Author's Opening Rant- Thank you guys, each and every one of you, so, so, so much! You're reviews are too kind! Thank you, a million times, thank you! n.n
We're getting closer to the end—I think! I mean, the dance is probably gonna wind up split across a few chapters on it's own!—to this fiction. This saddens me! But I have to say, at this point, I'm VERY pleased with how it has been turning out!
And hey, maybe some day I'll write down my little theory of Rock Lee's domestic life. Why? It's ANGSTY!
Let's dive in then, shall we?
Chapter 12- Thought ProcessHaruno Sakura woke after a night of restless sleep, thoughts turning over and over in her mind. Groggy green eyes stared up at her bare ceiling, pink strands lying tussled across her pillow. Sakura stretched lightly, her sheets rustling with the movement.
Her mind was tossing back and forth the events of the past week, and playing with the idea of the oncoming dance.
First of all, there was Lee. Sweet, wonderful, trip-over-himself-to-please-me Lee. Lee was the kind of guy who could be happy just watching her smile. And, Sakura added bitterly to herself, it was about damn time she had a guy like that! No more being screamed at for no reason at all, no more cold glares, no more unrequited love. Always smiling. She chuckled softly, recalling a particular time a while back when she was making fun of his eyebrows. Lee had just broke out in a grin, wriggling both very thick brows up and down, "Fuzzy-Eyebrows, is it? Very well then, Sakura-san! Heh-Heh!" Smiling. Even that day at his house, he was smiling at her. Sakura's face was overcome with sadness as she wondered what Lee's home life was like. She had her hunches, but each was as terrible as the next until she just shoved the whole thing from her mind all together. Thinking of Lee having to endure those kinds of things…was too cruel. He didn't deserve it; no one deserved that kind of heartache. Just like…Sasuke. Sakura flipped onto her side, gnawing at her bottom lip. No. No thinking of Sasuke.
Then there was Naruto to think about. Ever since they were about four years old, he had had such a strong crush on her that it sometimes drove her crazy. Sakura allowed her mind to replay their first meeting all the way through; meeting the lonely blonde at the swing set in the Academy's playground, asking if he'd like to play with her, that unbridled smile he had given as he agreed, and then being screamed at by her mother for three hours for talking to the Uzumaki Naruto. But no matter how mean or rude she had been to him after that day, he still followed her around like a little puppy-dog. And every morning, it was the same happy greeting. That wide grin that covered the whole of his face, and a bright, cheery, "Good morning, Sakura-chan!" The pink-haired girl felt a twinge if guilt as she realized she had failed to thank Naruto for getting into that huge fight, all for her, as he had claimed. But Naruto was like that. He would defend Sakura with his dying breath if he had to, even though he knew it never got him anywhere with her. He was just so nice, and the complete opposite of Sasuke…
She twisted onto her other side, tangling her sheets around her whole body. Try as she might, there simply was no way of pushing Uchiha Sasuke out of her mind. Sakura stared at a dim patch of sunlight sitting neatly on the folds of her sheets, sighing as her mind went back to the raven-haired boy. Yes, he hated her, he thought she was annoying, and he didn't want to have much to do with her. But, Sakura guessed, this whole gloomy attitude that drove most girls wild was just his way of keeping everyone as far from his heart as he could manage. There was no fooling her! She knew what and why, she just couldn't understand how he could keep this up for so long without feeling horribly empty and cold. Or, maybe he did feel horribly empty and cold. That thought only made the kunoichi feel worse; worse for having failed to help him get over it. Her heart was dedicated to Sasuke, as little sense as that made, and it seemed that it would always be. Lee was a sweetheart, Naruto was a sweetheart, and Sasuke, the jackass, was the one she loved. Sakura laughed at herself, "You're so stupid…you know that, don't you?"
"Yeah…I know…" she answered herself out loud, turning onto her back and stretching her arms over her head until she heard her shoulder joints pop. Sakura cast a quick glance out of her window, groaning as she realized she would eventually have to get out of bed, "Ughh…looks like it might rain."
