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... Only in our minds. :3
Sammay: A puzzle a day keeps the doctor away! :D
Banana: OH MY GOSH. I LOVE Professa Layton.
Sammay: A GENTLEMAN NEVER LEAVES A PUZZLE UNSOLVED
Chapter Four
Sammy glanced around the pool as well once she heard Neji. "You're right," she nodded, concluding that she was the only person who still sat on another's shoulders. "Victory is ours!"
Naruto smiled back, waving. She looks so amazed, he observed. I wonder why. He didn't think much of it, though, and swam towards her, planning on seeing if she was staring at anything in particular that fascinated her. Once he was floating next to her, he came to notice that she wasn't looking at anything in general. Huh, he thought.
Kiba smiled broadly after he succeeded in shoving the two underwater. "I did it!" he cheered. "I pushed that moron over!"
Tenten rolled her eyes. "You do realize that Naruto wasn't the only one you pushed, right?" she informed him, and by the way he looked it was obvious he had forgotten that Savanna had been on his shoulders.
"Oh, yeah... I'll have to apologize once she comes back up... and then brag to Naruto once he does!" decided Kiba, and he waited for them to resurface.
"How can some people be so immature?" Sasuke muttered, watching and listening Kiba bicker about kicking Naruto's butt. It was just a game, after all, and beating someone wasn't that much of a big deal... even though it definitely looked like it was to a few.
"That's Naruto and Kiba for you," Sai replied. I wasn't even talking to him, Sasuke thought. Whatever... at least he said something logical.
Carefully snatching the pink bra she technically "tried on" from a hangar in Savanna's closet, Ino crept down the staircase until she reached the now-vacant living room, where she quickly located her bag that she brought with her to the party. Immediately, she stuffed the bra into the bag, letting out a breath of relief. Heh, heh, she thought. Nobody will ever know that I took one of Savanna's bras... She has a huge collection, anyway. Only a crazy person would notice that one bra was missing!
Normally, Savanna would have read Ino's mind and found out that her bra was stolen, but she was concentrating on not exploding with happiness at the moment. When Naruto swam so he was close to her, she couldn't help but gaze at his smooth chest, his vibrant cerulean eyes, and his blonde hair floating in the sun-lit water. Her smile lessened, but only because she was too busy admiring his features.
Shaking her head, Tenten suggested, "Why don't you just apologize to Savanna and Naruto?" Kiba is so egotistical, she thought.
"Because Naruto doesn't deserve an apology," Kiba replied. "Duh."
Meanwhile, while Lee sprayed fountains of his tears, Hinata fidgeted with her fingers, clearly at a loss as to how to comfort him. "It...It wasn't your fault, Lee," she reassured him. "And I-I had fun..."
Lee ceased to produce more tears, but he still sniffled. "That is very nice to know, Hinata," he declared, "but I still must train and practice harder so I can become the best ninja possible! I can't let any one of my comrades down yet another time!"
Still smiling, Neji lowered Sammy down into the pool. "We make a pretty good team," he observed. "...How long are you saying in the Hidden Leaf?" As he said the question, that peculiar feeling from before tugged at his heart again. It was almost like it was approving or disapproving his actions. How unusual, Neji thought.
Sammy thought about the question. She'd been asked this question before, and she really had no clue how she would ever get back to her real home. "Um," she started, furrowing her eyebrows together. There had to be some way that she could think of, but nothing came to mind. "I'm not sure. It would probably take a really long time to get back to Utah..."
That sounded stupid, she thought. He would think I'd know how long it would take... sure, it took a split second before, but I don't understand how that even happened. How can I make it happen again to get back home if I don't know how?
Ino glanced around the room and suddenly remembered why she had come into the house in the first place. "Sasuke's not in here... I can't smell him in the house anymore... he must've escaped into the backyard while I was trying on the bra!"
Right after she said this, she bolted from the living room and ran in front of the back door. Swinging it open, she called her crush's name. "Sasukeeeee! I found you!"
