Pros and Cons
Chapter 1
Drama Class
-
It's so different here, Haruno Sakura thought to herself as she took in her surroundings with a vague sort of childish awe. Here she was, in a new school, in a new town, thrust amidst the unknown, and Sakura couldn't help but feel excited. It was a little strange, though. She'd grown up in Konoha with a small group of friends that stuck with her through junior-high, and now she was completely alone in a foreign town with only the assurance that one of her best friends and his older brother attended the same school.
That in itself was enough to give her butterflies. At least she still had Sasuke...
Shaking her head, Sakura straightened her spine with determination and marched into the school building. A random teacher - her tag said Coach Anko - directed the pink-haired girl to the office and she was just stepping inside as the first bell rang. A boy with silver hair was the only other student there, and as he looked busy glowering at the wall, she decided not to bother him and turned to the lady sitting behind one of the desks in the room. The other two were empty.
"Um, excuse me," she said, tucking a few cotton-candy locks behind her ear and shifting the shoulder bag resting on her hip.
The woman, her tag said Eisei Shizune, looked up and smiled. "Yes? How can I help you, Miss...?" she trailed off, clearly fishing for a name.
Sakura fumbled, bowing awkwardly as she attempted to keep from dislodging her heavy bag from it's precarious placement at her side. "Oh, Haruno Sakura." She glanced pointedly at the name plate on the woman's desk. "It's nice to meet you, Eisei-san."
"You too, Haruno-san," Shizune replied warmly. "You're the new student from Konoha, right?"
Sakura nodded and grinned. "Yep! I'm here to retrieve my schedule."
"That's right. Gimme a sec... Hidan," she said, pausing and glancing at the other student, "What are you doing here?" she asked the boy in mild exasperation.
He scowled faintly and mumbled something, then sighed when Shizune simply waited for him to speak up. "Coach Anko assigned me detention during homeroom."
"What for?"
"Language."
Shizune sighed, looking distressed at the news. "Hidan, you shouldn't keep doing this! You're-"
"Only hurting myself. I know," he interrupted moodily. He glared at a random wall, unable to meet her eyes as he ground out, "... sorry."
Apparently, that was enough and satisfied, the older woman quickly got Sakura her schedule. "Do you need an escort, Haruno-san?" she asked sweetly.
"Just Sakura, please," she said in reply, and got an agreeing nod. "And no. Just point me towards homeroom and I'll manage."
And so, after on last offer to utilize Hidan - Sakura really didn't want to bother him - she was on her way, rather detailed directions in mind. Five minutes later, she was let into the homeroom, her teacher someone named Iruka-sensei. He quickly bid her to introduce herself, so she did, grinning at Sasuke when he looked up at the sound of her voice. His only reply was a bored wave and minuscule smile.
-
"So how's your first day so far?" Sasuke asked her as they sat down with bento for lunch.
"So-so," she replied, tilting one hand from side to side. "I can honestly say that I don't much care for Orochimaru-sensei..."
Sasuke snorted. "Nobody does. He's nothing but a snaky git."
Despite herself, Sakura couldn't help but grin around her tuna sandwich at his sullen tone. "Oh, c'mon. He can't be as bad as Madara-san," she reasoned, smiling.
He shrugged, unable to refute that. "What is your next class?" he asked, not-so-subtly changing the subject.
Unable to answer due to her mouth being full, she tipped her head toward her bag and he rummaged through it until he emerged victorious, her schedule in hand. "Chemistry, Lit, Home Ec, Lunch, Calc," he quirked a brow at the advanced subject, "World History, French and... Drama? Why Drama?"
She swallowed her food and shrugged. "I needed another elective and it was the most interesting on the list," she replied nonchalantly.
He sighed and looked back down at the list. "You have Kakashi-sensei for it, seventh period, so I think my brother might be in your class..."
Sakura blinked in surprise, not having previously known that Drama was Itachi's thing. "Really? What's he like? We haven't seen each other in years..."
"Decades, more like," he answered with a smirk and dodged the straw she threw at him, only to be smacked in the forehead by her spork a second later. "Hey!" he protested, scowling.
Sakura only grinned.
-
"Okay, so we're getting a new student, yeah?" Deidara asked from his seat slouched on one of the many comfortable pieces of furniture in the room.
There were a few beanbags, two couches and various comfortable chairs strewn haphazardly around them, and the majority of them were taken by the small Drama-class group of students. Last period had far fewer students in it than the rest of Kakashi's classes, though he suspected that was because most people were loath to deal with the group that had taken to calling themselves 'Akatsuki' after an improv they'd once sprung on their teacher unexpectedly about a criminal organization in the Sengoku Jidai, sometime before Christmas.
Really, it was rather unoriginal.
"Yes," he replied, not glancing up from the dirty-novel-hidden-behind-a-play. He turned the page. "She should be here soon; Iruka-san was holding her after class for something."
"How do you know?" Kisame grunted, sure that the teacher hadn't left the room since his class the period before. Kisame, like Hidan and Kakuzu, was a senior and all three were actually in the sixth period class and didn't need to be in school for seventh period. But they stayed anyway, an unmovable part of 'Akatsuki'.
