A/N: Hehe, sorry for the late update. Here's the next chapter. To not cause any confusion, the beginning is Naruto having a little daydream.
Previously on To Hell with Cute Guys-
"So I'm just going to take a wild guess here, but it seems like there's some bad blood between you and Itachi. Why is that? Is it the gang thing?" Sakura asked.
"That'd be partially correct. I don't approve of what he does with those friends of his," Sasuke said.
"And what exactly do they do?" Sakura asked.
"Let's just say there's some shady stuff going on that girls like you shouldn't know about," Sasuke replied.
"Oh, don't give me that crap," Sakura said. "But if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I know some things as well," she said stubbornly. Sasuke smirked. "And I'm not going to tell you."
"Ok, that's fine with me," he said calmly.
"Come on! Just tell me," Sakura said.
"No," he said.
"Ugh…I hate you," she said.
"But you don't mean it," he said.
To Hell with Cute Guys
Chapter 4- Attack of the Oompa Loompa
It was an insufferably hot day and right now Naruto wished he could be a white polar bear (with cute little paws) floating in the cold (freezing ice cold, yeah) Arctic Ocean. But because of global warming, he'd probably drown from the increasing sea level. Yeah, Naruto knew about the global issues, mainly because he wanted to impress a certain someone (Hinata). And this certain someone (Hinata) was pretty and smart and right now she was reading a book by the pool lounge. Not that Naruto was spying or anything.
Just a few months ago, when Naruto was helping Lee trim the hedge that separated the Uchiha's backyard from the Hyuuga's, he discovered a quarter-sized hole among the foliage. The hole was big enough to see out of. That's when he first saw Hinata- sleeping under a tree with an insouciant look on her face. Naruto fell a little bit in love with her that day. After that, he'd go to the same hole as often as he could, just to watch her unaware.
He'd feel bad sometimes; as if he were no better than a pervert who spied on young, beautiful girls. But he never saw Hinata do anything indecent and she always wore modest clothes. Naruto noticed things about her after a while. She was almost always reading outside in nature's peaceful quiet. Naruto would catch a glimpse of a title and the next day he'd go to the library and check the same book out. Funny, but Hinata had made him a reader of all sorts.
Tenten, who was always curious, wondered about his sudden interest in books. Naruto, who was a really bad liar 99.9% of the time, told her he wanted to have a stimulating conversation with Hinata someday. But he didn't dare tell her about his secret hedge hole. So now Tenten knew about his "crush" on Hinata and even though he told her to keep it on the DL, he knew she must've blabbed it to the whole damn city.
Naruto remembered the first time he spoke to Hinata. It was several weeks after he discovered the hedge hole. Hinata was visiting the Uchiha's and Mikoto invited her to a shopping trip at the new mall. Hinata wasn't so enthusiastic about the idea, but agreed to it. Naruto drove them, his heart beating wildly. Hinata had greeted him with a cute, shy smile and a soft "hello." Naruto kept telling himself she was only being polite.
At the mall, Naruto was in charge of carrying all the bags. At one point, Mikoto had a phone call and had to leave. She took a taxi, insisting it'd be much faster. That left Naruto with Hinata.
"So…uh, where to?" he asked.
"Actually, shopping isn't really my thing," Hinata said with a small laugh. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to check out the bookstore. Naruto, was it?"
"Yeah. We'll go right now," Naruto said, heading towards the parking lot. He put the shopping bags in the trunk and opened the door for Hinata.
"Thanks," she said, getting in. The drive was quiet, as neither one of them said anything. Hinata looked out the window, although Naruto could've sworn when he glanced in the rear view mirror that she was looking at him.
The rest of the afternoon went well as Naruto got Hinata to open up more. He told her some of his best jokes (the ones Chouji said were stupid, but what did he know) and she laughed. Hinata bought four books with Naruto's help and together they left the bookstore with smiles on their faces.
"Naruto! Yoo-hoo, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, a few feet away from him. With one final glimpse he saw that Hinata had looked up from her book at the sound of his name.
"Yeah?" Naruto said, walking towards Sakura. She was really pretty too, but in a different way.
