Well, in case you didn't realize it by now, I am typing these chapters in advance. Before you start lighting those torches and brandishing those pitchforks, let me explain my logic to you. If I type these ahead of time, whatever idea I have at the time won't be lost meaning no writer's block (point 1). I have time to spell check at my leisure and you won't be annoyed with me (point 2). You guys don't have to rush as soon as I make another chapter, which is pretty often (point 3). And finally, I won't procrastinate forever, forget I have a story, and never update again. If you still hate me, then go ahead and stick me, I just wanted to get my point across. R&R :)
The OC's are my friends. Even if you don't like them, I'm not going to overhaul everything just because you don't like them. Besides, it's a huge thank you to them since they were the ones who got me onto this site and I have other things to deal with, like homework.
(Scene added, another killed)
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Ch.33: Call Me when you're Sober
The hushed murmurs sounded throughout the hall, bouncing off the walls and into open ears. "Sugoi!!!" exclaimed Naruto, reveling in the echo of his voice as he carefully stepped over the black wires taped to the tile floor, his shoes' patter resounding through the halls. He swung his head around, taking in the luxurious feel of the old palace from the marble support beams to the red carpet now under their feet. "Hey teme, what do you think?"
Sasuke glanced around, his mouth relaxing a bit as he looked around. The place was gorgeous, though the windows held a thin layer of dust and worn in places, he could imagine the palace in its original splendor. He could feel the candles' warmth as they glowed around the rooms as women and men would converse and laugh in the dazzling lights and light music. It made him wish he could actually see it, made him want to tell Naruto how beautiful this place was, but all he could think of to say was, "Hn. It's alright…I guess."
Naruto openly gaped at him as the other band members rolled their eyes. Typical Sasuke, never willing to say anything that might damage his reputation.
They walked further into the old palace. When they first stood at its old iron gates and saw the ivy crawling up the walls and over the chipped marble, they cringed. Once they stepped inside the gates, it wasn't much better. The lawn was green and the garden looked tended to, but the path and statues leading to the building were in desperate need of repair. It still looked like your average run-down historical building, but once they got inside, they saw the architecture. The high arches, the stone walls, the breath-taking view. Now they knew the girls had chosen this place. It was beautiful.
As they strolled past the workers engrossed in their tasks, they spotted a familiar blotch of purple.
"Anko!"
Anko snapped her head around, ready to kill whoever thought to be so familiar with her when she spotted the culprit. She couldn't help by let out a toothy grin.
"Alright Hatake, now it's a party!" She watched them descend a short flight of stairs and pause in front of her as she winked at them. "So how's it?"
Kakashi shrugged indifferently and grunted and Anko nodded sagely before slinging an arm around his shoulder. "You're late," she glowered.
He merely shrugged again. "I got lost on the road of life."
She sighed knowing an argument would lead nowhere. She looked behind her. "Makeup!"
Suddenly, five people appeared and the boys of Sharingan watched in shock as they pushed him towards a closed off room while pulling off his shirt and powdering his face. They could only wonder if the amorphous mass was really five separate people and not one organism.
Anko watched with satisfied eyes as they left the room and cocked her head to the boys. "Hey, why don't you guys go exploring? We won't start for another hour or two."
They looked at her like she grew another head, the shock of the amorphous mass still having not worn off yet. "Anko!" screamed a voice from the set.
"Go on, it'll be good for you guys. Exercise or something like that."
"ANK—"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru watched as she stomped towards the voice and sweatdropped at the indents she left in the carpet. Whoever was caretaker to this place would not be happy.
The guys looked around at the building, the previous awe had worn off and now they were bored. Neji rolled his eyes to Sasuke. "So…what now?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Wanna find the girls?"
"Aa."
"Troublesome. Sure."
Naruto slung an arm around the scowling boy, grinning. "Lead the way, teme!"
-----
It had been half an hour since they had left to find the girls. "Teme!" Naruto whined.
Sasuke shot him a glare saying 'what-the-hell-are-you-complaining-about-now?' Naruto pouted childishly. "I'm—"
"Let me guess. You're tired? No, wait, you're bored or maybe you're hungry and before you ask again, no we don't have any fucking ramen and no, I doubt this place would have ramen either so shut up before I rip out your tongue!"
Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto stared in disbelief at the usually calm Shikamaru. Naruto blinked. "What crawled up your ass and died?" Shikamaru just slapped his forehead in frustration.
As Naruto continued to barrage poor Shikamaru with his plethora of questions, Neji looked at Sasuke. "Well?"
Sasuke was about to answer when he heard a familiar voice. "Hey!"
The guys of Sharingan turned to see Kiba waving at them. It was strange to see him out of uniform. In his black rock T-shirt and jeans, he would've seemed like any other kid on the street if not for the tell-tale red fang marks on his face. How did he get those, anyway?
Kiba placed his hands on his hips. "Hey."
Naruto looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing here, dog-breath?"
Kiba ignored the comment. "My family trained the dogs for the video shoot. They let my sister take me along and she said I could take a friend along. Hey Shino, come over here!"
Said boy walked over and nodded. "Hello."
The teens could only guess at how he managed to wear a jacket and not feel hot at all. The jacket-wearing boy elbowed Kiba. "Remember?"
Kiba looked at him and blinked. "Oh yeah…Anko said for me to get you. You hafta go now, they're about to start." A distant voice counted down and Kiba turned his head from the voice to the guys. "Come on, they're already starting and I don't want to miss anything." When he noticed the boys standing around, he sighed before having a brilliant idea. "Hey, Naruto, race you."
As soon as those words were uttered, Naruto darted off with Kiba following before leading at a leisurely pace that made Naruto glare and try to push forward. By the time the guys figured what had happened, the two were already halfway to the set.
-----
Kiba panted, bracing his hands on his knees for support when he heard Naruto's wheezing not far behind. "Damn you run fast."
Kiba wiped a bead of sweat from his chin as he looked at the set, the girls already in their places; his eyes focused on one in particular. "I told you I didn't want to miss a thing."
-----
Megumi squirmed. She couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching her intently. She looked around and saw Kiba. She relaxed; a calm smile on her face as she waved to him. She noticed Naruto whisper something into his ear then get hit over the head by a red-faced Kiba. She would've stopped to wonder, but the numbers being spoken quickly changed her mind.
"3, 2, 1. Go."
Don't cry to me
If you loved me
You would be here with me
You want me
Come find me
Make up your mind…
Megumi removed the red hood off her head, revealing black curls. She stared across the dark table laden with food to the arrogant brown-haired man, his cool sapphire eyes glancing at her as he bit into an apple. Who was this man? Why, none other than our friend Hatake Kakashi. Amazing what a bit of makeup can do.
Sakura bobbed her head as she let her fingers dance across the metal strings. Hinata's brows narrowed in concentration as she sat at the piano bench, listening to the music that spun around her. Temari's hair flew around her as she played her bass guitar while Tenten hammered out a beat from her drum set; Megumi in the front with her microphone.
Should I let you fall?
Lose it all?
So maybe you can remember yourself
Can't keep believing
We're only deceiving ourselves
And I'm sick of the lie
And you're too late.
Megumi looked up, her hands brushing against the dark fur of the wolves at her sides. One panted and Megumi brushed her hands over its pelt. Her hands stopped, pausing as she looked into the distance with conviction.
Don't cry to me
If you loved me
You would be here with me
You want me
Come find me
Make up your mind
She sat in front of a dresser. Mirrors surrounded her on three sides as she slipped off the red cape, baring the black dress beneath as she sang to her reflection.
Couldn't take the blame
Sick with shame
Must be exhausting to lose your own game
Selfishly hated
No wonder you're jaded
You can't play the victim this time
And you're too late…
Megumi stared straight ahead, her eyes closing as she felt hands slide onto her shoulders, leaning into the embrace as Kakashi's head nuzzled the crook of her neck. The hands moved, rubbing soothing circles into her shoulders as he moved his head further into her neck. She felt this and tore herself away.
So don't cry to me
If you loved me
You would be here with me
You want me
Come find me
Make up your mind
She walked down the stairs, each step emphasizing her commanding presence as four women danced down the stairs opposite the rail, moving behind her, then around her as she stopped at the bottom.
You never call me when you're sober
You only want it 'cause it's over
It's over!
