Disclaimer: No. I don't own Naruto. Or I wouldn't be writing stories on fanfiction, now would I?
Chapter 7: My Mistake
"I thought you'd never show up…Sakura," Naruto said softly. He walked over to her and brushed a strand of hair from her face.
Sakura stumbled back. "This isn't right…" She muttered.
"What?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.
"You aren't…" Sakura looked at Naruto, their eyes met for a second, then Sakura shook her head. "No…"
"I'm not my brother, right?" Naruto sighed and looked up at the deep blue sky. "Bet you wish I was." He looked back at the shocked girl in front of him. "That's not fair. I'm just as good as Sasuke, if not better!"
Sakura felt her jaw drop a little. "N-no…Not like that, I guess…I mean, you're just as good…in your own way. Don't--" Luckily, she was interrupted by a car squealing down the street.
"I'm glad you decided to come." Sasuke smiled wickedly at Hinata.
Hinata paused, thinking it through. She looked down darkly. "I would have come no matter what."
Sasuke, who had been walking toward here, stopped. His smile vanished and he looked at her with frustrated curiosity. "Really? You really would have come?"
"Even if the world was ending." Hinata smiled weakly.
Sasuke resisted the urge to grip at his chest as he felt a pang of guilt wrap around his heart. "Wow," he breathed, at a sudden loss of what to say.
It was silence for a short moment, until they both heard a speeding car try to reach a screeching stop.
"I can't believe I missed this," Neji huffed.
"I can," Shikamaru grinned at his brother. "It's just like you to think only about two of the girls and leave the other two out. And what happens after that?"
Neji was quiet for a minute, listening only to the throb of their feet on the street, as he tried to think of a response that wouldn't involve dissing himself. "Okay, so why didn't you think of this earlier?"
"I dunno. I wasn't paying attention…wasn't really thinking then, I guess." Shikamaru frowned and looked back at the street in front of him.
"Whatever. You never stop thinking!" Neji accused, glaring at his brother. He turned his head forward again when headlights flooded the shadows. He and Shikamaru braked and tried to turn to the sidewalk, but ended up sliding and hitting the ground.
"What a drag…" Shikamaru muttered, blinded as the lights moved closer.
(a little while earlier)
"Ino! Did you see what Hinata got?" Ten-Ten threw herself into Ino and Sakura's room.
"No. Did you see what Sakura got?" Ino was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, a piece of paper in her hands.
"A love note?" Ten-Ten guessed. Ino nodded. Ten-Ten tossed the sparkling note she'd had in her hand toward her sister. "Hinata got one, too. Those idiots are up to something, and we have to stop it before Hinata and Sakura get hurt."
"Okay," Ino said, dropping the notes as she stood up and followed Ten-Ten outside. They stopped on the porch and Ino asked, "So who are you gunna stop? Front or back?"
"I'll go back and you front. Now c'mon! Let's go!" Ten-Ten took off, racing down the street.
"So not a good day to be wearing sandals," Ino groaned before she sprinted after her sister.
They were almost at the school, when they saw two familiar figures running down the street in front of them. "What are those creeps doing here?" Ten-Ten hissed. Then she gasped as she saw a car speeding toward Neji and Shikamaru. "No!" She cried hoarsely.
Ino and Ten-Ten ran faster down the street, watching in horror as Neji and Shikamaru fell and the car try to stop.
Naruto and Sakura raced to the front of the school; Sasuke and Hinata were looking through the wire fence – their bodies rigid.
"Hinata!" Sakura cried and ran to her sister's side.
"Ten-Ten…Ino…Neji…Shikamaru…" Hinata whispered, never moving her eyes from the street. Sakura looked too, as Naruto stepped up to the fence, and watched in awe as the scene unfolded in front of them.
Ten-Ten and Ino were hurriedly helping Neji and Shikamaru up and trying to get to the side of the street when the car bumped Ino's hip – knocking her to the ground as it finally slowed enough that it looked like it could stop. It didn't though. Shikamaru helped Ino back up and got to the side of the street as the car stopped.
The passenger's door opened and a red haired man jumped out, walking at a quick pace to the other side of the car. He yanked the driver's door open and pulled a drunken blond man out. "Passenger's side. Now," the red-head commanded and the blond obeyed. They red-head man turned to Ino, Shikamaru, Neji and Ten-Ten and apologized. As he slid into the car, Neji heard him say under his breath, "Thanks, Deidara. Now Itachi's gunna kill us." And they were gone.
