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"The Month of December: A Tale of Life, Love, and Surprises"
Today was the first day of December, Tsunade decided that all missions assigned the Chuunins and Jounins to be postponed until further notice (luckily every Chuunin and Jounin were in the village, with the exception of a few). The main cause for this is because a rather large blizzard was coming towards Fire Country within the next few days. It was rare for Konoha to get snow, but when they did there wasn?t much; only a few inches. And since a blizzard was coming the Godaime didn?t know what were the proper procedures since it was going to be the village?s first one.
It wasn?t until mid afternoon that Tsunade announced her plans publically. Many of the housewives in the village were glad since their husbands had to stay home instead of doing missions. The husbands on the other hand took this chance to have a romantic opportunity since they didn?t know when they?ll go back do a mission. Though when a few young Chuunins and Jounins heard the news they jumped for joy and proceeded to contact friends to celebrate.
And this is where the story beings:
Chapter 1: Wintery Feel; Winter Enjoyment
~Konoha Marketplace: December 1st 2004 2:22 pm~
In the middle of the marketplace a young couple, both being Jounins and in their late teens, were shopping for groceries. The female of this lovely couple was blonde with blue eyes and her ponytail was tied up in a plume with several strands from her widow?s peak laying out towards her right ear. The male, however, had a scruffy exterior. His unattended goatee had several uneven spots with five o?clock shadow contrasting with it. And to complete his look he had a sloppy high ponytail and his trademark shirt underneath his Jounin vest, complete with fishnets, he could careless what he looked like even if it annoyed the help out of his girlfriend. Currently they were arguing over something trivial again.
?Shika I keep telling you that we don?t need any more Pocky I cannot believe Chouji got you addicted to that stuff C?mon, you have to help get the things I need for the Christmas party I?m hosting ? shouted the blonde girl. She was quite furious to say the least, but that still didn?t stop her from multitasking; manage to finish her list while dragging her boyfriend along and keep herself from creating a scene.
?Great, here we go again... this is so damn troublesome,? he sighs. ?All I wanted to do today was-?
While being dragged by his girlfriend Shikamaru started to gaze at the clouds in the air. For some reason one cloud everyday ended up too look like his girlfriend?s face which is quite eerie. As the shopping continued he managed to catch a glimpse of the park where he used to spend most of his free time gazing at the sky and was fascinated by it. He missed the single life, yet he also loved being tied down by Ino. She defined (and confined) him into was he is today: a slightly less lazy boyfriend. But before his attention went back to his love interest Shikamaru caught the sight of two people in the middle of the park.
One figure seemed very familiar, maybe it was someone who went on that memorable mission with him along with several others a few years ago. ?Yeah, that?s probably it? he thought ?just one of them?. It wasn?t until another glimpse that Shikamaru saw that it was indeed that person who was speaking with him a few days ago about proposing to the one person he always had his eyes on ever since that day. So instead of keeping up the pace, he stopped completely knowing this was the moment that person was about to propose to the girl.
?Come on you slow poke I also want to restock on supplies BEFORE the blizzard comes. Now follow me, we need to get some- hey what?s with you? Why did you stop??
?Ino, look over there? commented the lazy Jounin.
? *gasp* Oh my... is that? Oh, SUGOI Ganbatte you big idiot ? yelled the blonde, too bad her shouting was overshadowed by the crowd of the market.
?Yeah, good luck. I hope she says yes to that proposal.? mumbled Shikamaru.
~The Ninja Academy: November 30th 2004 12:00 pm~
Ever since Sakura became Tsunade?s apprentice she had to attend to some of the basic duties the Godaime, like visiting the Academy every month, if she were too busy. Sakura didn?t complain and she didn?t really jump for joy either. But this was one of the simpler duties and she had a lot of fun every time she came. This time around shouldn?t be any exception either. She would usually walk into Iruka-sensei?s class and just watch from the corner, seeing the excitement from every child (with the exception of a few misbehaved ninja?s in training).
When Sakura went off to the East wing of the Academy she went to the second to last door on the right by habit. This room turned out to be the mission assignment room. She peeked in to see new Genins getting assigned to D rank missions. It reminded her of the several missions she had with Naruto and Sasuke. The way Naruto would complain how too lame and easy the missions were. Sasuke, of course, would simply stay in his stoic mood the entire time.
By the time she was done with her usual ?duty? of visiting the Academy, Sakura remembered that Naruto was returning today from his month long mission. The day before he left he told her that there was something very important he would like to talk about with her when he came back. For the first ten days Sakura asked Ino what Naruto could have meant, but since Ino is ever so slightly a romance sap she insisted with the belief of a proposal of engagement.
~Flashback~
?Ino! Are you sure? I mean Naruto have only been on a couple of dates, we don?t even consider ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend yet, and here you?ve come up with this crap about a proposal! Have you lost your mind?!
?No, not at all. You?re just not grasping the concept of the complex structure that is love, Sakura. The one thing I?ve noticed between all couples and singles is that -? Ino replied.
?Eh?! You?re starting to sound like Shikamaru! Wow, that might actually be a good thing you know.?
?Oh shut up. Now the reason why...?
~end flashback~
The next day while sitting at home, being glad she didn?t have to perform any of the Hokage?s ?duties?, Sakura was gazing out her bedroom window. All morning she has been thinking about Naruto?s departure, the words he said that surprised her, ?Don?t worry Sakura-chan, I?ll be back soon and without a scratch. Oh, and there?s something I need to talk to you about when I get back, ok??.
Soon after she cleaned up her dishes she headed out to the main gate. This is where like so many times before, Naruto came home from a mission. Luckily while she was at the Academy the other day she overheard some ANBUs chatting about Naruto and they knew that his mission was accomplished and now was heading back to Konoha.
Naruto, Sakura?s best guy friend, was coming back soon. She hoped it was today... it has already been one month. ?C?mon Naruto, come home today... please come home today.?
Another hour passed, it was now 1:50 pm. She has been out by the main gate for nearly three hours now. It only took a few more moments for her to decide to go back home and just wait the rest of the day by cleaning her place up.
On her way back she came up with the decision to take a detour through the park. When she came to a clear and open area of the park Sakura spotted a bench and sat down to take a small break. The pink haired girl stared at the sky and seeing the ever so boring clouds that once presented such amusement when she was younger. Though right now one looked a lot like Naruto?s head, a round face with hair that stood up even with a large amount of gel. ?Then with those whisker like marks and that goofy smile of his... *sigh* and his deep cerulean eyes... they?re so innocent, so naive.?
?Ah, dammit... I?ve got you on the brain, Naruto. If you were here I would seriously- ?
?You would seriously do what?? whispered a voice from behind.
?Huh?? as Sakura turned around she came face to face with the one person she wanted to see in a month, the one person she hasn?t seen in a month. She was looking at Naruto. And the only words that came from her lips were, ?Hey, what took you so long??
~End Chapter 1~
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Sorry guys... i wanted it to be longer but i decided to leave it there. Expect chapter 2 to be posted in 1-2 weeks. in the mean time i'll post a message with the chapter 2's title.
Edited by bassclef, 21 December 2004 - 06:46 AM.
