7 Days, Come What May
Chapter II: Carriage Conversation
The morning of October the 7th was a pleasant one; the sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the birds were chirping. However, the birthday boy, Naruto, was still sleeping in his humble bed, unaware that the fifteen people he had invited was now standing in front of his door, waiting impatiently.
Shikamaru was sitting on the doorstep with his best friend Chouji on one side and Ino on the other side. They were, of course, staring at the clouds in the sky. At, least, Shikamaru and Chouji was, anyway. Ino, more accurately, was staring at a certain Uchiha's face a few feet away. Sasuke, was, as usual, standing around, brooding. The other guests doing similar brooding stances like Sasuke included Neji and Shino (Inner Sakura: 'These guys could easily form 'The Cool-Brooding-Standing-Poses club…gossh…too bad the only one of them that's good looking is Sasuke-kun!'). Aside from the brooding guys, the other people were more engaged in social activity.
Ten Ten was lively talking to the timid Hinata (who kept twirling her fingers nervously) while Kiba was engaged in a one-way conversation with his beloved dog. Lastly, Rock Lee was doing the thing that he liked best and that Sakura hated most—flirting with her.
"Sakura-chan, I'm soo glad you decided to invite me to have a lovely time with you at the springs!" Lee exclaimed, smiling as "cutely" as he can to her.
The pink haired ninja edged away a little, giving out a sheepish smile.
"Ehh…well…Go thank you Naruto…He's the birthday boy…"
"That's okay, Sakura-chan! You're so cute!" Lee beamed and winked.
Now, Sakura was really freaked out.
Inner Sakura: 'GET OUT! YOU'RE A FREAKY LOSER! I WILL NEVER FALL FOR YOU! EVER! YOU'RE NOT EVEN GOOD LOOKING!'
In reality: "Ermm…thank you…I guess," Sakura answered sheepishly and edged away a little bit more. "Well, I gotta go find Naruto, he's not even up yet."
And that was how Sakura escaped from Lee's sucky flirting "techniques". She quickly ran to Naruto's front door (making Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji get up from the doorstep) and banged on it.
"NARUTO, YOU BAKA! GET UP! GET UP NOW! HELLOO!" she yelled at the top of her voice.
No response. Now, Sakura was really mad. As she prepared to shout again, a hand covered her mouth. She turned around to find that it was Sasuke. She gave him a questioning look.
"You're making me deaf," he replied simply and jumped in the window.
Seconds later, Naruto was kicked out his bed and out of the door.
"HEY! WHATCHA DOIN'? I WAS HAVING THIS AMAZING DREAM WHERE I OWNED DA RAMEN SHOP!" Naruto shouted, rubbing his head where Sasuke had kicked him.
"Oui, Naruto! Sasuke-kun was just tryin' to wake you up! You invited us here to go to the K.H.S., remember?" Ino said, hands on hips.
The blonde took a moment to process the information.
"Oh. Yea. I remember now."
Sasuke (and probably Neji and Shino too) smirked. "Dobe."
Before Naruto had time shoot back an insult at the Uchiha, Sakura had already dragged him back inside the house. Sakura's high, panicky voice was heard from inside the house.
"PACK QUICKLY! THE CARRIAGE IS COMING IN LIKE, FIVE MINUTES!"
Sure enough, three traditional Japanese carriages came after 5 minutes. Konoha Hot Springs were inscribed upon the carriages in big, fancy letters. The first carriage included Sakura, Ino, Lee, and Ten Ten. Sasuke, Shino, Kiba, and Neji piled into the second carriage. Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Chouji sat in the third carriage.
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First Carriage (Sakura, Ino, Lee, and Ten Ten)
"Hey, big forehead, will you please scoot over? I don't want to accuse you of having not only a big forehead, but a big butt as well," Ino shot at Sakura.
"Well, excuse me, but can't you see you're the one taking up all the space? Besides, I can't move any more than this," Sakura shot back.
"Sakura-chan, if you like, you can sit on my lap!" Lee said cheerily.
"NO!"
"Go on, big forehead. You got an admirer there…and you can leave Sasuke-kun to me," Ino said, pushing Sakura to the side a little.
"First of all, Ino, you pig, stop that immature pushing. Second, Sasuke-kun is not yours," Sakura glared.
"Nor yours." Ino matched the glare evenly.
"Excuse me…but do you two have crushes on Uchiha?" Ten Ten interrupted.
