Chapter 12 - Sakura's Winter

Ratings:
Nudity: Moderate
Sex: Mild

Sakura wanted a boy. As in, boyfriend. As in, relationship. Lovey-dovey, kissy, romance-y relationship. Not strange, considering her age.

No matter how strong I get, I still feel so out of place. And lately, this longing for a boy to call my own…it’s gotten stronger. Sasuke leaving only made me want a boyfriend more. But because of how I worshipped him, no boy will touch me! (sigh) It figures. I’m finally ready to date, and now no one will take a second look at me. People say I’m cute, but that’s it. Not beautiful. Cute. As in, ‘you’re so cute and young-looking, Sakura’! I hate that! If it’s a cute guy saying it, then fine! But it’s just some snotty kids who want an older woman who say that!

Sakura Haruno, Age: Seventeen (I’ll be eighteen in March! CHA! 00’ Haven’t said ‘cha’ in a long time!). I’ve got pink hair, a slim figure, and a big forehead. And I got gypped in the T&A department! My mom nags me, and my sensei is hard on me. I’ve gotten stronger, but not any cuter. Damn it damn it damn it!

Sakura resisted the urge to childishly pummel her bed. It wasn’t the bed’s fault that she was single, after all. The fault was probably her own. After being so gung-ho about Sasuke, she had scared any other potential suitors away.

With a sigh, Sakura got up to make tea. It was winter in the Leaf Village, and though her apartment was warm, the cold weather outside made tea sound like a great idea. Only one problem:

“I’m out of tea? Great! That’s just perfect!”

Sakura slammed the cupboard shut before shuffling over to her teakettle. She dumped the near-boiling water into the sink, then hung the teapot on the faucet so that it would dry. While doing this, Sakura considered her option.

The store? No, it’s too far in this weather. Same with Ino’s house. She’s probably all cozy, playing some hentai game or something! Blond pervert! She is SO drooling over some yaoi or something, I bet!

Let’s see…Naruto’s apartment isn’t far, but he might not be home. Going all that way for nothing wouldn’t be worth it.

Ah! Ryouko! If anyone is at home, drinking tea right now, it’s him! (giggle) The poor guy! Others his age are out drinking or partying. He’s having tea and cookies and reading a scroll instead! (giggle) Like I can talk -_-‘ Still, that kind of thing makes him unique. Kinda cute, in a way. Well, I’ll just pay him a visit to borrow some tea.

--

Ryouko was at home, sipping tea and reading a scroll. He frowned over it’s contents. He sneezed suddenly and violently.

“Guess someone’s talking about me or something,” he said in reference to an old legend. It was similar to getting a shiver when someone walked on your grave. In this case, you sneezed when someone spoke ill of you. “Now let’s see…genjutsu…enough of that. Let’s try single-hand handsigns. That’ll be handy when I’m using my sword. Now, which Jutsu-?”

Knock knock

“Who would be out at a time like this?” Ryouko wondered, getting up to answer the door. An important mission, maybe?

When he opened his door, Ryouko found Sakura on the other side. He immediately stepped out of the way to let her in. She took the gesture as the invitation it was and stepped inside.

“Sorry to bother you, Ryouko. I was hoping I could borrow some tea.” Sakura brushed the snow off her clothes before kicking her boots off.

“Oh, sure. Just a second.” Ryouko walked toward his kitchen.

Is it polite to ask her to stay? I DO have some tea made. And it WOULD give me an excuse to talk to her. Girls always travel in packs, and right now the one I like is away from the herd! I should talk to her! In fact, I’m going to!

“Oh, Ryouko, you shouldn’t have!” Sakura exclaimed. “Your tea is perfect! I don’t know how I drank anything else before this!”

“I’m glad you like it. The tea isn’t near as perfect as you, though,” Ryouko commented, smooth as silk.

“You bad boy, was this a set-up? Hmm? Well, I suppose it would be rude of me not to indulge. C’mere now. I need you to keep me warm…

Yeah, that’d be great. If I only had the balls to tell her how I feel^^’

-

Sakura watched Ryouko as he fished out some tea from a cupboard. He moved graceful even then, showing how much he trained.

He trains so hard that he unconsciously practices like that. I wish he was on our team, instead of that damn Sai! Ryouko’s ten times more talented! It’s funny to think he’s only a little older than me.

“Here you are, Sakura. And a cup for the road, too. I don’t imagine that it’s very pleasant outside right now.”

Sakura stopped daydreaming and took the tea from Ryouko. He had put it in a little bag, sealed tightly against the cold and snow. When he handed her the steaming tea mug, their hands touched for a brief moment. Ryouko blushed a little, but knew that Sakura would shrug it off as his normal behavior. To his surprise, Sakura’s cheeks had reddened slightly as well.

