OMG, I'm alive! And I've survived! :D And my computer's pretty much working right now, so you can't imagine how freaking HAPPY I am! Everyone, thank youu so much for bearing with me—ugh, viruses are SUCH an ugly thing, I hate them with all my guts—so I wish I could virtually break through Fanfiction and give you all the biggest hugs you've ever felt! ^_^ Bad news though…my other computer's still stupidly unresponsive, so the restt of the chapters for my other stories I've been working on (the konan/nagato and sasu/saku2 DRABBLE requests) are GONE! I've literally freaked out D'x! And Ch. 2 for BABY STEPS! [SORRYYY Puckabrina omg )):] so I guess I have no choice but to rewrite them all…and it's going to be hardd. It's my fault I didn't get to update them on time! CURSE VIRUSES IN THE WORLD. :(
Anyways, here's chapter 10! And I'm deliriously happy, because my stories' never got hits over the 2,000 mark, eep! So think of this as a BIGGG 7,000+ word make-up chapter! And gomen if it's A MONTH late! *sob*
xyama-chanx xoxox
p.s. And it's getting harder to write as we approach more exciting parts :3 Have any ideas on what I should do next? Apparently I'm running out of creative ideas to put in the plot, and I didn't really plan the whole story out so I don't know where it's going XD Tell me pleasee in a review! I need it ^^
Sakura's POV:
I strode out of Tsunade-sama's office in a daze, trying to comprehend what just happened back there. This was all real once again, right?
YES it was! Duh, pinkie! Would you think everything was real if old hag punched you in the face? You did well with your white lie!
INNER! Where the hell have you been?
Uh, here, with my mouth shut. And if I remember correctly, you told me not to 'screw things up for you' so here I am now.
Oh. Now go away again.
I blinked, oblivious to Ino's hand latching onto mine. Behind me, I could feel Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Naruto, Lee and Sasuke's unnerving stares boring into the back of my head...and there goes the silence as heavy as a fog settling around us. Somebody talk! Jeez.
How real can you get, if you ask me. A sudden break-out of instant chatter got me very confused, as if they've read my mind! Tell me zombies had just been resurrected if the Fierce Four, the dobe, and Lee, out of all people here with me, did what I was thinking...although that's most likely impossible.
Anyways, my brain had no defects as I remembered something: I was the 'mere low-life' here. Well, besides Ino, of course.
And Kiba...gah, he called me CUTE! A sudden flash of his liquid-brown eyes loomed in my imagination; Sasuke's jealousy. Oh my god. He was jealous over me. No, right? My skin tingled in a way I was never familiar with.
He WAS jealous. Ooh, someone's got competition! That's pretty sexy, you know...just imagine a fuming Uchiha when he sees you in hot dog boy's arms! It's like something out of a soap opera, pinkie! Man are you living the dream-
N-NO! And stop calling me that! It's not like I'm going to say yes to Kiba, I don't even know the guy-
Whatever, pay attention to Ino, she's talking to you!
Huh?
"AH!" I yelped as soon as the Yamanaka bounced along with me, gripping my forearm tighter. "You owe me an explanation, forehead!" Her blue eyes sparkled under the hallway lights, and I wasn't surprised Shikamaru happened to break away from Sasuke and company to hold back a little bit behind us as we walked, silent and observant.
I held in the urge to giggle crazily as Shikamaru's hazelnut eyes swiftly probed Ino's back side...her BACK SIDE! And you do know what this back side included, right? Before I was convinced the Nara had a giant amount of laziness to not even bother with checking Ino out.
Awe, that's so cute! Let me guess: he wants to check out my best friend, bahaha, although it was so unlike him to do so. Wait until I tell her!
And, um, Ino's not mad at me anymore, is she? Wait, what was she mad about in the first place, exactly? Ugh, seemed I forgot.
Biting my lips to keep from spilling to Ino that the Nara was indeed checking her out again (god), I shot her a crooked smile, yet I found it so hilarious that my best friend had no idea whatsoever that the guy she'd been crushing for what seemed like eternity ever since he 'rescued' her, if you could call it a rescue, was finally noticing her in return!
I opened my mouth to answer Ino. "Um, about that, I-"
"HEY GUYS!" Naruto's inhumanly loud voice split the air like a grenade, as all seven of us (including myself) flinched at him, downright irritated. Kiba and Lee, on the other hand, whirled around to face the blonde. Seriously, it wouldn't hurt to put a sock in it...not that the idiot would let us do that, either. I mean, Naruto's the noisiest person I've ever met in my life!
