Crimson Love
Yay! Ninth chapter, baby! Hell yeah! 104 reviews! As promised, I will no longer beg for reviews… but it would be nice if I got some feed back, yeah?
Ok let's see… I had stuff I wanted to tell you people… what was it? Oh yeah.
1. CHAPTER TRANSLATIONS! I am sooo sorry! I forgot you people don't know German! Lol. Ok, let's see…
-Chapter Six: The Lonely and the Fatherless
-Chapter Eight: Ukon's Feelings
I'll try and remember to translate them!
2. Apprentice fans! Hello! Ahem. Guess what? I got really bored last night, so I decided to… (Drum roll, please) …write an A.A.A.! Uh… That means Absurdly Appalling Apprentices, if you aren't sure. It's basically the O.A.V. for Apprentice… Hee hee! It'll be posted as chapter 29 of Apprentice sometime… Well I don't know when. Oh well.
Uh… yeah, I'll get on with the fic now.
Chapter Nine: Wenn Nur Sie Gewusst Haben
T: If Only You Knew
"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter like unrequited love." –Charlie Brown, Peanuts
(Skipping back a ways, to when Neji, Kimimaro and Ukon were alone in the car)
"What was with that flower, Kimimaro-sama?" Ukon asked, glancing into the rear-view mirror at Kimimaro.
Kimimaro shrugged, blushing slightly. "I thought she would like it…"
"You do know that she's about as in love with Uchiha as Sakura is, right?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow. He missed the death glare Ukon threw him.
Kimimaro nodded sadly. "I know… I just thought if I was nice enough to her, she might be my friend, at least…"
Ukon cast Kimimaro a sympathetic look while Neji assumed a thoughtful expression, starring out the window. Neither of the other two noticed his sudden silence, since he hardly ever spoke, so they didn't comment.
(Meanwhile)
Shizuka rubbed her throat slightly, sweating under the pile of blankets Kimimaro (under the impression that she actually had gotten sick) had insisted she stay under while he was gone. She scowled at her black mane, since it was the main reason for why she was so damn sweaty.
"I should just hack you off," she told her hair. "Then I wouldn't be so hot all the time."
"Oh, don't do that. Your hair is so pretty."
Shizuka yelped, jumping halfway out of her skin, and whipped around. "Itachi!" she hissed angrily.
He smirked where he was sitting in her chair. "The one and only."
"Don't you know how to knock?"
"Oh, sorry." He rapped his knuckles on the window pane. "Hello, its Itachi, may I come in? Why, thank you, I will."
She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Now, is that any way to talk to the guy who just spent roughly eighteen million yen on you?"
Shizuka just scowled. "Maybe if you were a little more friendly and a little less creepy, I would be more inclined to be friendly to you, hmm?"
"Creepy, is it?"
"Sha!" She looked at him like he was crazy. "You don't think it's creepy that you just randomly appear in my room?"
He shook his head, the smirk persisting.
"…Don't you ever just smile instead of smirking?"
"What, like this?" He made a face not unlike the one little Ukon and Sakkon were making in the picture above Shizuka's bed.
Shizuka sweat-dropped. "That's just psycho. Weren't you just here a few minutes ago?"
"And hour ago."
"…You counted."
"Of course."
Shizuka repressed the urge to gulp. This guy just went from nice and sweet and slightly psycho to stalker and overly-assertive and very psycho in a matter of an hour…
(Meanwhile)
Neji waved to Ukon and Kimimaro as he went into the Hyuuga estate, still frowning slightly. Kimimaro's words were still confusing him…
"I just thought if I was nice enough to her, she might be my friend, at least…"
Now, as we all have probably discovered by now, Neji is not the best at sorting out emotions. So, like any other guy who is totally helpless with that, he had to ask… someone… who knew something about emotions. For Neji, that narrowed it down to one person.
"Hinata?" He knocked on her door.
No answer.
"…Hinata?" He knocked a little louder.
Still no answer.
He frowned, opening the door. "Hinata?" He looked around. Damn… where is she?
Still frowning slightly, he went down the hall for about ten minutes until he came to a gym. Sure enough, inside he found his younger cousin, attempting to beat the crap out of a punching bag.
"Hinata," he said, to announce his presence.
She yelped softly and turned around. "N-Neji-nii-san?"
"You still like Naruto, right, Hinata?"
She looked a little confused. "Um… Yes…"
"So how would you show him you like him?"
