nothing on you
Callista Miralni
disclaimer: nothing~
.:loop00.3_3:.
.:we bond:.
Sakura breathed as the opening notes played.
Sowoneul malhaebwa
Ni mamsokae itneun jageun ggomeul malhaebwa
The first steps were easy enough but as the song progressed, each movement was a calculated one. Really, Sakura needed at least four other people to do this dance right.
She got to the chorus. This she could do by herself. One arm stretched out in front, followed by the other, then a weird foot movement that made her wince every time she saw someone else do it. Spinning, Sakura caught sight of a figure standing in front of her and she let of a shriek of surprise. Tripping over her feet, Sakura landed on the ground.
Sasuke offered her a hand and pulled her up from the floor. "I'm sorry for scaring you," he said.
"Sasuke, what are you doing here? You scared me half to death!"
"You can't let me fill in."
"What?"
"I can't dance," Sasuke enunciated each word. "Your brother thinks I can."
The confused look was replaced with a scowl. "That assuming jerk!" She raged. "I knew he wouldn't find someone. Dammit, I should have listened to my intuition and found someone myself."
She turned off the music and collected her belongings. "Don't worry about it, Sasuke! I'll take care of this; you don't have to dance," Sakura yelled over her shoulder as she left the practice room.
He blinked away the whirlwind before it sunk in that a) he got off the hook and didn't have to make a complete fool of himself and b)
She still remembered his name.
"Helloooooooololololooooooo!"
Wincing, Sasuke held his phone away from his ear. "Karin."
"Sasuke! My best friend in the whole wide world hasn't forgotten about me. Take that, Suigetsu! He called me first!"
"Actually, I called him first but he didn't pick up the phone."
"Killing the mood here, Sasuke!"
He almost regretted calling his best friends but there was no way in hell he was going to talk to Itachi about the latest events.
"So what's up?"
Quickly, he filled in the two of them. Sasuke talked about his classes, his roommate, and about joining AASA. Suigetsu seemed a little disappointed by the lack of available, single women in Sasuke's number of acquaintances.
"Have you seen her? You know, Sakura Haruno? Itachi-nii said she went to school there."
Sasuke paused.
"Yeah I have. I just talked to her before I called you guys."
Gushing, Karin drilled him for all the details. What did they talk about? Is she the same at school as she was in the restaurant? How is her relationship status? Sasuke answered each one with growing irritation, glossing over the finer points. They had no relationship outside of mutual acquaintances.
"Her brother's taken a liking to me," Sasuke sighed. "Sai Haruno is..."
"Is what? Incredibly hot if you ask me."
"... carefree." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Karin's interjection. "He forced me to fill in the empty spot for some dance performance for this festival but I talked to his sister and got out of it."
"That's it?" Karin sounded like she was on the verge of another of her long-winded and loud rants. "You called to tell me that you finally found the girl of your dreams and all you ever say to her is that you can't dance? What the fuck is wrong with you? Grow a pair and get to know her better so you can ask her out!"
"That's not what it is at all! You're twisting every thing around, Karin."
"Don't you dare call me again until you have real progress to report, Sasuke Uchiha. Ugh! I can't believe you guys. You're so oblivious to everything, especially yourself!"
There was a click.
"Karin?"
Sasuke looked at his cell phone and glared at the unassuming background on the display.
"That bitch hung up on me."
"SAI HARUNO!"
The man winced at the sound of his twin's furious voice.
"Hide me," he begged someone. "Saki can't find me or she'll skin me alive!"
"SAI!"
One of his friends, David Li, shook his head. "You're on your own, man. Your sister is scary when she's pissed off. What did you do this time?"
"I'm not sure... I found someone to fill in the empty spot like she told me to."
She stopped right in front of their group and gave them a pleasant smile. "Hello gentlemen," Sakura said before her eyes fixated on her brother. "Otouto."
He cringed. Things never go well when Sakura starts with otouto. There is a long and loud lecture —in Japanese— interlaced with copious amounts of swear words and graphic threats —in Japanese— followed by a dragging-by-the-ear that hurts more than it should because Sai has to bend down at an awkward angle to accommodate his raging twin.
"You're filling in that last spot."
The breath he had been holding released itself. Someone up there loved him a lot, to spare him the usual routine.
"That's it?" Sai asked. "I thought Sasuke said he was going to do it."
