The universe hates me.

I don't even think I was supposed to exist, because if I was, the Universe would be kinder to me. Unfortunately it seems like it's doing all it can to exterminate me, or at least make my life miserable because I refuse to die.

I'm the reason for global warming, the economic crisis and the hole in the ozone layer. I've upset the balance of things and now the Universe reacted by giving me a purple nose.

"Geeze man, you're worse than a girl."

"Shut up Suigetsu." I snapped as I looked at him through the mirror. He went next to me to wash his hands with an annoying sneer on his face.

"You do realize that it's called Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer right?"

Kakashi has been going on non-stop with the stupid Rudolph jokes since last night. I don't need someone else getting on my back!

"Pointy toothed freak..." I muttered. "All that's missing is for you to sparkle…"

"Said something?" he asked.

"No."

Suigetsu Hozuki was someone I met while applying for the job. He came all the way from Kirigakure to study here and fortunately he doesn't attend Hashirama High. I didn't need to deal with yet another idiot.

Hmm… maybe the Universe wasn't so bad…

"Care to tell me how that happened?" he inquired as he jerked his chin to my reflection.

"No." I answered curtly. If I didn't tell Kakashi, do you really expect I'd tell you?

"Suit yourself." He said as he walked over to the dryers. "Just make sure you're done with… whatever you're doing, before comes in."

"Whatever." I replied. Jerk.

"Hey what are you doing in here!?" Suigetsu suddenly exclaimed after the door burst open.

"I'm here to help Sasuke!" a female voice shouted. Oh damn…

"Oh Sasuuukeeeee!"

Kill me.

Now.

"Move you asshat!" Karin screamed as she hit Suigetsu in the head and pushed him out of the washroom. Now where have I seen that before?

"Don't worry Sasuke I can fix it!" she beamed as she made her way next to me. She was clutching a little black bag filled with girl-type things.

"What are you doing?" I asked skeptically. I was also glad Karin didn't go to my school. She always tried to have her way with me, not that I ever allowed her to. So now being alone with her in the washroom…

I need to escape!

"Just wait, I'm looking for something." She said as she shuffled through pencils, brushes and lip glosses. Why the hell do girls need all those things?

Some sort of torture contraption fell out of her bag and she hastily put it back in. What the hell was that? Wasn't that what girls use to curl their eyelashes? I think I saw Sakura use one once. Didn't that hurt? Didn't eyelashes fall out if you handled it wrong? I mean you press it down so doesn't the pres-

Why do I even care!?

"Ah ha!" Karin exclaimed as she took out something that looked suspiciously like lipstick. She pulled off the cap and my assumption was right… It was weird though… it was skin-colored.

"Come here Sasuke!"

"What the hell!?" I said as I pushed her away from me. "I'm not wearing make-up!"

She sighed. "It's concealer!"

"Con-what?"

"CON-CEA-LER!" she pronounced as she approached me. My back hit the wall and I placed my hands in front of me.

"What's that for!?"

"It's to hide imperfections!" She said as she approached the concealer to my face.

"Stop that!" I said as I slapped her hand away.

"No one will know! It's the whole point of concealer!" she exasperatedly said. "Just stay still!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"Karin I said no!"

"So you'd rather go around looking like a purple nosed freak!?"

I let go of her arms and stared at her. I caught a glimpse of my reflection on her glasses. Well, she did have a point…

"Hey guys!" someone suddenly cautioned. We both looked over to see Jugo's head peaking in from the door.

Perfect timing!

"What!?" Karin hissed.

"Mr. Hachibi's here. Better go out now."

I sighed loudly and ran a hand trough my hair. Great. "Let's go Karin."

"But-"

"No buts!" I snapped. "Let's go."

"But your nose!" She insisted.

"Forget it!"

As I opened the door I bumped into a huge wall of body mass.

"What's wrong with your nose fool!?"

I hate group meetings.

We always had to go to work earlier for them. Plus they weren't really meetings too. We would all just sit in the staff lounge and listen to Mr. Hachibi, Mr. Bee, Killer Bee, or whatever Bee-name, talk. And talk. And talk. And rap.

