EDITED
I found a certain review really funny. The one from SmH. Dear readers, I will never ever put a pairing as a category of my fan fic if I don't intend to follow through with them. I don't fool my readers and I already explained the pairings of this fic. SASUSAKU, NARUHINA, KIBAINO, NEJITEN. (Don't mistake the caps as anger, I'm just explaining. :D)
What I meant by side pairings is that you will get a taste of other pairings aside from the main ones. The side pairings are just side stories, like the current fact that Hinata is engaged to Sasuke by arrangement of their parents. And Naruto is being his usual self by openly declaring his crush to Sakura, but that doesn't mean that they are the ones who'll end up together. I don't ship SasuHina and NaruSaku personally, and I never write fics that contradict to my personal tastes. I can write snippets or scenarios for them, but never an entire fic. Because as I said, I can always cater to requests from readers and friends. A particular online buddy of mine wanted to read SasuHina, so I included it as a non-canon pairing here.
And that's why this fic is entitled A Number of Complications. It's because of the complications. Lolwhut.
Chapter 2
The First Complication
Breaking Mirrors
For the first time in a while, Sakura was in no mood to pay attention in class.
The first month of the school year went by too slowly that it was almost painful. Ever since that time when Naruto got chased out of the campus by a horde of girls, Sakura never had another opportunity to come close and personal with Sasuke. And surprisingly, she never really wanted to have that moment anymore. It was like she, Haruno Sakura, with all her hard-headedness, finally accepted that Sasuke was never meant to be hers.
It wasn't an issue of having given up on her love for him. On the contrary, for the past month, her lifelong crush developed into something more. It became selfless. It was clear that Sasuke liked Hinata by the way he selflessly took care of her and protected her. It was common knowledge that every girl in school, except for a handful of sane ones, loathed Hyuuga Hinata for having snagged the coveted honor of being able to spend the rest of her life with such a bachelor. And Sakura, having spent some time with the heiress, knew that Sasuke's fiancée was of pure heart and soul. The pinkette couldn't bring herself to hate her. And with the Hyuuga's kindness, Sakura even wanted to become something akin to friends with her. She just never had the opportunity with Hinata enclosed with bodyguards and her two personal hound dogs, Neji and Sasuke, all the time.
Sakura fumbled with the edges of her skirt. Kurenai-sensei was rambling something about the history of music, and it would seem that only a few were actually paying attention to her. Hinata, for instance, was taking notes feverishly. Sakura smiled. She knew that the heiress' passion lay in music and that if she had an option, she would much rather play for an orchestra and compose songs than devote herself to their family business.
"Yamanaka-san," Kurenai-sensei suddenly said over the usual quiet of the class. "Will you please start paying attention to my lesson instead of talking to Inuzuka-san?"
Sakura turned her head and saw, with much amusement, that Ino nearly sank in her seat. It was unlike her best friend to be so embarrassed about something and it was a bit unclear why. Well, she knew that the blonde had a bit of an unrequited crush on the famous Inuzuka Kiba. From what Sakura could easily conclude, Ino was trying to have a one-sided conversation once again. Kiba, on the other hand, was just busy reading off a book – a music book.
So, he was paying attention to the teacher, Sakura thought wryly.
"What's up with your best friend?" Naruto whispered from her right.
Sakura giggled and merely shrugged. She and Naruto had grown very close over the month. It wasn't just Hinata who got the glares of other girls in the campus. She had her fair share too. Her closeness with a prince left them wondering if Sakura was using her connections and influence to actually snag a seat among the royal family. And it didn't help that there was a day when Sakura got invited over to Naruto's house for an intimate birthday party. Things went from bad to worse when the Prime Minister himself, Namikaze Minato, talked to Sakura during a visit that he made to the school just to 'check on his son.'
But those close to her knew that it was nothing like that. Even though Naruto practically shouted out to everyone who could hear that he had a crush on Sakura, their relationship remained that of very close friends and nothing more. Naruto knew that Sakura's affections belonged to Sasuke. A week ago, Sakura got fed up with Naruto asking her out every opportunity he got that she blurted out the truth. From then on, he stopped pining but he still made a jab once or twice about how bad her tastes were.
