HOLA! I'm back. Yes, I forgot about this story...again...but hey, at least I'm still working on it. I could give up on it completely.... but I wouldn't do that. Unless I got lazy enough. The again, I am pretty lazy, so no promises. Well, here ya go. ENJOY
Oh yeah... *punches Naruto*
N: HEY! What'd you do that for!
INAS: I don't own you, okay?
N: Uh... okay? but why'd you have to punch me?
INAS: eh, get over it. Here's a Ramen Popsicle.
N: WOAH.... THANKS INAS!
INAS: Yeah, I invented them. Now go away. You're way too loud.
N: OKAY! I get that a lot....
INAS: Gee, I wonder why...
Sorrowful Sakura
Sakura stood at the foot of her roommate's bed, watching as the sleeping teen shifted slightly. Sakura was dressed in a nice T-shirt and a pair of worn denim jeans. Her cherry locks were swept back in a loose ponytail, leaving a few soft tendrils framing her face. Her phone buzzed quietly. Sakura dropped her eyes from her sleeping friends and picked up her cell. A small bell symbol danced across the screen. It read: 5 minutes!
"Oh shit, Hinata. Get up! Confessionals are in five minutes!" She shook Hinata slightly, hoping to get some sort of response. Nothing.
After several failed attempts at rousing the girl, Sakura decided to leave without her. She shoved her still-buzzing cell phone in her pocket, slapped on her sandals and was out the door in a second. Sakura sprinted down the hallway, out the cabin and to the campfire. It was empty.
"You've got to be kidding me." Sakura face palmed, plopping herself down on a log. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen again. It read: 1 hour and 5 minutes. With a groan, Sakura turned off the buzzer and slipped her phone back. She tapped her foot, grumbling to herself.
"Ugh… I hauled ass out here for nothing. Damn phone." She stomped her foot, sending bits of dust into her eye. "Damn dust…"
"You having a rough time?" She turned towards the speaker, and her eyes met Kakashi, the camp counselor. He was carrying a load of firewood to the fire pit. Even without a shirt, he still kept on his strange mask.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." There was a long pause as Kakashi piled up the firewood. Sakura twirled a bit of loose hair around her finger. The lapse in conversation was getting awkward, at least in Sakura's opinion. She felt she had to say something…
"Is it part of your religion?"
"Huh?" Sakura blushed.
"Your mask, it is part of your religion. To wear it, I mean." Kakashi let out a deep laugh, making Sakura flush deeper.
"Never mind, it was a stupid-"
"No, no," he cut her off, "it was fine. Excuse my laughing; it's just that your guess was one of the best I've heard so far. Naruto asked me if I'd had plastic surgery." Sakura smiled at her counselor.
"So, why do you wear the mask?"
"Oh, one of my eyes is red and can predict every move you're about to make." There was an awkward silence.
"I'm just kidding, Sakura." Kakashi was dumbfounded. Had the girl actually taken him seriously? "I was born without eyesight in this eye, and I thought the mask would look mysterious." Sakura glanced up at Kakashi.
"Oh. Okay…Kakashi?"
"Yes?"
"Why is Sasuke going to jail?" Kakashi dropped the log a bit too hard. He took a deep breath and regained his composure.
"He's not going to jail- as long as he stays here, at least."Sakura wasn't satisfied with his answer. She didn't want to be nosy, but the curiosity was killing her. It wasn't like she could go ask Sasuke himself. Based on her last interaction with him, she'd probably end up asking him how the pregnancy was going. Sakura didn't do well under pressure…
"But why was he going-"
"Don't worry about it," Kakashi smiled at her through his mask. "If I were you, I'd stay away from Sasuke. He's not really… friendly." He spoke with confidence, but his eye told a different story. It was obvious he sympathized with the boy, but it seemed he thought of him as a lost cause.
His reluctance only encouraged Sakura to branch out to the boy. She was a stubborn girl and liked a good challenge. She'd been through hardship before; it wasn't as if she was weak.
"Okay, Kakashi. I'll take your word for it." A little white lie couldn't hurt. Now it was time to find her target. "I'm going to go back to my cabin. See you at Confessionals." Kakashi brushed the dirt off his hands.
