I do not own Naruto
"Trust is essential in the base-flyer relationship. Without it, you can never truly be a good cheerleader. You must remember this. Flyers must trust their bases to catch them no matter what, and bases must trust that their flyer trusts them enough to let them do their job. Period."
Sasuke's feet pounded hard against the ground as he went running down the dirt path. He was right behind Ino, and he kept his gaze glued onto her blonde ponytail. The cheerleaders were running in a line down the path, more at a jog than a true run. His breath still was coming out hard though, from the four miles they had already knocked out. One more mile and they would be done. Just one little mile.
Ino stayed on her toes as she ran, careful not to slam her heels into the ground. She could hear Sasuke breathing hard behind her as she led the team through a five mile run. "Keep it up," she managed to shout out. "Only one more mile!"
Sasuke was a little grateful for the run, which would help spread the lactic acid in his muscles out. He had hoisted up Atsuko so many times he had lost count. Sasuke liked to think he kept in shape, but lifting Atsuko for an hour was like trying to hold a one hundred pound weigh over head for as long as possible. His arms were what was the most sore, but the squats routine Ino had led them through had made his legs burn intensely.
However, Sasuke was a little surprised to realize that he actually really liked cheerleading. He had tried it because he thought it would be interesting. He didn't think he'd like it this much though. He wilted slightly. He'd finally found something he really wanted to throw himself into, and it was cheerleading?
He knew if he voiced that thought to Ino she'd smack him. Ino hated people who didn't take cheerleading seriously. She viewed it as condescending, which it really was.
'I'm a cheerleader,' he thought, mentally sighing. 'I can't wait to tell Sakura.'
Later
Sakura set down the sweet bun she had bought in front of the statue she was kneeling before. She was visiting the small neighborhood shrine she lived down the street from, and had brought an offering, like she did every weekend. Sakura always brought a dessert, often a sweet bun or pastry, thinking the spirits would like a treat every once and a while.
She bowed her head, before standing and heading for the door. The shrine was situated up the hill, up a long set of stairs and surrounded by trees. Sakura lived in one of the greener areas in town, which meant the shrines there were very picturesque. She walked down the stairs carefully, making sure not to slip. It had rained recently and everything was much more slippery, making her a little nervous. She held tightly to her bag as she descended, breathing a small sigh of relief as she reached the bottom.
She set off down the road, heading to one of the parks that sat halfway between her house and the high school. Sasuke wanted to meet her there, so in addition to buying a sweet bun for herself and one for the shrine, she had gotten another for him. "Mmm… sweet buns," she smiled, sighing. She checked the time, before starting to speed up. She was running a little late.
She saw the park ahead and sped into it, before slowing, looking around for Sasuke. "Hey, Sakura."
She turned around and saw Sasuke sitting on one of the benches. She grinned. "Hi!" she said, running over. "How are you?"
"Exhausted," he said, leaning back.
She sat down next to him. "Why are you exhausted?" she asked, setting her bag on her lap.
He glanced sideways at her. "I joined the cheerleading squad," he said, smiling slightly.
Sakura's mouth popped open. "You did?!" she exclaimed.
He nodded. "Wow! That's amazing! I didn't know you wanted to cheerlead!" she said, grinning. "That's really awesome. Ino must be happy."
"I sure hope so. She just kicked my ass in the workout," he said, rubbing one of his legs. Sakura chuckled.
"Well, I've got food if you want some," she said, reaching into her bag to draw out the paper bag that held the buns. She passed him one, biting into her own.
"Perfect," he said, taking a huge bite. "I'm starving."
"I'll bet. The cheerleader's workouts look really hard," she said, chewing. "I heard Tenten's doing it too."
He nodded. "Yeah, she's spotting. She's really good. She caught one of the flyers and didn't even stumble."
Sakura grinned. "I'm jealous. Tenten's amazingly strong. I think she's even stronger than Neji."
Sasuke took another bite. "Neji's been looking pretty bad recently," he remarked.
Sakura pursed her lips. "Yeah, I noticed. I wonder what's wrong…" Sakura trailed off as her phone started ringing. "Hang on, it's my mom," she said, picking it up. "Mama, what is it," she asked, holding her phone in one hand and her bun in the other.
"Sakura? I need you at home, now. I've got some news you need to hear."
"I'm with Sasuke right now," Sakura objected.
"Right now Sakura. I'm sorry, but it can't really wait."
