Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ❯ Chapter 2

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

By: emeraldoni

PART II

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Sakura shifted her weight, a hand on her hip, as she stared in exasperation at the solid door. Her hair was done back in a sloppy bun, and her clothes consisted of a pair of jogging pants and a faded T-shirt. Unpainted toes twitched with impatience in feet placed haphazardly in flip flips that looked as though they were about to dissolve.

Sakura knocked once more, but again, she was left unanswered.

Oh well…

The young nurse sighed, turning away from the door and walking down the hallway. She had wanted to talk to Gaara, but it seemed as though he wasn't home. In fact, she hadn't seen him since the first night she met him. Well, it had only been a day, but, well, somehow she felt as though he was avoiding her. Why he would do that, she wasn't sure, but the one time she had seen him, he had completely ignored her, with a well-placed glare.

Well, if that was how he wanted to act, like a kindergartener, then fine. She was just trying to be friendly, was it so hard for him to return the favor? Sure, he didn't look that warm, but if she knew anything, it was that looks can be deceiving. Hell, she had grown up on that philosophy. Anyway, Gaara had seemed really nice. It was rare when she found another person who would watch movies with her, and without complaint too. She could never get anybody else to watch them with her, though the reason remained outside of her grasp.

But Gaara had not uttered one insult, one groan of agony, or any other such negative comment. In fact, now that she thought of it, he hadn't said anything. Well, Sakura knew one thing; her new neighbor was definitely not the talkative type, but she was used to those. Jeeze, she had lived with someone who talked like a mute for half her life.

Sakura groaned as she stared up at the overcast sky. She finally got a vacation—though she couldn't afford to go anywhere—and it rained. That was just her luck. Covering her head with a twenty-five cent newspaper, Sakura ran out through the drizzle, prepared to get cold and soaked.

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“Sakura! Sakura! Over here!”

Sakura grinned in greeting as she shook her clothes out and walked into the dingy little café. Her flip flops squelched, and Sakura had to hold the backs of chairs to prevent herself from slipping on the tile floor, and causing an embarrassing moment—a moment which she wished to never repeat.

Finally reaching the small booth near a large, splattered window, Sakura sat down to safety in front of the spastic, blond haired young man.

“Naruto, you are a moron.”

Naruto mocked a pout, but his eyes still glinted with the usual mischief, “Ah, Sakura, I thought you loved me!”

Sakura snorted, then turned to study the paper menu in front of her, “Anyway, what did you want, Naruto?”

If Sakura had been looking at the young mans clear, blue eyes, she would have seen the disappointment and concern that settled in them, but, for some reason, Sakura felt as though she could not look into Naruto's face. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she hadn't talked to him in weeks, though he had called her. Or maybe it had something to do with her ragged appearance. Even with a few days of vacation under her belt, full nights of sleep hadn't been her forte; the darkened hours had left her restless, shadows under her once bright eyes.

“Sakura…”

She looked up, “Hm?”

Naruto sighed, rubbing his forehead in an uncharacteristic show of fatigue, “Why haven't you been talking to us?”

Sakura hesitated, and was about to force an answer out when a scantily clad waitress who smelled of cigarettes came up to their table, “What can I get ya'?”

Both of them ordered; one chili dog and a cheeseburger, with fries. Scribbling it down the lady left, only a whiff of smoke left behind. A silence settled over them, heavy and filled with words reluctant to be spoken.

“So,” Naruto started, “How's work?”

And with that safe subject on hand, Sakura started in with foreign exuberance, “It's great, just the other day…”

The food came fairly quickly, and though it was unappetizing, Sakura ate it all. After the meal, she sat back, with a contented sigh, staring out the window. Naruto had already ordered another hotdog, and amusement bubbled up at the fact that Naruto had yet to change. Both of them could always eat a ton, but he always consumed more than her, never hesitating to rub it in her face.

“You're going to get fat, Naruto.”

“Pffft! You always say that, but you eat just as much as me.”

“I'm not the one getting another order of food.”

“You would, but you're probably doing that `diet' thing again, aren't you?”

“Nope, I'm just doing everything in moderation.”

Naruto snorted into his coke, but chose not to comment. Sitting back, his eyes widened over her shoulder and he started to wave spastically at whatever figure had just come in. Sakura groaned, not wanting to meet whatever person Naruto knew who willingly came to this joint. She didn't even deign to look over her shoulder as a hefty shadow appeared on the table.

“Kiba!” Naruto jumped up, a wide grin revealing teeth slightly pointed. He had never like the dentist, so they had never been corrected, “Hey, man!”

Sakura looked up to see a tall man, with wild, short, brown hair and a tattooed face, “Naruto! Hey, what's up?”

Sakura watched as they did some weird hand shaking-guy thing. She rolled her eyes, waiting patiently until their weird ritual finally ended, and they both sat back. Sakura scooted over as the man called Kiba sat next to her.

Sakura jumped slightly as an overlarge dog slithered under the table, hiding from the waitress whose eyes had turned suspiciously in their direction. Tensing as a warm dog butt sat on her foot, Sakura offered a strained smile.

“Hey!” The young man with dark eyes said, “I'm Kiba Inuzuka, nice to meet you!”

Sakura took to the offered hand, shaking it slightly, “Nice to meet you too.”

His eyes traveled over her, lighting over her hair, “Nice color, what kind of dye did you use?”

“Uhm, I didn't use a dye. It's natural.”

Kiba laughed. Sakura gave an incredulous glance over at Naruto, whose wide smile was rapidly fading, “No, really,” Kiba said, “Good one, but what color? It's pretty cool, kind of like those cherry flowers.”

