Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed the last one. I know for sure I did. #BadassSakuraRocks. If you're thinking she's ooc, remember that she hasn't fallen for Sasuke yet. So I think it's justified.
I don't think I need to say this, but here's a language warning for minor bad language.
Disclaimer : need I say this again? I don't think so. It's all formalities and pretentious absurdity.I do not own Naruto
22nd April 2032, Hyuga Household.
That stupid bastard had the audacity to kiss me! Sakura thought to herself as she stormed into the crowded garden. Yeah, sure he may have saved her life a few times, and yes, he may have returned her charm to her, so alright, he may be a nice guy. But that did not justify him kissing her, and she definitely did not appreciate being kissed by a playboy who she hardy knew. A playboy, yes, because that was the only name she could put to him after his actions.
She hated being taken advantage of or made out to be weak. And what Naruto had just done felt like a massive slap in the face to her, which was exactly what she returned to him. At least she gave him a taste of his own medicine.
She spotted Arisa walking her wearing a black evening dress, saying, "Where have you been, Sakura? The party's in full swing and there's some people I want you to meet."
She eyed her suspiciously saying, "What people? And why don't you ever take my advice not to wear black?" Arisa didn't tend to befriend many people. Unless she were drunk, in which case she could mix with very dodgy people. Very dodgy.
"You'll find out when you meet them. They're cool..." she completely ignored her second question.
"Where's Tenten?" Sakura asked, inquiring after the person for whom the party was being thrown.
"Oh, she's fine. She's with her boyfriend who she picked up while she was away. Goes by the name of Lee." she laughed, "He's quite eccentric."
It was nice to know that the ever boisterous Tenten had finally settled down with someone.
"What about Hinata?" she asked.
"She's off with that Sasuke guy. They get along real well. He's a nice guy, but I wonder how someone so stupid could ever become the head of a company like the Uchiha Corporation..." she shook her head.
Sakura laughed saying, "I know what you mean. He's a complete goof, from what I've seen."
Arisa led her away to a pavilion saying, "So Sakura...Meet the Akatsuki!"
There were five guys and two girls hanging out on the pavilion, one of which being Ino. They all looked her way hearing Arisa's proclamation.
A yellow haired guy who wore a pony tail similar to Ino's said, "Eh? Who's the pinkie, Arisa?"
"That idiot over there's Deidara. He's really useless." Arisa supplied in answer to Sakura's questioning glance.
"I'm sorry, exactly who are these people? " Sakura asked.
"Don't tell me you don't know that." Ino said, joining the conversation. "'The Akatsuki'? Rock band? Awesome hot guys who also act and model for stuff?"
"They're a music group involved in Hollywood and what not. Like I said, that's Deidara, the silly one." Arisa said, not a change in her impassive tone as the blonde shot daggers at her.
Sakura took a good look at said blonde, and finally said, "I get it! You're the fool who played the Joker in the batman serialization!" she said, stifling a laugh.
The man sighed dramatically and said, "Of all the amazing things I've ever done, why do you all remember me for that unfortunate casting? I auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne, it's not my fault they put me in the antagonistic role! They just don't get how cool I can be!" he said.
Ino laughed, saying, "Keep dreaming. This is Yahiko. " she added, introducing another man with spiky orange hair and multiple facial piercings. "Although he likes to call himself Pain. So yeah, another idiot."
The man shrugged nonchalantly, extending a hand toward her in greeting while calling over a red haired boy with eyes the colour of a stormy sky. "That's Nagato." He said in a fairly posh English accent.
"And this is Konan. Yahiko's girlfriend." Ino added, introducing her to a pretty purple haired woman. She had a lip piercing and several studs on her eyebrow.
"Oh come on, I'm not just his girlfriend, I'm his fiancé." Konan added, pouting while she walked over to rest her head on Yahiko's shoulder.
Sakura gave Arisa a confused look while Arisa brought her to another man. His hair was a sandy red, and was short and spiky. At first, she could have sworn she was looking at her brother from twelve years ago, and her breath caught at the memory. That was, until the man turned to look at her. His eyes were grey- the only feature which differentiated him from her brother.
"This is Sasori." Arisa said, putting an hand on her shoulder. She seemed to understand that Sasori's appearance was startling to her.
Sakura felt tears prick her eyes as she thought about her brother, but nonetheless greeted the man named Sasori.
Arisa steered her away from him and said, "Sorry about that. I guess that brought back unwanted memories."
Sakura replied with a small nod, still confused as to how on earth Arisa and Ino knew those people.
"That guy over there is Kisame, but I'm not going to introduce him to you. Yes, he is friendly, if you get to know him, but he's also sick. A sadist. I don't really feel like dealing with that now. He'll probably make some reference to cannibalism." Arisa said, sighing, her demeanor returning to its normal, serene self. "They're nice, but they are exhausting. And often really annoying."
Sakura stopped walking and said, "Wait a minute Arisa," she shook her head, "How on earth do you know these people?"
Arisa looked at her and blinked once or twice, before she started laughing. "Figures that you'd ask that. Of all the questions."
"I'm serious, Arisa. You're an FBI agent."
"I met their manager and director at one of my part time jobs back in college. We've become real good friends over the years. He's actually with Neji right now- you don't know him yet, but I'm sure you'll like him." Arisa said.
Speaking of Neji, Sakura was reminded of earlier that day. "Was it really necessary to have Neji dress up as a Russian guy? Seriously, Russian?"
Arisa snickered and said, "Hey! I got a video! Now I can blackmail him with it. I swear, I've half a mind to post it online."
