Shizune pushed open the large double doors that had once sealed the entrance the the Hokage office at the end of the long hallway. Making her way off of the once carpeted hallway floor onto the hard wood which floored the Haokage office as Tsunde had requested. Her stylish black high heel sandles made clicking sounds on the surface as she took long confident strides across the room. Her short black hair bounceing slightly as she walked over to the desk and came to a stop. Clearing her throat as if Tsunde had somehow failed to hear her come into the silent room. But Shizune didn't get a response, instead the blonde Hokage merely kept staring outside of the large glass window that covered all aross the wall behind her desk. Which was stacked with files and papers, a normal Hokage desk.
"Hokage-Sama, I've come to tell you that the arrangments for your birthday party are underway."Shizune replied flipping through the clipboard she held." The Waterfront diner has been booked and preperations for decorations have begun."She replied. Tsunde spun around in her chair with a sigh and rested her feet on the desk top. She hated this stupid birthday crap. Why anyone celebrates getting old is beyond her. Personally she would be content with spending her birthday at a casino with a beer, but everyone insisted that a party must be held in her honor. Bullshit. Everyone just wanted to get drunk in her honor. She could do that herself.
"And what of the invitations?"Tsunde asked. But the main reason why she had agreed to such a silly concept was to somehow get Kakashi and Sakura in the same room without getting in shit from her father who just happened to be on the council. Somehow, she had faith that those two could work any problem they have together. It was a bonus that she wanted to piss off Mr. Haruno without concequences. Everyone in the village must attend after all.
"They have been sent to each home this morning, they should be arriving now."
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Sakura awoke to the sound of rapide and frantic knocks on the front door. Her head hurt and the noise came as a big inconvience. What time was it ,she wondered. The sun was up bright and shining into her eyes from the window at the far wall.Groaning she pushed herself up onto her elbow, finding the surface below her to be soft, realizing that she current lay on the couch in her living room. Sakura must have fallen asleep there last night when... last night. Sakura 's stomache felt bruised and she could taste dried blood in her mouth from where the hand of her father had made contact with her soft cheek.
The ringing door bell didn't help, so with a push she flipped her sore feet over the side. Realising that she still wore the same sweety training clothes that she wore yesterday. Making her way towards the door she opened it up to see Ino standing in the doorway. She expressed her imapatience through her body jester as her hands rest on her hips and her right foot tapped repeatedly.
"Jeez you look like hell,."Ino commented.
"Thanks."She mummbled.
"What time did you go to bed last night?"Ino asked.
"I don't know..."Sakura whispred.
"Fine, but it's going take a shit load of work to get you ready for the party tonight."Ino sighed and pushed herself into the house past Sakura who raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"Wait a second."Sakura shocked her head, thinking that she had somehow heard her friend incorrectly."Party? What party?"Sakura ran her hand through her tangled hair and licked the blood from her lips, trying to make Ino fail in noticing anything strange.
"Don't you open you're mail?"She asked and tossed a white letter at her which Sakura grapped and quickly opened."Tsunde's birthday party's tonight."Sakura's eyes scanned the writing. True enough the letter read...
Dear Haruno Sakura;
You are here by invited to a formal birthday celebration on behalf of Miss Tsunde Hokage of Konoha. Guests arrive at 7:oo pm tonight dress code in affect...
Sakura looked up at who had somehow managed to grab a apple out the kitchen while Sakura was reading.
"So what, it's a stupid party? That's why you woke me up for?"Sakura tossed the letter into Ino's lap as Sakura sank to the chair beside her.Ino rolled her eyes.
"You have to keep reading baka!"Ino mummbled through apple chewings, setting the apple down on the table she picked up the letter.
...This is a celebration, every singal member of this communtiy must be attenance.
Ino finished and folded the paper in her hands. Sakura frowned and shrugged.
"Everyone much be in attenance."Ino said matter of factly."Everyone includes Mr. Hatake Kakashi.."Ino replied.Sakura eyes went wide for a second but soon dripped down into the lazy expression she had perviously.
"That's nice and all, but even if he is there, I'm not aloud to be near him. The restaining order, remember." Ino quickly smacked Sakura over the head.
"BAKA!" Ino cried.
"Ouch, what was that for?"Sakura asked rubbing the sore spot on her head.
