Many Masks

Written By - Treina

XI

Sakura's Mask - Part 2

Everything was perfect. All plans were made, everyone was invited and the party was only one day away. Sakura smiled and began to dance around her room, she couldn't believe it, Hinata was turning sixteen and everyone would be there to see it. Now all she would have to do is figure out what she would wear and what gift to get Hinata. In a way, it was silly that she had put off the gift till the very last minute, but every time she thought about it, her mind would draw a blank. And still, she could think of nothing to get the soon to be sixteen year old. Hinata was not like most girls, make up or jewelry would only be dully received, and she didn't want to go with anything to boyish...she was a sixteen-year-old girl for heavens sake!

Oh well, she waved the idea out of her mind, she would think about it later. For now, she would have to go shopping for a new dress and some necessities for the party. Sadly, she would have to stop by Ino's place to order some flowers. It somewhat worked out okay, she still needed to invite Ino as well.

Sakura reached a hand in-between her mattress and pulled out a fat little bag, which was full of the money from her missions, she had saved up for a special occasion such as this one. She stuffed the pouch in her bag and began to leave the house, "you're just leaving?" Her mother questioned, giving her a look of contempt, "it's almost noon, have you been here the entire time?"

The young girl bowed low, "I'm sorry, there were some things I needed to get done"
Her mother was about to question her before she noticed the time, "you should leave now, it's late"
Sakura nodded and left the house. With a sigh of relief, she made her way to the best tailor in town to get her dress made. On her way there, she looked in all the shop windows, maybe she would find something to get for Hinata, but nothing really caught her eye.

She walked in and ordered her dress. It wouldn't be done for more than four hours, so she would use this time to visit Ino. In a way, she was still somewhat exited when she was on her way to Ino's place. Although Sakura was required to hate Ino, inside, she still considered her a friend. If anything truly bad were to happen, Ino would be one of the first people she would go to. But Sasuke made things difficult. There was no way that two people could be friends and like the same guy, it wouldn't work. There was no way that she could rid herself of the feelings she had for Sasuke, although more and more, as time moved on, she drifted farther away from him. Naruto was to blame for that one.

As Sakura got closer to Ino's flower shop, the surroundings gave her sense of nostalgia. She remembered playing in this area of town as child. At that time, Ino was her only friend and she smiled at the memory from so long ago. As she entered the shop, the bell rang and as soon as Ino saw that it was Sakura who had come in, she made it a point to ignore the girl, Sakura did the same as she walked around the store until she spotted the most beautiful yellow daffodils she had ever seen, the only problem was that they were yellow, the color of departing or apology, "Ino!" Sakura yelled from the back of the shop, "do you have these in any other color?"

Ino pulled out a huge book filled with pictures of flowers and the names, information and pricing of each one.
As she opened the book, she turned to Sakura, "just to let you know," she began with a sly smile, "if they are for Sasuke, I'm not selling them to you"
Sakura glared at Ino, "and if there was any other flower shop in the village, I would take my business there," she sighed and closed her eyes, "they're not for Sasuke, they are for Hinata, we are holding a birthday party for her tomorrow...she is hoping to see you there," this was a lie, as Hinata never really got to know Ino. Sakura hoped that she wouldn't notice.

Ino was so mad that she seemed to be the last one who was told that Hinata was having a party, "wait a minute, how old is she turning"
Sakura smiled, "sixteen"
"What?!" Ino snapped, slamming her hands on the counter, "so you mean to tell me that she will be the first one out of everyone to turn sixteen"
"Yep," this was perfect.
For a minute, Ino got exited, but the excitement quickly turned into anger, "and you didn't tell me?!" Ino was raging mad and it was everything she could do to not pounce on Sakura right here and now.

"I just did tell you," Sakura had purposely put off visiting Ino, she hated being around the girl, the more time that she spent with the girl, the more chance that they would become friends once again, and there was no way she could let that happen, it would undo everything she worked for with Sasuke. But when she was around Ino, she being to feel like her friendship was more important than her pursuit of Sasuke. This was a threat, the biggest one of them all, but there were times when Sakura was expected and obligated to be around Ino, such as this moment right now.

This is when her imagination was as its best. All the names, smart ass remarks and tricky ways to belittle and make Ino mad, all the better. The more they could each make each other hate one another, the better their chances with Sasuke became. The farther away they were, the less chance that they would come back together as friends, then the more chance one of them would get Sasuke and live happily ever after.

Ino closed the flower book and glared at Sakura, "get out of my store, I will deal with Hinata's flowers, and I will see you at the party tomorrow. Tell me, will Sasuke be there"
"No," Sakura lied before leaving the store, and as she walked down the street to the market, she smiled, "that went pretty well."

After picking out the perfect cake and as much food as it would take to feel everyone, she found she still had plenty of money left, considering that she didn't have to buy the flowers. But there was a problem, she still didn't know what kind of gift to give Hinata and her dress was almost done. As she walked in the tailor's shop, she spotted the perfect gift for Hinata.

"Oh it would be perfect!" Her eyes glistened as she wandered closer to the dress, she examined the piece carefully. The silk and cotton fabrics slid under her hands like waves on the ocean and she decided at this very instant that Hinata would have this dress for her birthday.
"How much?" She asked the tailor.
"It's not for sale," he bluntly stated.
"What?!" Sakura couldn't believe that old geezer wouldn't sell her the dress, "I've been coming here for over ten years and you wont sell me this dress"
"Nope," the tailor answered, snapping his fingers and a woman appeared from the back with Sakura's ordered dress in hand.
Sakura paid for the dress and left the shop in an outrage. Hinata had to have that dress; it wouldn't look right on anyone else but her.
After all day of looking for something else to get the Hyuuga, she finally gave up and went home, maybe she would think of something before the party.

TBA