Authors Note:
Me: Okay, Okay, punish me if you must! -puts hands above head- I know, I deserve it!
-waits for punishment-
Me: -opens one eye- Oh, you guys still appreciate me? You still love me? Phew, I thought you guys would be an angry mob or something, ya know, with me taking so long to update... But you guys proved me wrong!You still love me!
-Hugs readers-
What more could I ask for?
Sasuke: Aren't you going to start the chapter now?
Me: Right! On with the story!
Sasuke: (Whispers) Looks like somebody's lost it...
Me: What did you say?
Sasuke: Nothing! On With the story!
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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... but I can still dream, can't I?
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Chapter 12: Gaara, And the Missing Girls
(In Ino and Shikamaru's room)
Sakura looked at Ino, wide-eyed. It had been 2 days since the dance. 2 days since Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata had found out about the guy's band. 2 days since Sasuke had asked Sakura to be his girlfriend. And in those 2 days, the girls had hatched a plan that even the guy's didn't see coming.
"So he's going to stay with you til Friday, which is only 2 days from tommorow" Ino informed Sakura, looking at the rest of the girls (a/n: can't you tell I like the # 2?). Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata were all sitting in a circle, on the floor of Ino's room, making it easy for everyone to see each other.
"Aww, Ino-chan! Why me? How about best 4 out of 5!" whined Sakura. She definately didn't want THAT FREAK in HER room!
"No! You've lost best 2 out of 3, FIVE TIMES IN A ROW! Sorry, but we made a bet!" Ino said triumphantly. Sakura wasn't very good at rock, paper, scissors...
Sakura crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. "You know I'm horrible at that game!".
"Sakura, stop acting so immature!" Tenten snapped. She wasn't very happy, due to the fact that she didn't get her coffee early this morning, so she was still tired and irritable. Don't mess with Tenten unless she's had her coffee for the morning...
"Will somebody PLEASE call room service and get this girl some coffee!" Sakura half shouted, scaring Hinata. Sakura knew this was the reason Tenten went off on he like she did. Ino blinked.
"Umm... yea. I'll just call room service..." Ino said, walking to the phone, and asking for room service. When they FINALLY took het off hold, she ordered Tenten a large expresso, and hung up.
"So anyway..." Ino continued, "Sakura, Gaara's plane will come in tommorow morning about 5:30am, so make room for him tonight, okay? Unless you plan on getting up at 2:30am to fix up the room. Oh yeah, we leave to pick him up from the airport around 3:45, cuz we have a 30 minute drive, and we have to be able find a good parking spot. That airport is ALWAYS crowded, 24/7! I swear!" Ino said, making sure everyone heard her. Sakura and Hinata nodded, while Tenten just scowled. Hey, we can't all be morning people...
"Wow... It sounds crowded!" Hinata said, still scared Sakura would scream again. Hinata didn't like loud sounds...
"Alright, I think we're done here..." Ino said, standing up and stretching. Sakura and Hinata mimcked her, while Tenten remained on the ground.
"Where's my coffee!" Tenten protested, crossing her arms across her chest, sitting indian-style. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Uhh... there!" Ino said, pointing to the door. Tenten stood up and walked to the door. She opened the door, snatched her coffee from the unexpecting man, and slammed the door.
"Hey, what about my money?" The man asked, shouted from the other side of the door. Tenten sipped her coffee and sighed.
"Put it on my tab!".
The man turned red, huffed, and stomped of, mumbling.
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(In Sasuke and Sakura's room)
"Man, this is so troublesome. I can't go back in my room til the girls are done... doing whatever they're doing..." Shikamaru complained.
Neji scoffed.
"If I were you, I'd just go anyway. It's your room too!" Naruto said, looking at Shikamaru.
"I'd like to see you go in there" Sasuke said, smirking.
"With Ino in there? GOD NO! WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE'D DO TO ME!" Naruto shouted.
"The guy's got a point..." Neji said, speaking up.
"Yeah... I would know..." Shikamaru complained again...lazily.
Sasuke sighed.
"Not to mention Tenten. She didn't have her coffee before she left this morning..." Neji said, adding to the conversation.
Sasuke smirked. "I'd hate to be one of the girls right now...".
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(3:30am, The Next Morning, Sasuke and Sakura's room)
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Ughhhh..." Sakura said, rolling over to turn off the alarm. Then it hit her. Gaara! The airport! 15 minutes! It all came to her now. Sakura jumped up out of bed and turned her alarm off, hoping it hadn't woken Sasuke up. Sakura grabbed her clothes and ran to the bathroom. She pulled of her PJ's and put on her regular clothes, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair, put on her make-up, checked her appearence in the mirror, and was out of the bathroom in 10 minutes flat.