"Don't you get it? Think about it, why would Tsunde go to the extra effort of enviting every singal person to a birthday party when she could easily only invite people close to her? Like lets say pupils, huh? Because she what's Jounin there too, Kakashi's a jounin right? So she wants you two to be in the same room without giving any power to the council members to object on the matter! Don't you see she wants you two to see eachother!" Ino smiled. Sakura heart leap suddenly at the thought of finally being able to see Kakashi. Maybe Ino was right. Maybe Tsunde has changed her mind on the restraining order and is only looking for a reason to get herself and Kakashi together without any heat on her back?Maybe Kakashi changed her mind?
"Okay so lets go!"Ino cried and grapped Sakura, pulling her from the seat.
"Go where?"Sakura asked.
"Well it ts formal right?"Ino sighed.
"Yes."
"And you don't even own a dress do you?"
"Uh, no"
"Then you'll need one! Shopping!"
"Couldn't I just borrow one of yours?"
"Nope, besides you need to look your best for Kakashi tonight!"Sakura blushed as Ino litterly dragged her out the door.
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Hatake Kakashi tiredly ran his fingers through his normaly soft hair but that morning found it rough and tangled allowing no such morning actions to take place.Mentally he wondered why it was that he never owned a brush. True his hair did have an eerie way of just falling into place, but the moment he woke up the silver strands did have a tendecy to be tangled from the nights sleep. The fact that he was tossing and turning last night didn't help.
Tossing his bare feet over the side of his twin sized bed and placing them on the hard wood floor below, he rubbed his tired eyes from the lack of sleep. With the absence of the headband and his mask crummbled down around his neck his hand was free to roam over his bare face. It was quiet. A strang quiet, for the morninf birds weren't singing as they normaly did. He liked to wake to their soothing song in the morning or the afternoon, whatever, the piont was that he didn't like the fact that they weren't gracing him with their calls. Glancing over at the open window he didn't feel the gentle breeze brush against his bare skin as he normaly would expect to feel during this time of year. Blinking lazily, decided that perhaps he should go shopping today. His cuboards were over due to to be filled with food from the market but he never really had the time. Training with Sakura or Genma had occupied most of his day before, but now that that has changed the matter of what to do questioned his mind.
Pushing himself up off the bed with a sigh he shuffled lazily over into the kitchen of his small singal bedroom apartment. Filling the pot with hot water he slipped it into the coffee machine, opening up the cuboard overhead he pulled down a coffee tin and filled the machine also. Wow, his cuboards really were quite bare. And as he bent down considerably due to his height, to look into the fridge. He found that it was in need of re-stocking also. Sighing he reached inside a pulled out some orange juice.Shrugging off the expirery date he chugged the liquid in one try. Tossing the empty cartin into the nearby garbage he yawned big.
"Was it all just a dream?"Kakashi whispered, thinking if the meeting with Tsunde actually took place, wondering if she had actually said the things she said. Did she really change her mind about Sakura sn himself? Or was it just a happy dream. If that was all it was truly, then he was gratefull that he had a happy dream for once. Not a nightmare as he usualy had.
His attention abruptly turned to the front door when a knock was heard that echoed through the silent apartment.Blinking questionally he wondered who would be at his door at this hour.
"Yes? Who is it?"Kakashi called out, his voice lazily in the matter that he really didn't feel like taking to any salemen or worse...
"It's me, you asshole! Opening the freaking door!"Kakashi sweetdropped, it was worse. Genma. Not the happiest of campers in the morning he had come to realize. certinly not after a long night of drinking and scoreing with the local women at the bar, which just happened to be everynight. Genma had a tendency to party.
"It's open."Kakashi answered, turning so that he leaned his back up agianst the counter, hearing the door open soon after his reply. He never did lock his door, figuring whoever who want to come to his lonely apartment wasn't just anyone. And in that case, he didn't really want them to make him get up to let them in. Lazy.
Turning his gaze to watch as Genma walked into the kitchen from the front door."Morning sunshine."Kakashi commented, only to get a middle finger in response.
"Where did you go last night? Hope you know you missed the finest women Konoha has to offerat the bar when you left"Genma sank to the kitchen table with a heavy sigh.
"Yes, I'm so very attracted to drunk women volmitting all over me. My loss, huh?"Kakashi replied, Genma grunted."So what do I owe the pleasure of company?"Kakashi, gribbed the egde of his mask as pulled it up over his once bare features after Genma had awoken to the fact the he was even in the same room as his, much less without his usual mask. Kakashi had figured the he was just a little to hung over to even reconize the nose on his own face.
