A/N : Hullo! I'm here! Did you miss me? I feel so bad for not updating during more than three months! I can't believe Christmas is in a week! I still have loads of work to do for school, and I'll be away from home (and from my computer -snif- ) for about the whole Christmas holiday period, but every time I get free, I'll write some more.
So! Here is the new chapter for France, hope you like it. I'm writing it at 1:00 in the morning, but the ideas were written down during this hell of a week, so it shouldn't look too much like the work of a brain-dead tenth-grader.
Enjoy!
----------------------
"Has it ever happened to you to wonder so much about something or someone that when you actually see it, it disappoints you, or on the contrary, you feel like it's more than what you expected? Have you ever anticipated someone you've never seen but somehow famous as being someone all tall and mighty and when you meet that person, he's even more tall and mighty than you thought?"
"Try to guess what happened to me today. Yup, you got it. I met the Ambassador, and believe me, that was nothing like I expected. Far from it. But it wasn't the only thing that happened to me on this particularly sucky day. It all started when-…"
----------------------
"Sakura-san…"
Sakura looked up when she heard her name being called. Shizune was looking at her worriedly, her face scrunched up in a little frown. Sakura sent her a questioning look, wondering what was bothering her so much. Did she unconsciously drop some juice over her shirt, or splatter some jelly on her face?
"Sakura-san, is there something wrong?" Shizune asked.
"No, why?" Sakura replied.
"Well, you seem preoccupied. You haven't listened to a word I was saying, you've been staring at Sasuke for about ten minutes, you're constantly rubbing your side and you're not eating anything."
"Oh, sorry," Sakura said. "I'm just a little tired. I woke up early."
"I know that. Maybe you should go back to sleep. You haven't even laughed when we got out of Sasuke-san's room. You just stared at us like we were complete idiots," Shizune added.
Sakura stared at her for a moment before rising to her feet and walking out of the room.
"Where are you going?" Shizune asked.
"I'm going back to my room," Sakura answered, leaving the room.
"Wait! Sakura, you-…"Shizune exclaimed, cut off by the sound of the door closing. "… don't know how to get to your room."
Shizune stared a the door for a few minutes, almost hoping to see Sakura's head popping in to ask her the way. When she didn't, Shizune leaned back in her chair and sighed.
"Oh well. Hopefully someone will find her before she ends up getting lost."
----------------------
"Damn."
Sakura looked around her, trying to figure out where she was exactly. She had never had a good sense of direction, so finding her way in the Embassy was a nightmare and getting lost in it was something she never wanted to experience again.
She turned around a corner hopefully, only to find a hallway with a closed door at the end. She walked up to it, hoping it would lead her somewhere she was familiar with. She twisted the knob. Yes! Unlocked. She opened it and entered. Or rather exited.
She was in the hall, or atrium or whatever it was called. She was in the place where there were so many staircases leading to places she wasn't even sure she'd be able to see at all in the few months she was sure to be in the Embassy. She turned her head around, trying to locate some sign that would tell her it was the way to her room.
Nothing.
"I hate getting lost."
----------------------
It was about 11:30 when Sasuke spotted her, pacing in the hall, looking more like a stranded wild animal in a shopping mall than a second assistant trying to find her way. She looked extremely pitiful, her face scrunched in a painfully worried expression. Sasuke gave a small sigh and approached her calmly.
She hadn't noticed his presence yet and kept on trying to decipher which staircase would get her somewhere more familiar. He raised a hand and put it on her shoulder. She gave a small yelp and spun around, throwing her hand in his face in surprise. He received the unwanted slap on his right cheek, his eyes wide.
He didn't pay attention to Sakura's gasp and hurried apologies. He was too focused on the stinging in his cheek and the anger he was currently trying to repress. He gave another sigh, closed his eyes and turned his head back in front of himself, facing Sakura. When he opened his eyes, he saw she was looking at him with a worried expression.
"What?" He asked harshly. She jumped again at his sudden talking ability recovery.
"Well, your cheek, it's… Red. Very red. And I think it's swelling up," she answered nonetheless.