She turned beet red. "I-I try to be nice to him so he will be nice to me, maybe…?"
Neji's frown deepened slightly, and he left the gym, leaving a very confused Hinata. So, Hinata and Kimimaro are the same… they're both unnaturally nice to the people they admire, even if said person is too thick… or Sasuke-obsessed… to notice…
So, how does this relate to me? His frown turning into a look of confusion, he went upstairs to his room.
(Present time)
Sakura sniffed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve as she set the phone down. "Mom?" she called, going over to the stairs.
"Up here, honey."
She went upstairs, already bracing herself to get yelled at, after she said what she wanted to say. She found her mom in the master bedroom, ironing clothes. "Um… Mom?"
"Yes, honey?" She turned to look at Sakura. "Were you crying?"
Sakura shook her head, wiping her eyes again. "Some dust got in my eye. We should dust soon."
"You're right. What do you think of this outfit?" Her mother held up the black woman's slacks and one button-down shirt she was ironing.
"For what?" Sakura asked curiously, wondering why her mom would want to get all fancy.
"A date," her mom answered casually, going back to ironing the slacks.
Sakura's jaw dropped. "A date?"
"Yes."
"With a man?"
"Yes."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Wow, mom."
"What? Can't I go on dates?" Her mother gave her a mock look of anger.
"Well… actually…" Sakura tried to turn it into a joke, too, but found she couldn't. Mom hasn't been on hardly any dates since dad… yeah. This is gonna be uncomfortable.
"What did you want, sweetie pie?"
"Huh?" Sakura looked at her bluntly.
"Didn't you want something?"
"…Oh yeah! Um, Shizuka wants to know if I can spend the night on Saturday…" Sakura visibly backed away from her mom, waiting for the storm to erupt.
Her mother actually thought about it for a few minutes. "I suppose… that would be ok…"
Sakura starred at her, wondering who this woman was, and what she was doing with her mother.
"…As long as I'm allowed to drive you home," her mother ended. "My date is tomorrow, so, hopefully, you can have one of those cute twin boys pick you up." Her mom winked at Sakura.
"…..Ok, who are you, you demon, and what have you done with my mom's soul? And… cute?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"I'm right here, honey," her mom said with a smile. "And didn't you think those little boys were all cute?"
"Uh—"
"My, my, little Sakura attracts all the cute ones, doesn't she?" Her mom smiled to herself while she ironed the shirt. "Kind of like that little Sasuke. When are you gonna bring his cute butt home?"
Well… technically, I already did… "Hey, mom, it's after the fact, now, but what would you do if one guy who you like hanging out with kind of tells you he thinks he loves you—"
"Kind of?" Her mom raised an eyebrow.
"Hear me out. He tells you he thinks he loves you, and then someone who you've liked for a really long time but who was hardly ever nice to you suddenly shows up and wants to… protect you?" she ended lamely.
"Aww… Little Sakura really is all grown up!" her mom crooned.
"Mom!"
"Sorry, sorry…" Her mom sighed, deep in thought. After a few moments of silence, she finally said, "I can't really help you with that, Sakura… Only you can choose who you would be happier with." She gave Sakura an understanding smile.
Sakura sighed. "Great. The one time I need your help…" She gave her mom a mock glare. "Oh yeah," she said suddenly, remembering the twins' birthday. "I need to go to the mall tonight."
"Tonight?"
"Yeah. It's those 'cute little twins' eighteenth birthday tomorrow and I want to get them something."
(A little later, but at a different place)
"Are you sure you're ok, Shizuka?" Kimimaro asked, poking his head in her door.
Shizuka nodded hurriedly. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm really hungry…"
"I'll go get you some soup!" Kimimaro said at once, closing the door.
After the door was safely closed, Itachi sat up, throwing the covers off himself where he had been laying dead-still next to Shizuka. Taking a huge breath of life, he turned to smirk at her. "Was I nice and still?"
"You shouldn't be here at all!" she hissed, pushing him out of the bed. "Go! I'm already grounded! I can't have gangsters in my room!"
"Po-po, 'Zuka."
"My name is not 'Zuka', its Shizuka, now go away!" She continued trying to push him. "Actually, to add onto my previous thought, I can't have an insane gangster in my room!"
"'There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason behind the madness'," Itachi quoted.
"'When love is in excess, it brings a man neither honor nor any worthiness'," she countered, finally succeeding in pushing him off the bed.
