Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto or the characters...nope, not now either...
AN: 3 Favorites and 10 Alerts in the first chapter, thanks! Oh, and the scarecrow is in the NEXT chapter but I have to say, I scared myself when I was typing it at one in the morning. Also, I procrastinate during the weekend so...yeah. In this chapter, there's Sasu/Saku fluff and a little Naru/Hina if you squint. Enjoy!
Episode 02: Physical Woes
A sudden crash disturbed the peaceful countryside, birds flapping their wings at the sudden jolt, lifting themselves into the sky, animals scampering into their dens, and it also made Naruto practically jump from his seat in the rocker while he watched morning TV. The crash awoke Sakura from her small slumber on the couch.
"What was that?" Sakura asked, sitting up. She couldn't stand because of freshly twisted ankle which was still perfectly tender.
"It came from outside. I'm going to go see," Naruto said, turning off the TV and standing up.
"Naruto, what about if it's the neighbor or worse?" Sakura asked worriedly. Her face paled at the mere thought of Naruto going outside. It was daytime but still, the neighbor could be out and armed with a rifle.
"Then I'll run," Naruto reassured, turning back to her with a big, goofy grin.
"Okay but hurry up. You wouldn't want to worry me," Sakura said with a small, sad smile.
Grinning, the blonde teen gave Sakura a thumbs up before proceeding to the front door. Taking one last look around the inn, he shut the door, going down the wooden steps without a sound.
I don't see anything, Naruto thought to himself as took his strides nice and slow, carefully scanning the perimeter with every step he took.
His feet were treading the dirt road now, kicking small particles around as his legs kept him going, moving forward.
Nothing was out of the ordinary and he was standing at the corner of the empty, dirt street, gazing at the field across the street that belonged to the neighbor. In the distance, he saw the pole with a man on it but the question was whether or not the man was dead or alive. Naruto assumed that the one in his field was like the one the neighbor placed in Sakura's field. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze from the distant field, scrutinizing the middle road and brown fencing.
That's when his eyes spotted the car poking up from the bottom, the back wheels spinning. He couldn't see any people but he swore that the car wasn't there yesterday when he and Sakura trespassed on the neighbor's field a few days before wandering around their own field.
Instinct took over and all Naruto could hear was his quick breathing as his legs sped him across the road. Without thinking it through at all, Naruto climbed down the ravine, losing his footing a few times, eventually tumbling to the bottom, small rocks he tore following after him.
When he stood up, he stumbled a bit, staggering to the car. He couldn't believe how smashed the front end of it was…he had never seen anything like this. For a moment, his body froze, his mind wandering to when his parents died. Their car tumbled off the side of the road…into a lake…
Biting his lip, he continued on, trying to fight away the memory of his parents' death. He went to the driver's side, gazing in from the broken side window. A raven-haired man had his face resting against the wheel, still buckled into the car. A small air bag was deployed from the wheel and that's where his head limply rested. His arm had a stream of blood running down it from where it rested above his head. Next to the man was another man who was basically hidden because of the deployed airbag. But he didn't look bloody.
A moan came from the back and Naruto's cerulean eyes snapped to the black-haired girl who weakly clutched her head. Her eyes blinked open, looking warily at Naruto, a small gasp escaping her pale lips.
"It's okay, I'm here to help," Naruto assured, yanking open the back car door. He offered out his hand which the girl hesitantly took before he pulled her out.
The moment her feet hit the ground, her body completely drained itself of energy, feeling like a ton of bricks when she collapsed to the ground.
"Hey, are you okay!?" Naruto asked, still holding her hand firmly, bending down next to the girl gasping for breath. By her attire, Naruto could guess she was from the city. What person in their right mind wandered the fields in a blue halter top, jean mini shorts, and blue flip-flops?
"Y-Yes," she wheezed, taking a good look at her rescuer, her long, dark strands hanging in her face, blurring her vision.
