Chapter 11

It was getting really late.

Sakura was getting drowsy, but as tired and sleepy as she was, she still couldn't calm the rapid beating of her heart. She stared at her cleched fists on her lap, refusing to meet the curious faces of the two people in front of her.

No... She couldn't meet Naruto and Henta's piercing gazes. She didn't want them to see her expression. Her cheeks were still burning like fire and she just couldn't let them see how uncomfortable and embarassed she was right now...

Suddenly, the memory of what had happened between her and a certain Uchiha flashed before her eyes. She unconsciously bit her lip and supressed a scream from escaping her slightly trembling lips.

Too much... It was all too much...

The silence around the dinner table was choking her. How come nobody was talking? Surely after seeing something like... that... Naruto and Henta should have bombarded them with questions by now...

Hesitantly, she turned to look up at them and see what was wrong. What met her gaze made her gasp out in surprise. Sparks were flying dangerously in the air. Naruto and Henta were trying to melt Sasuke by sending deadly glares at him.

This is not good...

"Spider." Was Sasuke's reply to the silent threats that the other guys were giving him. Sakura flinched at the tone of his voice. "She told me to get the spider off of her."

He sounded so calm... so collected... so Sasuke. She, on the other hand, was still nervous and embarassed as hell.

Henta ignored Sasuke's explanation. "Sakura-chan... I thought nothing's going on between you two..." Henta sobbed and stared at her with heart-broken eyes. "And to think that I thought that you and I are gonna live happily ever after..."

Sakura sweat-dropped. "Henta-san..."

"A spider...!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief and slammed his fist against the table. Much to Henta's protest, the sudden force of the fox boy's fist against the wooden table made a crack on its smooth surface. "You were groping her, you... pervert!"

A lump formed inside Sakura's throat. Why couldn't they just forget about what they saw? She didn't want to remember that anymore! "N-No... Naruto...! You got it all wr..."

She was cut off by Sasuke's clipped voice. "I said I was only getting a bug away from her, you clumsy idiot."

Naruto was stubborn. "Do Sakura-chan's breasts look like two fat bugs to you, eh Sasuke?"

Two fat bugs...! "Naruto..." Sakura sent him an icy glare. "What's that suppose to mean?"

A huge and exasperated sigh came from Sasuke's direction. Even though she couldn't see his face, Sakura knew that if she didn't clear this misunderstanding up now, Sasuke would surely hate her even more...

After all, she was the one who begged him to get that stupid spider away from her in the first place... And because of that, Sasuke was now being accused as a pervert!

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but, unfortunately, no words came out. Inwardly, she cursed herself for being so stupid... There was nothing to be embarassed about! It wasn't like he had meant doing it to her or anything!

Sakura bit her lip and uncomfortably shifted in her seat. The feeling of Sasuke's hand clutching her... ehem... haunted her currently messed up thoughts again.

Painful.

"You were defiling Sakura-chan!" Naruto scowled at Sasuke. "You were being such a..." Something slapped across Naruto's face and this made him yelp in surprise. Sakura looked up and nearly cried out in fear when she saw the huge spider from earlier dangling on top of Naruto's nose.

"I'm not a pervert... Unlike you." Sakura turned to where the spider came from and found out that it came from Sasuke. Their gazes met and heat began to rise on both Sakura's cheeks again.

Amidst her growing embarassment, she managed to notice that there was something strange in Sasuke's dark eyes. Something was inside those black depths, but she couldn't recognize what it could be... And his cheeks weren't as pale as before... In fact, they were kinda rosy...

Sasuke suddenly tore his gaze away from her and snorted. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared more darkly at Naruto and Henta.

Sakura shook her head. It must be her imagination... or the fact that she lacked proper sleep. Get a grip, Sakura! Inner-Sakura scolded her inwardly.

The words "Sasuke" and "blushing" don't exactly sit very well together!

"Whoa... That's a big bug..." Henta exclaimed in slight awe as he leaned in and studied the dead insect that was plastered on the blonde's nose. "Now that you mentioned it... I think this was the bug that Isaaru was having nightmares about..." With a grimace, Naruto plucked the bug away from his nose. It dropped down to the table with a splat.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked and glanced at both her and Sasuke. "So Sasuke's telling the truth, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke again and as soon as she saw his expression, all thoughts about Sasuke "blushing" disappeared with a loud poof! Sasuke was now looking bored and indifferent... like always...

