ENJOY!
Chapter 10: Four Opposites
Previously On "The Many Tribulations Of A Flower"...
"When Sasuke's around, peace is not even an option." She glared at the man who glared back, "...You embarrass me in front of my friends. You really hate me don't you!"
"Hn."
"Dont you Sasuke!"
"Hn."
'Can you say anything but that? Just say it already! You hate me for just being me!"
"...Ino..." Sasuke started but was soon cut off.
"Is everything alright in here?" Itachi asked. He approached the gang in a matter of seconds, "I was just upstairs straighting out some things and I heard all of the noise down 's going on?" Itachi looked specifically at Ino who held her glare on his younger brother, "..Ino? What's going on?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. We all were just straightening out some things." she lied.
"Ok." Itachi left the room again in a hurry. Ino still held her look on the raven haired man. Why did he always have to be such a prick. All the time. Even when she tried to be nice, it just didn't work. But then again, why didn't he just say the he hated her. He had already called her much horrible things before, but he couldn't say that. Why?
She couldn't stand the look of her former love interest and best friend just glaring at each other. It was unusual for somebody to dislike a person right away. Especially someone like Ino who was a typically nice person."Come on guys, let's all stop this." Sakura stated.
"Sakura's right. Just don't you evertalk like that again to Sai. Ever. Understood?" she warned. In Ino's world, her friends were her everything.
"Hn...he started it."
"Are you serious right now? You called him gay before you even knew him!"
Sakura gasped, "...Really?"
Ino nodded her direction. She saw Sasuke as he gave Sakura an irritated look. As if he was putting her in check.
Sai patted the blonde's shoulder with a smile, "Why, I'm the 'bigger' man after all. So I'll go first, I'm sorry for being 'bigger' than you, Sasuke."
"Ino, get Sai!" Sakura shouted.
"Sai, it's over. Enough with the jokes about that." Ino demanded, "Look here Sasuke, just act decent around my guest. I'd do the same for yours."
"Thing is...I wouldn't care."
"Um...why don't we all go watch a movie." Sakura suggested.
Sasuke slightly looked at her, "What movie?"
"Does it matter? Really?" Ino asked, more annoyed than ever. He just had to argue about any little thing. Damn he was irritating.
"Yes, it does." The man stared at the girl as she was about to go off on him again. He hushed her, "Sakura, come." he ordered. The pink haired lady did as she was told, following behind the sad excuse for a man. At least that's what Ino though of him. She sure hoped that Sakura wasn't going to be his dog once again. To her, Sakura was a very good woman, just naive. Still, he really didn't deserve her, she was to good for him. Ino hoped she would see that.
Sai started glaring at the other man as he walked away, "Um, Ino, movies aren't my cup of tea. I think I'll be going now-"-
"No!" Ino tugged on the man's arm, sending him back where he was at. "No, please dont leave me here. When Sakura's around Sasuke, she acts like his puppet. I'll go crazy. Stay, please..." she begged. She did her best to put on the best puppy dog face she could handle. Still pouting, she waited for him to respond.
"Alright,I'll stay. Just now, you owe me a favor. Any favor. Deal?" he took out his hand while arching up his eyebrows.
The hand got put down as another's body was pressed against his chest and abdominal area. The woman's tight hug frightened the emotionless man. Never had a hug been so powerful. The blonde hair girl jolted up her head, showing off her cute smile and sky like eyes, "Deal. Thank you so much." He nodded down at her.
Ino let go of her grasp and walked over to the stairs. She signaled for Sai to follow her up them.
The man did so. He caught Sasuke's eye, ignoring him the best way he could, he looked at what was in front of him. Seeing the round shaped body part, he turned his head to the side immediately. Why? Because he had once read that many men got slapped or punched for looking at such a thing. Personally, he hadn't really understood what the big deal was. But he would rather be curious than knocked out.
Ino took the paler man's hand, leading him into Sasuke's room which was now half way hers. Shifting her eyes towards his, she announced hauntingly, "Alright, be prepared for the darkest, creepiest room of all time."
Sai began to laugh but stopped once the door open. She wasn't kidding. Everything was pitch black and weird, demonic pictures hung around the room. Releasing her hand from his, he crept over towards the only little light there was. Purple. Must have been Ino's. Her sheets somewhat showed off in the dark room.
Ino walked up behind him, "So, what do you think? Is this room as evil as Sasuke?"
Keeping his eyes on the wall pictures he stated, "Nothing is as evil as Sasuke."
The young girl chuckled, "True. Wow Sai, I should have talked to you sooner. You're funny. Sorry about that one time in the hospital..."
Sai waved it off, "No worries. Like I said, I'm use to getting beat around."
"You shouldn't be." Ino snapped back, "You know, at first I thought you were this quiet, weird guy but you're actually a great person. I'm sorry for just thinking such things." she frowned. Never would she judged a person right away again. Getting to know them was better than talking about them, "I'm really glad you gave me another chance."
"It's nothing. I liked you ever since I first saw you. You were always the same caring Ino Yamanka to me." he smiled.
"Really?"
"Really. Most people don't like me. They say that I have no feelings...which I really don't."
