura growled at the brunette who was grinning and stuck her tongue out, blowing raspberry. She huffed and marched back into the stall.
"Ah. Well, I guess I'll just buy this." Seiichi said, holding up the plain black tuxedo hanging on his arm that had been long forgotten for the past ten minutes.
Kiba looked down at the tuxedo that was dangling from a hanger on his right hand. "Do you have these in a size bigger?" He asked Ino, who was organizing the clothes people had tried on earlier that day.
Quickly checking the price tag, Sakura walked over to the registered and placed her dress on the counter. Opening her purse, she searched for her wallet. "Seiichi.."
The said boy sighed and handed her a credit card, dropping his tuxedo on top of the dress.
Sakura grinned. "Thanks."
"Thank you! Come again sometime!" Ino waved happily. "Have fun at your party!"
The group waved back and left the store.
The blonde chuckled, looking at the copy of the receipt. "I'm so getting a raise."
"You don't need shoes, right?" Tenten questioned, swinging her bag of swim-wear back and forth.
"Nah. I can just borrow mom's." Sakura replied, copying her best-friend's actions. She then sighed heavily. "What now?" She adverted her eyes to her brother who was in la-la land. She then slowly shifted her gaze over to the brunette girl, who's facial expressions kept changing from excited, confused, worried, panicky, and everything in-between. Sakura rolled her eyes before landing on the last person, green met dark brown and her stare slowly morphed into a glare. The weird thing was, he didn't glare back or teased her instead, he just shook his head, as if trying to forget something and turned away. Sakura just shrugged at the thought and pushed it to the back of her head. He could just be sick or something. Sakura finally decided to break the awkward silence. "Want to go over to my house?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." Tenten replied absentmindedly.
The group parted ways as Sakura and Tenten headed to the easy exit and Seiichi and Kiba headed to the south.
"Tenten..." Sakura started. "Are you okay? You've been going weird on me since we got to Yutsuko's." The two had just reached Sakura's door and Tenten hadn't spoken since they were in the mall. Sakura gazed worriedly at her friend. Tenten wasn't the kind of person to block everything out. Maybe she was having a family problem. No matter what it was, Sakura was going to be there for her in a heartbeat if needed.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff." She replied after a moment. "Nothing important."
Sakura didn't bother to try to pursue further on in the topic. Sakura trusted Tenten and knew she wouldn't keep something big from her. Hell, if Tenten said she saw a flying cow with a fairy wand, she'd believe her- even though it might take a while to process.
The two made their way up to the game-room and plopped onto the 'c' shaped forest green leather couch that was facing a big screen television.
"Wanna watch a movie?" Sakura asked, picking a few DVD's off the floor. "Sleepover, Maid in Manhattan, Lizzie McGuire the Movie..?" Her nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Maid in Manhattan." They said in unison.
Tenten laughed, "Who buys these movies?"
She shrugged, crawling over to the DVD player. "I guess it's one of Emiko's nieces, they come over once every week to visit. I never saw one of them though. And Emiko never tells us about them."
Tenten made an 'o' shape with her mouth and turned to face the TV.
"This movie isn't that bad." Tenten commented, a few minutes into the movie. They already knew what was coming.. It was like a revised Cinderella story- the girls' favorite Disney movie. Sakura nodded in agreement.
Seiichi and Kiba walked in half an hour into the movie.
The older twin sighed loudly as soon as he glanced at the screen. "Chick-flick... I'll go get the ice cream." He said to the girls. They were lying down on their sides, heads only a foot away from each other in the middle of the couch, leaving only the two ends open. The two had pillows that they were hugging and resting their heads on. A pile of thin blankets and cushions were stacked on the carpet in-between them. His eyes softened when he heard his sister, "Thanks, you're the best, Seiich."
Kiba's eyes skimmed the room for something more interesting than the click flick that was currently playing. He frowned when he found nothing and laid down near the edge of the couch, picking up a falling cushion and putting it behind his head for support. He yawned and glared at the girl on the screen who was cleaning a room, while talking to another girl.
Before he could dose off, Seiichi re-entered the room with two bowls of ice cream and Emiko in tow holding a tray of blueberry muffins.
"We brought food!" Seiichi said in a sing-song voice. He handed each of the girls a bowl. "We only had Rocky Road, someone forgot to go grocery shopping last week." He said, looking pointedly as Sakura.
