Crimson Love
Chapter Twelve: Ukon's Promise
"I thought you were going to do stuff to her," Ukon whispered to Sakura.
"I did. I am."
"All I saw was you and the other girls giving her stuff."
"Yeah, and?"
"Well… Honestly, I know for a fact that pampering her will only make her cling onto you more." He gave her a fearful expression.
"Oh, no." Sakura smiled. "She won't cling anymore."
"…" His expression went blank. "Why?"
Her smile widened as she pointed to where Yamiko was using a small compact to apply some liquid cover-up. "Just look."
Ukon looked blankly, watching Yamiko put on her make up. "Where'd she get the compact?"
"I gave it to her."
"Why'd you give her make up?"
"I didn't."
"…Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't."
"Well, what's that then?"
"Men's zit cream with alcohol."
"…!" Ukon starred at Yamiko, interested now, waiting for a reaction. He had used that zit cream from hell before, and he could not say honestly that he had enjoyed it.
Flashback
"Of course it doesn't sting!" Shizuka cried, smiling sweetly as she handed Ukon a small plastic case full of little sheets.
(A few minutes later)
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
End flashback
Oh this'll be good. Ukon sat down on the bleachers, elbows on his knees, starring at Yamiko.
A few moments passed.
Yamiko put the compact away.
"…Well?" Ukon looked up at Sakura.
She shrugged, sitting next to him. "I had to mix it in some concealer. It might take longer for the alcohol to come through."
"How do you know it'll work?"
"…Heh…"
Flashback
"Hey, mom, wanna try this?"
"Sure, honey!"
A few moments pass
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
End flashback
"It'll work." Sakura smirked. "Trust me. I ran tests."
Ukon gave her a fearful look. "Should I put Kami-chan through some acid tests?"
She laughed at him. "Of course not! That was a birthday present! Why would I poison a birthday present?"
He gave her a sideways glance as she burst out laughing, falling back to leaning her head on the seat behind her on the bleachers. "Ich mag Ihr Lachen," he stated, looking away.
"What?" She sat up again, gasping for breath.
"Nothing."
She frowned. "What did you say?"
"I didn't say anything."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't."
"Ukon, you better tell me whatever the hell you said before I personally shit kick your ass."
"You've been spending too much time with Shizuka-sama."
"So? What'd you say?"
"I just said I liked your laugh. Jeez, not that big a deal."
Sakura blushed quickly; she would have commented on his laugh, but, alas, she wasn't sure what his laugh sounded like, for she had never really heard him laugh (SNG: I actually went through every chapter, looking for a time where Ukon really laughed, and there isn't one… poor guy). Instead, she leaned her head on his shoulder and said simply, "Hug."
He smirked, rolling his shoulder so he could put the arm she was leaning on around her, pulling her closer. When she was happy, he glanced over at Yamiko, still a little miffed that she had yet to react to the alcohol.
However, he had good timing, as, as soon as he looked at her, Yamiko screamed and clapped her hands over her cheeks, running into the girls' bathroom. 'Bout time.
"What do you want to do today?" Sakura asked, looking up at him.
"Ah…" He grinned at her. "I have to train today, so I'll be tired afterwards, but we can watch movies and stuff at Shizuka-sama's."
"What are you training in?" she asked curiously.
"Well, shooting first. There's a shooting gallery in the basement. You know what that is?"
She shook her head; she didn't know much about guns or how to practice with them.
"Well, it's a long, dimly lit room with, in our case, six stalls at one end, and six hooks at the other end, holding big pieces of paper with targets on them. You can adjust the distance between yourself and the paper with a remote in each stall."
"Can I watch?" she asked, curious to see if the others were as good as Ukon obviously thought he was.
He shrugged. "There's a long window with bullet proof glass you can watch from with Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro-sama. After the gallery, we'll go in a room with a bunch of strobe lights and moving cardboard targets."
"Can I watch that, too?"
"Yeah. If you aren't prone to seizures, there's another window with bulletproof glass to the side." He seemed a little flattered that she was taking so much interest.
"Why seizures?" she asked curiously, looking up at him.
