Part 1
Innocence
Chapter 2
Just Another Day
"I object!" Sakura stands up leaning over her seat. Green eyes flash with rage as she attempts to take control of the situation.
"Ms. Haruno, we've already agreed that since we had no volunteers for class representatives, we'll draw lots. You happened to be unlucky and got your name drawn, so please, respect the outcome."
"But Kakashi Sensei!"
"No buts. And now for the boys." Kakashi Sensei dips his hand into the box with boy's names when a certain blonde stood up from his seat.
"Kakashi Sensei, I'd like to volunteer as tribute." Naruto's voice is calm and steady, and scares Sakura more than usual.
"Too late, Mr. Uzumaki. You should have said something earlier."
"But –"
"Sit down, Mr. Uzumaki." The rest of the students giggle as Naruto sits back down. "Now then, the boy's class representative who will work alongside Ms. Haruno is – " Kakashi Sensei fiddles around the box before pulling out a name. "Mr. Uchiha Sasuke."
Nearly all the girls in the class start protesting. Tears and screams bounce around the room. Some try to convince Kakashi Sensei that Sasuke shouldn't be subjected to such laborious duties while others try to replace Sakura as the girl's class rep.
Sakura couldn't believe her luck. First, she got placed in the same class as Sasuke; but that luck got canceled out by being in the same class as Naruto. Then her seat got placed right next to Sasuke; but that luck got canceled out by also being seated next to Naruto. Now she and Sasuke are class reps together! And this time, no Naruto! Is this God's way of blessing her to pursue Sasuke!
"Enough!" Kakashi Sensei regains attention. "Both Ms. Haruno Sakura and Mr. Uchiha Sasuke are now your class reps. Please wish them both luck. Remember reps that you have your first meeting today with Kurenai Sensei in classroom 1-8 after school. Also, remember that club activities start today, so if you signed up for one, please report to your meeting place after school. Those are all the announcements we have time for since we were fifteen minutes late again today. Tip: expect that to be a regular thing." Kakashi Sensei gathers his stuff and heads towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Asuma Sensei's waiting to come in."
Another day of classes finally ends. Sasuke and Sakura walk down the hallway to the class rep meeting while Naruto tags along. Having been warned earlier, Sasuke's fan girls huddle together ten feet away from the trio drooling over the Uchiha. Pining after his even toned muscles and swooning over his dark, cool eyes. The air of mystery that surrounds him at all times causes their chest to heave in yearning. The intensity for the attraction increases with decreased distance as Sakura is finding out.
Sakura glances up at Sasuke and her face blushes. They walk side-by-side for what seems like hours. Neither speaking to the other. Sakura's brain thinks for something smart to say, but can't seem to find the proper words. Stress builds from the awkwardness making it hard to think and making her more nervous. She doesn't want Sasuke to think poorly of her. Especially after yesterday.
"Thank God! School's over!" Naruto nearly yells as he stretches his arms cracking his elbows.
For a moment, Sakura's relived the silence has ended. Then she realized Naruto's clam jamming her and comes to her senses.
"Naruto, why are you following us?" Sakura forces a grin as the words press against her teeth.
"What are you talking about? This is the way to the soccer field."
"See ya, dope." Sasuke waves bye to Naruto.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Naruto whines.
"Class rep meeting with Sakura. Tell Ibiki Sensei I'll be late."
"Bye Naruto!" Sakura gloats.
"Um, bye." Naruto pouts as he waves to Sakura and Sasuke secretly wishing he could be class rep and spend more time with Sakura than that stupid Sasuke! Naruto slouches off taking only a couple steps when he hears a faint voice from behind him.
"Um, Na-na-naruto?" Naruto turns around and sees Hinata holding a sports bag and twiddling her index fingers.
"Hey Hinata!" A large smile spreads across Naruto's face. No one notices it, but the smile's wider than usual. "What cha up to?"
"I-I'm just hea-heading to practice." Hinata's eyes twitch side to side avoiding eye contact for fear it will make her faint.
"Me too! Care to join me?"
Naruto and Hinata walk together the rest of the way. Footsteps and friendly conversations echo, but Naruto and Hinata talk and laugh down the hallway as if they are the only two people there.
Sasuke and Sakura leave the class rep meeting with armfuls of paperwork each. Sakura questions God's plans as she groans over the amount of work she has tonight on top of all her homework.
"Why do we have so much work?! Shit! I have practice too!" Sakura growls at the ceiling.
"Are you free after practice?"
"E-excuse me?"
"To work on these class rep duties. We should grab dinner somewhere while working on it."
"Ah, um, sure Sasuke! After practice works for me! We'll meet outside the classroom?"
"Ah."
Sakura smiles wide and lets out a small giggle. They walk together in silence. Neither speaking to the other.
When Sasuke and Sakura arrive at the field, the boys and girls have already separated and started working on separate drills. Ibiki Sensei sees Sasuke and Sakura arriving and blows the whistle.
"All right you no good for nothings! We have a couple of late comers, so stop what you're doing and gather around!"
