Another one. It's a phase.
AU. This one's about puppy love and some of the crap that comes with it. They're all teenagers, except for Jiraiya :3
Rated: T for some language, I guess.
"Again?"
"Well, yes-"
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were doing this on purpose."
Pein laughed weakly and adjusted his grip on his school bag. "Getting into trouble on purpose? C'mon Nagato."
His brother frowned and continued to look at him suspiciously. "Okay then-" He was interrupted by one of his associates.
"Nagato, hurry up! We're leaving like, now, yeah!" Nagato clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. Why Madara had insisted on going to Shizune's place for organic smoothies escaped him- it was really too bad it was his turn to pick.
"Be home by seven," He ignored Pein's grumble of 'yes, mother' and started walking away. Of course, he knew why his brother ended up in detention so often. That's why he let him get away with it half the time- as Nagato was nothing if not a good disciplinarian. Being the elder brother had some perks, after all.
"There you are, twerp. Thought you weren't going to show up for a second," his teacher grinned impishly.
"Jiraiya-sensei," Pein greeted the white haired main politely and looked around to see who was joining him in detention today. Shino, yes of course, the boy still didn't understand why his spiders weren't allowed in school. They're domesticated, he insisted every time someone screamed in terror or scolded him for it. Shikamaru-no surprise there, according to Hidan he fell asleep in Kurenai's class, and everyone knows she doesn't take any shit. Naruto and Sasuke, bickering even now. And-wait, what? Hinata? What was his Chem. Lab buddy doing here?
Um. Pein blinked slowly and took a seat next to the timid looking girl. Of course, you couldn't judge her by her looks, he still remembers how she basically told Ami to fuck off when she made fun of Naruto's orange sneakers. She gave him a small smile and went back to sneaking glances at Naruto.
"You should just ask him out," he told her bluntly and sighed when she blushed and shrugged.
An awkward pause. Then-"What about you? Did you...?" Pein froze and reached into his bag for his English textbook. He stared at the index page and willed the flush away.
"Alright kiddos, complete your homework, read a book, glare at each other-in silence. I don't want any noise, got it?" Jiraiya smirked slightly at their mumbles and took his seat at the teacher's desk. These kids really were a handful. Speaking of which, his adorable daughter should be here any minute-
"Sorry, I'm late!" A young girl panted as she leaned against the now open door.
"Oh, Karin. Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence. Take a seat," The redhead rolled her eyes and took a seat on the other side of Hinata. "You know the rules. No noise."
"Yeah, yeah." She muttered and grinned at Hinata who giggled in return. She nodded politely at Pein who did the same and took her spiral notebook out.
"Dad-I mean, sensei, sorry I'm late!" Another young girl rushed into the room and pulled out a chair right in front of the teacher's desk. "Ino needed some help with her notes...so-oh, hey guys!" The pinkette greeted her friends casually.
"Is Ino still here?" Karin asked curiously.
"Yeah, she's staying back to help Kurenai-sensei set up for tomorrow's event. WIth Temari and Tayuya."
"Okay, okay, you can continue this conversation later. This is detention, not a free period," Jiraiya told them sternly. "Plus-if Tobirama comes in to check on you, you know what'll happen." Everyone, including himself, shuddered at the thought of what the disciplinary in-charge would do to them if he saw them chatting away happily in detention. His lectures were famous, and not for the right reasons.
Hinata glanced at Pein and had to fight a smile as she saw him staring a hole into his book, trying his best not to look up. Come to think of it, Pein always ended up in detention on the days Sakura stayed back in school to help her dad grade papers.
Relax. Relax. Damn it palms, stop sweating!
Pein wiped his hands on his jeans quickly, and glanced up at the girl sitting right in front of him. She was Karin and Hinata's best friend, Jiraiya-sensei's daughter and the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He cursed and stopped that line of thought right there.
But seriously, according to Konan, he'd been pining for a while now and according to Madara, it was fucking pathetic. That had earned the Uchiha a glare from Konan, who thought his little...crush was just the cutest thing ever. It took a trip to the nearest froyo joint to convince her not to meddle.
'Just show her your biceps man, chicks dig that stuff' is what Hidan told him, while Kakuzu told him to make a list of all the assets he possessed and give it to her. Why was he still friends with these guys?
"You've been stuck on that page for a while now. Do you need any help?" Hinata asked him gently. Karin stuck her head out from behind Hinata with a sly grin on her face.
No.
Fuck no-
"Well, we're not really good at this stuff either, but Sakura is!" Pein had to physically restrain himself from leaping across Hinata's desk and strangling Karin. "Hey, hey Saku-chan! Could you help Pain with this chapter?" His glare froze on his face as the girl turned around to stare at her friend before smiling at Pein.
"Dad, can I-"
"Go right ahead," Jiraiya told her as he smirked slightly. "Never hesitate when it comes to sharing your knowledge and helping others." Right. She laughed and walked over to where Pein was sitting. He ran a hand through his hair nervously before looking up tp greet her.
