Disclaimer: Naruto not mine.
A/N: Will Naruto and Tenten find Sasuke in time? Will Neji and his thugs finally locate Sakura? Will Kakashi ruin the entire festival? What will happen to Sakura when she starts to have second thoughts? Will Sasuke be able to find a girl at the end of the festival and show it to his brother?
Finally, the biggest question is, will he go back to his dorky self after spending the entire day wearing his normal clothes?
The conclusion to the "School Affairs" arc. Or is it? For those who guessed the correct answer, I award you imaginary Sasuke plushies in his dorky attire!
Well, read on!
Chapter 15: Missies, Kisses and Cooties
"Uchiha-kun, my dear boy, you forgot to kiss the bride."
Silence hung in the air.
Sasuke's onyx eyes widened twice its normal size. Sweat beaded his forehead and his palms itched. All of a sudden, the angry flaring of his temper dissipated. "D-Did you just say…KISS?" he croaked, his voice weak and shaky.
"Yes, Uchiha-kun. Don't tell me you didn't know that? After a couple has been officially declared man and wife, they must share a kiss to seal their love for each other. It's tradition, you know."
"I-I know that! It's just that I…" the raven teen gulped. How am I going to explain this to them? Its plain obvious that they won't understand! His complexion paled two times its original color. His breathing quickened. Seeing Kakashi's perverted face even made his condition turn worse. The lecher was anticipating 'that' from the beginning!
Sakura, on the other hand, went still as a statue. She quivered underneath her wedding veil. No way! There was no way that Sasuke-san would kiss her. It was against…it was against everything! And worse, Neji might kill her if she would even allow the stoic Uchiha to steal a kiss, even a peck from her!
Turning to her teacher, she spoke in a quiet tone, "Sensei, I think that's no longer necessary. We already caused Sasuke-san lots of trouble." She glanced at Sasuke who was already as pale as a ghost. "It's alright, Sasuke-san. You can now leave. Don't worry; you don't have to do that…k-kiss…"
Kakashi pouted. "That's not fair! You should follow the rules of holy matrimony! I'm not going to end this wedding unless you get a kiss from your bratty husband!"
The girl sweat dropped after touching the Uchiha's shoulder. "But he's now as cold as ice! You're scaring him!" Sakura protested. From the looks of things, it appeared that Sasuke got tongue-tied due from the shock.
"Harrumph! The rules are simple. Kiss the bride or no leaving," the older man stated calmly. "After all, this is expected from a wedding."
Sasuke finally snapped out from his trance. "Expected? Bah! You just want to make a fool out of me! The wedding's already over! Finished! Ka-put! So there's no way I'm going to do your stupid biddings from here on!"
Kakashi hid a laugh behind his hand. "Really? Then why are you still here, Uchiha-kun? Even if you leave, I'm going to consider you a classified G-A-Y because you ultimately refused to kiss a girl. Particularly," he pulled Sakura in between them. "Your wife right here."
"I told you she's not my…"
"Girlfriend. Pshaw, that's already dead news to me. You said, "I do" in front of Sakura and me so officially, you're married to her. At this point," Kakashi scratched his head. "Haruno-chan may not be your girlfriend but she's still your wife. At least play the role of a love struck husband and kiss her like the good little boy you are."
"I…" Sasuke trailed off. This guy was totally persistent! He stole a glance at Sakura who was hiding her reddened face under her veil. 'How will I tell them? How?' He asked himself angrily. Bearing in mind that they were waiting for his answer, he sighed. It was now or never. He had to tell them.
He took a deep breath then tried again. "I…It's not like I…oh hell!" Sasuke threw his hands up in exasperation. "I don't want to kiss her dammit! Isn't that reason enough?" He immediately turned to Sakura. "I'm sorry but it's the truth. I don't want it and I already know you don't either."
