Okay, guys, I am SO SORRY for taking so long with this…I wasn't able to do much with school going on, and then when I got back for my break, we had a loss in my family, so that took up quite a bit of my energy as well…however, things are slowly going back to normal, WHICH MEANS CHAPTERS FOR JOO!
On we go!
Chapter 8: Where On Earth Did YOU Come From?
After the fiasco at the ski resort, everyone prudently chose to stay as far away from Gaara as possible. The red-haired Sand-nin now sat on his couch, the blankets once again piled on him, and, at Sakura's insistence, an ice pack covered the large lump that the ski left behind on his head. To say he was not a happy camper about the entire situation would be a gross understatement. Not only was the telltale eye twitching, but it also appeared as if the other would soon join it. Not even the GameBoy could curb his displeasure with all living creatures, something that those in the mountain house were painfully aware of.
"All of them…I'll murder every last one…just wait…" he muttered to himself, glaring darkly at the kitchen. " 'Go skiing!' She said. 'It'll be fun!' She said. 'You'll have a great time!' She said." With every word, Gaara's twitching became more pronounced, and the ice pack gave a little hiccup as it was rattled. "O-ho! I had LOTS of fun!" He continued. "I just tumbled all the way down that bloody hill, and then got whacked in the head with a ski, but everything's swellLet's go do it again!"
This time, the ice pack actually fell off.
"Oh dear," Sakura said, biting her lip. She, along with the rest of the gang, huddled around the kitchen table. "I hope he doesn't decide to let loose and go on a killing spree again, or we're in trouble."
"He'll probably kill you first, babe," Naruto pointed out innocently around a mouthful of ramen. "The skiing thing was your idea, after all."
The pink-haired girl's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And it was yourbrilliant thinking that got us into this mess to begin with! I'm not the one who decided to be suicidal and invite Gaara! You know how he feels about large group gatherings!"
Naruto did not have a clue as to how he should reply to that, but he didknow that admitting defeat was not an option. His girlfriend always bested him in debates, and he was determined to at least win once, no matter how illogical his reasoning might be.
"But you're the one who insisted that he had to come with us! We could have let him hang out here and do whatever it is he does when he's not plotting to have us all skewered instead of dragging him along!"
Before Naruto even finished the sentence, a pillow sailed by his face and rebounded off the wall, landing on the floor near his feet with a plop.
Any other conversation that had been going on at the table stopped. Heads turned, jaws went slack. Naruto appeared as if he had dunked himself in a bucket of white paint.
"Do you think Ican't hear you, Blondie?" Gaara said calmly, a mad gleam beginning to kindle in his eyes. "Just keep yakking, you little ingrate moron, I dare you." A smile made its way to his face, and a very scary looking one, at that. It was not often that Gaara smiled, but when he did, it was usually a good indication that unpleasantness loomed on the horizon.
As dense as Naruto could be sometimes, even he understood that.
"Sakura…hide me…" He whimpered, slinking as far down in his chair as he could manage. "Why is he making this my fault?"
"Because it is your fault?" Sasuke said, and was promptly smacked by Lee.
"Don't make things worse than they already are," he hissed.
Shikamaru and Ino exchanged a glance, though both kept their mouths shut. Quite a good decision.
Gaara's smile grew wider. "No, no, the Uchiha is correct. It IS Blondie's fault. If he had minded his own business and let me carry on as I normally do, then I would be at home, without snow, or skis, or mountain houses," his eye twitched, "but no-o. I'm here, with a lump on my head and I'm freezing, and do you know why?" Slowly, he got to his feet, cracking each of his knuckles one at a time. "Because THAT PERSON," he pointed to Naruto, "is a cheap, dirty, BLACKMAILER!"
Uh oh.
Things certainly do not look good for our favorite hyperactive ninja, now do they?
"I knew it," Sakura groaned. "I just knew it! You told me that he came of his own will!" Her voice rose. "You swore to me!"
"Now, Sakura, listen, I can explain…" Naruto stammered quickly, waving his hands in the air.
"Don't explain to me! Explain to him!" She shrieked, motioning at the Sand-nin.
