"What's going on? Why are you looking for Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"He needs to see this. Look at this, on the Way of the Ninja forums. We gotta call him."
About that…
Sasuke really hated it when Itachi went to a conference and left him without food in the house. It meant he had to go buy dinner, because his cooking repertoire was limited, and Itachi had forgotten to get instant ramen in his last grocery run. He left the car at the airport, too. Tch, I need to buy a car once I move out. That left him with two choices for hot food quickly: the convenience store, for stuff he'd still have to make himself, or the school cafeteria, for a decent, warm meal that was included with his dorm fees.
So Sasuke found himself at the cafeteria, albeit without any of his roommates. Sasuke would never admit it to them, of course, but he … preferred to have them around. This time, though, because they were busy, he was on his own. I forgot how lonely it was to eat alone in a crowd.
He ignored the looks and whispers that were starting to run through the cafeteria, very pointedly looking down at his phone as an excuse to avoid eye contact with anyone else. His ears perked up, though, when he heard a very familiar voice.
"Can I just wait for the chicken wings?" She asked. Sasuke raised his head and caught sight of a head of pink hair at the front of his line. It is Sakura. What a coincidence.
"We're totally out for tonight, Miss," The cold-faced man behind the counter told her impassively, "There was an issue with the supplier."
"Shannaro! Just my luck," Sakura sighed, resigned, "Fine, can I get a chicken burger with a side of fries and an iced tea? Actually, make that a side salad instead."
"Sure thing," the server nodded.
"Thank you," she responded, her usual cheeriness unusually forced. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke watched her collect an order, pay, and find a place to sit and pull out her laptop. As he reached the front of the line and before he knew exactly what he was doing, he'd ordered an Oyakodon bowl for here instead of for takeout as he'd originally planned and found a seat in the cafeteria as well.
I guess I really don't want this food to get cold…
(ﾉ_ヽ) (↼_↼)
Sakura was trying real hard not to freak out.
From the stares her neighbours were giving her as she peered over the top of her laptop, she knew she was not doing a good job.
But!
But!
It was Uchiha-senpai! In the flesh! In the cafeteria!
This almost makes up for no chicken wings, Sakura giddily thought to herself. A sighting of Uchiha-senpai could blow all her gloomy worries out of her head for the moment.
He looked as good as ever, aloof in a crowd, like a masterpiece that just happened to come to life for a while. Uchiha-senpai always looked so cool and composed, even when nearly everyone in the cafeteria was whispering about him. Instead, he focused on his dinner with so much intensity that she envied his bowl. I want him to look at me that intensely. Well, maybe not. I might turn into a puddle. She nearly fanned herself as she caught sight of him rolling up his shirtsleeves, ready to eat. Even his forearms are perfect. This guy's unfair!
Just before he picked up his chopsticks, though, for some weird reason, he suddenly looked up and met her eyes for one electric moment.
Sakura ducked. Shannaro! I hope he doesn't think I was staring! She hurriedly clicked something on her laptop to look busy. Way of the Ninja's log-in screen popped onto her screen, right on top of where she was looking for new tutoring gigs. Sakura was about to close the window when she remembered that she'd left her two friends with Old Man and Wulf earlier, so she decided she might as well check in on them.
She saw Hinata's name was still coloured in her friends list, while Tenten's was grey, indicating the latter was offline. Sakura sent Hinata a quick message.
[Whisper to Tournesola] SakuraBlossom: Hina-chan! Still playing?
[Whisper] Tournesola: Yes, I'm improving my chakra capacity with Ramen-san
[Whisper to Tournesola] SakuraBlossom: having fun?
[Whisper to Tournesola] SakuraBlossom: how's Tenten-chan?
[Whisper to Tournesola] SakuraBlossom: Old Man and Wulf had better not have scared her off
[Whisper] Tournesola: No, they were really good mentors!
[Whisper] Tournesola: Tenten-chan went to go forge on her own for a while, and then she found her own mentor group.
[Whisper] Tournesola: She was having so much fun, she forgot that she had a class this afternoon.
[Whisper to Tournesola] SakuraBlossom: Oops lol
[Whisper to Tournesola] SakuraBlossom: I'm glad you're both enjoying yourselves then
[Whisper to Tournesola] SakuraBlossom: I'm eating dinner now, I'll be back later
[Whisper] Tournesola: Okay, I won't wait for you for then, Tenten-chan and I will just have a sandwich later or something
With that handled, Sakura was about to log off, since the cafeteria wi-fi was unreliable, when an unexpected message popped up.
[Whisper] FriesWithThat: SakuraBlossom, can I ask you a question?
(・・ ) ?
Sai didn't let his smile drop until the last interviewee walked out the main door, his colleagues bid him farewell to go get a long-overdue dinner, and he was finally - finally - alone in his office. Good thing he'd prepared a soup and sandwich from home, so he could cheerfully reject his coworkers' invitation with the excuse that he already had dinner and he wanted to review his interview notes while it was all fresh in his mind.