He put a hand on his cheek, trying to feel the damages she had done to his face. It was indeed swollen and it still stung. He let his hand drop and glared at her. She seemed to be shrinking under his gaze.
"What are you doing here anyway?" He asked, still sharp.
"Oh! Right, erm… I'm, er, lost, you see, and I was, erm… Trying to find my way back to my, er, room. Could-… Could you help me? P-please?" She added nervously.
"Hn."
He walked past her, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and started to climb up one of the staircases. Not knowing any better than to follow him, Sakura ran up after him. They climbed two flights of stairs before Sasuke turned to his right. Sakura stared at the first she walked in front of for a minute before recognizing it as her bedroom door.
She turned her head towards Sasuke, who was standing two doors down from hers, opening the one that led to his abode. She addressed him a small smile that went unnoticed.
"Thank you," she said hesitantly. He turned his head to her, stared for a moment, judging her with his eyes, then turned back to his door.
"Do not thank me, Pinkie, I didn't do anything for you. My room is almost right next to yours. My brother could have had done the same thing," he answered, not looking at her.
"Well, at least your brother would have had the decency to tell me he did it to help me. He probably would have, too. Believe me, it would have been much nicer to have your brother help me," she spat, irritated at his… Well, at his irritating manners.
She sent him a glare, yanked her door opened, then closed, and ran to her bed, letting herself plop down on the ever-so-comfortable mattress. Sasuke was such a jerk, although she couldn't find a better insult for she was mainly concentrated on the pain of her scarthat had been bothering her ever since she had slapped Sasuke in the hall. It had quickly disappeared between breakfast and that specific moment, during the time she was occupied trying to find her way to her room.
Why was her scar bothering her anyway? Usually, it tingled when she was under great stress. Unless she was stressed about her meeting with the Ambassador without knowing, she couldn't find a reason why her scar was reacting. She opened her laptop and put some music on. Viva Rock, Orange Range. Good enough. Not really fitting her mood, but still good. She lay down on her stomach, leaned her head on her folded arms and closed her eyes. This was one thing she liked to do, unlike most of the other girls she knew.
To think.
She started by thinking about the Ambassador. Would he be nice? Would he be strict? Would he like her? Would he fire her? No. Bad idea. Change subject. Shizune. Well, there wasn't much to think about her. She was nice, she was pretty and she obviously had a soft spot for Itachi. Itachi. What a laugh. While they were talking a few hours ago, he had made her laugh more than she had probably laughed in her entire life, and that told something, since she was a very happy person.
If someone wasn't happy, it was Sasuke. Her scar tingled again, but she paid no heed to it. She had never seen someone be so antipathetic to everyone. There wasn't even one person he wasn't an ass to in the entire Embassy. Well, unless he was nice to the cook. He never let any emotion show, except when he was surprised or when he frowned. Otherwise, he always kept his handsome face straight.
Sakura wondered if he had ever been a model. If he hadn't, he sure could be. From what she had seen of it, his body just the type of body a model should have, although his skin was maybe a little too pale. His body. When she had seen it, she had felt some kind of strange… urge to touch it, to… hug it. An urge to hug him. And her side had hurt at that moment too.
Why had it hurt?
Why did it hurt now?
Knock, knock, knock.
Sakura jumped, startled by the noise of somebody knocking (no, duh) on her door. She got up, walked to her door and opened it. Benoît was standing there, his little glasses low on his slightly red nose, his small, blue eyes looking at her over them. His moustache moved, meaning he was going to speak.
"Mademoiselle Haruno, please follow me, I weel lead you to zhee Ambassador," he said with his funny French accent.
She nodded, went back to her bed where she turned off her computer that was currently playing Tsubomi by Maria. She walked back to her door, closed it behind herself and followed Benoît down the stairs.
"Eef you would please try to remember zhe way to zhee Ambassador's office, for you weel 'ave to go back to eet often and wee wouldn't want you to get lost again, would wee, Mademoiselle?" Benoît told her calmly.