Emiko walked over after re-arranging the muffins. "The outer two on both sides of each tray have less sugar, and is less fattening." She placed the tray in-between the two ice-cream eaters. She chuckled at the expressions on their faces. "Don't worry girls, you aren't fat. I'm just trying something new. Tell me how it is later, alright?" She glanced at the screen. "Oh, my niece brought this over a few days ago. Do you kids mind leaving it in the kitchen when you're done? I need to return in to them." Emiko smiled, and with a wave, she left the room.
As soon as she was gone, the black-haired boy grabbed a muffin and started eating, taking a seat next to Tenten. "Yo, Keebs!" Seiichi hollered. "Why don't you come get a muffin? There's too much for just us three." He winked at the girl besides him and placed a tray on his lap.
"Keebs?" He muttered. He rolled off the couch and childishly crawled to the empty space in-between Seiichi and Sakura. He sat crossed-legged and gave the boy beside him the evil eye. "Don't call me that. It makes me sound like an animal species... Saych!"
"Aww, you're giving each other pet names!" Sakura cooed, eating her ice cream.
"If you were jealous, you could've just told me!" Kiba retorted mockingly. "Don't worry, I have one for you, Sock."
Sakura only stuck her tongue out in reply, placing the now-empty bowl on the end table behind the couch.
"Now, now, kiddies, we can't leave dear Tenten out. You can be..." Seiichi trailed off.
Everyone got into a thinking pose. Seiichi's left pointer finger was touching his cheek and his head was tilted to the side. Kiba's thumb and index finger formed a check mark on his right hand, which he placed under his chin. Sakura's head was resting on the palm of her left hand while her right index finger was poking her head. All three were looking up with their eyebrows furrowed together in a 'V' shape.
Tenten sweat-dropped at their expressions. "Is my name that hard?"
"Ten squared!"
"T-dog!"
"Tennizzle!"
The brunette looked horrified. There was a long silence between the four.
"T-dog." They all said in unison.
"Oh my gosh!" Seiichi gasped dramatically, putting the palms of his hands to his cheek. "Keebs and Sock agreed with each other! They were meant to be!"
The mentioned couple groaned.
"I told you man, it's never gonna happen." Kiba growled.
"You aren't seriously gonna call me Sock, are you?" Sakura whined.
"But I think it's an adorable name, little sis!" Seiichi reached over and patted her head, smiling.
Sakura growled. "It was only a four minute difference!" She crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Four minutes is a huge difference."- and that's when the "Nuh-uh's" and "Uh-huh's" started. The on-going verbal battle lasted a whole three minutes, which is pretty long for people who were repeating themselves and not even using real words.
"Is anyone up for a game of spoons?"
.o.o.o.
Sakura woke up from the soft melodic tune coming from beneath her pillow. She groaned and pulled out her cellular phone, pressing 'disable' and checking the time. 8:30.
She had packed her stuff for the cruise the night before, and was only missing her everyday stuff, such as her comb, toothbrush, and other grooming items.
The seniors were instructed to meet at the school at approximately 9:30 AM. From there, they would take a bus to the pier and board the ship at 10:15. Two weeks into the cruise, they were going to stay some days as an island. (Principal Tsunade said the island they were staying on would be a surprise.) They would then head back to the Konoha district where there would be a 'surprise, surprise" as the principal herself put it.
She grudgingly hauled herself to the bathroom. Rubbing her eyes to loosen the stiff muscles, she blinked them open.
As soon as she saw things clearly she stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. Sakura relaxed a bit before her mind fled to somewhere else.
Kiba had been acting a bit strange since the Friday at the mall a couple weeks before. He didn't glare or argue with her as much as he used to. He still did, of course, but his responses weakened. Come to think about it, his insults had dramatically lessened from "peed-in-her-pants-in-front-of-everyone-on-her-thirteenth-birthday" to "you suck". It's not that Sakura minded, (It was easier for her to win that way) it was just strange. He even held the door open for her when she was carrying grocery bags once. It was only once though. He probably didn't know he was doing it- instinct-like. Maybe he was just having family problems. It seemed to be the excuse for everything these days. Sakura heard from Seiichi before that Kiba's father died when he was young, some time before his first day at Pre-K- she didn't remember exactly when, but that was when the twins met him. He was a lonely and quiet boy who was sitting by himself in the corner of the room, on an orange plastic chair. Seiichi had offered to play cars with him, and the two became fast friends. Sakura hadn't been with him, she was playing house with some blonde-girl and her friends, but she remembered Seiichi talking about it on the way home with Emiko.
