In this chapter I think there is OOCness so yeah bear with me for now. Also PLEASE give me feedback by reviewing. If you don't review i get the impression that this story is bad and makes me feel like stop writing it. Chapter four: Date with Destiny
Rays of sunlight streamed through the white curtains of the window marking the morning. I slowly opened my eyes, squinting a little before my eyes were adjusted to the sudden brightness. I heard some shuffling noises but I was too tired to find the source of it. I lifted my arm and placed it over my eyes in an attempt to block out the sunlight. I looked to the right, at my bedside table. The alarm clock read 7:58am. I groaned, I needed to get ready soon because the auditorium was a half an hour drive away from this hotel. There was the shuffling noise again. It became louder and harder to ignore so I sat upright on my bed to see where the noise was coming from. I saw Ino kneeling beside her bed with her suitcase propped on the bed. She was rummaging through her luggage and threw things everywhere.
I sleepily rubbed my eyes. "Ino, what are you doing?" My voice cracked from the lack of sleep from last night.
Ino looked up from her suitcase. "I'm looking for clothes for you to wear."
I slopped down back into my bed and pulled my blanket over my head. "Remember, casual and comfortable, don't overdo it."
Ino only grunted and continued her search for 'casual and comfortable' clothes.
It didn't take Ino very long to find what she needed. I felt something thrown on the top of my blanket. I got up and saw a titanium white jumper with a big black star imprinted in the centre and a pair of jean shorts. I was surprised that Ino had actually listened to me and chose the type of clothes I liked to wear. I really expected her to choose some mini skirt or a tube top or something, which was her style; slutty.
"Get up and wear it now Sakura, its 8:05 now, you'll only have 25 minutes to prepare everything before you go."
I lethargically got up and walked to the bathroom to change. I went to the sink and washed my face. I looked into the mirror and saw that I had eye bags. I sighed, I hope they were fixable. I pulled on the white cotton jumper and the jean shorts.
"YAMANAKA INO! What is the meaning of this?"
"Meaning of what?" She asked innocently.
"The meaning of this," I banged the bathroom door open and pointed at the jean shorts.
Ino grinned. "It looks really good on you, you know."
"That's not what I mean, Ino. These shorts are like underwear! They're so short!"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Well duh they're short, there's a reason why they're called 'shorts'."
"These are not only shorts, these are short shorts!"
"Oh, don't be so stingy, you should show off your long legs once in a while." It's true, the shorts did emphasize my long legs and show off my thighs but this was too revealing for me. The long jumper only emphasised the shorts more since it almost completely covered the shorts too!
"Come on just wear it Sakura." Ino spoke gently and gave me the puppy dog look.
I sighed. "Argh, fine… But just this once."
Ino's eyes shone and she nodded her head enthusiastically. I walked over to wear my sneakers when Ino stopped me.
"Wear these too." Ino pulled out a pair of long black socks. I grabbed them and put them on before wearing my pair of white, Nike sneakers. The socks went just below the knees.
"Anything else before I go Ino?" I asked mockingly.
"Let me do your hair."
"You've got 10 minutes."
"I only need five."
Ino pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit. I sat down and patiently waited for her to finish. She tied my hair in a low sideways ponytail. She then pulled out a hair straightener and twisted and wrapped my hair around it. I hope she doesn't burn my hair. It was over quickly. Ino took out a pocket mirror and handed it to me. I now had a low, curly sideways pony tail on my left hand side. Tying my hair together was a hair tie with a big black, plastic heart. The hairstyle was cute but I didn't think it went well with me.
I stared up at Ino. "Don't you think that this style is too…? Cute for me? I mean I'm 20 after all."
"What are you talking about? You look great." That wasn't very convincing but Ino continued to encourage and reassure me. "Trust me, no man can stand such a cute devilish look like that."