Badly.

Killer Bee, as he prefers to be called, is a very tall man with a large build. In no way is he fat however. Under that dark skin is only muscle. He could crush me if he wanted to. And believe me, he wants to.

"Karin!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Yes sir?"

"What happened with them new releases?"

"Well sir-"

Sometimes I wonder why he chose to live here in Konoha. It's nothing special, and with his family owning the chain of Killer Movies stores all over the Fire Country he could've easily settled in a nicer city, or just stayed in Kumogakure. God knows I wouldn't mind.

"You see that store over there?" he said as he walked to the window and pointed at a book store across the street. "They've decorated since November 1st! The 1st! I need you to hurry up now, 'cause I can't wait much longer!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Good job trying to incorporate Kanye West into your little speech there Killer Bee.

I've worked in this store since I was sixteen, which was around two years ago. And every time the holiday season would come up he always gave us shit for not decorating for Christmas the moment Halloween ended.

"But Mr. Hachibi," Jugo piped in. "We've been through this count-"

"Exactly we've been through this too many times! Y'all know what I expect of my crew!"

Stop trippin' man!

I accidentally snorted at what I said in my mind.

"What's so funny?" Killer Bee barked.

"Nothing." I replied quickly. Stop messing with mah flow!I'ma busta cap in yo ass!

I bit my lip and looked at my knees. I. Will. Not. Laugh. Damn it, I look so dumb right now with my shoulders shaking.

"Constipated much Sasuke?" Suigetsu suddenly teased.

I glared at him. Yo mama.

"Suitgetsu!" Killer Bee's voice boomed.

"Don't interrupt me!"

I smirked as Suigetsu cowered on his chair.

"As, I was saying," he continued as he walked in a circle in front of us.

"I think we should pimp up the store as soon as possible. And to hype it up a bit we should dress up."

"Dress up as what?" Suigetsu inquired.

"Elves!" Killer Bee beamed. "And Imma be Santa!"

"Elves!?" the other three exclaimed.

"You're going to be what?" I asked incredulously. Did he really say what I think he did? First of all, there's no way I'm going to dress up as an elf, and second, Killer Bee as Santa? You've got to be kidding me.

"Imma be Santa!" he repeated. "And let them kids take pictures with my greatness!"

"But Sir I don't want to be an elf!" Suitgetsu piped in.

"Shut up boy." Hachibi retorted. "This is my store and you'll do as I say got it?"

"But you can't be Santa!" I thought aloud. Suddenly four sets of eyes stared at me. Ah crap.

"Why can't I be Santa?" Killer Bee asked in a threatening tone. Behind him, Karin and Jugo were shaking their heads and hands in "No!" signs.

"Santa's not black." I shrugged. Karin gasped. What? It's true right? I'm not a racist or anything, but you have to admit that's pretty weird. Have any of you seen the movie Elf?

Exactly.

And don't bother asking why I watched the movie.

"Wait lemme get this straight." Bee said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You think… Santa can't be black?"

"Yes." I answered. Jugo hit his forehead while Karin and Suigetsu watched uncomfortably.

"Listen here pretty boy." He said as he moved closer to me. "If the President of the United States can be black, why can't Santa, fool!?" Killer Bee exclaimed.

Karin snorted and covered her mouth with her hands. Suigetsu let out a low whistle and mouthed a: "Burn!"

"Look guy don't trip." I sighed.

"Hey now I ain't trippin!" he said as he approached me even more. "How about I just stick yo ass to the cash? What about that huh!?" Killer Bee roared.

I glared at the trio standing behind him. Here I thought my "peeps" had my back. I hated working at the register. As if it wasn't obvious enough that I wasn't the sociable type.

"You look at me when I talk to you!"

"Fine!" I spat as I looked at him. "I'm looking, happy!?"

"You want beef pal? I'll give you beef!"

"Sure, make it medium rare." I muttered.

Karin and Suitgestu suddenly broke into a fit of giggles while Jugo tried to shut them up.

"All of you get out!" He yelled at them. They instantly stopped and rushed out the lounge room. Once the door closed Killer Bee snapped his attention back at me.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fire your ass!"

