I feel like the only time I'm capable of writing is when I should be studying for exams. Bad student is bad. At any rate, this is the final chapter of Arc 1 so starting next chapter, there will be new stuff, new people and new excitement (I hope).
Thank you to all you amazing readers and reviewers for all your support and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.
Fancy Footwork
Chapter 13: Here Kitty Kitty
Kisame knocked on the door just as Sakura went to open it.
"Morning," he said cautiously. He had long ago learned that Sakura was less than a morning person. But she had managed to crawl out of bed and pull on clean black sweatpants and her favorite sweatshirt. She stood in the doorway tying her hair in a high ponytail.
"Good morning," she grunted in return as she bent over to tie her sneakers. Kisame poked at the kitten on her back, earning a little whine as she tried to shake his finger off.
"Where are Deidara-san and Sasori-san?" she inquired as she took a moment to stretch her legs.
"They're working on those clothes for that fashion show. I think they've been sleeping in the studio," Kisame responded with a shrug. Nodding, Sakura locked the door behind her and they began their morning run.
"You really going to model for them?" Kisame asked. Sakura, who had pulled up her hood and tied it securely, looked up at him with her nose pink from the cold. He laughed loudly, hooting, "How cute!" until she shoved him lightly. So they settled back into their quiet morning routine, only their feet hitting the pavement in tandem. February had gone by quickly, taking with it the snow that had covered houses and lawns since December. Still, their breaths came out in misty puffs when it hit the cold morning air.
"Anyway, I thought you didn't want to help them during the show," Kisame continued and Sakura sighed heavily. As they reached a crosswalk, she bounced up and down in place, trying to keep her limbs warm.
"I didn't. But when Sasori-san found a replacement who fit my measurements, Deidara-san…" Sakura trailed off, rolling her eyes. Kisame snorted loudly.
"You know, I heard he ran into Konan-senpai the other day. You think maybe that's been bothering him?" Kisame wondered. Although they hadn't said anything, they had both noticed that whenever they happened to run into the older woman by accident, Deidara would go on a strange rampage of serially meeting new 'friends' and being extra clingy around Sakura.
"I wonder how many girls are getting ready to slap Deidara-san by the end of this year," Sakura sighed. To her surprise, Kisame shook his head.
"You know, Deidara doesn't date, but he's good to the women he meets up with. I don't think he's ever made one cry before," Kisame assured her. But this didn't placate her at all. As the light turned green, she headed across the street with Kisame following after her. Sakura tilted her head over her shoulder to frown at him.
"Just because they don't cry doesn't mean he doesn't hurt them," she replied with a shake of her head. And Kisame's grin faded as he took in her words. They finished the rest of their 45-minute circuit without talking. It wasn't awkward and she wasn't angry. Kisame seemed to be deep in thought, nearly running into a light pole until Sakura tugged on his shirt to pull him out of danger's way. When they stopped in front of Sakura's apartment, Kisame put his hand on her shoulder.
"You've grown up a lot, Kitten," Kisame said and Sakura smiled up at him. Then, with a little salute, Kisame continued the rest of his morning run, his tall back fading into the quiet streets.
As usual, Sakura took a hot shower, letting the water soothe her tired muscles. Sasori had been teaching her about dime-stopping. In fact, he and Deidara had been drilling her over and over about the basics of roboting and she had struggled with it. After years of fluid movements, being locked in to the beat and moving so stiffly was hard for her to accomplish. Still, she practiced with them, working to tense her muscles, learning to sharpen the angles of her movements. So for the past few days, getting out of bed had been a struggle as her body protested the abuse.
When she stood in front of the mirror, wet hair hanging in her face, Sakura reached up to touch her bangs. Since her last hair cut over the summer, it had grown out, bangs falling into her eyes in a straight line. Mentally noting to ask Deidara for a haircut, she dried her hair and pulled it back in a messy bun. After a simple breakfast of toast and coffee, she dressed and was out the door to catch the train. Since there wasn't any work backed up for the student council, she had time to stop by a convenience store near school to buy a carton of strawberry milk. When she arrived at school, other students were already streaming in past the front gates. A few old friends from middle school waved at her as she walked past and she reciprocated.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Recognizing the loud voice, Sakura turned and waited as Naruto half-ran, half-tripped over to her. Tucked under his arm was a fluffy white teddy bear that was holding a box of chocolates.
"You think Hinata-chan will like this?" he puffed out, holding up the bear as he tried to catch his breath. Sakura tried not to laugh as she eyed the ridiculously eager look on her friend's face.
"Naruto, I'm pretty sure Hinata-chan will like anything you buy her," she assured him and an even wider grin spread his mouth. Throwing his arm over her shoulder, he dragged them to class, chattering happily about how much he had struggled to find the right gift for his new girlfriend. He said the word with so much pride: Girlfriend. It was both funny and sweet to see him blunder through his first relationship.
"Morning, grumpy-butt," Naruto yelled as they entered the classroom. He had safely tucked the bear away in his locker on the way there. From the back of the room, Sasuke gave Naruto the middle finger before he went back to reading his book. When Sakura entered the room a second later, his dark eyes drifted to her, narrowing just a little.
"Naruto, this isn't even your classroom. Why are you always here?" Shikamaru grumbled. For once, he wasn't fast asleep. Instead, Shikamaru had his head propped up in his hand as if it was a huge hassle just to keep his head off the desk. When Sakura waved at him, he nodded in greeting before turning his attention back to Naruto who pretended to be utterly insulted.
"Is this how you treat your friend?" Naruto asked, putting his hand over his chest.
"Yes," Sasuke and Shikamaru retorted at the same time. Sakura stifled her giggle with her hand when Naruto whirled around to fix her with a wounded expression. But she was saved from one of his guilt-trips when the door to the classroom slid open.
"G-good morning," Hinata timidly said when all eyes landed on her.
"Good morning, Hinata-chan!" Naruto practically cheered. They both blushed, making everyone else in the room groan. As the happy couple chatted, Sakura sat on Sasuke's desk, ignoring Sasuke when he stared at her over the top of his book. She swung her legs cheerfully as she ripped the straw of the side of the carton and stuck it into the foil top. As she took a large sip of strawberry milk, Sakura finally turned her head to look at Sasuke. He quickly looked back at his book, pretending to be too immersed in his reading to notice her.
"So, you get anything for those girls who gave you chocolate last month?" she inquired with a devilish smile. Sasuke scowled as he set his book down in his lap.
"Restraining orders, maybe," he retorted. Sakura stuck the straw in her mouth to take another sip of sweet milk. As she drank, Sasuke wrinkled his nose.
"Sourpuss," Sakura remarked as she hopped off his desk.
