Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters.
And when the sky is falling,
don't look outside the window.
Step back and hear I'm calling.
Give up, don't take the fast road.
Mid April - Monday
Konoha High School's crowded cafeteria volume was deafening and the stuffy, indoor enclosure held little interest for Sakura Haruno. From her window seat in second period she recalled a few trees behind the school ripe for sitting beneath.
She figured no one else was daft enough to eat under the blooming cherry blossom trees snuggled between the concrete school wall and the black metal fence surrounding the campus. Turning the corner, she froze in place for a split second. She never anticipated stumbling upon an arguing couple in the midst of separating.
"What are you saying, Hitomi?"
They were encased in an intense atmosphere, her attention-grabbing pink hair not thankfully falling short of its reputation. Faster than she could take in their features, she leaped back around the corner and pressed herself against the building, feeling very intrusive and wrong. I'll wait for them to leave … she thought.
"I don't want to be with you anymore. I've felt like this for a long time –"
"Shut-up! You're lying! You've been acting strange lately. What's wrong?"
The Hitomi girl is breaking up with her boyfriend. I really shouldn't be here.
"Please, just … let me go. I already like someone else."
Ouch, Sakura cringed internally. She decided to search for the roof instead. That location pleased her as much as the scenic trees, but as soon as she wandered to the second floor with the roof access door, she saw the annoying blond boy from her chemistry class headed in the same direction and immediately changed routes.
For the duration of the chemistry lesson, he had talked constantly and acted a little too friendly with his goofy smile. She returned quietly to the other end of the school, feeling positive that the rocky couple had vacated the spot.
Peeking stealthily around the corner, she reveled in the emptiness. Lunch ended in 15 minutes, and she had yet to touch her own. The tree idea had been a good theory but when she sat on the grass, the ground dampened her jeans and she shot up instantly, checking the damage.
Satisfied that no one would notice the darker areas on the seat of her pants, she surveyed her options: nothing dry available. Finally, she looked up, bent on climbing to a sturdy limb. When she did, she saw a boy.
This startled her because it's not every day you gaze up in a cherry blossom tree and find a boy with messy, dark hair roosting like a chicken with hands in his pockets. He resembled a chicken not for the position of his body, but for the style of his hair. It stuck out straight in the back like ruffled feathers. Sakura had never seen anything similar.
He must have felt her stare because his eyelids flipped open abruptly. His eyes were such a dark brown they were almost black.
"Who the hell are you?" Menacing would be a great word to describe his personality right then.
Sakura stared up into his face, taking in the brooding scowl. For some reason, the manner in which he slumped against the tree appeared emotionally exhausted. Maybe a better word was crushed.
"Sakura. And you?"
His chin lifted proudly as he spoke. "Sasuke."
Well, Sasuke, will you help me get up there?" Her question obviously caught him off guard.
He didn't respond or make a move to assist her, so she started on her own. She put her lunch bag in her teeth and hoisted herself onto the lowest, thinnest limb. The wider, more comfortable branches were still above her, so she balanced with one hand against the center of the tree, reaching out for the limb she preferred.
"What are you doing?" His deep voice was rough yet calm, but he received no answer.
Sakura leaned a little too far and lost her foot hold. As she tumbled, she jumped. Her stomach collided roughly with the branch and all the air swooshed from her lungs; but, she didn't lose her grip and fall.
"Muhh," she moaned in pain. A hand presented itself in her face seemingly out of nowhere. She gazed up stupidly, wondering how he kept his balance with the other hand in his pocket.
"I man mo it i el," she expressed incoherently, the lunch bag in her teeth.
"Don't you know it's unladylike to talk with your mouth full?" He smirked like he was so funny.
She swung her leg over the side of the branch and pulled her body into a sitting position, her legs dangling below. Once situated, she removed the lunch from her mouth. "I said I can do it myself."
"So, Haruka –"
"It's Sakura!" She frowned at him while unpacking her sandwich and taking a bite.
"Whatever. What the hell are you doing here?" The perplexed scowl masking his face reminded her of a troubled, irritated little boy.
"Eating my lunch," Sakura responded wittily.
"No, I meant here. Behind the school," he amended huffily.
Garrr.
The pink-haired girl laughed at the sound of his growling stomach.
"Want some?" She obligingly offered him half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but he turned up his nose. She placed it back on the napkin in her lap with a small shrug.
"I liked the view," she answered his question from before. "It's more relaxing that spending my time cooped up in that cafeteria."
Gahrrhr.
She stared pointedly at him, but he turned his face and ignored her silent suggestion.
"You don't have any friends," he assumed.
"It's my first day! What's your excuse?"
"Sometimes you just want to be alone, got it?" His comment was directed at her intrusion, but she glared unperturbed.
