Special Shout Outs: JakuraAngel, nikkomilkbaby, fourthfireshadow, callmeYRIAL, & double1squad for the story alerts & nikkomilkbaby& hardtofathom for the fav!
Chapter Dedication: Guest, nikkomilkbaby, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA & hardtofathom for the reviews! Thank you so much!
Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters used in this story do not belong to me. The song used below, Toumei no Kagi, also belongs to WAKESHIMA KANON.
Enter: The Lolita Handbook
.
(CHAPTER 5)
(OF FRIENDSHIPS)
.
WELCOME!
Of Jumper Skirts, Tea Parties, and Lace
.
.
.
.
[透明の鍵]
While I slept, my heart
Was stolen
Must hurry and get it back
Or tomorrow will be here
[分島花音]
.
.
.
.
Sakura screamed again into her pillow. Just thinking about it made her feel weird. Only this unexplainable feeling would occur with him. Why him? Why now? She still couldn't get over the fact that just a week ago, he was just a classmate and nothing more. Now, they were on a talking basis and they even acted like they knew each other for years! How could he even do that?
She never allowed anyone to become so comfortable with her so quickly. Yet he was the exception. The Lolita girl didn't like the fact that he was being set a part from everyone else. He wasn't anything special, not at all.
She sighed again as she looked at the moon. Who was she kidding? She could no longer deny what was so plainly obvious. It wasn't like she loved him, she barely even knew the boy. But that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to become infatuated. And clearly, it seemed like she was beginning to be.
She was falling hard.
"I swear, this is going to take forever at this point," Ino sighed as she rolled onto her stomach on Sakura's bed. The gyaru was flipping through a Popteen magazine while occasionally looking up at the lolita who was going through her closet.
The blonde-haired girl sighed, "I'm sure whatever you choose to wear will look good on you. It's just a minor gig anyway. Snootyfox is small, remember?"
"I know, it's just that…" Sakura trailed off while looking at multiple lolita outfits she narrowed her choices down to.
Ino smirked, "Sasuke-kun, right?"
Although she could only see her friend's back, the gyaru knew that Sakura's face went all red. It was adorable. Whenever she brought up the visual kei boy, the ama-loli would turn a light shade of pink. It was endearing, really.
Sakura turned around and glared, "N-No, why would you think that?"
"You're hopeless," the blue-eyed girl laughed at her friend's response. Sakura still acted like she was in denial about her feelings. However, since they had been friends since childhood, Ino knew how to read her. It was obvious that the pink-headed girl was beginning to accept this development that was growing between her and the Uchiha. She just didn't like voicing it out. Sakura was very reserved and kept to herself mostly, so something like infatuations and crushes were hard for her to talk about.
But Ino being Ino, she was always able to pry it out of the flustering girl. She just needed a little push every now and then. But she knew her limits—Ino would never pressure her friend too forcefully into telling her anything. Ultimately, it was all for Sakura's sake anyway.
"I just don't know. Maybe I should do a different lolita style? I have some Gothloli dresses in here too. Is ama-loli too much?" Sakura bit her lip as she was looking between two different dresses.
Ino raised an eyebrow. Although she was aware of the lolita fashion, she didn't know too much about the different types there were. All this talk just made her confused. Did it matter anyway? As long as Sakura looked cute, Ino didn't care if she went in a ball gown. Well, maybe not to that extreme.
The blonde scoffed, "What's the difference?"
Sakura turned around, mouth ajar from surprise. "There are many differences, mind you."
Ino rolled her eyes as she continued scanning the pages of the magazine before her. "Well, excuse me. Remember, I'm not a lolita so I wouldn't know. I only know princess lolita cause they jacked some hime-gyaru stuff."
Sakura started rubbing the top bridge of her nose, "Must I go through this again?"
The pinkette turned to the gyaru who was waiting for an answer. She sighed and continued on, "Gothic Lolita is what Hinata-chan wears. They wear mostly gothic-looking or dark-colored outfits. Sweet lolita, AKA me, wear lighter colors with cute themes like bunnies, cherries, and roses. You're alright so far?"