Ino sank to the ground and moaned.
"Are you okay, Ino?" Ten-Ten knelt and put a hand on her sister's shoulder.
Shikamaru bit his lip, and then crouched down beside Ino. "Is your hip okay?" He asked.
"I think it'll just be bruised." Ino smiled unconvincingly.
Sasuke and Naruto climbed over the fence and jumped down. Sakura went over to the door in the fence and picked the lock. Swinging it open, she and Hinata ran out and the four of them ran over to their brothers and sisters.
"Okay, seriously! You go and shoot up all those kids again, and you know what? You'll end up in prison…AGAIN!" Kisame's words slurred and Itachi just shook his head.
"You're too drunk to make sense. Therefore, what you just said, does not count," Itachi hissed.
"I'm not THAT drunk!" Kisame cried and swayed a little.
"Shut-up," Itachi mumbled.
"Whatever," Kisame sighed. Then he passed out. Itachi looked down at his partner and groaned. Tonight was going to be a living hell.
"So?" Sakura looked over at Shikamaru.
"So…Looks like she was rights. What a wasted trip to the hospital," Shikamaru grumbled, but stole a worried glance at Ino.
"Better safe than sorry," Ten-Ten pointed out. "How are you two?"
"Just scratches. Thanks for your concern," Neji snapped coldly.
"Sure," Ten-Ten muttered sourly. Hinata looked between Neji and Ten-Ten, and then started giggling. They stared at her incredulously.
"What in the world is so funny?" Neji asked.
"Yeah." Ten-Ten put her hands on her hips.
"Noth-Nothing," Hinata stuttered, putting one hand over her mouth as she tried to catch her breath.
"That doesn't sound like nothing. Your sister's in the hospital and you're laughing?" Neji folded his arms across his chest.
"I'm awake and can hear you and would be laughing if it weren't for the pure fact it could hurt. So stop talking about me like I'm not here, jerk-ass," Ino said, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Sorry," Neji mumbled.
"It's-It's nothing." Hinata dropped her hand and looked at Ten-Ten and Neji innocently.
"When can we go home? I'm tired of standing here," Naruto whined.
"That reminds me!" Sakura cried, just as Sasuke said, "Right now." He glared at her.
She ignored him and said, "Did you guys know that…" Sakura looked at Ten-Ten, remembering they weren't supposed to know, then said, "Know that Itachi's out of prison? Apparently, he escaped somehow."
"How'd you know about him?!" Sasuke snapped and Neji adverted his eyes.
"I did some research on your massacre…er…" Ten-Ten said, timidly raising one of her hands. "And when I was watching the news the other day, they did a report on Itachi. No one's sure how he escaped. But he wasn't in his cell. And neither was a friend he had. Kisame, I think."
"Friend?" Neji asked skeptically.
"He made a friend in jail or something. Sounds like he was just using him." Ten-Ten shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, he and his brothers staring at her.
"Well…Who makes friends in prison? And with someone like that, getting out of jail would be easy. Knock some heads together or something. Something without blood." Ten-Ten paused, tilting here head a little as seven pairs of eyes looked at her. "What?"
"Have you escaped prison lately?" Neji asked.
"No!" Ten-Ten cried. "I'm just saying, jeez."
Sasuke shook his head. "Why can't you just mind your own business?"
"Don't mention stuff. Or – better – don't mess with us!" Ten-Ten said, raising her voice a little. "Don't pretend to care and then walk off!" She saw everyone except Ino look at her with shocked expressions.
"How…?" Neji whispered.
"Love notes. Coming from the two heart-breakers of the school? You should know better!" Ten-Ten turned her head away from him.
The silence was penetrating. And when it was broken, it was by the four boys shuffling toward the door.
"We pretend to care?" Neji breathed as he walked past Ten-Ten.
"No more messing around. Fine," Sasuke said as he and his brothers left. Once they were gone, Hinata whispered, "Is that really what they were going to do?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure anyway," Ten-Ten said softly.
"I kinda guessed it was a set up. But…But I didn't think they'd go that far…" Hinata muttered in disbelief.
"What did you expect from a group like that?" Ten-Ten murmured.
"Later guys. Have fun," Ten-Ten whispered, waving as her sisters left for school. After they were out of sight, she turned around and sluggishly walked upstairs, gently shutting the door behind her. For once in my life, I miss school. And it's not because of the learning experience. She walked to here window and looked out. Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Neji already.