Tenten had returned to her normal self after the little movie night at her house. Everything about the Yamanaka girl was spilled the day after It wasn't as bad as Sakura expected it to be, (She was expecting something along the lines of "she-is-actually-a-man-in-disguise-and-was-infamous-on-Japan's-most-wanted-for-rape-and-identity-theft.") She was a tad bit worried that when Ino saw her, (Pink hair is pretty hard to miss) that she might attack her and get her posse to sic them (As Seiichi would say). She was sure she wasn't the only pink-haired girl going- there had to be at least one person who wanted to be unique and dyed their hair.
A few minutes later, Sakura exited her bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her body and a towel holding her hair together in a makeshift turban. Her mind wandered back to the earlier thoughts and she drifted off once again.
.o.o.o.
Kiba grumbled, carrying a plastic container almost his size filled with clothes. Earlier that day, Emiko asked Kiba to go to each room and collect the bed sheets, pillow cases, blankets, and any laundry needed to be done in every room. He said he didn't finish packing yet and didn't have the time. He almost got away with it too- or so he thought. Right before he turned away, Emiko pulled the "defenseless weak grandma" act and went on and on about her ready-to-break bones. Of course, he couldn't refuse her then.
He finished packing a few days ago, and stayed over the night before. It's not that he didn't love his home, but his dad was gone, his mom was always at work, making just enough money to live an 'okay' life and pay for his sister's college tuition and dorm rental. The house was just too quiet, so he usually spent the night at the Haruno household.
Kiba was done with all the other rooms, and Sakura's room was his last stop. He would've stopped by earlier, but he knew she wouldn't be awake, so he started on the other end of the house. A little part of him was hoping someone had given her a heads-up and that she left her stuff outside her door, but that was highly unlikely.
He blindly reacher over with one hand and opened the door, pushing it open roughly.
"Ahhhh!" A girly, high pitched, voice echoed through the whole house.
Kiba peeked his head over the container. Eyes widening in surprise from the sight, he dropped the box. He cursed loudly as he felt his left sock-covered foot get smashed. Dropping to the floor in a fetal position, a stream of curses and grunts escaped from his mouth.
Sakura, who accidently dropped her towel in surprise, quickly grabbed the nearest thing and covered herself. She turned around and crossed her arms, glaring at the boy rolling around on her beige carpeted floor. "If you don't need anything, get out! Now!" She yelled, pointing at the door behind him.
The fowl language stopped and Kiba coughed. "Uh.."
"Out!" Sakura roared.
"Bed sheets, pillowcases, blankets, laundry, in the container." Kiba managed to get out weakly. "I'll pick it up later-"
"Okay. Now out!"
Kiba scrambled out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Sakura shook her head sighing as he came back in a split second later to pick up his sock that he had taken off while nursing his foot.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Emiko and Seiichi grinned and high-fived each other.
"Nicely done, Emiko." Seiichi complimented. "I'm on step closer to winning $50 dollars from that bet. I do wish I bet a little more though.."
Emiko shook her head. "Oh, stop being so modest, that little stunt you pulled at the mall a couple weeks ago was fantastic. I heard all about it from Tenten." She paused, pouring apple cider into two empty wine glasses. "I don't know how you two pulled it off. Cheers!" The two glasses pinged and the two congratulated themselves on a job well-done.
.o.o.o.
Tenten smiled. She finished putting her hair into a couple of buns. Brushing the stray hair that had fallen into her face aside, she glanced at the time. 9:01 AM. By now, Emiko and Seiichi should've lured Kiba into Sakura's room right after she took a shower.
It amazed her that their plans so far had been perfectly timed and well thought-out, considering that Sakura or Kiba were always there when her and Seiichi were in the same room, and Tenten could only find Emiko at Sakura's house.
The three had to resort to "i-need-to-go-to-the-bathroom" excuses, talking through Emiko, instant messaging, and e-mails.
The next set-up was going to be today. It wasn't as well-planned as the previous two, and if anything went wrong, they were going to wing it.
She stuffed the brush into her already full back and walked over to her bed, picking the house phone off the end table. Her family wasn't so poor that she couldn't afford a cell phone, the brunette just didn't want her parents to waste money on something she would barely use. The only person she really talked to on the phone was Sakura anyways.
She dialed Sakura's number and waited patiently as she heard the ringing. Sighing at the sound of the operator's voice, she hung up and dialed the Haruno's home phone number.