Ino nodded, boredom evident on her face. Sakura glared but continued on, "Classic lolita is a more mature look, with more muted colors and designs. Punk lolita, which is what Karin-san wears, combines the punk style and lolita. So they have a lot of safety pins, chains, and plaid in their outfits. Wa lolita, what Konan-san wears, is a kimono-styled or hakama-looking lolita outfit."
Ino raised an eyebrow, "Is that it?"
Sakura sighed again at her best friend, "There's more obviously, but I won't bore you any longer. You're lucky I simplified everything. There's much more detail on what characterizes which lolita style you are, but I won't bore you with those details either."
Ino nodded in satisfaction as she closed the magazine, "Good, 'cause I don't remember anything you just said." Ino rolled onto her back while she stretched her arms and legs out.
Sakura looked at the girl and shook her head disapprovingly, "Oh goodness."
The pinkette then went back to picking out which outfit to choose from. Although she narrowed it down to five, she was still confused on if she really wanted to wear any of these choices. If she was so indecisive with the five, maybe they weren't outfits she should wear. Maybe she was actually overthinking everything. It never took her this long to decide on an outfit, so this was a first.
"Okay, maybe I am overthinking this," the ama-loli finally admitted. She sighed as she put back the outfits into her closet. She went to her bed and plopped down next to her best friend. Ino was now flipping through the pages of Sakura's Gothic & Lolita Bible magazine.
Ino looked up at her friend and said, "Let me help you out a bit then. Wear something simple, yet elegant. Sasuke-kun has seen you in a boring school uniform and an extravagantly cute lolita dress. Why not go for a less frilly lolita outfit? Something in between, perhaps?"
"I suppose you're right. I don't want to draw too much attention since the main focus should be on Shinobi and not what I look like," the lolita girl nodded in agreement. She stood back up and looked at her more casual looking outfits. "And I think I've found the perfect one."
After getting off at Yamanote Line, Ino and Sakura waited at the station for Tenten and Hinata to arrive. Sakura messaged Karin earlier and the group would meet the punk lolita and Konan outside of Snootyfox.
"Look! They're coming!" Ino shouted excitedly as she started waving to the two girls approaching them.
"Haruno. Yamanaka." Tenten nodded hello in greeting as Hinata bowed to the two.
Sakura smiled at the group, "I'm so glad you guys could make it!"
Ino rolled her eyes at the obvious, "Duh! Why wouldn't we? You need some moral support—especially with that whole 'thing' you have going on with Sasuke-kun."
"Hold up! Tell me more about this 'Sasuke-kun' character," Tenten looked at the gyaru and ama-loli expectantly.
Sakura held up both her hands in front of her defensively as she gave out a nervous laugh. "Well—
Ino then interrupted, "He's Sakura's crush so we need to be there to support her growing love life." Ino smirked at the ama-loli who was now as red as a tomato.
Tenten smirked back as she placed her hands on her hips, "Well it's about time, Haruno! I thought you were gonna end up being a cat lady."
Hinata giggled as Sakura pouted at all the teasing being directed towards her. In an effort to draw attention away from her situation, she smiled at Hinata rather suspiciously. The Gothloli froze in place knowing what was coming next. She should have known this was going to end up happening.
Sakura smiled, a glint of mischief in her eyes, "But what about Hinata-chan? It's obvious that she has something with Uzumaki-san. They've been messaging each other everyday!"
Hinata jumped back in surprise as her whole body turned red in embarrassment.
"Eh? Not Hinata too!" Tenten glomped the gothloli into her arms.
The group of friends laughed together as they made their way towards the bar Shinobi would be performing at.
When they finally arrived at Snootyfox, Karin and Konan were outside waiting for them as promised.
"Sakura-san! Hinata-san! It's nice to see you again," Konan greeted with a small smile as she bowed politely.
The ama-loli and gothloli smiled at each other as they both bowed in return to the older lolita. They both admired how elegant Konan looked. Her presence alone was so charming and her face alone gave an almost ethereal look. Sakura couldn't help but stare at the wa lolita before her. She could only hope that one day she would be as graceful as Konan.
