A/N: Ahahaha! I haven't updated since 2012! *gets hit with multiple flying objects*
I'm sorry ; I had to!
Anyways, I do actually apologize for such a slow update. I just kept putting it off. Just like putting away my Christmas tree.
Read and enjoy at your leisure!
-:-
She was so tired. She was so sick. Her face was pallid and sallow and she looked very anemic. They nearly forced her to see a doctor, but she refused.
"Idiot! You're dying!"
She hissed, "Don't touch me!"
Her sleeve was yanked down and the yards of scars were revealed. She snarled and ran away.
-:-
The funeral was solemn. Everyone was clad in black, and even Hanako donned her gloomy attire.
Naturally, Kurenai laid her flowers at the grave first. Hanako had always known about the pregnant woman's relationship with Asuma. She was going to help Kurenai through the entire pregnancy. Because that's what friends do. Help.
Haru stood faithfully beside her father, her hair loose. She was beginning to develop some side bangs. Cute.
Her big blue eyes stayed fixed on Kakashi's face, noting his sadness. She kept silent and respectful of those around her. She was a good kid.
Hanako knelt down beside Kurenai. It wasn't really fair. Not in the slightest bit. This red-eyed woman deserved her love beside her as the child entered the world. She and this baby deserved Asuma beside them as they went to trips to the park. It wasn't fair.
Shikamaru wasn't there, but Ino and Choji were. Hanako wondered what her students would do if she died.
Her dark eyes flickered to one of her students, the blonde standing stiffly in the crowd with tears threatening to pour from her eyes. She and Asuma had grown close in their mutual wish to find Maiko. The green-haired squirt was always hanging around Shikamaru.
The mother suddenly looked up and noticed Kurenai's shaking shoulders. The genjutsu master was crying.
They were no words. No comforting phrases. No "I'm sorry for your loss". It was true; she was sorry. But what good would her words do now? Talking about that smoker would only bring more pain, even if she talked about some of his best moments.
Hanako gripped Kakashi's hand tightly. How would she react if he died? Probably go crazy. Haru would be taken away, most likely. She wouldn't like that. The little monster would cry a lot. Hanako wouldn't like that.
She felt her 'husband' squeeze her hand back. They were most likely thinking the same thing.
Please don't die.
-:-
After the ceremony dispersed, Hiromi went to the Nara household. She was welcomed by Shikamaru's mother.
"May I see Shikamaru-kun?" The blonde girl asked, anxious to see him.
Mrs. Nara frowned, "I'm sorry. He's not up for talking to anyone right now."
"I understand," Hiromi blabbered, "but if you could simply tell him that I stopped by. I need to discuss some important things with him."
"Alright, I will."
Hiromi left and went straight home, dragging herself to her room and collapsing into bed, not even bothering to remove her funeral garb. She stared restlessly out her window.
Asuma-sensei was dead. He had the map. He was dead. Some evil group called the Akatsuki had killed him. The Akatsuki. Who were they? Would they kill Hanako, too? Hiromi clenched her eyes shut and let herself fall onto her comforter. Its name was fitting as she suddenly was embraced by the soft cloud. Sure, she didn't feel any calmer, but she felt like crying, and sometimes crying makes you feel better.
Darkness suddenly became beckoning and inviting and as her vision blurred from her tears, Hiromi fell into an uneasy, grieving sleep. It wasn't the best kind of sleep, but it's the kind of sleep that makes you very tired for a very long time and right now, she really needed to be tired.
So she fell asleep.
-:-
Kotone, Akio and Aiko had been up all night. There had been a funeral, but their leader did not go. Something so.. emotional seemed overwhelming.
"Milady," Aiko suddenly addressed, causing said damsel to snap out of her day dreaming, "we've finished all of the paperwork for today."
"Is tomorrow's pile set out already?" Amaterasu asked.
"I'm afraid so, milady."
The wan maiden stood from her perch at her desk and stared blankly at the multiple towering stacks of papers.
"Can we not go home?" Aiko whined.
