The view provided by the back patio of the lodge left Sakura utterly speechless. It was a breathtaking sight she could take in for hours. The freshly fallen snow coupled with the groves of evergreens as far as the eye could see with the mountains in the background. It was like living in a greeting card.
"You asshole! That's my snowboard!"
One of those obnoxious singing greeting cards.
At present, she, Naruto, and the Uchiha's had just finished unloading the car with all their luggage and personal affects needed for their extended stay within the Uchiha Family Lodge. This being Sakura's first time visiting the winter wonder land of a vacation home, and against her will at that, she couldn't help but feel a little excited about what's to come.
Provided she maintain her sanity long enough to enjoy everything the location had to offer.
"Sakura come with me. I'll show you to your room." Like a true gentleman, Itachi had equipped himself with her bags then gestured for her to follow him. With a brimming smile, she did just that before shooting one last glance at that back-patio view. That just might be where she spends most of her time during break.
The lodge itself was huge, probably big enough to hold the whole of the Uchiha Family and then some. Sakura ventured to guess it used to be in full use some years ago. Judging by the lack of black haired, dark eyed bodies brooding about, that wasn't so much the case anymore. The style was very contemporary and looked to be newly renovated with modern furniture, fresh appliances, and cool to neutral tones on the walls.
'Wait…some of this furniture looks familiar…' she couldn't really put her finger on it but as she followed Itachi, she began to recognize most, if not all, of the pieces present within the home. It gave her a weird feeling.
Up a set of steps they went, stopping just outside the second door on the right side of the hall. Itachi fished a key from his pocket, unlocked the door then welcomed Sakura to take the first look inside. The room was decently sized and provided yet another lovely view of the outside world by way of a large sliding door that opened up to a small balcony overlooking the front yard.
In the middle of the room sat a queen-sized bed with tons of pillows that looked so soft, Sakura really had to restrain herself from burying her entire body into the massive mattress. There were all typical things within the room as well, nothing really worth noting, though.
"I'll leave your things here. This is your key. It's up to your discretion whether you wish to use it or not. If you would like my advice, I would encourage you to do so." Okay.
What the heck.
"Huh? What are you trying to say, Itachi?" She quirked a brow and rightfully so because…seriously, what does that mean?
"I think you know."
"If any of those idiots tries to come in my room, I'll make them wish they'd stayed at home!" Her fist rose and shook as if to prematurely threatened said idiots who the two of them were referring to. Itachi merely smiled knowingly, took her hand, and placed the key in her palm before closing her fingers around it.
"Just a precautionary measure." With a narrowed gaze, she watched him depart from the room then averted her eyes to the key. Quietly, she wondered just what he was getting at with this off the wall gesture.
"Oh well. Whatever." Deciding to shrug it off, the pinkette focused on unpacking her belongings. Winter break being one of the longer ones, she'd packed for almost three weeks. Gods, three weeks with the Uchiha plus Naruto normally wouldn't sound so bad seeing as she's been living with them since Thanksgiving. But they're in vacation mode so God only knows how off the chain they'll be.
"At least it'll just be us here—." Just as she'd began to hang her clothing up in the closet, a sudden commotion grabbed her attention. The sound of voices. Not so familiar voices. Not so familiar voices growing louder and louder as the seconds ticked by.
That…didn't sound good.
Of course, her curiosity got the better of her, prompting a quick trip down the hall and toward the steps. She heard them before she saw them. Them being the Senju brothers, plus one. Ah! The furniture! That's where she remembered seeing it. But wait, what were they doing here?! Was Tsunade also with them?!
"Oh! Sakura! Nice to see you again!" Hashirama was the first to notice her, promptly abandoning his conversation with Madara, much to the other's chagrin, to happily greet her with a hearty pat on the shoulder. She smiled rather uneasily but seemed amicable for the most part toward him.
Tobirama wasn't far behind him, regarding her with his usual scowl but what could kind of sort of be interpreted as a polite nod. She simply waved in response before her eyes fell on that of their third companion. It certainly wasn't Tsunade nor was it anyone she'd been previously introduced to prior to today.
He was tall, about Hashirama's height, with short spiky brown hair, dark beady like eyes, a strong jawline but an overall kind disposition. Much like her, he scanned the overall space with obvious excitement in his gaze before those eyes landed on her. She jolted suddenly, feeling on the spot for some reason until he grinned, and she felt like her legs were pretzel sticks. Very flimsy and about to snap.
"Here, come meet a distant relative of ours. Sakura, this is Ashura!" Hashirama ushered her forward with a guiding hand at the small of her back. And Sakura stumbled forward a bit unceremoniously, finding herself standing nearly toe to toe with him and geez he was nearly a whole foot taller than her.
"Nice to meet you, Sakura! You know, you don't look like a typical Uchiha." His brow furrowed as he began to get a really good look at her. A nervous laugh left her lips as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"That's because she isn't." Tobirama added his two cents next, choosing to stand at her side, serious and stoic as ever.
"Oh? You aren't? Then what brings you—!" He would've finished his sentence had a large body not barreled into him, sending him careening forward with a nice thud. Sakura barely caught a flash of blond before a quick hand expertly moved her from harm's way.
"Che. Idiots." Tobirama snarled down at the two currently sprawled on the floor before released his hold on the pinkette who definitely appeared a bit out of sorts.
"Ashura! Hah, what the hell are you doing here?!" It was Nartuo who'd tackled this new face, one who seemed to welcome the somewhat friendly gesture and returned it by locking the boisterous blond guy in some kind of sleeper hold.
"Someone has to keep a knucklehead like you in line!" He quickly retorted, rubbing his knuckles against the top of Naruto's head. Sakura found herself smiling while resisting a laugh. Naruto was almost always with Sasuke, so it was rare to see him interact with others in such a refreshing, playful manner.
