Tsukiko: A little present to everyone because it's the day after Sasuke-kun's birthday x3 (And it's my birthday too XD)
---
♥ Chapter VI: Maybe I ♥
---
"Baka", Sasuke muttered under his breath as Naruto danced around, fully recovered, as they waited for Kakashi to arrive at the metro station.
"Ne, Sasuke-kun? Did you say something?" Sakura asked curiously as she looked at him.
"Hn."
"That's a yes? Or no?"
Sasuke sighed. She never gave up asking him about that, did she? "It's a no."
"Aha, okay! Always good to know", Sakura beamed in reply before continuing her discussion with Tenten about music.
"I can't believe they're talking about something as boring as that", Neji complained beside Sasuke who were listening to the girls' conversation. "I mean, who cares if Black Eyed Peas' 'Where is the Love' is better than Alicia Keys' 'Karma' or not?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Of what I can recollect, Neji, you were just talking about BEP this morning."
Neji went tomato-red in the face. "Yes, I did, but it was different! At least I talked about BEP's new album –"
"Like that makes any difference", Naruto teased him.
"Oh, just shut up, dobe", Neji retorted, irritated.
"Someone is picking up Sasuke's bad habits, ne?" Tenten suddenly said from behind.
"Not!" Neji responded hotly.
"Who said they were bad?" Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow.
"Me!" Tenten replied firmly.
Sasuke and Neji exchanged looks, before shrugging and deciding to leave it to be before Tenten got one of her wrath attacks again.
---
"Wow… this place is huge", Sakura gasped in wonder as they approached Versailles.
"Duh, what do you think? It's a palace, for heaven's sake!" Kari said teasingly.
"A castle", Tenten corrected her. "Hinata, you've been quiet ever since we departed, what's with you today?"
"Ah? Eh, um… nothing. I… I'm just..." Hinata blushed.
"Excited?" Tenten grinned.
"Ah… yes."
"Hey, girls, you know where our rooms are?" Neji asked them as the guys walked towards them.
"Yeah. We were lucky, got the royal quarters", Tenten informed them. "Neji, you and I have gotten Louis XV's Bedchamber, while you, Sasuke and Sakura, have gotten the Queen's Bedchamber. Hinata and Naruto, you two sleep in the King's Bedchamber. And also, I've gotten hold of a map which shows the different rooms so we won't get lost." (A/N: I've been to Versailles now, and I know that most rooms are under restoration and that the furniture have like those things that stops people from trespassing, but let's just forget that crap now, ne?)
"Great", Sakura beamed, enthusiasm showing in every part of her wide smile. "So, where to go now?"
"I think we should go to each room and check it out", Tenten grinned. "What do you think, Hinata?"
"Um, right", Hinata stammered. The guys agreed, and off they went.
---
First they went to the King's Bedchamber. It was a marvelous sight; the entire décor seemed to be made of pure gold, from the golden fence that separated the bed from the rest of the room to the walls, and even the little trophy-shaped sculptures at the fireplace.
"Wow, we're going to sleep here?" Naruto looked around in amazement. It was certainly a fantastic architecture – and without a doubt the king's own bedroom. The floor was wiped clean, and everything looked perfect. Hinata smiled shyly.
"Beautiful", she whispered.
"Yeah, it's really pretty", Sakura agreed.
"Hey, my fanclub doesn't know where we are, right?" Sasuke asked nervously. He didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night to have fifteen fans (there were more in school, thankfully not all of them were in his class) clinging to him.
"Don't worry, they don't", Tenten laughed. "Now, to your and Sakura's bedroom…"
The Queen's Bedchamber wasn't lesser astounding than the King's. The fence was golden too, but next to the fence were several stools made of gold with seats that looked more like beautiful pillows than actual chairs. The bed was enormous and inviting, while the rest of the room looked more like something taken from a beautiful dream than a realistic room.
"So… beautiful…", Sakura murmured, taking in the sight with her heart and soul. She couldn't believe she'd spend the night here. Then, on second thought, to spend it with Sasuke suddenly disturbed her spiritual nature. There would probably be a heavy silence between them again, as in the car… not too comfortable to fall asleep.
"Now, to Louis XV's bedchamber!" Tenten said excitedly, and trotted off happily.
Louis XV's bedchamber was lesser fancy, but it was certainly breathtaking too. Gold, white and wine-red along with a dark wooden floor what was came to their eyes at first.
