It's been a year, but I'm back.
Chapter Dedication for reviewing the last chapter: TorieStar, xSasuSakux, Hypogal, & MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters used in this story do not belong to me. The song used below also belongs to WAKESHIMA KANON.
Enter: The Lolita Handbook
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(CHAPTER 3)
(OF SURPRISES)
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WELCOME!
Of Jumper Skirts, Tea Parties, and Lace
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[~Lolitawork Libretto~ Storytelling by Solita]
It's a crescent moon tonight
the scent of peppermint
softly, the city lights
adorn the lace dress
the dripping moon
Drops into darkness
Stops time
[分島花音]
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"I'm really sorry for the trouble." She looked down at the ground sadly. Sakura had always hated being a burden or causing anyone any type of trouble. She couldn't help but feel really disappointed in herself because she caused such problems for someone she just met.
"Hn. Let's just go." He grabbed her wrist and started tugging her down the street, avoiding anyone coming in their direction.
"What are you doing?" He stopped and glanced back towards the ama-loli behind him.
"I don't want to have to go looking for you if you get lost again." Sakura stared at him in amazement; she never knew he could be so kind, well, in his own way. From what she had seen at school, he was so rude and cold to most of the people that approached him. Because of this, Sakura never really thought much about him. She didn't want to associate herself with mean people. But today, though it was only something small, she learned some new things about him that changed her opinion. Though she still thought of him as cold, she knew he had a kinder side as well.
"Thank you, Uchiha-san."
"Whatever. Let's just hurry up before the Dobe starts complaining." He continued tugging her along Takeshita-dori. She smiled, a small blush adorning her cheeks as they walked along.
Sasuke quickly glanced backwards at the pink-headed girl. "Hn. What are you grinning for?"
"Eh? Oh it's nothing," Sakura smiled shyly while looking at the ground. He turned around fully and gave her a knowing smirk. She froze wondering why he was looking at her that way.
"You like me don't you?" A smug grin was plastered all over his face.
Sakura's mouth dropped at this. One moment she was admiring his kindness, and then a few seconds later she was baffled at how quickly he became egocentric again. "Eh?"
"Che. I knew it, another fan girl." He shook his head lightly while he continued to drag her along the road.
With a disgusted look, Sakura pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Excuse me? I am most certainly not your fan girl Uchiha-san. Please do not group me with such low lifes!" She growled with disdain in her voice. In her mind however, she knew she should have let it go. She reprimanded herself for being so unladylike.
"So I see Haruno has a temper. Couldn't hold it in?" He raised an eyebrow as he glanced back at her. Amusement glinted in his eyes.
"Well I'm trying my best to be polite, but with your cocky attitude, how could I not?"
"Ah, you really are annoying." He rolled his eyes.
"Yeah? Well you are too," Sakura pouted. She never was one to act so immature, but she couldn't help it. He was just annoying her to point that she wasn't acting quite 'Lolita' enough or to her standards. She decided from there that he wasn't as cool as she had originally thought and that he was really just a cold bastard.
"And to think that I was nice to you, ordering you a cake," the pinkette scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I never asked you to do that."
Sakura stomped her right foot on the ground. "Well I was just being nice, and I felt bad you didn't have anything to eat."
Sasuke, in return, glared at the annoying girl, "Well I never asked for your pity Haruno."
"That's it! You're such a jerk! I'm done talking with you." She gave him a final glare and proceeded to walk past him.
"And where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going to find Body Line without your help, so good day to you, Uchiha-san."
" . . ."
Sasuke sighed, obviously fed up with her behavior. "Do you really think that's the best decision? Is being separated and you being lost again a great idea? Use your brain Haruno."
The ama-loli glared but agreed. She honestly didn't know what she would do if she got lost again. She would just have to suck up her pride and get along with the Uchiha, she didn't have any other option anyway. The two just walked in silence as Sasuke led the way. During this time, Sakura finally calmed down. There was no use being angry with him, it was counterproductive and took too much energy. He wasn't worth it anyway.