It didn't quite hit her that it was White Day until the end of the school day. As Sakura made her way to the student council office, she caught sight of Naruto handing over his present to Hinata. Hinata's face turned bright red as she stared down at the soft bear. Hugging it tightly to her chest, she lifted her head to say something that made Naruto blush too.
"I feel a little nauseated," Neji remarked as he stopped beside her. Sakura smiled as she lightly nudged him with her elbow.
"Oh come on, Kaichou. Don't tell me you didn't get anything for Tenten-senpai," Sakura teased, something she would have never seen herself doing just a few months ago. And to her surprise, Neji's cheeks turned a suspicious shade of pink. Clearing his throat loudly, he tried to look stern.
"We have work to do, Haruno-san," he stiffly said as he strode off down the hallway. But when Sakura moved to follow, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. When she turned, Ino was standing behind her, biting her lower lip. Sakura recognized the habit, something Ino only did when she was nervous.
"I feel like I should apologize… for those shitty things I said," Ino admitted, her forehead wrinkling as she spoke. It took an extra moment for Sakura to realize what the other girl meant. She had grown so used to being frustrated with Ino and learning to forget it. She realized that Ino was talking about the day after Valentine's Day when just a little too much of her secrets had been revealed. Although a small part of her was tempted to brush off the apology, Sakura had known Ino long enough to know how difficult it was for the girl to ever admit wrong in any situation. So, with a little nod, Sakura simply said, "That's okay."
"I realize sometimes…. I'm kind of mean to you… without meaning to be, anyway. So… I'll try to be a better friend," Ino continued. Sakura took in her words before she smiled.
"Okay, Ino-chan."
"….That's it? You're not mad anymore?" Ino demanded, looking utterly dumbfounded. At this, Sakura shrugged a little.
"Nope."
"Oh."
After a few moments of awkward silence, Sakura glanced over and found Neji waiting at the end of the hallway for her. Their gazes met and she saw the corners of his mouth turn down in disapproval.
"I've got to go, Ino-chan. I'll see you Monday," Sakura said, lightly touching the girl's shoulder. Ino nodded so Sakura turned on her heel and hurried off to join Neji. When she approached, she heard Neji scoff rather loudly.
"It took her a month to apologize," he remarked just quiet enough for Ino not to hear.
"You really don't like her," Sakura observed as he opened the door to the student council office. The two freshmen were already inside, working diligently.
"You have no idea," Neji replied.
After half an hour, Sakura said goodbye to everyone, gathered her things and made her way outside where Itachi's car was waiting as usual. But when she climbed into the passenger's seat, he greeted her with the usual kiss accompanied by a smile that made her suspicious. When he pulled into traffic, Sakura noted that he didn't take the usual exit that led to Konoha University.
"Itachi-san… where are we going?" she asked, partly annoyed that he hadn't brought up anything about White Day.
"We're skipping practice and going on a date. You love horror films, right?" Itachi replied, glancing over at her.
"I do," Sakura softly replied, amazed that he remembered something so little. She remembered mentioning her strange love of scary movies a few weeks ago. He had been surprised but hadn't said anything negative about the topic. Excited to be on their first real date, Sakura chattered happily the entire way there. When she brought up the fact that Ino had apologized, Itachi looked surprised.
"Isn't that your friend that was always pushing off all her work to you?" Itachi questioned.
"Well, ever since I told her that I'm busy, Ino-chan passed her job on to someone else. She said it was too much of a hassle," Sakura replied with a shrug. The corner of Itachi's mouth pulled down in a disapproving frown.
"And it's taken her until now to apologize? You're a much better person than I am for accepting her apology," Itachi remarked and Sakura laughed a little.
The movie Itachi had chosen wasn't full of blood and zombies. Instead, it was chock full of terrifying Japanese ghosts that appeared in mirrors and climbed out of dark places to grasp the ankles of unsuspecting actors and actresses. She clung to his hand throughout the entire film, occasionally hiding her face against his arm when the scenes grew too gruesome. Despite this, she enjoyed the movie immensely. After the two hours were up, they exited the theater with Sakura gushing happily about the ending.
"I never thought it was the pet bird that was evil!" she exclaimed and Itachi nodded.
"It was a very original plot," he agreed. As they walked out of the cinema, they were hit with a burst of cold wind. Itachi reached into his pocket to pull out the black and white checked scarf she had gotten him for Christmas. As he wound it around his neck, their eyes met and she couldn't stop herself from blushing a little.
"Are you hungry?" Itachi queried as he reached out for her hand. Trying her best not to giggle like an idiot, she nodded. Itachi's hands were always warm, reassuring. He had elegant fingers and surprisingly soft skin for a man. Although they had been dating for nearly three months now, it still made her ridiculously happy when they held hands, probably a silly reaction in the eyes of many. But then again, not many had a boyfriend like Uchiha Itachi.
"There's a good diner nearby. Is that alright with you?" he asked. Sakura was a bit too flustered to do much more than nod in response. So they sat at a booth together, across from each other with their coats taking up the space between them. As she skimmed through the menu, she felt Itachi's eyes on her face and she looked up at him, puzzled.
"I have a present for you… but I'm trying to figure out if you'll like it," he explained. Tilting her head to the side, Sakura raised her eyebrows. With a resigned sigh, Itachi reached into his pocket and slid a white box across the table towards her. With shaking hands, Sakura lifted the lid and peered into it. A squeak left her as she lifted necklace out of the soft cotton padding. She smoothed her fingers over the delicate silver chain. From it dangled a little aquamarine stone in the shape of a cat. Words left her as she tried to describe her feelings at that exact moment. Instead, tears welled up in her eyes as she stared down at the beautiful gift. Finally, half-laughing and half-crying, she looked up to see him smiling at her with just a hint of anxiety.
"Thank you," she whispered. Not caring about the other restaurant patrons looking at the strange crying girl, she reached across the table to grasp his hand.
"Happy White Day, Sakura," Itachi said and she let out a noise between a laugh and a hiccup. When they leaned across the table to kiss, she heard the couple sitting in the booth behind them coo.
"Why are we here, Ino?" Naruto groaned as he dragged his feet up the stairs. Ino stopped and whirled around to point an accusatory finger at him.
"You've been friends with Forehead for 10 years and you still don't know what March 28th is?" Ino snapped as she brought her palm down on his head. Naruto whined, rubbing his sore head. Ino sniffed and then turned back on her heel to stomp up the rest of the steps. Naruto glanced back and watched Sasuke slowly climb up, his hands tucked into his pockets. A small paper bag dangled from his right wrist. Something shiny and pink glittered from inside. Naruto mentally counted the days and felt the blood drain from his face.
"Was yesterday…Sakura-chan's birthday?" he blurted out, looking from Ino to Sasuke and back.
