note.
Thank-you all for the wonderful reviews to the last two chapters! I wasn't sure how I had wanted to write them in the beginning and took a little challenge, but you're all way too sweet - and my fangirl heart was spoiled by your amazing feedback.
There were a few reviews that asked for stuff to happen in the next chapter (this one - c34), but PTL is actually all planned out already and I can't change it so easily due to my incompetence as a writer. Hopefully as I gain some experience, this might be possible in the future =]
Once again, THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU (proceeds to knock you out and leave you on a bench à la Uchiha Sasuke).
track 34.
Uchiha Sasuke was in a dilemma regarding his feelings for a certain Haruno Sakura.
Nothing has happened since he has become aware of his feelings. And it is precisely that nothing has happened that he is in a dilemma. Never had he worried about a girl before. It didn't even occur to him how thick-skinned Sakura actually was to be able to put up with him after the cruel rejection.
If his older brother or the band members ever found out what he was so deep in thought over, hanging by the edge of the ferry as the ocean breeze blew past, they would tease him to no end.
Luckily, apart from Neji (who had already graduated), the other members happened to be playing at the lower deck with Sakura while he chose to observe the view from the upper. By the looks of it, they were trying to escape from Sakura's grasp as she sprayed sunscreen over their faces. The whole form was heading over to the Land of Wind; notorious for its ability to burn those that weren't used to the climate; and Sakura - being Sakura - was extracting immense satisfaction over the mere action of smearing anything skincare related over the boys. Shikamaru had given in without a fuss, but Kiba and Naruto were putting up quite a fight.
"Baka Naruto, stand still!" She reached for his hair, blond strands narrowly escaping from her iron grip.
"You'll never catch me alive!" He ran. Ramming into an unsuspecting student. Tall, with long brown hair and grey eyes. Utterly forgettable around the exotic colouring of Naruto and Sakura if not for the set of ankle weights that reached half way up his calves.
"Sorry!" Sakura shouted on behalf of Naruto as they duo continued to run around the deck.
Sasuke turned to look at the sky. Not a single cloud had flown their way since they boarded the ferry and azure streched above them while emerald and aquamarine dominated below. As much as he cared for those two idiots, it still embarrassed him to no end whenever they went out to public places together - hence, the lack of such situations taking place whenever he had a choice in the matter.
"Sasuke-kun, come join us down here! I'll put sunscreen on you too, don't want you looking like a tomato later you big polar bear." Seeing the bottle shaken from side to side, he wondered how much the lotion inside was bubbling.
"Aww, baby Sasuke-kun is a big polar bear!" Kiba cooed from the background, triangles painted on his face with the same titanium dioxide mixture Sakura was holding.
"Come on, Sasuke-kun." She waved, laughing together with Kiba. "Else you're going to be a cooked lobster in Wind, wondering to yourself why you didn't listen to dear Sakura-sama's orders in the beginning when your skin is hot enough to fry eggs."
"I'll join you guys later." He shook his head, ready to go back to looking at the view, unwilling to join in their craziness.
Lifting his head to admire the sea, he enjoyed only a brief moment of tranquility as he heard a loud splash, the upwards falling cascade caused by the force wetting even the upper deck. Sakura's scream immediately followed and Sasuke raced down the stairs to the lower deck without another look. Anything else could wait.
"Help! Someone's overboard!"
It was a girl's voice.
Mezzo-soprano. Laced with fire. Sharp and strong.
Sakura's.
She was safe for now, but he saw that she was lying down flat on the floor, a single hand dragging the same brown haired boy from before. They were both buffeted by waves. An anomaly to the perfect day. The ferry had stopped as soon as she had shouted, but the waves were too strong and the small boat bobbed heavily, a slave to swell. Sakura's body was already beginning to fall and the boy was only getting closer to exploring Atlantis with each passing moment.
In such a position, neither would hold for long- not with the weights the one underwater was wearing.
Sasuke sought help in a mad chase. The nearest teacher, student and deck member; anyone he could get a hold of, holding back strings of profanity in his panic.
In such a situation, he should have rushed to Sakura - proper protocol be damned. He should have clutched onto her with his arms and wrapped his whole body around; as his fear was realized and the sinking fool's other hand grabbed onto Sakura's thin wrist in a desperate plea. And she too, crashed into the sea.