Karin huffed, "Well it's about time you made it. I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up. Too bad you did though…"
Konan elbowed Karin lightly in the side. "What Karin meant to say was we're happy you guys made it. We were beginning to worry that you got lost on the way."
"Ah! We're sorry for making you worry. Next time we will message you ahead of time to let you know where we are."
Konan smiled in return as she looked at the two girls behind the lolita friends she had made in Harajuku. Her face gave a curious expression at the unknown faces.
Sakura noticed her glances and scolded herself in her mind for not introducing her friends. "Oh! I almost forgot to introduce you guys to our two friends we brought along. This hime-gyaru is Yamanaka Ino, we go to Shibuya Gakuen together. And this b-gyaru is Tenten, we met her through Ino."
The two gyarus bowed as they said, "It's very nice to meet you."
The punk lolita and the wa-lolita both bowed back. "I'm Konan and this is Karin. I've never had any gyaru friends before so it will be nice getting to know you two."
Tenten smirked, "Likewise."
Karin sighed as she adjusted her glasses on her face. "We should probably head inside, they should be starting soon. Plus, we should probably introduce you to the rest of the gang beforehand."
The group followed the two girls into the bar. It was a very small but cozy place. Right when you entered, the bar was in sight. On the back wall, lines of alcohol bottles and glasses where shelved along with a mirror behind the shelves. Bar stools, which were filled with guys ordering drinks, were seated in front of the black countertops. Once they turned left, long tables and chairs were placed in rows of two. All the way at the back—behind the tables—was a small stage where Shinobi's instruments were set up.
On the right side of the room, Sakura saw a group of guys sitting at one of the long tables. They were a boisterous group, all drinking beer while talking amongst each other. On the other side of the room was Suigetsu—who looked like he was sleeping. His head was leaning against the upper part of the chair as his face was looking up. There was a magazine on his face too, probably to prevent people from seeing him sleep. As the group approached the two tables, the table on the right quieted down.
"Konan. Karin." An orange-haired man nodded at the two. Sakura peaked through the gaps between the girls and gasped a bit in surprise. Konan's boyfriend wasn't what she was expecting. He had spiked dyed orange hair and three piercings running down the sides of the bridge of his nose. He also had various piercings on both ears. In all honesty, Sakura felt both intimated and scared just by looking at him.
"Guys, this is my boyfriend, Pein. He is the leader of the Akatsuki gang. These are some of the other gang members," Konan gestured to the rest of the group, "the one on his right is Kisame."
A blue-skinned man smirked at the group, "Yo."
He really looked like a fish, having gill like markings on the sides of his face. He had dyed dark blue hair that was spiked up to give an almost fin-like impression.
"Across from Kisame, is Deidara." Ino's eyes widened at this as she whispered to Sakura, "Did she just say Deidara?"
"Next to Deidara is Sasori." This time Sakura's eyes widened as she turned to whisper back to Ino, "You don't think…"
"And next to Sasori is Itachi, Sasuke's older brother." Sakura's body perked up at the mention of Itachi. She had no clue Sasuke had an older brother since he never mentioned it to her before. A sudden wave of disappointment fell upon her at the realization of how little she actually knew about Sasuke. But that soon disappeared as Konan and Karin stepped aside to probably introduce them to the Akatsuki.
Ino whispered, "Oh shit."
"Ino, un?" "Sakura?!"
Both Sasori and Deidara stood up from their seats as they stared at the two girls.
Sakura looked at Ino, "Yep, we're done for."
Karin raised an eyebrow as she glanced back and forth from the two girls to the two guys, "You know these two already?"
"What are you doing here, un?" Deidara asked.
"Obviously, the same reason why you're here… nii-chan," Ino muttered the last part.
Ino looked almost like a complete copy of her older brother. He had the signature ponytail and bangs covering one side of his face that most Yamanaka's wore. The only difference between the two siblings was that Deidara dyed his hair a more fake yellow-blonde as opposed to Ino's platinum blonde hair. He also wore dark blue circle lenses while Ino went for a more natural blue eye color.