"Okay, Sakura." She started to leave "Wait! Since I have a feeling you're going to directly disobey my orders, take this to Sasuke while you're at it." Sakura felt her face heat up. She turned around and walked back towards Kakashi. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a thin white envelope.
"Here. He might not be too happy when he reads it, so forgive him. He's probably down by the lake, if you're wondering." He gave her a sad smile, the same one she'd seen at Confessionals the night before. "He's down there a lot." Sakura took the envelope from his calloused hands and tucked it in her own pocket. She started to turn, but paused briefly.
"Wait, how did you know he goes down to the lake a lot? It's only the second day."
"I've known him for a while. In fact, he's my adoptive son." Sakura froze. Wait… Kakashi was his dad? She thought back to their interaction at Confessionals. Sure, he'd acted somewhat fatherly, but she'd assumed that was just how he acted towards everyone.
"Oh…That's…nice…" Sakura made an awkward escape into the forest. She didn't really know how to respond.
Despite the surprising news, she had to continue with her mission. She would melt the Iceberg known as Sasuke Uchiha if it killed her. She continued towards the lake with newfound confidence.
It wasn't a particularly long hike, but it was getting dark and cold, and Sakura felt goose bumps on her arms. She wanted to turn back, but it was too late now. As the sun set further, she scaled the last hill. The sun had almost disappeared completely as she came upon the lake front.
The sound of waves lapping at the shore was quite soothing. Sakura could understand why one would come here for alone time. She scanned the beach for Sasuke, but didn't see his silhouette on the horizon. Huh. So much for that. Sakura slid to the sandy floor and let out a sigh. She'd gone all this way for nothing. With a hint of poutiness, she pushed herself off the ground and started to head back to the campsite.
The air was quite cold by then, and Sakura could see her own breath. Unfortunately, her breath was about the only thing she could see in the deep shadows of the forest. She obediently followed the dirt path until she spotted a light.
Curious, she wandered into the forest to get a closer look. Maybe another camper was hiking this way. Hopefully they'd keep her company. To be honest, the forest was starting to creep her out a bit.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" There was no answer. Sakura walked deeper into the brush. She approached the light to find a discarded lantern hanging on a tree branch. With a sigh, she continued back towards the path.
After a few minutes of wandering aimlessly, Sakura concluded that she was lost. She sighed, reaching for her phone. It wasn't in her pocket. Panicking, she searched each pocket twice. It was gone. She groaned in misery. It seemed fate was out to get her.
"Great. Just fucking great. I'm going to be stuck in this damn forest forever." She mumbled.
Ha! You are sooo screwed.
Nice of you to show up. Now go away.
Nah, I think I'll enjoy the show.
…
Hey, cheer up. I'm just teasing. It could have been worse. You could be naked.
And how is this relevant?
Well, being lost is bad, but being lost and naked? Much, much worse.
You know, I've made a lot of mistakes today, but my worst was listening to you. So go away and let me think. Or at least help, for God's sake.
Hmph. Fine. Get the lantern. Start yelling for help. Don't panic. Can you handle that?
Yeah. Thanks…for once you've provided me with valid input.
Well, I can't end on a GOOD note. Mmm, think of Sasuke's naked, sweaty body pressed against yours-
Oh my god, now I'm thinking of that. Ah! Get it out of my head!
Hehehe, score one for inner.
Sakura rolled her eyes and reached for the lantern. At least it still had batteries. She lifted it up and attempted to find her way back.
"Hello? Is anyone out there? I'm lost! I'd appreciate some help…" an owl hooted. Sakura frowned. It was hopeless. She laid down on a large rock and looked to the sky. It was really rather beautiful.
She stared at the stars for a long while, enjoying the view. She let out a little 'Oh' of surprise when she spotted a shooting star. She'd learned long ago that shooting stars were not really stars, but the magic was still there. She imagined every star as a person-not just the stars that were visible from her rock, but all stars- and she began to feel very, very small.
Was she but an insignificant speck? The world would keep turning without Sakura Haruno. She felt a pang of guilt for focusing too much on herself. It was then that she truly committed to her plan to heal Sasuke. If Sakura was so unimportant, then why was she put on earth? She wanted to help people, even if it meant living with unhappiness.
