Chapter Eighteen: Sweet Serendipity
Japanese Lesson: Conbawa (SP? Lol) means Goodnight. Dattebayo, for the Narutardly challenged… means absolutely nothing. It's just a cute word ending, Japanese children usually apply to the ends of their sentences. Arigato means thank you. Nando means either something like what the heck or what happened. Nani means "what?" like Spanish's "QUE??" haha. I think that's all I put in here.
A/N: I love that word… Heh… Serendipity…
Sachiko: Oh, Author-sama you are so funny!
Author-Sama: Thank you! Now let the Serendipity begin!
The first group of ninja had gone quite a ways away without them. They hadn't noticed that one had been left behind for each of them had something concerning burdening their mind. One volunteered to return to retrieve her but was silenced by another. The other's proposal had been that he would be much faster in retrieving the straggler. The group agreed that the second should go and so he left to do so.
Two heads bobbed just barely above the last of the sand dunes. A red dot and blue dot breached the surface of sand. The sun shone brightly on the two and so one summoned a shady cloud. As the two walked on, the blue head of hair lagged behind a bit.
Sachiko smiled to herself silently and strangely Gaara could detect the smile. He turned around to face Sachiko. She stood there with a small smile against her porcelain face. Her head was held high upon her dainty frame. And the two stood this way, gawking at one another, long enough a time for a sandstorm to begin to blow.
"A sandstorm is coming," said the boy in his gruff voice.
Sachiko nodded and followed him as he instructed her to. He stopped in between two dunes and stared at Sachiko pensively. He seemed a bit bothered by something but didn't let her in on the details. Gaara looked away from her and then began to remove his shirt. Sachiko looked away as she felt it wasn't appropriate for her to gawk. She doubted Gaara had anything going on as it was, after all, he was skinny and pale.
A surge of sand blasting through the air caused her to turn her head rapidly in its direction. Gaara was pushing the sandstorm back. Sachiko could see two strong arms making windmill type movements, directing the sand to another course. His chest and stomach muscles kept contracting each time he gave the storm an added thrust to a far away direction. Sachiko had been wrong, he wasn't scrawny at all, Sabaku no Gaara was indeed quite toned. Her lapse in judgment had caused her mouth to drop slightly. Sachiko turned away again, embarrassed of her assumption and from his naked upper half.
She laid herself out flat upon the hot sand underneath her. She could see her new, shiny Sand headband wrapped firmly around her waist and smiled. "Sand citizen," she laughed to herself as she allowed her mind to float elsewhere and struggled within herself to decide what it was she wanted with the Sand village's very own demon.
"Chihoko… you haven't talked to me for awhile it seems… you always have something to say…"
"Girl, what is it you want me to say?"
"I was just wondering where I'm supposed to go from here…"
"The redhead is a difficult being. What is it you hope to achieve with him? You are not fond of him the way you were of the other."
"You are right; I am not fond of him the way I was of Kankuro-kun at all… It's just that he and I are so alike yet he is in so much pain… I just wanted to try to make him less lonely…"
"Make him less lonely or you?"
"…I don't know. Perhaps the both of us, I guess. I just want a friend who understands what I'm going through and I've never met another with a demon."
"That boy… will never understand anyone else's pain but his own—"
"But he needs someone who understands him! He needs a friend!"
"He may need one but he doesn't want a friend. You cannot give someone something he does not want even if he needs it. You'd be wise to do as he does and focus all your energy on yourself."
"Myself? You know what I want Chihoko? I want a friend that's just like me… I want companionship from someone that knows what its like to be tormented…"
"Tormented? Hmph. How have I tormented you, dear child?"
"You made me believe that I had a friend… Naren."
"I suspected you were sore about that still… You never said anything about it after you found out though…"
"What did you expect? Did you expect me to scold you like a child? You're the demon Nibi Chihoko. You are vile and wicked. You did nothing that isn't expected of you to do. You ripped away the only person I knew as friend…"
"You ungrateful brat! I lend you my ear only for your whining voice to make it ache. I give you my advice only for you to spurn me. You want me to be like that redheaded brat's demon? You want me to make you lust and crave blood like you never have before? Is that what you want you brat?!"