"What is it now, dobe?" The Uchiha hissed, turning around to glare at him as we stopped in our tracks going back to our respective classes.
The sound of Sasuke's tone made my heart skip a beat, and it was too late for me to conceal my damn red blushes.
Why does he have to be so hot? I know I said that already, but who knows what will happen to me if I don't exercise control over myself, AND when I attend our next freaking tutorial?
HEY, keep it cool Sakura, you two aren't in an abandoned classroom alone yet-
Shut up!
Naruto's wide cerulean eyes stared at us all, as if doing so would crack us open to reveal our true identities. What the hell?
"Do you know what time is it?" he gasped, mostly directing the question to me. I stood there beside Ino, a blank expression on my face. "W-what?"
"Don't you have a watch, Sakura-chan? What time is it?", Naruto whined childishly while I smiled gently to myself. Naruto the idiot is my best friend though, hehe.
"Aw jeez Naruto, why can't you wait until we get to class, idiot?" Kiba whacked him at the back of the head as the Uzumaki tumbled to the floor face-first at the feet of an amused Hyuuga, who was pointedly looking at me now, expecting me to tell them the time. He ignored the commotion between Kiba and Naruto as Shikamaru and Sasuke did the same.
"Ah, oops," I gushed, turning my head away from the piercing stares of the Fierce Four...not to mention the Uchiha as my skin itched under his steady, watchful stare...and reading my gold watch.
"Um, Naruto, it's 10:13, why?", I told him, my voice high and raised. Why he wanted to know the time I had no idea in hell what the reason was.
The said idiot rushed to his feet in a flash, scratching his head absentmindedly and gazing at me, his teal eyes clouded over. Yet I suppressed a shrill squeal at the way his bottom lip was protruding in a childish pout. Naruto is just way too contagious.
"10:13? WAIT, doesn't second period start at 10:15?"
"What the HELL, Naruto!" Kiba intruded angrily, slapping him across the face with, I must say, a lot of force, and the visible red outline of a hand imprinted on his cheek clashed with the tan color of his skin. As I looked on bemused, a strong wave of déjà vu instantly slapped against the walls of my mind.
Oh my god. I slapped Sasuke! I slapped him on the FACE! It's...i-is that unforgivable?
I'm not going to say anything.
Only then did the idiot serve as a potential life-saver for once when I withdrew from a reverie I was positive I feared; secretly loved with a strange appeal (why me?), refusing to meet Sasuke's gaze. Dang! And...
I jumped as what Naruto said sunk into my brain (right now? Seriously?), snatching Ino's hand and making a run for it, but first-"Then why didn't you say Block B starts at 10:15, shannaro!"
I lurched forward and landed a thick bonk on Naruto, sinking my fist into his cheek until he fell over again, whimpering; sniffing in snot and all. The stupid blonde: I swear he must have hit his head on a toilet bowl the second he was born...but eh, I guess Naruto's taken enough insults for today.
Facing the rest of our little group, the fact that I was a low-life who had no right to order them around slipped my mind. Really, I didn't want to get everyone in trouble again, not to mention how hard it was to confront Tsunade-sama already!
The oxygen whooshed out of my lungs as I shouted, taking even myself aback for a while there.
"As for you guys—LET'S GET TO CLASS!" I shrieked, pulling an astounded Ino behind me, whom I've noticed actually said so much as nothing the whole time we were walking until Naruto's outburst. My feet pounded against the shiny floors in a speedy scuffle, the wind from the momentum brushing our faces as we made our way to Kakashi-sensei's math class, by, you said it...running. AGAIN.
For the second time in a row!
"If we're late again Naruto, I promise you, I might not have the motivation to even move, but what's more troublesome is that this head of mine's smart enough to pull your boxers off of your ass."
"HEY!"
Shikamaru's muttered statement held a tinge of danger in it, which I found very attractive *ahem*, if not more than I can say for Ino, whose wide eyes beamed in admiration.
She was literally gawking at Nara Shikamaru.
Omg!
Well, Ino's lucky! Maybe I might not be the only one who digs a Fierce Four.
Okay, where the HELL did that thought come from?
To tell you the truth, I've also had enough twists and turns during a school day. Little did I know even more was going to come strutting my way, cackling right in my face, which was starting to develop into restlessness. Ugh.
