Alright, so this chapter is basically going to be Sakura's campfire story, but I might add more. I'm so TOTALLY winging it right now. I think the story'll be a wacked up fruit-loopy version of ten different stories I've ever heard put into one. Or, I'll just copy a story out on my books, and give credits at the end. We'll see. -
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Sakura was standing in front of the fire, trying to remember the story her friend had told her several years ago. She pictured his face, how it had suddenly become so serious, adding to the suspense of the story. Taking a deep breath, she shuffled her feet in teh dirt. "I told you, it's not that good," she warned again. Several pairs of eyes looked back up at her, shining brightly with the light from the campfire.
"Anyway," she continued, not yet ready to get to the story,"a friend told me this story a long time ago, and I thought it would be fitting since we're near a lake. It's pretty lame, but it freaked me out the first time I heard it. So, here goes."
"Apparently a young girl named Kitahoshi was getting bad grades in all of her classes. She begged and pleaded with her parents to let her go to a field trip that was much similar to ours. The entire class was going to a camp on a lake, and Kitahoshi would be the only one not going if her parents wouldn't let her. In an attempt to not be left behind, Kitahoshi studied hard for all of her tests, and made sure her parents checked her homework every night. In no time at all, her grades began to rise."
Sakura stared into the fire. It was amazingly quiet around the campfire; was her story that captivating? "Kitahoshi was so glad when her parents announced their consent for her to go on the camping trip. She immediately started packing for the 2-day, 1 night trip. She was so excited she even called up her friends to tell them the good news. Kitahoshi just couldn't wait for the trip she'd worked so hard for. That night, Kitahoshi found the northern star, her namesake, and made a wish upon it. Her wish was to have a wonderful time during the trip."
The crickets chirruping in the bushes seemed so loud in the silence that occured whenever Sakura shut her mouth. "When the day of the trip came around, Kitahoshi was sure she was going to have a fun, entertaining trip. The class arrived at the camp, and Kitahoshi found herself enjoying the time spent with her friends and teachers. All too soon, the day ended, and Kitahoshi and her best friend, Ami, rested in the cabin they shared."
"That night, Kitahoshi woke up in cold sweat. She felt herself being pulled out of bed by some unseen force. She tried to call out to Ami, but her voice was stuck in her throat. Kitahoshi could do nothing as she opened the door of the cabin and disappeared into the night."
"Hitahoshi walked for several minutes before finding herself at the edge of the lake. Trees surrounded the beach area, or rather, and small strip of land covered in muddy sand. Kitahoshi was suprised to find a boy sitting in teh sand, staring out at the water. When she looked at him, he seemed to shine. Dismissing the idea as a trick of the moonlight, Kitahoshi tried to call out to the boy. Again, her voice was stuck. But the boy noticed her. He turned and smiled at her, a brilliant smile that made her heart skip a few beats."
"Hey, wait!" Tenten interrupted. "I thought this was supposed to be a scary story; you're turning it into a romance!" A few of the girls gave Tenten death glares, while Hinata gave a nervous chuckled and muttered something about, 'liking the romance better'.
"Well, it gets scarier later on," Sakura spat. Tenten had ruined the climactic build-up! Now the ending wouldn't be as good. Geez, she had been really getting into the story, too.
"Anyway, back to the story." The circle of girls (and Gaara) instantly quieted. "As I was saying, the boy smiled a brilliant smile. Then he stood and walked over to Kitahoshi, the smile lingering on his beautiful face. 'I'm so glad you came!' he said, brown locks fluttering in the breeze. Kitahoshi was sure he was some sort of god, and she felt dazed by the sound of his voice. 'I'm so glad you came,' the boy said again, wrapping a finger around one of Kitahoshi's locks of hair. 'Make sure you come tomorrow,' he said, before disappearing."
"The light was instantly gone, and Kitahoshi found that she could move and talk freely. The prospect of being able to see the boy again excited her, but then a heavy thought dawned on her. He had asked her to come back tommorow, and most likely at night. The whole class would be gone by then! But, she had to see him again." sakura's voice hitched as she attempted to add effects to the story's narration. "Kitahoshi didn't give up, however. She found her way back to the cabin and slept fitfully, dreaming of ways she could meet the boy again, before she left to go back home."