"No, we can't. Think of it this way; according to my calculations, if we complete this paperwork before tomorrow, you will have more time to do as you please."
"Well, I suppose, but knowing that old hag Tsunade, she's probably got another stack of papers hidden somewhere waiting for us.. Shouldn't she be doing all of this?" Aiko huffed.
Akio stepped forward, dropping lithely a stack of papers onto Kotone's desk, signaling to his twin, We should be grateful that she is allowing us to stay.
"Yeah, I guess.." Aiko sighed, "I'll get back to work then."
Amaterasu nodded and they all continued, but she turned and looked out her window, noting how suddenly the dark had fallen over the village. The lanterns lit all around were beautiful. It felt.. homey.
Yes, home.. That is what this place was now. Home.
"Are you two.. happy here?" She questioned quietly.
Aiko smirked, "Of course! I don't know what it is about this village, but it feels like wherever I go I'm being welcomed back.. I don't know if it was the same back in the desert but I know that something's different here."
"And you, Akio?"
The mute boy simply nodded in agreement. He drew a heart in the air with his finger, symbolizing that he loved it here. Kotone nodded back and they continued working.
That's right. She closed her milky white eyes. They were home now. The place they once called home was ruins. When she reopened her eyes, they were a bright green for a single moment.
-:-
She clawed at her walls, tearing down whatever paper there could have been left from her previous tantrums. She hissed and screamed and wailed. She was so angry. She was so sad. She wanted vengeance! She wanted peace! She was so lonely.
One by one, her family was disappearing. They were leaving her alone in the mystified state that perhaps they would return and engulf her with their presence.
She was going insane. Sometimes when she looked around, she saw things moving that weren't supposed to, like the walls from instance. It was almost like they had turned into a thick liquid, sliding down at a terrifyingly fast pace.
Voices bounced off her walls, laughing and crying, shouting and whispering. There were people everywhere, all pointing and gossiping and gawking in disgust.
The door suddenly opened and the light danced in from the hallways, touching all of her tipped over furniture. It was then that she realized that she was completely alone, withering away in the center of all the madness around her.
"You need to calm down." Someone said softly.
Whoever said probably had to deal with her very often, for their voice pronounced their patience.
"Close the door," she susurrated in a raspy voice, "Block off the light."
The door was left ajar and her shadow began to stir. She curled into a ball and realized that no matter how small she became, her shadow did not get any smaller.
She was always bigger than her.
-:-
Waking up from a grieving sleep is a completely different experience in itself. Hiromi wanted to curl back up and sleep forever because whenever one was asleep, all of their problems were at bay, but that blank darkness never lasted forever.
The sobering feeling of dried drool on her chin, and her blankets in disarray around her, the golden-haired lass sat up very slowly, her usually vast cerulean eyes were narrowed into exhausted slits. Sleeping in her clothes felt very uncomfortable, but the first thing she did was trail to the bathroom, glaring into the reflection of the mirror.
She looked like a creature, her previously attractive bun suddenly sticking up in every direction. Mascara was crusted on her eyelashes and her face looked sunken. Hiromi needed a shower.
And so she took one. She stood in the hot water after cleaning herself up for what felt like ages until the liquid cruelly became arctic, turning off the water and changing into her everyday attire. Hiromi sat in front of her vanity and stared back into her depressed face. She looked hollow, like a shell of what she used to be.
For the first time in her life, she felt like just crawling back into bed. She felt like there wasn't anything out there in Konoha, and that it was just time to give up and lay down.
She did just that. Hiromi slipped back underneath her covers and let her hooded eyes simply stare into nothing. She was falling into hopelessness and she didn't even care. Not even about Maiko.
… Maiko.
… Maiko.
… Maiko.
… Maiko!
Hiromi threw her blankets off of herself, seemingly in an explosion of energy.
"That's it!" She yelled to herself.
She felt a little crazy, but that was okay. Right?
"I don't care if I have to storm into the Nara household! I'm getting this solved!"