The pink-haired girl nodded her head weakly since she was too dazed by his rejection. After all, she didn't want to force the Uchiha into doing something he didn't want to do. Sakura wrung her hands tightly, biting back an onslaught of tears. Suddenly she felt hurt because of the Uchiha's rebuff.
Now, she understood why he would never like her since the beginning. To him, she was only a nuisance, someone he only needed as a scapegoat to get away from his fan girls. She already anticipated this so why did she feel…disappointed?
Summoning up her remaining courage, she lifted her wedding veil from her face. Sakura gave a small smile at her teacher and grasped his arm. Kakashi looked at her inquiringly. "Sasuke-san is right, Kakashi-sensei. I already told you before that he's really in a hurry to leave. And unfortunately, someone important to me is also waiting for my return," she explained.
Luckily, Kakashi accepted her answer. He simply gave her a pat on the head. "If that's what you want, Haruno-chan. However, since you're not going to kiss each other, will you do me one last favor?" He turned to Sasuke next, giving him a keen eye. "Especially you, Uchiha-kun?"
Since it was a last request, Sasuke immediately agreed. Kakashi gave a huge grin then placed one hand on Sakura's shoulder, the other on Sasuke's. "I want the three of us to watch the fireworks display. Together."
Both teens blinked upon hearing the request. "Just that?" Sasuke asked.
"Yep. Just that."
Sakura smiled in relief. "Alright, Kakashi-sensei." Afterwards, I have some explaining to do…
6:50 PM
10 minutes left until the Fireworks Display…
"Itachi-san!"
Itachi whirled around to see Tenten and Naruto heading towards him. The two teens finally stopped in front of him with heaving breaths. He raised a brow. "Oh, it's you two. How've you been doing?" he asked, by way of greeting.
Tenten was the first to recover. "We're fine. By the way, Itachi-san, what are you and Kisame-san doing here? Don't tell me that you're here to enjoy the festival!"
"Or maybe you're here for the fireworks display!" Naruto exclaimed then added, "Is that the reason why you brought Kisame-san here with you?" He lifted up his little finger in emphasis. "As your date?"
Kisame turned pink while Itachi glared at the blond kid. "Absolutely not! I'm only here because of Sasuke. That darn kid still hasn't returned after I asked him to do something for me."
Naruto grinned childishly. "If you say so, Itachi-san."
"So did you find him?" Kisame asked hopefully. He hated having Itachi hurtling his anger towards him. "We've almost scoured the entire school searching for his ass."
Tenten gave the older guy a sharp glance. "Don't even think about getting Sasuke's ass, Kisame-san!"
"That was just a comment!"
"Even so!"
"Hai, hai. That's enough," Itachi intervened, shaking his head wryly. He clapped his hands to bring their attention to him. "Since we all have the same goal, why don't we join forces?"
Naruto clasped his hands together in some sort of prayer. "Good idea! We will be able to locate Sasuke-chan at this rate! So where do we start?"
"Hmm…" Itachi began to think. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hyuuga Neji prancing around the area like a mad animal. The longhaired teen just darted through another corner after talking to someone wearing a red football jersey. 'Now that's new; Sakura-san's not with him. Unless…' an idea crossed his mind. '…Sasuke's with her.'
He snapped his fingers. "Kisame!"
His shark-like cohort rushed to his side. "What is it, Itachi-san?"
"I want you and the others to look over that side." Itachi pointed at the farther side of the school grounds where other stalls were located. "If possible, go and ask for Sasuke's whereabouts. Knowing my brother's fame, I'm sure there're a lot of girls out there who might've caught a glimpse of him."
Kisame nodded eagerly. Tenten did also while Naruto raised his hand. "I have a question! What about you, Itachi-san? What are you going to do?"
Itachi shrugged. "Bathroom break." He quickly made eye contact with Kisame, telling him to take the two and go. His friend nodded again in response.
Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Oh."
"Enough of that, you brat! We have to look for Itachi's little brother!" Kisame interrupted, grabbing Tenten and Naruto by their waists. The shark guy strolled away from the scene, dragging the squirming teens along.