"What were you doing just now? Never mind. Anyway, Sasuke-with-a-stick-up-his-ass says his car needs an oil change and if you could so nicely help him," Sakura said.
"Let me guess, you two had a fight again?"
"That jerk is a misogynist! I kindly offered to help him fix his car but he said that no he didn't want my help. Pch. He said that women don't know anything about cars," Sakura said heatedly. "Well, guess who's getting salt in their lemonade instead of sugar."
Naruto laughed. "You just love messing with the guy, don't you? Well, I better go and help him. It's hella hot out here."
"Yeah," Sakura said, wiping some sweat off her face. "I'm going back inside the house- where there's air conditioning."
"Ok. See ya later," Naruto said leaving. Sakura waved and slowly made her way to the Uchiha mansion. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a grape-flavored popsicle.
"Much better," she said, licking the sweet purple surface. Sakura instantly felt cooled. She sat on the counter and swung her legs slowly. Then she began humming a song her mother used to play on the piano. Sakura remembered her long, graceful fingers. She was still walking through memory lane when she heard footsteps. She turned her head around and saw Sai standing by the kitchen doorway with an opaque look on his face.
"Good morning Sai," Sakura said, setting her popsicle down on the wrapper it came in.
"Mozart," Sai said, sounding impressed.
"What?" Sakura asked, confused.
"That was a Mozart composition you were humming wasn't it?" Sai said with a smirk. He walked around the kitchen island until he was standing in front of Sakura.
"Uh….I guess so. I don't know. It was just this thing my mom used to play," Sakura said. "It's a nice song, maybe that's why I remember it so much."
"I see," Sai said slowly, furrowing his eyebrows together. He placed both hands on either side of where Sakura sat on the counter, not touching her. "My aunt told me what happened to your parents. It was all over the news too, ten years ago. The mysterious plane crash that killed everyone on board. Everything was up in flames. Luckily the bodies wer-"
"Sai, enough," Sakura said, wanting to leave but finding herself trapped. "You're doing it again. You said you wouldn't make me feel uncomfortable, but lately you have. It's kinda frightening."
"I-I'm sorry," Sai said, blinking nervously. "I didn't mean to, you know that Sakura." He put his hand gently on her knee. Sakura felt like comforting him; he just looked so lost and pitiful. Kakashi told her once that Sai took some special medication and sometimes he'd "forget" to take it and start acting strange. Maybe today was one of those days.
"Listen Sai, I'm free right now, so what do you want to do?" Sakura asked, trying to lighten the mood between them.
"Actually, there was a reason why I came here. I wanted to ask you a favor," Sai said.
"Sure. Anything. You name it," Sakura said. She loved doing favors for friends.
"Would you mind posing for me for a painting? I promise it won't take long, I'm a fast drawer and-," Sai said before getting cut off.
"You want to paint me?" Sakura asked, incredulous. "But why? I'm sure I'll be a bad model. I can't even sit still for five minutes."
Sai smiled at her. "Sakura, do you even have to ask why? You're breathtakingly beautiful. You're a living masterpiece. I want to paint you and try to capture your natural beauty," Sai said.
"Oh, Sai, that's so sweet! But you can quit lying. I'm no beauty, I'll tell you that," Sakura said. "And to be honest, I don't feel comfortable being a model for a painting. It'd be too weird." At those words, Sai looked disappointed.
"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?" he asked.
"Well," Sakura said, removing Sai's hand from her knee and jumping down from the kitchen counter. "Just give me some time to think about it, okay?"
"Okay. But…where are you going?" Sai asked, following Sakura a few feet behind.
"Oh, I'm about to prove to your annoying chicken-haired cousin that girls can do guy things too, but waaaay better. I almost forgot- I was going to bring him some lemonade. It's too hot outside," Sakura said with a mischievous smile.
Five minutes later….
"Naruto, are you sure you know what you're doing? I don't want you to damage anything, ok," Sasuke said, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. He was wearing a white wife beater and basketball shorts…and he was still sweating.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it all under control, Master Sasuke," Naruto replied from under the hood.
"How come I don't believe you? Ah, Sakura! Are you done sulking yet?" he said, spotting her heading towards them.