The girls and boys run over to see what's going on. They've only recently finished their warm-ups but already several students are flushed, sweating like waterfalls, and panting like dogs. Everyone seems grateful for the short break.
Anko Sensei, the coach for the girl's team, walks in front of the crowd of students. "We have a couple of late comers. You can blame them for your two extra laps after practice, but for now, please give them your undivided attention as they introduce themselves." Anko Sensei turns around towards Sakura and Sasuke. "Ladies first."
Sakura steps forward to begin her introduction. "Hi! I'm Haruno Sakura. I'm in class 1-7, and I prefer to play midfielder. Oh! I'm also the class rep for 1-7 with Sasuke, which is why we were late! I'm so sorry for our tardiness! Please take good care of me!"
"Next!" Anko Sensei yells.
Sasuke steps forward. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I'm in class 1-7, and I play striker. Please take good care of me."
The girls drool over Sasuke. It's all they have energy to do.
"All right everyone! That's enough!" yells Ibiki. "Resume what you were doing! Mr. Uchiha and Ms. Haruno. Quickly stretch than run five laps. After that, since the two of you came together, you can pair up for ten passes each. After that, you can join the boys and girls. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Sasuke and Sakura both yell.
"Very well. Then hurry up! You need to catch up!"
Sasuke and Sakura quickly finish their stretches and start their laps. This can be Sakura's chance to impress Sasuke! To show off her prowess! They begin at a nice even pace, but Sasuke quickly picks up and passes Sakura. The space between Sakura and Sasuke grows wider and wider. This isn't how it's supposed to happen! Sakura runs at a faster pace slowly picking up speed to be level with Sasuke, but Sasuke maintains his speed not caring if Sakura's next to him or not.
Sakura fell to her knees and breaths heavily in and out after finishing the laps. Sweat drips slowly down her face rolling over her eyelids and mouth. She doesn't move her hands to rub the sweat away.
Sasuke interrupts Sakura's short break. "How are you so out of breath? That was supposed to be a warm up."
"I'm not out of breath." Sakura lies. "Hurry up! Let's finish our passes!" Sakura jogs to the ball sack at the opposite end of the field to grab a ball. That warm up might not have impressed Sasuke, but kicking balls is Sakura's forte! There's no way she cannot impress Sasuke with this! Sakura jogs back to Sasuke with a ball in hand. "Ready?" Sakura asks with a flirtatious smile resting on her tired, wet face.
"Let's just get this over with."
Sakura lets the ball fall to the ground bouncing a couple of times before rolling slightly towards her. Sasuke gets ready for the pass. Doesn't prepare for more Why should he?
Sakura kicks the ball hard giving it some lift and a lot of speed. Sasuke stops it with his foot, and a surge of pain spikes from his foot through his leg. Sasuke winces, but doesn't yell out from the pain. It'd be horrible if people think he got injured from something so small.
Sakura has always been known for her strong kick and given the nickname, "Earth Shattering Kicker." It's been rumored that her kicks and punches can shatter the earth beneath her, but Sasuke has never thought it could be true until this moment.
Sakura notices a delay and yells out. "Is something the matter, Sasuke?"
"Nope!" Sasuke yells back.
Sasuke steps on his injured foot. A spike of pain pierces through the foot sprinting up the bone. Sasuke doesn't dare react on it. He focuses his energy on the next kick giving it enough power to reach Sakura at the correct angle. Sasuke kicks the ball with his uninjured foot. Sakura stops it with her foot. Still hoping to impress Sasuke, she kicks it back with equal strength as her last kick.
On instinct, Sasuke stops Sakura's kick again with his injured foot. Another streak of pain springs up his leg. This continues until ten rounds of passes with each pass Sasuke placing more and more energy into the perfect pass in hopes that Sakura or anyone doesn't suspect his injury. There is no way Sasuke's going to flinch on a pass from a girl! He will not give up.
The two finish their passes much to Sakura's dismay and much to Sasuke's relief. The ball ended on Sakura's side leaving Sasuke without a ball to practice his shooting. Sakura sees Sasuke limping towards the ball bag closest to the girl's side of the court.
"Hey Sasuke!" yelled Sakura. "You can have this ball." Sakura kicks the ball towards Sasuke, and on instinct, Sasuke stops it with his injured foot.
If only Sasuke could yell, this is what he would say. "Biiiitch! It hurts like a Mother Fucking Bitch!"
Instead, Sasuke yells this, "Thanks, Sakura."
Too injured to want to bend down and pick up the ball, Sasuke lightly dribbles the ball to the boy's side, mentally cussing at the pain, while Sakura skips to the girl's side in angelic bliss.
The girls team have been split into two groups each trying to kick the ball past the goalie. Sakura gets in the back of the line behind Tenten.
"Sakura! O my god! I haven't seen you all summer! How have you been?" Tenten grabs her jersey to use to wipe the sweat off her forehead. Her whole stomach and part of her sports bra are exposed.
"Careful, Tenten. Neji might pop a vessel."
"Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen. But, from what I saw, you and Sasuke might! How's that going?"