"Hn. We're here." Sasuke stopped in front of a two-story building. The pinkette looked up to see a fairly large sign that read, BODY LINE. The lettering was in a gold color, while the background of the sign was a deep maroon. Since the building was two stories, there was a staircase that led to the entrance of the store. There was a gold railing as well, probably to match the gold lettering from the sign. As Sakura climbed up the stairs, she found a large yellow poster next to the entrance that read, SALE. Sakura smiled and happily walked inside.
"Finally! That took you guys forever, what were you doing alone with Sasuke-kun?" The redheaded punk loli demanded.
Sakura quickly looked around the store. It was fairly small in size but it was cute. The walls were covered with red curtains. Against the walls were racks of many different Lolita dresses. They were arranged according to color and what style the dresses were in. In the middle of the room was a very ornate and intricate gold painted table. A cash register was placed on it as well as a smiling Lolita dressed sales associate working behind.
Sasuke came up behind the ama-loli and rolled his eyes. He sighed as he walked to where his friends were.
Sakura decided to ignore the redhead's comment and ran to her best friend. "Hinata!"
"S-Sakura-chan," Hinata smiled back, relieved that her Lolita friend was back.
Naruto came up to Sakura and said, "There you guys are! Where have you been? We've been waiting since like, forever!"
"Calm down Dobe. Pinky over here got lost so I had to go back to get her."
Naruto gave a smug look and wiggled his eyebrows. "Right, you two got 'lost' on the way."
"And what exactly are you implying happened, Naruto?" Karin gave him a glare.
The blonde froze in his spot and stepped behind Hinata. The GothLoli was oblivious to Naruto's future impending doom. "N-Nothing Karin. They were probably just having fun without us. Not doing anything inappropriate of course, if that's what you were thinking…"
Karin pressed her lips into a fine line and turned her head away. "Like Sasuke would ever do anything with her. She's clearly not his type."
Suigetsu laughed, "And you are?"
Karin blushed and adjusted her glasses to cover her pink cheeks. "Well, at least more than this bubblegum."
Sakura sighed. First she got lost, and then her phone broke, after she had to spend 15 minutes with a cocky visual kei boy, and next she had to face Karin's sudden disdain. It wasn't like she wanted to be alone with the Uchiha anyway. Sakura brought her hands back and started playing with the bow at the back of her dress. She shyly glanced at the dark headed boy next to her. He had a blank expression on, clearly not affected with the conversation going on in front of him.
"Do they usually just talk about you like you aren't here?" Sakura quickly shut her mouth. She unconsciously let the question slip through her lips.
Sasuke looked at the shorter girl and gave her a small smirk. "All the time."
Sakura giggled. Whatever this was, it made her feel strange. Even though they only met a couple of hours ago, he already brought so many emotions out of her. He knew what buttons to press to make her angry and he knew exactly what to say to make her smile. It was strange. He was strange.
"You're really different."
He gave her a questioning gaze, obviously not understanding her statement.
Sakura continued on, trying to explain what she meant, "You weren't what I expected, that's all I meant."
"Same with you." Sakura lightly gasped at this.
"You were always known as the smart, quiet, polite model student. But I never expected you to be a Lolita girl. Well, an annoying Lolita that is," he gave a small chuckle as he brushed his hair back with his hands.
A deep blush adorned the pinkette's cheeks. How could someone be so attractive all of a sudden? Sakura shook her head and hit her herself with her fist, trying to get these strange thoughts out of her head.
"Hn. Not to mention you're weirder than I expected," he muttered.
"Hey! I'm perfectly normal. Besides, who knew the cold, stoic Uchiha was really a rebellious visual kei boy? That'll be quite the surprise back at school."
Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like I would care. Who are they to judge who I am anyway?"
Sakura contemplated on his words and nodded thoughtfully. He had a point. She suddenly felt guilty though. She was rather quick to judge him without really knowing him first. Even though as a Lolita it was expected that one would be respectful of others, it seemed like she didn't truly respect who Sasuke was.
She just assumed he was mean without really knowing the facts. Although he was cold, he never acted ill towards her or harmed her in any way. The green-eyed beauty suddenly felt very regretful for thinking those bad thoughts about him without knowing the truth.
