Chapter 24- Everlasting Hope
"Did you hear?" a girl said in a tiny voice, barely audible for the people around her to hear.
"Yeah, yeah we heard!" another girl whispered excitedly.
"Huh, what happened?" a clueless girl from the crowd spoke.
"What! You still don't know?" the first girl exclaimed quietly.
"No." the clueless girl said sheepishly.
"Yamanaka Ino, the former leader of Sasuke's fan club, has canceled her arranged marriage with Sasuke! And furthermore, she stepped down from her position as the fan club leader!"
One by one, the crowd of girls began chattering excitedly.
"I heard that she's having her eyes on Nara Shikamaru."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Who's the new leader now?"
"Hitomi Harashida."
"Her!"
"Yeah...oh there she is!"
"So, I guess you have all heard the wonderful news." Hitomi spoker in an arrogant voice, with an evil grin in her face.
"Yes, what do we do now Hitomi-sama?"
"Now that we got Ino out of the way, the only one left is Haruno."
"Uh-huh..." they all said in unison, eagerly waiting for what Hitomi has to say.
"As the new leader of Sasuke's fan club I, Hitomi Harashida, declare that its time to move on to the next mission: HARUNO EXTERMINATION....."
"So why are we here again?" Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru asked boredly.
"We're here because it's going to be fun and plus we're going to help those poor kids out!" The girls chorused.
The gang plus Shikamaru and Ino now had just arrived in front of Konoha Mall. Ino had told them about a children's charity club hosting this big event in hoping to earn some money for the homeless and orphans.
So naturally Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten dragged the boys out to join them. Ino had managed to drag Shikamaru with her after major pleadings. But as for them being couples, well it's not official yet. As for the others, they are gradually accepting Ino and even finds her a fun cheerful person to hang out with.
They arrived at the central fountain and they could see seventy or so people crowding around booths.
"Wow, the line sure is long." Sakura noted.
"Yeah, they sure are successful." Tenten noted after her.
"Well, we better sign up then." Neji said curtly.
They saw a big sign that said the price to enter the event and the requirements.
"Hm....ten dollars for each person to attend and people have to come in pairs. Further instructions will be given out later. The even starts at 11:00 so hurry up and sign up and help out those kids! There will be prizes for first place winners and second place winners." Naruto read out.
"W-Well it's perfect; we are already separate into pairs." Hinata calculated. Sasuke will go with Sakura. Naruto will go with her. Neji will go with Tenten, and Shikamaru can go with Ino.
"Hey isn't that Uchiha Sasuke-kun!" A girl screamed suddenly, interrupting them. Every girl stopped and stared at them with eyes that were the size of oranges.
"Not again!" Sasuke groaned.
Instantly almost every girl in the mall charged forward.
"Uh...Sasuke...." Sakura said nervously, even though her blindness was not completely healed her sight had been improving for the past weeks. Already she could see shadowy figures rushing towards them screaming Sasuke's name at the top of their lungs.
"Sakura, we have to run." Sasuke yelled over his fan girl's voices. Today was just pissing him off, being chased by fan girls were a part of the reason why he hated going to the mall so much.
"Run you guys!" Ino shouted as they came nearer. Some girls tripped and got trampled by the others. Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand and starting pulling her away as fast as he can.
"STOP! HOLD YOU CORPSES!" somebody yelled over the cone-shaped speaker.
"Um....pardon me sir, but its hold you horses not corpses." Another person whisperedin the speaker's ears.
"Oh, well HOLD YOUR HORSES!" boomed the voice again.
Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked up at the person who was standing by the fountain wall. He was a tall person with white cropped hair. There were wrinkles on his faces but nevertheless he seems as lively as a ten year old.
"My name is Kanda Luda, I am the host of thiscontest event. While I'm here I expect no inhumanly behavior! Any person who dares to call or create a stampede again, will be cast out of the mall before they can say whatever they want to say!" Kanda shouted.
Every girl quieted down and then sulkily returned to their places.
"Are you guys alright?" Kanda asked as he hopped down of the fountain wall and walked towards Sasuke and Sakura.
"Yeah." Sasuke managed to say out loud. He couldn't believe it; he actually stopped his fan girls! This guy was his hero! If he even believe in heroes that is....
Kanda left them, and they waited in line again. But this time there seems to be more people joining and oddly it seems to be all the fan girls. So now instead of70 or so people joining, there were hundreds!
After they signed their name up, they waited until the time has come as Kanda stepped forth again with his giant speaker.
"Now that everyone has signed up are their anymore people who wants to join at the last minute? No? Ok. Thanks to all that have entered and the children will be grateful for your gracious deeds, more people than we have hoped for had signed up and we want to thank you greatly. Let's cut to the chase shall we? Please listen carefully for I will only explain once." He instructed and waited for all of the contestants to quiet down.