He shrugged. "Strobe lights can sometimes cause seizures for people."
"Oh." He knows a lot… "What do you do next?"
"Next, we go upstairs to the dojo and do kendo. Then, we do some martial arts, and that's it."
"How do you train in kendo?" she asked, curious. "Do you have a teacher?"
"Nah. We used to, but we finished studying under him, so we just have a few matches amongst ourselves to keep our technique."
"You beat the crap out of each other to keep up your technique?"
"Yep."
She shrugged. "Sounds fun."
"It is, sometimes."
"Why only sometimes?" she asked curiously, looking up at him.
"Have you ever seen Tayuya in a bad mood?"
"No…"
"Well have you ever seen Shizuka-sama in a bad mood?"
"Uh…" She thought for a moment. "I've seen her kicking trashcans 'cause she was mad at Itachi."
"Imagine someone twice as bad as that with a stick in her hand and an opportunity to use you as a scapegoat. That sound good to you?"
"Does everyone use you as a scapegoat?" she cried.
He scoffed. "No." He paused. "…Maybe…" Another pause. "…A little bit."
"Why do you let them treat you like that?" she asked worriedly.
"For Tayuya or Sakkon, I do it to be nice so they don't get in trouble with Orochimaru-sama. With Orochimaru-sama, I don't have a choice."
Sakura looked up at him. He had a look on his face that said "I'm-bitter-but-I-don't-want-you-to-see-and-get-upset-so-I'm-not-looking-at-you".
(SNG pauses for, seriously, five minutes. I need a sandwich…)
"Out of sheer curiosity—"
"I know it's not 'sheer curiosity'; you're trying to make a point," he interrupted.
"…Kind of. All egos aside, who would you say is better at martial arts and kendo and stuff: you or Tayuya?"
"'All egos as'—What the hell are you—"
"Just answer the question," she said before he could get egotistical.
"Well I've been studying it longer, so me, I guess." He looked at her confusedly. "Why?"
"Well, I was thinking, maybe if you stood up to her once and a while, and she got beat up a few times, she would stop picking on you and get herself a punching bag." She decided to leave Sakkon out of it; she knew Ukon would never beat up his brother.
He gave her a look. "You're asking me to beat up a girl."
"Well, not really, I mean look at her." Sakura gestured to Tayuya where the latter was playing basketball with Kidoumaru and Sakkon. "It wouldn't be so hard to think of her as a guy, right?" (I think she's the only person alive with boobs smaller then ours!)
Ukon looked at Tayuya, then looked at Sakura, then back at Tayuya. Then, quite suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed.
Sakura jumped slightly; startled, she looked up at him. "What?"
"That… has got to be… the funniest thing anyone has ever said about Tayuya!" he said between gasps of breath.
Sakura blushed furiously as he tightened his arm around her and planted a kiss on the top of her head, congratulating her on her sense of humor.
"I thought you were kidding," said a cold voice.
Sakura and Ukon looked up. "S-Sasuke," Sakura stammered.
Sasuke looked down at them with an expressionless look. "Can I talk to you, Sakura?" He glanced at Ukon.
Ukon seemed to take the hint, since he stood up and said, "I'm gonna go play some basketball," and went over to where Tayuya, Kidoumaru and Sakkon were playing.
Sasuke sat down in Ukon's spot (though not as close to Sakura) and was silent for a few moments.
"What's up?" Sakura asked, after a long silence.
"Why did it have to be him?" Sasuke asked finally.
"…Henh?"
"You only just met him a week ago."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So?" (What's it to you, asshole? …Whoa, I just called Sasuke an asshole… Feels good, man! Asshole, asshole, asshole!)
"So, isn't it a bit early to be dating him?" Sasuke gave her one of his Looks.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "If you're jealous, Sasuke, just say so."
"I'm not jealous."
"Then why are you making such a big deal about it?" (DIE, FREAK!)
"Because five days ago, you were sure I was the one you wanted, and then you turn around two days later and go on a date with him."
Sakura glared. "Maybe the reason why I like him is because he's not immature enough to keep it from me that he likes me."