"FYI, I don't sulk. But whatever. I brought some lemonade since I know your Royal Highness must be suffering from heat stroke by now," Sakura said. She poured a glass of lemonade from the pitcher and offered it to Sasuke.
"Thanks," Sasuke said carefully, taking it from her. "You didn't poison it, did you?"
"Do I look like someone who spends their free time concocting poisons?" Sakura said. "Just drink it and quit complaining."
Sasuke took a generous sip of the lemonade before his face puckered up and he spit out most of the lemonade he hadn't already unfortunately swallowed. Sakura and Naruto both tried to hide their laughter. "Puf…that was the most horrible thing I've tasted in my life!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Sakura, what did you do?"
"Me? I did nothing," Sakura said with an innocent look on her face. "Why do you always accuse me of doing stuff to you? Just yesterday you accused me of putting chili powder on your boxers. What makes you think it was me anyway?"
"I wonder who else does my laundry?" Sasuke said sarcastically. "Because of you I had a rather uncomfortable itch in my…you-know-where." He whispered the last past but Naruto still overheard (and snickered silently).
Sakura gasped mockingly. "Sasuke! I don't want to hear about what goes on down there. My guess is that Karin probably gave you a horrible disease or something. Promiscuous girls like her should know better than to have unprotected sex," she said.
"This coming from a girl who's never even seen a naked man before and is the world's 1 virgin," Sasuke said.
"Ah! Naruto, do you hear this? This stuck-up, half-brained baboon is offending me," Sakura said.
"Whoa, hold up, don't get me involved in this. I'm just here to fix the car," Naruto said, trying to get on with his job.
"Baboon!" Sasuke yelled heatedly, breathing down on Sakura. During their argument, they had walked towards each other angrily until they were only a few inches away.
"Did I say baboon? I meant chicken-haired, pig-faced gorilla!" Sakura shouted loudly. "And Naruto, for the love of god, you're doing everything all wrong. Let me fix the damn car."
"Oh no you're not. I'm not letting you anywhere near my car," Sasuke said. "You little snot-nosed gremlin."
"UGH!" Sakura said, clenching her fists. "How dare you? You're the biggest jerk I've ever met in my life."
"And you're the most annoying brat I've ever met in my life," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. Then they just stood there, seething at each other as their anger boiled over.
"Damn, it's hot out here," Naruto commented. "I sure could use a glass of that lemonade." But neither one of them paid attention to him. "Uh…hello?"
"I'm going inside," Sasuke announced, breaking his stare with Sakura.
"Good idea, I'll just stay here and finish," Naruto said as Sasuke left towards the house.
"He is insufferable!" Sakura said once he was out of earshot. "It's like he enjoys tormenting me or something. Then why'd he choose to save my ass from getting fired? It just doesn't make any sense."
"Sakura, let me tell you something: Sasuke never makes any sense. I think that even he doesn't really know what he wants," Naruto said.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Karin was out and about, doing her favorite hobby: shopping. The amount of money she spent in a single day was ludicrous. She had a real taste for extravagance and all the finer things in life. And one of those fine things included Sasuke Uchiha. He was just too perfect to slip by and although he was a bit cold, she had conquered him.
Ever since they were young teenagers, everyone commented on how such a powerful couple they would make. Karin was attracted to power and (lucky her) Sasuke was a great bonus. She had harbored feelings for him and always thought it was one-sided until Sasuke asked her out on a date. Karin was ecstatic, even though Sasuke was quiet during the whole date. But over the years, he seemed to warm up to her and just a few months ago they had finally done it. The fact that they both had been drinking was a slight technicality. Besides, they had done it again loads of times afterwards. Sasuke had said he felt lonely and if she could please take his loneliness away.
Their relationship had seemed like a strong one, until that Sakura girl came along and had begun to mess things up. Karin was in a real predicament. 'How to get rid of that annoying pest?' she thought as she tried on a yellow sundress. 'Ugh, no. Too blah. I need something sparkly.'
Karin wasn't blind nor stupid. She had seen the way Sasuke's eyes changed when Sakura walked into the room. They almost lit up, but he was a master of masking his emotions. And the pink-haired freak had to pay; for her insults, for her dangerous effect on Sasuke (whether or not either one of them was aware of it), for everything. The only question now was how?
