Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I would like to own Kakashi.
I am terribly sorry for not updating sooner! I had so many things to do and this chapter was so boring to write but I had to write it. I started this chapter weeks ago but I just couldn't finish it for some reason. This chapter has light Itachi/Sakura, Naruto/Hinato, Ino/Shikamaru. All Very light for now.
There will be Sasu/Saku really soon though, I promise that! And if this chapter really drags and gets boring, I'm really sorry but I needed if for the plot. So, onward.
Sakura sighed as she stared out the car window, watching the green scenery go by. She was in a car, with Itachi driving, her sitting next to him in the front and both their mothers in the back.
"Aren't forests just lovely, Sakura?" Her mother asked as she leaned over to her, a bright smile plastered on her face.
The pink-haired girl nodded as she smiled back, "Yes mom. They are."
"How much farther is the ranch?" Asked Sakura's mother as she looked at Itachi's mother.
Mrs. Uchiha smiled at her friend, "Right after the next turn it should come into view."
As the car turned, a large ranch came into view at the bottom of the hill. It had dozens of beautiful horses, a beautiful red barn, which stood beside the stables for the horses. Both of which were across from a large, white house which almost appeared to be a mansion. All around were magnificent, lush, green forests and large hills.
Sakura and her mother stared wide-eyed at the beautiful scenery ahead as the car approached the destination.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Itachi's mother inquired as he smiled at the two stunned women. "Just wait until you meet my sister and her daughter."
"ITACHI!" Screamed a teenage girl, who had waist-length black hair and onyx eyes that held a tint of blue in them She jumped onto the older Uchiha's back, almost strangling him. "LONG TIME NO SEE!"
"Kari, get off him." Said an older woman who looked identical to Itachi's mother except her hair reached only to her shoulders instead of the middle of her back.
Kari pouted as she hugged Itachi tighter, which caused him to glare at the hyperactive girl, "But I missed my favorite cousin! And so did Kurai-chan!"
"How is she?" Asked Itachi as he looked at his cousin.
Sakura blinked, "Who's Kurai?"
Kari looked over at Sakura, just now realizing that there were two people whom she did not know, "Who are you?"
Mrs. Haruno smiled brightly at the girl, "I'm Haruno Nanoko and this is my daughter, Sakura, Itachi's fiancée."
"Pleasure. I'm Uchiha Haruna and that is my daughter, Kari." Said Haruna with a smile.
"Fiancée, eh?" Muttered Kari as she jumped off her older cousin's back and walked over to Sakura, observing her, "Hmm..."
Sakura stared at the girl, sweatdropping lightly as she walked around her in a circle. 'Is his whole family this crazy?'
Kari then smiled brightly, "I approve of the engagement!"
"Since when did you have to approve anything?" Asked Itachi as his gaze landed on the girls.
"Mou, I am technically your unofficial younger sister so I must have a say in who you marry and I approve of her!" Stated the girl while smirking at her cousin. She then looked at Sakura with a big smile on her face, "So you're Sakura, right? Well, my name's Kari! Nice to meet you."
The pink-haired girl smiled back at her, "Nice to meet you." 'She maybe crazy but she's really nice.'
"And to answer your earlier question, Kurai-chan is Itachi's favorite horse. Only one he'll ride and he's the only who she lets ride her."
"Kari, why don't you and Itachi-kun go show Sakura-chan the stables?" Kari's mom asked, well, more like ordered.
Kari smiled, "Alright!" She grabbed Sakura's arm and ran towards the stables, dragging the cherry blossom along, "You'll love the horses!"
Itachi allowed a sigh to escape his lips as he followed the girls.
"Now that we got the kids out of the way... Any one up for a drinking contest?" Suggested Kari's mother.
"I'm in." Said her twin sister.
Mrs. Haruno smiled, "Me too!"
Shikamaru sighed as he rested his head on the palm of his hand.
"What can't I move the stupid piece there!" Shouted an angered Ino.
Shikamaru was teaching Ino to play chess. Wasn't easy, let me tell you.
Now, I bet you're all wondering why the hell Ino would try to learn chess, right? Well, Shikamaru promised her that if she beat him in a game, he'd tell Iruka she didn't need and more tutoring and she could go home... Easy enough right? Or at least Shikamaru thought so but instead it turned out to be more troublesome then anything.
Ino sucks at chess. That's putting mildly. 3 hours. No improvement.
'Troublesome.' Thought Shikamaru as he finally stood up.
Ino glared at him after he had stood up. 'He forces me to do this and now he's leaving! I don't think so.' "Where do you think you are going?"
The boy glanced over at the blond, with bordem visible in his eyes, "My chess championship. Since it seems to be a waste of time to try to teach you chess, we'll start tutoring on Monday."
"So you're just gonna leave!" Shouted Ino as she stood up and ran after the boy, who had just gotten to the front door. "You lazy asshole!"
Shikamaru shrugged as he opened the door. He blinked once he saw someone was at the door, "What are you doing here?"
Temari glared at him, "The project or have you forgotten already."
The lazy teen sighed, "Troublesome." He carelessly walked passed the annoyed girl.