"Yeah, actually, I do. That's why I came out here."
Gahrrhahh!
Both of them paused for a second. It was the calm before the storm.
"Take the damn sandwich!" Sakura snapped.
"No," he leveled.
"Seriously, if you don't take it right now, I'm going to throw it at you," she threatened.
"Do it," he said, raising an eyebrow challengingly.
She did.
After nailing him in the face, it fell on his lap. He carefully picked it up and separated the jelly side from the peanut butter side. Before she could process his reasons for taking apart the sandwich, the jelly side hit her in the eye. She peeled it off with a steely expression, glaring furiously at him.
"You got grape jelly in my hair!" she accused with a screech.
He was busy eating the peanut butter side, no remorse for dirtying her naturally pink locks.
"Hi Sasuke," traveled a very feminine voice. On the ground beneath them was a petite blonde, sweetly batting her eyelashes at the chicken-haired jerk across from Sakura.
"Hi, Yuka," he mimicked the way she stressed the first syllable of his name, obviously mocking her. Yuka didn't notice.
She drawled out each word in her syrupy voice. "Listen, I just heard about you and Hitomi. If there's anything I can do, let me know."
Sakura was thoroughly impressed. She managed to speak sincerely while shooting her many sour looks. Wait, Hitomi …? Oh! Sasuke had been the guy on the receiving end of Hitomi's breakup speech. She snuck a glance at his face, which had lost all the proud fire from earlier. And that's why he seemed so depressed when I first saw him, she realized.
"Oh, by the way," Yuka drawled, looking at Sakura, "you've got some crap on your face."
The jelly! She wiped at it with her hand and slung it off.
"EWW!" squealed Yuka from below, a speck of grape jelly having plopped on her cheek.
"Oops, sorry," said Sakura quickly, biting her lip to prevent laughter. She gathered her lunch accoutrements and dropped to the ground, effectively startling the poor girl. "Here's a napkin," she offered.
Yuka slapped it out of her hand and stalked away. Sakura raised her eyebrows and shook her head. Great, another catty girl that dislikes me. I wonder how this is going to end, she projected sarcastically.
She heard Sasuke land on the grass behind her just as the bell rang. He walked away without a second thought, and Sakura didn't care to be offended by the obvious shun. Right now, she desired nothing but a bathroom to remove nasty jelly from her hair.
The roof that Naruto Uzumaki checked earlier now held what he had been looking for.
"It's unusual for you to skip class – especially gym," said the blond in light greeting. He received no response from the boy with messy hair slumped against the safety fence surrounding the roof.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," he persisted, crouching beside the figure.
"You have peanut butter on your forehead," he stated curiously.
Sasuke swiped at the sandwich matter roughly, still not speaking.
"Ah, the silent treatment," mused Naruto thoughtfully, plopping down beside him. "I guess you didn't miss lunch like I thought."
The breeze swirled passed gracefully.
"Apparently, you had a food fight. Or did you miss your mouth? I find that hard to believe."
Silence.
"I don't care that you aren't talking. You aren't getting to me. I don't care, Sasuke," pouted Naruto.
Sasuke continued staring off into the distance. It only took a second.
"Teme! Why are you so quiet? Say something!" demanded Naruto loudly.
"Spit it out Naruto. I know why you're here," said Sasuke flatly.
"I – Hitomi came back to the cafeteria alone and I figured something happened," admitted Naruto.
Sasuke grimaced, "Yeah, something happened, but I'm not quite sure."
"What do you mean?" queried Naruto.
Sasuke sighed, "Hitomi dumped me."
"I'm sorry, man –"
"She said it was because she liked somebody else."
"That's rough, dude –"
"But she was lying. I could tell."
Naruto waited to see if Sasuke had more to say. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," snapped Sasuke. Her right eyebrow always twitches when she lies.
Naruto eyed him warily. "I know you really liked her but maybe …"
Sasuke sharply cut his dark eyes at Naruto. "Maybe what?"
"Maybe … you're better off without her."
Please … just let me go.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes but then laughed humorlessly. "You don't understand. My girlfr – Hitomi dumped me and lied about why. It's driving me crazy thinking of reasons."
Naruto fidgeted next to Sasuke as he spoke. "What if it's something you don't want to hear?"
Sasuke looked slowly from the crack on the concrete floor to Naruto. "What do you know?"
"Sasuke, you don't want to hear it."
"I'll find out eventually, whether you tell me or not," he leveled.
Naruto shook his head.
"Damn it, Naruto! As my friend, I command you to tell me the truth!" demanded Sasuke childishly.
"I think you need to work on your skills of persuasion," said Naruto.
Sasuke glared icily but the emotion behind the sheet of glass was about to shatter. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh.
"Hinata heard Hitomi's friends talking in the bathroom. They said Hitomi broke up with you because she's moving."
