Hi, my name is Jade and I'm a ROSE addict... It started out so innocently. My friend told me about this MMORPG called ROSE and I thought 'hey, I'll try that...' I was fine until I hit level ten and then the obsession started in. I began to gain a level or more a day, becoming obsessed with stats and Dealer skills. I began dreaming of killing moles... And as my social life and personal hygiene began to deteriorate I began to realize what a sad, sad individual I was... So I wrote this chapter instead!
As promised, and a day late, the chilling (AND VERY SHORT) conclusion of this tale of horror...
What?
Valentines Day is a scary holiday... Really...MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Chapter 15: V-Day Take Two
Junko looked at Kimo with tears in her eyes. "Kimo-kun! You must understand me! I didn't mean anything by giving Akiyama those chocolates! Please forgive me!"
Maa, they were only obligatory chocolates,1 Kakashi thought to himself, turning the page. Jiraiya-sama's February issue was the most exciting ever! Rin had tricked Kimo into seeing Junko give her boss, Akiyama, chocolates and Kimo was furious, since he hadn't gotten chocolates from Junko yet. This could be the end of their relationship! It's not that big of a deal.
Kimo frowned down at Junko, running a hand through his dark, short hair. "Junko I... I think we should begin seeing other people," he said softly gazing into the distance. "I-I got a lot of offers from girls wanting to be my girlfriend today... And we're just not working out, Junko..."
"You're thinking of going back to Rin aren't you?" Junko demanded, sobbing loudly. "No! I won't let you! I love you Kimo-kun!" she shouted, throwing her arms around him. "I'll do anything to keep you! Anything..."
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SMILING LIKE THAT?" Kajika shrieked, breaking into Kakashi's thoughts.
Kakashi sighed, tucking the book away in his pocket. "Smiling like what, Kajika-chan?" he asked, glancing at the sun. They were almost to the bridge and he was only an hour late. It was a record...
"Like... Like some sorta pervert who wandered into the woman's changing room!" Kajika growled, eyeing him knowingly. "It's that book isn't it?"
Kakashi smiled at her cheerfully. "What book?"
"The porno..." she trailed off sighing. "Never mind..."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. The kitsune had stopped mid-rant? "Daijoubu?"
She glanced up at him, an almost nervous look on her face. "Giving chocolates is a human thing, right?" she asked suddenly, rushing the words. "Boys know that a girl likes him if she gives him chocolates, right?"
Uh oh... He didn't like the way this conversation was heading. "Ano... I suppose..." One more turn in the path and they'd be at the bridge. Then he could direct all the kitsune's questions to Mitsuki who would actually know how to answer them.
"And when the boy knows that the girl likes him then he starts to like her back, right?"
"Sometimes..."
"So-" She stopped dead in her tracks as the bridge came into view. Violently muttering obscenities, Kajika tossed her packages of chocolate to the ground, and plopped onto the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees.
Kakashi blinked, puzzled by the kitsune's reaction and carefully studied the scene. Ino and Sakura were shouting loudly at each other about who was going to give Sasuke chocolate while Mitsuki was trying to calm the two down. From the looks of it she'd been unsuccessfully trying for some time, but at least she'd gotten here safely. On the far side of the bridge Naruto and Hinata were talking together, their faces red from the cold. Wait... Hinata?
He mentally groaned. Of all the boys in Konoha, why did Hinata have to join the group fawning over Sasuke? The boy hated it and the girls were always interrupting training with their attempts to get Sasuke to go out with them. Well, Hinata was from a noble family. Perhaps if given the chance she could win the Uchiha boy's heart?
Naruto's face turned redder as Hinata suddenly bowed, shoving a small package into his hands. Without a word, the girl turned and ran off, hurrying past him and somehow dodging Kajika as the kitsune tried to trip her. Really, what did Kajika have against Hinata anyway? The Hyuuga was well bred, polite, kinda cute in a wall flower sort of way... Then again she had charged Naruto to give Sasuke the chocolate for her... That wasn't exactly the best thing to do.