-:-
"He's not here?"
"Yes, I'm terribly sorry, but Shikamaru left early this morning."
Hiromi thanked Mrs. Nara for putting up with her before heading to the Hokage's office. Whatever mission he was on, perhaps she could follow him or meet up with him somewhere.
"Shikamaru's on an important mission."
"Where? I need to see him, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade frowned, "I'm sorry, Hiromi, but you'll just have to wait until he returns."
"Ah, well, umm, then, perhaps you can help me?"
There was a knot in Hiromi's stomach. She knew already that the Hokage would question her motives, so she needed to make up an excuse while the other blonde woman responded.
"And what is it that you need help with?"
Darn. That was too fast.
"Um, I need, umm, access to Asuma Sarutobi's home."
"And why's that?"
Hiromi tried not to hesitate. What she really needed was the map, but what could she use an excuse?
"Well, umm, uhh, you see, Kurenai-sensei wanted me to fetch some things from his apartment."
"Why couldn't she come and get them?"
"A-ah, well you see, she was going to, but I stopped her because, well, I figured going to his house would, umm, just bring up memories, and, well, umm, I don't want her to be so sad anymore, so I told her I'd do it."
Tsunade seemed to be scrutinizing Hiromi coldly, and the younger girl squirmed. Hopefully, she could fool the Hokage, but she had her doubts. She wasn't the best actress.
"I'm sorry, Hiromi, but I can't let you."
"O-oh.. Why not? It'll only take a few moments. Kurenai-sensei told me where the things were."
Tsunade shook her head, "I'm sorry. You can head in there tomorrow, but not right now."
The young ninja dismissed herself before standing outside of the office for a few moments. And then she got an idea.
-:-
Hanako watched Tsunade parade her way to the archives. The woman usually didn't come around here; she usually just sent Shizune. The dark-haired mother approached the Hokage.
"How are you, Tsunade?"
"Fine, I suppose. And you? How's Haru?"
The conversation was natural and polite. So much so that Hanako squinted at the Hokage in suspicion.
"Very well. I haven't seen much of her lately; I've been taking on a lot of missions to start raising money.."
It was true, but Tsunade would surely get suspicious about her responsible decisions. To her surprise, the Hokage smiled warmly.
"That's great. It's never too soon to prepare for the future."
Before Hanako could comment on her strange behavior, the buxom blonde disappeared into the archives. For a few moments, she considered chasing after her, but simply shrugged and went back to work.
-:-
"Here you go, Tsunade-sama."
A young male ninja handed a shiny key over to the Hokage, who took it graciously.
"Thank you. I'll just be on my way then."
The blonde woman seemed to speed away into the ladies restroom, but Kotetsu didn't bother being suspicious. She probably went there to throw up from all the alcohol she consumed.
The truth was, she wasn't going to throw up. Tsunade walked into the restroom, checking to make sure no one was there before performing a ninja hand sign and being engulfed in grey. Hiromi danced out of the smoky cloud with the key in hand. She was awfully sneaky! She should've done this earlier!
Hiromi pocketed the key before strolling out and noting Kotetsu's confused expression. She walked to him and put on a mask of concern.
"Hokage-sama isn't feeling well," She said softly, "she might need a few minutes."
His suspicion lifted and he nodded before getting back to his filing, not noticing Hiromi's smug expression. Maybe she was a better actress than she thought.
Trying not to gloat in her own victory, she ran away hurriedly knowing that she needed to get into Asuma's home and return the key before anyone realized that anything had happened.
-:-
The office was no longer overflowing with papers, and that was a relief. Though there were still small piles here and there, it was still relieving to not have to worry about accidentally knocking one over and drowning someone in the tons of papers.
Aiko and Akio were filing away what they could, unsuccessfully attempting to hide their boredom from their leader, who had been doing so for the past few hours. The sluggish feeling she had was foreign, but she continued anyways, knowing that she was close to finishing.
