A/N: I'm excited because I saw Pride and Prejudice last night and it somewhat "matched" to the book because I read it last year. I love Jane Austen's writing. I recommend Sense and Sensibility for readers who love long-way love that endures hardships. Anyway, summer is a long way from here but I really want to purchase tickets to see Wicked the Musical. I love their songs especially "Defying Gravity." Oh, on a side note: Feel free to add this story to your C2 communities.
Second A/N: V for Vendetta is a very good film along with Crash. You should go see them if you have not. It's worth your time. (sigh) AP exams are in just 2-3 weeks, along with my SAT II test. Good luck to those who are taking them as well!
Previously on Dangerously Sixteen: Kaede has been admitted to an orphanage. Naruto still does not have the courage to confront Hinata of his true feelings despite Ino's encouragement. Sakura finally accepts Sasuke's proposal and Mrs. Haruno offers her husband an ultimatum.
Disclaimer: The characters that you have never heard of belong to me, and the ones that you have heard of belong to the sole creator of the series of Naruto. However, this story is copyrighted under my possession and should not be plagiarized at anytime and anywhere.
Title: Chapter 38
The familiar aroma of pencil shavings and dry erase markers filled Neji's nostrils. The young man ensconced his right elbow against the hard surface of his desk and closed his eyes, allowing the instructions of his Calculus instructor be muted.
Nearby, studious students were diligently writing notes from the teacher's lecture while other students, with Neji, attempted to keep their eyes open due to last night's lack of sleep. Spring break was approaching for the students, and it has been creeping on the back of every student's mind. The fantasy of relaxation on a sandy beach with the cool breeze flowing across the sapphire waves seemed to have taken residence in the students' minds.
Soon the school bell rang, dismissing the students for their fourth class of the day. Suddenly awakened by the loud bell, Neji was startled by the loud shuffling of papers and clamping of folders. The student turned around and only empty desks greeted his drowsy eyes.
Before he made his way toward the main hall, Neji's Calculus teacher approached him, who was the last to exit the classroom.
"Mr. Hyuga," he addressed Neji to stay at his desk.
The instructor gave a subtle smile and walked to the board and inscribed the next day's homework on the right hand corner.
"I'm afraid your good friend has been ditching my class this quarter," the teacher spun from the board to gain eye contact with Neji, "and since you are acquainted with this student, I hope that you will pass on my message to her that there are grave consequences for not making up important exams, such as being dropped from the class with an 'F' on her transcript."
Neji had his schoolbag swinging from his left shoulder and he tilted his head in acknowledgement. However, his eyes were imbued with concern due to Kaede's frequent absences from her supposed "favorite class" from her junior schedule.
"She's been in the hospital for the past few weeks," Neji nodded, "I was going to stop by to visit her after school; I'll tell her about it and let you know what dates she can come and make up for the tests."
The tall man before the student had a serious expression on his face. His face seemed to have become of age, and his wrinkles only accentuated his wisdom for mathematics. He slowly ambled around the corner of his mahogany desk and cleared his throat with a brisk grunt.
"All right then," he acquiesced, "make sure Kaede knows that her grade in this class is in great jeopardy and it gives me great pain to fail her should she not attend the next few classes before Spring Break. After all, there is a huge examination two days after the Break that is worth more than half your grade; I am sure she is aware of it since it was explicitly stated in the class syllabus in the beginning of the school year."
"I'll make sure of that," Neji replied before walking out of the classroom.
"Neji! Neji!" a recognizable panting voice screamed at Neji while he was placing his books in his locker. The young man turned his head in the other direction and saw Hinata running toward him.
He could sense fear in his cousin's eyes and could see tears begin to materialize in Hinata's eyes. She reached her cousin and was attempting to catch her breath from a long run. Before she could explain, Hinata threw her arms around Neji and sought comfort on his shoulder to shelter her warm tears.
"She's gone! She…She's gone!" Hinata's voice quivered as she tried to regain strength to stand on her own.
Placing his arms around his cousin, Neji rested his head upon hers and whispered, "What do you mean? Kaede's at the hospital."
Between them, there was a silence that only allowed Neji to recollect what Hinata had said and finally reach to a conclusion by himself.
First it was Shikamaru, and now Kaede was the second person to leave the group. Hinata explained to him the whole story of how Kaede has been admitted to an orphanage in another city because her mother was an escort and she did not have a father who could adequately satisfy their needs.
"Everything's screwed up," Hinata mourned over the loss of Kaede, "She's gone, Neji,"
The stenches of the next-door cell only disgusted Sasuke as he gradually ambled over to a table to greet his recent visitor. He placed the phone beside his left ear and only muttered a grunt as a signal of his gratitude to the visitor.