Naruto yelled a few paces behind me, sounding hesitant. "Uh, Sakura-chan?"
"WHAT?" I yelled back, not bothering to look at him. What if I tripped, being the clumsy girl I was? Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Lee and Sasuke jogged in sync with us. Wow. The speed of running girls was the equivalent of jogging guys? Is this world often influenced by freaking sexism? You don't need to reply.
"I think I dropped my cellphone back where you punched me."
...
...
Sasuke spoke up for me instead, because I was far too anxious, too distant; too light-headed to answer, although I did clearly hear Naruto's faint wails of, "And it's my baby Blackberry!"
"Usuratonkachi."
Normal POV:
The short trip to the classroom of their second Algebra tutorial of the week was something Sakura initially looked forward to...not to mention working alongside him as they worked on endless brain-boggling questions. She also hoped that math could clear her neurotic mind of that talk with Tsunade-sama...the FIERCE FOUR...Sasuke, an hour and a half ago, and the strain of her freaking last two classes.
You knew what that meant. Right now it was lunch break, therefore Konoha Prep. students would be stuffing their faces in attempts to dispel headaches from their long, boring periods.
Still...I don't trust myself being in there with Sasuke, alone! Gah, who knows what Inner could do!
Slightly trembling in anxiety and excitement as Sasuke followed right behind her, the rosette slid inside the room, squinting her eyes a little from the strain of the late morning sunlight penetrating the windows again, just like last time. The desks were haphazardly arranged so that anyone who happened to be passing through the rows could trip. Damn.
Sakura carefully tiptoed over to the seat by the window, cautiously side-stepping disgusting things on the floor as she scowled. Ew, gum! I am NOT going to let what happened last time happen to me again!
Slipping her backpack off her shoulder and setting it down by her chair (as the custom, duh), her ears caught a husky chuckle from Sasuke.
"Neat freak, are you, pinkie?" Sasuke shifted to plop down on the desk right beside her. Immediately her cheeks were tinted a light pink, and she was positive it wouldn't be long until that shade of light pink spread to cover her whole face.
Oh god, he said pinkie again. Yet...I'm a neat freak in what, a bad or good way? I don't even know if I should be mad at him for that!
Sakura ducked her head down, zipping her bag open and taking out her textbook, pencil case and blossom notebook, so at least it could look like she was preoccupied. But it seemed like she wasn't doing a very good job at it, because Sakura felt the Uchiha's scanning, steady stare pierce the right side of her body.
Small pops pricked her skin, and Sakura bit her lip. He's STARING at me. Why the hell does he always do that? Thinking quickly, she spoke to break the awkward, embarrassing silence between them.
"Haha, I am. So you're going to help me do my algebra homework, right?" Sakura successfully told him in a confident, slightly shaky tone infused with sarcasm, still refusing to look at Sasuke by instead flipping her notebook open and keeping her gaze fixed on a shiny blank lined page. Remember the resolve! Again! And how can I possibly tell him I want to help the others in the cafeteria to clean? He might hate the idea-!
"As always." She heard the Uchiha shift in his seat a little bit, removing his own textbook and materials as Sakura watched him in awe. It must have been only mere more indications she was utterly schizophrenic when she noticed the bright rays of light seemed to bend (well, it looked like it, alright) around Sasuke's every movement, ranging from gripping his pencil to - flexing his upper arm biceps beneath his white polo shirt as he reached over for a pencil sharpener. His skin...a dazzling friggin' porcelain!
Unawares to Sakura, her jaw was hanging open by a fraction, and inner immediately snagged the opportunity to rob the whole capacity of Sakura's brain...just for a minute.
I can't believe a beautiful human being as perfect as Uchiha Sasuke exists!
Inner...warning number one: STOP doing this to me! And GET OUT OF MY HEAD!
Sorry!
"What are you staring at, pinkie?" Sasuke smirked at her, his expression amused and...smug!
Sakura immediately looked away from him, blushing profusely like heck. Shoot. "N-nothing, Sasuke-k - Sasuke," she muttered, mentally kicking herself, hard, for nearly letting the '-kun' honorific slip from between her lips. -KUN? I don't even like him that way! Do I have affection for him?
"Aa." One of Sasuke's ink-black eyebrows rose at her, and Sakura simply tried to jut out the gut-wrenching feelings churning inside her stomach by instantly working on her assigned math questions, and you didn't need to mention to the pinkette that her cheeks were flushed pink; that Sasuke, unfortunately, noticed.
