RSR II Chapter 10: Begin to Hope, a naruto fanfic

I wasn't sure of how to do this chapter at first, but after a bit more planning, I think I got it. Tell me what you think. Also, if you can guess where the title came from, I'll give you a cookie and mention you in the next chapter.

Songs- Absolutely (Story of a Girl) by Nine Days; Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet by Relient K.

Ch.10: Begin to Hope

A cold wind nipped at the noses of the patrons outside. Delilah was packed tonight, but with Sharingan as your entertainment, it wasn't that much of a surprise.

Megumi swirled the drink in her hand as she sat at the bar. She looked into the glass. It was a dark amber liquid and she swirled it again before drinking some of it. Kyo wiped the glass in his hand. "You okay, Megumi?"

"Yeah," she said in a depressed tone. "Can I have another soda?"

"Sure," he said handing her another can of soda before returning to his chore. "Hey, is he here tonight?"

She looked up at Kyo, her cheek still pressed to the counter in her slumped position. "No. He isn't and he won't be coming back. He didn't really want to come here anyway. He never did. Said this place wasn't his style. I had to drag him here."

Kyo looked up. "Is he causing you any trouble?"

"No," she said quietly against the counter.

Kyo snorted. "Well, if he does, tell me and I'll kick his ass for you." This made her smile and she looked up at him, a happy glimmer in her eyes. "Thanks, Kyo."

Kyo nodded. "Hn. Don't worry about it. Guy's a shitbag for doing that to you. Doesn't know a good thing when he has it," he muttered shaking his head before going to the other end of the bar.

Megumi smiled until he couldn't see it turn to a frown. She sighed. Kyo was right; Sasori was an ass, but it didn't stop her heart from hurting. In any case, he didn't have to kick Sasori's ass. Temari already did it for him.

Flashback

It was the beginning of March, the sun was shining and on a small cement path, a small group of people walked.

Megumi turned to Temari. "Really, I'm okay."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Really. Hey Lee."

"Yeah?"

"How is it with Shiori?" Megumi asked, trying to change the subject.

Lee flushed slightly. "It's going great. We held hands yesterday," he said smiling awkwardly as he thought back on the memory of holding hands with his girlfriend.

Megumi smiled, but couldn't help the pang that stabbed her heart. Why couldn't she and Sasori have been like that? Suddenly, she felt someone bump into her and she looked behind her to see umber eyes and red hair. She stared with wide eyes. He scoffed.

"Aren't you going to say sorry?"

"Sorry," she said looking away.

"Hey, look at me when you talk to me."

"No."

"What?" he asked.

"Kiss my ass," she said walking away when he grabbed her wrist. Megumi winced.

"Hey, let go of my cousin."

Sasori scoffed at Temari. "Or what?"

"Just let go, Sasori," said Megumi tiredly.

"No, I don't think so. You and I still have to talk and besides, I'm interested in seeing what the little pop princess is going to do."

"Little…pop…princess?"

Lee's eyes widened and pulled Megumi away just in the nick of time as Temari tackled Sasori to the ground, slugging him across the face. "You enjoy messing with my family, shitface?"

Another punch.

"What? Screwing with Gaara wasn't enough? You had to go after my cousin too?"

Sasori shoved her off him and dove at her. She lifted her knee, landing a solid kick into his stomach before doing a roundhouse kick to his face and sweeping him off his feet. She was about to go at him again when Lee grabbed her. "Stop it, Temari; don't you think he's had enough?"

She looked him over. His right cheek was swollen and he had a shiner on his left eye and she knew under his shirt, he was sporting a couple of bruises. Raising her left foot, she smashed it on his stomach and looked down at him and scoffed. "Guess this little pop princess just whooped your ass." She sized him up, thinking of spitting on him for good measure, but decided against it and turned to her two friends.

"Come on. Let's go."

End flashback

Megumi couldn't help the wry smile that crossed her lips. As much as she should feel sorry for Sasori (after all, he had been beaten up by a girl in broad daylight and he wasn't anything if not proud), the asshole deserved it. She snickered.