"That's right, stupid!" Ino retorted, not looking back at him. Naruto hurried after her, feeling the panic rise in his chest. She glanced around, peering at the numbers on the doors and then went to the right, sending the brightly colored gift bag in her left hand swinging.
"B-b-but Ino! I don't have a present for her!" Naruto stammered, breaking out into cold sweat. He peeked over his shoulder and eyed Sasuke's small bag. Even the cold-hearted bastard had gotten her something. Sakura would be sad if she knew he had forgotten.
"I know. That's why it says on my card that it's a gift from both of us. Now be quiet! She'll hear us coming!" Ino hissed, flapping her hand at him as she stopped in front of a door. She checked the crumpled piece of paper in her hand for the billionth time. As if reading her thoughts, Sasuke spoke.
"Funny. I remember Sakura's family having some money troubles when we were younger. This place is pretty nice," he muttered as he glanced over the railings and eyed the neatly trimmed topiaries surrounding the water fountain two floors below. He looked back to Ino, his brow furrowing, "Are you sure you have the right place, Ino?"
Ino scowled at him, putting her hands on her hips.
"Of course I am!" she retorted. She suddenly fell silent and the trio heard footsteps echoing from the other end of the hallway. For some reason, the three friends eyed each other and then scrambled to hide in the adjacent hallway. Ino held up a finger to her mouth and then cautiously peered around the corner. To her surprise, there were two people standing in front of the apartment that was supposed to be Sakura's. But they weren't just any people. They both looked to be a few years older than them.
The one with dark red hair that was perfectly styled in messy spikes rapped on the front door. He took off his sunglasses and stuck them in the pocket of his gray military jacket. There were so many piercings in his ears that Ino lost count from far away. The other had long blond hair pulled back into a loose half-ponytail. He was undoubtedly male though. He was wearing a gray t-shirt that fit snugly around his sculpted biceps and faded jeans that showed off his impossibly long legs. He stuck both his hands in his back pockets and shifted his weight to his heels, rocking back and forth. Ino found herself blushing as she realized that the two men standing in front of Sakura's door were extremely attractive. She tilted her head to the side. Somehow… they were both very familiar.
"What's going on?" Ino said to herself as she watched the red-head knock on the door twice. There was a long pause and the blond said something, followed by a loud laugh. His companion cracked a smile but didn't respond. When the door finally opened, music spilled out from inside. A delicious smell wafted out too, making Naruto's stomach gurgle.
"Happy belated birthday, My-chan, yeah!" the blond cheered as he threw himself inside. The redhead followed, holding up a box from the local bakery. From so far away, it was difficult to tell, but Ino was pretty sure that she heard Sakura giggling. When the front door shut, Ino, Sasuke and Naruto exploded from their makeshift hiding place.
"What are those shady people doing here?" Ino demanded, pointing dramatically. For once, she was met with complete silence from her two companions. Sasuke suddenly looked a lot paler than usual and Naruto suddenly turned pink. They both glanced back to the stairs, as if each was contemplating running away. Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances and after some deliberation, Sasuke and Naruto pushed Ino forward.
"You're the girl. Go," Naruto said, nudging her shoulder. Ino rolled her eyes as she confidently marched forward and rapped on the door three times. She waited, listening to the indistinct babble of voices inside. Someone howled with laughter while some sort of music played in the background. Then, Sakura's voice spoke very close to the door.
"That must be Kisame-san! Sasori-san, can you watch the food?" she called as her hurried footsteps approached.
"Kisame-san, you're late!" she laughed as she wiped her hands on the light yellow apron wrapped around her waist. She was wearing a large blue and gray-striped t-shirt over leggings. But her eyes widened as she saw Sasuke and Naruto very subtly hiding behind Ino. Naruto hesitated for an instant before he lunged and engulfed Sakura in a tight hug. Laughing, Sakura let Naruto sway her back and forth before she pried him off. Sasuke quietly coughed and Ino fidgeted as Naruto took a step back, flashing his signature grin.
"Uh… happy birthday, Forehead. We thought you might want… some company…" Ino explained, drifting off when the blond from before poked his head over Sakura's shoulder. A black skull glittered menacingly in his right earlobe. After a moment of staring at the unexpected guests, his lips pulled up into a cocky grin. Sasuke flinched a little.
"Ah, more high school kids. And Baby Sasu-chan?" he asked, eyeing the new arrivals with a hint of disdain as he rested his elbow on Sakura's head. He focused in on Sasuke, fixing him with a particularly evil grin. Sakura struggled to look up at him with the extra weight on top. Finally, she pouted and reached up to pinch his cheek.
"Owowow! Ok, I'll stop. You're so violent, Sakura-chan!" he relented, standing up straight again. But he grinned as he leaned against the door frame and settled for putting an arm around her shoulders. Sakura scowled up at him, scrunching up her nose. Ino felt his jaw drop and hang stupidly. The Sakura she had known for most of her life had never acted that way. She had always been just nice enough for guys to like her. But she never let the opposite sex touch her so casually. In fact, the only contact with boys she remembered Sakura having were all the times in elementary school when she had caught Naruto ogling girls and punching him in the face for it. When Ino looked around, he found even stone-cold Sasuke's eyes opened wide.
"Ah is Kisame here? Did you bring the soda?" a voice called from inside. Sasuke's face turned even whiter as he recognized the voice. A head appeared over Sakura's other shoulder, his face strikingly similar to Sasuke's.
"Nii-san?" Sasuke blurted out. Itachi blinked, his eyebrows rising.
"Sasuke?" Itachi replied, a little less surprised. But he then noticed the blond casually touching Sakura and his eyes narrowed. His cold gaze sent shivers down everyone's spines. Very reluctantly, the blond turned his head to meet Itachi's frigid eyes.
"Go sexually harass someone else," he ordered, matching the blonde's sullen pout with a stern glare. The two men stared at each other until the blonde's shoulders slumped.
"Jealous old fart," the blond muttered as he slunk away with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Itachi shook his head as Sakura turned back to her friends.
"Well… there's definitely enough food to go around. Would you like to join us?" Sakura asked, motioning towards the inside of the apartment. As she spoke, a huge man with dark blue hair barreled through, wielding bottles of soda like weapons.
"Happy birthday, Squirt! Where do these go?" he asked, forcing Naruto and Sasuke against a wall as he squeezed past. Sakura accepted his one-armed hug and then pointed over her shoulder.
"Kitchen's right there. Glad you could make it," Sakura replied with a bright smile. The blue man mussed her hair as he passed. Further into the apartment, another voice exclaimed "Sharkie!" Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other as they tried to adjust to this foreign environment. There were so many terrifying men and so many things that they didn't understand. The red-head poked his head into the hallway with a completely blank expression. Behind him, the blond and the blue man tumbled to the ground as they wrestled each other. His calm face amongst the chaos was borderline hysterical.
