Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
BONUS CHAPTER 4!!!!
dedicated to...
iamNOTafangirl3221
The couple(s) or character(s) it's dedicated to is/are: KakaKure (I have also added some AsuKureKakaAnko :P)
A fluffy bonus chapter whose details I altered a little upon receiving the request :P I'd have loved to use the other idea you had, iamNOTafangirl, but it was too detailed, and I prefer to write chapters that I've composed myself, only the main idea someone else's xD;
Enjoy!
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♥ Chapter XXVIII: Bonding through Broccoli♥
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One day, she just said that.
Everything had been going fine until then. At least, in Kakashi's opinion. She was sexy and he was hot. The perfect couple. People used to stare after them wherever they went. They were happy, they were sappy (not), and they were in love.
Okay, so not entirely. Kakashi would never admit if he had had any feelings for her.
Because he didn't.
And that was why she had asked that question.
"Why do you keep ignoring me?"
So, he had told her the truth.
"I don't love you."
She had been silent, showing neither sadness nor happiness. Her face remained cold and stern, and he was impressed by how untouched she seemed by his hard words.
"Then why are you with me?"
He pondered. He had thought about it for a long time, toying around with his own feelings to see what his true goal was. If he didn't love her, it must be something that made him do this. He didn't do such drastic things such as break somebody's heart merely for the fun of it.
And she knew it too.
"I want you to love me. I want to prove you love me." It was a lie. I want to learn how to love somebody else. They both knew.
"You're lying," she had said.
"I know," he had replied.
And they hadn't spoken since.
And she didn't regret it. She had told all her friends about how their relationship had come to an abrupt end, and she wasn't sorry about it. She said she didn't love him anymore either.
But she didn't show them the tears she shed when she had turned her back to him and walked off without a goodbye. And sometimes, Mitarashi Anko couldn't help but wonder how it would have been if he had loved her too.
---
One day, she just said it the way she had said back then. Back when both Kakashi and Anko, and Asuma and Kurenai had been known as the hottest couples of Sakura Mankai High, students included. "Why do you keep ignoring me?"
The question took him by surprise, but he didn't show it. He merely smiled. "You ignore me too."
Pause. "I don't. You're the one ignoring me. Besides…" She looked at him with piercing eyes similar to a hawk's. "… what are you doing with that Yuhi woman?"
"Yuhi woman? You mean Kurenai?"
"Yes… rumors have been flying about lately, you know."
"That's why you've come to me?"
"Well…" Told you that you should've listened to me. Then it wouldn't have ended up this way, Inner Anko yawned. You know, sometimes you're not very little slow to get things.
Oh, shut up. "No," she added at last. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along to that new restaurant, Bonding through Broccoli."
"The one with their famous broccoli soup?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you bring Genma or somebody else?"
"Oh, Genma…" Anko tried to wipe off the troubled expression she knew she wore on her face. Last time she had seen her ex-boyfriend was in Tsunade's office, passionately kissing Shizune, Tsunade's secretary. "Um, he's busy."
"Really." Kakashi looked at her in amusement. "What time?"
"How about tomorrow night, eight o'clock?"
"Sure. Where to meet?"
"You aren't going to pick me up?"
"I can do that too. Where do you live?"
Anko moaned. "And you call yourself a geography teacher."
"What does that have to do with this?" he wondered with a dazed grin.
"You went to my house plenty of times before. Shouldn't you have the slightest memory of where it is?"
"Place d'Italie? Montmartre? Oh, I know… it's somewhere close to the Louvre, isn't it?"
Anko could only slap her forehead.
---
Anko looked at her own reflection in the glass of the mirror with frustration. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't a single cloth look right when she wore it?
"Très bien," her roommate, Angèle, remarked with sparkling eyes of excitement. "You know, chérie, you could be a model instead of a teacher. Voila, mesdames et messieurs, la princesse de mode de l'année! "
"Iie," Anko snorted. "I don't look good. At all."
"Pourquoi?" Angèle wondered, astounded. "You should be happy, chèrie. Plenty of girls would be jealous of your looks."
Not as jealous as of that Yuhi woman, she thought angrily. For god's sake, everybody likes her. Popular, beautiful, kind and smart – no wonder Kakashi fell for her. Argh! Even Tsunade wants them to be together. Perfect girl and perfect boy. Ugh, just the thought grosses me out.
