What Luck Brings: Things Change
There were only a few days before classes started and moving day was well underway. Naruto was a huge help even if he sang 'Eye of the Tiger' each time he ran up the stairs. Most of the words he couldn't remember so each time he had a new and more ridiculous version. Sakura was thankful for the most part as their almost constant laughter made the time pass by unnoticed.
Kakashi being the "caring" human being he is never lifted a finger. He just lounged in the front yard against the trunk of the oak and read his book as they hauled everything from the truck. All Sakura got in greeting was an absentminded "Yo" when he passed her earlier on his way to lazily drop into the grass. That seemed to irritate her more than if he hadn't said anything at all.
She couldn't tell what he was reading, nor did she really care, but the bright green cover seemed so familiar. Her frustration grew as the books identify danced at the edge of her grasp. Each time she passed him only made it worse.
Sakura was sitting on the floor in her room unpacking boxes when a bubbly blonde bouncy into the room. He held something in his hands.
"Hey Sakura we're all done! And look what I fou-"
"Quiet you dope. Are you trying to blow my cover?" She hissed between her teeth and hoped Kakashi was still being a lard outside.
"Oh yeah. Saku, right! I promise I won't forget again." He paused then added, "Heh, you sound like a secret agent."
'Again' she thought. Sakura couldn't count how many times he forgot to call her by her new name. He even called her "My Sakura" once. She was pretty sure no one heard him but it was still nerve racking.
"Whatever you say" she said with a shake of her head. "And what are you doing with that ancient relic? I thought I threw it out this morning?"
"I guess that's why it was in the garbage." Naruto lovingly held a neon yellow and orange lava lamp in his arms. "Come on, it's so cool. Oh oh and it can totally be a dude thing to help with any girl vibes!"
Against Sakura's protests he placed the lava lamp on her bedside table. "Don't you think it looks like me?" Naruto smiled, proud of his observation.
"Yeah" she snorted "It has your eyes." Sarcasm was thick in her voice, but apparently he hadn't picked up on it.
"It doesn't have eyes! I thought you were the smart one." Sakura couldn't respond as she was too busy burring her face in her hand.
"Anyway" he said calmly before continuing "I meant the colors. Every time you see it you can think of me." His tone held a note of sadness as though he were remembering days gone by.
"What's with the melancholy moment? It's not like we won't see each other in class almost every day." Naruto turned and went to sit on the floor next to her.
"Yeah I know, but you won't be my Sakura-chan. You'll be dude Sakura-chan. I can't be with you the same way or people will start to talk." Sakura felt a slight pang of sadness squeeze at her heart when she saw him.
Slinging a comforting arm over his hunched shoulders she said, "You have nothing to worry about. On the inside I will always be your Sakura-chan. And it's only around others that I'll be your Sakura-kun. Remember, it's not forever." Removing her arm from him she stood and offered him a hand. "Besides, I'm a guy right now. What's so different?"
He took her hand and she helped him up. She could see the laughter had returned to his bright blue eyes. "My Sakura-chan had boobs and even if they were small I miss them."
Before Naruto could register what was happening a round house kick connected with his stomach. It wasn't hard but it knocked him on his back and through him out the open door of Sakura's bedroom.
"Owww! Come on I thought we were having a moment!"
"I'll give you a moment" she snarled.
A terrified Naruto was scurrying backward from Sakura as she quickly advancing toward him. She seemed more than ready to inflict additional pain to her air headed best friend. When his head hit the railing he jumped to his feet looking like a startled rabbit preparing to bolt.
Suddenly she smiled and said, "I'm gonna miss you too. Now get over here, you're dead meat!" The fear vanished from Naruto's face to be replaced with a mirror of Sakura's smile. That didn't stop him from running for his life when she lunged at him.
They were both laughing as their chase lead them down the stairs, out the front door, and down the road towards Naruto's dorm building which wasn't too far away. Many things were going to change, she knew that, but she was glad to know that some things never would. Her friendship with Naruto being one of them.
Her pursuit ended when they pasted the mailbox of her neighbor's house. There was no hope of her catching him once he took off. He wasn't given an athletic scholarship through the university's track team for his charming good looks.
"Run baka, run!" She yelled through cupped hands as he disappeared down the road. All she got was his distant laughter as a reply. Sakura was still smiling as she walked up the stone pathway to her front door.
She hadn't noticed Kakashi was still sitting in his shady spot under the tree until she heard him say, "Do you know you run like a girl?"
Being in the great mode she was in, his unknowingly accurate comment didn't faze her at all. Not caring about being polite, Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and continued on her way to the door.