As lazy as Sakura was acting today, her ex-best friend, Yamanaka Ino, was charged up and tearing through her wardrobe. One way or another, she'd wind up at that dance with someone, so she had to be prepared with the perfect outfit. Ino had already tossed out all of the outfits she knew for sure that Sakura owned, griping about how that huge-foreheaded freak had better not wear the same clothes to the dance. Other than that, Ino was surprisingly lenient on Sakura these days. There was no use fighting over Sasuke-kun, because he absolutely never attended the dance. So as long as the living forehead didn't copy her fashion style, Ino was content to leave her alone and focus on more troublesome people. Ino came across a dark purple and white yukata, pausing to push a strand of her freed blonde hair back behind an ear as she mused over the garment.
Her father's voice interrupted her thoughts, cooing at her from the doorway, "Princess! Shikamaru is outside. He says he wants to talk with you for a minute."
"Huh?" Ino's pale blue eyes fluttered a moment, "Shikamaru…is AWAKE?!" Quickly, she sent a look at the clock, and then again, and one final time just to be sure. It was still way too early for that lazy bum to be awake, let alone dressed and walking around. Her brow furrowed in confusion, "Daddy? Did the clocks all stop this morning?"
"Hmm? Well, no Princess, I don't think so." Her father answered, retreating back to his breakfast after having delivered the message.
Ino slowly began pushing clothes from her bed so she could stand up, "That's…weird. I wonder who lit a fire under his ass today." Not bothering with a clean up, Ino just kicked clothing out of her way as she went about her room, pulling off her pajamas and getting dressed in her usual outfit. She departed from her room, tying her hair up into a short ponytail as she headed for the door. Hard as it was to believe, as soon as she opened the door she caught sight of Shikamaru reclined under a tree on her lawn, staring vacantly up at the partially overcast sky. Ino glanced around for a moment. This wasn't a hallucination, right? Very weird. But one look at the shadow-wielding shinobi sent a little smile across her lips. He was cloud watching, his all time favorite thing to do, eyes darting over the multitude of fluffy white patches floating through the sky. The blonde kunoichi shook her head, quietly making her way over to his cloud watching spot and taking a seat near his head. Ino watched him a moment, though he gave no indication that he even knew she was there. Her eyes then went to the sky, glancing the clouds through the crinkly brown leaves still clinging to the tree branches.
All of a sudden, Shikamaru spoke up, "I win in five moves."
"Huh?" Ino glanced down at him, a little startled.
"That cloud up there." He pulled a hand from underneath his head to point upwards. "It looks like a Shogi board. I'd win in five moves."
Ino glanced back up, eyes squinting to make out the shape, "Where? I don't see it."
"It's right there."
"Well I don't see it."
"Well it's changed now."
Ino lowered herself next to Shikamaru, a cheek pressing against one of his so she could see exactly where he was pointing at, "…that doesn't look like a Shogi board."
"Troublesome…" Shikamaru flustered at the contact, pulling away from her as fast as he could manage and sitting up, "I said it just changed."
"Ohh." Her head tilted slightly as she also righted herself into a sitting position, "It looks like an elephant with a fox's tail." She nodded at this, staring at the shifty cloud a little while longer, "So, what miracle got you up so early?"
He scowled at her; his cheeks still red from having been pressed up against her face. She really did know how to push all of his buttons, didn't she? "The dance."
"That's not for another few days."
"I know that." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, finding her lack of eye contact very annoying at this point, "I mean I want to talk about the dance."
Ino's eyes remained on the clouds, "Oh really? After you've been screaming all week about how you don't want to talk about it?" She suddenly pointed a finger upwards, "It looks like a Shogi board again."
"Huh?" Shikamaru tiled his head back to see, and as soon as he did, a finger gently poked against his nose.
He blinked at Ino, who was now smiling playfully and winking at him, "Gotcha."
"Would you be serious for a moment?" he rubbed at his nose furiously, wondering if the heat in his cheeks was any indication as to just how red he was turning. Shikamaru gradually got to his feet, hands deep in his pockets as he leaned up against the tree and gazed off at the horizon.
Ino's pale eyes seized him, all playfulness quickly dropped from her voice, "Okay then, we'll talk seriously. What's your deal with that sand ninja girl?"
"Ino…" he dragged her name out, "That isn't what this is about…"
"Oh yes it is!" she snapped at him, leaning forward from her spot in the grass, "Ever since she got here, she's been hanging around you like…like a fly hanging around garbage! And she-"
"That's not my fault."
