-We Will Never Part-
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the plot of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
-Chapter Nine-
-This Cannot Get Any Worse-
The entire ride from the pharmacy back home was spent in complete silence. A few minutes after Sakura had popped in her iPod headphones, they were unceremoniously yanked out of her ears by her grandmother. Sakura's sounds of protest were shut down instantly by the icy glare her grandmother gave her. Sakura then sunk back into the seat and crossed her arms in front of her chest. This had, by far, been the worst first few days of summer she'd ever experienced.
When the car finally arrived back at the house, Sakura jumped out of her seat, wanting to get away from her grandmother as quickly as possible. She snatched back her iPod as she climbed out of the car, not caring how rude the gesture was. Sakura was in such an emotional state that all she wanted was to not be near her grandmother at that moment. She quickly decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat and then lock herself in her room. Some good drawing therapy would certainly help her get control of her emotions.
It took her twenty minutes to get to the kitchen and have the staff make her a sandwich and some other snacks. She'd already started calming down in those minutes away from her grandmother and was certain that in a few more minutes she'd be feeling nearly back to 100%. The idea that she'd quickly be done with this day put a little bounce in her step as she made her way through the twisting halls from the kitchen to her bedroom.
She walked into the elegantly decorated room that was designated as hers for the summer, locked the door, and unplugged the phone. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with her grandmother and went to extra lengths to ensure they would not be able to contact each other. After that, she turned to the large ornate desk located next to a large picture window that gave her an amazing a view of the river that wound past the estate.
Sakura placed her sandwich and snacks on one side of the desk and then began digging through her oversized bag for her sketchpad, coals, and pencil crayons. She always travelled with her art supplies, even to school, in case inspiration hit her and she had to draw. She usually lost things in her large bag and had to dig around for several minutes before she found what she wanted. However, after searching her bag for almost ten minutes, and finding everything but her sketch pad, she began to get worried.
Before completely freaking out, Sakura moved to her bed and dumped the contents of her bag out onto it. Seeing everything spread out made the searching much easier. After a quick ten second search, her heart dropped.
Her sketch pad, one of her most prized possession, was not in her bag. It should have been in her bag! She vividly remembered putting it in her bag that morning. She hadn't taken it out to draw; her grandmother's friends provided zero creative inspiration. It should still be in her bag! She hadn't-
Suddenly, a memory flashed before her eyes. She had taken it out. It had been in the way of her wallet and she'd taken it out at the pharmacy and placed it on the counter. She must have forgotten it there with all the emotional turmoil she'd experienced. She couldn't believe it.
Giving herself only a few minutes to panic about the loss of such an important item, she then quickly turned to figuring out how she could go about retrieving it. She had no car. It was a strange town and she didn't know the bus routes. It was way to far to walk or bike. She could take a cab, but that could get expensive. She could try and get her grandma's driver to take her, but she didn't know if he'd listen to her.
Sakura quickly decided that before she got to overwhelmed with how she'd get to the pharmacy, she should make 100% sure that she'd actually left her sketch pad there. A quick Google search produced the pharmacy's number, which she then agilely punched into her cellphone. It took several rings, and when her call was finally answered, it was by an unenthusiastic teenage male.
"Haruno pharmacy, how may I help you?"
"Yes, hello. My name is Ha- Sakura. My name is Sakura," she'd stopped herself from using her last name, not wanting any favoritism or the like, "I was at your store earlier today and I think I may have accidently left something behind. I was wondering if there was any way to track it down." She nervously bit her lip and rocked up on to her toes.
"Haruno Pharmacy holds no liability for any lost or stolen items," the bored teen spoke as if from a script. Sakura rocked back on to the soles of her feet and let out an exacerbated sigh.
"I'm not blaming nor accusing the pharmacy. I'm just wondering if it is there so that I didn't have to come all the way down there for nothing." Sakura swore to herself that if the kid put up any more walls to her, she'd pull out her last name and feel absolutely no guilt.
"I'll look for it, but I'm not making any promises. What exactly did you leave here?" the male asked, his monotone really getting annoying to Sakura. However, at his sudden willingness to help, she danced around a little.
"It's a sketch pad. About the size of a laptop, fairly thick, with a canvass cover and calligraphy kanji on the front." Sakura tried to give the teen as much information as possible. Intellectually, Sakura knew that, if she had indeed left her sketch pad at the pharmacy, she was probably the only one. Her detailed explanation was most likely unnecessary. Emotionally, Sakura wanted her sketchpad back and would do everything in her power to ensure it was returned to her.
"Got it. Sketch pad. I'll go look, but I'm making no promises, as I stated before, Haruno Pharmacy is-"
"Yes! I know! Haruno Pharmacy is not responsible for lost or stolen items! Just go look for my sketch book! Please!" Sakura felt bad for cutting him off and yelling at him, but she was very emotional at the moment and not responsible for her actions. The teen on the other end said nothing, simply put her on hold. As the generic easy listening music emanated from the phone, Sakura began to pace her room.