"Ohaiyou!" Kakashi called merrily, his shout interrupting Sakura and Ino's fight. "Maa... Sorry I'm late, Kajika was having a fit over getting a rabies shot and-"
"GOD DAMN LIER!" Kajika shrieked, suddenly pulling off her shoes and throwing them at the jounin.
He dodged it easily, mentally making a note to have Mitsuki scold Kajika for throwing things later. Right now he had training to start. Silently, he surveyed the group, not noticing that Mitsuki was refusing to meet his eyes. "Maa... Where's Sasuke-kun?"
Ino and Sakura pouted over the mention of that name, looking cute. "We don't know, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura supplied helpfully.
Ino glared at her. "He's probably hiding from you and your shitty chocolate, Wide-Forehead."
"No, he's hiding from your ugly mug, Ino-pig!"
And with that the two were fighting again, screaming insults at each other. Mitsuki stepped forward to stop them but the stopped, sighing. Instead she turned to Naruto, smiling at the boy. "Ohaiyou, Naruto-kun! Had a good day so far?"
Naruto blushed, grinning at the older girl. "Ne, ne, Mitsuki-neechan! Look at what Hinata-chan gave me!"
"Looks homemade too," Mitsuki said, grinning back at the boy.
"You think so?"
Kakashi blinked. Wait... Those chocolates were from Hinata to... Naruto? That meant... That meant that shy little Hinata who Kurenai was always so worried about had a crush on Naruto? He blinked again. "Hinata likes Naruto?" he muttered quietly, still puzzled.
"YOU ARE THE BIGGEST IDIOT EVER!" Kajika shrieked, her sensitive hearing picking up the jounin's mutter. Uprooting a tree she aimed briefly and threw, Kakashi jumping to the side to avoid the tree's thick branches. Unconcerned that she'd missed, Kajika rushed in to attack all the while shouting about how Kakashi was the most brainless man alive.
Back on the bridge, Naruto, Ino, Mitsuki, and Sakura sweatdropped as they watched the two fight, the kitsune actually connecting a few times as Kakashi fought her off. "Bah," Sakura scoffed, folding her arms. "Half the village knew Hinata-chan liked Naruto. It was sooo obvious."
Ino nodded in agreement as Naruto choked in surprise. "Ho-Honto ni?"
"Well, duh!" Ino sighed, rolling her eyes. "Why do you think she was always following you?"
Naruto blinked. "She was following me?"
Mitsuki laughed, patting the boy on the head and danging a small red box in front of his eyes. "Happy Valentines Day, Naruto-kun."
Naruto grinned, eagerly snatching the box from her hands. "Yatta! That makes two!"
Kajika glanced over at the pair, not noticing Kakashi's fist aimed for her face. Dammit! Even Mitsuki gave Naruto chocolate before I did! she mentally growled.
Kakashi also glanced over, distracted, and didn't notice Kajika's knee coming up towards his stomach. Gai and Naruto got chocolates? What about-
Both attacks connected, Kajika and Kakashi both flying back from the force and hitting a tree and a bolder respectively. "Itai..."
Mitsuki gasped, rushing forward. "Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down. "Kajika?"
Kajika moaned, looking pathetic. "Kakashi hurt me!" she wailed childishly, throwing her arms around Mitsuki and sticking her tongue out when the older girl wasn't looking.
Kakashi sighed, drumming his fingers on his knee. Today wasn't going good. First he hadn't gotten any chocolate and now this? Maa... Why do I want chocolate anyway? he thought, getting up and brushing himself off. I've never wanted any before... He glanced briefly over at Mitsuki and Kajika then at Naruto who was proudly holding his two boxes of chocolate. His eyes narrowed.
Mitsuki sighed, helping the badly limping Kajika to her feet. She knew that the kitsune was faking. The kitsune knew that she knew she was faking. So why was she faking? "Ne, Kajika-chan, maybe this is a sign that you and Kakashi-san shouldn't fight anymore."