Hinata wasn't in any pain, excluding her killer headache, but she was in shock. Never once had she experienced something traumatizing like a car accident. She had always been the pampered daughter, the heir to the Hyuga fortune who was handled like an expensive piece of fine china. When she looked at the boy, she was struck in utter awe. To her, Naruto resembled that of a Greek god and she couldn't help but gawk at him.
Is this love…? I've never been in love…
"Um earth to…uh, whoever you are…" Naruto waved a hand in front of the girl's unblinking eyes.
"Hinata!" she piped up. "My name is Hinata Hyuga," she said, suppressing a blush.
"Okay…" Naruto was a little bit lost with this girl.
"Ah, Sai-kun, Sasuke-kun!" Hinata remembered, turning back to the wrecked sports car.
Naruto jumped back to his feet and quickly tore open the driver's sear door. He unbuckled Sasuke's belt, leaning into the wreckage before wrapping his arms around the unconscious boy's torso, pulling him out. The raven-haired Uchiha was at least three inches taller than him and much more muscular, making him quite a bit heavier and harder to pull out. Carefully, he removed the teenage rock star from the confines of the car, dragging him by the now tearful Hyuga heiress, Sasuke's feet and a large portion of his legs on the ground, dragging behind the upper portion of his body.
Naruto laid the raven-haired teen on the ground next to Hinata who was shaking, still sobbing quietly. As soon as Sasuke was laid on the ground, Naruto skimmed over his body, inspecting the wounds inflicted on him quickly. Small shards of glass were in his bloody arms, nothing a good pair of tweezers couldn't take care of, and a huge bump was on his forehead from smashing his head against the wheel. Lucky for Sasuke that his head wasn't busted open.
Judging by the clothes, this one was a city kid too. A sleeveless red zipped vest, no shirt underneath, his pale muscles glistening brightly even with the amount of blood pooled on his arms, a pair of ripped, dark jeans, and brand named white and green sneakers on his feet. Just his spiked hair made him look like a city kid.
God, how much gel does this guy use? His hair's still spiky even after the crash.
After his thought ended, Naruto went back to the car, climbing inside to pull out the other boy who looked remarkably like the first guy. His hair was flat against his head, with a gray tint, unlike the other boy who had a blue tint to his hair. Sai's attire consisted of a gray-black, sleeveless, unzipped vest with a black men's tank top underneath. His shoes, like Sasuke's, were brand named sneakers.
Naruto had a few issues with pulling Sai out of the seat, having to maneuver the unconscious, limp teen who, by the way, was just a tad bit smaller than Sasuke out of the airbag, not knowing how severe his wounds were.
Eventually, he got him out of the car, laying him next to Sasuke. There was no sign of blood on him, thankfully, and Hinata looked able to walk. At least, with her help hopefully, it's be easier for Naruto to take the two back to the house.
But how was he going to get the guys up the ravine and to the house? Even worse, they were on the neighbor's lawn and the neighbor had more than likely heard the crash.
Then an idea popped into Naruto's empty head.
"Be right back," Naruto said, hopping to his feet, sprinting to the ravine.
"Where a-are you g-going?" Hinata stuttered, standing up, her hand held up to her mouth.
"To get help," Naruto grinned. Second guessing himself wasn't going to help Naruto in this situation. His hands planted on the rocky edges of the ravine, his strength gathering to his arms, pulling him up, followed by his feet finding a solid stand to support him. As he climbed up, Naruto felt this burst of energy, helping him along the way. He felt like Spiderman as he climbed up but he wasn't even going to attempt holding out his hand, hoping some magic web would spurt from his hand that would act as a rope to get him up.
Fantasizing definitely wasn't a good idea at the moment.
Soon enough, Naruto was up the ravine, limping a few steps before regaining his balance. Even though he was almost out of energy, Naruto mustered up what was left and more to pump his legs quickly, bringing him closer to his destination.
He just hoped the neighbor wouldn't get there before he did.
When he reached the house, clearly out of breath, feeling like he'd keel over dead at any moment, he slammed open the door, letting it swing shut behind him.
