A Different Kind of Hero
A/N: I was inspired by something I saw, and I had to write this! It's pro anti-bullying and stuff. High School AU, and the rookie nine are all around eighteen-ish...If everything goes according to plan, this will be better than Trippin' could ever hope to be.
So please enjoy!
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Chapter 1
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"Class, let's settle down now…" A stern voice yelled out over the riotous noise coming from the small class before her.
The children, just barely reaching the age of men and women moved across the room and sat in their desks, falling into order to begin another school year. Their last year. A few laughed and joked about how they were going to do just enough to pass as they waited for the bell to ring, while others talked about their plans for the future and what colleges they had been accepted into.
"So what school were you accepted into, Sakura-chan?" Naruto Uzumaki asked with a light laugh in his voice, his chin held high a wide smile plastered across his face.
Sakura looked up from the book in front of her, "Um, Konoha University. I received the letter a few days ago. What about you and Sasuke?" She inquired with a light smile as she adjusted her glasses on her nose.
The raven-haired Uchiha snorted, "Ivy league, huh?" He said amused, "The dobe and I got into KCC. We aren't near as smart as you."
"You're just lazy Sasuke, you could've very easily been valedictorian this year if you'd put some effort forth." She told him firmly, closing her book with a snap. "The community college isn't that bad. Especially if you guys keep playing sports. Maybe you'll be accepted to a sports college later on."
Naruto let out a laugh, "You're just saying that, Sakura-chan. Miss I-get-an-A-in-everything!"
"No, really! Sasuke is soccer captain this year, and you're captain of the football team and star quarterback. I'm crazy proud of you guys!" She insisted with a wide smile.
"Well, you'll graduate with a perfect one-oh-oh this year if you keep your grades up, Sakura. Valedictorian is within reaching distance to you, we're even more proud." Sasuke ruffled her hair as the bell rang.
She mouthed thanks to them before turning back to face the white board in front of the room; where their first period English teacher stood, marker in hand.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Ms. Sannin; most of you might know my husband from last year in math." Tsunade said smoothly her voice like hard as nails. "I will not be as lenient as Mr. Sannin, and I will not be near as fun. You will have homework; you are expected to do it. If you can do that, we should get along just dandy."
Sakura rolled her eyes and looked back at Naruto scribbling in his planner. She glanced to Sasuke who was staring at her with a sarcastic smile on his face. Senior year was going to be a blast.
"Now as I call you up I will be giving you your textbooks, you are expected to bring them to class every day; and we will be using them often." Tsunade told them as she sat at her desk, stacks of textbooks resting on top of it. "Shino Aburame?"
Naruto tapped Sakura on the shoulder as students were called up one by one to pick up the ten-pound books that would be their best friend in English class their senior year. She took the note in his hand slowly and opened, scanning the words it said quickly.
This should be fun, right?
She giggled lightly and looked back at him and shook her head.
"Sakura Haruno?"
Sakura looked from Naruto to Ms. Sannin at the front of the room and stood up, trying not to trip over the back-packs and purses scattered along the aisle from students that had not been to their lockers yet.
She smiled at Tsunade and nodded her head as she took her book. She rolled her eyes and pouted at Naruto and Sasuke as she walked back to her desk. They both started mock-laughing at her.
She sat down and flipped open the cover to sign her name; she read them silently, attempting to see if she knew anyone that had had the book before her and to see if anyone had left any comments on anyone else's name. There was a system among the students, if you got good people in your book, you would have a good year in that class, if not it would suck.
Anko Mitarashi
Kakashi Hatake
Kurenai Yuuhi
Itachi Uchiha
Neji Hyuuga
Sakura's brow rose, how old were these books? Itachi had it and people before him? It was hard to believe that Sasuke's older brother was only the fourth person to have the book. What scared her more was that Anko Mitarashi was her gym teacher, and was pushing forty; give or take a few years.
She signed her name in the column and began flipping through the pages; some were sticky with unknown substances and some were torn and taped back together. All in all, in her opinion it was in pretty good shape.
"Hey Sakura-chan, who's in your column?" Naruto asked signing his name quickly in the last free space on the cover.