Sasuke just gave her a death glare from hell.
Sakura stood up, putting her hands on her hips. "You know what, I'm not going to let you ruin this for me, Sasuke! I like him and he likes me, so get over it!" And with that, she stormed away.
(HELL YEAH! Chew him up and spit him out! You go, girl! Inner-Sakura shouted, giving Sakura the double thumbs-up as she walked over to where Shizuka, Neji and Kimimaro were.)
"What's wrong with Kimimaro?" Sakura asked upon seeing Kimimaro in the depths of despair.
"The idiot has gone and complimented Ino again." Shizuka rolled her eyes, looking annoyed, even though she was patting Kimimaro on the back sympathetically.
Sakura frowned. "And she was mean to him again?"
"She looked at me like I had the plague…" Kimimaro mumbled.
Sakura's jaw dropped. "You know what, I'll be right back." She turned around, cracking her knuckles and looking for Ino. When she saw the blonde standing by Hinata and TenTen, she stormed over, ready to spit fire. "Ino!" she snapped, glaring daggers.
Ino looked up. "Sakura."
"Why'd you have to go and do that to Kimimaro, huh?" Sakura snapped, crossing her arms. "Are you that stupid that you can't see that the boy likes you?"
(Across the gym, Kimimaro felt his soul leaving him… or rather, he wished for it.)
Ino scowled, crossing her arms. "I like Sasuke-kun."
"No shit, but the least you could do is be nice to Kimimaro, since he's trying so hard!" Sakura said coldly. (How can anyone be mean to Kimimaro?) "It's a wonder anyone likes you with the way you treat people!"
Not giving Ino a chance to counter, Sakura stormed back over to where Shizuka and Kimimaro were. "I took care of it," she assured Kimimaro.
Kimimaro hung his head between his knees. "Kill me… now."
Neji patted him on the back, as well. "There, there." He stood up. "I'm going to go play basketball with Lee. See you."
"Um… Kimimaro?"
Kimimaro's head snapped up. "Y-Y-Yes?"
Ino shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I just wanted to say, I liked my flower, ok?"
Kimimaro's entire face turned beet red. "Y-Y-Y-Y—W-Well, I—Uh—Y-Y-Y-You're w-w-w-w—"
"He says 'You're welcome'," Sakura translated.
Ino tried to look annoyed, but failed miserably and instead went back to where Hinata and TenTen were waiting for her.
As soon as she was gone, Kimimaro regained control over his body and jumped up, kissing Sakura's hand. "Thank you! I love you! Thank you!"
"You've given him a reason to exist," Shizuka pointed out as the genders parted ways to their respective locker rooms.
Sakura shrugged. "Whatever makes him happy."
(After Class)
Neji exhaled loudly, plopping down on the bleachers to wait for the bell to ring. The girls' class (with the exception of Tayuya, who, as I said, just doesn't care) was still in the locker room, getting dressed, so he had a few minutes of peace and quiet before he had to deal with anyone, particularly the Matchmaker From Hell (i.e., Sakura).
Gaara came over and sat next to him. "…"
"Hey, Gaara." Neji yawned hugely.
"…"
"Um… What's up?"
"…"
"…Ok…" Neji was starting to get a little unnerved; the guy's expression never changed!
"You like Shizuka, right?"
"No!" Neji shouted on reflex… then something sunk in. "You can talk?"
Gaara gave him an odd look. "Can't you?"
"B-But then—" Neji pointed in the general direction of the girls' locker room. "Why do you let Shizuka translate?"
Gaara shrugged. "Because it makes her happy that she's the only one who 'understands' me… even if she gets it wrong ninety percent of the time. But that wasn't the original conversation. Do you like Shizuka or not?"
Neji started to deny it, but paused; Gaara continued to stare at him blankly. "…What's it to you?"
Gaara shrugged. "Because I've known her since we were three, and any guy that wants to go out with her needs to go through me first."
Neji was a little curious, until Gaara pulled what looked like a test out of his book bag. He gave it to Neji before standing up. "Fill that out and give it to me tomorrow," he ordered before walking away.
