Congratulations! You are now reading the second course of Smiling Pasta!
Smiling PastaCourse Two: The Smiling Pasta That Melts the Ice Mountain (Part 1)
The crickets chirped outside the Sunrise Villa. It was the middle of the night and pitch dark outside, but inside a certain pop star's room, a single light shone on two sleeping figures: Sakura facing towards the light, and Sasuke away from it. Unconsciously, Sakura placed her foot on Sasuke, making him accidentally push her off the bed.
She woke up and rubbed her aching rear. "That hurts." She rested her head on the bed, blinking a few times. Sasuke was sleeping calmly, grasping the pillow he was resting on. 'I'd have never thought on the day I got dumped, I would meet this huge celebrity who turns out to be really nice. Haruno Sakura, wouldn't it be great if he is really your boyfriend?'
In the morning, Kumakichi ran to the grocery store and bought a few sodas. After in was rung up, he opened one and took a sip and left the store. Luckily, He missed the newspaper that read "Superstar Uchiha Sasuke Kissed Secret Lover In Public".
Meanwhile, Sako was shopping. She mumbled, "Vegetables, carrots… I've bought them all!" She too missed the newspaper.
"I'm going to be late! I'm going to be late!" Samuru strapped his backpack on and ran out the door. "Mom, there's no time!" He sprinted down the street. "I'm going to be late! I'm going to be late!" At that time, a paperboy threw a newspaper and hit Samuru right in the face. That made him stop. "You think I'm a mailbox?! You'd better brush up your skills!" When the paperboy was out of sight, Samuru continued without looking at the newspaper. "I'm late!"
Mikoto helped button her husband's jacket. "I've got to go," Fugaku murmured. "This morning's conference is very important and I can't afford to be late."
"Alright."
As the Minister started to head out the door, he stopped to turn to Shizune. "Where's the newspaper? You know that I like reading the newspapers in the car. Do I still need to remind you on such small matters?"
Shizune licked her lips, trying to keep her cool. "Newspapers? It hasn't been delivered yet."
Fugaku's wife pushed him toward the door. "Alright, alright. Just ask the driver to buy one on the way to work. Didn't you say you're in a hurry? Get going!" 'Fancy him getting mad just over a set of newspapers.'
The Minister's maid hid the newspaper under the couch pillow.
As he was walking out the front door, he was swarmed by paparazzi screaming, "Quick! Minister! May we ask you some questions?"
Fugaku fixed his tie, mumbling, "Did something major happen today? Why are there so many people here?"
Shizune fidgeted. "I'm not too sure either… They're probably going to ask about Sasuke-sama's promotional event yesterday." She handed him his briefcase, which he took gratefully. "Smile." He took her advice and approached the reporters.
"Minister, allow us to ask a few questions."
"Sorry to bother you, Minister."
"Minister, excuse me… may I ask…"
"Minister!"
"This way! This way!"
"Minister, may I ask…"
They were all talking at once, until one of them stepped out from the crowd to ask his question. "What do you think about your son's performance yesterday?"
With no reluctance, Fugaku answered, "I'm proud of him."
"I would like to know if you have anything to say about those pictures?"
Dark eyes went wide in astonishment. "Pictures?" He didn't know why they were talking about something so trivial. "They were shot nicely."
"In that case, do you support Sasuke's decision?"
"I will support him fully." That let everyone exclaim in happiness.
"Did you know about this situation since a long time ago?" Fugaku gave a questioning glance at the man.
"What?"
Sasuke's band members, Peter Pan and Big Bear, flipped through the pages of the newspaper, reading about what happened yesterday. Kakashi drove the van they were all in to the Sunrise Villa while calling a certain raven-haired boy.
Sasuke and Sakura were both sleeping, facing opposite directions. In Sakura's arms, she held a guitar. Sasuke held a pillow.
A cell phone went off, making Sasuke cover his head by the pillow, not wanting to wake up. Sakura rubbed her eyes and hit Sasuke on the head, mumbling, "Your phone…" She stretched and rolled over.
A strong hand reached for the phone on the nightstand. "Hello, Kakashi," Sasuke murmured sleepily. Suddenly, he sat upright, wide-awake. "What? My house is surrounded by reporters?