Once everything was done, Tsunade had informed them all that they could have a break for a full day while she refilled the office with papers once more. The twins had gotten extremely inspired and started racing through the paperwork, but their excitement and eagerness had died down.
"Princess, are we done yet?" Aiko groaned.
Kotone snapped out of her daze and responded, "We are currently ninety-five percent done with the paperwork."
The tan foreigner returned to the papers, but seemed to be completely jaded. Amaterasu wanted to offer them a break, but it seemed like they were so extremely close to finishing, and if they got it done they could go home and do whatever they wanted.
Sighing quietly, Kotone pushed herself from her desk and stood, brushing off imaginary dust from her kimono. Her movement gained the twins' attention as she made her way towards the door.
"What's wrong, Amaterasu-hime?" Aiko asked.
The waxen princess sent a friendly look to her subordinates, though there was no smile on her face.
"I believe we've done enough work for today. The five percent of paperwork can wait until tomorrow."
"Really?" Aiko exclaimed.
"Really."
Akio and Aiko excitedly finished what they were doing before dragging Kotone home.
She felt her expression soften at the thought. Home. The last place she had called home was the Nishi no Sabaku (West Desert) and the transition was still very alien to her.
When they entered the small apartment, Akio offered to make tea and headed to the kitchen while Aiko headed to the small closet where they kept her streamers. Kotone watched the two very silently, sitting on the couch with a very straight posture, thinking how strange the group was.
Aiko sat at her feet, tugging at her yards of streamer that still trailed from the closet down the hall. Amaterasu did not regret letting her keep it in the house.
Akio gave the damsel tea before sipping his own, knowing full well that Aiko really didn't like green tea and preferred the sweet fruity kind. After a while, Akio seemed to make a choked noise and his companions stared at him.
What an odd family we are, he gestured.
Kotone took a moment to sip her tea before nodding, "Yes, quite an odd family indeed, but a family nonetheless."
-:-
Hiromi stalked into the home with such stealth that she didn't even know she had. She slipped through the front door without any of the neighbors noticing and closed it behind herself politely, a force of habit and a good one at that. She tiptoed around the first room before her reign of feeling like a ninja and she knocked over a pile of books and scrambled nervously before simply listening to them crash land on the floor with her eyes squeezed shut.
At first, she thought she should just leave due to the echoing explosive sound the books made (it was not really all that loud, it was just so quiet it sounded louder than it really was) but she simply shook her head and continued, knowing that if she didn't strike now, she probably wouldn't find the map.
Hiromi slid a door open before slinking into the room. Immediately, she dived at whatever had drawers and searched through them frantically, desperately trying to rearrange things back to their original form when she finished. It was mostly clothes and useless items and suddenly she felt sick to her stomach because she was technically stealing from a dead man.
Hurriedly, she treaded softly to another drawer. In it, she found lots of writings and knew that somewhere in there must be the map. Unfolding nearly every piece of paper, Hiromi began to panic. It wasn't there! If it wasn't there, she had a feeling it wasn't there at all!
Then suddenly, in a terribly quick fashion, she heard the click of the front door opening. Hiromi paled, and possibly turned green. Her ninja skills suddenly slipped her mind as she tried to find a place to hide. There was none! She heard incoming footsteps and looked at the balcony before shutting her eyes and running, sliding the door open the tiniest bit and squeezing herself through, closing it silently behind her. Now all she had to do was run for her life.
Hiromi looked around in a panic, trying to find a place she could escape. There had to be somewhere! Hugging the wall beside the glass sliding door, she realized that she would have to either jump to another building or jump down. Any second now whoever had entered the house was going to check the balcony and she would have to fess up to her crimes or make some stupid excuse like she was just watering his plants.
Feigning innocent wasn't going to work anymore, she couldn't hear the footsteps inside anymore, but she knew there was someone still there, which only meant one thing. It was an ANBU. They were sneakier than any other ninja and the appearance of one meant they were here on the Hokage's orders. This was bad. Hiromi thought about peeking inside, but she knew from certain horror movies that wasn't a good idea.
