Title: Skirts & Shoes, Pants & Punches

Fandom: Naruto

Type: Multi-chapter story

Rated: PG13

Word Count: 4, 308

Summary: She went from a girly girl known for her arrogance to a hardcore tomboy known for her parents’ astonishing death. Sakura Haruno realized how stupid she had been all this time. Being somebody she’s not just to win a boy’s heart? Some inspiration turned her into her true self—a tomboy. Not only did this transformation attract the Akatsuki-- it attracted her crush and nearly all the boys in school. However, a hardcore tomboy such as her is hard to enthrall.

 

From girly girl to tomboy, she has been through the worst. Getting an invitation to join the Akatsuki, she realized she’s just caught the attention of more men than she can count. Unfortunately, tomboys don’t easily fall in love. AkaSaku with MultiSaku

 

A/N: Hello everybody! This is a revamp of the original first chapter. Anyway—here’s how I came up with the title:

 

Skirts & Shoes= A girly girl.

Pants & Punches= A hardcore tomboy.

Enjoy!

.

..

…

To the beat of my,

To the beat of my,

To the beat of my heart.

…

..

.

“Hinata, keep alert,” Ino clamped a hand on her friend’s shoulder and pointed toward the school entrance, “Sakura’s here.”

The raven-haired girl nodded as her grey eyes shifted their gaze toward the entrance. A crowd of boys with lovestruck faces gathered at the gate. Hinata stole a furtive glance at her wristwatch and was not surprised the popular girl was late.

The blonde, Ino, sighed inaudibly as she heard squeals and cheers from the boys who were gathering up at the gate to meet their princess. Her icy blue eyes noticed the black, expensive-looking car, which had just pulled up in front of the school, making the boys squeal with excitement.

‘Tch, Sakura Haruno,’ Ino thought, rather furiously, ‘Why do they think she’s some kind of “princess”? She may be a pretty girl with long hair and short skirts, but her attidute is the worst thing a girl can deal with…’

Hinata looked at her best friend, “Ino, I know you’re thinking about Sakura-chan’s attidute. Please don’t get so angry thinking about it—we aren’t the only two who, well, aren’t fond of her, to put it politely. Everybody we know does not like Sakura-chan.”

Ino smirked, “Yeah, I know. By the way, I’ve heard rumors that Sakura’s just acting as the she is to win the heart of Sasuke.”

Noticing the subject of their conversation was drawing near the doors with boys following up behind her, Hinata asked although her eyes were focused elsewhere, “I haven’t heard about the latest gossip, though. That’s a very interesting theory—do you think it’s true?”

“I think so,” The blonde replied with confidence.

It was then the two girls realized Princess Haruno had just walked in the school. As usual,she walked in with the most outrageous version of a school girl’s uniform; that embarrassingly short skirt, the knee-length translucent socks, that terribly tight shirt revealing the small shape of her bust, the expensive pink small bag slung over her shoulder and that black headband to hold back her fringe.

Her long hair, which cascaded down her back like a curtain, swayed flawlessly as she closed her eyes and strutted through the hallway. Holding her chin up high and her lips set into a serious straight line, she ignored the hopeful juniors who crowded her.

When the pink-haired beauty was out of sight, Ino resumed talking to Hinata, “Well, what’s your opinion about the theory? Do you think she became that to charm my darling Sasuke?”

“Maybe,” Hinata shrugged, pushing her books into her locker, “Sasuke-san is a boy who has more than ten fanclubs already, and if Sakura-chan has heard the gossip that Sasuke-san likes girls with long hair, it could be true.”

Locking the locker, the Byakugan heir sighed as she walked toward their class, “Even if she wanted to grow long hair, she didn’t have to turn into the girl she is now.”

At the entrance of 3-A, the two friends stopped. The two girls sat directly in front of the Pinkette.

Folding her arms, Ino looked away irritatingly as Sakura’s place was crowded with juniors. This disabled Ino and Hinata from going to their places in class.

“Yeah, you’re right,” The two friends stood by the door of their class, waiting for the crowd of fans to clear away. Ino let a smirk play across her face, “Luckily, she didn’t manage to attract my Sasuke-kun,” Hinata laughed slightly as Ino cotinued, “All she managed to pull were all the juniors. All of the guys in our grade and the seniors don’t even want talk to her. If you ask me, they want to avoid her.”

“I think…” Hinata spoke up, “I think you’re right…and I guess her plan didn’t work because she’s attracted the wrong people.”

The bell rang and the boys scattered out of the class to their respective classes. The two friends made their way to sit at the two empty seats in front of Sakura. As they approached, the Princess would not speak to them, as usual, and looked away.