Outside, the Paparazzi were talking amongst themselves. "Who's that girl?"
"Yeah… how weird…"
Sasuke ran to the balcony, looking over the massive amount of reporters.
"He's out. He's out along with a girl!"
He looked to his side to find Sakura. This could be a problem…
"They probably slept together last night!"
Sakura turned to go back into the room, but slipped on a plant that was sitting nearby and started to fall over the balcony. Luckily, Sasuke caught her before she could completely fall off. Unfortunately, for both of them, they were in a very intimate position.
"They're hugging together! Take a picture! Quick!"
"They're wearing pajamas too! Quick! Take a picture!"
The pink-haired girl looked to Sasuke as he put her safely back on the balcony and unwound their arms.
"They must have slept together last night!"
Together, they ran back into the safety of Sasuke's room. "Why are there so many people outside?"
"Fool! Those are reporters."
"Reporters? Why?"
Sasuke didn't answer Sakura's question, because he was focusing on a figure that entered the room. "Kakashi." Along with Kakashi came his band members.
The angry agent slammed a newspaper down on Sasuke's desk. Sakura took it and saw, on the front page, her and Sasuke kissing. "Why are there pictures of you and me kissing on the street?"
Sasuke took the newspaper from her and looked at it, obviously displeased.
Meanwhile, Kakashi faced Sakura. "So it's you. Do you know that those people downstairs came because of you?"
At the restaurant:
Matsu was happily sweeping up the place. Yet, Kumakichi was not. "What's the news? She's still not picking up her phone?"
Sako put down the telephone. "She still hasn't turned it on. Dad, don't worry. But come to think of it… A whole night of intimacy… Obviously they would not want others to disturb them."
"You shut up!"
Matsu snuck over to her side and whispered, "Sako!" She put her finger to her lips, signaling for her to be quiet.
The father of Sakura mumbled to himself, "Brat! See how I'll deal with you when you come back!"
"Handsome, don't get so worked up… This is the initial stage for a girl growing up. Our Sakura is a grown up now!" Apparently, these words from his wife didn't calm Kumakichi. "Okay. Get to work," She shouted to Sako, while she turned on the T.V.
"After hugging Ino in public at his promotional event yesterday, we took some photos outside Uchiha Sasuke's house this morning, which indicates that he might be two-timing."
Sunrise Villa:
Sakura paced the room. "Why did I suddenly turn into your secret lover? This picture is so ugly. I'm in deep trouble because of you!"
"Haruno Sakura, I'm the one in deep trouble because of YOU!"
"What?!" Peter Pan and Big Bear looked at each other, then the two people in front of them. "If you didn't bump into me yesterday, things wouldn't have been so bad today."
Sasuke's accusing finger pointed at her. "If you didn't beg me to take you in yesterday, would there be so many reporters outside today?"
Kakashi decided it was time to intervene. "Will the two of you stop arguing? We need to think of a solution for this problem!" He faced the girl. "You have to understand that the reporters' focus is on neither you nor Ino, but they are more interested in the issue of two-timing! They have all come to a conclusion that Sasuke is someone who will two-time and is not faithful in his relationship!" He then pointed to the boy. "I'm telling you, if everyone deems you to be a Casanova, Sasuke's singing career will come to an end!" Peter Pan and Big Bear didn't like the sound of that.
Sakura took one more look at the picture. "Is it really that serious?"
This upset Kakashi once more. "You realized the consequences now? So you should not be pushing the blame on one another at this point of time."
They looked at each other with questioning glances. Then, they turned away from the other, sitting on opposite sides of the room.
Shizune came in, offering Sasuke a drink. "Sasuke-sama."
"How about this?" Kakashi started. "I've thought of a solution. Deny your relationship with Ino."
"What? Deny my relationship with Ino?"
Kakashi nodded. "Everyone knows that both of you grew up together and say that she's your girlfriend, but you've never admitted it. As long as you haven't admitted it, the reporters can't say that you're two-timing." Sasuke still didn't look pleased. "Okay. Forget it. Just pretend I didn't say anything. I know you won't agree to it."
'Sorry, I can't be by your side anymore… because I cannot stop myself from liking Sai.' "Alright, I will listen to you." Everyone looked to him, not believing their ears. Was Uchiha Sasuke actually going to listen?