A familiar pink head popped up, her jade eyes studying him clearly. "Naruto, you look like you're out of breath. What happened?"
"N-No time, where's the car keys?" Naruto wheezed, holding onto the periphery of the wall to keep him up.
"On the counter…why?"
"C-Car a-accident," Naruto coughed, "they n-need help a-and I c-can't drag them back here m-myself."
Sakura gaped at him. She couldn't believe him. What cars even drive by this area?
"How bad is it?"
"N-Not bad," Naruto answered, going to the counter to snag the keys, "but they need a first aid kit."
"You want me to treat them?" Sakura asked in disbelief.
"What other options do we have?" Naruto asked seriously. "The nearest hospital is a hundred miles away and we can't pack them in our truck."
The rosette-haired maiden didn't say anything for a moment, looking at her injured ankle. "What tools do I need?" she smiled.
"Tweezers, bandages, and a whole hell of a lot of ice," Naruto grinned.
"And disinfectant," Sakura added.
Naruto nodded, still grinning like a maniac.
"I guess I could limp around the place," she said, sitting on the edge of the couch.
"Thanks…Sakura-chan…" After flashing her a wistful smile, he whisked himself to the garage, opening and closing the garage door, already driving the pickup truck away.
Okay, so he didn't know how to drive very well but that didn't mean he couldn't steer it crazily to the spot.
Finally, after many sharp turns, abrupt stops, speeding, and cursing, Naruto had the hang of it, stopping the car a few safe feet away from the gorge.
Like Spiderman, he climbed down the chasm, returning to the three car crash victims from New York City.
Sai had woken up and was groaning, moaning something about his neck. The guy seemed very reluctant to turn his head. He had probably gotten a decent case of whiplash at this point.
"Hinata," Naruto started, kneeling down next to the nervous heiress.
"Y-Yeah?" she blushed.
"I need your help. My car's up there and I need to get these two losers up there," Naruto said, earning a slight glare from the stoic Sai Uchiha.
"O-Okay."
The heiress stood up and they decided to haul Sasuke up first since he was still out cold and defenseless.
Hinata grabbed his arms and Naruto took a strong hold of his legs. The two worked together to climb the ravine, still holding onto Sasuke. After practically dropping him a series of times, they miraculously had him loaded in the back of the truck.
Next was Sai. Since Sai was awake, Naruto told Hinata to get into the truck while he went to help Sai.
By the time Naruto had struggled down, Sai was already standing up, careful not to move his head at all. Besides the fact it was hard to move his neck at all, even a small movement would trigger a wave of pain to rush throughout his neck and head.
"What took you so long Dickless?" Sai asked, a hint of sarcasm hidden in his voice, a fake smile on his lips.
Naruto grumbled to himself, resisting the urge to strangle the bastard, instead, he slung his arm around the guy's neck, causing him some pain since he flinched. Reluctantly, the two worked together up the gorge.
He was more than happy to toss the bastard into the back of the truck with his unconscious twin brother.
Like before, Naruto's driving skills were lacking, Sai's neck getting sorer by the second and Sasuke snapping awake only to be thrown against the side of the truck.
"Who the hell is driving?" Sasuke snapped at his annoyed twin.
"Some dickless country kid," Sai answered.
Sasuke's face paled. This day was going from bad to worse.
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"Shit!" Sasuke swore for the umpteenth millionth time. Another shard of glass was dropped in a small napkin spotted with red dots.
"Be quiet or it's really going to hurt," Sakura snapped, the tweezers still wedged between two fingers, her hand gripping onto Sasuke's arm, her nails practically digging into his skin.
Everyone was in the living room. Hinata and Sai were in the rockers, Sai resting his sore neck against the headrest, trying to find peace in this stressful situation. Hinata, on the other hand, was perfectly intact, twiddling her thumbs timidly. Naruto was hovering over the couch, watching the amazing Sakura do her work.
