Sand...
It's everywhere...Burns my eyes, sprinkles my hair, grits in between my fingers...
Green eyes.
So hurt, so pained...Look into mine and plead for help, for love...Plead to simply be seen..."...Dont worry...Even though my father and I leave tomorrow...I'll still be your friend."
"Y-You promise? You won't forget me?"
"No."
"Promise me. Promise me!"
"Let me go! Make your mean sand go away!"
"PROMISE ME!"
"I promise!!! Just let me go!!"
"Just let me go..."
>>--< <
>>--< <
"Akina! UP! You have school! Get your lazy self outta bed!"
"Okay, OKAY! Yeesh!"
"I mean it! If you don't get up, I'll set Kin on you and make him claw your arm again!"
"I said okay!! Yeesh, you annoying troublesome woman!"
"What did you call me?!"
You sat up in your bed, your satin brown nightshirt loosly slipping down your shoulder. "You heard me! Now leave me alone or I'l tell my father to cut your pay!"
Silence followed, and you smirked triumphantly. You swung you legs over the edge of your huge fluffy bed and yawned loudly. Pulling your nightshirt off, you walked over to your closet in green girl's boxers and a black bra. You opened the doors and pulled out your favorite outfit-a pair of short tight pants and a small skirt, and a top that would cut off just below your bra.
(In case some of you were lazy enough to skip the preface, this is what you look like.)
After pulling on your boots, you yanked on your long gloves and snapped on a gold bracelet, and then you walked over to your mirror. Grabbing your hairbrush, you freed your green hair of all knots, pulled it up into a nice ponytail, and afterwards you put on a light bit of makeup.
"Akina, MARCH! Breakfast's ready!"
"I'm coming, dammit!" You snapped, an irritable look on your face. "'Akiko, march!' MARCH! Who does that stupid woman think she is, my mother?"
You grabbed a book titled Go: Situations of Life and Death, and then walked out of your bedroom door (FYI, Go is an Asian game! and I'm very good at it ^^. havne't lost yet!).
"What's to eat this morning?" You asked, sitting down at the long breakfast table.
"The usual," a man said, walking into the room in a white coat, pushing a food cart. "Eggs-scrambled-bacon, cream of wheat, toast, sausage, and a glass of orange juice."
You lazily watched him place the food on the table, and then smiled at him a little. "Arigato, Syaoran (YES, Syaoran! I like CardCaptors. >< get over it)."
He bowed and smiled back. "Always a pleasure, Miss Uzaki."
You gave him a look. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Akina?"
"Always at least once more," he replied, and then left with his cart.
You shook your head as you took a bite of bacon. *That guy...Always so damn polite...Makes me sick!*
"AKINA! How many times must I tell you?! That outfit is MUCH to revealing for you to wear!?" A woman boomed, walking into the room. She was a pretty woman, with short brown hair and deep blue eyes-and yet she had an expression that could make even the strongest man wet himself.
You looked up at her with a sarcastic smile. "And yet, I always seem to wear it. Hm, who knows? Maybe, just maybe...I dont care?!"
She glared at you. "Listen here, Missy, your father instructed me-"
"Oh, my father! Oh, now it gets serious, huh?" You asked, scowling at her. "Look, my father will do whatever the hell I tell him to! Know why? Because I could KILL him if I wanted to, and he knows it! Now you can just turn your little smart-ass remarks around and MARCH out of this room, or I'll make sure you get paid in DIRT instead of money!"
She opened and closed her mouth, her face purple with fury. At last, however, she huffed angrily and stalked out of the room.
You smirked. Everything pretty much went your way in this house. You were the real head of this household, no matter what your father said.
"Good morning, Miss Uzaki," a pretty blonde maid said, walking up to you and bowing. "Did you sleep well?"
You nodded at her with a lazy smile. "Of course. You always make my bed perfectly fluffy and bouncy!"
She smiled happily. "Thank you very much, Miss Uzaki."
You groaned. "What IS it with you people and calling me 'Miss Uzaki'?"
She laughed. "Well, you ARE the mistress of this household. Besides, everyone respects you."
"Yeah, only because I could make them get fired...They're scared of me."
She nodded, her smile saddening. "I know. Maybe if you weren't so threatening..."
"I'm only threatening to that dumbass, Sorina!!" You snapped irritably. "She thinks she owns this household just because she used to be my dad's 'pleasureable company'. HMPH!"
The girl sighed and turned to the kitchen. "I have to get back to work. Go on to school...Miss Uzaki..."
You stood up huffily. "It's Akina! AKINA!" With a mad glare at the butler walking by, you stormed out the door.
*fumes and walks out door*
Walking to school, you muttered to yourself about your home.
"Damn maids and butlers...Every one of them...They're all troublesome..."
"Troublesome? You sound like Nara Shikamaru."
You looked up and saw a girl with long blonde hair in a ponytail walking next to you.
"Hm. Yamanaka Ino. Sup?" You asked, putting your hands behind your head and sighing lazily.