Finally alone, the raven-haired Uchiha gave a sigh. He then scratched his head. "Stupid Sasuke. He left a measly clue to point out his whereabouts. And worse, he must've taken Sakura-san with him. No wonder the Hyuuga kid is uptight and searching for them."
He gave another sigh and walked towards the direction where Neji disappeared.
6:52 PM
8 minutes left until the Fireworks Display…
"Ahhhh…this is the life," Kakashi exclaimed as he stared at the two youngsters sitting next to him. They were drinking tea while waiting for the fireworks to commence. Sakura gave a little smile while she gazed at the night sky. Sasuke shrugged.
The lazy-eyed teacher put his cup aside. "What's with the sad faces? Shouldn't you be happy that you two are about to watch the fireworks together?"
Sakura stopped sipping her tea, setting the cup down on her lap. "Um…we're…actually, I'm delighted that I'm going to watch the fireworks with you sensei. But I'm…"
"…Not pleased because Neji is not with you," Sasuke interrupted curtly. When she turned to glare at him, he added while sipping his own tea, "You don't have to deny it. I can see in those eyes of yours that you wanted this over and done with. Not because Neji's waiting for you to return, but he might do something bad to you because you disappeared right in front of his eyes."
Sakura threw her head back in a huff. "That's none of your business, Sasuke-san. Don't meddle into my relationship with Neji-kun!"
The raven teen held up a hand. "Geez, I'm sorry. It's not that I'm putting my foot in your business but it's the truth. I've known Neji for quite a long time even before you met him." His onyx eyes then watched the sky while contemplating in deep thought. Afterwards, he shifted his gaze to the people setting up the fireworks to be used tonight.
She was about to protest but after seeing the Uchiha's intense concentration, she clamped her mouth shut. Instead, she focused her attention on her half-filled cup. "Before, he told me that you were his childhood friend. Now, I'm wondering…if you were really that close," she commented carefully.
He took another sip of his tea. "Hn, if you put it in Hyuuga's terms, yeah probably. Well, the guy's a tough one. Even at a young age, he's gung ho at heart. If you block his path, then you're surely in for a beating."
"Are you telling me that he's violent?" Sakura asked, bewildered. "I thought that it was just like him to be that…that…way."
Sasuke sighed as he looked at her surprised expression. "You don't really know him at all, do you?" When she failed to answer, he sighed again. "Well, never mind. You don't have to know."
"I want to know." Her expression was defiant.
He finished his tea and tossed the cup into the garbage can. "Well, I don't want you to know."
"You're an unlikable person, do you know that?"
"Tell that to my 15 billion fans out there."
Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "You're incorrigible. No wonder you and Neji-kun have to go on each other's throats all the time."
"Hn."
Kakashi called their attention. "Ssshhhh! Keep quiet! The fireworks are about to start!"
The two teens turned their backs on each other and focused their attention instead on the incoming fireworks display. Sakura counted the remaining minutes. 'Eight more to go', she whispered to herself as she fidgeted on her seat.
6:54 PM
4 minutes left until the Fireworks Display…
Neji cursed loudly as he quickened his pace. Sure, it was the most unlikely place in the world but he was mighty positive that she would eventually be there. He gritted his teeth as he dodged several couples along the way. Damn, they were all set in watching the fireworks while he was still searching for his missing partner.
Talk about having enough bad luck for just one day.
"Where the hell is she?" he growled, stopping momentarily from his walk. He scanned his entire surroundings for a while. Plowing his hands through his hair, he cursed again. After running in circles, he was aware enough that he had searched the entire school. But there was still no sign of Sakura everywhere.
How the hell did that happen?
The last thing he knew was that he got hit with four brown paper bags of what seemed to be filled with octopus balls on his head. Afterwards, a blur of black clouded his vision and before he knew it, he smacked his lips on the smooth steel of the lamppost.
