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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…if I did, I would not be writing fanfictions, for it would be shown in Naruto instead.
Perfect Match
Chapter Three- Hokage's Plan
"Go on in." Kurenai-sensei said after handing back the invitation and scribbling away in her checklist.
Sakura smiled tentatively and nodded. After taking in a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in.
Many kunoichis were already there. They were all seated, trying to look proper and all but you can see the boredom in their eyes.
"Sakura!" Someone shouted.
Sakura turned to see Ino, Hinata and TenTen already there.
"Hi!" Sakura walked towards them. After she joined them, they chatted for a while about their current missions. Their talk was interrupted though.
The doors slid open…revealing non-other than…Shizune?
"Shizune-san?" Sakura stared in disbelief.
Shizune looked in her direction and half-smiled. She looked a little bare without TonTon.
As Shizune entered the room, all conversations stopped all together.
"Good morning to all of you," Shizune said as she scanned the faces in the room. "I see that almost all of you came. That's good. I came here to make a very important announce-"
She was interrupted when the door slid open to reveal Temari. "My apologies for interrupting. The trip here was longer than I thought." Temari said, smirking.
Shizune smiled. "It's alright. Come and have a seat."
After Temari had seated beside Sakura, Shizune continued. "As I was saying, I have an important announcement to make, and that is to tell you that we have invited you here to do something really special. You see, the Hokage observed that nowadays, people in Konoha would rather have missions than go on dates, thus lowering Konoha's population and love in the air."
A few whispers filled the room and someone spoke up. "What does this have to do with our being here?"
"Good question. We invited all kunoichis here today because we have a plan. I will explain each step of the plan as we go." With that said, Shizune motioned to a box. "Inside this box, there are slips of paper. You will each pick one and written on it is a shinobi's name." She picked the box up and started passing it. "Each one of you should pick one."
All eyes were on the box, as it was passed around. When the box was back in Shizune's hands, she gave the signal. "You may now open them."
Gasps were heard. Including Hinata's, Ino's and TenTen's. Sakura, on the other hand, just remained silent.
Written on TenTen's paper were two words: Rock Lee
On Hinata's: Uzumaki Naruto
On Temari's: Nara Shikamaru
On Ino's: Akamichi Chouji
Sakura kept on staring at the bold words on her paper.
Shizune cleared her throat. "You must be wondering why I asked you to pick a slip of paper from the box. Within two weeks, you must be able to make three gifts for the person you picked. It must be hand-made, not store-bought."
Kunoichis groaned at this. Who has time to do hand-made stuff when there are missions to complete?
"After two weeks, we meet here again and then I will tell you what you have to do next." Shizune smiled. "Alright, good-bye and good luck everyone. Remember, not a word to the shinobis!"
"I can't believe it! I just can't! I got Chouji!! This can't be happening!" Ino exclaimed as they got out.
"You got Chouji? What the hell?" TenTen asked in disbelief. "I couldn't believe mine either. Imagine, I have to make three home-made gifts for Lee!"
Ino stared at her and chuckled. "I didn't know you got Lee! So what are you going to make him? Three multi-colored spandexes?"
"Good idea, Ino." TenTen said sarcastically.
Ino turned to Temari and asked. "So, who did you get?"
Temari answered back nonchalantly. "Nara Shikamaru."
"You got Shika? Well, well, now is your chance to woo him with your uber-cool home-made specialties!" Ino then smirked wickedly. "I know you have a crush on him since last year. I noticed, you know."
TenTen turned to Temari, who was as red as a red Washington apple. People usually compare it with a tomato, so Pearl-chan decided to be different. By the way, being red as a Washington apple is a shade lighter than that of a tomato's, or so Pearl-chan thinks. "You like Shikamaru, Temari? I never knew! You never told me!"
Seeing that Sakura was a little detached, Ino decided to bring the pink-haired kunoichi back to reality. "Hey, Sakura? Back from lalaland?" Ino brought her hand to Sakura's face and waved.
In a second, Sakura blinked and turned to Ino. "What was that for?"
