Disclaimer: The name says it all.
I'm back! I'm sorry, but school is soooo….stressful so sometimes I really might update late. Sorry in advance!
Now, on with the story! I hope you like it!
A Wish On A Butterfly
Chapter 3 – Alone…or not?
I have nobody.
No one's there. I'm beside myself in all that I do…
It's so lonely here in my abyss, so dark and uncomfortable. I wish I had someone to be with. And if I did, I'd be out of this wretched place. With light, light that I haven't seen for so long…
I've waited for an answer, at every second of every day, but I still have nothing. God hasn't given me the answer yet, and I can do nothing but wait anyway.
So I do.
I've longed so much to have or even just to know who I like.
Sakura once said that everybody has a soulmate. When will mine come to me? Or do I have to come to him?
And at least Sakura knows in her heart that Sasuke is her one true love. Neji has Tenten, though he doesn't see it yet. Lee can't really reach Sakura, and I doubt he ever will, but at least he knows, like how Sakura does. Heck, even Naruto has Hinata but he's too dense to see it all.
Some people just fall in love with material things, too. Chouji is obsessed with his potato chips. Shino loves bugs. I hate bugs. Anyway, Kiba has his dog, Akamaru was it?
Okay, and I guess that's it. I'm not forgetting anyone, am I?
No, I didn't. I didn't forget anyone who has his hair tied up so that he looks like a pineapple.
No, not really.
As for me, well…
I'm alone. Yeah, all alone with nobody in particular. There's this missing piece of this jigsaw puzzle that has my heart on it. I feel heavy as lead. It's just so confusing.
I'm lost because I don't have anyone to guide me, no special person that comes along once in a lifetime…
And I wish that I wouldn't even cry. There's nothing to cry about…so why are these streams of crystal running down my face? W-why am I like this?
Why am I crying for someone I don't know?
Am I meant for no one? Do I not have anyone to laugh, love and live with? No one to spend sad and happy times and grow old with?
Life can just be so strange…especially when it comes to love, you'll never know. They all come in different, disguised packages.
Some are beautifully wrapped, some are mysteriously blank, and some are plain and dull.
And when you think that you have that special gift, you realize it's not and it disappears.
Yes, just like Sasuke…
But I don't want to talk about him. I just want to know why I'm here like this.
Have you ever wondered why is it that life always gives you the answers you don't need to know and never the answers you desperately need?
I have yet to find out why it works that way.
Probably when I'm not heartbroken.
Oh, excuse me. Heartbroken? I have nothing and nobody to be heartbroken about.
Not even a guy who likes a pony tailed blonde who isn't me. So what if her hair is a shade darker?
I wonder what my future will be. I wish I had one of those crystal balls, or fortune-telling cards and such.
But then, if I really am going to be left all alone, then I won't have any fate. I'll remain here, cold and alone, for the rest of my backstabbing life with no one to lean on except these lifeless, stone walls.
And what will happen if I'll be left here with my misery while everyone falls in love, forgets me and moves on? Who will save me? Who will pull me up and help me move forward to forget the killing pain that I never knew could hurt so much?
Is this my destiny?
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Dawn. The sun has begun to rise, the grass still wet with dewdrops. The air is a bit cold, but the morning mist always disappears later on. The first glimmering rays of light on another new day shine through the horizon.
The sunrise is so beautiful. The colors soothe you; they swirl in shades of pastel blue, cheerful yellow and bright orange, and even a bit of spring green. And as they seep into the night sky, one by one, the diamonds embedded in the heavens disappear. The majestic royal purple fades to a robin's egg blue.
Isn't it so peaceful?
That is, until...
"RINNNNGGGGG! Rise and shine, rise and shine! Tootie-tootie bing bong! Wake up wake up wake up! Hoot Hoot Hoot! Ding Dong Ding Dong…I love youuuuuuuu! Give me a 9, 0, 4, 10, 7! Yeah yeah baby get up get up before life is o-o-oveeeeer!"
Oh, that's a deranged alarm clock, it can't even count…
I wonder who owns it?
And suddenly, a girl with pale blonde hair and periwinkle eyes reaches out her hand and clicks the "wake" button. Thank god, the crazy thing stops.
"Stupid damn freaky annoying creepy psychotic alarm clock…" the girl groans sleepily.
She slowly gets up and changes to her usual purple clothes and brushes her golden hair.
Tangle-free.
For now.
"Ino! Breakfast!" A voice calls.
"Coming!"
And it's the start of a wonderful day.
Or am I being sarcastic?
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Later, much much much more later…
Ino lied down on her bed, thinking about something.
Yeah, -THAT- something.
The sun was already in the three o'clock position. Yeah, the day was almost over. Everything was ordinary, I guess. Nothing went too wrong. But there's always those nine remaining hours left…
Hmmm, had she taken up Shikamaru's habits lately? One thing's for sure: We'll never know.
Unconsciously, she took a purple pillow from the edge of her bed and hugged it tightly as if she had lost it, trying to channel all of her emotions into the thing, hoping that she'd forget the embarrassing moment soon enough. But it was too stubborn and wouldn't get out.
She was just about to drift off into slumber when a shrill, high-pitched sound came out of nowhere, shaking her up.
"TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"
God, in the morning it's the alarm clock and now it's the phone? What is wrong with the machines and why are they rebelling? And why the hell does that thing ring that way? Have you ever seen another cordless phone that goes "TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" ?
Sigh.
Ino picked up the cursed phone piece, pushing one side to her ear and placing the other side near her mouth. Duh. It's what you do when you answer the phone.
And, as what usually happens on another ordinary day when you answer your horrible phone, a voice came from the other side.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Moshi moshi, good afternoon! My name is Haruno Sakura; may I please speak to Ino-chan?" said a female voice that could, at times, be so sweet and yet, at other's, be like a dog's.
Yeah, Sakura's.
"That's me. Hi Sakura!"
"Hey." Ino said casually. "So, why did you call?"
"Boredom." Sakura said as if it were so obvious.
"Oh."
"So, what's up? Are you thinking about anything?" The pink-haired girl said over the phone.
Ino tried not to think about what she had just thought of. NO! Of course it wasn't the guy she loved…
Ino: HEY! DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!
Inner voice: So-rry.
Though, she couldn't keep the blood from rushing to her cheeks.
"U-Uh…nothing."
"Doesn't sound like "nothing." " Her best friend accused. "In fact, it seems that you are thinking about someone…special!"
Ino gasped.
"NO!"
"What the--? Calm down, Ino! That was just a joke!"
"That sounds like something Shika-kun would say…" Ino thought out loud.
Silence. Nothing could be heard except the constant shouts of people throughout the streets of Konoha. But that wasn't the thing that was creeping the blonde nin out, it was the absence of words.
"…" Nothing from the other line.
If she wasn't going to say anything, Ino wasn't going to either.
"…"
"…"
A long, long pause.
"…"
"…"
Very long.
"…"
"…"
Too long.
"…"
"FOR GOD'S SAKE SAY SOMETHING ALREADY INO-PIG!"
Ino winced, hearing inner Sakura shout, someone that she hadn't heard from for a very long time ever since she tried to control Sakura and make her give up in the Chuunin exams.
"…okay…" Ino squeaked.
She swore that Sakura was smiling sweetly enough to make all of your teeth rot.
"There! That was easy enough, wasn't it?"
"Uh…ehrm…why were you being so quiet?"
"Because, I was trying to think about the proof that you were thinking about Shikamaru-san, and the big odds that you have a crush on him."
"…w-wha…"
"The first telltale sign: You are embarrassed of talking about him!"
Ino jumped at hearing that, and stiffened.
"…I-I do n-not…" Ino said quietly.
"Second telltale sign: Personality changes when doing something involving him! You're being shy, Ino! You're not your boisterous, happy self!" Sakura chirped happily.
"….b-but I d-don't like h-him…"
Ino began to shift uncomfortably.
"Third telltale sign: You won't admit you like him!" Sakura said, as if that was something Ino would be happy about.
Ino couldn't take it anymore. That wasn't true!
Of course it wasn't true!
It wasn't supposed to be true!
It could never be true!
It's….not?
"WHAT!"
"Come on, just say it, and I'll stop talking about it after that, once and for all! I'm your best friend right? You can tell me anything!"
"Promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
"Sure?"
"I swear.
"Really?"
"Yup."
"Truly?"
"INO!"
"Okay, okay! I-I'll do it now…"
Ino wasn't actually sure she could do it though.
"I…I…"
"Go on."
"Just remember that this isn't true, okay! I'm doing it because you're forcing me to!"
"Yeah, I know. I'm great, aren't I? Okay, do it now."
"I…I…"
"Just get it over with!"
"I…"
The ex-Uchiha fan club member took a sharp intake of breath. She gulped. She couldn't take the pressure…she just couldn't do it…
A faint click sounded, but Ino was a bit sure that it was just her imagination.
It was now or never. Sakura was going to kill her if she didn't say anything. Sakura's punches were hard. VERY hard.
She sure fitted the job as Tsunade's apprentice.
Okay. One….
Two…
Three.
She closed her eyes.
"I LOVE SHIKAMARU! There, I said it! That's a lie, okay!" She shouted.
She sighed, stealing a glance at the mirror only to find out that she was so…red.
"Finally, it's over…"
She waited for Sakura to make a comment, to say "Yes! I did it!" or burst into maniacal laughter until she died.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Nothing.
Four seconds. Five seconds.
Still nothing.
"Sakura?"
Click.
Now she was very sure that she hadn't imagined it this time. It was the same "click" she heard just a while ago. Ino was getting scared.
"S-Sakura! What was that!"
She heard a suppressed giggle, concluding that Sakura put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too much.
"Oh nothing…." Sakura said.
Boy, she sure sounds happy.
"Come on, what was that?" Ino pushed. Damn, what was that?
"Oh, nothing, I said…."
Ino sweated. Now she definitely knew something was horribly wrong. I just hope that wasn't—
"…just my tape recorder."
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TBC…
Moshi moshi means the Japanese phone equivalent of "Hello?".
Arigato means thank you.
Mendokuse means troublesome.
Okay, did you like that? Did I just make a cliffhanger or something? Hehehehehehe…
Am I making it too fast? Sometimes I have the tendency to do that. Sorry!
Anyway, click that little button on the lower left part of the screen and leave a review! I'll be so happy if you're kind enough to do that! Thanks to everyone who reviewed too!
I'll update soon, and…
Thanks again to everybody!