Recappy From the Last Chappy: As her hand retracted, his blushed deepened and his smile turned broader. Handsome? His transformation jutsu was released, obeying Krystal's request, and a puff of smoke erupted around the both of them. It was during this obscursion that she felt a new weight rest itself on the arms of the chair-Naruto?-and her heart jumped surprisedly.
The coolness of Naruto's forehead protector pressed itself to her brow and his nose brushed her cheek, as if searching. "Erm . . . Naruto-kun-"
Anything else to be spoken after his name was lost, as Naruto found was he was looking for, and his lips gingerly kissed hers.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Pinky Promise
His mouth was warm. Of course it would be, he was a human being, after all. Humans, when living and breathing, gave off heat. Right. That was how it worked. She could definitely tell and feel as such from the parts where their faces were touching. If memory served her right, disoriented as she felt at the moment, warmth that was not hellish should have been inviting.
When the smoke finally cleared, she could see again-though she had been staring round-eyed the entire time. His lips had been pressed against hers for a long time, but her body had become rigid and she neither kissed him back nor push him away. Her arms were frozen, cold from just under the layers of her skin to her skeletal structure, too, as if her skin wished to crawl. This thought made her unhappy.
Naruto was her best friend. Why did she feel, right now, like she had been being kissed by Neji?
Soon, to Krystal's relief, he backed off thus their lips finally parted. She could not for the life of her keep the look of horror out of her eyes as she lowered her head to hide them, and the rosy hue of her cheeks, from him. Nervously, her hands wrestled with themselves in her lap. She was speechless.
To her benefit, she did not have to say anything, or rather, there was hardly time to. For it was then that the sliding doors opened with a loud bang; the frame cracked from impact. "NAAAAARUTOOOO!"
"Yikes!" He stopped leaning into Krystal and snapped around to Tsunade; he did not waste a millisecond in making a run for it, moving towards the open window as she chased. Shaken from her stupor, Krystal twisted herself to where her knees sat in the chair, backwards, but Naruto was already out the window with Tsunade hot on his trail after him. She stared after hopelessly. Naruto-kun. . . .
Conflicted and confused, she turned around to sit in the chair properly, but then sank down so her shoulders were nearly at the arms of the chair. All she did was breath a long, drawn-out sigh.
.:Xx♥xX:.
Ropes were binding the wrists and ankles of the blonde fox, keeping him in place on the floor of the Fifth Hokage's office. She was glaring down at him dangerously: hands on hips, nostrils flaring, face twisted in her anger to the point of unsightliness. Her assistant stood by, wearing a less exaggerated cross expression, scowling and crossing her arms. The assistant of her assistant was also near, hands in his pockets and seemingly amused.
"Well?" asked Godaime roughly. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Don't kill me!"
Her mouth twitched into a smirk. "Legally, I can't do that. Legally, I also can't put you in jail for longer than a week or two because you did nothing drastic while taking my place-ramen regulations are easily voidable-and Shizune wasn't harmed when being captured. . . . You do realize this is crime worse than whatever pranks you pulled when you were younger?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Good. Then you will understand that to Shizune and I . . . we will not be satisfied until you are humiliated like we were. So you may not be put in prison, but . . . I think this will suffice: Sasuke!" The boy gave minimal acknowledgment. "Time to pass on your crown. . . ."
Naruto's eyes turned saucer-wide as he fought against the bonds and Sasuke removed the 'princess' aspects of his outfit. "No! No way! I'm not wearing that lame outfit! C-come on, it wasn't that bad. . . . Tsunade baa-chan. . . ."
She smiled maliciously.
.:Xx♥xX:.
When Naruto emerged from the restroom, where he had insisted on changing into the wretched 'princess' outfit, Sasuke found it extremely annoying. The blonde was beaming, self-satisfied. He had found an alternative to wearing the outfit in a way that made it much less of an embarrassing ordeal: wear it like a woman.
Naruto was in the "Sexy Jutsu" version of himself, coming out as a busty blonde female with high and long pigtails. S(he) wore strappy heels similar to what Tsunade wore, and had closed the coat fully, almost looking to strain over her(his) bust. A sliver of a burgundy skirt poked out underneath, coming to mid-thigh. The sash draped over comfortably, as did the tiara rest on the crown of her(his) head. The overall effect was a big-breasted, almost sluttish, winner of a beauty pageant.
"Jealous?" s(he) asked.
"No," he answered bluntly. "You're not man enough to wear it on your own, though, I guess. Loser."
