Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Line in the Sand: There's a line they cannot cross… "There must be something more to him!" Lights danced wildly in Ino's eyes. "Don't say that about Uchiha-sensei! He's a respectable man, Ino!" I retorted back. I found out how wrong I was.
Line in the Sand
1. Discovery
(in which Sakura discovers)
"So, give me your schedule, Sakura!" Ino's hands snatched the green paper from me, and her eyes searched wildly through my list of courses.
A sharp intake of her breath sounded as her hands squeezed with delight. "You have English with Uchiha-sensei!"
"So?"
"He's the hottest teacher!"
I could only roll my eyes.
"Really, Ino?" I snatched back my schedule and delicately slid into my bag. "Don't tell me you're going after a teacher?"
She smirked haughtily. "There's nothing wrong with that." Her blue eyes turned wistful, focusing on something past me, past the school walls, and past the sky… She was definitely in her dream world.
"You know…" I muttered with a sigh. "A student and a teacher… that's so wrong."
"Hmph!" Ino snapped back to reality and sneered at my face. "Famous last words, Sakura. Just see how hot Uchiha-sensei is and you'll be falling all over him."
Deliberately ignoring Ino, I left for my first class, History. Asuma-sensei was teaching this and my heart thumped a little quicker in anticipation for his classes. So far, this year was looking great. I had Asuma-sensei for Social Studies last year and I absolutely loved his teaching.
When I got there, I was one of the first few people to enter his class on the first day of school. Ah. A joyful sigh sounded in my heart; I could pick any seat I wanted.
My eyes hurriedly inspected the class and then I walked up to a desk at the front. Ino would definitely call me a nerd for sitting here, but I didn't care. History with Asuma-sensei was a class I had to devote full attention to.
Gingerly, I put my bag down, and took out a dull-red binder that only contained fresh sheets of lined paper. I watched as Asuma-sensei walked in, and the rest of the class followed in before the bell rang.
A brown-haired girl slumped down to sit beside me, and when I turned to look, I was greeted with a familiar face.
"Tenten!"
"Hey, Sakura," Tenten smiled in acknowledgment. We both enjoyed Asuma-sensei's classes, so I highly valued her opinions.
She took out the green schedule from her binder and pushed it towards me. Smiling, I took my own out and switched it with hers.
"Oh?" Tenten's eyebrows lifted in small surprise and perhaps…
"You have English with Uchiha-sensei," she noted, and I eyed her in suspicion. In my mind, I dared her to go on like Ino had, about how hot he was. Instead, she sighed a little dramatically and muttered, "Lucky…"
Hm? Was that envy?
My green eyes stared at her questioningly, probing at her silently to explain.
"Actually, I had Uchiha-sensei last year, and he's a great teacher," Tenten leaned slightly closer and quickly peered over at Asuma-sensei.
That meant Uchiha-sensei was a respectful teacher, like Asuma-sensei, in Tenten's opinion.
"Hm…" I replied, trying to formulate a conclusion. For Ino, Uchiha-sensei was a young, hot teacher, while for Tenten, he was a great, respectful one.
Well, I had the next class to find out.
"Hello, class," Asuma-sensei began, and my attention focused wholly on him for the remainder of this first class.
. . .
A class of eighty-minutes later, I packed up my books and headed out, a silly grin spread on my face. It was only the first day of school, and Asuma-sensei wasted no time to start teaching! Of course, most students groaned a complaint, but I was not like most students.
My feet skipped lightly to my next class, English.
English with Uchiha-sensei... Hm.
Before I could get into the class early and get the best seat, a crowd of girls were blocking the doorway. There was that same guy, dark-haired and tall, who always seemed to be crowded by girls. I always made sure to ignore these types of guys. They brought me trouble.
I squeezed past the mob, an annoyed "Excuse me!" daring the girls to push away. I thought they'd ignore me, but instead, they swarmed away from me.
"Ohh it's that nerd with pink hair!"
I twitched. Was that Karin?
I ignored them and silently walked in, before hearing the guy speak, "Now, now girls, I have a class to teach."
"Aww, but Uchiha-sensei! I brought some home-made cookies!" One of the girls whined, but I froze mid-step.
That guy? He was the "Uchiha-sensei?"
You've got to be kidding me.
Broken from the spell of shock, I stomped into the class and headed straight to the back of the class. There was no way that kind of guy could teach!