"Now, there will be groups of two like you already know and each group should have already received an envelope and a digital camera from the staff. When I blow my whistle you can open the envelope and inside you will find a quest of some kind that you all need to fulfill. There will be instructions on the paper and everyone receive the same quests but in different order. There will be 4 quests in total and 1 riddle for you to solve in the end. Please follow the instructions carefully. Oh, and if you plan on stealing the digital camera, be warned. We can track you down as fast as lightning. Cell phones are not permitted during the contest because there is a special machine installed in the mall that cuts off all the phone signals in the mall and 1 mile radius around it." Kanda said threatening.
Everyone sweat dropped, Kanda sure likes using weird similes and idioms. They got ready to tear their envelope apart as Kanda held up his whistle.
'BEEEEEP!'
Sounds of tearing paper erupted in the mall, and each group quickly scanned the paper in their hands.
-Sasuke and Sakura-
For your quest you need to look at the pictures and identify the place and object. Once you have identified it, go to that place and take a picture of it exactly the way the picture is shown. After you have taken your pictures go to the 5th floor and there, you will find a person wearing a red uniform waiting for you. He/She will judge your pictures and if it's acceptable than he/she will give you an envelope for your next quest. Good luck!
Sasuke read out loud, and then he took out five pictures and looked at the first one.
"What's the picture?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know, it looks like its some kind of a device. The object has two colors: black and silver and there's a single strip on it. Its kind of a cylindrical shape and a word is printed on it. The word is cut off though; only the letter 'R' is visible." He observed.
Sakura thought for a moment: Black, Silver, cylindrical object. What could it be?
"Wait, I can also see a tiny cross printed on it." Sasuke noted.
Inner Sakura: A cross....a cross...a PLUS SIGN!
"Could it be that the object is a battery?" she pondered out loud.
"Hey I think that's it, the 'R' must be part of the word 'Energizer'!" Sasuke said softly. There were people around and it's best to talk as quiet as possible.
"Let's go to the technology department right now!" Sakura said excitedly, and with that she and Sasuke dashed away to the 10th floor.
-Naruto and Hinata-
For your quest you need to go to McRamen and eat either 10 small bowls of ramen or 5 big bowls of ramen. There will be 1 free meal ticket in your envelope, so all expenses have been paid. You need to take a picture for every bowl you eat and only one person eats the ramen. The other partner cannot help the eater. After you've finished the ramen please go to the 6th floor and there will be a person in black uniform waiting for you. Once they are satisfied with the pictures you have taken they will give you your next quest. Happy Eating!
PS. Cheating will not be tolerated and will result in instant disqualification.
"Haha, I can eat up to 15 big bowls of ramen! This quest is a piece of cake, come on Hinata-chan lets get to McRamen!" Naruto chirped excitedly.
They ran to the elevator and checked the floor of which McRamen was on.
"M-McRamen is on the 8th floor Naruto-kun." Hinata informed.
"Well then let's get going! I'm hungry already!"
-Neji and Tenten-
For your quest you need to find a special object hidden somewhere in the mall. You will have to find it and bring it to the 13th floor. There will be a person in white uniform waiting for you. If you cannot find your object you can dial 604-3939-889 for hints. There will be special phones throughout the mall. Look for red phones with a labeled box beside it. For each hint you are required to pay 5 cents, and put your coins in the box. If you do not pay, the phone will not work. Only this phone can reach the number. Everyone has a different object so please do not throw this instruction paper away for it is evidence that you have found the item that you are suppose to find.
Your item is: A blue pencil sharpener with a picture of a donkey on it.
Hope you find it!
"This is impossible!" Tenten hissed as she read the instructions.
"Yeah, how the hell are we going to find a tiny pencil sharpener with a picture of a donkey on it!" Neji groaned.
"Sigh, well I really want to win so let's start searching for it." Tenten said optimistically.
"Fine, but I'm only doing this cuz you wanted to win ok?" said Neji, not knowing that he had just said something sweet that made Tenten's heartmelt.
"You're the best Neji-kun! Let's start in the stationary store!" Tenten said happily and linked her hands with Neji. Even though the object will be hard to find, she had a feeling that she and Neji will have a great time searching for it.
-Ino and Shikamaru-
For your quest you will need to put on the lip stick provided for you and kiss 5 strangers in the mall. It doesn't matter where you kiss them as long as your lips make contact. You are not allowed to kiss the staff or the contestants. Please take pictures with you kissing the people and bring it to the 7th floor. There will be a person in blue uniform waiting for you. After they are satisfied with your pictures they will give you your next quest assignment. Happy kissing!
"How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered with a frown.
"Aww Shika, this is going to be easy! I'll kiss three people and you kiss two ok?" Ino laughed at the thought of Shikamaru putting on lip stick.
"Don't call me Shika and I AM NOT WEARING LIP STICK ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S RED!" Shikamaru said clearly with a definite period.