Sasuke tensed and slowly turned his gaze towards the back door. Once he saw Ino standing there with hearts in her eyes, he thought hardly and quickly about how he would escape. Why won't she leave me alone? he thought.
Kiba winced as he heard Ino's screech for Sasuke from behind him. He turned to see what she was doing, and his eyes widened once he saw Ino diving into the pool, right in his direction. "AAHHH!" he screamed as Ino seemed to pounce on him in the water, and both of them were pushed underwater.
Sasuke watched as she dove into the pool. He found his chance and quickly stepped out of the pool, running towards Shikamaru and Choji.
"I guess Ino found him." Choji observed as Sasuke hid behind his chair. "At least Sakura somehow disappeared... she isn't chasing him around."
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "The commotion always finds its way towards me, doesn't it?" he mumbled, glancing in Sasuke's direction.
Sasuke glared. "Be quiet. You don't have an annoying girl chasing you around, do you?" he asked with gritted teeth. "That's right. You don't. Stop complaining."
Hinata smiled slightly at her determined friend. "Don't worry, Lee... you're already a strong ninja... but yes, there's always room for improvement..."
"That is right!" Lee declared. "Thank you for your help, Hinata!"
She wasn't sure on how she had supposedly helped him, but she nodded nonetheless.
Naruto, who was staring at something in front of him, felt Savanna's gaze. He turned his gaze to look at her and immediately made eye contact. She was already looking at me, he thought. He smiled as he noticed how pretty her emerald eyes looked in the water. They seemed to sparkle when she looked at him, and he couldn't help but get lost in them.
Savanna was also so immersed in gazing at Naruto that she didn't register that he was doing the same until several seconds later. He's smiling at me, she thought. This is a dream come true. I wonder if... if... Stopping herself, she didn't even let herself think of the possibility. Instead, she swam towards Naruto, wrapped her fingers around his wrist, and pulled him towards the surface of the water.
Ino finally seemed to notice what was going on; Kiba was thrashing under her, trying to get away from her grasp. Eventually, he pried her fingers off of him and frantically swam to the surface of the pool. "What... WHAT THE HECK?!" he sputtered. "Why do I always get caught up with Ino's obsession over Sasuke?"
Sai observed Kiba calmly. "It looks like you're just very unlucky," he stated.
"That part is obvious," Kiba spit out with a harsh tone. Sai is never a help to anyone, he thought.
Tenten looked at the deep end of the pool warily. "Is Ino still under there...?"
"You'd better bet she is," Kiba replied. "I can't take this anymore... I'm outta here." Narrowing his eyes, he exited the pool and walked over to a chair next to Choji and Shikamaru, sitting down.
I don't want her to go back, Neji thought. I just met her today, but she's different. She's unlike anyone else, and if she left... Shaking his head, he returned to the present. "I'm sure Savanna would want you to stay," he persuaded. "Additionally, Lady Tsunade is very hospitable when it comes to people moving into the Leaf Village. If you merely asked, she would generously give a you a home." He paused for a second. He never offered this before, but everything he suggested seemed so reasonable when he was around Sammy. "I don't usually offer this," he began. "but there are a lot of unused rooms in the Hyuga compound. Don't hesitate to request one for yourself... Hinata and I could easily issue you one of the vacant rooms and possibly help you train."
Taking a breath of air once she resurfaced, Savanna smiled at Naruto. "See? Chicken's fun!" she exclaimed. "Even when people cheat..."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Chicken is fun! You always seem to have the best games to play," he complimented. "Actually, it's not only games. It's a lot of other things, too."
Tenten, who was standing nearby, overheard Naruto's statement. "Naruto's right," she called over to Savanna. "Chicken was really fun... I hope I'll be able to play it again sometime, but Kiba doesn't seem to want to be in be in the pool for a while. That's alright, though... I can see why."
She looked pointedly over at a crazed Ino across the pool, who had just resurfaced after pouncing onto Kiba. "I guess I aimed my dive towards the wrong person," she said, actually sounding sane at that moment. The person she was looking for in the first place had definitely popped back into her mind at that moment, since she grinned mischievously again. "That's right... I was aiming for Sasukeeee! Where did he go?! Oh, Sasukeeeeee! I saw you in the pool! I know you're out here... I can smell you!"
Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Um. What? How can she smell him?" he asked, not directing the question towards anybody in particular. "I can smell him since I'm an Inuzuka, but she's just... she's just Ino!"
"Trust me," Choji sighed, sounding worn out just by listening to Ino's cries. "This is Ino we're talking about... if she says she can smell him, she can smell him. And it kind of makes sense if you think about how she might feel about Sasuke."
Kiba looked at Ino who was sniffing around in a flower bed near the pool, trying to track down the Uchiha by his scent. "Yeah... she is pretty crazy about him," he agreed. "Actually, scratch that... she is waaay crazy about him."
Sai watched everything that was going on around him and payed most attention to Ino. "I wonder what it feels like to feel what Ino's feeling right now," he said to himself. "Because it seems like this feeling she feels is a strong feeling."
The offer Neji had just offered made Sammy's thoughts go crazy. Oh my goodness... he said I could live in the Hyuga compound, she thought. And that he could train me. She wondered again if she could actually pull off a Jutsu, or if she had any chakra at all. A few Jutsu and their hand signs drifted around in her head for some, and she decided that she would attempt to complete one later. "Thanks," she smiled. "I'll think about it."
Another thought found its way into her mind. She could go underwater to see if she could hold her breath with ease... if she could, then she knew that the chances of her being a ninja would go up tremendously. Quickly, she held her breath and dropped into the water, and once she opened her eyes, she felt different. She could see so clearly. And she also realized that it was so much easier to hold her breath for longer. She quickly emerged from the water after that and smiled broadly, knowing well that no one except for maybe Savanna knew why she had done that so suddenly.
Detecting waves of excitement coming from Sammy, Savanna briefly turned around and flashed a grin at her. That means you're a ninja like me, Sammay! she thought. After hearing Naruto's comment, she pondered about the meaning for a few seconds. What does he mean? Not only my games are great? Still smiling a little, she asked, "Thanks, Naruto. So... I guess just my other things are great...?"
Neji smiled back at Sammy. Why did her response make me feel warm inside? he wondered. This is certainly unlike anything I've experienced before... Something about her makes me just want to... Stay with her...
Speculating Neji, Tenten slightly narrowed her eyes. When Neji smiles, she thought, it's never one like that. It's always a small one, but that his shows so much feeling. Suspiciously, she shifted her gaze to the pretty blonde Neji directed his smile at. Ahhhh, she understood.
Sasuke let out a bitter laugh, still crouching behind Choji's chair. "Yeah... Ino being crazy is an understatement."
Kiba jumped at Sasuke's voice, his eyes searching around for said ninja until he found him. "Jeez, Sasuke... I got out of the pool so I could get away from Ino's obsession over you! Whenever I'm near you, I'm dragged into what madness occurs, and I just have to happen to sit near you."
Sasuke glared. "I thought you said you could smell me. It's funny how you didn't figure out where I was."
"Well- Er- Uh- Yeah!" Kiba sputtered, his eyes turning into white circles. "I could smell you, but I couldn't pinpoint the exact location, that's all! I'm not a dog!"
"Yeah, right," Sasuke muttered.
Kiba opened his mouth so he could say something more, but Shikamaru cut in. "You're complaining that you always get dragged into trouble when you're around him," he pointed out. "If you don't want the same thing to happen again, then why don't you both just shut up? It would make everything less troublesome."
Absentmindedly glancing at Sasuke behind Choji's chair, Savanna noticed that Sasuke's hair was already spiking up again despite the fact that he was in the water five minutes ago. Hey, Sammay, she thought. Check out Sasuke's hair. It's like it's in his hair's nature to be "duckbutty" like you call it! Haha...
Sammy craned her neck to the side to see his duckbutty hair. Once she had gotten a good look, she noted that Savanna was correct... his hair was, in fact, turning into a duckbutt again. If only they had actual salons or barber shops here, she thought. If they did, I would set him up for a major hair cut. But since they unfortunately don't... I'll find a way to get rid of it... just watch.