Sakura was the one pulling the glass shards from Sasuke's arms. A bandage was wrapped around his forehead to conceal the swollen bump. Since Sakura still had a twisted ankle, she, and Sasuke, were seated on the couch, painfully removing the imbedded shards.
Sasuke corrected himself. This day wasn't bad…it was hell.
"All done," Sakura smiled, discarding the last piece of glass in the napkin, placing the tweezers back in the first aid kit that rested next to the napkin. Making a face, Naruto folded up the napkin and tossed it in the trash while Sakura bandaged up Sasuke's bleeding arms. Thankfully, he didn't need any stitches.
The introductions were long over and Naruto and Sakura were fully aware of the teens' wealth, if the didn't totaled Mercedes didn't show them, their clothing and attitudes did.
It took hours to get everything situated and the meals set. Even repairing wounds took a lot of time, especially Sasuke's. By the time they were done, it was already evening. Naruto had turned on the TV and they all rested up while watching some cheap movie Naruto had turned on.
"Hey Hinata-san, I have a change of clothes if you'd like to wear it," Sakura smiled at the timid girl.
"O-Oh, thank you Sakura-san," Hinata stammered.
"We don't need your damn hospitality; we have our own clothes," Sasuke said coldly.
"Sasuke-kun…" Hinata whispered.
Sakura shot the Uchiha a glare, about to say something when Naruto beat her to it.
"Yeah, and your car's totaled on a nut job's property. Do you want to take a chance with an armed murderer?" Naruto shot back.
Sasuke glared at him. "Dobe."
"Teme!"
"Sasuke-kun, N-Naruto-kun is right. W-What if the man over there is armed?" Hinata said.
The Uchiha's pride was smashed into smithereens as he just leaned back into the couch, seeming to pout silently.
Sakura had to admit that Sasuke Uchiha was hot but his attitude was the problem. She couldn't stand how he thought he was so much better than everyone else. Sakura didn't care if he sung for some popular rock band, he was still a jerk.
…
…
…
…But he was a hot one.
Sasuke couldn't help but stare at Sakura. She was the only girl he had ever seen with pink hair…and he saw a lot of women. But the girl was so strict and too caring about the earth. The worst thing was the fact that she didn't faint or show any difference in attitude in his presence. What got him was how she could yell at the vocals for Raven so easily. The girl was a one-of-a-kind, he had to give her that much.
Hinata felt like she'd faint in Naruto's presence. He had saved her and her friends from the wreckage so heroically and she admired how he could voice his opinion. Hinata was never one to talk in front of others, even in front of her cousin. She kept her thoughts and opinions bottled up inside her mind, never popping off the cap.
Naruto thought Hinata was too quiet…but he felt some weird attraction to her. Yeah, she was pretty and all but she was different from other city girls. She wasn't selfish, picky, loud, and obnoxious, no, she was quiet, timid, sweet, and caring. The Hyuga heiress was the nicest person he had ever met.
Sai basically didn't have an opinion on anyone. Sasuke was his jerk of a twin, Hinata was too quiet, he called Sakura "Ugly" to get a reaction, and he thought Naruto was a brainless moron. All he wanted was for this pain in his neck to go to hell so he could sit up and sketch in peace. But if he had to place someone first in his book he'd have to say Sakura since she offered him the comfortable chair in the first place.
"Come on Hina-chan, I can call you that, right?" Sakura asked with a hopeful smile. Hinata nodded. "And you can call me Saku-chan."
Hinata got up with a shy smile, going to Sakura's side. "A little help?" the rosette maiden asked, wanting help getting to her feet.
Immediately, Sasuke stood up and took a careful hold of her arm, his fingers wrapping completely around her forearm, pulling her up.
He's so warm… Sakura was baffled at Sasuke's actions and was flat-out amazed when he pulled her into his chest. Greeted by the material of his vest, her face became buried in it, her eyes widened but hidden in the material. He smells…different…like cinnamon and pepper… She couldn't help but snuggle a little into his chest, twisting her head a little.