"No, that's wrong. Just because you don't show any feeling doesn't mean you don't have them. You have to. If you were made up of pieces and didn't have a heart, then I'll understand. But you're human, remember that. It's just a matter of time before you realize that you really do have emotions." Ino swiftly slid her hand on his abdominal and pulled him to her side. She heard his gasp and cried out a laughter, "...See, you gasped. What were you feeling right there?"
Sai looked the other way, "N-Nothing, I was just..."
"Shocked maybe." she teased with her silly, cute nature.
"No." Sai moved his right hand towards her stomach, sliding up her long sleeved shirt. The girl gasped loudly at his cold touch, "...Now who's shocked?" he narrowed his eyes down at her.
"Probably me."
Ino and Sai turned around suddenly, spotting out a well dressed, long haired man.
The blonde's hand went down to her side, "I-Itachi...hi."
"Should I be suspecting something? The last time I checked Sai was your friend. Or...are you two dating? Well if you are, why didn't you tell me? Did you have a long distance relationship? No, wait a minute, Sai's my student. Then, did you secretly date and you didn't tell me? Or wait, is he touching your stomach because..." The mans face screamed horror, "Ino, dear...Are you Pregnant? Am I going to be a godfather?"
"Itachi!" Ino shouted. She sighed as she continued, "The answer to all those questions is no. We're just new friends. We barely know each other...it'sa long story of what you saw going on. But, I will be honored to call you the godfather of my child one day." She just wanted to put that out there. Hopefully, that was going to change his view of the current situation. But hell, all she was doing was goofing around. She was 100% sure her and Sai had nothing go on. 100%.
"Well that's good. I know I can trust you Ino. Hopefully, I can trust you also Sai."
"You can ." he nodded taking steps away from the blonde to show how much he meant it. It seemed to cool Itachi down.
"Um...Itachi, where are you going?"
"I have some business to take care of with some people. I'll be back later on today, hopefully." Slipping on his jacket, he grinned at the blonde, "Come here, sweety."
Ino confusingly walked up towards her guardian. Not knowing what he had called her for, she opened up her mouth but it got interrupted.
Itachi placed his hand on top of the blonde's head, still grinning. Ino felt like a kid but accepted, "Take care Ino. And...you're allowed to sleep in your bed now." he chuckled. She nodded and waved as the man headed down the stairs. Turning around back to the straight faced Sai, she sighed, "..Ok, let's get this over with." He nodded and followed her down the stairs. Itachi had already been gone and Sakura and Sasuke were sitting on the couch, watching the unknown movie.
Sai saw how angry the girl looked and tried to calm her down but failed.
"Hey!" Ino shouted.
Sakura turned around suddenly, "...Ino? What's the matter?"
"What's the matter? You started the movie without us? You out of all people know how much I hate not seeing movies from the beginning." she seemed to calm down a little.
Sasuke looked from behind the couch, "Boohoo, save it for Itachi. If you wanted to see the damn movie you should had been down here and not upstairs doing you thing."
Sakura blushed instantly but Ino just got more angry. He had actually thought she was this whore. And with Sai? Really, he should think before he spoke.
Sai wanted to say something back but decided against it since Ino wouldn't want him to.
Ino surprisingly smiled. Not a fake one but a real one. Sighing mentally she responded serenely, "I see your game Sasuke. And I'm not interested in planning. Come on Sai, let's go make some popcorn." she didn't give her friend a chance to decline but instead dragged him alone with her. Angrily, she grabbed a packet of popcorn and stuffed it into the microwave, setting it.
Sai sighed while leaning against the counter, "Don't let that...man get to you." he fault the urge of wanting to say 'small.'
Ino joined his side, crossing his arms she replied, "I'm not. I just hate how Sakura pushes me aside for him. When we were younger, Sasuke and I use to hang out. Then all of a sudden, girls started to go gaga over him and Sakura were one them. She was like his ground that he could walk all over."
"And you were never one of those girls?" he asked.
Ino kept her sanity, "No...especially not now. He's so mean. But what I don't understand is why he treats me like this. Not that I care...I...I...just-"
The ringing bell caused her to stop. Ino walked over, pulling out the hot object. She returned to the couch with Sai following behind her.
"Ino, sit over here with us." Sakura suggested. Ino looked over at Sasuke who also looked back at her and Sai.
"Sai?" Ino asked. She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. After all she as the one who told him to stay. He was her company and Sakura was Sasuke's.
He shook his head and sat on the love-seat.
"...Ino..." Sakura lead on, "Come sit by us. Come on, I'm sure Sasuke won't mind."
Sasuke? She couldn't care less about what he would think? Still holding on to her sanity, she stated, "...Sakura, I think I'll join Sai on this one. He was the one who came over here to see me after all." She tried her best not to sound like a snobby bitch. She hoped it worked...
Sakura shrugged, "...Ok." she turned back to Sasuke and smiled lovingly. He returned her with a shift of the eye.
The blonde plopped down on the spot next to Sai, growling as she did so, "...Sai, what's wrong with her?"
