RSR II Chapter 4: The Call, a naruto fanfic

I think this fic will only be about twelve chapters. That's about 1/4 of the original RSR (aren't you happy?). Well, part of this chapter is pretty emo and it has Fruits Basket in it!! Squee!! R&R please.

Songs: Avril Lavigne- In My World

Ch.4: The Call

Dull chatter could be heard in the small street-corner café. School had already begun for the year and the murmured sounds of studying and the clacking of computer keyboards could be heard in lieu of the mixed conversations and the coffee machine behind the counter, but above all was the loud ranting of a familiar blonde.

"—and you know what else he said? He said I was self-centered! Can you believe it? Me? Self-centered!"

Temari, Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, and Megumi rolled their eyes. 'Imagine that,' they thought together.

Now, it wasn't that they hated Ino, but whenever they had get-togethers, Ino would immediately jump into telling everyone her status with Sai. This would last for about half an hour to an hour before she'd allow someone else to talk before jumping in again after hearing something about a boyfriend that would remind her of something Sai did. Then again, Ino had starting dating in her off-stage of her relationship with Sai, so at least they had something else to listen to besides Sai's inability to understand what Ino meant when she said it was her 'time of the month.'

Sakura absentmindedly stirred her cappuccino as Ino began talking about the cute guy she snagged at the club last night. Really, there was only so much a girl could take before she started to drift off.

"You listening to me, forehead?"

"Yes, Ino," she replied to her angered friend. The reply seemed to placate Ino because she went after Hinata next. Really, she and Sai needed to get this kind of stuff straightened out before she did it for them.

'The girls are probably thinking the same thing.'

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a person approach their table. "Umm…"

"What?!" Ino snapped, slamming her fist into the table. The drinks leapt from the wooden top and Megumi's glass tipped into her lap.

'Thank god it's just water,' she thought wiping the stain on her pants.

Hinata smiled pleasantly. "Please ignore Ino-chan. She's not in a good mood. Can we help yo—Ikeda-san!"

The girl smiled. "Please, call me Chieko."

Hinata nodded and Temari rested her chin on her propped up arm. "Wanna sit? We got plenty of room."

"Sure," she smiled and scootched in beside Hinata. Hinata smiled. "How are things with Shino-kun?"

Chieko's expression darkened. "I hate him."

"He isn't that bad," Tenten said stirring her lemonade.

"Really?" she drawled skeptically.

"Yeah. He was just in a foul mood. He really hates this engagement," Sakura quipped.

"Well, it's no picnic for me either," she sulked.

"Just give him a chance, Chieko-chan. He's a really great guy," Hinata smiled.

"Hn."

"Besides, he's really awkward around girls," Ino smiled slyly. This got her attention. Chieko smiled darkly. "Tell me more."

"Well, the girls and I were going to the mall with the guys—you know, the ones you saw under the tree with Shino—anyway, we were going to the mall and I wanted to go to this store, right? You remember this, right, Megumi? Megumi? Megumi? Dammit, what the heck are you staring at?"

Tenten smirked. "It's not a 'what', but a 'who.'"

"A 'who?'"

"A 'who,'" Tenten affirmed and Ino's eyes lit up. "Sakura, fill Chieko in. Who is it? Who is it, Megumi-chan?"

Megumi blushed. "It isn't anyone."

"Liar. It's that cute red-head who's at the counter."

Megumi glared at Tenten. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, but I'm just saying a guy is cute. It's not like Neji's going to get mad at me for saying another guy looks good."

"Right…"

Ino peered over the heads at the line and blinked. "Hey, I know him."

The girls turned to look at Ino curiously. "You do?"

Ino nodded. "Yup. He's my cousin."

"What?!" they screamed.

"Yup. I can set you up with him if you want, Megumi-chan."

Megumi's face paled. "No, Ino. Wait. I never said—" But it was too late.

"Sasori!" Ino waved.

"Ino. Don't. Really. You don't have to—"

"Ino?" the red-head asked, looking down quizzically at the blonde girl. "What are you doing here?"

"I go to school here, remember? Sasori no baka," she sulked.

"Whatever," the boy said. "So what did you call me over for?"

"I wanted you to meet my friends. Plus, one of them wanted to meet you really badly." The faint sound of a snort could be heard in the background.

"The girl with the buns on her head is Tenten. The one with pink hair is forehead-girl."

"Better than being a pig," Sakura interjected.

Ignoring the comment, Ino pressed on. "The girl with white eyes is Hinata-chan. The one with blue eyes is Chieko. The one with brown eyes and black hair is Megumi-chan and the one with the blonde ponytails is Temari."

Sasori nodded, but blinked and turned back to Temari. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

Temari snorted. "No shit, dumbass. You were the neighborhood jackass that picked on my little brother."

