A/N:
Chapter 12
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"Sakura…uh…calm down…" Sasuke said, walking towards her. She backed up.
"Teme…the alcohol's gunna wear off soon. I didn't spike it too much." Naruto muttered. He pointed at Hinata, who was already sleeping in a nearby chair.
"See? I'm sure Sakura-chan won't do anything stu"—
The said pink-haired girl ran out of the room and out into the streets. Sasuke sighed and ran after her.
"pid…" Naruto finished, scratching the back of his head.
"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted. She turned back and stared at him. A car was whizzing into her direction. The young Uchiha widened his eyes. Sakura, unaware of the car that was about to crash right into her, merely kept staring at him.
"Sakura! Move!" He yelled. There was no way he could get to her in time. She whipped around and saw the car, speeding wildly as if it were actually aiming at her. Stubbornly, she just thrust her hands over herself and shut her eyes.
"Baka! That's not going to protect you! Sakura!!!" Sasuke shouted angrily.
"Ahhh!!!"
"Sakura!!!"
Suddenly, a tall figure bounced into the scene and tackled her to the ground. The car flew past them. Sasuke let out a deep, relieved sigh while clutching his shirt. He jogged to Sakura and the mysterious figure. Sakura stood up and dusted the particles of dirt and blades of grass off of her body. She turned to look at the man who began standing up and widened her eyes.
"Z-Zaku-san?!" The pink-haired girl gasped in surprise. He grinned at her as he wiped the blood from his cheek.
"Oh no! You're bleeding!" She said loudly, inching closer to him and gingerly placing her fingers on his small wound.
"Eh? Sakura, it's okay. I'm not going to die from the wound." He told her in a joking tone. She shook her head.
"No, I'm really sorry, Zaku-san. You got hurt because…because of me…" She muttered. He put his arm forward. When he was about to grab her into a tight hug, Sasuke stepped up.
"Ahem." Sasuke glared at Zaku. He didn't glare back.
"Oh, it's Uchiha." He said.
"Yes, it's me, 'Sasuke'." He corrected. Zaku grinned again.
"Oh, yeah, I'll address you by your first name I guess, since you've been addressing me by mine, and all." He replied. Sakura glanced back and forth at the two. She could feel the tension and a dark aura coming from Sasuke's direction.
"Um…Sasuke-kun, you should thank Zaku-san…he saved me…" She told him. Sasuke scoffed.
"I bet he's just trying to kiss up to you." He answered back, rudely.
"Actually, no, I'm not. I started going out with Kin, you remember her, right?" Zaku asked. Sakura's eyes narrowed.
"Yes, I remember." She replied.
'Oh, of course I remember that horrible bitch…'
'Ah…I shouldn't be thinking such things…'
"That's really wonderful! How is she?" She asked, forcing out a smile. Sasuke noticed this and smirked at her.
"Oh, I'm perfectly fine." A new voice entered the conversation. Zaku turned around as his eyes lit up.
"Oh, Kin! Hi!" He greeted, waving dumbly. Kin smiled kindly at him, blushed at Sasuke and glared at Sakura. What a change of expressions…
"Zaku-kun, why were you hugging that man stealing whore?" She asked, pointing directly at the pink-haired teen.
"Kin-chan, she's not a whore, she's one of my friends. Same thing goes to the Uchi…ahem, I mean Sasuke." He replied.
"Friends? These two are your friends? Why should I date someone who is friends with a whore?" She asked. It seemed like she had no problem with Sasuke.
"Kin-san, I know we went off with a shaky start…but, Zaku is a great guy." Sakura said boldly.
"And…and, he deserves to be treated better. Either he should dump you, or you should sharpen up. You're very lucky to have Zaku-san. He's funny, sweet and very handsome. And you're a great person too!" She finished. Kin's eyes softened, Zaku smiled and Sasuke scoffed lightly. Kin grabbed Zaku's arm.
"You're…you're a great person too, Haruno." She muttered. And with that said, she held Zaku close to her and the two began walking away. But Zaku quickly ran back to Sakura and handed her a slip of paper. He turned back around and wrapped his arm around Kin.
Sakura opened the paper and smiled.
