A Ninja's Guide to Surviving High School
By: JA_Japster
Copyright Notice: Same as always.
Chapter Fifty Three: Even Ninjas Like Fancy Sports Cars
Sakura wrapped her winter cloak tightly around her body as she hastily made her way down the busy streets of Konoha. Despite the cold weather, many customers had dared to brave the fierce chilling winds to finish up last minute gift shopping before Christmas. Fortunately, this meant many of the kiosks and storefronts that would have traditionally been closed for the holidays, were blessedly still open and gave Sakura a brief moments sanctuary from the cold.
She stopped in a small ramen bar and took a moment to warm her hands. The restaurant was busy enough with hungry customers and jolly drunks that no one noticed her as she took a seat in the corner to catch her breath.
Her meeting with Ino had been less than enjoyable, though it had gone more or less as how Sakura had expected. Sakura had known Ino since they were children, and when it came to romance and boys, Ino was incredibly predictable.
After Sakura had arrived at Ino's home, the Yamanaka clan Shinobi had promptly broken down into a tearful confession about how her reluctant date with Shikamaru had extrapolated into something far more serious. It was difficult to understand exactly what Ino was saying in between her hysterical sobbing and frequent trips to the bathroom for more tissue to blow her nose, but the gist of what Sakura had deciphered was that Ino felt awful about what she had done to Shikamaru and how badly she still wanted to go to the dance with him.
Or something to that extent. Near the end of Ino's sob story, she had broken down into incoherent wailing that ultimately concluded with her locking herself in the bathroom.
Sakura chuckled softly to herself at the memory. It was not that she was unsympathetic with Ino's plight. Indeed, one could easily argue that Ino was in this unfortunate predicament because of Sakura had forced her to ask Shikamaru out in the first place. Still, Sakura knew Ino better than almost anyone else, and she knew how fickle Ino was when it came to romance. Ino was the type of girl who only desired the unobtainable. Initially, Ino had wanted nothing to do with Shikamaru; the only reason why she was so upset no was because he had had the balls to turn her away. Their was no romantic chemistry between the two; nothing inherent that existed between the two that mysteriously drew them together.
It may have sounded mean, but Sakura had witnessed the same scenario far too many times in the past to be convinced that her friend was genuinely in love this time. In all likelihood, Ino would spend another few hours crying, then dry her tears and charm the first cute boy in her phone book to the dance. Or she could always just mind control him, Sakura supposed, if worst came to worst.
Tragically, though, Sakura did not have the luxury of being as popular as Ino nor having the gift of mind control. She was dateless, and barring some sort of miracle, doomed to go alone to the biggest dance of the year.
Sakura glanced around the ramen bar anxiously. In all honesty, her stop at the ramen bar had not been entirely random. This was the third ramen she had visited since leaving Ino's home. There was a part of her that hoped she would bump into Naruto at one of them, and maybe, just maybe she could persuade him to go to the dance with her again.
The chances of that happening, Sakura had to admit, were so dismally low that she almost felt pathetic for trying. If rumors were to be believed, Hinata's father had flipped after finding out about their misadventure in the sewer and had banned Hinata from ever seeing Naruto again. According to popular gossip, Hinata's dad had confined her to the mansion and wouldn't let her go anywhere in fear of her running into Naruto. This meant school, and also, more importantly, the dance.
While this may have sounded like wonderful news for Sakura, she knew that Naruto would probably refrain from going to the dance all together so that Hinata could go. He was far too nice of a guy that way. He would gladly stay home alone on the biggest night of his high school career if it meant not ruining the night for one of his friends.
Not that Naruto's thoughtfulness helped Sakura at all. She sighed in frustration and picked at the wooden table's surface idly with her nails. Before the night was over, she needed to find a date. But it couldn't be just any sort of guy. It had to be someone impressive, someone that would put even the magnificent Sasuke to shame.
Sakura snorted. Good luck with that, she thought bitterly. Maybe a some big shot celebrity with a thing for underage pink-haired teenagers would waltz in the bar. Or maybe an asteroid would fall and squash the ramen bar flat. That would certainly save Sakura the trouble of worrying about finding a date.
She must have lost track of time wallowing in her misery because by the time Sakura ended up leaving the bar, night had already fallen. Most of the stores down the road had already been closed, and the night air was colder than ever. She groaned and shivered uncomfortably as she set down the road. Her home was still more than three miles away. It was an easy enough of a walk during the day when the sun was out, but at night in the cold, it would be nothing short of torturous.