"Absolutely horribly!" Ino says as she runs up Tenten and Sakura. Ino gets behind Sakura before pausing to catch her breath. "Every time I come by her class, she does nothing! She just sits there, in her chair, and reads her god damn textbook! Who the fuck does that?! But you know, easier for me to work my charm!" Ino winks at Sakura and Tenten. "But that bitch!" Ino points to Hinata, who just failed trying to shoot past the goalie, who's also the captain. "Yesterday, we had lunch in Sakura's class, right. Right when lunch was about to end, Sasuke walked in so I went up to flirt. I turn around, next thing I know, Hinata teleported! I got so worried, but I also didn't want to skip class, right? I figured she just left without me. I texted her at night, asking what happened to her. Apparently, she fainted, and fucking Naruto – "
"We have code names for a reason!" Sakura scolds while checking to see if anyone is listening in.
"The fucking fox," Ino corrects herself. "not only carried her to the infirmary, but since the nurse wasn't there –"
"Oh, the nurse is never there." Tenten interrupts. "It's really annoying. There's a rumor going around school that the nurse never shows up because she's either off getting drunk or still hungover."
"Whatever." Ino breaks Tenten off her rant. "Since the nurse wasn't there, the fox stayed behind, skipping class until Hinata recovered! She is savage!"
"Stop acting American. Your Japanese is showing." Sakura mocks.
"Still." Tenten sees Hinata running up to them and taps Ino and Sakura signaling them to be quiet. Hinata gets to the back of the line panting hard. She looks up to her friends as she wipes the sweat off her forehead. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten say nothing to Hinata. Only smiling. Hinata stares back at them trying to figure out what they're smiling about when she remembers Ino and Sakura teasing her during lunch. Hinata covers her face with her hands in shame.
"Please stop! I'm more likely to faint under these conditions!" The girls giggle before the captain scolds Tenten to pay attention. It's her turn.
Tenten takes the ball and dribbles it before kicking the ball hard into the goalie's glove. "Damn it!" Tenten runs to the back of the other line while the goalie throws the ball to Sakura.
"Captain's so cool. Barely anyone's gotten a ball past her." Whispers Ino to Sakura.
"You missed too, Ino?" Sakura whispers back.
"Yeah, but I usually play defense anyway. So, it's not like it matters."
A girl from the other line kicks the ball and goalie catches it. She throws the ball back to the other line before repositioning herself in front of Sakura signaling to Sakura it's her turn.
Sakura dribbles the ball closer to the net. She kicks it hard, soaring it into the air towards the upward most corner of the goal. The goalie runs and jumps high. The ball's about to slide in before the tip of the goalie's glove knocks the ball off course and back onto the field. Sakura misses her shot.
"Damn it!" Sakura grumbles. She clenches her fists tight and runs to the other line to try again.
Tenten greets her with a high five. "Nice try, Sakura."
"Yeah, yeah. It just feels like I could have gotten it in."
"You almost. It bounced back onto the field. If it were a real game, someone could have shot it back easily."
"Yeah. I just hope this doesn't get in the way of my scholarship."
"Wait, you're the first year with the scholarship?" One of the girls in front of Tenten turns around. She attracts other girls in front of her.
"Yeah, Senpai. What about it?"
The senpai looks up and down Sakura sizing her up. "You don't look special. Except for your hair. What, did you dye it yourself?"
"I'm not special, and no. I didn't do it myself. I have a personal stylist."
"With what money? Or is that why your hair is so bad. Because your stylist is so cheap."
"Say that again. I dare you." Sakura raises her fist moving closer to the girl. Tenten gets in front of Sakura to block her from getting any closer.
"Both of you! Stop it! You're team mates!"
"Like hell I'm letting some first year get more play time than me! Especially someone who doesn't even take the team seriously enough to come on time to practice!" The senpai walks up to Sakura, who's still blocked by Tenten. She scoops Sakura's hair in between her fingers and lightly rubs it with her thumb. "So soft. And long. You may have poor color choices, but you care about your looks, don't you? That why your hair's not tied up, right? I bet you're even on a diet right now."
Sakura blushes. Speechless over the fact that her senpai guessed right about her diet. Sakura fumbles her next few words.
The senpai lets out a chuckle. "That's what I thought." She flicks the strands of Sakura's hair at her face.
"What's going on here?" The captain appears next to Sakura and her Senpai.
The senpai speaks up first. "Captain! I was just making sure this first year knows not to slack off."
"I will not condone hazing during my practices. So what if she cares about her looks? She's a high school girl! I'd be concerned if she didn't. And don't go telling kohais to stay focused during practice when you keep making excuses to use the bathroom every five minutes! You can argue with me after you shoot a ball past my net."
The senpai bends her head down looking at the ground. "Sorry, Captain."
The captain looks around at the rest of her team. "Don't just stand there! We've got drills to do! Our first game's in less than a month!"