"You certainly didn't think that when you maxed out six of my credit cards."
"My ideals change every time I blink."
"Well, let's take those sunglasses off, so I can have a fair warning." He sat up and reached for her sunglasses.
-oOo-
"Hold still," Sasuke told his brother, slapping a balm on Itachi's cheek.
Itachi grimaced and rubbed his cheek. "Tell me, why do all the pretty ones have to be insane?"
(The next day, Sakura's house)
Sakura sat back, looking at the completed work of art before her with a sense of pride. She'd spent an hour and a half working on them, so she had reason to be rather proud and pleased with herself.
What were they, you ask?
Birthday cards.
But not just any birthday cards, mind. Oh, no. These were special birthday cards.
They had sequins.
And sparkles.
And she had made them with very nice, dark purple construction paper and used light purple construction paper for the letters. Everything about the cards was purple, or lavender. She had even gone through all the sequins and picked out only the purple ones.
Why is she going to such lengths? Well, it's quite simple.
Today was the twins' eighteenth birthday.
Now, Sakura had started out just making a card for Ukon, since she'd heard him say he liked "homemade shit" better then that "store crap". But she didn't want Sakkon to feel left out, so she made him one, too.
As everyone knows, getting just a card for ones birthday, no matter how sparkly, is pretty lame. A present or a gift card or cash usually accompanies said card. But Sakura had taken it to the next level.
She'd gotten plush toys.
She'd gotten Ukon a plush cat that resembled his cat, Kamikaze, and she'd gotten Sakkon a panda. However, after much thought and deliberation, she decided a panda was a pretty piss-pants present for someone like Sakkon. So, she had taken her hand at sewing and spruced it up a bit.
Of course, 'spruced up a bit' for Sakura when she was high on sugar and Inner-Sakura had seventy-four percent control over her thoughts meant that the gentle giant of the Chinese bamboo forest now had blood-shot eyes and bloody fangs and claws.
Sakura put each twin's respective card in their respective plush toys' claws and gave each toy a pat on the head before going to pack; Ukon was coming in ten minutes to pick her up for another one of Shizuka's two-person sleepovers. (Kimimaro would be present this time, however.)
After she'd packed everything she needed, she carefully put the two toys in a separate duffle bag and zipped it up. She ran downstairs when the doorbell rang.
"Ready to go?" Ukon asked, pocketing his keys. Sakura took a split second to look at him; he looked around different when he wasn't wearing his school uniform. Instead, he wore baggy black pants, black shoes and a black T-shirt with a long-sleeved grey shirt underneath.
"Just a sec." She ran back upstairs.
He shrugged, looking around. When one entered the Hanuro household, one was immediately faced with a staircase going upstairs. To the left of the staircase was a door going into a dining room. To the right was the living room of the Hanuro household; he hadn't really gotten a good look at it the night he was there, so he went to explore. It was a very neatly-set room, with a nice, lived-in quality. When one entered the room, to the left wall was the sofa Sakura had bandaged him on. On the wall next to the door was a plush chair that looked extremely comfortable, so Ukon sat in it to look around. There was a large TV, as well, with a DVD rack next to it. On the wall across from the chair, he spotted a table with some framed pictures on it, so he got up to look.
These pictures featured, mainly, a pink-haired child with huge green eyes, laughing at the camera. Now, of course, the child was Sakura, since she was an only child. And, of course, everyone knows Sakura is the cutest little kid in Naruto, so Ukon couldn't help but smirk a little. Damn, Sakura. "Hmph."
"Ukon?" she called from the top of the steps.
"Yeah?" He went to stand at the bottom of the steps.
"Catch!"
"Huh—Oof!" He staggered under the weight of the large (heavy) sports bag she threw down to him. "What the f—"
Instantly: "Catch again!"
"Huh—WAHH!" He fell over under the weight of a second bag she threw down at him. "Just exactly how long are you planning on staying?" she asked as she skipped down the stairs with a small duffle bag over her shoulder.
"Just for tonight," she said, giving him a blank look.
"Then what the h—"
"Oh, before I forget…" She knelt down next to him and unzipped her duffle bag.
Ukon watched curiously while she rummaged around in it until she extracted a grey plush cat holding a card.
"Happy birthday, Ukon!" she said with a huge grin, holding the present out to him.
His eyes widened as he looked at it. "For… me?" he finally managed, pointing to himself.
