Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. :p
Title: President Of My Fan Club
Summary: I think I have a problem. Firstly, it turns out that the president of my fan club doesn't like me at all. Not one bit. The second is that she's a money hungry girl who's making profit off of me. And the third? I think I'm falling for her. SasuSaku.
Languages I've used: English, Spanish, Korean, Russian, German, French, Traditional Chinese, Greek, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Bulgarian, Finnish, Danish, Czech, Urdu, Thai, Turkish, Malay
-MULA!-
The house was nothing short of beautiful. Every little bit of it was left for scrutiny and with each passing glance I grew to admire it more and more. A winding dirt path lined with oblong stones led to the main door and flora blossomed all around the inside of the walled fence. The grass was lush and green, the shade of green that is seen only in the movies, so bright and vibrant. Several trees sprouted about the area, but my eyes caught glance of a lone cherry-blossom tree that kept to itself directly by the house, almost growing right up against it. It was the only tree near the building. The trunk was thick and the branches scrambled up to the sky like an army of outstretched arms.
It took my breath away.
I hadn't noticed it at first, but Sasuke's house was not located in the well-to-do portion of the district where Ino, Emi, Karin, and most of the other students lived. (In almost all cases, the students attending Konoha High move into the area after being accepted as most of them used to live in cities. Thus, the students were situated closely together. In a way, they are forced to grow up together for the next four years.) He lived in a district that preserved some history, retaining the ancient qualities of Japan that made it charming and fascinating. Hinata lived in a similarly styled district, but not in the same one as Sasuke's. It was strange, though, because I had not been expecting his family to live in a place like this.
The house was majestic. It seemed to radiate a sort of regal air that captivated the on-looker. The outer walls were made out of a dark, rich ebony wood with two large windows on either side of the main pair of shoji sliding doors. A patio made out of the same blackish wood surrounded the perimeter of the house. There was a second floor, and a balcony also framed the outside, but went only halfway around. The roof was made out of dark gray shingles, sloping downwards and matching the shingles that lined the top of the fence. The architectural style was heavily influenced by the Edo period—and thus, unless it was, for some reason, brand new, the house should be very, very old. Several hundred years, perhaps?
The number boggled my mind. My house couldn't have been more than three years old. It was like a newly born child compared to this! I couldn't stop myself from staring as I followed Sasuke, not paying much attention to him, but on the intricate engravings by the windows. A question slowly bubbled to the front of my brain as I tore my eyes from the house to Sasuke. We were almost at the front door, maybe a yard or so away. "Hey," I called. He paused in his walking and turned his head, staring at me from over his shoulder. "Not to sound rude," I went on, as I stepped closer to him, "but why do you live here?"
He blinked and turned his body around completely to face me. "Ah, that's right," Sasuke said, almost thoughtfully, gazing upwards for a moment, "I never explained my housing situation to you." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to muss up the flat top. (And failing miserably.) "This house," he began, gesturing to the building behind him with his hand, "was originally my grandparent's home—on my mother's side, that is. It had been in the family's possession for a long time, maybe since the Edo period in...the eighteenth century? Some where around there." Sasuke gave a light shrug and continued, "We—my mother, my father, my brother, and I—originally lived in Kyoto in a more Western-styled home. However, since this house was close to my school, my grandparents offered to trade houses until I graduated." A wry smile made its way to Sasuke's face. "When I first came here," he said, "I had to use a squat toilet for about a month until repairs got done. My grandparent's at first refused to allow any renovations being made to the house since the property was still theirs and they wanted to retain its historic qualities. But after spending a day without toilet, the flushable one, I mean, they agreed."
I laughed. "A squat toilet?" I asked, incredulously. For those who may not know, a squat toilet consists of a semi-deep hole dug into the ground. The user squats over said hole and all waste matter is dumped in there. Every two months or so, a cleaning truck comes by to suck up all the excrement left in the hole. The squat toilet is usually located far away from the house, much like an outhouse, because of its rancid odor. Many people in Japan use the flush toilet, but a more modern version of the squat toilet, where water cleans the hole and leads the excrement to a sewer pipe, is still widely used. In more rural areas, such as where Sasuke lives, the squat toilets are not as up-to-date.
Sasuke nodded grimly. "Worst experience of my life. We got rid of it, though, entirely. I don't think anyone of my family members wanted to remember it." He let out a short sigh and said, "Anyways, let's go in. My mother must be wondering why we're taking so long." He turned around and began walking towards the door. Once more, I followed, though my thoughts were wrapped around on a single word.
Mother.
The word flowed smoothly from his lips, so casually—a word he used everyday. I wonder what his mother looked like. She was most likely beautiful, considering what Sasuke looked like. She probably has black hair, wispy, like a raven's wing. Maybe it's long and curls a bit at the edges, like she woke up extra early to look nice, but that was just the way her hair looked naturally.
And her eyes...?
I closed mine for a second, blinking longer than I should have, trying to conjure up an image in my head. Something flickered across my mind, quick, a flash of color.
Green.
The brightest shade of green I've ever seen in my life, brighter than the grass growing on the lawn. I took a step back, dizzy from the color swirling around in my mind and caught a glimpse of a nose—curved, sloping, cute...
...but most of all, familiar.
Like something I've seen often before in the mirror. I took another step back and saw the pinkish hue of a lip tilted upwards in a smile. It was a pretty smile, opening to show a set of white teeth, dimples gently forming at the edges of the mouth.
Back again.
Two rosy cheeks swam along into my view with two sloping eyebrows, dark as the raven wing's hair, and a high forehead.