"Um, Miss Mitarashi, a Kakashi Hatake, Miss Yuuhi, Itachi and Neji. Not many people."
Sasuke grunted, amused again, "Itachi passes with great grades, nothing like yours but better than mine; and having last years valedictorian's book? You're year will be great, Sakura."
"Yeah." Naruto agreed with a reassuring nod, "Neji was super smart. I've got Iruka-sensei in mine, I should do alright. What about you Sasuke?"
"Rock Lee and Kiba's older sister I think… I'm screwed."
Sakura smiled and ruffled his hair as the bell rang for the next class. "You're going to do fine, Sasuke." She said gathering her bag and textbook. "What do you guys have next?"
Naruto looked down at his schedule after throwing his backpack on, "I've got Business Math with Mr. Maito, goody. You guys?"
Sakura shook her head as they started down the hall, "I've got World History with Mr. Shirianui."
"Health with Asuma. We all have Chemistry third, right?" Sasuke asked quietly as he opened his locker and tossed the English book in.
Both of his friends nodded, "Yup with a Mr. Hatake?"
"That's the one. He's the new teacher right?"
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, granny says he's a real weirdo though. Always talking to himself and drinking water, not that she has much room to criticize but she says he freaks her out. She said she had him as a student and that he hasn't changed too much."
Sakura hummed in response as Naruto rambled on about what his legal guardian thought about the new teacher. "I don't think she should be so quick to judge him, though, you know what I mean?"
Sasuke nodded, "Yeah. You're granny needs to cool it on the insults for a bit, dobe."
Naruto shook his head, "You know she won't listen…Hey, heres my class. I'll talk to you guys next period." He waved his good-bye and went into Mr. Maito's class room.
Sasuke looked to Sakura; "I should probably get to class too," He said nodding to the room across the hall, "See you in a bit."
"See you." She called quietly before walking into Genma's room with a smile.
Genma looked up as she walked in just as the bell rang, "Cutting it close, just like always?" He asked her with a laugh; his drawl a pleasing change to Tsunade's tuff-as-nails half scold.
She nodded and laughed with him, "Oh yeah, all I need is a repeat of government." She told him with sarcastic amusement in her voice as she sat down at a desk in the front of the room.
Genma stood, "Alright, I'm Mr. Shirianui, better known to most of you as Genma-sensei. This is World History. I don't really care what you do in here as long as it isn't vulgar and get me fired, oh and you have to pass, other than that have at it. I expect you to listen when I'm teaching, and I expect you to pay attention for how ever short a period that may be…I'm not terribly strict on the rules so let's keep it clean. A happy Mr. Shirianui is a nice Mr. Shirianui, let's keep it that way."
Sakura had to shake her head, amused as he rambled on about the requirements of his class.
When he was done, he turned to his chalk board and pulled down a map of the world. He turned to the class, "Alright, this is a map. It's of the world."
One of the underclass men raised their hands, "Yeah, what about it?"
"This is what we're learning about, kid. Now if you'll open the textbooks sitting beneath your desks you will see that there is a map inside of there too, this map will be your best friend if you study."
"And if we don't?"
"Then you'll probably fail the easiest class in your schedule."
"Oh."
"Yeah, Oh." Genma mocked. "Now your homework for tonight is to know the capitols of the four main countries and at least three minor. Is that clear?"
"Yes." The class answered in unison.
He nodded with a smile, "That's all for today. Tomorrow we start learning about the history of the Land of Fire and Wind. Be prepared, bring a notebook."
Sakura shook her head and pulled a notebook from her bag, scribbling down her homework before ripping the page away and taking it to Genma. She held it out with a smile and he took it reluctantly.
"You always were the smart one, Sakura-chan."
She blushed slightly, "No, just the one that remembered the best."
"Isn't that what smart is?"
"And they let you teach…"
"I know, right?" He said with a laugh, "Well, there's your first one-hundred of the year, pinky. Keep it up."
She straightened up with a wide grin, "I intend to."
He nodded, "Yes. I'm sure." He looked to his computer screen, "So what do you have next period." He asked, his fingers flying across the key board, typing up next weeks tests.
"Chemistry with Mr. Hatake. What do you know about him?"