"Ah. It's Raging Pervert Baby Sasu-chan and friends," he noted without any indication that he was surprised. When Sakura looked expectantly at him, the red-head spoke again.
"Sakura-chan, the water's boiling," he stated. Sakura jumped. Her head whipped around to look at her three unexpected guests and then back to the stoic redhead. She grabbed Naruto and Ino's arms, dragging them further into the foyer.
"Make yourselves at home," she hurriedly said as she ran off to the kitchen.
This left just the three high school students and one of said student's older brother. And Ino, being… Ino… eyed Itachi's taut muscles and smiled. She leaned in closer to him, batting her eyelashes, pouting her lips and generally pulling out all of her seductive charms. Forget Sasuke-kun. His older brother was so much hotter. To her horror, Itachi didn't even glance at her as he directed the boys into the living room. Naruto rolled his eyes as he grabbed Ino by the arm and dragged her along with them. The redhead was settled comfortably in an armchair, a fashion magazine opened his lap. He looked up, crunching expressionlessly on a lollipop. The blond was sprawled across the beige sofa, his feet dangling lazily over the armrest. He noticed Itachi and scowled but didn't bother to sit up.
"Sasori-senpai, Deidara, these are Sakura's friends from school," Itachi simply said. At this, Deidara heaved a dramatic sigh. He rolled to his side, propping his chin up in his hand. Immediately a cruel grin spread across his face as he took in Sasuke who scowled back.
"Aw, it's Baby Sasu-chan. Is it okay for you to be away from mommy?" Deidara sneered. A deep guffaw echoed from somewhere else in the apartment. Sasuke pursed his lips as the tips of his ears turned pink. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he crossed the room and sunk into a seat far away from the blonde. Growing bored of his usual sport of tormenting the younger Uchiha, Deidara's eyes focused in on Ino, who immediately felt a rush of pleasure that such a handsome man was taking interest in her. But after a moment, his lip curled. He kicked at the armchair and Sasori looked over at him with a weary glare. Deidara jerked his chin towards Ino and Sasori grudgingly looked Ino up and down too.
"Good hair. Nice skin. Kind of top-heavy. And with those wide hips, it would be difficult to dress her in certain styles," Sasori finally announced. Ino felt the blood drain from her face. Naruto and Sasuke's jaws dropped. Nobody had ever complained about Ino's upper assets before.
Sasori tossed the stick of his lollipop into the garbage can and pulled another one from his pocket. His long fingers patiently untwisted the plastic wrapper as Deidara rubbed his smooth chin and seemed to consider his friend's words.
"Gaudy sense of style too, yeah," Deidara finally added, his cerulean eyes lingering on her tight purple shirt and denim miniskirt that rode low across her hipbones. With a final nod, he rolled over and tucked his head under his arm. Ino's face grew hot as she took in the sudden criticism. She balled her hands into fists, silently shaking with humiliation and the fury that came along with it. But just as she opened her mouth to say something back, with Naruto automatically shrinking away from her, Sakura's voice floated out from the kitchen.
"You're terrible. You complain that I'm too flat and now you complain that Ino-chan's not flat enough. What is good enough for you two?" Sakura laughed. Sasuke, who had been carefully monitoring his brother, didn't fail to notice when Itachi's eyes drifted in the direction of the kitchen, glittering with amusement. Deidara looked up with a completely serious expression as he replied, "You don't count, Sakura-chan. Like I said, Sakura-chan, yours fit you just right." Without warning, Kisame appeared behind the couch and smacked the blonde in the forehead, muttering something about 'Goldilocks and the Three Boobs again' under his breath.
"Thank you, Kisame-san," Sakura called and Kisame chuckled.
"Can someone get these dishes out of the cabinet?" she inquired and Deidara immediately perked up, only to have Kisame smother him by sitting on his legs.
"Itachi, go help the midget," Kisame ordered with a roguish wink. Itachi shot him an amused look as he pushed off from the wall and headed across the hall to the kitchen. And Sasuke, overcome by his curiosity, snuck over to spy on them. Ever since he had seen Sakura dancing in the copy room the month before, he had been trying to figure out what was going on with her. And now that his brother was thrown in the mix, he was certain that something was up. When he peered around the doorway, he found his brother leaning against the counter, his elbows resting on the marble tops.
"I feel like someone else should be cooking since it's your birthday party," Itachi remarked with a half-smile. Sakura dipped her spoon into the pot and took a careful sip of the food. She tasted carefully, eyebrows drawing together as she thought.
"Well, since Kisame-san can't make anything other than cereal and Deidara-san insists on putting oyster sauce in anything he cooks, I don't think I have much of a choice," Sakura replied with a little laugh. She reached around him to get the salt shaker. But he stopped her, putting his hand on her wrist.
"Are you sure? We could still go out for dinner. Sushi? Or maybe Italian food?" Itachi said in a voice that made goosebumps appear on Sasuke's arms.
"No, that's alright. Besides, where else would we get to be this loud without getting kicked out?" Sakura responded with a smile. And then Itachi placed his hand on the back of her head and dipped towards her to-
"OH MY GOD THEY'RE KISSING!" Naruto blurted out. Sasuke whirled around and found Naruto crouching beside him, peeking out past the doorway. Ino was on the other side of the doorway, staring at the couple in rapt fascination. And at the extremely audible sound of Naruto's voice, Sakura and Itachi turned to look at them.
While Sakura turned bright red and tried to hide her face in the front of Itachi's shirt, Itachi didn't seem at all bothered. In fact, he paused to meet his brother's eyes before he pressed a kiss to the top of Sakura's head.
"ITACHI-SAN!" Sakura whined, tugging at his sleeve.
"Wait, Sakura…. You're…" Ino tried to form complete sentences. Naruto lay on the floor beside her, his legs moving wildly in the air as he laughed hysterically. First he pointed at Sakura's mortified expression before he looked at Ino who had turned purple and Sasuke who had turned completely white. Finally, Naruto was laughing so hard that no noise came out of his mouth at all so he laid shaking and shaking until he couldn't breathe.
"…..You're dating my brother?" Sasuke finally asked, only lips moving. Attracted by the noise, Kisame and Deidara walked over, their arms slung over each other's shoulders. They stopped just in front of Naruto. Kisame nudged the boy's stomach with his toe, making sure it wasn't a corpse lying there. When Naruto twitched, Kisame seemed satisfied enough and turned his attention back to Sakura who looked ready to explode from embarrassment.
"You didn't tell them, Kitten?" Kisame asked with a broad grin stretching his mouth.