"Nah, that's Sakura-chan's job! You've been fired!" After managing to free himself from the hold, he shot up just to wrap an arm around the pinkette's shoulder and thus her smile turned into something of a half frown as she jabbed Naruto's side in an area she knew was plenty ticklish.
"I don't get paid enough for a job like that." Came her playful retort followed by a slight pout from Naruto and a chuckle from Ashura.
"Haha, I see. Well, we'll just have to see who does a better job, won't we?" The male then picked himself up from the ground just to fix his clothes and smoothly send a wink Sakura's way and did a chill enter the room? She felt a shiver crawl up her spine before the protective arms of Naruto moved her to stand behind him.
"Don't you get any ideas, ya old perv!"
"O-Old perv? I'm not old!"
"But you admit to being a perv." Another side comment from Tobirama who, for whatever reason, couldn't resist being present within this host of idiots if only to get in a jab or two. It builds character, so he says.
"Uh well, th-that's…—!" And suddenly Sakura had mixed feelings about this newcomer if the long judgmental stare she gave him was any indication. He evidently felt this and quickly tried to defend himself. Ah, but it was too late. She learned to defer to Naruto's advice when it comes to pointing out perverts. He's got a real knack for it, after all.
Ashura soon hung his head in defeat, just in time for the sound of Madara's sigh to grab all of their attention. Because it was loud and dramatic and extra. Just like him. But what could've prompted such a sigh, you might ask? Why, more bodies entering the lodge.
It wasn't another member of the Senju, however, no. It appeared to be a pair of Uchiha. One clearly happy to be present and another who looked to be the physical embodiment of 'If looks could kill.'
"Nii-san!" The more pleasant one rushed through the door just to bound over to the wildly maned Uchiha who..was..—did he smile?! Sakura nearly fell over trying to get a good look at him from behind Naruto's back. So much that she poked him again so he'd move. As quickly as it came, that smile vanished like Sakura's small hopes of having a peaceful break once all these bodies started showing up.
With Madara showing minimal but obvious signs of being pleased with his brother, that sigh must've been directed at the other body pointedly poised and scowling deeper than Tobirama by the door.
He, too, was tall. A bit lanky but definitely fit. Had a long mane of dark hair pulled back into a low ponytail that reached to about his mind back with wild bangs framing his face. And what a face. Was he wearing eyeliner? Gosh, these Uchiha and their good looks. God only knows how Sakura is able to keep her composure around such eye candy.
"What are you doing here, Indra?"
"I fail to see how that's any of your business, little cousin."
"Little!?" Oh. Had…had she said that out loud? Evidently because all eyes were on her now and she suddenly wished Naruto hadn't moved when she poked him. Curse him for being so ticklish. But seriously, could anyone really blame her? Hearing someone call Madara little was…just…the last thing she expected to hear.
"Who's this?" Having grabbed the attention of yet another male in the room, Sakura found herself inwardly shrinking back a bit. Because if he could call Madara little and get away with it, then he's probably not someone she wants to be on the bad side of.
"A friend of mine." Oh. Thank. Gods. For. Sasuke. Wait, when did he get here? Seeming to accept that response, Indra kind of sort of backed off but still fed her a curious look that was so cool she felt another shiver ease up her spine.
"A friend, huh? Hn." And just like that, the curiosity was gone as he moved on in favor of collecting his things, presumably to go to his room.
Seeing no point in standing around any further, the rest followed suit with bags in hand, heading to their designated areas.
"That was nuts, you know? These two families are nuts." Sakura remarked in passing just for Naruto and Sasuke to agree whole heartedly.
The next hour or so carried on without incident which each taking care to unpack and get settled. As it stood, the Uchiha's all stayed on the first floor while the Senju plus Naruto and Sakura were situated on the second. Her room was between Naruto and Tobirama, a set up she was mostly happy with. Especially after learning that Ashura was something of a in denial perv. She'll be keeping an eye on him.
"Yo, Sakura-chan," Naruto called from her doorway. She'd just finished setting up her things in the restroom when she spotted his head.
"Me and the bastard are gonna go into town. Wanna come?" She noticed he was fully decked out in his winter gear. With a soft hum, she gave a shrug and agreed. It was still plenty light out, they had time to do some exploring around.
"Sure, just wait for me to get my stuff on." He shot her a thumbs up then meandered down the hall with Sakura secretly listening for his footfalls.
As promised, she donned her coat, hat, gloves, and scarf then made a move to reach for her boots when the presence of a body in the doorway snatched her attention. Her brain immediately assumed Naruto but her eyes revealed otherwise.
Why was Indra in her doorway? And why was he looking at her like that?
"You're a friend of Sasuke. Funny, he's only ever brought the Uzumaki boy around. He rarely speaks of anyone else." Indra spoke evenly with hints of what sounded like skepticism in his voice.
"Oh? I'm not surprised he's never mentioned me. He's never been much of a t…talker…" Okay. He's in her room. Staring—no, LEERING at her.
"Aa. You seem close enough, though. I can't help but wonder what makes you special enough to have his attention." Okaaaay. He's in her room. LEERING at her. And moving closer!
"Special? I don't think I—." She froze. And what the heck, was time standing still? Or moving slowly? Because it sure felt like she was watching him move in slow motion as he lifted a hand, fingertips loosely running through her hair.
"Perhaps I'll find out during this stay, Sakura." Then time picked back up again. And he was gone. And she was left standing in her room, wide eyed, stunned, and red in the face.
'I gotta get out of here.'
A/N: Dun dun DUNNNNNN! We've got new faces! Ashura and Indra annnnd a little Izuna! This will make for a very interesting winter break! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Drop a review! Thanks!