Epilogue/sequel to Holiday Miracles
Valentines Day Bliss
Hey everyone. This is the epilogue/sequel to Holiday Miracles…it's too short to be a sequel, yet far too long to be an epilogue, thus making it an epilogue/sequel. I was debating about either calling it a "sepilogue" or an "epiquel" but that would have been too unrecognizable and weird.
My school had a snow day today, and since tomorrow's Valentine's Day, I had the irrefutable urge to write a Valentines Day fic. Then I decided to make it a sequel to Holiday Miracles simply because I had an epiphany about how I would write it, and BAM there was my inspiration.
It's going to be a 2 chapter story, so the head honcho chapter is not up yet. But if people enjoy it enough, it will be.
Now that you're done skimming over all that, I really hope as many people enjoy this as they did Holiday Miracles (or at least a quarter, and I'll still be happy!)
You guys are awesome.
Just thought you should know.
Summary:
It's the day before Valentine's Day and the girls are as hyped up as anyone else. When they're assigned to a mysterious 'mission' that just so happens to be in Suna, the boys prove to the girls in the most blissful way possible that the holiday has certainly not slipped their minds.
Chapter 1:
Holy Crap it's Valentines Day
Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Hinata were sprawled out on the floor of Hinata's room, surrounded by cut up lace, construction paper, candy, glitter, glue, the works. In the center of the heap, though, was a stack of well-crafted cards. A very high stack, I might add.
"Alright," panted Sakura, dropped the scissors that were in her hands. "I think we've just about broken the record for 'most valentines made in the shortest amount of time'."
Tenten rolled over onto her back. As she did so, you could hear paper crumple, and you could see flecks of glitter stick to her tight, dark green T shirt from the ground.
"I guess this is what we get for putting it off until the day before Valentine's Day," she sighed, gesturing to all their worn-out selves as well as the trashed room.
"No kidding," agreed Sakura, reaching over to Ino's ponytail to pull out the lace that was stuck in it.
"Ow!" Ino interjected on impulse, tears stinging her eyes. She bit her lip. (AN: Sort of like that fast pain you get when somebody else plucks your eyebrows…yeah, not so great.)
"Oops!" said Sakura apologetically. "Sorry! I didn't know that there was actually glue on them…" she held a piece of lace up to her eyelevel and examined it. There were a few strands of Ino's hair stuck to the glue on it. "Uh oh…" she mumbled to herself.
"What is it?" Ino turned her head slightly.
"Nothing!" Sakura said quickly, throwing the lace and hair behind her.
"Oh, ok," Ino said, turning back around. Sakura did a mental phew.
"So," Hinata said, changing the subject. "How many do we have again?" She motioned to the tower of cards in the center of the room that they had gone all-out on making.
"I'd say about forty-five," Ino approximated. "Maybe fifty. I lost count at thirty, and by then, we just started rattling them off like the ABCs."
This was no lie, nor an exaggeration, oddly enough. It was in fact the day before Valentine's Day, and the girls had been caught completely off guard. Lucky for them, however, the day was declared a snow day, as if a little gift from heaven.
Snow days for them meant no missions, no paperwork, no nothing, contrary to the average kunoichi workday. Although there wasn't really an issue anyway with getting to the work building and back, Tsunade just wants to catch everyone a break once in a while. Needless to say, the time did not go wasted.
All of their parents were gone on missions, yet again, and this time they were all staying at the Hyuuga Manor. Let's just say after coming home to bloody bed sheets, a room full of pebbles, and a smashed in wall (AN: all references to events in Holiday Miracles, you may not remember them though) the Harunos didn't really want anymore extended sleepovers for a while.
Tenten did a low whistle. "Yeah…" she said. "I think we've made about enough."
"You think?" chuckled Sakura. She sat up and took a card off the top of the pile, which right then, looked more like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, ready to fall over at any minute. She also picked up a pink sharpie. "But there's still work to be done," she reminded her friends.