Ino, of all people, was greatly disturbed by this.

.

..

…

Everybody’s got a dark side

Will you love me?

Can you love mine?

…

..

.

Sakura was relieved when the school bell rang. Grabbing her pink bag, she rushed out of the school as quickly as she could, wanting to avoid her fans, which consisted of juniors that she definitely did not want to attract.

She followed the flow of the crowd as they walked out the school door, toward the vast gardens in front of the school which were lined with pine trees to go straight out the school gate to get to their transport. Sakura spotted her black car parked across the road.

Looking right and left, the road was clear and Sakura skittered across with caution. Opening the door quickly, she jumped inside before her fans could see her. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief and put her pink bag aside, before she smiled at her father, who was already smiling at her from the mirror.

“Hello, Sakura,” Her father greeted, his pale-green eyes shining, “How was school today?”

“It was fine, dad,” Sakura replied, a genuine and calm smile on her face, “Anything exciting happening at work?”

The man tightened up his checkered tie, “Yes, dear, there is something exciting,” He looked over his shoulder to smile at his pink-haired daughter, “I will be promoted today, and someone important is coming over to my office, so there’ll be a meeting. I might be home later than usual.”

The car’s engine started and wheels started to spin as they drove off, away from Konoha High School.

Sakura replied to her father, “Okay, dad. Drive carefully on your way home.”

She looked over her shoulder to look at her school. Students were chatting by the bus stop, most were nattering on the benches, and girls were squealing at the sight of the senior gang, Akatsuki.

Sakura’s eyes darkened and she was glad her father did not notice.

The main reason Sakura grew long hair, wore short skirts and tried to be girly was to win her crush’s heart, or at least get her a boyfriend she was interested in. Sakura clenched her hands till her knuckles became white, as she thought of the results. All she managed to attract was…disgusting young teenagers who probably know nothing about love, which are the juniors.

A few minutes later, Sakura kissed her father on the cheek and waved goodbye as the car drove off. “Bye, dad! Good luck at work!”

The pink-haired beauty turned around to face her home. It was an ordinary house—a bungalow painted white and brown with small lawn. Pushing the gate open, Sakura ambled pass the small garden and went to the shoe rack to look for the keys her mother had left for her before she went to work. Finding a set of golden keys, the jade-eyed female opened her home door.

Shutting the door and locking it for her safety, Sakura grunted to herself. She trudged up the stairs, dragging her feet on the floor, quickly changed her clothes and went back downstairs to make some lunch for herself. She was in a ghastly mood today, which was usual everytime she came back from school. One thing always frustrates her, it always upsets her, and she can’t see another way out of it. She prepared a sandwich and plopped onto the sofa in her living room.

Nibbling on her sandwich, she folded her arms.

“This whole ‘plan’ is pointless,” Sakura said to herself, loudly and clearly since she was the only person in the house, “Why isn’t it working? I’ve gone through so much trouble just to turn into…into…this—“ The girl tugged on her hair, “This school who doesn’t have friends.”

As much as she wanted to stop, a part of Sakura’s body told her that she cannot. She cannot change back to her real self unless if her goal is accomplished. She slapped her palm onto her forehead, disagreeing with her heart that told her to keep trying to win Sasuke’s heart. Sakura shook her head angrily; arguing back by saying her crush isn’t interested with people who were girly. The Pinkette shuddered at the last word.

Sakura sighed as she finished the last part of her sandwich.

She admitted; she hated having long hair. It was a nuisance to her and it was hard to take care of. She wanted to crop it short like a boy’s hair; Sakura thought it would be so much more comfartable. She hated wearing short skirts and tight, slinky shirts. It was embarassing and it was quite hard to move around without paying attention to her skirt so it won’t fly up too high to see her underwear. She hates the annoying juniors she’s attracted. She only wanted to attract one boy, or maybe a few senior students, but Sakura wasn’t interested in men younger than her. She thinks the ‘obsession’ the fans have with her is damn annoying.

Sometimes, Sakura pities Sasuke. How does he put up with his fangirls everyday?

Sakura remembered when she was scrolling through the rulebook of the school she had bought from the school bookshop around three months ago, she didn’t see anything which said girls weren’t allowed to wear boy uniforms. Learning this, Sakura had to resist the urge to go and spend her money on the male uniforms. She wanted to wear them to school as she felt comfortable wearing clothes that covered her body. Sakura just hated wearing skirts.

The pink-haired, emerald eyed girl fell in love with Sasuke Uchiha at the first sight of him, and she noticed that too many girls were all out for him already. Although Sakura realized the other boys in her class and the seniors were damn hot as well, Sakura wanted the Uchiha male. She transformed from the short-haired, amiable girl to a so-called y, girly since she was 13. Now, she’s 15 and still hasn’t managed to win his heart.