I rolled my eyes. Doesn't he realize that it's because of my ass that people even come here? Do you seriously think I'm oblivious to the girls checking me out?

"I don't have any." I said.

"Well I don't give a- Wait what!? You don't have any?"

I lazily shook my head.

"Oh. I wasn't expecting that."

Idiot.

"Well then too bad! You're still working here! You're new position will be on the cash!"

I let out an aggravated sigh. "Why do I have to work at the register?"

"Because I said so! I'm frickin' Killer Bee godamnit!"

The store was open and I was positioned in the cash register.

I'm loving this.

I'm a masochist you see, so three hours of torture doesn't bother me. And when my last two hours will end I'd still want more.

After Killer Bee practically threw me out of the room and told me to do something about my nose, Karin dragged me to the washroom, pinned me in place with the help of Jugo and applied that imperfection-eraser on me.

I'm a masochistic, make up wearing 18-year old.

In other words: I'm a sick, sick man.

A giggling idiot suddenly placed three films in front of me and smiled.

I could see Killer Bee from over her shoulder, giving me the evil eye. He was doing that since this morning, making sure I wouldn't scare away any of his customers. If only he'd realize that's exactly what will happen with me on the cash.

I returned my attention back at the girl standing in front of me and noticed her caked on makeup.

Drag Queen much, sweetheart?

"So your name's Sasuke?" she asked seductively as I took the DVD's and scanned them.

"Obviously." I replied. Did my nametag give you that idea? She giggled.

I want to slap her.

"My name's Momo."

I grimaced. I want to slap her real bad.

I took the bill and placed it in one of the DVD's as she paid me. "They're for the 30th.

Happy holidays." I drawled.

It's funny how she "accidentally" touched my hand and left it there for a little too long.

"Oops! Sorry about that!" she shyly said.

"Yeah whatever, next!"

I looked over the next person and saw Killer Bee chuckling to himself. Asshole.

I looked back at the person standing in front of me and almost jumped in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. It was Miss Agony! I mean Hinata! I hope I didn't seem too shocked…

"Umm… Hi." Hinata stumbled as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I c-called your place a-and Mr. Hatake said you'd be he-"

"You didn't answer my question." I interrupted. I didn't want her here! I didn't want her to accidentally spill the beans to me coworkers on how my face turned out like this! They'd never let it drop!

"I came to g-give your shirt back." She squeaked. Why did she always look afraid when she'd talk to me? She frickin' punched me last night!

I looked over her shoulder and saw Suigetsu making kissy-faces. I glared at him, and Karin bonked him on the head once again. To make matters worse there wasn't anybody behind Hinata in line. There were all busy looking at the rows of movies. So much for telling her I had to work…

I looked back at Hinata whose cheeks turned pink as she slipped my uniform to me. "I thought y-you might need it for school."

"I have other shirts." I replied as I took the shirt back and placed it in a drawer.

Jugo tutted as he passed in front of us with a stack of movies. I ignored him. What? It's true! I do have other shirts! I followed him with my eyes as he shook his head in disappointment. What does he want me to do? Fawn all over her!?

"I-I know…" Hinata mumbled. "It was already clean so I thought-"

"Is that all you came for?"I interrupted again. She talks too slow. I looked around and noticed a couple of people staring at us. Just what I needed!

Hinata looked at me like a deer in headlights. She opened her mouth and closed it, and opened it again, making her look like a fish.

Besides looking like a guppy there was something different about her. When I saw her yesterday the little spots on her face were still visible, and today… Ah! Concealer!

"Well, I-I wanted to see if you were al-aright. I g-got worried about y-you."

"You don't have to worry about me." I said through gritted teeth as Killer Bee gave me thumbs up. Argh this was so embarrassing!

She smiled a little as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Your nose looks better… I thought it would b-bruise after what I-"

DON'T SAY IT!

"If you're not going to rent or buy anything just leave!" I yelled. The store suddenly grew quiet as everyone looked over to where we were.

Oh shit…

Hinata's mouth shut itself and her surprised look turned into one of hurt.