Sasori stared at the bold girl in shock while Megumi blinked. "You picked on Gaara?"

Sasori tapped his finger on the table. "That name sounds familiar. Red hair, turquoise eyes?"

"Yeah. You used to shove him in the concrete when we were kids," Temari glared.

"And you were that little girl who always told me off."

"Damn straight," she retorted.

"Well, sorry about that. I was a jerk when I was a kid. Tell him I'm sorry. Where is he, anyway?"

"Germany. He's going to college there," Megumi answered. Sasori nodded and Ino smiled. "Ne, Sasori, I want you to meet the girl who wanted to meet you. Sasori, Megumi-chan, lead singer of FFG and your next girlfriend."

"Ino! Shut up!" Megumi screamed as she blushed furiously. Did Ino really have to broadcast that? Megumi sighed. She should have never looked at him. Turning to smile at him, she extended her hand. "Hi."

Sasori smiled and took her hand, kissing the back of her fingers. "Hey."

As the girls screamed and Megumi flushed hotly, Temari reclined in her seat at the booth and regarded the man in front of her.

'I wonder if he's changed at all.'

Megumi walked through the empty halls of the college. It was her study hour, but she didn't feel like studying just yet. Slinging her bag over her shoulder and grabbing her guitar, she set out for a quiet place just outside under the shade of a tree. Even though it was fall, the trees were still green and the day felt like June.

Smiling to herself, she set down her guitar and bag and sat in the grass. A breeze came and her hair blew, tickling her collarbone. Laughing quietly to herself, she pulled out her guitar and leaned back against the tree. Propping a leg up as she extended the other one, she tuned the guitar and began to play.

Please tell me what is taking place,
Cause I can't seem to find a trace,
Guess it must've got erased somehow,
Probably 'cause I always forget,
Everytime someone tells me their name,
It's always gotta be the same.
(In my World)
Never wore cover-up,
Always beat the boys up,
Grew up in a 5000 population town,
Made my money by cutting grass,
Got fired by fried chicken ass,
All in a small town, Nappanee.

You know I always stay up without sleepin',
And think to myself,
Where do I belong forever,
In whose arms, the time and place?

Can't help it if I space in a daze,
My eyes tune out the other way,
I may switch off and go in a daydream,
In this head my thoughts are deep,
But sometimes I can't even speak,
Would someone be and not pretend? I'm off again in my World

I never spend less than an hour,
Washin' my hair in the shower,
It always takes 5 hours to make it straight,
So I'll braid it in a zillion braids,
Though it may take all friggen day,
There's nothin' else better to do anyway.

When you're all alone in the lands of forever,
Lay under the Milky Way,
On and on it's getting too late out,
I'm not in love this time this night.
Can't help it if I space in a daze,
My eyes tune out the other way,
I may switch off and go in a daydream,
In this head my thoughts are deep,
But sometimes I can't even speak,
Would someone be and not pretend? I'm off again in my World

(la la la la)

Take some time,
Mellow out,
Party up,
But don't fall down,
Don't get caught,
Sneak out of the house.

"That was good."

Megumi gasped and whipped her head back to see a familiar red-head. "Sasori…" She hadn't seen him in weeks, not since she was first introduced to him by Ino. She could feel a blush creep into her face. She still couldn't believe he kissed her hand.

Sasori sat in the grass beside her. He was wearing a pair of black leather pants, black boots, a white T-shirt, and a silver dog tag hung around his neck. "So, how do you think of songs like that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. They just happen. Guess it depends on my mood. I wrote this during summer break."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ne, Sasori-san, do you...go to school here?"

The red-headed man blinked. "Yeah, you never knew?"

"No!" she screamed, quickly slapping her hands over her mouth. She blushed. "That was embarrassing."

He just chuckled. "So, you go to school here? What are you majoring in?"

"Well…"

Above the two, a person watched in a window. They smiled. 'Nice job, Megumi. I hope you will be happy.'

The person backed away from the window, their reflection in the glass. Lee smiled to himself. One of his best friends was finding love, his other best friends had found it, but he had to wonder, where did that leave him?

As he sighed and stepped into the hall, he felt something bump into him and the sound of papers fluttering to the ground reached his ears. He looked down to see a girl scrambling for her papers. Strange; he didn't hear anything in the hall, so when did she get here? Watching her rush to get her papers, he reached down to hand her back some. "Here."

She looked up, startled. She had disheveled raven hair (probably from the collision), and her glasses were askew, but behind them were shimmering emerald eyes. She looked at him blankly before noticing the papers in front of her. "O-o-oh. T-t-thank y-y-you," she said. She hastily took them from her and stood up, wincing as they fell from her arms once more. Watching the man pick them up, she hastily dropped down beside him to help. "I'm sorry about causing so much trouble," she apologized.