"We're going to work on this project now, pineapple head." Said Temari getting rapidly angered by Shikamaru's constant ignorance.
Shikamaru looked over his shoulder at the girl, "Fine. How about this. You beat me in a game of chess, I will do whatever you say." After that said, he began walking towards the bus stop, leaving Ino and Temari alone. Not the smartest of choices.
"Like you can beat him. He's too good at it and you probably suck at it." Ino coldly stated.
Temari smirked smugly at the girl, "Either way, I can still play better then you."
Ino snorted as she began walking away. "Why would I care about chess or him anyway?"
"Cause you've got a crush on him, Miss. Piggy." Replied Temari as the smirk on her face grew wider.
The preppy blond stopped dead in her tracks, her back towards Temari, "What. Did. You. Just. Say?"
"You heard me. Now, I have to go before I get infected with your stupidity." And with that, Temari left, leaving an annoyed Ino.
Ino hmphed as she continued walking, 'Who the hell does she think she is? I do not like that asshole! I have Sasuke-kun. He's way better than that stupid, stubborn, lazy, arrogant, smartass... I do not like him! I don't! I don't! I don't!'
Just remember kiddies, Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Hinata's cheeks reddened lightly as Naruto leaned over her shoulder while eating ramen, his cheek lightly brushing against her own which caused the girl's blush to intensify.
The blond teenager pointed at the computer screen, "I like that one!"
"It's called The Crucible, Naruto-kun." Hinata said as she read the information displayed on the screen, "Written in the 1950's... Based on true events."
"Let's do it then! Unless you don't want to, Hinata-chan." Naruto looked at the Hyuuga, who looked away quickly as if she had been staring at him and her face was tinted with a light red color. 'Was she staring at me? Nah. A girl like her wouldn't stare at something like me.'
"N.. no.. It's fine with me Naruto-kun." Stuttered the shy girl as she stared blankly at her lap, the crimson still remaining on her delicate pale face, 'He caught me staring at him.. I hope he isn't mad.. I wish though that once, just once, he'd stare at me like I do at him.'
Sakura gawked at the beautiful horses as she entered the stable behind Kari. "Wow, they're so beautiful."
"Yup! Now, why don't you ride Ame... Or at least I think this is Ame.." Kari said, muttering the last part to herself as she brought out a brown stallion with several white spots on it.
A few minutes later, Sakura was saddled up on the horse and Itachi was on his horse, Kurai who was all black except for a little white patch on it's right ear. Kari smiled at the two, "While I hope you both have fun!"
"Wait, what about you?" Itachi asked as he rode over to his cousin.
The girl blinked, "What about me?"
"Aren't you coming, Kari-chan?" Inquired Sakura.
"Me? Can't! I have to go grocery shopping." Kari said with a bright smile, "So, you two have fun!"
'So now I'm stuck with this prep. Great.' Itachi glared at his younger cousin lightly before pulling on the reins causing the horse to turn the other way and start slowly walking towards the forest surrounding the ranch.
Sakura followed behind him.
Kari smirked to herself as she walking back to the house, whistling happily, 'Everything went as planned. 10000 yen for an easy job.'
A little bit over an hour later, Itachi and Sakura were riding in complete silence, Sakura admiring the beauty of the forest.
The Uchiha boy was annoyed that he had to practically babysit this girl, his so called fiancée. He did not want someone like her as his wife, especially since she was undoubtedly like most of the girls at the damned school. Shallow, stupid, and annoying.
Suddenly Sakura's horse jumped up on it's back legs, neighing, before running rapidly ahead.
Itachi watched the horse run away with Sakura before realizing something, 'Kari gave Sakura Chaos not Ame! Damn. If she dies it'll be my fault.' Itachi chased after Sakura and Chaos, forcing Kurai to go as fast as she could.
Chaos was practically Ame's twin, the only difference between them was the with patch on Chaos's hind leg, making it difficult for the two to be told apart. The thing is that Chaos doesn't like to be rode for long periods of time and constantly acts as if she were PMSing.
'Did Kari have to make this stupid mistake?' Itachi thought mentally as he followed the two through all the twists and turns in the forests
He came upon a clearing where Chaos had finally stopped and he was semi-surprised at the scene before him. Sakura, who in his opinion was weak, useless, and preppy, was on the ground, pulling the reins firmly with one hand, in attempt to calm the wild horse, while holding her other arm up as if her arm were injured. After a few seconds, the horse finally calmed down and Sakura sighed in relief.
"What happened?" Inquired Itachi as he got off his horse and walked towards the pink-haired girl.'She managed to calm Chaos down? Only Kari can do that and even she still has some difficulty doing so.'
Emerald eyes looked in the direction of Itachi, "When she was running, she suddenly came to a stop in this clearing, throwing me off of her and onto the ground. My knees got really scratched up and I think I also broke my wrist when I hit the ground." Added Sakura as she moved her wrist around lightly which caused her to wince slightly once she felt the pain. 'Dammit.'
Itachi stared at the girl before sighing internally before he walked over to her.