"Oh nothing!! Just goin to school...as usual.." she sighed, then suddenly made a fist and puched the air. "But today's the day! I'm making Sasuke MINE!"
You rolled your eyes and groaned. "My gosh, you're STILL after that Uchiha guy? Can't you take a hint that he isn't interested? I mean, come on. It's been 12 years."
She didn't lose her fire. "Yeah, but today's DEFINETLY the day!"
"And just how do you know that?" You inquired, looking at her sideways.
"I have a plan!" She said, grinning. "All I gotta do is sit next to Sasuke today, and ya see I bought this really expensive perfume yesterday and..."
*I see her mouth moving, but all I hear is 'Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke'. URGH, make the stupidity shut UP.*
"Hey!" She said suddenly, waving a hand in front of your face. "Are you listening?"
"Nope." You said fatly. "I've learned to tune out useless, pathetic rambling."
She scowled at you. "Well fine!" Then she walked past you into the school.
You entered as well, and followed her into your classroom. You took a seat by yourself at the front of the class, and pulled out your book. You then put your chin in one hand and used the other to open the book and start reading.
"Hey there, Akina. How's it goin'?" A boy said, walking up to you.
*Insert groan here. GROAN.* "Rock Lee. Why are you here? You're not an academy student anymore."
"Gai-sensei has made me sit in the academy classroom for one day because I used a forbidden jutsu. Listen..." He got really close to your face and whispered, "Did it hurt?"
"Pardon?" You asked, sliding your eyes momentarily away from your book to look at him.
"When you fell from heaven, I mean," he explained, grinning from ear to ear like he said something clever.
You were not amused.
"That's the oldest line in the book, kid," you said, returning your gaze to your book. "Now close your damn mouth before you blind me with those stupid shiny teeth."
His smile was replaced with a disappointed frown, and he sat down beside you, sighing defeatedly.
You were still ticked that he was even sitting next to you, but you let it go and continued to read.
"Akina."
You didn't need to look up to recognize that voice. "Hyuuga Neji."
He pushed Rock Lee out of the seat next to you and took it for himself. Rock Lee opened his mouth to argue, but Neji glared darkly at him, so he turned and left with a scowl.
Neji said nothing, but watched you read. You tried to ignore him an concentrate on learning the best strategies in Go when it came to life or death situations. After a while, however, his staring got on your nerves.
"What, Neji?" You asked, annoyed, looking up from your book displeasurably (wow, is that even a word...?). *Why is he even here? Was he punished by Gai-sensei as well?*
"I'm eating lunch under that sakura blossom tree. Join me if you like," he said simply. He then stood up and walked away-the chair quickly being taken up by Rock Lee again.
You watched Neji leave from the corner of your eye. He had hit on you, yes, but there was something about him...
*Maybe it's because he's not as annoying and persistant. Whatver the case...I MAY join him. I dunno.* You shrugged to yourself and returned to your book, vaguely arguing with yourself about lunch.
"...We will begin by dividing each of you into three-man cells. Each will be mentored by a jounin, a more senior ninja, who will guide and coach you as you become familiar ith your various assignments."
You paused from reading your book and looked up at Iruka, curious.
*Three-man cells? Oh, great. As long as they don't stick me with one of those Sasuke fangirls...or Sasuke, for that matter!* You thought, grimacing at the idea. With a sigh, you looked back down to your book, awaiting the sound of your name.
"...Cell number seven," Iruka said, "Is Haruno Sakura...Uzumaki Naruto...and Uchiha Sasuke."
You smirked to yourself as Naruto stood up and protested. *Good, that knocks out the lover-boy Sasuke. At least I'm not with him.*
"Cell number eight is Yamanaka Ino...Nara Shikamaru...Akimichi Chouji..."
You closed your eyes tightly and hoped, *Not me, not me, not meee...*
"...and Uzaki Akina."
You promptly slammed your head onto the desk in front of you, annoyed. *AUGH! So much for not being stuck with a Sasuke fangirl...Ino is one of the worst...Oh well. I get what I get...*
"Okay, everyone!" Iruka said with a smile. "I'll be introducing you to your senior ninjutsu instructors this afternoon. Until then, you're dismissed!"
You marked your page and put your book into your backpack, and then you stood up. Just as you walked into the aisle, Ino came running up to you with a smile. Apparantly she'd forgotten how you'd insulted her earlier.
"Hey, Akina! Shikamaru, Chouji, and I are going to eat together so we can get to know each other. You're coming, right?" She inquired, still smiling.
You opened your mouth to tell her no, but stopped when you saw Neji pass by the doorway.
"I...might, Ino," you said, returning your emerald eyes to her. "I may have something to do."
She cocked her head quizzically, but didn't ask questions. "Okay, well, we're eating at the top of-"
You nodded your head. "I'll find you, don't worry about it. Now move." You pushed past her and went out the door, not noticing the staring eyes of a boy who had been standing behind her.
Outside, you stood inbetween the orchard and the building where you heard Ino's voice talking loudly.