After observing his annoying hair, Sammy turned back to Neji. She was suddenly overwhelmed with such a warm and happy feeling as she did so. I know that this feeling isn't me for once, she thought. So who is it coming from?
It only took her a second to figure it out. It was from Neji... but why?
Kiba wanted to bark back at Shikamaru, but he decided against it at the last second. He knew that if he were to shout too loudly, Ino would definitely hear and make her way over to the boys... whilst finding Sasuke. And he definitely did not want that. Sasuke seemed to think the same, since his jaw had clamped shut as well.
"I know he's out here... I know it..." Ino whispered, and it almost sounded like a threat. She sniffed the ground, continuing to track his scent down. "I can't locate him... maybe he is in the pool and the water is blocking his scent!"
Ino belly-flopped into the cool water right after she had said it. Sadly enough for her, he wasn't where she thought. DARN! she thought. I'll have to look harder!
"Everything about you is great, Savanna," Naruto explained. "Everything about you is more than great... Everything about you is absolutely amazing." The smile that was already plastered onto his face grew even more as he thought about her. Her brown hair, her perfect, gleaming eyes... He could stare into them forever. If only.
When Savanna listened to Naruto's complement combined with his thoughts, a big feeling of happiness swelled within her, and she couldn't prevent the blush that spread over her cheeks. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him and this world, but it was like her immense feelings rendered her into a stunned state. You're amazing as well, Naruto, she thought. Everyone here is amazing, too, but you're just so kind and good-looking...
Even though it was only a few seconds, it felt like minutes before Savanna could somewhat organize part of her thoughts into words. "Thanks, Naruto," she acknowledged. "That's really sweet of you... I'm glad I'm a good person..." I'm glad I'm a good person? she repeated in her head. I can be so stupid sometimes! Why did I say that? Ugh... Her thoughts shifting to Sasuke, she mentally asked Sammy, Oh yeah? How in the world are you going to make Sasuke's hair less duckbutty? Haha, that's impossible... No matter what, the spikes in the back of his head are going to stay there. Forever.
Seeing Ino dive into the pool, Sasuke stood up and stretched because his muscles were getting tense and sore from squatting behind Choji's chair. As he was doing so, he noticed Sammy regarding him with an expression he couldn't quite describe from the pool. Why is she looking at me like that? he wondered.
Also looking at Sammy, Neji wondered the same thing as Sasuke. "You look like you're scrutinizing Sasuke," he observed. "Is there something about him you don't like?"
Giving up on searching in the pool, Ino climbed out via the ladder and made a mad dash for the hot tub, not even noticing Sasuke standing up on the back porch. "This is probably going to hurt, but if you're in there, Sasuke, it'll totally be worth it!" she cried, jumping into the hot tub and fully immersing herself into the steaming water.
I'll find a way, Sammy repeated in her mind. She averted her gaze from Sasuke to Neji. "I guess," she answered plainly, folding her arms. "He just... irks me. The way he thinks."
If water can make Sasuke's hair go down for a couple of minutes, she thought, a plan stirring up in her mind, then I'm going to have to get the water to make his hair stay down for a long time...
Naruto chuckled. "You should be," he replied, not noticing Savanna's embarrassment at all. "Because you are definitely a good person."
Sasuke shook his head, deciding that something was probably on Sammy's mind, and she was absentmindedly looking at him with that expression while thinking. He looked away from where she was standing and narrowed his eyes at Ino after watching her jump into the burning water. "She's so clueless," he muttered disapprovingly. "Ino has run right past me multiple times, and she just jumped into a hot tub?"
"I agree with you this time, Sasuke," Kiba sighed, observing Ino as she splashed and thrashed around the hot tub. "If I were her, I definitely wouldn't have done that. If I were her, I wouldn't be chasing you around. And I wouldn't dress like she does, or have my hair grown out to be that long..."
