ComeComeParadise: Hello there! As many of you may or may not have noticed, there is no pole at the top of this chapter…and for pretty obvious reasons for those of you who read my author note in the MIDDLE of my last chapter. XP And once again, THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVELY REVIEWS!!!!! XD
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"Alright, this seems like a good place to stop. We should also refill our water bottles while we can. There will be less water as we travel, so get as much as you need and as much as you can carry. Let's set up camp."
Everyone obeyed Shikamaru without complaint. Team Konoha set up camp that night and pitched their tents.
"Ino, you'll keep guard from now till midnight with Sasuke since you're the loudest one."
The moment he said this, the Nara instantly regretted it. A moment later, there was a giant imprint of a hand on Shika's cheek. He rubbed his cheek painfully.
"Mendokuse…"
Sakura chuckled nervously.
"Who'll keep watch after Ino and Sasuke, Shikamaru?"
"Chouji will keep watch next since it's about time for his midnight snack. While he's eating, he surprisingly never lets his guard down during missions."
"Sakura. You'll have to work a double shift tonight. You'll be keeping guard with Chouji and for a couple of hours with me. Afterwards, I'll keep watch on my own while you get some rest. We'll all take turns working double shifts."
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Sakura and Ino had just finished digging a small hole for their fire. While the two of them set off to refill water bottles for the team, Sasuke was working on getting a fire going. Because their surrounding area was windy, Shikamaru suggested building a fire within a hole to prevent any unwanted fires. Unfortunately, it only made making the fire harder for Sasuke since he had to bend over more. As soon as he got a spark of flame, a lovely breeze would decide to blow by, taking any signs of flames away with it. Before long, Sakura and Ino were already done refilling all of the team's water bottles and "freshening up". Sasuke sat there frustrated. Shikamaru, who had been napping the entire time, woke up feeling hungry. He was surprised to see that the fire wasn't going yet.
"Sasuke, didn't I tell you to get a fire going?"
"…"
Sasuke remained silent. Sakura and Ino let out a sigh simultaneously. All was silent…save for the constant, loud sounds of Chouji chewing on his chips. Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke's hands. They were red, and after judging the position that Sasuke was posturing himself, Shikamaru instantly concluded that Sasuke had been at it for quite a while. However, there was one question still lingering in Shikamaru's genius mind:
"…what are you using those sticks for?"
Everyone looked at Shikamaru as if he's lost his 200 IQ mind. Clearing his throat, Sasuke answered monotonously.
"…These sticks are used to make a fire."
This time, Shikamaru's face bore a questioning expression.
"I thought you were a prodigy. Cant you create a fire with your Gokakyu jutsu?" (spelling?)
Everyone gawked. Chouji almost choked on his potato chips, and Sasuke could've sworn that he was close to choking on his own saliva. After muttering a few curses under his breath, Sasuke formed the seals, inhaled sharply, and got the fire going.
The group ate their meal of skewered yakitori (courtesy of Chouji) in an awkward silence. The Uchiha was trying to get rid of the feelings of utter humiliation that he felt, while the rest of the bunch were either trying hard to not laugh (Sakura and Ino), planning ahead and thinking of how troublesome everything was (Shika-kun), or too busy stuffing their face to have any other thoughts (Chouji).
Before long, darkness had set in, and the only source of light in the entire area was the fire that the team had going. Tents were pitched, and everyone, except for Sasuke and Ino were crawling into their tents. Before he disappeared into the warmth and "comfort" of his tent, Shikamaru spoke to Sasuke and Ino.
"If you guys see anything suspicious, warn all of us as soon as you possible can with a low whistle. You guys can whistle right?"
Ino nodded. Sasuke had never bothered trying to whistle but he figured that it shouldn't be too difficult to do, so he nodded as well. Satisfied with their replies, Shikamaru let out one last yawn before crawling back into his tent.
Sasuke and Ino sat on opposite sides of the fire. It wasn't long after when Sasuke spotted Ino grinning happily at him. Great…
"So, Sasuke-kun…"
Here it comes…
"…How's life?"
Sasuke gave a slight shrug before continuing to stare at the fire. However, he didn't have to look back up in order to know that the smug grin hadn't left Ino's face.
"Do you get along with Sakura fine?"
Sasuke jerked slightly but quickly regained his composture. That seriously caught him off-guard. He remained silent, but that didn't keep Ino from prodding further.
"…how far have you two gone?"
Sasuke refused to speak, and was bent on not uttering a single word. Wherever this conversation was going, he wasn't too fond of it. Ino didn't seem to mind Sasuke's rudeness though.
"She really loves you, you know..?" She said with a sigh.
Ino's elbows were sitting on her lap, and her hands cupped her face as she watched the distant moon. She blew a stray hair away from her face.
"You'd better try your hardest not to push her away. You know what people say. 'you can only stretch a rubber band so far.'"
What is she talking about? I treat Sakura fine.
"You may be nicer than usual to her now but what about the future? I know for a fact that your brother Itachi is still alive. The whole village does, after hearing what happened to that idiot Naruto. And a little birdie happened to tell me that you're hell-bent on killing your brother."
Sasuke felt vulnerable. How is it that a former (from what he could tell) fangirl is able to look further into Sasuke's life than any former fangirl (other than Sakura)? Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.
"Are you going to leave her again? Sakura was never quite herself after you left you know? She seemed to be the same…but I've known her for years. It was easy for me to tell that she changed…"
A gust of wind blew by, carrying leaves with it.
"She wasn't crying as often as she did before. She began to stress the importance of 'concealing emotions as a shinobi'. And yet every time she saw a picture of you guys and team 7, she'd get all teary eyed and quiet."
Ino eyed Sasuke with spiteful eyes…but before long, they turned into pleading ones.