It hadn't always been like that. Back in their childhoods, Anko and Kurenai had been close friends. But then Anko started attending Konoha School, because of Orochimaru's well-known reputation as one of the best PE teachers in Japan, but when the scandalous news of Orochimaru being a child-molester reached Anko's parents' ears, she switched back to the Academy, but had already gone through a thorough personality change ever since the Orochimaru incident – in which she was one of the children he 'accidentally' molested – and drifted apart from Kurenai, who was one of the most popular girls in school.
Ever since then, they spoke rarely, and when Anko and Kakashi broke up and people started rumors about him being together with Kurenai, Anko's dislike of her ex-best friend increased.
"Well… I don't know." Anko frowned. "I just don't like it."
"You're really strange sometimes," Angèle sighed. "Tu sais, you'd be a beauty queen if you'd only care about your looks, chèrie. You've never cared about fashion and style before, have you?"
Anko resisted the urge to tell her about her early childhood and when she had first fallen in love with Kakashi. Back when Anko and Kurenai had still been little, they had loved to play princesses. They'd dress up so that everybody would notice them and adore them, and they dreamed of finding their 'knights that fight dragons' someday. But when they once again reunited, Anko had already become quite a tomboy. The only thing that didn't make her seem the slightest male were her more or less revealing tops.
Then Kakashi had come into a new light in her eyes, and she had desperately – but as discreetly as possible – tried to dress up so he would notice her. And indeed he had… but without loving her.
All he had seen was Kurenai. Or a failed clone of Kurenai, emphasizing the words 'failed' and 'clone'.
"No," she muttered instead. "I never will, either."
"It's funny to see you dress up like this, chèrie," Angèle giggled. "You never do otherwise."
"Urusai ne," Anko said irritably as she bit her lower lip. "Do something about it instead."
"I have already shown you everything I've got, chèrie. C'est tout."
"Okay then, how about this…"
Anko told her the idea that had just found its way to her brain. In her opinion, it was brilliant. But Angèle looked doubtful as Anko finished her speech.
"Tu es sûr, chèrie? I don't think it's such a good idea…"
"Why not?" Anko grinned. "It's your favorite, isn't it?"
"But… the broccoli soup…"
"You think I'm clumsy? Don't insult me, Angèle."
"Ah… but, chèrie…" Angèle heaved a deep sigh. "Isn't it too… formal?"
"That's the point."
"Mon dieu!" Angèle muttered. "Okay then, I'll lend it to you…"
---
Kakashi was, for once, not late. He leaned against the pole, inhaling and exhaling deep breaths, before glancing at his wristwatch. Five past eight. His gaze wandered to the house. Where the hell is she?
"I'm sorry I'm late," a voice said behind him. Twisting around, he saw Anko – but stared in amazement at her dress. It was a deep red evening gown that showed her slim waist, and a golden necklace decorated her neck. "Sorry, did I surprise you?"
He could see it. The mischievous grin that was twitching in her otherwise formal smile, and he rolled his eyes. "I didn't know the restaurant required formal dressing?"
"No, I just felt for it." She smirked. "Why, does it bother you?"
"Not particularly," he remarked. "So, are we going or not? It's already…" He looked at his wristwatch again. "Ten past eight."
"Tch, and I should hear that from you."
---
Anko stood in the ladies' room, heaving a deep sigh.
The dinner went fine – but if considering this dinner a 'date', it'd be most likely called a mere catastrophe. Anko recalled having spoken of more formal and boring things with him as they ate, such as weather, pupils and salary.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice.
A too familiar voice.
"Shizune?" A giggle. "It went excellent! You know, somehow I've missed being with him so much…" Pause. "Kakashi?" Another pause. "No, he's… ah, just forget it. Forget I ever told you, okay? Wha – no – what're you talking about? Me? Like Kakashi? Ha! It'd be most likely the other way arou – oh, hey, Anko." (A/N: Yeah, so Kurenai and Shizune aren't good friends in the series, I know, but there aren't many other adult females… -.-; )
"Kurenai," Anko replied coldly.