"That's 'Naruko!' And who's the loser? I kissed a girl today!"
"Oh." He turned away, uninterested.
"Hey! Don't you wanna know who it is?" S(he) followed Sasuke in walking down the hall. When Sasuke did not acknowledge, s(he) scowled almost cutely. "It was Krystal-chan."
He stopped, so abruptly that Naruko(to) bumped into him. A shadow crept over his eyes, but they could still be see when he slowly turned his head, glaring at her(him.) S(he) froze at first, but then glared back. "What?"
In tiny puffs of smoke visible only to Sasuke's eyes, Yin and Yang appeared. Without a moment's hesitation, the latter gasped at her subject's intent, and darted down to the collar of his turtleneck, tugging away from Naruko(to) with all her might; her struggles were heard, but he did not budge or even seem to take notice. Nay, Sasuke-kun! You mustn't! Envy is the green monster that will first encase our hearts and then our very souls! 'Tis an ugly thing. You-mustn't-go-through-with-it!
Yin hovered in mid-air, hanging downside-up for some reason with crossed arms. Kick his butt for all I care.
Sasuke did not comment, only narrowed his eyes.
Tugging still, her body at a point as she tilted back her head, she said to Yin, But it is wrong! And-and-and-! An idea suddenly hit her, and she returned her neck forward to an acute angle so she would face Sasuke. She began to yell, desperate. Hast you not the want to keep your love for Krystal-chan a secret? If you hit her-him-her-er him-her-it-then those will surely be brought from the darkness of secret to the light of revelation!
Yin cursed, Damn. He had wanted to see a fight.
Yang's statement made Sasuke come to his senses as he grunted, bared his teeth and glanced to her. The little conscience's strong expression did not waver as she tugged his collar again. Her eyes said it all, so her mouth did not need to: Leave him be. Walk away.
That, with much struggle, he did do. Yang smiled at this, and let go when they had walked about five feet, and a confused Naruko(to) followed after, grumbling to her(him)self. Yin, however, looked at his opposite smugly.
You manipulative little minx, he said.
She crossed her arms and raised her chin. I know naught of what you are talking about.
He smirked. Stop with the random Elizabethan lingo, you know what I'm talking about. You want him to admit to the world he "loves" that girl; you only reminded him of that so he wouldn't hit the loser.
She gasped dramatically. That is NOT true!
Is to.
Is not!
Is to!
Is not!
Is to!
Is not!
To deny it would be morally wrong! reminded Yin in a sing-song voice. Think of your purity, now! To him, the look on her face was priceless, and he started to laugh. Yang had been further corrupted.
.:Xx♥xX:.
Krystal wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, returning to clear her temples, too. She swallowed, letting in a gasp of air after because of the break in accented breathing. Her byakugan-activated eyes stared forward, and she swiped at her bangs to clear her vision from sweat-matted hair. Then, she took a stance, sweeping her legs into position and raising her palms; as she charged toward the straw dummy, she let out a grunt, and commenced battery.
Nothing else was captivating enough to occupy her time or mind; nothing else would make her too tired to think (at least, this is what she hoped would happen.) It did not matter to her at the moment what the doctors had counseled only a few hours earlier.
Suddenly, she missed her target and stumbled, losing her balance. She latched onto the arm of the dummy and used it for support, gasping for air with her back hunched over. Naruto's kiss with her flashed in her mind again, bringing on a feeling of frustration, and her grip on the dummy tightened.
Why? she wondered. Why do I have to think about it, why do I feel like this . . .? The thought made her shiver and she deactivated her byakugan. That idiot. . . . Since she had stopped moving, she had begun to feel the aftermath of today's exploits, negatively. Should she train much longer, she would collapse, and she definitely did not want to visit any medical facilities so soon.
Couldn't he've just . . . asked for the kiss or something? Why did he have to confess like that . . .? Of course, it would not be correct to assume she was angry with the blonde. That was ludicrously untrue and her frustration was not in fact linked to him directly. No, it was her confusion of what to do now and the shock that annoyed her. She had thought that she had known her best friend, through and through. . . .
.:Xx♥xX:.
Almost simultaneously, Sasuke could be found at one of the training fields, kneeling on the ground as he repeatedly punched it. It was with full strength, but because he did not have enough distance from pulling back his fist to the ground, only a small hole was beginning to form. Yin and Yang watched close by.
Krystal and the loser? Krystal and the LOSER? What he hell is this place coming to? roared the thoughts in his head. He snapped a venomous look at Yang. "You should've just let me fight him!"