"You're such a party pooper!Ok lets make it,I'll kiss four people and you kiss one ok?" Ino bargained.
"NO!"
"PLEASE? I already have to kiss FOUR people! So its only fair that you kiss at least one."
"NO! Boys don't put on lip stick! Thats the UNIVERSAL RULE!"
"That is so not the universal rule! Just look at those homosexual guys out there! If you don't then I'll tell the others the time when you p-"
"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, I'LL DO IT! HAPPY NOW! JUST BE QUIET! AND I AM NOT GAY!" Shikamaru pratically shouted out loud and covered Ino's mouth.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. You're not gay alright? Hehe, let's do some kissing now!" Ino snickered.
"Girls are so evil! Sooner than later they will take over the world with their destructive mouths. God, they're even deadlier than atomic bombs!" Shikamaru muttered angrily as Ino pulled him away.
-Sakura and Sasuke-
"Found it!" Sasuke called out and took the last picture of their final object. The first object was indeed an Energizer battery. The second picture was a stuffed bear. The third was a water bottle and the fourth was a red jacket. The final picture was a lamp.
Even though Sakura still could not see clearly it was she that figured most of the pictures out.
"Yes, that's all of them. The instruction says that we have to go to the 5th floor now and find a person in red." Sakura recalled.
They ran down the stairs since the elevator was too slow. After arriving to the fifth floor they searched around for a bit before they found a person in a red uniform.
"Hey, have you got the pictures?" The guy said, with a big smile.
"Yeah." They both answered and handed him the original pictures and their digital camera.
"Wow, you guys are very good photographers! These pictures look almost identical!" The guy exclaimed.
Sasuke shrugged modestly since he was the one who took all the pictures and received a hug from Sakura.
"Here you go, your second quest. By the way, did I tell you that your one of the first to arrive?" The guy said cheerfully and handed them a white envelope.
They nodded their thanks and Sasuke read out the instructions again.
"We have to eat either 10 small bowls of ramen or 5 big bowls of ramen!" Sasuke said disbelievingly.
"Well obviously I can't eat that much so its all up to you now Sasuke!" Sakura said thoughtfully and gave Sasuke a slap on the back.
"But only dobe can eat that much....I'm going to die." He complained knowing that he was the one that is going to eat the ramen later.
"Off to McRamen now! We can't waste time Sasuke! Come on!" Sakura laughed happily while tugging Sasuke's shirt. He sighed loudly and hopelessly dragged himself to McRamen.
-Naruto and Hinata-
"Wow Naruto-kun, you finished 5 big bowls AND 10 small bowls of ramen!" Hinata said in awe.
"That was deeeeelicious! Hehe, we better get going now that we finished our first quest! I don't want to lose to that Sasuke-teme!" Naruto said loudly, while scanning their pictures.
They walked towards the elevator again and waited for it.
"Eh! SASUKE!" Naruto cried out loud.
"Oh its you." Sasuke replied calmly as the elevator door opened.
"HA! We already finished our first quest!" Naruto boasted.
"So have we, and we're on our way to do our second one right now. Heh, guess you will always be one step behind dead-LAST!" Sasuke countered.
"I am not a dead last!"
"Hey Hinata-chan! Sigh...boys will always be boys, stop fighting you two! Anyways we've just finished our first quest." Sakura greeted.
"S-So have we, and Naruto just ate 15 bowls of ramen." Hinata answered.
"Well you guys better get on the elevator, people are waiting for you guys, bye!" She told them as she pulled Sasuke away.
"You guys are always fighting; can't you guys at least try to be decent best friends?" Sakura asked.
"Whatever."
"Don't whatever me, jerk!"
"Whatever....."
"Grrr.....how did they know that we cheated! All the ramen bowls looked alike!" A girl growled.
"Yeah, now we'll never be able to take shots of Sasuke-kun!" Another girl growled with her partner.
Naruto stared at the girls that were just disqualified as they went past them.
"When they mean cheating is not tolerated they really mean it." He remarked.
"G-Good thing I have y-you as my partner." Hinata said shyly while blushing a little.
"Awww Hinata-chan....thanks so much! I'm glad you're my partner too!"
Naruto moved forward and gave her a peck on the cheek before spotting a guy in black uniform.
The couples went to him and gave him their digital camera. The guy smiled, gave them an envelope and returned the digital camera.
"What's our next quest Hinata-chan?" he asked.
"Hm....i-it seems like w-we have to find an object. Let's see what the object is...."
"A hidden golden watch with a picture of a pig on it! What kind of a watch is that!" Naruto cried out, connecting the sentence for her.
"I-It should be easy, since it stands out from the other watches. Why don't we check in the accessories department first?" she suggested.
"Good idea, but man....a pig watch.....who would wear that?!"
-Neji and Tenten-
"Where could that damn donkey sharpener be!" Neji muttered impatiently.