Genma's dark eyes peeled themselves from the computer screen, "He was my best friend in high-school; he's a pretty cool dude in my opinion. I was shocked when he e-mailed me and said he was going to be teaching here. I think you'll like him though, so will Sasuke."
She smiled, "Good. Tsunade said he was a creep."
"That's because he nearly failed her class all those years ago. He didn't exactly pay attention."
"How ironic."
"Indeed." He looked up at the clock as the bell rang. "Well I'll see you later then, pinky."
"Good-bye Mr. Shirianui. See you tonight." She waved as she headed down the hall to chemistry.
If she were honest, she'd say she was skeptical that the man writing across the white-board in big sloppy letters could be only as old as Genma; that is until he turned around with that crooked smile plaster across his face. He looked even younger than Genma, minus the full head of unruly silver hair.
"Hello!" He cheered with a wide grin.
"Hi." She greeted him quietly, "I'm Sakura."
"Nice to meet you Sakura, I'm Mr. Hatake."
She couldn't help but stare at the thin rims of his glasses and how the off-shaped rectangles framed his eyes. This guy was over thirty? Where the hell had she been when he was a teenager?
Sakura had never once had a crush on a teacher, and she was sure that she'd never wondered what one looked like at her age. She was attracted to him she realized. Is that why did she feel utterly pathetic as she sat down, still staring at him; she wondered? He was dressed fashionably, a grey undershirt with a dark-grey dress shirt and grey pinstriped vest with black slacks that could rival Sasuke's favorite pair of loose skinny jeans; his hair was messy but still looked reasonably tame, and those shoes. She'd actually paid attention to his shoes. What teacher wore converse? He did, obviously.
She smiled at the doorway as Sasuke and Naruto walked through, the bell ringing as they took their seats behind her and to her right.
Kiba Inuzuka let out a howl of laughter, "Look, the homo is in this class." His group pf friends started laughing as he made himself known about the room, and his dislike for Sasuke blatant.
Sakura stood and turned on her heal to face him, "Don't you ever talk about him that way, Kiba!" She yelled, ignoring the raised eyebrow expression she got from Mr. Hatake. "He's my best friend and more of a man then you will ever be; do you hear me?"
Kiba sank in his seat, "Yeah, jeesh, no need to yell, nerd."
"At least I have a brain." She hissed before sitting down and turning to face the teacher a fake smile glued to her face.
Kakashi looked to Sakura then to Sasuke and Naruto before looking to Kiba. "No derogatory statements in my classroom or you will be suspended. Is that understood?" Kiba nodded his head and looked down at his desk in fear of looking up to Kakashi's death gaze.
"Okay. I'm Mr. Hatake. I teach chemistry, welcome to my class." He smiled again, "This should be an easy class if you listen to me, take notes and pay attention. I don't give out much homework, once or twice a week maybe?" He looked at the board. "Okay, lets see what you know, what makes up an element?"
The class stayed silent and he frowned, "Ah, come on; don't tell me my very first class is the silent one? Someone has to know, what about you, Sakura?" He asked her with a pleading smile on his face.
"Atoms?"
"Exactly correct!" He told her jumping to his board before scribbling the word atoms with an arrow after the s, "And what makes up an atom?"
Sakura looked around before answering, "Protons, Neutrons and Electrons?"
"Yes, correct! Now here is a tricky one, what is the smallest sub-atomic particle of an atom?"
Sakura shook her head. She had no idea and watched as Sasuke raised his hand slowly.
"Yes?" Kakashi called on the boy to Sakura's right.
"Quarks, right?" His voice shook as he asked the question, nervous of Mr. Hatake's reaction.
"Yes! You guys are a smart group! I'm impressed." He told them smiling. "We're going to go around the room getting to know a little bit about eachother now; there isn't enough time to finish the notes, so we'll start tomorrow. I ask one of you and then you call on someone else until there aren't any more people left to choose." He scratched at his chin, "Sakura, what's a random fact about you?"
"Um…I live with my sister?"
"Alright, that's a start, now call on someone else."
She looked to Naruto, "Naruto, what's your favorite thing?"
"You and Sasuke and Ramen. Sasuke what's your favorite color?"
Kakashi smiled and nodded his head as Sasuke answered.