Ino sighed. "You spaced out. Are you alright?" Seeing Sakura nod, Ino continued. "So, who did you get?"
Sakura handed Ino the paper. Sakura looked as Ino unfolded the paper.
Silence…then…
"What the heck!!! Sakura! You got… Oh my God! Never in my life would I guess… Holy cow! This is shocking…" Ino left every sentence unfinished…well, almost everything.
This spontaneous exclamation caught the attention of TenTen and Temari, who went nearer to Ino to have a look. A few other kunoichis looked in their direction too, having obviously heard Ino's exclamation.
"What's wrong, Ino? You shouted just for a piece of paper?" TenTen said incredulously. "Wait, let me see it." Grabbing the paper, TenTen stared at the two words and her eyes widened. "Oh my God! Kami-sama! You got- How the hell did you- I never thought…"
Temari's curiosity peaked even higher. TenTen's reaction to the small slip of paper was the last straw. She was going to read it. Without saying anything, Temari grabbed the 'paper-that-started-it-all' and read it. She raised one eyebrow up and calmly asked, "What's wrong with Sakura getting Hyuuga Neji?"
TenTen and Ino looked at her, shocked that she found this 'shell-shocking-to-the-core' information not very…uhhh…shocking!
"How can you not be shocked? Sakura got the Hyuuga Neji." TenTen stated.
"TenTen's right. We both expected Sasuke or someone else, but never Hyuuga Neji." Ino declared.
"I don't see anything wrong." Temari plainly stated.
"You cannot understand the complexity of the situation because you rarely visit Konoha, by which means that you do not know who Hyuuga Neji is." Ino tried to explain to Temari the absurdity of the situation.
TenTen nodded. "True, true. I have been teammates with Neji since our Genin years and I never saw him crack a smile. This would be a really hard thing for Sakura to pull."
Temari just shrugged as she gave the paper back to Sakura. "There's a first for everything."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Ino and TenTen went on talking, as if nothing happened.
Ino suddenly had an idea. "Want to go to my house tomorrow so we can brainstorm? Four heads are better than one!"
After setting up a time, they parted ways.
As Sakura walked back to her place, she was deep in thought. Will four heads be enough to think of a gift for Neji-san? I should hope so…
Sakura sensed someone coming. Looking up, she saw Neji. A light bulb appeared in her head. Maybe I could ask him what he wants! All of a sudden, the light bulb was switched off as Shizune's words came back.
Cursing the rules, Sakura put on a smile and greeted Neji. "Good morning, Neji-san." This time, she was not stuttering. This time, she was not caught off guard.
Neji stopped and nodded slightly. "Haruno-san."
Sakura was slightly frustrated that he still calls her Haruno-san. Heck, she treated him so many times that you'd think he would at least call her Sakura-san.
"Neji-san, how many times have I told you to please call me Sakura or Sakura-san, at the very least."
"…"
"Please, Neji-san? It would not hurt you to call me by my first name."
"…"
"Please? Pleeeaaassse?"
Neji seemed to consider her request, seeing that she was persistent. "Sakura-san."
Satisfied that her persuasiveness did the trick, Sakura smiled. "That's better," Realizing that she was keeping him from going on his way, wherever it is, Sakura smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Neji-san. I am keeping you from your destination. Have a nice day!"
Neji nodded slightly yet again. "Likewise, Sakura-san." With that, he continued on his way.
That's funny, Sakura mused as she continued on her way. We always bump into each other ever since the meeting at the Hyuuga mansion. Now, I picked his name. What's that? Fate? Silently laughing at her own joke, she rolled her eyes.
Later, she would learn that her 'joke' would actually prove true.
To be Continued…
I might put this in hiatus, but I will not take long—I promise. Of course, I need your feedback. Should TenTen listen to Ino's advice and make three multi-colored spandexes?
I hope this story reaches 30 reviews. You can help me—by reviewing! I really hope you do… Many authors love reviews—I am one of them!
Lots of love,
Pearl-chan
P.S. I hope you don't get sick of me saying this—NejiSaku rules!