Some things never change.
Like girls.
"It's Uchiha-san!"
Cue the massive influx of squealing, panting young females begging for the attention of their "Sasuke-kun".
Sophomore Uchiha Sasuke shouldered his way through the crowded halls of Konoha High, trying and failing to block out the screams and shouts of his persistent fangirls (and boys, which he found faintly disturbing). Dark eyes blank, face expressionless, he ignored them all equally and forced his way towards his first class, not really giving a care if he broke some hearts and stepped on some toes in the process. Of course, he had long ago given up the hope that this "cold shoulder" treatment would stop his admirers. Indeed, it almost seemed to fuel them on. Still, it was the best way he knew to cope with the situation; the only alternative he'd considered would have ended up with him in some very real trouble with various authorities he could mention.
And he would have some serious anger issues to deal with if his education were to be held up over something so trivial.
"Oi oi oi! It's Sasuke-teme!"
Seems like his fans weren't the only part of the school that hadn't changed over summer break.
Then again, Naruto never changed.
Sasuke off-handedly dodged his old friend's energetic hug (which was more of a tackle), breaking into a frown as he did so. "Watch where you're going, idiot. You might injure someone."
The blond boy recovered his balance, turning and grinning mischievously. "Sorry, didn't mean to upset you, Sasuke-hime. I'd sure hate to ruin that perfect hair job of yours."
A slight twitch at the corner of the eye was the only sign Sasuke let slip of his irritation at the loud teen's mocking words. He expected this sort of treatment from Uzumaki Naruto, his self-proclaimed rival and best friend, but he felt the blow to his vanity nonetheless.
"Naruto, quit making fun of Sasuke-kun. I swear, you're so stupid sometimes…" Sighing, Haruno Sakura joined the group, flashing a quick smile in Sasuke's direction. The pretty, cheerful young girl completed the unofficial trio of friends.
The relationship between the three, from the outside, seemed quite simple. Sakura had a crush on Sasuke. Naruto had a crush on Sakura. Sasuke just plain didn't care.
From an insider's perspective, however, the trio had its own complicated chemistry.
Yes, Sakura had a crush on him. And at first it had annoyed him to no end; having a squealing fangirl as your bio lab partner in the ninth grade did not bode well for the class. However, several cold glares and harsh responses later, she seemed to realize that outright adoration and praise was not the way to an Uchiha's heart. She was a smart girl, actually, once you got to know her (she had, after all, managed to catch the hint that the rest of the school's female population had been blatantly ignoring). His cold intelligence and her aptitude for retaining knowledge proved a powerful combination, and he'd developed a sort of unspoken, unacknowledged respect for the pink-haired teenager. She still got on his nerves occasionally, mostly due to her subtle, futile attempts to capture his heart, but he'd learned to swallow his irritation in order to continue benefiting from her friendship.
Naruto's crush on Sakura was pretty straightforward and most definitely not hidden. And Sakura had turned down his numerous invitations to various dates with equal bluntness. Despite her obvious dislike of the obnoxious boy's professed love for her, she harbored quite an affection for him, Sasuke knew. Only as a brother, of course - or so she insisted. Sasuke didn't care enough to decide if he believed her or not. The only aspect of their relationship that affected him in any way lay in the fact that Naruto viewed him as a rival for Sakura's love.
Speaking of Naruto…well, even the Uchiha wasn't entirely sure why he still spent time with the blonde. He was irritating, loud, obnoxious, had a nine-year-old boy's sense of humor, got mediocre-at-best grades, and had no familial connections to speak of. Nothing about Naruto was logically attractive in a friend to the promising young Uchiha; still, he was one of the few people his age he'd ever met who he'd…sort of missed when he wasn't around. He had met Naruto through Sakura, and they'd somehow ended up with this awkward sort of friendship-meets-rivalry.
Sasuke was still trying to figure out how and when that had happened as he and his friends casually walked down the hall. He made little progress on the issue.
"So Sasuke, where were you all summer? I mean, Sakura-chan and I were…well, Sakura-chan was worried about you!" Naruto turned his blue eyes away stubbornly, muttering something about "Sakura" and "wouldn't shut up" and "stupid Sasuke".
Blushing slightly, Sakura glared at Naruto, clearly aware of what he was muttering about although she was walking on the opposite side of Sasuke.
Sasuke, aware of the unspoken reaction but not much caring, shrugged. "I was busy."
"Busy?!" Naruto rounded on his friend, waving his arms expressively. "Come on, what kind of an excuse is that? How could possibly have been too busy for your own friends?! It's summer! You're supposed to goof off in the summer!"
Sasuke shook his head, and Sakura chuckled beside him, undoubtedly having trouble picturing the collected Uchiha "goofing off".
"Dobe, some of us have lives outside of school, too. Jobs. Studying. Important things."
Naruto's nose crinkled up, his face displaying disgust. "Ugh…if that's what you call having a life, you can count me out!"
