Team Kakashi
By: Lady Evelynn
All standard disclaimers apply: I do not own Naruto. Though the plot is mine. I just lack creativity in the character design department, hence why I abuse already made characters. Mwah!
Chapter 4: Preparations of the Heart. . . and Mind.
By the time Sakura reached her apartment complex, Hinata's food preperations were all placed down upon the dining table patiently awaiting for Sakura's presence and untouched. Hinata was a really great friend towards Sakura, complementing Sakura's impatience with her calm demeanor and selflessness. She would be the perfect house wife.
"Welcome back, Sakura-san," Hinata smiled, already sitting down at the table. Ino wasn't present, but Sakura had a feeling that tonight Ino wasn't going to arrive until way later.
"Thank you for waiting on me. The pager Sizune-sama gave me in replacement to my busted one was surprisingly broken as well," Sakura emphasized sarcastically. Taking her place across from Hinata on the floor, it was usually her who instigated the conversations. Sakura really wasn't fond of dining in quiet. She then continued her rant, "So I might get random pages throughout the night, maybe even worse hours than before, only for them to be false alarms. I'm thinking that my other pager was a blessing compared to this one. Ah, Hinata," Sakura sighed, taking a breather, and then stopped herself from placing a small dumpling into her mouth, "What are you doing this Friday?"
Hinata placed down her chopsticks, as a polite gesture, and met Sakura's green eyes with her lilac ones. To say Hinata's eyes were beautiful was an understatement. At the passing thought, Sakura vaguely wondered why Hinata was so conservative since she was so beautiful. Shouldn't she be flaunting her beauty? She might even get a boost in confidence. But Hinata was also lovely the way she was, the pink haired girl didn't think she could handle another Ino in her life.
"Um. . . I am attending a concert," Hinata replied in a soft voice, barely audible only to those who didn't care to listen. But Sakura was interested— very interested.
"Team Kakashi?" Sakura asked with a little suspicion on the tip of her tongue. Perhaps it was Hinata who gave her the ticket in disguise of a letter. Hinata has never been as straightforward as herself, so it was possible that Hinata was the one who gave her the ticket in disguise.
Hinata nodded, suppressing a brightening smile. "Hai. It's my favorite band. "
"Ah. Arigato, Hinata-chan, they're my favorite too," Sakura smiled. Hinata tilted her head to the side in confusion, but Sakura paid her action no mind and continued to devourer the dumpling once again. After dinner was finished, and Sakura was done washing the dishes, Sakura made her way to her bedroom. It was a few days until the concert, and she would be prepared. She'd do research on them, and dress up for an occasion she won't ever forget. It's not common getting a backstage pass to one of the sexiest bands ever, now is it? Sakura grinned and shut her door behind her. Maybe she'd get a haircut; after all, she was meaning to update her style for a long while.
Just as she sat down at her vanity and reached for her comb, what sounded like the front door shutting very violently and loud steps interrupted her through process. Ino. Sakura thought, mildly curious to why she was arriving so late. In the background, Sakura heard Hinata's soft voice—probably telling her leftovers were in the fridge— and Ino thanking her loudly.
Shaking her head, Sakura stared back into her reflection once more and observed herself with her sharp eyes. She was maturing into a beautiful woman, she knew that, however she was sad that she was still single. What she desired above all was, deep down inside her heart, love. Perhaps tomorrow she'd chat up Tenten and finally give into getting her fortune told, and not allow that random peddler on the street to bug her mind anymore. Tenten was quite notorious for her accurate descriptions into the future, but her way of telling it was kind of. . . uncanny and intimidating. Maybe that was why Sakura never gave into the urge before.
A laugh escaped Sakura's lips and she began to comb out the tangles in her hair.
A soft knock came from her door, disrupting her thoughts, and before Sakura could answer, the door opened. "Yes?" Sakura asked, mildly peeved at the lack of privacy.
"Sheesh, you'd think you enjoy the dark with how you are creepily sitting over there," Ino sighed as she flickered on the lights. "Well, I just stopped by your room to tell you that on Wednesday we're going to do some shopping. Hinata's coming too, since she only works Fridays and weekends. I thought it'd be nice to have a girls' day out. Plus, she needs some new outfits too,"
"You know Hinata also has a ticket for the concert, right?" Sakura asked, back to brushing her hair.
