A/N: Here's the next chapter!!! I updated earlier, but the chapter is shorter than the one before. All in all, I hope you all still love it!
God, I'm so glad about all the awesome reviews I'm getting! Yay!!! (but it could be better ;)
I've been forgetting the disclaimer…so, here it is:
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto.
And for those who asked, yes, some ideas were inspired by the manga 'Fruits Basket', so I also give credit to Natsuki Takaya.
Chapter 4
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Ino glared at the embracing figures.
'It's true…my Sasuke-kun likes her! How could this be?! I'm so much sexier!!!'
A hand touched her bare shoulder. She whipped her head around to yell at who ever did that. She was surprised to see Shikamaru looking at her.
"W-what the hell do you want?!" Ino shouted angrily. He winced at how high her voice was.
Slowly, his hand glided to her cheek to wipe something off…a tear.
"You're crying." Shikamaru stated. Ino hid her face in her hands.
'I'm crying?! Oh no…'
She glanced up at him.
'But why am I so worked up about Shikamaru?! I don't like him…! …right…?'
He sighed and took a seat next to her. His eyes drifted towards Sakura and Sasuke.
"So…you're jealous, huh?" Shikamaru asked. Ino glumly nodded. He sighed again.
"You know…there are other guys out in the world who are dying to go out with you. You should stop crushing on Sasuke and look around you." He said. She rose an eyebrow.
"Like who? Name one." She instructed. Shikamaru looked at his hands.
'I'll tell her later…'
"It's too troublesome…I'm bored now. C'mon…let's go get shaved ice." He offered. She smiled at him.
"Okay!" She replied happily, grasping his hand.
'He can tell me later…'
He smirked at her.
'There are other guys…and one of them just might…be you…'
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Sasuke leaned coolly against the wall. Sakura stood across from him with a pleasant smile on her face. It was silent, but they were strangely enjoying it. Then, a trio of boys around their age was in view. They were whispering.
"Hey…look at that girl. Isn't she cute?"
"Yeah! She's hot!!!"
"She looks pretty innocent…"
"Mmhm…she doesn't look very strong…"
"Maybe we should go talk to-!"
Sasuke, who was eavesdropping on the boys' conversation, put one of his arms over her head, like he was shielding her from rain. He narrowed his eyes at the trio and gave them a very frightening glare.
The trio stiffened and walked off.
"That was scary!"
"Dude, I didn't even know he was there until he protected the cute girl! So scary!!!"
"Yea! Man, we lost our chance to meet the cute girl!"
Sakura looked up at Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun, is something wrong?" She asked, looking at his arm that was above her head. He put his arm back down.
'Great…I made myself look like an idiot…again…'
"Hn…" He replied. Sasuke began walking to their group. He made a simply gesture with his hand for her to follow.
When they got there, Ino went towards Sakura. Her blue eyes showed a feeling that was never there before. Her eyes showed the feeling of…apology.
"Forehead…I'm really sorry…I should've known better…" She said, bowing her head down slightly. Sakura looked at her in surprise.
'Wow…first Sasuke…now Ino's telling me she's sorry!'
"Uh…why are you apologizing…?" The pink-haired girl asked. Ino smiled.
"I realized there are other boys out in the world besides Sasuke-kun. I spent my time drooling and obsessing over him…even if it was obvious hates me. And then…he met you. You two have a really…special bond with each other and I got jealous. So, I'm sorry…and, good luck." Ino explained. Sakura tilted her head to the side.
"Eh? Sorry for what?" She asked. Ino winked.
"Forehead, you'll realize soon that there's a special someone out there for you…and he's not far away." She replied.
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Back at the Hotel…
"Achoo!"
Sakura's sneeze sounded like a baby animal's cry. Sasuke glanced over at her as she blushed a shade of red.
"Ah…um…s-s-s-sorry…" She whispered. He threw his sweater at her face.
"Put it on or you'll get sick again." He instructed. She meekly nodded and slipped on the warm, black sweater. She smiled at him.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" She chirped happily.
"Achoo…!"
Sakura sneezed into the black sleeve. He sighed.
"Um…sorry for sneezing on the sleeve! You probably don't want to wear it anymore…?" She said uneasily. Sasuke, to her surprise, smirked at her.
"If you want it, you can keep it." He replied. He was amused when she started blushing again. Her hands went up in defense.
"N-no…! It's not like that!!! I…uh-!"
"A-achoo!!!"
Sakura sneezed on the sleeve again.