She knew it was a terrible analogy, and nowhere near equitable, but in the instance, she felt like a mother who had lost her child. Her sketchpad was her baby, a part of her. Without it, she felt panicky, lost, and not sure what to do. In her moment of intense panic, generic elevator music in the background, Sakura heard the doorbell ring. She was about to go answer it, figuring the act would give her something to do while she waited for the exceptionally slow pharmacy boy, when the hold music ended.
Instantly, Sakura's attention returned to the phone. She held her breath and waited for the irritatingly disinterested voice of the boy on the other end.
"Sorry, ma'am," his words stung Sakura on several levels, "I looked through our lost and found and asked the other employees. No one has seen the sketchbook you have described. On behalf of Haruno Pharmacy, I apologize. Have a nice day." The boy didn't even wait for Sakura to respond before he hung up the phone. Sakura figured it was for self-preservation, not wanting to get reamed out by Sakura. Still, Sakura was a little offended.
After angrily hitting the 'end call' button for no reason, and throwing her phone on the bed, she collapsed down on the plushy surface, buried her face in the pillows and let out an exasperated scream. She then began kicking and punching her bed and tried to keep herself form crying.
"Should I come back later?" a voice asked from behind her. Sakura froze. No one should have been in her room. Who was it? How did he get in? What did he want? Slowly and carefully, Sakura rolled onto her back and sat up. Standing in her doorway, looking worried and concerned, and holding her sketchpad, was the rude stock boy from her grandmother's pharmacy.
"You!" Sakura glared daggers into him, "you can leave and never return! How'd you even get in here?" Sakura asked, standing up and trying to look as menacing as possible. She felt as if her privacy was being invaded and all she wanted was to get him out of her room as quickly as possible.
"Your doorman or butler or whatever let me up," he responded, looking over his shoulder as if expecting the butler to still be standing there. Sakura once again wished she was home where her parents would never let strange men up to her room. Having solved the mystery of how he got into her room, Sakura's attention moved to what he had in his hand.
"How did you get that? Did you take it, you little thief?" Sakura stepped forward and snatched her sketchbook back from him. She glared accusatorily at him, and waited for his answer.
"You left it at the shop. I was going to throw it out, but you're not terrible as an artist. I thought I'd be nice and return it to you instead. Now, a thank you, or even a tip, would be greatly appreciated, and then I'll be out of you hair for good."
Sakura stared open-mouthed at his audacity. How dare a lowly stalk-boy talk to her like that! Not that she was an elitist and felt herself above him. Just that, for all he knew, she was, and he still addressed her in such a disrespectful way.
She was about to respond back, put him in his place, when she heard the soft plodding of someone approaching. The slightly halting gait indicated her grandmother. Sakura instantly panicked.
"My grandmother's coming. She's already mad at me from earlier today and I don't think having a random guy, even if you are technically one of her employees, in my room will help the situation. You need to hide!" Sakura quickly began pushing him towards her bathroom. He protested a little, but otherwise went along with it. "Just keep quite and I'll forgive you for everything AND tip you." Sakura gave him a look then closed the bathroom door.
As soon as it clicked shut, a knock sounded on Sakura's door. She quickly flung herself onto her bed and tried to act as innocent and inconspicuous as possible.
"Who is it?" she sing-songed.
"Sakura, it is you grandmother. I know you are not happy with me at the moment, and honestly, I feel the same. However, I have news for you. So, if you would kindly grant me entry-" Sakura had slowly made her way across the room towards the door as her grandmother spoke. All the while, she was wondering why she'd gone through the effort of situating herself on her bed.
"Yes, grandmother," Sakura spoke curtly once she'd opened the door, "what is it you wish to share with me?"
"My rather annoying neighbours have noticed your presence and have come to me with a request. They both work, and, as a result, are in need of a caretaker for their loud and messy offspring. They asked my if you would be willing to provide such care, and I said you would-"
"You what?" Sakura asked, taking a step back from her grandmother in disgust.
"I said you would care for their son. You can't spend all summer sitting up here doing nothing. Now, they're leaving in twenty minutes, so you should head over now and introduce yourself before you start your new job." Chikara then turned and walked back down the hallway. Sakura angrily groaned, slammed her door, and once again flung herself down on her bed. A banging from the bathroom reminded Sakura that the stalk boy was still there.
"You can go now. There's twenty dollars in my wallet. I'll gladly never see you again." Sakura didn't move when she heard the door open, but did when she heard no other sound. She rolled over and found him standing at the foot of her bed. "Did you not here me? You can go!"
He simply smiled at her.
"Oh no, I want front row seats to see you trying to deal with the Jones' demon child. I am not about to leave now."
"You're the devil!" Sakura responded, glaring at him. However, something about his impish grin made her words come out half-heartedly. "You aren't going anywhere until I know your name at least. I can't keep calling you stalk boy." He continued to smile at her.
"Sasuke. My name is Sasuke."
-To be continued-