She rolled her eyes. "No, the other Ukon sitting right next to you. Of course it's for you!" she cried, shoving it in his hands.
"Ah—Dah—uh—my—you—this—"
"Do you hear yourself when you speak?"
He stopped stammering, pulling the card out of the cat's paws and opening it. "Sparkles," he said, pointing to the glittery lettering.
She nodded. "Yes. Good job."
"Uh… thanks," he said finally, looking up at her.
She smiled at him. "You're welcome. Birthday hug!" she cried, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big bear hug. She felt him pat her head in response. She let go of him and reached into her duffle bag. "This is for Sakkon. I don't think he'd take it from me."
Ukon sweat-dropped. "Oh, I see. I get a cute little kitty and he gets a killer panda."
"And?"
He tossed her a look as he carried her stuff out to his car and put it in the back of the truck. When he got back in the car, he rolled his eyes when he saw her seat belting the plush cat in the seat between them. When all three of them were seat belted and ready to go, he pulled out of the Hanuro driveway and started towards Shizuka's house (Which was actually his house, too).
"Hey, Sakura," Ukon said after a few minutes of silence during which Sakura watched street lamps roll by.
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to hang out sometime?" he asked carefully, keeping his eyes on the road. "…Just the two of us?"
Sakura starred at him for a few minutes. "Is this like a date?"
"Yeah, I guess you could call it that."
(HOLY SHIT!)
"So anyway, so you don't feel uncomfortable," he continued, "all of us are going to an ice-skating rink tomorrow after breakfast, if you wanted to go with me."
Sakura smiled. "Sure!"
He turned to look at her, eyes wide, with a huge, delighted grin on. "Really?"
She nodded, grinning as well. "Sure! But I can't really skate…"
"That's ok, I can help you."
"You can skate?"
"Ja."
She gave him a look.
"What? I can! Oh, wait, it's the German, isn't it? 'Yes, I can skate.' There."
"Is there anything you can't do?" she asked critically. "I mean…" She started ticking things off on her fingers. "You speak German. You're a pretty good shot. You skate. You sing—"
"I can't sing," he corrected, as if the suggestion were appalling.
"Sure you can, I've heard you singing along with your Rammstien and your Coal Chamber."
"…Ok, I can sing a little."
"Back to the original question, is there anything you can't do?"
He shrugged. "I can't whistle." He went through the motions of whistling, but only a few sputters of saliva and air came out. "Siehe? Ich kann nicht pfeifen." (T: See? I can't whistle.)
Sakura couldn't help but smile at him a little when he couldn't see, as he put in a CD and cranked the volume. She looked out the window. Silly man… Can't even whistle. She stole a glance at him as he sang along with Breaking Point's 'One of a Kind.' So… I guess… he's sort of my boyfriend now… Which, she realized, wasn't at all bad. She'd never gotten bored hanging out with Ukon. He always had something funny or interesting to say. And the fact that he had given her flowers (and pink ones, at that) had not gone unnoticed. And sure, he had his moody spells, but he always (sometimes) went to an effort to be nice to her.
Plus, she thought, remembering the comfortableness of hugging him, he's nice to hug.
(When they got to Shizuka's house)
"Shizuka-sama is in her room," Ukon told Sakura, giving her her bags. "I have a meeting with Orochimaru-sama." When he caught the worried look she gave him, he added, "For business. Not Shizuka-sama's recent boyfriend activities." He gave her a quick hug. "But I might stop by later."
"Ok." She hugged him back then headed towards Shizuka's room, trying to ignore the bubbly, butter-fly feeling she'd gotten when Ukon had hugged her.
Kimimaro opened the door to Shizuka's room, grinning slightly. "Hi, Sakura."
"Hi, Kimimaro," Sakura said, smiling, as she went in. Shizuka, who was on the phone, gave her a wave from the chair before going back to her conversation. "Who's she talking to?" Sakura asked Kimimaro, setting down her bags.
"Neji," Kimimaro answered. "They've been arguing since lunch."
"About what?"
"Well, it started out as Shizuka asking him to go ice-skating with us tomorrow morning, then they started talking about the Olympics, which led to an argument about female and male ice-skaters, which led to an argument about boys and girls in general, which led to an argument about their different preferences, which led to an argument about online Instant Messaging, which led to an argument about changing the subject, which led to the present argument about being grounded." Kimimaro shrugged, going back to his Zelda game.
