Here's the second half of the Christmas special!
I'd like to dedicate this to Spaghetti O's, which I have been eating in all their cold, non-cooked deliciousness as I wrote out both parts. They have been a rather helpful inspiration food, and I encourage other writers who find themselves at writer's block to go eat a can of uncooked Spaghetti O's right now! Or some double stuffed Oreo's…those are great inspiration food too…
Sakura groaned loudly and held her pillow over her head at the sound feet pounding down the hallway towards her room. A moment later, Naruto slammed open the door and, with a loud yell, pounced onto Sakura's bed, landing squarely on the girl's back. With the breath knocked out of her in one loud oof, Sakura threw her pillow behind her, hoping against all hope that it would cleanly smack into Naruto's head. Naruto, however, was undaunted by the pillow to his face and proceeded to jump up and down on the poor girl's bed, shaking her shoulders as he did so.
"Wake up Sakura-chan!" He crowed noisily at her. "It's Christmas morning and I wanna open the presents!" Sakura was about to growl out in annoyance when her foggy brain processed what Naruto was saying. Her head rose of its own accord and the small girl found that was she not tired anymore. Naruto stopped bouncing on her shoulders to look at her, grin spreading across his face slowly. Together the two tumbled off the bed as Sakura squirmed out from under the three thick blankets and comforter cocooned around her and scrambled up of the cold wood floor.
The two now fully-awakened teenagers dashed down the stairs and into the master bedroom, Naruto pouncing onto the two still forms like he had done to Sakura.
"C'mon, wake up!" He shouted as he squirmed in between the two figures who both gave startled yelps as Naruto landed. "I got Sakura-chan up like you said to so now we can open presents!" Sakura had stopped in the doorway, laughing to herself as she watched Naruto's antics. It was amazing how one day of the year could send a fully grown, fifteen year old boy into a childish frenzy at the thought of opening the presents sitting under the tree. Sakura herself was excited; Tsunade and Jiraiya had even gotten several presents for her, even though she wasn't technically a part of their family. She in turn had gotten them all gifts too, all of which sat neatly wrapped under the tree in the living room.
As Naruto leapt off of his parents' bed, Sakura turned to go towards the living room. She could hear the grumbles and sighs of Tsunade and Jiraiya as they got up and slowly followed the hyperactive blonde boy. Sakura and Naruto had already settled onto different pieces of furniture as Tsunade and Jiraiya trudged into the rooms, both with robes wrapped tightly around them. Sakura herself had wrapped a blanket around herself, cursing the wood flooring that made the house so cold. Jiraiya plopped down into a recliner with a sigh and Tsunade sat down on the couch next to Sakura.
Naruto bolted from his seat on a different chair and dove for the pile of presents by the tree. He grabbed the first one he saw and turned it over quickly, inspecting it for a nametag. He paused to give Sakura a quick look and rolling her eyes she got up and joined him on the carpet. Together the two quickly sorted the presents into piles, Naruto carelessly throwing his across the room and onto the chair he had previously occupied. Tsunade and Jiraiya were more awake now and the blonde woman lightly wacked Naruto's arm.
"Don't throw things, they could be breakable." Naruto nodded vigorously and went back to his thorough inspection of a big present that had his name on it. While he was engrossed in this task, Sakura wriggled under the tree and pulled out the last present, handing it to Tsunade once she emerged. She crawled back to where her presents were piled and frowned at the untidy heap. She heard the sounds of Naruto ripping paper excitedly from around his present and the shouts of exclamation as he unveiled the first few.
Putting her hands on her hips, Sakura eyed her presents, ignoring the curious looks she was receiving from both adults. The teenager quickly started rearranging the presents, putting the biggest one on the bottom. When she was finished, she sat back with a satisfied smile, looking over the neat pile she had created. She jerked as she felt someone jab her back and looked to see Naruto staring with narrowed eyes at her.
"You know that you're just going to end up making a mess unwrapping them all, right?" He asked, deadpanning slightly. Sakura shrugged.