"I should be apologizing to you then. I was quick to judge without knowing who you really were. I'm sorry for those assumptions," Sakura bowed apologetically.
"Hn."
Sakura sighed. Well, that was short lived.
Karin gave a satisfied sigh as she took a sip out of her straw. She ordered a mango smoothie as refreshment from all the shopping that she did. Suigetsu, unfortunately, was left with the task of holding her bags. "Well, now that I'm done shopping, I have to get home."
"What? Already?" Naruto whined.
Karin rolled her eyes and then took out her receipts to see how much she spent. "Unlike some people, I do have a life you know."
"Well, good riddance…" Suigetsu muttered under his breath.
The white haired boy yawned and stretched his hands out, almost hitting Naruto with the bags he was holding. "I should probably head back too."
"What?! Not you too, Suigetsu?" Naruto pouted as he sidestepped his friend so he wouldn't get hit with the shopping bags. It didn't seem like it, but they spent more than half the day together. The sun was setting and it was close to nighttime.
Suigetsu shook his head lightly and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You know I have a job at the bike shop. My uncle ain't waiting on me all day. Don't you have practice anyway?"
Sakura perked up at the question. "Practice?"
"Yeah, these guys are in a visual kei band," the white haired visual kei boy replied.
Naruto continued on explaining, "We're not signed though. It's more of a hobby. We just so happened to get paid with all the gigs we perform at."
Sakura nodded her head, "That's really cool."
"Really?"
"Of course! Not just anyone can play an instrument or sing well."
The blonde oshare kei boy chuckled, "Well little lady, you're in luck, you're talking to the leader of the band himself."
"You're the leader?" Sakura tilted her head a little to the side.
Naruto nodded his head with a triumphant grin on his face. "I started the band so I designated myself as leader."
"A crappy leader I'll say…" Karin muttered.
"Stop being a hater Karin," Suigetsu retorted.
Karin sighed and reluctantly added in, "Well, I do have to admit they're pretty talented."
"So what's your position in the band?" the pinkette questioned the leader.
"I'm the drummer. And Sasuke over here is our bassist."
"That's so awesome!"
Naruto smiled, "You should come to practice with us if you're free."
Sakura nodded her head and turned towards the GothLoli next to Naruto. The pinkette asked, "Would you want to go Hinata?"
Hinata blushed as she looked down to play with her fingers. "I'm not sure. You know I have a curfew."
"Right… maybe next time then, ne?"
Sakura started, "Sorry guys may—
Hinata cut her off by assuring her, "I-It's fine if y-you go without m-me." Sakura gasped as she stared down at her friend. It was quite a surprising answer coming from the black haired girl.
"Are you sure?" Hinata nodded.
Sakura smiled and patted her friend lightly on the head. "Alright, I'll definitely keep you updated with what happens."
Suigetsu stretched his arms out again and brought one arm back so that it was lying against his shoulder. It made it slightly easier to carry the bags against his back. "Alright guys, me and Karin are out!"
Hinata shyly stepped forward towards the pair and asked, "D-do you guys mind if I-I leave w-with you."
"Of course not!"
Karin sighed in relief, "Thank god. Who knows what'll happen if its just me and this idiot."
Right as the trio was about to leave, the blue-eyed boy stopped the adorable GothLoli. "Oh wait, Hinata? Before you leave…" Naruto took out his orange flip phone and scrolled to his contacts list.
Naruto scratched the back of his head as he handed the pale girl his phone. "Do you wanna exchange email addresses and numbers with me? Hehe"
Bright red engulfed Hinata's face. Hinata nodded enthusiastically and took Naruto's phone to put in her number and e-mail address. Naruto laughed nervously as the rest of the group stared knowingly at the two. After giving back the phone, Hinata took out her lavender colored flip phone for Naruto to input his information. After they exchanged numbers, Hinata bowed and walked up to Karin and Suigetsu who were waiting for her.
Naruto looked back and grinned at his new friend, "I'll definitely contact you."
Hinata blushed again and nodded. She then gave him a small smile and waved goodbye.