"Dang." Sakura sat next to Kimimaro, watching the game but also watching Shizuka, who was arguing in a very animated way, making violent hand gestures in mid-air.
"She had him on speaker-phone around two o'clock," Kimimaro said with a sigh. "It was amusing, but pretty weird at the same time."
"Hey, Shizuka, put him on speaker-phone," Sakura said, grinning.
Shizuka stopped making violent strangling motions to press a button on the phone.
"—your own fault for getting yourself… Why is this echoing?" Neji's voice asked.
"Hey, Neji," Sakura called.
"Sakura? When did I start talking to you?"
"You're on speaker again, idiot," Shizuka answered, setting the phone on her night stand, so they call could talk in it.
"Oh. Hey, Sakura."
"You do realize you've been on the phone for seven hours, right?" Sakura asked.
"…Henh?" There was a pause. "Wow. Seven fifteen. What's your point?"
"Die, evil raping mummies!" Kimimaro suddenly shouted, clicking furiously on the controller.
"…Right, so anyway, are you going ice-skating with us tomorrow?" Sakura asked Neji.
"You're going too?" Neji asked.
"Ukon invited me," Sakura answered, the butterfly-feeling returning.
"Oh, really?" Shizuka and Neji said together. Shizuka raised an eyebrow at Sakura.
Sakura nodded as she blushed the lightest of pink. "Yes, really."
"Sakura has a boyfriend, Sakura has a boyfriend," Neji said in a singsong, taunting voice.
"And the closet thing you've had to a girlfriend in fifteen years was your mother, so leave me alone," Sakura countered. "Oh, and TenTen."
"Who's TenTen?" Shizuka asked curiously.
"This girl he's known as long as Iruka-sensei," Sakura answered with a shrug. "She's had a big crush on him that long, too."
"Shut up! No she hasn't!" Neji snapped at once. "She isn't even my friend! She's just been following me for forever!"
"Uh-huh, sure." Sakura rolled her eyes. "And calls you every week end, and makes you cookies on your birthday, and still has your old black hoodie—"
"She's the one who took it? I've been looking for that forever."
"I love watching old friends argue," Shizuka confided to Kimimaro. "They tend to bring up old problems." While Sakura and Neji argued, she got out a photo album from under her bed and started looking through it. Kimimaro stopped his game to squeeze in next to her in the chair and turn pages. "Aww… Baby twins!"
"Huh?" Sakura stopped arguing to look at the photo album. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Sure enough, there was a picture of two identical babies with huge, black-blue eyes and light hair. The twins had been laying on a bed, on their backs, when the picture was taken, holding each other's hands and sucking their thumbs with their free hands. "Aww..."
"I wanna see!" Neji cried from the other end of the phone.
"And here's baby Kimi-kun." Shizuka pointed to a picture of a white-haired baby with his foot in his mouth, sucking on his toes.
"You were so cute, Kimimaro!" Sakura cried.
"I want to see!" Neji shouted.
"And there's Shizuka-baby." Kimimaro pointed to a black-haired baby playing peek-a-boo with a four-year-old Ukon or Sakkon, her chubby hands over her eyes, grinning hugely.
"Aww!" Sakura pet the picture. "So cute!"
"I want to see!"
"And there are all of us playing with the sprinkler." Shizuka pointed to a picture of the seven of them (Kimimaro, Shizuka, Kidoumaru, Tayuya, Jiroubou and twins) running through a sprinkler. The five older ones couldn't have been more then four or five; Kidoumaru had a tiny little ponytail on top of his head, six chubby arms flaying as he ran through the sprinkler, followed by Tayuya, who looked like she was trying to tackle him. Jiroubou sat to the side, eating a bag of chips, though he was wearing a swim suit. Ukon-in-the-picture had baby Shizuka on his back piggy-back style and Sakkon, who was holding Ukon's hand, had Kimimaro on his back.
"You all are so cute!" Sakura squealed.
"I—WANT—TO—SEE!" Neji shouted; they heard a banging on the other end of the phone line as he banged the phone on the desk to get their attentions.
They looked up when the door creaked open, pushed open by Kamikaze's nose as he sauntered into the room like he owned the place. They watched him in silence as he crossed the room towards them and jumped onto Sakura's lap, curling into a sleeping position.
"Anyway," Shizuka said, breaking the silence. They all turned back to the photo album as she turned the page. "Aw! Twins' sixth birthday!"