"I like black. Um, Gaara, what's your least favorite food?"
"Anything Miso…"
Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto sat at one of the few small round tables as the lunch bell rang. Naruto pulled a clear container of ramen from his bag, and Sasuke pulled a container filled with sushi and dango.
Sakura smiled as she pulled money from her pocket, "I'll be right back." She went into the lunch line and sighed as she stood waiting to get her food.
"Well, hello again Miss Sakura." A smooth, baritone voice said behind her.
She turned and smiled as she came face to face with her quirky chemistry teacher, "Hello Mr. Hatake." She greeted politely.
He smiled down at her, "Hows your first day of senior year going?"
"It's going pretty good," She told him as the line moved forward and she picked up one of the trays, "Hows first year teaching at Konoha High going?"
"Well, I can honestly say that a lot of my classes aren't what I expected. I suppose I should've figured as much though." He took his tray from the lady at the counter with a nod and simple thanks. "Does Kiba Inuzuka always say things like that to your friend?"
Sakura looked up at her chemistry teacher, "Today was mild, Mr. Hatake, I won't lie. He can be a lot nastier in the things he says about Sasuke." She reached forward and took a small container of rice from one of the ladies running the lunch line.
"I was proud that you stood up for him." He told her coolly taking a bowl of rice as well. "It takes a strong person to stand up for themself and an even stronger person to stand up for someone else."
"Sasuke is my best friend, along with Naruto. I won't tolerate it when someone puts them down like that." She said, very seriously looking him in the eye. "It's wrong."
"I agree." He said taking a plate of sushi, "I was surprised when you stood up, I guess. You did a good thing."
"Thanks." She smiled at him before handing the cashier her money. "I'll see you around." She said to him quickly before heading to her table to eat with her friends.
Sasuke looked up, interest sparkling in his eyes, "You and Mr. Hatake seemed pretty into your conversation. What were you talking about?"
She shrugged, "He just wanted to know if Kiba was always that offensive, and he said that he was proud that I stood up…He's a little on the weird side, don't you think?"
"Mmm, not really but he seemed to take a liking to you, Sakura-chan…" Naruto said in between mouthfuls of noodles, "You'd better not start blowing smoke up his ass to keep your grades up."
"Oh please, like I'd need to be a teachers pet." She scoffed sarcastically, "I can handle my own grades, thank you very much."
Sasuke shook his head, "Someday, some topic will trip you up…"
"Until then, Sasuke, I'll keep my perfect one-oh-oh intact and in order."
Naruto laughed, "Times a ticking Sakura-chan…"
"My watch is broken."
Sasuke and Naruto both let out giggles of amusement as she tapped her wrist and mocked checking the time.
Sasuke smiled at her, "One-oh-oh is hard to keep up, girlie. I'm wondering if you aren't some kind of super genius."
"That or Genma is giving you all the answers, tell him and Shizune I say hi, by the way." Naruto smiled snapping his chop-sticks in half.
"Will do."
Sakura couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as final bell rang and she got to leave her study-hall and school for the day.
She made her way through the throngs of people and made it to her locker to drop off her textbooks. She slammed the door shut and turned to find Sasuke and Naruto before walking home. She found them standing outside of the entrance at the top of the steps talking to Naruto's girlfriend Hinata.
"Hey guys." She said with a smile.
"Hey." They answered in unison.
Sakura tucked her hair behind her ear before shifting her weight to one foot, "So what's up?"
Naruto grinned taking Hinata's hand, "We're going to the movies later, and Sasuke is going to Ichiraku's with Itachi tonight."
Sakura looked to Sasuke, "You're with Itachi tonight? I thought you were with your uncle?"
"I was, but he got called out on a business trip early, so I'm with Itachi this week and next." He smiled, "It's cool though."
"Oh. Genma's coming over for dinner again, anything you guys need?"
"Nah, I think we're set for now. See if you can get some info on Mr. Hatake though…"
Sakura nodded as she started for the steps, "Can do. See you tomorrow."
"See ya'."
"Bye."
Sakura waved goody-bye and turned onto the sidewalk as she slowly walked home. She sighed as she watched the cracks in the cement pass underneath her feet. As soon as she got home, she decided, she was taking a nap. She needed a nap.