Kiba continued to list things that he would change if he were Ino. Sasuke sighed and blocked him out. He instead stayed on high alert and watched Ino fling herself from the hot tub into the pool. The Uchiha ducked behind Choji's chair again once she resurfaced, her skin pink from the burning water.
"Oh, why can't I find you?!" she cried. "But I know I'm getting closer to you, Sasukeeee! I'll find you eventually!"
After hearing Ino's obsessive screech, Kiba trailed off. If Sasuke wasn't such a jerk all the time, he thought, I would actually maybe feel bad for him. Heh, heh... But he totally deserved being molested by Ino...
Behind Choji's chair, Sasuke scowled at the ground. Why does Ino have to like me, out of all people? Why?
Sometimes, I'm grateful for Naruto's obliviousness, Savanna thought, laughing softly. "You're a good person, too," she complemented. "And a very strong ninja."
Neji smirked, fully understanding how Sammy felt. There's one more thing we have in common, he thought. It's getting more difficult to stay away from her... "I understand," he expressed. "Sasuke annoys me as well... He needs to be more considerate to other people. If he was, then everyone would probably be more willing to aid him in eluding Ino." His silvery eyes flicked over to said kinoichi, who was now roaming the flower garden bordering the fence in search of the raven-haired boy.
Listening to the ruthless plan conjuring in Sammy's mind, Savanna's smile grew. I do really like Sasuke, she thought, but even I agree that seeing that happen would be hilarious! Closing her fingers around Naruto's wrist again, she pulled him out of the pool.
She keeps on grabbing my wrist, he thought, smiling as she did so. Does she maybe like me? No... probably not...
Sammy nodded, slightly surprised at how much Neji was getting along with her. Before she had arrived in this world, she was positive that he would find her as someone extremely annoying. "And if he got rid of his hairstyle..." she added, but directed it more to herself than to Neji.
"Oh, Sasukeeee!" Ino sung, standing on her tiptoes. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! We were meant to be with each other since the very beginning! Why are you hiding? Are you conversing with someone? Is that why you're not responding, since you can't hear me?"
Shut up, Ino, Kiba thought, narrowing his eyes in irritation. You are so oblivious to the fact that Sasuke definitely does not like you. Why won't you just leave him alone? You're annoying me, too...
Meanwhile, as Choji sat in his chair, his stomach growled the slightest bit. "You know," he began, "I'm starting to get hungry again. I think I'm gonna head back into the kitchen for a few minutes to grab something to eat."
At that, he stood up and walked away, leaving Sasuke completely visible. Oh, no, he thought, and immediately scrambled over to hide behind Shikamaru's chair instead. But, unfortunately, said person stood up and began following Choji's footsteps, revealing Sasuke again. "I'm not staying out here without Choji," he sighed. "It's too troublesome..."
Quickly, Sasuke scrambled to his feet and started to make his way to the back door. However, Ino just happened to turn around, putting him in her field of vision, so he had no choice but to dive for a nearby bush.
Kiba had watched this entire scene and found it very amusing, so no matter how much he tried, he couldn't help himself from cracking up. Hahaha! Sasuke looks so stupid! Unfortunately, this caught Ino's attention, so she pranced over to him with a mischievous expression on her face.
"Why, hello, Kiba," she purred in a rather strange tone.
Kiba immediately stopped laughing and straightened up, his eyes widening. Oh, crap, he thought. This is exactly what I was afraid of! Can't a guy be allowed to laugh? "Uh... hi, Ino," he nervously said.
The mischievous expression still on her face, Ino slightly lowered her eyelids and leaned towards Kiba, her voice softening further. "Soo... What were you laughing about?"
"Nothing," he immediately answered.
Ino tilted her head to the right, her light blonde bangs falling to the side and revealing her right eye. "Oh, really?" she inquired. "I see... It's funny how you were laughing although nobody was here."
Kiba sweatdropped, mentally cursing in his mind. How can she sound so cunning even though she's really a psycho maniac? For once, he couldn't think of a reasonable excuse. "Well... Um. Yeah. It was... You know, one of those moments."