"Something funny?"

"No Kyo," but the dark smile didn't leave her face.

Kyo smirked. "Thinking of how many ways you're going to gut him like a fish?"

Megumi looked up and placed a finger on her cheek as if in thought. "No, I was thinking more along the lines of castration."

Kyo grinned and ruffled her hair. "That's my girl." And Megumi let him. He was more a father to her than her real father ever was and she was probably the daughter he never had. He never got a chance. When his wife died in that car crash all those years ago, it killed their 8-month-old unborn daughter too.

Megumi smiled thankfully at Kyo who just nodded and turned his raven-haired head away as she stared up at the stage. Even though the sign outside said Sharingan; Kakashi was missing. Megumi had a feeling that he was avoiding her. After all, she hadn't seen her since the day he kissed her and it hurt her to think he was avoiding her. Just then, the band began to play.

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles

How many days in a year?
She woke up with hope but she only found tears
And I can be so insincere
Making the promises never for real
As long as she stands there waiting
Wearin' the holes in the soles of her shoes
How many days disappear?
When you look in the mirror, so how do you choose?

Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles

How many lovers would stay?
Just to put up with this shit day after day
How did we wind up this way?
Watchin' our mouths for the words that we say
As long as we stand here waitin'
Wearin' the clothes of the souls that we choose
How do we get there today?
When we're walkin' too far for the price of our shoes

Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles

Well your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her…

This is the story of a girl
Whose pretty face she hid from the world
And while she looks so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her…

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles

When she smiles

Ino swirled the shot of whiskey in front of her before knocking it back, the liquid scalding the back of her throat.

Sasuke went up to the microphone. "This is a song that my cousin wanted me to sing. He's somewhere out here tonight—and don't go looking for him."

A collective whine was heard from the female population and he just scoffed before going into the song.

I think you know what I'm getting at
I find it so upsetting that
the memories that you select you keep the bad but the good you just forget

and even though I'm angry I can still say
I know my heart will break the day
when you peel out and drive away
I can't believe this happened

And all this time I never thought
that all we had would be all for not

No, I don't hate you
don't want to fight you
know I'll always love you
but right now I just don't like you
No, I don't hate you
don't want to fight you
know I'll always love you
but right now I just don't like you
cause you took this too far

Make your decision and don't you dare think twice
go with your instincts along with some bad advice
this didn't turn out the way I thought it would at all
you blame me but some of this is still your fault

I tried to move you, but you just wouldn't budge
I tried to hold your hand but you'd rather hold your grudge
I think you know what I'm getting at
you said goodbye and I just don't want you regretting that

And wisdom always chooses
these black eyes and these bruises
over the heartache that they say
never completely goes away
(I just can't believe this happened
and one day we'll see this come around)

What happened to us
I heard that it's me we should blame
what happened to us
why didn't you stop me from turning out this way
and know that I don't hate you
and know that I don't want to fight you
and know that I'll always love you
but right now I just don't...

Ino lowered her head in defeat. 'He hates me. He hates me and I don't blame him.'

She looked up, tears streaming down her face. It was all her fault. God, why did she have to cheat on him? So what if he had trouble understanding how she felt sometimes? He loved her and she shouldn't have treated him like that. And as she nursed her shot glass, she noticed something.

'It couldn't be.' But she found her legs walking over to him. "Sai?"

The dark-haired man looked up. "Yamanaka."

She sat in the seat across from him. "We need to talk." He turned away from her and she sighed. "You don't have to say anything, just listen to me. When we were fighting, I—I got…lonely. When we were together, it was like the best thing in the world to me, but when we were fighting, I wanted—no, I needed someone there. After a while, I couldn't stand being alone and I couldn't ask you because the whole reason I was alone was because we weren't talking," she said laughing, but the sound was empty. He still faced away from her.

Ino sighed and buried her hands in her hair tiredly. "Look, I know I'm a bitch and I know I don't have the right to talk to you and I'm a really shitty person. I mean, I'm weak, I'm clingy, I'm needy, I can be a total bitch, I'm inconsiderate, I'm stupid, I never learn, and I'm annoying. I know all that already."