She stomped her way up the front steps to her house and opened the front door before slamming it shut behind her, her bag falling to the third step on the staircase before her. She turned and meandered into the kitchen where her older sister Shizune stood cooking over the granite top stove.
"What's for dinner?"
Shizune smiled at her younger sister, "Pasta. Don't worry though, I'm making you chicken, it's baking right now."
Sakura stood on her toes and kissed her sister's cheek, "You're the best Ni-chan."
The older girl let out a laugh, "Damn right I am." She tapped her wooden spoon on the edge of the pan before setting it on the counter, "I want you offline at six, alright? Dinner at six-thirty. How was school?"
Sakura shrugged, "It was okay. Kiba started with his shit again, but it was alright."
"Genma said that Kakashi was teaching chemistry this year?"
"You mean Mr. Hatake?"
"That's him. I graduated with him, so tell me, has he changed much?"
Sakura furrowed her brow with a confused smile, "How would I know?"
"Oh right. Is he really good looking, and does he just kind of seem really up beat but really reserved?"
"You hit the nail on the head. He is soo good looking."
"Always was, Sakura. Does he still where that dark blue bandanna around his neck?"
"It was in his back pocket."
"And you would know this how?"
Sakura sighed with a giggle, "He has such a nice ass."
"You are my sister."
Sakura ducked as her sister reached out to ruffle her hair, "Nuh-uh, not this time." She stood back up and turned for the doorway, "I'm going upstairs…" She called leaving the kitchen.
She ran up the stairs on her toes, trying not slip and fall down when her feet met the hard wood floor landing. She went and opened her door and closed it behind her as she entered her room, turning on the lights.
She smiled as she looked at the newest picture on her wall, one of her, Naruto and Sasuke having a whip-cream fight in the livingroom downstairs. It was a nice addition to her already covered off-lime green colored walls.
She opened the small blue stand setting next to her bed and pulled her lap-top from it, turning it on with a quick press of a button. She scooted to the center of her queen-sized bed and kicked her shoes off before sitting cross-legged in front of her computer.
She typed in the name of her favorite music site and started listening to music; a mix between heavy metal and hard rock. Sakura started humming the song as she opened another task and started typing in her journal.
She jumped when someone knocked on her door, nearly two hours later. "It's open."
The door slowly opened and she smiled as Genma walked in, "Hey girlie. What's up?"
"Nothing…" She told him, minimizing her writings. "Just listening to music."
He smiled and crawled onto her bed, sitting across from her the same way. "How was school?"
"It was pretty good. I did like Mr. Hatake…he's….different."
"He's quirky."
"Exactly."
"You didn't even see the whole of it, Sakura." He laughed. "You'll really like him though. He wanted me to ask you if you were doing alright, too."
She looked up from her screen, "What?"
"He said that Kiba had said some stuff earlier and when you two talked about it, you seemed in a hurry to get out of the conversation. He just wants to make sure you're alright."
She looked back down, "Tell him I'm fine. I just wanted to eat my lunch."
Genma smiled, "Okay. Shizune said to tell you it's almost time for dinner."
"Yeah, I've been watching the time." She told him quietly. "Do you think I'm a nerd?"
"Not at all. I think you're just a girl whose memory is too good for her own good."
She smiled and laughed, "Thanks that makes it so much better."
He tapped his chin in though for a moment. "Let's put it this way. Do you feel like a nerd?"
"Sometimes."
"Is it because someone else put that notion in your head?" He asked, leaning back on his hands.
She shrugged, "Maybe."
"There's your problem. You let someone else define you. Don't let them do that, Sakura, you are your own person and no one else can tell you who or what you are."
"Thanks, that actually does make me feel better."
He winked at her, "That's why your sister dates me."
"Because you give good advice?"
"Because I'm that good."
"Full of yourself much?"
"All the time." Genma laughed, "Kakashi actually told me that when we were in school…come on, let's go eat. I'm starving." He took her hand and dragged her from the bed.
Sakura smiled at her chemistry teacher's words as she followed him downstairs into the dining room and took her seat at the small round table; the plate in front of her steaming with Shizune's amazing cooking.
