Title: Skirts & Shoes, Pants & Punches
Fandom: Naruto
Type: Multi-chapter story
Rated: PG13
Word Count: 3, 014
Summary: She wentfrom a girly girl known for her arrogance to a hardcore tomboy known for her parents' astonishing death. Sakura Haruno realized how stupid she had been all this time. Being somebody she's not just to win a boy's heart? Some inspiration turned her into her true self—a tomboy. Not only did this transformation attract the Akatsuki- it attracted her crush and nearly all the boys in school. However, a hardcore tomboy such as her is hard to enthrall.
From girly girl to tomboy, she has been through the worst. Getting an invitation to join the Akatsuki, she realized she's just caught the attention of more men than she can count. Unfortunately, tomboys don't easily fall in love. AkaSaku with MultiSaku.
A/N: Hello, dear readers! I've been on hiatus for a while. So, this chapter is a bit short! I just needed to get this off my shoulders…and please excuse the errors if you find them. I promise I'll make the next chapter as promising as it could be. I hope you'll like this one just as well
…
..
.
Fortune favours the bold
.
..
…
"Well, who knew grocery shopping was so fun," Tenten's lips parted into a grin as she settled down in a comfortable chair.
"I always imagined it would be," Hinata replied with a gentle smile, pulling out a chair. She sat down beside the brunette at the rectangular, table-for-four.
Ino giggled as she pushed the trolley, filled with Sakura's groceries, and placed it near the table. The Pinkette thanked her, and the girls occupied the remaining two seats in front of Tenten and Hinata.
It was a cloudy, windy Saturday evening. Sakura was out at a shopping complex with her new friends, just as she promised with Ino on Thursday afternoon. After a wonderful time shopping for the groceries Sakura needed for the month, the four decided to stop by a café before heading elsewhere.
After placing orders (and after a few flirts by Ino to the waiter), the girls calmed down for a chat.
"Are you having fun?" Ino smiled at the Rosette.
"Of course," Sakura replied warmly. "Thank you for having me."
"It's always a pleasure," Tenten assured. "It's a pity, seeing you misunderstood and lonely, and futhermore, with all you've been through, you need friends your age."
A meaningful moment of silence fell upon them, before Ino snapped her fingers and broke the silence.
"Who are you going to the prom with, Hinata?" Ino grinned mischieviously.
The questions startled the Pinkette. 'Prom? What prom? I haven't been told of a prom!'
Hinata's face tinted red. The shy girl averted Ino's cheeky gaze and she stuttered, "I-I haven't asked…anyone yet…"
"Same here," Tenten allowed a hearty laugh to escape her lips. "Neji's hard to approach, you have to admit that!"
Sakura remained silent. Her mind was blank.
"Oh, you haven't heard of the prom?" Disappoinment washed over Ino's face at the sight of Sakura's confused expression. "My dear girl, pay attention to the announcements next time! The prom's on Tuesday night. Lucky you still have one day to find a date, though I doubt anybody's still single for the prom."
Sakura giggled nervously, and Tenten smiled at her. A hint of mischief twinkled in her hazel eyes as she teased, "I wonder which member of the Akatsuki you're going to bring there?"
"I'm guessing Hidan-sama!" Ino exclaimed dreamily. "I'll get to kiss him on the cheek again."
Sakura was not given the chance to express her disgust when Hinata chimed in, "What about Sasori-san? In my opinion, he's the most ideal for Sakura-chan."
Sakura's jaw dropped, but before she could exclaim in disbelief, she was interrupted once more. This time, when Tenten quickly added, "Oh, dear no! I'm guessing Pein-san. I heard rumors he was seen with Sakura-chan yesterday night."
The Haruno heir's face burned with embarrassment as three curious eyes turned to her. A rumor! Who could have seen her with Pein at the ice rink last night?
