Playing Matchmaker
DISCLAIMER: Hold on, let me check... Nope, still don't own Naruto.
P.S. This is it! The chapter we've all been waiting for! Tsunade finally starts to actually play matchmaker! Oh, and this chapter is longer than the other ones. I couldn't help myself... : )
P.S.S. (Hello) Anything that's parenthesized (isn't that a cool word?)and underlined like that is me talking.
Well, it turns out that the girls had fun at the party after all. They said hi to Naruto, who had only just gotten out of the hospital, met up with Temari, who they hadn't seen in a while, and, just basically talked. Sakura was still a little out of it, though.
"Come on, girls, it's almost time to start eating!" Ino said as she dragged Tenten and Sakura to the table.
"Sakura!" called Tsunade from the large table at the front of the room. "Come on! You've got to sit up here with me, remember?"
Sakura sighed. "I'll catch up to you later, guys."
"It's okay, Sakura, we understand." said Ino.
Sakura took her place next to Tsunade. "Sakura, are you feeling any better? You've been kind of down ever since... well, you know..."
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me." Sakura replied.
"It might be a little late for that..." Shizune said. She was sitting next to Sakura, but she was so quiet that she didn't even hear her.
I don't like that look on her face... Inner Sakura said, talking about the evil smirk that was slowly spreading across Tsunade's features.
The rest of dinner continued without much incident, until everyone was actually done eating. Then Tsunade stood up like she was going to make an announcement.
"Well, now that we're all full, I have a little something to say to all of you little boys out there. I have a deal to make with you." Tsunade said.
Oh, boy... Shizune thought.
"I trust you all know my apprentice, Sakura Haruno?" There was a nod of recognition amongst most of the boys Sakura's age. Tsunade leaned forward with a huge grin on her face. "Here's the deal. Whichever one of you boys who can kiss her first will get to take her on a date tomorrow night."
"WHAT!!!!???" Sakura yelled. Everyone listening was surprised, but Sakura was just plain pissed (I'm sorry! goes to wash hands off with soap) .
"My decision is final, Sakura. Oh, and you have to kiss her before midnight for it to count. I don't want to stay here all night."
"YESSSS!!!!" shouted Rock Lee from the other end of the table. There were flames in his eyes. "This is the perfect opportunity to make Sakura mine!" Neji snorted. Lee turned on him and said, "And what exactly is so funny?"
"Your insane delusion that anyone could like you." he calmly replied. (Yes, he's a jerk, but it had to be that way for... what's coming in a minute.)
"It's not like you're any better. You're too effeminate to even come close to having anything like a girlfriend."
"What did you say?" Neji said in a voice that was just barely above a whisper.
"You heard me. I just called you effeminate. It means girly."
"I know what it means!" Neji smirked. "I'll show you."
"What do you mean?" Lee asked.
He just kept on smirking. "I'm going to compete in this little contest too."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"I think I would!" They were all up in eachother's faces now.
"Girly!"
"Dork!"
"Effeminate!"
"Idiot!"
"Pale-eyed freak!"
"Unyouthful!"
Lee gasped dramatically. "Oh, now it's oooonn."
"Alright! This is my chance! DATTEBAYO!" Naruto said on the other half of the room. No one listened, as he was the only one to stay near the place where they were serving ramen for more than five minutes.
Temari leaned over so she could whisper into Kankuro's ear. "You gonna try it?"
"Eh," he replied, "It ain't like I got anything better to do."
"WAAAHOOO!" Kiba shouted. "Akamaru, this is our big chance to finally get a date!"
It's no wonder you never got a date with that kind of feral disposition Akamaru said in his little doggy voice, but Kiba thought he was agreeing with him, as he always did. "Hey, you aren't going to try, are you, Shino?"
"I can't get a girlfriend."
"Why not?" Kiba asked.
Shino sank down, anime style, blue temple lines and all, and said "I'm... reportedly... creepy."
He really takes that hard, doesn't he? Kiba thought.
"You gonna try it?" Shikamaru asked Choji.
"Nah, there's too much FOOD here! How about you?"
"Eh, it's a drag, but I might as well. It might be my only chance to actually get a girlfriend." He replied as he walked off.