"You're not going to leave her again just to chase after your stupid goal are you? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to see her like that?"
Sasuke closed his eyes and slowly clenched his hands into fists.
"Itachi took away the lives of everyone that mattered to me. Now, I find a few more people that I slightly care about. What makes you think that he wont hesitate to kill them too?"
"But did it ever occur to you that leaving her and setting off for revenge can and may be killing her inside as well? Revenge wont bring you happiness Sasuke, but love can and will."
Sasuke was at lost for words. He never really thought about things that way. Why hadn't Sakura told him any of this? Oh right. This is Sakura I'm talking about…But killing Itachi was important to him.
"I'm sorry, but killing Itachi is the reason that I'm alive today. I live for the day that I'll kill him. It's been a goal that I've been working towards all these years in my life…and I'm not about to throw all my hard work away just for one person."
All was silent…until Ino spoke quietly with a hint of sadness and disappointment in her tone.
"…Are you saying that revenge matters more to you than Sakura…?"
Sasuke remained silent. Ino, seeing that Sasuke wasn't going to answer immediately understood. She turned away and let out a soft sigh. It was then that Sakura decided to show up.
"Sakura, what are you doing here?"
Sakura stood there confused.
"I'm here to stand guard. You two better get some rest."
Sasuke glanced at Sakura, and a mental image of Itachi standing over his slaughtered clan came into his mind. Silently, Sasuke made his way into his tent. Did revenge matter to him more than Sakura? He thought he knew the answer before, but now he wasn't too sure. Ino, however remained where she stood.
"Sakura…you're early."
Sakura glanced at her watch. (yes she has one! XD)
"Only by a minute. Besides, you should get your rest. We'll be traveling non-stop tomorrow, and I'm sure that you're tired from today also."
With a smile, Sakrua playfully pushed Ino towards her tent.
"Go on, go on."
Ino smiled softly before crawling into her tent. Typical Sakura. Always caring about other people and forgetting to worry about herself.
Ino heard a rustle in the tent beside her, along with a female voice shouting "Wakey wakey!!!". She giggled silently to herself as she let the day's fatigue set in.
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ComeComeParadise Corner:
Alrighty folks! I understand that some of you were skeptical about the potential sasuino after seeing that I set Sasuke to stay up with Ino. Well, no need to worry cuz I also happen to not like the fics that have sasuino for the sole purpose of provoking a jealous Sakura…but then again I do make exceptions. XD Sorry about the long updates. I'm sure that I've mentioned all this before, but I have school. And a bunch of extra-curriculars. And not enough spare time. XD Not to mention that America's Next Top Model is on!!! And Project Runway! WHEEEEE!!!! XD
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Chouji sat by the fire eating his chips. As soon as he finished a bag of chips, he'd pull another bag out from his tiny pouch—much like Doraemon. Sakura wondered how he managed to cram so many bags of chips and food into such a small pouch. She let out a sigh. Whenever she thought of trying to strike up a conversation, Chouji's mouth would be too full of chips that it'd be hard for him to reply back. Besides, she didn't want to risk getting in between Chouji and his food. Who knows what would happen to her if she did that? Obviously she didn't, and she definitely didn't want to.
GGGGGGGGGGGGgrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……….
Sakura's mind snapped back at attention. An enemy was approaching. She took out her kunai and got ready to attack. When she glanced over at Chouji, however, he looked perfectly calm.
"Chouji—"
Before she could continue her sentence she was cut off.
"Oops, sorry I must still be hungry."
Chouji patted his belly gingerly and began whispering to it much like the way a pregnant mother sometimes whispers to the baby lying in her womb.
"I'm sorry. I wont let you go empty ever again. Daddy loves you…"
Sakura gaped at the sight before her. She's seen many young mothers and their husbands talk like that to the belly several times in Konoha since she worked at the hospital…but the mere sight of a grown boy whispering to his own belly like that…she could honestly say and admit that she was officially scarred for life.
Chouji began digging through his pouch.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……
"Chouji, take care of that stomach of yours!"
Chouji looked at Sakura as if she'd just insulted his child. He cradled his barbeque chip bag in his chubby arms.
"Shhh! Not in front of the children!"
"Alright mom, I'm awake already, sheesh!"
Sakura and Chouji turned to face the nearest tent. Shikamary emerged from it looking very tired. After he finished rubbing his eyes, Shikamaru observed his surroundings.
"Oops."
Chouji began chuckling.
"What was that all about?"
Shikamary shrugged.
"My mom's as scary and troublesome as a beast. She's always growling at me and shouting and me in the morning because I can never wake up. I guess I mistook Chouji's stomach growling for my mom."
Sakura began giggling, and Shikamaru sighed.
"I guess that It's best that I get up now anyways…it's about time for me to take my shift anyways. Chouji, you can go ahead and go back to bed. I'll take over."
After stuffing one last handful of chips into his mouth, Chouji nodded and disappeared into his tent. Sakura let out a sigh.
"Sorry Sakura, but everyone will be working a double shift anyways. Tonight just happens to be your night, that's all. If you need to take any breaks while we're traveling, just let me know."
Sakura shook her head.
"Shikamaru…I'd rather not hold up everyone else if I'm too weak to travel. Besides, if everyone else has to do all this too, then it'd majorly slow us down if they all got to take breaks too, right?"
Shikamaru let out a sigh. He couldn't help but agree with her anyways. She was right.
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ComeComeParadise Corner:
Well…there you have it, chapter 34! XD I'm sorry if it was a little short…and I'm sorry about my longer updates, but well, I already explained that. XD Thanks for all your reviews so far everyone! Reviews make the fanfiction world go round. XP And by all means DON'T STOP THEM!!! KEEP 'EM coming!!! XD
REVIEW! NO FLAMES! REVIEW! XD
Thanks!