Seeking Comfort
Joint Project of BullyKilla and neonate
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Neji, Sakura, Shino, Chouji
Summary: This summer in Konoha… Neji jokes, Sakura flirts, Shino gossips, and Chouji eats.
Disclaimer: When he said 'tasty with many legs' we immediately thought of exotic foods and such. The package we sent him is considered delicacy in some places of the world, you know. Boil'em, mash'em, stick'em in a stew…
Come morning the next day, clear, blue sky held little hope for a bit of shade for the hours to come. In no time, the temperature would rise again and the inhabitants of Konoha would repeat their clothe-shedding routine. But our main concern lies somewhere else.
Konoha Shinbun began their morning distribution of the newspapers at four thirty a.m when everyone else (gung-ho shinobi and wandering perverts excluded) was still asleep. The freshly printed papers were first delivered to the local shops and stands before finally reaching the private residences all around the village.
Of course, Konoha Shinbun was not the only paper in the village. It was just the most popular, and it was about to become more popular than ever because of the large colored picture dominating its front page. The editor of the Shinbun had not thought twice when he ordered the picture enlarged, placed in the middle of the page, and printed. His instinct told him that it was going to be big.
Therefore, little did the fine folks of Konoha know that their day was about to turn very interesting because of that single picture. Somewhere, an Aburame was smiling in his sleep.
A fine morning, indeed.
Daybreak in the Hyuuga residence was filled with sacrosanct-like routines, similar to rituals. First, members of the Branch House would diligently rise earlier than those of the Main House as they had security responsibilities to perform. Then one by one the Main House would stir awake. Fires would be made, water would be boiled, and floors would be mopped. It was always quiet; orders and instructions were given in hushed tones and carried out in similar manners, giving off an atmosphere truly fitting the strongest and most noble clan of Konoha.
The Hyuuga children were exempted from the morning chores and were told to train instead. Until they had become Chuunin, they would continue the strict training regime passed down from generations to generations. Failure to do so would result in punishments and harsh words. Thus, while the elders silently ate their breakfast, those little kids sparred and exercised.
Everything was peaceful.
Though not for long.
Hyuuga Neji was in the middle of high-kick routine when a shriek pierced the tranquil Hyuuga household.
The morning paper had arrived.
Haruno Sakura stretched lazily and inhaled the fresh morning air. She had opened the window in her bedroom to take a better look at the cloudless heavens. Normally she wouldn't spend some time gazing out to the horizon, but today something beckoned her to divert her attention there. Sakura smiled.
Giddy with herself, she skipped merrily to the bathroom for a quick wash. There was no mission and training for her today, but she could not wait to be out of the house. Something good may happen, Sakura told herself.
Something or someone? A little voice asked.
Sakura blushed involuntarily. She had not thought that a person other than Uchiha Sasuke could invoke such reaction from her, but there she was, under the shower, with a complexion that would send a tomato green with envy, thinking of exactly that one person.
After quickly drying up and wrapping new training bandages around her torso, she rummaged the closet for a dress. Red, red, pink, black, red, yellow, pink… aha! Triumphantly she picked a pastel green summer dress, the only one she had. The color was so light it would not clash with her hair.
A call from her mother brought her downstairs just in time for breakfast. Her father was sitting with a cup of tea in his left hand and the paper clutched on his right. Upon seeing his daughter, he coughed nervously, signaling his wife to join them at the table. Then he made quite a scene of folding the newspaper noisily. When all of them were seated, Sakura noticed the somber and worried expressions her parents had on their faces. Before she could ask what was wrong, her father suddenly asked in a serious tone.
"Daughter, do you know where babies come from?"
Akimichi Chouji was walking along, minding his own business (which consisted of a gallon of deluxe vanilla ice cream and a bag of homemade brownies), when a sudden burst of wind knocked him down to the ground. Trapped in the land of slow motion, he watched as his precious ice cream was sent flying to the dirt along with the scrumptious, finger-licking brownies. Chouji's cries of anguish went unanswered as his brain registered the spoiled lump in front of his face.
"Nooo!" Chouji screamed, clutching his head with both hands, a defeated boy. It was a deluxe vanilla, for Hokage's sake! He sobbed, thinking how unfair the world was. A man should not go hungry! He should not be denied a deluxe vanilla! How is this possible?
He recognized the chakra burst that had accompanied that disastrous wind. It was undeniably Hyuuga Neji's. The fact that the prodigy rookie didn't bother to hide his signature was lost to Chouji. Since they had teamed up to recover Sasuke from the Sound-nin and got wounded pretty badly in the process, there had been a sort of polite acknowledgement between them. A nod or two, and sometimes small talks. Chouji and Neji weren't friends, not yet, and maybe would never be, but at least there was mutual respect between them.