"That's just gossip!" She snapped her fingers, though her voice quavered and her cheeks were pink. "Not Hidan, not Sasori and not Pein! I'm going to the prom without a date."
Ino snorted. "I doubt that!"
Tenten grinned. "Just what I expected from you, Sakura-chan."
The waiter came, with a tray of drinks in hand. Shortly afterwards, their food was brought to them. The girls had a healthy and hearty meal before leaving the café to start for Sakura's home.
After sending the groceries to Sakura's house, the girl headed for a karoake bar. It was dawn by the time the girls had their own booths.
After an hour of singing and music, Sakura excused herself to go outside. She wandered from the bar to other outlets and café, the prom occupying her thoughts.
She was mortified by the reality that boys were sure to ask her plentiful of invitations to the prom. Sakura realized quite some time ago she was a popular girl and had a lot of admirers. Now, a prom! How was she going to deal with it?
When she snapped out of her thoughts, she found herself in a girls' department store. Her eyes laid on a few beautiful dresses, and with the plentiful money in her pocket, she decided to buy a dress for the prom.
She spent the next half hour trying on dress after dress, ones of different pattern, design and colour, subconsciously noting how pretty she really was. As she put on a dark, ankle-length frock, admiring herself in the mirror, Sakura wondered whether her friends were looking for her.
"I think I'll go with this one," Sakura told herself, nodding in approval as she ran her hands over the translucent sleeves of the chosen black dress.
After taking the selected dress off, she draped it over her arm and proceeded to unlock the booth to get to the counter. Sakura pushed the door open, put one foot out…until somebody slammed into her.
She stumbled back into the booth as another person entered it with her. The door to the stall closed and locked, and Sakura struggled in the tight space to process what had happened. Whoever entered was tall and well-built, taking up most of the small area.
"Sssh!" The man whispered hoarsely, cupping his hand over her mouth.
Panic rose in her and her eyes snapped shut at the feeling of a hand over her mouth. 'Oh God oh God oh God—'
"Calm down, please," He reassured in a low voice. Sakura noted how gentle his tone was, and the assurance was convincing. Slowly, the Pinkette became less tense, though her eyes were still closed.
It was then, the shuffling sounds of footstepss came about outside their stall.
"That little bitch, hiding in some girls' store!" Somebody barked from outside.
"He must've gone into this stall!"
Loud bangs came on the door, and Sakura's pulse picked up speed. Whoever had intruded into her privacy was in some sort of trouble, and now she was mixed up in it.
"Please call out to them that nobody's here," The man with her pleaded. His voice was soothing, but with the hectic situation, his assurance failed.
"I'll take my hand off your mouth," He said slowly. "But you'll have to make them go away."
Sakura did not even reply, but the smooth hand was taken off her lips. She waited a few moments, her eyes still closed, before the courage finally built up within her.
"P-Please don't hurt me!" She shouted to the multiple persons outside. "I've done nothing. You've got the wrong girl!"
Murmurs came from outside, before the stillness returned after the sound of receding footsteps.
"Thank you," The man said, his voice heavy with meaning.
Sakura opened her eyes finally, but looked down at her feet. If only everything wasn't so sudden, she would have kicked the asses of these men (including the person with her).
"I'm sorry I had to put you through that," He apologized.
Sakura scowled at the floor, but said nothing. Anger was slowly replacing her confusion and fear.
Quickly, the intruder fled the scene. By the time Sakura looked up, there was nobody there, and the black dress she had in mind was missing.
"That bastard," She growled, stepping out of the booth. "I may not know who he was but I swear I'll kick his ass the next time I hear his voice…"
"Sakura!"
Her train of thought disappeared when Ino's voice rang through the air. She turned and found the blonde jogging towards her, fuming with anger.
"How dare you simply run off like that!" Ino snapped, "You had us all so damned worried! You say you were going to have a drink or two and you disappear into some…some…"
She was too angry to finish her sentence. The blonde grabbed Sakura by the wrist and led the Pinkette out of the store, not listening to the protests and excuses given by her.