Unbeknownst to Neji, Sammy's comment wasn't meant for him, but he responded to her regardless. "His hairstyle is so unusual..." he trailed off.
Reading Naruto's mind, Savanna almost stopped in her tracks. He... He's wondering if I like him? Of course I do... So much... Turning around, she flashed a smile at Naruto and motioned Sammy to follow her so her cousin could carry out her plan.
Sammy caught Savanna's message and quickly turned back to face Neji. "Yeah, it looks like a duckbutt. Anyway, um, I've gotta go take care of that... so I will see you in a second," she said abruptly, turning and wading through the water until she reached the edge. She lifted herself up and stepped out of the pool, right as she noticed the ladder that sat right next to her. "There's a ladder?!" she exclaimed, even though getting out of the water the way she did wasn't a nuisance, since she had gotten a lot stronger since she arrived in the world. "Oh, whatever! Let's go..."
Naruto looked at the two questioningly. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"We're going to do something that should've been done a long time ago," Sammy explained, eyeing Sasuke as he hid in the bush. He was standing up, trying to get away while Ino was distracted.
Naruto followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes as he saw Sasuke. "Um... what are we gonna do with Sasuke?"
Said person slowly stood up, watching intently as Ino leaned into Kiba, trying to intimidate him. Now's my chance, he thought, swiftly running from behind the bush and into the house from the back door. Ino, so determined to find Sasuke, didn't notice that the person she was looking for had disappeared from the backyard.
"Are you sure that's the case?" she asked the Inuzuka, leaning even farther so their noses weren't even an inch apart from each other. Kiba payed attention to that fact, and an idea to make her get away from him popped into his mind... their lips weren't too far away for each other, either.
"What are you trying to pull, Ino?" he asked smoothly, his surprised expression fading, a smug one replacing it. Her eyes widened slightly and she pulled herself back an inch or two.
"What?" she asked cluelessly. That's not what I was expecting him to say, she thought, waiting for an answer to her bland question.
"What are you trying to pull?" he repeated, folding his arms. "You were getting pretty close to me... maybe... to steal a kiss?"
Ino's eyes turned into white circles. "WHAT?! HECK! NO!" she cried, flying back from him. "YOU?! Oh. NO. I'm definitely for SASUKE. Not you!"
She ran away from him after that, leaving Kiba to relax. I knew that'd get her away, he thought.
Savanna couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped her. "You'll find out sooner or later, Naruto," she replied in a mysterious tone. "I have a feeling that you'll like what you'll see." Sammay, it's so much fun to finally control what happens in this world! she excitedly thought. We really are living in our roleplay!
Even though he was still confused, Naruto fell silent. They're going to do something horrible to Sasuke, he concluded. ...But why am I looking forward to this? Sasuke's my friend! But I also kind of want to see what they're going to do to him... Hehe.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru lightly dozed on the couch in the living room, his arm hanging off the side while Choji grazed on some snacks in the kitchen. However, the Nara's sleep was rudely interrupted when Sasuke dashed into the living room and threw himself on the chair, breathing heavily. The bush that he had dove into before just happened to have thorns, so he proceeded to pick them out from his arms one by one, slightly wincing at each pluck. What am I going to do now? Sasuke wondered. Ino's eventually going to come stalking in here, and I'm just going to have to keep on running. My life sucks.
After Sasuke's frantic sprint into the main room, Shikamaru jolted up from his temporary bed, his eyes widening for a split second until they rested on the exhausted Sasuke. "What the heck, Sasuke? I was sleeping."
"Not my problem," Sasuke defended, finally pulling out the last thorn. "I have a much bigger complication right now."
Maybe if you were a little nicer, then you would get some help in solving that problem, Shikamaru bitterly thought. However, instead of muttering anything, Shikamaru directed one last disapproving look at Sasuke before resuming his sleeping position on the couch.