"Trying to fire her was a total flop' Karin thought. 'From what I've gathered, that mute Sai has a little crush on her. Ha. More like an uncontrollable obsession. But how do I use that to my advantage?' Karin picked out a silver metallic top and a cute leather skirt. She always looked amazing in leather. 'Not that I have anything to worry about. Sakura is pretty, but too plain.'
She went to the long cashier line and waited, pondering on a plan. 'Hm…this is harder than I thought. I could…no, that's illegal, but…no, that's too dangerous. And where could Sai fit into all this? Should I ask him for help, or…? I could create the perfect seduction trap for those two. Once Sasuke sees that they're together, he'll come back to his senses and realize that Sakura is nothing to him.'
"Yes, I finally got it!" Karin said aloud. Several people turned around to gawk at her. "What are you all staring at, huh? Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to stare at people? Jeez."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Tenten and Sakura were outside (disregarding their work duties) and tanning. Well, Tenten was. Sakura was still white as ever. She looked down at her pale legs in disapproval. "Tenten, sometimes I think I'm an albino," she confessed. "There is obviously something wrong with me. I mean, look at you! You're already like a shade darker."
"I know, isn't it amazing?" Tenten said. She had stripped down to her black sports bra and cotton shorts. Sakura wasn't as bold and had stayed in her white slip that she wore under her uniform. It was yet another hot day.
"Are you sure no one's going to find us here? I feel all exposed," Sakura said, rubbing her shoulders.
"Chillax, girl. We owe it to ourselves to take a tiny break. Kin does it all the time, why shouldn't we?" Tenten said. "Sakura, do you know what you need?"
"A pedicure?" Sakura suggested, inspecting her feet.
"Uh…maybe, but that's not what I meant. You need some bronzer on your skin. Then you'll get a fabulous tan just like me," Tenten said.
"There's just one problem Tenten- I don't have any bronzer," Sakura said.
"Luckily for you, I know where to get some," she said.
"Where?" Sakura asked.
"Sasuke. You don't think that boy is naturally tan, do you? Sasuke's tan is as natural as Karin's step mom's breasts," Tenten said.
"Ok. So you want us to just sneak into his room and take his bronzer?" Sakura said.
"You can. I'll just hang out here for a while longer. But hurry up. Sasuke might come back from the gym in any moment," Tenten said. Sakura quickly put her uniform back on and sprinted to the mansion. She passed Lee along the way and waved at him.
Sakura entered the house and (making sure the coast was clear) headed towards the stairs. But she was stopped by Kakashi's voice. "Sakura, where have you been?" he asked from behind her. "Sai was looking for you a few minutes ago."
"I was in my room," Saukra lied.
"But I just came fro-"
"Oh, look at the time. I gotta go. Bye," Sakura said as she ran up the stairs. "I can't keep Sai waiting, you know."
Sakura reached the second landing and tiptoed towards Sasuke's room. She opened his door and (feeling like a secret spy) somersaulted into the bedroom. She quickly scanned the room and found the bottle of self-tanning lotion atop of his counter. Smiling at her success, Sakura grabbed the bottle and immediately began to apply the bronzer all over her exposed skin and face.
"This better work," Sakura said to herself, patting some bronzer on her cheeks. Once she was finished, she placed the bottle where she found it and left the room. Sakura went to her room (in hopes that Tenten was already there) but she was met with Kin, who burst out in laughter at the sight of her.
"What's so funny, eh? Don't you think your little jokes about me are getting kinda pathetic? There's only so many times you can tease me about my hair," Sakura said, sitting down on her bed.
"Oh, Sakura, for once I'm not laughing about your hair. Hahaha! I think Willy Wonka called and said he wanted his oompa loompa back. Hahaha," Kin said in another eruption of laughter.
"What are you tal- Aaaahhh!" Sakura shrieked, finally looking at herself in the mirror. She was orange!
"Sad, isn't it?" Kin said with a smirk. "But cheer up. Now you look like yourself- a complete freak. Ha!" And she left, her laughter carrying along into the hallway.
