Alright, finally! My hiatus from this series is off. I don't know how often I'll update it, but I will finish it, and I won't not update for as long I did before this. I was grounded though! I couldn't help it! Still, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. :D
Chapter Twelve
"What!" Both Sasuke and Naruto said to Sakura. The three were at their lockers, ready to leave for school when she finally was able to get a chance to say she wasn't coming with them. She frowned at their expressions; she was glad they seemed upset about it, but didn't they have bigger problems to sort out between themselves before worrying about her?
"I'm going to hang out with Ino and Shikamaru," she said like it was obvious. "I'm meeting them outside of school by this really big cherry blossom tree. You know, the one next to the trailers?"
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. He averted his eyes, trying to find the exact words he was going to use. He just really wanted her there; today in particular. "I mean . . . can't you go with them another time? Because . . . well . . ."
"I don't want to walk home with this dumbass," Sasuke said outright, making Naruto fume in response and Sakura pout. After that she sighed, shutting her locker and trying to be a little more defiant with her gestures. Those two . . . she had heard that they never once fought before in their entire lives! They had to get over their stupid problem.
"You guys," she started, giving the both of them strong glares, "Figure your problem out yourselves. Until then I'm not going to get in the middle of it."
As she left, the both of them couldn't help but feel guilty. They didn't dare tell each other this because of a feeling of pride, but at the same time it was more than obvious. Sakura to them was always sweet, fun, and although a little louder around them she was quiet to people she didn't know. For her to be so . . . well, cold, there had to be a problem.
The both of them without a word shut their lockers and began to walk down the hall themselves, out the door and onto their own route without another word. It was a little while off before the two had to part ways, and through that they were both contemplating to themselves.
'Sakura must really have an effect on me,' Sasuke thought, looking down towards the ground with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was thinking deeply, over-analyzing like he often did. 'I don't feel anything tense right now. But still, it's not my fault. I just want her to see me as my own person. I'm not Naruto's rival- he shouldn't compare right now. I can stand on my own just fine.'
Naruto was on the exact same subject, though his thoughts were quite a bit different. 'Sakura . . . I really like her! But Sasuke likes her too . . . he's never been this way to another girl before. Still, that doesn't give him the right to go behind my back and keep secrets. He's my best friend! Hasn't it always been that way?'
The two seemed to meet eyes as they dared each other to look up, then they immediately turned their head in the opposite direction, their more impatient, angry side showing. However, neither one had much time to stand put in their childish ways; someone was coming and the both of them could easily sense it.
They stopped where they were, bending their knees and standing back-to-back while waiting for a fight. The two may have been in a so far day-long-argument, but when it came to their training they were always best together as a team than by themselves. That's how it always worked.
"Who do you think it is?" Sasuke asked quickly, observing the area around them. They weren't quite into the area where Sakura and Naruto lived yet, but on the outskirts of it where there was a small wood on both sides of the road. "Kakashi?"
"Might be," Naruto replied. Neither one was showing any anger to the other at the moment, and they kept their voices low. It was always best not to really talk at all if they could help it; they could concentrate better that way, or that's what they had been told. He smirked. "He always likes to play these kinds of tricks to keep us on our feet."
"Wrong," a voice said, and the two boys looked up to see someone jumping down at them from the woods. They were coming down at a lightning fast speed and the sun glared in their eyes. They separated, stepping away from where the enemy was going to land then readied themselves to attack together at both sides. Seeing who the person was however made them stop.
"Gaara," Naruto said seriously, putting down the fists he had raised. He didn't want to fight him; he knew just how powerful Gaara was, and when he turned to Sasuke he also dismissed his will to fight. But still, there wasn't any reason for him to be here. What did he want?
Gaara put on a thin smile, one that was deathly cold. "You weren't prepared."
"Prepared?" Sasuke repeated. Instead of back-to-back, the two were side-by-side to face Gaara. "What are you talking about? We were just fine."
Naruto agreed, crossing his arms and nodding fervently. "Yeah, yeah! Sasuke and I train all the time, almost every day. We haven't slipped at all!"
"Then what about this?"
