Chapter 23 - Day 1

The next three days were torture for Sakura. As expected, Kakashi skipped their training, and on the first day, Naruto went to collect him (Sakura refused, giving him a very scary glare). He came back Kakashi-less and flustered. Apparently the man was home, because Naruto could hear him watching a movie… with lots of moaning involved. They didn’t need to ask.

Sakura’s gaze had lost its depth, and the color had faded from her cheeks. She had to be asked a question several times before she would respond.

Naruto was concerned. Well, in fairness, so was Sasuke- he’d just rather die a thousand painful deaths than admit it. He did, however, show his care while they lounged about in Training Ground 3 in the hopes their absent teacher would show up at some point- Naruto hanging upside down from a tree, Sasuke leaning cooly against the trunk, and Sakura sitting on the ground at the root of the tree, resting her chin on her knees.

“What crawled up your @$$ and died, Sakura?” Sasuke asked in a disinterested voice.

“Shut up, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura replied politely, turning her head away in defiance.

“Seriously, Sakura,” Naruto piped in, “you’ve been moody since you got here. What’s your deal?”

Sakura didn’t even look up. She straightened one arm out from her body, curled her hand into a fist, and slammed it against the trunk of the tree. The entire tree shook and Naruto was unceremoniously dumped to the ground, landing facefirst. Sasuke had to suppress a snigger as Naruto hastily stood up, brushing himself off. He seemed about to tell Sakura off, but thought better of it. He and Sasuke met eyes, and they both mouthed, “P.M.S. ?”

She stood up in a sudden, jerky motion, and they both flinched.

“Screw this- I’m going home. If sensei wants to skip our training, then I’m going to make the most of my free time.” She stormed off, leaving an angry cloud of dust in her wake. Sasuke and Naruto just looked at each other, confused once again by the ever-changing female temperament.

What she failed to mention was that she’d make the most of her free time… sulking. She wasn’t one to take rejection well, and when he went as far as skipping training to avoid her… That really set her off. It’s pretty hard to “forget” something if you didn’t act like you normally would. And Kakashi definitely wasn’t acting like he normally would.

When she finally made her way home (after storming through the village in a huff, leaving a trail of dust and overturned market stands in her wake), her mom instantly knew something was wrong. Her first clue when her daughter slammed the door so hard, the whole house shook. Her second clue was when she yelled, “I’m not feeling well,” and stormed up to her room, slamming that door with another house-shaking bang.

Well, I think I’ll let her cool off before I go up there… It’s best to let sleeping dogs lie, as they say.

--

Hisako was glad that the storm finally blew over- she could continue her training. She climbed out of bed and stretched, letting out a massive yawn. Who knew someone could sleep so much? Opening the window with a shove, she noted with pleasure that it was a beautiful day. What luck! With a wide grin, the girl quickly changed into her training gear, tied her headband around her waist firmly, and hopped out the window, heading for the training area at a run.

Today, Tenten had agreed to spar with her. The girl had needed to work on her timing with the weapons, and Hisako needed to work on her speed and defense- something she had been neglecting since Lee’s injury at the exams. As she ran through the waking village, her thoughts wondered to Sakura… and Sakura’s newfound “problem.” Being sought after by an older man was a heady thing. It made a girl feel special, feel wanted. The fact that an older guy would take interest in a younger girl wasn’t necessarily a good thing, though. Young girls will do anything for that kind of attention, and older men know how to get what they want. Now that wasn’t to say she thought Kakashi would take advantage of her like that, or that Sakura would allow herself to be used. No, if his feelings were genuine, he wouldn’t besmirch her honor like that. Although, being a man of his age, they do tend to lean toward more “physical” things in their relationships. Who knows, really? This whole thing was a mystery to her. What she did know was that if Kakashi hurt Sakura in any way, shape or form, she would be happy to cause him slow, agonizing pain… Maybe breaking one finger at a time? Or maybe she’d go a little happy with a kunai on his pretty arms-

Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran headlong into someone’s chest. Luckily for her, the man caught her before she fell backwards and unceremoniously landed on her rear. Hisako shook the stars from her eyes, and then looked up to see who exactly it was she plowed into.

“I’m so sorry! Please forgive me,” the man exclaimed, blushing as he realized he was still holding the girl who nearly bowled him over. His hazel eyes held embarrassment, then recognition. “Wait… You’re… Hisako, right? Sakura-chan’s friend?”

“Yes, but who…” Confusion was plain as day on Hisako’s face.

“Pleased to finally make your acquaintance, Hisako-san. You can call me Ryouko.”

“Oh… OH! Oh, my god, you’re Ryouko!” She slapped a palm to her forehead in realization. “Nice to meet you, too. I’ve heard nice things, but I guess the village is bigger than I thought, if we’re just meeting now.”

“Haha… Indeed. It’s a wonder how we’ve managed it this long. Where are you headed? May I walk with you?” When Hisako gestured her consent, he fell into step beside her as she continued her path to the training ground.

“Oh, I’m just headed to the training area for some sparring with Tenten-san. I didn’t get the chance to yesterday, and it’s just gorgeous today, so I thought, ‘Why waste an opportunity like this,’ you know?” Hisako snuck a sidelong glance at Ryouko as he listened, facing ahead.

“The weather is nice today, isn’t it?” He had to agree, looking up at the cloudless sky.

“You know…” Hisako started, her expression serious. “You’re cuter than I thought you’d be. Not that I’m saying I didn’t think you’d be cute, but Sakura isn’t very good at explaining things.” She held her serious expression as she took in his reaction to her statement.

“H-Hisako-san!” Ryouko protested and turned a very bright shade of pink, refusing to meet her eyes. She giggled and looked back at the path before them, sparing him further embarrassment.

“You’re cute when you blush, too.” Well, maybe not sparing him anything, after all.

“You don’t hold back, do you?” He replied with a flustered cough, blushing again.

“Nah, not really,” she replied with a grin, lacing her fingers behind her head casually as they walked.

Ryouko cast a sidelong glance at his current companion. She was pretty cute, he decided, and she seemed pretty laid back. Probably taken, though, with my rotten luck. Best not to even start down that path. Their amiable conversation continued until the pair reached Hisako’s destination, and they both said their goodbyes.

“Here we are, Hisako-san. It’s been a pleasure.”

“It really has. You’re pretty cool, Ryouko-kun. We should do this more often,” she replied with a friendly grin.

Ryouko blushed again at the compliment, and they both waved before parting ways.

He really is pretty cool, Hisako thought as she headed up to where Tenten was probably already waiting for her. He had a kind of aura of loneliness, though. Maybe I should pay him a visit sometime. The guy looks like he could use the company.

--

Tenzo was mad at himself. He used his “sick” excuse yesterday, so he couldn’t use the same excuse today. Besides, he wasn’t really one to shirk his responsibilities, anyway. A top-secret ANBU mission that he couldn’t deny diplomatically was sent his way, and he’d had to gear up and head out before dawn had even cracked.

Just when the weather turned nice like this… I might have seen her today.

--

Hisako and Tenten exchanged greetings and went straight to work. Neither knew the other very well, so there wasn’t much to talk about. Hisako noted slightly glumly that Tenzo-sama was nowhere to be found. Well, it makes sense that he wouldn’t, if he had “just been passing through,” as he’d said. Still, she’d give anything to see him again.

--

Chapter 24: http://www.fanart-central.net/chapter-100931.html

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