Before he could get in another word, however, Gaara walked into the kitchen, removed a skillet from one of the wooden pegs on which some of the cookware was mounted, and turned, holding it at the ready like one would a sword.
"Run." He said. "Run fast."
For all of two seconds, not a single person moved, but after that, it was as if time rocketed forward like a stone flung from a slingshot. Naruto blasted out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him, followed closely by the skillet-wielding Gaara, both insulting each other as they went.
"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME, SAND FREAK!"
"WANNA BET, LOSER?"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"
"YOU HEARD ME! LOOOSER!"
Meanwhile at the table, Sakura rubbed her temples, appearing as though she barely clung to her composure, which was not far from the truth.
"I'm going to bed," she stated flatly. "Don't even bother waking me up if anything happens to either of those idiots. I'm past the point of caring."
Getting to her feet, she exited the kitchen, muttering to herself under her breath about stupid boys, and why they were stupid, and how she did not know if it were possible for them to get any stupider. Of course, Gaara and Naruto decided to take a detour in their impromptu exploration of their endurance levels, and appeared directly in Sakura's way. Now, at this rate, Naruto's momentum had built to the point where he could not stop himself, even when he tried skidding to a halt to avoid smashing into his girlfriend. Quicker than a blink, Sakura found herself on the ground, Naruto's weight resting squarely atop her. Gaara was not too far behind, though he was smart, and jumped over them.
Still, Sakura was not pleased. At all.
It is safe to say that Naruto retained far more injuries from the object of his affection than he did from the skillet.
As soon as Sakura was safely in her room, however, the chase resumed. Gaara was not willing to let Naruto off the hook that easily, especially after the ordeal he had gone through today. Who knew how long he'd have that horrid protrusion on his head? It looked absolutely ridiculous, even more so than his lack of eyebrows and that silly red kanji that had been stuck on his forehead after an unfortunate event during his childhood. He could not begin to count how many times he'd tried washing the damn thing off, but it, apparently, quite enjoyed its residence on his skin. Very rude, he thought. It did not even askhim if he cared that he would be marked for life. And now, to make things worse, the lump joined in on the party. Naturally, Gaara believed that Naruto should also receive an unwelcome guest, and he was determined to give him one before he went to bed.
When Gaara set his mind to something, he would not rest until he had accomplished his goal.
Poor, poor Naruto…
Back in the kitchen, Sasuke and Lee had discovered a set of checkers while rummaging through drawers and cupboards—the Haruno family was not particular in where they stowed things—and they laid it out on the table, Lee taking the red pieces and Sasuke the black.
"I think we should make a wager," Lee said offhandedly, grinning his Gai-esque grin as he set his pieces on the board.
"Oh?" Sasuke said, looking at his opponent suspiciously. He did not like the sound of this. Pulling a Ho-Ho out of the collar of his shirt—he would have put it in his pocket, but then it would be a squished Ho-Ho, and we all know that squished Ho-Hos are not good—he held it to his mouth and was about to take a bite when a shuriken knocked the cake out of his grasp.
"Not so fast, bub," Lee said, smirking. "Put the Ho-Ho where I can see it."
Sasuke gaped. "Why the hell did you do that? And what are you talking about? It's my Ho-Ho! I found it first!"
"No, you shoved me out of the way before I could get it. Therefore, it's only fair that the winner of the game has full rights to it." As an afterthought, he added, "Or are you too afraid to accept the challenge?"
"I am so not afraid!" Sasuke snapped, glaring. Irritated, he looked at the Ho-Ho, his stomach rumbling. Damn it…that's the last one! I can't lose it to Thick Brows! "You're on," he replied, and set the Ho-Ho next to the board a bit reluctantly. "But be prepared for a butt-kicking, pal."
Lee snorted. "I happen to be a pro at checkers. Me and Gai-sensei played all the time back in the day."
Heh…among other things, I'm sure, Sasuke thought, unable to keep from snickering a bit.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. Just play the game. You go first."
And so began what was possibly one of the most intense games of checkers ever to be played.
Shikamaru and Ino came to the conclusion that it might be beneficial to leave the area so as to avoid being hit with random checker pieces, or skillets. Naruto had a bit of a lead on Gaara, but the Sand-nin was gaining ground, exercising more of his acrobatic skill by hopping over an end table and avoiding the wall at the same time. Quite an impressive sight, though not one to stick around and watch for.