They had given her their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. "Sasuke-kun, we just made two new friends! That just makes me so happy!" She said, grinning brightly at him. He merely nodded at her.
"Um…wanna go to the park?" He asked.
"It's dark…but sure! Why not? Besides, as long as I'm with you, I don't have anything to be afraid of." She replied.
"Hey…would you say those things you said about Zaku about me too?" Sasuke asked randomly after a few moments of silence.
"Nah, I'd say more things than just that!" She answered back, grasping his hand and giving it a tight squeeze. He stared at her in disbelief.
"What?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Then, before he could answer, something flew swiftly into Sakura's pink locks.
Sasuke coolly put his arm up and took that something out. She gasped.
"A-a cherry blossom petal?"
She looked up and gasped even louder. Three cherry blossoms in full bloom stood, towering over them. More pink petals flew down and covered them. They soon realized the floor below them was piled with cherry blossom petals.
"These trees grow in California?" Sasuke asked himself, touching the trunk of one of the trees. He shook his head.
"This…this can't be. Cherry blossoms don't grow in this area…" He trailed off. He looked off into the distance. No one but them was in the park.
"Then maybe…maybe it's a miracle…" Sakura muttered, attracting Sasuke's attention.
"Miracles? Miracles don't happen." He replied.
"Yes they do. You're standing in a miracle and yet you don't believe in them?" She asked. The Uchiha just sighed and sat down in the petals. Sakura followed suit.
"This…is really nice. It never really occurred to me that cherry blossoms could be so beautiful at night…" The pink-haired girl spoke with a smile on her face.
"Cherry blossoms are always beautiful." Sasuke pointed out. She blushed, remembering her name meant 'cherry blossom'. He realized that too, and looked away, a bit embarrassed.
"Sasuke…though all the chaos of tonight and all that…I'm glad it turned out to be like this…" Sakura said, leaning her head on him.
'What's better than spending time sitting under a cherry blossom tree at night with the one you love?'
She inhaled the cool air.
'The one I love…'
They spent an hour and a half, sitting in silence, back to back, under the tree, savoring each minute.
"It's kind of late now. We should head back. They must be worrying about us." Sasuke finally stated. Sakura nodded. Once they stepped out from the circle of the fallen petals, there was an explosion behind them. They both turned around quickly in alarm.
The cherry blossom trees had…er…exploded…in a show of pink petals. They soon fell to the ground. After minutes of staring at the ground, the petals soon dissolved in sparkles. They could now see crowds of people walking around, as if they've been here for at least three hours.
"That…that was…?" Sasuke couldn't urge himself to say the rest.
"A miracle…" Sakura finished for him, smiling.
"Ah…let's just go now." Sasuke said, taking her small wrist into his hand. Together, the two walked towards the party area.
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"Sasuke! What did you do to her?! Explain now!" Ino shouted, grabbing the poor teen roughly by the collar. Sakura tried calming her down.
"Ino-pig! We just outside for a while!" She said.
"For two hours and a half?! Did he rape you? Did he seduce you? Did he do anything impolite to you?!" Ino shouted louder with each sentence, shaking Sasuke's collar in her left fist. He got a bit dizzy.
"Ino-pig…um…can you let go of Sasuke-kun?" She asked kindly. Ino sighed and dropped him. He fell on his butt onto the hard floor.
"Ouch! Fuck…I hurt my ass…" Sasuke muttered, getting up.
"Ah! Sasuke-kun? Are you okay?" She asked. He smirked and nodded.
"Yeah…but my ass really hurts now…" He said. The blonde grinned evilly.
"But you didn't do anything to Sakura-chan, right?" She asked, adding that rare 'chan' to her best friend's name.
"I swear I didn't. We spent one hour with Zaku and Kin and an hour and a half at the park." Sasuke explained. She rose an eyebrow.
"Zaku and Kin? I thought you were enemies." Ino said. Sakura smiled warmly.
"We were. Now, we're friends with each other!" Sakura chirped happily. Suddenly, a very excited (and possibly drunk due to the spiked punch) Mikoto came in, holding a shiny camera. She pushed Sasuke and Sakura together.
"Smile!" She shouted, clicking away. Sakura gave a confused look before smiling. Sasuke only scoffed and scowled at the camera.