The smile turned malicious. "Sasuke never said anything. You assumed. It will be tough, but I have full confidence, otouto, that you can teach and be a member of the entourage at the same time. Better men than you have failed."
He cringed again. No one up there loved him—they must be rolling around on the fluffy white clouds laughing their asses off at Sakura's pointed insult. Sai hadn't been spared The Lecture at all; he was going to experience it with every inch of his body, not just his spine.
Sakura glanced at the clock. Waving her arms in the air, she called for practice to end. Sai landed the handstand he was doing in front of her, almost kicking Sakura in the face.
Brushing off her brother, Sakura smiled slightly at the eleven volunteers.
"Okay guys, tomorrow's the big day. You've all been doing wonderfully and I want you to perform just like you did today for the Festival. Remember, I'll be watching from the crowd and can give you cues if needed, but I hope it won't come down to that."
Laughter filled the air.
"Don't forget to meet with Karishma after this in the bubble tea cafe down in the strip to talk about performance times, costumes, and whatnot. I'll see you all over there!"
Sai waited with her until everyone left the room before shrugging on his jacket and offering his sister the car keys as a peace offering. Declining, Sakura drank deeply from her water bottle.
"Never," she groaned. "Ever let Karishma talk us into doing something like this again. It's too time consuming and I'm sick and tired of going to sleep exhausted out of my mind. I never want to see pink metallic fabric for as long as I live."
Rubbing her shoulders, Sai muttered, "You do a good job leading us and our costumes are gorgeous."
"I wouldn't have to be the only one leading if you had found a replacement for the 2PM dance."
At that moment, Sai chose to hit the car alarm button on the Prius. He fumbled with the remote, pressing the unlock button repeatedly to turn the alarm off.
"I'm sorry—did you say something? I hit the wrong button."
Sakura hit her brother in the arm.
"You're a terrible liar."
Sasuke arrived at the festival just after they finished setting up the food buffet. There was still time before the festival was to start. Various groups of people were running around with food, folding chairs, and stage equipment.
"Hey!" A passing officer spotted him as he walked by the stage. "You're in AASA, right? Come over here!"
That was how Sasuke found himself seated behind a laptop hooked up to the giant speakers. A timetable lay next to his elbow with penciled cues.
What was he doing here? He didn't know the first thing about running a sound board, even if it had been simplified to a music playlist on a laptop and three volume sliders (faders, Sakura muttered in a huff as she passed by on her way to her front row seat) on a board.
People started to arrive and fall in line at the food buffet. Someone was nice enough to bring him and a few of the other people managing the stage a plate of food each. Sasuke ate quickly so as to not miss his cues, but he couldn't help but notice that the girl sitting in front of him hadn't moved since she sat down.
Karishma opened the program with welcoming remarks and announced the first performance. The skit about the story of the first Harvest Moon was good but even Sasuke could barely hear them.
A girl sang Christina Aguliera's Reflection.
Two visitors did a b-boy routine that garnered much applause and attention from the audience.
Twenty people showcased male and female traditional clothing from eight different Asian countries.
Sasuke couldn't believe that someone would pay $7 to attend this kind of thing. In theory, the performances should have been entertaining and culturally educating, but the execution was severely lacking in enthusiasm.
It must be the food. No college student passes up cheap food.
Then, Karishma announced the closing performance. Sakura got out of her chair to stand at the very back of the lawn, barely visible from the stage. As Karishma exited, Sasuke glanced at his notes.
Wait for Sakura's wave.
The five girls filed on stage, their metallic pink dresses shimmering in the lights. Sakura waited until the last one was in place before she raised her arm and waved her hand.
The first part proceeded smoothly. Sakura was about to start biting her nails but she stopped herself in time. When the music changed, the five male partners filled out in time from the makeshift wings. All ten danced in sync and each set went through their solos without a single mistake.
They're even better than the original performance, Sakura couldn't help but think smugly.
A roar swept through the audience when the guys started taking off their blazers and vests, revealing the decorated white wife-beater underneath. Sai and David were already in place at the front of the stage on the grass. The girls ran into the nearest bathroom to change into a second outfit.
The 2PM dance was deemed too dangerous for the small stage and moved to the lawn in front of it. They had to adjust the routine to accommodate the change and this was what Sakura was the most nervous about. So many things could go wrong in that simple jump from stage to ground...