"You can keep that damn sweater. Besides, I don't want to wear anything with germs on it." Sasuke said, grimacing. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Meanie!" She shouted, pushing him off the chair. He stumbled forward, but thanks to his quick reflexes, he gained his balance again. The door flew open.
"Well…well…what are you two doing in a room together…?" Ino asked slyly, winking at them. Sakura gaped.
"W-we're not doing anything, I swear!!!" Sakura shouted nervously.
'I guess she really did give up on Sasuke-kun…'
"Yeah right, you tried pinning me onto the floor…" Sasuke said with a handsome smirk. She hit his arm playfully.
"I did not! You're a liar!!!" The pink-haired girl complained unhappily. Ino giggled in the background.
"Have fun, you two!!!" She said before closing the door behind her.
Silence…
Sakura fidgeted nervously.
"Achoo!!!"
"Mou…I hate colds…" She complained, her head drooping down. Sasuke sighed as he crossed his arms.
"You were the one who wanted to go outside. We told you not to go…" He muttered. Sakura looked over at him.
"But you all couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes and my power cuteness…" She teased, grinning at him. Sasuke gave her a small glare.
"Damn it woman! How can you keep smiling like that?! You have a freaking cold but you can still be happy! Stop disguising your real feelings and let them out. When I was really small, I would cry because my dad only noticed my brother, and left me out completely. But you, even if you smile, I can always tell that you're feeling bad. So, if…you feel sad…you…can tell me and actually show me your feelings instead of hiding them…" He couldn't believe what he was saying. He practically gave her a fucking speech!
'This isn't like me…I've never really talked this much…especially to a girl.'
Sasuke turned to see that Sakura was sleeping.
'Great!!! I make a huge speech and it was boring enough to put her to sleep!!!'
But, despite that, he smirked. Sasuke stood up, put his hands in his pockets and walked out of the room, leaving the pink-haired girl to sleep peacefully. As he walked through the hotel hallways, Naruto's words echoed in his head.
"Make she can even teach you how to love!!!"
He sighed heavily.
'I can't believe this…she's really teaching me things…'
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Day 3
Sakura woke up in a chair. She stretched and felt her neck was aching.
'Damn it…I slept in the wrong position…'
Yesterday, she had fainted while Sasuke was talking. Apparently, he thought she had fallen asleep instead.
'I wish I hadn't fainted…I really wanted to know what he was telling me! All I heard him say was, "Damn it woman! How can you keep smiling like that?" Freaking cold…I hate it! But, I must not show my gloominess!!! I should be strong!'
She giggled as she cheered herself on in her mind.
"Ahem…"
Sakura whipped her head to the noise and suddenly felt embarrassed. Shikamaru was leaning against the door with his arms crossed. He was looking at her as if she were crazy.
'Oh no! I was giggling out loud, and he just HAD to be standing there! Great, Sakura, go on and keep embarrassing yourself!'
"Um…sorry if I…freaked you out. Uh…is there something you need?" She asked, smiling as usual. He walked into the room causally.
"I need you to help me." He replied. She tilted her head.
"Does this have anything to do with…" Her voice lowered into a faint whisper.
"Ino…?" She asked. He cocked his head to the side and nodded.
"I'll help you. But first, I want to play a quick game of shoji! Sasuke told me you're really good at playing it." Sakura said, taking a shoji board out of her bag. Shikamaru nodded lazily and they both sat down on the floor.
A few hours later…
"Wow! You really are good!!! I should practice more!" Sakura said loudly as she packed the board away. Shikamaru sat up triumphantly. Obviously, he won.
"Okay, we played shoji. Now, you. Help me." He said in a half serious tone. The other half was still proud that he won. She nodded.
"What do you want to know about her?" Sakura asked, leaning against the wall. Shikamaru shrugged.
"I guess…what she likes, what she dislikes…and shit like that." He replied. The pink-haired girl let out a small gasp.
"Shika!!! That is not how you address things!!! You can't call a girl's feelings shit!!! That's so rude!" She scolded. He sighed.
"Just tell me what I need to know." Shikamaru said, his voice rising slightly.
"Fine…well, she loves red roses, silver bracelets and…butterfly key chains. She hates sea food, cheap jewelry and anything that's scented or tastes like grape." Sakura replied. He nodded and took note on everything in his mental notepad.
"Thanks for the advice. Phew, I was just about to ask her out to the Red Lobster." He said, smiling jokily. She giggled lightly.
"Good luck, Shika!" The pink-haired girl shouted.