“Uhm, yeah, no…it's, uh, natural.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Sakura could tell he didn't believe her, “That'd be pretty funny if your name was Sakura, huh?”

She stared at him flatly, and his smile minimized just a little, “Or maybe not… that'd be pretty stupid, anyways. Who would name their kid Sakura?”

Naruto's smile had completely disappeared, eyes wide as his head shook back and forth slightly.

Sakura smiled, “Yeah, pretty stupid.”

“What's your name, anyway? You haven't said yet.”

“You're right, I haven't.” Sakura proffered her hand, “I'm Sakura Haruno, pleased to meet you.”

“Oh.”

And awkward silence ensued, until it was broken by Kiba's nervous laugh and the waitress dropping off Naruto's second plate of food.

And Sakura thought today would go well. How misleading that though had been.

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Sakura dropped her keys on the table, a hollow clatter in the silent tomb. A giggle bubbled up as she reviewed her dramatic thoughts.

Maybe she was a little more tired than she previously figured.

Slouching into her bedroom, she quickly discarded the raggedy clothes for another pair just like them, then went back into the living room. Collapsing onto one of the wobbly chairs at the table, Sakura dropped her head into her arms, trying to avoid the self-inflicted accusations floating about her mind.

Naruto had gotten suspicious, no surprise there. She should have known that he would force her out sometime. He had always been her closest sibling. The fact that they weren't related by blood meant nothing to her, that they were foster siblings hadn't anything to do with it; he was her life, and vice-versa.

And, of course, they had been through so much together that the bond was thicker than blood could ever be. She should have known that concern would be blatant on his part. It was just… everything, her life, her job… everything was something Naruto would bring up which she wanted to avoid. Naruto would want to help, and doing that would make problems—mistakes—so obvious to her that her attention couldn't help but be attracted to it.

Sakura was jolted out of her musings when a knock erupted from the door. She jerked, groaned, then hefted herself up to answer the damned whatever-itwas.

Unlatching the barrier and pulling it open, another annoyance faced her.

“Hey, Forehead girl, looks like you finally have another neighbor.”

Sakura moaned, slumping against the trim with a defeated expression, “What do you want, Ino-pig?”

The blond laughed as she twirled her long ponytail, hanging over her a purple clad shoulder.

“I just wanted to visit my favorite neighbor, you know?” She leaned forward conspiratorially, a smirk on her pretty features, “So, I heard the new neighbor is a guy,” Her brows waggled, “A young guy.”

Somehow, Sakura felt as though she has made much more sounds of exasperation than normal lately, and Ino was just adding to them.

“Ino, seriously, you have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Oh? So he is young?”

Sakura rolled her eyes, “You're an idiot.”

“Yeah, but at least I have a boyfriend.”

Sakura shifted feet as she fell into the old routine of their usual banter, “Not for long,” She mocked, “Not if you keep looking for other men,”

Ino's smile grew a little wider, and Sakura wouldn't be surprised if pointy little teeth poked out of her lined lips. The blonds' eyes sparkled as she answered, “There's a lot of fish in the sea, why not test them all out?”

“I can't believe Shikamaru deals with you.”

“Hm! I'm to pretty for him to let go.”

Sakura's scathing response was stifled as someone else joined them in the hallway. Ino's eyebrows shot up, almost touching her hairline as her lips twitched. Both pairs of eyes followed the man's progress down the hallway, shocked thoughts filling their head.

“Is he really…?” Muttered Ino, but fell silent as he walked passed her.

He completely ignored them, his painted face calm as his silent form clumped by. In fact, Sakura's eyes felt completely glued onto the man. He was so… odd looking. She wondered whether the make-up was permanent or not. If not, it must take hours in the morning.

Ino smirked as the man stopped at Gaara's door. Sakura new for a second that Ino though that the man was her new neighbor. That notion was wiped clean away when the man started banging on the door.

“Gaara! Hey, Gaara! Open up!”

A few silent seconds later, the door opened, revealing an impassive, and mussed up Gaara. The red-head glared at the clown for a few moments, then made to shut the door. A glance at Ino showed Sakura that Ino's eyes were comically wide.

The clown laughed, sticking his foot in the door, “Ah, come one, Gaara, let you old brother check out the new place. I want to see.”

Gaara glowered for a moment, “Kankurou…” but the man did not even flinch.

“You can't use that on me, remember what the shrink said? Play nice.”

The girls watched as Gaara stalked off to the deep confines of his apartment, Kankurou following close behind. An echo filled the hallway as the door shut. A few moments later Ino clapped a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

“Well, good luck, girl. You're going to need it.”

Sakura scowled, “He's a lot nicer than he looks.”

“Of course, the therapist told him to `play nice'.” Walking away, Ino waved over her shoulder, “Good thing I've been staying with Shikamaru lately. If you need me, you know where to find me.”

The pink haired nurse shot her a glare, then subsided back into her home. Glowering as the carpet, she muttered obscenities to herself.

“Stupid Ino. He really isn't that bad… I think.”

Oooo000OOO000oooO

A/N: Well, second chapters up. I am going to die, please kill me. My parents freaked out the other night. We were at dinner, and—keep in mind I have never don't this before—I just started crying, in the restaurant.

I've been having some problems lately. But anyways, enough about me, that's not why you're here. I will hopefully get the next part out, but I'm not sure when. For some reason I just haven't been that into this story. At least, not yet. If anybody can offer any inspiration, pictures, reviews, other stories, I would happily embrace it. Thanks a lot.

Until next time…

emeraldoni