In their bedroom, Ino closed the door against the noise, her heart beginning to flutter like a caged bird. She had not been alone with Shikamaru since that morning, when they had come so very close to sharing a kiss…
Just stay calm, Ino. He probably forgot all about that by now, anyway, right?
By chance, she turned her head to look at him, and his eyes just so happened to be fixed in her direction.
She blinked, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.
He did not move, only stared, admiring her. A few locks of her soft blonde hair had come loose from her ponytail and framed the sides of her face, reminding him of the pixies in one of his mother's favorite storybooks.
She's more beautiful every single time I see her…I'm sure she has guys falling all over themselves to be with her. I really don't stand a chance…but then I wonder if she knows what she does to me, if that would make any difference at all…maybe I should have given that letter to her, before I lost it.
His brow furrowed ever so slightly. With so much activity, he was able to forget about the letter for a brief spell, at least, but not now. Where on earth could it be? And who had it? Or was it just wandering around as torn shreds near the Borderlands?
Ino felt almost naked as his deep, dark eyes, so brown to be almost black, scrutinized her; it was as if he could break through all of her barriers and glimpse her very soul. She did not notice the crease in his brow, though she did think of the letter then, another passage standing out in her mind.
"I hardly know when all these feelings started…I'm not used to this, Ino. I like having one frame of mind for each situation I'm in, but with you, it's not as easy as that. I do know that whenever I'm close to you, I feel hundreds of things at one time, and it's like…I lose my bearings. I don't know which emotion to cling to, because there's too many to count. It makes me dizzy. I hate being dizzy."
She breathed in deeply, not sure why she remembered that particular section now, but it still struck her straight in the gut.
I never knew…I really make him feel like that? Oh Shika…what about now? Are you…are you dizzy?
"I had a lot of fun today," she said out loud, going to her side of the dresser and removing her nightgown. "Did you?"
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, the moment between them broken. "Well, aside from the fact that I rolled pretty much the entire way down the hill, and then got squashed at the bottom by three morons in full ski gear, it was a grand old time."
Ino giggled as she remembered the sight of them in a heap at the resort. "It was a valiant effort to save Gaara, though," she complimented him brightly, and patted his cheek. "Definitely a change from your normal lazy self."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, though I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't have butted in at all. Every square inch of me is sore, I swear."
"Poor baby," she teased over her shoulder and went into the bathroom to change. Not wanting a repeat performance of the other night, Shikamaru slipped into his sweatpants and shirt in record time, and was flopped on his side of the bed with his hands behind his head when Ino emerged, shivering.
"Um…Shika?"
His eyes shifted to her, though he kept them glued to her face. "Yeah?"
"Do you think…" she blushed again. "Do you think I could borrow some of your clothes? It's a lot chillier today than it was yesterday, and this is all I have to sleep in."
He had not been expecting that.
Ino…in my clothes…
She really did seem cold. There were goose bumps all over her skin, and she rubbed her arms to warm them. How could he resist? Besides, as enticing as that nightgown was, he really didn't like it. It left far too little to the imagination, and that made him uncomfortable. No one else should be able to see her like that…
Knock it off, Nara. Just get up and give her something already!
Rolling off of the bed, he sifted through a drawer and handed her an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants. She took them without a word and disappeared into the bathroom again.
The clothes smelled like him, a musky scent that she inhaled deeply as she shed her current garment and drew the sweater over her head. It was big enough to be a nightgown by itself, reaching her knees, though she put the pants on too, laughing when she viewed her reflection in the mirror.
"I could swim in these," she said to herself, though her expression grew soft as she ran her fingers over the material.
Why does this feel so right?
When she emerged, Shikamaru fell in love with her all over again. Just the sight of her in his clothes made his stomach do somersaults. When she crawled into bed next to him and hunkered down beneath the covers, he smiled, and she smiled back.
"Thank you," she said, and, in a move that shocked Shikamaru, she burrowed herself under his arm and snuggled against him. "I wouldn't mind if you hold me this time," she whispered drowsily, her eyes half-closed. "Because it's cold, and all."