"Um… Shizune? I'll talk to you later. Yeah. All the details. Bye." She ended the conversation, and then smiled at Anko. "So what're you doing here, then?"
"Me? Well, I'm on a date," she responded nonchalantly. "With Kakashi," she added somewhat triumphantly, upon seeing Kurenai's surprised face, which was quickly replaced by a most reluctant scowl.
"Really." Kurenai seemed to force herself to utter the word. "… How… nice. Um, I'm actually on a date myself. With Asuma."
"Uh-huh. Nice dress," Anko commented nastily as she inspected Kurenai's dressing. She was wearing the exact same evening gown.
"I second that," Kurenai answered politely. "So, you've taken up your old habits again, ne?"
"What old habits?" Anko spat. Her mood was just getting worse and worse. First the failed attempt of a date, and now Kurenai…
"You remember when we were kids and we played princesses? You used to care about your clothing back then. You seemed to drop that when you came into the School, and then when you came back to the Academy," Kurenai continued, "and you know, back when we were kids, we always dressed in the same dresses, remember? Just that you preferred pink, of what I can recall."
Anko grunted somewhat inaudible. So she still remembers. "I think I've got to get back to my date," she hastily snapped. "I guess I'll see you around soon."
And with those words, she exited. Little did she know just how soon the two would reunite…
---
"Kakashi! Yo! What'cha doing here?"
Astounded, Kakashi looked up, only to see Asuma stand beside him and then swiftly taking the seat next to him. "On a date," Kakashi responded. "How about you?"
"The same," Asuma winked. "So who're you dating, then?"
"Anko." Kakashi paused, and then hid some suspicion as he once again spoke: "You?"
"Kurenai." Asuma couldn't help but notice Kakashi flinch at this. "Yeah, I know, it's astonishing that we're back on track again, but I guess it's not that much. Just one measly date, you know? She just came around and asked me what I was up to, and I said nothing, and she mentioned this restaurant and we just came to the point that we both wanted to go and had nobody to go with, so we ended up like this. I don't know if it's much of a date, actually."
"… Okay." Kakashi looked about. "So, where's Kurenai then?"
"She's in the ladies room. Anko too, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess –"
"Kakashi! I'm back –" Anko stopped short. "Oh. Hey, Asuma."
"Yo." Asuma grinned. "Nice to see ya again, Anko. Nice dress, too. Mind if me and Kurenai join you guys?"
Kakashi and Anko's faces couldn't have become stiffer than they already were.
---
"This broccoli soup is quite delicious, isn't it?" Kurenai stated.
"Hmph. I'd say it's downright gross," Anko argued. "Don't you agree, Kakashi?"
"I think it's okay," said Kakashi.
"Who listens to Kakashi?" Kurenai snarled. "Asuma, don't you think it's great too?"
"Well, it doesn't exactly live up to the rumors, but it's quite nice," Asuma agreed cautiously, looking at them in surprise. "What're you all getting so worked up about? It's only food."
"No, food is actually a very important part of the human's daily life," Anko retorted. "You know, food… it keeps a human alive."
"Like he doesn't know that," Kurenai snapped. "He's a biology teacher, dammit."
Anko's face went red, before she responded: "I was just afraid you wouldn't get it, Kurenai."
"Okay, that's enough," Asuma interrupted them shortly. "Anko, please don't insult my date. And can't we just eat in peace?"
"Hmph. There he goes, the peace-maker who doesn't even know what's going on," Anko muttered. "If you knew what was going on, you'd probably not let it be."
"Urusai," Kurenai growled. "Like you know a lot, Anko-hime."
"You shut up, Kurenai-hime, don't act all high and mighty because you think you're still a princess. Don't be childish."
"Who's the one childish here? You claim I've imitated your dress, when it's the other way around. Since when did you start liking red?"
"Tch, I did it long before you," Anko snorted. "Just like I liked Kakashi long before you."
A tense silence followed.
"Who said I liked Kakashi?" Kurenai hissed through gritted teeth.
"It's just so friggin' obvious," Anko sneered bitterly. "You've done it all the time."
"I haven't," Kurenai denied.
"Oh yes, you have. When you broke up with Asuma, who did you run off talking to for hours? Who accompanied you? Don't pretend you're not having feelings for him."