"So?" Naruto shrugged and crawled back across the rug to what remained of his stack. Sakura took the topmost present off of the pile delicately and turned it over in her hands. She could feel Tsunade and Jiraiya watching every now and then as they looked up from their own wrapped gifts. With a slightly twisted grin, Sakura began excitedly tearing the paper apart, adding more noise to the din Naruto was making. While Sakura was quickly unwrapping her presents, she would still stop and pick at bits of tape that refused to come off until she finally managed to remove it. Her methodical yet vicious unwrapping made her the last person to finish opening her gifts. Naruto had at some point tried to help her unwrapping, but she shooed him away with her hand and went back to work.
She finally finished and placed the last gift in the new pile beside her. She grinned brightly as she and Naruto began comparing gifts and going through each other's stockings. When she had finally gotten all her gifts in one pile, Sakura couldn't help but grin and start inspecting each one thoroughly.
"What's the matter?" Jiraiya asked, a teasing smile on his face. Sakura looked up from the video game she was in currently looking at, white bangs falling in her eyes. "You act like you can't believe you got presents." Tsunade cast an exasperated look at him, earning a shrug in reply.
"I've never gotten any." Sakura said blankly, continuing her blank stare at the older man. Her remark earned looks of surprise from almost everyone in the room.
"Never?" Tsunade asked, slightly disbelieving. Sakura tilted her head back and shook it, her shaggy hair flopping.
"Nope. This is the first Christmas I've ever actually had." She went back to inspecting the videogame in her hands but paused and looked up thoughtfully.
"Well, no that's not true," She placed her finger on her chin. "I've gotten presents from people at school." She cast a grin at Naruto before placing the videogame on the floor. She tried to engross herself in the mundane task of inspection so she wouldn't have to see the surprised looks being exchanged between the adults. Naruto sat next to her and helped her go through the pile, effectively ending the subject and not allowing his parents to continue it with questions.
Later, after Sakura and Naruto had helped clean up the sea of paper scraps in the living room, the two were lounging upstairs in the game room, Sakura currently owning her best friend in the MW3 game they were playing.
"Dammit!" Naruto cursed loudly as his avatar died for the eighth time in a row. "How come you're so good at this game!" He dropped his controller, crossing his arms as he pouted. Sakura laughed loudly as she went to restart the game.
"Because while you and Kiba waste your skills on Guitar Hero and Smash Brothers, I play this game with Gaara and Sai all the time." Naruto took his controller and tried to direct his character in the direction mine was hiding in.
"So that's why they're always in the girls' dormitory…" He said as he pressed a button on his controller. He frowned as he watched his avatar throw something and made it go after it. He swore loudly again as his avatar promptly blew up. Sakura fell off the couch from laughing so hard. Naruto scowled at the tv screen and tossed his controller in Sakura's direction.
"Ah, shut up…" He muttered crossly, only to have Sakura burst out into more giggles when the controller missed. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and turned his attention elsewhere.
Something white caught the blonde's eye as he looked by the window. Tilting his head slightly in curiosity, Naruto pushed himself up onto his feet. Sakura stopped giggling hysterically as he passed her and she sat up on her arms, looking at him questioningly.
"What is it?" She asked trying to see out the window. She got up and quickly caught up to Naruto as he looked outside the window, pushing the slightly opened curtains aside. Naruto let out a crow of delight and bolted from the room, screaming at the top of his lungs so the whole house hold could hear.
"IT'S SNOWING!"
Sakura grinned broadly, rushing back to the couch to pick up her phone. She hit the unlock button, hell-bent on spreading the news to her friends. She froze as the screen lit up, showing her a message. She hadn't looked at her phone at all last night, not after sending a reply to Yoko's message. She had in all truth forgotten about the conversation during the party. Now it came back to her, slamming into her thoughts with almost enough force to knock her down, and with it came a wave of anxiety. She bit her nails as she stared intently at the message displayed on her screen.