"Hn." The corners of his mouth turned up into a smirk - not that Sakura could see the said smirk due to the fact that she was so desperate to not look at him - and, after three awkward minutes passed, her head snapped up, gaining Sasuke's attention again. Ugh, she always did...and I'm gonna lose it sooner or later!
Sakura's wide green eyes nearly caused Sasuke to fall off his chair, but an Uchiha wasn't supposed to be prone to such idiocy. Great. His hands tightly grasped the sides of the wooden desk as he wrestled with self-control, and Sasuke tilted his head slightly, gaze fixed on her.
"U-uh, Sasuke...I need to ask you something." Promptly, he watched as Sakura dropped her pen and angled her body towards him - still seated, mind you - and leaning over a bit; if the Uchiha's sharp vision wasn't mistaking him, Sakura was actually shaking. She was uneasy. What could possibly get her in such a state?
Oddly, something warm shot through the Sasuke's superior veins as she contemplated for a moment on what to say (cherry lips pouting, arms folded on her lap, shoulders hunched...and her eyes as freaking emerald as ever) and, intent on seeming relaxed as he always is, Sasuke stretched his built legs out beneath him, with one arm perched on the desk armrest, the other resting on one leg. I'm not going to look like some fool in front of Sakura. No effing way.
"Yeah?" he asked, his tone coming out normal. Good.
The Uchiha's black eyes strayed to Sakura's hands, and he observed the long slender fingers fiddle with each other. She has really nice fingers...
In shock, Sasuke, feeling half of his hormones tug his mind into overdrive for a brief moment, guiltily went over her assets: her every delicate curve and proportion, as his gaze trailed back up to her face...slowly like hell. God. I can't believe I just DID that.
Uh oh. Now Sasuke was oblivious to the effect of him checking Haruno Sakura out. A sensation similar to burning hives erupted on the nape of her neck, soon spreading out to include her arms. Her tummy jerked around uncomfortably, threatening to squeeze her intestines into god knows what.
HOLY SHI-
He checked you out! He DID! Don't you know what that means?
Shut up shut up shut up! I know! Please don't tell me-
OKAY, PINKIE! Yoshe and go ask him what you need to! Remember the resolve you thought up back in Tsunade's office. And don't screw up.
No I won't! I can't afford to embarrass myself again - and he needs to listen to me. I need to show him I'm not some giggly FAN GIRL. I'm not in love with him-
You are, though.
...ARGH!
How is she supposed to phrase this properly?
Sakura cleared her throat of any obstructions to keep from spluttering nonsense. Or say something wrong. Oh, the horror of it all.
She aligned her vision with his, and the way Sasuke was staring at her nearly made her convulse - or react like that.
"I've been thinking through this a lot since detention with Tsunade-sama, and..."
Sakura paused for a while, trying to seek out decent words. This is way harder explaining to him than I thought it would be, gah.
"And?"
She was certain it was only her mind playing tricks on her consciousness, but did Sasuke just move closer again? Like, without her noticing? And his voice had suddenly become very silky.
Warmth stung her cheeks.
"And...u-uh...Sasuke, I think it's unfair how you and I are in here, but then our friends - your friends too - are in the cafeteria doing their punishment. I hoped we could...you know, help them instead of spending our time tutoring."
Sakura's tone finished off on a pretty strong yet soft note. And damn was she proud she hadn't lost her mind.
"You're kidding."
That's not what I was expecting! A shocked grunt escaped her mouth, lips hanging open by a centimeter in bewilderment and eyes really wide as she finally mustered up the courage to look at him straightforwardly.
UGH. Oh no. The rosette had forgotten about one bold fact: Uchiha Sasuke was someone who would so might not like what she's saying. Well, the Fierce Four, including Ino, should acknowledge her sooner or later for carrying out plan B of 'Persuade the U.S of A.' (meaning, Uchiha Sasuke of Arrogance)! Nice acronym, right?
"Sasuke, I don't mean that-"
"You want us to clean? Seriously? I'm supposed to tutor you right here, right now-"
"I want to HELP them, Sasuke! Kudasai. You don't think that sitting here while they clean is actually fair to you. The faster they get the job done, the better - I feel so guilty that they're the ones taking what was supposed to be my punishment. Don't you? I was the one who started the fight with Karin! I feel like a wimpy jerk who slapped you! I-I don't see sense to just leave them there alo-"
"Sakura."