"Don't tell me she put you up to this again, little girl?" Sasori glared at his younger sibling accusingly. Sakura glared at Sasori's nickname for her, he used to say it with such affection but now it seemed he only said it when he was annoyed.
It had been a while since Sakura had seen her older brother, but he hadn't changed that much in appearance. He still had dyed red hair and wore his red circle lenses. The pinkette was pretty sure that her brother was supposed to be in college right now. She had no idea he had joined a gang. Unlike how her childhood was, she was no longer close to him.
Ino scoffed as she looked to the side, "Of course I didn't, it was Sakura who was the one who invited us here."
Sakura rolled her eyes as she grumbled, "Oh, thanks a lot, Ino."
The gyaru smiled prettily back at her best friend. "No problem, girl!"
Sasori gave Sakura a hard stare as he said, "You're going home, right now." He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to look intimidating. It obviously didn't work as Sakura showed little to no reaction to his demeanor. She wasn't leaving that easily.
Sakura returned a glare and retorted, "No, I'm not. I came here to see Shinobi, so I'm going to stay."
"What will mom say once she finds out you're at a bar?" the redhead smirked as if he already won the battle. Sakura was the definition of an obedient daughter. She would never go against their parent's wishes and was never one to act out of place. Going to a bar was definitely out of character for the younger Haruno sibling, Sasori narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
The ama-loli gave a sickening sweet smile in response to her older brother's glare and replied, "Well, what will dad say once he finds out you're in a gang and not at university studying?"
Sasori froze at the mention of his father. Although he wasn't as obedient as Sakura, he tried his best not to mention anything he did to his parents. He fed them lies—one of them being he was doing great at uni—and they never questioned it. They never suspected a thing since his grades were practically perfect in high school. But if father found out… he would probably be disowned.
The two groups of siblings glared at each other defiantly.
"Yah! What's with all this commotion?" Suigetsu walked up to the table with a tired expression on his face. He yawned as he scratched the back of his head expecting an answer from someone.
Karin scolded in return, "You shouldn't be complaining Suigetsu! You were just on your lazy ass before, sleeping!"
"Well, isn't this interesting, a family gathering," Kisame observed the group in front of him. Although he could care less about what they were fighting about, it was interesting to find out more about Sasori and Deidara. They never spoke about their families are anything from their personal lives.
On the other side of the table, Tenten, who had a very puzzled expression on her face, and Hinata, who started fidgeting from all the yelling, watched as the siblings fought. Tired of being "out of the loop," Tenten demanded, "Can someone please tell me what's going on? You're making poor Hinata worry."
"Well, Deidara is my older brother… unfortunately," Ino grumbled.
"Hey, un!"
The pinkette sighed as she turned to her bosozoku friend, "And Sasori is my older brother."
"I never asked to be you little brat." "Shut up!"
"And Kisame is my cousin!" Suigetsu randomly added.
Karin pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose before she shouted, "Sit your ass down! No one asked you!"
"Says the one related to Naruto," Suigetsu muttered out as Kisame chuckled in response. They fist-bumped as Karin got redder in anger. She was about to burst and give Suigetsu a beat down when Konan held her from behind. It was best to calm down the redhead or else they would be kicked out before Shinobi even had a chance to play.
Ignoring that situation, Deidara shrugged as he turned to his sister, "Whatever, as long as you don't tell our parents, I won't say nothing, un."
Ino stared at him just to make sure he wasn't lying or had any hidden motives. She nodded approvingly as she saw no signs of deceit, "Agreed."
"I won't say anything to otou-san, if you don't say anything to okaa-san." Sasori compromised as well.
The pinkette nodded in agreement, "Fine."
"Well, now that everything's settled, shut up and sit your asses down. The staff look like they're 'bout to call security," Kisame pointed out as the group glanced at the glaring staff near the doors and at the bar.
Konan went to sit with her boyfriend and the rest of the Akatsuki while Karin, Ino, Tenten, Hinata, and Sakura went to sit at Suigetsu's table. There were four empty chairs at the other end of the table, probably for Shinobi after they finished performing.