Stepping up onto the balcony, there was no going back. Hiromi took a very clumsy jump (slipping at the last minute and just falling) and tried to figure out where she would land, knowing very well that she was on the third floor of the apartment complex. Before she could even think about where she could land safely, Hiromi felt a rough impact and covered her mouth immediately in case she screamed.
(Un)Fortunately, she had landed in a large pile of garbage. She only thought this kind of luck existed in movies, but she still didn't count herself free yet. Once the ANBU officer checked outside, it would be safe for the lithe blonde to run away.
Looking up cautiously, she realized the door was being slid open. Hiromi tucked herself further into the trash involuntarily as it seemed to swallow her petite body.
She saw the mask of an ANBU up above and believed he or she would discover her from simply the sound of her pounding heart. The ANBU seemed to look around very observantly before looking down at the garbage causing Hiromi to close her eyes tightly. For a few moments, she thought he or she had noticed her and that she would become a wanted criminal but the sound of the balcony door shutting relieved her beyond belief.
Hiromi swam through the garbage before she was spat out, causing her to roll and hit her head and bum. She rubbed both areas before remembering that she needed to run. Pumping her arms at her sides, the blonde sped down a few streets before leaping up to the roof of a house and eyeing Asuma's window. She could vaguely see the outline of the ANBU officer, but not what he or she was doing.
She dug through her bag before fetching a pair of binoculars and peering through them. What she saw nearly caused her to drop them.
The ANBU officer had the map.
-:-
It was the next day that Shikamaru returned. Hanako had informed Hiromi because of her lover's own return. The blonde girl had geared up just like before, though she was keyless because she had returned the shiny item to Kotetsu without arousing skepticism.
She nearly ran over Mrs. Nara when she informed the short golden-haired chunin that Shikamaru was in his room and burst through his doors like someone who bursts up from underwater.
"Shikamaru-kun!" She exclaimed.
The usually uninterested-looking genius gaped at her, surely surprised, "Hiromi? What are you doing here?"
Hiromi babbled some nonsense for a long time before being calmed down and explaining (after making Shikamaru promise he wouldn't tell anyone about her dastardly evil deed) to the dark-haired male the key, the map or really the lack thereofand the ANBU officer.
"And.. and.. yeah." She finished lamely, her rant slowing to a stop.
Shikamaru seemed to be contemplating deeply, his eyes closed, "I didn't think it was so obvious before but it's pretty obvious now."
"What is?"
The genius didn't give her a condescending look for not realizing (which was why he was such a nice guy sometimes) as he responded, "The Hokage doesn't want you or anyone else for that matter investigating Maiko."
"Kotone's stunt must've pushed it to the edge," Hiromi murmured to herself.
"What did Kotone do?" Shikamaru inquired.
"She broke into the Arakawa household," the blonde girl explained, "but I never got to hear from her what she found."
"You should go ask her about that," Shikamaru responded, "while I go visit Sakura about the Akatsuki member's body we have on hand."
The information about the Akatsuki flew over Hiromi's head as she remembered Sakura and her panic attack.
"Ah, Sakura?" the virtuous girl said softly, "How is she doing?"
"Fine.. Why do you ask?"
"You must not have heard about her panic attack! Well, I'm sure she's probably a little embarrassed, but all that really matters is her health; anyways, she had a hallucination while out gathering herbs that some sort of demon attacked her."
Shikamaru seemed to freeze.
"Kotone said she investigated the area and didn't find anything so we came to the conclusion that she was just under a lot of stress."
"What did she say the demon looked like?" the genius asked with a quiet tone.
Hiromi put a finger to her chin, "Umm… Well later on she told me that she had nightmares about its eyes.. and its teeth. She said it had real dark eyes like an animals, and teeth like one too. Extremely sharp. I felt really bad for her."
The Nara young man seemed to be thinking silently for a while before standing and revealing a very stoic expression.
"You should go talk with Kotone. I'll be sure to catch up with you later."
"Oh, umm," Hiromi guessed she was being kicked out, "okay. See you later."