"Are you sure you won't hurt me in the morning?" He inquired, his arms already finding their way around her. "I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, but, well, you know…"
"No. I…promise…" she trailed off, drifting into a deep sleep.
Well…this is a nice change, Shikamaru thought to himself before he placed a chaste kiss to her temple and went to sleep as well, content. Maybe I have a chance after all…
Gaara and Naruto's match ended in a draw, both too tired to continue. The red-haired Sand-nin fell on his couch, panting, while Naruto leaned up against a wall, hands braced on his knees while he wheezed.
"So—are we—even?" He managed to get out.
"Hell no," Gaara replied, raking hair out of his eyes. "I'll—get you—good, just—wait."
"Whatever. I'm bushed, man."
All Gaara could do was nod. "Kill you…" he muttered, practically asleep.
In the clear, at least for the present, Naruto shuffled to his room, thanking his lucky stars for his stamina.
"I would have died for sure if he caught me…"
Sasuke lost the wager.
His last, glorious Ho-Ho, one of his most favorite junk foods, was currently being consumed by Lee, who, of course, had to rub in his victory as much as he possibly could by eating slowly, picking the Ho-Ho apart bit by bit and commenting on the taste as he did so.
"Oh, this is so good!" He said around a mouthful. "Seriously, you have no idea what you're missing." He took another bite. "Best Ho-Ho I've ever had, I'm not kidding."
I hate him. Little twinkletoes, spandex-wearing snark! That was my Ho-Ho!
"Too bad you suck at checkers."
"Shut up, Lee. Just shut up."
"I cannot believe this! There wasn't any snowstorm predicted in the weather forecast when we left!"
Anko trudged through the massive drifts one foot at a time and squinted her eyes against the flurry of white that continued to fall in droves from the sky. As it turns out, she and Kakashi had been at the very same ski resort as the gang, though they were on the other side, at the more advanced hills. By the time they decided to head home, it was dark. That had not deterred them, however, the storm they were caught up in now probably would.
"It looks like we're in trouble," Kakashi said cheerfully, not about to let something as silly as this ruin his mood. He had a great time with Anko today, and now he would get to spend even more time with her, albeit in the middle of nowhere with no cover in sight. Such trifling details did not matter in face of the chance of a little romance, now did they?
Anko stared at him in exasperation. "Gee, thanks for the observation, slick. That's ever so helpful." Not paying attention, she missed her footing and began to topple sideways, her arms windmilling frantically to keep her balance.
"Woah!" Kakashi shouted, and dove after her, catching her just before she hit the ground.
Now, not only were they both coated in snow, but they were wet, too. Delightful.
"What the hell are we going to do?" Anko burst out, almost hysterical. "We can't walk in this! It's getting too deep! And we can't go back, either, because the resort is too far away!"
That was true. If they were to try retracing their steps, they would probably end up freezing to death and no one would ever know until their bodies were found when the snow melted. A pleasant notion? Most definitely not.
Kakashi, determined to figure out a way to get them out of this mess, began scanning the surrounding area carefully. At first, he saw nothing, but upon a closer look, he noticed what appeared to be a house nestled back among the trees, and the wheels in his brain began to turn.
Didn't Sakura say once, a while back, that her family owned a mountain house? Actually, he was almost positive that she did. Was that the house? It couldn't do any harm to check, at least. He was sure that if the house were hers, his former student wouldn't mind if he…borrowed it for a while, at least until the snow stopped. He was in the middle of a life and death situation, here, after all. Surely Sakura wouldn't want him to die!
"Look over there," he told Anko, and motioned toward the house. "Let's go see if the door's open, eh? One of my old students owns a house up here, so it might be hers."
Anko did what he said, and looked. Yes, that was definitely a house, and they were definitely in need of it. She did not bother to think about how wrong it was to break into a house that did not belong to her, because at this point, she was too tired and frozen to really care. Allowing Kakashi to haul her up, the two began the trek to the house, moving as quickly as they could. When they reached it, Kakashi peered in through a window.
