Disclaimer/ No, I do not own Naruto and I never will. Go ahead and be mean about it.
AN/I think I should just warn you now. All of these Sakura pairings are going to be pretty high up there on the crack scale. Aside from the eventual Naruto and Kiba. I really love crack. Sue me. A good dosage of Sakura crack is good for you. I'm sure of it.
Dedication:To all those girls who think they need to be stick thin to be pretty. To all those girls who gave up on eating healthy for that look. To all those girls who think they aren't good enough they way they are. This goes out to you.
Please review, flames are welcome.Really...I do not care.
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The Taming of the Shrew
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I burn, I pine, I perish.
Lucentio, scene I
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"I would like to see you raise your arms a bit higher Ino san. Not that high, just tilt the elbow upwards. Good job, just follow Sakura san's example. Her form is near flawless."
"Yes, sensei..."
"Good."
Ino narrowed her sharp blue eyes and directed her glare over at the pink haired ballet student on the other side of the room. Was there no end to this girl and her taunting? She had to follow her to her after school ballet lessons and apply. And not only that, she had to be good!
Her teacher of seven years was saying Sakura was better than she was.How dare she!
And if that wasn't bad enough, Neji, the most handsome male dancer in their class kept stealing glances over at her throughout the class. Couldn't he just stay over on his side of the room and work with Lee on their parts without having to look over at her every five secounds.
He never looked over at Ino. Not even when she first started dancing here, and believe me, she tried to get his attention. Next to Sasuke kun, he was one of the hottest guys in their grade, maybe even our whole school! And you can believe that she was after him with looks like that. She's pretty shameless when it comes to good looking guys.
During their last preformances she was even pared up with him once for a school dance/play, much to the disappointment of Karin who had been his partner the first two times. But even when they were partners he hardly ever talked to her!
'Maybe he was speechless at the level of grace and beauty I possessed while dancing. Yeah, that had to be it.' Ino though to herself as she stretched her arms back and lifted her upper body forward, winking at the long haired male who missed her flirtatious gesture.
There were only three guys in the ballet glass since Kimimaro left two semesters ago, leaving the number one spot to Neji who was constantly bugged by Lee for compatition. Lee, if you couldn't tell, was the only male in this class that enjoyed it.
Sai, the only other male was a pretty mellow guy, only taking the class because his parents made him. It was rumored he was the seventh or sixth son to a family that always wanted girls. But he never spoke of any brothers so that was only a rumor floating around.
At least he wasn't stealing glances over at Sakura whenever he had a free moment.
Moving onto the next phase of practice the girls were instructed to preform a Cou-de-pied, sur le followed by a Retire. The working foot is placed on the part of the leg between the base of the calf and the beginning of the ankle. Followed by a position in which the thigh is raised to the second position en l'air with the knee bent so that the pointed toe rests in front of, behind or to the side of the supporting knee.
The position in it's self is not that hard, what's hard is holding it.
Ino hated to admit it, but the difficult task that sapped her of her energy appeared to be mere child's play to the pink haired dancer across the room. It was disgusting how flawless her form was, or how small and even her breaths were. That little overweight fairy should be gasping for breath now. She should-
Bam
Ino smirked at her wish come true as she watched Sakura fall to the floor in what appeared to be lack of breath. No wonder her breathing looked so easy from down the long barre.
She wasn't.
" Sakura chan, are you alright?"
The green eyed girl smiled weakly at her teacher and looked up with pain in her eyes from having to breath so hard. "I'm fine, I just need a rest. I was a bit tired today when I came in so I think I just overworked myself."
"That could be it. If that's true, I want you o go home and rest. You should know too well the dangers of someone who forces herself to dance in such a week condition," the teacher replied helping the girl up.
Ino smirked as she watched Sakura's face fall. This meant she wouldn't be around for the end of the lesson when they would be casting roles for the upcoming event. If anything, Sakura would be some sort of extra prop manager. Sakura knew this too, for it shone clearly on her face as she packed up and left the training room with downcast eyes.
"Are you sure you are alright Sakura san?" Neji asked ,coming over to the pink haired girl with concern laced in his pretty voice, much to the dismay of Ino and the fury of Karin.
Sakura smiled weakly and nodded getting her things together. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"Would you like me to escort you to the parking lot or are you taking the bus home?" Neji asked picking up her school bag before she could. It looked like he was determined to stay by her side as long as possible.
"I...I was going to either call a friend of mine to pick me up or walk home. My house isn't far from the school so it would only take me a few minuets to get there," Sakura replied, glancing nervously over at Ino and Karin who were glaring at her. She must have noticed them some time ago, because she was hurridly picking up her things and trying to get out of the conversation Neji started.
"If you're not feeling well, you shouldn't be walking so far."
"That's why I think I'll call my friend."
"If you want I could-"
"I'm sorry Neji san, I should get going. Thank you for your help, but I got to go," Sakura interrupted, taking her bag from his startled hands before taking off for the door, her face beat red from embarrassment and fear of tomorrow with Ino and Karin.
Did Neji really hate her enough to provoke those girls into hating her anymore than they already did?