Seiichi quickly rinsed his glass and placed it at the bottom of the sink. Hearing the shrill ringing noise, he raised an eyebrow. No one usually called the house phone since they all had cellular ones. Shrugging, he dried his hands on a bright green and yellow striped towel that hung from the oven handle and picked up the wired phone that hung by the light switch. "Hello?"
He heard a familiar voice on the other end. "Oh. Hey Tenten. Mission was a success." He grinned. They chatted for a few minutes before Tenten asked for Sakura. "Okay, hold on for a sec." Seiichi covered the phone with his hand and yelled. "Sakura!"
"Sakura!"
"What?" Sakura responded. She had just finished packing and was sitting on her empty bed. All her belonging were either in her bag or in the plastic container Kiba had brought up, which she left just outside of her door. "Kiba." Sakura growled, clenching her fist.
"Phone!"
"Okay!" She yelled back. She didn't understand why they always yelled, they had a communication system set up all around the house, but she wasn't complaining. "Hmm, must be Tenten." She dragged her two bags of luggage to the hallways and closed the door to her room, giving the door a soft pat. She walked down the staircase, hauling her suitcase and duffel-bag behind her. Sakura dropped them at the bottom of the stairs and ran over to the kitchen, grabbing the phone from Seiichi's hands.
"Hey, Tenten!" She greeted. "Are you coming over now?" They had agreed to go together, so no one would be stuck waiting alone at school. With a few quick 'yeah's and 'no's, she slammed the phone back onto the receiver.
"How long?" Seiichi asked. He was sitting on a high chair, arms folded on the kitchen island.
"Ten minutes. Her mom's dropping her off." Sakura responded
"Good. We're leaving in fifteen."
Just then, Kiba decide to make his entrance, a duffel bag draped over his right shoulder and a backpack hanging from his other one. He coughed awkwardly. "Good-morning?"
Sakura growled. "You're going on the cruise? I thought you'd rather do seat work then bond with Shiniko scum." She said haughtily, still bitter about earlier and quoting his speech from before. Way before.
"I would, but I'm going anyways." Kiba replied snidely. He placed a hand on Seiichi's shoulder. "Besides, I can't leave my best bro alone with a witch like you. He would die from annoyance." And thus started a seven minute quarrel, that was luckily interrupted by the ring of the doorbell.
The three picked up their bags and walked over to the main door. Emiko and Tenten were casually talking when they arrived.
"Ready to go?" Tenten asked. She picked her bags back up from the floor and grinned.
Emiko smiled. "You kids have fun now. Don't do anything you shouldn't. Boys, put the toilet seat down when you're done doing business. Remember to floss everyday. Don't-"
Seiichi and Sakura put an arm around their nanny. "We'll miss you too grandma."
Kiba and Tenten nodded. "We'll call every other day and fill you in." Tenten added.
Each of them said their good-bye's to the woman and gave her a hug. A bright yellow taxi car stopped right in front of the drive-way a minute later. The teens filed into the car after loading their stuff into the trunk.
Inside of the car, Kiba was sat in the front seat while the three squished into the back, Sakura in the middle.
Kiba groaned. "I can't believe I'm going to socialize with those dip-wads." His head was smashed up against the window with his eyes shut.
"Well someone's not a happy camper!" Seiichi said, as if he was talking to a five year-old. His left elbow was on the arm-rest on the car door and his head was resting on his palm. "It won't be that bad. If you still hate them by the time we get to the island-"
"Which I will." He interrupted.
"-then you can challenge them to a game of tackle football." Seiichi finished, grinning.
Sakura scoffed. "Violent and fun. Nice going bro." She said sarcastically. "It's only going to lead to... I don't know- cat fights, serious injuries, people in a coma, a war.."
Tenten shook her head. "It might not turn out that bad. If people get hurt, there will be someone to take care of them." She winked at the black-haired boy, an obvious plan in her mind.
Sakura saw the little exchange between the two people beside her. Is there something going on between them? She raised an eyebrow. What if they're secretly dating? What if they were doing things behind her back? She shook the thoughts out of her head.
The car came to a sudden stop in front of Takatori Highschool.
"Ow. That hurt." Kiba whined, feeling for a bump on his head from collision with the window. He got out of the car and walked over to the back of the car. Opening the trunk, he picked up three duffel bags and a backpack. "You can get the rest, Saych."
Seiichi got out of the car, leaving the door open for the girls. He grabbed two suitcases, a duffel bag, and three backpacks. "Alright. Let's go." He followed Kiba through the doors.
The two girls looked into the empty trunk and shrugged. Tenten closed the trunk while Sakura went to pay the driver.