.
Konan sighed tiredly as she re-read the notes in her memo pad.
'Whereabouts of Akatuki boys during time of Haruno accident:
Deidara: Changed into casual clothes directly after school, went to the cyber café for homework research purposes
Zetsu: Walked to the shops near school after the bell rang to buy items for gardening
Sasori: Walked to a friend's house after changing out of uniform at school
Itachi: Changed out of normal clothes and headed for the shops near school to buy some food
Kisame: Was at home, confirmed by Kakuzu
Kakuzu: Was at home, confirmed by Kisame
Pein: Changed into normal clothes, and quickly left to buy supplies to do Kurenai-sensei's assignments
Madara: Says he was around the school area to pick up Itachi (because he wanted to take him out for lunch, instead Itachi disappeared to the shops to buy food for himself)
Hidan: Sneaked out of school during reccess, then skipped the rest of the day by catching a cab and heading for the mall.'
"What do I hope to achieve with this?" Konan wondered aloud to herself, subconsciously running her fingers across the coarse paper. "If I wanted to find Sakura's savior…this was what I was supposed to do in the first place…but I need to find out what Itachi's hiding."
The blue-haired girl released an exasperated sigh. She had spent her Saturday evening collecting useless information!
Keeping the memo pad away in her pocket, the young girl pushed herself off the public bench and halted a taxi. In less than fifteen minutes, she found herself at the Uchiha manor.
She was greeted by one of the servants, who bowed politely and started to explain Madara was away at work and Itachi was out, running some errands. The amber-eyed beauty already knew all this. Itachi and Madara weren't the reason of her visit.
"How long has Itachi been out?" Konan asked, noticing the sky was absorbing into gold and purple.
"About a few hours, miss."
"Can I please come in? I'm sure Itachi would be here soon."
"Oh, sure," The maid was surprised, and with hesitance, she allowed the guest in.
Konan smiled to herself as she was led into the grand living room. Her initiated plan was going well.
The walls were a pure peach, the floor carpeted red, the leather sofas pristine, white and comfortable, the fireplace beholding warm, crackling fire, the room dim and cozy; Konan was happy to be in here. In such a beautiful atmosphere, she was sure to reach her goal.
Presently, the servant came in again, with a tray. Formally, she offered Konan a drink.
Kindly, the young girl accepted it. The maid sat down on the sofa opposite her. Konan, after a few sips, decided it was time to start with her objective.
"I'm sorry to ask," She started, pretending to look embarrassed. "But…has Itachi been acting strange lately?"
The mai looked startled, but answered anyway. "Oh, of course! Dear Itachi-sama has always been so reclusive, but it isn't like him to be cold and, well, rather mean to the others. Recently he's been, dare I say, moody?"
"Oh, that's very weird," Konan laughed—a hearty, meaningful laugh. Her mirth seemed to have broken down the maid's tenseness and hesitance, and she continued, "Does Pein visit him often? They're good friends, you know."
"Is that so?" The woman was bewildered. "Pein-sama visits often. Very often, in fact. But his visits, they're always to Madara-sama, not Itachi-sama."
Ah, this was what Konan was looking for. She raised an eyebrow and pretended to be curious. "Pein's frequent visits started…when?"
"Oh, to be precise, two months and a half ago," The answer came readily and confidently. "Almost every week, he would come and visit Madara-sama. Oh, except the two weeks where Pein-sama caught an awful fever, but besides that, his presence at this manor is weekly."
"Oh, I remember when he got sick!" Konan giggled. Her plan was going well! Just a little bit more would do. "He was so cranky and needed all the attention he could get."
The servant giggled, and Konan asked, "Perhaps Itachi is sick. You never know, these men, sometimes they look fine when in truth they're struggling with fever. Do you remember when Itachi started to act strange?"
