"Geeze, it's so boring..."
The birds chirped in the distance. The sky up above was blue. The cement ground was hard. And Sakura was bored out of her mind. She expected guarding Tazuna-san by herself would be...thrilling, for Kakashi-sensei had entrusted her (and only her; no one else) to keep the old man safe while he trained Sasuke-kun and Naruto in controlling their chakra, but there was no danger at the moment. Yet, she needed to be honest with herself; did she really want something to happen?
'HECK NO, CHA! I just wanna chill!' And deep down, she really did want to chill. As if on cue, she stifled a yawn, but gave in, one hand covering her mouth and the other arm stretching out.
Even with her chill-out mood on, she was still bored. She had kicked pebbles off of the bridge, asked if Tazuna needed any help with construction or anything, even looked over the railings to watch any boats that pass by. But yet again, her boredom did not cease. She let out a disappointed sigh.
Leaning on the railings, she stared off into the distance and daydreamed about how she would be the damsel in distress and her mighty prince Sasuke-kun would save the day...
"Mwahahahaha! Sasuke Uchiha, I am too evil for you to defeat, mwahahahahaha!" Zabuza taunted, waving his big sword in front of the boxer-clad Uchiha survivor. The said boy grunted in response before sprinting towards the half-naked man and kicked him in between the legs, almost cringing at the nearly silent pop it made. Zabuza's eyes bugged out of his sockets at he held his precious jewels, falling to the ground and curling up into a fetal position, "D-Damn you, you stupid punk!"
Sasuke ignored the curses being spewed at him from the man on the floor and continued his way onto the masked boy, who stood triumphantly in front of a tied-up and crying Sakura. The eccentric-haired boy narrowed his eyes and dashed as soon as he saw Sakura, punching the masked boy's crotch. But unfortunately, the older boy had been anticipating his attack and dodged, flying into the air with the grace of a ballerina.
"Sasuke-kun! Beat his ass, cha!" Sakura cheered from the sidelines, her green eyes shining with determination. Sasuke grunted in response and jumped into the air, doing a few flips and posing in mid-air before the masked boy gasped and immediately stopped his flying and fell to the ground, his arms propping him up on his knees.
"What marvelous grace! I cannot out-grace this! Goodbye, cruel world~!" And with that, the masked boy withered to the floor, never moving again. Sasuke flipped his bangs and stared at Sakura with bedroom eyes (and for some reason, this loosened the rope that restrained her petite form). As soon as the ropes hit the floor, she ran towards the onyx-eyed boy and tackled him for a hug. "Sasuke-kun! You saved my life!"
Sasuke grunted in response. She looked at him with heart-filled eyes, "There must be a way to repay you, my boxer-clad hero..." Her hands slithered down his chest, drawing imaginary cirlces on his still-developing muscles.
Sasuke smirked, "You're annoying..." And with that, their faces slowly inched closer for their lips to be sealed with a righteous kiss...
"...iss? Miss, are you alright?"
Sakura blinked, dazed, and realized that she had zoned out for a while, and turned her still-dazed gaze towards the voice that addressed her. To her right was a boy - probably a few years older than her - with weirdly-shaped glasses that were attached to earmuffs, an arm scratching the back of his head nervously while the other hand held a plastic bag with a few bento boxes inside. He wore a light-blue long-sleeved shirt with a black vest over it, and on his vest was the metal forehead protector which was sewn onto the left side. He wore beige shorts that ended at his knees and dark blue ninja sandals, with bandages wrapped around his right shin. She couldn't help but notice that it had spots of blood that seeped through.
But the most noticable thing about him was his hair - it was an odd color of light blue. Well, she shouldn't be talking; she had pink hair.
She also noticed his shark-like teeth. She shivered at the thought of getting bitten by him.
Her analysis was interrupted when his face slowly began to go read at the fact that she had been staring at him for quite some time, and she looked away with flushed cheeks of embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry...! I zoned out for a bit. Did you need something?"
He nervously fidgeted, "No...but I was wondering if you'd like to, uhm, e-eat lunch..." Sakura's slim, pink eyebrows shot up in surprise. He saw her actions and put his hands up in a nervous manner, desperately trying not to sound like he was flirting with her, "But I was just c-curious because you were just standing there and not eating with the rest of the workers...I came to bring my dad some lunch and I had an extra bento box left..."
"B-But you don't have to if you don't want to...!" She couldn't help but notice the disappointment lacing his voice when he said this, and her eyes softened immediately, a smile slowly making it's way to her lips.
"Thank you," she beamed, which tinted his cheeks red, "I truly appreciate your concern." And with that, the two sat cross-legged on the floor near the railing, the workers eating at the benches nearby. Sakura beamed when her handed her a bento box and opened it quickly, hearing her stomach growl at the smell of food. She almost squealed when she realized that she was handed a box filled with dango, and restrained herself from glomping the boy - she blinked; she didn't even ask him for his name yet!
"Hey," she turned to him with an embarrassed blush adorning her cheeks, "I didn't even get your name yet..."
The blue-haired boy blinked a few times before breaking out into a small smile, "My name's Chojuro. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She broke out in a grin, "My name is Sakura, and it's a pleasure to meet you, too! Also, I just want to say that you, sir, have very good taste in food." She eyed the dango in her bento box and he let out a quiet chuckle, taking out a rice ball from his plate and nibbled on the tip, "I'm glad you like it; my mom made them."