"Hi, Kiba," Hinata whispered, smiling shyly as Kiba walked up to meet her.
"Hey," Kiba grinned. "You got a sec?"
"Sure…I-I mean yeah." Hinata ducked her head as she started blushing.
"Hey, I hate to bail on you, but something came up and it looks like we won't be able to go out after all," Kiba said, his voice so sincere, it sounded fake. "I'm really sorry." He smiled apologetically, but his eyes shone with relief.
Hinata blinked back tears, though she wasn't sure why she was so upset about this. Kiba was just a friend. "Oh," She said softly. "Okay, it's alright." She looked up at him and tried to make her smile as convincing as possible.
Kiba caught his breath as he looked down at Hinata's broken smile. He didn't' think that this would hurt here; they weren't supposed to get this close.
The bell rang and they both jumped, realizing that the silence they had thought was there was their own silence.
"I'm really sorry," Kiba said again. But this time, his guilt touched his eyes.
Hinata looked away, feeling broken. "It's okay!" She said softly. "I have to go to my locker." Her voice broke and she walked as fast as she could toward her locker.
Kiba stood there for a minute, chasing her with his eyes. He never should have agreed to what Naruto has said. Naruto was wrong. Hinata was not like the rest of the stuck of bitches they had met. She had a heart, and he had just broken it.
Neji lay in his bed, sighing for the millionth time that morning. He would have gone to town to find something to do…except, his mom grounded him for "hitting a girl." So, he was stuck in his house with nothing to do.
Nothing but think.
Did Ten-Ten not realize what she had done? And did she realize what she had said?
"Don't pretend to care and then walk off!" She echoed in his head and Neji's heart ached.
It was true, for awhile, they did pretend to care. But then it all changed. For Neji, it felt like gravity had shifted and his heart was being pulled from him to Ten-Ten. He and his brothers had made their lives revolve around messing with girls, since they were little. Since Naruto's first girlfriend had snapped his heart. They had thought, after that, that all girls were like that. And now, he was sure, all of his brothers – and himself – were denying their feelings; fighting to yank themselves from these precious girls' traps.
But Neji knew he had let himself get pulled in too far. He had let himself hope and when Ten-Ten had helped him last night, he thought that he meant something to her too. She was pretending through it all though. However horrible he felt now, he knew why she wouldn't trust him. Their stupidity was clawing at what they wanted. All the pranks Neji and his brothers had done to Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Ten-Ten now turned on them.
Neji kind of wished they hadn't done those thinks, and then they might've had a chance to win over the girls.
Kind of.
But since he couldn't undo what was done, he might as well work with what he and his brothers had created. Let their pain and anger take over.
Neji wasn't going to fall to his knees in front of four spoiled brats. Those girls were going to fall to their knees in front of him, Naruto, Shikamaru and Sasuke.
Ino and Sakura walked down the halls toward their classroom in silence.
Sakura couldn't believe it. It had all been a game. Naruto had come last night, to throw her off. And Sasuke…Could she still hope that he liked her? Even though he had looked through her with eyes that seemed like they were shooting icicles at her..? Maybe she shouldn't. It was safer to say he had never cared about her and never would.
Last night… Ino thought. He was worried about me. I know he cares… She wasn't sure if her beliefs came from false hope or if it was true, but she believed. He had to care. Because she cared about Shikamaru. Because he had helped her last night. Because he had asked if she was alright when she was hurt.
But…Was Shikamaru faking it? Were all those thing he'd done last night just an attempt to improvise to his and his brothers' game? Did she mean nothing to him? Despite the way she felt toward him?
How would she know?
Sasuke felt weird. He couldn't explain the feeling; ignoring the reason he felt it. He denied every thought that floated into his head and pushed them away. He didn't want to be distracted. And that's just what Sakura was: a distraction. He knew better than to think they could be okay together. He wasn't whole. Not worthy.
Sasuke knew that he, really, he wasn't the only broken one in his family. Itachi was the only one of his brothers who could say they were fine and truly mean it. Except, his brother was insane. Sasuke, Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru had their sanity, but weren't okay.
Sasuke remembered playing with Itachi when he was younger and could almost feel how close they had been…Sasuke had foolishly thought of his older brother as a friend. He fully regretted that now as part of his heart throbbed painfully. Neji used to sympathize with Sasuke when Itachi left. Then told their brothers that Itachi's crazy mistakes were going to scar Sasuke worse. He knew that Shikamaru and Naruto resented Sasuke some because of his former attachment with their older brother. And because of the non-wanted attention he got from everyone who knew.