"Aargh...it's not in the stationary department and we already phoned the number like 4 times already! Ok let's see, we know that the watch is hidden on the 2nd floor and it is not hidden in any of the book/stationary department. We also know that it's not hidden in a room and that it is not hidden in the washroom." Tenten listed out the hints that they received.
They walked around the 2nd floor looking in every tiny nooks and corner, but still, they could not find the sharpener. They have already circled the floor for a total of 10 times already.
Children and adults passed by them looking at them curiously. They ignored them and went on searching. Suddenly Neji stopped, turned around, and ran.
"Neji-kun! Where are you going!" Tenten shouted after him.
"Hurry, I just saw it!" he shouted back. With excitement starting to rush in her, she sprinted after him.
"Excuse me." Nejiinterrupted politely.
"Huh? Uh....yes?" A women answered him cautiously.
"We're contestants for theChildren's Charity event and we're trying to find a specific object and I think your son has what we're looking for." He explained.
"Neji!" Tenten panted, finally catching on to him.
The women looked at them and at her son noticing that he was holding an unknownsharpener.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Taku where did you get that! Didn't mommy tell you not to pick up things from the ground!" she scolded.
Taku, the kid looked at the sharpener and then back at his mother.
"We're very sorry to disturb you, but can we have a look at the sharpener please?" Tenten friendly said to the child.
Taku hesitantly gave them the sharpener and grabbed onto his mother's hand.
"Neji-kun, it has a picture of a donkey on it!" she exclaimed after they observed it.
"Well we'll be going now, sorry about my son taking your stuff. Bye now." The women said nicely and led Taku away saying that she will buy him a sharpener later.
"We've finally found it!" Neji said with a rare smile.
"Yeah, now let's go and get our second quest!" She said with equal happiness.
They found a girl in white uniform and she gave them their second quest envelope which told them that they were supposed to kiss five strangers. Although Neji was disgusted by the quest, it sounded a lot easier than the first one. Of course Tenten will do all the kissing for this one. There was no way for him to kiss a stranger, but there is a possibility for him to get jealous.....
-Ino and Shika-
"Shikamaru plucker up your lips more! I can't get the lipstick on you!" Ino commanded.
I. CAN'T. BELIEVE. I'M. ACTUALLY. DOING. THIS.
"I said PLUCKER UP! I already kissed three people! Now it's your turn!"
"Ugh....it smells bad....."
"Stop dodging!"
"You still have another person to kiss right? Well, go on and kiss the next person!"
"Ok but after that, YOU are going to kiss!" she said evilly.
"This is worse than troublesome..."
Hm...I wonder what he'll react when I say this. Ino wondered.
"Let's see, oohhhh there's a hottie over there! Hehe, I'll kiss him in the lips this time!" she said loudly.
"WH-WHAT! The lips! Are you crazy?" Shikamaru blurted.
"Um, Shika are you jealous?" she teased.
"N-No." He stammered, going red. "I-I-Do you know that if he is sick or something it could pass it on to you if you kiss him on the lips."
"Are you worried about me, Shika?" she questioned with a grin. Shikamaru was fidgeting now.
"N-Yes, but that's because you parents will get mad at me if they found out that I didn't stop you!" He said quickly.
"Ok then if you put it that way, I'll just kiss him on the hand." She chirped, satisfied with his answer.
Hehe, I was right, he does care about me! Mwahahaha... Ino thought hysterically
Whew...that was like the scariest 2 minutes of my life...I almost let all my secrets out, Aargh this is indeed more than troublesome! Somebody help me... Shikamaru begged in his mind.
"You're turn Shikamaru, and there is no way to turn back!" She sang as she pulled out a woman's weapon: lipstick.
"NOOOOOOO!"
20 minutes later.....
"Hahahahahaha!" Ino laughed out loud, ignoring all the people staring at them.
"I won't forget this Ino....." He threatened as he furiously wiped his mouth from the red lipstick.
"Oh my god, that is going to a memory that I will never forget! Hehe, I doubt that we're going to win the competition but man, seeing you kiss a girl with lipstick on was worth it!" she remarked, and continued laughing.
"Shut up...."
They received their second quest which instructed them to take five identical pictures according to the pictures given that were given to them. Ino then grabbed a hold of Shikamaru's arm and went off to complete their next quest.
AN: I am going to shorten some parts since it will make the chapters too long, so I will only focus on Sasuke and Sakura now. Just pretend that the others are doing other quests that they are doing. Thanks!
-Sakura and Sasuke-
"Come on Sasuke! You can do it!" Sakura cheered.
"I c-can't go on....." Sasuke groaned, finishing off his third big bowl of ramen.
"Sasuke, just two more! You can do it!" she encouraged.
He stared at the next two bowls of ramen laid out for him hatefully. And slowly started eating the noodles out of the bowl.
Inner Sakura: I must think of a way to make him eat faster! Hey, I know!