"Sooooo..." Sakura began after popping a piece of dango into her mouth, "What's your dream, Chojuro-san?" She had no intention of making him choke and only wanted small talk, but the said boy coughed out (which made her jump and drop a piece of dango) and looked at her with incredulous eyes before looking away hesitantly.
"You'll think it's stupid, though..." Sakura, who had been trying to wipe the dirt off of the dango, furrowed her eye brows at him in confusion.
"Why would I think someone's dream is stupid? Now that's stupid. Demeaning other people's goals is just plain cruel!" Her nose scrunched up in disgust, "Now, why would you say that?"
He thought for a moment before looking away from her hardened gaze, biting his lower lip, showing his sharp teeth. "The people back at the Academy thought it was stupid and that I would never be able to achieve my dream. They said I was too clumsy and too shy...that I lacked strength..."
("Chojuro, you're hands won't be able to carry the big swords they have!")
("Yeah, you're too weak.")
("Why don't you just give up?")
Sakura, who had been there before, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. His head immediately turned to her, his onyx eyes wide with surprise. Their gazes met for a few seconds before he looked down with a flustered face. "Chojuro-san, don't believe them. No matter what others say, in the end, your opinion matters the most to you. So don't believe them - don't give up on your dream and do whatever it takes to achieve it!"
Chojuro stared up at her with wide eyes; she was so determined and passionate that he couldn't help but agree with her. Slowly, his mouth twitched into a small, which - Sakura gladly noticed - was laced with determination. His eyes lit up as if he had an epiphany and he placed his hand in gratitude over her's, which was still planted atop his shoulder.
"Thank you, Sakura-san..." She gave him a grin, which made him flush again.
After a few moments, she tilted her head to the side, "So what was your goal?"
He bit his lip, "I want to be part of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist..."
"I don't see how your goal is stupid..." She huffed, "And it's a perfectly achievable goal; all you need is determination and will power and you can achieve anything."
He blinked a few times, trying to register her words, and a small, shy smile broke across his face. But it was quickly replaced by a look of curiosity.
"Sakura-san, what's your goal?" The said girl blinked at the question and looked down at the dango in her hands, her face twisted in concentration before staring him straight in the eyes.
"Well, Chojuro-san...I'm planning on being a medic ninja," She began, playing with her red dress, "I don't want people writhing in pain on the battle field...and I promised myself I'd help out - even if I'm just a simple medic ninja."
Her emerald eyes were filled with determination, and Chojuro smiled once more, "I think you'd make a great medic ninja, Sakura-san."
At the compliment, Sakura shyly looked away with a slight blush on her cheeks. She gave him a sincere smile, showing her pearly whites.
"Thank you, Chojuro-san," she said, straightening up, "And I'm sure you will make an awesome swordsman!"
He simply smiled back and scratched the back of his head in a nervous manner.
"Sakura!" Tazuna called out to her with his cap and tool bag in his hands, "Let's get going! Tsunami-chan made us dinner and she expects us to be home soon." And with that, he stalked off to make sure everything was put away on the construction site. Sakura sighed and stood up, offering a hand to the blue-haired boy sitting down, who gratefully took it and stood up. Dusting themselves off, they cleaned up the bento boxes without another word and when they were done, Sakura grabbed him by the shoulders - which was easy because he was only a few inches taller than her - and stared up at him with determined emerald eyes. He blushed slightly at the close proximity, but Sakura chose to ignore it.
"Chojuro-san," she started, "Let's promise that the next time we see each other, we'll have already achieved our dreams!"
He blinked and his eye brows furrowed in confusion, glasses glinting as the sun began to set behind them, "But Sakura-san, we never know when we might see eachother again - I mean, it could be tomorrow, or in a few years..." His eyes darkened notably behind glasses, "...or even on the battle field, on opposite sides."
Her face paled for a bit, but she shook it off, "Even though, I want us to achieve our goals the next time we do see each other! Even if we didn't we could still say, 'I'm on my way, taking the long way with no short cuts' and I just..." She sighed.
"I just want another reason to keep me motivated. To keep us motivated." She looked up into his eyes and at that moment, her mouth was laced with a bittersweet smile that seemed so broken. "Please, Chojuro-san." Her eyes looked up at him, pleading. His own eyes softened and his sighed, taking her hands off of his shoulder and holding it in a gentle grip. A small smile spread across his face.
"It's a promise, then." And with that, Sakura squealed and gave him a small kiss on the cheek to seal the deal, then running off behind him to a waiting Tazuna. He stood there, flabbergasted and surprised and flushed, his hands raising to the spot where she had kissed and turned around to watch her run off into the distance. She looked over her shoulder and waved, her tongue sticking out playfully.
"Until we meet again, Chojuro-kun!" His face became warmer with the new suffix added to his name and he could only wave back with a grin on his face. In the distance, Tazuna smiled to himself as he watched the two kids say their goodbyes.
'Ah, kids.'
OH GOSH, I don't even know why I included that random daydream with Sasuke, hahaha! I admit it was too random, but I liked it. Any who, I surely do hope that the characterizations were correct, especially Chojuro. I'm not too sure if this counted as romance, though, sooooo...
This plot bunny is about Sakura's mission during the Land of the Waves Arc on guarding Tazuna by herself, and she meets Chojuro on the bridge.
And it's SUMMER BREAK for me! Yippee! So I'll probably be updating more frequently unless I have things to do. Thanks for reading!