Sasuke couldn't help but feel stunned as he watched the acrobatic display. Sai wanted him to do that? He could barely land a backflip!
He smirked when a shirtless Sai saluted the crowd and a girl in the third row cat-called him. The girls came back on stage as the guys left and performed an exact replica of the video Sasuke remembered watch weeks before.
Holy shit. They're good.
Thunderous applause pulled Sakura from her anxious state. They made it through the entire thing...
"Thank you!" Karishma took the MC mic again. "Wasn't that fantastic? Of course it would be; after all, I'm the one who championed this performance in the first place!"
The crowd laughed at her cheek.
"That is our finale for the night, folks. But before you leave, I want to recognize a few people. Theresa Cao, come up here girl! Theresa has organized every thing for this event, from creating the schedule, ordering the food, reserving the stage from the school, I mean every thing. Give it up for Theresa!"
"Next, we have all our AASA members and officers who volunteered to pick up and serve food, set up the venue, run the music, and participate as performers to thank. Without them, we wouldn't have an event."
"Finally, I want to recognize two people, but especially one of the two in particular. Sai, Sakura—get up here!"
Karishma smiled brightly at the crowd. "The Haruno twins were key to our final act—you enjoyed that, right? For the last two months, Sai and Sakura met with our twelve performers every week and taught them how to dance. I believe there was some gymnastics training involved?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," Sai answered.
"Sakura further lent us a hand and handmade all twelve costumes-"
Her green eyes widened in embarrassment. They didn't need to know that.
"-girl, I'm telling you, you're in the wrong field of business! Anyways, without Sakura Haruno, there would be no final act for you to enjoy, so please give a warm round of applause for all her hard work!"
Sasuke couldn't believe what he heard. She did all that? Where on earth could she have found time to do that, her classes, and her homework?
It must have been all those years spent cosplaying.
Settling back into her chair, Sakura took a sip of her water. She picked up her notes, opened a new pack of flash cards and started to write.
Beside her, Sai worked on his art homework.
"You know," She said while scribbling the five differences between bacterial and archaea cell membranes on a card. "You should consider getting that art minor."
"Tou-chan will kill me."
Sakura snorted. "No, he won't. He's got one child going into medicine; he doesn't need a second child majoring as an architect. You know, you're the only architecture major I know who has as much free time as you do."
Sai grinned before drawling out, "I'm Asian, therefore, a freakin' genius."
"Deflate your ego, otouto. You're smart and artistically talented, but I'm still a science major and applying to med school. Therefore, I win."
Rolling his eyes, Sai looked around the library and glanced at his watch. "Hey, it's almost snack time. Do you want to get boba?"
"Yeah sure. Let's leave our stuff with Karishma—she's up on the third floor studying."
Sasuke found himself practically living at the library. The cold weather was settling in, making the wait at the bus stop an annoyance to deal with. After his last class, Sasuke would take the winding sidewalks to the library and do his homework until it was time to catch the last bus of the day.
Then, he'd go to his dorm and finish his homework before going to to bed.
It was a boring routine, but it comforted him. At least his grades were still up. The lack of a social life didn't bother him the slightest.
Oh, who was he kidding?
The third floor of the library was quiet since it was so early in day. Sasuke was making his way to one of the desks along the wall when he saw Sai.
"What's up, man?" Sasuke greeted him. "I don't usually see you up here on the third floor."
Sai grinned. "Yeah, too quiet for me and everyone else up here gets mad at me for talking. Saki's here to see Karishma for a minute."
He finally noticed the two girls behind Sai. Karishma gave him a slight wave. "Oh hey, Sasuke! Are you looking for a place to study? You can sit next to me."
Well. That made finding a table effortless.
"Thanks so much, Kari. I really appreciate it." Sakura pulled on Sai's arm to get him to move. "C'mon, let's go."
Sasuke set his backpack down and pulled out the chair. The other man glanced at him before saying, "We're going to get boba. Want to come?"
He glanced at the girl some feet away, waiting for them impassively. She turned her head away, pretending to not care whether he came or not.
Recognizing the mask, Sasuke smirked. "Sure," he said, grin stretching when he saw her glance back at them, green eyes wide.
Sai led them through the hear of Central campus, talking alternately with Sasuke and Sakura. They crossed the street and entered the downtown shopping district.
