Chapter 2: The Queen

Kakashi didn't even look up from his book at the outburst. "You heard me. You three are required to work on your projects together. Incidentally, that also includes the research paper, so you may want to start brainstorming ideas soon so you can get it done in time."

"But sir, why do we need to do it as a group? I thought it was supposed to be an independent project?" Sakura asked.

This makes no sense, the instructions we were handed went out of their way to say all projects should only be done by one person, she thought. Why the sudden change?

"Traditionally the senior project has been a solo project, but in special cases, we can bend the rules a teensy bit," replied Kakashi.

"Special case? What the hell does that mean?" Naruto demanded.

That idiot is going to make things worse if he doesn't shut up, Sakura thought. Doesn't he realize Kakashi can make the rest year and a half hell for us? I swear to god, if he doesn't shut up, I'm going to kill him. A small, persistent voice in her head though, agreed with Naruto. What does he mean by "special case"? thought the other Sakura. You're the second rated student in your grade, while Naruto is so low he's almost underground. Moreover, Sasuke's not even in the same English class! Why's he in the group?

Glancing over at her raven haired classmate she saw that he didn't look annoyed by the news that he was being forced to work with her and Naruto. He looked almost bored. The way his eyes were narrowed as he looked at Kakashi gave him away though. Sasuke was currently the top ranked student, not only in their grade but in the entire school. She doubted he was any less curious than she was.

Sakura tried to look away from his face, but that was hard to do with the voice in her head listing all his best features. You got to love how mature he looks. All the other students look like boys, but Sasuke, he's a man and he acts like it. He takes things seriously, unlike say Naruto who puts in as little effort as he can. Plus he's in great shape, muscular but not overly so. She could feel her face getting hot while her treacherous mind continued, and if you won him that would show all the other girls here who they're messing with.

For a moment, Sakura entertained thoughts of being in the same group as Sasuke, of late nights working on their papers, of meeting at his house to work on the project itself, of learning a new skill, just the two of them, and of the love that would form between her and the handsome young man. However, a certain loudmouth, annoying, little blond kept bursting into her romantic fantasy. Naruto would just get in the way. It would be a challenge to even complete the thing, much less get Sasuke to fall in love with me.

Sighing, she looked back at Kakashi to see how he would respond to Naruto. An evil glint came to his eyes as he answered cheerily, "To be frank, YOU'RE the special case Naruto. No one on the faculty seems confident you'll actually complete any of the assignment without turning it into a prank. Sakura and Sasuke are two of the highest ranking students at the school, so they should be able to keep you on task."

Ah ha! So this is Naruto's fault! She looked over at Naruto and saw from his expression that he had been thinking about making the entire thing a prank. I can't say I'm too surprised. But why do they need both f us to help him? One would be enough, and much less complicated.

Sasuke's thoughts seemed to be running parallel to Sakura's, and he spoke up for the first time, his cool voice sending shivers down Sakura's spine. She could just imagine him whispering in her ear, as they lay entwined together….

"Why do you need both of us to help the dunce? Sakura's in his class. She should be enough without getting me involved too."

The insult did not settle well with Naruto who angrily turned to face his schoolmate. "What was that?!"

Kakashi finally put his book down and interrupted them before a fight broke out. "That's enough you two. There's actually one other reason for you three being assigned to a group. Sasuke, you're the brightest student this school has had in years, but you have a problem working with other people. Your teachers are concerned that this inability to be a team player will hurt you in the future, so this is for you as much as Naruto. This will teach you to cooperate with others to achieve a common goal, instead of just going lone wolf all the time."

He turned to Sakura saying, "Sakura, your job is to make sure these two work together and complete the project on time, while putting in as much effort as everyone else in the group. Keep them on task however, don't let them avoid doing their work or do it for them. I know it's a lot to ask, but your teachers all seemed confident you could handle it."

With that, he picked up his book and started reading again. "Have fun you three."

As the three walked out of the office, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Don't you dare bring me down you jerk, I don't need your help to pass a project this easy."

"Say what you will, but no one else seems to believe that, dunce." With a smirk, Sasuke turned his back on Naruto and started walking away. Naruto for his part looked like he was about to pounce on him.

Before a fight could break out, Sakura cut in, "Stop it you two. We need to start on the papers as soon as possible and decide what to do for the projects."

"Aw, we have months until it's due, what's the rush?" asked Naruto, obviously not looking forward to it.

Sakura rounded on him. "You may not care about your grades, but Sasuke and I do and we're not going to let you ruin them. Each of our papers and projects not only has to be related, it has to be related to what the other two are doing, so we need to sit down and figure it out together. Right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned and smiled at her with that smooth grin of his, making her face heat up. "Right. The sooner we get this done, the better." He turned to Naruto. "If you have better things to do though, Sakura and I can get started on it alone," his mocking tone turning the last word into something suggestive.

Yes! shouted the voice in her head. This is your chance. Sasuke is totally hitting on you!

Shut up you, she thought back. He's never shown any interest before, so why would he start so suddenly? Sasuke was still staring at her, causing her to tear her gaze away from him in embarrassment. She saw the anger on Naruto's face and realized what Sasuke was up to. He's TRYING to make it look like he's hitting on me so Naruto will join us just to make sure we have no alone time!

Almost as if on cue, Naruto piped in. "You're right Sakura. Let's all meet today. In fact, why don't we use my place? It's nearby and no one else will be home, so we'll be free to work as long as we need to."