"Smells good, Sis." She commented, wrapping her fork with spaghetti. She took a bite and sighed with content, "You should be a chef, not a doctor."
Shizune laughed and started eating as well, "But I like being a doctor, cooking is another thing." She told her sister as she wrapped her fork again. "How was school today, guys?"
"Pretty good," Genma answered eyeing Sakura, "How was chemistry with our old friend, Sakura?"
"It was alright. Mr. Hatake seems nice enough."
"He's awesome once you get to know him."
Shizune looked to Genma, "Maybe I should have him over for dinner later this week! So we can catch up and stuff, what do you say?"
"I say I love that idea, baby."
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Now I get to eat with the historian, the surgeon and the science geek. Goody."
Shizune looked to her sister, "Hey. Two of those people live here, girlie."
"Yeah, yeah. What's up with his scar though?"
"Car accident his senior year of High-school. He was driving himself and one of our friends, Rin, to school and a snowplow hit them head on because the driver was intoxicated. He lived, but Rin didn't make it…" Genma murmured as he sipped at his glass of water. "It was really hard on him…and I'm surprised he bounced back as easily as he did."
Sakura nodded and hung her head.
"Yeah. He's always been a trooper." Shizune commented slowly, "Do you have his number, babe?"
Genma smiled, "Yes." He smiled to Sakura, "I got dishes tonight, Sakura."
Sakura smiled at her sister's boyfriend, "Okay then. I hate cleaning up on pasta night." She stood nodded thanks and started upstairs.
She crawled onto her bed and opened her writings back to full screen before smiling and moving her fingers across the keys.
On the matters of discovery, I seem to have made a new one. A Mister Kakashi Hatake once perceived by myself as uncannily content, now seems to hold a new air of mystery. For a man so high-spirited, his past deems him a darker manner that seemingly eludes his ebullient-self.
This leaves me with a new question to be pensive of; how much pain lies behind those charcoal eyes?
Sakura saved her work, and re-opened the tab to listen to music. She wanted something that would fit her mood. She smiled scrolling down and clicking on a song that she hadn't listened to in a while.
She lay back on her pillows, pounding music blaring; thinking about how peculiar a man Mr. Hatake was. Dinner later this week was going to be weird, she decided, it was going to be so awkward, and with her luck she'd probably end up doing something stupid to embarrass herself. It was going to be just another one of Shizune's great ideas.
"Okay, I want you to take your notebooks out. You only need to copy the stuff on the smart board…" He clicked a small remote in his hands and tossed it back to his desk, and the days notes were projected onto the screen attached to his whiteboard.
He smiled and clapped his hands together, "Alright. This is an introduction into matter; almost everything you'll ever encounter has matter. It has mass and takes up space, can anyone think of anything that doesn't have matter?"
Naruto raised his hand slowly, "Water?"
"Not quite," He answered with amusement in his eyes, "Water has a lot of matter, it makes up most of the earth, most of us. Any one else?"
Sakura slowly raised her hand after a moment of awkward silence.
"Yes, Sakura?"
"Um…Light? I mean we can see it and stuff so…"
"That's exactly right! Light doesn't take up space, but it fills it, and it doesn't have mass. It's not like every time we turn the lights on it's like giving you guys' fifty pound backpacks to wear. That would kind of suck, don't you think?"
A few of the kids laughed as he talked to himself, and Sakura couldn't help but smile as he got into his subject.
He popped the top off of one of his markers and wrote out in big letters on the board:
Matter and then two arrows stemming from that labeled Substance and Mixture
"All matter can be split into two categories and then sub-categories from there." He told the class as he changed the screen with a tap to the board, "We'll start with substance first. Does any one know what a substance is?"
The class stayed silent and stared at the man like he was from another planet and speaking in a different language.
He rolled his eyes, "Looks like you guys need to wake up a little more, let's go, come on stand up." He made a rising motion with his hands. "It's not that early."
Kiba scoffed, "Yeah to you. Nine-thirty is pretty damn early to some of us." He slowly got to his feet, "It's hard to answer too when you stuck looking at that damned hairdo, it reminds me of a chickens ass." He sneered looking at Sasuke, "Just looking at it makes me want dick for breakfast."