"Whatever…" I glanced at the alarm clock which now read 8:25am. "Crap, I'm going to be late, I need to get going now." I rushed out the door and accidently slammed it behind me. As I exited the doors of the hotel, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass doors. I walked back and saw myself reflected in glass. I looked like a cute high school girl. I actually didn't mind the look now. Remembering I had to hurry up or else I'd be late, I ran out to the street to catch a taxi. Thank god there was a taxi and there was light traffic so I made it there seven minutes earlier.
As I walked up to the doors of the auditorium, I could see president Sabaku standing with his back against the wall. He wore a white shirt with an amethyst coloured tie which hung loosely around his neck and he held a black suit jacket in his arm. His eyes were on his leather shoes but as I walked closer, he became aware of my presence and finally looked up.
I stared at the tips of my leather shoes and glanced at my watch. It was 8:52 now. Just eight more minutes before she came. How was I supposed to greet her or act around her after what happened yesterday? I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. I kept thinking of the possibility that Emily was Sakura. Well tonight I would be able to get my sleep because today I would be sure to find out. I could see out of the corner of my eye, someone approaching me. I looked up and saw her. Her hairstyle was different today, it was tied into a sideways ponytail and she got her hair curled. The black heart shaped hair tie stood out against her rose pink hair. She wore incredibly short jean shorts and a very long jumper. She also had black knee length socks which showed off her ivory skin on her thighs. She was dangerously cute. When she was standing in front of me, I realised that without the heels she was wearing yesterday, her height was just a bit below my nose. There was a slight moment of tension in the air before 'Emily' spoke.
She beamed, "Good morning, president Sabaku! Did you wait long?"
"Ah… No not really, I just arrived too." I lied, I actually arrived 30 minutes earlier.
She put on a cheerful smile before speaking again. "Shall, we go in the auditorium now?" I nodded and followed her into the auditorium. It was a big concert hall with many rows of chairs. Since she took the courtesy to break the tension and speak first, I should attempt to start a conversation as well.
"Let's talk before we start anything."
She stared at me curiously. I sat down in a seat on the last row of the auditorium and gestured for her to sit next to me. She quietly did so and waited for me to continue to speak.
"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday, I take it back." I saw her eyes widen in surprise before she gave me a genuine smile. She giggled before she spoke again.
"I also apologise for attacking you like that yesterday." I chuckled at her sentence, 'attacked'? That somehow makes me want to laugh.
"So who was it?"
Her eyes expressed utter confusion again. "…Who are you talking about?"
I hesitated before I continued to ask. "…The boy that once loved you."
Her eyes saddened a little before she decided to speak. "…I was once… an orphan. I lived at this orphanage with a boy. We used to the best of friends and we loved each other very much. But this all vanished when I was ten. I was adopted by my current parents and had to leave Japan and him to live in Vienna. I've always wanted to find him again but I don't think I'll ever see him again."
Okay, this Emily is 90% Sakura, I just have to press a little further to be 100% sure. "So you originally lived in Japan… What was your… original surname before it changed to Evergreen?" My breathing stopped and my heart stilled as I anxiously waited for her reply. There was a moment of quietness before she told me.
Tears nearly formed in my eyes when I heard her reply. "Haruno."
Yes! 99.9% sure that this was Sakura, just a little more. "I also take it that Emily is not your real name."
"No, Emily is my real name."
My excitement was replaced by dissatisfaction.
"Well, my real middle name. My real first name is Sakura."
My breath was hitched in my throat when I heard her say that. 100% confirmation that Emily was Sakura. I felt so happy to reunite with her, I had been looking for her all these years but I couldn't find her because she didn't live in Japan. I finally found the flower I held so tenderly to me for five years of my childhood.
"Can I call you that?"
"Eh?"
"Sakura. Can I call you Sakura?"
She hesitated slightly before giving me a nod, "Un!"