Poor Shikamaru, Savanna thought. He does deserve some sleep, but it's imperative that Sammay and I get a hold of Sasuke right now... Quickly, she glanced at the remains of the far left window where Lee had leaped out. Seriously... Where was he before he broke my window? she questioned. I even saw Lee go out into the backyard... With that and his knowledge about Chicken, Lee certainly is interesting. Averting her eyes from the shards of glass covering the ground, she directed her attention to Naruto and Sammy once again, leading them inside her fanfiction home. "Hey, look," she pointed out more so to Naruto than to Sammy. "There's Sasuke in the living room."
Sasuke heard his name from a few yards away and glanced up. Sammy looked at him as well and waved, along with an eye closed grin. She's up to something, he thought, sending a blank stare back at her. And Savanna and Naruto are helping her with it...
Sammy read his mind and felt slightly offended. How come he automatically assumed it was me plotting the whole thing? she thought, but then she mentally laughed. Oh, what the heck. It's probably clear that I'm not too fond of the guy.
"Hey, Sasuke! I have something I want to show you in the laundry room!" she called out to him, waving her arm. That didn't sound suspicious at all, she thought.
That doesn't sound too convincing, he thought, studying the girl, but I feel the need to go into the laundry room, anyway...
Sammy strolled into the laundry room (somehow knowing where it was), Savanna and Naruto trailing behind her. "This is going to be fun..." she smiled mischievously and waited for her enemy to enter.
"Stupid Kiba," Ino muttered, looking behind the bush Sasuke had been hiding behind only minutes before. "How could he think I like him? I am clearly in love with Sasukeee..."
Oh, I know, Kiba thought, overhearing Ino's statement. You have definitely made that fact quite clear...
Ino blinked, a sudden idea popping into her mind. "What if my Sasukeeee isn't even in the house?!" she gasped. "He could be... ON THE ROOF!" Almost immediately, she scrambled up the fence and leaped onto the roof, squealing from time to time.
When Kiba observed her perform the stunt, his condescending expression contorted to that of extreme surprise. What... The... Heck?
In the pool, Lee constantly jogged from one side of the shallow end to the other (albeit very slow because of the water), obviously attempting to train in any way, shape, or form. "This... is so hard!" he panted.
Neji, who was sitting at the edge of the pool nearby, crossing his arms and shook his head. "Lee, you look completely absurd when you do that," he reprimanded. "Just be a somewhat normal person for once and relax while you're swimming."
Lee continued to run around as quickly as he could in the shallow end as though Neji's comment didn't affect him. "Training is very important to me!" he announced. "I must strive to become a stronger ninja!"
Just by listening to Lee's response, Neji felt like face-palming. "I greatly value training as well," he explained, "but it's really not necessary to train all the time, Lee. Relaxing actually helps you become stronger... Sometimes, it can even be considered another form of training."
Lee finally stopped jogging and stared at Neji, wonder and awe glistening in his wide, round eyes. "Relaxing is... training?"
I never did say those exact words, thought Neji. However, if that idea will cause Lee to act semi-normal, then I'll gladly take that chance. "Yes," he replied. In a softer voice, he followed with, "...To a certain point."
Although Sasuke was very confused at the moment, he nonetheless made his way to the laundry room and stepped inside, encountering Naruto, Sammy, and Savanna. Why in the world does she want me to come in here? he wondered.
Regarding Sasuke's perturbed expression, Savanna had to stifle another giggle. The urge to laugh only grew as she watched her cousin press the "on" button for the washer, consequentially starting to fill it with water. Naruto looked just as confounded as Sasuke did, further amplifying Savanna's desire to laugh.
Sammy somehow kept all of her laughs on the inside as she smiled at Sasuke, waiting for the washer to fill up with a certain amount of water. Normally in this situation she would be at a breaking point of laughing. "Sorry... the washer has to be ready in order for me to show you the thing I'm going to show you." she grinned, peeking inside.
"What exactly are you planning on showing me?" he asked, sounding a bit annoyed. What's there to show in a washer, anyway? he thought, and almost smiled as an image of Itachi's head rolling around in a washer appeared in his mind.
"Not a head," Sammy muttered after reading his mind. Her smile reappeared after only a moment, though. "But it does have something to do with heads... come on over..."