The sun setting signals both the end of the day and the end of a long, tiring first practice. Everyone leaves the field exhausted and nearly limp. Half the players are covered in ice. Before Sakura leaves for the showers, she searches for her captain wanting to thank her for helping her out earlier during practice. Sakura finds her bent down by the water cooler refilling her bottle.
Timid, Sakura approaches. "Um, excuse me? Captain?"
The captain looks up from the water cooler. "Sakura, right? Can I call you Sakura?"
"Of, of course! Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for earlier."
"Oh, that? That's part of the job. Setting as a role model for the other girls." The captain gets up as she tightens the cap back onto her bottle. "You were pretty good today. That kick of yours is hella strong. If the ball didn't only touch the tips of my fingers, my hand probably would have broke."
"It's nothing special. I still didn't score."
"Yeah, but I didn't catch the ball either! You're pretty good. No wonder how you got a scholarship to this place."
Sakura lets out a light chuckle, slightly embarrassed over the compliment.
"Sakura!" A deep, familiar voice yells in the distance. Sakura turns around and sees Sasuke looking like he's ready to leave. "Remember we're supposed to – "
"Yeah, I know, Sasuke!" Sakura yells back. "We'll work on the paperwork tonight. I'll wait outside the classroom."
"Ah." Sasuke turns and walks away.
"Damn, that Uchiha Sasuke is fine!" the captain says as she obviously ogles over Sasuke. "You two are in the same class together?"
"Yeah. We're class reps."
"Do you think you can put in a good word for me? I've never been into high school boys, but I'll make an exception for him."
"Put – put in a good word for you?"
"You know, since you're both class reps. It seems like you're spending a lot of time together, so you can put in a word for me."
"Ah, ah, um"
"Hey Forehead!" Sakura turns in the direction her name was called and sees Ino, Hinata, and Tenten clustered together. "Hurry up! We're waiting for you!" Ino calls out.
"I'm coming!" Sakura yells back. The captain puts her hand on Sakura's shoulders and bends down to whisper.
"Tomorrow after practice. I want to know what he thinks of me. Kay?" The captain jogs off. "Good job at practice, again, Sakura!" The captain yells back in the sweetest tone. Sakura waves her captain off and walks to her friends.
The boy's locker room steams with hot shower water and smelly pubescent boy odor. Naruto and Sasuke exit the showers to their lockers with towels around their waist and their hair dripping wet.
"So, Sasuke. Ichiraku tonight?" Naruto asks with his familiar grin spread across his face.
"Can't."
"Why?"
"You're annoying."
"That's not a reason!"
"Ugh!" Sasuke massages his temples to relax the headache Naruto's giving him. "Sakura and I have plans."
"Like a date!" Naruto asks panicked.
"Of course not! We have class rep stuff!"
"Oh." Naruto's grin turns mischievous. Almost fully dressed, Naruto slips on his belt and fidgets with his tie. "I'm going."
"This is why I didn't want to tell you." With only his socks and shoes to put on, Sasuke starts packing his belongings into his bag.
"I'm going."
"No you're not."
"I'm going." Sasuke sits down to put on his socks and shoes. Naruto notices a large purple mark around Sasuke's ankle as he puts his sock on. "Hey Sasuke, what happened to your ankle?"
Sasuke carefully but quickly slips his sock and shoe over his injured foot. "If I tell you, will you drop trying to third wheel?"
"Nope!"
"Figures."
The two boys finish putting on their clothes and continue bickering until they leave the locker room. In another corner, two other boys are also finishing up changing while they half listened to Naruto and Sasuke's conversation.
"So Lee, you haven't asked out Sakura yet?"
"Now's not the right time. How about you and Tenten?"
Neji looks away from Lee. "Shut up!"
Shino and Kiba wait outside the academy walls for Hinata. The three plan to eat dinner at one of the nearby fast food restaurants and get an early start on studying. Shino broods with his back against the wall while Kiba flips through his phone showing off pictures of his dog, Akamaru.
"And this is Akamaru on the roof. I cleaned the gutters earlier that day, so I guess she saw me climb up there and figured out how to do it herself. When I got home, and she was barking on the roof! Isn't she so smart!"
"You find your dog on the roof, and your first instinct is take a frickin' picture?"
"Sorry it took me so long." Hinata runs up to Shino and Kiba. "Are you sure you want to study tonight? It's only the second day of school."
"I agree, but Shino really wants to."
"It'll be better if we start early so won't have to cram later in the year."
"So, where should we go?" Hinata asks shyly.
Kiba and Shino both look at each other. "Anywhere's fine." Says Kiba.
"I'm not very picky." The three looks at each other with uncertainty. "Fine. If no one's going to decide, then how about McDonalds!" Kiba finally decides.
"Gross! McDonalds is disgusting!" yells Shino.
"If you order the right food, it's not that bad." Argues Kiba. "Where do you wanna go then, Shino?"
"Hmm? How about KFC?"
"I refuse." Smugs Kiba.
"Wait, why?!"
"KFC specifically breeds their chickens so they're naturally born boneless. Additionally, they raise them in hostile environments fattening them until the chickens can no longer walk – the ones with bones at least."