Sakura glanced at the building rooftops above and considered scaling up there. Bounding across building tops would be much quicker than walking, but Sakura resisted the urge. The villagers did not appreciate it when Shinobi used their roofs as roads. In the past, far too frequently an inexperienced ninja would misstep and accidentally put a foot through some poor soul's ceiling. As a result, only Chunin class Shinobi or higher were allowed to traverse the rooftops. A hefty fine was the punishment for any Genin that violated the law.
Sakura moaned pitifully as she reluctantly trudged through the snow.
A loud beeping caused her to stop. Driving in tandem beside her was sleek, stylish, and obviously expensive, red sports car. Sakura stared blankly at it as it continued to follow as she walked down the road. The windows were tinted so Sakura couldn't see who was driving. Only villagers drove automobiles, and even then, only a very few could afford a car as fancy as this one.
Curious to see who could possibly be interested in her, Sakura stopped and the car came to a rest next to her. The window mechanically rolled down. Sasuke was sitting behind the wheel with an amused smirk on his face.
"So," he said. "How much for a night with a beautiful woman such as yourself? A single hand in cards perhaps?"
"Piss off," Sakura snapped with an ugly scowl. She had not forgotten the time that Sasuke had almost sold her in a game of cards earlier that year during their "field trip". She began to walk off again, hoping that Sasuke would grow tired of teasing her and drive off. He didn't though, and instead stepped on the gas so that his car rolled slowly beside her.
"Hey, come on I was just joking," Sasuke said. "Do you want a ride home or not?"
"Not with you." Sakura replied.
"It's cold outside," Sasuke insisted. "You're going to catch a cold, and how would you look showing up at the dance with a running nose, huh?"
Sakura stopped abruptly, forcing Sasuke to step on the brake quickly to avoid passing her up. She glanced back and forth at Sasuke's extravagant sports car, silently contemplating her options., On one hand, riding in a fancy sports car with Sasuke was not an entirely unattractive prospect. She had always wondered what it felt like to ride in luxury and style, and it would certainly beat trudging home through the cold and snow. On the other, though, she imagined it might be awkward being alone with Sasuke. Had he already gotten over her rejecting his offer to the dance, or was this merely some revenge plot that he was subtly concocting?
In the end, Sakura's desire to escape the cold outweighed her suspicion about Sasuke and she climbed into the passenger's side of the car.
"Nice car," Sakura commented. It was. The seats were lined with some sort of fur that was incredibly soft and extremely warm. "Who'd you have to sleep with to get a ride like this?"
"The list is long but distinguished I assure you," Sasuke quipped. He floored the gas pedal, causing the engine to rev loudly and the car to shoot down the empty street. Sakura watched as pedestrians and storefronts whipped by in an incoherent blur of color and motion. There was absolutely no need to be driving this fast; clearly Sasuke was trying to impress her.
"I've never seen you drive a car before," she commented.
Sasuke shrugged. "It was my fathers. He insisted on having one just so that the villagers could envy our wealth as much as the Shinobi community."
Sakura nodded. She had always known that Sasuke had come from an incredibly wealthy family, but this was one of the few times that she had witnessed it. Sasuke seldom flaunted his wealth. He wore clothes that were practical and sharp without ever being stylish or ostentatious like some of the other rich kids at Konoha High. He did not wear jewelry, he walked to school instead of being chauffeured, and he never boasted about how much money he had in his savings account.
All things considered, Sasuke acted like a normal kid. It was his looks, his prodigious talent, and his enigmatic bad boy attitude, not his wealth, that had won him popularity amongst the girls at Konoha High.
"It's got to beat walking in the snow too." Sakura added.
"That it does."
"You need to turn up-" Sakura began, but before she could finish, Sasuke had already started turning. Sakura reclined in her seat and shot Sasuke a curious look. It was almost as if Sasuke knew where he was going, as if he had had somehow anticipated running into Sakura and had already mapped out the route back to her home.
"How do you know where I live?" asked Sakura suspiciously, almost accusingly.
"I've been there before," Sasuke replied. He pointed at his nose. Sakura noticed it was still a little swollen. "Remember when your buddy Naruto punched me?"
"Oh, right," Sakura replied sheepishly, blushing.