"Yea, see you, Shokura." And with that, he closed the door behind him. (He used 'Sho' from the word 'shoji', since she's pretty good at the game)
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Sakura exited her room and skipped over to the boys' room, where she knew Sasuke was at.
"Hi, Sasuke-kun!" She greeted cheerfully. She sat next to him on his bed and gave him a warm smile.
'Damn girl…keeps smiling like that…'
Sasuke knew that the smile was probably fake and hiding the pain that everyone had left to go have their own fun time. (Yup, everyone except Sasuke left her at the hotel)
"Sasuke-kun, I just wanted to say…sorry for yesterday. You were talking about something important and I…fainted while you were talking due to this damn cold." She said kindly. Sasuke turned to look at her.
"You…fainted…? I thought you fell asleep…" He said. She giggled cutely.
"There's no way I would fall asleep while you're talking!" Sakura replied. Sasuke looked in the other direction.
"So, what were you saying?" She asked curiously. She needed to know.
"I don't like repeating myself." Sasuke answered emotionlessly, but it was obvious he was teasing her. Sakura pouted.
"But…Sasuke-kun…! I need to know…do you want to make me sad…?" She asked, looking at him with those green, puppy dog eyes. He felt slight guilt in his stomach.
'If I don't tell her, then she'll keep masking her feelings until the day she dies…but if I do tell her, I'll embarrass myself.'
And that would ruin his 'precious reputation'.
"The answer is no. I won't tell you what I said yesterday. So, stop pestering me about it." Sasuke said rudely. She began crying anime style tears.
"You're such a meanie, Sasuke-kun!" She yelled, pointing at him accusingly. She clung onto his arm.
"Puh-lease tell me!!!! I'm sorry I fainted while you were talking!!!! Just, tell me!!!" Sakura cried. He shook his head.
"C'mon!!! If it's a secret, I won't tell anyone!!!" She shouted.
"Tch…you're annoying. I won't tell you." Sasuke replied, shaking her off of his arm. She whimpered like an injured puppy.
"Fine! Be…that way…" And she fainted again. Her head dropped on his arm. Sasuke sighed. He could still hear her muttering in her…er…fainted sleep.
"I want to know…" She said quietly. He sighed heavily again, scooped her up bridle style and laid her down on his bed.
'I'll never get any peace while she's around…'
Sasuke could see Sakura fidgeting slightly, still muttering things about his 'secret'.
Knock…knock…
"Come in…" The raven-haired teen said. The door opened and everyone entered. They could all see Sakura was fast asleep on his bed. Sasuke noticed Ino was holding Shikamaru's hand.
"Teme, what were you doing with her…?" Naruto asked suspiciously. Sasuke growled and hit the blonde's head with much force.
"Idiot, I didn't do anything to her!" He replied. Ten Ten saw that the little cherry blossom was wearing Sasuke's sweater.
"Sasuke, why is she wearing your sweater?" The brunette asked. Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
'They're acting like my mother…'
"She got cold. And it's not my sweater anymore. I told her she could keep it since she kept sneezing all over the sleeves." He answered, twitching slightly. There was a small sneezing noise and everyone turned their heads to see the pink-haired girl was awake. Once she saw them, she gave them all a smile.
"Hi guys!" She greeted happily. They waved.
"Forehead, did Sasuke do anything unsuitable to you while we were gone?" Ino asked, crossing her arms. Sakura nodded, which caught everyone's attention.
"He won't tell me his secret!" She yelled unhappily. They all sweat dropped anime style.
She doesn't get it…
"Uh…okay…anyways, forehead, me and Shikamaru are a couple now!!!" Ino chirped. Sakura clapped.
"Yay, that's really nice to hear!!! Great job, Shika!!" She said, giving him a small wink. He nodded and did a lazy smile. Her attention averted back to Sasuke.
"You still need to tell me…" She said.
"Soon…I'll tell you…soon." Sasuke replied. Sakura smiled at him, but he could sense it wasn't a fake one. She was giving him a true smile. A smile she only reserved for that 'special someone'.
"Savor all moments…"
A/N: Wasn't that sweet? And Sasu-chan is embarrassed to tell Sakura to show her feelings to him! Oh well.
Anyways, for all you good cookies out there, please review!!!
Review Replies for chapter 3
Ha ha ha…I'm too lazy to reply to your GREAT reviews, so, I'm sorry. I slept at 2 in the morning working on this chapter.
But still, don't forget to review!!!