"-is such an obnoxious little thing! I mean, she's got this permanent smirk on her face that just-"
"Getting a little carried away now, Ino…"
"-makes me sick!" The Yamanaka kunoichi folded her arms across her chest, her fierce look growing sour at his constant attempt to talk over her, "Is this all just some stupid joke to you, Shikamaru?" He cut her a glare, an eyebrow rising at her comment. "Well you're sure acting like it is! You go with me every year, doesn't that mean anything at all? Or do you really not care about a damned thing, you big stupid-ass—"
"Ino! Shush!" it was one of those rare times when Shikamaru's voice was stern and authoritative. Ino's rant immediately ended, surprised that the usually laid back shinobi had cut her off so demandingly all of a sudden. Just then, a beam of sunlight broke through the cloud cover, shining directly on the tree that they were under. Ino winced at the assault of light on her eyes, but Shikamaru didn't seem to mind. He simply stood there, highlighted by the sun, continuing his talk as Ino stared, "Just shush and listen for a minute. What I'm trying to say, if you'd let me get a word in edgewise, you troublesome girl, is that I'd much rather go to the dance with you than Temari. I came here to work out a meeting time and place, but of course, I just wind up getting lectured at. Troublesome..."
Ino gaped at him as he went on muttering about his rotten luck, "Shikamaru…really?"
"Yes, really." unexpectedly, Shikamaru's usual grouchy look lifted into something of a pleasant smirk, "After all these years, I can't really be seen at this thing without you, can I?"
"Shikamaru!" giggling, Ino launched herself at her teammate and wrapped her arms around his neck, again pressing her cheek against his.
"Gahhhh!! Wha-what are you doing, you troublesome girl?!" his cool composure quickly gave way to a spastic panic, hands flying out of his pockets and kept aloft at his sides to avoid this from becoming a real hug.
She pulled away slightly, winking again, "When night falls, the day of the dance, right here. And try to wear something that's not torn up and ratty, okay?"
He sighed, glancing off in the distance, "Troublesome…"
"Thanks, Shikamaru!" Ino abruptly turned and skipped back to her house, "I'll see you at the dance then! Don't be late!" She swung the door open, singing something about stealing dates from evil ninja bitches as she hopped back inside.
He heard the door shut, gazing up again as the sunlight vanished. Shikamaru sighed to himself; that had been simple enough. Now came the hard part: Keeping away from Temari so he could live long enough to see the dance. He muttered his favorite word five or six more times, shuffling off through the leaves cluttered on the lawn back home for a well deserved nap.
The sun kept darting in and out all day long, clouds threatening to unleash a downpour at any moment. Hyuuga Hinata spent the entire day leaned up against her window frame, her head resting on crossed arms, letting the autumn breeze touch across her face. Twice, twice she had gotten so close to asking Naruto to the dance that the very memory of it made her pulse quicken. And both times had wound up in failure. Hinata whimpered at this thought, pale eyes playing over the distance between her bedroom window and the ground. Maybe it was just better this way. Maybe, somehow, someone was trying to save her from some crushing humiliation that would happen if she went to the dance. She could just picture it; her doing something so embarrassing that Naruto straight out laughed at her. Yeah, not going at all was definitely better than that. But this thought offered little comfort for Hinata, who only whimpered more as she thought about how much she hated being this shy around everyone.
Her father and sister had tried constantly to pry the shy girl from her room, tempting with festival food and games. But Hinata had refused breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the countless promises of cookies or cake by her sister. She just wanted to sit and watch the dismal sky, which so perfectly matched her dismal mood. Nighttime snuck up on her, the sky darkening as the wind took on a bitter chill. Hinata thought about curling up in her bed and falling asleep…for a few weeks…or months. She eventually uncurled herself from her windowsill, reaching a hand up to shut the window, but she stopped as she caught sight of someone walking around the streets in the middle of the night. The Hyuuga mansion was pretty far from the Festival grounds, so it struck the kunoichi as unusual for someone to be wandering around at this hour. The stranger shuffled his way behind a tree, but the Byakugan made short work of that, and the mop of bright red hair was easily distinguishable, "G-Gaara…kun…?"