"It's no trouble," he replied helping her with the papers. Straightening them out on the window sill, he turned to her and smiled. "Done."

She nodded. "T-t-thank y-y-you, um…"

"Lee. Rock Lee," he said smiling awkwardly. He didn't do the power of youth pose anymore. He'd calmed down a lot since high school. (Plus, too many people kept staring and pointing at him.) He only did it in the summer when school was out and he could afford to relax a little. Realizing he didn't know her name, he asked her for it.

"Yamamoto Shiori," she replied adjusting her glasses.

"Alright Shiori-san, for accidentally bumping into you in the halls, let me walk you to class. Besides, I think you might need some help with those papers."

She blushed and fidgeted with the books in her arms. "Alright…" she said quietly and he smiled before picking up the stack of papers and walking with her in the halls.

Megumi lay in her bed. It was mid-afternoon and the sky was a dark grey. She was alone in her dorm room (Temari was on a date with Shikamaru) and she watched the clock on their wall tick as the setting sun caused the shadows to move. Leaning over to turn on the small lamp on her bedside table, she shifted in her pillows to catch up on Fruits Basket.

As she flipped through the pages, she sighed and held the manga in her hand. It was volume sixteen; possibly her favorite volume of the whole series because it reminded her…of her.

Kyoko reminded her of herself when she was a preteen. She had so much anger inside her, at her mother, her father, her paternal grandmother, her school—life in general—that it festered, just waiting for the smallest thing to set it off. She, however, couldn't release it like Kyoko did.

Megumi stared at her hands as she thought back on her life. Her hair was short all the time and there weren't any real gangs in a San Francisco suburb. Besides, she lived in constant fear of her father's moods. Whenever he was mad, he'd verbally lash out on whoever was available, usually her. Though she came from a picture-perfect broken home, she didn't have Kyoko's fire.

Megumi flipped through the manga, her fingers tracing a specific page.

"For a time, I also misunderstood. I thought everyone around me was utter trash..."

Just when was it that life seemed to lose its meaning? Did it mean anything to her to begin with? When was it that the day seemed darker than the night? That the days lost their color? When did her sky become permanently grey?

"…but I couldn't be so painfully honest and cry. I can't cry."

She hated it. She hated the fact she couldn't cry. All the tears shed in her childhood were just of frustration. Why couldn't this work? Why couldn't she get the recognition she deserved? Why couldn't she be loved? Why did everything have no meaning?

…But she couldn't tell herself that. How could you expect an 8-yr-old to tell themselves that? No, even she wasn't jaded enough to tell herself that. Or at least, not at the time.

Megumi closed the manga and slid it onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling and looked at the backs of her hands. They had so many scars. So many things that held a moment of her past. How scarred was her soul? Was it like her hands or were the wounds slowly healing? After all, middle school had changed her. She began finding value in life, in the small things. A smile, a good day, a night of sleep, the night sky, good friends. High school had done her even better. The darkness seemed to be receding, but she couldn't remember how so much had receded.

Megumi flopped onto her stomach. What had changed since middle school?

Flopping onto her back once again she stared up at her ceiling.

And just what had made her open up to people so easily? She had basically poured her guts out to Kakashi and he'd accepted it. She even found herself talking to her mother after all these years. What had made her want to change so readily? She thought back on the night. 'Maybe…'

But the phone rang and she rolled onto her side to grab the phone. "Y'ello."

"Hi Megumi."

Her brows rocketed to her hairline. "Sasori?" she asked. It was weird hearing from him again. It had been weeks since they exchanged phone numbers or even talked. The last time that happened was when he caught her singing. "Whassup?"

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to see a movie with me."

"A movie?"

"Yeah. You know, those things that use a reel of film and a large screen and stereotypically include popcorn."

"Yeah, sorta knew that. What movie?"

"I don't know. Maybe something horror or foreign."

"Oh."

"Good 'oh' or bad 'oh'?"

"Surprised 'oh.'"

"Sounded more disappointed than anything."

"Well, bit freaked about horror flicks, but I love foreign films."

"So…wanna go?"

"…sure."

"Great. Sunday at 8 okay?"

"Sure."

"See you then."

The phone on the other line clicked and she placed the phone onto the receiver before staring at the ceiling wondering, 'Did that just happen?'

"You what?!"

Megumi winced at Ino's loud tone. God, her voice could carry.

"Sasori asked me to go to the movies with him tomorrow," she said calmly as stunned faces sat around her. They were at the FFG mansion. It was Thanksgiving break and surprisingly, the college celebrated Thanksgiving, so when they were given this free time, what else could they want more than to go home. Plus, apparently Kiku missed the girls too much.