"No, Sakura, just accept it. This might actually turn out for the better."
"How's that, exactly?"
"You might just get over Sasuke with a boyfriend to help you."
"Yeah, but how exactly is someone I barely even know going to help me get over it, hmm?"
"Ehhhhh... Bye!" Tsunade said. She obviously hadn't thought it through enough.
Sakura sighed. It's gonna be a long night.
Meanwhile, in a faraway corner of the room...
"Bets, bets, place your bets!" Tsunade called.
"Lady Tsunade, I can almost understand why you wanted to do this in the first place, but this is ridiculous." Shizune said.
"Oh, you should loosen up a bit. Come on, bet on someone! You know you want to." Tsunade said.
"If I do, will promise to stop interfering with Sakura's personal life?" Shizune asked.
"Well, that depends, will I be able to finish this?" Tsunade replied.
"Fine." Shizune agreed.
"Okay, then, I promise to stop meddling in Sakura's personal affairs, if you bet on someone, and so long as I can finish this. So, who are you betting on?" Tsunade said.
"Um... well... how about... Naruto." Shizune said as she placed money in the pot.
"Why Naruto?" Tsunade inquired.
"Well, they're teammates, aren't they? Sure he gets on her nerves at times, but you can tell that she cares about him." Shizune replied as she put her name on the card.
Tsunade considered this with her head tilted to the side. "Mmm, you've got a point."
"Are we betting over here?" Ino asked, as she walked up to the two women with Hinata, Tenten, and Temari. They were all supportive of Tsunade's endeavors, even though they had no clue that this would be happening an hour ago.
"We sure are! Just put five hundred ryou into the pot and write down your name and the name of the person you are betting on on this card." she said, holding it up.
"Well, I'll bet for Shikamaru!" Ino said, placing some money in the pot.
"Shikamaru? Isn't he a little to lazy for that though?" Tenten said.
"Yeah, but when he's motivated, he can really get going." Ino replied.
"I bet he tries once and gives up afterwards." Temari said.
"You know, you guys just don't have enough faith in him." Ino said.
"Well, I'm betting on Neji. And, before you ask, it's because he always beats Lee at everything. It might not seem like it at first, but he really is competitive like that." she said.
"Right. Well, I'm betting on Kankuro." Temari said.
"Why Kankuro?" Shizune asked.
"Even though the chances are very slim of him coming within five feet of that girl, I feel obligated since he's my brother."
"U-umm... can I bet on Kiba?" Hinata asked shyly.
"Sure you can. It's not like I mind or anything." Tsunade said.
"O-okay, then." Hinata said.
"So why do you think Kiba is going to win?" Ino asked.
"W-well, it's just that he's really motivated. I-I mean, he's never had a girlfriend, and I'd like to see him with one."
Tsunade looked around the room and didn't see anyone else coming, so she assumed that everyone was done betting.
"WAAAAAIIIT!" shouted someone from the other end of the room. There was a flash of green and orange as Gai skidded to a halt behind the women. "I-is it too late to bet on Lee?" he said, panting.
"Noooo..." Tsunade said.
"Then that's what I'll do!"
"I'm almost afraid to ask but, why does Lee deserve to win?" Ino said as Tenten frantically gestured for her to stop.
Gai's eyes sparked as he began to take the Good Guy pose. "Because he has the power of youth on his side! Youth conquers all! There is no way he can lose!"
Everyone sweatdropped as Gai continued to rant about the power of youth.
"I told you not to..." Tenten said with anime tears.
I'm sorry if Neji was jerky. I just had to get that unyouthful thing in there though... I gave you this nice long chapter, now I expect some reviews! Oh, and by the way I may or may not start a new story. It all depends, but here's the summary anyways...
Hiou no Sakura
Sakura has been hiding something for years and no one suspected anything. But her facade is
about to come crashing down with a small but important piece of information on Akatsuki...
Major Manga Spoilers!
In case you're wondering, it means "Secrets of the Cherry Blossom". It's just that the Japanese sounds so much cooler, and, somehow, less cheesy. I've updated my profile and made it look nice if you want to check it out. There's at least one funny quote in there.
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