We sat there in a moment of comfortable stillness. The atmosphere was soothing and I could tell that we enjoyed each other's silent company. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her shift her legs to a different position. This movement caught my attention and made me, unwillingly stare at her thighs. How could she wear those shorts? They were so short that when she sat down, they were almost non-existent. She exposed her deliciously pale skin which seemed delicate and smooth. She turned her face towards me and I immediately turned away. Thankfully, she didn't catch me ogling at her in the wrong places.
"President Sabaku…"
"Sabaku would be fine."
"Sabaku-san, since I told you my first name, would you mind telling your first name?"
I had no idea why but this was the question I feared the most. "Kankuro." I mentally slapped myself for saying that. Why the hell did I just do that? Actually I knew very well why I did that. I wanted to spend time with Sakura without her knowing that I was Gaara. I wasn't mentally prepared to answer all her questions for the way I acted before she left and how she would react when she found out my reasons. She would probably hate me for choosing her life for her.
There was a loud growling noise which disrupted my thoughts. I looked at Sakura and saw her flushed face and her hands covering her stomach. "Hehe… Sorry, I didn't have time to eat breakfast yet."
"Let's get you some now."
"But you still have to listen to the piano." Her stomach gave out another low growl.
"I think the piano can wait."
We walked out of the auditorium and headed down the street. It was starting to get noisier since it was the rush hour of the morning when everyone got to work. We were walking down a path that led us towards the food market which was very close, in fact the auditorium was in the CBD.
"Where are we going right now?"
"There are food stores nearby which serve food from every culture I can think of so you can take your time and choose what you eat."
"I want to eat Japanese food! I miss the obento."
I stared at her in surprise. She was Japanese yet she missed Japanese food? It seemed that she caught my look of astonishment and continued to speak.
"Ever since I left Japan with my foster parents, I no longer ate Japanese food and I had to adapt to European food. At first I didn't like it and even refused to eat but then I figured that I wouldn't be able to get what I wanted to eat since my foster mother couldn't cook any Asian food."
I gave a sympathetic glance, understanding what she had to put up with. Asian food and Western food was quite different. Asians usually followed a diet which consisted of rice however Westerners usually, if not usually, occasionally had meals with bread, pasta or spaghetti. Things made of flour. I preferred Japanese cuisine too. The appetizing smell of food wafted towards us as the first store came into sight. Unfortunately it was an Italian restaurant so we continued to walk. We didn't walk that far until we came to a Japanese ramen Restaurant called 'Ichiraku Ramen'. Sakura halted to a stop and said she wanted to try it out.
"But that's a ramen shop, I thought you said you wanted to eat obento."
"It is a ramen shop but it still serves other Japanese foods as well."
We both entered the store. It was still really quiet as it was still morning and the store had just opened. We settled at a seat for two near the corner and Sakura started to read the menu. A waitress wearing a yukata came up to take our orders.
"What would you sweet love birds like?"
I stared at her in horror, how could she make a judgement like that without knowing anything? I was about to correct her when Sakura spoke.
"What makes you think that?" she asked playfully.
"Well, you two look so good standing next to each other, if you weren't a couple it would be such a shame."
Sakura just replied with a simple, "I see…" and didn't deny it. "So what could you recommend for us to eat? I'd like a bento but there are so many choices, I don't know what to choose." She looked at the menu with a troubled face.
"I recommend the special lover's bento."
We both stared at the waitress puzzled. What type of bento was that, I've never heard anything like that and judging from Sakura's reaction I didn't she has either.
The waitress continued to speak. "We currently have a special going on in our shop, couples who come here to eat can order a lover's special which includes an extra large meal which can be shared between two. It's also a lot cheaper than ordering two separate meals."
Sakura's eyes shined. "Yes we'll have one please!"
"Roger that. However, first you must prove that you are a couple."
Sakura almost frowned. "And how do we do that?"
"Oh, just kiss your partner and we'll serve your order right away."