"Welcome to Bubble Cafe!"
Sakura walked ahead of them, scanning the menu. Sai rolled his eyes and muttered to Sasuke, "I don't even know why bothers looking when she orders one of the same two things every time. Hell, you could order for my sister and be right."
It was the first time Sai acknowledged their previous meetings years ago.
"Passion fruit green tea with boba," Sasuke drawled. "Unless she's feeling sleepy, then it's black tea. If it's hot, then it's a passion slush."
Startled, Sai glanced at the two. Sakura placed her order at the counter while Sasuke still looked over the menu beside him. An understanding smirk crept onto his face and he slung an arm over the other man's shoulder.
Annoyed, Sasuke shrugged off his arm. "What?"
"Nothing. Take good care of my sister."
"You make it sound like I'm marrying her."
He was sure Sai was going to make some smartass remark about how he wouldn't mind Sasuke marrying his twin, but the other man gave him a cryptic smile instead.
"I will deny ever saying this," Sai began in a calm voice. "But I think Sakura needs someone like you right now. Be her best friend if anything."
A warm afternoon sipping coffee and reading manga.
"Hn."
His ringing cell phone interrupted the story Sai was telling him about Friday's party. Glancing at the caller ID, Sasuke groaned when he saw the name.
"Sorry, I have to answer this or I'm going to get twenty more calls."
Sai laughed and waved for him to take his call. Karin twittered about how his brother offered to take Suigetsu, Juugo, and her down to Ann Arbor on Friday to visit him. Itachi even offered to take them all out to dinner.
Sasuke frowned. Some thing wasn't right. Itachi would never offer to do something like that.
"Sounds cool," he faked a pleased tone. "I can't wait to see you guys. Karin, I've got to go; I'm in the library and can't talk long."
He saw Sai frowning at him. "What?"
"Nothing," his friend replied. "Saki has a table up on the second floor we can crash."
Sakura smiled at her two cousins through Skype.
"Did my ears deceive me?" She teased them. "Or did both of you just say you were transferring here?"
"You heard right," Tenten grinned. "Community college sucks and Ino got her scholarship. We'll be transferring in the spring."
"In the middle of your sophomore year."
"Hey!" Ino said, indignant. "It's not like we're missing out on anything. All we've done is take gen eds. I don't know about Tenten, but I'm read to start major classes."
They were going to share a room at Bates together. Ino finally got her license and one of their aunts was helping her buy a car.
"Tennie," Sakura tentatively began. "What about Neji?"
Her cousin fell silent.
"I will not speak to him until he decides he wants me in his life. I will not let him walk away from me at his own whim—when he selfishly decides I'm important as a friend or something more. I'm not a toy and I deserve respect."
Sai's face flooded the screen. "Moving speech, my dear cousin. I commend you for your mental strength."
Her computer erupted into a volley of curses and graphic threats.
"Hush, ladies, we're in the library," Sai grinned. "My friend and I are trying to study and you're disturbing us."
"Don't give me that bullshit," Ino scoffed. "You don't study and you have no friends."
"I do too! Look." Sai spun the laptop around to face Sasuke. Unsure of what to do in the face of two wide-eyed girls, he gave a small wave. Satisfied with his response, Sai said, "I have friends.
Tenten recovered first. "One friend. And you're still not studying."
"Can I have my computer back?" Sakura huffed. "I have a club event to organize and a cosplay group to promote."
"That's not important."
"Neither are your inane taunts towards our cousins."
"Saki, we'll call you later," Ino assured her before they signed off.
She didn't like the smiles on their faces.
Sakura wandered the library in search of a table to do her homework.
Honestly, they should reserve tables for the people who practically live in this place.
She spotted Sasuke in the corner by himself. His headphones were in his ears and he was reading a literature book.
Sakura hesitated. Unlike her brother, she didn't feel close to the boy, certainly not close enough to crash his table. Even with the other AASA members, Sakura didn't feel entirely comfortable in her own skin around them.
But there really was no other place to sit...
Gathering her courage, Sakura approached him.
"Hi," She offered him what she hoped was a disarming smile. "Can I sit here with you?"
December set in and with it, a new routine replaced the old one. Sasuke still lived in the library most hours of the day but a couple things added themselves to his daily schedule.
Indoor soccer games with Sai and the rest of the guys on Fridays.