The girls danced around her, their caresses lingering as her face contorted, their bodies circling around her. They moved away, bending down with her as she did a motion akin to a curtsy. Her body lifted into the air.
How could I have burned paradise
How could I - you were never mine!
The girls spun upwards, pushing off with the explosion of music.
So don't cry to me
If you loved me
You would be here with me
Don't lie to me
Just get your things
I've made up your mind.
She stood, determined as she stomped across the tabletop, her strides, confident as food flew off the tables to the sides. Kakashi looked up in surprised, his unmasked mouth gaping in shock.
He drew in a breath, tensing in his chair as she stood before him. She knelt down, her eyes level with his. He leaned forward, eager at the awe-inspiring vixen before him. She held him back, hushed him with a feminine finger to his lips while a breath of laughter escaped hers.
-----
"Whoa!!!!!" exclaimed Naruto as they huddled around the camera, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, and Sasuke nodding in agreement.
The camera operator smiled, priding himself on his camera work. "Yup. We just need to get this to editing."
"Thanks for coming. We really needed this guest appearance," the director smiled.
Neji blinked. "How so?"
The director chuckled, his smile causing the lines in his face to crease. "Megumi would probably cringe as soon as the guy tried to touch her. Doing something like this with someone you know makes it easier to deal with. More comfortable and less forced. The camera catches everything after all." And he was serious about Megumi cringing. Hard to believe that someone her age would still talk about things like cooties.
The guys nodded in agreement when they heard familiar voices. "Hey guys!" The guys turned and felt like they had just been slammed into by a truck.
The girls stood before them, confused looks on their faces as their boyfriends drank in their visages. Temari wore a pair of black jeans, a black jacket, and a black shirt with a red tie. Tenten wore a black short-sleeved button-up shirt with a red tie, a pair of black dress pants flowing down her long legs over her black boots. Hinata wore a black skirt with a black jacket, a white shirt underneath. And last, but not least, Sakura was wearing a pair of black pants with white and red pin stripes, a white dress shirt, a black tailored vest and a red tie. All the guys could manage was to think of one word through their shocked haze.
'Damn.'
"—ke-kun."
Sasuke looked up to see a pouting Sakura. "Mou, Sasuke-kun. Pay attention."
"Hn. Sorry."
"It's alright. So, do you wanna help us find Megumi? She's probably in the dressing room."
Kiba gulped audibly. "D-dressing room?"
Sakura smiled. "Don't worry, she'll be dressed. Come on!"
They couldn't find any argument. All they could do was follow.
-----
Megumi stood around the palace, admiring the architecture that she didn't have time to appreciate before. She was about to walk farther into the hall when she heard voices call to her. "Megumi!"
She turned around and smiled. "Hey guys."
"Awesome job!" screamed Naruto exuberantly as he hugged Hinata to him, the girl giggling beside him.
"Aa."
"What he said."
"Indeed," voiced Shino.
"Troublesome, but good."
"G-g-great job," stammered Kiba.
Megumi walked up to him, placing a hand to his forehead. "You okay Kiba?" she asked, leaning forward to compare temperatures.
"Fine!"
"Really, you feel a bit warm. Are you sure—"
"Yo."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the new voice. Megumi smiled. "Kakashi!" She exclaimed, running up to him and giving a hug.
Kakashi looked down, rubbing the towel draped over his hair (thankfully silver again). "Nice to see you too. Hope you didn't mind the thing in the video."
Megumi's face dropped, her cheeks stained red. "Oh, y-y-yeah. No problem," she replied a bit louder than she meant to.
He smiled. "Well, let's go to the dressing room and grab our stuff, then explore this place better. I hear the garden is great."
"Sure!" they all voiced.
They walked around the set, stopping at a door. Kakashi nodded to the person standing watch and they entered the room.
The room was filled with brightly-lit mirrors and chairs, the tables lined with makeup containers. Megumi scanned the room for her bags, but noticed something. "Oh!" Her surprised face melted into a grateful smile. "You guys did a great job today," she said to the dancers.
They looked back collectively. "Thanks," they replied in a language that felt warm to Megumi's ears.
'English, haven't heard that in a while.'
"Oh come on, Megumi-sama, did you forget about us already?"
Megumi froze, her hand glued to the door handle. 'Only one girl has ever called me that without batting an eye.'