"…you forgot loud…"

Ino whipped her head up. "What?"

Sai glanced over his shoulder at her. "You forgot loud."

Ino laughed through her tears and he turned towards her in his seat. She reached for the hands he placed on the table. "But I can't live without you. I need you to be with me."

"Has it really been that bad?"

She smiled at him saucily. "My life's been a shithole these past few weeks."

Sai chuckled, but soon looked at her with a serious face. "One last chance, Ino; you mess up, I'm gone."

Ino smiled at him. "Deal." And she sealed it with a hug.

Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles

Well your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her...

This is the story of a girl
Whose pretty face she hid from the world
And while she looks so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her...

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles

When she smiles

Kakashi put down the guitar in the grass beside him. He was at the school—to be precise, in the area beside the school sitting on a cement bench where a tree was placed in the concrete box. It was Thursday, but the school was empty. The kids had the day off, but the teachers had to come. After all, it was a mandatory staff meeting and it had just ended. With no idea what to do with himself, he grabbed the guitar he brought with him from home and started playing.

As he sat on his cement seat, he had to wonder if the rest of Sharingan had played this song when they went to Delilah. He had written it, but hadn't gone to play it, not with Megumi around. He knew why he was avoiding her. He figured it out a few weeks ago and groaned out loud at the memory. God, it was embarrassing.

Flashback

Kakashi sat in his room as the dull patter of the rain could be heard outside his window. Kiku hopped up onto his bed and Kakashi offered the cat a small smile before stroking her fur. Kiku purred and arched her back before walking away from the hand to his nightstand, licking a photograph. Kakashi shook his head and picked up the cat. He'd never been a cat person (he preferred dogs), but he was okay with cats now.

"Kiku, you silly cat, what are you doing?"

He removed the cat and picked up the photo. It was a picture of him and Megumi from last year when the two bands went to the amusement park. He was wearing a black T-shirt and cargo shorts while Megumi rested her arm on his shoulder and winked at the camera, wearing a pair of white shorts and a blue tank top with a blue visor. He remembered this picture. Sakura had taken it.

His grip increased on the frame slightly and Kiku mewed and Kakashi watched as Kiku began pawing at the photo. "You miss her?"

Kiku mewed.

"Yeah, I miss her too," he said sadly before groaning loudly and plopping onto his bed. The action had spooked Kiku as she had run out of the room, but that was okay. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts anyway.

"'I miss her too?' What the hell am I saying? I'm avoiding her!"

But he had yet to figure out why. Sure, it would be awkward. Really awkward. After all, he kissed her. A man 14 years her senior had kissed her and he kissed her while she was having a nervous breakdown. Kami, what was wrong with him?!

Kakashi turned in his bed, pressing his face into his sheet and a picture of her appeared in his mind's eye and he found himself grinning under his mask before he wiped the idiotic expression off his face. This was becoming absurd.

'"Come on, Kakashi! Let's go outside today!"'

He smiled wider at the image of her smiling at him, his heart feeling lighter at the memory, but he ignored it.

He let his mind wander to their various memories and he found that they had a lot, or maybe he'd just been subconsciously saving each one they had ever made? And when did he start noticing the small things about her? Her smile, her laugh, the fact she wrinkled her nose when she was upset or that she would pout her lip when she was disappointed or bite it when she was nervous?

At the thought of her lips, his mind had drifted back to the kiss. Nothing had really happened. He had just given her an innocent kiss and he'd given her all the time in the world to leave, but she had stayed. She had stayed and kissed him back. Did it mean that she liked him or was she just giving into the moment after losing her boyfriend? No, he had sensed hesitance in her movements as if she never had a kiss like that.

Now that he looked at it, it seemed trivial that he was avoiding her because of it. He had just kissed her and she kissed him back. That's all there was to it, but his palms were slightly clammy and he noticed his heart rate had leapt. Really, this was absurd. It was just a kiss, but it didn't stop his heart rate from leaping at the memory of his lips against hers and how she responded and he noticed he was breathing faster now. Kami, this was insane. If he didn't know any better, he would've said he was acting like some teenager in—

"Shit."