They all groaned.
"Oh yeah," said Ino dreadfully as she too sat up and crawled over to the stack. "We have to write the names on them."
Hinata and Tenten came over to the stack and all four of them equally divided them. Each of them had about eleven.
"Hey, can someone toss me a pen?" Tenten asked Sakura and Ino, who had the pens on their side.
"Here," Ino said, throwing her a red one. Tenten caught it with one hand, pulled the cap off with her mouth, and went right into the writing position. Ah, the talents of Tenten sure were great ones.
The girls were pretty popular amongst the village. Not just with those their own age, but with younger ones and elders as well. Ever since the Winter Wonderland, academy students knew them pretty well and sensei respected them. Adults liked them because they served as good babysitters. They were also successful kunoichis. It was safe to say that the girls had life wrapped around their fingers pretty tightly.
So why did they feel so incomplete at that moment?
Each of them felt in some way, as they were writing the names on the cards, that there was something missing. Something very big was definitely missing.
2 minutes later…
All the girls were half way through addressing their cards. But they all felt like there were people they were forgetting about.
They all brushed it off though, and figured that they would probably come across them while addressing the other half of their cards.
4 minutes later…
In front of each girl lay a pile of newly addressed, decorated, glittery valentines. They were all perfect in every aspect…except for the fact that it still seemed like they had forgotten somebody.
"Um," said Hinata, choosing to acknowledge this first. "Are you guys sure we have everyone?"
Thinking the exact same thing, Tenten picked up the list that had fifty or so names. She strewed about each pile and looked from the names on the piles to the names on the list, nodding after each name was confirmed.
After about a minute, she set the list down with a confused face and a raised brow.
"Well," she said. "According to this, we're not forgetting a soul."
All the girls were just as confused. They shared a look of mystification.
"Then why does it feel like something's missing?" Ino asked, feeling her soul dive into guilt for a reason she couldn't figure out.
Tenten concentrated on the ground, rested her arms on her knees. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Sakura sighed. "Oh well," she said. "No use worrying about it now. We should start putting these in people's mailboxes now."
"Already?" Ino asked, tilting her head to one side. "Valentine's Day is tomorrow," she reminded her friend.
"I know, but it won't hurt to get a leg up on things," Sakura pointed out, perking up. That was typical Sakura for you. Always into the 'getting a leg up on things' way.
"Must we?" Tenten asked dramatically, raising her hand up in the air as if she were drowning. "I'm so out of juice."
"I agree with Tenten, Sakura, maybe we should hold off until tomorrow…" Hinata tried, feeling pretty worn out herself. She could have sworn her fingertips would fall off if she had to use another glue gun.
"Nonsense!" Sakura said, grabbing both their hands against their will and pulling them to their feet. "Ino, there's a white basket over there," she pointed to the corner of the room. "Will you put all the valentines in there?"
Ino nodded reluctantly. "Sure," she sighed, languidly heaving her tired body up.
"There's gonna be a lot of mailboxes to fill," sighed Tenten, hoping to somehow convince Sakura to give it up.
"Yeah, but it'll be know hard feat for us," Sakura shrugged simply, helping Ino put the cards carefully in the basket.
Tenten sighed. "Aye aye aye, Sakura, there's just no getting you down is there?" she joked this. Sakura chuckled.
"Apparently not," she said, standing up with the basket in hand once all the cards were successfully loaded. "Now, let's go distribute them!"
She took no more than one step forward before she paused.
Just then, she quickly shoved the basket into Ino's arms and ran for the door. "I have to pee."
The other three girls just stared after her in fascination and amusement.
Ino shook her head but laughed at the same time.
"That's the last time I let her drink three cans of Red Bull."
"Sorry about that guys," Sakura apologized, knocking herself on the head as they walked down the Konoha sidewalks, stopping every few seconds to put a valentine in a mailbox. "I don't know what came over me!"
"I do," laughed Ino. "You drank far too much caffeine today!"