"Where's Shikamaru?" Sasuke demanded an answer. There was a trace of resentment in the tone of his voice.
The visitor before him only cackled in laughter. The question that Sasuke asked only left him in amusement; it had always been unlikely of a prolonged grudge between Shikamaru and Sasuke. They were very good friends.
"He fucked you over, didn't he?" Itachi's dark eyes twinkled with delight, "ah, that little fuck; I didn't know he could outsmart my little brother. That's a shame,"
As he listened to his brother, Sasuke only rolled his eyes in response. In order to straighten the confusion between the two of them, Sasuke explained that before Shikamaru left for military school, the two made a secret pact.
"The guy needs some space right now, so I told him to allow myself take the blame for the weed in his locker," Sasuke explained.
He couldn't hear what his brother was saying as he attentively listened on the other end of the telephone line.
"You are such an idiot," Itachi grumbled.
Sasuke explained that Ino was another reason why Shikamaru left the school since she wanted him to come clean.
"And how about you? I don't think you should serve his time," Itachi spoke in disagreement, however he couldn't help but laugh at his brother's situation.
"Quit your shit man," Sasuke glared at young man across from him, "so why are you here? I'm sure that laughing at me wasn't the only reason you came to visit me, unless you wanted to see if I look traumatized if those jailbirds actually laid a hand on me,"
To his surprise, Itachi's eyes gaped open and continued to laugh at Sasuke's ridiculous comment, "Nah, I came to see how you were doing. I'm your brother,"
Sasuke didn't buy Itachi's answer because he could sense in his tone that there was another ulterior motive in his visit. He turned around and saw the security guard was idly standing near the doorway and obviously listening in on their conversation.
"You knocked her up, didn't you?" Itachi lowered his voice as if he didn't want anyone else to hear.
The young man did not hear a response on the other end of the telephone line. He gazed before him to see his little brother staring directly at him, only in silence. There were no signs of emotion on his countenance; Itachi grew acquainted with his brother's usual look of indifference.
"Ah, so there IS a ring. Geez man, this thing is for real now?" Itachi placed his elbows on the desk and leaned in. He was intrigued.
"Man, my little brother is getting married!" Itachi leaned back against the chair with his arms behind his head. He had a smug look on his face and couldn't believe the news.
Before him, Sasuke replied, "Stop your gloating."
His usual look of indifference only amused Itachi, which only upset him even more. Of course, he was the one who should be bragging about his engagement; hell, he was engaged to the wealthiest girl in school.
"It's not always about the cash," Sasuke answered as if to erase any doubts that Itachi may have for Sakura and his engagement.
"Then what is it about eh? Oh, don't tell me--the baby?" Itachi only sought the most logical answer. In every guy's right mind, the most decent thing he could do is to marry the female who is carrying his child; after all, he was involved with the girl in creating the child.
The two brothers only sat across from each other, gazing directly at one another as silence devoured their small conversation.
"Do you love her?" Itachi tried to find the answer in Sasuke's eyes.
"Can we not talk about this?" Itachi's comments only irritated Sasuke even more. He was not comfortable in speaking this matter to him, let alone Sakura.
"All right. I was just messing with you, Sasuke," Itachi glowed with confidence, "anyway, your 'loving' Aunt and Uncle decided to get me to come bail you out. I'll see ya,"
"Did Sakura put them up to this?" Sasuke asked.
His brother didn't answer and only shrugged in response. Before he left, Sasuke saw a glimpse of Itachi's grin.
Alone in his secluded office, Mr. Haruno held the telephone to his ear and had his fingers prepared to dial the phone number he had been anxious to contact. However, a quick memory jogged in his mind of his daughter, Sakura. Without a moment to spare, he placed the phone down just when Mrs. Haruno entered the office.
"I hope you're excited tonight my dear, Sakura cooked us your favorite meal," Mrs. Haruno hoped Sakura's gesture would alleviate the two's relationship since it was strenuous and difficult to begin with.
It has been rare since the beginning of the year that the Haruno family would sit together in the dining room together for a nice dinner. Usually, Sakura would not join her parents for dinner and would isolate herself in her bedroom. However, there was always time for changes for the better.
As Mr. Haruno seated himself at the dinner table, Mrs. Haruno entered from the kitchen to inform her husband that the cook was on vacation and suggested that Sakura conjure Mr. Haruno's favorite dish.
A few feet from the dining room, Sakura glided down from the stairwell case and lovingly gazed at her left hand, where the small diamond was in convenient contact for her to glance every so often.
"I just finished my Chem homework," Sakura greeted her mother in the form of a kiss on her cheek.