She cowered behind Yin. Methinks there are better methods of which you may use to resolve this conflict 'twixt you and Naruto-kun! If you must fight for Krystal-chan, do it not with your fists, but the love you hold in your heart--
She didn't stop you from doing anything that wasn't completely idiotic, Yin defended coldly, cutting her off. You have your own free will, she can't do anything to affect that. Besides, she's too much of a bimbo to have that much power. . . . Jeez, I can't believe you can't see just how much of a blessing this is, MORON!
Sasuke abruptly stopped punching and raised his head, slowly, giving an angered look of suspicion. ". . . what are you getting at?"
The baddie smirked. Well well well, so it is true that "love" is blind. Or in this case, just plain stupid, he chuckled. You have no right to be mad, Idiot! If I remember right, you aren't even going to claim that girl for yourself; you were gonna run even if she loved you back. Now that she's in love with the dunce . . . there's no way she's in love with you. Isn't that a good thing?
Sasuke's eyes did not soften a smidgen as he remained silent. If anything, they may have hardened. Even when he stood, towering above them, Yin was not swayed, and kept his sneer. Hmph, how lame that you could let yourself be carried away so easily by such useless emotions . . . you idiot.
"Shut up."
A long silence happened.
Hesitant, the cherub-looking conscience peeked from behind the devilish bad seed. She regressed under the coldness of the shinobi's stare, but only for a moment. It was not in her to argue against Yin's "useless emotion" claim and she let her eyes stare at his shoulder. Her voice, though still in its high-pitched tone, held an unusually somber note. Remember that scroll you stole? From the Konoha Archives, before the Elegance-kun mission?
"It has the Uchiha Crest on it. I didn't steal it."
Alack . . . they were all notes on Uchiha family secrets, written in there, right? Mayhap we know naught of what all of it meant, yet. . . . Methinks. . . . I wonder how much of 'tis true. She paused and began to recite one of them. "There are two ways in which an Uchiha whom hast inherited the sharingan bloodline can upgrade it to the mangekyou sharingan, but how it will work will depend on what is in that Uchiha's heart. For a reason that is dark, you must commit a heinous act: the act of killing your best friend. For a reason that is pure . . . you must become one with someone that you hold dear."
Neither of the boys commented. Sasuke was no longer looking at his insanities, but at the grass beneath his feet. Yin stared past Yang, though he was facing her general direction. She was absently gazing at his shoulder. Their thoughts were quiet, ambiguous to one another as they were consumed within their own.
"It doesn't matter," Sasuke said, breaking the silence. "My reasons for wanting power aren't pure. I will find more power, taking a different path than him . . . but I can't do it that way, either."
Right . . ., they chorused.
.:Xx♥xX:.
Not too long after these happenings, on a day when many white clouds covered the sky and one's breath could be seen left hanging in the air, Hayden and Krystal shopped in the Leaf Village Center. They exited the bookstore with a wave to the elderly man running it. Hayden carried two bags, one in each hand, and opened the book she had just purchased.
Krystal, on the other hand, had not bought anything, so her hands were empty. Today, as continuing to wear a skirt would only make her think about "The Naruto Incident" more than she already was, she wore something a little more to her liking. Her black hoodie was absent of sleeves and cut off at her rib cage. To cover her stomach, made from a special material that kept her a bit warmer, was fishnet, and she wore arm warmers from the top of her arm to her elbow. Her capris were dark blue, covered by her konoha headband on one thigh and her shurikon holster on the other..
"Dang! It's mostly written in kanji . . .," Hayden commented as she was flipping through the pages.
"You can't read kanji?"
"This one can, but it's much tougher than Hiragana or Katakana. This one will have to brush up on it-Ow! Paper cut!" The redhead winced and stuck the lightly bleeding tip of her finger next to her pinky into her mouth, closing the book over the thumb of her other hand.
"What'd you buy, anyway?"
She lifted the book to read the title and brought her finger down. "Make-Out Paradise by Jiraiya-"
Jiraiya-"
Krystal snorted repressed laughter, but when Hayden gave her a look, she grinned and shook her head. "S-so . . . what made y-you choose that? Pfft. . . ."
Narrowing her eyes, knowing Krystal was hiding something from her, she pursed her lips and explained. "This one has seen Lord Maboroshi reading them, and because of the titles, this one thought that they might be good romance novels! They aren't translated into English, though; he has them imported." She began flipping through again.