"If I had feelings for him," Kurenai challenged, "Why would I be sitting here with Asuma?"
The two men suddenly seemed caught up in the conversation, not daring to interrupt their fighting dates. Anko followed suit by replying: "Because you're trying to get over him."
"I'm NOT!" Kurenai yelled.
"You are."
"Not!"
"Are."
"Not!"
"Are!"
"NOT!"
"ARE!"
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" The two angered women suddenly stopped and stared at Asuma, who seemed annoyed. "Okay, finally. Either way, can you two speak of this later? As of now, I'd like to leave."
"But… Asuma…," Kurenai said desperately.
"Gomen ne, Kurenai. Let's dine some other time."
"Demo…"
"Sayounara." He took his coat and left. Kurenai glared at Anko, who smirked. Without another word, Kurenai stomped off, leaving Kakashi and Anko alone at the table once more.
"Finally," Anko sighed. "Boy, is she stubborn –"
"I'm leaving, too," Kakashi cut across her and started running in Kurenai's direction. Anko stared after his retreating back, before she suddenly felt a rage overtake her and crushing the glass of lemon water in her hand.
---
"Chotto matte! Kurenai!"
Kurenai suddenly felt a hand grasp her arm. Slapping it away, she turned around, fuming, facing a somewhat blank-faced Kakashi. "Nanda? You've come to annoy me, too?"
"Iie." Kakashi silenced, before continuing: "I just wondered –"
"If you wondered about whether I like you or not," Kurenai snapped, furrowing her eyebrows, "The answer is no, I do not."
No answer came. "I see," he said at last. "But that was not my question."
"Oh?" Kurenai raised one of her eyebrows. "So what was the question?"
"… Whether you're dating Asuma or not?"
"… I don't know. But seeing how it went this evening, I guess it's no, I aren't. How so?"
"No… I was just curious."
Kurenai looked at him wonderingly, but Kakashi spoke no more. Shrugging, Kurenai walked off. "Well, I guess I'll see you at school. Ja ne."
Kakashi could only look at her retreating back, just as Anko had done when he had run off. So, she doesn't like me, huh… He smirked. Should I take that as an invite for a challenge?
Hmm, well, so not the best chapter I've ever written x.x; I hope it was okay, though. I've been so busy lately, so that whenever I've felt inspired I haven't had time for writing, and now when I finally do, I've got Writer's Block again. I've the worst timing ever. But since I haven't updated this fic for too long, I forced myself to write, and this was the result. -sigh- I hope it's okay.
For anyone who's interested what else's going on, check out the new corner in the end of my profile :D That way you can see why I update slowly, or fast, or make sudden decisions or whatever. :)
Reviews Corner (HOLY SHIT! 700 REVIEWS! O.O ARIGATOU, MINNA!)
Thank you VERY much...
Merridaine
Kawaii IceCream
bunnyandpuppylover (Yeah, shopping is fun but really exhausting :P I shopped for approximately five and a half hours yesterday, and when I came home, I just made myself fall onto my parents' large, soft bed (mine is small T.T), and I lay there for almost an hour, until my mom came in :P)
rebel-girl (Yup :D Tivoli is one of the first amusement parks in the world, isn't it? Or at least I think so. It's in Copenhagen, Denmark - I've been to it a couple of times - and it's real fun, but I guess if you compare it to American amusement parks, it isn't that exciting :P But it's exciting all the same... at least for somebody who lives in Sweden, where there are a maximum of three amusement parks, I think e.e And out of the three, two are so small that almost nobody outside of that certain area of cities knows of its existence. Chapter idea, huh? Hmm, you can always ask readers to make bonus chapter requests, like me ;) Or if it isn't a bonus chapter and merely fluff, how about karaoke singing? I've had the idea in my mind for some time, but then I figured I'm not good at writing about people singing karaoke. :P)
ShiokuXRose (-takes it back from your cousin x3- Nobody should try to survive the absence of FF X and X-2. XDDD Okay, I'm a bit hyper because I ate chocolate, sorry xD)
pinkicing101
P-Prince