"Here we go." Sakura said excitedly. The two walked through the school into the back yard, where students were wearily boarding school buses.
"Don't look too excited, we don't want to start an argument." Tenten whispered as boarded bus A11. She quickly scanned the bus for any friends. "Wow. That's a lot of un-happy faces."
"Oh, look! There's Shikamaru and Chouji!" Sakura ushered Tenten in the vacant seats next to the said boys. "Hey Shikamaru, hey Chouji."
Tenten mimicked the greeting with an added wave.
"Sakura, Tenten." Nara Shikamaru nodded in reply. He had dark-brown hair, almost black, in a high pony-tail where his hair would stick up oddly, defying all gravitational laws. He had small, serious looking dark eyes to match his hair. Two golden rings hung from his ears. To anyone that didn't know him, they would've suspected him to be a delinquent, or someone that did drugs, but it's not that much of a surprise. He had almost all the bullying physiques, minus the buff. The Nara boy was the exact opposite of a bully. He finished the year at the top of the class, being dubbed the most intelligent of his age. He was an extremely lazy character, who only did assignments if they did a major damage on his grade. He was usually found somewhere in the grass, lying down and watching the clouds roll by. Shikamaru was a very patient person, despite his common use of 'how troublesome' and whining. People came to him for advice, and usually got it if they had enough patience to wait until he stopped watching the sky. He was popular at school, but wasn't the kind to hang out in the groups of jocks and such. He could always keep a secret, no matter how big it was. If someone needed to rant out all their problems, they went to him. He wasn't in any clubs or sports, but people said he was really good at soccer back in junior high.
"Tenten! Sakura! Hi." Chouji greeted. His sepia-colored hair was covered by a dark-red cap. His small, beady eyes were usually squinting or in slits. He was chubby and bulky. Slightly over-weight, but not obese. He, being an Akimichi, was usually found eating chips. He was a member of the Takatori football team as a forward, it was no surprise that he made it on. He was an 'okay' runner but had massive strength. He doesn't like being called fat, and takes it as a very offensive insult. With his short temper and monstrous strength, people usually tried not to anger him. Despite his usual attitude, he has a very caring personality. He was always there when his friends needed someone to back them up or if someone was messing with them.
"Do you know where they're keeping the luggage?" Tenten asked. She had to lean forward to be able to see the two boys.
"Moving van." Shikamaru replied. He yawned loudly and leaned his head against the window, closing his eyes.
"Heh." Sakura snorted. "Not surprised." She saw girls walking through the hall with about seven suitcases stuffed full. It was a surprise how they managed to lift them.
A good, ten minutes later, the four school buses and three moving vans were packed with students and luggage and on their way to the private docking area. The bus ride there was more or less, uneventful. It was surprisingly quiet during the short, fifteen minute ride.
"All students must pick up their luggage and assemble in front of the boat across from Shiniko highschool students- our friendly rivals. Try to get in a single-file line. Please." The principal's voice echoed from the speakers of the bus. "Exit the bus in an orderly fashion. Don't embarrass yourselves."
"Well someone doesn't sound like a happy camper." Tenten said as they got off the bus.
Sakura shrugged. "I don't blame her- she must've gotten a bunch of complaints from students today."
"I heard there were a lot of people in line to do seat work and she got mad." Chouji piped up.
Shikamaru groaned. "I was going to do seat-work but I didn't want to work my butt off when I could relax on a cruise ship, but I didn't want to be in the presence of all the arguments that are going to be going on." He sighed. "Troublesome."
"We gotta look for Seiichi and Kiba." Tenten said, waving to the two. "See you guys later!"
"Bye!" Sakura yelled as she was dragged away by Tenten.
The moving trucks were being unloaded by students and luggage was dumped recklessly in a pile. Tenten and Sakura gaped at the sight.
"My new glow-in-the-dark toothbrush!" Sakura cried out. She ran as fast as her legs would let her to the mass of suitcases and bags, Tenten right behind her.
She almost choked when a hand grabbed the hood of her thin jacket. She stopped suddenly, arms flailing wildly, which caused Tenten run straight into her outstretched arm and fall back onto the wooden pier.
The brunette groaned in pain, eyes shut closed, still lying flat on the ground.
"What the hell, man?" Sakura growled. She managed to turn around and see the person who was still holding onto her hood. It was bright and sunny, so it was hard to see, but Sakura could recognize that grin anywhere. Her eyes quickly squinted into a glare. "You!"
"Me?"
"You!"
"Me."
"Yeah, you!"
"What?"