"Neji get back in place and the rest of you ladies, get back to the barre. Move, move!" their teacher called out in a harsh tone, keeping her posture straight like a refined lady would.
"Hai mistress!"
But instead of going home, Sakura left for after school independent study, waiting till classes were over so that she could pratice a bit more after having sit for such a long while. That's all she needed, a little rest.
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Do as adversaries do in law, —
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
Tranio, scene II
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Violins let their strings sing, filling the mirrored room with their song of sorrow that is expressed by the willowy form of a young sixteen year old dancer who's form lacks any incorrectness.
Dancing on pointe, she is flawless standing on her toes using the French demi-pointe method. As her song slows she waits for he cue to pause in her form, the abdominal muscles engaged and the back should be kept straight, while the neck muscles find themselves relaxed. Holding herself in that form for such a long time would have any other girl her age panting in pain, but for her only a small sweat broke from her skin.
Her control over her visible emotions is par to none after so many years of being the geek picked on, bullied in the halls, dumped with homework that wasn't her own, pushed to the ends of the lines, the pun of a sick joke, the drain that let's stress out for others.
The music dies and she is free to fall from her forced position and retreat to the barre where a clean towel and water bottle wait for her. After a so much of this, she was ready for a break.
Taking the towel to her face she wasn't surprised by how tired she was at the end of her practice. She always did have a weak heart and a small lung capacity. It wasn't as bad as it used to be, but it still wasn't up to par with Ino or Karin. Still, she was thankful it was enough to fight and dance with.
The other thing holding her back was her weight. She wasn't overweight or fat at all, weighing in at the average weight for her age-height group. But that was partially the problem. She was average, so compared to the top ballet dancers like Karin and Ino, she probably looked like a elephant.
Those two were tall stick thin Barbie doll look a likes with sharp hips and visible ribs under their shirts. It was a rumor among the girls that these two girls were anorexic, never seen eating anything more than a dry salad and water. This was probably the case since their weight for their height was so abnormal.
There was even a story floating around in the girls locker rooms that Karin was caught throwing up her lung in one of the toilet's stalls after accidentally eating a piece of chicken she forgot to take out of her salad. Sakura didn't doubt it.
It was amazing those girls could still give it their all running on only a few leaves of lettuce and carrot shavings. Sakura art twice as much as them and she still got light headed a lot of the time.
'Is that what it costs to be good in this field? Do I have to starve myself and push on even when I feel like breaking down and falling asleep on the hard wood floor? Do I have to give up on eating healthy to get rid of the bullying?'
Sakura coughed into her hand, letting her breathing slow down before taking extra big swing of water out of the yellow and pink water bottle with Hello Kitty characters prancing around the rim. It was hers since grade school and even though she got picked on for it, she kept the water jug in good condition and it would have been a waste to buy a new one.
Standing up after finishing her water Sakura grabbed her things and took a steep towards the door and froze.
Someone was already standing there.
Her bag and empty water bottle clattered to the floor as shock spread across her face, followed by a tint of dark red. Someone saw her dancing after hours in the school dancing room.
Someone saw her dancing.
Someone saw her dance
Someone saw her.
Someone saw.
He saw her.
He saw!
"I am sorry if I startled you. I didn't think anyone used this room after lessons ended," he spoke in a calm voice as he stared at her with fadded jade colored eyes.
"I...I-I was. It was-and I. I...S-s-s-sorry!" Sakura stuttered, bowing with her face flustered and tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She was so embarrassed to have had someone see her dancing like that. There was a reason she waited till everyone was gone before she came back her to dance. Could the earth please open up and swallow her whole now?
Sakura bent down to pick up her things, getting ready to bolt once she had everything, but was stopped when the boy with the beautiful jade eyes picked up a few of her books for her. "Here let me help you."
"N-n-no that's. It's fine, I got it. Y-you don't have to..." she stuttered in a faint whisper, not wanting to be around this person who saw her any longer than she had to be. It was like having your life's diary read aloud on the stage of American Idol, or some other popular TV show. It wasn't a pleasant experience in the least.
"This is fine, I don't mind." He replied handing her back a few books, the top one being her personal copy of The Taming of the Shrew. Seeing this her blush of embarrassment when up two shades. Why did Shakespeare have to be on the top. She loved him dearly, but not when he was showing off to people like this.
"Thank you, I have it from here, you can leave," Sakura quickly explained, throwing her books into her bag and scooping up her things in a hurry as she tried to fight back the blush.
"You're name is Sakura isn't it. I know you from one of my classes," the young male stated, standing up with her and matching her pace as she jogged out the door. "Do you want to know my name?"
"No. I have to get home. Please leave me alone," She quickly replied, speeding up.
"My name is Kimimaro, we're in History together. You probably don't know recognize me since it is such a largely sized class, but I remember you very well. You're the girl that transfered her and got the top marks in our class in the first week. I did not know a bookwork like you could dance like that."
Sakura squeaked, her blush coming back full force. So he had see her dancing! She was really ready to die now. No one was suppose to see her dancing like that. No one! She didn't even like watching herself in the mirror most of the time. But it was her emotions dancing, she needed to dance like that. "You can't tell anyone about what you just saw in there!"