"You enjoy torturing me, don't you?" Neji said in a hurt voice.
"You can see them tomorrow," Shizuka reassured him, "if you bring some of your baby pictures."
They heard him grumble for a while. "Fine. I'll bring an album over."
"Yay!" Shizuka grinned hugely.
"Yeah, yeah… I got to go, Hiashi-oji-san says to stop maxing the phone bill and come to dinner."
"Ok, call me afterwards, we have an argument to finish."
"Sure."
There was a pause.
"So hang up," Shizuka said, looking at the phone.
"You called me. You hang up."
"I did not call you!" she cried.
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did," Kimimaro said.
Shizuka thought about it. Her eyes widened. "Holy crap, I did!"
"No shit." Sakura could almost see Neji's eyes roll. "Hang up."
"Ok, fine, but you have to hang up next time."
"Yeah, yeah."
Shizuka rolled her eyes, hanging up the phone. "Was I right?" she asked Kimimaro.
"No."
(An hour or so later)
Ukon stopped dead in the door way to Shizuka's room. "What's that?" he asked cautiously, pointing at the photo album.
"What's that?" Shizuka asked critically, pointing to the plush cat Ukon had under one arm.
He looked down at it, then glared defiantly at Shizuka. "My birthday present from Sakura. Got a problem with it?"
Shizuka raised an eyebrow but shook her head as Sakkon shouldered past his twin.
"I got a panda," Sakkon said proudly, holding up the deadly panda.
Ukon: ELBOW!
"Ow!" Sakkon glared.
Ukon glared back.
Sakkon rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Sakura," he said in a monotone.
"You're welcome," she said with a small smile, even though it was obvious he hadn't meant to say thank you. (And after we put all that time and effort into his present! We spent more on his then we did on Ukon's! DAMN HIS UNGRATEFULLNESS!)
"Is Neji going tomorrow?" Ukon asked, pointing to the phone as he and Sakkon sat down on the floor, leaning against Shizuka's bed.
"Somewhere during that drabble of useless arguments, yeah I think he said ok." Shizuka shrugged, turning the page of the photo album.
"Why do you cling so desperately to those pieces of paper?" Ukon asked, glaring at the photo album with utmost disgust.
"Because—"
Shizuka was cut off by Jiroubou coming in with another phone. "Sakkon, you have a call." He gave it to the younger twin.
"Eh?" Sakkon took the phone. "Hello?" There was a moment of silence. "…Uh-huh… Hold on a sec." He then got up and left the room, giving them all weird looks.
Shizuka and Kimimaro looked at each other. "We're all hooking up tonight, aren't we?" Shizuka rolled her eyes, giving Ukon a look.
Meanwhile, outside, Sakkon ran to his room and slammed the door shut, locking, then locking the window, then locking the bathroom door, then stuffing blankets under both doors and pulling the blinds down. Finally feeling secure, he shouted, "What the hell do you want, Yamiko!"
"Why isn't Ukon calling me?" she asked coldly, the sweet, caring Yamiko he knew from school evaporated into a nasty, unrequited Yamiko he hated.
"Because he has someone else now!" (Duh, Sakkon would know about Ukon's "crush" on Sakura… They have that freaky twin thing going.)
"Who!"
"Uh…" Shit, what's her name? Sakkon snapped his fingers, trying to remember. Cherry… cherry… cherry… Cherry tree? Cherry coke! Cherry blossom… That's it! Cherry blossom! "Sakura."
"Sakura!" Yamiko shrieked. Sakkon jerked the phone away from his ear. "That fat-chested bitch from our gym class!"
"Yeah." Sakkon didn't dare put the phone close to his ear.
"What the hell! How could he like someone like here! She's a freak with pink hair!"
"He seems to like her." Sakkon ignored the fact that he wasn't all that pleased with Sakura right now. Defending his twin came first, dammit!
"How can he! I'm so much prettier then her! Aren't I prettier then her!"
"…Er." I never know how to answer that question.
"How can he like her!" Yamiko decided to continue the previous conversation. "He only met her, what, this week!"
Wow, it is only Saturday, isn't it? We've only been in school for a week? HOW SLOW DOES LIFE GO BY? Needless to say, Sakkon wasn't really paying attention to Yamiko's mindless rattling.
"Hello! Sakkon! Are you listening to me!" Yamiko shrieked.
"Nope."