"That's splendid, Sakura. Oh, go get the dish that's in the oven. Your father can't wait to eat it!" Mrs. Haruno approached the dinner table where she and her husband patiently waited for their daughter.
Sakura emerged from the kitchen with a large plate of roasted Chicken before her chest. She made her way to the table where Mrs. Haruno displayed a look of felicity and her father only grinned in response.
Sakura placed the dish in the center of the table and sat in her chair. Mrs. Haruno grabbed a small knife and began to slice portions for her husband, Sakura, and herself. The grand aroma of the meal made them even hungrier. However, before Sakura picked up her fork, her father stopped her; the mood of the dinner was soon dimmed due to Mr. Haruno's familiar serious tone.
"Sakura, what is that on your left hand?" Mr. Haruno gazed at his daughter's hand which had caught his immediate attention when she entered from the kitchen.
"Shit," Sakura muttered to herself. She quickly retrieved her hand under the table and shrugged off her father's comment and said it was nothing.
However, Sakura knew that her father would not take "no" for an answer. The man sprung up from his seat and paced toward his daughter and pulled her left hand out and inspected the sparkling object on Sakura's left hand.
"Is that a…RING!" Mr. Haruno gasped in horror. Mrs. Haruno has just served herself a portion of dinner and immediately dropped her eating utensils at the sight of a glistening gem.
Sakura's emerald green eyes gazed at her father, who had a stricken expression on his face. She jerked her hand away from Mr. Haruno and said that it was a purity ring she recently picked up from a jewelry store nearby.
"Like hell it is!" Mr. Haruno stared at the diamond ring and furiously brushed his napkin aside, "are you GETTING MARRIED!"
There was silence between the three and Mrs. Haruno tried to mitigate the tension between her husband and daughter by commenting on Sakura's culinary talent.
"What spices did you use, Sakura? I'm going to make sure that our cook will receive this recipe that you had. This chicken is absolutely delicious!" Mrs. Haruno tried to compose herself, "Oh, and I can taste the honey too! Oh, my dear, this is a marvelous dish, don't you think so Satoshi?"
Mr. Haruno ignored his wife's comment and held his napkin to wipe the sweaty beads on his forehead.
"Who's the boy?" he spoke in a stern manner.
"Can we just eat?" Sakura picked up her fork but was startled by her father's outburst.
"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE GOING TO MARRY THAT RECKLESS BOY! GOOD GOD!" Mr. Haruno exclaimed.
"He is not reckless!" Sakura defends her fiancé.
In the back of her mind, she knew that she and her father would not have a night of peace. Despite her mother's pleas for the two to reconcile, Sakura just could not deal with her father's attitude. She knew that her mother was not at fault, however there were moments when Mr. Haruno would make a comment on something and it would irate her even more.
"SINCE WHEN did you get into the 'bride mode?'" Mr. Haruno had a hint of offense in his voice, "the last time I talked to you, marriage was the last thing you would want!"
Ignoring her father's protest, Sakura only shrugged her shoulders, "Things changed."
Beads of sweat were streaming down from his forehead as Naruto paced down the street. The words that Ino had said to him recently remained lingering on his mind; in order to get rid of them, Naruto knew that he had to do something about it.
He passed a street, and was almost out of his breath.
"Damn track practice," he muttered under his breath; Naruto blamed himself for not bringing a water bottle. However, he didn't know that the Hyuga residence was that far from his own house.
"It'd better be worth the trip," Naruto sighed as he caught a glimpse of the house when he arrived on the corner of another street.
"Things changed!" Mr. Haruno was disgusted by his daughter's answer.
On the other end of the table, Mrs. Haruno attempted to intervene the conversation but her husband only stopped her short of her comments.
"Sakura, I will not let you marry that boy! Are you out of your mind?" Mr. Haruno tried to think of what led to this predicament. He had always known his daughter to be innocent and a gentle person. However, as he gazed at the young woman in front of him, he could barely recognize her.
His daughter lost her innocent glow, her emerald eyes lost its shine and were of a darker olive shade. Her once vibrant crimson hair was now wilted and Sakura's smile lost its vigor. Mr. Haruno was upset and knew that her current friends had corrupted his only child. Only a lack of effective peer counsel led her to accept a lousy proposal of marriage.
"Well then, where is your supposed fiancé?" Mr. Haruno tried to calm himself down.
"He's in jail," Sakura whispered.
"Hm, I wonder why," Mr. Haruno sarcastically answered.
"People make mistakes, Dad! You just have to accept them for the way they are; nobody is perfect!" Sakura adamantly refused to yield to her father's favor.
"And you are making the biggest mistake of your life! I demand that you cancel this ridiculous arrangement immediately!" Mr. Haruno spoke in a patronizing manner.