As if summoned by their conversation, the door burst open just as the bell rang and the gasping pink-haired girl leaned over to brace herself on her knees in order to catch her breath. Her bag dropped to the floor with a dull thud as the door swung shut behind her, and she looked up at the group with a grin. "Hi! Sorry if I'm holding you up; Iruka-sensei wanted to ask me to join some sort of French competition."
Silence descended and her grin eventually faded away in minor confusion and annoyance, but still the group (sans Itachi, who appeared to be asleep in the darkened corner, and Kakashi) stared at her as if she'd suddenly start screaming world domination at the top of her lungs. Her brow twitched. Slowly, she straightened and hefted up her bag, scanning the room for a seat - it was obvious that the teacher most likely didn't assign seats, what with the comfortable theme going on - and finding one, plopped down into it. Beside her on the couch, Zetsu blinked.
"So..." She looked up at the teacher, deciding to just ignore them if they were going to gawp at her like fish - literally, in one case, it would seem - and simply urge class on. "Is it normally this quiet, sensei?"
Slowly, he looked up from his book and smiled. "Nope."
"I see."
He smiled again. "Would you care to come up and introduce yourself, Haruno-san?" he offered politely.
With a nod, she tiredly heaved herself to her feet and stepped to the front of the room, bowing formally (much to the collective surprise of the other students, she saw). "Hello. I'm Haruno Sakura, I'm sixteen, a sophomore and I've never been in a Drama class or anything, so I thought I'd check it out. I don't appreciate pranks, so don't even think about it," she added upon seeing a smirk forming on the blond's face. It promptly faded with disappointment. "Lessee... My two best friends in the world are Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke," she ignored the various glances shot in the direction of the seemingly asleep individual in the corner, "And I absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, hate spiders.
"If you come after me with one with the intention of scaring me, it will work," the blond started to smirk again, "But I will promptly beat you to within an inch of your life afterward. Let's all get along!" With a cheery grin that she barely managed - the rant was much needed, apparently - she skipped back to her seat and beamed when the green-haired boy stared at her with wide eyes.
Kakashi was also staring at her now. After a moment, he sighed. "... Right. Today, we're doing an improv game with cards..."
-
As Sakura left the Drama building after class, she caught sight of Sasuke, slightly damp, leaving the sports building. He must have just finished swim class. "Sasuke!" she called, waving an arm above her head to attract his attention.
He paused, turning his head, and waited for her to catch up. "Hey," he greeted, smiling slightly. "How was Drama class?"
"Funny, actually," she replied with a grin. "I think I somehow managed to intimidate my improv partner."
One brow hiked up. "What, really?" he asked, managing to sound both incredulous and unsurprised. "Who was it?"
"Um... I think his name was 'Zetsu'," she answered thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side. "Green hair, brown eyes, really pale," she expounded. "Kinda quiet."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Half that class is 'kinda quiet', Sakura," he pointed out.
She couldn't argue that point, so she changed the subject. "You're in swim class, right?" He nodded, not bothering to answer verbally in hopes that she'd get to the point quickly, and she went on. "Does that mean you're on the swim team?"
He shot her a look that oh-so-clearly questioned her sanity. "With Hoshigaki as team captain? What are you, stupid?"
She pouted at the insult, but a voice spoke up just behind them before she could manage a proper retort. "Aw, c'mon, I'm not that bad."
She turned her head to find the blue-haired senior from her Drama class walking with the guy that'd been asleep in the corner (except when the two got up to do their improv) a few paces behind them. He grinned at her as Sasuke snorted.
"If by 'not that bad', you mean absolutely horrid," the younger Uchiha grumbled, then turned his attention to the dark-haired boy. "Itachi-nii, you remember Sakura, right?"
She blinked in stunned surprise when she realized that this must be Sasuke's older brother. She hadn't even thought to check, but now that she did, she could see the resemblance. "Hey, Itachi-san," she greeted with a little wave.
He quirked a brow, in true Uchiha fashion, but nodded in acknowledgment. Kisame beside him looked surprised. "What, you already knew Miss Cherry Blossom, Itachi?"
The older Uchiha shrugged and looked away. "I didn't recognize her," he answered indifferently.
Kisame frowned at that. "I don't believe you."
"Hnn," came the disinterested reply.
The shark-like senior rolled his eyes. "That response really annoys me," he muttered. Shaking his head, he looked at Sakura. "Haruno, right?"
She nodded and smiled. "That's me," she agreed cheerfully (both Sasuke and Itachi quirked their brows).
"You in town with family? Or do you live in a dorm?" he asked curiously.
She noted that bother her best friend and his older brother were watching her surreptitiously (or so they thought), both completely silent. Stifling a grin, she answered the mutual query. "Well, my mom moved here for her new job, so I live with her for the moment. We're looking for something more permanent than our hotel room, though."
"You haven't found an apartment yet?" Sasuke asked, surprised.