Today the Hyuuga had unknowingly stepped over the line.
Chouji was pissed. He was usually mild-tempered and forgiving except when it came to food (and his often misunderstood bone size. He was not fat, just big boned, dammit!). The sight of his wasted brunch boiled his blood. He'd have a 'talk' with Hyuuga Neji soon.
Very soon.
The main entrance to Konoha Shinbun office building was forced open by a very angry fourteen-year-old. The middle-aged receptionist behind the desk was so startled he let out a whimper when the boy with blazing silver eyes approached him.
"Excuse me," the boy snarled, "where can I find the editor of this paper?"
The receptionist, torn between fleeing and doing his job, let out another series of whimpering that sounded suspiciously like, "Second floor, third door to the right."
Neji growled his thanks before disappearing from the receptionist's sight in a flash. The poor man finally had the courage to breathe again. Nasty little kids these days, he thought bitterly, almost killed me there. Oh well, at least he'd have something to tell his buddies down at the pub. Imagine, visited and threatened by the very boy whose lovey dovey image now occupied the front page!
Upstairs, that 'nasty little kid' was wreaking havoc.
What could be worse than breakfast combined with the talk of bees and honey with your parents?
Let's see.
Number one, the whole village knew about your supposedly private love life. Wait, scratch that. They had always known, anyway, thanks to your loud, adoring proclamations in the past for a certain lost Genin.
Number two, you met strangers in the street who patted your head and congratulated you on a good choice of husband. When you go, "Huh?" they thought you were just shy. How cute.
Number three, there was a scandalous picture of you in the local newspaper front page. In that picture you looked like you were locked in a passionate kiss with one gorgeous, shirtless young man.
Sakura sighed. She really should be horrified by the negative responses that suggestive picture ('embodiment of lewdness', her mother dubbed) might raise, but instead she found herself thinking and regretting the worst possible thing.
Number four. The passionate kiss had never happened.
Aburame Shino was in heaven that day. He woke up to find his whole household huddled together in the living room, staring at the front page of Konoha Shinbun. When he had curtly greeted them, his parents, along with various relatives, could only gawk at him. Silently Shino picked up the newspaper, curious how the picture turned out. Behind the sunglasses, his eyes widened. He blinked hard, twice.
It was better than he'd thought it would be. Satisfied, he read the printed article he had written the day before, line by line.
Summer of Love in Konoha!
By Ardent Shinobi
Who says that love belongs only to spring or autumn? Whoever he is, he must have gone through this summer with both eyes closed. The fall of cherry blossom petals cannot possibly match the beautiful fall one Haruno Sakura experienced, nor the fall of gold-touched leaves can do justice to the one Hyuuga Neji succumbed to. Yes, both have apparently taken the heat of summer to a different level, folks. While the rest of Leaf dried and almost withered in the blistering temperature yesterday, a little flower bud called love blossomed between them.
Hyuuga and Haruno were seen in each other's company beneath the comforting shade of one big tree near the Hokage's office. Apparently the apprentice of the Hokage herself could not resist the temptation that was Hyuuga prodigy. Bare-chested (was it from the heating temperature or something else?) save for his training bandages, the infamously impassive Hyuuga Neji was seen smiling and laughing along with his ladylove.
However, the demonstrative display you see above is only the tip of an iceberg. Hyuuga Neji is in Jounin Maito Gai's Genin team. One of his teammates, the skilled taijutsu specialist Rock Lee, has been known to be relentless in a pursuit for the affection of one certain girl. Yes, you guess it right, dear readers. She is none other than Haruno Sakura.
A love triangle, you say? Judging from the leaning angle, I could hardly see any space for the third corner.
And they say it's all fair in love and war.
A. S.
To be continued
Is the mike on? Testing, 1, 2, 3.
(1). BullyKilla, Ranier, and neonate apologize for the delay in this installment. The first two have schools and Ranier has his weekly manicure. Can't beta with rough fingernails, apparently.
(2). Who gets Shino's joke on the last line of his article? (Ooh, I do! Pick me!)
(3). Fanart! We have fanart! Check the profile page for link.
(4). This chapter was written mainly while listening to Sade's Smooth Operator. In loops.
(5). "Where's Neji and Sakura?! I wanna see them interact!"
Chapter four. Boy-scout promise. This chapter is dedicated to Ardent Shinobi, our gossip guru: "Rumor is a glorified Truth."
(6). Wendell the bumblebee is nicely recovering. Thank you for asking.