Disclaimer: not mine…
(edited on 2/17/2020) Vetla12: I am so so sorry! i quickly edited this chapter after reading your review. i really really do not plan on having Kurenai as Naruto's mother. It was a clumsy mistake on my part since i only finished writing this yesterday on the spur of the moment due to a sudden stroke of inspiration and quickly uploaded it with only little editing on grammars. Again I apologize. )
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Chapter four: The wish that could not be granted
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Tobi and Sakura were running madly together and just as when they were a safe distance from Deidara, Tobi tripped on his foot and since she was holding the pretty girl's hand, they both fell together. A sound of something that had shattered was heard, only to see that it was her eyeglasses.
Both were panting from exhaustion and fear and while Sakura, who was sitting on the ground, was blankly looking at her broken eyeglasses Tobi was petrified on the spot since it was his fault. The mask-wearing boy after regaining his composure quickly apologized with all his might.
The pink-haired girl lifelessly drop her head not allowing the boy to see her expression. When he saw her shoulder was shaking he nervously thought that the girl was crying just to hear all of a sudden that she was actually laughing. It was loud, boisterous and very unlady-like.
The laughter was contagious but before it was followed by his own nervous laughter, the girl stood up and suddenly smacked her own forehead to the nearest tree not so gently that Tobi sweat-dropped and began to think that this girl must seriously be out of her mind.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" the girl shouted after each loud smack but before the fourth one Tobi decided to stop her.
"Anou… Pinky-chan."
She stopped on her ministrations and looked at him with a glare, "Call me Pinky again and I'll break your face together with that stupid mask." And with her face covered in sweat, horrendously messy hair and larger then normal red forehead, needless it to say that Tobi was terrified.
"Eeek!…" Tobi's hair stood on end and was rooted to the spot by her glare.
Seeing him like that, Sakura immediately became guilty. Shaking her head to clear her mind she suddenly slapped her face with her two hands loudly making Tobi flinch from the sound, and her slapped actually made a hand imprint on her snow white cheeks.
"I… I'm sorry for shouting at you. I'm just really really having a bad day today," Sakura started to say.
Seeing that the boy was still quite after a few awkward seconds she thought of something before reaching out on her bag, and then from her hand was a big colorful thing with disfigured shape in a stick with many obvious cracks in it that it looks like it will crumble anytime if not for the plastic wrapper holding it together.
She looks at it as if she's thinking twice and then she reach it out towards Tobi, "Thank you for saving me, please accept this as a form of my gratitude."
Tobi then realize that it was actually a lollipop, albeit a very ugly one, making him forget that he was scared just a while ago due to his sweet tooth and simple personality. His visible eyes crinkled indicating that he was smiling brightly behind his mask, but just as he was about to take it from her hand, Sakura pulled it back a little making it a bit out of his reach. Tobi questioningly looked at her only to see her conflicted expression -and with her messy hair, baby fat cheeks plus larger-than-normal forehead still a little bit red from her own slap and smacking, it reminded him of a bullied puppy a stark contrast to her previous scary appearance. The next second Sakura put it on his outstretch hand herself lest she change her mind again and take it back completely, he saved her after all.
"I made this lollipop myself I hope you enjoy it!" she finally said with a smile although the child-like boy can still see the traces of longing on her eyes as she watch the lollipop on his hand making his ears red because she really does look like a puppy making him have the urge to squeeze her tightly.
Sakura picked Miss Umbridge and her broken glasses from the ground then finally said her goodbye to Tobi who had abruptly woken up from his stupor.
After the girl left, Tobi started to muse on himself, thinking that he was actually wrong to believe that he was already accustomed with weirdness, courtesy of his gang, seeing that he can't cope up with the girl's mood and action, from laughing hysterically to banging her head on the tree then glaring at him before slapping her own face then giving him a damaged undistinguished lollipop -which she made herself- as a gratitude but with conflicting expression. Or maybe, he thought, girls are just generally weird creatures and has huge complicated mood swings, except for Konan of course. At least his gang has their own permanently one or two imprinted mood unless there is other circumstances, whether it be almost always angry (Hidan), happy-go-lucky(Tobi, Deidara and Kisame) or no mood at all (Pain, Itachi, Sasori, Konan and Kakuzu -unless there is money involve for the last one) and dual mood of angry and kind( Zetsu, because of his dual personality). And speaking of those weird creatures, Deidara must be waiting to kill him. Oh right the other permanent mood of Deidara is always angry, especially if it involves Tobi.
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Her son is acting weird. And that is saying something.
"I don't care if this is cliche but I'm seriously worried. Do you think he ate something bad today? Or was I too hard on him for nagging when he asked for more ramen at dinner yesterday?" Namikaze Kushina asked her husband as they both were watching their son.
Namikaze Minato for once does not have any answer for his red-headed beautiful wife.
Their son in question was currently happily washing his P.E. uniform, his favorite orange jacket and another green jacket they haven't seen before, while humming to himself.
When he arrived from school today Kushina was glad that her forgetful son finally brought his unwashed uniform, god knows how awful it must have smelled now. And then during dinner imagine their surprise when he did not complain on their meal which does not include ramen that supposedly was a punishment for yesterday. But the real shock was when Kushina was ready to wash his clothes only to see that her lazy son was already doing it. She called her anata then and now even Minato was perplexed.
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Ring… ring… ring… a beep… and a silence, then…
"I might or might not have been caught in trouble."
"Wow. Even the yoga can't do a thing to your trouble tendencies."
"Shi-nisan!"