And then, Sakura disappeared.
"I swear, once I see her again…" he gritted his teeth. He kicked the trashcan next to him. "Once I see her again, I'll definitely make her pay." Neji then turned on his heel and stomped out of the school. It wouldn't be pleasurable to watch the fireworks anymore because he had no one to share it with.
…………
Itachi rolled the crick on his neck as he strolled. It was already night time and his damn brother was still nowhere to be found. Earlier, he lost track of Neji who kept on going through different pathways, which even he eventually hit, the dead end.
"After this antique stall, there is another one that sells cosmetics." The older Uchiha raised a hand up and looked at his well-manicured nails. One dark brow shot up when he noticed a barely visible white line on the polished nail of his pointer finger. Itachi sighed as he realized that he chipped his nail polish.
He tapped a finger under his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…since I ran out of purple nail polish, maybe I'll stop by that stall and buy some," he said. He was about to round up to another corner when familiar voices reached past his ears. A thin smile curled his lips. "Well…well…well…" he whispered slyly to the wind as he followed the direction of the voices.
It was a good thing that he went alone.
…………
6:57 PM
Sasuke fidgeted in his seat. Three minutes left…and he was home free. He stole a glance at Kakashi and sweat dropped when he saw that the older man reading an erotic novel.
"Perverted freak," he mumbled to himself. 'If it weren't for that silver-haired jerk, I wouldn't be wasting my time here,' he added as an afterthought.
Next to him, Sakura was getting restless. She glanced at her watch and sighed in relief. "Three minutes…" she noted. She began tapping her fingers on her lap in an effort to pass the time. "After this, I'm going to make a call and apologize to Neji-kun…"
On the other hand, Kakashi mentally counted the remaining minutes while reading his book. 'Three minutes left,' he smirked to himself. Eyeing the two youngsters at the corner of his eye, his smirk widened.
It is a very good thing that these two brats are entirely clueless of what they're going to get themselves into……………
"Hey, are you sure this is the right way?"
"I'm positive! So move, brat!"
Tenten sighed as she watched Naruto and Kisame engage in a verbal sparring. Her brown bun had already gone in the knots because of her unremitting urge to pull her hair out of frustration. She shoved her blond friend away from Kisame's reach. "That's enough, Naruto. You shouldn't pick a fight with Kisame-san at this time. We still have to search for Sasuke."
Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Kisame. "But this shark guy is wasting our time because he's leading us to the wrong direction! We'll never be able to see Sasuke-chan and worse, he probably got mauled by girls!"
"You're overreacting again foxface. Sasuke's too strong for that," Tenten interjected. She bonked him on the head. "I'm sure Kisame-san will lead us to the correct path, right Kisame-san?"
"Hm?" Kisame turned to her at the sound of his name. His nostrils were flaring and steam was shooting out. Naruto squeaked and hid behind her back as the older man resumed his sniffing for any trace of their raven-haired friend's scent.
Naruto sweatdropped. "I just hope we'll be able to find him soon. Because if we don't, we'll find ourselves inside Kisame-san's nose instead."
6:59 PM
"That's it. I'm getting out of here."
Sakura didn't say a word as Sasuke stood up from his seat and about to leave. She twiddled her fingers nervously as she gave an inward sigh. Finally, that feeling of uneasiness would soon be over.
But her sensei wouldn't stop in pulling the Uchiha's leg. Literally.
"Leaving so soon? Ah, I see you're getting bored." Kakashi waved a finger dramatically at Sasuke as if shooing him away. "You can go now. Shoo. Shoo."
Now he was being treated like a fly. Resisting an urge to plant his fist on the other guy's cheek, Sasuke turned his back from them and started to walk away. He was inches away from the two when he heard Sakura gasp aloud and a loud BOOM was heard.
"Ah!"