He didn't want to be the one out of his three brothers who had the biggest gash in his chest. It made him less whole than his brothers. It made him far more different from his brothers. And it made him feel weak.
Shikamaru had warned him a few times that he probably would want someone to lean on – to fill the empty space that seemed to ooze blood from Sasuke's chest. But Sasuke rejected the thought. Believing he was better alone.
However, Shikamaru's warnings had seemed more than priceless when he started getting close to Sakura. He realized he needed her and wanted her.
But could he really let go of everything so he could hold her? Sasuke wasn't so sure he could. And now…he felt even less whole. When Ten-Ten had forced him to say an indirect good-bye to Sakura; he had hoped to throw her a pleading look, but something in Ten-Ten's eyes had pulled rage out of him and he shot Sakura an icy glare instead. Feeling horrible about it, even now.
She really was a distraction. With a new pain throbbing in his chest, Sasuke felt it hard to concentrate on anything. He hoped it would dull some; he couldn't afford to let Neji know. No one could know how he felt about the severed attachment to Sakura.
Shikamaru lazily stared out of the window at the bright blue sky. Watching the clouds drift, he slowly began to realize what his wandering thoughts had landed on. Ino.
Why he felt the way he did about her, he couldn't understand. But he felt like they were connected. That any pain they received flowed into the other. Last night was painful. Ino's physical pain, when the car had hit her, momentarily caused Shikamaru emotional pain.
Why didn't I stop it? Could I have moved her in time? Could I have prevented her pain? Those were all questions he had asked himself in the short moment between her getting hit and him dragging her to the other side of the road.
He didn't deny the feeling he had for Ino, like he knew his brothers were doing for Ino's sisters. He couldn't. Without realizing it, he had threaded himself to Ino. And even the distance put between them now, he didn't feel far from her.
Shikamaru skimmed over the thought, she might not feel the same way. He couldn't stand to even considerthat. It would pulse an ache through him that he didn't want. Didn't need.
The hair on the back of Shikamaru's neck stood on end as someone brushed past him. He probably wouldn't have noticed - after all, kids were shoving past him even now. But the touch was different; intentional, soft…and loving.
Shikamaru spun around and eyed passing kids. Wistful thinking, he decided. Then dropped his gaze as a piece of paper caught his eye. He caught his breath as he picked it up and read who it was addressed to:
Shikamaru
Hi. I finally updated. I tried to make this chapter longer for those of you who were kind enough to wait so you could finish reading the story. So consider this a treat. Is this enough fluffy angst between them all for you all? Obviously, Shikamaru and Ino share the same feelings, but will they do anything about it? Take a guess.
To my reviewers:
Xxnarutofan101xX: actually, i could stand to get more mail... i like the reviews. they make me feel like im doing a decent job on my stories.
Chibi Saku Chan:hi. u didnt give me much to say to u. and ill update as the ideas come!
CherryBlossoms016: yeah...-looks around nervously- thanks.
Airashii Mochidzuki: yay compliment!
angsty fluff okay? hehehe...
(Itachi's pissed! OvO)
Mariegurl: pressure...the pressure...lol
Maki-Zushi:r u sure she has long hair?
Long-Live-The-Jessenator: oh the boys will fall...and i 4got what else u said...' erm...srry. thnx 4 all the compliments tho.
sakura4594: yay! its nice!
NeonAlchemist: do u want to know what happens after this too?
Chimiri:-turns blue from being squished- okay, glad u like. updating as fast as the ideas pop up...
fantasycrazyperson409: oh. u rnt? ok. and um...hmmmm...
Seerena: ITACHI...well, im not quite sure what he'll do yet. hum...
katlou303:addicted, huh? my story's a drug now? weird...
Kinomi-chan: is this long enough? srry.
DemonBrownie: u have no idea. -walks over to itachi, itachi punches me, he walks off-
xo M i M i: yay! (ive been saying that a lot...) u like it still?
um...you know how I said it would be cool to combine the massecre and the lovey-dovey stuff? Well...I saw this documentary on the one school shooting and am kinda going against it now. I dunno. What do you guys think? I don't want to write it all that much because of the real life happening, but then again, this is a story. So yeah, now I don't know. Vote again?
And I put a little of Deidara and Sasori in. If you want a little more of the Akatsuki in (besides Itachi and Kisame) please vote now. Thanks.
Hope this chapter isn't a disappointment. Sorry again for the long wait. Please review.