Sasuke's face paled and his head dropped, his gaze going to the floor. Kakashi watched as Sakura turned to confront the young Inuzuka before he could get any words in edgewise.
"I told you, Kiba, to stop it with the comments and the bullshit." She hissed angrily, "There is nothing wrong with whom he is. Love is love and it has no gender, so why don't you shut your face before I shut it for you."
Kiba smiled to the guys standing around him, "I'd like to see you try, Nerd."
"That enough!" Kakashi interrupted as Sakura went to move towards Sasuke's antagonist. "Kiba I told you absolutely no derogatory comments in my classroom down to Mr. Sarutobi's office now, as for you Sakura, I'd like to talk to you after class." His voice held a hard, strict tone that rivaled even Tsunade's teacher voice and it made Sakura shudder with nervousness.
Sakura sat down quietly as Kiba moved his way to the front of the classroom and out the door. Kakashi looked to the clock and back to the notes on the board before looking back at the students standing uncomfortably in front of him.
"Pack it up guys, we'll finish this tomorrow." He sighed, sitting down at his desk. "Sakura come up here." He signaled with a curl of his fingers.
Her face went red as she walked up to his desk. She tugged at her shirt, her heart racing with the nervous knowing that she was probably in trouble. Shizune was going to kill her.
"Yes?"
"Why haven't you or Sasuke taken your problem with Kiba to the principal before if it's this bad?"
She shrugged, "Sasuke doesn't like making a big deal over it even though it eats at him. It's not just Kiba though…some people don't understand that it's how he is, he doesn't choose to be that way."
"It bothers you though, right?"
"Well yeah. He's my best friend, Mr. Hatake." She tugged at her hair lightly, needing something to do with her hands. "It irks me to no end."
"Mmm…I see. Next time it happens I want you to tell someone if there aren't any adults around, okay?"
"Okay."
He looked to the clock as the bell rang, "You'd better get to class."
She nodded and grabbed her stuff off of her desk before leaving for Health class with Asuma. She walked into the class room and took her seat next to her long time friend Ino Yamanaka.
"Hey Pig, what's up?"
The blonde shrugged, "Bored out of my mind. Saw Kiba in the office, what's up with that?"
"He keeps messing with Sasuke and it pissed Rm. Hatake off." She tugged her notebook from her bag, "What'd he say?"
"He said he was going to kick someone's ass…"
"What?" Sakura's eyes widened. Oh no…
Ino nodded, "Yeah, he said when final bell rang he was starting a fight, you don't think he'd start one with you, do you?"
Sakura shook her head as Asuma started teaching. It wasn't her she was worried about.
As soon as class was over and lunch bell rang, Sakura rushed to Mr. Hatake's room to catch him before he took lunch as well. She nearly ran into him as he was leaving his room.
"Why, hello, Sakura-chan. Can I help you?"
She nodded, "I think Kiba is going to start a fight with Sasuke after school today…" She told him, tears nearly forming in her eyes. "I don't want him to get hurt."
"I won't let that happen, Sakura." He told her reassuringly, his hand squeezing her shoulder lightly. "Do you know when?"
"I heard at final bell." She hung her head, "I feel pathetic tattling like this…"
"It's not tattling it's the right thing to do. Trust me." He smiled warmly at her and stood up straighter, "Hello Genma."
Sakura turned to her sister's lover. "Hey." She said with a weak smile.
"Hiya, pinky. Hey Kakashi." He smiled from ear to ear as Sakura, "Don't tell me you're the one asking him to dinner to save me the embarrassment?"
She shook her head, "Uh, no. I've got to get to lunch now. I'll talk to you later on, bye Genma, Mr. Hatake." She waved before heading towards the cafeteria.
Kakashi looked to Genma, "She really cares about her friends, doesn't she?"
Genma nodded, "You have no idea, buddy. They practically live with us they're so close." He looked to his friend, "People judge her a lot because of her grades. Sasuke is judged because he's gay, and Naruto just kind of holds them together like glue."
"She's a smart girl, and even stronger than she thinks. She stood up to that Kiba kid again today and I swear if I hadn't interrupted she would have knocked him senseless."