One of the girls squealed. "Oh!!! I hope they see each other again!" she prayed, holding her hands together and wiggling around in her seat.
"Shut up, Sabethe. You're ruining it when you wiggle around like a fish out of water," Temari informed her team member. Sabethe put on a face, and Sakura shook her head, continuing with the story.
"The first thing Kitahoshi did when she woke up was to head out the cabin door. She ran as fast as she could in the direction of the trees and the sandy strip of land. When she got there, she doubled over, exausted from her run. Looking up, she came face to face with te boy she had sdreamed about so much teh previous night."
"'Good morning!' the boy said. he held out his hand, and Kitahoshi gratefully took it. 'I don't believe we've been introduced. My name's Yukio. What about you?' Kitahoshi had always been told to never give her name to strangers, but this boy seemed different. He seemed so harmless, with his smiling face and kind, honest gestures. Surely it wouldn't hurt to give him her name, would it?"
"'My name's Kitahoshi,' the she replied. 'I came, like you asked me to.' At this, Yukio laughed. 'Yes, I suppose you did, and I thank you for it.' Kitahoshi was certainly very confused, but she hid it well. 'If I may ask, why did you ask me to come back?'"
"Yukio gave Kitahoshi a very mystevious and seductive look. Fingering her hair like he had the night before, he cooed, 'I wanted to spend time with you, of course. Kitahoshi, I'm in love with you."
"Damn it!" Tenten shouted. "I KNEW you were going to turn it ooshy-mooshy. Damn you!"
Sakura gave her friend a cold stare. "Shut the fuck up, I'm not done yet." Tenten, surprised by her friend's extreme change in attitude, sat back down and decided to stay quiet until Sakura was done. Like the pinkette had said, she wasn't done. Right?
Sakura sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Damn, this story is getting now-where." Criees of, "But we love your sotry!" and "But it's getting to the really good parts!" erupted around the campfire. Against her better judgement, Sakura decided to keep going. "Fine, but I'm wrapping it up quickly," she commented to the girls, who all gave her sullen looks.
"Where was I? Ah, yes. Intrigued by Yukio's words, Kitahoshi spent the rest of the day with the mysterious boy. They sat on the strip of land, right up by the water. Conversation insued, and every know and then Yukio would change the subject. Before Kitahoshi knew it, it was beginning to get dark, and she knew the teachers and other childrean would be worried about her. 'I have to go now, but I'll try to come back and visit you one day.' Yukio smiled his infamous smile, and Kitahoshi reluctantly left him, sitting there by the lake all alone."
"Kitahoshi was in big trouble when she got back to the cabins. Her closest friends clung to her, sobbing about how worrie they had been, while Kitahoshi got a grand scolding from the teachers in charge. When asked what she had been doing, Kitahoshi only replied, 'I was talking with Yukio.' The teachers, who were mad at the girl for worrying everyone so much, just dismissed hte thought and helped everyone else load up the bus for the trip back home. When the camp supervisors came to the bus to say goodbye, they heard the story of Kitahoshi and Yukio."
"'Might you know who the Yukio boy is? I'd like him to be found, so that his own parents or teachers aren't worrying about him.' the teacher said. The camp supervisor looked confused, and then said, 'Yukio...hasn't visited this camp for more than 10 years. He drowned at the lake on that short strip of sand behind the cabins, when he was swinging from the branches of a tree and fell, hitting his head on the rocks in the sand. When the other camp supervisors found him, they deducted that he had rolled down the sand into the water, and, unable to breathe, suffocated from lack of oxygen.'"
"Needless to say, ths shocked the poor teacher. One of her own students had talked with a ghost! All day, in fact. Deciding to keep it a secret from Kitahoshi, the teacher thanked the supervisor and boarded the bus. That teacher made sure that the class never went to that particular camp again. And Kitahoshi, well, Yukio literally haunted her dreams."