Just then, Shinobi came out onto the stage. Naruto smirked as he looked around the room. It had been a while since this many people he knew showed up at a performance. He spotted Suigetsu's table and jumped down the stage to greet everyone. The rest of the band got on stage to tune their instruments and do some final mic checks.
"Uzumaki-san!" "N-Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled as he saw the two girls he met at Harajuku. He said their names in acknowledgment, "Hinata-chan. Sakura-chan. I'm happy you guys made it!" The blonde then looked at the rest of the table and noticed some unfamiliar faces.
"Ah! I don't think we've met, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm the leader and drummer of Shinobi. It's nice to meet you!" He bowed politely as he looked at the two girls seated next to Hinata and Sakura.
Tenten raised an eyebrow and glanced briefly at Hinata. Hinata blushed as she shyly glanced down. The b-gyaru smirked as she looked back up at the blonde. "I'm Tenten. I'm friends with Hinata and Haruno over here."
The oshare kei boy then looked at the hime-gyaru who then proceeded to introduce herself, "Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino. It's so nice to finally meet you! Hinata and Sakura talk about you guys all the time!"
"Do they now?" Naruto asked in a suggestive manner. His grin widened as he went in between Sakura and Hinata's seats.
The pinkette rolled her eyes at what he seemed to be insinuating, "It's not what you think, Uzumaki-san."
"It's okay, Sakura-chan, you don't have to hide your undying love for me. I get it."
"Eh?" She literally was dumfounded. She glanced at Hinata and she too had a confused expression on. Was he joking or was this him being completely serious?
"You too, Hinata-chan. There's enough Naruto for everyone!" He then proceeded to put his arms around the two girls as he nodded approvingly.
Karin rolled her eyes at her cousin's stupid antics, "Oh, shut it, you idiot. No one wants any piece of you."
Suigetsu smirked, "I wouldn't be talkin,' Karin. You can't even hold Sasuke's attention."
The redhead's mouth twitched as her head slowly turned to face white-headed boy, "Wanna repeat that again, Suigetsu?"
Ignoring Karin and Suigetsu's regular banter, Naruto smiled to the girls, "Anyway, I gotta head back on the stage. I just wanted to come down and say hi, but I hope you ladies enjoy the show!"
They watched as Naruto headed back onto the stage where the rest of Shinobi were waiting.
"Konbanwa. We are Shinobi! Before we start, we just want to thank everyone for coming out to see us. We truly appreciate it and we hope you continue to support us along the way." The whole bar gave a little cheer and clapped to encourage them.
"We'll be performing a couple of songs for you tonight, so just sit back, relax, have a drink, and enjoy the show! Our first song is Kare Uta,* let's go!"
Their opening song was rather impressive. It had this raw energy right from the beginning of the song that made you tap your foot. Naruto really surprised her; the drumming was so intense. She also wasn't expecting Gaara's awesome vocals. The first song they performed for her during practice was so slow and sad. This was also a sad song, but it was different. She had no idea Gaara's voice could reach those notes. Sai's guitar solo was one of her favorite parts. She could see why they chose him to be the newest member. Sasuke on the hand…
Sakura could not keep her eyes off of him. The lights were dim at the bar, but it seemed to highlight Sasuke's features handsomely. The pinkette could not help but admire him. He just exuded so much confidence while he was playing the bass. He was so calm and collected and he seemed so into the song. His presence always stood out to her and that didn't even change on stage.
Throughout their whole performance not once did she look away.
After the performance, Shinobi started to repack their instruments, cables, amps and so on. Suigetsu left the table to help them out while the girls talked amongst themselves. Busy chatter was going around the room, talking about Shinobi's awesome performance. From what Sakura was hearing—and she couldn't agree more—Shinobi were impressive for a local band.
Naruto, who had a happy grin on his face, finally arrived at the table along with Gaara and Sai following behind him. Sasuke went to his brother's table along with Suigetsu—who was annoying his cousin, Kisame—to talk, leaving the ama-loli disappointed.