Sakura also felt bad for Hinata, whose face fell every now and then whenever Naruto declared his undying love for the pinkette. The heiress was certainly in a very bad position. It was good that she was unaware of Sakura's feelings for Sasuke or else, knowing her emphatic side, she would feel worse about herself. It really was a complicated thing for this girl. Hyuuga Hinata was in a position of honor, money, fame, and power. She had everything every girl wanted, but not quite. She was stuck in a position that she didn't want in the first place but was forced onto her since birth. She had to run a company in the future, even though her dreams laid elsewhere. She was constantly scrutinized and her personality was not as forceful as one would hope for in a future leader. She loved a man who did not love her back, and now she was engaged to another man who, apparently, loved her. That is complicated.
And now, if she knew that one of her friends actually loved the man she was engaged to, she would feel terrible for wrecking that certain friend's chance at love.
Add that to her current situation of not being able to have a lot of female friends because most of them were jealous of her.
Sakura could relate even though it was just for a little bit. Luckily, her grandparents, even with all their oddities, would never force her to marry someone out of convenience. She also wanted to be a doctor and it was alright for her to inherit the family businesses in the future since she would be able to help those in need. The downsides in her life included not having parents, being hated by girls who accuse you of having a relationship with one of their idols, and pining for someone who didn't even know you existed.
"Hinata," a silky, masculine voice said from the row behind Sakura which automatically left her skin in tingles.
"Y-yes, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata replied, apparently surprised out of her undivided attention towards her favorite teacher.
"I can't join you for lunch," Sasuke said. "Neji and I were called by Itachi for something urgent."
"It's okay," Hinata gently responded.
"I can tell the driver to find you someplace to eat. I can tell Naruto to come with you."
Sakura suppressed a grin at that. Even without turning, she could tell that Hinata was blushing furiously and fumbling with her fingers - a habit she seemed to have whenever she was feeling flustered.
"That's fine, Sasuke-kun, I can manage," Hinata said.
Sakura heard Sasuke sigh. "Fine. Just… just find someone to have lunch with and stay safe. Stay in sight."
Lucky Hinata.
Sakura mentally slapped herself. That pang that she felt whenever Sasuke said something caring to Hinata wasn't quite gone yet. It was there, niggling her to be recognized. But if there was one thing about Sakura that she prided herself on, it was the ability to ignore things that she deemed distracting.
And this was both distracting and destructive.
The bell rang.
"Naruto," Neji and Sasuke said in unison, but even with their combined voices, they were drowned by the blonde's ourburst.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said in a sing-song voice. "Lunch?"
Sakura suppressed an angry blush at Naruto's callous attitude. She could see a nerve ticking in Hyuuga Neji's forehead that intimidated her. Sasuke's mouth deepened to a frown. Hinata's head was turned towards the window, apparently avoiding all the commotion around her and avoiding looking at Naruto and her altogether.
Sakura forced a smile and said, "Hinata-san, do you want to join us for lunch?"
The blue-haired girl whipped her head towards her so fast that she was afraid for a second that the other girl might get a whiplash. Hinata's face was tinged with pink and it seemed that her eyes were shining with something that Sakura could not understand.
"O-of course," Hinata replied.
"That's great, glad you could join us!" Ino piped in from behind Hinata.
"But – " Neji tried to interrupt but Naruto stopped him.
"That's great Hinata-chan," Naruto said, his grin broad. "You can finally hang out with other girls. Ino-chan and Sakura-chan are great to be with."
"You can definitely trust her with us," Ino said, winking at Sasuke and Neji.
Neji merely closed her eyes and nodded. He turned away, calling someone on the phone.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was looking at Naruto with such intensity that it made Sakura flinch.
"What's wrong?" she said, looking from Naruto to Sasuke.
Big mistake for her to open her mouth at that time. Sasuke's fierce glare shifted from Naruto to her. It seemed that he was sizing her up, trying to burn a message into her soul.
Without warning, he moved towards where she stood. His lips were suddenly next to her ear.
"Don't think I forgot who you are, Haruno Sakura," he growled in her ear. "If you ever try anything with Hinata, I will personally make sure that your life is ruined."
With that, he left, leaving Sakura in a state of shock.
Three pairs of eyes were staring at her in concern and confusion.
"What the hell did that bastard tell you, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto said, fuming.
"What was that all about?" Ino asked, putting her hand on Sakura's shaking shoulder. "Sakura!"
Sakura shook her head, trying to smile as bravely as she could. "Nothing. She just told us to take care of Hinata, that's all."
"That overprotective son-of-a – " Naruto began, but was stopped by Hinata who suddenly grabbed his arm.