Sakura gave a dejected sigh and took a step back so she could sit in her spot. "That's it?" Temari asked, a hint of disappointement in her voice.
"Of course that's it," Sakura said gloomily. "I, the worst storyteller ever, can't think up anything else. Just pick on someone else."
"Hmm..." Temari said, looking around the circle. "I thought it was a pretty good story, but it's getting late, and I want to eat some smores now. If we have time, we can have someone else tell a story, but I doubt it." Sakura just shrugged and took the graham crackers Hinata handed her. Smacking a piece of choclate on top, Sakura snuck a marshmallow out of Tenten's hand when she wasn't looking, and stuck it on a pointy stick that appeared out of nowhere. Roasting the marshmallow over the fire, the girl sighed happily. Now this was camping.
Later, after everyone had indulged in teh marshmallowy, choclately sensation, Temari looked at her watch and almost choked. They had a max of 5 minutes until the camp counselor came around to make sure they were in their beds. "Alright everyone, I'll clean up. Go back to your cabins and go to sleep. I want you all refreshed for tomorrow." Girls rushed around in the dark, guided only by the light of the fire. "Wait." someone said.
It was Gaara. Smirking, he shoved his hands into his pockets and continued," It'd be best to let you know that I saw a shady figure walking around earlier this morning. You never know if he could come near our cabins, so watch for the signs." Knowing eyes glowed in the darkness. they glowed, but not out of fear. All, but one pair, that is. Sakura Haruno's eyes were perfectly fine, thank you very much.
Sakura shrugged off Gaara's announcement and headed to the cabin. She wasn't afraid of a drunk idiot wandering around under the name of a 'shady character'. She had other business to attend to, like the making of her bed, because she obviously wasn't going to sleep in the same bed as that jerk, Gaara!
Searching around in the cabinets of the kitchen area, Sakura finally found a blanket. Taking off one of the pillows from the bed, she arranged the pillow and blanket so that she was sleeping alongside the fireplace - halfway across the room from the jerk.
Sakura was already curled up in a small ball when Gaara walked in. He was accompanied by the camp counselor, and the two seemed to be chatting pleasantly.
"Alright then, I see Ms. Sakura's already here and asleep, by the looks of it. Have a good night's rest, you two!" the cheery voice of the lady faded as she left the cabin, walking back to the main clearing.
"She doesn't look too closely, does she?" Sakura asked. It had been pretty obvious she wasn't asleep.
"Hn," was her only response. Sakura flipped over so that she could see the faint outline of Gaara as he climbed into the bed, lifting the covers to slide his legs under. Sakura gave a tiny sigh and stared up at the ceiling. She was finding it hard to get to sleep, suddenly.
"Haruno, you're not actually thinking about sleeping on the floor, are you? I mean, the bugs and dirt, the cold, hopeless feeling you get when your skin touches the boards--"
"Gaara, stop it! You're giving me the chills!"
Sakura could almost sense his smirk. "But the bed is much better right? You're welcome to it, if you'd like."
Sakura was...shocked. Was the great Gaara trying to be nice? Needless to say, the man's earlier words had creeped her out. Sakura wasn't much of a bug-lover anyway, and the thought of all those ants and roaches...crawling under and over her blanket while she slept fitfully...
She was in the bed within a moment's notice. it was awkward at first, because she didn't want to move aorund too much and disturb Gaara, and she wanted to get under the covers and comfortable. Sliding under the blankets, Sakura adjusted with as little movement possible.
When she could finally rest comfortably, Sakura began to take note of her surroundings. the crickets were still chirping outside, and the comfortable rise and fall of the body next to her lulled Sakura into a half-sleep daze. Both of the teens were on their sides, facing away from each other, and Sakura could faintly feel Gaara's back brush against hers every other breath.
"Gaara," she mumbled. "Thank you."
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Sorry for any spelling mistakes! bows deeply I didn't have time to reread it before posting it, because my parents are telling me to go to sleep, and I'm halfheartedly agreeing with them! Anyway, enjoy! Ja ne!