"Kitten?" Sasuke repeated, looking sick to his stomach. No one paid much attention to him as Sakura instead burrowed deeper against Itachi's shirt. Itachi chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, patting her head when she let out another aggravated whine.
"I told my friend Hinata-chan," Sakura told him, her voice muffled. But Ino seemed to hear clearly. She opened her mouth to demand to know why she hadn't been informed. The words stuck in her throat. Ino took a step back, looking at the strange people moving towards Sakura. Kisame and Deidara crouched on either side of her, trying to peek up at her face past Itachi. To Ino, this was an alien world. Even the girl she was looking at was completely different, not the girl who had relied on her for so long and always responded to her with a smile. And even if, in a foul mood, she had been a little mean to her, Sakura had never held it against her.
Until now, that is.
"Wait. Did Hinata-chan tell you?" Sakura suddenly demanded, head popping up to look over Itachi's shoulder. She fixed Naruto with such a fierce glare that her blush receded. At this, Naruto bolted upright, raising his hands above his head like a criminal.
"No!" he insisted. When Sakura continued to stare at him, Naruto let out a loud groan of frustration.
"I swear she didn't! But I sort of figured out that you had a boyfriend since you've been all sunshine and flowers lately," Naruto earnestly explained. Kisame snorted but quickly tried to stifle the noise when Sakura's frown turned to him.
"More like they've both been farting rainbows," Deidara snorted under his breath. Sakura didn't even need to look in his direction to know that Sasori smacked the blonde in the back of the head.
"You're dating my brother?" Sasuke repeated in the same incredulous tone as before.
"That's right, Baby Sasu-chan. Better start calling Sakura-chan sister-in-law from now on," Kisame said with a toothy grin. He threw his arm around Sasuke but Sasuke didn't seem to notice at all.
Surprisingly, it was Sasori that broke the tension by pointing out that the curry was boiling. With a groan, Sakura hurried over to reduce the heat and stir the food once with a wooden spatula. While Naruto and Ino wandered away from the kitchen, quickly bored by watching Sakura cook, Sasuke stood rooted in the doorway. It was only when Kisame and Deidara dragged him off that Sakura and Itachi were left alone again. Leaning heavily against the counter, Sakura put her hands over her face and sighed loudly.
"I think Sasuke took that rather well," Itachi remarked. Peering out at him between her fingers, Sakura fixed him with a look.
"I'm being serious. And you were planning to tell him at some point, right?" Itachi continued, looking over at her expectantly.
"…I was," Sakura conceded, not meeting his eyes. After a moment of fiddling with the hem of her shirt, she lifted her head. A smile lifted the corner of his mouth as he touched her cheek with the back of his hand, tracing her cheek with his knuckles.
"Are you alright then?" he asked in a low voice that made a delicious shiver run down her spine. She glanced over his shoulder into the living room across the hall. Kisame was hovering over Sasuke who seemed to have come out of his catatonic state. Deidara was chatting with Ino, his eyes lingering a little too long on her chest. Sasori was lying on his back on the sofa, staring raptly at one of his sketchbooks. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to what was happening in the kitchen.
"I'm fine," Sakura quietly replied.
"Good," Itachi murmured. He stretched his arms to place his hands on the counter, caging her between his arms.
"Itachi-san! What if someone comes in here?" Sakura hissed as her cheeks flushed. A low chuckle rumbled through his chest that made her breath catch in the back of her throat.
"Why? What are you thinking about doing, Sakura-san?" he inquired, shifting his weight so that his shadow fell across her. Her squeak of surprise melted into a sigh when he pressed his lips to hers. She timidly held on to the front of his shirt as she rose on her tiptoes to meet him. Their kisses had slowly grown less and less chaste. Sakura knew he was going slow for her, always thinking about not frightening her. Even now, she could feel the tension in his shoulders and chest, arms purposely locking so he wouldn't try to touch her. So she was the one to instigate. In a quick burst of courage, Sakura lightly bit his lower lip, teeth gently scraping.
A noise like a growl rose in the back of his throat. Sakura struggled not to make too much noise when he wrapped his arms around her to lift her up on the counter. She automatically draped her arms over his shoulders to keep balance.
"Itachi-san, what are you-" He interrupted her by capturing her mouth again. Her heart sped up, drumming furiously inside her chest as his hands smoothed over her back. A giggle escaped her when his fingers skimmed over her sides.
"Ticklish are we?" Itachi whispered against the side of her mouth. He pressed a light kiss to her left cheek.
"I am… and… the food…." Sakura tried to protest. But she forgot the rest of her words when Itachi looked straight at her. She stared into his dark eyes, a little dazed, until he pressed one last kiss to her mouth.
"Did I remember to say this before? Happy belated birthday," he said, slipping his arm around her waist to help her off the counter. When she lifted the lid of the pot to check the contents of the pot, Sakura felt something strange on the side of her face. Looking up, she found Sasuke gaping at her, his fingers hanging uselessly midair. Naruto was sitting next to him, shaking with silent roars of laughter.
Half an hour later, Deidara and Kisame peered into the kitchen, loudly complaining about how hungry they were.
"Aha!" Deidara exclaimed as he jumped in through the doorway, clearly expecting to find something scandalous. All he found, however, was Sakura lifting a spoon to Itachi's mouth. As he carefully tasted the curry, Sakura looked on with anxiety.
"How is it?"
"It's good. Did you put apples in this?" Itachi asked as he peered into the pot.
"Apples and pumpkin," she corrected as she nudged past him, balancing plates of rice and a ladle. She stirred the golden mélange of vegetables and chunks of chicken before scooping a generous portion on each mound of rice. Fragrant steam rose into the air and Kisame and Deidara sucked in greedy breaths through their nostrils.
"Would someone get the spoons please?" Sakura requested as she handed off two plates to Itachi. Eager to eat, Kisame grabbed a handful of spoons and ran off bellowing, "FOOD TIME!" There was a great clamor as everyone shuffled around pulling out cups and napkins. Sasori and Deidara cleared off the countless sketchbooks and scraps of fabric littering the coffee table just as Itachi and Sakura arrived wielding hot plates of rice covered in sweet curry.
"I added extra chicken in yours, Sasori-san," Sakura said as she placed a plate in front of the red-head. He nodded approvingly, tilting his head this way and that to observe the food, eyeing it like the ultimate masterpiece. Deidara plopped down on Sasori's left, rubbing his hands together eagerly. When Naruto, Sasuke and Ino hovered unsurely on the other side of the living room, Kisame threw his arms over Naruto and Sasuke and shoved them down across from Sasori and Deidara. Ino seated herself next to Naruto, eyeing Sasori and Deidara with suspicion.
"Better keep the pervert away from the girl," Kisame chortled as he wedged himself between Deidara and Ino. He cheered when Sakura handed him a heaping plate of food.