They walked up to where Neji was talking to a tall man with jet black hair which hung in a loose pony tail. He looked about three to four years older than the rest of them, and held himself with an innate grace that Sakura found enviable.
When he heard them approaching, he turned to face them with a warm smile as Arisa hugged him in greeting. "Itachi, meet Sakura. Sakura, this is Itachi."
"Hello." He said, extending a hand in greeting.
She shook his hand, saying, "Nice to meet you."
"Itachi is a stage director, manager, talent scout, and songwriter." Arisa suppllied.
"That's varied." Sakura commented.
"Its not when you consider the man isn't even officially part of any agency or company. He's freelance." Neji added noncomitally.
"How come?" Sakura asked.
"I like to stay anonymous." Itachi said.
"Seriously?" she pressed, grinning. Judging from his subdued tone, Itachi seemed like the kind of person who did not favour excessive human contact. In fact, she could see exactly why Arisa seemed to like him so much.
"You'll never find his name on any credits roll and stuff. But he even directs fashion productions and stuff. Right now, he's in charge of taking care of the Akatsuki group and their various recording deals and other jobs." Arisa said.
"Cool. So how did you come to do what you do?" she asked him.
"I guess it just stuck." he replied vaguely.
"I've told you about Sakura tonnes of times. She's on our team." Arisa said.
"Technically, that should be classified information which you have no right to disclose to strangers." Neji commented, no longer taking an active interest in the conversation.
"Nonsense. You know him as well as I do Neji." Arisa said.
"Don't you have something you were supposed to be doing? " he asked, annoyed.
She glared at him, before sighing and saying, "Hinata has stuck us with some ridiculous stuff to do from her mother. I'm afraid that means I'll have to go now. See you later!" she walked away, with Neji following her.
"How do you know Arisa and Neji?" she asked Itachi, while watching Arisa's retreating figure.
"Your adopted sister has quite a talent for the performing arts. If she was not so engrossed in her current proffession then I would have scouted her to my team by now." he said quietly.
"She said she met you at a part time job? As far as I know, the only part time job she did in college was singing in some evening clubs and restaurants as part of their entertainment services." Sakura asked.
"I met her at one of those places and offered to have her join a talent agency, and when she flat out rejected my offer, we sort of became friends." he said.
"Oh."
"What about you? Do you have any talent for the entertainment industry?" He asked.
She shrugged nonchallantly and said, "I've never really tried to find out. I spend most of my time away from work doing volunteer work."
"Volunteer work?"
"Oh, you know, NGOs, Animal trusts, Orphanages, Hospitals and stuff like that." she said.
"That's very kind of you." he said in a soft undertone.
"Well...I used to be an orphan myself. And it's not like I'm the only one who helps out. All of us do." she said.
"But still, it's admirable to be able to help so many." he said.
"It's also admirable to be able to touch so many with your productions." she commented.
He stayed silent, while the music playing in the marquis suddenly became louder with a more demanding beat. He held out a gentlemanly hand, asking, "Would you like to dance?"
Since she was going along with all the other crazy stuff taking place, why not? She took his hand and nodded.
22nd April, 2032, Time- 22.00
Sasuke grabbed Naruto the second he found him in the marquis, saying, "We're getting out of here." and barely giving him time to say his goodbyes before dragging him away from the party.
He was angry, and wished not to spend a second more in that wretched house.
He hit the accelerator as they pulled onto the crowded streets of San Fransisco, all the while Naruto complaining annoyingly about not being able to properly say goodbye to everyone. At long last, he looked at Sasuke properly and asked, "What's up with you? Why are you so angry?"
Naturally, Sasuke didn't respond.
He leaned in closer to Sasuke's face, and must have seen the mark that woman had left when she hit him, for he asked, "What happened to you? You've got a bruise on your cheek."
He ignored the annoyance.
"Could it be..." Naruto trailed off, thinking of all of the possibilities, "You were hit!" he exclaimed.
Sasuke pressed down even harder on the pedal, pushing Naruto back against the seat as the car sped forward.
Naruto broke into a grin, saying, "So you were hit. Who did it? I doubt there's many people who you would allow to hit you like that. That too, on the cheek. Let's see- who at the party could do something like that?" he thought for a few minutes, before hesitantly asking, "...Was it Sakura?"
The car took a turn a little too sharp for comfort as Naruto was thrown against the window.
"Ow! You didn't have to do that! So it was Sakura, I'm guessing. Sheesh Sasuke, What did you do to her?" he said, eyes widening with horror as he ran through the possibilities is his head. "Don't tell me you...you...stole her ramen!" he started.
He was completely ignored in that statement.
"Ok...so you...kissed her?" he asked jokingly.
Sasuke's driving borderlined maniacal as he completely forgot about stopping at red lights.
"WHAT?! You KISSED her?" Naruto exclaimed. Then, he smiled knowingly and said, "Oh I get it. You really are a goner. Don't worry, for I, Sasuke Uchiha, can clear up the confusions and put in a good word on your behalf!" he paused, and before Sasuke could respond, he added, "You really are in loove with her!"
The car abruptly came to a stop, Naruto being thrown forward in his seat, his head hitting the dashboard. Rubbing his head, he sat up, looking at Sasuke and asking, "Oi! What was that for?"
Sasuke glared at him and growled, "Just Shut Up."
The rest of the car journey was spent in silence.
Sorry I didn't update this sooner. But I hope you enjoyed reading it!
Really dissappointed with the lack of feedback. I don't know if you guys liked that last chapter or not, or if you want to see more stuff like that, or what you're looking for.
But never mind, Read and Review!
~Raven