"I'm sorry… Forgive me… I shouldn't have brought it up. It's my own fault I have no friends… Look what I did with Kankuro. I broke things off with him and for what?"
"For what," Sachiko groaned as she sat up, sand falling from her.
She found herself face to face with Sabaku no Gaara. Apparently, the sandstorm had been subdued. She caught herself checking to see if his shirt was back on and was relieved to see that it was. Sachiko didn't want him knowing she had been distracted at all.
"What do you mean 'for what,'" growled Gaara, agitated that he didn't understand what she was getting at.
"Nothing… I was talking to myself… that's all," she murmured as she brushed off the sand that remained attached to her.
"Hn… Hurry up, the others are ahead of us," Gaara hissed at her as he made the sand underneath push her up into a standing position; not gently.
The two ninjas became the red and blue heads again, bobbing up and down amongst the sand dunes. The blue head of hair looked up to the sky for a moment. She wore a mysterious smile. Konoha Village was becoming closer and closer.
NARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARD
Sachiko could barely hold herself together upon entering the Hidden Leaf Village. At first glance, it was beautiful, and she loved it already. She wanted to rush to every store, shop, and restaurant just to look around. Sachiko took a special liking to a cute little ramen place called Ichiraku Ramen.
The people were friendly, old men tipped their hats, old women smiled, young kids waved, and teens her age even grinned as if happy to see her. She felt that Konoha could be a fresh start for her. Sachiko could make friends here in a place they didn't know her. Sachiko stared in awe up until they ended up at the Konoha Inn.
The group would be separated into different rooms. Only two people could fit in a room and so they split up accordingly. Temari and Sachiko would share a room, Kankuro and Gaara, Kentaro and Katsura, and then Norihiro and Baki. Kankuro smirked to himself; he did love it when things went according to plan.
Sachiko plopped off of her bed and bared a huge grin. Temari laughed as she watched Sachiko's smile go from ear to ear.
"Somebody certainly is excited," Temari told her, still laughing.
"Yeah, now you and I can have girl time! I've never really had girl time," Sachiko explained to her, blushing slightly from embarrassment.
"Girl time, huh," echoed Temari with an inquisitive look, "Listen Sachiko-san… Girl time… Well maybe ten minutes before bed time… but I don't intend on spending a lot of time with the group. After all, I have to scope out the local hotties… If I bring you, that's competition for me. Maybe if you and Kankuro were hooked up I would but seeing as things didn't work out…"
"Oh," Sachiko said, face falling with disappointment, "I see… Yeah you're right… Well ten minutes before bed time is okay too… I can just make some new friends here."
"Well there you go kiddo," Temari said with a smile, "There's a plan for you."
Sachiko winced at the word 'kiddo.' It was the word that Naren had always used on her to make her feel small. Sachiko hated that word; the way it sounded and made her feel.
"Well I'm out kid," said Temari upon approaching the exit, "Ta-ta."
Temari gave a short wave and left.
"Ta-ta," Sachiko mimicked as she fell into the bed.
"Well I guess I should spread my own wings anyhow, right?"
"Do whatever brat."
"Somebody's grumpy," Sachiko grunted back to the cat.
NARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARD
Sachiko walked out into the hallway of the Konoha Inn, carefully closing the door behind. She didn't want the others to know she was going anywhere. Knowing her new teammates, they would probably try to go with her and ruin everything. She exhaled slowly to relieve her tension.
"Going somewhere?"
Sachiko whirled around to find herself face to face with Sabaku no Gaara for the second time that day. She brushed some dark blue strands of hair out of her eyes before answering.
"Hai."
"For what?" Gaara shifted weight from his right foot to his left, a bit uneasy. He was surprisingly curious today.
Sachiko shrugged, "I don't know… To go eat I guess."
"Hn," Gaara replied, "At that ramen stand you were gawking at…"
Sachiko nodded in reply, unsure of what to say next.