"O-Of course, Naruto!" She forced herself to sound angry at the blonde fox boy. If Sasuke can pretend like nothing embarrasing happened between them, then... so can she! "Now let's stop this nonsense and let's get back to saving... and stuff..." She trailed off, hoping that they wouldn't pester her or Sasuke about this... thing... anymore.

Fortunately, the two eventually agreed and dropped the rather sensitive subject. For once, the atmosphere around them grew serious. After a while, Sakura finally started. "Okay. Listen up, everyone... especially you, Naruto."

Sasuke relished the cool morning breeze as it swayed past him, calming the frustration that was slowly building up inside him even if it was only for a moment. He closed his eyes and leaned against one of the trees at Henta's front yard. His eyelids felt heavy and his tired body longed for the soft comfort of a bed.

He didn't get much sleep last night and it was annoying him to no end. It wasn't because Sakura and Henta kept him late yesterday in order to plan their pointless 'rescue mission', or the fact that he lacked proper sleep for some time now... No, it was more than that.

Unconsciously, he looked down and stared at his hand, especially his palm.

It was still tingling.

With a dark scowl, he repeatedly rubbed his hand against his shirt, willing that strange tingling sensation to just go away and leave him alone.

"What are you doing?"

Sasuke looked up and glared at Henta's curious expression. The lech was standing near the window and he had a really bright blush on his cheeks. Sasuke raised an irritated eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing."

Henta flashed him a wide and goofy grin before he peeked at the window. When he turned to look at Sasuke again, blood gushed out of his nose. "Naruto-san's female body sure is sexy..."

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh. Sick. That lech is so damn sick...

"Come on, Naruto!" The door suddenly opened, revealing his two teammates. Sasuke silently noted their appearances. Sakura had her hair tied up in a bun and was wearing a very loose white shirt and some pants that were too big for her own good. Naruto, who had transformed into an obnoxious female using his sexy no jutsu, was wearing a really tight dress that perfectly hugged his female figure's curves.

Sasuke's face twitched for a moment. It was weird seeing his teammates dressed up like this...

"Remember our plan, okay? And no..! Don't slouch like that!" The pink-haired kunoichi scolded the frowning fox boy as she dragged him outside the house.

"Damn it. Why do I have to wear this stupid thing..." Naruto whined in his temporary girlish voice as he glared at Henta. "You owe me big time for this, you pervert."

Henta's reply was to nod dumbly at him, drool trailing down at the side of his mouth.

Naruto noticed the lech's white hot stare. "Hey, hey... what the hell are you staring at?"

"Now, now. Stop that you two..." Sakura shook her head in annoyance. Sasuke studied her face and noticed the tiredness in her eyes. Inwardly, a large part of him wanted to blame her for putting themselves in this sort of trouble... while another part of him wanted to feel sorry for her situation.

But as usual, he didn't say anything about it.

Sakura lifted her hand to cover a yawn. "Let's go, Henta-san." She pulled a small hat from her pocket and wore it over her head, hiding her short pink hair. She was supposed to look like a man, but to Sasuke, she looked more like a very messy little boy

"Y-Yeah..." Henta mumbled, still not tearing his eyes away from Naruto. "You know what, Naruto-san? You really should use that jutsu more often."

With two black-eyes, Henta began to lead Team 7 towards Shin's place.

Just like yesterday morning, the whole village was so full of life. The streets were crowded with lots of different people. The houses still have the same colorful lanterns and other decorations hanging all over them. The cheerful music was a lot louder than before, but it still filled the air. Children were laughing and playing across the road while the adults were busy chattering with their companions.

Each one of them seemed very busy minding their own business... but Sasuke knew better.

These people were watching their every move. In fact, he could feel their gazes on him and his companions...

...and it was annoying, to say the least.

"Hey pervert..." Naruto began to speak, catching Sasuke's attention. "Why are those people looking at us like that?"

"Oh, those guys?" Henta, who was leading the way, stopped walking for a while in order to look at Naruto with a sad smile on his face. "Don't worry about those people too much..." He turned his back on them and continued walking. "They just wanted to make sure that this wedding would go as planned."

"What?" Sakura, who was walking beside Naruto, exclaimed in disbelief. "Does that mean Shin's controlling them, too?"

"Well..." Henta let out a low chuckle. "I guess you could say that... It's not like they have any choice on the matter."

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "Huh?"

"If there's no wedding today, then Shin won't stop harassing our village women."

Sakura gasped. "So your sister's like a... sacrifice then?" Sasuke noted the pity in her voice.

