Sorry for the little delay guys. This chapter was literally almost done for a while but everytime I tried to come back to finish it up, something came up. Still starting off kinda slow but I've gotta get these characters and such introduced so you all aren't terribly confused. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Chapter Five
"Well...that was some first impression."
I cast a look over my shoulder, bringing into view the person who had disturbed my peace. Hands shoved in the pockets of her olive green jacket was Rin. Her chocolate colored hair cascaded down her right shoulder, framing her face perfectly.
I watched her as she approached slowly before shifting my gaze back at the view of the city. I didn't respond to her comment but she didn't seem to mind any.
We stood there, enjoying the silence for a bit until she decided to disrupt it once more. "What's eating you kid?" She asked me.
Scowl creeping onto my lips, I observed her from the corner of my eye. Shaking my head, I brushed it off, "I don't know what you're talking about." She didn't buy it. A soft snort fell from her lips as she leaned against the rail alongside me. Snidely, she tossed, "You're a bad liar."
"And you're annoying," I replied with a tired sigh, "What do you want?"
"Just...trying to figure you out," she replied with a genuine sense of curiosity.
Finding her comment slightly amusing, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Don't bother, I'm not very interesting," I half joked, finally facing her completely as she did the same. With a small smirk pulling at the corners of her lips, she teased, "Well with a comment like that, I can't help but think otherwise." I shrugged, mumbling simply, "Believe what you want, I don't care."
Pivoting on my heel, I turned to leave but her hand quickly caught my shoulder.
Unfazed, I allowed my eyes to travel where our bodies connected, eventually locking my eyes with hers.
"What?"
Extending her hand out to me, she said, "Rin. Rin Nohara of Sector Alpha." I stared at her hand with a frown. She continued to wait expectantly until I finally obliged and reached for her hand in return. "Sakura Haruno. Sector Iota." She nodded, her fingers lingering in my palm before she carefully pulled them away.
Nudging me gently, she began a soft pace and encouraged me to follow.
With nothing else to lose, I did.
I chased her steps, weaving in and out of the masses of the others. It would seem that they had all found ways to keep themselves occupied. Immediately taking advantage of the various gadgets and treasures our place had to offer. I followed Rin down the hall, being sure to keep close considering I hadn't the slightest idea as to where I was going. I think she caught onto my suspicions, throwing me a small smile over her shoulder as she informed me that we were going to explore.
I nodded, eyes taking note of every turn we made. Soon enough, as turns began to rack up, I lost the enthusiasm to continue counting. Surely getting back wouldn't be that hard. Soon, we stumbled upon a large pool. It seemed to go on forever but perhaps only extending a few yards in each direction. The water was clear enough to see the intricate designs running its length beneath the surface.
I stood in the doorway as Rin approached it slowly.
She crouched down, allowing her fingertips to skim the surface, causing it to ripple before becoming stagnant once more.
For some reason, my gaze shifted from the water back to her face. Watching her brown eyes soften and lips curve slightly. She turned to me suddenly, motioning me over. I took carefully slow steps towards her, standing slightly off to her left. "Have you ever seen a pool before?" She asked, voice soft as if she was deep in thought.
"No," I shook my head, "Just in pictures."
"Where did you practice your swimming?" She asked next, sitting cross legged upon the floor.
I continued to stand, not wanting to sit lest she decide to move soon. "We had a lake near our Academy," I told her, reflecting on the time I first learned how to swim. She nodded, pushing herself onto her feet. "Come on," she instructed and yet again I continued to follow without voicing a complaint.
This place was definitely bigger than I imagined.
There were all sorts of rooms and things of the like here.
However, right about this time I was more interested in eating than exploring. Much to my immediate embarrassment, my stomach growled right as we turned another corner. Tossing me a knowing smirk, she smartly commented, "If you were hungry Haruno, all you had to do was say so. I wouldn't have minded making the trip myself."
"Whatever. I didn't mind," I rushed out, feigning a sudden interest in the portraits hanging upon the walls.
Rolling her eyes, she leaned against the wall across from me, folding her arms over her chest. "I doubt there's anything in that extravagant kitchen upstairs. If you're down, we could ride out and grab a bite?" I pondered over my options, knowing that she was probably right. We had a kitchen, though it was empty which wasn't much help. I wasn't exactly going to cook with an audience either. Finally, I agreed.
"Fine," I huffed quietly.
She laughed, already moving past me in the direction we came, "Don't sound so miffed about it. I promise I'm not that bad of company."
I was silent, my only response being a simple roll of my eyes. For a second , I began to doubt that she knew where she was going until I heard the sounds of conversation and laughter fill my ears. Sure enough, she'd gotten us back.
She stopped at the kitchen, waving over the other girl whose name I recalled to be Tenten. She was amongst a small group gathering in the kitchen.