"Nice", Neji commented.
"I want to sleep in the bed!" Tenten exclaimed. "Seems pretty soft to me." And then she put her things down and threw herself on it.
"Hey, who said you could sleep on the bed? I want, too", Neji argued.
"Sleep it on it, both of you, then, if you've such a huge trouble deciding", Sakura teasing, making both of them go red in the face.
"Never!" they blurted out at the same time.
"Who's going to sleep on the floor you two, anyway?" Tenten quickly asked as revenge.
"Um, I don't know. I could, if Sasuke-kun wants the bed", Sakura offered nicely. Sasuke shrugged.
"Whatever. It's not like it matters to me anyway", he replied blankly.
"Let's go off and see the garden! I've heard it's gigantic", Sakura suggested with sparkling eyes of joy. "I love flowers!"
"M-m-me too", Hinata murmured silently.
"Okay, off we go, then!" Tenten agreed brightly, and dragged along the groaning guys.
---
The gardens of Versailles did not disappoint their high hopes. The girls gasped as they saw what was before them – it seemed like they were in a too divine place to be true. The guys weren't all that impressed, but they couldn't help but admit it was pretty.
"Look at all the flowers! And the fountains!" Sakura cried.
"Yeah! And… everything!" Tenten chimed in.
"Hey, there's Kari-chan and Ino, let's go and say hi to them!" Naruto suggested and they all ran towards the little group that was arguing.
"I don't want to sleep in that goddamned Empress' Bedchamber! I want Emperor's, at least it's kind of purple!" Ino protested.
"This is troublesome…", Shikamaru muttered. "Why can't you just give it up? Nobody wants to switch."
"Just because you want the bed! Forget it, bastard, I'll have it for myself!" Ino yelled.
"Troublesome woman", Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not giving you the Emperor's Bedchamber, I want it for myself", Kari told her in glee.
"Shut it up, you damned witch!" Ino screeched. "Just because Chouji would break the bed if he slept on it!"
"What did you say?" Chouji asked threateningly.
"Hey, hey, guys, calm it", Stella sweatdropped.
"Yeah. Calm it", Lee insisted.
"Ohayou! What's up?" Naruto grinned at them.
"Ah… ohayou, Naruto-kun", Lee greeted. "We're doing fine, except that everybody is having a hard time deciding what bedchamber they shall use."
"Haven't Kakashi-sensei told you which bedchamber you'll get?" Sakura asked in surprise.
"Yes, he has, but they want to switch", Stella sighed. "And – OH MY GOD IT'S SASUKE-KUN!"
Naruto sweatdropped. "Er… Sakura, watch out, you're standing in her way –"
But he didn't manage to finish. Stella, who had hearts in her eyes, pushed Sakura hard so she fell into a fountain, and then dashed off towards Sasuke who wore an unmistakeable frown. As Ino heard the noise, she saw Sasuke and darted off too.
"Sakura-chan? You OK?" Naruto asked as he helped her out of the water.
"Ew! That water was gross!" Sakura spat and glared at Stella who attempted to glomp the hell out of Sasuke. "What the hell was she doing, pushing me into it?"
"She's like that. When she sees Sasuke-teme, her strength becomes like, ten times stronger, and normally she's already freaking strong, I can tell you", Tenten smirked. "I don't like that girl that much, but sometimes she's useful."
"You make her sound like an item, Tenten-chan, that isn't nice of you", Hinata said, her voice filled with concern.
"Don't be too kind, Hinata-chan, you're that sometimes", Tenten sighed. "Like I care about her anyway, Stella is just one big baka. Even a bigger baka than Neji."
Hinata giggled. She didn't exactly like people speaking ill of her cousin, but she knew Tenten didn't mean it.
"Sasuke-kun! Move to our group instead, and share a bedroom with me!" Ino pleaded. "Or I can share a bedroom with you… and throw her out", she added, giving an evil glare to Sakura.
"S-S-Sasuke-kun!" Kari stammered, showing up behind Ino and Stella. "I've a gift… for you…"
"Leave him alone, brat! You don't deserve his attention!" Stella snarled, pushing Kari away. Fortunately for Kari, the push wasn't that strong as the one towards Sakura.
"… Eh, Sasuke-kun? I think we might leave now", Sakura said, appearing next to Kari.
"Sakura, you're wet", Sasuke remarked calmly. "Don't you want to go back and change?"