"What does it look like, my dear?" Ino turned to reply with a pissed off look on her face.
"Ermm…okaayy….It looks like I should just shut up for now," Ten Ten replied, pouting a bit.
"It's okay, Ten Ten! Ignore that pig's RUDENESS. We can talk. Let's ignore her," Sakura retorted.
"What! You !$#!"
"Well, you're the !#$!"
"!$#!"
"!#$$$$&$#$&!"
"…" Goes Ten Ten and Lee.
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Second Carriage (Sasuke, Shino, Kiba, and Neji)
Sasuke was sitting on one side with Kiba and Neji on the other side with Shino. The mood in the carriage was very intense. It was silence all around. You could hear the creaking of the carriage's wheels on the road.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
Sasuke stared at Neji. Neji stared at Kiba. Kiba stared at Shino. It was an international staring contest. I can't take in another moment of this intense silence, Kiba thought. So, the dog-lover broke his eye contact with any of the other people and decided to rest his eyes on his dog, Akamaru, instead. Kiba pretended to pet Akamaru to keep himself from yelling like a maniac because of the freaky silence.
Creak. Creak Creak.
"So, I'm excited to go to the K.H.S., how 'bout you guys?" Kiba suddenly broke the silence.
"…"
"…"
"…"
So, Kiba went back to pet Akamaru.
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Third Carriage (Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji)
"Aiya! I hope they have ramen at that place we're goin'!" said Naruto cheerily.
"Any food fits fine with me," Chouji remarked while munching on his usual bag of chips.
"They should have that there. Since it's a first-class hot springs place and all," said Shikamaru.
Hinata was just sitting beside Naruto, continually twirling her fingers. She hadn't uttered a single word since the trip had started. Naruto seemed to notice this.
"Hey, Hinata, why're you so quiet today?" the blonde asked.
"N-Nothing," the Hyuuga heir replied very quietly.
"Actually, she's always quiet, Naruto," said Shikamaru.
"Want some of my chips?" Chouji offered the bag to her.
"N-No, thanks."
"Hey, Hinata, why do you always stammer?" Naruto shot another question at the quiet girl.
"I-I…"
"Probably because she's nervous," Shikamaru answered for the girl.
"Chips could calm your nerves. Want some?" Chouji offered Hinata the bag again.
"N-No Thanks."
"Hey, Hinata, why do you like twirling your fingers?" Naruto asked again.
"I d-don't …"
"Because she's nervous, of course," Shikamaru replied for Hinata again.
"Just try some of my chips, it'll calm your nerves, really," Chouji shoved the bag into Hinata's face for the third time.
This time, Hinata timidly did take one of the chips and took a mini-sized bite at the edge of it. The guys looked at each other.
"Wow. That was amazing. So, you feel better now?" Chouji asked curiously.
"Y-Yes…"
"Hey, Hinata, why…"
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The twelve teens arrived at the Konoha Hot Springs in due time, which was about noon. Now, the sun was high above and the heat was very unmerciful. Sakura and Ino stumbled out of their carriages, still bickering a little and throwing each other glares while Lee and Ten Ten followed behind sheepishly. Members of the second carriage came out of their carriage normally, except Kiba was still looking exceptionally interested at his dog. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji also all looked fine. However, Hinata looked very, very overwhelmed.
Everyone walked up to the enormous Japanese-styled house in front of them. They went inside and waited in the guestroom for a while. Eventually, a chubby, old lady holding a cat came to greet them.
"There you are, children! I've been waiting for you! I've wanting to thank you you ninjas so much for saving my cat, Kaida! And happy birthday, Naruto! Follow me, children, I'll take you to your rooms," the lady smiled. "Oh, and just call me Aunt Midori."
"Yay! Thank you, auntie Midori!" Naruto shouted, running up behind the old lady.
Once everyone reached the second floor, Aunt Midori stopped in the hallway.
"Everyone, take out your tickets. There are numbers on them. Match them with your room number and there, you have your room! Oh, yes, children, you may trade tickets if you want! Just let me collect them later at dinnertime, okay? Go finish unpacking, kids, I'll be downstairs preparing some snacks!" Aunt Midori explained then turned to go back down the flight of stairs.
"Hai, Auntie! Thank you!" Sakura called after the kind old lady.
Aunt Midori waved back in acknowledgement as everyone looked at their ticket number, trying to find which room they had to go to.
Joyce: Reviews, please:D I really want to know what you guys think.