As he took off his tie in front of the mirror in his office cabinet, the expressionless mask that he was so used to stared back at him. It felt good to finally relax. Performing all day is exhausting. Still, his warm and gentle persona had its uses.
Closing the closet door on his discarded tie and stolid reflection, he settled down to eat and review his notes. Most of these interns are your average college kids with no experience or knowledge, but at least some of them were enthusiastic. He stopped at one particular application and snorted, remembering the interview. Who goes to an interview and doesn't look up the company's products? That one, he tossed directly in his reject pile.
Still, I could probably just pull a random resume out of this pile and it'd be fine. At least there was one kid applying to QA with some chops. Hmm… what was her name again? Oh right, Higurashi. Well, Yamato and Nono probably won't fight me on the QA intern if I give them first pick for the dev intern. They all looked like they'd be a pain to train, and I have first dibs on the full-time hires anyways.
Having made his choice, Sai turned his attention to the project management intern applications, pulling out one that he'd earmarked. Oh right, I need to confirm this one. That would be an interesting hire. If it's actually her… She'd be a good addition to the project.
He turned to his computer to log in to Way of the Ninja, when his phone beeped, showing an incoming text message.
From Darling: Don't forget to eat dinner! Also, I posted the video, so go support on the forum, kay? I love you, can't wait to see you this weekend!
She must have changed her nickname the last time she was going through my phone. Sai texted back in the same vein.
To Darling: I'm having a soup and sandwich at my desk. Will do. Love you too, see you soon.
From Darling: You work too hard, honey. Don't let it run over to the weekend - I want to go shopping, so rest well!
Better remember to do this soon, or Ami will be on my case. Sai thought. What a pain.
Still, having a girlfriend was quite convenient for certain situation, and this time, she wasn't asking for much. He made a quick detour to the forums, posted something sweet and sappy that he'd seen a famous actor say about the film that the actor was promoting, and then logged in to way. He was just going to send SakuraBlossom a quick mail asking her for a confirmation, when he saw her name in colour on his friend's list. It's probably just faster if I message her.
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: SakuraBlossom, can I ask you a question?
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: Sure, what's up?
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: something with the clan?
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: The clan's fine
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Actually, we need a few more potions when you have some time, but no rush
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: It's something else
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Did you interview with ROOT Corp today?
It was only after he'd sent the message and sat there for a few minutes waiting for her answer did he realize that the question might be a bit strange. Still, she was the one who gave her username.
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: Yes I did
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Interesting…
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: Were you one of the interviewers?
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Yes
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Well that was an interesting way to meet up
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: Haha
He wasn't sure how to continue this conversation. He couldn't very well say that he wanted to hire her until they made their final decision, and besides, this was his ex-wife, after all. Even if it had only been an in-game marriage, Ami wouldn't like it if he spoke to her for too long. Oh, speaking of Ami…
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Oh I forgot to tell you
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Ami and her friends are joining the clan this weekend
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: You don't have a problem with that, do you?
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: Of course not
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: Wife joining the husband's clan is a very natural thing
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: I probably won't be there to welcome them though
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Is school busy for you?
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: ?
[Whisper] SakuraBlossom: FRIES YOU ASSHOLE
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: I didn't think business students had that many projects
[Whisper to SakuraBlossom] FriesWithThat: Excuse me?
[Self] System: Your last message could not be sent since the receiver went offline.
Sasuke was about to finish his dinner, when all of a sudden, a loud slam came from a certain corner of the cafeteria where his eyes kept wandering. This time, he wasn't alone in turning his head to watch Sakura jump up, shove her stuff in her bag, and leave the cafeteria in a fury. It's kind of cute that she still remembered to put her tray away even as she stormed out.
Frowning, he also cleaned up his tray and prepared to leave, ready to go back to his room in Itachi's apartment to log on and see if she'd tell him what happened, when a text he'd just received made him change his plans.
From The Idiot: Oi, Asshole, come to the dorm. Someone's making fun of 3SIL.
He didn't exactly hurry there, per se, but before he knew it, he opened the door of his dorm, only to find his three roommates watching… something.
"Hey Sasuke, come here," Chouji beckoned him.
"What's up?" Sasuke asked, eyeing Naruto, who'd been the one who summoned him.
"It's this video," Naruto gestured at the screen with his chin, a truly angry expression on his face, "There's a video contest going on on the forums right now, where you use the in-game recording functions to tell a love story."
Sasuke came over to the desk, watching over Naruto's back. Two avatars he didn't recognize were surrounded by monsters in a dark forest knoll, one male and one female. Dialogue played out over their heads, so he read it rather unwillingly.
[Here] UWUAmixx: We're surrounded!