"No. We just moved here Saturday," she replied with a shrug. "She was transferred so abruptly that we couldn't find an apartment before we had to come here, so we settled for the hotel."
"Wow," he muttered with a shake of his head as they drew to a stop between the road leading to the dorms and the parent parking lot. "That sucks."
"Tell me about it," she groused, pouting.
"Well-"
She smacked him upside the head playfully. "Not literally, dork," she admonished, smiling to take the sting out of her words.
He smirked and pulled her into a quick hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
Sakura nodded and turned toward the parking lot, waving goodbye. "Yeah, see ya!" With that, she left them to continue on their way to the dorms as she sought out her mother's waiting car. "They're not that bad at all," she decided, thinking of the 'Akatsuki' Drama group.
-
That weekend, Sakura had her mother drop her off at the local mall to shop while the older woman went off to look at a few apartments available. It was tow hours after the fact that, while contemplating calling Sasuke to join her for lunch in the food court, she came across two of the guys from her Drama class.
"I'm tellin' you, Sasori; that stupid fish is up to something, yeah," the blond - Deidara, if she remembered Thursday's introductions right - was saying to his red-haired companion as they sat at a table eating burgers.
She was so preoccupied by her inner thoughts that she walked right by them, but as his words registered, she was reminded of Kisame and quickly back-tracked. "Hey!" she greeted, stopping by their table and grinning down at the pair. "How're you guys?"
They both looked up at her, Deidara looking surprised by her appearance. "Oh... Uh, hi, Haruno, yeah," he replied hesitantly, as if unsure what exactly to call her.
She waved a hand, dismissing the formality. "It's just Sakura, if you don't mind." She grimaced. "It feels weird if people around my age call me by my family name."
He smiled and nodded in understanding. "Yeah. I know what you mean."
"Would you like to sit with us?" Sasori offered, scooting over to give her room to sit on the booth.
She nodded. "Yeah, sure. Um..." She looked from the seat to her bags and back, lips twisting as she debated the intelligence of asking them to watch her stuff while she got lunch.
However, Deidara suddenly standing took the decision away from her. "I'm gonna go get a refill of my soda, Sakura. You want anything?"
She smiled and set her bags down as she shuffled through her purse for her wallet. "Yeah. Just a cheese burger and fries or something." She looked up to hand him her money, but he was gone. "Huh?"
"He'll be back in a minute," Sasori spoke up around his straw.
She blinked. "Oh." Shrugging, she sat down and asked him about his day.
Across the food court, Deidara stepped up to one of the numerous restaurants and grinned at the bored look on the attendant's face. "Hey. I wanna cheese burger, fries and a coke, yeah," he said, cheeky grin growing wider.
The attendant sighed as he rang the order up. "Deidara? You're an idiot. Still," he deadpanned, and reached out for the cup in the blond's hand. "Root beer, right?"
Unperturbed by the insult, Deidara nodded. "Yeah." He fell silent for the minute it took Itachi to refill his cup, but spoke soon after. "Sakura's here. Looks like she was clothes shopping." He moved out of the way for another customer to step up, not wanting Itachi's boss to give him grief again like last time.
"I noticed," the Uchiha replied in his trademark monotone. "Welcome to McDonald's; may I take your order?" He runt the elderly woman's order up effortlessly, half listening to his blond rival's chatter.
"She's actually pretty cute," he went on obliviously. "I don't know if I believe Sasuke when he says she's more violent than Hidan. Do you?"
Itachi shrugged, placing the bag with Deidara's order in it on a tray with the accompanying coke. "He knows her better, and as I've heard the same thing from both Naruto and Hyuuga, I'm going to take his word for it and leave her alone." He looked up and met the blond's gaze evenly; boredly. "Here's your order."
Taking the dismissal for what it was, the blond waved and scooped up the food and drink, ignoring the tray as he walked off, calling one last thing over his shoulder. "Get yourself a girl, Uchiha!" Because really, for a rich guy with too much time, he sure did spend it weirdly; who spouts responsibility bullshit after getting a job at a fast-food joint because they were bored?
Sakura was telling Sasori about her cat when Deidara sat down across from them and put her food and a drink before her. "I didn't know what you liked, so I got you a coke," he explained, grinning hopefully.
"Oh! Thanks so much!" she said, pushing the money across the table to pay him back, only for him to push it right back.
"Keep it. Think of the meal as a 'Welcome to Kumo' present; it's on me," he said with an airy wave of his hand.
"Oh, but-" she began to protest, but as his grin flickered slightly - maybe in disappointment - she gave in with a sigh. "Thank you, Deidara." She couldn't help but think that his expression could put a Christmas tree to shame.
-
Well there you have it; my first AU. Inspired amnerine's Belonging. Go check it out; it's ItaSakuDei! No, this doesn't mean I'm stopping with I Spy or Jashin's Angel. It just means my muse is being a horrid female dog and making me write strange things. I'm sorry if this resembles other AUs too closely. I tried to make it as different as I could.
R&R! Don't just fave/alert!