"Wait, seriously?! That's disgusting!"
"Uumm… I'm pretty sure that's a lie Kiba read on the internet." Whispers Hinata shyly. Neither Kiba nor Shino hear Hinata and continue arguing.
"But as long as they taste good, then who cares! Let's just go to KFC!"
"I care. McDonalds."
"KFC!"
"McDonalds!"
"KFC!"
"McDonalds!"
"Hinata! You choose!" Shino and Kiba both yell.
"It, it really doesn't matter to me."
"Shino, don't you hate chickens anyway, since they eat your beloved bugs!"
"While I do favor insects, arachnids, and smaller crustaceans over other animals, I love all animals."
"I hear you. I feel the same way about dogs."
"Indeed."
"But we should still go to KFC!"
"No."
"Umm… guys…" Hinata tries to interrupt Shino and Kiba, but without success. They continue arguing until all three hear a loud voice.
"Are you two suuuuure you want to go to Wendy's instead of Ichiraku?" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura round the corner and see Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. Hinata's face flushes bright red as Naruto passes by. Naruto and Sakura give a friendly wave to their three friends and return to their conversation. "I mean, it's not even traditional Japanese food. And we aaaare Japanese."
"Shut up, Naruto!" shouts Sakura. "Sasuke and I need to get work done and Wendy's has the best work environment!" Sakura turns around, silently mouths to Hinata, "O my god I'm eating dinner with Sasuke!" Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke walk off into the distance with Hinata, Shino, and Kiba watching them.
"You know," Hinata breaks the silence with her slightly louder breathy voice. "I suddenly feel like Wendy's." Kiba and Shino refocus their attention towards Hinata. "It's got a good work environment and fresh burgers." Kiba gives Hinata a big smile.
"Sounds good to me!" says Kiba.
"Same." Agrees Shino. The three walks off in the same direction as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.
"Plus, that person who handles their twitter account is hilarious!" mentions Kiba off handedly. "I mean, he makes a white, red headed, freckle faced, nine-year-old girl sound gangster! Like, if Ginny Weasley were like that, Harry would have been making out with her in book two instead of book six, you know what I mean?"
"Kiba, that news is old. Like your mom."
"Say that again, and I'll sic my dog on you!"
Wendy's is overwhelmingly crowded with people. A long line goes all the way back to the door with Naruto at the front. He leans over the counter squinting at the menu scanning it a tenth time. Sasuke, Sakura, and their cashier stand waiting for Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura test their patience while the cashier doesn't exactly know how to handle the situation.
"So, lady, you sure you don't have any ramen?"
"Naruto! This isn't that kind of a restaurant!" Sakura scolds.
"Can – can I make a suggestion?"
The cashier practically begs, but the dense Naruto still doesn't realize the havoc he's causing. "No, no. It's fine. I've got this. Hmmm."
Naruto's still at the front of the line when Kiba, Shino, and Hinata walk into Wendy's.
"Woah! There's a line!" Kiba nearly shouts.
"And that idiot's at the front of it." Shino lifts his chin to point at Naruto. Hinata turns red when she sees Naruto. She fidgets in place while twiddling with her two index fingers.
"Gah! Why did I come here?!" Hinata shout whispers to the ground. Kiba and Shino overhear it.
"You wanted to stalk Naruto. What part of that is out of character for you?" Kiba bluntly states.
"I-I don't stalk him!" Hinata quickly covers her mouth after shouting at Kiba. The back half of the line turns and stares at Hinata. She turns brighter red.
"Calm down, Hinata. Everything's fine." Shino rubs Hinata's back attempting to comfort her.
"Yeah. Why don't you go say hi and help him out."
"I-I can't do that!"
At the front of the line, the three students hear a familiar voice yell. "Forget this! I'm going to find a table." Sasuke leaves Naruto with Sakura.
"I'll go with you!" Sakura follows after Sasuke leaving Naruto alone with the uncomfortable cashier.
"See. He's alone now. Why don't you go say hi." Kiba gently shoves Hinata, and she stumbles forward into Naruto's arms.
"Woah. You okay, Hinata?" Hinata regains her balance not realizing who has caught her. She looks up and sees Naruto's hands cupped around her arms.
"Naruto!" Hinata shrieks. Her face getting redder. "Ah… uumm… I'm sorry. Th-thank you. Umm…hi, Naruto!"
"Hey, Hinata! Didn't expect to see you here." Naruto smiles his usual big toothy grin at Hinata, which causes her heart to flutter.
"Di-did you ma-manage to figure out what you wanted?"
"No, but I decided to order the cheapest thing on the menu."
Kiba and Shino watch Hinata and Naruto talk while smiling approvingly. "Well aren't they cute." Shino comments.
"I know! If this were an anime, I'd totally ship them."
"Seriously. Hashtag team Naruhina."
"I prefer Hinanaru."
"Shino, that's just wrong." The line slowly inches forward now that Naruto's no longer clogging it. Hinata and Naruto continue talking while Kiba and Shino watch.