Grabbing a pillow from behind his head, he stuffed his face into it and vented a well-needed scream before throwing it to the end of the bed. "Ok, Hatake. No need to panic, just be calm and think this through."

But his mind wasn't listening and panic was beginning to set in. He was obviously overreacting. There was no way he could like her. Why would he like her?! Not that she was a bad person.

'On the contrary, she's smart, funny, very easy to get along with, down-to-earth and…'

She was real. Unlike how she let herself be portrayed in magazines and television, she had her own problems.

She had a bad relationship with her father and she still did, she was suicidal for years, she had planned on killing herself not too long ago, and she was the crutch for everyone. It wasn't like she was above everyone else. She was actually worse off than most of them. She'd had one of the worst situations a person could ever have emotionally and mentally, but she was clawing her way up and she could help a person because she'd been there. She could understand anyone, even him and…he could understand her.

He marveled at her strength. She had made such a transformation from who she said she was. By looking at her, you'd never be able to tell that she had such a life. You'd just see a girl with a bright smile and a rich lifestyle. She was like a pool of water. You'd never know how deep it was until you jumped in.

Kakashi let his head fall back into his pillows as he stared up at the ceiling from his western-style bed. Just how did he know her so well and not know her at the same time? She really was a mystery, but he liked that about her. He liked that and so much more about her. He could always tell how she felt by looking at her eyes. Though she wore her heart on her sleeve and while he usually found that annoying, he didn't mind it with her.

And she could always make him smile. He didn't know why. I mean, give him a volume of Icha Icha and he'd be grinning at you for a good half hour, but somehow, she could make him smile and mean it and he found that stupid smile on his face again. Kami, he was probably looking like a love-sick teenager (something he had never done before), but he found he didn't mind this either.

Shit. He really was in trouble. He really did fall in love with her. He chuckled at the idea of falling in love with his former student, but he found that his laughter was fond and his smile warm. Was he really okay with falling in love with her? Sure, you couldn't choose who you fell for, but she was his former student. Shouldn't his moral fiber be screaming and ranting at him right about now?

He waited a few minutes as if testing the theory out, but heard no voice in his head screaming 'this is wrong! You can't do this!' or felt any pangs of guilt. But even if his moral fiber wasn't yelling at him, he was probably going to burn in hell for this—burn, rot, be tortured—but he was surprisingly calm. In fact, he seemed pretty okay with the idea.

He turned his head to the small photo frame beside his bed and turned on his side to look at it. It really was a nice picture and it seemed very homey. Like something you'd take on vacation with your family what with all the amusement park rides and families in the back. Kakashi smiled wryly and pointed to Megumi.

"This is all your fault."

End flashback

Kakashi sighed at the memory. After he finished his little melt-down, the memory was actually very pleasant, but he remembered just how he felt about her and groaned. Though not unpleasant, it was embarrassing. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over him.

"What? Song not turn out like you wanted?"

Kakashi turned back. "Oh, hey Genma." When had he gotten here?

The toothpick-sucking man nodded and put his hands in his pockets. "So, are you going to answer my question or what?"

Kakashi shook his head. "It isn't the song." Of course it wasn't the song. He was pretty proud of it, actually.

"Good, cuz I wouldn't want to hear you bitch about it not being good."

Kakashi rolled his eye. "Gee, thanks."

"No problem," Genma said punching Kakashi's arm lightly before looking ahead at the scenery across from them. "So who's the girl?"

Kakashi did a double-take. "W-what?"

"Well, you did write a song all about a girl, so I want to know who it is."

Kakashi shook his head. "No one."

"Well, it had to be based on someone."

"It's just about a girl."

"And I'm asking who it is."

"It's no one! It's just a random girl, Genma. Lay off."

"But it has to be someone if you're being so defensive."

Oh, how Kakashi wanted to wipe that smug smirk off Genma's face.