When she exited the home, she felt like she had been expecting something more.
"I should just be thankful for what I learned," Hiromi scolded herself, "besides, it's a step forward from where I was before."
Satisfied with her own answer, the blonde girl made her way to Kotone's apartment.
-:-
The family had been trying to clean up the streamers Aiko had played with earlier before they slept when Hiromi arrived. Akio answered it and escorted the young woman in, offering her some tea, though she did not understand his gestures.
"Um.. Where's Kotone?" She asked sympathetically.
The handsome gentleman took her hand very loosely and led her to a slightly larger room where she was nearly sucked into a tornado of streamers. She stifled a giggle at the sight of all the colorful papers draped over a calm-looking Kotone, whose entire essence was the opposite of lively and perky.
"Hello, Kotone."
The white-haired damsel untangled herself before approaching her friend with a soft expression, "Hello, Hiromi."
"I came here to ask you about what you saw at Maiko's house."
"I see," Kotone seemed to signal Akio and he began to untangle the streamers, revealing Aiko who seemed to be swimming and enjoying the entire thing, "Let us speak elsewhere."
As they approached the room Akio had offered Hiromi tea, the door was knocked on. The blonde guest nearly jumped in her skin, thinking it was the ANBU. She tried to motion to Kotone to see who it was, but the princess simply yanked open the door and Hiromi dove behind the couch like a coward.
"Kotone, is Hiromi here? I need to speak with you two."
"Yes, she is."
Hiromi peeked over the edge of the couch and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of a serious-looking Shikamaru and a very Hanako-looking Hanako, who was dressed in a kimono.
"I thought you were, umm, someone else." She explained lamely.
The group found seats in the room and Akio made tea, finally stuffing the streamers back into the closet much to Aiko's dismay. Said foreigner sat close to the feet of her leader.
"What is it that you need to speak with us about?" Kotone questioned.
"I need you three to come with me to the place where I buried an Akatsuki member."
"W-what!? To someone's grave?"
"He's not necessarily dead, but he's definitely not coming out of the ground anytime soon."
"Why take us there?" Hanako asked, "We don't have much to do with the Akatsuki issue."
"Just trust me." Shikamaru replied vaguely.
Amaterasu crossed her arms across her chest, "I suspect that there is a small chance you will answer that question upon any compelling, so I will not doubt your reasoning, for it must be important to you."
Hiromi and Hanako nodded in agreement.
"Akio and I are coming, too!" Aiko pitched in, "We'll never leave Amaterasu-hime's side."
The name was foreign to Shikamaru, but he presumed they meant Kotone, who seemed to have an understanding and listening presence. All those years ago when he had seen her fight Choji she had a completely different poise. It was almost like she had been a doll then and now had life breathed into her.
"When and where should be meet up?" Hanako requested with a sigh, "I can fit about an hour or two into my schedule then I've got to take care of Haru."
"Thank you for your time," Shikamaru said genuinely, "When's the most convenient time for you all? It's not a rush, but I would like to get it done sooner rather than later."
Kotone was the first to respond, saying, "The Akivi and I will go anywhere at any time."
"I.. I'm not doing much tomorrow," Hiromi piped in, "I'll show up whenever."
Hanako ran her fingers through her hair, "You two are so lucky.. Being a mom means I have limited time for anything. Since no one is throwing in any times or places, how about we meet at the gates of the village at around.. noon?"
Hiromi and Kotone agreed silently, nodding their heads. Shikamaru had no protests either.
"Alright, tomorrow at noon at the gates," Hanako repeated to herself, standing slowly, "I've got to get to the hospital.."
She seemed to freeze as though she didn't mean to say what she said and suddenly Hiromi gasped with a grin.
"Hanako-sensei.. are you..?"
Kotone was the most lost, not understanding what was going on. Shikamaru didn't seem to quite grasp the situation either.
The dark-haired beauty smirked, "It's a secret."
She turned, her kimono flowing very elegantly, and leisurely flowed to the door. When she opened it, she sent a Hanako-like wink to her students before leaving.