I didn't mean to say it that loud!

"I..." Hinata started as she lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry I bothered y-you."

She turned away and quickly walked towards the door. I looked around and saw Jugo look away, Suitgetsu watch in disbelief, and Karin walking away from the scene with a satisfied smile on her face. The customers seemed to have a mix of shock and curiosity on their faces.

Killer Bee shot daggers at me with his eyes as he ran after Hinata, telling her about the promotions we were having, only to be politely refused by her.

When the door closed behind her a strange feeling arose in me.

"What the hell was that Sasuke!?" Killer Bee exploded. "You don't treat shorties like that!"

I turned away from him and occupied myself by placing the returned movies into piles. I didn't want to hear it.

I felt… odd.

"Excuse me!" a voice said from behind me. I turned and saw three girls in dangerously low tops smiling and waving at me. I know they had jackets on, but didn't they feel cold?

"Hi!"

I grumbled.

"Gosh that girl looked so annoying!" one of them said as she placed a movie in front of me."

I guess she was…

"I bet she stalks you, I mean she even had your shirt! Like what the hell?" the other one said.

I didn't reply as I took her movies as well. The only reason she had my shirt was because she offered to wash it herself…

"It's pathetic that she came all the way here. Doesn't she know a guy like you will only shut her down?"

The three of them laughed loudly at the girl's remark.

I felt sick… "Karin!" I called. "Take over for me. I need a break."

"What? You're leaving?" the girls whined. I hurriedly left without looking back at them.

"Happy Holidays!" they cheered after me.

"You too Ho, Ho and Ho." As Santa would say.

I opened the door to our apartment and was met by silence.

"Kakashi?" I said as I took off my shoes and went into the living room. "You home?"

I switched on the lights and noticed a piece of paper on the coffee table. I walked over to it and picked it up. "Gone out. Don't wait up Honey."

Stating the obvious much? I crumpled the note in my hand as I scanned the living room for Pakkun. I saw him taking a nap on Kakashi's recliner. Lazy dog.

I turned away and walked to my room. Once in it I threw the note in my trash can and sat on my swivel chair, dropping my bag next to me. I didn't bother turning the light on, or removing my jacket as I just sat there, the silence of the apartment drowning me.

The rest of the day at work seemed to drag on more than usual.

I felt like I was carrying this heavy pit in my stomach and chest, and I didn't even have the drive to snap back at a bitching customer, or my annoying colleagues. Oddly enough they went off my back as well.

I don't know what my problem is. All I'm sure of is this started the moment Hinata left.

This is all her fault.

She just had to have the "Oh no! Bambi's mother got shot and died!" look on her face!

She brought it upon herself, if she had just waited until Monday none of this would've happened.

Not that I feel bad of course! I have no reason to! I just had a slip up, it's nothing. I don't see why she had to be all offended by it.

"This is ridiculous." I mumbled as I took off my jacket and flung it on my bed. I grabbed my bag and unzipped it, hoping to find the leftover sandwich I brought from work.

I dipped my hand in and felt something soft. I grabbed it, only to see a familiar leaf symbol.

It was my shirt.

As I pulled it out a yellow piece of paper fell to the ground. I picked it up and saw there was a message neatly written on it.

"I hope you feel better Sasuke. Thank you for being so nice to me.

Hinata"

Happy New Year everyone!

I realize I haven't updated any of my stories in a long time, but I can safely say that my self-imposed hiatus is officially over! I've been dealing with a couple of things with my personal life, and now that I had enough time to myself and think things through, I was finally able to solve most of them. =) Things have been looking up for me for the past few weeks, and I guess that's why my desire to write has come back.

Although… It's been a while since I last wrote something that had to do with Naruto, I'll be honest and say that the last time I wrote anything for this story was when I posted the fourth chapter of MAATAU. So I'm sorry if this isn't my best chapter. (I wrote it in one sitting yesterday lol…) I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm back.

My slump has ended.

P.S: An update for I Was Wrong will be coming very soon! I haven't given up on that story!

P.P.S: I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I wish all of you the very best for the year to come!

LostInspiration312