"Hm...Who to eat with..." You wondered, box lunch in hand. "If I eat with my team, I end up hearing that bossy Ino talk her head off...But if I eat with Neji, it might be peaceful-But I don't want to look like I'm going out with him...Hm..."
You turned towards the orchard.
"I can always just say I wanted peace and quiet..." You muttered, walking into the orchard and tossing a bit of your green hair over your shoulder. After a few minutes you spotted the sakura blossom tree, and saw Neji leaning against it, eating. You walked over to him and sat down, taking your backpack off your shoulder and opening your box lunch.
"You came," he said quietly.
You looked up into his clear white eyes. "I didn't want to hear loud-mouth Ino during my whole lunch break. That's all." You broke your chopsticks apart and picked up a little bit of sticky rice (yum, I love sticky rice). You put it in your mouth and continued to hold your gaze with Neji, curious as to what he would do next.
He dropped his stare to his food and took a bite of his rice ball. "...I was tired of Rock Lee's rants about becoming a great ninja...That's why I asked you to eat with me."
You cocked your head a little bit. "I see. Why were you in the academy at all? Rock Lee said he was being punished by Gai-Sensei, but you...?"
"Gai-Sensei told me to check up on Lee. To make sure he wasn't doing something stupid," he replied.
"And would hitting on me count as stupid?" You asked, amused.
"I suppose so," he answered.
"So then, you were doing the same stupid thing, were you not?" you asked as you bit into a piece of chicken.
This seemed to frustrate him, and you smiled a little bit. "Relax, I'm only teasing you, Neji."
He still seemed a bit irritated, but he let it go and quieted down.
You closed your empty lunch box and sat on the ground next to you. Then you put your chin in your hand and sighed, looking around at the trees. *Boring...*
"What do you think of fate?" He asked suddenly.
You blinked and looked back at him. "Fate...? I've never thought about it."
"Do you think it controls our lives? That it guides us, and we cannot change it?" He pressed.
You mouth fell into a thoughtful frown and you furrowed your eyebrows. "I dunno...I never really think about what controls me...hm...What an interesting thought...."
He seemed to be looking at you completely differently now...and that's bad. You knew that look.
"Not you too!" you groaned, scowling at him.
"What?" He asked, snapping out of his gaze.
You stood up irritably. "All of you boys are the same! You all hit on me and get crushes on me! I want to be friends with guys, because ALL the girls fawn over Sasuke! But I can't because you all end up confessing love for me!!" You sighed. "Thanks for inviting me to lunch." Then you turned and walked off, leaving a disappointed Neji under the trees.
*walks out of orchard*
"Stupid Neji...Stupid love...Stupid beauty. Why the hell did I have to be pretty, anyways?! Beauty's such a hinderance!" You cried, walking forward with your eyes to the ground. "I wish I could've just been born average! Not too perfect, not to imperfect! That is what I wish I could be! I want to-Oof!"
You bumped into someone and landed backwards on your butt.
"Watch where you're going, Akina," he said. You looked up into a bored and blank face.
"Why don't you watch it, Nara Shikamaru!" You snapped, standing up and brushing yourself off.
"Because watching myself is troublesome when I should be watching others instead," he replied flatly. "Why weren't you at lunch, anyways?"
"It's none of your business, but I was eating with a friend," you replied over the sound of the bell. You turned and began to walk with him to the classroom. "Besides, I didn't want Yamanaka Ino's stupid bossy voice to ruin my appetite."
He put his hands in his pockets as you kicked open the doorway. "Well, you have a point. Her mouth never stopped moving."
"See? I knew it." You sighed as you entered the classroom. "I'm going to hate being on a team with here. She's just so...so..."
"Troublesome," he finished for you.
"Exactly," you agreed with a nod. You were about to head back to your seat when you paused in mid-step. Several boys were already buzzing around you desk, waiting for you. You groaned and turned to Shikamaru.
"No," he said bluntly.
"Come on, please? I hate going through this every day,," you told him. "Just sit with me and they'll go away!"
"No," he repeated, and scowled at you.
"Fine, be that way, you lazy ass," you snapped.
"I'm not a lazy ass," he said, grabbing your arm as you turned to go back to your seat.
"Yes you are. You're too damn lazy to help a girl out for one small favor. You're a lazy ass." You reotrted cooly, and yanked your arm out of his grasp.
He groaned. "You're trying to trick me."
You raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Is it working?"
He scowled at you. "Troublesome girl...Yes, fine, I'll sit with you."
Your smirk grew. "Works every time. Come on." You led the way to your seat.
A boy ran up. "Hey, Akina, mind if I sit with-"
"Shikamaru's sitting with me," you replied, moving him out of the way and sitting down. Shikamaru took the other seat, still scowling at you.
You rolled your eyes. "I liked your bored face better. It wasn't as ugly."
This only caused his scowl to darken, so you reached into your backpack, pulled out your book, and began to read.
*reads book and waits to meet the Sensei*
YAYZ! I hope it was good! I know I ended it kinda short. Message & Rate if you want another. I'm not going to continue if no one likes to read it!!