AASA meetings on Wednesdays.
The occasional off-campus dinners in the evenings.
Helping Karishma and Nikki with homework.
Sitting at a table with Sakura.
He had friends and gained them in a strange, subtle way. This blended group pulled him into the fold, accepting him without hesitation. Sasuke Uchiha was one of them and nothing anyone else said would change their minds. They shared their lives with him.
Little by little, he began to reciprocate.
He told them about Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin and their antics in high school. He mentioned Itachi and would sometimes cook for them using his mom's recipes. Sometimes, he talked about the various jobs he worked and how it was weird not working now. Whenever Sai was feeling particularly devious, he would converse with the other man in Japanese, laughing at everyone's demanding faces for an exact translation before hounding Sakura.
She usually brushed them all off and told them to learn a new language—in Japanese.
Tonight, he was at the Haruno twins' apartment for dinner. It was the first time Sasuke had ever been invited.
"Pre-finals celebration," Sai explained as he sank into the armchair. "We actually invited all our friends but the people you know won't be here for a while. Saki and Karishma's anime club friends are probably going to show up first and leave shortly before everyone else arrives."
The anime club? Sasuke raised an eyebrow. What kind of people were in the anime club?
Seeing his friend's incredulous expression, Sai grimaced. "Only the people closest to my sister are showing up, thank God. They're alright, but the rest of the people in the club are the biggest otakus I've ever met in my life. Compared to them, Sakura is normal."
"I thought you liked anime."
"Dirty secret. You do too."
"I don't consider it to be a dirty secret." Sasuke leaned back in his seat. "Like your sister, I don't tell anyone unless directly asked."
"I don't need something like that to shoot my credibility down," Sakura informed them coolly as she sat next to Sasuke on the couch. "It's already difficult enough trying to get people to take me seriously without telling them I'm the president of the anime club."
"Nee-san, you post cosplay pictures on your facebook. Of course it's hard for people to take you seriously, especially 'cause you're so short."
"Only in compared to you and Sasuke. I'm average height for a girl. And my facebook is friends-only for a reason," She sniffed.
"Do you still cosplay?" Sasuke tilted his head towards her. "I went home during Halloween."
Sakura smirked, thinking of the past four years in which she swept away any competition during Halloween costume contests.
"Yeah, I do. Just not really during the school year. It's hard trying to work on a project and be in school at the same time. I mostly work on projects during the summer and winter breaks."
She got up to open the door, greeting the crowd on her doorstep with a charming smile. Sasuke watched her usher them into the dining room where a buffet had been set up, explaining what each dish was and how to prepare it on a plate.
Sai sighed but a small smile crept onto his face. He motioned for Sasuke to join him at the end of the line, surveying the food they spent the better part of the weekend making. Shrimp and vegetable tempura, udon, tonkatsu ramen, nigiri sushi, chicken parmesan, chicken curry, and pepper steak covered the table. Sakura made enough food to feed an army.
Sasuke grabbed a portion of the chicken parmesan, in the mood for cultural variety.
"How does it taste?" Sakura asked him, sinking into a sitting position on the floor in front of the coffee table.
"Better than the excuse of an Italian restaurant campus offers."
She laughed. "That's not an answer! No seriously, Sasuke, how does it taste?"
He swallowed his food. "It tastes good."
Her smile widened. "I'll make it again the next time you come over then."
To Sasuke, it sounded like a fact instead of an empty promise.
Author's note:
Oh thank God. It's finally finished.
Longest chapter in the fic to date. I'm sorry it took so long but... the semester really sucked. I supposedly have a freer summer this year, but... I'm taking the MCAT in August and haven't studied for it at all yet.
However, I am spending the next month busting out my pieces for SSM 2012. I'm determined to uphold my promises this year!
I'm so glad this chapter is done. Now I can start on my favorite part—the romance! I'm a terrible romance writer so I look forward to this opportunity to explore and improve my writing in that genre.
Finally, thank you so much for all your reviews, favorites and watches! I know I haven't been replying at all to them because of my busy semester, but I appreciate all of you taking the time to read my work, as amateur as it is. Special thanks to GoldenDoe06 who loves this story so much, she comments on every related entry in my LJ, and reminds me to never give up what I enjoy. Thanks so much! :D
Ja ne!
Callista Miralni