-
What was that, just now? When I saw him blush, I had to blush, too! And I smiled! I guess it’s kind of sweet how he does that. I hope he doesn’t think I’m mocking him or something.

“Thank you for the tea, Ryouko! Have a good night. And don’t stay up too late studying- doctor’s orders!”

Ryouko gave his trademark half-smile. “Yes ma’am, I’ll behave. Stay safe on your way home.”

Sakura gave a little laugh at his formality. ‘Yes ma’am’? C’mon, that’s a little formal, Ryouko! You’ve known me for years now! Sakura thought, pulling her boots back on. Once they were securely on her feet, she opened the door.

“!” Ryouko’s cup clattered to the floor as he leapt up and raced past Sakura.

“Look out!” he called to her, stepping between her and the door. WHOOMPF!

Sakura dropped the tea mug. “Ryouko!”

A ton of snow had fallen off the roof when Sakura opened the door. Ryouko had somehow heard it and bolted to get in front of her. As a result, he got buried in the snow, while Sakura only spilled a little tea on her boots. Just as she began to panic, Sakura saw two eyes blinking in front of her. She had to stuff her fist in her mouth to stop from laughing.

“Hahaha! You look like a snowman!” she chortled, pulling Ryouko inside. She used her strength to shut the door against the pressure of the snow.

“I’d l-l-laugh, b-but I c-can’t thaw o-out!” Ryouko shot back, unintentionally comically. He had burned through all his chakra during his training, and now he couldn’t even produce a small flame to melt the snow.

“Go in the shower and thaw yourself out. I’ll make some new tea.”

Ryouko was too cold to argue with an idea that made sense.

-

Once in the bathroom, Ryouko stripped his clothes off, still feeling the sting of ice and snow against his flesh. As he pried off his pants, his brain fed him a message:

You’re naked and your crush is here.

Another message soon followed:

Your clothes are in the other room. You’re going to have to parade past her in a towel.

Not that it could be helped now. All the same, Ryouko had made the mistake of thinking of the situation at hand. He was naked, in the shower, and there was a female present. Not just any female- his ideal woman. And while she might not be right here watching him, she was still going to see at least his bare chest. Of course, now Ryouko’s brain passed on yet another message:

She’ll be staying here until the snow melts. That could be days!

As the hot water defrosted him, Ryouko wondered if Sakura felt the same trepidation he did.

Probably not. I’m no threat to her, and she knows it. Now would be the perfect time to tell her how I feel, but she’d have no place to sit down and think it over. Damn it! It all comes down to one thing: I can’t say it!

--

Sakura made the tea, then poured two steaming mugs. Now, hanging out with Naruto, Sakura had seen a guy in an advanced state of undress. But Naruto was Naruto- he was a teammate, and the kind of guy you bring to a party to make it entertaining. A conversation piece.

Seeing him naked is like seeing a mother seeing her baby naked. But Ryouko…I can’t help but be curious…I’ve never even seen him without a shirt, let alone completely naked! I wonder what he looks like…

Sakura’s mind conjured up an image of an overly-muscular, oiled-up hunk with pecs as big as her head.

What am I doing?! He’s not built like that, and…and…why would I even think that? Get it together, Sakura! You want a boyfriend so bad that you’re seeing a sweet-natured boy as a male stripper! Cut it out! Don’t molest him in your mind, that’s wrong!

--

Ryouko finished defrosting, looking carefully out of the shower. The coast was clear. Well, duh, the bathroom door was locked, and he was alone in there to begin with. Trying to calm himself down, Ryouko strapped a towel around himself. Too tight. Too loose. Too tight. Too loose…

“Damn it!” he swore, a little louder than he meant to. From the other side of the door came Sakura’s concerned voice.

“Is everything okay, Ryouko?”

Ryouko covered up quickly, panicking. “Everything’ fine! It’s all good! Uh, I’m…I’m coming out now!”

--

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Sakura found that she was excited at the prospect of seeing Ryouko in nothing but a towel.

Maybe it’s just puberty? Or curiosity? I AM a girl, of course I want to see naked guys. It only makes sense that I’d wonder. (nods to herself) And what am I getting all worked up for anyway? It’s just Ryouko, I’ve known him forever!

The bathroom door opened. Sakura tried to avert her eyes, but her body turned instead of her head, so she wound up shamelessly gawking. Out walked Ryouko through the steam.

Sakura was pleasantly surprised to find that Ryouko wasn’t hiding anything terrible- just an ordinary physique. He was a little muscular, built like the martial artist he was. Here again, Sakura noticed the grace with which Ryouko moved. She gulped hard.

Something’s wrong here…

--

Ryouko pulled on his sleepwear. Today he had settled on a pair of black briefs. They were somewhat low-cut, but that was because his ANBU shorts went over them. They were black in color in case his pants ripped; an old trick Ryouko had learned from exam proctors.