"How do you know about that?" Sakura asked him, startled.
"Ma chérie, I am zhee butler. I know everyssing," he answered still as calmly as ever, but turned around and winked at her. Sakura smiled a little, not entirely sure if he was being funny or conspiring.
He led her through stairs and hallways and stairs and hallways again and again until he came to a stop in front of a massive wooden door. He knocked three time, opened the door and pushed his head trough the doorway.
"Mademoiselle Haruno est ici. Dois-je la faire entrer?" he asked the Ambassador in French with stunning speed.
"Oui, faites-la entrer. Merci Benoît," a voice answered with the same ease as Benoît.
Benoît turned to Sakura, stepped aside so she could enter the room, bowed to her and closed the door behind her, leaving her to meet the Ambassador.
----------------------
If there was something Sakura had expected about the Ambassador, it was obviously not that he was a she. Indeed, the Ambassador was a woman. A very beautiful woman at that. She had long blond hair, from what Sakura could see, and stunning brown eyes. The woman addressed a friendly grin and signalled her to come closer.
"Come here, Miss Haruno. Sit down, I want to discuss a few things with you," she said softly with her rather low voice.
Sakura approached the desk behind which the woman was sitting and sat on one of the chairs in front of it. She sent a nervous smile to the Ambassador. Now she was stressed out. Her side hurt, her head spun and her heart beat at an incredible pace. The woman looked at her for a moment, as if she were judging her, then she stood up and walked around her desk to sit on it in front of Sakura. Now was she tall and intimidating.
"So. You are my new second assistant. Well, hello. I'm Tsunade, I'm the Ambassador." She offered a hand to Sakura who shook it and looked back on her desk at some papers. "It says here your name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura, right? What a pretty name. It fits you." She sent Sakura another friendly grin and stood up again.
"So, Miss Sakura, up until now, has your stay been enjoyable?" She asked. Sakura merely nodded, avoiding looking at Tsunade straight in the eyes.
"Ah, Miss Sakura, I'm not stupid, you know. I'm not Ambassador for nothing. I can feel there is something bothering you. Come on, tell me," she calmly hurried Sakura.
Sakura hesitated a little. What if that woman called her a whiny brat if she said how Sasuke had been acting with her? What if she laughed in her face? She looked up to Tsunade's face. She was grinning again and the mere sight of it warmed Sakura's heart, although she was still a little bit nervous.
"Well, the-…" she started.
"Yes?"
"The-the boy called Uchiha Sasuke, he-… Please don't call me a spoiled little princess, but he's been a real jerk to me ever since I got here. He was the one who went to get me at the airport and he was frowning the whole way. He didn't even say welcome to me, he never helps me when I'm having a problem, like this morning I was lost in the Embassy and-…"
"Ahem."
"Oh, sorry, I'm rambling now, am I?" The Ambassador nodded. "Well, anyway, this morning, I helped his brother pull a prank on him, but it seemed like he had forgiven me but now he's just being an ass. I've never seen him being nice to anyone in here, he's not even the slightest polite with his brother!"
"Yes, we've been having a problem with Sasuke-san ever since he got here. Nobody knows exactly what's bothering him, but we do know there is something. Nevertheless, you shouldn't let yourself be bothered by it, as you said, he's like that with everyone. Don't pay attention to it."
"Erm, okay. If you say so."
"Now, there are some things you must know. First, as you saw last night, there is a curfew for everyone on your floor. If you are to travel with me, however, it is your choice to go to sleep anytime you want, although it is also your responsibility to be ready to escort me wherever we have to go at any time." Sakura nodded.
"Also, I have been told you have a laptop with you. You are allowed to use it anytime you want before curfew, but whenever you are called somewhere, you have to stop whatever you're doing at the moment you're called. Also, I will ask you to listen to music on you laptop at a tolerable sound level for it would bother your neighbours if it was too loud."
"We have bells just about anywhere in the Embassy so you can call a butler or a maid to help you. For now, you've only seen Benoît, but we also have Simon, Bertrand and Jean-François. As for the maids, we have Jaqueline, Marie-Hélène, Brigitte, Mérédith, Colette, Cécile, Armande and Yvonne."
