A/N - Almost there!

DISCLAIMER - I do not own Naruto

{You are now listening to the Anima Project Podcast. Now playing: ~Archived soul; Kankuro Shanaku~ Uli K + ECCO2K - Forget WYS (Prod. Whitearmor)}

As the days blended together, the same college scene during the week with parties on the weekends, I found myself using my spare time shuffling through account songs on Anima.

For some reason, the song that I had heard that day while I was dreaming was stuck in my head, and I was hoping by some off chance I'd actually be able to find it. But as I continued to skip from song to song, I couldn't catch a single melody that sounded similar to the one that day.

And as the days continued to pass, Sakura started to speak about a girl on several different occasions. I never caught a name, but I could tell when she was speaking about the same one. Which was out of character for her, she usually couldn't even remember the girls she was texting half the time.

But apparently she found her on Anima and they had been messaging back and forth for a few weeks now. Her new interest in the girl was amusing to watch, it wasn't often that Sakura got a crush. If anything, it was hard to get her to focus for two seconds. She was the first to drag me to parties so I could wing for her for the night. I constantly had to go to bat for her when she stumbled or paused at attempting to say the various girls names. She'd literally forget.

She loved to play the field, but I swear sometimes she wasn't very good at it. But I will admit, she still got a lot of girls.

But it was good she had found someone to keep her attention. She needed it, considering I had just recently found out she's not over her ex.

Which was concerning.

As a friend, of course it doesn't hold much value when I bashed her, but Hana could rot in hell for all I fucking cared. Hana was the first girl Sakura ever bothered to pay more than two nights of her attention to, and while she was completely dug deep for the girl, their year long relationship was rocky the entire way through.

They got together junior year of high school, and Hana broke up with her the start of senior year.

And while I would love to say that's where the story ended, I had to watch Sakura get tugged around by the girl for our entire senior year. No matter how I voiced it, she wouldn't listen to me when I told her the girl was messing with her. So instead of taking my advice, they kept up that back and forth for years behind everyone's back.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to come to her place to find it trashed with her drunk. She kept the rest of the gang out of it, always pretending she was fucking fine. Mean while I'm in the back trying to get her together before her parents came back home. I never thought they were a good fit, but Hana was the first girl Sakura ever loved.

So to know that she still wasn't over her made me uneasy. Managing to claw Sakura out of that hole once was practically impossible the first time.

If Hana called right now, Sakura would be dragged right back down that same trench.

So I hoped whoever the girl on Anima was would hold her attention for quite some time. And as Sakura kept herself occupied so did I.

Skipping through song after song, attempting to catch that melody. I was a practically obsessed. I kept hearing the same part play in my head over and over.

Sakura had passed by my room with nothing but boxers and a sports bra on. The watercolor sail boat tattoo on her chest stuck out with the deep blues piaring with a single black simple pine tree drawn down the side of her throat made the only tattoos on her athletic body. Besides that, her skin was completely clean.

She was the complete opposite of me. I was littered with tattoos, but I made room for our matching tattoos. We had gotten them together one night when we were high as hell.

She kept at the two.

I started a bit of a collection.

"Hey, you wanna go out tonight?" She finally asked after looking away from her phone, "Kankuro wants to go out, but the rest of the gang is bailing on him. Figured I'd go on a pity party date with him."

"Uh," I muttered, glancing at the time and the homework on my bed. I had been meaning to do it for hours now, but kept getting m attention caught on trying to find the nameless song. I liked to get my homework done on the weekends, but it was obvious I wouldn't be able to hold focus. "You know what, yeah fuck it. I can go for a drink."

"Ayy look at you being social," she encouraged with a grin, "Alright well put on something nice, because the girl I've been talking to is going to be tagging along."

"She's nearby?" I asked in surprise, turning to her after climbing out of my bed. I shook my head, "You've been messaging her for weeks, why haven't you just hung out with her yet?"

"Trust me I tried, she was very adamant on keeping her identity unknown," Sakura replied with a roll of her eyes and a laugh, "Some fucking mind game she was playing with me when since we first met. But finally I managed to convince her to come out so I get to meet her."

"Nervous?"

She snorted, "Of course not." But as she said it, she paused before adding, "Listen man, I just need you to make sure I don't say something too fucking stupid tonight."