She did manage to capture some of his attention, though. Over the crowd of girls, Sakura stubbornly stood a distance away as boys crowded her, but she saw Sasuke on his toes, his eyes, looking over the crowd of girls swarming him, staring at her. The pink-haired girl pretended not to notice and ignored his glance.

Sakura felt happy to know her crush was staring at her, but after that he didn’t pay attention to her at all. She was very frustrated when she realized this. She regretted ever changing her appearance, reputation and hiding her true personality. The stupid gossip which the girls in her school have been rumoring about had finally made her regret following it. The gossip said that boys like girls who are girly and feminine. Oh, how stupid she was back then. Now, with her reputation as a girly girl, hundreds of girls hating her and hundreds of juniors crazy for her—Can Sakura change into the boyish-girl she really is?

Sakura sighed sadly and slapped her palm on her large forehead. She was in a terrible mood—no, worst than terrible. She was such in a ghastly mood.

It wa then she realized her heart was telling her something.

‘Sakura, I know why we feel this way,’ The pink-haired girl was surprised to hear her alter ego talk to her. Inner Sakura was worried, ‘I get a feeling something bad is going to happen soon. Something very bad…’

‘When? And what is going to happen?’ Sakura asked, eyebrows high. She knew sometimes if something bad was going to happen in someone’s life, that person would be in a gloomy, sullen mood before it happened. The pink-haired girl waited for Inner Sakura to answer.

Her alter-ego shook her head, ‘I don’t know when it will happen, I don’t know what will happen either,’ She frowned, ‘But…it’ll happen soon.’

‘Do you think it would be bad?’ Sakura questioned, her eyebrows knitted, ‘Do you think it’s serious?’

Inner Sakura seemed unsure as she shook her head again, ‘I don’t know…but with our mood today, I think it is something serious.’

Sakura laid down on her yellow sofa and stared at the ceiling. Her arm was over her forehead, and her eyes stared at the ceiling with worry and concern.

A few minutes later saw Sakura blinking back hot tears. As much as she fought back, the tears won and they streamed out of her eyes. She didn’t know why she was crying—but she was so sad…so upset…so disappointed.

She curled up in a ball and sobbed. She had never felt so heartbroken before. And she was sure she wasn’t crying because of herself.

It was because of something else.

…

..

.

What doesn’t kill you

Makes you stronger

Stand a little taller

Doesn’t mean I’m lonely

When I’m alone

.

..

…

All at once, Sakura knew why she cried uncontrollably yesterday.

She heard screams and shouts, gasps and everything around her was blurry. She was only half-conscious when she realized she was on the road. She was facing her right, and she can feel her cheek against something hard. Cars were jammed and people were all around her at quite a distance. She was down on the road, her back facing the sky—and first thing that came clear in her vision was her right arm. It hurt and had red stains on it—some of them looked like liquid, whereas other stains were dry.

A few feet away—shattered glass. The next thing was a wrecked, black car turned upside down with a red car not so far from it. The red car was on its side, but somebody was crawling out of it, crying for help. Nearby the earlier car were two people lying on the road, puddles of red ink around them. They looked lifeless.

The puzzle pieces fell into place. Her eyes widened painfully as hurtful pangs of reality came crashing back to her.

Something interrupted her happiness. Sakura was elated to know her mother found time to spend with her only daughter.

But then, she heard something like an explosion, she felt an unknown force push her out of the windshield, she felt the glass breaking against her skin and she felt unbearable pain. The red stains and red puddles around her was not ink—they were blood.

Whose blood?

Her broken jade eyes hurt as tears struggled to escape. She reached her hand out weakly in the direction of the two bodies as she started to cry. She wanted to move but it hurt—too much.

The two bodies nearby the wrecked car— her car—were her parents. The pink-haired girl, whose hair went scarlet with dried blood, knew within a few minutes, she would most likely pass out and die. She didn’t mind if she died, she just wanted her parents to be alive. She had no siblings, and neither father nor mother had a sibling, so Sakura had no uncles, aunties or cousins. She was alone if her parents left her.

This car accident had thrown the emerald eyed girl out of the car, sending her crashing head first onto the road before she rolled to a stop. The rough gravel caused the bloody cuts on her arms. Her parents were thrown out as well—but they were much closer to the car than her.

Voices shouted for help. The sound of sirens—ambulance sirens, police cars—wailed in the distance. It was strange. Everything became quiet for her. The chaos was nothing but a soft murmur.