"If that's the case, we'll use the easiest method to get out of the most difficult situation. Whatever answer they want, we give to them. Let's carry on with the mistake, and turn this crisis into a turning point." Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Miss, please tell me you family background."
"Huh?" She pointed to herself. "My family background?!"
A little while later, Kakashi exited the house along with a fully clothed Sasuke and Sakura.
"They're out!" The reporters ran up to the group of people.
"Sasuke, can we interview you?!"
"Sasuke, who is your real girlfriend?"
Kakashi calmly raised his hands. "To all fellow reporters, please don't be too eager and don't be too anxious. Today, we will explain everything. As long as there's a question, we'll answer them, OK?"
"Who is she?"
At the restaurant:People from outside were pointing in. "Something so big just happened, yet the Haruno family is still keeping a low profile."
"They're probably pretending that nothing is wrong because they're afraid it might affect their business."
"Yeah."
"That's true. Who cares? Let's go be a part of the group. Let's go."
They entered the restaurant, making Sako jump. "Why do you guys have the time to come?"
"We're here to see you."
"Sako, are you very busy?"
"Aunty," Sako replied, "hold on a while and I'll attend to you. "The three beautiful women are here so early. Here… Chouji! Refill their water for them!"
Kumakichi shook his head. "This wretch girl… she's still not back yet! Where did she go to?" He turned to Sako. "Have you seen Sakura yet?"
"No." She started to walk away, when she suddenly stopped at the T.V. "Dad, I've found Sakura!"
"Sakura?" He came over. "Where's Sakura?"
"She's on T.V.!
Kumakichi moved her aside, pointing to the T.V. "That's Sakura indeed!"
Matsu came over. "What's on T.V.?"
The women from before came over. "Let's go… Let's go take a look!"
"What's in there?"
Squeals of delight came. "Sakura's in there?!"
"Chouji, come quickly to watch this! Hurry!"
"Grandpa! Come quickly! Sakura's on T.V.! So pretty!"
A look of surprise passed the grandfather's face. "Really?" He rushed over there to see. "Where? Where?"
"Grandpa! Look! Sakura's on T.V.!"
Kakashi appeared on the screen. "Firstly, I have to clarify something."
Sunrise Villa:
"Sasuke did not cheat on anyone. He didn't date two girls at the same time. Ino and he are just good friends who grew up together, not boyfriend-girlfriend."
"Really? They're really not together?"
Kakashi held up his hands. "They're really not in a relationship. Sasuke's one and only girlfriend is her." He motioned towards the little cherry blossom.
"Is that true?"
"But this girl doesn't match with him at all!"
"Yeah!"
"She's not another smokescreen, is she?"
Once again, Kakashi spoke up. "OK, I believe that everyone is very curious about who she is. She is the daughter of the famous Italian Pasta restaurant, Smiling Pasta's owner.
At the restaurant:
Screams of happiness erupted throughout the room. "Her name is Haruno Sakura."
Sunrise Villa:
"Miss Haruno Sakura, say something!"
"Introduce yourself!"
Kakashi did it for her. "She is not only Sasuke's girlfriend, but at the same time, she is his fiancée."
Sasuke and Sakura glared at him. They never agreed to this!
"Fiancée? Really?"
"Say something!"
"Yeah! Is it good to get married this early?"
"How long have you both known each other?"
Sakura didn't answer any questions. She looked at the ground in shame. 'I'm in deep trouble! Merely being his fake girlfriend was fine. But now, I'm his fiancée all of a sudden… This is a big mistake…'
At the restaurant:
"Sakura is great! Fiancée!"
Matsu jumped up and down. "So that makes me a Star Mom! No, I'm the star mother-in-law! Star mother-in-law!"
Grandpa pointed to the screen. "She's my granddaughter! She's the Minister, Uchiha Fugaku's future daughter-in-law!"
"Uchiha Fugaku?" Kumakichi mumbled to himself. "Why is Sakura with his son?"
"Your ancestors must have done a lot of good deeds to enable you to become in-laws with the Minister!"
"We are all so envious!"
"Remember to come for the wedding dinner! All of you have to come!"
"In-laws my ass!" Everyone quieted at Kumakichi's harsh words. "She got engaged on her own. I won't agree to it as her father!"