"Well hurry up and get out of my sight," growled Gaara.
"Hai," Sachiko blurted as she took off down the stairs in a rush.
Sachiko raced out from the Inn and ran straight to the delicious ramen place she had seen. She wasn't one to look at the floor as she walked, let alone ran on and so she had no inclination she was about to take a great trip.
A blonde haired boy yawned as he walked to his favorite ramen eating place. It was very early in the morning but he woke up with a craving for ramen, a craving that would bother him the whole day if he didn't subdue it right away. He stretched out his arms carelessly, not worrying that someone might be thrown off by them.
"Hey watch it," cried out a girl's voice.
"Nando?" The blonde boy turned his head to the voice and let out a cry himself.
His blue eyes met with dark purple ones as their heads bumped. Sachiko was smart enough to perform the usual set of hand seals to at least have her bottom land on a cushion. As the cloud formed beneath her, the impact still had enough force to send her flying. Sachiko and the cloud flew in the opposite direction. The blonde boy had landed on the floor and was rubbing his sore butt with one hand and his sore head with the other. He looked up to see the girl he bumped into and saw her flying through the air. He stood up quickly and chased after shouting, "Hey, let me help you! Dattebayo!"
Sachiko braced herself, nails digging into the cloud's edges, for impact. The small cloud spun round and round bumping into many people.
"I got you," Naruto cried as he grasped the cloud.
"No don't do that!" Sachiko dug her nails deeper into the cloud but it wasn't enough. Flying one direction and being tugged another was a recipe for disaster as Sachiko flew off her cloud and landed with a huge thud. Luckily, Sachiko felt the spot she landed in was somewhat soft. Her hands felt around the area and tugged on something that felt like hair. Sachiko looked up slowly and found herself lying on the chest of what Temari would have most likely classified as "Thee Local Hottie". She struggled to get up but found that the boy's arms were firmly wrapped around her. Sachiko stared back up to the face of the stranger and found that his black eyes were looking back at her.
He quickly maneuvered the both of them into a standing position, his arms still wrapped around her. Sachiko was impressed by his rapid maneuvering, never having seen this before from a boy her age. He didn't have a pleased look on his face but it wasn't completely displeased either. He wordlessly released his arms from around her and began to brush him and her both off.
"Sasuke," the blonde boy growled to the raven haired boy that had picked up Sachiko, "You're always trying to flirt with all the girls so they won't see anyone else but you!"
"Nani," Sachiko asked as she turned around to face the blonde boy she had bumped into.
Sachiko had a terribly confused look on her face as the two boys began to argue.
"Naruto… you idiot," the boy called Sasuke barked, "It's your entire fault for tripping her… You clumsy dope and you call yourself a ninja. Tch."
"Who are you calling idiot," shouted the blonde boy called Naruto.
"I called you clumsy too, dope," Sasuke taunted him with a smirk.
"Why I oughta," Naruto threatened as he raised a fist but a hand firmly grabbed it.
"Please," said Sachiko, a voice of peace, "Don't fight. It's my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going and I ran into you."
"See she said it was her fault Sasuke," Naruto complained, "Not mine. So I'm not a dope."
"Well you still weren't looking where you were going," Sasuke said sternly as he crossed his arms in an agitated matter. The two boys immediately engaged in a staring contest, electricity sparking up from their anger.
They were both interrupted by the giggle of a girl. "Please," Sachiko told them, "I was just going to get lunch at Ichiraku Ramen; I would be honored if you both joined me… I'm Sachiko."
"Sachiko, huh," Naruto repeated with a mischievous grin as he looked at her up and down.
"Stop gawking at her you pervert," Sasuke scolded him. Sasuke was more subtle in the checking out department than was Naruto.
"I am not Sasuke! Stop blaming me for things you were probably doing," Naruto shouted and then turned to her, "By the way my name is Naruto and I'm going to be the best Hokage!"
"Nice to meet you," Sachiko told him with a bow.
"Hmph," said the black haired boy as he stared at the blonde with disgust, "Name's Sasuke."
