Day to Day
A Naruto Fan-fiction
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any bands mentioned, with the exception of Naruto's song and the band Star Pirate Ship; those are mine!
(A/N: I had three votes, and most of them were implied. It was one for Sakura and Sasuke, one for Neji and Tenten, and one for Naruto and Hinata. Sadly, I just did a Neji and Tenten, so that was out, and Naruto and Hinata was just before that…and Sakura and Sasuke were my original pair, so I decided that they deserved a chapter. I got a lot of my reviews once I was half way down with this, so if it turns out that another couple actually won, I'm sorry! Enjoy!)
Chapter 9: Waking Up
Outside, a snowstorm raged, the wind whistled against the windows, and the snow fell in great heaps everywhere. The cold was enough to give one a bad cold no matter how bundled they were, but inside the wooden apartment, it was warm, and it's inhabitants were wrapped in thick blankets wearing warm clothes.
Inside Sasuke's apartment, things were normal, except for his special guest, who was curled up against him, breathing softly and snuggling close to him.
The two were under three thick blankets, basking in the warmth; they were even sharing a pillow. The atmosphere was so content, easy and peaceful, like a beautiful view from a mountaintop, or a sweet moment; and, of course, this was a sweet moment.
He looked down on his tiny guest, who he held close to him. Her pink locks curled and spread across the pillow and her cheek, were her eyes closed, her face relaxed, and her hands came up just above the blankets. She breathed with a slow, easy tempo, and he watched as she breathed in deeply and stretched her neck, but he knew she wasn't awake.
The night before, she had come over for their arranged night of Dashboard Confessional. The emo CD had played in the apartment, while they talked, joked, played black jack and uno, and eventually fell asleep on his bed once the storm started and she realized that it was too late to go home. To say the least, it didn't bother Sasuke at all; he loved sleeping with her, with her warmth so close to him.
Who could've thought that he would fall in love with Haruno Sakura?
They had grown up together, yes, but even after he realized that girls weren't gross creatures, he still had no interest in the annoying girl. She was just another groupie that was after him like the mob, and he never even noticed her until they were put in the same team. After a year of training, working and doing missions with her, he slowly began to realize that she wasn't just another girl-she was Sakura, a smart, quick-on-her-feet, defiant, stubborn girl with a quick and hard punch, which Naruto received frequently. He remembered how Naruto had followed her incessantly, always looking out for her, and always offering to go out with her in his stead. The fox boy's crush was evident, but he only gave up when he started to train and hang out with Hinata, and Sasuke started to date Sakura.
Of course, by then, he had already started to get that Sakura wasn't going to date him. As Sasuke tilted his head, thinking deeper, he smirked, thinking of Rock Lee and all of the other boys who sulked and glared when he walked down the street hand-in-hand with the Haruno, and all of the fan girls glaring daggers and shaking their fists at Sakura. He almost wanted to go and make faces at them all, showing of how he was with the most beautiful girl in Konoha and no one could take her away.
His Sakura.
Hah. What're you going to do now, fan boys?
He hugged her close, and continued to smirk. Suddenly, Naruto's words game rushing to his head, and his smirk faded. The two had been in the middle of training, and Sasuke was about to win again. He had Naruto pinned to a tree, but his face wasn't blank like it usually was, but confused. Naruto hadn't been focused that day, and his attention always seemed to be anything but the kunai rushing by his head. Blood had dripped from the fox boy's mouth, and he coughed, staring up into Sasuke's darker eyes, anger swimming in them.
Naruto was never really angry with Sasuke, no matter how many times they sparred and he lost; and if he did, he never got that angry. "What the hell is wrong?" Sasuke had asked, annoyed by now. Naruto broke his gaze, and then looked back up at him. "Do you know how lucky you are?" "Why don't you tell me?" Naruto scowled, and pushed Sasuke away, and then walked away from the tree, wiping the blood from his mouth. "Dammit, Sasuke, don't give me that shit. She loves you!" Uzumaki stood now, arms apart in drama, and exasperated. "Look, I've liked Sakura since I was eight years old, but she has loved you for three years. Do you know what I, or any other boy, would give to have a great girl like that love us?" he yelled, "God, you just act like she's just another groupie, another girl that's after you, and nothing-" "Because that's just what she is!" Sasuke had yelled back. Naruto's eyes became wide in shock. "You call me a dunce, but you can't even open your eyes wide enough to realize that Sakura loves you and knows you better than any of those girls. She would kill and die for you, cheat and lie. I mean, God, she loves you! And she'd wait forever." He had put his face in his hands, and then sighed. Sasuke had stood stock still, and listened. Finally, after a few moments, Naruto had looked up, an upset, amazed, sad look on his face. "You know, Master Iruka's right. Someday, you're going to realize who she is, and you're going to fall in love with her too, just like everyone else. And then you're going to be together. But, Sasuke, all I want is just for you to remember that's she's Sakura, not another trophy. And she loves you." Then he had walked away, leaving the Uchiha in the forest, alone with his thoughts.