Sasuke planted his arms on her bare shoulders and pushed her back a little, getting her to regain her balance on one foot before having Hinata take his place in supporting her.
"Thanks…Sasuke-kun," Sakura said quietly, a little bashful.
Why did he help me up when Hinata was right there and…did he just hug me!?
Why did I do that? Sasuke asked himself.
Sakura's cheeks burned at the thought as she and Hinata slowly proceeded to Sakura's room down the hall.
When the coast was clear, Naruto turned to Sasuke, staring at him accusingly.
"What?" Sasuke asked, noticing Naruto's fixed gaze.
"You like Sakura-chan," Naruto accused.
"I do not like Sakura…dobe."
"Teme!"
The two glared at each other before turning away in a huff, both thinking the same thing.
I can't stand that guy!
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Hinata carefully lowered Sakura enough for the pink-haired teen to flop on the bed.
"The kimono is in my closet, it's the light blue and white one," Sakura smiled.
Shyly, Hinata walked to the closet, sliding the door open. It only took a few second for her to locate the said kimono. Like Sakura's, it was traditional, long-sleeved and long but it wrapped around her legs like loose pants and not a long skirt. The kimono was mostly white with small light and dark blue cranes printed on the silky material.
"You can change into it if you like," Sakura offered. "And I like guys if that's what you are worried about.:
The two giggled and hesitantly, Hinata switched into the kimono, gathering up her dirty clothes in her arms, dumping them in the designated hand basket in the corner of the room.
They heard crashing and yelling from Naruto's room and both giggled, assuming Naruto gave Sasuke and Sai a change of clothes.
By the time Sakura was helped into the living room, the two city kids were looking more country already and by the looks of it, were comfortable. Poor Sai was still in pain on the rocker, Naruto and Sasuke having a glaring contest, and Hinata and Sakura took a seat on the couch. There was enough room for at least four people on the couch so it wasn't too packed in.
Sasuke was wearing a navy blue kimono that became black past his waist, a thin, sleeveless gray-black, opened vest was slid over his kimono, hanging loosely from his frame. His kimono sleeves were only three-quarters long the white bindings still bared and visible to the naked human eye.
Sai was clad in a full gray-black, short sleeved kimono with red edging. A thin, narrow white strand of fabric was wound around his lower abdomen numerous times, tied at the front smugly.
Now all of them were dressed in traditional Japanese attire while they sat in the living room of a small inn in the middle of nowhere.
"Since you three won't be going anywhere for awhile, we have enough rooms for you three to stay," Sakura smiled.
"Cool! We have customers!" Naruto grinned.
"Dobe," Sasuke muttered under his breath.
"Can't he sleep on the porch Sakura-chan?" Naruto wailed, pointing a finger at Sasuke.
"No, Naruto, he's staying in the room next to mine and Hinata will stay in the room next to yours. Sai will stay in the room by Sasuke," Sakura announced.
Hinata's face flushed, her eyes threatening to roll in the back of her head. Sasuke and Sai noticed this, exchanging glances before agreeing silently on what was going on. Both of them also agreed her taste in men was terrible.
After regaining her composure, Hinata dared to glance at Naruto who was grinning widely and foolishly, completely oblivious to her embarrassment. Her face heated again and she finally lost it, collapsing sideways onto the armrest.
Sakura sweat dropped, laughing nervously while Naruto seemed to go into panic mode.
"Hinata!"
Sasuke and Sai's suspicions were officially confirmed. As long as they knew Hinata, she was never that nervous around people. They couldn't deny it.
Hinata was hopelessly in love with the knuckleheaded Naruto Uzumaki.
I can't say her taste is all that great but Hinata never had a reason to love anyone until now since Naruto was the one who rescued us in the first place. It's only going to make it harder for her when we leave.
Sighing, Sasuke scratched the back of his head. This is going to be a long summer.
By now, Naruto had jumped to his feet to Hinata's side, jerking on her kimono roughly, trying to wake her up. Though he wanted to help her, he was just making her even more nervous and warmer, as if she had hay fever.