"Ah." Oh there's romance in there, all right . . . sorta. I should've expected Maboroshi-sama to be into pervy novels. I wonder if I should warn . . . her. . . . Mid-step, the genin froze, staring like a deer in the headlights. Naruto-kun! The boy was half-way down the street, his blonde hair and tiara sticking out in the crowd (as himself, not "Naruko;" Tsunade would not allow otherwise.)
In a frantic search for a place to hide, Krystal's eyes spotted a barrel to her right. Quickly, with her eyes still on Naruto, she lifted the lid and hopped inside, giving a yelp as she fell into the icy sake that filled it half-way. She closed the lid over herself nonetheless.
"W-wait a second . . . is this . . . is this porn?" Hayden exclaimed questioningly as her face turned red. She lifted her head in order to receive Krystal's response, but was only met with the disapproving looks of a few parents passing by who covered their young children's ears. A sweat drop ran past her temple and she looked around, wondering where the genin had disappeared to. "Krystal? Krystal?"
"You looking for her, too?"
Hayden jumped. "Oh, Naruto. . . . No, I'm not."
He frowned at her cross tone. "Have you seen her? I need to talk to her."
She crossed her arms. "She's not interested!"
"How do you know?"
"She's been avoiding you. Do you need more of a clue?"
"Look, lady, will you just tell me where she is?"
"No," she paused. "Partly because this one doesn't know where she is. But even if this one did, this one wouldn't tell you."
Naruto was livid. What's this girls problem? he asked himself. It was unlikely, or so he thought, that a foreigner knew about the Fox, so what he had done to make her so vexed with him was a mystery to the boy. He glared at her and left, muttering (though in his naturally loud voice, it was not muttering at all) to himself. Hayden stuck her tongue out after him.
From inside the barrel, a cautious Krystal lifted the lid from above her a little and swept her eyes from the left to the right. When she was sure that Naruto was gone, she let the lid of the barrel fall to the side and climbed out, a majority of her body from her chest down soaking with sake and reeking of alcohol.
Hayden shook her head and smiled. "Nice."
"Shut up," Krystal blushed. "Thanks for covering for me, but I think you were meaner to him than necessary, though."
She shrugged and they began walking. "This one still can't believe you and the Fox kissed. How gross!"
"Hey, don't refer to him like that!" She decided to ignore a fleeting wonderment as to why she even knew about the Fox. "Despite what you may think, he is a great guy. Plus, it's against the law, here, to talk about that."
"Have you been drinking?"
That was not Hayden. Before she could have replied, Sasuke showed up seemingly from nowhere on the right of the females. A surprise to them, as both jerked a little when he had spoken. Krystal smiled at him, her face turning into an even more embarrassed shade of red than before. Sheepishly, her eyes hid under her lashes and she said, "No. . . ." Then, she looked up again, and was crestfallen.
It was only then that Krystal noticed the backpack on his shoulders and the chuunin standing nearby that she had yet to be acquainted with. She swallowed hard. Her stomach rolled. A . . . mission?
Sasuke read the worry in her expression and deviated his eyes from her. This would be the first time since his return to Konoha that he would be leaving the Village on a mission without her.
His cheeks glowed pink and he looked to be frowning. Why did she look like that when she likes the dunce, he wondered. It was like she thought that she would never see him again-Oh. Hn. . . . Still, he did not look at her and placed his hand on the crown of her head; her mouth twisted with more unease and she blushed harder.
"Don't . . . worry," he said, closing his eyes with the tiniest hint of a smile. "I'll come back."
She looked up. "Promise?"
He turned his head to look her in the eye and nodded. "Hn."
One arm behind her back, she shook his hand off of her head and extended her pinky to him. "Pinky promise?"
Few snickered nearby as the shinobi frowned under his scarlet facade. A couple of chuunin were listening in and, judging by their reaction, had probably already obtained an idea as to what their squad mate's personality was; they understood that he would find making a pinky promise embarrassing. Hayden also laughed a little.
". . . hn." He linked pinkies with her, "I'm not going to run away this time," and then quickly let go. It looked like it was enough for the girl, as she closed her eyes and smiled happily with a light giggle. She made him blush even more and stiffen. ". . . . Bye."
"Bye, Sasuke. . . ." She watched him walk away with the other chuunin.
"Kawaii desune! Ditch the blonde and go for the cutie," Hayden winked. Krystal's reply was only a subtle smile, as a little bit of worry overtook her again.