"B-But…how could've this happened?" Sakura said, inspecting the damage. She tried to wipe it off with a tissue, but it wouldn't come off. Just then, Tenten arrived, looking so perfect with her natural glowing skin.
"Hey Sa- ahh, what happened to you?" she said.
"I put the bronzer on like you said," Sakura said, freaking out.
"Ok, ok…umm…exactly how much did you put on?" Tenten asked.
"I don't know, like half the bottle," Sakura replied.
"WHAT?" Tenten said. "Half the bottle? Didn't you read the direction on the back of the label?"
"Was I suppose to?" Sakura said. Tenten groaned. "Uh…do you think Sasuke will notice?"
"You know what, it's okay. We can fix this," Tenten said, trying to take control of the situation. "Look, we just have to hide your orangeness."
"How are we going to do that?"
20 minutes later….
Sakura was wearing a blue beanie on her head, earmuffs, sunglasses, a huge coat, yellow gloves, a purple scarf wrapped around her neck, dark leggings under her uniform skirt, and yellow rain boots.
"Perfect. Now you can't even tell," Tenten said. Sakura looked at herself in the mirror and gasped.
"Ugh…I look horrible! Kin was right- I am an oompa loompa!" Sakura wailed.
"No you aren't. We'll just get rid of the over-stuffed coat," Tenten said, taking it off.
"Oh great, now I can finally put my arms down," Sakura said sarcastically, resting her arms on her side. She had a white long-sleeved shirt beneath her uniform. She was completely covered with clothing.
"Are you…is that sweat?" Tenten asked.
"Well, of course I'm sweating! It's like 150 degrees in here and I've got all these clothes on," Sakura said, huffing.
"C'mon, we're going to get you an ice cold strawberry milkshake. How does that sound?" Tenten said, leading the way to the kitchen.
"It'll sound even better with a whole lot of whip cream on top," Sakura said, following her. Tenten laughed.
"See? Everything's going to be fine. You're still optimistic as ever," she said.
They entered the kitchen and asked Chouji if he could make them milkshakes. He took one look at Sakura and bust out laughing. "Is that your new fashion statement?" he asked.
"Oh, yes, I got tired of the whole cross-dresser look so I opted for a ski-bunny look instead," Sakura said with thick sarcasm, taking the sunglasses off. "I'm orange, okay? I needed to cover my skin up," she explained, putting the sunglasses back on.
"Wow. I wish I was orange," Naruto said, entering the kitchen.
"Really? I'd rather be green," Chouji said.
"Gross. You'd look sick all the time. No, purple's the color for me," Tenten said, biting into a pear.
Sakura was busy fanning herself. As disgusting as it sounded, she could feel the sweat rolling down her back. "Cho, where's the ice? It's like a freakin' sauna in here," Sakura said.
"Don't worry. I got your back," Chouji said, opening the freezer and taking an ice tray out. He stood behind her and poured the frozen ice cubes down Sakura's shirt. She jumped a bit from the sudden coldness, but it felt good.
"Th-Thanks," she said, shivering a bit.
"Sakura, I feel like I should do something to help," Naruto offered. Then he snapped his fingers and smiled brightly. "I got it!" He pulled out a red clown nose from his pocket and placed it on Sakura's nose. He squeezed it and an annoying squeak was heard.
"What the hell is this," Sakura (who was getting irritated) said, taking the stupid nose off.
"Well, you could totally see your orange nose from a mile away. I was only trying to help," Naruto said, taking the nose from Sakura's hand and squeezing it again.
"Do you think this is funny? Do I amuse you?" Sakura said, getting all hot and bothered.
"Sak, are you sure this isn't just PMS?" Tenten asked.
"PMS? What's that?" Chouji and Naruto said in unison.
"No, Tenten, it's not that. I'm just really annoyed by how this day is turning out," Sakura said, sticking her head in the freezer.
"So I guess now would be a bad time to mention that Karin is coming over in a few hours," Naruto said.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"Is there a reason why you're dressed like that? Or is this another random act of weirdness?" Sasuke said, watching as Sakura swept the living room. Mikoto, who was seated on the couch and reading a book, had raised her eyebrows when she first saw Sakura in her unusual attire.