"So…is it Megumi?"

"W-wuh-wha—M-m-M—"

Really, Kakashi spluttering was hilarious and the glare that came afterwards was too, or it would be if it wasn't directed at him. He turned away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

"You're crazy."

"You're not denying it."

"…damn." Genma smirked smugly, and Kakashi sighed in exasperation. He might as well tell him; it'd be the only way to wipe that smug look off his face. "Fine. It is, happy?"

Genma replied by patting his arm and grinning. "Yes. Finally, Hatake. I was starting to think you were never going to get it."

"Get what?"

"That she liked you," he said with a smile, but at the utterly dumbfounded look of Kakashi's face, his smile fell. "You never knew?" Kakashi shook his head and Genma sighed.

"Damn, you're blind."

"What?! How was I supposed to know?!" he shouted and Genma fought down a snicker at Kakashi's large hand motions. It looked like he was trying to impersonate a duck.

"It was pretty damn obvious she liked you and you liked her."

"But I thought she liked Kiba."

"She did..."

"Ha! I told you."

"…Along with liking you."

"What?"

Genma sighed. Obviously he was going to have to explain a lot of things to him. "Okay. She liked you and then she started to like Kiba a little while she still liked you. Then she was stuck between you two, but even then, she was leaning more towards you."

Kakashi turned to Genma. "How do you know all this?"

Genma smirked proudly. "I know women like the back of my hand. Hey, what's that?" he said, noticing a small mark on the back of his left hand.

Kakashi sweat-dropped. "Obviously, you have a lot to learn still."

"Well, I know mostly how they tick in bed and all that love shit, which is way more than you can say."

"Hn." Kakashi looked out at the landscape before them. The green grass bowed to the small wind that blew through and the faint babbling of the water from the fountain reached his ears. "Why didn't she tell me how she felt?"

Genma blinked at him. "You're kidding, right?" One look said no. "You're serious."

Genma looked down, pressing his thumb to his lips. "Well, she probably had her own reasons too, but seriously, would you have believed her if she said she had a crush on you?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Exactly. You wouldn't have believed her and if you did, you would've thought of her like that Mayu chick before she got her boyfriend."

"But you said that I liked her since then and—"

"Did you know that you liked her?"

"Well, no, but—"

"No buts, Hatake. Jeez, you're about as aware of feelings as a rock is aware of geometric proofs."

"Well, they have yet to prove rocks can't think," Kakashi quipped. Genma shared a chuckle before smiling at him. "So, how's it going? Any plans for a wedding or something?"

"No."

Genma blinked. "Really? But I thought with you realizing you liked her and her—"

"She got a boyfriend this year," interrupted Kakashi.

"Oh."

"But I kissed her."

"Oh!"

"While she was having an emotional breakdown…or maybe it was after?"

"Oh. What—"

"She broke up with her boyfriend."

"Oh."

"After she caught him cheating on her."

"Oh…what did you say his name was again?"

"I didn't, and don't do anything."

"Fine." Genma sighed. "So…have you thought about what you're going to do now?"

"I don't know. I only just figured out I liked her."

"Loved her," corrected Genma.

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"

Genma looked at him as if he was the stupidest man alive. "Trust me; you have it bad for this girl."

"Yeah right."

"Six years," he sang.

"Fine, whatever. So, what do you think I should do?"

Genma turned away from Kakashi, a wrist resting on a raised knee while his eyes were distant. "I think you should go after her, Hatake. After all, you love her and she probably still feels the same."

"I'm not sure, Genma. It's complicated."

Genma sighed in defeat. "Look, just go after her before someone else gets her. She won't wait forever, you know." And with a small wave over his shoulder, Genma left Kakashi.

Kakashi grunted and watched Genma leave before mulling over his words again. 'Go after her, huh?' He shrugged. It seemed like an easy decision, but it really wasn't. He had everything to lose in going through with it, but he also had everything to gain. So much depended on this decision that he'd have to be crazy to agree to it, but thankfully, love had made him insane.

'Now for a plan of attack…'