Neji looked down at the test curiously.
Gaara suddenly appeared again. "And don't tell Shizuka I can talk."
Neji shrugged, since now he knew something about Shizuka's best friend that Shizuka herself didn't know, and looked at the test again.
1. Have you, at any point in your life, molested someone?
Neji broke out into a cold sweat. I'm not liking where this is going…
(After School)
"Sakura, come with me to my locker," Shizuka said, looking slightly uneasy.
"Ok." Sakura followed her.
"We'll go, too," Kimimaro said, nodding to himself and Neji. (Posse)
Neji pocketed Gaara's test and glanced at the practice schedule that magically appeared on the wall outside the music rooms. "No practice today. Yeah, I'll come, too. Someone has to open your locker for you."
"Check and see if he's there," Shizuka said as they neared the corner they would have to go around to reach her locker.
"What is this, Mission Impossible?"
Shizuka yelped, jumping half-way out of her skin and whirling around. "Don't do that, Ukon!"
Ukon raised an eyebrow. "Well, you guys snuck off looking suspicious, so what was I suppose to do?" He nodded toward the corner. "Is Uchiha waiting for you, or something?"
Shizuka nodded lightly. "Probably."
Ukon smirked. "Gimme two minutes," he said, going around the corner.
They looked at each other. They heard Itachi say "Hey, you're that—What're you doing? No… ACK! NO!"
There was the sound of a struggle, then of a body hitting the floor and being dragged away.
A few minutes later, Ukon came around the corner. "Ok, go ahead."
I'm not even gonna ask, Neji thought to himself as he opened Shizuka's locker. "I left my coat in the gym," he said suddenly, stepping aside so Shizuka could get her things. "I'll be right back."
"Don't go in the guy's shower room," Ukon advised.
"…Why?" Neji raised an eyebrow.
"Just don't. We'll be out by the cars."
Now, this, of course, was a very foolish thing for Ukon to say. You see, Neji was, by nature, a very curious boy. In kindergarten, he was the first in his class to eat dirt, even before Lee, to see what it tasted like. In first grade, he'd been the first to put his hand in the class snake's cage, to see what would happen (he got bitten). This devilish curiosity had followed him throughout his life, and now was no exception. Therefore, as soon as he had gotten his coat out of his locker in the boy's locker room, he immediately went to the shower room to see what all the fuss was about.
"Is someone there?" called a voice from within the locker room. "Hey! Get me down!"
Neji raised an eyebrow, going further into the locker room and turning the light on.
He promptly fell over.
Itachi glared at him from where he was hanging from one of the shower heads by his belt, his arms tied to his side by volleyball net. "What the hell do you want?" he snapped.
Neji crawled towards the door.
On Itachi's forehead was now a sticky note that said "BEHOLD THE HUMAN PINYATA."
"Hey! Don't go! Get me down, you ass!"
As soon as Neji was out of the locker room, he closed the door and exited the gym, calmly putting on his coat. As soon as he was out of the school, he went over to the limos.
"Genius," he told Ukon, grinning hugely. "Pure genius."
Ukon smirked. "I like to think so."
When they got to Shizuka's house, the twins, Kidoumaru, Tayuya and Jiroubou went to their respective rooms to change out of their uniforms, and Kimimaro and Shizuka led Sakura and Neji down to the basement. The shooting gallery was as Ukon had described it to Sakura; the room where they could watch from had a long table beneath the window with chairs on it and a coffee maker and fridge in one corner. On the table there were a clip board and large TV showing five separate stalls that Ukon had described.
Kimimaro sat at the table and pulled out a Game-boy to pass the time they had to wait for the five to come out. Shizuka sat at the table next to him, pulling a keyboard towards herself and putting on a headset with a microphone attachment, adjusting it.
A few minutes later, Sakura saw the five (I'm going to refer to them as "the five" now; it saves time) go into their respective stalls, sporting ear protection and eye-covers not unlike those worn in Tech Ed classes. After they had adjusted themselves, they turned and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.
