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Jinmirai to Itsumo
Chapter One: Surprise
By Alden-san
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I woke suddenly, my dream of cuddling Sasuke-kun evaporating as so much smoke,
or mist in the air. Innerly, I swear uncontrollably, while outwardly I just
stretch and utter one phrase.
"Eugh... Morning..." My voice broke the strange silence of that
too-early morning. I smiled, and opened my eyes. It wasn't even dawn yet - Why
was I up? Oh... Early missions again, instead of the 'show up around 9am easy
jobs I could handle. I decided, however, that waking early was good - I'd have
time to get ready, and walk slowly to the mission site, something I usually
didn't have the luxury of even thinking about. It was a loooooong walk, too. I
knew that I'd never thin up enough for Sasuke-kun to notice unless I went with
my regular diet and exercise.
I sighed, and turned in my comforter, resting my head across the pillow and
smiling, running scenarios around in my brain. Sasuke-kun holding my hand,
kissing me, cuddling, whispering into my ear... When I almost felt his breath
on my neck, I stopped, realising that, if that train of thought continued, it
may have raised to a level I wouldn't have enjoyed thinking about. My parents
would scream at me if they knew! How could I think things like that? When did I
get so...
(Imaginative?) A little voice in my head supplied.
'More like disgusting...' I muttered quietly.
I also realised that Sasuke had a one-track mind. Whatever it was, it didn't
involve cuddling up with a certain team mate, so I shoved those thoughts to the
back of my mind, and got out of bed. I prepared myself for a shower, got
clothes and things, and finally stepped into my washroom.
When I stepped out, a significant amount of time later, I got my kunai and
shuriken, with respective pouches, and other supplies ready. Then, I put
together a lunch for Sasuke (My mum always thought it was for myself. That way,
I got permission to use things like muffins, or tea bags he could use Kakashi's
kettle to make. I always bought my own lunches... And I'm proud to say that
he's never failed to eat, AND enjoy my handmade lunches!) Finally ready, I
opened the door and stepped out.
"Ahhh..." I breathed in the fresh morning air, and looked around. Even
though the sky was dark, many were up and about. Ninja woke up early to train,
which meant businesses started early, so that they could service them, etc... I like being outside
before dawn, always had, because it wasn't too hot, and not especially cold.
That day was no exception.
I wandered down the streets, and a neon sign caught my eye. It was a jewellery
shop, one that my dad had once pointed out to me. I looked at a clock nearby,
and decided I had enough time to take a look. I stepped in, and looked around
the small shop.
Whoever made these things knew what they were doing! They were pretty,
especially the charms for charm bracelets. Having got one of those special
bracelets recently (birthday present from Naruto), I bought a few charms that
had significant meanings... To me, anyways. The first was a little book, to me
that just screamed Kakashi's name. Then, a small fan. I smiled, and remembered
the symbol on Sasuke's shirt. Then, a bowl signified Naruto's adoration for
ramen. One last one, I decided - It was a beautiful flower, a lotus. It
signified purity, and stood as a reminder of not one, but two friends - Ino,
who's nature was one of the purest I'd ever met, and Lee, possibly the most
sincere and nice guy in the village. It also made me blush in shame, when I
thought of Lee's promise to 'protect me forever'.
My eyes widened, as I realised: I was going to be late! I quickly paid for my
things and ran as fast as I could, rushing past everyone on the street.
Finally, I was almost there...
I tripped, and somersaulted onto the bridge, rolling onto my knees and flinging
out my hands, smiling in success... Then I noticed no-one was there!
Disappointed, I hung my head and jumped up, sitting on the railing, legs
hanging and toes just reaching the middle of the support holding it up. Then, I
dug through the bag at my side...
"Aha!" I muttered quietly, pulling a small book from my pouch. It was
a pocket-book, perfect for such missions. I liked to keep it a secret, but I
was actually quite a bookworm for complicated philosophy and things like that.
Otomegokoro, by Hachimitsuno Kurokuma - A book of philosophy written by one of
the greatest minds of recent times. I enjoyed his ideas immensely.