"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata shyly greeted the drummer. He smiled back as he sat down on the vacant chair next to her. Sai and Gaara followed suit as they took the seats of the remaining chairs.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce you guys. This is Sai, Shinobi's bassist and this is Gaara, Shinobi's vocalist." Gaara nodded his head at the group while Sai smiled creepily to the girls. "Guys, these are Sakura-chan's friends. The blonde gyaru is Yamanaka Ino, the b-gyaru is Tenten, and the GothLoli—the one who I was telling you about—is Hyuuga Hinata."
"It's nice to meet you," the three girls bowed to the two band members. After introductions and a round of drinks—non-alcohol of course—Naruto wanted to "break the ice." As someone who was outgoing, friendly, and energetic, any new friend that he made he wanted to get to know as soon as possible.
"So, what did you ladies think of our performance?" He wiggled his eyebrows as he asked the group of girls at the table before him.
"You guys were so awesome!"
"Mm," Hinata hummed in agreement, "You were a-amazing, Naruto-kun." She shyly glanced up at the blonde. Naruto smiled cheekily at the Gothloli as he scratched the back of his head, humbled at her compliment. At his expression, Hinata could feel her face getting hot as her cheeks were tinged in pink. His smile was so bright and warm it made her heart flutter.
"I have to admit, Uzumaki, you guys were good," Tenten smirked with arms crossed over her chest.
"Well, that's because they have Sasuke-kun," Karin sighed in contentment as she stared off dreamily at the dark-headed boy who was talking to his brother at the other table.
"So, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura blinked several times as she forced herself back to reality. She could get way too lost into her thoughts sometimes. She smiled at the blonde oshare kei boy and giggled, "You guys put me in a trance."
"Well, I knew I was good-looking but I didn't know I was that dazzling," Naruto grinned smugly. He sauntered his way over to the ama-loli and stood before her in a proud stance.
"Hn. In your dreams, dobe." Sasuke, who was done talking with his brother, came up from behind. He made his way over to Naruto, looking bored as ever.
Naruto smirked at his best friend's response. In attempt to get more of a reaction, he decided to fool around a bit. It wasn't everyday Uchiha Sasuke—dare he say it—reacted jealously. The oshare kei boy wiggled his eyebrows again, "More like in Sakura's, if you know what I mean." He then proceeded to put an arm around said girl's shoulders.
Sasuke scoffed while glaring at the arm that was wrapped around the pinkette. Sakura, who thought the glare was being directed towards her, laughed nervously as she retorted, "Um, no offense, Uzumaki-san, but I wouldn't dream of you like that." Sakura scooted away from the blonde so his arm would fall off her shoulders. She had no idea what he was doing since it was weird he suddenly acted oddly once Sasuke arrived.
Naruto feigned a hurt expression as he held his arms against his chest, "Eh? But I thought we had a thing going on? Ya know what I'm saying?"
"Clearly not, Naruto-kun. You could tell from her perplexed expression how unlikely that is. Besides, if you had this so called "thing" with anyone, it would clearly be with Hinata-san."
Naruto sputtered, "E-eh?"
The whole group, except Sai who smiled creepily, laughed as both Naruto and Hinata's faces turned a bright red. The girls proceeded to tease Hinata as she slumped lower in her seat in embarrassment. She covered her face knowing how red she looked.
"So, you're not denying it?" Sai tilted his head to the side as he observed the blonde. At this, Hinata peaked from behind her fingers, wanting to know Naruto's response.
"Ah… well…" Naruto turned to his head to the side, face still flushed red, "It's okay if you tease me, but don't bring Hinata-chan into this. Besides, I have nothing to hide, me and Hinata are friends."
"If you have nothing to hide, you might want to tell her how small the size of your pe—
"Urusai!" Naruto barked as he started yelling obscenities at a confused Sai.
"Ah Hinata, you really chose this idiot?" Tenten whispered as she pointed with her thumb to the blonde.
Ino giggled as she swatted the bosozoku's hands down. "Don't worry Hinata, I approve. I think it's cute how he's trying to protect your dignity. He's a little dense though."
The Gothloli fiddled with her fingers before shyly glancing up, "He may not be the brightest, but Naruto-kun is one of the most genuine people I know. I admire his sense of determination and the confidence he has within himself."