BAM!

Ryouko turned, seeing Sakura standing at the door. His first instinct was to cover up, but for whatever reason, he didn’t. He just stood there, mostly undressed.

Sakura jogged in, smiling and laughing. She playfully tackled him onto his bed and tickled him. He counter-attacked and tickled her, pulling her in tight to him so that his stomach was against hers.

All this happened in black and white, and there was no sound. But each image was clear.

Sakura nuzzled his chest with her head, then curled up and went to sleep, feeling safe with his strong arms around her.



Sakura blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Nope, that daydream had definitely happened.

I can’t believe I just…I mean….How did…?! Is it him? Is it the situation? Is it both?! I’m trapped here, with a cute guy, while the snow is falling outside. He just took a shower, then walked by me in a towel. It’s just the situation, right? Isn’t it?

“Sakura? Are you okay?”

Sakura half-jumped, spinning around to find a fully-dressed and snow-free Ryouko standing there.

“I-I’m fine! Just daydreaming!” Sakura waved her arms around, as if dispelling that dream. Her heartbeat sped up. Her face flushed suddenly, as if she had a fever. But tha was because:
He looks so serious!

Ryouko did indeed look serious. In fact, he leaned forward and kissed Sakura. Right out of the blue, he kissed her. As for Sakura, she just went with it. She didn’t fight back. She wanted to see if her day dreams were meant to star Ryouko, or if they were just the heat of the moment. When their lips meant, Sakura knew it was the real deal.

--

“I insist you sleep in my bed. I couldn’t, in good conscience, let a female guest sleep on the floor.”

Sakura didn’t really argue, aside from the obligatory ‘are you sure?’. That bed looked warm and comfortable.

“You can borrow a sweat suit, if you’d like something to sleep in.”

Sakura considered it, but instead she buried herself under the covers. “No peeking!” she said, just a tad playfully. She obviously hadn’t thought she’d be staying the night, so she didn’t have pajamas. Just underwear. (upon thinking of this, Ryouko’s heartbeat sped up to nearly unchartable levels) Sakura had thought of the same thing, but shrugged it off. Ryouko wouldn’t look. Then again, he WAS still a guy…of course, if he DID peep, Sakura could simply beat the crap out of him for it. Make sure he earned that look. Though Sakura had to wonder whether or not she was being this teasing on purpose. She had admitted to herself she wanted a boyfriend, so maybe she had subconsciously planned on how to treat him? No, only Ryouko would react to this sort of thing in the way Sakura was looking for.

“Okay, you can look now, I’m covered.”

Ryouko took a Yukata from his closet and hung it up next to the bed. Sakura could toss that on if she had to get up.

“Well, good night. I hope you sleep well,” Ryouko offered, smiling instead of bowing as usual. The smile caught Sakura by surprise, but she recovered quickly.

“I sleep better if I’ve got something to cuddle…” Sakura shot back at him, playfully seductive. That’s what he gets for that teasing little smile of his!

“Are you serious?” Ryouko asked, completely innocent, eyes wide. Sakura felt bad for deceiving the boy. He was obviously a simpleton when it came to love.

“No, baka! We’re not THAT close yet!”

“But you said cuddling, not…y’know!” Ryouko protested, waving one arm in frustration/surprise.

“If you were in your underwear, too, then it’d be different!” Sakura fired back.

“Are you serious now?” Ryouko questioned, this time just kidding.

“Just go to sleep!”

--

First thing in the morning, Sakura put on the robe Ryouko had left. She saw him laying on the floor, a too-small blanket covering him. The scene was kind of cute to Sakura. Kinda like a puppy…

“But he’s gonna catch a cold that way…guess I’d better cover him up.”

Sakura dragged the blanket off the bed, but stopped. Then I’LL be cold…

Thinking on her feet, Sakura draped the blanket over Ryouko. Then she grabbed her pillow and put it next to his. Sighing at the innocence of the situation, Sakura pushed herself against Ryouko to keep him warm. She took a look at his face, seeing the same innocent expression she always did. A guy who had seen the horror the world had to offer, but remained pure in heart despite it. Again, it was comforting to see that someone could still be that way in this day and age. She quickly fell asleep herself. Her last conscious thought:

I wanted a boyfriend…thanks to some bad luck, I’ve finally got one. Huh. Coulda sworn I said we weren’t ready to cuddle yet…

AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Once again, I got bitten by the ‘romantic comedy’ bug. And once again, it’s Ken Akamatsu’s work that’s to blame. This time it’s Negima at fault. If you aren’t a fan of Akamatsu-san’s work yet, I hope that this recent rash of romance/comedy fics will be inspiration enough for you to check his stuff out.

-NG

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