"Ah, no. It'll dry in a while", Sakura shrugged. "Anyhow, I want to see more of the gardens before it darkens."
"I want to come too!" the three fangirls burst out at a time.
"Forget about it", Sasuke muttered.
"C'mon, let's leave!" Naruto shouted and began to run. The six of them ran away as fast as they could, and at last, the lovesick fangirls disappeared out of sight and gave up chasing them.
---
After some more breathtaking beauty of Versailles, they decided to rest a while from their walking, so they rested their exhausted feet on the grass, when Tenten suddenly shivered.
"Boy, it's getting cold… I knew I should've brought a jacket", she mumbled through gritted teeth.
"Freezing?" Neji sneered at her.
"Not", Tenten snapped, but Neji could see she was lying.
"You wanna borrow mine?" he offered kindly.
"No thanks, I'm doing fine."
Then, Sakura felt something wet on her cheek. I'm crying? Why?
She wiped it away in confusion, when she felt another droplet on her knee, and realized it wasn't her tears.
"Oh, no! It has begun to rain!" Naruto exclaimed. "C'mon, let's find somewhere to hide!"
They ran as the rain started to become heavier, and the grass became wet, and finally they found a little cute cottage, which looked as though it had just appeared from a fairy tale.
"What's that?" Sasuke asked as he panted for breath.
"The mill!" Tenten shouted a few meters in front of them. "Hurry up, we'll get soaked!"
When they finally sheltered from the rain, panting because of their run, they felt their stomachs rumble.
"I need food", Naruto complained.
"So do I", Tenten moaned. "Does anyone have something edible?"
"I've only got chewing gum. I think there're five left", Sakura smiled weakly as she reached for the left pocket of her jeans and pulled out a box of cherry-flavored chewing gum in the color of pink. "Here, guys. Take one each." She offered the box to everyone, but as she reached Sasuke, the last one, he shook his head.
"There're only five. Take one yourself", he replied. "I'm not too fond of sweets anyway."
"You're not hungry?" Sakura asked in disbelief.
"I am, but I can stand it for a bit longer."
"C'mon, have it. I'll do fine. I ate a bunch of food for breakfast", Sakura responded stubbornly.
"No, take it. I don't want it."
"C'mon, Sasuke-kun!"
"No."
"… Alright, then. Don't tell me later that you've regretted your decision, 'cause I've no more", Sakura warned him and shoved the last chewing gum in her mouth.
"I won't. I never regret my decisions", Sasuke told her blankly.
Time went, and in some weird way, everyone fell asleep (maybe the cottage was enchanted XD) and had very strange dreams. Naruto dreamed that he was drowning in his own ramen; Hinata dreamed that she was jumping from star to star to find her friends, but they weren't anywhere; Neji dreamed that Tenten was trying to seduce him; Tenten dreamed that Neji tried to seduce her and Sasuke dreamed of seeing Sakura in a queen's outfit, dancing on the floor of the Queen's Bedchamber together with him who was dressed in the king's outfit. (A/N: Hahaha… Neji and Tenten are reflecting each other's dreams… XD)
As Sasuke awoke with a start, he felt his cheeks burn. Why did he dream of Sakura? And why were they a couple in his dream? Maybe just because of that they had to sleep together in the same room. It was a first for him; maybe that was why. But somewhere, in the depths of Sasuke's heart, he knew he was lying to himself. There was another reason, but he didn't want to admit it. Not yet.
Maybe she was the first girl to crack the ice around Sasuke's heart. Maybe she'd be his first close friend who wasn't a guy since… well, a particular someone he knew.
Just maybe.
"Sasuke-kun? You look as though you've a fever", he heard a familiar voice whisper, making him stiffen. He stared at the source of the voice and realized that a certain pink-haired girl looked at him right beside him.
"Sakura?" he whispered back. "Why is everyone asleep?"
"No idea. You guys just fell asleep."
"You didn't?"
"No. I'm not sleepy. Slept too much last night, actually."
He heard the raindrops smattered towards the glass of the windows. "It's still raining?" he asked.
"Yeah. It has gone two hours and it still rains." She shivered. "It's kinda cold in here, don't you think?"
"Really?" Sasuke blinked. He hadn't noticed it. Then he saw she was wearing a pink top and jeans, and remembered Stella had pushed her into the fountain. He himself wore a black t-shirt underneath a white jacket, white shorts and white sneakers. He glanced at her feet – she was wearing sandals. No wonder she froze.