"Huh?"
Sasuke intervening by saying her name shut her up immediately, brain reeling from her outburst. It was the truth though, and nothing but the truth. Dang, was Sasuke so careless - which represented he lacked care!
Oops. Was that the right statement?
His dark onyx eyes caused Sakura to feel as if she was a bowl of jello or ice cream as they pierced her, but no way was she going to allow herself melt. This was an important thing!
She tensed all the muscles in her body to keep from moving when Sasuke leaned in closer to her, minty breath caressing her face and delicious-smelling aftershave reeking off of him and his clothes. Oh. My. God.
"I don't care about the slap and I don't care about your fight with the red-headed whore," he whispered in Sakura's ear, his voice still tinged with confidence. Sakura sat there like a porcelain doll, afraid to even shift from her position.
"I think I know what you mean. It's unfair for them to do your punishment, but you're in here tutoring with me," Sasuke added, and tiny tremors shook through her spine as he pushed back some of her cherry hair to reveal her wide, viridian eyes avoiding his gaze; Sakura resisted the urge to squirm like a worm. He's staring at me again.
"Tell you what - you're right. I'm coming with you."
"Sasuke I-"
"Come on," he insisted, suddenly demanding and direct. Sakura's grey matter threatened to explode as Sasuke lashed out to grab her arm, tugging her out of her desk with firm force. "But our stuff-" Her mouth was open in a wide 'o'.
"Leave it," Sasuke muttered, and she dropped her pencils atop her seat with audible clatters and had no choice but to tag behind him. His last two words put her worries at rest, yet her heart was slapping against the walls of her chest with how tight Sasuke was holding her; dragging her along the vacant hallways. F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!
"We're helping."
Sakura's POV:
"Sasuke, Sakura...what are you two doing here?" Shikamaru halted mid-wipe at a table in the right corner of the place and stared at us, confused, while Kiba, Lee and Naruto's expressions were so similar - like a house of crazy mirrors - as they stopped cleaning to gape at me. Whoa, no need to be so shocked! My face burned, but my gaze darted around what they were working on. So they're doing this, I thought bitterly when I spotted a huge blue garbage thing simply standing in the middle of the food mess. Good we're helping! But where was Ino?
"Hn. Sakura felt it was really unfair for you guys to be here cleaning crap while we were tutoring, so we ditched our session today to help instead." I couldn't shake off the feeling Kiba was intensely staring at the side of my head as I turned away from his direction, successfully swallowing a big freaking lump of saliva down my throat. Ahhh, concentrate!
Lee blinked at me, and I'm positive my forehead heated up another one hundred degrees celsius [adding to Sasuke explaining why we were here, all of them switching their attention to me, and Inuzuka not letting me out of his line of vision]! "You actually ditched your tutorial session, Sakura-san? For us? We're...all so grateful!" The bowl-cut guy held his mop up in the air and bowed, accidentally sending sprays of dirty water everywhere - and the mop wasn't clean! I smiled sheepishly at him. Naruto nodded his head crazily; was agreeing with Lee, bright grin piercing my eyes.
"YEAH, thanks Sakura-chan for coming! And TEME!" Naruto waved his gloved hands at us wildly, then quickly ducked under a table again to carry on the cleaning.
"Ugh, you're so loud, dobe," I heard Sasuke mumble under his breath, and I bit back a laugh. Oh yeah, Naruto happens to have such sharp ears, they could replace a bat's, so you better watch your words around him.
"I HEARD THAT, SASUKE!" As expected, the Uzumaki's yell was muffled from beneath the table. "Stop yelling like your voice is naturally loud all the time, Naruto! Classes are still going on, you idiot," Shikamaru shouted from across the cafeteria, scrapes and wiping sounds floating everywhere.
"SORRY! Jeez-"
"Well then, go grab some mops and start washing," Neji piped in, tone as monotonous as ever. He continued polishing the glass windows beside the caf tables. Seriously, I never know what Hinata's cousin thinks about. No kidding.
"Aw, Lee you bushy brow, quit waving that thing around!" Kiba's loud yell rang in my ears (I could tell he was glaring daggers at Gai-sensei's pet), and hoping to avoid interacting with the hot brown-haired fierce four member, I followed closely behind Sasuke, who made his way to a cabinet lodged between the kitchen and the metal emergency rungs built into the paint-faded wall. Watching, Sasuke yanked open the cabinet and pulled out a pair of old mops and two buckets already full with clean water. Soap bubbles swirled at the surface.