Sakura was staring at the ground when suddenly she was lifted off of the ground. She looked up at Itachi as he carried her bridal style towards his horse, her eyes filled with surprise, "What are you doing?"
"I'm not about to allow you to ride that horse back while you are injured." Stated Itachi with a neutral tone of voice, even though he was slightly concerned about the girl. He gently placed Sakura atop Kurai.
Sakura watched Itachi as he walked over to Chaos, taking her reins before walking back over to Sakura with Chaos walking behind him. He handed the reins to the pink-haired girl. Once Sakura took them from him, Itachi got up on his horse and sat behind Sakura.
"Hand me her reins." Itachi commanded, his breath tickling Sakura's throat which caused the teenage girl to blush lightly as she nodded. She handed Kurai's reins to her fiancée and once she did, Kurai started slowly off towards the ranch.
Shikamaru sighed as he waited for his opponent. He was sitting in a chair on a lit-up stage. Before him there was a chess board, with all the pieces ready. Below the stage, there were several dozen people sitting. And across from him, an empty chair. His opponent had decided to be rather late.
'So troublesome. This guy had better get here soon.' Though the annoyed youth as he glanced up at the clock on the wall. He was so bored. The least the could do is let him go outside and watch the clouds while they all waited
The announcer guy finally walked up onto the stage, "Welcome everyone to Japan's National Chess Championship!"
The crowd cheered.
"We apologize for the delay but our other contestant was a little bit late in arriving but she's here now!" Shouted the announcer man as he motioned towards the side of the stage opposite of Shikamaru as the other participant came up on the stage.
The lazy teen's eyes widened as he saw his opponent, 'You have got to be kidding..'
"This year's Championship is between Nara Shikamaru and Hirazumi Temari."
"Ready to lose, pineapple head?" Temari asked as she took her seat across from Shikamaru while an evil grin was plastered on her face, "Just remember the deal. I win and you're practically my slave."
Shikamaru gulped, 'Damn.. Troublesome.'
"Are you sure you're alright, dear?" Ms. Haruno asked her daughter with worry evident in her voice, while Itachi bandaged continued bandaging Sakura's injured wrist.
"For the last time, mom I'm fine. I just broke my wrist and scratched up my knees. It's nothing." Said the emerald eyed girl, now really annoyed with everyone acting as if she lost her arm, got cancer, and was raped instead of just getting several dozen scratches and breaking her wrist, which really didn't matter to her since she could write with both hands.
Everyone was in the guest room where she would be sleeping in, Sakura was sitting on the large and comfortable bed while Itachi was beside her, wrapping the wound, and their mothers were standing near them.
"I'm really sorry for giving you Chaos, Sakura. Even I can't tell them apart sometimes" Kari said as she walked into the room, smiling brightly holding a huge bowl of different kinds of ice creams, topped with sprinkles, hot chocolate, and two big, red cherries.
Sakura stared at the bowl as it was placed in her lap, "All this for me.. I won't be able to eat it!"
"Yea, you can. Believe me. This ice cream is too addicting not to eat. And if not.. Itachi will eat it.." Muttered Kari as a smirk reached her face, a perverted gleam visible in her eyes as she thought of several things that could happen with Sakura, Itachi, and a big bowl of ice cream.
"You are not related to me." Itachi muttered as he finished bandaging Sakura's wrist.
The female Uchiha chuckled, "I know you love me. Now people! Leave the poor girl alone! Let her sleep a little."
"That's a good idea." Kari's mother said as she pushed the other two mothers out of the room, "Your daughter needs the sleep."
Kari smiled at Itachi and Sakura before she left the room.
Itachi stood up and headed towards the door. He stopped at the doorway, looking back at his future bride out of the corner of his onyx eyes, "You're sure you're alright?"
Sakura blinked, startled by Itachi's sudden concern before she smiled lightly and nodded, "Yea. I'm fine."
The Uchiha boy then left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. 'I guess I was wrong. She's not one of the preps that are fools and cry about their nails breaking.. I just might give her a chance.' He then headed towards his room, which was just down the hall.
She held up her bandaged wrist and a delicate smile tugged at Sakura's lips. 'Maybe.. I was wrong about him. He's really quite nice when he wants to be. ' She then picked up a spoonful of ice cream and put into her mouth, 'This is good ice cream. Really good. I think I will be able to finish it.' And then Sakura began eating the big bowl of ice cream.
"Check.. mate." Temari stated while smirking like no tomorrow after having placed her piece down..
Shikamaru was gaping at the chess board, his eyes filled with disbelief, 'Beaten.. by a girl... in 10 moves...'
"And here I thought that you were actually good at this, pineapple head." Said the blond girl as she stood up before adding, "Boy was I wrong."
"And the winner is Hirazumi Temari!" The announcer shouted and the crowd cheered.
'Wait.. I'll have to do whatever she says now... How troublesome.' A sigh escaped his lips as Shikamaru thought about all the torture he now will have to endure since he beat him.
And that's the forth chapter for you. Neji, Lee, Sasuke, and Tenten will be in the next chapter. This chapter was 3000 or so words again. One of my longer chapters. I'll try to update next week. So, please review. Ja ne!