Sasuke's face shut down at the answer. "Why didn't she just tell me? When is she supposed to leave?"
"She's leaving the day after we get out of school," said Naruto.
Sasuke didn't respond, allowing the information to sink in.
"Want to eat at Ichiraku's Ramen tonight? I'll buy," he offered brightly.
Sasuke rejected flatly, "I'll pass."
"Would you rather play video games at my house?"
"No."
"There must be something you want to do."
"I just want to be alone," he snapped.
Naruto was subdued pitifully. Sasuke noticed the hurt expression and felt instantly guilty.
"Look," he said delicately, "when I'm ready to do something, I'll let you know."
Naruto nodded small and smiled slightly.
"Alright, Sasuke, just …" he seemed to change his mind and finished his thought, "alright."
Naruto's smile faded once he walked through the door, leaving Sasuke to wallow alone. As soon as the door slid shut, an unnerving quiet settled on the roof. It was evident the difference made with Naruto's departure. Sasuke shifted his gaze to the sky ruefully.
History in general had never held her interest, but Sakura couldn't even fake attentiveness in this course. The teacher talked in monotones, and her wet hair was sticking flat against her forehead. She really wanted to go home and sleep. When she couldn't take it anymore, she raised her hand. The teacher pursed her lips in irritation.
"Yes, Miss Haruno?"
"May I go to the restroom?"
"Hurry back," she conceded.
After walking down two halls, Sakura was awake and ready to return. As she rounded the corner, she collided with someone and they both tumbled down.
"Ow," she groaned, leaning up off the floor.
"Sorry, I didn't see you there," he said, rising to his feet and offering her a hand; she declined his assistance graciously.
"Hey, you're in my chemistry class, right?"
She had managed to crash into annoying blond boy. Sakura smiled weakly. "Yeah, that's me," she indicated.
"Cool. I remember your pink hair. Can I ask a favor?"
"Um, okay," she said somewhat apprehensive.
"Will you help me and my lab partner pass Anko-sensei's class? You knew all the answers to stuff we've been covering for months, and you just got here today. Please be in my lab group?" He begged so sincerely that she couldn't find it in her to say no.
"Sure, why not?" she shrugged.
"Great, I'm sure Anko-sensei will be fine with it. I'll talk to her now."
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
His pretty blue eyes sparkled with mischief, "Gym teachers don't care what you do."
"Ah," she remarked, "well, this is my class. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Bye," he smiled warmly.
Sakura hoped this hadn't given him the wrong idea because if he had been flirting with her before, joining his lab group wasn't going to help matters.
Late April - Wednesday
Two weeks passed, and it wasn't as bad as she thought. The more Sakura talked to Naruto Uzumaki, the more she realized he was just that kind of guy. Gregarious and good natured, he treated everyone the same.
To her relief and arrogant shame, she was not being flirted with. Naruto, while dense and oblivious, was forever optimistic. The boy never stopped talking and laughing. Life was a carnival ride to him. Even as a High School Junior, he still acted childish; his pout was hilarious. Kiba Inuzuka was grumpier, but their competitive sides were equally inflated. They had races to see who could fetch a beaker the fastest, and the Bunsen burners were dangerous weapons in their hands.
"Do you smell that?" Sakura sniffed the air again and a revolting odor filled her nostrils.
"Sakura! You're hair!" sputtered Kiba, "It's on fire!"
She panicked, "Put it out! Put it out!"
Naruto dumped a bucket of water over her head, dousing the flame and soaking everything within a two foot radius. Once Sakura calmed down, she was so hot with fiery rage that all water should have evaporated.
"What the hell were you idiots doing? You caught my hair on fire!"
They shrank in fear, putting the lab desk between them and the furious girl.
"It was Kiba's fault for not catching it," stated Naruto.
"Me? You threw it high," argued Kiba.
"Threw what?" she hissed through chattering teeth.
"The fire ball," admitted Naruto shamefully. He noticed her shivering with concern.
"Are you cold? This will warm you up." He thrust the flame of the Bunsen burner in Sakura's face, and she jumped back to avoid it.
"Get that out of my – umph!"
With slippery tile beneath her, she should have thought twice about quick steps with slick bottomed sneakers. Sakura landed with a thud right on her back.
Her head smacked the floor and the last harrowing vision before the blackout was Naruto, crouching down beside her with the burner still in hand.
"Anko-sensei said we were banned from fire and would get a 'specially devised punishment befitting the individual.'"
"Serves you right! You tried to kill me not once but twice!" Sakura fumed after regaining consciousness.
Because of them, she was sitting on a small cot in the nurse's room holding an ice pack to the back of her head. Naruto and Kiba exchanged a wary look that unsettled the bottom of her stomach.