He was disappearing from her view, growing smaller as the crowd swallowed him. Somehow, she thought, bringing her hands together in front of her, even though he says he'll be back, I. . . .
Prior to finishing the thought, she began running after him, pushing through the people rudely. She elbowed her way until there was a break in the clogged street and she was able to run after him freely. He was only a few more feet away, and she hardly slowed down a smidgen when she collided into him and hugged him, awkwardly, partly because of the backpack, from behind.
"What-?" Sasuke's muscles tensed in preparation for fighting off an enemy, but when he craned his neck to see who was squeezing him, they relaxed only a little. He was surprised to see that it was Krystal, hiding her face from him as she tightened her hold on him.
"And . . . please . . . come back safe!" Her forehead pressed into the head of his spine, hiding away her face. His muscles were tone, firm against her. She had made a brace with her hands in front of his stomach, close to his navel. A mild aspect of perspiration joined his apple scent, as if he had already found the time to train the day.
One of his callused hands went over the brace; the warmth of his palm contrasted with the iciness of the outside of her hand, and titillated goose bumps sprouted all along her forearms as his warmth seemed to spread throughout her body.
The wait for his response felt longer than it may have been, but unknown to her, the reason for its tardiness was due to the scrambling of words in his mind. His lips had been parted, waiting for simply a single, intelligent reply.
". . . . Right," he finally said and brought up his other hand to break the clasp holding him to her in both a gentle and rough way. He let her hand linger in his palms for a moment and then let them fall to her sides. He did not turn when saying, "See you," and walked away.
Carmine hues lingering upon her cheeks and her heart aflutter, she watched after him again. I wonder if it's just me, but . . . he seems less . . . cold, than he used to be. . . . Even if only a little. . . . She gave a throaty giggle. "Or maybe that's wishful thinking. . . ."
End of Chapter Twenty-nine
Next Time on .:Roses are Red:.! Chapter Thirty: Not a Mellow Yellow
Krystal thrashed within the net, attempting to free herself or reach into her kunai pouch for something to cut herself down when the sac began rotating. The kunoichi paused and tilted her head back a little, turning it to her left. Her stomach lurched. "Mind lettin' me outta this thing?"
"That all depends," Naruto replied from the opposing side of the Hospital bed. "Are you gonna keep running away from me?"
Swallowing hard, the girl furrowed her brow. "It might've crossed my mind. . . . But. . . . I guess it's been too long since we've talked, huh? What's it been, a month or so?" He nodded. ". . . fine. Cut me down, and I won't run."
.:Xx♥xX:.
Aki's Author Corner
Yang: Hello, everyone, and welcome to: AKI'S AUTHOR CORNER! -pauses and looks at Yin, who is relaxing a lounge chair underneath a tanning lamp, sunning- Yiiiiiiin! You're supposed to help me greet everyone!
Yin: -lifts head partways, moving sunglasses down his nose- Quit botherin' me! Can't you see I'm tryin' to stay dark? My tan's fading away!
Yang: But . . . but the readers. . .
Yin: -rests back into original tanning position and ignores her-
Yang: -lower lip quivers- Alack, alone I must host the corner. -turns back to readers- Thank you, everyone for reading! Aki is not here to show her gratitude and Yin's being a meanie, but from all of us to the reviewers: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Reviews are greatly apppreciated by all of us :)
Yin: Yeah, yeah, we're eternally grateful-Whatever. Pass the tanning lotion, Yang?
Yang: -frowns and thinks: I should not . . . I should not. . . .- Aye. Out of the goodness of my heart, I hereby hand you this tanning lotion, -picks up bottle labeled 'cooking oil'- in hopes that-
Yin: Yeah, yeah -grabs it and puts some on-
Yang: -sighs- How horrible. . . . He hast such bad manners. . . . T.T
Yin: -starts to boil and shifts- . . . . -shifts a bit more- Kinda hot, isn't it? -sniffs- Somethin' burnin'? -lifts head, sunglasses slide down nose and looks down to see that his body is getting very very red and boiling- AAAAAAHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL?
Yang: -picks up bottle of Cooking Oil and gasps- Oopsie-daisy. . . . Methinks I handed you Cooking Oil instead of Tanning Lotion! -chases after Yin- Are you okay? Are you okay? Live! T.T I'M SO SORRY!
Yin: -runs around screaming his head off- STOP SAYING YOUR SORRY, JUST HELP ME, DAMMIT! AND SHUT DOWN THE CORNER! BYE EVERYONE! T.T
Thanks for reading, God bless! Please vote and comment :)