"Here." I yelped as Sasuke tossed me a mop, and I barely missed catching it by an inch! I glared at him but kept my lips shut (and secretly loved how he was here with me, oh my gosh), grabbing one water bucket before he could throw that at me, too. I could see the Uchiha's smirk very well, thank you. Why is he doing this to me?
Shaking my head from side to side - and I could tell Sasuke was watching me walk away and go to some random area of the caf floor because the hairs on my neck just refused to stop standing up, so I absentmindedly ensured my short pink hair was properly in place (gasp) - I sighed, eyeing red, dark-green and black blobs of sauce. Great. This is gonna be some punishment.
Fifteen minutes later...and after finding Ino inside the kitchen; exchanging tidbits of gossip:
Ino dropped her soggy mop down with a plop (and splashes of grey liquid spilled onto the floor) and bolted to my side when she was done washing a table next to me, giving me a suspicious, sidelong look. I know that look, unfortunately.
"You better tell me what's going on, forehead!" She hissed in my ear, soon winking after slightly turning her head between Kiba and Sasuke's positions (and mostly prolonging her head in the Uchiha's general direction, who was mopping a section of the caf floor by Naruto and Lee). Hey, it's not what she thinks-!
Before I could even reply to her however, Ino broke away from an ogling me and sauntered towards an exhausted Shikamaru, who was hunched over and grasping a brown rag that reeked of food in the right corner; muttering 'mendokuse' over and over to himself as he wiped more revolting green gunk off the table.
Total eww: I could just imagine what he's wiping!
I stopped my mopping by the kitchen to watch my best friend move in on the Nara while ignoring Naruto's loud whines behind me ("Aw GROSS! Someone left a rotten sandwich out here! EW, spit!") and fighting the urge to even look at Sasuke. Shikamaru's other clean hand clutched the back of his neck as he looked up for a while to gaze at the glass ceiling of the cafeteria.
Oh my gosh! Why does Ino have more guts than me?
'Cause she does!
Shut it.
"U-uhm...Shikamaru, do you need help? I could mop the floor under your table while you're at it...," Ino reached over to grasp the outermost handle of her soggy mop, shooting a warm, crooked, anxious smile at the lazy genius and dragging it by her feet. By now her face was shaded a bright crimson, and I immediately knew how hard she was trying to hide her blushes. Awwee! Very nice, pig.
Nara simply glanced at Ino and shrugged, moving aside to make way for her cleaning. "Sure, I don't mind."
But 'underneath the underneath', that glance held more than an indifferent look. He's crazy for Ino, but Shikamaru's so good at hiding emotions, ugh!
Shaking my head in amusement after spotting Ino mouth 'I got it good' to me from her kneeling position beneath the tables; sky-blue eyes glimmering, I wrapped up wiping my section on the cafeteria floor and moved forward to the next row of tables, lugging the yellow water bucket behind me. This is total uber disgusting-ness! My nose wrinkled up in repulsion when I inhaled that odor: a funky mix of sweat, soap and...dirty, soggy mops. It smelled more like damp socks, to be honest with you.
A sudden movement made me yelp in surprise, all the while I was aware of Sasuke's observant stare a few metres before me. Oh my god, don't look up, don't-
"Sakura-chan!" I perked up at Naruto's energetic voice, who I saw had just bounced over to where I was, gloved in white latex with a huge black garbage bag in hand.
I blew some of my pink hair away from my eyes, smiling at him as I dumped the mop into a pool of disgusting stagnant soap water with a splash. "Naruto! So how's the cleaning going? Almost done, right?"
The Uzumaki grinned at me in return, showing me his bag full of gross junk I didn't even want to know about. "Yeah! Man this sucks, I hate how old hag made us do this-" he groaned, walking behind me and snatching up random soda cans in a way that made me laugh out loud. I mean, his cute face was practically smeared with mud and dust!
Naruto swiveled his head to look at me, confused. "What?" I gestured to my own sweaty face, stifling a giggle. And is it just me, or did I hear Sasuke clear his throat a second ago?
What the hell?
Sasuke cleared his throat alright, because you giggled!
Giggled? What does that even have to do with his freaking throat?
Figure it out yourself pinkie!