Naruto barely realized and it took a second to snap out of his trance as Gaara swung forward. He nearly tripped over his feet as he fell back, leaning as far as possible to miss Gaara's fist. However, Naruto felt something sharp cross his cheek and when he was steady he felt there. His fingers traced with blood. "Wait, that wasn't a fist . . ."
Gaara held up his hand. A knife. Naruto fumed, not worrying about the cut in the least. "Hey, what's your problem! That was really uncalled for!"
Gaara didn't seem to regret his attack in the least, putting both boys on a cautionary alert in case he were to strike at them again. But he didn't attack at all; he just stood where he was, watching them with his cold eyes. "But I thought you said you weren't slipping."
'He has a point,' Sasuke thought, glad that he wasn't the one given the surprise attack. He glanced to Naruto, who looked like he wasn't sure what to say back and he felt nothing. No anger at the moment, at least. His focus, at least for now, had changed. He turned back to Gaara. "Okay. What do you want?"
"Do you want to fight again?" Naruto asked, continuing Sasuke's questions. His expression went from unsure to solid. "There's no way we're gonna accept that. You play dirty."
And that was true. Sasuke and Naruto had trained together under their master, Kakashi, ever since they were young. They'd learn to fight with honor and skill, swiftness and power. Gaara, however, was the one person in the neighborhood nobody dared to take on. He didn't train or learn; all of what he did, he did on his own, and that's what made him so dangerous.
Finally, Gaara decided to answer their question, but it was much different than what they had expected. As he spoke, he relaxed his shoulders and turned his back like he was ready to walk away. He kept his eyes locked on them. "Both of you . . . Worry more about that girl than yourselves and you'll have a reason to worry about her. She's making you lose your grip."
The two just stood there as he left, leaving those as his departing words. Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other, their anger currently subsiding as they were trying to register what Gaara had said. That girl? Who was he talking about? But then again, they both had the same girl on their minds, the same girl they'd been in an argument about the whole day. When they realized it, they both tensed.
"Sakura!" Naruto said, a panic in his eyes. He looked away from his old friend and out in the direction where she and he lived, where he was originally walking towards before being interrupted. "He's gonna do something to Sakura!"
"No doubt," Sasuke replied, his mind already in deep thought. He rested his elbow in one hand and bit the thumb of the other as he concentrated his mind, his body weight leaning to one side. 'And this isn't an empty threat . . . What Gaara says, Gaara'll do. He doesn't play around.'
He put his arms to his side and looked to Naruto. "Where's Sakura now?"
"Remember?" Naruto replied, now swiftly turning his head to look to the school. "She's with Ino and Shikamaru . . . Maybe even one of their houses by now."
With that realization they both sighed of relief, but on the inside they were still concerned. Gaara wouldn't even think of trying either of their homes since they weren't involved, and Shikamaru was pretty smart. If he wasn't much of a fighter, he was one hell of a thinker. He could keep Sakura safe until things worked themselves out.
"With that problem solved," Naruto began, linking his fingers behind his head and starting forward, "I'm going home and eating ramen. You wanna com-" his expression flattened, as if he remembered they were fighting. But even though he looked annoyed, he also seemed a little disheartened. "No . . . wait . . . you should probably go home."
"Home?" It also took a moment for Sasuke to remember where they were in their relationship. He seemed a bit saddened by it as well, but as they walked they had already met the crossroad where they had to part. He turned in his direction, not even waving. "Yeah . . . right. See ya."
Naruto stood where he was, watching Sasuke. Somehow it just didn't seem right. This mood here . . . it didn't feel worth it at all. When he spoke, it was in such a small, inaudible voice that even he could barely hear it. " . . . See ya."
Sakura looked around outside for Ino, excited that she was finally gonna meet her problem-solver but at the same time feeling terrible about what had just happened. For the first time since she had met them she had practically blown them off completely, not even caring about what they thought. She just hoped that the situation would be cleared soon enough. 'And unfortunately they've gotta to that themselves.'