"Naruto, stop shaking her," Sakura sighed.
Naruto stopped in mid-jerk, Hinata limp in his grasp, her face beat red. "Sorry," he grinned nervously.
"Take her to her room," Sakura said simply. She knew how tired everyone was and Hinata was probably exhausted.
Shrugging, he lifted the now unconscious girl bridal style and carried her down the hall, disappearing into the room.
"She likes him," Sasuke said when the coast was clear.
Sakura's gaze flickered to the Uchiha sitting next to her, their eyes meeting. For a moment, Sakura was breathless, falling prey to the abyss hidden beneath the depths of his onyx orbs.
"Yeah," Sakura agreed.
"Does he like her?" Sasuke asked, adjusting his body to face Sakura.
"I don't know. It may seem like Naruto's easy to read but in reality, he's probably the most difficult person to interpret I've ever met. I can never tell what's going through his mind. That goofy grin of his is just a charade to fool you; he's not clueless to everything and he's not happy all the time."
"I find that hard to believe," Sasuke smirked. Sakura cracked a smile.
"Well, believe it," Sakura smiled.
The room went into an awkward silence while Sasuke and Sakura just stared at one another, exploring the depths in the one another's eyes.
Sai coughed. He was being completely ignored and now it was just annoying him. After all, he was the one with whiplash.
"Oh, sorry Sai-kun," Sakura said, snapping out of her daze, obviously flustered. "You must want to get to your room."
The pale boy gave a fake smile. "That would be nice…Ugly."
Sakura's grin faltered, her eyebrow twitching in full aggression. Sasuke knew his brother had issues but this could prove fatal…for both of them.
"Sai, shut up," Sasuke ordered coldly. The younger twin shut his mouth, showing no signs of anger or of pleasure.
"I'd show you to your rooms if I could get up," Sakura said.
Sasuke stood up and walked to Sakura, offering out his hand which the girl gladly took, letting him pull her up. He offered her his shoulder for support, her arm wrapping diffidently around his neck. The two exchanged now words, both obviously flustered.
"What about me?" Sai asked as Sasuke and Sakura slowly started towards the hall.
"You have legs, use them," Sasuke said simply, keeping up the pace. Sakura looked back at the younger twin, smirking.
Payback was certainly sweet.
"Sasuke-kun, don't you think you were a little harsh?" Sakura asked as they strode to her room, passing up Hinata's room, not seeing or hearing anything since the door was securely shut.
"Hn."
"Is that it? Wow, you have a very colorful vocabulary," Sakura muttered.
Sasuke said nothing but opened her door, basically dropping her on the bed.
"Hey!" Sakura squeaked when she hit the soft mattress.
"Which room's mine?" Sasuke asked monotonously.
"The one on the left and Sai's room is the one after that," Sakura said.
Without another word, Sasuke left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.
"Is every Uchiha as silent as him?" Sakura asked herself.
Deciding she was going to take a shower tomorrow morning, she stripped off her kimono, too tired to fetch her pajamas.
Who would go into her room anyway?
Throwing the kimono to the floor, she collapsed on the pillow, pulling the thin blanket over her almost bare figure, falling sound asleep in a matter of moments.
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Her entire body felt heavy, her eyes fluttering open, revealing her jade irises to the new day. She turned on her side, stifling a yawn, tucking her hands under her head. Sakura scrunched her body up in a ball before stretching out her legs as far as she possibly could. In some ways, she looked like a cat.
Warily, she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She shifted her injured ankle, seeing how painful in was at the moment and luckily, the pain had eased off quite a bit. Maybe she could walk around on her own.
Sakura sat on the edge of her bed, her legs swinging from the edge of the bed slightly. Starting with her left foot, she eased herself up, keeping her weight from her twisted right. She eased her body down and found that she could limp around now. Thank god, no more damned chauffeurs!
Quickly, she gathered a pink, floral kimono and changed, to only head into the bathroom for a quick shower.