Then, she noticed a speeding car and a terrifying screech as it tried to break. The out-of-control vehicle came closer without getting any slower, and its wheels were heading straight for the limp, semi-conscious body of the pink-haired Princess. In a panic, Sakura struggled to get up and crawl out of the car’s way, but she screamed as she tried to move.

Just then, the pain of trying to get up turned even more unbearable when she was lifted off the road.

Her eyes hurt more, as through the blurriness, the blue car ran over her parents’ bodies before crashing and turning over. The sight of the bloodiness caused Sakura to scream louder and painfully.

She reached out her hand toward the bodies as she was brought to the pavement.

At that time, all she wanted to do was hold her parents close. She wanted to bury her face in her father’s shoulder, breathe in the smell of his cologne and perfume, tell him how much she loved him. She wanted to hug her mother, hear her laugh, see her rare smile. Sakura wanted to hear her mother’s voice say that she loved her.

Sakura didn’t care how serious her injuries were. They were only physical, anyway—if her parents left her, it would leave an emotional scar that would never heal.

When she was set down on the pavement, her cheeks wet with tears and her eyes burning. As she whimpered, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen and she screamed in pain. Whoever carried her was aware of her pain and set her down much more gently against the wall. Two hands cupped her cheeks and held her face straight. Her eyes were downcast, although her face was facing the boy who had carried her.

“Stay with me.”

The unfamiliar voice made her eyes look up. Her vision was blurry with tears and her eyelashes were stained with blood, making it hard for her to identify the male who had saved her from death. Although the situation, Sakura could see a smile of relief on his face. “Thank goodness, you’re alive. The ambulance will arrive shortly, so stay awake and don’t lose yourself.”

The pink-haired girl moaned in pain and pressed her right palm on the side of her stomach, which had a deep gash in it. She can sense her saviour was worried. “Stay with me. The medics are almost here. Tell me, what’s your name?”

It hurt but she didn’t hesitate to answer. “S-Sakura.”

A smile formed on her hero’s face. “That’s a beautiful name, Sakura. Do you have a secret nobody knows about you?”

Sakura knew he was just trying to keep her awake, not trying to invade her privacy. It took awhile but Sakura managed to mumble an answer. “I…this isn’t…the real…me…”

“Is that so?” His voice was rich and deep like velvet, making Sakura relaxed and less tense, “I have a guess that your true side is beautiful and maginificent. Nobody should ever hide whoever they really are.”

He paused for a while, “Do you feel okay?”

Her lifeless pale-green eyes tried hard to take in some features of her saviour but no avail. Slowly, Sakura nod her head and let a smile—a heartbroken smile—play across her face. “Yes…thank you. May I…know your name?”

Before the boy, whom seemed slightly older than her, could answer,the ambulance arrived and the paramedics crowded her.

“We’ll take it from here,” The paramedic said and Sakura’s saviour stepped out of the way.

They lifted her into the ambulance and Sakura saw the figure of her hero standing outside, his hands in his pockets, dressed in dark apparel. Since her green eyes were hooded and she had no energy to open them wider, she did not see the face of the man whom had saved her.

Before the ambulance doors closed, her savior was waving goodbye.

“So long, Sakura,” Her name rolled off his tongue like rich red wine, “Until we meet again.”

She was in pain.

Sadness.

Frustration.

Melancholy.

She eventually fainted.

…

..

.

What doesn’t kill you

Makes a fighter

Footsteps even lighter

Doesn’t mean I’m over

Cause you’re gone

.

..

…

 

When Sakura regained conciousness, she was in a hospital room. Most parts of her body were bandaged.

She can see doctors, nurses and people walking and rushing around outside her room. It was so peaceful, so quiet.

It was then she realized she wasn’t the only one in the room. Sitting quietly by one of the chairs was a girl from her school. She was a popular girl in her school, two years older than Sakura. She was also the only female member in the famous gang in Konoha High School, the Akatsuki. Sakura wondered why Konan was visiting her.

“Um, are you…Konan-san?” Sakura spoke. The blue-haired girl put down her book and looked at the girl on the bed.

She gave a serene smile that made her look twice as beautiful as an angel. Envy raged within Sakura.

“Sakura-chan, am I right?” Konan replied, pushing herself off the chair and walking over to the bed, “Yes, I’m Konan. I saw what happened at school yesterday. I thought I could come by and check on you. How do you feel?”

Sakura did not know what to say.

“I…feel better, thank you,” Her voice was soft, “In fact, thank you for visiting me.”

The blue-haired girl smiled, “My pleasure, Sakura-chan. I pity you after all the trauma you’ve been through, including your loss.”