As Kiku purred happily under the familiar touch of Hinata's hand, everyone else was in some state of shock. Sakura, Tenten, and Ino gaped openly, Naruto and Hinata stopped what they were doing, and Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi had their eyes nearly popping from their sockets. If not for the strange silence, Megumi would have thought it funny.

"Guys…"

The group shook their heads to clear the shock from their systems before turning to face the girl. Ino grinned. "Hell yeah, I'm going to be related to a celebrity!" she shouted.

Megumi blanched. "Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself, Ino?"

"And your babies will be so cute and I'll be their hot aunt and…"

"And she's off, ladies and gentlemen," Temari remarked as Ino chatted at a mile a minute. How Ino managed to get from Megumi's date to her own grandchildren was something she'd never know. Then again, she wouldn't want to. Turning to her cousin, she asked, "So, when did the two of you get together?"

Everyone hung onto the edge of their seats for her reply.

"Um…we're not dating."

"You're married?" Tenten asked.

"No."

"Eloping?" Hinata asked.

"No."

"Engaged?" Sakura asked.

"No. We're just friends," she said through gritted teeth.

"Friends with benefits?"

"No! Just friends. Jeez, Ino! Did you listen at all during those rants I gave about wanting to save my virtue until I'm ready?"

Ino blinked. "You were serious?"

Megumi had to refrain from smashing her head into the coffee table. As much as it sounded appealing at the moment, she'd have to deal with the repercussions of having glass shards embedded in her forehead.

"Yes."

"So, you're sure you're just friends, right?" Sasuke asked.

"As far as I know," Megumi replied.

"As far as you know?" Neji asked sounding slightly concerned.

"Unless he managed to fall head-over-heels for me in the three times we've talked, I'm fairly certain we're just friends." Honestly, what ever happened to the idea that a guy and a girl could be in a completely platonic relationship?

"Still…" Naruto said.

"I'm sure. If he does end up showing up with candy and flowers when I go to the theater, I will forfeit all bragging rights to you. Scout's honor."

"But you're not a scout."

Megumi winked. "I know, but I always wanted to say that. Besides, I think I'd look pretty damn good in a scout outfit," she said sticking out her tongue.

As Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the reply to his response, Kakashi laced his fingers together and rested his chin on the backs of them. "I don't know if I particularly trust this 'Sasori' fellow. What if something happens?"

Megumi pouted. "I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl," she said folding her arms over her chest.

"Still…" he said and she rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll call you as soon as I get back to the dorm."

"Promise?"

"Hai."

And with a reluctant nod, Kakashi agreed. Megumi smiled and they gave murmured agreements before moving onto a new subject; the stars twinkling above them.

Kakashi paced by his phone as Kiku slept at the foot of his bed. It was already 11 o' clock at night.

'When is she going to call? Maybe something happened. Maybe I should go look for her. Wait, she didn't give me the theater name. Dammit. How hard is it to call a person and why am I worrying like a mother hen?'

Sighing, he raked his hand through his silver hair and looked down at Kiku who was now awake and staring curiously at the pacing man. "This is all your fault," he said glaring at Kiku. Kiku narrowed her gaze, daring him to say that again and he sighed and held his hands up in apology. He shouldn't blame Kiku for his slipping sanity, but he was spending way too much time with the cat and she was the only living organism besides himself he could blame.

'Maybe—'

Ring. Ring.

Kakashi dove for the phone and fumbled with it in his hands. Clearing his throat, he pretended that he just woke up. "Hello?" he asked drowsily.

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yes, but don't worry about it, Megumi-chan. So you're safely at the dorm?"

"Yup, Sasori walked me there just to make sure."

Kakashi smiled, relieved that she got back safe, but felt a slight twinge in his gut. Chalking it up as too much coffee in the teacher's lounge, he ignored it. "That's good to hear. So, how was the movie?"

"Two whole hours of cinematic genius! They shot it in black and white and the acting was wonderful."

Kakashi blinked. "Wait, two hours? I thought you were gone for three hours."

"I was. We spent forty-five minutes talking. I can't believe how much we have in common! He's so cool. I should have the two of you meet sometime." Kakashi faked a yawn and he heard the concern in her voice. "Am I keeping you up?"

"What? No. No."

"Yes, I am. Stop lying to me. Go to sleep, Kakashi," she said sternly.

"Alright," he said. Besides, he was getting really tired now. He stopped faking the sleep in his voice five minutes ago. "Goodnight Megumi."

"Night, Kakashi."

She hung up and he returned the phone to its rightful place before slipping between the covers and falling asleep.