"Okay! Group photo!" The Uchiha mother screamed, her loud voice echoing through the large room. Everyone walked towards them, either lazily or excited.
They formed a row. Mikoto frowned.
"Get squished together or else I can't get all of you in the picture." She instructed. They moved towards the middle and were squeezed tight. She frowned again.
"This isn't going to work…hm…what do we do…?" She sighed and scratched her head. Sasuke looked at Sakura, then, lifted her up into a piggy back style. She yelped.
"Oh! Nice idea, Sasu-chan! Naruto pink up Hinata, Shikamaru pick up Ino and Neji pick up Ten Ten. Then, we'll have enough room." Mikoto said happily. Itachi smirked at his younger brother, who glared in return.
Once the four 'couples' did what they were told, Mikoto set the camera on the tripod and set the timer on. She quickly rushed into the picture as everyone smiled. Naruto held Hinata with one arm while giving a peace sign. She merely smiled and blushed at the camera.
Shikamaru smirked lazily, while Ino grinned and wrapped her arms around her lover's neck a bit too tightly for his liking.
Neji smiled lightly as Ten Ten made a silly face, placing bunny ears behind the male Hyuuga's head.
Sasuke smirked this time while Sakura smiled warmly.
Gaara glared, Chouji rested his fat arm on Shikamaru's shoulder, Kiba made an awkward pose, pretending to be a peeing dog, Akamaru followed suit, Sai grinned sending gangster signs and Mikoto hugged Itachi tightly. He was the one to scowl this time.
Flash!
And that was a picture perfect…sort of.
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The Next Morning: Day 10
Sakura and the rest of the girls packed sadly. Tissues covered in tears filled each trashcan in the room.
"Knock…knock…"
"Come in…" Sakura answered gloomily. The door opened to reveal Ino, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji and Naruto. (remember, Ino was always in a different suite.)
"Hello…"
"Hi…"
Today seemed so sad and gloomy.
"Um…the limo's here…" Naruto said, looking at the ground. Sakura frowned as she zipped her bags closed.
'This trip seemed so short…I didn't want it to end so soon…'
She glanced at Sasuke, who was glaring at the floor.
They checked out of the hotel and walked into the limo. Despite the big size of it, everyone was cramped inside because of all the luggage.
"Where to, kids?" The limo driver asked.
"The airport." Sasuke replied.
"Please." Sakura added, smiling at the Uchiha. He only looked away to look out the window.
Mikoto and Itachi left with the others (such as Gaara and Sai) back home already. They had (well, Mikoto had) a tearful goodbye with Sakura.
The limo finally pulled to a stop. Ino paid him and they all picked up their bags. Everything was silent between them.
They bought their tickets and sat down at the benches.
Okinawa, Japan: 12:00
Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru sighed sadly. They would be the first ones leaving in just 30 minutes.
Toyko, Japan: 12:30
Ino and Sakura looked at each other with sad, smiling faces, their eyes refusing to leak tears.
New York, US: 1:15
Ten Ten and Neji exchanged sad glances. Sasuke frowned.
After moments of long, nearly unending silence, Naruto stood up, biting his lower lip.
"We…we have to go now…" He muttered, viewing his watch. Hinata looked at everyone as Shikamaru massaged his shoulders.
Sakura stood up and enveloped Naruto into a tight hug. He frowned when he felt her tears, wet on his shirt. He patted her back.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to e-mail and send letters!" Naruto exclaimed in an optimistic tone. Hinata walked forward and tapped Sakura shyly on the shoulder.
The pink-haired girl released Naruto and hugged the female Hyuuga. Naruto smiled as he went to go exchange goodbyes with the guys.
"I'll miss you…" Sakura whispered to her friend, crying. Hinata blinked back tears.
"Y-yes…I'll call you soon." She replied. Sakura went up to Shikamaru and gave him a small hug.
"We'll be able to play virtual shougi (SP . ) , right?" She asked. He smirked and nodded. Ino walked up to him and gave him a short kiss.
"Bye!" The three walked off, melting into the crowd. Sakura wiped away her tears. After a few minutes, Ino looked at her watch.