As they walked out to the student parking lot to pick up her and Sasuke's cars, Naruto didn't have one since living so close he didn't need one, Sakura thought about what had just happened. Naruto didn't even realize Sasuke played him. I almost didn't realize it. Guess he's not interested in me at all, she thought dejectedly. Her inner voice however, was not deterred. So what if he hasn't fallen for you at first sight? You're both going to have to work together for the next year and a half, including on breaks. That's plenty of time to make him yours!

When they got there, she found out that Naruto lived on the second floor of an apartment complex. Following Naruto inside, Sakura got her first look at her classmate's home. The apartment consisted of a joint kitchen/living room with only one door that probably led into the bedroom. Suddenly, there was a crunch underneath her foot. Looking down, Sakura saw an empty ramen noodle cup. In fact, the entire floor was covered in them and the sink was full of dishes. It doesn't look like he's ever cleaned this place. And who eats this much ramen?

Noticing their glances, Naruto looked around sheepishly, as if just realizing the state his place was in. "Sorry about the mess. I don't have that many people over that often so I guess I've gotten used to it."

Sakura put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "What about your guardian? Why doesn't he make you clean this pig sty up?" she demanded.

Naruto looked surprised, almost as if he had forgot about the man just like the mess. "Oh, him? Naw, he doesn't even live here anymore. Hasn't really since I was in elementary school. He's always out traveling researching his next "novel" and stops by once every few months to make sure I haven't been thrown in jail or burned down the building."

"Can't say I'm surprised," Sasuke said, causing Naruto and Sakura to jump in surprise. He hadn't said anything since they left the school so they had almost forgot he was there.

For someone so smart and handsome, Sasuke sure knows how to blend in. Must be because Naruto is so loud and outrageous he drags all focus to himself, Sakura thought. The other Sakura mentioned something about her also drawing all of the attention when she was with Naruto, but she tried her best to ignore the voice.

"Frankly," Sasuke continued, "I'm just as surprised you haven't burned this place down either. Not that I can say I expected it to look any differently."

"Guys, we need to focus on the-," Sakura began before Naruto angrily cut her off.

"What's your problem jerk? What did I ever do to piss you off so much?"

The glare Naruto turned on Sasuke was heated enough to make most people cringe, but Sasuke just returned it, his face showing annoyance for the first time.

"My problem is you, dumbass. You think pulling all those pranks make you smart and clever, but they don't. You're just a cocky idiot who needs others to do his work for him. If you think I don't have better things to do than keep you from failing, think again."

"I may not be the best student, but at least I'm not as conceited as you. Hell, even the teachers think their top student is so self-centered he needs a nanny," Naruto retorted.

"ENOUGH!" Sakura yelled, causing both boys to turn and look at her in shock. "You two need to stop bickering like an old married couple and work together or we'll all fail. And I will NOT let that happen, even if I have to tie you both to a chair, got that?"

You go girl! chimed in inner-Sakura. Show them who's boss.

Sasuke nodded, his face calm again, as if the annoyance had never been there. Naruto for his part was just gaping at his crush. She had gotten mad at him before, but never in front of others, and definitely not Sasuke, whom she was always trying to impress.

Smiling innocently Sakura continued, "Good. Now then, does anyone have any ideas for the papers or projects?"

Three hours later, Sakura's anger was returning. Their brainstorming had gotten them nowhere and Naruto had taken to pacing around the room while complaining loudly. "Argh, this isn't working! My brain's throbbing. Can't we call it a day and work on it some other time?"

Sakura was opening her mouth to answer when Sasuke spoke up. "As much as I hate to admit it, the dunce has a point Sakura. This isn't getting us anywhere. Why don't we each come up with a list of ideas tonight and figure it out tomorrow?" Sasuke suggested. "Does that work for both of you?"

Ignoring the insult for once, Naruto agreed. "Yeah there's no point in dragging this on. I'm sure a good night's sleep will get my genius brain running at full capacity again."

Sighing, Sakura stood up from where she was sitting on the couch. She hadn't realized it at first through the mess, but Naruto's apartment was very Spartan. The living room only had the one couch and a coffee table. There wasn't even a television, though she guessed that if he had one there would have been no way the scatterbrain would get any work done.

As she and Sasuke walked out the door, she could hear the inner-Sakura again, urging her to make a move. You're finally alone with him. Now's your chance! Say something to him!

Shyly, she asked, "Sasuke, my car's down the street, would you walk me to it to be safe? There're barely any lights and I don't exactly trust the neighborhood."

"Sure," Sasuke said sighing. "It's the least I can do since you were working so hard tonight."

The voice in her head was doing a backflip at his words.

Sakura was so happy and relieved to hear him agree that all the tension from the day left her, causing her to speak a little more freely as they walked than she normally would.

"Thanks Sasuke. You're such a gentleman, unlike Naruto. He's always up to something, like how he painted the side of the school. Doesn't he have anything better to do than drive others crazy? It's because he was badly brought up. You know, because he never had any parents?" At her words, Sasuke looked at her for the first time since they started walking.

"He doesn't have to answer to anyone ever, and it's made him completely selfish," continued Sakura. "If I did the kinds of things he gets away with my parents would ground me for life! Don't you envy him being alone, not having parents nag at you all the time? Kids without families always grow up selfish."

"That and lonely." Sasuke had stopped walking and at his words, Sakura turned around.

"Sasuke?" she asked quietly.

"Being scolded by your parents doesn't even compare!" Sakura had never seen the expression Sasuke was turning on her. It was pure disgust, even worse than anything he had ever turned on Naruto. "You make me sick." With that, he walked away, leaving her rooted to the spot in shock as he faded into the darkness.