Shi chuckle and then, "Can't say I'm surprise. What kind of trouble is it this time?"
"Miss Umbridge broke a glass trophy and a Prefect saw it."
"Who's Miss Umbridge?"
"The white cat I treated."
"Even the name you give sounds troublesome."
"Shi!"
A chuckle again, "So?"
"He asked me to give him Miss Umbridge to dissect in exchange of it. The jerk! But then I told him that I would win the National Math Competition instead."
"I have no idea what is the relationship between the cat and the National Math Competition but then and again what do I have to do with it?"
"I told him that Miss Umbridge would become my pet and so instead of giving her I'll win the competition instead as a compensation for the broken trophy. And I might've lied and told him that you kind of agreed to me adopting Miss Umbridge?"
"I don't remember ever agreeing to such thing."
"Please…"
"Depends on my mood tomorrow."
"Also…"
"There's more?"
"Me and my cat might've super pissed an upperclassman."
"The finding inner peace is really useless on you."
"So do you know any product that permanently dyes your hair?"
"Again, I have no idea what does dyeing your hair have to do with pissing an upperclassman. And do dye your hair or I won't help you and I'll tell you on your shishou."
"Then what about temporarily? And one that is not harmful on cat.
"Are you planning on dyeing that cat's fur also?"
"We're both in dire danger. The upperclassman took note of my hair and know my cat's color so It's going to be our disguise. Plus, I can't leave her here alone since she loves to wander, so I'm thinking of putting her in your care during class hours? And I also want to borrow your cat's collar. For a while? Pretty please… And its just temporarily until the upperclassman forgets about me and Umbridge"
"You're abusing my kindness penguin. Pick the brand name CAT -how fitting. There's one on every department stores."
"Also…"
"Does it ever end?"
"I broke my eyeglass shishou gave me."
A laugh this time, "There's a spare on my infirmary."
Shi could only imagine how bright her face is right now.
"Thank you so much Shi-nisan! I owe you a very big one! Ja ne!" she happily said at the other hand.
A beep then silence.
"Three actually. What a very troublesome penguin."
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At the Uchiha mansion after dinner
"Are you planning on becoming the Student Council President next year after Uzumaki Pein will graduate?" Uchiha Fugaku asked his eldest son after dinner.
"Yes father I'm planning to," Itachi answered his father.
"Tsunade personally told me that Itachi is the perfect candidate and plus he is also currently the Vice President. And don't worry dear I'm sure our son will do a very great job," Uchiha Mikoto lovingly told her husband while getting all the dishes from the table. The Uchiha patriarch just grunted but Mikoto knew that her husband is proud of their sons even if he does not really say it out loud.
"Then I hope you would also help your brother when he runs as the next Vice President."
"Of course I will. However, that would prove to be challenging father because Sasuke and the Hyuuga are currently in line for it. And both of them showed great performances on their duties as prefects and representatives of their year," Itachi said. "Maybe it will all depend now on who has more number of fangirls?" he faced his otoutou this time with a smirk as a way to teasingly mock him for how crazy his fangirls could get (since he heard about how he already lost five shirts, three socks and one boxer during P.E., courtesy of said fangirls, then just this morning he lost his tie and Itachi did not even have any idea how).
But instead of receiving a glare, his otoutou strangely did not react and just nodded while still focus on what he was writing on a paper ever since dinner.
"Then I suggest you should do much better than the Hyuuga, Sasuke," their father told his youngest son.
Sasuke looked at their father for a second and said, "I will father," before he went back to do what he was doing.
"Very well, tell your mom that I will have tea in my library," Fugaku finally said before leaving the table.
"Have you already brought another tie my foolish otoutou?" Itachi asked Sasuke while sipping on his hot chocolate coffee prepared by his mother, after their father left.
"Yes I already have," his brother just passively answered.
The older Uchiha thought how his brother is oddly unresponsive to his mocking, making him raise his finely shaped eyebrow. If it was the usual, his little brother would've glare at him and come back with his own retort. And then he saw Sasuke's hand which have a band-aid: a band-aid with cute puppy designs.
Itachi almost chuckled since he never really thought of a day when his foolish otoutou would use such thing when he even loathes sweets and cute things, but curiosity made him swiftly took the paper Sasuke was scribbling at instead, which finally earned him a glare.
"Give me that back Itachi!"
He just coldly smirked at his brother before looking at the paper only to see that it was a drawing… A drawing of a very fat white cat with black ears.
He thought for a moment that it was oddly familiar until he remembered the comical incident a while ago involving the animal in question. But before he can ponder more about it his brother took the paper back.
"Where did you saw that cat?"
"Why does it even matter to you?"
"Tell me Sasuke," Itachi sternly said with narrowed eyes.
His brother glared at him but answered nonetheless, "This cat and a girl broke a glass trophy, that is all I'm going to tell you." And then he also left.
When Sasuke reached the stairs Itachi took out his phone and called someone.
After the ring and before the blonde could even shout at the other end of the line he said, "My otoutou might know where is the cat and girl that you are looking for."
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After leaving the department store, Sakura suddenly felt a chill on her heart and back. She can't help but look up above the beautiful night sky and firmly wish inside her heart, 'Oh God, please let my premonition be wrong and that this chill doesn't mean that I'm soon going to my impending doom.'
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A/N: Tobi's description of the Akatsuki's mood is his own opinion since you know that is how he always see his gang. And even with those one or two moods they were still a very weird bunch, so Tobi accustomed to those kind of weirdness received a shock to Sakura's own kind of weirdness. Well she really is weird…
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