Naruto was nearly out of his breath as he made his way to the Hyuga residence. He passed by abode after abode until he finally reached the end of the street. However, much to his surprise, he was not alone.
Appearing from the other corner of the street, Naruto saw a familiar silhouette as it ambled around the Hyuga residence. When the two made eye contact, Naruto impulsively ran toward her.
"Naruto? Did you run all the way over here?" Hinata was perplexed and shocked at the sight of Naruto. He was exhausted and was breathing in staggering intervals.
Naruto barely had any more energy and could only fall onto his knees and looked up toward Hinata. As he tried to catch his breath, Naruto saw Hinata drop her books and bend down to help Naruto to get on his feet.
"Let's go inside and I'll get you some water," Hinata had a worried expression on her face. Before she could assist him, Naruto stopped her and the two shared a sincere gaze into each other's eyes.
It did not come to her as a surprise since she had expected it to happen some time. It baffled Sakura that her father could never seem to be happy for her. As she stared across the table, she could sense the awkwardness and uneasiness in her mother.
In Sakura's opinion, she felt that her mother's attempts to calm her father and her seemed futile. In no way was Mr. Haruno able to be calmed down by small comments on his favorite dish; if something bothered him, he would make sure that he would take care of it immediately.
From the looks of it, Sakura's father was determined to end his daughter's engagement. Beads of fear and resentment trickled down his father's sizeable forehead. His slick hair has been shaded with a duller color, which accentuated the silver streaks on the sides Mr. Haruno's head.
"I guess I lost my appetite, excuse me," Sakura folded her napkin and set it against the table's silk fabric. She pulled back her hair and the silver gem on her finger flickered in the light, which only fueled Mr. Haruno's anger.
Before she left the room, she turned around and stood against the side of the dining room entrance, "and by the way, the wedding is on dad, whether you like it or not."
Naruto tried with all his strength to muster his energy to speak without stuttering. He could feel his heart beating twice the normal rate and could feel the sun's rays beam on him, leaving a burning sensation on his fair skin.
He furiously wiped the droplets of sweat from his face and pulled himself together. Naruto stood in front of an exceptional young woman and could feel his face burn up in embarrassment. Dressed in his school's track shorts and a wrinkled white t-shirt, Naruto did not find his attire pleasant to the eye. Of all the clothes in his wardrobe, Naruto scolded himself for not wearing something nicer in front of Hinata.
He felt like a fool, and he was—a fool in love.
Mr. Haruno slowly ambled to his office, a favorite place for seclusion. For years, his office has been a location to ease his emotional state of being. As he rested his body against the cushion of his leather chair, his emerald eyes gazed across his vast desk.
The man inhaled slowly and took a deep breath as an attempt to relieve the tension inside of him. At the right corner of his desk stood a 5 x 5 portrait of his only child. She was only a little girl, dressed in a porcelain dress with crimson flowers around the waistline to accessorize with her hair.
She was an angel to him, the epitome of the perfect daughter. The portrait of his daughter calmed him whenever he had troubles in his office and was conflicted with his business issues.
From his seat, Mr. Haruno flashed back from the photo's appearance to how Sakura look in the present. There was a drastic alteration in her physical appearance. Suddenly, Sakura had a darker air around her, and the image of a sweet girl in her father's eyes had been tainted.
"She's only sixteen," Mr. Haruno was surprised when a solitary tear streaked down from his left eye. It had been awhile since he let out a sob and he never thought his tears would mourn over the loss of his daughter, Sakura.
A few minute passed by as Mr. Haruno still remained behind his mahogany desk. He could hear the distant sounds of Sakura's footsteps from upstairs and her wife washing the dishes two doors down the hall. After a moment of deep contemplation,
Mr. Haruno found himself with a decision and without more ado, he rapidly paced to his daughter's bedroom door.
"If Sakura were to walk down the aisle," Mr. Haruno thought to himself, "I, at least, would want to be there to give her away to her future husband,"
Hinata was bewildered as Naruto got to his feet without her assistance; she became startled when Naruto looked deep into her eyes without blinking. Before she could say anything, Naruto interrupted her.
"Hinata," Naruto was still breathing heavily, "can we start over?"
As she stood still in front of him, Hinata felt something hit inside her. She was unsure whether it was a pang of guilt or the feeling of happiness.
"Yes," Hinata felt tears streaming down her cheeks and embraced her arms around Naruto's neck. The young man lifted her in the air with joy; it had been awhile since they were in each other's arms and this time, Naruto promised to never let her go.
A/N: I feel guilty that I didn't update as soon as I could. But hey, those of you on your spring break, enjoy this chapter! Please, review! I would greatly appreciate it. Just click that button! Gracias!