"What did you mean by..?" Kotone began, but Hiromi got up and sped out the door, giggling all the way.
"Bye, you two!"
Shikamaru followed suite, simply giving Kotone a nod as he exited the apartment.
When all the guests were gone, Aiko and Akio prepared for bed, setting out Akio's pretend cot made of blankets and pillows. Amaterasu seemed frozen to the spot, still running through the details of tomorrow's meeting in her mind.
As she finally stood after a long five minutes, she went to check on Akio and Aiko's progress only to discover that the two had fallen asleep inside of some sort of pillow and blanket fort. How was she to sleep now, Kotone wondered.
Suddenly, Aiko sat up and Amaterasu watched her beckon the princess over.
"We'll all sleep here," she whispered with a smile, "together like a family."
Back in the Nishi no Sabaku, it was custom for all the slaves who still had their families to sleep in one bed together, to save room. Sometimes, when there were lots of Akivi slaves, they were forced to sleep next to strangers.
Kotone felt her stomach fall. She had always hated how her father treated the Akivi..
She did not realize it, but Aiko had grabbed her hand and softly tugged her down until she was in the middle of her two companions. Kotone had obviously never been fond of physical contact, but she suddenly felt very comforted.
It reminded her of lying in her mother's lap all those ages ago, listening to the woman with bright blue eyes strum the strings of a golden lyre and singing with a just as golden voice. There was nothing better than hearing that voice.
She also remembered waking up in between her parents, holding their hands with her own little fingers. It was a rare occasion for all of them to sleep like Akivi slaves, but Amaterasu had managed to convince her parents. How, she did not remember, but what she did remember was always waking up in the middle of the night because of nightmares then feeling their hands intertwined with her own and thinking the same thought over and over and over again.
"They're here with me.. So I'm safe from all harm." Kotone whispered.
She felt the grips on her two hands tighten slightly.
-:-
End of Chapter 7.
A/N : I hope this somewhat long chapter will make up for my laziness! I apologize! Oh, by the way, guess how I spent New Years? ALONE. IN MY KITCHEN. DRINKING SPARKLY JUICE. AND CRYING BECAUSE TANGLED IS A HEARTBREAKING MOVIE.
It was my choice to be alone, though, actually. I had been invited to a family outing, but declined because I don't like really big crowds of people. So I stayed home like the complete recluse I am.
As you can see, I am obviously very unsocial.
But I can be friends with people who are also very unsocial. But then again I have yet to meet someone like that so I'll just sit here and wait patiently.
Anyways, enough of my ranting!
Thanks to..
{Reviewers}
(ShadowBloodNinja) - Ah, thank you! :) I really appreciate that because I was really unsure about how they interacted; I was very nervous about Sasuke because it's hard to type for me XD Yeah sorry about that.. I don't want to settle with one so I just flip and flop between the two. Snowboarding.. I only went a long time ago when I was a girl scout ; I didn't skii as much as I made snowmen because SURPRISE! I suck at snowboarding :D I found it to be the most challenging thing EVER. Probably because I didn't use the Pizza and French Fry technique and just kinda flailed around.. I hope you did better than me! :) Merry late Christmas and Happy late New Year! Enjoy yourself and be sure to eat your vegetables this new year! (Not like you didn't eat them last year, as if I'd know. All I know is that I didn't.)
(Yamiroo Alice) - Oh dear! :O You're hospitalized? I will pray for you! I do hope whatever injury you have will heal. It brings a smile to my face to think that this humble little story brightens your day; Thank you! I hope you did not predict what happened in this chapter! :) I hope that's the good kind of unpredictable.. I was very scared about the way I characterized her in that last special chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter - Happy late New Year!
(PsychoIdiotLady) - Wow, thank you so very much! :) I really appreciate it! Thank you so much for your kindness u ! Ahaha! XD I'm afraid that's the most fluff that's going to be in a chapter for a long while.. Sorry! Though I will be sure to scoot them closer to one another over time. I do hope you read and enjoy this recent chapter; Happy late New Year! Be sure to continue brushing your teeth!