. . .
I had been in for a surprise.
For one thing, Ino and Tenten was right.
And for another, I came to respect Uchiha-sensei.
I couldn't switch the seats anymore, but I could still fully devote my attention to him even in the back of the class, so it was okay. What I just couldn't believe was that he had earned my respect.
He was a great teacher.
As if that couldn't be any better, he was so nice to all the girls too, even though they were being so annoying. He smiled politely to everyone and never once did he, quite slyly, accept any of the girls' feelings. And perhaps, because of this, all the girls approached him fully aware that he would never accept their feelings.
Making his position clear yet inflicting as little damage as possible to the high school girls while teaching passionately really earned my respect.
My school year was definitely looking to a great start.
It was already half-way through the year, and Ino still annoyed me about Uchiha-sensei.
"He's just so mysterious, don't you think?" The florescent lights caught in her eyes.
I sighed. "Ino, I admit he's a really great teacher, but I still hold my opinion."
"Which is?"
I rolled my eyes. She clearly knew what I meant but she persisted to annoy me. "A teacher and a student! That's wrong!"
"You know what I think?" My blonde friend began in a contemplative gesture.
"There must be something more to him!" Lights danced wildly in Ino's eyes.
"Don't say that about Uchiha-sensei! He's a respectable man, Ino!" I retorted back.
"Aww, Sakura. You're no fun." She made a face and stuck out her tongue, but at this point, I didn't really care. In fact, if she lost her interest in daydreaming about Uchiha-sensei and annoying me along with that, I would gladly do anything.
"Well, Sakura, have fun." There was almost a defeated sigh as she said this. She pouted. "At least you're in his class. I'm so jealous."
"Yep, you've definitely made that clear." I bit into my sandwich when I caught Uchiha-sensei walking past me in the corner of my eyes.
"Hello, Sakura." The dark-haired teacher waved at me politely.
I yanked my sandwich out of my mouth and waved back at him.
"Hello, Uchiha-sensei,"
Once he was gone, Ino came alive with a newfound light in her eyes, which read, 'I told you so!'
"Ino…" I devoured the last of my sandwiches rather quickly as I mumbled, "Saying hi to a teacher is not a big deal."
And on cue, as if to prove my point, Asuma-sensei walked past the cafeteria and I gave a little wave and called out, "Hello, Asuma-sensei," to which he chuckled and gave me his own little wave.
The school year had passed by quickly, and it was already the exam week at the end of the school year. Next year was my graduating year, so I really needed to keep up my grades.
I also planned to volunteer at a hospital during the summer, but I needed two reference letters. Perhaps once the exams were over, I could ask Asuma-sensei and Uchiha-sensei to write me one.
Yes, that would be perfect.
Singing a little joyful tune, I pulled out my Physics textbook to the page I had stopped studying last night. But then my mind flooded with thoughts.
If they write me a reference letter, shouldn't I, at the very least, write them a thank-you card?
"Hmm…" I played around with my pencil and after some thinking, I pulled out my laptop.
For a few minutes, I searched the Internet for any thank-you gifts I should get for my teachers. However, some blogs suggested that I don't get them gift cards (for they may seem like bribes) or nothing expensive. In fact, it suggested, something homemade may be nice.
Well, I was only planning to give them a thank-you card after all. Maybe I should bake some cookies?
Yes, that's what I'll do.
I shut my textbook closed, and with sudden determination, headed downstairs to the kitchen for some serious baking.
. . .
A sweet aroma filled the kitchen and I opened the oven to find my chocolate chip cookies. My heart sank upon seeing most of them burnt on the edges.
Sighing, I delicately picked the best ones and slid into two clear-wrap gift bags. I wanted to put in at least five cookies per bag, but I guess only three would have to suffice for now.
After gingerly putting the clear-wrapped cookies aside, I turned to face the dishes, the worst part of baking.
After half an hour of clearing up the kitchen as decently as possible, I snatched the two cookie bags and stormed into my room. Pushing the study books aside, I put down some cards that I had collected years prior.
"Hm…" My white fingers lightly touched each card and picked the best ones for Uchiha-sensei and Asuma-sensei. Then, taking out my special gel pen, I wrote out in pretty cursive letters on how thankful I was to have them as a teacher, and the wonderful school year I had on account of them.
