Note: I do not own Naruto or any characters created by Kishimoto. I only own the story and my own characters. The song referenced belongs to Evanescence.
Hikari made her way into the living room were Sasuke sat with papers strewn around him. They had been doing homework for what seemed like hours and had finally finished. "If I have to look at another equation my head is going to explode." complained Sasuke as he accepted the drink Hikari handed him. "You and me both." said Hikari plopping down on the couch. "I may be good at math but that doesn't mean I like it."
"I see you're both happy." said a voice. Dei strolled into the living room wiping her pastel covered hands on a cloth. "How's the homework going you two?" she asked glancing at the pile of papers on the table. "We're done actually." said Hikari with relief. "Well," said Dei eagerly. "Would you like to see my new piece I just finished?" "Sure!" said Hikari excitedly. She always loved seeing Dei's work. "It's still in my studio, so you'll have to go up there." said Dei walking upstairs. "Just make sure Sasuke doesn't knock anything over again." Sasuke mentally sweat dropped. "She won't let me live that down will she?" he said following Hikari upstairs. "Not after you ruined a piece she had just finished after three months of working on it." Hikari called behind her as she stepped into the studio. She always liked going in here and watching Dei work. It gave her time to hang out with the usually in demand artist. "Wow Dei, this is amazing!" said Hikari in awe as she looked at the piece Dei had just finished. The fox kit in the drawing looked so real it seemed ready to leap from the canvas. "Hn." said Sasuke looking the canvas up and down. Dei rolled her eyes. "Well at least one of you likes it." she said smirking. "I'm done in here Hikari, so if you want to work on something feel free to." Dei made to walk out of the room but stopped short. "By the way Sasuke, you're brother's picking you up this time since your mom is working late." with that she retreated back downstairs.
"Now I can work on my sketch." said Hikari taking out her sketchbook. She paged through it until she found the drawing she had been working on of a black rose. Sasuke's cell phone rang breaking the pleasant silence in the studio. He flipped it open and answered with a 'hello'. Sasuke talked for a few minutes then hung up. "That was Itachi, he'll be here in a few minutes to pick me up." he said sliding the phone back into his pocket. "Want me to walk you downstairs?" asked Hikari looking up from her sketch. "Nah, I'm good. See you at school tomorrow." Sasuke gave her a quick hug and walked down to the living room. "Bye Sasuke, tell your brother I said hi." Hikari called as Sasuke disappeared from sight.
"Now that he's gone I can listen to this." she said pulling her black iPod out of her bag. She turned it on and scrolled through the songs until she found one she liked. "Perfect." said Hikari clicking a song and putting on the earphones. She hummed as the song played and slowly sketched. Imaginary seemed like the perfect song to listen to considering what she was drawing. "In my field of paper flowers, and candy clouds of lullaby, I lie inside myself for hours, and watch my purple sky fly over me…" That single line stuck in Hikari's mind as she sketched, getting lost in her own little world. So lost, that she didn't hear the phone ring.
"Hikari!" Dei's voice reached Hikari through the haze of music. She pressed pause and popped out the earphones. "Yeah Dei?" she called. "Phone's for you!" Dei yelled back. "Some boy named Shin." Hikari immediately turned off her iPod and tossed it back in her bag before grabbing the phone. "Got it!" she shouted. A loud click signaled that Dei had hung up. "Hello?" said Hikari "Hey yourself." said Shin's amused voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" said Hikari "Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice." answered Shin. She could almost see the smirk on Shin's face. "Oh?" said Hikari "That's probably the lamest excuse ever." "I know…" said Shin laughing slightly. "So…what are you up to?" "Sketching." Hikari said in an unintentionally flat voice. "Figures you would be, I mean you are an amazing artist after all." Shin said, like it was the most obvious thing ever. "Amazing you say?" said Hikari questioningly "Well now, did you call to tell me how amazing my artwork is or did you want to tell me something?" "Actually, I was wondering…are you busy this weekend?" asked Shin. "Not that I'm aware of," said Hikari. "Dei's art show is next month, so I'm free for a while. Why?" "Just wondered if, maybe you want to hang out or something?" Shin sounded hopeful. "Sure, I'm not doing anything." said Hikari. She was sure she heard a quiet 'Yes!' on the other line. "Great, um, I guess I'll see you then. Well, I'll see you tomorrow too at school but…" Shin was on the verge of rambling on. "Sounds good. See you tomorrow Shin." Hikari said saving the boy from having to say anything else. "Ok, bye then." Shin hung up and there was a resounding beep.
Hikari clicked the end button on the phone and flopped down on the floor. She was contemplating the fact that she had just agreed to go on a date with a boy she barely knew. "He seems like a good guy though…" Hikari said to the empty studio. "And he's Sasuke's cousin…" "So go out with him." said a voice. Hikari looked up to see Dei standing in the doorway. "I'm guessing you heard me?" said Hikari sitting up. "Yup." said Dei. "These studio walls are pretty thin, so most sound passes through them." "If you want my advice," she continued in a lighter tone. "I'd say go out with him. He seems like a good guy." "Plus," said Dei with a smirk. "I hear he's pretty hot." "He's an Uchiha, what do you expect?" snickered Hikari. "How about you get off of the floor." suggested Dei. "There's paint and kami knows what else down there." "Good idea." said Hikari getting to her feet. "What time is it?" she asked looking around. "A little after ten, you'd better get some sleep." said Dei leading Hikari to her room. "I guess you're right." sighed Hikari gathering up some pajamas. "Night Dei." "Night Hikari." said Dei strolling to her own room.