"You're the best, Kitten. And this stuff smells amazing!" he exclaimed, taking a deep breath. Laughing, Sakura settled to Sasori's right, tucking her legs underneath herself. Itachi handed the last few plates to the Sasuke and Naruto and then sat between Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke shoveled food into his mouth, keeping his suspicious gaze focused intently between his brother and Sakura.
"This is DELICIOUS!" Deidara yelled in between mouthfuls. Beside him, Kisame nodded furiously as he ate. But when their eyes met, a sudden spark of electricity passed between them. At the same time, they slammed down their empty bowls and yelled one word:
"MORE!"
"Oh hell. Not this crap again," Sasori said, wiping the corner of his mouth with his napkin.
"Oh wow… and I thought Naruto ate a lot," Ino remarked as she watched Kisame and Deidara frantically shovel food into their faces.
"MORE!"
"I feel like any time we eat together, Deidara-san and Kisame-san end up having eating contests," Sakura explained in response to Ino's baffled expression.
"It's a little repulsive," Sakura and Itachi added at the same time. They looked over at each other and laughed. When they looked up, Kisame and Deidara had magically stopped eating. Instead, they were eying the happy couple with identical looks of disgust.
"Aw man I think I'm going to puke, yeah," Deidara groaned.
"That's alright, Deidara. Don't be jealous. At least you have Kisame," Sasori flatly said as he set his spoon down and patted his stomach. Glaring, Deidara slowly twisted his body to look over at Sasori.
"You're sick, yeah," Deidara growled.
"Yeah. That's disgusting Sasori-senpai. I'm much too high-class for Deidara," Kisame agreed as he lifted his plate to his mouth to lick it clean.
"Wrong, Cuttlefish-chan! It's you who is not good enough for me!" Deidara argued. While the two were busy snarling at each other, Sakura began gathering everyone's empty plates and stacking them.
"Sasuke and Naruto-kun should do the dishes," Itachi suggested with a pointed look that made it impossible for Sasuke to argue. Naruto, however, seemed enthusiastic about the whole idea.
"Of course, Itachi nii-chan!" Naruto cheerfully said as he grabbed a precariously stack of plates and ran off to the kitchen. Clearly sulking, Sasuke slunk after Naruto, still shooting little frowns in his brother's direction.
"At least I'm not a gigolo like YOU!" Kisame roared, jabbing his finger into Deidara's chest. They were standing nose-to-nose, snarling at each other like angry dogs. As Sakura hugged her knees to her chest, she felt Itachi put his arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side. She looked up at him.
"Should we stop them, Itachi-san?" she inquired. He thought this offer through for a moment. But when Deidara tried to karate chop Kisame and ended up falling onto his butt instead, Itachi just shook his head.
"Leave them until it's time for cake," he advised.
It was a good plan. Though Kisame and Deidara became entangled in a ferocious wrestling match, when Sasori left to retrieve the cake from the refrigerator, the pair suddenly came to a truce. Laughing and punching each other in the arms, they scooted back up to the coffee table where they were greeted by Sakura's little sigh of exasperation. When Sasori opened up the pink box and slid out the birthday cake, a squeal left Sakura's mouth. It was a small round cake covered in fluffy white frosting and decorated with chocolate stars and big swirls of frosting. On impulse, when Sasori sat down, she threw her arms around him in a big hug.
"Thank you!" Sakura gushed as she went on and on praising the cake until Sasuke and Naruto rejoined them. Although Sasori's expression didn't change, he patted the back of her head in response.
They sang to her, watched her blow out all 17 candles. She began cutting the slices out of the cake and immediately Deidara and Kisame erupted into a fresh argument over whose piece was bigger and therefore who Sakura liked best. Rolling her eyes at their childishness, Sakura carved out a large chunk of frosting and popped it in her mouth.
"Yummy!" she exclaimed.
"Present time!" Kisame interrupted, pushing Deidara back by the face and then digging behind the sofa to present his large box. It seemed that he had practiced his wrapping technique since Christmas because this time the wrapping paper actually covered most of what was underneath. When she carefully peeled away the tape holding the whole thing together, a huge laugh exploded out of Sakura.
"This is amazing!" Sakura laughed as she opened up the box and held up the piece of clothing inside. At first glance it looked to be an ordinary hoodie. But when the hood was lifted, attached cat ears were visible.
"Thank you so much, Kisame-san," Sakura said, making the tall man blush.
"Ooh! Us next!" Deidara interrupted, pushing Naruto aside when the younger boy tried to speak. Deidara handed over a much smaller box wrapped in shiny silver paper.
"It's from the both of us," Deidara needlessly explained. Eyeing the pair with suspicion, Sakura slowly peeled back the paper and opened up the white box revealed. Resting on the simple blue cushion was a small metal cuff. Attached to one end was a thin silver chain that linked it to a small stud in the shape of a skull. Puzzled, she lifted it up to examine the peculiar piece of jewelry.
"The skull goes here," Sasori explained, across the table to lightly pinch her earlobe between his thumb and pointer finger.
"And the cuff goes here, yeah," Deidara added, touching the cartilage on her left ear.
"Sasori and I had a workshop on crafting jewelry so we made this for you, My-chan," he proudly announced. Eyes wide, Sakura reached up to touch her ear. Quickly catching on, Itachi reached over and placed his hand on her head to hug her protectively against his chest.
"Oh come on, grumpy. Sasori's got at least 4 holes in each ear and I've got 2," Deidara sighed, rolling his eyes.
"There will be no extra holes…" Itachi began rather sternly. But when he caught Kisame's smug look, Itachi abruptly stopped. Confused, Sakura tilted her head to look at Itachi. Their eyes met at the same time that Kisame's leer grew even wider.
"Gross! Kisame-san!" Sakura exclaimed, turning to hide her face against Itachi's shoulder. Her blush spread all the way from her cheeks down to the back of her neck.
"Oh come on, Eel-chan. That's just mean! Holes!" Deidara snickered, nudging Sasori in the side with his elbow. Sasori let out a loud huff of irritation as he smacked Deidara in the side of the head and shoved him hard, toppling the blond over on his side.
"Sakura-chan, it looks like Sasuke isn't the only raging pervert around here. I advise that you keep far away from this one as well," Sasori calmly instructed as he dug his heel into Deidara's side, extracting a howl of pain from his unfortunate best friend. Sakura nodded as she cautiously turned her head to peer out at them.
"Um.. innuendos about… holes aside…. I always thought it would be cool to get one of these…" Sakura admitted a little reluctantly. At this, Deidara immediately sprang back up. He threw his arms triumphantly over his head. Lunging across the table and jostling everyone with his flailing arms, Deidara crushed her in a tight hug.