"Felicity?"
One of the dancers grabbed a towel, removing the makeup to reveal a grin. "Yo!"
"Oh my god!"
"Hey, don't forget about us!"
"Yeah!"
One by one, the girls lifted off the layers of makeup to reveal smiling faces. Megumi stared at them, tears in her eye as she covered her mouth with her hand.
One girl placed her hands on her hips and pouted. "You gonna stand there all day?"
That did it. "Ahh!!" she screamed happily as they all met together for a group hug. Temari, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata smiled fondly as the guys stood there with their faces contorted in confusion.
"Megumi-chan…who are they?" Naruto whined.
The girls split and Megumi wiped the tears from her eyes. "My bad. Guys, these are my friends from America."
The guys let their eyes travel over them. One girl was tall with brown hair and glasses, one was medium-height, one had a stylish bob, one had hair cropped at her shoulders, and the last had black hair down her back.
"Guys, this is Felicity, Jessica, Amber, Lucy, and Priscilla. I knew them all from middle school and high school," she said with a smile.
The girl with brown hair and glasses stuck out her hand and popped the bubble she blew from her gum. "Whassup? Oh, my friends call me Jessikher."
The other brown-haired girl bowed. "Amber."
The girl with long black hair smiled and made a peace sign. "Priscilla."
The girl with the shoulder-length hair nodded her head. "Lucy."
And finally the girl with the bob, glomped her friend once again. "Felicity; and you guys already know the wonderful Megumi-sama."
"Felicity…" she warned.
"Heh heh."
-----
The wind blew softly through raven hair as Megumi leaned against the rail of the garden stairway. She stared out into the distance, drinking in the green grasses and the flowers that broke the green, stopping at the labyrinth on the horizon. She sighed contentedly as she felt the sun on her skin and turned around. "So what are you guys doing here? How are you here? How'd you even get here? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" she exclaimed childishly.
The girls exchanged looks. "Well, we planned this as a surprise and Anko helped us buy tickets and get over here and make arrangements for a place to stay," answered Amber.
"But that doesn't tell us anything," Kiba remarked.
Priscilla looked around. "We're here cuz we're…"
"We're…?"
"We're your new exchange students!" smiled Felicity.
"Oh my god! You guys are coming to school with me?! Oh man, I'm going to freak! Where are you staying? Do you guys have enough to eat? Are you guys going to be alright? How—"
"Megumi, calm down," Kakashi sighed as he pulled back into her chair.
She nodded. "Right."
"Yeah, Megumi. Relax. Anyway, we're fine. Anko got us an apartment for the year. Just tell us one thing."
"What Priscilla?"
"Who's this Hatake-sensei guy?" they chorused.
"That would be me," Kakashi smiled.
"You?!"
"Me," he smiled, his eye creasing happily. Glad to see he could still shock the younger generation.
"How?!"
Sakura sighed and explained everything quickly because frankly, she was getting tired, hungry, and the stomach cramps weren't helping at all.
"Oh…"
-----
Wind blew gently across the old gardens, the leaves rustling amongst one another as statues towered the greenery and commanded the sky. Sasuke sighed peaceably.
"I thought I'd find you here."
The raven-haired man turned to rest his back against the stone railing as he faced his guest, a small smile playing on his lips. "Really?" Sakura just rolled her eyes and ran up to him. "Sorry we didn't get to spend any time together earlier. We were just so busy with the sound check and the costumes and the makeup and the—"
A finger suddenly shushed her as she stared into raven-orbs, the sight placating her. Damn, he looked good.
"I get it. In case you forgot, Haruno, I'm a rock star too."
Sakura flushed with embarrassment. "I know, it's just…"
"It's okay. I understand," he said as he pressed her against him. It was strange. Their bodies seemed to fit each other perfectly, her head tucked under his chin as their arms wrapped around each other and their bodies melded as one. They were like pieces to a puzzle.
Burying his nose into her cotton-candy locks, he smiled at the scent that reached his nose. "Jasmine…"
"It's a new shampoo I'm trying out. Do you like it?"
"I love it. It suits you," he murmured, brushing his lips against hers before tucking her head under his chin again.
And that's how they stayed for the rest of the day.