"I know who she is." Sasuke whispered, and pushed a strand of her pink hair out of her face.
She was Sakura, the beautiful girl that has a stubborn, wild side, as well as a quiet, intelligent, and graceful side. She was sarcastic, smart and yet average enough that you could always be yourself near her.
His Sakura.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked over to her side to see the space once occupied next to her empty. Sitting up quickly she rubbed her eyes and looked around. The room was cold, and she pulled the blankets up to her shoulders, and ran her fingers through her bed head, wondering where he was. She had noticed the very moment that she woke up that he was gone from her side, and if she were fully awake, her eyes would be wide in surprise. Normally, he slept right next to her, or stayed there until she woke up. The digital clock next to his bed read 11:15, and she sighed, wondering how she had slept so late. She rolled her eyes. 'Well, you did stay up until almost three in the morning.'
"Morning babe."
She looked toward the door to see Sasuke standing there in black jeans and no shirt, his rough hand casually against the doorway, and his waist against the other side of the doorway. Taking a quick breath, she tried not to drool. How lucky she was to have a boyfriend with such a great body! Every part of his abs was perfectly sculpted, his hair waved back, and the two rounded bones that marked your lower waist just barely came above his dark jeans, making it look like his jeans are meant to be on his body, not forced on. Despite the winter, he still had a tan, and his eyes seemed to fit perfectly with his spiky hair and manly face.
She smiled, and pulled the covers up around her. "Morning. Where were you?"
He looked away and then back at her. "Yea, sorry about that. I thought you'd appreciate some food once you got up. I started some pancakes, French toast and eggs with the guys."
"YO, JACKASS, YOUR FRENCHTOAST IS DONE!" one of the guys yelled, laughing. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and glanced behind him.
"Hey, just come and eat when you're ready, okay?"
"Okay."
He gave a slight smile, and then walked away from the doorway and down the hall to the large kitchen he shared with all of the other guys. Sakura listened to his footsteps fade, and then rubbed her eyes, and got up out of bed. Shivering, she walked up to the mirror over Sasuke's dresser and tried to comb out her bed head with her fingers. Finally, she gave up and pulled it back. Then she straightened out her long-sleeve gray shirt, and walked out of the room and into the kitchen.
The smell of grease, smoke, and syrup immediately assaulted her, and she blinked a moment, standing in the doorway. The kitchen was filled with ten jounin men, some of them young like Sasuke and some of them as old as Kakashi. One was slipping pancakes over a skillet, wearing an apron that said, 'Kiss the Cook's Ass', another guy was mixing pancake and French toast mix, another was frying eggs, and others were eating, talking, washing dishes, and even some were throwing kunai at a dart board while sitting at one of the tables. The thing that amazed her next was the fact that they all were shirtless, and a few only wore boxers! Being ninjas, they were kept in great shape, and Sakura suddenly wondered if she was flipping through an Abercrombie and Fitch magazine!
The kitchen itself was large, with a large black thing that had two long skillets, two ovens, and two fryers on each side. Sasuke stood on one side, watching as he cooked two pieces of French toast, holding a spatula in his hand.
"Hey." She said, and walked up to him. She still looked sleepy, and she held her crossed arms close to her chest, as if trying to keep warm.
"Morning again." Sasuke said, and wrapped his free arm around her. He kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes a moment.
"Ain't it cute, boys?" one of the other males called, "Our old Sasuke-kun's got himself a girl." He had spiky sand-colored hair and brown eyes. His smile filled his face, and he flipped eggs.
Sasuke just glared at him, brown-eyes laughed. "It's all good. Remember, I bring Xioa here all the time."