"Sasuke, you don't want to lose to Naruto or Neji do you? Naruto could finish this in a matter of seconds. Come on, you're still the number one! Anything that he can do, you can do it too!"
The thought of competition and rivalry sparked him up.
I can't lose to that dobe and Hyuuga right now! I have a reputation to live up to!
Suddenly he felt that he still has a space for the two bowls of ramen and then he quickly gulped down the rest.
"Yay, I knew you could do it!" Sakura shouted in delight, her plan had worked.
Sasuke groaned, his stomach suddenly churned, and he felt sick.
"Sasuke, are you ok?" She asked worriedly.
"I need to puke..." he managed to say.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Sakura let out, and quickly called one of the McRamen staff to bring a garbage can.
Instantly Sasuke bent over and poured the half digested noodles out of his mouth.
Inner Sakura: Wow, I'm actually glad that I'm half blind. That sounds and smell nasty.....
Sasuke grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth.
How on earth did that dobe manage to finish all that and not puke!
"A-Are you done Sasuke?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah.....come on let's go." He said and they went to the 6th floor. On the way he stopped by the water fountain to get rid of the yucky taste in his mouth.
"Naruto sure is amazing." Sakura state.
"Hn, in a bad way I guess." He replied.
They heard that some people already finished their second quest so they hurried and got their third envelope.
"..."
"Sasuke?"
"...."
"Sasuke, what's our next quest?"
"SASUKE!"
"Holy shit."
"What is it!" Sakura screamed, getting very annoyed and curious.
"We have to kiss five strangers and put on lipstick." He finally read out.
"WHAT! In the lips!" She exclaimed.
"No, you don't have to. Just their hand or something." He said abruptly.
Sakura relaxed and smirked at Sasuke, "So is that it? That's a piece of cake!"
"Yeah for you, you're doing the next quest. I'm out." He declared.
"That's not fair! Your just a chicken." She whined.
"I'm not a chicken, dummy! Besides I did the last one, so now it's your turn!" he retorted.
"But can't you just kiss at least one person?" She pleaded.
"No, I AM NOT WEARING LIPSTICK!" He said it loud and clear.
"But why? Its not a big deal." She said innocently.
"No! And besides, the only person who I'll ever kiss is you." He said that loud and clear too unaware that he had just said that.
Inner Sakura: Did Sasuke just say that! Oh my god, hell yeah!
Did I just say that! Shit!
"Uh what I mean is..." He trailed off not knowing how to cover that up.
"Leave the kissing to me Sasuke!" She said brightly andkissed him on the cheek.
She went around while asking people if she could kiss their hand. They asked her to pinch them to see if they were dreaming or not, and they were not. So since the people were all boys, they couldn't resist a cute teenage girl so they complied. Sasuke jealously took pictures of them and after they were done he haughtily pulled her away.
He gave the camera to the guy in the uniform coldly, and waited for him to check it. The guylaughed alittleat them and gave them their next envelope.
"We have to find a book called, 'Why does Pigs Fly'." He said glumly. These quests just getting weirder and weirder!
"Why do Pigs Fly!" she echoed.
"Yeah, this is a weird contest full of weird quests and weird stuff."
Sakura decided to look in the book store first and so they went and asked one of the workers there if there it was there. She checked on the computer and shook her head so they went out and found a red phone.
"Should we ask for a hint?" She debated.
"Yeah, this is a 14 floor mall it could anywhere!" he reminded her and placed 5 cents into the box and picked up the receiver. Sakura took it and somebody picked it up on the other line.
"Hi, you are allowed one yes or no question but first please tell us your names." A voice on the other end said kindly.
"Sakura and Sasuke." She answered.
"Ok, shoot your question."
"Um, is the book on odd even floors?" she asked.
"Wait a moment...yes its on odd even floors. Bye now!"
'CLICK'
"Whoa ok, um Sasuke the book is on odd even floors." She told him.
"Ok, ask him if it's above the 5th floor and then ask him if it's below the 10th floor." He instructed while putting another 10 cents in this time.
"Hi, you are allowed one yes or no question but first please tell us your names." The voice said again. Sakura answered her and asked their question.
"He said yes again, Sasuke."
"Then we'll search this floor first." He figured and they started searching. But no matter how closely they looked they couldn't find the book. So they went to the 7th floor and on and on until they reached the 10th floor.
"Its not here!" Sakura growled.
"Let's ask for hints again." He suggested and they went to the red phone.
"..."
"Hi, you are allowed one yes or no question but first please tell us your names."
"Sakura and Sasuke." She answered impatiently.
"Ok shoot."
"Is the book on the 7th floor?"
"Nope, bye."
"It's not on the 7th floor, so ask him if it's on the rest of the floors." He said and this time he put at least 15 cents in the box.
"Hi, you are allowed one yes or no question but first please tell us your names."