I laughed and waved her off, "I get it. You invited me to wing man. Whatever, it isn't going to stop my good time."

"That's the spirit!"

"Get out of here, dick. Go get ready," I said with a small smile.

"Alright, we got an hour so make it quick and look presentable. I'm pretty sure she's bringing a friend."

X

I never over dressed when I went out. I kept it as simple as I could with my usual style. Sakura had an athletic build, the kind that you got from playing basketball all four years of high school and picking up a scholarship for college. And as built as my best friend was, next to her I paled in the light.

I was always more of a skater. Of course I ended up being one after years of wandering around the neighborhood alone with nothing to do. I picked a board and coasted the side walks, and the habit stuck with me. Along with the bruises and cuts.

Fun fact, I had I cut just above my left eye from a boarding accident.

Sakura had one just at the top of her right from slipping and falling in the shower.

Either way, while I wasn't as built as Sakura, I still kept toned because of my activities, and the style stuck with me as well.

I tossed on a jacket, threw on some vans, and tugged on a beanie. But to keep it on the nicer side, as Sakura requested, I grabbed my watch and sprayed some of my red polo cologne.

"Damn you smell nice, and I mean that as gay as you are," Sakura said in envy as she appeared outside my door again. She was in the middle of buttoning up her varsity hoodie. But this one wasn't from the university, actually the logo on her chest was Batman.

I snorted, "You nerd. You're wearing that?"

She paused, asking, "Too childish?"

I only laughed as I shook my head, "Nah, lets go we don't have time for you to change anyway."

"Fuck, but I wanted some of your cologne."

"Get your fucking own, you vulture," I complained, but of course she only ran in there to put some on anyway. I rolled my eyes before moving to grab my wallet and keys. I checked my pockets and realized I had forgotten my phone in my room. But before I could move to grab it, Sakura came out and tossed it to me.

"Can't forget that, now can we?"

"I was just about go get it," I said with a glare, "I don't owe you shit."

"But a fucking thank you?"

I laughed, "Oh, well yeah man sorry. Thanks. I appreciate it."

"And you call me the dick?" She asked in true wonder before snatch her keys as well and heading towards the door, "We got everything?"

"Uh wallet, house keys, car keys," I listed off behind her. She was a natural at always leaving things.

"Shit I need my wallet," she muttered before doing a quick about face.

I laughed as I went out the door anyway, walking down the hall to call the elevator. She made it back just as it was opening, and we both got inside and ventured down to the parking garage. Unfortunately the party was down town, which meant we were going for another long drive and so we had to leave earlier then necessary.

But it didn't go by as slow. Maybe it was because we were so used to making to drive that we didn't even notice the hour and a half anymore. As we drove, Sakura chattered about the girl she met on Anima. She was recounting some of their conversations, and I listened as much as I could while listening to each song I shuffled through the app.

Just as we pulled up, a notification bubble popped up on the right of my screen:

[Congratulations! You made your first soul connection within the Anima Project archives.]

[Do you want to check the account that liked your song? Who knows, they might be just your style of company. And who doesn't need a drinking buddy?]

I blinked, surprised. I mean I liked my song and thought it was decent, but I hadn't suspected someone would like mine as well. It wasn't exactly traditional music.

Before I could click to follow the link, Sakura stopped the car and announced, "Alright man. We're here. So you're not drinking a lot tonight, right?"

"Trying to get plastered?" I asked with look as I put away my phone, already knowing she was going to pin being Drunk Driver on me.

"Just trying to have a good time," she said with a grin, "Come on, cover tonight. I got you any other night."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," I muttered as we got out of the car. As I shut the door, my eyes wandered to the hotel building before us. "A hotel party dude? Are you kidding me."

"No you idiot, it's a fucking penthouse party and they have a hot tub, like I already told you."

My eyes squinted, following her as she walked, "Sakura, you didn't tell me shit. Are you telling me you have a bathing suit on right now."

She looked at me with utter confusion, "You don't?"

Christ she was a handful. Throwing up my hands, I shook my head while pushing the door open for us. As I walked ahead, Sakura only huffed out, "My bad man, I completely forgot to tell you."

"And you call me the dick?" I repeated her words from earlier.

She only rolled her eyes as she pressed the button for the elevator.