Sakura grabbed her purse, but unfortunaltly, it was unzipped, and her room key fell out, along with the rest of the contents of her purse. Crap! Sakura thought, scrambling to find her stuff. She bent down, but on her way, she hit her shin on the desk chair, causing her to screech in pain.
Sasuke bolted up and flipped on the light. "Sakura?".
Sakura looked up. Crap! She was forbidden to tell Sasuke, or any of the guys, what they were up to. "Oh, Sasuke-Kun! Good Morning!" Sakura said brightly, hoping he wouldn't question her further.
"Uhm..." he moaned, ruffling his hair. "What are you doing?" He mumbled, still not fully awake yet.
Sakura stood up, contents of her purse back where they belonged, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Nothing, Sasuke-Kun, just going out for coffee with the rest of the girls..." She said sweetly (and somewhat softly, so maybe he wouldn't hear her lying...), brushing a strand of raven hair out of his face.
Sasuke looked at the clock, then back at Sakura. "At 3:40 in the morning?".
"Umm... yeah!" Sakura said, standing up and walking to the door. "It's okay, Sasuke-Kun! I'll be with Ino, Tenten, and Hinata! You can go back to sleep" Sakura said, hoping Sasuke would listen and cooperate.
Sasuke gave her one last questioning glance, before flipping the light off and rolling over to go back to sleep. Sakura smiled (unseen by Sasuke), and left the room.
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(In the Parking lot, 3:45am)
"Okay, come on you guys! We should be driving by now!" Ino commanded, watching her friends slowly make their way to the car.
"Ino! Will you shut the heck up! God, I'm coming already!" Tenten screeched. (a/n: like I said, we can't all be morning people...)
"Oh, Shut up and get over here! We'll stop by Starbucks on the way!" Ino said, annoyed.
Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata got in the car, ready for Ino to take over. Any second now... Sakura thought.
"Okay, so we'll get to the airport about 4:15, and Gaara's plane will arrive around 5:30. We need to be back at the resort by 6:00, so we can sneak Gaara into Sakura's room before Sasuke wakes up" Ino said, pulling out of the parking lot. "We'll have to be quick about finding Gaara, because we HAVE to be back by 6:00! If not, it's likely Sasuke and the rest of the guys will be awake!".
"Why do we have to make sure Gaara's in the room when Sasuke wakes up? He might think me and Gaara were out together, or something stupid like that!" Sakura snapped, her shin still throbbing from earlier.
"Well, do you have a better idea?" Ino snapped back. Everyone was in need of a coffee this early...
"As a matter-of-fact, I do!" Sakura replied. "Instead of taking Gaara and his stuff back to my room, why don't we just eat breakfast in the dining room 1st? So then, all of the guys will see Gaara at the same time when they come down. If we put Gaara's luggage in my room BEFORE the guys see him, they might suspect something. Then the whole plan will be ruined!".
"She's got a point..." Hinata said, yawning.
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Ino said, defeated.
"STARBUCKS!" Tenten shouted, grabbing the steering wheel, and jerking it violently to the right. The car swerved to the right, ending up in a Starbucks parking lot.
"God, Tenten! I've never seen you THAT awake, THIS early!" Ino said, calming down from her near heart-attack.
"Just get the coffee, will ya?" Tenten mumbled irritably.
"Okay, Okay!" Ino said, turning the car off. She got out and went into the building.
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(At The Airport, 5:15am)
"Gaara's plane should be arriving soon!" Ino said excitedly.
"God, I can't believe we did this!" Tenten exclaimed. Apparently the coffee had kicked in...
"I wonder what the guys'll say? They don't suspect a thing!" Ino said. Hinata nodded in agreement.
"Well, Sasuke knows I'm gone..." Sakura said casually.
"WHAT?" Ino, Tenten, and yes, even Hinata screeched.
"Look, When I was leaving, I grabbed my purse, and everything fell out. So I bent down, but I hit my shin on the desk chair. I screeched, and Sasuke woke up. He was half asleep, so he probably won't remember" Sakura said reassuringly.
"Didn't he ask what you were doing up so early?" Hinata asked.
"Well, yeah. Of course! I just told him I was going to get some coffee with you guys!" Sakura said. She smiled, letting her friends know it was alright.
Ino sighed of relief. "Gosh, Sakura! Way to give a girl a heart attack!".
"Hehe... sorry".
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(At The Airport, 5:35am)
"OhMyGod! Where's Gaara? I swear, If he didn't get on that plane, I'll..." Ino said, but was cut off by a voice she'd been waiting to hear for days.
"You'll what" said the voice cooly.
"Gaara!" Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata shouted in unsion. Ino, Sakura, and Tenten flung themselves on Gaara, while Hinata stood back and watched.
"Let Go..." Gaara said in a freakish-ly scary tone.
Ino, Sakura, and Tenten immedialtly let go. "Sorry..." they appologized.