She forced her way through, looking slightly relieved to be free from the crowd. "What's up?" She asked Rin, yet throwing a nod my way in a casual greeting which I returned. "Sakura and I are going out. Gonna check out some food spots, wanna go?" She seemed to think over the offer before agreeing with a nod. She then motioned over two others, the blonde boy from before along with another boy. He had black hair pulled into ponytail along with soft brown eyes.
"This is Naruto and Shikamaru," Tenten introduced the two of them respectively, "Just met 'em but if it's cool with you guys, I figured they can tag along too."
I tossed my head as a greeting, to which they both returned.
I personally didn't care about making a bunch of friends but at the same time, I guess it couldn't hurt.
"Fine by me," I shrugged, already making my way towards the elevator. I felt a slight nudge at my waist, turning to see Rin fixing me with a stern look. "Quit with the broody shit. It's so cliche," she muttered silently so that only the two of us could hear. I scoffed, slipping my hand into my pockets, scowl deepening at the light laugh she gave me.
I could see now that she was going to be trying my patience a lot over the next few years. As if Ino wasn't enough already.
As we all sat around some table, laughs circulating between the others, I couldn't help but feel incredibly out of place.
What was I doing here?
Pretending to be interested in their conversations when I all I wanted was to drag myself into a bed and relax.
A quick glance at my phone confirmed it was still rather early so perhaps calling it a day now would be a bit much. Still, I didn't exactly feel like hanging out with strangers and pretending to have a good time. In reality, I wasn't the least bit happy.
I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to Lena. All of it was suddenly weighing heavily on my mind and before I could realize what had happened, the abrupt stinging of my hand had me hissing in pain.
Glancing down, I saw that I had crushed my glass. Small shard dug into my palm as blood began trickling through my fingers.
I didn't bother making eye contact with the others. I only mumbled an apology and excused myself to the restroom. Rushing to the sink, I winced at the blood steadily pouring from my hand. I didn't even know I had been squeezing the thing so damn hard.
The door opened behind me but I knew who it was long before she spoke.
She approached me slowly, fingers skimming across my hand briefly before I snatched it away. "What do you want Rin?" I sighed, not wanting to deal with any unnecessary attention right now. She only rolled her eyes, snatching my hand and holding it one of her own. I watched as she pulled a small box from her jacket pocket, resting it on the sink.
Inside, several small tools that I recognized. Immediately, she pulled out a small pair of tweezers. Carefully, she pulled the small shards from my hand and flicked them into the trash.
Everytime I hissed or sucked in my breath, she'd pause, fix me with a look and then continue. Eventually, they were all out. She rinsed the blood from my hands, keeping pressure on it with a damp paper towel. I couldn't help but allow my eyes to linger on her face. Her eyes specifically, noticing how they grew hard as she focused on nurturing the wound.
Her lips twitched into a frown as she held onto my hand, until finally, she pulled them away.
"Listen kid," she began, annoying me slightly considering I'm sure we were about the same age. However, the softness in her voice resembled that of a small child, rather than that of someone claiming to be my senior. "Something is on your mind, I can tell. It's probably personal and we don't know each other very well but bottling it in doesn't do you any good. You're going to need someone to talk to," she finished, arms folded over her chest as she waited for my answer.
I mulled her words over in my mind, knowing that her words did hold some truth.
It was obvious that Ino saw me as nothing more than an expendable pawn.
I knew I had a limit and Ino was far closer to finding it than anyone else I'd ever encountered. I wasn't the sharing type and rather than bottling up emotions, I simply pretending like they didn't exist. That way I didn't have to worry about it all blowing up in my face later on down the line. That way, no one could have the upper hand over me.
Still, having at least one person to confide in our with whom to keep secrets could make this hell a little more bearable.
Perhaps taking her up on her offer could prove to be effective in the long run. After all, what else did I have to lose?
Running my non-injured hand through my hair, I nodded. "Alright," I mumbled. The slight twitch of her lips into a grin unsettled me. It was almost as if she had known I was going to give in long before she even asked me the question. Pushing the idea that she had planned all of this from the beginning to the back of my mind, I allowed her to lead me out the bathroom and back to the table to rejoin the others.
When prompted with questions as to what had happened, I simply brushed them off and poked at my food, meanwhile, trying to figure out why Rin and I couldn't stop locking eyes.
"Man, I'm beat," Naruto huffed, slouching back onto my bed looking way too comfortable.
"So go to your own room," I mumbled, walking around and inspecting every little detail.
It would seem that they spared no expense on anything surprisingly enough. It would seem like we'd be getting the short end of the stick but I guess when your job is literally to protect royalty with your life, there's gotta be some upside to the story.
It was fully furnished, queen sized beds, TV's mounted to the wall, walk in closets, the whole nine yards. They even had their own bathrooms.