"SASUKE AND SAKURA." She yelled slightly.
Inner Sakura: I can't stand this! Why don't they say something different like Hi, you canask any questions you want and if you want, you can kill us for being annoying!
"Is it on the 8th floor?" she asked, extremely pissed off.
"Nope."
"On the 9th floor?"
"Nope."
"On the 10th floor?"
"Nope, that's 3 questions bye."
A vein popped out of Sakura's head and her eyebrows twitched.
"What the heck! The stupid guy said it's not on the 7th, 8th, 9th, OR the 10th floor!" she cried out angrily.
"He lied!" Sasuke seethed, getting pissed off himself too.
"Aargh, you ask the next questions." Sakura thrust out the receiver to him and he quickly put at least 50 cents in to do some serious question asking.
"Hi, you are allowed one yes or no question but first please tell us your names."
"Cut the hell already!"
"I guess you're Sasuke, and your female partner is Sakura. Um....shoot hehe." The guy on the other line said nervously.
"Can you guys lie?"
"Um no."
"Then why did you tell us that the book was between the 5th floor and the 10th floor in the first place and then say that it wasn't on those floors just a moment ago?" he demanded.
"Sorry that's not a yes or no question."
"Just tell us the frickin location!"
"We're very sorry-huh?Uh please hold on a minute sir."
They waited impatiently and Sakura pressed her ear on the side other side of the phone so she could hear too.
"Hi sir, I've just received a message from the boss and we can have an exception because err...your objects location is hidden in the most confusing location. So we're are allowed to give you a hint. We can only say this once and also after that you may not ask anymore questions, so please listen carefully. The hint is: I am not moving but I'm moving." He said quickly and hung up.
"Did he just say I am not moving but I'm moving?" She asked unsurely.
"Yeah that's what I heard too; man this is all too weird. I am not moving but I'm moving! What kind of a hint is that?"
Sasuke ran through his spiked hair and leaned against the wall.
"An elevator!" Sakura suddenly blurted out.
"A what?" he asked.
"An elevator!" She repeated, "Listen, I am not moving but I'm moving! The book must be in an elevator but its not moving instead the elevator itself is moving! That's why those previous questions didn't work!"
Her explanations dawned him, why hadn't he thought of that before!
"Let's go find that stupid book right now!" He ushered and they ran to the nearest elevator.
People looked at them as they kept on pressing the elevator buttons, but didn't go in as the elevator arrived.
"Is it in that one?" she asked.
"No."
They waited for the next two elevators to arrive. Hope for winning was burning out fast. They had already checked 5 elevators already. The next elevator door opened and they found it empty.
Sasuke checked one more time and this time a tiny brown book caught his eye.
"I found it!" He called out.
"HELL YEAH!" Sakura screamed in delight. They had finally found it after wasting a lot of cents and dimes.
"Let's go."
She nodded and held his hands as they ran for the staff in uniforms.
"Wow, congratulations for finishing the four quests. Here's your final challenge." The girl said and gave them a red envelope. They nodded their thanks, too tired to answer and opened the envelope.
Inside was a single slip of paper with tiny words written on it.
I provide life, good fortune, and activity
Come find me,
Throw a penny,
And wish hard for victory.
"Not another riddle." Sakura groaned.
"Wait, I think I know a part of it. The answer for the first part is water! It provides life, good fortune, and activity." Sasuke explained.
"Great! Now that we got that figured out, but what about the second part?" Sakura questioned.
"I'm not sure, throw a penny and wish hard for victory, what could it be?" he thought out loud.
"Water plus penny plus wish equals...."
"A WISHING FOUNTAIN!" They shouted in unison.
"The fountain on the first floor, hurry Sasuke!" Sakura yelled and they raced down the stairs to the first floor.
"Just a bit further Sakura." He panted.
They continued running and finally they reached the 1st floor. Kanda was waiting for them and greeted them with a big smile.
"Congratulations! I hereby pronounce you....."
Inner Sakura: Husband and wife? What?
"...the winner of the contest!" He finished.
They sank down to the floor and leaned on each other. It was over, and they had won.
"You're prizes will be mailed to you shortly. For now, we have to wait for the second place winners." He informed.
"Ok." They replied back and rested.
"HURRY NEJI!" Tenten yelled.
"When did you run this fast!" Neji asked running up to her.
"I don't know!" she replied and they kept on running. They were going to win for sure. As they got near to the fountain they saw two figures and then found that it was Sasuke and Sakura.
"Congratulations! I hereby pronounce you....." Kanda trailed off like he did to Sasuke and Sakura to create suspense.
Tenten: Husband and wife?
Neji: That you're bound to die from my hands, for creating such an annoying contest?
"Second place winners! You're prizes will be mailed to you. Neil, go and announce to the others that the contest is officially over!" He finished with delight.
"Second place!" they exclaimed after him.