I avoided eye contact with either one of the girls in front of me. I knew they both wanted it badly. Sakura wanting the meal and the waitress wanting the proof. I had my eyes fixated on a nearby cup. Suddenly, I felt a pair of soft, moist lips connected to my cheeks.
The waitress gasped at the sudden act. "Oh my, how cute, well then I shall go and fetch you a lovely meal." She then smiled and left.
I stared at Sakura in shock and I could start to feel my cheeks heating up. Sakura's hands covered her face then her red, hot cheeks before she lifted her eyes to look at me.
"I'm… sorry… but I wanted the obento."
"You know, if you haven't realised I am the president of a company. I think I can afford two separate meals."
"Oh but there's no fun in that and it's been a while since I've come to Japan, so at least let me do this. I'm really curious as to know what it looks like." She smiled at me bashfully with a tint of pink on her cheeks. "But… I'm sorry if it… bothered you…you can just pretend it never happened or something."
How could I pretend that never happened when the girl I've liked since I was small just kissed me but I just replied with a nod. It only took about ten minutes for the food to be served. My eyes nearly popped out when I saw the amount of food being served. It was like a gigantic cube filled with food and it looked like it could feed three or four people. There was everything in it; there was tempura, teriyaki beef and chicken, sushi, chicken kaarage, sushi and much, much more.
"Um… sorry did you make a mistake, this is too much food, we only ordered a lover's special…" Sakura asked doubtingly.
"No, this is correct, the lover's special is this size. Don't be overwhelmed by the amount, you'll be surprised to find that when you eat with the one you love the food runs out quickly. Well, please enjoy your meal." The waitress slightly bowed in respect and left quietly.
Sakura and I eyed the food. Well this was awkward. Who should eat first? I decided to wait for her to eat first since she was the hungry one.
Sakura picked up her chopsticks and clapped her hands together, "Itadakimasu!" She started to pick at the sushi. I also started to eat and decided to start with the teriyaki chicken. It was delicious, the skin was smooth and a little moist whilst the meat was tender and not rough.
"Sabaku-kun! Try this, try this, it's really good!" Sakura exclaimed with her chopsticks pointing at the tempura.
"Kun…"
She turned timid again. "I hope you don't mind me calling you that."
"No, it's fine."
She continued with the food again and pinned a piece of tempura with her chopsticks and held it in front of me. "Say ah."
"Sakura, I can take my own food, you don't have to feed me."
"But I always feed Ino and Choji and they don't complain."
I looked at her for a minute before hesitantly opening my mouth. She brought the food closer and placed the food in my mouth. She blushed before she giggled.
I slowly chewed on the tempura and studied her face. She seemed a bit embarrassed about her bold action but nevertheless was happy at it. She seemed like good girlfriend material but then again how should I know since I never had one anyways. We finished up our meal and headed out again.
"So shall we go back to the auditorium?"
So quick? It was only 11:00. I still wanted to spend a bit more time with her. "You haven't been in this area have you? Do you want me to take you around?"
"But what about the piano?"
"That can come later or if we really don't have time I can still listen to it on Thursday with the rest of the orchestra."
Sakura quickly agreed. "But are you familiar with this area?"
"Yes I am."
"I thought that since you were a president you would get around in a limousine or some sort of flashy car like all the rest of the rich community."
"Actually, our headquarter is located in this area so it's only natural for me to know."
"Really? Your headquarters? Then lead the way president, we're going sight-seeing!"
I started walking and soon we were in the busiest part of the city. It was a business district that sold all supplies. There was even a part of the city which only sold products for women. I wonder if Sakura would want to go there, I mean after all females loved to go to what they called 'clothes shopping'. I knew very well from the countless experiences of being dragged out by my sister Temari.
I cleared my throat before speaking. "Is there anything you want to buy in particular?"
She pondered for a minute before she stared straight into my eyes and answered. "You."
Why do you think Sakura did that? Maybe you should read the next chapter but actually i don't know either... O_o...TT^TT have exams next week so gonna study now.