"You kidding? Next time I'm smashing his bloody head in!"
She sighed. "Wonderful..."
Ignoring the fact his stomach felt like it was bleeding, Kakashi stretched, smiling at Ino. "Shouldn't you be off training, Ino-chan?"
Ino shook her head, smiling triumphantly. "Got the day off," she said in a sing-song voice. She grinned, eyeing Sakura. "That way I'll be all neat and nice to go with Sasuke for lunch."
"Why would he want to go to lunch with you Ino-pig?"
Kakashi stepped in-between the girls in order to stop their newest fight while Kajika turned her nose to the air. She was sick of the two yelling, they were really hurting her ears. So, picking up the largest and heaviest box of chocolates (the one originally meant for Naruto) she took careful aim and threw the box where the smell of Sasuke was the strongest. With a small yelp, Sasuke fell out of the tree, rubbing his head and glaring at the offending box.
"Happy Valentines Day Sasuke-kun!" Kajika shouted, smiling merrily.
Ino and Sakura froze before rushing over, each girl blushing as she pushed her box of chocolates at the sitting boy. Expectantly, they waited to see who's box Sasuke would accept first. Glaring at the two boxes, Sasuke stood. Slinging Kajika's box of chocolates over his shoulder (and holding the box by its ribbon) he walked away to join everyone else on the bridge. "I've got enough," he said darkly, coming to stand next to Kakashi and glaring over the bridge railing into the water.
Sakura and Ino pouted, crestfallen. "But Sasuke-kuuuuunnnn..." they whined.
Sasuke didn't bother to glance over his shoulder at them. "No."
"You got Sasuke-bastard chocolates?" Naruto shouted, looking both relieved and disappointed. "He's not going to eat them! He'll just throw them away when- ITAI!"
Kakashi reached up and snatched his box of chocolates before it could hit the side of his head. "Arigatou, Kajika-chan."
"Eeeh... Why'd you throw this at me, Kajika-chan?" Naruto asked, frowning as he picked up his box of chocolates. He blushed, realizing what they were.
Kajika glared at him. "Ass."
Kajika had gotten him chocolates... Smiling at his team, Kakashi gestured for them to take their places. Training was about to begin... If he could get Ino to leave...
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Mitsuki stared out the apartment window at the dark sky and sighed. Today had not turned out like she'd wanted it to. She dangled the box she had been going to give to Kakashi in front of her face, glaring at it. While she hadn't had a clear plan of how to give it to him, she had originally thought to give it to him when she presented Sasuke and Naruto with their chocolates... But then she'd walked off when Kakashi had gotten those chocolates from those other girls and Sasuke had refused to accept her gift until Sakura and Ino were safely out of site... There never had been a good opportunity...
...And now he was gone...
Shortly after they'd taken a break for lunch a hawk had shown up, carrying a letter. After fighting Kajika off for it (she insisted that the letter was for her since she was expecting one) he'd dismissed the team and taken off after briefly telling her that he wouldn't be back for dinner. Now Valentines Day was nearly over and she still hadn't given Kakashi his chocolate. Not that it was a big deal or anything, in fact is wasn't a big deal at all, but she'd made them for him and...
"Miiikiiii..." Kajika whined, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "I'm tireddd..."
Mitsuki smiled at her, glancing away from the window. "Then go to bed."
Kajika nodded, yawning. "Aren't you coming?"
"In a moment."
The kitsune nodded again before staggering down the hall into the bedroom.
It would be terrible for Kakashi to come home only to find no one up waiting for him, Mitsuki thought to herself, moving away from the window to sit on the couch. She had memories of when she and Baa-chan stayed up late until Jii-chan had safely gotten back from trips to town. Baa-chan had told that she couldn't sleep not knowing if her loved ones were safe. They'd sit by the front door anxiously waiting until it slid open, smiling as Jii-chan walked in weary from the road. They'd sit him down, pour him some tea, and then all go to bed. You had to do those things for the ones you loved...