It seemed that the heiress herself was surprised by the boldness of her move because she suddenly let go of Naruto's arm and was blushing furiously. However, her shyness was gone in a second when she looked at Sakura and spoke, in a voice that was surprisingly firm for someone like her, "Don't worry about Sasuke-kun, Sakura-san. He often does that."
Sakura smiled at the girl to try to assure her that she was fine. Unfortunately, nothing about Sasuke's statement of 'Don't think I forgot who you are, Haruno Sakura' made her think that he often said that to anyone.
"A~ny~waaaayyy~" Ino said in a faraway voice. "Let's head to the rooftop to eat. I made everyone an excellent feast!"
"YES!" Naruto exclaimed, punching the air. "Ino-chan always makes excellent bento," he added for Hinata's sake.
The Hyuuga reddened once more. "I-Is it enough for one more…?"
Ino laughed and waved her worries away. "It's okay! When Naruto started eating with us, I had to cook for more than ten people!"
The group laughed as they made their way to the rooftop. Sakura belatedly noticed men in black suits following them discreetly. She had an inkling that those people were there for Hinata. She was lucky that Naruto was so strong-willed that he convinced his parents to let him live a normal life. In other words, when Naruto joined her and Ino for lunch for the past months, his guards were just stationed outside the school and not as close as Hinata's were right now.
"I-I'm sorry about the guards, minna-san," Hinata said as they were climbing up the steps. "But I have told them to just stand guard on the entrance to the rooftop and not with us. It's too embarrassing."
"Stop apologizing, Hinata-chan," Naruto said warmly. "That's our life."
"Yeah," Ino agreed. "It took me a while to get my own bodyguards to back off. Father insisted, you see. But I had to put my foot down."
"Ino once had a stalker," Sakura explained as they finally reached the rooftop and began setting up.
"Terrible times," Ino said, shuddering.
"R-really?" Hinata said, apparently curious. "What happened to him?"
"He's in prison," Ino replied, flipping her hair out of her eyes. "He was hounding me because he said I looked like him and that we were soulmates. The worst thing they said that happened was when I was on vacation on Fiji and he followed me there. He rubbed suntan lotion on my back!"
Naruto grimaced and Hinata gasped. Sakura was observing the two of them and smiled at how cute it would be for them to be together. They were like polar opposites that just begged to be attracted towards each other.
"So… have you had any frightening experiences like mine, Hinata?" Ino asked, sitting down on the blanket after they finished laying down the extraordinary meal that she prepared.
Hinata seemed distracted and it was obvious to Sakura that she avoided the question when she exclaimed, "This is really great, Ino-san! Did you make all of these on your own?"
Ino, not passing up on the flattery, smiled widely and said, "Yes! I actually do a lot of cooking on my spare time. I don't wanna be left out on normal stuff women do. My father actually wanted me to learn household chores even with all the help around the house."
Naruto was already wolfing down his share, mouthing his gratitude and raving about how heavenly Ino's cooking was.
Sakura began eating a takoyaki, momentarily forgetting Sasuke's threat. Ino was laughing at Naruto's antics while Hinata was gracefully eating her share, her expression filled with genuine warmth and happiness.
"Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto suddenly said. "Don't tell me there's nothing wrong. You've been quiet the entire time."
Ino and Hinata looked at her. "Yeah," Ino agreed. "What did Uchiha Sasuke say to you?"
"I already told you," Sakura said evasively, sipping her juice carton. "Don't worry about it Hinata-san."
But Hinata was already looking at her in a serious way. She was about to open her mouth when Naruto suddenly crammed a sushi roll in her mouth, nearly choking her in the process.
"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled, punching Naruto on the arm.
"OW!" Naruto yelped. "Sakura-chan, you hit like a man!"
"What the - ?!" Sakura yelled again, repeating her former action, causing Naruto to drop his food and run away from her.
Ino started laughing while Hinata tried to stop the two of them weakly. "Let them be, Hinata," Ino said comfortably, giving the shy girl a soft smile.
"So, how is it?" Ino suddenly asked.
"How is what, Ino-san?" Hinata replied.
"Don't address me like that, makes me feel old," Ino said dismissively. "Just call me Ino, or Ino-chan."
"Alright then," Hinata said, smiling shyly.
"How is it? Being engaged to Uchiha Sasuke?"