"No, really?" Kiba scoffed at the writing. Sasuke smirked a bit, but something about the male avatar caught his eye. It was the large paint brush… Oh yes, Sakura's EX-husband.
[Here] FriesWithThat: Run, my love. I will sacrifice myself so you can live
[Here] FriesWithThat: Live on, and be happy
[Here] FriesWithThat: And… Love again
[Here] FriesWithThat: Your light is too bright to die with me
[Here] UWUAmixx: No!
[Here] UWUAmixx: Don't you dare to say that!
[Here] UWUAmixx: Don't you dare give up on me, my love
[Here] UWUAmixx: We'll make it out of here
[Here] UWUAmixx: We have the power of love!
"That's some polite monsters they've got there, waiting for them to be done with their dialogue like that," Sasuke muttered. Kiba and Naruto snickered.
"Is that even a damage move? I think they're using genjutsu," Chouji squinted at the impressive explosions happening on the screen.
"They're fighting a bunch of gremlins in the newbie area, they don't need ninjutsu," Kiba snorted, "How's Sister-in-law involved then?"
"Just watch. It comes during the wedding," Naruto said. They all watched as the twenty or so gremlins died quickly, and the two lovers embraced
[Here] UWUAmixx: We did it! We're safe!
[Here] FriesWithThat: It's all thanks to you, Ami
[Here] FriesWithThat: Thank you for not giving up on me
[Here] FriesWithThat: My life is yours
[Here] FriesWithThat: Marry me Ami, so I can spend my life repaying you, and making you the happiest woman in the world
[Here] UWUAmixx: Yes!
The video transitioned in slicing lines to cut to the wedding scene in front of Hikkiboshi and Orihime, with the two of them making their vows. Kiba leaned forward and squinted at the editing, "I think I used that transition on my junior high mixed media project." Naruto and Chouji both laughed despite themselves.
Sasuke however, was focused on one of the figures in the crowd jumping up and down, angrily emoting. He recognized the skins on the equipment, but they had done a crude job in matching the dyes - Sakura uses very basic skins for a player on the PVP scoreboard, but the dyes she uses are rare. Obviously, whoever was imitating her didn't appreciate the nuance or wasn't willing to spend the gold for a crude caricature. His frown deepened as he read the dialogue.
[Here] SakuraBaka: Nooooooooo!
[Here] SakuraBaka: *****! *****! *****!
[Here] SakuraBaka: Fries, how dare you marry her?!
[Here] SakuraBaka: You can't! I won't allow you!
[Here] SakuraBaka: You said you love ME!
[Here] SakuraBaka: Don't leave me!
[Here] SakuraBaka: I'm so sad and lonely and weak without you!
[Here] FriesWithThat: In this lifetime, I have never loved anyone as much as I love you
[Here] UWUAmixx: In this lifetime, we will be an immortal pair, walking the way of the ninja together
Cheesy cute music came on as the two avatars stared woodenly at each other, but the character mocking Sakura was still jumping around like an idiot in the background, until two players OHKO-ed her, and the corpse fell offscreen. Only then did it cut to black, and credits started to scroll.
The four men were silent, no heckling remarks now. Kiba, Naruto, and Chouji all looked sidelong at Sasuke, who was still looking very coldly at the screen. Considering he always looked like a human iceberg though, they couldn't tell if he was actually angry, or just contemplative. Judging by the way the temperature started dropping in the room, though, they were all pretty sure he was furious.
"So… What do you want to do about this, Sasuke?" Naruto was the first one to break the icy silence by offering a solution, "We could just hack the forum and take it down."
"We gotta get some vengeance for Sister-in-Law," Kiba argued, "How bout we hack that Fries' account too? Delete their accounts so they can't bother her anymore?"
"We should probably talk to her first. If anything happens, people will blame and harass her," Chouji said as the voice of reason.
"Chouji's right," Sasuke finally spoke, just as Naruto and Kiba were going to continue arguing, "We can't drag her into the dark on this. I have another idea. I'll handle this the Ninja way."
AN:Oooh I do love it when Sasuke gets angry, huehuehue.
Eye contact! Folks we have eye contact! I think this is the first time Sasuke and Sakura both realized they were in the same place at the same time. Also, with this chapters, all the main and secondary characters have finally been introduced. Also, I swear this time I'll do Tumblr notes, lol. They'll have an explanation of exactly what I mean ;) For my readers who don't have the benefit of AO3 or Wattpad's extended tagging system, the side pairings will be NaruHina, NejiTen, SaiIno (and SaiAmi, I guess) and KibaShino. If any of those are your NOTPs, thank you for joining me so far - Like I said before, I am not changing anything.
Anyways, thanks Reglee for Beta-ing (in a hammock!) and thank you for stopping by this week! Happy Fourth of July weekend to all my American friends too. As always, comments, reviews, kudos, favourites, bookmarks, and wishes made on a thousand paper cranes are all welcome, and I hope to see you soon.