Seeing as to how it was sunrise, Sakura knew she was the only one up. Somehow, she couldn't picture Sasuke, Sai, or even Hinata up at this time.
And once again, her intuition was right. Even when she got out of the shower, no one was up and about.
As usual, Sakura shrugged it off and sauntered off to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
What are we going to do about the body? I'm a hundred percent sure that Sasuke, Sai, and Hinata are going to think we're crazy.
Still consumed in her thoughts, she mindlessly threw the fryer, with the first three eggs, on the stove, letting them sizzle above the heat.
Sakura spotted something in the corner of her eye.
Well, speak of the devil.
Sasuke was obviously half-awake, his eyes only half open and yet, he managed to keep himself from yawning, keeping his lips in a fine line instead. His hair was somehow still spiky, just a little disheveled, and he had on a navy blue robe over a pair of black sweats he borrowed from Naruto. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off the man as he took a seat in one of the two barstools at the counter. Her eyes traveled over his pale yet toned chest, gazing dreamily at his six-pack.
He must workout…
The teen rock star must have noticed her ogling because he spoke up. "Are you going to stare at me all day or cook?"
Sakura snapped out of her daze, flustered, returning to her business at the stove.
"I see you can walk," Sasuke observed aloud.
"Yup, it's still a little sore but I'm mobile," Sakura smiled.
Sasuke smirked. This girl is definitely different from the others. Most girls I dated would act like they're dying with a twisted ankle.
"How did you twist your ankle?" Sasuke asked.
"Hmm, oh, I…uh…fell, yeah, stupid me, I tripped on one of the steps on the porch," Sakura lied, chuckling nervously, avoiding his gaze.
She's lying…
"Tell me that while you're actually looking at me and I'll believe you," Sasuke said.
Crap, he knows! Inner Sakura popped up and mentally kicked Sakura.
"Um, okay, maybe that's not the whole story…" Sakura trailed off, trying to focus on the eggs in the frying pan, flipping one over with a spatula.
"Then what is?"
"Why do you care?" Sakura snapped, sending a glare in Sasuke's direction.
"I don't." Sakura's heart fell, her stomach twisting and turning at his words. "But since I'm probably going to be stuck here for awhile, I might as well know."
I knew he didn't care but god, did he have to be so damn blunt about it?
"It's none of your business," Sakura said coldly.
"It seems that I'm going to have to ask Naruto then," Sasuke announced, his hidden initiative concealed in his words.
Shit! Naruto won't keep quiet.
"Fine," Sakura sighed, "but you are going to think I'm crazy."
"Hn."
Sakura inwardly groaned. Not that again…
She glanced at the Uchiha sitting at the counter, propped up on one elbow, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, his eyes studying her carefully. Clearly he was taking amusement in torturing her until she told the truth.
"The night before we found your car…Naruto and I…were taking a walk in the fields and our flashlight went out. And since we had left the lights off in the inn, we were pretty much lost. These fields go on for miles and we had at least walked a quarter of a mile, maybe more…" Her voice stopped, squeaking at the very end, her breath hitching in her throat. She looked at Sasuke who was paying close attention to her words. "W-Well," Sakura stuttered, getting nervous, "Naruto saw something behind us and turned me around. I swear, we didn't do it, we didn't…"
"Do what?" Sasuke asked almost softly.
"W-We just found him. Naruto checked him for a pulse and he said there wasn't one b-but he grabbed Naruto's hand," her voice started to crack as she started to panic, "a-and we ran. What else could we do!?" Sakura was holding back the tears threatening to fall. She felt like scum at this point. If that man was alive, they had just killed him. They didn't save him, call for help, no, they ran away like cowards instead.
"What happened to your ankle?" Sasuke asked again, wanting his answer.
Sakura looked taken aback. He was asking about her ankle and not the man bound to a pole, his eyes and mouth stitched shut!
"I tripped," Sakura muttered, tearing her gaze from him to her feet.
"And what did you see out there?" Sasuke inquired calmly.