She sighed. "Alright. I'll be there in a bit. Bye," she said, hanging up. She looked over at Sasuke. "Sorry, I need to get home. My mom sounds a little agitated," she said, her expression worried.
"I'll drive you," he said, standing and taking another bite.
Sakura slipped her phone into her pocket as she stood, before they both set off outside the park to his car. "I wonder what she needed that couldn't wait," Sakura said as they drove up to her house. They passed the shrine and were in front of her house in under a minute.
"I hope everything's okay," Sasuke said as he idled outside her yard.
Sakura gave him a quick kiss. "I'm sure it's fine," she said, collecting her things. "I'll call you about it later," she said, closing the car door and heading up to her front door. She turned to wave at him before she walked inside, kicking her shoes off on the way to the kitchen. "Mom?" she called out, slipping her bag off her shoulder as she walked in.
Both of her parents were in the kitchen, looking very serious. Sakura stopped, frowning slightly. "What is it? Is everything okay?" she asked.
"We have news…" her mother started.
"Big news," her dad added.
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I got an assignment at work, a big one," her mother said.
"Really? That's great," Sakura said. "What kind of assignment?"
"That's the thing sweetie," her father said.
"It's six months long and… it's in London," her mother said.
Sakura's eyes widened. "London?" she echoed.
Her mother nodded. "London," she confirmed. "It starts in a few weeks. It's very urgent. Normally I would know months in advance. But, that means that you're going to have to transfer schools."
"Wait, what?!" Sakura asked, her bag slipping off her shoulder onto the ground. "I'm moving with you?" she exclaimed.
"Did you think you wouldn't?" Her father asked, surprised. "Your mother and I are going, which means you have to also. We're very sorry to have to move you in the middle of your junior year, but-"
"No," Sakura interrupted. "No. No. No. I am not leaving Konoha. I'm not leaving my friends and my school. I can't."
Her mother frowned slightly. "Sakura, I need to take this job. You can't live here by yourself. I'm sorry, but this is what is happening."
Sakura's face started to turn red. "I cannot believe this!" she exclaimed. "This is my life too. Konoha is my home!"
"We have to make sacrifices, Sakura! This is not under discussion!" her mother responded.
"Oh yeah?" Sakura asked, breathing hard. "Well I refuse. I refuse to move!"
"Refuse or not, it's what's happening. This is what's happening," her father said.
"No way in hell!"
Elsewhere
Temari and Neji were walking out of the shop, Neji looking considerably more relaxed. "So what are you going to do now?" Temari asked.
"Well, right now I'm going to go to my dojo. And later, I'm not going to do anything. But the next time uncle brings it up, he's in for a big surprise. No matter what he says, it's not going to change the fact that he's not the one making my decisions for me," Neji said, shouldering his duffle.
Temari smiled. "That's brave to say," she said. "Good job."
Neji stopped as they got onto the sidewalk. "Thanks for listening," he said, smiling slightly.
"No problem," Temari said. "Though, probably best if I don't mention this to Tenten," Temari said.
Neji sighed. "Yeah. Probably best if you don't," he said. 'Tenten…' he thought. The fact that Tenten probably could have helped him through this too hadn't escaped him, but it had been very obvious that Tenten was very uncomfortable around him now. They hadn't spoken in weeks, though this was partially because Neji had barely talked to anyone.
He missed her a lot. He didn't know if she missed him though. Tenten was stubborn, very stubborn. Neji was stubborn too. He wasn't going to apologize, and he knew Tenten wouldn't either. Thus, they were at an unspoken impasse.
Temari chuckled. "You should probably talk to Tenten eventually you know," she said, turning to go.
"Yeah, I probably should," he said. Temari snorted and started off down the streets.
"See yah," she called over her shoulder. Neji turned, heading back the way he had originally been going. He walked a little taller now, and his heart felt much, much lighter, with just one little thought stuck in the back of his mind.
Elsewhere
Tenten had gone straight to the first cheerleading practice after the movie. The coach's lecture on the importance of spotting had not been wasted on her, and it had been running through her head the entire practice. Especially when one of the new bases got unbalanced and Tenten had to catch the flyer. The flyers were extremely light, and Tenten didn't have any trouble catching her. Ino had even fist pumped. "I am so glad you're spotting Tenten!" she had said.
Tenten was getting ready to leave practice when Ino stopped her. "Hang on Tenten, we need to get your sizing for your uniform," Ino said.