The maid was silent for a while, recalling. Finally, she replied slowly, "If my memories don't fail me, it was about three weeks ago—wait, no, two weeks ago. A few days before the party."
Konan remained silent, for the maid had more to say. "Ah, I remember! It was a Tuesday night. I remember because it was the butler's birthday, you see. Pein-sama visited us that night, and I recall how I hastened to send him to Madara-sama."
Konan was pleased with this information. Two weeks ago, on Tuesday night, was simply a day before Madara revealed himself as Sakura's hero!
"And the most strangest thing happened that day, too!" The maid exclaimed. "After the tiny celebration we had for the butler between us servants, I came up the stairs and saw Itach-sama standing in front of the drawing room doors (where Pein-sama and Madara-sama were)."
"Oh, yes?" Konan sipped on her drink, urging her to continue.
"He looked surprised, like in disbelief or something of the sort," The maid explained with a frown. "At that moment, Madara-sama opened the doors and invited Itachi-sama in."
She lowered her voice and whispered, "I would say Itachi-sama must have eavesdropped or overheard something."
"That's interesting…" Konan commented.
"Oh, but that's just my opinion!" The woman hastily said, as though embarrassed she had said more than she was supposed to.
"Of course, I understand," The blue-haired beauty assured. She glanced up at the clock, and noticed it was dawn. She set her cup on the table and rose from the sofa. "Oh dear, I should go now. I thought Itachi would be here earlier! I was wrong. I guess I'll just talk to him about it at school."
"Would you like me to tell Itachi-sama about your visit?"
"No need to," Konan smiled kindly. "Thanks for the wonderful drink and chat."
As she exited the Uchiha manor and called for a cab, she complimented herself for her sneaky skills. Oh, what valuable information she had!
'Their secret won't stay a secret forever.'
.
It was a peaceful morning the following day, and Sakura, after a good night's sleep and refreshing bath, went out to the door of her home.
It was then she noticed a small parcel by the gate.
Curious, she brought the package into her home and tore it open, finding a gift box inside. On it, there was a small card.
'Thank you, and I'm sorry.'
Sakura smiled at the card as Inner Sakura mused, 'Ah, our admirers at school have taken their admiration for us to a whole different level.'
She wondered who had sent this gift. Kiba? Shikamaru? Neji? Gaara? It was possible whatever was in the pacakage was sent to her to please her, and to get her to go to the prom with the sender.
She frowned when certain questions came to mind. 'But… "I'm sorry"? Who…'
Surprise replaced her confusion when she opened the box.
"The dress!" She exclaimed, a gasp escaping her lips as she pulled the black dress out from the box.
Oh, she thought she would never have the time to go and buy it!
Her thoughts were occupied for a few minutes, of pure admiration for the beautiful outfit, of fantasizing how pretty she would look in, of how Madara would ask her for a dance…
"Who sent it?" She asked herself, snapping out of her fantasies as she eyes the dress suspiciously.
There was some silence, until a possible answer cam to her mind and a gaso escaped her lips.
Was it sent by that mysterious intruder?
It was unbelievable, but Inner Sakura thought it was the most probable. Sakura begged to differ…she didn't even know him! Why would he send it to her? As a sign of an apology? A stranger would never go that far to simply apologize. The dress was expensive…
'You had your eyes closed the whole time,' Inner Sakura reminded. 'Don't you think it's possible we know him, but didn't recognize his voice? Just think about it.'
'That's…possible.' There was no denying that fact.
In search of a confirmation, Sakura flipped the card over. To her surprise, there was an extra message.
'I hope you'll wear this to the prom.'
A grim smile played on her face. "I knew this had something to do with the prom."
…
..
.
Mystery is magical~
.
..
…
A/N: There's a poll on my profile page, and it's very important for the next chapter. The next chapter is all about MultiSaku, and since I'm at a loss of what to do, you should go and vote!
Reviews = Love = Author's Inspiration = Faster Updates