The grandfather leaned in, whispering in his ear, "This is just a joyful event, don't take it too seriously."
"Oh dear!" Sako wondered aloud. "Doesn't this mean that Samuru will have to pose as the Italian Pasta Superman and belly dance?!"
At Samuru's Work: (A/N: It's an electronics store)"We have some information here. Please take a look. This model is currently on sale, and you can pay via interest-free installments. If you like it, I can also lower the price a little for you. If you haven't seen a plasma T.V., don't say you've seen T.V. To know how impressive the Grand Canyon is, buy it home and you'll be able to see how impressive it is!"
Samuru was giving his sales speech, not noticing that every one of his customers was looking right past him, to the televisions on the wall, to Sasuke and Sakura.
Sunrise Villa:
"Miss Haruno Sakura, how long have you both been together?"
"Yeah! How long have you both been together? Can you tell us?"
Sakura looked nervously to Sasuke, not knowing how to answer that question. 'One day…' "One…"
Kakashi held up one finger. "One year!" The pop star and cherry blossom gaped at that. "They've been together for one year!"
At the restaurant:
"WHAT?! ONE YEAR?!"
Sunrise Villa:
"One year? That's pretty long…"
Sasuke shrugged off Sakura's questioning glances. 'This is bad… I won't be able to prove my innocence even if I jump into the yellow river!'
At the restaurant:
Sako and Matsu were furious. "And she said 3 months…"
"How dare she! She even lied to her own dad!"
Grandpa shook off the comments. "He's a superstar! Obviously, they would have to be secretive about their relationship."
This made Chouji burst into tears. "Sakura can't possibly lie to me… I don't believe this!"
Sunrise Villa:
"Where did you both meet?"
Sakura started to answer. "We met by the r-"
"Recording studio!" Kakashi interrupted. "Yes! Recording studio."
"By choosing to announce their relationship publicly now, aren't you afraid that it will affect Sasuke's superstar status?"
The silver-haired man nodded. "That's right! But I think that honesty is Sasuke's biggest merit. Fans will continue to support him, right?"
At the restaurant:
The father of Sakura boiled in rage. "Honesty?! Were you both ever honest to me?! How dare they?!"
Chouji was eating to try to calm down. Unfortunately, he already wolfed down five bags of macadamia nuts. "No way! Sakura is mine!" The Haruno family and the Smiling Pasta customers closed their ears.
"Chouji, can you keep it down? We're still watching."
He stuffed his mouth with the rest of the contents of the bag he was working on and ran out of the room.
Sunrise Villa:
"Since your relationship has been publicly announced, would your divorce date also be near?"
"Why would you suddenly announce your engagement to the public? Is it because she's pregnant?"
Sasuke and Sakura looked to each other, asking the same question: "Pregnant?!"
At the restaurant:
"Pregnant?!" Sako looked faint, Matsu looked pleased, Grandpa looked excited, Kumakichi looked disappointed, and Chouji looked… well… fat.
At Samuru's Work:
"Pregnant?"
"Yeah. Superstar Uchiha Sasuke is getting married because the girl's pregnant!"
Samuru finally realized his customers were not paying attention to him, so he let his eyes wander to the television everyone was watching. "What?" Looking at each T.V. on the wall, he saw the same exact thing over again: Sakura… Sakura… Sakura…
Scooting in between people to make sure each T.V. was showing the same thing, he shouted, "Excuse me! Excuse me!" After double-checking each television, he exclaimed, "Sakura? Pregnant?"
At the restaurant:
"So that makes me a grandmother!" Matsu squealed.
"Mom," Sako interrupted, "we thought that Sakura grew so fat that we couldn't even button her jacket. But it's actually because she's pregnant!"
"Yeah!"
Underground Hideout:
"Audiences, Superstar Uchiha Sasuke has been caught in bringing his fiancée to his house and spending the night, and now rumor has it that the reason for the sudden engagement is that the soon-to-be bride is pregnant!"
Sai looked down at the newspaper and saw his brother with Sakura on the front page, kissing.
Minister's Office:"Even though this rumor has not been verified by the two…"
"What is this about?!" the Minister screeched. "This girl slept at our house last night and I didn't even know about it!"