"Uniform? Great," Tenten said, slumping after Ino.
"Don't be a whiner," Ino said, grabbing the clipboard with the size chart on it. "Just check the sizes next to each box.
Tenten took the clipboard and scanned it. There were separate boxes for the sizes of the tops and bottoms of the mini dress. Medium top, medium bottom, she checked. There was a list of additional required uniform items under the chart. "White sneakers… hair ribbon… spandex undershorts… white socks…" she muttered. "Great, I get to buy more clothes," she said, handing the clipboard back to Ino.
Ino chuckled. "It's not so bad. Everyone looks really great once we're all in uniform. You just wait."
"Oh yeah, I can't wait to work out in a mini dress. It's kind of different then running around in a soccer shirt and shorts," Tenten pointed out.
"Different, but it doesn't have to be worse," Ino said. "Just think of it as a challenge. And it's only for a couple months. You'll be rolling in the mud in no time."
Tenten snorted. "Whatevs," she said.
"Oh, wait!" Ino called.
Tenten turned around again. "What?" she asked.
Ino went bounding over. "My holiday party. It's next Friday. Last day of finals. It'll be bumpin'," she said excitedly.
Tenten grinned. "Sounds awesome. Oh, are you coming to Temari's tonight?" she asked.
"Hell yeah!" Ino said. "But I've got to get these size orders in. We have to rush order the new uniforms," she said, making a face. "See you at six."
Tenten walked into the locker room and showered off quickly, enjoying the feeling of soap and shampoo. When she was done she dried and dressed, braiding her hair quickly to give it waves, and grabbed her bag, heading out the door.
She braced herself against the winter chill, burrowing into her winter coat. She started walking to her house. She had homework to get done before she could head over to Temari's. She saw some cars in the school parking lot as she walked past, probably the basketball or wrestling teams. Tenten wished for a moment that she had waited to shower at home, her wet hair chilling her under her thick clothes.
Her teeth chattered and she squinted into the wind. "This blows," she muttered. She teared up slightly as the wind hit her straight on in the face.
"What are you doing out there?"
Tenten looked over, her face flushed an unattractive red, tears streaming down her face from the cold. Kankuro had pulled up next to her, leaning out of his window into the cold. He was also braced against the cold, squinting as much as she was.
"W-w-w-walking h-home," she said, her teeth clattering together. "I-it's much c-colder than it was w-w-when I was r-running earlier t-t-today. It's w-weird."
"Want a ride?" Kankuro asked, starting to shiver.
Tenten nodded. "Y-y-y-yes!" she exclaimed. She climbed into the car, slamming the door quickly as Kankuro rolled up the window. Tenten turned the vents spewing hot air towards her, letting it warm her face. "Thank you so much," she sighed. "It's so cold. I don't know how it came on so sudden. It's like a sudden plot device written by someone too lazy to explain it with science."
"Yeah," Kankuro said. "Where do you live?" he asked.
"Off of 12th Ave, down 7th street," she said. Kankuro nodded, turning onto 12th.
"So, how's your little plot to get back at Neji going?" Kankuro asked.
Tenten looked over at him sharply, narrowing her eyes. "Figured that out did you?" she snapped. He snorted, nodding.
"Neji did too," he said.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I dropped that a while ago. Now I'm just trying to avoid him. Not that I've had to worry about that a lot lately. He's been really… reclusive. More than usual," she said, biting her lip. She would hate to admit it, but she'd been pretty worried about him lately.
Kankuro shrugged. "He never talks to me anyways. Unless it's to punch me in the face."
Tenten raised an eyebrow. "When has he been punching you in the face?" she asked.
"It was just once. A couple days after the Halloween party. He wasn't too happy about you and me "being together"," he said, quoting with his fingers on the steering wheel. "I wish he had left me and my face out of it though. It was all your and Temari's idea."
Tenten blinked. "That… bothered him that much?" she asked, flushing slightly.
"Yeah."
Tenten settled back into the seat, her brow furrowed. That was interesting. From his attitude, it seemed like since they had broken up he hadn't given her a second thought. She chewed on her lower lip, staring out of the window.
Kankuro turned onto 7th street. "My house is right there," Tenten said, pointing at it. He slowed to a stop in front of it so she could get out.
"Sorry about your face," she said sheepishly, climbing out.
"Thanks."