"Bye guys!" Suigetsu shouted as the trio started walking away.
Karin waved furiously to the quiet visual kei boy. "Bye Sasuke-kun!"
"Hn."
"G-Goodbye. Hopefully I'll s-see y-you soon S-Sakura-chan," Hinata quietly shouted, if that was possible, to her pink friend.
Sakura beamed, "Okay, I'll definitely wait for it!" She was so proud of Hinata. She was finally opening up. The pinkette couldn't help but feel like a proud mother. Hinata was always the shy one in their group of friends, but it seemed like she was truly growing. She could tell that just from this one day Hinata was becoming more comfortable with herself.
Sakura snickered into her hand. It was probably because of Naruto. If it wasn't obvious enough, Hinata definitely took quite a liking towards the bright haired boy. But the green-eyed beauty was happy for her friend. If anything happened in the future, Naruto was definitely the right person to keep Hinata happy.
"Well it's just us now!" Naruto grinned at the two walking next to him.
"Great," Sasuke said sarcastically.
"Cool, so off to practice we go." Naruto pointed ahead and started walking. Naruto stated that it would take them about 10 to 15 minutes to get there from Body Line. When Sakura asked about their instruments, Naruto laughed and said that there was already a drum kit set up in the studio. For Sasuke, the other band members were bringing his bass since they planned ahead of time.
"You'll love the rest of the band Sakura! They ain't as cool as me, but they come pretty close," Naruto chuckled as he brought his arms toward the back of his head.
Sasuke shook his head and sighed. He brought his hand up to his face and started massaging the bridge of his nose. "Hn. Dobe."
Naruto smirked, "Aw, don't be jealous teme. You're cool too, cooler than the rest, but not as cool as me. I'm number one, right Sakura?"
The pinkette giggled and nodded, "Sure, Uzumaki-san."
She was really excited to see them play. The ama-loli never knew anyone that was in a band although she did listen to quite a few visual kei bands. Malice Mizer was the most prominent band she listened to because of Mana-sama. She bought lots of Lolita dresses from his clothing label, Moi-meme-Moitie, as well.
The pinkette asked, "So what's the name of the studio you practice in?"
"KRH Studios! It's the best, really. That's where we rehearse and record our demos."
Sakura nodded in reply. She looked at Sasuke who was walking on the right of her. It really was strange. He always seemed to be very quiet in groups, but when he was just with her… Sakura shook her head. She wasn't anything special, how could she even think that he treated her differently from the rest. Besides, like Karin said earlier, why would he be interested in a girl like her?
Sakura stopped in her tracks. Did she really just think that? Who cares if he was interested in her or not? She didn't like him that way, right? They just met, so how could feelings already develop? Sakura jumped in surprise as someone poked her left cheek.
"Eh?"
"It would be wise if you stopped getting distracted, unless, you want to get lost again," Sasuke gave the girl a crooked grin.
Sakura pouted, "Before was an accident and right now, I just had a lot of things on my mind."
"Or you're just doing this so you could hold my hand again."
Sakura's face flushed in embarrassment. "We didn't hold hands! You dragged me along, holding onto me wrist!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Same difference."
"Hey! You two lovebirds! Will you stop arguing about holding hands so we can get to practice? We're gonna be late." Naruto stared at the two, obviously amused at the situation.
"Why don't you tell pinky that? She's the one who wants to hold my hand." Sasuke walked past the girl and continued walking toward the studio.
Sakura puffed her cheeks out. "Don't worry about him, Sakura-chan. He's just teasing."
"Well it's annoying."
"It's weird though, he doesn't ever do this with Karin…" Naruto trailed off.
"Haha. Well maybe because he's friends with Karin and I'm just a stranger," Sakura laughed nervously. She didn't like where this conversation was going.
"I'm pretty sure you're far from being strangers at this point," Naruto looked back at the girl and grinned. "Well, let's continue on."
Sakura stared blankly for a moment then continued on following the oshare kei boy.