Sakura laughed to at the memory of earlier that day. "Hey," she defended. "I do believe the first words out of your mouth when we heard it was a day off were 'LET'S GO GET HIGH OFF CAFFEINE!'" She did a perfect imitation of a spazzed-out Ino.
Ino play shoved her. "Yeah, except I was speaking figuratively," she corrected. "I didn't expect you to actually go and do it!"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I'll keep that in mind the next time we have a snow day," she said.
"If Shizune and her lectures about 'keeping the organization steady and together' have anything to say about it, there won't be a next time!"
The girls jumped at the sudden voice that was bold, older, and enthusiastic. It wasn't hard to tell who it was.
"Good evening, Tsunade," greeted Hinata politely. Tsunade scoffed and threw her hand.
"Oh, Hinata, why so formal?" Tsunade laughed, walking over to pat Hinata on the head. "We're not in the workplace today, are we?"
"I guess not," giggled Hinata, loving Tsunade's nonchalant nature as everyone did.
"So how about this," offered Tenten. "Sup Tsunade?"
Tsunade flung her finger out at Tenten. "That's more like it!"
The three girls laughed. Particularly upon noticing Tsunade's shoes…or should I say lack thereof.
"Lovely slippers," joked Sakura, pointing at Tsunade's feet, which had a pair of large fluffy pink slippers on them. Tsunade turned as red as the shade of the slippers.
"Gift from the husband, alright," she muttered. (AN: yes, Tsunade now officially has a husband.)
"Why are you out here, anyway?" pondered Ino. "Aren't you cold?"
"To answer your second question, yes, very," she said, crossing her arms as she shook, due to the absence of any sort of coat or sweater. "And to the first one, I was coming out to get the paper. I happen to live here." She pointed at the house they were standing next to.
"Oh! That's where you live?" Hinata said, looking at the house that seemed to appear entirely too small for such a person as the Hokage to live in. "It looks so…quaint."
Tsunade chuckled. "Indeed it is. And while we're on this note of conversation, why are you girls out here?" She eyed them suspiciously.
"Delivering valentines," said Ino, holding up the basket as evidence. She rifled through it and got her finger on the one labeled 'Tsunade'. "Here's yours by the way." She handed Tsunade the card.
"Why thank you!" Tsunade said, looking at the small masterpiece in awe. "But isn't Valentine's Day tomorrow…"
"Yeah," answered Tenten quickly, with a quick smirk at Sakura. "But we just wanted to get a leg up on things."
Sakura made a noise that sounded like "pfft" but no one paid mind to it.
"Oh, well, that's always good I guess," Tsunade said, nodding, though still a bit bewildered. "But…" her warm smile slowly began to fade, and she started twirling the valentine in her hand nervously.
"But what?" asked Hinata in concern.
"I'm afraid…there's something I have to tell you girls." Tsunade's face now grew stern as she met the girls' eyes.
"It can't be that bad," Tenten shrugged. "What is it?"
Tsunade hesitated a little, but she got the words out. "You've been assigned a mission today," she said apologetically. Her face really did show she was sorry.
The girls' mouths dropped open in shock. Can you say unfair?
"Today??" Sakura sputtered. "But it's a-"
"I know, I know," Tsunade interrupted, waving her hands around to silence the commotion rising out of the girls. "But if it's any consolation, I think it's a mission you will be interested in."
"Why is that?" Tenten asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Well, you will get your objective when you get there, but it's location…." Tsunade smiled evilly, as if relishing in the fact that she could dangle this information above the girls' heads.
"Where?" Hinata asked as she and the girls leaned in with anticipation.
"Suna."
Sorry the girls didn't see the guys in this chapter, but this chapter was mainly meant to ramp up to them going to Suna. The boys will be here in the next chapter, which will be the last I'm afraid. This wasn't originally meant to be a huge sequel, but it ended up being that way. I hope you guys are ok with it! Thanks everyone! R and R if at all possible!