Sasuke reluctantly approached the blonde, not sure if what she was about to 'show' him was safe or not. She continued to grin innocently as he slowly walked towards her. After a second or two, he was around a foot away from her.
"Go on," she nodded, motioning to the washer door. "Open it."
He narrowed his eyes, but he looked down and opened the door nonetheless. When he only found the swishing of water, he began to raise his head again, questioningly. But he didn't get around to do that...
...since Sammy grabbed him by his hair and shoved his head inside.
"WHHUUFF!" Sasuke yelled... as much as he could in the water.. "MRFFUFLE!" he began to struggle, but he couldn't break free since he was being held down by Sammy's sudden strength.
"DON'T WORRY!" she guffawed, laughing almost evilly. "We're just giving you a little MAKEOVER!"
Lee gasped. "I am doing this all wrong!" he exclaimed, and he hurriedly began to float on his back. "I am relaxing! Relaxing! The newest form of training... RELAXING!"
Neji was distracted as he heard yells from inside of the house, one of them being Sammy's. What in the world...? he thought, turning so he could see inside through the broken window.
Ino frowned as she didn't see anyone on the roof. "Sasukeee!" she called out, her flirty voice echoing. "Where are you, honey buns?! We haven't seen each other for a matter of minutes, and that is just unacceptable!"
When nothing responded to her but the following gentle breeze, she cupped her hands around her mouth and took in a deep breath. "Sasukeeeeeee!" she yelled at a much higher intensity of volume.
A few seconds later, a distant voice could be heard, responding to her call. "SHUT UP! I DON'T CARE IF YOUR BOYFRIEND RAN AWAY!"
Freezing for a couple of seconds, Ino blinked, a little caught off guard. I wish he was my boyfriend, she wistfully thought. However, nothing embarrassed her whenever it had something to do with her obsession, so she merely shrugged and jumped off the roof into the front yard, continuing her search for a certain raven-haired boy.
Speaking of a raven-haired boy, Sasuke still thrashed around while Sammy continued to stuff his head into the washer.
HOLY CRAP! Savanna screamed in her mind. Immediately after she saw Sasuke's head get forced into the washer full of water, her willpower crumbled and she collapsed to the floor in laughter. "Hahahahaha!" she chortled. "Sas... Sasuke... looks so...!" Hilarious! The intense laughter didn't even permit her to finish her sentence, and her sides felt like they were going to split open, but she didn't really care at the moment.
Naruto wasn't in much of a better position than Savanna. The sight of Sasuke suffocating in the washer was simply too hysterical for him, so although he wasn't rolling on the ground like Savanna, he bent over from extreme laughter. I would have never guessed that something like this would happen to Sasuke! he amusingly thought.
After a minute or so of crying of laughter, Savanna wiped her eyes and forced herself to think rationally. Sasuke probably can't breathe, she thought. Sure, ninja can hold their breaths for a very long amount of time, but not when they're breathing in water and flailing and screaming and... Hahahahaha! Just reminding herself about what Sasuke was going through combined with actually seeing it happen right in front of her sent Savanna into a fit of snickers once more.
Eventually, like all human beings, Sasuke required air to live, so Sammy had no choice but to jerk him backwards by the head, sending him to stumble to the nearby wall. His chest rose and fell as he heaved in ragged breaths of oxygen, gasping and sputtering along the way. Like Sammy foresaw, his formally "duckbutty" hair hung straight down like loose yarn because of the recent exposure to water, and his dark eyes could've set fire to anything he wanted due to his intense feelings of hatred towards everybody. Sasuke wasn't capable of speaking at the moment, so he just settled to focusing on breathing, ignoring the water dripping from his bangs onto his face. I am going to kill every single person who knew this was going to happen, he vehemently thought. I am going to-
Sasuke didn't get a chance to finish his thought because a sudden shriek sounded from above. Everyone in the laundry room quickly looked up and consequently witnessed the body of Sakura come crashing down on top of Sasuke from the ceiling, crushing him as a result.