For a group of jounins, all of them acted like happy, routy boys. Brown-eyes even tried to flip the eggs onto a plate that one of his comrades held, laughing all the way. The older men tended to be more secluded, but the younger boys acted like normal teenage boys, despite the fact that they went off to kill people as a job.
Sakura ate with Sasuke, and she leaned on his bare shoulder while everyone talked until she worked up a good enough appetite to sit up and eat.
"So, Sakura-chan, how goes it?" Tsutsui asked, looking over at her.
Sakura chewed her French toast, and then said, "Very good. I'm not so sure how good I'll be once my mom finds out that I spent the night here…."
"Aw, don't worry about it!" Misunagi yelled, "If Sasuke-kun wants to get his naughty on at his pad, our lips are sealed!" The boys laughed with a few of the older men, while the rest just smirked and chewed their food.
Sasuke glared daggers at Misunagi. "I didn't do anything like that and you know it."
Misunagi shrugged. "So what if I do? You're no fun, Sasuke."
Everyone ate, joked, laughed and passed around a rather large bowl filled with pancakes of all kinds-banana, strawberry, chocolate. Sakura and Sasuke were picked on incessantly, and eventually Sasuke just gave up and hardly noticed when someone shouted something obscene about the couple and laughed.
Soon after breakfast, the guys left and began to get ready for the day, and most had left for missions, training and meetings. All that was left was Sasuke, her, and three of the teenage boys, who all went out to play football in the front yard, even though it had just snowed again the night before.
Sasuke and Sakura sat on his bed, her wrapped up in a blanket in his lap since she had the chills, and the two talked a while. Eventually, Sakura went home to get cleaned up, and Sasuke went out to train.
"How many?"
"Two please."
"All right. That'll be eighty-five seventy-five."
"Break my hundred."
"Sure thing."
The man behind the plaster screen counted the green paper, pushing it through his hands until he came up with the right amount, and then shuffled through his register to find the rest of it. Then he slid it through the rectangle hole at the bottom where the plaster met the counter, along with two tickets. The worker smiled, and the consumer just nodded, pocketed it, and walked off.
"Well, that's one less thing to do for Christmas." He murmured as he pushed open the door and went out into the snowy world, "I just hope she likes it."
His footsteps crunched and crackled as he walked off, his hands shoved in his pockets, thoughts moving gracefully through his mind, one question after another, one fear after one hope.
Knock-knock-knock.
"Coming!"
Bang-knock!
"I said I was coming!"
The pink-haired jounin unlatched the door and pulled it open, revealing her best friend, who stood in the doorway. Ino looked annoyed, but in a casual way; she had one hand on her hip, the other one holding a pile of mail, and one eyebrow was raised. Without any kind of invite, she strode into Sakura's apartment and tossed the mail on Sakura's couch.
"Hey, Miss I-spend-the-night-at-my-boyfriends-and-never-check-my-mail, I felt nice today so I decided to pick this up for you." The teenage girl then sat down in Sakura's chair, crossed her legs, and began twirling a strand of hair around her finger, staring at the piles of letters on Sakura's couch.
Sakura rolled her eyes and shut the door. "It's nice to see you too, Ino." She replied sarcastically, and then sat down at the couch and began to shuffle through the mail. Ino began to bite her lip, and when Sakura saw her distraught state, she rolled her eyes.
"Ino-chan, is there a certain letter you want me to open?"
Immediately, Ino fell out of her pose and sighed. "Yes! Shika-kun said I had to let you open it first, but I totally wanted to read it! It's on the bottom, the one with the roses on the envelope!"
Ino had an uncanny way of doing what she wanted despite how rude or mean it was, and since Shikamaru actually had morals, he tried his best to rub off on his girlfriend. So far, he had done a pretty good job, considering how hardheaded Ino is.
Sakura shifted through the mail until she found the envelope, and gasped. On the front, it said, "To The Pink-Haired Girl who lives in Apartment 888" and on the back was, "From Whom Lives Down the Lane". It was decorated in hand-drawn poinsettias and roses, twisting and bursting with color on the smooth vanilla paper. She brushed her hands across its soft surface, and then opened it as carefully and fast as she could. Then she reached her hand inside and pulled out a strangely thick-feeling note. When she unfolded it, out tumbled three dried roses, one red, one pink and one white, and one larger, red poinsettia with glitter on its petals.