Sakura stiffened at Konan’s last words, “W-what…” She stammered, “What do you mean by, ‘loss’?”

Konan’s face fell and her eyes went downcast. It was a few minutes of silence before Konan heavily answered, “I’m sorry, Sakura-chan…I thought you knew…”

A part of Sakura’s body wanted to avoid thinking Konan was saying that Sakura’s parents were…gone. Sakura didn’t want that to be true. She let out a nervous giggle, “Um, you’re joking, right, Konan-san?”

Slowly, much to Sakura’s fear, Konan shook her head.

Her pale-green eyes widened, and Sakura’s knuckles became white from clenching too long. The pink-haired girl was trembling, and Konan realized this as tears streamed down her eyes and Sakura strated to sob. Immediately, Konan tried to comfort her.

“Sakura-chan, I’m sorry for your loss,” Konan Sakura’s soft, long hair, her lips set in a sympathetic frown, “Your mother and father suffered serious injuries to the head and chest. They had no chance.”

Konan squeezed her right hand, “But you were thrown far from the car and you’re alive. Doctors say you are—very—fortunate,” Sakura stopped sobbing, but tears rolled down and wet her ears, since she was lying down. “Sakura-chan, I’m not lying when I say I want to be your friend. I want to mitigate your pain and sadness.”

.

.

.

Konan managed to calm down the pink-haired girl and distracted Sakura with some small talk, mostly about what her family was like and some facts about Sakura herself. The pink-haired girl, despite her pain and sadness for the loss of her only family, never felt so happy. It was the first time in three years a girl from her school actually became friends with her. Sakura liked the feeling of a friend.

“Konan-san,” Sakura said and asked, “Before I was nearly run over by a car, someone carried me out of the way. Did you see him?”

Konan frowned uncertainly, “Oh, him. I saw him save you, but I didn’t see his face features because, well, 1) he had a hood over his head and 2) I only saw his back. I could tell he was well-built and tall. I heard him mutter something about you being okay before he suddenly vanished amidst the confusion.”

“Oh…” Sakura uttered depressingly, but happily as she heard the last few words of Konan’s sentence, “Now that I think about it…my only family is gone…so I guess I’ll have to fend for myself, then.”

Konan put her palm on Sakura’s wrist, making the Pinkette look up, “Sakura-chan, you are welcome to live in my home if you want.”

Konan opened Sakura’s fist and placed a piece of paper on her palm before closing it back again, “You have the address.”

Smiling hopefully—but heartbroken—Sakura replied, “Thank you, Konan-san. But I would fend for myself, despite your kind offers. You know, I told my savior a secret nobody knows—that I’m pretending to be someone I’m not.”

Konan was enthralled and she listened carefully.

“My hero told me to not be afraid to show everybody who I really am. And, you know what, Konan-san?” Sakura gave a grin, “I’m going to follow his advice. I’ll be absent for a few days, though.”

“What do you mean?” Konan asked, confused, “Are you saying that you aren’t a girly bi—I mean, girly girl?”

Sakura laughed. “I know I’m a , but I was so stupid that time, to be someone I’m not for a specific reason,” She smiled calmly, “I will be my true self this time, and please don’t be too shocked when I come to school later.”

The doctor came in, talked to Konan and she turned to Sakura, “Sakura-chan, I have to go. My visiting time is over.”

 The blue-haired girl smiled, “I have another five minutes,” Konan placed her hand on Sakura’s un-broken one and her eyes twinkled, “Sakura-chan, why not you join the Akatsuki? You know, the gang in school. You can make friends with members and maybe the members will introduce you to more friends.”

Sakura was stunned by the sudden invitation. After a few minutes’ hesitation, she knew what she had to do, “I accept. Thank you, Konan-san.”

Giving the pink-haired girl a cheerful smile, Konan waved goodbye, “That’s great! We’ll see you in a week, Sakura-chan. You get some rest.”

Before the door was fully closed, she winked, “And I can’t wait to see your ‘true self’!”

With that, the door was closed and Konan left the hospital.

Sakura smiled. Konan would definitely be a bit too shocked and the pink-haired girl knew that the angelic senior would never be able prevent her astonished expression from showing.

‘I’m so grateful to be alive,’ Sakura thanked God, ‘Hey, Inner! Get ready!’

Her alter-ego jumped, punching the air, ‘SHANNARO! When we get out of this damned hospital, the first thing I want is a haircut!’

…

..

.

When you want it the most

There’s no easy way out

When you’re ready to go

But your heart’s

Left in doubt

.

..

…

A/N: Review=Love=Authors Inspiration=Faster Updates.