As we waited, I asked, "Alright, so what's the game plan. Are you trying to take her home tonight?"

"No," she answered quickly, and I began to pay attention as her plotted out her scheme, "So we are just chilling for tonight, seeing if we have some good vibes. I did you on laughing duty-"

"I'm terrible at jokes," I said with a frown.

Her eyes widened, "Ah fuck I forgot... should have asked Kiba."

"Dick," I muttered while we both stepped within the elevator.

She only laughed.

X

"Tayuya, this is Ino. Ino, this is Tayuya, my best friend," Sakura introduced.

I was caught off guard. My back was turned as I was taking a hit of my blunt outside on the huge balcony, and hadn't expected company so soon. We had been at the party for almost an hour, and Sakura had been nervously wondering if the Anima girl would ever show up.

I guess she had.

Taking the blunt away from my lips while exhaling the smoke in the other direction, I turned and offered a hand.

But the moment I saw her, I paused.

She was pretty. I mean stop and stare pretty. Her hair was practically bleached blond as pieces of it slipped apart, some shadowing her right eye others flying away from her loose bun. And her skin was pale but that only brought more attention to the tattoos that engulfed her left arm in spiraling Japanese flowers. Her right arm only had a few tattoos on her fingers and wrist but otherwise left bare.

My lips tugged higher as I attempted to recover, "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh I'm thrilled," she said with a smile, taking my hand with a light touch, "Sakura has said much about you."

I tried not to snatch my grip away like she wasn't fire.

Smile slipping as naturally as I could, I joked, "All good things, I hope."

The curving of her lips caught my attention as she laughed, "Actually, most of it was hilarious."

I tore my eyes away from her and gave Sakura a look. She only smiled innocently, "Like she said, all good things."

Shaking my head, I took another hit of my blunt before I told Sakura, "Why don't you guys wait inside while I finish up smoking."

"Actually, get this. She's green. I told her we could wait inside, but when she heard we had bud she wanted to join," she answered with a laugh.

Fuck. She smoked too? She was a god damn angel. How Sakura had managed to pull her, I had no clue. I should have brought my shades. My eyes loved todo whatever they wanted when I was high, and I didn't want Sakura to get the wrong impression if I started staring too long.

"Do you mind?" Ino asked with a little smile, "I actually brought some along with me. I'll match you."

She was god sent.

And she was in no way Sakura's type. Sakura liked cheerleaders and girls with Micheal Kors purses. If anything, Ino looked like the type of girl I would go after.

But, then again, they met through Anima. They must have liked each others song.

My mind wandered back to my phone. I wondered what the girl was like that had liked my song.

"Here, Ino and I will roll up the two blunts and we can chat," Sakura suggested, taking the materials from me. As Ino wandered towards the near table, Sakura leaned forward and whispered, "Sorry man, but her friend ended up ditching, that's what took her so long. So I don't have a girl lined up for you."

I snorted, "It's fine."

"Well no, because I was thinking it would be like a four wheel thing, but now it's only three and I'm not trying to ditch you tonight or anything," she went on with a tug at her hat, "So we'll just all hang out tonight."

"You don't have to do that," I said as I gave her a look, "I can just go find something to do until we leave. Kankuro has to be around somewhere."

"He found a girl early, ended up settling for the night and dipping. So no dick, you're going to hang out with me and you're going to like it,' she replied with a glare.

I shook my head as she walked away, a smile at my lips. What a chivalrous idiot. But I guess sticking around with her seemed way better then wandering around with nothing to do. Unlike Sakura, I didn't run through that many girls at a time. A one night stand was fun from time to time, but I thought it was a nasty habit.

Sakura could do whatever the fuck she wanted to do, more power to the game she plays on the field. Honestly, the true blessing was to her in her graceful habitat of hopping from girl to girl.

A snorted at the thought.

"What's so funny?" Sakura called from the table, eyeing me as if she knew I was thinking shit about her.

God we hung out too much. There's no reason she should have known me so well. I only continued to laugh as they went on rolling up.

While they did, I pulled out my phone, taking another glimpse at the notification. Smoke slipping past my parted lips, I wondered how low my luck was.

"Hey you ready, it's time to spark!"

I turned to them while slipping my phone in my pocket, "Alright. Let's have some fun then."

PART 4 OF 5 : BUNDLE