"I just…didn't want to…catch a cold," Sakura huffed, adjusting her scarf.
"In the middle of July?" Sasuke said skeptically. He was sitting down on the loveseat, his feet propped up on the ottoman nearby. Sakura had to get through to continue sweeping, but his legs were in the way.
"Do you mind?" she asked, nudging his leg with the broom. Sasuke looked blankly at her. "I need to get through," Sakura said, losing her patience.
"You have an awfully big temper for such a small body," Sasuke said, still not moving his legs. Sakura picked up her broom and smacked him on his side with it.
"That's for being so difficult," she said, returning to her sweeping.
"Temperamental and abusive. You'll definitely make a great wife someday, Sakura," Sasuke said sarcastically, rubbing his stomach.
"Mrs. Uchiha, now do you see what I mean? This is what I face almost everyday with Sasuke," Sakura said to Mikoto. "He riles me up, and for no good reason besides being an irritating jerk. And he sucks at comebacks!"
"Now, Sakura, you should be grateful. Sasuke, that 'irritating jerk,' did save you a job here, didn't he?" Mikoto said. Sakura looked at Sasuke, at the pained expression he was trying (and failing) to hide, and sighed.
"I'm sorry Sasuke. Your comebacks aren't that lame," she said.
"What kind of an apology is that?" Sasuke said. "And I know you're hiding something underneath all those layers of clothes, and I will find out what it is."
"Sasuke, you're crude! And perverted!" Sakura said. "You deserve a bonk on the head for that." Mikoto, witnessing all this, chuckled to herself.
"Oh, I'm the perverted one? Who was staring at my butt the other day?" Sasuke said.
"Puh-leeze! The only butt you have is that chicken one on your head!" Sakura said. Sasuke stood up.
"You're fired," he said.
"Fine. I'd rather work just for Sai, anyway. He's a waaay better boss than you. And he has a nice butt," Sakura said, just as Sai entered the room, overhearing all this.
"Sakura, is this true?" Sai asked, a look of puzzled interest on his pale face. Sakura started at the sound of his voice, and then cringed. He wasn't suppose to have heard what she had said.
"Uh…is what true?" Sakura questioned, playing dumb. Her cheeks were on fire, and probably looked bright orange from embarrassment.
"That I'm a way better boss that Sasuke and have a nicer butt," he said. Only Sai could say all that and keep a perfectly straight face.
"That's just her opinion, cousin. It's not the truth," Sasuke said.
"Are you upset that, for once, I have something better than you besides art skills?" Sai asked bluntly. "Or that Sakura prefers me over you?"
"Sakura only pities you," Sasuke said harshly. "You have no friends, no social life, nothing."
"Sasuke!" Mikoto chastised him, putting her book down and marching towards him. "That is no way to talk to your family. Apologize, young man."
"Family? He has no family. They-"
"We're his family now, in case you've forgotten. Why can't you accept that?" Mikoto said.
"Enough!" Sakura exclaimed, tears brimming in her eyes. She had seen all this with disgust. Family wasn't suppose to act like this. It was horrible and made her feel sick. She wanted to go back to the orphanage with Ino and the other girls, her real family in the world. "I can't stay here any longer. I'm leaving." With that, she dropped the broom and hurried outside, anywhere, far from that wretched house.
"Sakura, wait!" Sai called out, running after her. She slowed down and stopped, but didn't turn around. Sai caught up to her and faced her towards him. He took her ridiculously huge sunglasses off her face and stared for a long time. But he wasn't starting at her in surprise; he was studying her features. "Do you really want to leave this house? Because if you do, please, take me with you. Don't leave me alone."
"Oh, Sai, don't ask me that. You know I can't take you with me," Sakura said. "I don't even know if the orphanage will let me back. I'm too old."
"Then don't go back. Stay here. Please," Sai urged her.
"I…I…don't know. This house is full of too much resentment and I don't know if I can take it," Sakura said. "I told myself that I'd find a way to change it, but I don't even know how."
"I'll help you," Sai offered. "Just stay, and I'll help you fix things around here."