"You know Kiba, I'm a little surprised. I thought you liked Hinata. Especially after insisting that we should invite her."
"Because she's great at Japanese and Kakashi sucks! No, no, no. Not Hinata. Don't get me wrong. She's got great tits! Probably the best of all the first years. But I need someone more … talkative? No."
"I can be talkative."
"No, not talkative. I think, I'd rather be with someone, whom I'm really good friends with."
"So un-masculine of you."
"Shut up!"
Three refills, two large fries, and a milkshake later, Sasuke and Sakura finally finish their class rep paper work. A miracle, considering how often Naruto gave them suggestions on how to do their work. The three exit Wendy's and begin heading back to their separate homes. Naruto is the first to branch off leaving Sakura alone with Sasuke at last. This could be her chance to win over Sasuke's heart! Then, she remembers her captain. Regardless, only silence speaks between these two.
The night is dark and cold. A breeze ruffles through the trees causing cherry blossoms to cascade over Sakura and Sasuke mixing in with their hair. The breeze makes Sakura shiver. Her arms tighten around her body and her neck tucks into her chest attempting to barricade herself from the cold.
Sasuke couldn't care less. His foot fell like it's about to fall off from walking on it all day. Sasuke has yet to even look at his injury since it happened let alone tell anyone about it. He certainly doesn't plan on telling Sakura, the girl who caused the injury in the first place. All he needs to do is part ways with Sakura before she notices anything.
Walking side-by-side, Sasuke anticipates the crossroad that will part ways with his warden. He manages not to wince with every step, but it only worsens the pain. Thank God Sakura is quiet for once. It makes everything easier. How much longer is this going to take?!
Perhaps since Sakura's looking at the ground, Sasuke can relieve some of the tension in his foot as he walks. Not exactly a limp, more of a stagger. Sasuke adjusts his step allowing his injured foot to walk on a tip-toe hoping to relieve some of the pressure. It helps. The difference in appearance is barely noticeable. Any normal person shouldn't notice the limp just by looking at him. Still, Sasuke doesn't want to take the risk. He mentally prepares for the pain before resuming character.
"Um, Sasu-" Sakura stops midway and notices something different.
They keep walking. Even if Sakura noticed the change before Sasuke resumed his character, there's no way Sakura should notice a difference now.
Still, Sakura's suspicious. She scans Sasuke up and down till she finally notices something wrong with Sasuke's left foot. It's subtle, but Sasuke's not stepping on it fully. Despite Sasuke's best efforts, he couldn't conceal it. Especially from Sakura, a girl who's been watching him since kindergarten.
"Sasuke, what happened to your foot?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're walking funny."
"What?"
"Let me see it."
"Huh?"
"Your foot. Let me see it." Sakura bends down and tugs on Sasuke's shoe. Sasuke lets out a loud screech. "See! There's something wrong!"
"You're pulling on my foot! That's what's wrong!" The shoe becomes loose from the struggle, and Sakura manages to pull it off along with the sock exposing a very swollen, purple ankle.
"I knew it!" Sakura scolds Sasuke. "Why did you try to hide something that looks so painful!?" Damn this girl's annoying.
"It's looks worse than it is." First Sakura causes the injury, and now she discovers it! "Aaaah!" Sakura pokes Sasuke's ankle without warning. "Will you quit it?!"
"When did this happen?"
"None of your business." Sasuke's too stubborn. How can he let an injury like this go on for so long?!
"Let me help you."
"Give me back my shoe and sock!"
"Only if you let me walk you home." God, why does this girl have to get involved?!
Sakura holds the shoe and sock away from Sasuke. Her eyes focus on him. Determined to get what she wants. Her tiny frame and exhausted appearance after the long day contrasts with the ferocity in her emerald green eyes.
Sasuke reaches out to grab his belongings, but Sakura pulls back too fast. He tries it again, this time stepping on his injured foot the wrong way. He repels with a wince. Sakura has a cocky grin on her face as she dangles Sasuke's shoe and sock. How can one girl be so annoying!
"Fine. I will let you help me walk home." Sasuke reaches out to grab his belongings, but Sakura pulls back again.
"And, I will treat you. I'm really good at first aid."
"Sakura, I can do that myself. I'm an athlete. Sprained ankles aren't exactly uncommon." Sasuke reaches out, but Sakura pulls the belongings back, again. She looks sternly at Sasuke cocking an eyebrow. "Fine! You can treat me. Now, can I please have my stuff back?" Sakura gives Sasuke back his shoe and sock. He carefully slips them on trying not to hit a nerve.
"Okay. So, how are you going to help me?"
"Lean on me." Sakura offers Sasuke her shoulder.
"I'm pretty heavy."
"Don't worry! I'm surprisingly strong."
At that, Sasuke has no doubt. Sasuke limps to Sakura and awkwardly rests his arm across her shoulder. Sakura tightens it around her neck for a better grip, then grabs Sasuke's waist. "Put your weight on me. I'll be fine." Sasuke does, and together, Sasuke and Sakura walk to Sasuke's apartment.