Henta was silent for a moment before answering her with a quiet 'Yeah.'

Naruto clenched his fists, anger contorting his feminine features. "How could they gang up on you like that?"

"Don't be stupid... my sister wasn't forced to marry that bastard."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. So the lech's sister decided to sacrifice herself for the sake of the village? It was noble of her to do that, but what she did was still pathetic. This marriage wouldn't solve anything! After all, a bastard like Shin wasn't exactly the type to be trusted...

"But we're going to ruin this wedding..." Sakura trailed off. "Won't the villagers get mad at you for this?"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan!" Henta glanced at her and grinned widely. "I have a gut feeling that this would all turn out just fine!"

Sakura and Naruto stared at Henta as if he was crazy. "Gut feeling, huh?"

Sasuke shook his head and sighed. The lech really is an idiot...

Sasuke was just about to open his mouth to say it directly to Henta when suddenly, he felt something wet drop on his cheek. He turned to look up and was on time to see the last rays of the sun before it was swallowed whole by the sky. Dark and massive clouds began to spread over the horizon like thick layers of blankets. A cool breeze slipped past them and Sasuke noticed that both his teammates, especially Naruto, shivered in response.

"Oh, damn! Come on, let's run!" Henta exclaimed and made a run for it. Team 7, having no other choice, followed Henta's retreating form from behind.

By the time they arrived at Shin's place, all of them were completely soaked. They sought comfort under the small roof of Shin's towering gates. Henta, with a loud but quivering voice, called Shin and his men in order to let them know that they have arrived.

So much for the bride's grand entrance... Sakura muttered inwardly as she hugged herself to protect her body against the cold and the rain. Her teeth chattered like mad and she couldn't help but huddle closer to both Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto was grumbling under his breath, his long blonde hair sticking on both sides of his cheeks. His dress was a complete mess and mud were splattered all over his skirt and legs. The light make-up that Sakura applied on his face was completely washed away by the rain. "Man, this sucks..."

Sakura couldn't agree more. "You're a mess, Naruto..." She bit her lip and attempted to adjust Naruto's hair and dress, but failed miserably. "This isn't good..."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. Naruto-san looks just fine to me..." Henta was eyeing Naruto from head to toe. He had that perverted glint in his eyes again. "Sexy..." He grinned malisciously.

Naruto shivered even more. "You pervert! Don't look at me like that! It gives me the creeps!"

Sakura sighed at their silly antics. Well... at least Henta's not drooling over her anymore.

"Sakura."

She knew right away that it was Sasuke who called her. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She looked up and nearly blushed at the sight of him. His damp black hair was down and the urge to brush the bangs that were covering a part of his handsome face was overwhelming. His wet shirt clung to his broad chest and she could see his muscles rippling against the fabric. His inky black eyes seemed to pierce right through her soul as he continued to stare at her, mesmerizing her. She saw his lips move and heard him say something to her, but she found it quite hard to pay attention to what he was saying.

Sasuke-kun's... so hot... A bright blush graced Sakura's cheeks.

"Sakura." The urgent tone on his voice snapped her out of her trance. "Your shirt!"

My shirt...? What was that all about? She looked down at herself and what she found out made her eyes widen in shock. "My shirt!" She gasped out loud and hurriedly covered herself with her arms. Because of the rain, her white shirt became transparent and it clung to her curves like second skin! It was like she wasn't wearing any shirt at all! With a growl, she turned to both Naruto and Henta and whacked both of them at the back of their heads. "Why didn't you guys say so earlier?"

Naruto groaned and rubbed his head in pain. "I didn't notice, Sakura-chan..."

Sakura turned to glare at Henta. "Well..." Henta took a step back and laughed nervously. "You were so sexy, Saku... Ow!" Another lump formed on top of his head.

"Damn this..." Sasuke's angry curse caught Sakura's attention. She turned to look at him and was surprised when she found him removing his shirt.

"S-Sasuke-kun...? What are you...?"

"You can't go there looking like that!" He snapped at her and was about to give her his shirt when the gates opened and two burly-looking bodyguards appeared. The gorilla-looking men leered down at them with their arms out-stretched. Before they knew what was happening, all of them were grabbed by the waist and were forced to go inside Shin's large estate. The large doors closed in on them, making it impossible to go back and escape.

Even through the harsh pattering of the rain, the sound of the gates' ear-splitting screech could still be heard echoing eerily outside.

To be continued…