"Always trying to sound so cool," Naruto muttered miserably for his own lack of coolness.
"And nice to meet you too," Sachiko said, also giving him a small bow.
"Well let's hurry up and eat," Naruto said after a large rumble from his stomach.
Sasuke gave a shrug, which was about the best form of yes Naruto would receive and Sachiko gave a friendly smile but said nothing.
NARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARD
As the three ninjas sat down at the ramen place, the blonde ninja found that conversation would be the best gift he could give to his new friend. He decided to strike one up immediately.
"So where you from," he asked between slurps of ramen, "I've never seen you around here before."
"Didn't you see her headband dope," Sasuke told him, "She's from the Sand Village."
"So you were checking her out," Naruto grinned, he felt like a winner.
"No, you're just an idiot," Sasuke retorted.
Naruto frowned, shot down in his prime.
"What are you here for," asked Naruto.
"Stop being nosy dope," Sasuke told him as he took a sip of his ramen, it was in an elegant manner.
Sachiko smiled, "You two are funny, and you're always fighting. Is it like that all the time?"
"Yes," Naruto and Sasuke said simultaneously.
Sachiko smiled again, taking some gulps of her ramen. She did feel famished. "So you two are genin?"
"Yup," Naruto replied, "You too?"
"Hai," she said, sipping some more ramen.
"It must be fate that you and I would meet today," Naruto told her as he adjusted his Leaf Village headband.
"How," asked Sachiko with a bewildered look on her face. She brushed a couple strands of dark blue hair out of her face.
Without warning, Naruto threw his arm over her shoulder. "It's not everyday I meet a pretty girl," he said with a grin. Sachiko giggled uneasily until Sasuke stole Naruto's bowl of ramen and drank it himself. "Hey," Naruto yelled, removing his arm from around Sachiko's shoulder, "I wasn't through with that! You're paying for that bowl and another one! Believe it!"
"No chance dope," Sasuke said to him slyly, "You snooze you lose."
"That is so old Sasuke! You're always trying to look cute in front of the girls!" Naruto was bringing the yelling up a notch. "Pay for my ramen!!"
"Shut up loser," Sasuke replied, "You're annoying."
"Hey boys, cool it okay?" Sachiko intervened between the two boys once more. "Ramen is on me."
"Really," Naruto practically screamed, "You're my new best friend Sachiko-san!"
"You're so dense Naruto… Girls shouldn't pay," Sasuke pointed out.
"Don't worry about it," Sachiko said as she pulled out a black cat shaped wallet, "It's not everyday I make new friends." "It's not any day I make new friends," she thought to herself with an inner sweat drop.
The group of new friends stood up from the ramen shop and began walking around Konoha. Sachiko certainly enjoyed the sightseeing.
"Then today is your lucky day Sachiko-san," Naruto said, "Like I said before, it's not everyday I meet a pretty girl!"
Sachiko laughed and said, "Sweet Serendipity."
"Sachiko-san shouldn't say bad words," Naruto scratched the top of his blonde head of hair in confusion.
"Serendipity means fate or destiny. It's not a bad word… You really are an idiot Naruto," Sasuke threw another insult.
Ignoring Sasuke this time, Naruto's curiosity about Sachiko and her whereabouts continued. "So where are you staying at?"
"I'm staying at the Konoha Inn but my roommate doesn't really like me and I can't share a room with my teammates because they're boys," Sachiko answered, "I'm awfully bored there."
"You could stay with me," Naruto offered with a goofy grin.
"She just said she doesn't share a room with her teammates because they're both boys… Unless you calling yourself a girl Naruto," Sasuke mentioned with a rude tone.
"AH SASUKE!! I've had enough of your insults for the day," Naruto hollered at the raven haired boy.
"You're adorable when you get flustered," Sachiko giggled, Naruto began to blush and forgot all about him being angry at Sasuke.