"You tell her," said Kiba.
"No, you tell her. You didn't catch the fire ball," said Naruto.
"You attacked her with the burner!"
"You dropped her on the way to the nurse's office"
"You dropped me?" she snapped incredulously.
He fidgeted under her death glare and hissed at Naruto, "You promised not to tell her man, not cool!"
"What are you supposed to tell me then?" She crossed her arms across her chest impatiently.
"Nose goes!" exclaimed Kiba, placing his finger on his nose.
"Noooo! Dang it! You always beat me!" complained Naruto, who finally spit it out. "Yougetthepunishmenttoo."
"WHAT? But I didn't do anything! You idiots caused it all," Sakura said matter of fact.
"Look at the bright side. A 'special punishment' isn't a month's worth of detention," said Naruto in an optimistic tone that soured her already disparaged mood.
"Ow! That hurt, Sakura!" cried Kiba, "Why'd you pelt me with the ice bag? Naruto said it."
"Naruto didn't drop me and bruise my elbow, did he?" Kiba studiously looked away.
Ding. Ding.
"Lunch! Sweet, sweet lunch!" rejoiced Naruto as they bolted out the door, fearful of their friend's wrath.
Sakura's daily lunch routine, since meeting the disaster-prone duo, had been eating with them and their friends in the cafeteria. She hadn't been to the trees behind the school in two weeks, but she hadn't forgotten who she'd met there.
Sasuke, as it turned out, was in none of her classes. Occasionally, he'd make an appearance in the cafeteria to buy lunch, but he never ate with anyone. Instead, he took his tray and left for some unknown place. Sakura thought he might be going to the cherry blossom trees, but when she checked, no one was there. He would reappear five minutes before lunch ended to return his tray to the cafeteria.
One day, Sakura noticed Naruto watching him with an unreadable expression that abruptly evaporated into his more characteristically joyful smile as he rejoined the table's conversation. But she couldn't forget the look on his face, so unlike the boy she'd come to know in the past two weeks.
He radiated happiness, and the rays he emitted were favored by the quiet girl sitting diagonally across from him. Immediately, Sakura picked up on the fact that she liked Naruto. Just as fast, she realized that Naruto had no freaking idea!
The boy was clueless, but she wished Hinata Hyuga all the luck in the world. If she never confessed and spelled out exactly what she meant, Naruto would continue on as an oblivious buffoon.
A particularly violent shiver derailed her thoughts.
She still wore her wet clothing, and the air conditioning in the nurse's office only made her current situation worse. Today was a warm, spring day, so she decided to let Mother Nature dry her off.
As Sakura definitely rejected the thought of entering the cafeteria in this condition, she finally fulfilled a small pleasure of hers. She made her way to the roof. She loved being elevated drastically so the sky seemed closer and within reach.
When she opened the door and stepped outside, she felt content. The clouds swirled in the blue, April sky, the bright sun warmed her trembling body and the wind naturally blow-dried her hair. All seemed right with the world.
Sakura no longer resented the fact that she was forced to move and change schools with two months of her junior year left. She had made great friends, some that messed-up but always meant well. She was on good terms with the majority of her classmates, no enemies to name as of yet. Her mother and she were living in a nice, 3rd floor apartment paid for by her mom's new, stable job as a secretary.
Everything had turned out just fine. Everything was fine. But when you have to tell yourself that it's okay, it usually isn't. So on this wonderful spring afternoon, Sakura Haruno cried her emerald green eyes out.
A/N: I AM BACK! YEAH BOY! It feels great to be uploading chapters again, although I will say I got ahead of myself and published this story without editing for page breaks and adding my author's note. So I had to delete and start again. Oops. Oh well, I haven't done this since February so I'm cutting myself some slack.
Now down to business. I've been trying to write this story for years - not a hyperbole - but I finally have it where I want it. *cue evil laugh* Hopefully you enjoyed the first chapter and want to know why Sakura is acting bipolar at the end.
Sakura: I'm NOT bipolar!
Me: Say that to inner Sakura.
Sakura: ... no, she's scary.
Me: My mistake. You aren't bipolar.
Sakura: Told you.
Me: You're schizophrenic.
Inner Sakura: I'm going to kill you!
Sakura: Now you made her/me angry. Good job.
Me: Uh, I gotta go ... *flees*
~~disclaimer: I'm not taking the disorders lightly. They are serious. I'm just incapable of staying serious about anything for extended periods of time ~~
And I wish the manga would move a little faster! I'm dying to know how it's going to end. I'm also lodging complaints if Team 7 doesn't get a freaking happy ending! :(
See You Next Chapter!
~ Radiant Sun
Don't forget that R&R isn't just a combination for rest and relaxation. Here on this lovely website, it's Read and Review.