"I…don't know. I…I think it was a man. We thought it was a scarecrow…but it moved. His eyes were stitched shut and his mouth was too, the man was tortured! He's still bound to the damned pole in our field! He's dead, we killed him." Sakura collapsed to her knees in tears.
We killed him… We killed someone… We're just as much at fault as the neighbor… We're murderers…
Tears flooded her eyes, running down her cheeks; her sweaty palms were flat against the floor as she sobbed.
The tears won't stop…
Desperately, she tried to wipe away the liquid on her face, her unbound cherry shaded hair draping down her shoulders and back, some ends curled up.
Two bare feet came into her line of vision, making her gaze up at the man standing above her. Sasuke had no emotion drawn onto his face but he wasn't cruel. Without a word, he offered his hand to her and after a few moments of hesitation, their fingers intertwined, their hands locking onto one another.
He pulled the sobbing girl up and something flashed into his mind, a memory…
Two hands were locked together; fingers wrapped around one another's, one hand belonging to a small, raven-haired boy and one to a shy little pink-haired girl with a large forehead. A simple red ribbon was wrapped upon her head, pinning back her hair that was combed down neatly, reaching above her petite shoulders.
They were in a field, a meadow maybe. A gentle wind rusted their hair and clothes, cooling off their overheated bodies that were roasting in the midsummer air.
The familiar raven-haired boy wore a small smile and the girl…
…she was crying…
"Um, Sasuke-kun, you can let go of my hand now," Sakura said, noticing that he had been just standing their in a daze, holding her hand, for at least thirty-seconds. That was twenty-five seconds too long.
Trying to keep his cool façade, he let go of her hand wordlessly, staring to the right, concealing the small blush creeping up on his cheeks.
Sakura couldn't help but giggle at his embarrassment.
When she finally stopped laughing, she looked up at him, grateful. That's about the time she noticed that he was a good head taller than her and even though he was muscular, he was still very slim.
She went back to her eggs and he proceeded back to his seat.
"Sasuke-kun?" She turned herself around, wearing a warm smile.
"Hn?" He stopped but didn't turn his body around to face her, keeping his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Thanks."
Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, starting to turn himself around to say something when…
"Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, morning!" Naruto bellowed, cheerfully entering the room.
Sighing, Sasuke sent Naruto a death glare before returning to his seat, muttering, "Dobe."
"Naruto," Sakura growled. She had a feeling Sasuke was going to say something but Naruto ruined the only moment they had ever gotten.
A few painful minutes later, Naruto was at the other open barstool, mumbling to himself, rubbing the new bumps he received on his head tenderly.
"What'd I do?" Naruto asked, completely oblivious.
Episode 02: End
I updated!! I said Sasori was a warehouse worker last chapter but it was a typo. He's an aspiring actor and that's what I put in the actual story. Sorry, but it's fixed.
So, I'm putting questions in your heads now. Who are the two kids Sasuke remembered? Did he meet Sakura before the accident? What's going to happen with the scarecrow...er...man thing?
And how come I have so many alerts but hardly anyone reviewed? Well, I feel safe when I ask for 12 - 15 reviews for the next update. And I haven't started the next chapter but if you want to see the man/scarecrow, review please!! If I get 15, I'll give a preview for later on in the story since it's pretty much divided into two arcs, one in the inn and the other in LA so the other characters WILL get parts. Request a character in your reviews and I'll put out something involving that character that will happen later on. If I get MORE THAN 15 reviews, I'll put a preview for the second place character too.
You can pick:
Deidara- the drummer and Ino's older brother (I just decided that Ino was his younger sister recently)
Itachi- manager and Sasuke's older brother
Shikamaru- keyboardist and Ino's boyfriend
Neji- bass guitar player and Hinata's cousin
Sasori- aspiring actor and Deidara's best friend
Whoever gets the most votes within the next few chapters will be put out. And ONE of those characters contributes to a love triangle involving Sasuke and Sakura.
Well, until 12 - 15 reviews I guess, see you then!