"You're finally here!" Ino said, changing the subject. "We have 25 minutes to be back at the resort, but we have a 30 minute drive, SO LETS GET MOVING!" She commanded, practically shoving her friends, and Gaara, toward the luggage carisol. "Now, get your stuff, AND LETS MOVE!" Ino once again comanded.
Gaara saw his suitcase and grabbed it. "Ready" He said, walking toward the exit, while the girls followed. Once outside, Ino took the lead.
"Follow me, I'll show you where we're parked" Ino said, running ahead. The girls copied her, while Gaara just kept on walking...
"Gaara, come on!" Ino yelled, motioning for Gaara to hurry up. Gaara just kept his pace. Ino sighed in frusteration.
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(6:10am, Breakfast Area at the Resort)
"Where are they?" Ino complained, swallowing the remains of her blueberry muffin.
"They're probably looking for us" Tenten said, a worried look on her face.
"Well, they've got to eat! At least Sasuke does..." Sakura said. The girls burst out laughing, while Gaara remained emotionless, arms crossed across his chest. He was between Ino and Sakura, who noticed his emotionless state.
"Aren't you going to eat something?" Sakura asked, turning to Gaara.
"I'm not hungry" He plainly replied.
"You should eat something..." Ino said, also turning to Gaara. Tenten and Hinata were now staring at Gaara too.
"I said, I'm not hungry" Gaara said, in his oh-so-scary tone. The girls backed off, and continued to eat.
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(6:13am, Shikamaru's room)
BANG, BANG, BANG!
"SHIKAMARU! WAKE UP! THE GIRLS ARE..." Naruto yelled through the door, but before he could finish, Shikamaru opened the door, fully dressed, and answered...
"Gone, I know" He said, a look of worrt crossing his face. "Where's Sasuke and Neji?".
"They're in Sasuke's room, come on! We think Sasuke knows something!" Naruto said, dragging Shikamaru down the hall.
"Girls are so troublesome, leaving during the night like that..." Shikamaru complained.
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(6:15am, Sasuke's room)
"So, Sasuke? What did you say happened this morning?" Neji asked, looking at Sasuke.
"Well, about 3:40am, and I woke up to Sakura screaming bloody murder" Sasuke informed him. "I asked her what was wrong, and she said nothing, she was just going out for coffee with the girls...".
"At 3:40 in the morning?" Shikamaru asked lazily.
"Yeah, right! I bet she was lying!" Naruto said, annoyed.
"Are you saying Sakura would lie to me?" Sasuke said defensively.
"What he ment was, maybe she told a little white lie to cover up what she was REALLY doing..." Shikamaru said, butting in.
Neji scoffed. "Well, what WOULD they be doing at 3:40 in the morning? I mean, Tenten's not a morning person, so it couldn't be something TOO drastic...".
Neji looked at Sasuke, who looked at Shikamaru, who lazily sighed and looked at Naruto, who looked at Neji. "Lets go" Sasuke said, and with that, the guys began their search for the girls...
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(6:17am, Breakfast Area at the Resort)
"I'm starting to get worried..." Ino said, a worried expression set upon her features.
"Me Too" Hinata chimed in.
"Ditto" Tenten and Sakura said in unsion.
"Isn't that them now?" Gaara said, speaking for the 1st time in 4 whole minutes...
"Yeah, it is!" Ino said, brightening up.
"Sasuke! Neji! Shikamaru! Neji! Over here!" Sakura shouted, waving her arms in the air.
The guys heard her, and ran into the Breakfast Area, making as much noise as thought possibe by the resort staff standing nearby, and ran straight to the table.
"Where have you guys been?" Tenten asked brightly.
"We could ask you the same thing!" Sasuke said, breathing heavily. "We've been worried to death! What were you thinking, leaving like that?".
"We were thinking you'd like to spend some time with your friend here" Ino said, pointing to Gaara. The girls all nodded.
Neji's eyes widened, Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru doing the same. Neji, lost for words, managed to sputter, "Is that...?".
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Authors Note:
Me:Another Cliffy! I'll say it once more: Sorry for the wait! I PROMISE I'll update sooner this time,... as long as I don't get writers block again! Thanks to all of you who were patient enough to wait for me to update! You don't know how much it means to me! Oh yeah, check out my newest fic, For You I Will! It's another SasuSaku fic, but it's only a one-shot. And, while I'm at it, Check out my newest AMV! The links on my profile, or you can just click here: http/ thanx 4 reading!
Sasuke: -smirks- I can't believe they still like you!
Me: -raises eyebrow- Excuse me?
Sasuke: Uh... Review! -takes off running-
Me: Sasuke! Get back here, and take it like a man! -turns to readers- Oh yeah, what he said! Review!
Until then,
-MoGo