When she made it back to her room the first thing she noticed was the obnoxiously bright yellow and orange lava lamp sitting proudly on her nightstand table. She chuckled slightly to herself as she couldn't help but see the resemblance Naruto had mentioned.
"I guess I have to keep you now." She said to the lamp as she went to plug it in. While searching for the outlet Sakura noticed a small crack just above the black base. A few droplets of the liquid had slid out and were making their way down the base, threatening the polished wood of her table. A few more were slowly beading up through the crack.
'Damn now I have to throw you out. Again.' She fought the slight prick of disappointment over the loss. Sakura picked up the lamp and put her hand underneath to catch any stray drops as she went out of her room and down the stairs.
When she was halfway down Sakura spotted Kakashi. He was coming in from outside and was heading towards the stairs with that book glued to his face. Now seeing the cover clearly for the first time she finally knew what it was. Icha Itcha Tactics.
'He's been reading porn this whole time!' In her momentary shock she didn't notice the large drops of liquid that fell past her hand and onto the step in front of her. So, she stepped right on them.
And slipped...
Kakashi had just put his foot on the first step of the stairs when Sakura slammed into him. She lost grip of the lamp and knocked the book from his hands. They fell to the ground with the loud crash of breaking glass.
She didn't realize she had closed her eyes until she opened them to see Kakashi's masked face inches from her. Pink bloomed in a hot wave across her cheeks. The heat spread further as she realized her hands where greedily splayed across his broad chest and her legs were braced on either side of his hips.
Kakashi rubbed his head slightly and just looked at her. "Are you okay?" he asked. Sakura could feel the vibrations of his deep voice travel through her arms and land somewhere deep in her stomach.
"…Y-yeah, I think so." She said while shifting her weight back so their faces weren't so close. Whether she liked it or not the proximity of his body was having a defendant effect on her. 'Traitor!' she thought.
"Well that's good… do you mind getting up now?"
Blinking once she awkwardly removed herself from him as she said "Ah, yeah, sorry about that man!" She mentally scolded herself for spacing out like that. If her reaction wasn't enough of a giveaway he might have been able to feel something that would tell him the truth. She was now extremely glad that she invested in a good chest wrap right from the start. 'Stay focused. Come on Sakura, you're in dude mode."
She distracted herself from panicking by looking for how bad the wreckage of her crash really was.
By some miracle the glass from the lava lamp hadn't flown everywhere after the initial impact. It just crack in half like an egg shell. There were smaller pieces her and there but they hadn't gone far. The neon yellow and orange liquid had oozed around the debris making it look even more like something out of Humpty Dumpty.
Unfortunately, she also saw Kakashi's book laying open, pages down, in the bright puddle. The paper had absorbed the liquid and was well beyond repair.
He was slow to realize what happened. After much more gracefully getting to his feet Kakashi said, "No worries, at least my book is-" he froze when his eyes made contact with the mess on the floor.
Slowly he sank to his knees in front of his slain book. Sakura watched as a single tear slipped from his cloudy grey eye to run down his cheek and sink into the fabric of his mask. She had no idea how much porn really meant to guys or maybe Kakashi was just a special case.
"I'm really sorry about your book. I swear I'll buy you another one to make up for it." Sakura wasn't sure how to approach him in this situation. Naruto never gave her a lecture on 'what to do when you ruin another guy's favorite porn'.
"You…you did this!" He sprang to his feet and was brandishing a finger at her like it was a weapon.
"I said I was sorry, it's just a book." Sakura almost couldn't believe this passionate man before her was the same lazy landlord she had come to know.
"It wasn't just a book, it was true art!" He bent and gingerly picked the book up as though he was holding a butterfly with a broken wing. In a cold voice he said, "Leave this house and never return."
Shocked by his words Sakura said, "You can't be serious, it was just an accident. Come on, I'll do anything to make it up to you!" Kakashi was glaring at her with such heat in his eyes, she thought she might actually catch fire.
Finally he said, "Fine. You stay on one condition."
Sakura felt relief wash through her. She could stay.
"Starting now you are my indentured servant. My word is your law." His tone was dead serious and the relief was gone as quickly as it came.
"You're joking right?" she said in disbelief.
"No. My first order, clean this and leave me to grieve." Not waiting for a reply he walked down the hallway to kitchen and out the sliding glass doors to the back yard. Sakura was left there with her mouth hanging open and a mountain of suffering ahead of her.
'If it's this bad at home, school is going to be a nightmare.'