"OH! Oh shit, ITAI!" The obnoxious blonde was suddenly jumping around like a jack-in-the-box, clutching his right hand and risking his idiot meter to rise even higher.
"OWIE!" Ino and Shikamaru were distracted from their progress by his second outburst, not to mention Neji ceased wiping the ceramic caf countertops and gazed over at us with his white eyes, face expressionless.
Ugh, I'm the spotlight again!
The happiness I felt melted instantly and was replaced with agitation. I stomped my foot, frustrated and stalked over to him, leaving my mop and bucket. That idiot - so over-dramatic! My teeth ground together.
Naruto was sitting squat in the center of the cafeteria on the very floor now - which thankfully had already dryed from before or else I would do more than punch him on the head - and was whimpering, lips contorted into a pout. Jeez! His garbage bag was tossed a couple centimetres away.
"Naruto! What the hell did you do to yourself?" I said angrily, prying his hand off his chest and examining it carefully.
"Troublesome-"
"Wow, Naruto-" Ino began, until Kiba sharply cut her off with an enormous guffaw. I slightly jumped in place, finding their reactions hilarious, if you ask me.
"HAHAHAHA, five minutes left of cleaning and then you finally get an injury, el - oh - el!" Kiba held his stomach as he laughed uncontrollably, and I figured the Inuzuka was done with his task, 'cause I couldn't see his rag anywhere, either.
"Hn. Dobe." In my peripheral vision, I could observe Sasuke moving just a little to where we were and I mentally cursed. Please, kami, why does he make me feel like this again? Tingles pulsated atop my pale skin.
"SHUT UP! And WHAT did you call me teme? Ow, Sakura-chan!", he spluttered as I clutched his hand tighter, indicating he better stop moving around so much. Seriously, Naruto should take an industrial arts class or something! How more can he avoid injuring himself? Clumsy baka.
"I said you're a dobe. You still found a way to hurt yourself even with the stupid latex gloves on," Sasuke told him, his tone silky and putting emphasis on the gloves. I swallowed down another laugh, realizing that what the Uchiha said was very true. Ah, sexy voice - go away, Inner!
"Well it means I was WORKING better than all of you guys-"
"Hn, doubt it. You think picking up garbage is more worthwhile than actual cleaning-" Naruto began trembling again, and I sighed, exasperated, but also amused with their argument. Seriously.
"SASUKE-TEME! I swear I'm going to give you a-"
"Stop moving, baka! You have a long gash on your palm...and it's...bleeding a lot...," I trailed off, eyeing the two-inch cut warily, sweat beading on my forehead and my eyebrows scrunched together as I rummaged around in my uniform skirt pocket for an extra bandage and anti-bacterial wipes, not to mention Naruto's cut wasn't what I could consider an 'ah-I'm-gonna-die' wound, but more like one a reckless child would get from not being too careful.
And then I realized something once again as it rang within my brain.
God. I am a neat freak! Sasuke's words from our previous tutorial just an hour ago (not to mention that was also the time when I nearly peed my pants in trying to persuade Sasuke to help these guys; they shoud thank me for breaking through the Uchiha's vain shield, haha) zipped past my conscious and disappeared as fast as it had come, leaving me breathless for the quickest millisecond.
The Uzumaki finally shut up and instead intently stared at me as I wiped the rest of his blood off, sealing it carefully with an orange fox bandage. "There."
Then silence.
I heard nothing but the uneasy thuds of my heart vibrating through my ears, whirring ceiling fans overhead, and the shuffle of the rest of the guys either wrapping up their caf cleaning or watching me hound the idiot. Suddenly, I was completely caught off-guard as soon as Naruto spoke these freaking mind-boggling words after. Mind you, I wasn't even looking at Naruto but at my clammy hands, and then-
"Arigato, Sakura-chan! I'm just wondering...do you like me?"
I gagged and coughed as my wet hands flew to my face, desperate to hide myself somewhere dark and deserted, thank you very much. Why the hell would he say such a thing? In front of Sasuke,too...!
Blinded with anger - seriously, you can't blame me - I swiped at the Uzumaki's confused face with a bold clenched fist, then actually managed to shove one punch in his guts, my arm quickly moving upward. Naruto let out a loud yelp, spluttered, then jerked violently backwards and landed, painfully, on the floor again, arms and legs flying. "OWIE, SAKURA-CHAN!" Huh. I panted, folding my arms across my chest and fixing him with a glare that, if people knew me well enough, was capable of burning a hole through things...and humans!