Sasuke simply rolled his eyes. Naruto was so easily distracted. Sasuke couldn't help but let his mind wander about the girl. He couldn't say that he had ever been attracted to a girl in his life but strangely he found Sachiko's dark appearance attention-grabbing. All the girls in the Leaf Village made things so easy for him but he wasn't the least bit interested in girls like Ino and Sakura. They were too regular and both weren't very good ninjas in his opinion. Sasuke wondered how Sachiko might fair in a fight.
"It's getting pretty late," Sachiko said reluctantly as they rounded a corner, "I should probably head back to the Inn… My teammates might worry."
"Why didn't you hang out with them? Aren't they your friends," asked Naruto with his normal goofy grin.
"Kentaro and Katsura are cool but…" Sachiko strained for a lie to make up, "They can be very obnoxious… they both like me and fight over me all the time. It's difficult for us to hang out at the same time. They're always competing for my attention…" "Shoot… What the heck was that?!"
"Nice job, girl." The black cat cackled.
Naruto scratched at his ear, "Well that's stupid of them."
Sasuke rolled his eyes yet again and finally spoke up. "Well Sachiko-san it will be both mine and Naruto's honor to walk you back to Konoha Inn…"
"Arigato," Sachiko said with a smile and a bow.
The two Leaf Village shinobi walked Sachiko back to the hotel. Sachiko found herself in a state of bliss. It was a beautiful evening and it was so nice to spend a day with friends. Sachiko stopped in front of the hotel entrance.
"I wanted to say thank you to you two," Sachiko told them as she gave Naruto and then Sasuke a quick hug, "I don't make friends very often."
"But you're so nice," Naruto complimented loudly, "You're the nicest person I've ever met! Believe it!"
"Naruto you are so obnoxious when you speak," Sasuke growled, "But Naruto is right, you are… nice."
Naruto scrunched up his face in a scowl as he saw that Sasuke was trying to get on Sachiko's good side. Naruto would not let Sasuke get another fan girl; it was Naruto's turn for a fan girl!
"Sachiko-chan must spend time with me tomorrow as well!" Naruto grinned and gave Sasuke a sly look as if to say, "Look Sasuke, I'm winning 'ttebayo." Sasuke, in return, gave Naruto a disapproving look that clearly said, "Dope."
"I'd like to hang out with the both of you again tomorrow," Sachiko replied with a warm smile, "If it's okay with the both of you."
"Of course it's okay," Naruto practically yelled with his huge grin.
"I'm free," Sasuke replied in a regular tone of voice.
"Great," Sachiko breathed, "Well… Conbawa."
Sachiko bowed and waved goodbye to her new friends. As they walked off she finally decided to look around the area. She had gotten the distinct feeling she was being watched. Sachiko looked up the roof and saw a red head poking out. That red head could only be one person.
"Sabaku no Gaara," she whispered and then gasped, hoping he didn't hear her say his name.
The dark blue haired girl ran inside the Konoha Inn. She raced up the flight of stairs and already had her room key out. Upon rounding the corner she halted in her tracks. There stood Sabaku no Gaara, demon of Sand and still yet to be decided as a friend or foe. He was growling at her and so Sachiko placed him on her foe list for the moment.
"Why is he so riled up this evening?"
"Full moon."
Sachiko let out a small gasp. She had completely forgotten and let her fun times that day run away with her. Gaara's blood lust must have definitely been peaked since the moon came out from behind the clouds. Sachiko could feel her heart beating faster and breathed slowly through her nostrils in an attempt to calm it down. She knew a fast heart rate would only entice and tease the vessel of Shukaku. His lips parted to speak and she could feel the end of her days drawing nearer. What words could he possibly utter before he released his urge to kill her?
"Where were you," he asked suddenly, throwing her completely off guard.
"Nani," she asked him. Had her ears been correct?
Gaara took a deep breath and closed his eyes as if fighting off his bloodlusting urges. He opened his eyes up and stared at her, but it wasn't to frighten her. His stare was the same stare a curious cat would give. "I said, 'Where were you'," he repeated. His fists were clenching the sides of his black pants. Was he holding back from killing her or was he just anxious? Sachiko couldn't decide.
"I met some people… some friends," Sachiko murmured nearly inaudibly on purpose but she knew he would hear her anyway.