It only takes a few feet of walking before Sakura realizes the situation she's in. Sasuke's face is centimeters from hers! Their hair's practically interwoven with each other's; Sasuke's arm is around her neck; and he's so close she can smell his cologne! It takes sheer willpower not to inhale it all in. She is, without a doubt, the luckiest girl in the world.
Then, Sakura remembers her captain, and the job she was given to regarding Sasuke. Now's as good a chance as any. There's no reason not to ask him. Right?
"Um, Sasuke?"
"What?" Sasuke glares at her. Perhaps Sakura won't pressure him any more today.
"Ne-never mind."
Sasuke limps under Sakura's weight as she assists him the rest of the way to his apartment. The moonlight shines brightly up above, and the spring breeze flows through the trees causing the cherry blossoms to fall. They walk alone in silence.
Sasuke untangles from Sakura to pull the key out of his pants pocket. He slides it in the keyhole and turns the knob.
"I'm home!" yells Sasuke. The door closes behind them.
"Welcome home!" Reply several voices. Huddled around a table sit a group of early-twenty-something-year-olds playing cards and drinking beer. A man with long black ponytail and eyes similar to Sasuke's gets up and approaches Sasuke and Sakura.
"Sasuke! You're home! And you brought a girl?"
"Don't worry about it, Itachi. She's not staying long."
"Sasuke, don't be rude. I'm Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke's older brother."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Haruno Sakura. I'm classmates with Sasuke."
"Holy fucking God! Sasuke's girlfriend's hot!" yells a man with gray, slicked back hair.
"Guess he's not gay after all." Says a guy with blue skin.
"Sasuke's gay!" Sakura screams. Everyone bursts out laughing except for a stunned Sakura and an extremely embarrassed Sasuke.
"For the last time, I'm not gay! Just because I spend most of my time studying, doesn't mean I don't like girls!" Everyone continues laughing. Itachi especially laughs so hard tears trickle down. "Never mind, it's useless. Let's just get this over with, Sakura." Sasuke grabs Sakura's wrists dragging her to his room limping the entire way.
"But wait! You didn't introduce us to your girlfriend!" a guy with piercings yells.
Sasuke reaches his room dragging Sakura in and slams the door behind them. "God, I hate it when they come here."
Sakura looks around Sasuke's nearly empty room. Only a small desk with a desktop computer on top and a rolling chair tucked in, a bookshelf, a small closet, and a neatly made bed. Sakura walks up to the bookshelf and lets her hand glide through the book spines. There's a couple books about soccer, but most of them are about business startups or how to run a business. Sakura gets to the desk where there's the only source of a decoration in the entire room. Two framed pictures. One, Sakura assumes is a picture of Sasuke when he was little with his family. The other is a picture of the current Sasuke standing next to a man with short black hair. Both are wearing a suit.
"Who's this man in the picture?" Sakura points to the more recent picture.
Sasuke, who is still sulking by the door, turns around. "Don't touch anything!"
"I didn't. Who's this person?"
Sasuke hobbles to Sakura and slams his hand down on the desk. "That's none of your business. Just do what you came here to do!"
"O-okay." Her voice sounds more hesitant. "How about you sit on the bed and extend your foot?"
Sasuke does this. Sakura kneels by the bed to analyze Sasuke's injured foot. "Does it hurt when I do this?" Sakura moves Sasuke's foot in a circle causing him to wince at the pain. "I'll take that as a yes." Sakura stands up and places her hands on her hips. "It's just a common sprain. Do you have bandages and ice?" There's no smile on her face.
"Ice in the freezer. Bandages on top."
"Of the freezer?"
"Ah."
"I'll be right back." Sakura shuts the door behind her.
Sakura gets to the living room when she realizes she forgot to ask Sasuke where the kitchen is. She figures if she keeps walking around, she will eventually find it. The apartment's not that big.
"Are you lost?" Sakura turns around towards the noise and find Itachi and his friends again.
"You're not leaving yet, are you?" The man with the long blonde hair asks.
"Um, I'm supposed to get ice and bandages? Sasuke sprained his foot earlier today, and I'm supposed to help him."
"Sasuke sprained his ankle?" Itachi jumps up from his chair and crosses to Sakura. "Is he going to be okay?"
"It looks a little worse than most sprains, but that's just because Sasuke didn't take care of it right away."
"Of course he didn't. That's so like him to be reckless."
"It'll be fine, Mr. Uchiha."
"Please, call me Itachi."
"Sasuke should be fine, Itachi. But, do you know where I can find bandages and ice? The elastic kind of bandages of course."
"They're right over here." Itachi walks to the freezer and grabs the first aid kit resting on top. He opens the freezer and pulls out an ice pack handing it to Sakura.
"Thank you, Itachi."
"It's no trouble, Sakura. Thank you for taking care of my brother."
"Hey Itachi! How about introducing us?"
"Sakura, these are my friends. This one with the long, blonde hair is Deidara."
"Hi there!"
"That emo looking guy with the slicked back hair right there is Hidan."
"Hey there, cutie!"
"This cheating bastard over here is Kakuzu."