He snapped his head back to look at her only to find that she was staring at the dark sky. And obviously, she was enthralled at the picturesque display of fireworks above them. Also awed at the colorful sparks, Sasuke unconsciously walked back to Sakura's side in hopes of getting a better view.
As the fireworks progressed, he heard Sakura sigh. The pink-haired teen clasped her fingers together as if in a prayer. "I wish Neji-kun were here…" she whispered quietly. Taking note that the Uchiha was standing stiffly next to her, she smiled sheepishly. "But, I'm also glad that you're here watching the fireworks with me, Sasuke-san."
He looked away. "Whatever."
Taking that as a good response coming from him, she just gave a small giggle. The fireworks finally stopped and the announcer boomed that there would be another one shortly. The two teens began to fidget due to uneasiness. Sakura broke the silence with another giggle.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked, unnerved.
"Oh, nothing." She turned her gaze away as if she knew something that he didn't. He spun her around by the shoulder to face him. Sasuke's eyes pierced through her green orbs as if he was reading her out. "What are you laughing about, little girl?" he drawled.
A full-fledged blush stained her cheeks. Was he flirting with her? She only stuck her tongue out to annoy him further. "I'm not going to tell you!" she retorted childishly.
He gave a sound of annoyance. "If you don't want to tell me then fine!" He crossed his arms then mimicked her gesture earlier. Sakura giggled. Seeing Sasuke sticking his tongue out at her was funny.
Another announcement was then made. The fireworks would resume after the ten-second countdown. At the background, the couples rejoiced as they sidled with each other knowing this was the moment they'd all been waiting for.
Sakura sighed as she stared at the sky wistfully. On the other hand, Sasuke fumed as he saw the clinging couples. Maybe this was what Haruno and that bastard Hyuuga had been waiting for.
BUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
They were so busy sorting their thoughts when unknowingly, a big honeybee suddenly landed on top of an unsuspecting head. Sasuke just glared at the sky while waiting for the fireworks to commence. Sakura averted her gaze from the sky when she noted a yellow and black striped insect about to unleash its stinger on Sasuke's scalp.
Sakura tapped him cautiously by the shoulder. Keeping in mind that if the bee were provoked due to unsuspecting movement, Sasuke would be history.
"S-Sasuke…san…" she whispered.
He shrugged her hand away while he keeping his eyes peeled on the sky. "Not now Haruno, I'm waiting for the fireworks to begin."
The tapping continued. "B-But Sasuke-san! There's a B…b….be…."
"I said not now. I'm trying to watch here. Go find someone else to bother like that perverted sensei of yours."
The bee lay unmoved and Sakura was about to rip her hair out when it began to make angry buzzing sounds. It was starting to make its attack. She tried to make it go away by flapping her hands on Sasuke's head only to smack him hard on the face. The Uchiha yelled angrily as he tried to protect himself from the assault.
He glared at her. "What the hell! Haruno…I…"
The people began to count. 10! …9! …8! …7! …6!
"There's a bee on top of your head!" She yelled back as she stood on tiptoes to continue fending the bug off. Sasuke tried to stop her and ended up holding her wrists in front of him. He glared down at her pink head. "Haruno! If you're not going stop this foolishness of yours, I'll…"
…5! …4! …3!
"But you don't understand! There's a bee! ON TOP OF YOUR HEAD!" Sakura cried out and jerked her head up to look at him. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she muttered a small "Oooommphh!"
…2! …1!
The next batch of fireworks began to set in and the couples grabbed each other for a kiss. The entire surroundings were hot and steamy as the people engaged themselves in a tight lip lock as red and white fireworks adorned the skies forming into huge heart patterns.
In the midst of it all, two people were not exactly that comfortable with the situation. Onyx eyes went wide as saucers and reflecting back into its emerald counterparts as he tried to form a coherent thought in his mind. But his brain wouldn't function because of the new experience and the said occurrence was well…shocking.