"I could've choked to death! Damn you, Inuzuka!" She screamed. She rolled up her right sleeve and packed an uppercut. He let go of her and moved aside to dodge, but the punch just barely missed.
"Woah there, missy." Kiba raised his eyebrows. "Calm down. We were just going to tell you girls that we have your stuff." He said, his hand motioning to Seiichi- who was currently helping Tenten up- and a pile of bags behind him.
"Hehe. Sorry, little sis." Seiichi grinned.
"Wood is really painful to fall on." Tenten stated. She rubbed her bruised back and carefully inspected herself for injuries. "I think I got a splinter." She winced, looking at her arm. "Let's get in line before it gets too long." She suggested, busying herself with pulling out the small piece of wood that stuck itself in her arm. She slung a couple of back packs over her shoulder and started walking.
Sakura grabbed a couple of bags and caught up with her friend, leaving the guys to carry the rest. Sakura sighed. She observed the scene in front of her.
The Shiniko students were already in line, glaring daggers at the mass of students looking for their luggage. The couple dozen of Takatori students that were already in line were glaring right back at them with the same intensity.
Sakura and Tenten slowed down their pace so the boys could catch up.
"They look vicious." Tenten whispered, eyeing the adolescents.
Kiba snorted. "As vicious as my great grandma's thousand year-old cat." He replied sarcastically. "They got nothing on us. Scum."
Seiichi pretended to act oblivious. "Your great granny has a cat? I thought your family had a strict dogs-only rule."
"Hah! So that's why you always smell like crap." Sakura grinned impishly. They joined the line of students representing their school.
"So you're saying you always smell me?" Kiba countered, a grin also spreading over his face, but it was mocking her.
"No! I'm saying you smell so bad that your body odor stinks up the room whenever you're in it!"
Seiichi and Tenten burst out in laughter. "That was weak, sis." Seiichi chuckled. Tenten nodded in agreement.
Kiba's grin morphed into a smirk. "Kiba, 434, Sakura, 429." Of course, this was extremely inaccurate.
The group was joined by a few friends. They chatted for a few minutes before there was an announcement.
Principal Tsunade stepped onto a platform at the top of a humongous ship, a bright red megaphone in her hand. Beside her was a pale man with long, dark, hair. He had gold cat-like eyes and a scary grin on his face. Next to the scary man was a tall, bulky man with shocking, frizzy, wild, white hair tied in a low ponytail.
"Quiet down, idiotic, adolescent teenagers!" Tsunade yelled, eyes sharp. The white-haired man chuckled. As soon as the chatting dropped down to whispers, she continued talking. "I am Principal Tsunade of Takatori Highschool-" Here, she received some boo's and cheers. "This is Principal Orochimaru, but he prefers to be called Master Orochimaru..." She said with a weird expression on her face, motioning to the man next to her. "And this is Jiraiya." She said plainly, pointing to the last person, who started complaining.
"I'm sure you are all aware of why we arranged this trip, so I won't go over that. If you don't board the ship in the next twenty minutes, we're leaving you." She paused, seeing a hand go up. The blonde didn't even need to ask. "Yes, you will have to do seat work if you don't make it on."
"The reason why you're in lines is to make entering the ship easier. You are going to go on the ship two by two. One Shiniko and one Takatori. And you will shake the hand of the person you are boarding with- the person across from you. You won't like the consequences." She threatened. "Start. Now. Room numbers and maps will be given once you get on the ship."
"This is crazy. No way in hell am I shaking hands with one of those freaks." Kiba said, outraged.
"Ah. Well, deal with it." Sakura responded. She quickly counted off the students with her finger. She focused her green eyes to a boy across from her. "My boarding partner looks scary. Not ugly scary- far from it, but I think he's glaring at me." She whispered to Tenten. The line was moving quick, and there was only about ten people left in front of her.
"Mine looks just as scary." Tenten spoke quietly, referring to her boarding partner.
Sakura looked at the boy across from Tenten and shuddered. He wasn't glaring at one person, but the whole line of people.. Or it looked like he was glaring. It was hard to tell with his strange eyes. That just made him twice as scary, but not as scary as her partner.
Next to the strange-eyed boy was a pretty petite girl with equally weird eyes, Seiichi's partner, and next to her was another boy. He was a very mysterious looking one, he looked threatening, but had a calm aura around him- Kiba's partner.
The person in front of her moved. She was next. Her pink haired swished as she looked at her friends once more and smiled wearily. "Here we go."
A/N: June 2006