"Here", he said, offering her his white jacket. "Take it."
"No, no, you can have it! I'm not freezing… at… all", Sakura said through chattering teeth. Sasuke smirked.
"You don't?" he asked in amusement.
"No, I don't!"
"You lie very badly. Almost similar to Kakashi-sensei", he sighed and pulled off his jacket, handing it to her. "If you don't take it, I'm going to put it on the floor. That'd be a waste, right? I won't wear it anyway."
Sakura bit her lip. "OK, OK, then. I'll take it. But only for a while", she added and gave him a meaningful look. She really was amusing. She gently pulled on the jacket, and a warmth spread through her body. She shivered out of comfort before feeling that her eyelids became heavy.
"Sasuke-kun", she asked sleepily, "When will the rain stop, do you think?"
Sasuke eyed his wristwatch. 7:30 PM, already? They had been here for two hours! "No idea. I think we should go back soon. What about waking the others? The sooner we get back to the castle, the better. We might catch a cold in here, or they might think we got lost or something. Or an accident happened to us."
"Yeah. Let's not worry Kakashi-sensei", Sakura agreed, and her sleepiness was driven away by her mind as she started to gently shook her friends to awaken. "Tenten, Hinata. Let's get up and head back to our rooms."
"Mm… I want to sleep, mom, leave me alone", Tenten muttered, shifting in her sleeping position.
"WAKE UP ALREADY!" Sasuke shouted, making everybody awake with a start.
"Hey, what's up with ya, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto yelled at him.
"Easier to wake you up then", he smirked back. "No use to try to be gentle, you'd just fall asleep all over again then."
"Sasuke has got a point there", Neji yawned. "What now, anyway?"
"It's 7:30 PM already. Let's go back to the castle", Sasuke replied.
" 7:30 PM? Oh my god!" Tenten gasped. "We haven't eaten lunch yet, even! How long have we been walking?"
"Two hours, I'd guess. And we've been here for two hours. And we arrived a bit too late in the castle. Our lunch is still in our bedrooms, if I'm correct?"
"Yup. We were told to bring it ourselves", Sakura responded.
"OK. Then we better head back to the castle and eat, we've already missed dinner", Sasuke said, and they all scrambled up from the floor and took off in the rain.
---
Three hours went, and the rain didn't stop. Every now and then, the gang would pause here and there, in the safety of a tree perhaps, or in a small building. At last, they were back in Versailles, but to their dismay it was dark in the castle. Completely black.
"I wonder where everyone is?" Sakura whispered as they tiptoed through the royal courtyard.
"Kakashi-sensei has probably told them to go to their bedrooms by now. It'd be kinda stupid to walk around this late at night", Tenten hissed back in reply. "And – EEEK!"
"Eh? Tenten? That's you?" a familiar whisper could be heard.
"Yeah, it's me", Tenten answered.
"What're you guys doing here this late?" the voice whispered, as the face came into view thanks to an electric torch. It was Kari.
"We were far out in the grounds when it began to rain", Sakura responded in a hushed voice.
"Aha." Kari nodded. "I'm going back to where Ino and everyone are. We argued, so I got mad and walked away, but I think I can find my way back. How about you? Need any help?"
"No thanks", Sasuke grunted. "C'mon, let's go!"
"Okay, ja ne!" Sakura grinned at Kari and walked off with the others.
---
"Ne, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered.
"Hn?"
"Where're we?"
Sasuke looked around and cursed himself for agreeing to the others' idea to divide up in pairs, and go and search for that pair's bedroom. To be honest, he had exactly no idea where they were, but he didn't really want to tell that to Sakura – she'd probably begin to panic. He hated when she did that.
"I think we're in the…"
Sasuke tried to memorize what Tenten had told them about the ground floor and first floor before they had all gone separate directions. Royal courtyard, the Princes' staircase… what more?
"The…?" Sakura repeated hopefully.
A thought struck Sasuke's mind. He touched the first wall that came into his very limited sight in the dark, and realized it was a pole. A pole! Then it must be a special room… like… the Royal Chapel! He slapped his forehead. Of course. The girls had been babbling about seeing the 'beautiful' Royal Chapel since they came here.