It would seem like my room had become the sneak peek for everyone else. Rin and Tenten walked about freely, eyeing any and everything. Shikamaru claimed the small couch off to the side and Naruto casually stretched out across my bed. Figuring they'd all just up and leave eventually, I plopped onto the other half of the bed, stretching out with a relaxed sigh.
"Well, now what?" Shikamaru yawned out, flipping through channels as he settled into the couch.
"You all could leave," I half joked, secretly wanting them to actually leave so I could have a minute to think to myself.
Scoff tossing from her lips, Rin stretched out beside me, resting her feet on top of Naruto's back. Seriously. They were all getting a little too comfortable. And yet, I couldn't find it in me to actually tell them to flat out leave. Maybe I was just more exhausted than I realized. On the other hand, it could be something deeper. Perhaps deep down I was just lonely and craved the presence of others, though I wouldn't admit it to them.
"I know!" Naruto perked up immediately from the foot of the bed. "How do you guys feel about your heirs? Shikamaru, you first!"
Scowling at being put on the spot, he shrugged and answered briefly, "The kid's name is Choji from Sector Gamma. He eats way too much and he's messy as hell. Still, he's a good kid. Hard to believe he's the heir to anything though." I couldn't help but smirk while the others laughed openly. So far, I liked Shikamaru. He had a chill personality but it made me question how strong was he. He didn't exactly give off bodyguard vibes.
"Alright me next!" Naruto practically screeched though we were all in perfect hearing range. "I've got Sasuke Uchiha as my heir from Sector Sigma. He's such a pretty bow, know-it-all, asshole! He thinks he's perfect and talks down to everyone. I hear he's got an older brother in jail though, they've got a pretty dark history." I rolled my eyes, not very surprised. I had heard briefly about the Uchiha, knowing only from stories of the elite sector. They produced some of the strongest heirs ever in history. Hard to believe that they actually hired a bodyguard for a family full of warriors.
Tenten shrugged, claiming an empty spot next to Shikamaru. "I've got Temari from Sector Theta. She's pretty chill and doesn't give me a hard time so she's good in my book. I know she's got two brothers but she's the only one of them with enough business sense. Guess it makes sense for her to be heir."
"Honestly, sound a lot like Ayame," Rin began with a soft smile. "She's pretty laid back too. She might not give off the vibe but she's smart as hell. She's also a pretty amazing cook. She's let me try so much food in the past few days it's ridiculous."
Lastly, everyone's eyes focused on me.
I closed my eyes, completely aware of the tensing of my jaw.
Breathing out slowly, I mumbled, "Ino. Sector Iota. I've only been with her a few days but she's easily my least favorite person I've ever met. I have no doubt that Sasuke is probably a shitty person but Ino takes the fucking cake. She hits so low below the belt she might as well break your damn ankles while she's down there. I hate her, plain and simple."
The room was quiet.
Not that I was surprised. I mean. What was there to say after that?
Running his fingers through his messy blonde hair, Naruto openly joked, "Ya gotta admit though. She's pretty fucking hot." I scoffed, rolling my eyes as a sudden vibration in my pocket drew my attention elsewhere. I could care less if she was hot. If you're a shitty person then you're a shitty person. No amount of makeup could get rid of that. Fishing my phone from my pocket, I glanced at the screen to see who the text had come from.
Kakashi. Of course.
'The young lady has complained about Aris. She demands that you come retrieve him during your stay for the weekend.'
The sigh that followed was only a glimpse of my frustration. Of course she couldn't deal with anything slightly inconveniencing for more than a few minutes. Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I rose from the bed and snatched my keys from the bedside table.
"Where ya going?" Naruto nosily asked as he continued to lie down, sprawled across my bed.
"To waste gas on something that could've waited till tomorrow night," I breathed in annoyance. He made no move to get up. Same for the others. Rin, however, rose to her feet and slipped past me out the door with nothing but an easy smile as she followed me to my car. I couldn't help but wonder why she seemed to follow me around or more importantly, why I hadn't bothered to stop her yet.
Nevertheless, I let her make the brief drive back with me to pick up Aris.
The conversation was brief. If you could even call that a conversation, that is. It was more of a solid five minute lecture about how it was my dog and therefore my responsibility. How I shouldn't leave others to do my job for me. Thankfully, I had enough sense by now to ignore the hypocrisy and simply nod and apologize with the fakest smile I could muster.
"Wow," Rin voiced breathlessly, "What a bitch."
Smirk twitching onto my lips, I leaned back in my seat with my right hand steadily squeezing the steering wheel as I chuckled, "Trust me. You have no clue."
Hope you all enjoyed! Please read and review so that I may learn to please your sweet faces. Kat craves your approval. Love you guys!