From: Yoko
You better.
Sakura sighed in defeat, unlocking her phone and typing in the password. She knew that those two words meant that her roommate would make damn sure that Naruto knew of Uchiha Sasuke's return. She really had to do it then, even if it meant crushing Naruto's happy spirit. But as said hyperactive blonde came bursting into the room again, grabbing her arms and forcing her to spin around the room with him in excitement with a grin plastered across his tan face, Sakura's will began to wilt again. She didn't know if she could stand seeing that smile wiped off of her best friends face.
But she still had to tell him.
oooooOOOOOooooo
Sasuke stepped out of the long hallway leading off of the plane, backpack slung haphazardly over his shoulder. He turned the volume of his iPod up as loud as it could go in an attempt to block out the annoying chatter of his siblings and the people around him. He didn't pay attention to see if any of the others were keeping up, nor did he care if they were. He just wanted to get down to baggage claim, grab his stuff, and get out of the crowded airport. Better yet, he wanted to turn around, get back on the plane and go back to Oto. Unfortunately, he only had a one-way ticket here.
He brooded silently as he waited next to the luggage terminal for his "family" to catch up with him. He spotted a bright swath of orange hair towering above the rest of the people and tried to fix a casual, bored expression on his face, attempting to remove all traces of the dread he felt. Karin bounded up to him, saying something he couldn't hear and grabbed onto his arm just as the first of the luggage began to slide down the chute.
He was glad for the music blaring in his head that blocked out the argument Suigetsu and Karin were currently engaged in. With a sweep of his eyes he noted that Kabuto and Orochimaru were conversing over a map, and Juugo was standing awkwardly to the side, smiling shyly at the people that gawked up at him. Out of the four of them, Juugo had been the only sibling who hadn't found some reason to complain about the move. He had simply nodded and went back to hiding in his room, not offering his opinion on the matter when asked.
Once they all had their luggage and Kabuto went to get a car rental for them, the group made their way to the giant glass doors of the airport. The afternoon sun shone brightly through them, causing Sasuke to wince uncomfortably.
Damn sun… he grumbled to himself as he pulled his sunglasses from the side pocket of his bag and slipped them over his eyes. He stepped out through the doors behind everyone else, sweeping his gaze around to take in the view. He could see his siblings giving out loud exclamations and noted the awe-struck looks on their faces. Not even Oto compared to the magnificent city that rose up to tower around them.
The glass skyscrapers glittered in the sunlight that shined down from a clear blue sky, and people crowded the sidewalks, walking passed quickly. A green park glared its color out amidst the grey a block away. Vendors sat on every corner that he could see, displaying their own bright visage and giving off the aromas of their delicacies. Sasuke could hear the shouts of the people, the blaring honks, and the sounds of motors revving even above the music. That's when the full reality of his situation hit Sasuke, breaking over his consciousness like a wave, bringing for an awful, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when the realization sunk in.
He was back.
OK! That's the second part of the Christmas special! I didn't even think about adding in that last part with the Oto kids until I was just finishing up Sakura's part. Then it hit me that I didn't exactly make a part where Sasuke arrives in Konoha. So I kinda came up with something really quick. I kinda like the ending to it, it makes it rather dramatic.
Like I said, I'll have to go back and add the Halloween and Thanksgiving chapters when I get them written up. I hope you guys enjoyed the Christmas special and had an amazing Christmas day! I'll try to add a New Year's Eve special too, but I'm going to be really busy this next week. We have to take down our Christmas decorations and take out all the stuff in my room. We're going to be a host family for a South Korean girl and she'll be here on the 30th, so we have to get everything ready!
**Edit** OMG! ( I completely forgot to update this one Christmas day. Sorry about that everyone. Here's a really late Christmas gift.
~Cherry.
P.S.- I do not own the games Guitar Hero or Modern Warfare 3. My friends have copies of the games, but alas, I don't have even that. The video games and gaming consoles used to play them belong to their respective owners and designers. Thank you!