"The Royal Chapel", he replied with a monotone voice. (A/N: I know The Royal Chapel is under restoration. XD But as I said before, let's forget all that, 'kay?)
"Then we're in the totally wrong end!" Sakura sighed. "We're on the east side of the ground floor."
Sasuke frowned. East side? "Isn't it the west?" he tried.
"Ne… I don't think so. The west… there was a staircase there, I think it was called the Princes' Staircase or something…"
"There's no staircase here, then?"
"Uh, maybe. But that must be in the other end of the 17th Century-room", Sakura said, scrunching up her face in confusion. "Or… wait! If we get out of this room and into the Royal Courtyards, it's just to find the straight way to either the Dauphine's Apartment or the Princes' Staircase, and then we'll be on the first floor!"
"You sure about that?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.
"Yup. 100 percent", Sakura responded with pride. "C'mon, Sasuke-kun, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"
Sasuke sighed and followed the hyperactive Sakura towards the door, but…
---
… they just couldn't seem to find the right door.
"Dammit, Neji! It's all your fault!" Tenten swore.
"You've said that for the last half an hour", Neji muttered "Where the heck are we?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know? Dammit, Neji! It's all your fault!"
"Why is everything my fault? You were the one who said we should go this way!" he snapped and looked around in the darkened room. "I'm getting freakin' frustrated to hear you say that all the time! Can't you stop blaming me?"
"Fine", Tenten grunted and crossed her arms. "If you can get us out of here, then I won't blame you any more. For a week", she added.
"Wow, what a wonderful reward", Neji sarcastically replied. "Hey, there's a door over there."
As they approached the door…
---
… they felt the cold night breeze towards them.
"What the hell! I can't find back to our room!" Naruto cried out of anguish and slapped his forehead.
"N-N-Naruto-kun", Hinata stammered. "Do-don't be so fr-frustrated. W-w-we'll find it, s-s-sooner or later."
"Ah, arigatou, Hinata", Naruto smiled. "You're so kind. Maybe I should treat you some ramen someday."
Hinata blushed furiously at this – thankfully Naruto couldn't see it in the dark – and stuttered: "A-a-arigatou, N-N-Naruto-kun."
"Okay, so we're probably in some bedroom now, 'cause it's dark as hell…"
And then, they heard…
---
… a shriek.
"Sasuke-kun!" a fangirl bawled in her sleep, making Sasuke stiffen. They had entered a bedroom?
"C'mon, the staircase is right over there", Sakura hissed in his ear, and her breath tickled his neck comfortably. Sasuke shivered as he followed her almost soundless footsteps. Somehow, this girl made him so… warm inside.
But it couldn't be that again, could it? Ever since Cindy…
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura whispered again. "C'mon! It's already 11:30 pm!"
"Aa", Sasuke replied, hardly hearable. Damn, was he thinking about Cindy again? He better got her out of his head soon…
Tsukiko: Much more SasuSaku coming soon:) Enjoooy!
Reviews Corner
amylovestakuya: Thanks, I'm glad that you like it :)
Crazy Gal42: Hmm... I don't think anyone will die in this fic. I haven't planned it so far, at the very least XD But (spoiler!) I can guarantee definite fluff throughout the story.
frienz4ever: Thanks for thanking me for thanking you XD Anyway, thanks :P
sasusaku0386: Thanks :D
silverkage-chan: Thanks, I like KakaKure too, and I agree that there aren't many stories that contain that pairing x.x I'm actually thinking whether or not I should add an extra bonus chapter to this story that's about KakaKure, to make it a more obvious couple than just adding some fluff :)
yankeesfan76: Thanks, and Happy Early Birthday to you too:D
hushhushyou: Thanks :D Yeah, I wonder how Kari will react... -smirks-
Zuan: Thanks :)
Gabbeh: Thanks :D
Akina Darkheart: Thanks, and don't worry, I will :D
Sneak Preview of Next Chapter: Maybe II
Sasuke looked at her a couple of times, and without knowing why, he pulled her closer and rested her head towards his chest. "It'll be fine", he whispered back. "Don't cry…"
(A/N: If you find errors such as words pasted together likethis, sentences that are in bold or italics when they shouldn't be or sentences that are repeated even though they're not supposed to, please tell me. This happens a lot out of some unknown reason, and it isn't because it was like that from the beginning - no, when I edit the chapters after uploading them, they get like that. I don't know why, maybe it's my dad's computer being weird.)