"Have you opened your mail yet?"Genma asked.
"No, too early for bad news."He grummbled."I figure it can atleast wait untill noon before it brings down my good mood." That was funny cause goos mood was the worse discribtion of what he was feeling now.
"You're suggesting that it's all bad news, you're making assumtions my friend."Genma grinned, getting a raised eye brow from Kakashi as he tried to make out just what his friend was getting at.
"You still haven't told me why you're here, I should like to hear that before I read my mail."Kakashi replied.
"Just go get the God damn letters, smartass."Genma mummbled.Kakashi sighed shrugging as he causally walked over to front door, opening the mail box he searched untill his head came into contact with a small letter.Curiously, pulling it from the box, he brang it into the apartment.
"A letter from Hoakge?"Kakashi asked. Reading the handwriting on the cover reading You're invited. "What's this?"
"An invitation to the Hokage's birthday celebration tonight. I got one too. And guess what everyone's gotta be there, including Sakura."Genma grinned, Kakashi glanced up over the letter he held to Genma.
"Is that so?"He replied.
"It is. Formal too, which means that you are in need of a suit or something."
"Uh... are you asking me to go shopping with you?"Kakashi cringed away at the thought.
"Yup."
"Oh no!"Kakshi frantically shock his head and hands."I refuse, you can go on your own cause I'll have no part of it!"
"Come on you need you attend and it needs to be formal dress and Jounin uniforms don't count. So good old buddy Genma is here to help you out."Kakashi's mouth opened to protest but suddenly realized that he was right. No matter how much he hated it.
"Oh goody."Kakashi mummbled, his shoulders slumping considerably in defeat. The sound of the coffee machine ending rang through the apartment.
"Coffee?"Genma suggested.
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Sakura bumped into Ino when the women had abruptly stopped deep centre in the middle of the sidewalk. Gasping Sakura caught herself before she fell, rubbing her sore nose that, in the process, had made hard contact with the back of Ino's head.
"Oh, Ino. Whta's the deal?"Sakura snapped, finally feeling more awake now that Ino had taken her on a little walk around time for a good chunk of the morning. But really not feeling up to socializing at the constant sting of her fresh brusieon both her eye and now on her stomache as well. Sakura was just glad that her hair was long enogh to just cover her new mark, and most of her tried features. She wondered how long has it been since she smiled for real, not just a fake one to woard off nosiy friends.
"Geez Sakura aren't you suppose to be a Jounin? And yet you're walking into me?"Ino commented.Sakura ignored her as green eyes turned in the direction of the reason for Ino's sudden pause. There, infront of the two women stood a fashion boutique. Sakura's gaze feel onto the stylish dresses that lay on display in the window. One dress, a black one, had no sleeves instead gathered from the breast up over the left shoulder. The middle had a rather large hole sliced down from the gathering down to the waist at which had a well placed clip to manage to keep the silk dress together.
"Here we are, Sakura" Ino replied, Sakura snapped from studying the gown to turn to her friend.
"Here? But this place..."Sakura turned back to the black dress.".. looks kinda skimpy don't you think?"She swallowed at the thought of even being seen in something like that.
"Not in the least, come on you'll see!"Ino grabbed Sakura's wrist and pulled her into the shop.
Once inside Sakura could see that the small store was packed with many dress, each completely different in design and colour. Beauiful ones like this one white dress that had a long V shape neck with spagetti straps that criss crossed in the back.But of course Ino completly skipped that section and came straight to this silver silk one, that gathered at the neck but left the entire back wide open down untill in barly managed to cover the plastic model's ass. The material wouldn't allow a bra to be worn due to the back and also that the sides were pretty loose, with the length of the dress only coming up just above the thigh. It looked more like a cloth then a dress to wear to a birthday party.
"Ino, please try to pick something, less porno and more formal"Sakura sweetdropped.
"Can I help you ladies?"Sakura turned around to see a pretty women with short spiked oynx black hair, shifting her gaze Sakura also saw the women wearing a very deep V neck shirt and a jean mini shirt. Something Ino would wear, she figured.
"Yes we need to find a dress for Tsunde-Sama's party tonight."Ino replied.