"Argh! You're just as idiotic as your brother!"
"Hey," Sakkon said warningly. Damn it, no one calls him an idiot but me!
"You're useless! Good bye!"
She hung up. Finally.
"Jesus Christ." Sakkon turned the phone off and opened his door, tossing it down the hall for someone to pick up. "What a crazy chick. At least Sakura's somewhat normal."
(Meanwhile)
Ukon glared at Shizuka, Sakura and Kimimaro. They were up to something. Even Kimimaro was giggling. And Kimimaro giggled at very little. What the hell was so damn interesting about that fuckin' photo album!
This is killing me. "What's so funny?" he snapped.
"Y-You…" Sakura pointed to one of the pictures, her face beet red, from holding in laughter or from embarrassment, he couldn't tell.
He got up and stormed over, looking down at the picture.
And promptly slammed the album shut.
"Hey!" Shizuka cried as he snatched it up.
"That is soft porn, dammit!" What kind of freak takes a picture of a baby taking a bath? he thought angrily.
"Aw, but it's so cute!" Sakura whined, her lower lip sticking out in a little pout.
"…Don't look at me like that."
Shizuka nudged Sakura, grinning. Sakura pulled a Puss In Boots, blinking up at Ukon with large, shiny green eyes, her lower lip sticking out in a cute pout.
Eye: Twitch-twitch. "Don't look at me like that."
PUPPY DOG EYES!
"Ugh. Fine." He tossed the photo album at them.
(Meanwhile)
"How's Shizuka-kun dealing with being grounded?" Kabuto asked, coming in Orochimaru's office.
Orochimaru nodded, typing on his computer. "Quite well. She's having a sleep-over."
"…" Kabuto smacked a hand over his eyes.
Orochimaru looked up at him blankly. "Are they not allowed to do that when they're grounded?"
(Neji's world)
"Tell me, what was so interesting?" Hiashi asked when Neji came down to the table at last.
"Shizuka invited me to go ice-skating tomorrow," Neji said by way of answering.
"That's very nice," Hinata's mother said with a smile. "Are Shizuka's parents going to be there?"
I hope not. "There's going to be a few older guys coming with us," he answered, poking his pork fried rice. "Two of them are adults now."
"I suppose that would be alright," his aunt said with a smile.
Neji shrugged, looking around. "Where's Mom?" he asked curiously, seeing an empty chair.
"Oh, she had to work," his aunt said in a consoling voice. "But I'm sure she'll be able to drive you over to the ice-skating rink tomorrow."
"Actually, we're meeting at Shizuka's house before we leave," Neji said. "And then we're all going together. So Mom can drive me to Shizuka's."
"Alright."
"Neji-nii-san has a date," Hanabi interjected across the table from Neji, grinning hugely. "Because Neji-nii-san has a girlfriend!"
Neji glared daggers at the little girl, stabbing his rice with his chopsticks. Being the only boy in the house besides his uncle made him subject to the torments his little cousin liked to inflict upon him. However, he always got his revenge one way or other. Tonight would be no exception.
"Hiashi-oji-san," Neji said loudly but politely, calling the attention of everyone at the table. "Didn't the weekly progress reports come out yesterday?"
"Ah, yes." Hiashi nodded. "Why don't you three go get yours so I can look at them now before I forget?"
Hanabi cast Neji a look of utmost betrayal and hatred as the three of them got up and went to get their progress reports.
(A/N: I highly doubt Japanese students have these. I'm not even sure American students have these! However, Neji will have his revenge!)
"Hmm." Hiashi examined Neji's report first. "It says you've been late to a few of your classes."
"Freshmen crowding the halls," Neji answered. "It slows down traffic."
"Iruka also says you were caught passing notes." Hiashi looked up at Neji with a slight frown. "To whom were you passing notes?"
"Just a friend," Neji answered casually. "We were already done our class work, so it wasn't interfering with schoolwork."
"I see." Hiashi signed Neji's progress report and handed it back to him. He then picked up Hinata's progress report and skimmed it, making a nod of approval and signing it; Hinata never had any remarks on her reports except that she was doing well. He then reached for Hanabi's report, but she looked rather intent on holding onto it, so he had to yank it out of her hands.
"Hmm. Violence. Disregard for rules. Repeated attempts to burn pencils in class." Hiashi looked up at his youngest daughter with raised eyebrows. And it wasn't the 'oh-my-you-creative-kid' raised eyebrows, either, and every person at the table knew it. Oh, no, it was the 'you-need-to-be-taught-how-to-follow-rules-or-die' raised eyebrows.