Good thing he wasn't hypoglycemic or else he might had ended up lying down on the floor in the pool of his own blood. Or to have a lot of fainting spells that would eventually led to vertigo.
And before he knew it he began to have an itch.
Because he kissed Haruno Sakura and he damned knew well that it was forbidden territory.
"Hyuuga would surely kill me now."
9:00 PM
Uchiha Household
While putting the finishing touches to the Oolong tea he was making, Itachi smiled to himself. "Now that was a fun festival," he said loudly, knowing that it would be heard outside the kitchen.
He was awarded with a loud groan and he snickered. After pouring the tea into two glasses, he stepped outside the kitchen and observed the blanketed figure huddled on the floor. "You know that that's not going to work either, Sasuke."
Sasuke flinched but didn't make a move to remove the blanket. Itachi tugged on the hem of the blanket. "Quit it ototou, you're not a child."
"I don't want to!"
The older Uchiha tugged harder and managed to pull the blanket off. His ototou cried in terror as though he were in pain. Itachi bonked him on the head with a bottle of calamine lotion.
"Stupid punk. Why would you even cover yourself up with a blanket? You enjoyed the festival. I can see it in your eyes," he commented.
Sasuke huffed as he opened the bottle, squeezed a bit of pink goo and slapped it on his arms. He rubbed his skin with the lotion until the liquid turned into a sticky paste. He then turned to face his brother with a sour-faced look.
"I so not enjoyed it!" He lifted his reddened arms for Itachi to see. "Look at me! I'm getting all itchy because you made me do your stupid errand!" Sasuke began to twitch and scratched his arms.
Itachi stifled a laugh. "Really? Ah, that's a very bad sign. What do you call that symptom wherein you experience itchiness and welts that cover your entire body? It's…"
Sasuke answered loudly. "COOTIES!"
"…An allergic reaction. Really Sasuke. You're 19 years old and yet you chose to retain your childhood fantasies. Cooties are only figments of your puny brain," his brother explained dryly.
"But! You will only get cooties when you're in contact with girls! And I've been mobbed by several fangirls during that festival!"
"Ha-ha-ha. Listen to yourself. So you're telling me that even if you hang out with Tenten you also get cooties? Please enlighten me on that one."
"Well I…" Now he was speechless. He never gave a thought about that little tidbit.
His older brother gave a low laugh as he handed Sasuke his tea and patted him on the head. "Just so you know, you could only get cooties whenever you get a kiss from a girl. Don't tell me you have forgotten that one piece of information too, ototou?"
The image of his brother's pale face and large eyes burned into his memory as Itachi sauntered his way back to his room. Once inside, he heard a door slam and loud cursing could be heard. He sat back on his chair, faced the computer and flicked the Power button.
The screen lit open and Itachi made a few clicks with his mouse. After a while, he leaned back into his seat and admired his handiwork. "Yep, he'll eventually gonna kill me on this one. But this picture's too cute for me to get rid of."
Satisfied, he eyed the screensaver of his little brother kissing particularly, a veiled pink-haired girl. "And they already looked like a couple in this picture," he mused. Finally, he turned off the power then climbed in bed with a smirk planted firmly on his lips.
Even though Sasuke failed to do what he supposedly had to do, he was still satisfied at the snapshot he accidentally took of him. 'The fireworks sure served as a pretty background for those kids…' Itachi mused as he finally drifted off to sleep.
Yep, tomorrow is going to be another fine day.
Author's Note: Finally! We posted a chapter! So how was it? Was it good? (Wipes an imaginary tear) It's been a long time and I want to apologize to you guys for the delay because my beta reader and I are now in separate classes and we have a tough time adjusting our free periods.
But at least I'm safe from her evil clutches for now! (Haha) Anyways, I will post the names for my "Thank You" corner in the next chapter so please be patient. Don't forget to give me that much wanted review! Don't be afraid to tell me what you guys think, ok? See ya on the next chapter!
Question of the day:
"What do you think will happen next?"