"Really? Well then, more fun for us," Ino laughed. "She's so modest, it kinda worries me,"
"Ino, not everyone is willing to show off ample amount of skin like you do," Sakura replied, suppressing a smirk. She watched the blonde's response through her mirror.
"Yeah, well not everyone looks as damn good as I do, either," Ino opened grinned. At that, both girls laughed. It was like having her best friend again—t o be able to joke about things and not worry about hurting someone's feelings. Ino abruptly stopped laughing and made her way towards Sakura's window.
"Eh?" Sakura asked, finished with her nightly primping.
"You know, you should place curtains on these windows. What if some random creep is watching you?" Ino asked, disgust prevalent in her voice.
"Curtains gives me the creeps at night, is why. But I'm thinking about getting some shutters later. Why the interest?"
"Ah, just worried about my dear ol' best friend's wellbeing. Oh! You have a plant?" Ino smiled, taking note in the plant hanging on Sakura's ceiling. Sakura nodded. "At least I can forgive you about the curtains since plants need as much sun as possible," Ino winked and grabbed the water pitcher by the window sill to hydrate the plant.
"Ino, we missed you at dinner," Sakura stated, nonchalantly. Though in truth, she was very curious to why Ino arrived so late.
"Ah, don't worry about me. I already ate some of the leftovers Hinata put up. They were scrumptious by the way," Ino smiled, placing the pitcher down onto its proper place again. "Well it's late. Time for me to hit the sack. I need as much beauty sleep as possible if the concert is in less than five days," With that, Ino grinned and waved a good-night to her friend. Sakura softly smiled then gathered some clothing for her nightwear, and headed for the bathroom. A nice, hot bath would relax her mind.
'Itachi. . .'
That name woke her up again. It was really getting on her nerves, for something to be constantly on her mind. She had to get to the bottom of this. The 'Game Over' warning on the Kunai, Itachi, the poison, that mysterious young man, everything. Sakura grabbed one of her few extra pillows on her bed and hugged it close to her chest, a way of relieving stress, and then looked outside her window. The moon was waxing, it was beautiful, but Friday would be the Full Moon. She could hardly wait. She didn't remember what any of the band members looked like, however, she knew she was attracted to the band for some reason— not just the vocals.
It was weird— she acted like a child all over again. It was rare for her to, since she had to grow up quickly and get a job so that she could pay for schooling and other things, but this past week she's been seeping into her more childlike self. Perhaps it was Ino's fault, coming back into her life on such short notice and evoking suppressed emotions and memoires.
The last time she saw the woman was when they were barely teens. Ino had lost her family due to sickness— one of the reasons Sakura wanted to study in the medical field— and lived with Sakura and her parents for awhile. During that time they bonded so close, and then Ino left.
Ino proclaimed she found someone in a distant town, someone who has captivated her heart. Without a word to Sakura's family, she left in hopes of pursuing her love interest. In the end, her action made Sakura bitter. How could she just leave like that? Love wasn't everything; a person had to also have other self values. At this point in Sakura's life, she'd never really had a true boyfriend, due to the impact of Ino's departure, but now that she had set goals and was well off in life, she felt the loneliness. Maybe Ino felt alone, and that's why she left. But it was odd that she didn't find her family comforting. Confused, she dismissed the rummaging thoughts. She didn't want to think too much tonight, she wanted sleep. She needed sleep. She didn't want to start delving into her past. It was just too sad.
Sakura closed her eyes and held tightly onto her pillow. Slowly but surely, she solemnly fell to sleep.
The sound of her pager woke her up. Sakura grumbled and reached over towards where she placed her pager— on a table by the side of her bed. 'It better not be malfunctioning again. . .' Sakura groggily thought. When her eyes adjusted to the number on the tiny screen, Sakura smacked her head against her soft pillow. Tsunade was paging her. Great. She had only about, say, four hours of sleep?
Going through the motions, Sakura placed on her regular attire for work and scuffled out of her apartment. Funny, she vaguely thought, Ino's door was open. Sakura brushed the thought aside. Sakura pulled out her phone, she didn't even bother to look at the clock lest her mind and body crumple from fatigue, and dialed Tsunade's work line.