"Lastly, you might not want to right now, but whenever you want to call home, we have phones in some places of the Embassy, you can call a butler or a maid to lead you to one. I think that's it. Do you have any questions?" Sakura shook her head.
"Very well. It was nice meeting you, Sakura. You may go, now."
Sakura nodded and exited the office. She wandered aimlessly along the corridors for a moment. The Ambassador was a woman. A woman. And damn could she talk fast. She had just stood there, between Sakura and her desk, saying all that she had to say then sent the girl out. Nothing more, nothing less. She almost scared Sakura, being such an intimidating, mighty-looking person, when she displayed her "friendly" grin.
Shudder.
She wondered how she behaved with Sasuke. She had said he had had his smiling disability since he got at the Embassy. Why was he so mean to everyone? Was he a jerk to Tsunade too? How exactly did he behave with her? Sakura wondered if the Ambassador punished Sasuke when he was too much of an asshole. Asshole! That's a good insult!
Uchiha Sasuke the asshole.
Snort.
Suddenly aware that she was unaware of where she was, Sakura looked around herself nervously, almost worried, scared she was lost again. She saw she was in the hall of staircases. She couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad thing. She looked around some more, trying to remember which staircase she had taken earlier with Sasuke. Her eyes fell on the glass door just a few staircases away, which she had noticed the first time she had been in the hall. If there was one way to go not to get lost, it was probably behind that door, since, being closer now, she could see it was the way to the gardens.
She almost ran to the door, opened it violently, ran outside, almost tripped down stairs (again. They're practically haunting her) and stopped short at the sight of the "gardens". Because they were not exactly gardens. They were more like… a maze about three times the size of the Plains of Abraham of Québec City in Canada.
Nonetheless, it was beautiful. Vibrantly coloured flowers grew everywhere among the two-meters-tall hedges, cut clean and with precision, perfectly square and three paths had been arranged in between, large enough for two people to walk side to side with ease. From where she was, nearly at the top of the stairs that separated outside from the door, she could see an enormous fountain in the center of the maze directly in front of her. On her right, there was, rather far from her, a tennis court, a golf court and a football field.
On her left, there was a small path that led to a humongous shack that, she assumed, was the garage. Feeling rather uninterested by the garage, she took the path to the football field.
----------------------
Sasuke threw a blue ball with force then watched the animal run to fetch it. This was his favourite time of the day. Free time. The only time where he didn't have anyone to bother him with Ambassador stuff. Even his brother refrained from teasing him, as if he knew Sasuke needed his free time more than anything else. Itachi was somewhere further on the football field, sitting on a bench, reading.
None of them noticed the pink mop moving their way through the maze.
----------------------
When Sakura saw it at first, she thought of how cute the dog was, despite its height. It was a big blond long-haired dog, a Golden Retriever if she wasn't mistaken, that was running after something. She knew what the something was when she received it in the face.
Thud.
She fell on her bottom, startled. The blue ball had just hit her (way-too-wide) forehead. She only had the time to pick it up and stand on her feet before the blond dog jumped on her, wagging its tail, its tongue out, panting. Sakura stared at it for a millisecond, still holding the ball, then everything went black.
"Oyabin…"
Bark.
----------------------
The puppy seemed so happy to see her. It ran to her, wagging its tail, its tongue out, panting. It licked her hands, sniffed her shoes, played with the hem of her white dress. She went down on her knees to be at the same level as its cute little furry head with his nose poking at hers, its tongue licking her cheeks.
She laughed.
A little boy ran to her, laughing too, calling his puppy.
"Oyabin! Come here, Oyabin! Come on, look at the ball! You see it, huh, you see it? Fetch!" he told the little dog.
The puppy ran after the blue ball, caught it, lay down and started chewing on it. The little boy walked up to him, slightly annoyed.
"Oyabin! You're supposed to bring it back! Come on, give the ball! Give, Oyabin!"