Ino and Sakura's eyes sparkled, and their interest heightened. Who could've sent something so romantic?
The letter was written in curvy, Victorian handwriting, and Sakura read it aloud since she figured Ino would want to know what it said.
"Dear Haruno Sakura,
I thought and thought about a special thing for you, and when I finally got a good idea, it seemed perfect for you. Normally, I wouldn't go through such formalities for anyone, but you're different.
Our special evening will be held on December 12, and I will be at your home at five. Dress casually, but not too warmly.
Love, Sasuke."
Ino and Sakura gasped! The two stood and grabbed each other's arms, screaming.
"OH MY GOD!"
"THIS IS SO GREAT!"
"I KNOW!"
Ino smiled widely. "You think he's going to take you to some privet island like Naruto did with Hinata?"
Sakura blinked. "I-I don't know! It could be anything!"
"And to think! It's in two days!"
Sakura paled. "Oh, my, God! You're right! What am I going to wear?"
Ino smirked, and held on to her best friend's shoulders. "Can you say 'emergency shopping trip'?"
Sakura nodded, her mouth still agape.
"Then come on! There's no time to loose!"
The two then quickly dressed and rushed out of the door, wondering how fast they could get to Reese City.
Time had seemed to pass in flash. Before either knew it, the day came, full of the unknown. The snow had let up, but the wind was still brisk and chilled you to your bones and it was cold enough to snow at any time. So, naturally, the Uchiha had made sure to wrap himself up accordingly, but also in reference to his own advice, made sure it wasn't too much. Then, after taking one last look at himself in the mirror and running his fingers through his freshly cleaned and combed hair, he put on a confidant face and marched out of the apartment, giving a small smile when Misashi and the others shouted their normal goodbyes. "LATER, YA DONKEY!" "DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH FUN!" "BE A GOOD LITTLE BOY!"
The snow crunched under his shoes, which Sakura had picked up for him a while back when she found out he only had snow boots and sandals. "They're called skater shoes." She had said, "These are Fallen's, so they'll last a while, and they're comfortable." He had taken them, and then picked up a purse she had been dying for the next week. Needless to say, being in debt to his girlfriend even annoyed him!
He bit his lip and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, fingering the tickets in his pockets. Would she like it? Did she even know the band? What if she didn't like it?
Before he knew it, he was in front of apartment door, and he buzzed in, and then walked inside. Nervous as ever, he trekked his way up the stairs to her apartment, and found her on her way down as well. Exactly according to what he had suggested, she had dressed comfortably. Her and Ino had rushed off to Reese City and read through Teen Vogue to make sure nothing would go amiss or be out a style. The last thing she needed was to be last season in what might be a public affair! She wore worn and faded ripped jeans, a puffy white vest, and a long-sleeve vintage shirt that said '96.7 FM' with a big radio tower on it. She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear, making her single ring glint in the hallway light. Her hair had been cut short a while back, so it just lay around her face as usual.
Since she had been the one in question tonight, Ino had done her make-up- neutral eye shadow, lip gloss and eye liner. "Casual but fancy." Ino had commented, and Sakura had just looked at her like she was crazy.
Sasuke licked his lips and nodded. "Um, ready to go?"
Sakura rolled her eyes to the side and shouldered her purse, feeling just as uncomfortable. "Um, yea."
The Uchiha offered his arm, and Sakura linked hers into his, and the two began down the stairs.
The taxi stopped, smog floating out of the tail pipe in the dark night. Sasuke leaned forward and paid, while Sakura waited patiently. She had learned long ago that on his dates, Sasuke preferred to pay for everything. Then he slid over, and she slid out on his side on to the sidewalk.
The city was a glow with lights and the streets filled with people. There were teenagers, businessmen and women, shoppers, and the occasional kid. The streetlights beamed down on the sidewalk and every shop was still open for business. Sasuke latch his arm into hers again and lead her through the crowd.
Finally, they came to a tall brick building, and Sakura lifted her eyebrow at the name plated across the side. "RC AMP" She looked at Sasuke, but he didn't look at her or give any hint of anything.
Then she saw the big, white sign that held the key to the mystery.
It said, "DECEMBER 12- BLINK 182, FEATURING SOMETHING CORPROATE".
Sakura screamed.
Sasuke looked at her, bewildered, but continued to lead her to the line where people were handing in their tickets.