The next day, after my Physics exam, I visited the two teachers and shyly gave my thank-you card and the bag of cookies. Both teachers accepted them gratefully, and when I asked if they could write a reference letter for me, they agreed heartily.
"Of course," Uchiha-sensei had said, "For my top student, Sakura, I will gladly write one for you." I explained the details of the volunteer work at the hospital, and he muttered thoughtfully, "Hmm… Hospital? That suits you very well, Sakura, I'm sure you'll do well."
There was a silly grin on my face when I walked out of his classroom.
. . .
A few days later, I walked into the school for the final time for my last exam: Pre-calculus.
Once I was finished with the exam and satisfied, I stepped out of the school building, but had to halt. It was raining.
I took out my phone and punched in the familiar digits. "Mom?" A muffled voice answered me back. "It's raining and I don't have an umbrella."
"Fine, Sakura, I'll come pick you up in five minutes," she promised.
Idly, I stood right outside the main school door, but my eyes were restless. I lazily turned from left to right to see if there was anything interesting so time would pass quickly.
On the far right, behind the school windows, I caught a shape of a black-haired man. That classroom must be my English class, which meant that the figure was Uchiha-sensei.
My lips twitched upwards and I suppressed a giggle. He was the last person to see on my last day of school. On the corner of my eyes, something on the ground caught my attention. My eyes drooped low and made out a fuzzy brown shape on the ground. Whatever it was, it was drenched with rain, appearing to be almost a muddy lump.
For a reason I can't fathom, my mind drifted to the chocolate cookies I had baked and given to Uchiha-sensei a few days ago. I was contemplating whether or not I should walk over to see if I was wrong, when Uchiha-sensei suddenly looked up.
Far away, I saw his face turned towards me. It was fuzzy, behind that window, but I was sure he was looking at me. My hands twitched to give a wave but shortly, the silent spell was broken by a honking of a car.
"Sakura!"
It was my mom. Rather reluctantly, I turned my gaze from the window, from Uchiha-sensei, and the curious brown lump on the ground outside.
When summer came, I forgot about everything and instead drained all my attention and energy to the hospital. The only time I was reminded of such rather odd incident was when I received the two reference letters by mail.
Summer was over in a flash, especially when one was so busy, and I soon found myself in the first day of school again.
The class schedule was printed in a blue sheet this time.
My heartbeat accelerated slightly with anticipation, excitement, and curiosity, all mingled together. Breathing in, I was just about to look at my schedule when the paper was snatched from me rather rudely.
A blonde girl stood before me.
Of course, who did I expect?
"Ino!" I gritted my teeth and reached for the paper, but I froze when she yelped out, "What! No fair, you have Uchiha-sensei again?"
"Hn," I scoffed indifferently, crossing my arms, and waited patiently for her to give my schedule back. Though, inside, I was rather very impatient.
When she finally gave it back to me with a sigh, I read over my schedule and then with a, "Shoot!" I hurried to my first class.
English class. I needed to take a good seat (preferably at the front) this time!
Not to my surprise, the class was already buzzing with girls, but luckily, I got a front seat. I gave a winsome smile at Uchiha-sensei, who was attempting to politely get the girls off him.
It was already two months in, and we were studying the Poetry unit. Uchiha-sensei began with a poem titled, "To My Coy Mistress," and paused before reading on.
"So class," He said, as he looked up. "What can you make of the title?"
"Uh.. Coy!" A blonde idiot jumped in.
It was Naruto. I tried not to roll my eyes.
"Isn't that like, uh, sly?" He guessed, and everyone muttered in agreement.
"Actually," Uchiha-sensei explained, "Coy is when someone is…"
For the second he drifted off, his eyes cast down to mine.
"Appearing to be shy, when really, she isn't," he finished off.
I felt a pang of confusion crash within me. Had Uchiha-sensei just implied that I was coy?
For the rest of the class, as he read and explained the poem and other things, I got the feeling that every time he looked at me, he was stealing glances at me. And, every time he did, I met his strange stare daringly.
By the time I walked out of his class, my heart was feeling little flutters…
Suddenly, I froze in the hallway, as I was walking to my next class. Did I just feel… attraction – even if it was very, very slight – towards Uchiha-sensei, a teacher?
One thing was for sure: if Ino found out, she would not stop annoying me for all eternity.