"Hyuuga looks like I just kicked your ass!" Sasuke smirked.
Before Neji could comment back the malls PA rang.
Ladies and gentlemen, the grand children's charity contest is over! Please return to the main fountain on the first floor.
Sakura and Tenten chatted with each other as Neji and Sasuke started dissing each other. When everyone was present Kanda got up and cleared his throat.
"Thank you all, this event has been a true success. First I will like to congratulate our winners, Sasuke and Sakura and for our second place winners, Neji and Tenten!" Kanda announced.
Everyone cheered and some of the fan girls sulked. They had truly lost to Haruno Sakura.
"Aww Sasuke-bastard! You've won!" Naruto scowled.
"C-Congratulations Sakura." Hinata commented.
"You go girl, by the way did you know what Shikammmmmmmm" Ino's mouth was instantly covered by Shikamaru.
"MMMMM" Ino mumbled angrily under Shikamaru's hand.
'BEEP'
"Huh?" Sasuke took out his cell phone and saw that he had just got a text message from Kakashi.
Sasuke,
Please go back to our school classroom and clean up a little bit for the next semester. I couldn't go because of...specific reasons. If you agree to go, text message me back and go there today to clean up. If you don't agree, text message me back and go there to clean up anyway.
From your favorite teacher, Kakashi
"I'm not your slave, pervert!" Sasuke growled, and pressed back a reply.
I am not your slave! Why can't you clean it up by yourself?
Sasuke
PS. You are not my favorite teacher, pervert!
"Sasuke, you shouldn't call Kakashi-sensei a pervert." Sakura remarked.
"You called him that before you know; after all he's your teacher too." Sasuke retorted with a smirk.
She grew red, and muttered a jerk under her breath.
'BEEP'
Sasuke checked his message again and saw that Kakashi had sent him another message.
Sasuke, if you don't...I'll make you life miserable by banning any tomato in your mansion!
From you favorite teacher although you may not admit it, Kakashi
"Ahahahaha, Sasuke-bastard has to go now!" Naruto sang.
"Shut up dobe." Sasuke said angrily and smacked him on the head.
"Owwie...." He whimpered.
"I'll come with you." Sakura offered.
"Me too!" Ino said after her.
And so they bid others goodbye and left for Fiery High. Arriving there, they found that the classroom was a mess and they started cleaning the useless things out.
After a few hours of hard work all that was left was throwing out the trash. Sasuke brought out the trash as Ino and Sakura went to get new plastic bags on the 3rd floor.
"The classroom is finally clean, how did it get that dirty anyway?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know, I wasn't the one who made the mess." She answered logically.
"You guys are finally alone." A new voice interrupted them. They turned around and found Hitomi and a bunch of other girls.
"Hitomi! What are you doing here!" Ino demanded.
"You'll see soon enough." She said grimly and made motion with her hands. Five of the girls stepped out and grabbed a hold of them.
"You guys get rid of her, I'll take care of Haruno. Smell yah later pig." Hitomi cackled evilly and she and the rest of the girls disappeared with a struggling Sakura.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Ino screamed, and tried to shake the other girls off.
"Hold still!" One of them ordered.
"Make me!" Ino shouted at them. One girl took out a cloth and wrapped it around her mouth.
"There that should shut you up, hehe. Pretty soon Sasuke-kun will belong to us!"
They took her away and stuffed her in a shed.
"What do you want!" Sakura shouted.
"We want to finish you, that's what." Hitomi answered her as they brought her to the school's roof.
"Finish me? But why? What did I ever do to you?" she inquired angrily.
"What did you do to us! You have some nerve! You took Sasuke-kun away from us, and now its revenge time!" a girl with blond hair sneered.
"I did not take him away from you guys! And you guys should give him some slack, if he doesn't want to go out with you then it means that HE DOESN'T WANT TO GO OUT WITH YOU! CAN'T YOU GET THAT IN YOUR HEADS!" She screamed the last part.
"Whatever blindy. We're just doing Sasuke-kun a favor to get rid of you." Hitomi declared and punched her in the gut. They pushed her until she was against the fenced that prevented people from falling.
"What....are....you....going to....do to me?" she wheezed, clutching her stomach.
We're going to scare you until you leave Sasuke-kun and we're going to break your stupid little heart!
"Oh nothing much." She said casually, and gave her another punch. Pretty soon they started kicking her and punching her.
"Stupid forehead girl!"
"You don't deserve Sasuke-kun!"
"Blindy!"
Sakura grabbed a hold of the wall and spat out blood. Sasuke...help me...
Stupid assholes! Stuffing me in here and leaving me alone! When I get out they're going to get it for sure!
She kicked the door since her hands we're tied and her mouth was covered. She kicked it so hard that the noise could be heard downstairs.
What the hell was that? Sasuke thought.
He ran upstairs and followed the noise and arrived at a storage room. He opened it and out came Ino.