"Level 1, ten feet," Shizuka said into the microphone, pressing a button on the keyboard. Sakura saw the sheets of paper Ukon had talked about moving forward to hang at aforesaid ten feet from the stalls. "Points needed to pass: 5." She turned to Sakura and Neji as the six started shooting. "We treat it like a game so they stay motivated," she explained. "We have different levels and point averages and whatnot. You get points from where you shoot on the target."
She turned back to the screen when the shooting stopped, and clicked on the keyboard for a few minutes, bring each sheet into focus. "Jiroubou, 5 points. Fail. Kidoumaru, 6 points. Pass. Sakkon, 11 points. Pass. Tayuya, 7 points. Pass. Ukon, 14 points. Pass." She made a few marks on the clipboard while the six congratulated each other.
Shizuka clicked a few more buttons and the sheets of paper disappeared into the back of the room and were replaced by fresh sheets. "Level 2, twenty feet. Points needed to pass: 15."
"What kind of guns are they using?" Neji asked curiously.
Shizuka reached into a cabinet under the table and pulled out a black handgun. "Glock 37, .45 GAP," she answered, showing it to them. "They all have one, so they practice with them." She turned back to the screen. "Ukon, stop showing off," she said into the microphone.
Ukon turned to grin cheesily at the camera and shrugged, then resumed his shooting.
At the end of the shooting, Sakkon and Ukon tied at level 6 (60 feet) with a point average of 56 each. Jiroubou was stuck at level 4, and Kidoumaru and Tayuya were both at level 5. Shizuka kept a record of their scores on the clip board, occasionally explaining things to Neji and Sakura.
After they were finished in the shooting gallery, they went upstairs to a dojo in one of the far corners of the house that Sakura had never been in before. (Just picture, like, your basic dojo, ok? I really don't feel like describing something so simple…) Shizuka, Kimimaro (who hadn't put down his Game boy), Neji and Sakura sat down against the wall to watch, while the five paired off (Jiroubou went to beat up a dummy).
Sakura paid the most attention to Sakkon and Ukon's fight, obviously, but she was curious to see how Kidoumaru would fight Tayuya, with all those arms. In the end, Kidoumaru ran around the length of the dojo, holding Tayuya (kicking and screaming) over his head.
"PUT ME DOWN, SPIDER-BRAIN!" Tayuya shouted, trying furiously to land a blow on him. "I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU! DAMN YOU!"
Ukon blocked Sakkon's arm and said coolly, "Put her down, Kidoumaru."
Kidoumaru grumbled something along the lines of "party-shitter" but put her down anyway. He was promptly punched in the jaw. Grappling followed shortly.
"Why didn't Gaara come with us?" Sakura asked curiously.
Shizuka shrugged. "He's still moving into his new house, so he's going to unpack."
Neji mumbled something incoherent.
"What was that?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow at him.
He shook his head. "Nothing." I almost said he could talk…
(Learn how to HIDE your jealousy, loser!) Not that we were any better, Sakura mused, remembering Yamiko's clinginess.
Today, apparently, Tayuya wasn't in a bad mood, because when they started kendo practices, she didn't get a chance to beat up Ukon. When Sakura voiced this to Shizuka, the latter gave her an odd look and said, "Ukon's going full-out on his defense… It's not really that surprising she can't land a hit."
Sakura went back to watching the spars, feeling all bubbly inside now. (We have… the coolest boyfriend EVER! …Wee!)
After they were done with kendo, the five went to take showers while Shizuka and Kimimaro took Sakura and Neji to a room with a whole bunch of plush chairs and a big-screen TV. Kimimaro finally put away his Game boy so he could look through a book case full of DVDs for one they could watch. He and Shizuka (after much arguing) finally settled for The Last Samurai (because SNG is watching it right now) and popped it in.
By the time Kimimaro was finished fiddling with the subtitles and whatnot (they accidentally watched it in Spanish for a few minutes), Ukon and Tayuya had come; Ukon sat with Sakura, naturally, and Tayuya laid on the floor by Shizuka.
Sakkon, Kidoumaru and Jiroubou came around the time Algren arrived in Japan; when he started getting beat up by Ujio, Shizuka put the movie on pause. "Intermission," she said, getting up. "Bathroom break."