Neji smirked to himself, finishing his dinner while Hiashi lectured Hanabi on following the rules. Oh yeah. That counted as today's dishing out of proper revenge. After he finished eating, he excused himself and went upstairs, since no one was really paying attention to him. He went up to his room and put in the CD Shizuka had lent him on Friday, called 'Faceless' by Godsmack. He liked the music, even if the lyrics didn't quite fit his current mood.
However, one song did stick out.
As I sit here and slowly close my eyes
I take another deep breath
And feel the wind pass through my body
I'm the one in your soul
Reflecting inner light
Protect the ones who hold you
Cradling your inner child
I need serenity
In a place where I can hide
I need serenity
Nothing changes, days go by
Where do we go when we just don't know
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing
And when will we learn to control
Tragic visions slowly stole my life
Tore away everything
Cheating me out of my time
I'm the one who loves you
No matter wrong or right
And every day I hold you
I hold you with my inner child
I need serenity
In a place where I can hide
I need serenity
Nothing changes, days go by
Where do we go when we just don't know
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing
And when will we learn to control
Where do we go when we just don't know
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing
And when will we learn to control
I need serenity
I need serenity
Review Responses!
Dragonman180: Lol. Kimimaro was hiding behind Neji because Kimimaro is a shy little bugger that he is! The scenes where Ukon gets hurt are getting harder because I have to think of something original each time… groan. But I'm glad you liked it! (Kenshin grin)
Hinata's Biggest Fanboy: Be still my soul! H.B.F.B. has nothing witty to say! (looks for snow outside) O.o Holy shit. It IS snowing!
KageNoKatana: Hell yeah! The bandit dance is awesome! I just had to put that scene in there for comedy. Lol. Did it work? (wants to do the bandit dance, dammit!)
RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin: I sorry the characters are rotting! They're just sitting in the corner gathering dust, aren't they? But don't worry: all will be drawn together… Hopefully. If not… I'll find a way. I almost always do. (Kenshin grin)
Mika: Yes… poor Ukon… it breaks my heart to have to put him through all this but… Hey, you know what? Sakura always makes him feel better, so there's a plus!
Kie-san: I hate Sasuke! Lol. Most likely, he will be the only person here without a pairing… Actually, I looked through, and a lot of people are going to be without a pairing. Sob. Oh well. Hopefully no one will notice… (hasn't realized she still has the gift of inner-dialog) Ukon IS cool, dammit! And Sakura highlights that in this chapter. Lol. Hmm… I was gonna say something but now I forget. Oh well.
Oh fuck! I just kicked my comp table between my toes…OW!
Jazzywolf: Are we back to four-word reviews? (sob)
xl-twisted-lx: Ty! Lol. (Kenshin grin)
Sten: You need to get un-lazied. Lol. Ty! I like dogs, too, but I always thought cats were more dignified and I couldn't see a dog running around a mansion, could you? And, knowing Ukon, it would have to be the biggest, toughest, drollingest dog out there. So yeah. German rocks!
AlphaC: Yay! Favorites list! (GRIN!) I'm glad you like my plot… hopefully I won't destroy it too, too much in my quest to get around to what I actually want to do with this… sob. My tummy hurts now.
Joann: No one likes Yamiko. Lol. YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO!
Great Milenko: Hell yeah! Die, Sasuke! Lol.
Riyo Shiban: I translated them. I hate Sakura as a weak character. Of course, she's still a very emotional character so she gets her sob scenes but still. And… did you say Kamikaze was cute? O.o He's based off a cat I actually have… sitting on my feet…
My No. 1 FAN: o.O I have a No. 1 Fan? Oro…. Wow. Ok, thank you!
Okies! Now that that's done…
KIMIMARO PLUSHIES TO WHOEVER REVIEWS!
I'm not begging… I'm offering an exchange, ne? (Turns to Sasuke) GET TO STUFFING!
Sasuke: (sewing Kimi-plushie's body) I don't see why I have to do it!
You're lucky to even be in my fic, dammit! Earn your keep!
Sasuke: (stuffing cotton in body) I GOT DUMPED!
You suck.
Sasuke: (sews up Kimi-plushie) SO! Why should I pay rent for such embarrassment?