"… when being interviewed by the reporters about his son…"
The Minister, Uchiha Fugaku, turned off the television and sighed. "Sasuke is so daring now!"
Sunrise Villa:
Shizune peered around the corner to find an empty street. "Come out! Come out! No one's here!" She motioned for Sasuke and Sakura. "Hurry and go!"
"Sasuke!" Kakashi called. "Do you really have to go to Haruno Sakura's house?"
Sasuke nodded. "We agreed on this last night."
"What did you agree on?"
"That's right." Sakura stepped in front of Kakashi. "I helped him once, so today he's coming over to my house. After this, we won't owe each other anything."
Kakashi pulled Sasuke close to him. "You have to tell me… why are you going to her house?"
While Sakura dialed her home phone number, Shizune took Sasuke by the arm, leading him away. "Okay! There's no one here right now. Leave quickly, okay?
"Mom!" Sakura screamed over the noise of the bickering adults. "I'm going to bring my new boyfriend home."
Sasuke grabbed her shoulders and dragged her along.
"Hurry! Hurry! You both have to be careful! The car's downstairs… Hurry up and leave!"
Elsewhere, Sai and Ino were sitting, facing opposite directions. He took a weary glance towards her, only to find her stroking her left ring finger. "Tossing Sasuke's ring to you is just a form of giving him up."
Ino slammed her hands down. "It wasn't a form. Thrown away means it's thrown away."
Sai grabbed her hand, making her squirm. As she realized his grip was gentle, she calmed down. "There are some things that can't fully disappear. Just now when you saw Sasuke and Sakura together, you still can't get over him, right? Just like that ring mark, that won't disappear anytime soon… Even if we don't believe that's true."
She yanked her hand away, standing up. "This feeling of loss is just like how you feel towards Kagami. There has always been a mark in your heart!"
"Ino! … Didn't I say not to talk about her?"
"Why can't we?" Ino spun around, making Sai look into those blue eyes that were pouring out tears. "You can't completely forget about her in your heart, can you? Why do you have to say…"
"Stop it!" Sai got right into her face and spat, "If you want to be with me, believe in me." She refused to face him, so he made her look at him. "We'll work things out together. We'll overcome all the unnecessary obstacles, OK?"
Ino looked at his face to get some reassurance. She got a gorgeous smile from a handsome man. She nodded. "If you can do it, so can I."
At the restaurant:
"… and let me tell you…"
"Welcome! Welcome!"
Sako and Matsu were all dressed up, ready to surprise the new couple with the decorations and the guests that just arrived. They already had dozens of balloon hearts filling the room.
"Make yourselves at home!"
"This is necessary…" Matsu poofed up her hair.
"Boss," Chouji mumbled, referring to the woman, "you're dressed like you're going to someone's wedding."
"So pretty…"
Kumakichi entered the room, seeing the decorations and his family relatives. "What are you doing here? He's just a small-time singer. Is it necessary to fuss like this?"
"It is!" Sako protested. "Dad, he's the Prince of the Entertainment Industry… Super Idol!" Everyone (except Kumakichi, of course) nodded. "It looks like you're the only person here who hasn't heard about him." The room was filled with laughter.
"Handsome," Matsu turned her husband away so she could talk to him. "Sakura just called back. She said Sasuke, our future son-in-law, is coming over to visit us. He's the son of Minister Uchiha, someone who has high social status. We can't embarrass Sakura. And I also heard that there are a lot of reporters surrounding the celebrities. That's why I…" Matsu held up her best jewelry.
"Aunt Matsu." A young girl came up to her. "You really know how to doll yourself up when occasion arises. You must be like this to appear on T.V."
As a white van pulled up, everyone cheered. "Here comes the Super Idol!" Kakashi opened the door and Sasuke, followed by Sakura, stepped out. "Sasuke, you're so handsome! And there's Sakura. Kakashi motioned for Sasuke and Sakura to follow him while trying to push through a crowd of people that just appeared on the street.
Sasuke took Sakura's hand, mumbling, so only she could hear, "Since we're acting, we've got to act more realistically.
As they entered the restaurant, balloons and streamers flew through the air. "Bravo!"
Sakura looked scared, maybe even a little embarrassed, while Sasuke didn't know how to react.
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