She was shaken from her deep thoughts by the sound of crunching leaves. Sakura sat up abruptly, startled by her visitor.
"What are you doing here?" The raven-haired god snorted, brushing a lock of his hair off of his face. Sakura jumped off the rock at the sight of him.
"Oh, thank god! How'd you find me?"He blinked.
"You were…lost?" Sakura sweat dropped. He hadn't noticed her absence? Not even at Confessionals?
"Uh…yeah," Sakura brushed the dirt off of her jeans and suppressed a shiver. "Wait, but if you weren't looking for me, why'd you come here?" Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair, looking annoyed.
"Hn. None of you business," he turned around, retreating into the trees.
"Wait!" Sakura called to his withdrawing form. He paused. "Aren't you going to help me?"
"Tch. Whatever. Try to keep up." With a smile, Sakura ran after the Uchiha. They walked in silence for several minutes. While she usually found silence quite soothing, it now seemed tense and awkward.
"Uh… do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Great, she sounded like a detective. Sasuke paused for a second, startled by the sudden exchange.
"You're annoying." Sakura sighed, feeling a bit hurt.
"You've said that before."
"It's true."
"Ok."
Well, it wasn't exactly a deep conversation, but at least he had spoken to her. That was a start. Sakura wondered how she could get him to open up. It wouldn't be easy. As she ascended into deep thinking, a long howl broke her thoughts completely. She whimpered, moving closer to Sasuke.
"Was that-"
"Hn."
"Has anyone ever told you that you use 'Hn' too much?"
The howling got a bit louder. Sakura grabbed onto her companion's arm.
"Get off."
"Why!"
"You're cutting off my circulation."
"They'll eat me!"
"You're being ridiculous."
She let go with a huff, crossing her arms. They continued in silence, besides the morose howling. Sakura liked wolves, but only from a distance. She had a horrible fear of being eaten alive, and wolves have sharp teeth.
"They won't eat you." Sakura stared blankly at the boy.
"Huh?" Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance.
"Wolves rarely attack humans. We'll be fine."
She was pretty sure that was one of the nicest things she'd ever heard him say. He was comforting her… just like he comforted Hinata. But that still didn't make up for the fact that he was a complete asshole all the time. Sakura was starting to shiver again, so she reached her hands into her back pockets. Her left one fit in but her right was blocked by an envelope. Oh yeah, the letter. Sakura pulled it out of her back pocket and jogged to catch up with Sasuke.
"Hey! I was supposed to give you this." She held out the envelope. "It's from Kakashi."
The boy froze. His whole body seemed to tense as he turned to face her. He ripped the envelope from her grasp and shoved it in his pocket. With a small huff, he turned around and kept walking. Curiosity got the better of Sakura.
"So… are you going to open it?" He sighed, facing her again. This time he was much closer, and Sakura could feel a chill run up her spine under his stare. His eyes were the coldest she'd ever seen them.
"Look, can you just shut up and mind your own business. You're wasting your time prying into my life." He hissed, "Leave me the fuck alone."
Sakura gave him a sad smile. His words pained her, but she knew that was his goal. She stared through her watery eyes into his. His features seemed to soften under her stare. Suddenly, he didn't look like the cold criminal everyone labeled him as.
He looked like a little boy, eyes wide with uncertainty. He was lost, drowning in his own despair. One part of him begged to be touched, loved, listened to- but the other pushed away. No, Sakura decided, he wasn't a small boy. He looked much older. His eyes were so tired, like he'd seen more than a boy his age should.
He was standing very, very still. His hair ruffled a bit in the wind. Sakura leaned closer, studying his features. He had large eyes, Sakura noticed, and they seemed to be studying her the same way. Her eyes traveled down to his nose. He had a perfect nose. Like a girl's.
Sakura giggled as the thought entered her head. Sasuke stepped back, a bit confused.
"What are you laughing at?" He pouted a bit. Sakura laughed again, a bit louder. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and attempted to recover from the ego bruising. Sakura smiled and poked his nose.
"You have the cutest nose. It's like a little girl's!" Sasuke twitched.
"My nose is not gir-" He was cut off by a blinding light shining directly at them.
"Hey, I thought I told you kids to quit making out ba- Sasuke? Sakura?"