I step back for the last time and realized, with a start, that the hair wasn't black at all. It was a strange shade of brown, almost reddish, but not quite. It shimmered in the light.
The smile widened and turned into a laugh, a musical sound that seemed to almost twinkle. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her face, a far off memory. But if I closed my eyes, I felt something warm envelop me, its arms reaching around my waist; my cocoon. With a sudden start, I realized the identity of the stranger entrancing my mind.
The woman was my mother.
My mind turned blank.
Mother.
"Hey." The voice was masculine, and all of a sudden blue flew into my vision. It was the sky. I had been looking up this whole time. A long breath left me as I lowered my head, staring back at Sasuke, who stared back at me with his eyebrows scrunched in the middle. "Are you all right?" I nodded my head and took several steps back forward to close the distance between us. He was holding the shoji sliding door open, which, oddly, didn't slide left to right but actually opened into the house. An illusion, a trick door? "You first," he said, gesturing me in with his hand. I went inside. The door closed with a click.
Mother.
"Sasu-chan? Are you inside?" The speaker stepped out from around the corner, her face soft, lips spread to a smile. It was a different smile than the one in my head. A bit more patronizing, perhaps. Her eyes were warm and the color of hot coffee. Her smile widened when she caught sight of me. "Why, hello! It's so nice to meet you," she said, her slippered feet carrying her over to where I stood, "You must be the classmate Sasu-chan was talking about. What's your name?"
"Haruno Sakura." My lips felt dry. But they curled in amusement anyway at the nickname bestowed onto our beloved school Prince.
"Well, Sakura-chan, do you mind if I call you that?" I shook my head. She went on, her voice light and cheery, "Welcome to our house! We have slippers right here for you to use-" she pointed to the pink pair that were right in front of me, "-and please make yourself comfortable."
I bowed my head, "Thank you very much." The slippers were soft and comfortable, and the wooden floor they sat upon was a tannish color, well-cleaned and polished.
Sasuke's mother clasped her hands together. "Such a polite girl," she complimented, smiling at me. Cheeks pink, I merely shook my head. "Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. Sasuke, why don't you show her to the living room and turn the TV on?" He nodded and nudged me lightly to walk forward. "Oh, and Sakura-chan's waiting for Itachi, right?" At our nods, she smiled once more, flashing white teeth and spoke on, "Well, she should stay for dinner then! It's getting late and I wouldn't want to have you return to your house hungry."
"I wouldn't want to impose," I said, waving my hands at her, "I'm not hungry at all, really."
"You will be once I start making dinner," she said teasingly, "You're staying and that is that. You're hardly imposing." She tilted her head at Sasuke, pouting slightly, "When was the last time since our Sasu-chan brought a girl over for dinner? Itachi will be thrilled!"
Sasuke groaned. "Mom, please." She sighed dramatically and walked off to the kitchen, but not before winking at her son. We were met with the sudden quietness of the house. He gestured to his left. "Let's go." He walked forward.
I trailed after him. "Your house is beautiful."
"Thanks." He looked back at smirked at me. The living room was of a good size, traditionally decorated, but beautiful. The walls were a rich crimson, and a wide-screen television was on in the corner, surrounded by several cream colored sofas. "Make yourself at home," Sasuke said, handing the remote over to me. "I'm going to go up for a bit to, uh—" His eyes trailed up to his tangled and mussed locks "—fix that. But I'll be right down."
I nodded. "All right. Thank you." He turned out of the room as I lowered myself on the light-colored seat. It was plush and oh-so comfortable, molding itself to fit my body. With a sigh of contentment, I flipped through some channels, looking for something interesting to watch. The television consumed time. It seemed like only moments later Sasuke did return to the living room in casual attire with a towel draped over his head.
"What are you watching?" he asked. I shrugged as the TV showed a man running away from a crowd of people. He took a seat next to me, eyes fixed on the screen. "I think I saw this before." We watched in silence until his mother stepped into the living room, telling us that dinner was ready. "Let's go." Sasuke pointed towards the doorway. I followed after him as he led the way to the dining room. It was just as elegant as the living room, if not more classy. A simple chandelier lit up the room, hanging above a medium –sized oak table. Five dining sets were already placed in front of the chairs, two already occupied. One was held by an older man with salt and pepper hair, black eyes hard, and his mouth a straight, fixed line. He was tall and slightly stocky—presumably this man was Sasuke's father. The person next to him, Itachi, I'm guessing, was much more youthful with a slimmer build. His hair was tied back to a short ponytail, some of the tresses spilling out to frame his face. As we entered, the two looked up.
Before anyone could speak, Sasuke's mother entered with a steaming pot in her hands. "Oh, I haven't introduced you two to Sakura-chan yet!" she proclaimed, setting the dish down onto the table, "This is Fugaku, my husband, and Itachi, my eldest son."
"It's nice to meet you," I said, bowing to them. Fugaku merely grunted, but Itachi gave me a friendly smile.
Sasuke's mother urged me, "Take a seat, take a seat!" She drew out a chair for me. Thanking her, I complied with her wishes. About a minute later all the meals had been brought out and everyone was seated. Sasuke's mother sat next to me, and we isolated ourselves a bit from the men. She had a mischievous smile on.
Dinner, I felt, was going to be an interesting ordeal.
I know, guys, super late update. Super late super crappy update.
I'm sorry :(
In order to update quicker, I'm going to shorten the length of the chapters. I think that will help me.
Hopefully...
Thank you to everyone that reviewed and read this story! :)
You guys really rock! Thanks for sticking with me.
-moodyaura