The inside of the house was dark, so he could not make out much other than a few couches and a huge television, one that he was quite envious of, to tell the truth. He could only imagine how amazing football would look on that screen…
"Do you see that?" Anko hissed suddenly, popping up next to him and pressing her nose to the glass. "I think there's people in there!"
"Huh?"
Rolling her eyes, Anko grabbed hold of either side of his head and turned it toward one particular couch.
"Is that…Gaara?" He said, shocked. "What the hell is Gaara doing here? Hehatessnow. That doesn't make any sense…wait. I think Sasuke's in there too! That's his hair!"
Anko looked again. "Yep, that's him all right. Let's just go in, okay? I'm starting to lose feeling in my feet."
Oh blast…I should have noticed that before.
Before she knew it, the Special Jounin with a temper few dared trifle with was scooped up into Kakashi's arms as he slogged over to the front door, feeling for the knob with one hand.
"You didn't have to do that, you know," she said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm quite capable of walking by myself."
"Of course you are," he replied absently, turning the knob ever so gently. Much to his relief, the door swung wide open. "Stupid. Anyone could break in," he said, shaking his head. Setting Anko on her feet, he closed the door just as quietly. Not a single person stirred, which was a good thing. He shuddered to think of what would happen if Gaara got jolted out of sleep and discovered intruders…
"Well, I guess we should just…sleep on the floor, huh?"
Anko nodded. Though she did not particularly like sleeping on floors, it was better than sleeping out in the snow. She just hoped that no one stepped on her in the morning, especially not Gaara.
I can't believe we're doing this, she thought.
Maybe she'll want me to give her some extra warmth for the night, thought Kakashi, grinning.
"Night." Said Anko, and curled up in a ball on her side, using her jacket as a pillow.
Damn. Shafted again…Being the first to bed, naturally, Sakura was the first to wake in the morning. Getting blearily out of bed, she stumbled down the hall with her hands out to avoid crashing into things. Her hand-eye coordination was way below par during mornings, and she usually looked more like a zombie than a person. She did not get disoriented the way that Naruto did, but she came pretty darn close.
That would explain why she didn't see her new visitors until she was practically on top of them.
What on earth…She looked down at the ground near her feet, and saw two lumps huddled together, one with dark purple hair, the other silver.
Her jaw went slack.
Kakashi…and Anko?"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?" She yelled, not really caring if she woke up the entire universe. It's not every day that one discovers unexpected guests sleeping on one's floor.
What resulted was pure chaotic mania.
Gaara, completely startled, rolled right off of the couch and landed in a heap. Lee sat up so quickly that he, too, fell over. Sasuke could sleep through anything, so he carried on dreaming about whatever it was that he dreamed about…in this case, probably his lost Ho-Ho. Naruto, thinking that Sakura was being attacked, barreled from the room shouting threats at whoever was intending to cause her harm. Ino woke with her face still in Shikamaru's side, a patch of drool leaving a wet mark on his shirt. Shikamaru did not notice the drool, though he did notice the commotion, and tried to sit up, though Ino's weight held him down. By the time the two of them managed to disentangle themselves from one another, the hubbub in the family room was at an all time high.
"So you just walk around and sleep in random people's houses?" Naruto was saying as he held a distraught Sakura in his arms. "That's pretty twisted, Kakashi. What if you walked into…I don't know…an axe murderer's house or something?"
"Look, it's not like we did this to scare you! There was a huge blizzard last night that came out of nowhere, and we had no place else to go!" Kakashi replied, looking at Anko for support.
"Yeah! I mean, the ski resort is a hike from here, and we couldn't go back!"
At the mention of ski resorts, Gaara peeled himself from the ground, eye twitching. "Don't. Talk. About. Skis." He said darkly, glaring. "Ever."
The subject was closed after that.
Shikamaru and Ino exchanged a glance.
Sasuke chose that moment to sit up, rubbing at his eyes. He looked at Kakashi and Anko, and then at everyone else.
"What's going on?"
"SHUT UP, SASUKE!" Came the reply of all.
Today was already looking to be an interesting day.
BWAH-HA-HA! So, I thought the snowball fight would be in this chapter, but it shall be in the next, never fear! (And the chapter won't take me a year to produce, either, promise!) Oh, and sorry about the space things...Document Manager is being a poo...