"Friends," Gaara echoed.
"Yeah… friends," Sachiko said again, laughing a bit uneasily.
"How… nice," Gaara remarked trying to hide his agitation with sarcasm, but Sachiko could see he was being rude.
"Well… uh… I'm going to bed right now," Sachiko spoke nervously, voice shaking.
"Hn," Gaara replied, but didn't move from his spot, which was almost blocking her door.
Sachiko began to walk to her room again. She could feel the hair on her neck prickle up like acupuncture needles as she became horizontal with him. As she passed him, she felt chills crawl up her spine like tiny little spiders. Definite bloodlust was in him, he was just repressing it for some reason.
"Tomorrow," said Gaara, "You and I will have a talk."
Sabaku no Gaara never asked for permission, or if anybody wanted to do something, he just told them; demanded it really.
"A talk," Sachiko asked in a confused tone, this being the umpteenth time she was confused that day. "Uh… Okay," she said hesitantly. If she could still sense his bloodlust tomorrow, she'd probably find her best escape route in the forest surrounding Konoha. The Sand Village would know the desert like the back of their hands, but the forest around Konoha was a different story.
"Hn," was the last word or sound Gaara made before disappearing in a puff of sand, most likely reappearing somewhere on the roof.
"Awkward," Sachiko said in a sing-song voice as she rested her hand on the door knob.
Sachiko turned the key and entered her nice and hopefully safe hotel room. She knocked on the door lightly whispering, "Knock on wood." She didn't want to jinx the room.
"Hey kid," Temari greeted from the bathroom, most probably wiping off her make up for the day, "How'd your day go?"
"It was amazing," Sachiko said, "And your flirting outing?"
"Good, but I was listening to some girl's chatting about some black haired guy. I'm guessing he's 'Thee Local Hottie'… I didn't meet him but I met a lot of other hotties," Temari informed her as she finished up her face washing.
"Oh really," Sachiko asked with a smirk. She thought to herself, "Hah… That's what you get for not wanting to spend time with me… I got to meet 'Thee Local Hottie.'" Sachiko made sure to say the "Thee Local Hottie" part in her head like the way Temari said it. A solid smile set itself on her face.
Sachiko removed her ninja gear and placed it underneath her pillow, her hiding spot. She then removed her ninja sandals and put them under the bed. Sachiko stretched her arms out and yawned after putting on her pajamas. She placed her bunny night cap firmly on her head, still smiling.
"What are you smiling about? By the looks of it, you met a couple of boys and flirted around," Temari remarked with a competitive grin.
"You could say that today was Sweet Serendipity," Sachiko replied, the mysterious smile returning. Sachiko climbed into bed and wrapped the blankets tightly around her, scrunching her toes cutely.
"Sweet Serendipity, huh," repeated Temari as she slid into bed, "How cute."
A/N: Wow this turned out to be ten pages long on Microsoft word! How cool is that?! That's, I think, the most I've written for a chapter… but it might be eleven… Well it's still a lot!
Sachiko: Go Author-Sama! Go, Fight, Win! -cheerleader status-
Author-sama: Why thank you Sachiko-chan… I did do good didn't I? so full of herself Crap… I just made this eleven pages on Microsoft word… heh.
Sachiko: That's okay Author-sama! You broke the record for sure then!
Author-sama: Yeah I guess so… I knew today would be a good day… I watched Memoirs of a Geisha. My life sucks for not being born in Japan… or being Japanese…
Sachiko: Oh, Author-sama! You would not be as great as you are if you were Japanese!
Author-sama: -stars in eye- You think so??
Sachiko: -fingers crossed behind back- Of course I do… heh. fake smile
Author-sama: -hugging life out of Sachiko- This is why you are my favorite OC!
Sachiko: -suffocating, squished to death- Author-sama your squishing me… please… let go…
Author-sama: -lets go- Sorry Sachiko-chan… I just get so excited sometimes…
Sachiko: I know you do Author-sama… Well time to say bye now! REVIEW READERS!