FIC: Lyrical Basket - 01/??
Title: Lyrical Basket
Summary: Despite others telling her to not fall in love with him, she did. She wished that she knew how it happened, but she couldn't locate the exact moment it changed from liking him to loving it. But it doesn't matter because he didn't feel the same way, and in the end, she was the one who got hurt.
Pairings: SasuHina. - sides include: NaruSaku and whatever else you choose to interperate.
Rating: PG13
Comments: I'm not sure whether this will be finished. I have some of it written, but I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this.
Despite others telling her to not fall in love with him, she did. She wished that she knew how it happened, but she couldn’t locate the exact moment it changed from liking him to loving him. Did it happen when he sat with her during Naruto and Sakura’s engagement announcement, when he whispered “it’s okay if you want to cry,” or when he spun her on the merry-go-round at the children’s playground?
Or maybe it happened when he forced her out of her apartment to go to a club, when she got drunk, or when she saw him just sitting at her window while he waited for her to sleep. But it doesn’t matter because he didn’t feel the same way, and in the end she was the one who got hurt.
Lyrical Basket
By: Naito Kiseki
Chapter 01 - On that Day (Ano hi ni…)
The pearl-eye, pale skin, navy haired girl stood with her back to her bedroom door, a shy smile tugging on her lips. Clutched in her hand was a little, black handbag that Naruto bought her as a birthday present. She was so happy when she received it.
Hidden in the bag was a wrapped gift for him. There was a party that night at Naruto’s house to celebrate his new job as chief editor of the Konoha Gazette. She knew she didn’t have to get him anything but when she saw the quill at the antique shop; she had to buy it for him. There wasn’t a proper occasion to give it to him, but this was a great opportunity.
“Hinata! Are you ready to go?” she heard Ino yell from the other side of her door.
“Yes,” Hinata answered as she opened the door.
It was a sight to behold considering Naruto’s backyard was dressed with lights and balloons. He had somehow managed to set a long wooden picnic table with a checkered table cloth to hide the wood. Beside a stack of paper plates on one end of the table, black plastic cutlery was held in red Dixie cups. A smooth stone rested on top a stack of fluttering napkins but the host was nowhere to be seen; until a loud curse echoed though the chattering guest and Sakura’s loud chiding stopped it.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Ino informed Hinata. “Do you want something?”
“No,” Hinata replied as she shook her head. “I think I’m going to say ‘hi’ to Sakura and Naruto.”
“Hinata. Naruto isn’t the only person out there you know?” Ino said. Azure eyes locked with opaque ones. Concern was the only thing in the blonde’s eyes and she hoped that Hinata listened to her. But the far-away look in the other girl’s eyes told her otherwise.
“Didn’t you say you wanted a drink?” Hinata said, breaking away from Ino’s intense gaze and walking towards Naruto.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Ino said softly but it fell deaf to Hinata’s ears.
“And the ever loud Ino knows how to whisper?” Shikamaru drawled behind her.
The blonde turned around and narrowed her eyes at Shikamaru who held a drink in his hand. Ino snatched the cup from him and drowned the rest of the liquid down her throat. When she felt the liquid settle in her stomach, she finally said, “Shut up, Shikamaru.”
Sasuke sat at the base of the maple tree in Naruto’s yard. On his lap was an opened laptop. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled to his elbows to free his hands for the keyboard. His fingers flew across the black squares as he tried to work in the midst of the party.
Typing his proposal for a new wing at the school then was unnecessary since he didn’t have to submit it for another week. However, he wanted the week to grade essays since it might take a long time to read them.
He recently became an English teacher at Hibana High School in spite of his being only 23 years old. Due to his young age and excellent tutoring of younger students, the Education board decided to try him on high school. Hibana wasn’t a very good school; in fact, a lot of the students didn’t seem to care very much considering they skipped most of their classes. But that was off topic. The point was that Sasuke’s students had horrible grammar skills. Granted that English was the most difficult language to learn, but those kids listened and spoke it for a majority of their lives.