"Moshi moshi," Tsunade's familiar voice answered, with a hint of strain.
"Ah, Tsunade-sensei, I'll be there in ten minutes. Is there anything specific I should know?" Sakura asked, suppressing a yawn.
"Yes. It appears that the files on that boy from two nights ago have strangely disappeared. Because you worked on the boy, I want you here to investigate," Tsunade replied matter-of-factly. Oh crap, she was in for it this morning.
"Hai, Tsunade-sensei," Tsunade hung up the phone and Sakura placed the phone back into her school bag. She wasn't going to make it back to her apartment in time to get ready for school, so she brought all of her belongings with her. It was a smart thing to do in her line of work, and with her hours.
Morning passed, and still after looking hours into the system's database and hard files, even the copies, she couldn't find a trace of evidence that the boy was ever there. It was like he was never admitted. Was that why she saw him yesterday? Did he come back to remove any trace he was there? She thought she was imagining, but surely, he had to have come back to remove his ever being there. It unnerved her, this whole thing.
An hour before school started, Tsunade dismissed her. No use putting in more effort than needed. If the files were gone, and no one witnessed anything, then this whole problem was better left in the trash. Sakura though, couldn't get it off her mind. She couldn't get it off her mind ever since she encountered the young man, bloodied and almost beyond repair. Someone was after him, but he also didn't seem like a saint himself.
Just as work seemed to fly by, so did classes. And by the end of the day, Sakura found herself relaxing at Hinata's work. It was air-conditioned and dark; refreshing, if you ignored the smell of the permanent stench of cigarettes in the air. The ambiance was just enough relaxing for Sakura to take a quick cat nap.
Unfortunately, that's when Tenten strolled in. Sakura could automatically tell it was her by the sound of bells that were decorated in her buns. Who else would wear anything such as that? A customer? Sakura grunted, an attempt of a laugh.
"Sakura-chan, so I see you finally gave in," Tenten's strong voice teased. Tenten made her way towards the table Sakura was at, and plopped herself down at the chair across from her.
"Yeah," Sakura slurred. Her fatigue was getting the best of her.
"You look out of shape there. Care the share?" Tenten asked while waving down a waitress. During the day kiddies who were 18+ could venture into the club, but since they were friends of one of the best workers there, they caught some slack— and also special attention. "Can I get a Shirley Temple and then a Strawberry Virgin Daiquiri for my friend, here?" The waitress nodded, memorizing the order, and left.
"Tsunade paged me in the morning,"
"Sometimes I think it's a blessing just being a receptionist. At least the hours are very stable, even if nothing interesting ever happens," Tenten laughed. "Where's Hinata by the way?"
Sakura pointed towards the stairs which led to the second level, "She's busy rehearsing,"
"Too bad we won't be able to see her perform. Ah well, another time maybe?" Tenten smiled and pulled out one of her bells, which was attached to a chopstick ornament. But instead of being dull, like other chopsticks, Tenten's was sharp and dangerous looking. It was amazing when she pulled these weapons out of her hair that she didn't cut any of it off. "So, what would you like to look at? Horoscope for today? Or maybe love," Tenten whispered the last question, her chocolate eyes glossing— as they normally did when she was about to foretell the future.
"I need a generalization over everything. I've been stressing out lately, and I want to see why,"
Sakura extended both her hands and awaited for the inevitable. With precision only a doctor would praise, Tenten slashed into one of Sakura's palms and placed her free hand over it. She then placed down her hair stick and brought the other hand over Sakura's uncut one. Pressing her fingertips against the fine lines of Sakura's uncut palm, Tenten closed her eyes.
It was necessary that she felt the life force of a customer, and blood would give out the most. It was also needed to feel the destiny, or lifelines, of the other hand. With concentration, one could combine the present (blood) and the future (the lines upon a person's hands) and give accurate description of what a person's life would entail.
Tenten's face furrowed as she accessed the information that was given to her by Sakura's life force. 'Strange' was a word that formed in Tenten's mind. "I foresee darkness. Your life's light is withering. Something to do with a man. No, two men. They are hunting you. Don't. . . don't go into the darkness. He awaits you. Stalking you. Protecting you? Sakura, stay in the light,"
With that, Tenten released her grip upon her friend's hand and breathed in deeply. Sakura, all the while, was confused. What was this about darkness and light? What sort of metaphor was that? Instead of getting answers, she received more questions. And it infuriated her. "Tenten," Sakura snapped, losing her patience, "What do you mean?"