She couldn't believe it! A blink concert! For HER! How could he have known?
As they neared the man taking tickets, she couldn't contain herself! She held his arm close to her, biting her lip, her eyes dancing with excitement. Finally, Sasuke handed their tickets to the man, and the shoved the stubs into his pockets.
They entered the building, which was just one bit open area with a stage to the right, and a huge mosh pit, no seats. She screamed as quietly as she could, and then, out of impulse, pulled his head down to her and planted a big kiss on his cheek.
"You, Uchiha Sasuke, are the sweetest thing to cross this planet!"
He just smirked down at her, and put his arm around her as they walked toward the crowd gathering at the stage.
"Wow, and I thought I was just a conniving little boy."
She smiled, and wrapped her arms around his neck when they stopped, and kissed him again. Who knew he loved her so much, he would go this much out of his way?
The concert started with a bang!
Soon, lights danced around the black walls like a nightclub and served as their only light. The band played loud and fast on their opening songs, and when Something Corporate played 'The Astronaut' and Blink 182 played 'I Miss You', she slow danced with him, and he leaned his head down so their noses her touching. He smiled at her, and closed his eyes, moving slowly with the beat, holding her close.
During the faster songs, both of them jumped and shouted, letting the loud music take it all away.
Sakura was blown away that Sasuke would do such an incredibly sweet thing for her. He must listen to her really well if he remembered that Blink 182 was one of her favorite bands, and she adored their newest CD. It was like Sasuke broke the common perception that boys never listen to their girlfriends.
Boy, did she have a lot to tell Ino!
Of course, the best details were always hers to keep.
Hey Ya'll!
Yes, here it is- chapter nine! To think, after I write this next one, I'll have written ten chapters! So vote-do you want Naruto and Hinata to take the tenth, or Ino and Shikamaru? How about Neji and Tenten? Also, since this is my tenth, I figure I'll let it slide if you all vote for Sakura and Sasuke. It all depends on your vote!
Honest to God, my favorite part of this was the beginning, and the part where she got the letter and all. I tried to extenuate the sweet little things. Let me know what you think!
Many thanks to my reviewers tanpopo-fluff (seriously? My slave? Well then, I'd like a pint of dark chocolate. Lol.), lilanimegal89 (did you think I only do Neji Tenten? Anyway, thanks for the idea sparkers; I think I'd like to take a slightly different approach, though. Keep writing fan fiction and reviewing this!), Gaara (Did you know that you have the name of one of my three favorite Naruto characters? I've started working on another story starring on Gaara. I figure it'll be a brake from all of these mushy characters. Gaara has certain strength, confidence and insanity that are very attractive to me. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it!), anime is cool X10 (thanks for your vote! Hope you enjoyed reading all of this!), serendipity (well, I filled your order! I hope you enjoyed it!), The Prime Minister (Wow! What a confidence booster! Honest, when I said four reviewers for one hour, I was kind of joking. I have a dark, sarcastic, yet sometimes easy sense of humor. I'm glad you like my Neji and Tenten. I did a lot of research on how others presented the characters and the storylines to make mien unique, and it seems I've achieved that! As for Ino and Shikamaru, I left you hanging to kind of give you a sense of how it always is. I never thought of giving it an ending, but maybe I'll put that in later chapters. Still, if I don't, you'll know he's alive if I put another one of them up. Thanks so much!), animEvivvErz (you did review last chapter! Did I forget to write a personal address to you? I'm sorry if I did! In any case, thanks for reviewing. You're one of my loyal readers, and I'm grateful for that!), warprince2000 (did I not update soon enough? Lol-I tried my best!), and AkiaBinZaid (Are you hooked on this stuff or what? Anyway, what does 'glomp' mean? I'm glad you like this story thus far! I really do try my best and I'm also happy that you liked the Neji Tenten set up! I did WEEKS of research for that couple! It's awesome that it all paid off!)
I had a whopping NINE REVIEWERS!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!
I feel so special!
And to think you all loved the way I presented Neji and Tenten!
Well, I guess I know what my next installment will probably be.
Oh yea-and to my guy readers, I'm super sorry if you thought this one was really chick-ish. This one might've been a bit more girly than others, and I hope you didn't like this one any less than you usually like them because of it!
Thanks for reviewing!
-IHearVoices