Feeling a little better about it, or at least as better as she could be she began to look around for her friend. And she was just where they had said they'd meet. By the school and trailers there was an incredibly huge cherry blossom tree, one that was so old that it had legends about it, and students even hung their wishes on a string there during New Years. Ino was standing under it, and a boy she had instantly recognized from her classes. 'Wow . . .'
"Sakura!" Ino shouted energetically, running to her and giving her a girlish hug which Sakura returned. Already any problems she was feeling before melted away, just like when they had talked on the phone last night. She just had that effect somehow, and it made her pleasing to be around.
When Ino let go they hurried over by the cherry blossom tree, where the third member of their little party had decided to stay and wait. Ino proudly gave him a small hug as well as if she were greeting him for the first time in a while, which he returned by giving her an agitated look. The two shared a short converation for a bit while Sakura watched, and she giggled as their talking turned to bickering. It was cute. Almost at if they were brother and sister.
"Anyways!" Ino exaggerated, cutting off their conversation. She looked to Sakura, but pointed to the other. He was a little taller than the both of them, about average, with beady black eyes and long, black hair. However, it wasn't the least bit feminine; when pulled back the way he had it, it didn't seem so in the least. "Sakura, this is Nara Shikamaru."
X x x x x
So, was it worth it? I hope! Sasuke and Naruto obviously want to be friends again, but now they're just being guys. XD Stubborn. Lol, just playing! And Gaara's got something up his sleeve . . . I hope I portrayed him okay! I think all of the characters are just a tiny bit out of character, but not extreme, you know?
To get back in the feel of the story I had to re-read all of what had happened last night. And you know what? I'm proud of this story! It's good:D Not to sound cocky, but I'm glad to say that I wrote this story. I hope everyone else feels as good about this as I do!
Diamond Skye- lol! Well, I started liking the idea of Shikamaru and Temari during their fight at the Chuunin Exam, and if you look at the latest chapters of Naruto, they hang out together quite a bit. Naruto even mistakes Temari as Shikamaru's girlfriend! -heart- So, I think Kishimoto-sama was hinting at the future pairing on purpose:D
As the for suffixes, I really like it when things sound . . . American-ized? I just sometimes don't like it when people exaggerate on the 'chan' or 'kun' thing, so just hearing it in an English sense makes me most comfortable. You know? XD And I'm also glad I kept Sakura and Ino friends! I thought their relationship before the whole Sasuke thing was cute. Yes! XD
ASweetKissFromPoisonedLips- Yes! I adore all of the male characters from Naruto, truth be told, and for all different reasons. Gaara, Shikamaru, Kakashi and Sasuke are all incredibly sexay, Naruto, Kiba and Chouji are adorable and Shino and Neji (But in the latest chapters of Naruto Neji has turned sexay!) have some sort of mysterious appeal to them. And Kankuro . . . He's a cool character. :D Still, my favorite character overall is Lee! –heart- I adore him. Lol!
Bevy-chan- lol:D Well, now I'm back and I'm gonna try my best to update at least every two weeks or so. I'm trying to get adjusted to my other stories as well- good thing re-reading this one only took a short time! I hope you enjoy this update. :D
hopeless-girl- Ack! –Casts revive magic- There you go. XD Hopefully this wasn't terribly long, but I would understand if you thought so. I couldn't stand not being able to update!
krn-kimbap- Yes, Gaara! Don ya just love him:D I adore him and his psychopath self. Yes! Anyways, I'll try my best to read and review, but I can't promise. I don't read other peoples stories too often . . . XD XD XD Sorry if I don't get to it!
Momo-Sama- Of course Gaara is! He's Gaara! He couldn't possibly be anything less than that. :D And yeay for Shikamaru x Temari! Such a cute couple . . . yes! –heart-
AngelOfDeath10- Hee, me too. Team Seven is awsome! But then again, I love all the teams in their own weird ways. XD And I always imagined Gaara as a goth if he were a more modernized character. But I'm sure I'm not the only one! XD
Crisis Haylo- Heeeeyo! I miss you:D I'm so glad to be on again. But I really love that cutting-hair tradition; it's so cute! And I think it's a nice, fresh way to start over after a relationship. You know? XD I need to think of a scene when Sakura cuts her hair!