"Naruto, you have to grow up eventually." Sakura spoke up, her tone somewhere between patronizing and affectionate. Sasuke couldn't tell which. It didn't bother him. He didn't care, after all. (Or so he tells hismelf.) "Sasuke's simply more mature than you are. I know it's hard for you to understand, but do try not to make a fool of yourself."
"Aww, c'mon, Sakura-chan… I can be mature, too! Really!" Naruto's face fell as Sakura laughed at the idea. "Naw, I'm serious! Just give me a chance! See? I'm on time for class - I'm even early! That's mature, right?" The trio paused outside of the classroom door at which Naruto was gesturing avidly. Visible through the small window, a brown-haired teacher with a distinctive scar across his nose was scanning a sheet of paper at his desk. Glancing up, the teacher spotted Naruto outside of the door and waved him in.
Naruto waved back. "Be there in a minute, Iruka-sensei! See? I'm totally mature!"
Sakura stifled a chuckle, but there was still laughter in her voice. "Well well, seems I'm proven wrong. Guess before long you'll be getting a job and studying, ne?" Naruto's face fell, and Sakura started walking away, waving farewell to her friend over her shoulder. "See you later, Naruto! Have fun being mature in class!"
Sasuke and Sakura continued to their own classes in what Sasuke considered a comfortable silence, parting ways when he reached his first class of the day and she continued around the corner to hers.
--
When Sasuke first entered the classroom, there were two pairs of eyes that noted his silent entrance, of which Sasuke was initially unaware. The first pair quickly lost interest, lids sinking lazily back into a position of rest. The second followed him as he slipped into a seat in the front of the class.
The first pair belonged to a boy who looked as though he were perpetually worn out. Eyes closed, posture noncommittal, medium-length brown hair pulled back into an unobtrusive ponytail, outfit simple and lacking style - he was the very image of an "I don't care" attitude.
The second pair, however, belonged to someone perhaps on the opposite end of the spectrum. Eyes bright and inquisitive behind a round pair of glasses, back straight and attentive, silver hair framing his face and pulled into a ponytail, clothing understated and functional - he practically radiated intelligence and curiosity.
Nara Shikamaru and Yakushi Kabuto were their names, but Sasuke recognized neither of their faces. Had someone asked him about those names, he would've been able to give little information. He vaguely recalled seeing Nara's name just above Naruto's in the freshman score lists from last year; and that was not a flattering little tidbit of information, either, as Naruto's scores were almost the worst in the school. His knowledge of and opinions on Yakushi were even slimmer - indeed, nonexistent.
He was, however, about to gain a bit of both.
"Uchiha Sasuke, isn't it?"
If Sasuke was startled by the bright voice addressing him over his shoulder, he hid it well. Turning slightly, he eyed his silver-haired classmate, assessing his appearance as he did so. The teen was taller than him, but he almost looked younger. There was a certain unguarded-ness, an openness in his manner and face that made him look naïve and, well, child-like. For some reason, Sasuke instinctively didn't want to trust him. "Yeah… What do you want?"
Maybe he's a fanboy.
The idea merited a not-quite-suppressible shudder.
"I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Yakushi Kabuto. I remember that your scores put you at the top of your class last year, and I thought I'd offer my best wishes for the year. If you ever want to study together, just let me know! I've taken this class before, so I might be able to help…" The overly-friendly boy smiled and adjusted his glasses. (Totally dorky…)
Grunting lowly, Sasuke turned forward again in his seat. "I don't need anyone's help." Especially from someone who's taken this class before; meaning they probably failed it the first time.
"Of course not, Sasuke-kun; I didn't mean to insinuate that you'd need it." This Yakushi kid was beginning to look like another annoying little kiss-up. Sasuke groaned inwardly. Like he needed more of those. (Crap, maybe he is a fanboy…) "I just meant that I have advanced knowledge about the class that might be useful to you."
"So basically you failed the class already, and you need me to help you get through it this time." Sasuke cast the silver-haired boy a hard stare, meant to scare him off.
Kabuto didn't look scared, exactly. Surprise registered across his face, then a brief glimpse of something else Sasuke couldn't name (approval…?), and then he was all embarrassment; but there was no fear, no hint of him going back to his seat with his tail between his legs. "Ah, well, I guess there's no use hiding it. I just have trouble with math; don't let the glasses fool you, I'm a hopeless failure when it comes to numbers." He chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his head right above his silver ponytail. (Dorky, not that smart, and gay… Just lovely.)
Sasuke had had quite enough of the conversation; this "Kabuto" was pushing all the wrong buttons if he was trying to get on the Uchiha's good side.
He was about to tell the four-eyed geek quite bluntly to get out of his sight when the teacher slammed a massive hand down onto his desk and announced in a gruff voice that class was starting and "all of you little parasites better get your butts seated."
He was over six feet tall and built like a brick wall.
No one argued with Ibiki-sensei.
Kabuto slipped into the seat next to Sasuke, giving him a secretive wink out of the corner of his eye.
Sasuke paled and fought the urge to gag.
It was going to be a long day in class…
Some things never change.