When they arrived, they entered into one of the many recording studios in the building. The room was slightly small, but adequate. One of the walls was framed with a long mirror so it was easier for the band to see what they looked like when they performed. A drum set and a large amp were set up near the back of the room. The lights were bright and the room was soundproof, so it was perfect for a band like them to practice.
As they entered the room, Sakura noticed two people already there. They were tuning their guitars. Sasuke noticed his bass was leaning against the wall near the entrance, and went to get ready. He took out his black bass from the case and then went to his position on the right. He plugged his bass in the amp and started tuning and warming up like the rest. Naruto walked all the way to the back where the drum set was and started playing with the snare drums and cymbals.
As they were getting ready, Sakura took this time to observe the other two members in their band. The first one she noticed was the redhead. He was standing in front, in the middle of the group. He had very short-layered hair and was styled so that some of the tips were winged out. He then looked up to see her standing there awkwardly. Sakura then noticed he had very light green eyes that were outlined with very dark, thick black eyeliner. She noted that he looked very much like a tanuki. She then noticed his lack of eyebrows, which she thought was quite strange. However, what got her attention was the tattoo located on his forehead. It was the kanji sign of love written in red ink. He had on a very casual visual kei outfit. He wore a plain white shirt with thin black stripes running horizontal. On top of that, he wore a plain black blazer. For his bottoms, he had on black pants that were ripped near the knee area. Chains also hung from the right side of his hips. And for shoes he wore black and white creepers.
"Oh, right over there, there should be a chair next to you that you could sit on," Naruto pointed out. He used his left drumstick to point to a black chair that was propped up against the wall. The pinkette nodded in thanks and took the chair to sit on. She leaned her umbrella against the wall and put her heart shaped bag on her lap. After sitting down, she looked at the last member of the band.
He looked deathly pale and had jet black hair that framed the top of his face. Unlike the others, his hair wasn't styled and was just flat. He too had on very casual visual kei attire. A thin black scarf was wrapped around his neck. He also wore a plain black loose tank with a white skull graphic on it. Over that, he had on a thin black jacket that ended right above his knees. For pants, he had on black skinny jeans with several rips all over. He also wore black platforms that made him slightly taller than the rest of the members. He, however, didn't look up at her.
After they were finished tuning and warming up, Naruto wanted to introduce Sakura to the rest of the band. "Before we begin, I want to introduce you to the others," Naruto continued on, "The one in front is our vocalist and guitarist. His name is Sabaku no Gaara." The redhead bowed and then quietly spoke, "You can just call me Gaara." Sakura bowed in return and smiled slightly.
"The one on the left is our newest member. He is our lead guitarist and his name is Sai." The pale boy bowed and gave the ama-loli a very fake looking smile. Sakura laughed nervously and bowed back.
"This cute Loli is our newest friend, Sakura-chan. She'll be watching us practice today, so make sure you give her a great performance."
Naruto then raised his drumsticks up and crossed them to form an 'X' shape. He then grinned goofily and yelled, "We are X."
Sakura giggled at his silliness. The rest of the guys were so serious but Naruto was just trying to lighten up the mood. He introduced themselves as one of the most famous visual kei bands in Japan, X Japan. Unlike the rest, she found Naruto's little joke to be funny.
Gaara turned around to glare at the idiot behind him. Naruto tensed up and then cleared his throat.
Sasuke sighed, "Let's just start already, dobe." Naruto chuckled as he turned slightly red, embarrassed that the other members were far from amused with his behavior.
"Sorry about that Sakura-chan. We'll begin seriously now." The pinkette just giggled in reply.
Naruto shouted, "We are Shinobi! The first song we'll be playing is called Reila."
Sasuke looked back and nodded toward the blonde that they were ready to go. Naruto smirked. "A one, two, three, four…." Naruto shouted as he simultaneously hit his drumsticks together.
And then they began.
UNTIL NEXT TIME!
Close: Chapter 3 Completed
**Fun Facts: BODY LINE and KRH Studios are real places in Shibuya. Malice Mizer, Mana-sama, & X Japan are real Japanese musicians. Moi-meme-Moitie is a real Japanese Lolita clothing label. Reila is a song by the Japanese visual kei band, the Gazette.
Review please.
~七転八起