Naruto would have a field day if any of those kids decided to become writers. Hell, if Sasuke knew the blonde, he would hire them for three hours, read what they write, and then fire them just for fun. It was a little funny that Naruto could actually do that considering his new status as chief editor, but who in their right mind would willingly read something as abysmal as those papers?
Speaking of Naruto, he forced Sasuke to come to this party because he and Sakura were going to announce their engagement. It was a surprise considering the two kept their relationship a secret for the past, three years? How they managed to do that was beyond him, but if they were together for that long and they wanted to commit themselves to one another, who was he to stop them?
It wasn’t his fault that Sakura used to love him instead of Naruto. He didn’t want Sakura ten years ago, nor five years ago, nor three years ago. Then why did he resent his closest friend the way he did, why did he bury himself in his work and reports, why did he feel as if something was taken from him?
“Sasuke?” he heard Sakura say. He glanced from his screen to the pink-haired woman. He didn’t say anything, but Sakura knew he was listening. “Why are you just sitting here with your laptop when everyone is chatting by the food?”
“I’m working.”
“Then rest for a while and have some fun,” Sakura replied as she plopped on the grass next to Sasuke. She placed a hand on Sasuke’s arm to stop him from typing any more. “I’m sure there are tons of people here whom you haven’t seen for a long time. Go talk to them or something.”
“There’s no one to whom I wish to speak,” Sasuke replied, shaking Sakura’s hand away.
“At least try. Naruto and I want you to get into close relationships with other people, not just us.”
“I do have a good relationship with everyone. I don’t need to be close to others,” Sasuke replied, eyes glued to the screen.
“I just want to see you smile more, talk more. You’ve been so quiet since Naruto and I got engaged, you know?”
“Sakura,” Sasuke finally said, turning off his laptop and focusing on her, “don’t interfere with my life. I’m happy for you and Naruto and ecstatic that you’re finally telling everyone of your relationship with one another, but it’ll take some time for me to get used to the fact that your guys’ relationship with me will change even more with your marriage.”
“I-“
“Sakura, Sasuke! Hurry up, the barbecue’s ready to eat!” Naruto yelled as he waved a spatula across the yard at the two.
Naruto’s scream of “attention” caught everyone’s attention.
Naruto grinned, “I have an announcement to make,” he glanced at Sakura, “Actually, we have an announcement. This party had an ulterior motive. Sakura and I are getting married!”
There was silence before someone started clapping. Shouts of congratulations were shouted at the couple and there was a whoop of laughter before someone ran to pat Naruto on the back.
Hinata’s hand shook as her fork dropped to her plate. Filled with an utter sense of disbelief, she stared at the couple while she bit her lip. She forced a small smile as she picked up her fork to resume eating. She’ll congratulate them later.
No, it was impossible. How was it possible that Sakura and Naruto were getting married? Hinata didn’t even know that the two were in a more-than-friends relationship. How long had they been together? Why didn’t they come out and tell everyone? Why did she want to cry over the fact that Naruto finally got the girl of his dreams? She wanted him to be happy and he looked it, with his arms around Sakura’s shoulders, holding the girl close.
Didn’t Sakura like Sasuke? What happened to that relationship? Why did she have to choose Naruto of all people? She always rejected the blonde no matter how many times he asked her on a date. So why suddenly did Sakura choose Naruto as her partner? Didn’t Sakura know that she… loved him before she did? What happened to her and Sasuke?
“They kept their relationship a secret,” she heard Sasuke softly tell her. “Naruto and Sakura kept their relationship a secret for the last three years.”
“Why?” Hinata asked.
“I don’t know.” Sasuke replied.
“How long have you known?”
“For the last three years.”
“I thought Sakura was still in love with you,” Hinata said.
Sasuke didn’t say anything, yet he resumed eating.