"Nice to meet you."
"That guy with the blue skin is Kisame."
"Hello, Sakura."
"Um, hi." Sakura responds slightly timid.
"He recently lost a bet and had to dye his skin blue. Don't worry. He's not that scary. Anyway, the guy with the red hair and excessive piercings is Nagato, but we call him Pein."
"Hello."
"The girl with the blue hair is Konan."
"Pleasure to meet you."
"And lastly, the other red head is Sasori."
"Sup."
"We call ourselves the Akatsuki." Konan says from her side of the table.
"Why?" Sakura asks.
Itachi looks down at Sakura and responds. "It's just something we've been doing since we were kids. I can't remember why."
Konan leans into the table eager to talk to the only girl in the apartment. "So, Sakura, I really like your hair color. I was wondering what kind of dye you use."
"What kind of dye? Um. Well, I usually get my hair done at my hairstylist, and she dyes my hair."
"Ah. I see. Too bad. I'm pretty picky about my stylist."
"Same. Well, ah, thank you Itachi. I should give these to Sasuke."
"Of course. Thank you for taking care of my brother."
Sakura bows to Itachi and his friends before returning to Sasuke. A wave of relief rushes over her, thankful for getting out of the conversation regarding her hair. It took years for people to forget about that incident.
With Sakura out of the room, Sasuke's left alone with his thoughts. The silence helps empty his mind and think clearly. Its during this time of clarity that Sasuke realizes how petty he acted towards Sakura. So what if a girl kicked him so hard he got injured. So what if that same girl discovered his injury. So what if that same girl embarrassed him in front of his brother and his brother's friends? He doesn't like them anyway.
Sasuke's pettiness makes him feel guilty. Can't Sakura come back so he doesn't have to be alone with such embarrassing thoughts?!
There's a knock at the door. "It's Sakura." Sakura's muffled voice reverberates through the door.
"Come in." Sakura enters closing the door behind her. She walks to his bed and kneels on the floor.
"Do you mind if I roll up your pants a little?"
"Ah." Gently, Sakura rolls up Sasuke's pants, careful not to hurt his ankle. "I'm going to flex your foot, now. It might hurt."
"Ah." Sakura rolls the bandages over Sasuke's foot making sure it's perpendicular to the leg.
Sasuke watches his foot get bound. Aside from the itchiness of the bandage, the wrap's not that bad. It's not too tight nor too loose. Midway through the wrap, Sakura glance up at Sasuke.
"Does it feel okay?"
"Ah." Sakura continues wrapping.
Even with Sakura there, Sasuke's reminded of his pettiness and guilt. He should apologize to Sakura.
"Sakura?"
"Not now Sasuke. I'm concentrating."
"Sorry for earlier."
Sakura's eyes glance up and meets Sasuke's. "Don't worry about it." Sakura finishes wrapping Sasuke's foot and places the ice bag on top. "Remember to keep the foot elevated as often as possible."
Sakura picks herself off the floor and turns to leave until she sees the picture of younger Sasuke with his family.
"That's my uncle."
Shocked, Sakura turns back to Sasuke. "Huh?" Sakura looks back at the pictures and sees the picture of the current Sasuke standing next to a man in the suit. "Oh."
"He's in charge of the Uchiha Corporation in the US."
"Oh! Wow! That's so cool! But, I thought it all got sold to the Hyuga Corporation after … well, after … "
"After my parent's accident?"
"Yeah."
"No. My uncle kept it going until Itachi turned 18 and became in charge of the main branch in Japan. That's what was sold to the Hyuga Corporation."
"Oh." Sakura notices Sasuke's hands clutched tightly. He stares directly at the picture of his family. "Sasuke?" He shifts his focus back on Sakura. Sasuke's appearance immediately softens.
"Yeah, Sakura?" This is the most Sakura's ever learned of Sasuke. Part of her is curious to learn more about the boy she loves. Part of her knows that she shouldn't pry. That Sasuke wouldn't be willing to answer.
"It's nothing. I should get going."
"Oh, right." Sasuke moves to get up.
"It's okay, Sasuke! I can see myself out. You should get some rest."
"Alright. I'll see you in school tomorrow."
"Bye, Sasuke." Sakura leaves Sasuke's room.
What the hell was Sasuke thinking telling Sakura all that personal information! Sasuke gets up from bed and limps to his desk. He pulls out his homework intending to study. Instead, Sasuke's mind travels back to the day of the car accident, to the day his brother abandoned the company, to the yearly summers he spends with Uncle Obito.
Currently in love: Neji with Tenten; Tenten with Neji; Hinata with Naruto
A/N: Thanks to those who followed, favorite, and reviewed my last chapter! I'm still very new at this, and every bit of encouragement and constructive criticism helps! I noticed that for other stories, some authors credit their reviewers, and I think that's super cute, so I'm going to do that too. Shout out to Rose Tiger and two anonymous guests for the review! Especially to that one anonymous guest for the tip about being too detailed. I think it did help a little, but I still have a lot of work to do in order to get better!