Sakura looked up to the sky for a sign. All she saw was the bright, hot sun, blinding her. She blinked, and when the sunspots were gone, she saw Sai. She saw his dependence, his need, his troubled pain at the thought of her leaving him alone. Sakura sighed, knowing she could never abandon a friend in need.
"Okay, I'll stay," Sakura said.
Sai smiled, a rare occurrence. But she was starting to see that he was doing it more often around her. "Can I ask you a question then?" he said.
"Yeah, sure. What is it?" Sakura said.
"How'd you get orange?" Sai asked.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
The day had been hot, but the evening was an inferno- humid and dry at the same time. Tenten, Sakura and Kin were preparing the dining table, trying hard no to argue with one another in the intolerable heat. Sakura could only complain.
"Really, this is ridiculous," she said, fanning herself with the gloves she had taken off minutes before. Her hands were still an unattractive hue of orange. "I don't care how I look. I'm taking all these stupid clothes off." Sakura began to remove her leggings.
"Tsk,tsk,tsk. No strip teasing until after ten," Kin said. "I'm sure Sai will be disappointed to miss out on his nighttime entertainment."
"Just shut up. What are you even talking about? Sai and I are only friends," Sakura retorted, removing her long-sleeved shirt and scarf. She had discarded the beanie long ago.
"Really?" Kin said in mock surprise. "Well, I don't think he's aware of that. He follows you like a love-sick puppy."
Sakura wanted to say something in return, but was dumbfounded to realize that, for once, Kin was actually speaking the truth. Sai had been like a shadow to her all afternoon, remaining eerily silent.
"Well, at least Sakura has someone who's vying for her attention," Tenten said to Kin. She just stuck her tongue out at her before heading off to the kitchen for more napkins. "How do you feel?"
"Better," Sakura replied. "I just don't know if I have energy left to deal with Karin tonight."
Ten minutes later Karin arrived wearing a silver shiny top and a leather miniskirt with black ankle boots. Kakashi's eyes bulged out when he opened the door to let her in. Karin was fishing for compliments from Sasuke, but all he commented on was her perfume.
"Hehe. She probably smells like eau du skank," Sakura whispered to Tenten as they watched from behind a plant pot.
"Who are you talking about?" Sai asked.
"Ah, Sai! Wh-Where'd you come from?" Sakura said, jumping from her hiding spot.
"Creepy," Tenten muttered under her breath.
"I just came from my room. Oh, hello Tenten. Were you the one who called me cr-?"
"Dreamy. I called you dreamy," she said, turning a crimson red. "Yup Sai, you are such a dreamy and handsome guy." Sakura fought back the urge to laugh.
"Sorry Tenten, but I don't feel the same for you. No hard feelings?" Sai said. Now Sakura couldn't fight it any longer and started cracking up. Tenten eyed her annoyingly.
"Um, it's okay Sai. I can handle rejection," Tenten said. As Sakura continued to laugh, it carried across to the living room where Karin heard it. She looked at where it was coming from and spotted an orange thing behind the plant.
"Mrs. Uchiha, there's a…an I don't know what to call it, over there," Karin said, pointing to the plant a few yards away. "Do you see it? It looks like-"
"It's Sakura," Sasuke said in realization. "At least, I think its' her." He was confused.
"You shouldn't hide," Sai said to her. "Even when you're orange, you're still the most beautiful girl in this room." Then he preceded to grab Sakura by the hand and revealed her to the Uchihas and Karin. There was a collective intake of breath ad everyone gasped.
"Oh my," Mikoto said. Fugaku looked just as perplexed.
Itachi looked amused and patted his cousin on the back. "You sure do know how to pick them," he told her.
Sasuke was left speechless. Did Sakura get some sort of disease…and was it contagious?
"Well, who ever would've thought that we'd have an oompa loompa in our mist?" Karin said with a crisp sharp laugh. "Why don't you entertain us? Now sing and dance."
Karin was going down. Something has snapped inside Sakura. She was hot and stuffy and couldn't take any more insults. Like a fierce lioness, she lunged at Karin and brutally yanked at her red locks. Karin smacked Sakura in the face and arms and tried to get away, but Sakura was fueled with anger. She pulled at Karin's hair until a whole bunch of strands came out in her hands. She was stupefied.