"What, you think I've been driving around town for hours waiting for the opportunity to ferry you home?" Sasuke asked with a wry grin. "That's mighty presumptuous of you, don't you think?"
"Shut up," snapped Sakura. Her ears were blazing hot. "That's not what I was thinking."
"Sure it wasn't." Sasuke winked at her and patted the steering wheel. "Don't worry. It didn't cost me too much following you around. This car has great mileage."
Sakura looked away, determined to not let Sasuke see how brilliant a shade of crimson had face had become.
"So what were you doing there?" she asked, still not daring to look Sasuke in the eye yet.
"Besides following you around town? Let's see..." Sasuke tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I was doing my weekly grocery shopping."
"Do you cook?" Sakura inquired.
"A little."
"You don't have servants or anything to do that for you?"
Sasuke laughed dryly. "Please, Sakura. I'm only rich because my parents had loads of money. That doesn't mean I'm pampered and helpless too. I don't need servants. I can take care of myself."
"Sorry," Sakura muttered. She could feel her face growing warm again. It had seemed like an innocent enough of a question, but Sakura could tell she had touched a nerve. Sasuke's amiable demeanor might have appeared to be intact, but she did not miss the glimpse of irritation and anger that had flared in his eyes just then.
They drove in silence for a few more minutes until Sasuke came to a stop in front of Sakura's house.
"Thanks for the ride," Sakura said, opening the car door. She was anxious to get out of the car, anxious to get away from Sasuke before she accidentally said something else thoughtless that might upset him. Strangely, the moment she walked out into the cold she felt a fleeting pang to hastily retreat back into the car. Whether it was the car's warmth or Sasuke's company that she unconsciously desired, however, she was not certain.
"Hey, Sakura," Sasuke called to her. "I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me.
She did not respond for a second, monetarily startled by his unexpected invitation. "Tonight?"
"Sure. Eating with company is always better than eating alone. Unless, of course, you have previous arrangements?"
Sakura didn't. She was home late, and her mother had probably left her food in the refrigerator. Eating cold left overs in her room while watching reruns on television was not a terribly inviting prospect.
"I'm not really hungry right now," she lied. She was famished actually; the last meal she had had was in the hospital that morning. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment her stomach decided to betray her by rumbling loudly.
Sasuke grinned wickedly. "Liar." He said. "Come on, it'll be fun. And my cooking is delicious. I promise."
Sakura glanced at her doorway through a curtain of light snow that had just begun to fall. There was a part of her that wanted to do the smart thing and just go home. Play it safe and just call it a night. If the car ride back home had been awkward, Sakura could only imagine how tense it would be eating dinner with Sasuke. Besides, there was something about him that didn't seem right, something that made Sakura feel genuinely nervous. He was being unusually nice, and if Sakura's mother's sagely advice could be trusted, boys were only nice when they wanted something.
But what could he possibly want? The obvious answer was sex, but such a simple explanation for this elaborate setup seemed to do a disservice to Sasuke's renowned craftiness. If her suspicions were correct and Sasuke motive's extended beyond being chivalrous and friendly, he desired something far more meaningful than merely getting her into the sack. Besides, Sasuke couldn't possibly be dense enough to think that a flashy car, a home cooked meal, and his trademark charm would seduce her.
There was also a part of her, though, that wanted nothing more than to get back into the car with Sasuke and see where things went from there. As much as there was something about Sasuke that made her suspicious, there was just as much that excited her as well. There was no denying the rapid beating of her heart nor how short of breath she had suddenly become. No matter how many times she told herself she had gotten over Sasuke, he seemed to always have this effect on her.
Damn you, Sasuke. She thought, clenching her fists together in frustration.
"Oh what the hell," she whispered under her breath.
With once last fleeting glance back at her home, she returned to her seat beside Sasuke. It was just dinner. What was the worst that could possibly happen? "Let's go."
Author's Notes:
Told you guys I would have more time to write! I have the next chapter finished also (will upload sometime next week) and am making good headway on the one after that as well! Story traffic has been noticeably slower for this chapter (including reviews also -only six so far as of publish date -the lowest number any chapter has gotten so far) so I hope you guys are still reading. Reviews tell me you guys are still reading and motivates me to keep writing! So, if you do review regularly, thanks a bunch!
Hope you guys are enjoying the story, and I hope you guys have a wonderful Holiday season!
Cheers,
JA-Japster