"Food," Ukon said, rubbing his slightly empty stomach.
Sakura got up from where she'd squeezed into the arm chair next to him and followed him into the kitchen. "You didn't let Tayuya beat you up this time!" she congratulated him once they were in the kitchen.
He grinned at her, taking sandwich supplies out of the fridge and getting a knife out of one of the drawers. "Well, you told me not to," he pointed out, spreading some mayonnaise on two slices of bread with the knife.
"Yeah, but you didn't have to listen to me," she pointed out, making her own sandwich.
He shrugged. "I'm always going on about how good I am, and you never seemed to believe me, so I decided to prove it."
"I believed you!" she cried in protest, putting some turkey and lettuce on her sandwich.
He gave her a look, putting turkey, lettuce, tomato and cucumbers on his sandwich; it was one of his "I'm-saying-I-care-what-you-think-but-I'm-too-macho-to-say-so" looks. Noting it, she said, to appease his ego, "I thought you looked cool with your gun. You looked like an actual gangster."
He raised an eyebrow at her, putting mustard on his sandwich. "Gangster?" he repeated, putting the two slices of bread together.
She shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Isn't that what you are?"
"…Kinda." He seemed to be toying with the idea in his head.
They stood in silence for a while, while Ukon finished making his sandwich, before Sakura spoke again. "Um… Ukon?"
"Yeah?" He stuck a few deli toothpicks in his sandwich to keep it in place.
"I know you can't, like, do anything about Orochimaru," she began slowly; he turned to look at her. "But… from now on can you at least let me know when you're in trouble so I can take care of you?"
He continued looking at her for a few minutes, then grinned slightly. "Sure. I promise." He paused. "But didn't I tell you not to worry about me?"
She rolled her eyes, helping him clean the counter off before they went back to the TV room.
(Later)
"You said you'd have dinner with us today, remember?" Sakura said on the ride home.
"I never said that," Ukon said quickly.
She gave him a look. "Come on, Ukon, seriously."
"…Do I have to?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because I already told her you'd be coming."
The car screeched to a halt. "You did what now?" he shouted, turning to stare at her.
Sakura: (sweet, endearing smile)
He groaned, starting the car again. "Just this once."
Her smile brightened considerably, and she scooted across the seat to snuggle up to him.
He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to concentrate on the road. I guess I should be glad it only takes a little to make her this happy, he mused to himself as he pulled into the Haruno driveway. Not that this is 'a little'… he added once they reached the door.
Ms. Haruno smiled brightly, leading them into the dining room. On the table was a large plate of hamburgers, as well as buns and condiments. Ukon was kind of grateful they weren't eating something weird; he wasn't a picky eater, or anything, but there were some things he was rather wary about eating.
"So, back to our conversation the other day," Ms Haruno said, after they had finished making their burgers, "what kind of care did you say you had?"
"Nissan Frontier King Cab Desert Runner XE-V6 with VTP in Aztec red," Ukon said at once.
Ms. Hanuro and Sakura: "…?"
Ukon: (sweatdrop) "I have a big red truck."
"Ohh." Ms. Hanuro smiled. "That's very nice. Oh, I meant to ask Sakura, is Shizuka alright? You seemed rather desperate to go pick her up last time."
Keep calm… perfectly calm… no shouting… shouting leads to cursing… cursing is bad… "Yep, she's fine," Ukon said, grinning.
It went like that for about a month and a half; Sakura would go over Shizuka's house after school, hang out with Ukon (Shizuka and Kimimaro were sometimes present), then go home in time for dinner. On weekends, she either spent the night over Shizuka's, or went out with Ukon, or both.
However, "it" also entitled to Itachi stalking Shizuka. No matter how many times Ukon tied him up and threw him in the river, or held him at gun point, the guy always came back. After the first week, Shizuka started locking her window. When he came through the door, she started locking it. When he picked the lock, Ukon put in three new ones, one of which was voice activated. This subdued Itachi, obviously, but that didn't stop him from stalking her at school, when Ukon or the others weren't around. After a while, Shizuka started moving in a pack between classes, since packs seemed to subdue Itachi, as well. She also resolved not to go anywhere alone ever again, but, after two weeks, she cracked and had to go to the bathroom (How Itachi knew that she was going to go to the bathroom is beyond me).