"You bitch! You pulled my extensions out!" Karin yelled, massaging her head. Sakura let go of the faux hair piece and slapped Karin's cheeks. In retaliation, she scratched at Sakura's face. The both of them were rolling on the floor, trying to gain dominance in the fight.
The others watched in awe silence until Kakashi spoke. "Shouldn't we do something to stop them?" he said.
"You're right," Sasuke said, walking near the two raging girls. He pried Sakura off of Karin while Kakashi grabbed Karin by both her arms.
"Let go of me!" Sakura said, twisting in Sasuke's grip. I won't be satisfied until she's completely bald!"
"Ah! You savage little imp!" Karin exclaimed.
"That's enough," Fugaku said. Immediate silence followed after his commanding voice. "Karin, kindly go to the washroom and make yourself presentable again. As for you," here he looked at Sakura," I have the right mind to fire you. Unfortunately, that is not for me to decide, but for your benefactors."
"Sir, I'll take her to her room and calm her down," Kakashi said, letting go ok Karin. He reached for Sakura, but Sasuke intervened.
"I'll take care of this," he said and led Sakura to the study, where they'd have some privacy. Once inside, he locked the door.
"Why'd you do that for?" Sakura said.
"This is just a safety measure…so you don't go back to rip the rest of Karin's hair off her head," Sasuke said.
Sakura was fuming, both from the fight and the intense heat. She kicked the desk and instantly regretted it. "Ow!" she said, hopping on one foot as she rubbed the other. "Stupid desk."
"Sakura, stop, just stop," Sasuke said, grabbing hold of her shoulders. "Will you just look at me?"
"What?" she said, breathing heavily. There were tears in her eyes. "Today has been horrible, and if you brought me here to chastise me, then-"
"No I'm not going to yell at you…just stop fidgeting, relax…"
"I cant! I've never hated someone as much as I hate Karin. She humiliates me and no one comes to my defense or sticks up for me! It's just me! It's me against her, against you, and everyone else on her side." Sakura sobbed.
Sasuke's brows furrowed together. "No, it's not just you, Sakura," he said, a deep pang in his chest. "You're not alone. I'm here….and you don't have to be alone."
Sakura raised her head to look at him. Her tears left streaks on her orange dace, but Sasuke was not repulsed by her appearance. She looked captivating as always, like an angel with a childish innocence and a timid sensuality.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked in a soft whisper.
"Yes, I'm here for you," Sasuke said, slowly lowering his head towards hers. Both their lips met and they kissed for the first time. It was magical and world shattering…a moment like none before.
Minutes or hours could've passed, but neither one knew. For once they didn't feel lonely.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Karin's eyes were slits of anger. She looked like a hot mess (more of a mess than actually hot). Her hair was in tangles and her face was red from being smacked so hard.
"Damn you Sakura," she said to her reflection in the bathroom mirror. "You will not get away with this. I'll ruin you."
A minute later and she left the bathroom, a dark aura surrounding her. She was not in the mood for dinner anymore, much less for company. She had a plan in her head….and she needed to focus on that.
Karin walked towards the front garden, knowing Sai would be out there with that stupid sketchbook of his. Aha. There he was, almost hidden by a group of tall bushes.
"Sai," she called out, startling him. "No, stay right there. I have something to ask of you, something that will interest you greatly."
"What is it?" he simply asked, not trusting her.
"Look, you might be mad at me for getting into a fight with Sakura, but I'm not the bad guy," Karin said.
"Why don't you just leave her alone?"
"Sai, listen to me. There is something you've been blinded to- and that's the chemistry between Sakura and Sasuke. Please don't give me that pathetic look, now listen!"
"Sakura doesn't feel anything for me, does she? She only sees me as a friend," Sai said. Karin rolled her eyes.
"Yes! But you can change that. We can change that. You follow?" Karin said.
Sai looked at her. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. Karin smirked.
"It's actually quite easy. Just get Sasuke piss drunk and leave the rest to me. As for Sakura-"
"She won't be harmed, Karin. That is my only condition," Sai interjected.
"Fine. But you have to figure out a way to get her out of the house. I was her gone," Karin said. "For good."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
A/N: The plot thickens! Please review!