Gaara heard his name whispered, and stepped out into the middle of the street to look around. His dark-rimmed eyes almost instantly lifted up towards Hinata, "You."
"Wha…what are you doing up so late, Gaara-kun…?" she met his darkened eyes, leaning a little out of her window.
His answer was short and simple, "Taking a walk." He had decided, since falling asleep was completely out of the question and the festival seemed less fun without Naruto to knock things over and aggravate everyone, that he would wander around Konohagakure until the sun came back up. For all the power it granted, having the Sand Spirit bound within you certainly made the nights drag on.
"Ohhh…" Hinata tried to ignore just how strange that sounded, going back to staring at the ground.
"Something wrong?" Gaara had noticed her incredibly depressed expression, but his voice betrayed his intentions.
Hinata flinched at his tone, "O-Ohh, no! I-I didn't mean it like that...I…I just…I thought…it was strange…for you to be walking around…"
Slowly, the sand shinobi crossed the street and hopped over the fence surrounding the Hyuuga mansion. Hinata pulled back from her window a little, thinking she had upset him with her comment and now he was going to kill her. Gaara stopped right under her window, staring up as she clung defensively to a bed sheet, "You like Naruto."
"Huh!?" Hinata's cheeks were instantly consumed with redness, "W-w-well, I…I-I…It isn't…"
Gaara didn't wait for a definite answer, "Ask him out."
She sadly released her death-grip on her sheets, again staring down, "I did…"
"So ask again."
"I can't…"
"Wuss."
Hinata stared down at him for a moment, "You know…you are very mean…" Gaara cut her a deadly glare, and Hinata quickly pulled her sheet up over her mouth and nose in an attempt to block it out.
"So I will ask him for you." Gaara concluded.
Hinata lowered the sheet from her face, "N-no…you can't…"
"Why?"
"He…he would laugh…"
"Then I would kill him."
"You…aren't very good at this…" again the glare, and again Hinata's face was shielded by the bed sheet.
Gaara stared up at her for a very long time, watching as the sheet receded to check if he was still there, then flew back up at the sight of those cold green eyes. It was fairly clear that his little 'pep-talk' wasn't doing anything more than scaring the timid girl, so he tried again, making a mental note to keep the death-threats down a little, "He likes you."
The bed sheet slowly came away from her face, "Naruto-kun…likes me…?"
"He said you were a nice person. He told me that you were the first one who did not just dismiss him right away for who he was." Of course, Gaara made it sound a little better than Naruto's actual words of "Hinata's great! She may be shy, and weird, and gloomy…but she's got a great big heart! She never tells me off or anything like that!"
"Na-Naruto-kun…s-said that…" Hinata strangled the sheet between her hands, her face braking out in the usual nervous blush.
"Maybe." Gaara answered straight-faced, turning to leave, "But you'll never find out if you give up so easily." He began walking away, that massive gourd on his back swaying with the weight of the sand it held. He again hopped the fence, then crossed the street, and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Hinata clutched her twisted sheet a while longer, staring in awe as the sand shinobi vanished from sight. Her hopes renewed, Hinata leaned back out into the breezy night, and shouted as best as her meek little voice could manage.
"Thank you, Gaara-kun!"
Author's Ending Rant- Wahoo!! ShikaIno fluff is good! I really enjoyed that scene, and I REALLY enjoyed Gaara's pep talk! So against his usual character, but hey, the guy has changed a little bit, right? (I can't say too much without giving away manga spoilers, but, he helped Lee out!) I definitely had more fun with the dialog than the descriptions this chapter!
Shogi is like Japenese Chess (Right? o.o; ) And I figgured Shikamaru would say 'shush!' instead of 'shut up!' to Ino, because a 'shut up' would definately get him smacked.I'm starting to feel like Sakura-chan is the main character of this fic. I'm not sure, but I think she's consistently in the most chapters. She's definitely one of my favorite characters, behind her teammates of course, mostly because of her actions during the Chuunin exam. That's my defense on why she's in it so much! u.u;
I apologize to everything and anything I have and will do to poor Kiba-kun! I can't help it! Hinata and Naruto are so…so…so cute together! I'll have to dig up another girl to give the puppy-boy!
Okay! We're coming down to the wire now! Wait for the next update to see what happens next, and remember to review! Thanks!