The girls cooed at how cute she was. Sakura smiled as she looked at her friends. It's been a while since people she really cared about surrounded her. At school, she either was with Ino or she kept mostly to herself. As she looked around the room, she noticed Sasuke grabbing something from his brother. After, he headed past the bar, not bothering to tell anyone where he was going. Ino, who noticed her friend's stares, smirked mischievously.
"Why don't you follow him?" the blue-eyed girl suggested as the pinkette jumped in surprise from being caught staring. Sakura sadly looked down at the ground as her mind started drifting to thoughts of the dark-headed boy who just left the room.
"But…"
"It's alright, we'll be fine. Besides, everyone's distracted by Naruto and Sai's conversation. Go see what he's up to. It's your chance!" Ino winked. Sakura could be such a coward at times. Like said before, she just needed a push every once in a while or else she would get nowhere.
"Hey! Where did that teme go?"
Ino laughed nervously as she quickly tried to take his attention away from his friends disappearance, "Oh, don't worry about him. Sakura will go get him."
"Why does that bubblegum get to go?" Karin whined as she crossed her arms across her chest. Suigetsu glanced at the redhead and started chuckling.
"It's not like he wants to see your face, anyway," Suigetsu sniggered. Karin's eye began twitching before she turned towards him. Suigetsu laughed nervously before he put his arms up in defense against Karin's angry hits.
The pinkette pouted, still a bit unsure of what to do. Ino jabbed the girl in the side with her elbow. The ama-loli glared at her best friend as she rubbed her sore side from her jab. Ino mouthed out, "Just go, you baka."
Sakura sighed in defeat as she quietly excused herself and headed in the direction Sasuke went in.
Unknown to her, glaring red eyes were following her movements.
Sakura went down past the bar and turned left. There was a small hallway where the bathrooms were and another exit was. Curious, Sakura headed towards the exit. After opening the door, she was lead into a side alleyway where the garbage cans were placed. As she stepped outside, she turned left to find that Sasuke was out having a cig.
"You know you're going to die from those," she commented at the tall boy before her.
She observed him as he breathed out a puff of smoke, ignoring her previous comment. He breathed in another puff of smoke through his lungs before slowly blowing it out his mouth. After he was done, he stubbed the cig out with his shoe and stared back at her.
"I'm starting to think you plan all this."
Sakura looked up to see Sasuke with an arrogant smirk spread across his face. She glowered in response, "Excuse me?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, clearly amused at her reaction. "We're alone. Again."
Sakura pouted as she stared down at her feet. She found a small pebble and started kicking it around with her shoes. "Trust me, I don't like it either."
Sasuke shook his head lightly, "Hn. Again with those assumptions."
Her body perked up at what he was implying. Pink lightly dusted her cheeks as she looked up from the ground, "So, you enjoy my presence?"
He was silent for a moment. Sakura could only stare at him for an answer. She needed better clarifications because he was so vague when answering her questions. This was why he confused her all the time. Not only were his actions questionable, but whatever he said confused her as well. It was strange because he could be so blunt at times, but when he spoke with her…
"You're tolerable." He stared down at the Lolita before him. As they made eye contact, Sakura quickly looked back down at the ground again. Somehow, staring at the ground like it was the most fascinating thing in the world was more pleasant than looking at his face. Not that his face was unappealing or anything…
On the other hand, Sasuke had a small dilemma of his own. Although Sasuke wouldn't want to admit it, it would be nice to actually see her expression. He already knew she was blushing, but the feeling he got when he could actually see her whole face turn red, was quite satisfying. Her reactions seemed to peak his interest recently. But let's face it, Sakura, in general, was interesting.
Sakura nodded thoughtfully, accepting of his reply, "Well, you are as well… I suppose." There was a brief pause before Sakura turned away from the boy. She looked down the alleyway as her heart started to beat fast. Although she was nervous, she needed some answers. Mustering up some courage, she quietly asked, "May I ask you some questions?"
"Hn."
The pinkette shrugged, "I'll take that as a yes," before turning back around to face the visual kei boy to ask, "Why did you give me your old phone?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her question, "Does it matter?"