I had a small library stashed away in my room for small books like that, mass
produced for ninjas on missions. I was reading a lot of these books on women,
recently. I had a few in my bag right then... Otomegokoro, which I was reading;
Ai no Onna and Ai no Otome by Senman Kanjou, and another, fictional story:
Kan'ake, a story of a girl who melted a cold boy's heart of ice and found love.
It was so pretty, and it seemed to fit my position perfectly.
I was so deeply engrossed in my book; I only looked up when I heard Naruto's
annoying yelling. It seemed Sasuke had already arrived, and now Naruto was
running up towards us, yelling, "Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"
'Eugh... Let's really give him something to yell about!' That voice I'd named
'Inner Sakura' yelled, and before I thought about it... I was running towards
Naruto.
He stopped. I didn't. I leapt onto him, hugging my arms around him and pressing
my lips to him. Later, I reasoned that I'd steal Sasuke's first kiss this
way... It was surprisingly soft, tasting of miso and a hint of pork. The
feeling of my first kiss, the emotions swirling around inside me burst, and I
was rushed with a ton of senses. I was blown away by the sheer force of it...
And a second that seemed like an hour later, I pulled my face away, and winked.
"You're better looking than you think, Naruto...kun..." I muttered,
and pushed myself up, feeling strangely satisfied.
Out of the corner, Sasuke almost seemed... incredulous? Yet, the look was gone
almost as fast as it appeared, and Sakura doubted immediately if she'd even
seen it. Standing and leaving the dazed boy on the ground, she walked by her
other team mate and stood, leaning back against the railing.
"Well well, any longer, and my team will be more interesting than Icha
Icha Paradise!" Kakashi's voice came from the trees as he descended from
the branches, landing crouched on his toes. "... Ne, Sakura?"
My eyes widened. Kakashi-sensei had seen that?
"Pervert!" I yelled, smacking him over the head. He was having such
disgusting ideas about using his students? Then, I decided he must have been
kidding, and helped him to his feet. I shook my head.
"Sensei..." I said in a fake cheery voice.
"Ya?" He asked, waving me off as he stood up.
I ground my teeth. "You're... late... again..."
"I had to save an infant who fell in the river...:" He shaid, rubbing
the back of his head and shrugging.
"Liar, Kakashi!"
"Sensei..."
"Che..."
Various reactions to this lie, the daily thing we expected, had been growing
weaker every day. It was becoming more of a tradition than an annoyance. My
patient, annoyed tone, Naruto's yelling accusations, Sasuke's noises of
annoyance, and the tiniest smile... It was all our morning thing.
"Now... we have another 'boring' mission, cleaning out old Kuzaki's
attic..." Kakashi paused, waiting for Naruto's groan.
Perfect timing.
"Euuuuuuggh, Kakashi-sensei! Why didn't you get us a good mission this
time! Why are we stuck with all the boring ones!" Naruto whined, and it
strained my hearing to listen to it.
"Come on, guys, let's go..." Kakashi jumped into one of the trees
around the bridge and headed towards Kuzaki-san's house.
I sighed, and jumped, landing firmly on a branch… that promptly broke. Reaching
out, I only managed to feel the branch above me as I fell. I was falling...
Swoosh! Sasuke appeared below me, arms outstretched. He caught me in both arms,
and jumped back up. Sasuke-kun was carrying me!
And he dropped my on one of the branches before making his way after Kakashi. I
sighed, stood, and followed. I could have sworn he'd smiled, though...
-Chapter One, Ended-
--
I've started the rewrite of Itsumo! This one's guaranteed to be better. I'm
going to have a few more scenes, handle the plot instead of make it up as I
go... like last time, heh. Hopefully, people who liked it will like this
version too. I'm going to fix chapters I screwed up, too.
But... This one's going to be pairings I've decided already, instead of vote.
So JtI and Itsumo might (and probably will ) have different pairings than
Itsumo.
People reading this for the first time: Please, read this one! If you want to
go read the original for spoilers as to the plot, well... There might be a few
changes anyways. Thanks!
See you next chapter (hopefully...)!
Alden