He shrugged, "Sakura's probably in love." he whispered. Keeping his eyes on the horror film. A brunette haired woman just got slashed with a knife in the throat. It kept his intrest since he was all about drama. He couldn't say it was weird, he just liked things like that.
The blonde flipped her hair away from her eye, "Yea, a fool in love."
"...You can say that."
"You know what, I'm done. I'm just going to watch this movie and be quiet." And thats what she did. Meanwhile, catching Sasuke's eye as he looked over in her direction. Matter of fact, she counted the many time the man had looked her way. It was at least six times. It wasn't like her and Sai were doing anything. They haden't even said anything to each other as the film continued. It was about an hour before it ended. Wow, she was late. The first person to get up was Sasuke, walking towards the stairway.
"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted after him.
"...Hn.."
The pink haired woman blushed, "Um, if it's alright with you, I...I just...um, maybe, can we go out like...on a date?" She felt her heart race.
"...Well, why not. See you sometime, someday."
"W-Well, when is that?"
"When I call you."
"Oh...Alright, see you then Sasuke." she squealed, running Ino's way, "Oh my goodness, did you see that. This is the first time he had ever said yes. I know, I know I sound like I'm fourteen right now, but I'm so happy! So Ino...as a friend, be happy for me. Please."
Ino sighed, "Yea, Sakura. I'm happy for you because I really do care about your well being. But...Sasuke...he's" she didn't want to ruin one of her best friend's moments. If she had told him that he was some womanizer, her heart would be broken. How could she put it a nice way...
Sakura rose up one of her pink eyebrows, "Yea, Ino?"
"...He's just the same old Sasuke when you met him. Honey, be smart." Ino was akways the outspoken one of her and Sakura. A while ago, when Hinata was around, the three would always hang out. They had each others back constantly. And now...Sakura desprately needed a back to lean on.
Sakura patted Ino's shoulders, "Honey...I am smart, ok. Just, trust me, I'm grown after all." she smiled, "It was nice seeing you Ino...Sai. See you guys later." the green eyes girl rushed off.
"Ugh!" Ino shouted, slamming the door shut.
"What's wrong now?" Sai asked
"Nothing. I love Sakura to death but sometimes she's just so..."
"Stupid." Sai commented.
Ino frowned, "I was going to say naive. She's a sucker for a cute face and cool attitude. That's everything that Sasuke is."
"Is Jealously involved?" Sai asked with a sligh smirk crossing his face. He stopped suddenly once he saw her growing angry. Really, he felt like once of Ino's girlfriends. She walked up to him and tried her best to smile. Hm, mission impossible when Sasuke's name was included.
"No, not jealously. Concern for a friend. I'd do the same for you if the girl you was crushing on was a total bitch."
"No, she's not like that." Sai suddenly stated without hesitation.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. I...I'll be going now. See you later Ino." Without letting the blonde comment back he rushed out the door, waving back.
Ino stood there, dumbfounded. Wow? What did he just say? He was crushing on somebody?... She had to find out. But not right now, she had serious homework to finish. Taking her time up the stairs, she continued her journey into her now room. The door was already open, with Sasuke lying down on his bed, hands behind his head. They simultaneously growled but Ino soon got over it. Staying her distance she replied, "...Don't you dare hurt Sakura. That's all I'm going to say." Pulling out her papers from her desk, she started to work. Really, she didn't care if Sasuke hated her guts, all she cared about was her friends. Friends were all she had. Her dad, was not even in the picture anymore. Without trying, she noticed Sasuke had gotten up and headed to her side.
He had made himself comfortable by sitting down on her bed. He dark eyes shifted towards her blue ones, "...Blondy."
She scooted away from him, making it obvious, "Sasuke? What do you want?"
"You and Sai, huh?"
Wow, that was the most he had said to her independently. And he said it calmly. What was going on?
"No. Me plus Sai equal opposites. But...why do you care? You don't like me at all and its so obvious. I'm actually use to it now. But why? Why do you treat me like I'm below you?"
The tall man shrugged, rubbing his hand through his soft hair, "...Hn. Why do I do a lot of things." he mumbled. Standing up, he headed back to his bed and laid down silently. Ino just watched as he did so. Why did he come over here? she thought to herself. But...what was strangest of all, she had not felt the slightest bit of cold when he approached her. He...Sasuke, was actually normal. She guessed.
THANK YOU FOR READING! NOW, I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR ALL OF YOU SILENT READERS.
I UNDERSTAND GREATLY, BECAUSE I KINDA HATE LEAVING A REVIEW TO. BUT IT MAKES THE AUTHOR
WRITE FASTER AND BETTER IF U DO REPLY. SO PLEASE, TAKE TIME OUT TO JUST SAY SOMETHING. EVEN
IF YOU THINK SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT, TELL ME. THANK YOU 'VALKYRIE', 'INO-YAMANKA-CHAN' AND 'BYEMMPH'. OH YEAH, AND
IM PLANNING ON WRITING A SEQUEL WHERE THE AKATSUKI FITS IN. IT WILL ONLY GET BETTER WITH THE DRAMA. =)
WITH LOVE-Mizundastudz