Her gaze quickly fell to the ground once more as she whispered, "A little…"
The dark-headed boy sighed as he combed his hair back with his fingers. Did this girl have to question everything that he did? Couldn't she just accept the nice gesture and move on with her life? It wasn't like he really understood either. He just did things without much thought. "Okay, why then?"
"Well I was talking to Ino—
"Tch." He should have known. That blonde blabbermouth would put ridiculous ideas into the lolita's head. Why did girls have to overanalyze every single action a guy did? He would never understand the female mind.
She continued on ignoring his reaction, "And she made some very interesting observations."
Sasuke sighed in frustration, "Go on."
Sakura pouted while hesitating to elaborate. He then turned to glare at her and she quickly began talking, "Well… you're not the most social person in school. So when we just started talking, everyone was making a buzz out of it."
"Hn. It's none of their business anyway. So?" Sasuke scoffed.
"Well, your old phone… you just gave it to me." Sakura's face turned red in embarrassment before she continued, "I appreciate the gesture but…it just seems so strange coming from you." She turned away.
"How?"
Sakura shyly glanced back at him before saying, "Well, it's rare to catch you in a conversation with someone, let alone you being kind to a complete stranger!"
Sasuke shook his head at her obliviousness, "That's where you're wrong." He walked closer to her and stood behind her before replying, "I wouldn't do that for just anyone. Those people aren't worth my time. That's why I prefer to keep a small group of friends."
Sakura's body perked up at his last sentence. "Friends?"
"Is that what's bothering you?"
Sakura grabbed the edges of her dress into her fists. She had never been this anxious talking to anyone. "Well, truthfully, yes… I just thought you were doing all these things just to be nice, just because I became friends with your group of friends. I didn't want you to do this out of obligation."
She glanced up at him but there was no reaction. He probably wanted her to continue voicing her thoughts so she continued, "You sometimes act so cold to me so I don't know how to treat you. But you've managed to help me out so much in such a short time. I wanted to pay you back. But if all this is just pretend then I don't want to seem like a bother, I have the money to pay for this—
"Don't worry about it."
Sakura's eyes widened at this, "Eh?"
The dark-headed boy chuckled at her cute reaction and smirked, "And I seriously thought you were bright."
"Hey—
"Don't you think it's obvious why I gave you that phone? Or must I keep repeating myself? If you don't get it by now, I clearly have to rethink this friendship." Sasuke turned his face away. He didn't want her to see how red his face was getting. Seriously, he hated explaining himself. He cursed at her a little in his mind. This oblivious "bubblegum," as Karin would put it, would be the death of him.
A happy glint appeared in her eyes as her face softened, "Friendship?" She tried walking in front of him to look at his face. She just wanted to know if he was serious or not.
"Hn." He kept turning his body away since he was still red in the face. If she saw him blushing… he would literally die in embarrassment.
Sakura decided to give up and just face his back. "Uchiha-san?"
Sasuke did not reply but just stood in place. She didn't mind though as she felt some type of fluttering feeling in her stomach. All these happy emotions were overwhelming her, she couldn't even think straight.
"I'm happy that I was able to talk to you at Harajuku." She then rested her head against his back as she lightly grabbed on to the back of his shirt. The visual kei boy stiffened in response but did not protest. The Lolita smiled as she enjoyed the radiating warmth that was coming from him. For such a cold personality, he felt so warm. Sakura closed her eyes to enjoy the moment.
"Aa," Sasuke quietly responded before turning around to look at the girl. Her eyes gleamed happily as she gave him her brightest smile. His heart nearly stopped from such a sight. He hated to admit it, but she was so cute. This expression she had shown him, it was all because of him. No one else made her smile like that. It was Sasuke who caused that expression. He smirked in response. He couldn't explain why, but it made him feel good.
UNTIL NEXT TIME!
Close: Chapter 5 Completed
*Shinobi performed Kare Uta by the Gazette if you guys want to listen to what the song sounds like. It's one of my favorites by them.
I'm so sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. It was hard motivating myself, but to apologize I made sure it was significantly longer! Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoyed reading.
Review please.
~Momo