"Why not?" he asked, a bit surprised, but glad she had stopped trying to run away from him. He was a bit worried that she would tire herself out too much after such a long and extensive workout.
"You just can't, it's embarrassing," she hissed, shaking a bit.
"I thought it was sexy."
"Ahhh, don't say something like that! You make it sound like I'm some sort of devil's pole dancer. You can't-Ughhhh, just forget you say anything."
Kimimaro looked Sakura over with calm eyes wondering why she was so embarrassed about her ballet dance that held a bit of street style to it. Most girls wouldn't get embarrassed something like this. Most would show it off, if they could. "I do not understand, why are you trying to cover it up? You're a good dancer, better than anyone else in that class."
"I just told you! It's embarrassing and I don't want anyone finding out about it! Can't you understand that?"
"No I can not understand that. You have a spark in your steps that no one else in that class has and yet you choose to throw it under the rug and act as if it is not there. I can not understand why you would hide such a talent from the world."
Sakura narrowed her eyes, glaring at the male before her. "I remember hearing about you. You're that boy that quit the ballet class a while back. If dancing is such a great public thing, why did you quit?"
"A simple answer to a simple question. There was no one there worth of me being their Cavalier."
"You quit because all your dance partners were inferior?"
"It was tiresome to lower myself down to their level. No one even really tried for the sake of dancing. They just wanted to be paired up with me," Kimimaro answered with a straight face, not the least bit ashamed.
"You are a very humble person, you know that?"
The boy with white haire falling to his shoulders grinned smugly, though the action was barely noticeable since it was gone once it came. "If you doubt my ability, would you like me to demonstrate myself with you?"
"No.way.in.hell."
"And why not?" he asked, his voice as calm and smooth as ever. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura understood why he had so many girls fawning after him even after he quit classes.
"I have to get home," Sakura hissed out through clenched teeth. She normally wasn't this outgoing with someone she just met, but she was too angry to be shy around this guy.
"That is regrettable, since you were hoping I would keep what I saw to myself."
Sakura froze. "Y-you wouldn't..."
"And why not?" he asked, his voice and tone as emotionless as ever. Even when he was blackmailing someone he could be this calm? What was up with this guy?
"What do you want?"
"Only a few moments of your time. Do you know of Hall Om Mig nu, the Sweedish pop song?"
Sakura flinched, knowing where this was going and what he had in mind for her. "Do you mean the song 'Hold Me Now'? I was just dancing to her music. That was the next track. Why do you ask?"
Kimimaro stepped forward, taking her bag from her pale hands and grabbing the water bottle. She started to protest, but he stopped her with a look, leading her back into the dance studio where he discarded her things next to the stereo system. "Hall Om Mig nu is one of my favorite pieces to dance to, dancing with you as a partner would was an experience I don't want to pass up."
"What if I don't want to?"
"Than I fail to see any point in keeping what I just saw to myself."
"I hate you."
Kimimaro chuckled taking her raised hands into his own from behind. "That's fine, you're cute when you're angry."
Sakura was about to say something more when she was hushed by a warm whisper in her ear. "Just forget I'm hear and dance, I'll be right behind you."
And then, even though Sakura would hate to admit this was what really happened, the music came on with a passion that sent the young girl flying across the dance floor, her Cavalier following her lead to a T.
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You lie, in faith; for you are call'd plain Kate,
And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst;
But Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom,
Kate of Kate Hall, my super-dainty Kate,
For dainties are all cates: and therefore, Kate,
Take this of me, Kate of my consolation; —
Hearing thy mildness prais'd in every town,
Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded,
(Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs,) —
Myself am mov'd to woo thee for my wife.
Petruchio, scene i
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"They look good together."
Kakashi nodded, for once not reading his book. "I'm glad she stayed her instead of going back to her dad's place."
Guy turned to look at his friend with a puzzled look on his face. "What is wrong with her home?"
"A lot more than I'm willing to admit to."
Guy nodded, noticing the closing note in his friend's voice. Kakashi wouldn't say anything more on the matter and Guy wouldn't pry out of respect for his rival and the new pink haired girl who danced like a goddess out of myth. "Is it any better than this school?"
Kakashi chuckled without any humor remembering the many times he has witnessed the young pink haired girl suffering at the hands of the bullies in their school. "Not by much. That's why we're looking out for her, right."
"Yeah, though, we're not the only ones...are we?"
Kakashi looked behind him to see someone with a red cloud patched to the sleeve of his jacket retreat down the hallway. The tall Bruce Lee look a like looked back at the shadows and then at Sakura and Kimimaro and then finally sideways at Kakashi.
"No, I don't suspect we are."
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What, is the jay more precious than the lark,
Because his feathers are more beautiful?
Petruchio, scene iii
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Cavalier male dance partner
Okay, for this next chapter I wanted to add more of a connection with the chosen play and the story...but I really wanted to write this after watching a bunch of Princess Tutu AMVs and listening to Paramore songs on the violin. (If anyone is interested, just ask and I will send you a link to the site.) Maybe next time, neh?
Ja ne
Vesper chan