"I'm glad you like it, My-chan!" Deidara practically sang. Sasori ground his fist into Deidara's temple to pry him off before he also reached out (much more calmly) and hugged her too.
"Thank you," she simply said, giggling when Deidara began miming strangling Sasori from behind. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Sasori twisted around to glare at Deidara.
"Hold on, you two. We need to see what our dear captain got for his missus," Kisame reminded them just as Sasori began rolling up a magazine to assault Deidara with. At this, everyone looked back to Itachi and Sakura who were still entangled in a rather intimate embrace. Her blush flaring up again, Sakura slowly pulled away from Itachi, trying not to giggle nervously. Itachi smiled wryly as he settled for putting his arm around her shoulders, still keeping her close to his side. He placed a box on the table in front of her. The wrapping paper was black and decorated with cherry blossoms that matched with the wide pink ribbon that held it together.
"This looks expensive," she mused, shooting a suspicious gaze at her boyfriend. He shrugged innocently as he nudged the box closer towards her. Finally she pulled off the ribbon and tore into the wrapping paper. An unexpected laugh exploded after her as she uncovered a simple black photo album. In the square meant as a cover picture, he had fit in a picture from summer break when everyone had buried Kisame in the sand and sculpted a fat old man's body out of the sand for him. As she flipped the pages, Deidara and Sasori crowded in closer, peering over her shoulders and Deidara resting his chin on top of her head to get a better look. There were pages and pages of photos, some from the summer and some from dance practice.
And in almost all of them, she was smiling or laughing. She was learning to do a nike, balancing on her hands to lift her feet in the air. She was eating French fries and battling Deidara with one hand as he tried to steal her food. She was splashing in the ocean, riding on top of Kisame's broad shoulders. She was doing the tango with Sasori. She was curled up on the bench in the dance studio, taking a nap.
The last picture was from one of their days at the beach. Sakura was lying on her stomach on a blue towel. Her legs were still glistening with water and bits of sand stuck to her wet toes. In the background, Kisame had Deidara lifted high over his head, clearly threatening to throw him back into the water. And while Sakura seemed busy reading the book held in her hands, Itachi, who was lying on the towel beside her, was staring at her. He was stretched out on his back, wet hair tangling in his face in a disheveled but somehow attractive way. And Itachi's dark eyes were fixated on her, the corners of his mouth turning up a little. When she had finished looking through the album, Sakura looked up and found that Itachi was making the same face now.
"How long did it take you to put this together, Itachi-san?" Sakura inquired.
"You like it then?" Itachi said, evading her question. Smiling shyly, she nodded.
"Thank you," she quietly said as she craned her neck to kiss his cheek. At this, Deidara and Kisame pretended to sob loudly as they stood throwing their arms about each other.
"OH I LOVE IT ITACHI-SAN! IT'S SO ROMANTIC!" Deidara wailed in a high-pitched voice.
"I'M SO HAPPY THEN, SAKURA-SAN! MARRY ME! WE'LL HAVE 20 BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS THAT ARE ALL NAMED KISA-CHAN AND DEI-CHAN!" Kisame shouted back in an extremely deep voice. When they began pretending to make out, Sakura scowled. When she glanced over at Sasori, the red-head made a jabbing motion with his fist. So, following his example, Sakura knocked her arm into the back of Kisame's knees. His legs buckled, sending his face crashing directly into Deidara's.
"UGH! WHAT THE HELL, AQUAMAN! DON'T GO REALLY KISSING ME! I'M INTO WOMEN!" Deidara spluttered, pushing Kisame off.
"SHUT UP! THAT WAS GROSS FOR ME TOO!" Kisame spluttered as he wiped his mouth furiously on the back of his hand.
"For the record, nobody would ever name daughters after you two," Itachi informed them as he patted the top of Sakura's head. She nodded.
"Actually, nobody would name human children after you both," Sakura added. Sasori leaned across the table to give her a high-five.
As Deidara and Kisame continued frantically wiping at their lips, ("Soiled lips," Kisame grumbled.) Sasuke gruffly pushed his bag towards Sakura.
"Oh… you got me something?" Sakura said as her eyes widened. Sasuke didn't reply as he looked away from her. When she reached into the bag, she pulled out a thick book bound with real leather.
"I remember you said you liked that author… so…" Sasuke trailed off as a faint blush rose to his cheeks.
"Yeah. I did say that. Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she softly said, smiling at him. Muttering to himself, Sasuke shrugged and pretended that his face wasn't pink with embarrassment.
"US NEXT!" Naruto quickly declared as he plopped Ino's bag down in Sakura's hand.
"Hehe! I mean, it was mostly my idea but Ino just wrapped it and stuff,"" Naruto bluffed. When Sakura pulled out a set of peppermint-scented lotions and body washes, she rolled her eyes.
"I'm so sure this was your idea, Naruto. Thank you, Ino. And thank you, Naruto," Sakura said, fixing Naruto with a pointed look. He laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Ino smiled tightly. Sakura's reaction was nowhere near as exuberant as it had been for the other gifts.
"Oh what about Hinata-chan? Why isn't she here?" Naruto suddenly asked, remembering how excited his girlfriend had been to give her first close friend a birthday present.
"Hinata-chan had to go away this weekend so she gave me my gift yesterday. See?" Sakura explained, pointing to the potted orchid sitting on the windowsill. Ino's eyes lit up. As the daughter of a rather successful florist, the sight of the smooth white petals filled her with nostalgia.
"You've always had a thing for white flowers, Sakura," Ino commented without thinking.
"Yeah. I have, haven't I?" Sakura agreed.
"OH CRAP WE NEED TO GO, YEAH!" Deidara suddenly exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. When Sasori didn't move, Deidara pointed wildly at the clock that proclaimed that it was now 8:30 PM. Sasori's normally sleepy eyes grew wide as he hurried about collecting his sketchbooks and packing his things. Deidara did the same, shoving all his drawings into his messenger bag.
"We need to finalize the designs for next week. Happy birthday, My-chan. See you for the final fitting tomorrow," Deidara blurted out all at once before he kissed the top of her head and ran out.
"Happy birthday," Sasori simply said as he patted her cheek and followed Deidara. The sound of the front door slamming shut echoed through the apartment. While Sakura, Kisame and Itachi exchanged knowing laughs, Ino, Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other with visible confusion.
"On that note, I better get going too," Kisame grunted as he got to his feet.
"What? Why?" Sakura asked. Seeing her stricken face, Kisame chortled.
"I've got work in the morning, Kitten. Why? Sad to see your favorite person leave?" he teased as he put on his jacket. Sakura scowled at him until he leaned over to tweak her nose.
"Happy birthday, Sakura-chan," he said. Kisame patted Itachi's shoulder before he exited too.