"Sure is there any thing in particallular that you ladies were thinking of?" Sakura had absolutly no idea what she was looking for, this dress shopping thing was new to her due the fact that she never had any reason to not wear her normal clothes.
"Well, this one needs something hot and sexy!"Ino laughed and slipped her arm around sakura's shoulder, Sakura's mouth opened to respone but was interuppted."She's gotta look good for her man tonight and old fashioned dresses just don't turna man on like they use to."Ino laughed as Sakura went beat red in a split second.
"INO!"She cried.
"No problem, I competely understand."The women's eye curved up into a smile." Okay stand still so I can study you body."Sakura blinked, as Ino stepped back to allow the small women to look her over, front to back, head to toe.
"Uh, what are you doing?"Sakura swollowed, begining to become uncommfortale when the blue eyes came to rest on Sakura' breasts.
"Getting a good judge of your body type to pick out the perfect dress for you're body."She answered with a smile."Okay just give me a few seconds to pick out a couple of contestants."With that, she walked off into the sea of dresses and hangers.
Sakura took this time to rest her sore feet from the walk and sat down next to Ino on the couch in the front room.
"So I was thinking that you could go to the party with Shikamaru and me, then you wouldn't even have to worry about leaving with your father when you and Kakashi are making out in the back room."Ino suggested.
"Ino, what evenb makes you think that Kakashi will want to spend tonight with me. He'll probably not want to draw attention to us, especially not infron of the Hokage and the council. He's shy you know."Sakura whispered.
"I'll handle the council, my fathers the president after all. And Kakashi, I'll leave him to you.Trust me once I'm done with you, he'll never take his werid ass eyes off of you!"
Ino always had a way of making things look better then they are. Her faith in Sakura actually being able to look, Hot, is cool, but Sakura didn't believe that she could look that good. What if Kakashi didn't like the way she looked! ' What if, no, she thought. He'll like it, he loves me after all. Doesn't he? '
"Okay here we are." The women's voice came through the sea of dresses of assorted colours and shapes, soon she could be seen coming through carrying three dresses in her hands.Sakura rose to her feet to help her but the women told her that there was no need and that she was use to carrying around heavy clothes." How about you try them on them you can decide the best one."She suggested with a smile as she handed Sakura the one on the top.
"Oh, uh thank you..."Sakura took it.
"Suzume."The women replied. Sakura nodded and walked back to where Suzume directed her to the dressing room.
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After a second of stripping off her training clothes hidden protectivly behind a metal changing door, she slipped the dress over her head and branced herself for what it may look like. Unlocking the door she came out into the open, for Ino to give her opinion.
"It looks great Sakura."Ino replied. Sakura turned to study herself in the mirror. Seeing that the baby blue dress had spagetti straps and a high waist line to emphaize that she indeed lacked the large breasts to make it stand out, the bottom half was nice through. The way it just flowed down to her ankles freely, without restrictions.
"Nope not the one."Sakura sighed.
"Why not, it's beautful. The way it shows off your great collarbones, and..."
"..And the fact that I have no boobs."Sakura mummbled. Suzume sweetdropped for a second before deciding to attempt to cheer her up.
"It's okay, no one buys the first dress they try on. It'll just take a few trys to get the one that's absolutly perfect."She smiled, Sakura nodded with a sigh and walked back into the dressing room, locking the door behind her. She stripped the dress from her body, down to her bra and underwear. Exchanging dresses over the top of the door she began to try on the next one.
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"Okay I love that one!" Ino cried with excitment. Sakura turned to study this dress and her jaw literally dropped to the floor. The extremly low neck line dropped down to her stomche showing off half of the abs. The form fitting material didn't leave very must to the imagine. She immedialty blushed when she first saw it.
"Oh no!"She cried and quickly rushed back into the changing room, her face turning red.
"Come on that one was perfect!"She heard Ino cry.
"Yea perfect for a strip club!"She snorted.
"Sakura I will not let you go to this party wearing a dress that covers up! Now you will show some skin Damn it!" Ino yelled. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Fine, give me the last one."
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"Okay what the hell is wrong with that one.?"Ino sighed. Sakura studied herself and a smirk appeared on her covered face, thought no one could see it.
"Nothing, actually this one it perfect... I love it."Sakura replied.
"Great, it's perfect, now make way for Ino!"
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Sorry, this chapter was quite Girly but i was in a fashion mood Oo