"Hey, Pein. What can I help you with?" Everyone knew Sakura was smart and often ran after her to get her notes. And perhaps a date but Jiraiya thankfully always managed to put a stop to that. And if the teacher wasn't around...
'Get away from Pein's girl you fucking cretins!' He could never forget the way Hidan screamed at those two boys, swinging a couple of books around threateningly. He didn't think he'd ever wanted to die that badly. Then of course, Sakura laughed but didn't really react and that somehow made it worse.
His friends had, for some reason, taken it upon themselves to chase boys away from Sakura. Perhaps it had something to do with the way he'd reacted when she went out on a date with fucking Kiba a couple of months back. Madara still swears to this day that he saw Pain tearing up when Itachi had informed him of the matter. Lies, obviously.
No, but it hurt. A lot. It made no sense, but then again, nothing ever did when it came to this girl.
"Pein?" He blinked and nearly cursed when he saw Sakura giving him a weird look.
"Ah, yeah. I'm not familiar with the format we're supposed to use for this essay here..." Look away. Look the fuck away, you creep. He couldn't stop looking at her hands-long, slender fingers and he wondered if they were as soft as they looked. They probably were.
He shoved his hands under the desk and laced his fingers together. Just in case.
"Oh yeah. We covered this on Monday. You weren't in class," she told him as she grabbed her notebook and flipped it open, looking for the right notes.
Okay. So she noticed. No big deal.
Right.
'Bitch, this is it.' He'd been hanging out with Hidan way too much lately. 'Stop being a fucking-'
ANYWAY, he should probably start focusing on the notes.
Huh. He blinked at the messy scrawl and tried to suppress his smile, causing the girl to scowl at him.
"Hey, I know it's a little messy, but it's better than Sasuke's handwriting!" The boy looked over at them and glared-and faltered when Pein stared back at him. Sakura smirked and turned back to the book as Pein started writing everything down.
"Oh, hey do you mind if I..?" He looked up to see her waving a brown paper bag around.
"Go ahead," He watched as she reached into the bag. "Ham and cheese, right?" His heart pounded loudly and he wondered if she could hear it.
"Huh?" There it is.
"Ham and cheese. It's Thursday." Was it just him, or was it getting hotter and hotter? Maybe he should tell Naruto to crack open a window or two.
Oh, they're open. Never mind.
"Oh, um, yeah," She flushed slightly and bit into her sandwich, looking at him almost thoughtfully.
"I heard Kiba wants to ask you out again," Karin. That obnoxious wench.
"That's nice," And of course, Sakura was all nonchalant about it. Why wasn't she making a disgusted face and going all 'ewww' like most girls did?!
"Tomato and lettuce tomorrow," he said almost desperately. She turned to him slowly as he took a deep, deep breath. "Bacon on Monday. Chicken on Tuesday. And you usually eat the pizza from the Cafeteria on Wednesdays." Wait, what if she thought he was a creep? He'd memorized her time-table, and what she ate for lunch, for fuck's sake.
"You, um, you actually-" Sakura had somehow lost the ability to form full sentences. That was a good sign. Right?
Hopefully.
"Yeah."
"So you..."
"Hn."
"That's..." Creepy? Strange? "Sweet." Oh.
Oh.
He could almost hear the Uchiha's voice, encouraging him gently.
"Sakura."
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to catch a movie with me this weekend?" Please say yes.
"Sure, I'd love to." Fuck yeah. "It's about time, actually. Half the school refers to me as 'Pein's girl'."
"So you noticed..." He cringed at her flat stare.
"Hidan is kinda hard to ignore, in case you haven't noticed." Of course he had. "Even more so when he's screaming at the top of his voice and waving around his copy of-"
"Jashin the Almighty," they said in unison.
Wait a minute. Itachi-that bastard was right. It worked! Of course, Madara had tried to discourage him from taking advice from his socially inept cousin but Pein believed Itachi to be the most sensible one in their group.
Along with himself, of course.
"So, uh, I'll pick you up at six?" The newest Indra and Asura movie was releasing tomorrow, titled Blood Ties. Sakura was a big fan.
"Works for me!"
"Okay, great." They stared at each other in silence, which was broken by Sakura as she started giggling at the blush on his face.
It was sunburn, damn it!
"I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Ah, yeah. See you." He watched as she ran off with her friends before squaring his shoulders and turning back to look at Jiraiya, who was currently shoving all the papers into his briefcase.
"Sensei."
"Hmm?" He clicked it shut and looked at Pein questioningly.
"I'd like your permission to-"
"Take my daughter out? Yeah, sure. Have her home by nine."
"Um."
"Keep her safe." Wait, was this even appropriate?!
Jiraiya watched the young boy leave with a baffled expression on his face and pouted. His little baby's first date. Well, he supposed, I guess she could do worse. Even with the ear piercings. Then he brightened up again. Maybe Tsunade can make me feel better!
I'd love to know what you think about this one!