A/n: Aloha!!! :D Hello again!!! Here I am again, updating my fic. No. one I just flunked a test... That's why I decided to write this as an outlet... too depressing... But nonetheless I would make this fic a satisfying one since you guys appreciate my work... Arigato ne... And about the from the distance from the other chapter... Sorry I missed that part, it was intended to introduce the setting but since I was in a hurry to edit it I missed it...So there... I hope I clarified your questions. And also, please read my other two fanfics, Flashbacks of an Unforgotten Promise and Everybody grows up. And since these two fics are nearing its end... I'm planning to write my new one... I call it New Snow is Falling. I hope you watch out for that too! Ok... Let's get going since I've already taken up much of your time. Don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: I own the idea and the legend besides those two... I own nothing in this story.
The Legend of the Broken Stone
Chapter 4: Exhaustion
Sakura wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead, as she wrote a Japanese character on the stone she was holding, careful not to spread the blank ink she had painted on it. Sakura sighed heavily as she finished her first real work. Who knew art could be so hard? Sakura thought as she gently placed the stone on the grassy ground, satisfied with her work. Scanning around, she found the others busy as well, each one on their own post or under a large tree, their foreheads wrinkled, paintbrush in hand.
Sakura breathed in and breathed out, relaxing herself a bit just for a while. Before going back to her work, she glanced at Sasuke who was effortlessly making strokes on the stone he was holding, his hands holding the egg-sized stone tightly.
Sakura smiled. What could he be doing? Sakura thought as she took notice on her hands, which were wrinkled after cleaning the stones. There were 300 stones. The girls washed and the boys dried it, 300 of them, with towels. Sakura sighed as she took her second stone thinking... It's too early to get tired... there is so much more to do...And without another word she continued, wrinkling her forehead and focusing her eyes on the shiny stone's surface.
0.o
Lunch was, indeed, salvation. Naruto grinned in fulfillment as he massaged his big stomach, which had nothing else in it but ramen.
The others didn't really find the same satisfaction as Naruto had, who is at the moment fully charged, painting his stones enthusiastically with his unruly paintbrush. Hinata watched, amused, smiling to herself, blushing unknowingly at the same time.
Sakura stared at the white-eyed girl from the tree she was leaning on, who was smiling at Naruto's gibberish acts, smiling softly to herself as she looked into the other girl's longing eyes.
o.0
Gai glanced at his watch, waiting for one of the young shinobi-s to approach him and submit to him their work. He looked at Kakashi for some answers but, instead, he met up with the soft-bounded covers of a pornographic material.
"Oi! Kakashi! What do you think is happening? What is taking them so long?" Gai finally asked, not getting any reaction from the masked ninja, who was Indian sitting on a sawed mahogany tree.
Gai twitched his thick left eyebrow. How dare that Kakashi..."Can't you stop reading that perverted book for a moment!" Gai said as he took the visual pollution from the silver-haired ninja's hands, seeing his only eye visible, shut in deep slumber.
"And you call yourself a genius..." Gai said before leaving the young jounin to go to the training grounds, just to check what the shinobi-s were doing. o.0
"Hai Okaasan! I liked the story but is it true?"
"It was proven."
"How?"
"Once there was a girl who visited this festival of their neighboring village. She was given a stone with a Sakura petal engraved on it upon her entrance in the village."
"And then..."
"Then just as instructed the girl looked for the other half of the stone. It was just for fun but the others took it seriously because of their belief..." "And then what happened Okaasan..?"
"Then the girl got tired and went to a bridge where she bumped on somebody. He was a boy, a boy who picked up the fallen Sakura petal-engraved stone, which had fallen from the girl's hands. The boy then took his stone from his pocket and found that he had found the other half of his stone."
"Then?"
"Then they fell in love after their first meeting and they stayed together until now..."
The boy scratched his head. "Okaasan but that's a love story! Do you have other stories of dad fighting?" the boy said while he punched the air for effect watching his mother smile at the same time.
Sasuke awoke from his dream, his hand still gripping the Sakura petal- engraved stone, which he had made. He scanned his surroundings and saw the thick eye browed man wake his comrades, who were like him, asleep. Sasuke stood up from his sitting position, stretching his legs which had been folded for about 3 hours.
0.o
"Nani?!" Sakura said as he looked at Naruto's work, a puzzled look on her face.
"I know Sakura-chan..." Naruto said with a proud smile. "Those are my best works!"
"Baka! You have the same designs for all your stones! All of which are RAMEN bowls!" Sakura shrieked as she looked at the identically designed stones with the same colors.
"Eh? Nobody told me that the designs should vary..." Naruto said as his whiskers nearly fell off his face.
"Dobe..." Sasuke muttered as he watched Sakura scan every stone with the same picture on it.
"Naruto... Didn't you understand? It has to be in different drawings because that would just mean that a single person would be paired with a group!" Sakura explained as she slapped her forehead in defeat.
"AHAHAHAHA!!!" Ino snorted from out of nowhere. "Forehead-girl... Do you call this figures art?" Ino said as she took one of Sakura's works and waved it in everybody's faces.
Sakura blushed. "Japanese Characters are art!" Sakura screamed back at Ino as he continued to wave it around while laughing loudly. "And what are these? Do you call this ART?" Sakura retorted as she took one of Ino's work which had... SASUKE – INO FOREVER carved on it.
Sakura shrieked angrily. "INO-PIG!!!"
o.0
On the Other hand
Naruto picked up the stones tiredly. He has to re-do all of them all except for one. Naruto sighed as he sat himself down his spot and remake the designs.
"Naruto-kun..."
Naruto shot his head up and saw the pearl-eyed girl standing before him. "Hinata-chan... Konichiwa!"
Hinata blushed.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.
"Eto... Ano..." Hinata stuttered for words as she fiddled her fingers. "I would like to... to help you..."
Naruto blinked.
Hinata gulped the lump in her throat. "Finish those." Hinata finished.
Naruto smiled. "Arigato Hinata-chan!" A question then popped on his mind. "Why are you so good to me, Hinata-chan?"
Hinata blushed more, her eyes widening in fear.
"Haa... Naruto... You are dense!" Tenten butted in as she went past them, giving Hinata a wink before leaving.
"Grrr!!! That Forehead girl is really getting on my nerves! How dare she insult my artwork!" Ino screamed angrily as she tousled her hair. "Do you think my work is ugly?!" Ino questioned Shikamaru, her eyes LARGE in anger. Shikamaru sweatdropped.
"WHAT?! ANSWER ME!" Ino shrieked, making Shikamaru look small because of her gigantic form, which was caused by her anger.
Shikamaru lazily went past her as he said "Art is beauty in the eyes of the beholder." Before disappearing in Ino's sight.
0.o to be continued o.0
A/n: Review ne!!! By the way sorry if this chapter is boring... I promise you better scenes on the next chapter... Ja!