(Animefangirl95) - Ah, that's alright c: I'll try and stay calm.
They will be together :) Don't worry!
Oh? :O Why?
Yeah, I wouldn't mind being a wolf pack member.. but a bear? I think I'd be eaten TTnTT
His mom is really scary ._. Whatever his intuition with women might be living with his mom and sister... it might actually be a little scary too XD Though he did good this time v.v Team Kiba XD reminds me of Team Edward and Jacob.
Wow.. really? Thank you! :D
YOU'RE SO SWEEEEET
I guess.. they are kind of cute c:
MWUAHAHAHA GO GET YOUR REVENGE SHIKAMARU YOUR LADY CAN WAIT.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this recent chapter! :D
[Chapter 7] - Thank you c: I felt kinda like a loner, updating on Christmas XD
I never get much snow.. I really like it though! :)
Ah, I'm glad c: I'd like a mom like her XD
He's blunt in the anime too right? o.o I hope so. He doesn't show up very much.. .
hehehe c: I guess it kind of is..
I don't really ship them XD I only put it in there because I remember you or perhaps someone else saying they liked them together!
He needs to man up! :O
Aren't his eyes kind of sexy though? ._.
Did I actually make someone laugh? XD I usually just sit here and type and pretend to laugh at my own little jokes.. I need a life -_-
In my mind he's really handsome so I decided to put little pieces in where it reveals that Akio is a ladies man ;) They are just like puppies v.v
ISN'T THAT GREAT I WAS LOOKING UP WORDS FOR THOSE WREATHS AND I WAS LIKE WAIT A SECOND SWAG AND YEAH
Really? Wow c: I can't believe that got such a reaction. It really makes me happy!
I never really liked Karin either -_- She was... Karin.
OMG THAT'S SO SWEET WOW ADFHGADHKGGF YOU REALLY WANT HIM TO BE REAL THAT'S SO NICE OF YOU
A very shocking shocker XD
I haven't gotten a mix up with that sort of thing considering that I'm still .. well.. very small. *goes and cries in a corner*
;) Oh yeah he wants her. *wolf whistle*
Well, they ARE from the desert... And now that I think about it, they're kind of like Aladdin except mute and blind :o
IKR I'M SO EVIL MWUAHAHAHHA
They had never seen snow so I thought it'd be appropriate to let them play c:
Heheheh c: really?
I actually switched things up so that a move was made c; I felt like the ending was missing something, though I do appreciate you liking the previous ending!
Yes, she really does care for them; you see a lot of that in this chapter~
Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
(Dreamer010102) - Why thank you c:
I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
/Followers\
{imma dino hear me roar} - I like your username c: Thank you for following~
{PsychoIdiotLady} - D: You aren't a psycho or an idiot! You are a beautiful butterfly :')
(Favoritings)
/PsychoIdiotLady\ - Thank you very very much! :)
A/N: I just discovered how to look at how many people look at my story each day and I thank you all for my over 1,000 views and 50 reviews! I am blessed to have such kind readers c: If I make any mistakes or do anything outrageously bad, please do not hesitate to mention it :) I make a lot of spelling mistakes that I am willing to correct if you point them out, though sometimes I may be too lazy to.
Also,
IDK WHAT TO DO A VERY NICE PERSON HAS ASKED ME TO MAKE A STORY ABOUT THEIR OC BUT I'M SO LAZY AND I'M ALREADY BAD AT UPDATING MY OTHER STORY BUT I DON'T WANT DISAPPOINT THIS KIND PERSON AND THEY JUST ASKED ME LIKE 'HEY HOW ARE YOU DOING ON THE STORY' I FEEL AWFUL PLEASE FORGIVE ME I AM SO SORRY IT'S JUST IDKJFGHAKDFJHGLKAFDJHG
The author has fainted of stress and guilt. Apologizes. Please look forward to the next chapter.