"Ino! What the heck are you doing in there!" he exclaimed.
"Mmmmmm."
He took off the fabric around her mouth and untied her hands.
"Sasuke-kun, Sakura's in trouble! We have to help her! Hitomi got her!" She explained quickly.
"Sakura is in trouble! Hitomi was here! What the hell!"
"Hurry! There's no telling what they might do to her! And Hitomi wasn't alone, there were other girls from you fan club!"
"Shit, shit, shit!"
They ran around frantically, looking for Sakura.
"Did you find her?" Sasuke asked as they met up in the hall.
"N-No." Ino answered and leaned on the wall.
"Damn, where could she be? Where have we not checked?" he asked himself.
"The roof!" She cried.
They looked at each other for a moment and dashed off up the stairs.
"Are...you....done yet cowards?" Sakura choked, on her own blood.
They slapped her on the face and held her up against the wall.
"How dare you call us cowards!" Hitomi growled.
"Heh you guys are cowards. Instead of coming up to me fair and square you decided to gang up on me when I'm alone." She said with a smile.
"SHUT UP!" she screeched and punched her again.
Sakura collapsed on the wall still conscious but just then with them still kicking and beating her and a strong wind, the fence which she heavily leaned on for support broke off.
Down, down, down just like that day. Away she fell just like that day.
"SAKURA!" Sasuke yelled as he kicked open the rooftop door. His eyes narrowed as he saw the fence broke off and Sakura falling.
"Sakura-chan!" Ino screamed and started running for her, but a body passed her at such inhuman speed that she lost her balance and landed on the ground from the wind that the body created.
"SASUKE-KUN!" The fan girls and Ino screamed at the top of the lungs as he ran to the edge and jumped off after Sakura.
The wind must have pushed him forward making the fall even more deadly. But he didn't care, he had already made a decision a long time ago and intended on keeping it. He was going to protect Sakura from now on, even if he has to end up losing his life.
He got a hold of Sakura and pulled him close to him.
Down, down, and down. But this time it was different. Sakura wasn't alone....
Flash....the first day of school
Flash.....the salamander in her locker
Flash...Neji, Tenten, Naruto, Jin, Hinata, Milly, Itachi, , Mr. Haruno, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Sasuke
Flash....Sasuke kicking Naruto's TV
Flash...Yuki prancing around and playing with Shadow
Flash...Sakura falling with Sasuke down the air vent.
They say that once you are on the verge of death, your whole life replays in your mind.
'SPLASH!'
They plunged into the school's swimming pool, and Sasuke gulped for air dragging Sakura with him.
"Sakura!" He whimpered her name and brought her from the water and onto the side of the swimming pool.
"Wake up!" he ordered helplessly and shook her on the shoulder.
"Sasuke-kun!" Ino shouted and ran towards them. She was followed by his fan girls.
They were too shocked to say anything, and stared at the limp Sakura and Sasuke desperately trying to wake her up. The pool was red, red from Sakura's blood. This was not their plan, they didn't plan for this...they were in deep trouble...
"Sasuke-kun, you must perform CPR!" Ino urged.
"CPR! I never done CPR before!" he exclaimed.
"Do you want Sakura to live or not, go!" she hissed.
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, drew a big breathe and breathed into Sakura's mouth. She didn't stir so he pressed more air into her body. Air started circulation through her heart and body. The heart started pumping and soon Sakura coughed the water out in her lungs and stirred.
"Sakura!" They said brightly.
"S-Sasuke? I-Ino-pig!" she stuttered.
Without saying anything Sasuke held Sakura close to her.
"Sasuke...I-I remember..." She whispered.
"What?" Ino and Sasuke said together.
"I remember everything!" she repeated with a more firm voice this time.
"Remember as in...." Ino trailed off and waited for Sakura to finish for her.
"I remember as in I've regained my memory porky!" she said with a smile.
"AHHH FOREHEAD GIRL!" Ino screamed happily and hugged her. Sasuke just sat there, stumped from her words. She remembered everything! She remembered everything that they did together and all the events that happened, this was too good to be true.
"Sasuke?" Sakura asked hesitantly as Ino let go of her. Although she still couldn't see very well she remembered him clearly and moved towards him and gave him a hug. He simply returned it without words.
"Thank you for taking care of me." She whispered into his ear.
His mouth curved upwards and hugged her tighter, "No problem dummy."
Just then Sakura coughed and they just remembered that she was injured.
"We better get you to the hospital." He said worriedly. She nodded and he and Ino helped her to his car. On the way they passed his shocked and shameful fan girls. They lowered their heads in defeat and stood there. Ino glared at them....uh oh....they were in big trouble....but most of all.....
They had lost to Haruno Sakura. And that was the day when Sasuke's fan girls all over Fiery High finally dispersed.
There is never too much hope, because if you believe and try hard, it will come true.