"Forehead…we have to go…" She muttered. Sasuke glanced at the pink-haired girl as she stood up and picked up her bags. They all said goodbye.
But Sasuke took Sakura wrist and took something out of his pocket. He handed her a box. (No, it's not an engagement ring XD)
"Ah…thanks Sasuke-kun…" She said, smiling. She opened the box and gasped. She held up the lavender hair ribbon. Sasuke found himself kicking nervously at the carpet.
"I know…it was cheap but…you know what it means. Those fireworks and all…um…" He trailed off. She was crying.
"You hate it don't you? I knew I should've gotten something better. I'm such an idi"—
Sakura quickly stood up on her toes and kissed him. He widened his eyes, before closing them, enjoying her sweet taste. He nibbled on her lower lip, asking for entrance. She let him, and their tongues danced together.
She moaned against his lips.
"Ahem…"
They broke apart, blushing and breathing heavily. They forgot that Neji, Ten Ten and Ino were still there.
"Oh…um…I should go. Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She hugged him.
"I love you…" She whispered into his ear. She blushed as she picked up her bags and rushed off with Ino.
Sasuke touched his lips as he thought about what he said.
"That was some make out session…" Ten Ten joked, giggling. Neji smirked as he silently agreed.
"Shut up. I bet you and Neji have shared a few kisses." He countered back. He sighed as he sank into his chair.
'I love you too…'
Sasuke thought as he looked at the plane flying off into the sky.
Sakura smiled to herself as she carefully tied the lavender ribbon into her hair.
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Filler Scene
Sakura sighed lazily. The plane ride was being so boring. She picked up her book bag and widened her eyes.
"Eh? This isn't my book bag!" She said loudly. She looked inside and gasped when she saw tons of porn books sleeping there. Sakura nervously observed the book bag and saw the neat, written letters, 'Itachi' on the bag.
Somewhere in America
Itachi frowned when he picked up his book bag. He read the front. It said 'Sakura' in decorative, flowery calligraphy. He nearly cried when he found 'Fruits Basket' manga inside.
'Don't worry my babies…I'll get you back somehow…'
'Babies' is referring to his porn books.
End Filler Scene
A/N: Ahh! It's finally over! I'll miss writing this story, but don't worry, a sequel is going to happen! It'll take a while, though. I have the rough draft, but I'm not exactly satisfied with it. It'll take a bit of rewriting before it goes up. In the meantime, you can read my new story 'A Voice Filled With Love'.
Looking back at the first chapter, I've realized my writing skills have improved, and yes, I'm praising myself. Thanks to you all!
The filler scene was to clear up Itachi's porn problem. You'll see him in the next story scraping up some money to buy more. Old habits die hard.
Thank you so much to:
-MusicIZeverythinG-, Affectionate, Aoi Hana9, BabySnoopy, Breanna91, Cherry Bomber 360, CherryYuki-chan, Cherryheartz, CosmicSilence, Crazy Neko Girl, Dark Shining Light, Defiant-Crayon, Dreamer94678, EmXchan, Freedomstar999, Green Pinquin, Queen, Guard hXc, HCO, Itachi-kunsOneTrueLove, Izari-Hime, Kunoichi-of the-Leaf, L is 4 LOVE, Mrs Water Cooler, Nami Hyuga, Rin Izumi, RosePetalPrincess, Sakura and Sasuke's Angel, SharinganCherry, TaimeHawk12, Tari Shiro, The Filipina Dreamer, Vampire-cutie18, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, XxSuicidal-CupcakexX, Zoeraine, anime-naruto-rox-16, ayane04, bored2death1027, cherry blossom petals, chocolateangel5, daisherz365, daydreamer22057, dreamer5593, elwand, eyezue66613, itachiandsak4ever, kee-chan, lalagirl55x, luv2killu, mabui-hime, missyserena214, mk-chan160, nagoto, nightblossom46, ninja7goth7vampire, oh.bonita, pandagirl08, sasukeanime79, sessygilr648, sexi-emo-princess, shadow-dog18, slavetothekeyboard, tenten of the cherries xx, theshiningedge, wickedcherryblossom, x0xabbydalex0x, xXx s2up3d Lov3r xXx and yourdarkdesire!!!
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