. . .
When school ended that day, I grudgingly made my way to my Chemistry class. My stupid partner had ruined our lab right before the bell rang, so after some pleading with the teacher, I was allowed to re-do it by myself some other time.
I glanced outside. The sky was darkening quicker than I had anticipated. After all, winter was soon approaching, but for some reason, my heart was queasy. Along with winter, I dreaded that something like a dark storm was approaching. It was just my instinct, but one so strong that I finished the lab as quick as I could to go home.
By the time I was finished, I hurried to the front door. Once I stepped outside, I breathed in the leafy autumn smells that were soon to turn to a wintry one. Most of the school lights were turned on, for the janitors had to do their job after school. One, in particular to the far right, had the lights turned off.
Curiously, I stepped toward the window to the English room. Usually, Uchiha-sensei had lights turned on, but a strange feeling pushed me forward.
I crept up to the window, and tentatively looked in. It was dark, alright, and there was nothing more. I breathed out a relief; I didn't know I had been feeling so tense.
Just as I was about to turn, I glimpsed a movement inside. My whole body drained of energy and a cold wave washed over me, but I forced myself to look in again.
Subtly, my eyes adjusted slightly to the dark and I made out a dark figure against another one.
It was Uchiha-sensei.
He was kissing a red-head I knew so well. Karin.
I backed away from the scene before me, and then, for the rest of the way home, I ran as fast as I could.
. . .
At home, I picked up the phone and punched in the numbers in a trance. When a perky voice answered me, I was brought back to reality again.
"What, Sakura?!" She hissed into the phone.
"Ino…"
Sensing some distress in my voice, she sighed. "Go on."
"This is just a what if."
"Ohhhhkay?" There was a suspicion to her voice, I could tell, but I had to go on.
"So… what if a teacher kissed a student?"
"Oh my gosh! I told you so, Sakura!" Ino screamed at the phone with a sneer. She must be jumping up and down in joy about now. "Student and teacher… They could work!"
And then, a horrified gasp filled the silence. "Wait, Sakura, don't tell me you kissed a teacher?"
I groaned, "No…" Sometimes, I seriously wanted to hit this girl senseless, just so she won't be able to mutter another word.
"Okay, here's another what if," I continued unsurely.
I swear I could hear Ino nodding her head in anticipation.
"So… What if… Uchiha-sensei kissed a student?"
There was a long silence.
And then came an erupted laughter.
"Sakura, Sakura," Ino snickered madly in between her words. "The things you say…"
"What?" I asked her sharply.
After some more series of laughter, Ino continued quite soberly this time, "I mean, think about it. Yeah, Uchiha-sensei is hot and all the girls want him – heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the guys want him too. But, wait, that's not the point. The point is that it's just absurd!"
"What is?" I asked with a frown. I couldn't understand what I had seen earlier today, and I couldn't understand Ino.
"Uchiha-sensei will never make out with a student," Ino explained in annoyance. "Well… at least that's how he seems like."
I replied stupidly with a "huh?" It really was hard to understand where she was getting at.
"Well, Sakura, you get the best grades in class, but you can be so ditzy!" Ino dramatically stated, but continued anyway, "I mean that, if Uchiha-sensei did make out with a student, then he's not really who he appears to be, is he?"
Oh, now I got it.
"He's just been putting on a façade all along, acting like a great, respectful teacher to everyone!" Ino clarified further. "Which also means he would actually be a sinister, evil, deceiving person in reality."
A cold chill ran through my spines, although I was hugging my pillow on my bed in my warm, safe room.
"But, Sakura, I simply refuse to believe that!" Ino's voice was slowly draining away from my senses as my mind envisioned Uchiha-sensei and Karin once again. Ino blabbered away in the meantime. "I mean, mysterious is okay, but not really that kind of deceiving wickedness, you know?"
"Hey, Sakura?"
His lips was attacking Karin's lips, like she was his prey, and his form was hunched over her, ready to devour her whole…
"Saaakura?"
Karin's hands were wildly ruffling his hair, and together, they entangled into a deep, entranced kiss…
"Geez, I'm hanging up, then!"
"Huh?" My mind snapped back to my room, but only the sound of a "do-do-do-do-" from the phone greeted me.
Notes: Uhm.. a rather random inspiration. Please tell me what you think! I'm not sure if this idea is any good...