"I. . . don't know. Normally I can read people easily, but with you it was like someone was warding my intrusion away. Has anything weird happen lately?" Tenten asked, cleaning her hair pin with a napkin then placing it gingerly into her bun again.
"Actually, yes." For the past twenty minutes, Sakura explained in detail all that she could remember, from the fortune teller to when she met that mysterious man. It was a headache, and she realized how silly she sounded when she told her, but it was the truth—as much as she could remember. During the time which Sakura was relaying all that's been weird, their drinks arrived, and Sakura felt more relaxed.
"I don't know why, but do you think this related to my fortune?"
"Definitely, Sakura. Do you mind if I tag along with you to your place? Not today of course, but maybe in the near future. I want to check a few things out. Maybe add some more lamps inside your room and around your place," Tenten laughed and placed a few coins onto the table. "But for now, I have to go. Duty calls. Take care, okay?"
Sakura nodded and placed her half of the bill on the table as well. She just might take Tenten's advice this once. She decided that she'd purchase the extra lighting when they went on their shopping spree to impress, as well as some shutters. It was about time she went about renovations in her chambers.
Today was a long and exhausting day. But the day wasn't over, not yet. She still had one thing she planned on fulfilling before her body gave out, and that was to research the infamous Team Kakashi band.
Taking out her laptop, which was stuffed underneath her bed, she moved herself to her vanity table and brought out some paper and writing utensils. She found many sites dedicated to them: one official site, and many other fan-based ones. Apparently, no one knows their true identity, since they wear masks upon their faces. On one interview the lead singer, known as Uzamaki (also fan dubbed as the Soulless), explained that they preferred their secrecy because their personal lives were separated from their artist personas, and that there was no need to intertwine the two. Interesting, Sakura noted.
There were two more members in the band: one with bright red hair and another with true black hair, which shimmered blue under true lighting. But if they wore masks, Sakura was confident that they hid other features too, like their hair color.
It was weird that Team Kakashi had many fans, because they wore masks that concealed their looks. Many young ladies preferred a man with a beautiful face, but their bodies made up for their lack of prominent features, it seemed. They all were toned, sporting a perfect physic, and they all looked very delectable. Sakura bit her lip, scanning the many pictures of them that were supported on someone's fan page. They were beyond sexy.
The other two masked males were known for their lack of expression, but Uzumaki made up for their lack of speech—tenfold. Though lacking a stage name, both the silent men are known as being the Percussionist and the Bassist. Their fan-dubbed names, however, were more exotic: Loveless, the presumed red head, and Heartless, the dark haired man.
Being that they basically severed any connection to their personal lives, Sakura couldn't dig up any more dirt. She did have a VIP ticket, thanks to Hinata, and she wanted to at least have something to talk about when she met the three men. Their music was captivating, and Sakura wanted to give something back to them. It was odd, but she felt a compulsive need to.
With no more information to dig up, and her body barely being able to hold itself upright, Sakura listlessly made her way to her bed. She plopped down without a second thought, not bothering to change into her night wears, and was asleep within a few seconds.
A few hours later, Hinata softly knocked on Sakura's door, but when she didn't receive an answer she left. She supposed it'd be just Ino and her for dinner, she'd separate a portion for Sakura for when she finally awoke. Ino gave Hinata a questioning glace in the kitchen as she distributed the food.
"She's asleep," Hinata said, in her soft and ever-so womanly voice. Ino shook her head and sighed loudly.
"How unfun. Well, at least I don't have to hold myself back; I'm starving!" Ino and Hinata placed each dish onto the small dining table, then sat themselves across each other on the floor. "So, Hinata-chan," Ino said while breaking her chopsticks apart effortlessly, "What do you know about Team Kakashi?"
A/N: Welcome me back! Well now. . . what to say? I don't think there's a good enough reason for the four year hiatus I placed on this story. Heh. Hopefully this chapter makes up from the lack of frequent updates. Reviews are appreciated btw!