Genma let out a laugh as they made their way to the teachers lounge, "She can hold her own in a fight trust me." He pushed the door open, "So how's your second day teaching going for you?"
"It's been interesting. One kid ate a page of his notebook in my eighth period class, and Sakura and Kiba fight in my third period class. As for sixth period, they just kind of sit there like I'm not human. Is it the scar?" he asked running his fingers over his left eye, "I didn't think it was that bad."
"It's not the scar, dude. They get bored late in the day and usually just sit around like that, so don't freak out." He laughed sitting at a table, his lunch already opened. "Just keep teaching, they'll come around for you."
"Good to know. Now what was that about dinner?"
"Oh, yeah. Shizune wants to know if you'll come over for dinner this week she doesn't care when but she wants to catch up and shit." He said, shoveling flavored rice into his mouth.
Kakashi picked at his salad, "Is Sakura alright with me coming over, she lives there too."
"She's fine with it; she's usually upstairs locked in her room anyway. She's pretty solitary at home and she eats quickly. So, she could care less really."
"I guess I can come over when ever then. I have no plans."
"How's Friday night sound?"
"Great."
Sakura stood nervously at the stop of the steps outside the school, talking to Sasuke and Naruto.
"So he's coming over to dinner Friday apparently, according to Genma at least. It'll be really awkward…"
"You think?" Naruto asked, flabbergasted. "No wonder your grades are so high, its through osmosis."
"Mmm, I'm probably going to eat in my room if anything." Sakura felt her heart flutter as Kiba walked through the double doors, headed for them. Come on Mr. Hatake…. She pleaded silently.
"Hey, Homo!" Kiba yelled out to Sasuke, "You and me, right here right now!"
Sakura whimpered as Sasuke turned around to face Kiba, "Excuse me?" He jeered.
"You heard me." He swung and managed to land a hit to Sasuke's jowl. He dropped only for a moment before getting back up again, swinging for Kiba's abdomen.
"Stop it!" Sakura yelled, trying to get in-between the boys. She fell as Kiba swung his fists again for Sasuke, hitting Sakura's jaw instead.
Sakura held her cheek before getting back to her feet, tears in her eyes. "I told you, asshole." She grinds out between clenched teeth, "To leave him alone." She clenched her fist at her side before moving, her fist smashing Kiba in the nose.
"Asshole!" She yelled before looking to Sasuke sympathetically. "Come on." She took his hand and led him down the steps and towards her house.
Disappointment plagues my mind in the thoughts that I had to swing back when my defender blatantly told me that he wouldn't let anything like today's events happen. Some hero he is…
It is with solemn despair that I say Mister Hatake is no hero, and because of the barefaced lie he told, ice now rests against my skin and that of a close friend to whom the first swing was meant.
It seems the world is filled with only villains, and added to that list is the name of Kakashi Hatake. A would be hero damned by my own mind….
"Are you still writing, Sakura?" Sasuke asked as he clicked through channels on her flat screen TV. He rolled over and looked at her, the area around his left his eye slowly turning a dark green-purple.
"Hmm? Nah, I just finished today's entry." She sighed and continued typing the writing program. "Want to watch a movie?"
She shrugged and rolled back over on his stomach, "Eh, what'd you have in mind?"
"Yeah, movie doesn't sound so good…" She sighed and laid back against her pillows, "We could always go raid Shizune's chocolate stash and play violent video games for a while."
He smiled, "Sounds fun…" He sat up and rubbed at his eye, "That guy punches like a sissy."
Sakura laughed, "Oh yeah. You go get the chocolate; I'll set up the game…" She told him with a smile as she hopped from her bed and turned on her game console. "Noob Sai-bot is going to kick Reptile's ass this time."
Sakura laughed as he moved for her door, "Reptile is going to keep his record going, Sakura-chan, Prepare for fatality once again!" He yelled to her with a laugh as he went to Shizune's storage closet to get the candy.
Sakura started the game and elected the characters as Sasuke came back into the room, completely forgetting about her writings for the day. Her computer lying open with the cursor blinking after her last question:
So now with impending realization, I have come to comprehend that there are no heroes, still I can't help but ask, will I ever find my super-human?
~xxx~