She laughed again at the boy's antics.
He finally got the ball back from the dog. He patted its head, showed it the ball and threw it again. The ball flew threw the, followed by the little blond dog. Sakura stared at the ball as it landed right in front of her. She picked it up, looked at it, then heard the little boy yell something to her.
"Sakura-chan, throw the ball! Don't keep it! Throw the ball! Run, Sakura, run! Oyabin's gonna run into you! MOVE, SAKURA-CHAN!"
He sounded so worried, so scared.
Sakura raised her head, looking at the boy before she was hit in the stomach. She fell on the ground. She couldn't see anything. Something was hitting her, hurting her, but she couldn't see.
"Oyabin, NOOOO!"
Scratch
"OOOOWW! OW, IT HURTS! MUMMY! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" She screamed in pain. Something had just stabbed her left side. She could feel the blood oozing out of the gash. Her hands were full of it.
"SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!"
Thud
The little boy had fallen on his knees right next to her. He was trying to stop the blood. She looked up at him, but she couldn't see his face. Her voice was gone. She tried to reach out for him but she had no strength left. She could barely move her fingers. She felt him take her hands. He held them tight, then leaned over her stomach and laid his head on her.
She heard the little dog whimper somewhere around her head, then heard the little boy sob on her belly. Reached up to her shoulders, snuggled his head in the crooked of her neck and cried.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't think he'd do that. I'm so, so sorry," He said.
She wanted to say something. She wanted to speak to him. She wanted to tell him it was okay, it wasn't his fault and she forgave him. But she couldn't. She was too weak, too tired. She managed to turn her head to join his and she made her fingers grip on his shirt.
Then everything went black.
----------------------
"Sasuke, get her inside! I'll go get someone." Itachi said hurriedly before running inside the Embassy.
Sasuke ran up to the girl, told his dog to sit, kneeled next to her and picked her up. He walked inside calmly, as if he weren't carrying an unconscious girl in his arms and brought her to her room. He laid her down on her bed and went to sit in one of the armchairs next to her desk.
Man, could this girl wreck his fun.
----------------------
Sakura opened her eyes with a start. Where was she? Had she fainted? Did the dog hit her? Bite her? Was she dead? She looked around nervously, trying to figure her surroundings out. She sat on her bed and a wet cloth fell in her lap. She picked it up and stared at it, trying to comprehend what it was doing there.
"You fainted, I brought you up to your room, which is here, and Jean-François put this cloth on your head. Welcome back to the living world, Pinkie."
Startled, Sakura looked on her left. Uchiha Sasuke stood next to her bed, his hands in his pockets, looking at her with an annoyed look doubled with a frown. Sakura felt once more a tingle in her scar. She winced and put a hand on her side.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.
"Nothing, it's… nothing," she lied.
"Uh huh… Well, J-F told me to watch over you until you woke up, so now that you did, I'll leave you. G'night, Pinkie!" He backed out to the door and left.
Sakura left her bed, approached her window, pushed one of the curtains aside and looked outside. It was already dark. She let go of the curtain, took a step back and sighed. Well, might as well got to sleep. She walked back to her bed, changed into her pyjamas, took her laptop and sat on her bed. She turned it on, opened her online journal page and let her hands linger above the keyboard.
It was only then she noticed she was shaking.
----------------------
"So, that's the end of my sucky day! It was weird, actually, that I couldn't remember that boy's name even when I was dreaming. His face, I'm used to not seeing it, but it was the first time I ever tried to say his name in a flashback. Anyway, that's pretty much it. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Oyasuminasai. Haruno Sakura signing out."
----------------------
A/N: Oh. My. God. One week. Took me one week! Christmas was yesterday! I can't believe it! Anyway, hope you enjoyed, if you did, leave a review!
-Personal-life-flash-
I got a PS2, a DDR game and I'm leaving to see one of my best friends ever in one hour! I'm so happy! Although, I won't be able to do much since I'll be gone for three days. But I'll get right down to it the very day I come back!
See you soon!
Queen of Pascalities.