Kakashi probably wouldn't understand her sitting by the door until he returned. The idea seemed like it would be quite foreign in a big town... Besides, she wasn't his girlfriend...
She would get some reading done on the couch instead. Wrapping a blanket around her, she opened one of the books Tsunade had lent her and leaned back into the cushions. It was a history book, an old and dusty one. It would keep her occupied until Kakashi came back though...
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Kakashi sighed, stretching his sore muscles as he walked down the hall. That mission had sucked... He had spent the night with Asuma and Gai as they had waited, unmoving at the Country of Lightning's Border for some important guest to arrive. The woman finally had shown up just as the moon was setting, forcing them to make their way back to Konoha in near darkness. They'd delivered her safely to a waiting Tsunade though... Now all he was looking forward to was a few hours sleep in his warm bed...
...His bed was being taken up by a fox and a girl...
The futon would do.
Silently opening the front door and sliding off his shoes, Kakashi absently noted that Mitsuki had left a light in the living room on. That was kinda nice... She'd been thoughtful enough to make sure he'd be able to see when he came in. Not that it really mattered, he'd wandered around his apartment enough to know where everything was... Now if she'd left his futon ready for him and turned down the covers that'd be...
He blinked. Then blinked again. Had Mitsuki really stayed up for him? Or at least tried to? She was sprawled out over the arm of his couch, sleeping in what had to be a very uncomfortable position. The light was still on and a book was laying open on her lap, one hand still loosely keeping the page open. Kakashi smiled, shaking his head. She'd fallen asleep reading... It was nice to think she'd been trying to stay up to greet him though. It was such an old fashioned thing to do. Hadn't his mother waited up for his father whenever he went on missions before she died?
Kakashi removed the book from her lap, sticking it on the end table next to a red wrapped box. Curious, he picked up the box, smiling as he read the tag. So he was getting Valentines Day chocolate from her after all... Hmm... Maybe he shouldn't have been so hard on Gai then...
Mentally shrugging, Kakashi set the box down and walked down the hall to look in on Kajika. As he'd guessed, the kitsune was hogging the entire bed and snoring loudly. There wasn't any room to fit Mitsuki in there... She'd have to sleep on the futon tonight, he'd take the couch. Returning to the living room he gently scooped the sleeping girl up off the couch and set her down on the ready futon, tucking her in and covering her with an extra blanket. Nodding in satisfaction, he flopped down on the couch, pulling a throw over him and turning off the light.
He'd only managed to get three gifts of chocolate this year, compared to Gai's whispered boasts of eight. Somehow, this fact didn't bother him as much as it had earlier. After all, it wasn't the quantity that counted, it was the thought. Now all he had to do was think of something to give each girl for White Day... He mentally sighed, closing his eyes. He really hated holidays...
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You know what the funniest thing ever is? This comedy skit called Yatta... It's a song... It gets stuck in your head and now all I can think about is singing guys saying Yatta over and over again in my head. If you haven't seen this clip yet (and I think I'm really really late on seeing it) go to
www albinoblacksheep com/video/yatta php
(I removed the spaces) and select the first link on the top of the page. I would not recommend watching this in work or school though... Just a warning... My roommate stood over my shoulder and watched it with me and at the end said 'What the hell was that?' My guy friends were even more horrified, but my best friend from home e-mailed me about it and said that she laughed until she cried while watching the clip... I think it may have something to do about actually meeting Japanese people, knowing how reserved and polite they are, and then watching this to see how funny it is... Now I can't wait until I get a second e-mail from her telling me what my friend's roommate thought of it. (Her roommate is from Japan, studying college here, her reaction could be hilarious...)
1. Obligatory chocolates are chocolates that you have to give out, usually to your boss. Sometimes you have to give your coworkers chocolates too, but usually it's only your boss.