"You know what?" Sakura said thoughtfully, pulling her gym shirt over her head, "we should have a sleepover to take your mind off things."
"…Sakura, we have sleepovers nearly every weekend." Shizuka raised an eyebrow.
Sakura shook her head. "I'm talking about a girls sleepover, with all the girls in our class."
"Yeah!" Ino piped up from her locker a few doors down from Sakura. "That'd be so coo!" (Ino is trying hard to be nice, after Sakura had yelled at her)
Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Not at my house…"
"Of course not." Sakura waved it off. "Your dad would scare everyone away!"
Shizuka just grinned at that. "So where are we going to have it?"
"You can have it at my house," Hinata offered quietly, sitting down on the bench, already dressed.
"Cool! Thanks, Hinata!" Sakura cried, her evil little mind already at work. "Ask your dad if we can have it this Friday, so we can sleep in nice and late on Saturday."
Hinata nodded. "Ok."
As the girls went into the gym, Inner-Sakura cackled darkly. (Oh, no, Mr Hyuuga, you're not getting out of it this time… (insert evil laughter))
Yay! Finally done! I skipped a few months because the fact that they were only in the first two weeks of school was getting to me… sigh.
Ok, review responses!
DreamAnimeKitten: Lol, my sister helped me think of that. She did that when ordering pizza one time and it was so frickin hilarious… I'm glad you like it!
KageNoKatana: GASP! NO RAMEN? Oh you poor thing… I don't have any ramen, either… T.T
Dragonman180: HAIL COOKIES! (eats) H-R's cookies are the best.
Hinata's Biggest Fanboy: I wanted so bad to beat up Itachi… I made him into a jerk and now I hate him… (Why am I so hypocritical?)
Riyo Shiban: You stole my adjectives at the end of the 10th chapter… but oh well. I don't own the words.
xl-twisted-lx: Sorry it took me so long to update! (duck and cover) Please don't hurt me!
Andrea: NEJI ALL THE WAY! I didn't like Sakura that much, either… she was always so whiny in the manga, but after writing her in a normal environment, I like her for some reason… sigh.
Kie-san: …Whoa… I'm not even going to comment on some of that stuff… except that I am not Itachi's wife anymore, dammit! (read my profile… and take a look at my e-mail, lol) Ukon and Sakura 4eva, yo!
RLN and IHN: Lol… poor IHN… Oh well. Anyway. I was going to put in the thing with Gaara talking anyway… that was the whole point of the "…" but yeah, lol, ty for the suggestion. (Kenshin grin) (gives Shino plushie to RLN) Why can't you people get along…?
Inusaiyan: Lol. ITACHI IS A LIZARD! (shifty eyes)
Crazytreeotaku: Sorry… I don't read fics anymore, alas. I don't want to steal anyone's ideas. (I tend to do that, unconsciously) So… sorry! Gaara is awesome.
Sten: Yay! I made someone's day! (pats u on the back) There there.
Isaac Says Booga: Actually… Shino/Zaku isn't that original… basically everyone who has had a match/rivalry in Naruto has had some pairing fic written for them… kinda creepy. P.S.: TY for correcting me on Sakura's name.
Strawberrylver: HAIL UKON/SAKURA!
Meg Haze: …Meanie… Sadistic meanie… Anyway, the song was written by PlusONE, this band I used to be in love with… the song seemed to fit so well… You were supposed to think he wrote it! It's a feelings song!
Jazzy Uchiha: Yeah… ok.
NarutoFreak101: Hell yeah, I'm gonna continue this… wtf is wrong with you? I love this fic! Anyway…
AznNarutoGrl-91: Ty! (Kenshin grin)
Whoa… that was a lot.
MS. HARUNO COOKIES TO ANYONE WHO REVIEWS! (Bribe)