Kaoru-chan PL (Happy late birthday ;D I live in Sweden :D But yay, thank God all the tests are over now:D Now it's only time for my 'final grades'... ugh... in Sweden, there're only four grades - Not Acceptable (IG), Acceptable (G), Well Acceptable (VG), Very Well Acceptable (MVG)... I was actually hoping for a lot of MVGs, but as of now I only know I've got MVG in 6-7 subjects out of 16 (or are there 17?)... :()
A Broken Cherry Blossom
Blackieismybaby
Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90
callmeAZN (Sakura leaves in 'two weeks'... that is, in about 1-2 months for us I guess :P Unless I speed up with my writing of bonus chapters and release them faster than usual :P)
Crazy Gal42 (Hah, Sweden doesn't even air Naruto :P I download the episodes from Dattebayo XD And wow, your birthday was the same as Zed's! O.O Happy late birthday! I want to cut my hair too... I've no money for that, though x( After this Christmas, I'll be broke xD)
pilar-ayesha
AnimatedAlchemy
cutiepug66
jami16
Freedomstar999
onyx eyed kitten (Hahah, I'm already shivering at the thought of me driving :P I'd probably either drive right into a tree or something, just because I'm daydreaming, or accidentally notice that I've taken the wrong road and is on my way to a completely different city, or wonder how I should get back home because the bus I take everyday drives that road home, but yet I can't recognize the stores and everything that's around XD Either way, I'm too young (13 years old), but in Sweden you can get a driving license when you're 15 and start driving when you're 18. XP But I prefer to wait until I'm 19 or something... college, huh? My sister is studying at college too, and she just laughs when I complain about having 30 pages for my test. XD)
WeaponMistress330
une see
frienz4ever
hushhushyou
ruichi (Yay:D Just wondering, where IS your story? You said it was on some other site, right? But when you tried to insert the URL in your review, it didn't appear o.o; )
nickygirl (Yup, they know :D)
Green Animelover
HeartAngel (Thanks:D But hey, 19:52 is actually good, considering how I run x.x; But then again, I suck at PE XD; It's the only subject that I find even worse than cooking, because I'm actually a somewhat fast learner when it comes to cooking. But PE... I don't know, I'm only good at tabletennis, it's the only sport I can actually handle x.x; Running, soccer, swimming and riding a bike are the things I really suck at D: Soccer is actually easier out of the four, because then I can just stand by and watch, because I'd just be worthless on the field, and being a guard (? in Swedish, it's målvakt goal-guard) is even worse, seeing how I'm afraid of the ball, and having had bad experiences concerning flying soccer balls doesn't help either xD)
paintupurple
Archerelf
CrAzY-SiLLy-Me
WOW! 700 REVIEWS! O.O Guys, you don't know how much this means to me!! I was practically dancing around the room XD We're reaching 1000 reviews, you know! It's just... SUGOI:D Onegai, keep reviewing!!
Coming Up Next...
The 5th bonus chapter, Cookie Love, a tribute to Narutofan Forums' "Gaara Loves Cookies Fanclub"!
What happens when you mix two cranky Sand brothers, two cute girls, a crazy/hyper dad and HELLUVA lot of cookies?
"Gaa-chan? Kan-chan?! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Is that... SAND? Not you too, Kan-chan!!! Oh, kami, another sand-obsessed son - BLFRGH!"
"Urusai, otou-san. And STOP CALLING ME KAN-CHAN! It's cookies."
"NANDA?! I SHOULD CALL YOU COOKIES?!"
"HELL NO, BAKA! I SAID THAT THOSE ARE COOKIES!"
"... Nani?"
The result is... LUV!
"Bonjour messieurs, nous vendons les tartes, gateaux et -"
"Do you've a boyfriend?"
"... What?"
And BAKING! A lot of ground-breaking (not) secrets are revealed...
"... Gaara, what the hell is that supposed to be? A bear? It isn't exactly romantic with bears, you know."
"It's a heart."
"... Oh. Um... Jason's heart?"
"Jason is not a bear, idiot."
"But it said so in Fruits Basket!"
"... Since when did you start reading Fruits Basket?"
"What? I mean... I mean Prison Break."
Thus, DON'T MISS THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THIS IS NOT MY FIRST TIME! Scheduled to come next week! ;) Also, the evil author of this story is also planning to write a Christmas-themed chapter... XD