"Uh…. We should get going too, right guys?" Naruto suddenly said, laughing nervously. He patted Sasuke's shoulder a few times, trying to draw his friend's attention. When Itachi arched an eyebrow at him, Sasuke let out a groan.
"Yeah. Let's leave before I puke," Sasuke muttered, standing up. When Sakura moved to see them out, Sasuke stopped her by holding up his hand. Naruto and Ino stood too, Naruto staggering as he patted his stomach that was filled up with curry and cake, an odd but satisfying combination. He let out a drawn-out belch that Ino awarded by smacking his arm.
"Later, Sakura. I'll see you on Monday," Sasuke said, turning to meet her wide-eyed gaze. His eyes lingered unhappily on his brother's hand for a moment.
"And tell me if my brother does anything weird to you….I'll… I'll beat him up or something," he added, not meeting her eyes. At this, Sakura laughed a little.
"Will do. Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Sakura replied. Nodding awkwardly, Sasuke shoved his arms into his jacket and practically raced out the door. Puzzled by their friend's sudden shyness, Ino and Naruto stared after Sasuke. And ignoring Sasuke's previous protests, Sakura stood to let Naruto squeeze her in one of his big bear hugs.
"Sorry for forgetting your birthday this year. I'll make it up to you next time, okay?" Naruto promised as he released her. Then, with a manly salute towards Itachi, the blond threw his coat over his shoulder and moved off to catch up with Sasuke, essentially abandoning Ino.
"Um… this was fun…" Ino lamely said.
"Yeah. It was. Thanks for remembering, Ino-chan," Sakura said, spreading her arms for a hug. With a look of immense relief, Ino accepted, pulling Sakura into a surprisingly tight hug.
"You're a good person, Sakura. A better person than I am," Ino said. As they drew apart, Sakura offered a wry smile.
"Probably not. You better catch up with those two. You shouldn't walk home alone in the dark," Sakura said. Ino nodded, giving her a tentative smile. Sakura walked her to the door and watched as Ino climbed down the stairs to the sidewalk below. Naruto and Sasuke apparently weren't as thoughtless as they seemed because they were waiting for her under a streetlight. When they caught sight of Sakura standing in the doorway, Naruto waved his arms happily at her.
"BYE, SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke immediately cuffed Naruto in the back of the head.
"Quiet, moron," Sasuke hissed. When Ino joined them, all three of them took a moment to wave at her; even Sasuke raised a hand before they all turned and began the walk home. Sakura stood watching, her arms folded over her chest until their silhouettes melted into the darkened city. She started a little when Itachi sneaked up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist.
"Is something bothering you?" Itachi queried. She almost laughed at how easily he read her.
"I just realized that we've all changed. It makes me a little sad and a little happy all at once," Sakura replied in a soft voice. Itachi didn't say anything, simply pressing a soft kiss to her left temple before he slipped back into the apartment. She stood listening to the clatter of Itachi picking up plates for a minute before she shut the front door and went to help him.
The next Friday, the seniors graduated from Konoha High School. As the girls swirled around the popular seniors, each pleading and wheedling to get the buttons off their jackets, Sakura quietly slipped away from the crowded courtyard and back into the school building. She had grown used to walking in empty hallways, always working before and after everyone else. But when she approached the student council office, she found the door ajar.
"Still working? Shouldn't you be out there saying goodbye to all your friends, Kaichou?" Sakura commented as she stepped into the room. Neji was sitting on top of his desk, dressed in his impeccable uniform. Each one of his gold buttons was in its place, not a wrinkle in his suit. His diploma was rolled up in his hand as he looked up at her. The corner of his mouth quirked in what she recognized as his smile.
"You know, technically you're Kaichou now that I've graduated, Haruno-san," Neji replied. Sakura laughed as she took a few steps into the room.
"It still sounds a little weird to me. Maybe I'll make Shino-kun Kaichou and I'll keep my position," Sakura joked. Neji cringed.
"And watch this school's government collapse like a bad soufflé? I won't be able to sleep at night," he snorted in response. He rapped his knuckles against the top of the desk as he took a sweeping look around the room.
"Was I good at my job?" he suddenly asked. Sakura made a big show of putting her hands on her hips and mulling over the idea.
"Well, your general aura of warmth and kindness really had a way of putting people at ease," Sakura joked. For a moment, Neji frowned at her in the way that he had used to. But then his expression lightened a little.
"You did your job perfectly. It was the people part that got you, I think," Sakura admitted.
"That sounds about right," Neji agreed as he nodded a little. With a final sigh, he slipped off the edge of the desk. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his name tag and handed it to her*. Sakura hesitated for a moment, her hands hovering awkwardly in front of her.
"Um… I'm sorry but-" she began but Neji interrupted her with an exasperated eye roll.
"No, Haruno-san. I'm giving it to you as a friend, to the only person I'm entrusting with this crummy school," Neji said. She couldn't refuse after an explanation like that. So, with a little bow of her head, Sakura accepted the plastic tag and ran her fingers along his name engraved in kanji.
"Friend?" she repeated as she arched an eyebrow at him.
"Don't make me repeat it. You know sentimentality is painful for me," he half-joked. So, with a firm handshake, Sakura watched as Neji walked out of the room, his polished shoes echoing against the tiled floor. After casting a quick glance around, she stared at the desk that had previously been occupied. Turning the nametag over in her fingers, she sat on top of the desk and twisted around to watch the students, former and current, milling around in the courtyard.
"Haruno Kaichou, huh? Still sounds funny," she muttered to herself. As she sat soaking in the new title, her cell phone buzzed from inside the pocket of her jacket. With absent fingers, she pulled the phone out to look at the screen. An unfamiliar number appeared with an area code that belonged inside Konoha. A little puzzled, but feeling social, she accepted the call.
"Hello?" she said, lifting the phone to her ear.
"Sakura-chan."
The blood running through her veins seemed to freeze up. An overwhelming feeling of suffocation grabbed at the inside of her throat, like her lungs were filling with water instead of air. As her fingers went slack, letting her phone slip away, only one word managed to choke its way through her mouth:
"Daddy."
ARC 1 END
*Giving of the name tag- Okay so this won't make sense unless explained. At high school or middle school graduation, normally a graduating senior would give the second button of his jacket to the girl he likes. And if other girls that like him ask for buttons, he usually gives away all the other ones. But nowadays giving stuff like cuff links off the uniform and name tags serves a similar purpose. So Sakura thought that Neji was confessing to her when he was really just being tsundere and plain old Neji.
On another note, huzzah for the end of 11th grade for Sakura. And huzzah for cliffhangers?
Anyway, reviews please. Lots and lots of reviews of what you liked, what you think's going to happen- all that good stuff.