"Dobe," I heard Sasuke hiss, his voice coated with pure hate from somewhere behind me, and a slow fire gurgled and bubbled from the pit of my stomach for the hundredth time. Oh my gosh.
Kiba wolf-whistled at the whole scenario as I glanced in his general direction, a warmth that was familiar - but then not wholly familiar (sorry, get where I'm going here?) creeping up the back of my neck.
"Tsk, periodically getting beat up by a hot chick's not good, Naruto." Inuzuka winked at me, and that then made an entirely different electric circuit run across every section of my body in endless sparks. I was blushing again, too!
Kiba WINKED at me. He's a bad boy! This is...this is pre-
-Not good, eh? I mean, look at the gorgeous Uchiha over there! I think the green monster's returned! And Sasuke's a bad boy too, sweetie.
Urgh, urgh and gah! You are over-observant for my tastes.
Gasping, my trembling gaze flitted over to Sasuke, and there he was, leaning lazily against a random chair right beside Neji with a tightly balled-up fist as he sent Kiba one of the most intimidating glares I have ever seen. He was clenching his fist so hard the skin of the knuckles stretching on top of his bones was a pale white! And I insist: an ultimate white!
I shuddered.
In an Uchiha's superior mindset, this type of a specific, undermining death glare meant you were going to die now, later or tonight...
...or you were pretty much being invisibly stripped down and tortured until the truth was out. Ah! Don't tell me-
The latter threw his hands up in the air, glaring right back at Sasuke. "What is your problem, Uchiha?"
"Shut. Up. Inuzuka," he snarled, shooting me a brief glance that didn't even last for three seconds! In addition to that, Sasuke's voice was low, husky and too sexy for my own good. I was utterly speechless when Sasuke actually strode forward, grabbed my wrist and tugged me out of the cafeteria.
YAY, thank youuu so much for putting up with my late updates! :D *HUG* Once again, GOMEN GOMEN GOMEN for the delay! I hope you liked this chapter :3 Quite dramatic, isn't it? Sorryyy, but really, I was starting to run out of ideas; I needed to inject something in there to liven it up from otherwise being so boring! I don't even know where this stories' going, so pleasee tell me in a review any exciting, crazy ideas you might have for it ^_^. XD
Oh yeah, and have you read Keelah's amazing, brilliant, extraordinary fic 'Instant Message'? I'm addiiicctteeddd to it and I finished ALL 48 chapters in a day and a half! I'm literally freaking out waiting for the next chappie XD If you haven't checked it out already, PLEASE DO! I beg of you. Just a word of warning: prepare to get freakishly scared :3 hahaha. It was SO hard for me to see the Naruto peoples as normal non-AU again, especially Sasuke and the dark side, after reading it omg. And it was a BAD IDEA for me to read it at night, and in the earlyyy morning (I swear, I'm talking 4 AM here)! O_O But noo, don't run away when you see 'Instant Message'! Click it click it click it! It's the best choice I've EVER made hehe (: To make it wayy easier, go to my Fav. Stories lol.
Just came back from the JAPANESE FESTIVAL downtown and it was sooo much fun! I'm dying to taste their Yakisoba udon & red bean cakes again LOL. And I tried the water balloon fishing! (felt like Sakura in the Shippuden omake - Festival of Ghosts w/Naruto, got awesome cute Japanese prizes, kyah) AND I saw people in colorful, pretty kimonos. Too muchh people, in fact! And I saw a Sasuke cosplayer following me everywhere O.O - didn't notice until I loitered by the anime tent! It was so creepy but fun 'cause the guy was hott. And tall. And decked out in all-black: the typical AU Shippuden Sasuke, the agent with a gun! I exploded lol, and my sister was screaming haha! Of course I couldn't see his face well though...I guess Sasuke-kun doesn't like being stared at XD. Don't worry, he was actually harmless after all, hehe.
I make an oath to update on timee! It's September (ALREADY?), and that means: SCHOOL ON TUESDAY. CRAP xP. I need to update as much chapters as I possibly could, 'cause my next school year is gonna be so hectic! I might cry from the stress! *fingers crossed* but I hope I can manage (:
xYama-chanx xoxo P. S. SORRY for the longgg author's note [I don't know if people even read my notes but oh well]! I missed you guys already ^ Please revieww, I need to know how you all like the story so far! I need motivation/inspiration to write more :D.