The two girls were oblivious that Sakura could hear them. Naruto already stopped running, complaining about stomach cramps and moving about while his stomach was full. Sakura merely shrugged him off and walked back towards Hinata and Ino, a bit anxious to know how Hinata would reply to Ino's query.
"I-It's alright," Hinata responded, looking down on her food.
"Are you happy?" Ino persisted. "Because you don't seem to be."
Hinata nearly blanched. "Of course I'm happy! Sasuke-kun is kind."
"Really?" Ino said, her eyebrows raised. "I think he's arrogant and snobbish, don't you think so, Sakura?"
Sakura gave Ino a sideways glare. Her best friend knew that she was in love with Sasuke, and it was apparent that she was giving subtle hints towards her in trying to find valid reasons why Sasuke was not the guy for her.
"H-he tends to be like that," Hinata said.
"Yeah, coz he's got a huge pole stuck up his ass," Naruto added, plopping down beside Sakura ungracefully.
"Seriously, your highness, with the way you talk and act, I seriously doubt that you're royalty," Ino said, rolling her blue eyes.
"Well, I am and I'm sorry to fail your expectations, Ino-chan," Naruto said playfully. "Once I'm emperor, I'll definitely make sure that I won't forget what you just said to me."
The group exploded in fits of mirth. Sakura, not being to restrain herself any longer asked, "But he likes you, doesn't he?"
"The teme does," Naruto answered before Hinata could even say anything. "Told me a couple of times.
"He did?!" Ino gasped in surprise. "I didn't think you and Sasuke were that close!"
"Well, we are best friends," Naruto said, lounging on his back. "He just doesn't want the public to know. We've known each other since we were seven. Practically since my mom started teaching me how to read."
"Oh," Sakura and Ino said in unison.
"They have a little bromance going on, I think," Sakura said jokingly, trying to diffuse her own tension and the reality that Sasuke actually said that he liked Hinata.
"And besides, we're asking Hinata, not you," Ino said, momentarily glancing at Sakura worriedly.
Hinata was blushing, apparently uncomfortable with the entire discussion. But as it was the first time that she ever joined girls during lunch time, let alone a conversation, she obliged.
"Sasuke kun… h-he told me once," Hinata confirmed.
"Just once?!" Ino and Naruto chorused.
Hinata nodded, smiling slightly. "O-On the day we got engaged."
"Pretty slow on the uptake, that teme is," Naruto said. Sakura nearly punched Naruto on the head. She wanted to tell him how he was the one who was slow on the uptake. She could see Hinata's face from where she sat and damn, she could tell that she was disappointed with the way things were turning out.
"Have you noticed that he liked you even before?" Ino pushed on. Sometimes, Sakura wanted to kick Ino in the gut for being insensitive even to her own best friend. But given the blonde girl's penchant for juicy, inside information, Sakura could excuse her even for a little bit.
Hinata shook her head. "It was Hanabi who told me that she noticed Sasuke-kun's… anou… feelings."
"Your younger sister?" Sakura asked.
"Hai," Hinata answered.
"I think," Ino said, scratching her chin and looking at Hinata mischievously, "the reason why you didn't notice Sasuke's feelings for you was because you were eyeing someone else entirely."
Hinata sputtered, going a brilliant shade of ruby. Sakura suppressed a giggle as she watched the comical exchange in front of her. While Hinata was blushing brilliantly, Naruto took on a curious, open-mouthed expression that made him look like a comical character.
"You like someone else, Hinata-chan?!" Naruto all but shouted.
Hinata was staring at Naruto with a very scared expression. From redness to paleness, Sakura was flabbergasted by how speedy the transition of events was.
Ino was laughing uncontrollably. "Tell us who it is, Hinata-chan! I mean, I can't believe that Uchiha Sasuke, who rejects girls more often than I brush my hair, is in a one-sided love! Way to go!"
"B-but how… w-why...?" Hinata stammered, apparently questioning why Uchiha Sasuke's one-sided romance appeared to be amusing to Ino. And maybe, she was curious to know if she was that transparent that a girl who barely knew her immediately analyzed that she was in love with a man who was not her fiancée.
"I could tell from that very moment you couldn't even give Sasuke a compliment," Ino explained. "Girls who are in love don't have to think of good things about her partner. They don't have to hesitate and they don't have to stop at one adjective. You just described Sasuke as kind. Heck, I can even call my own dog kind."
Naruto laughed so hard at that. He was holding the stitch of his stomach in gales of mirth. "That's epic, Ino-chan. Comparing Sasuke to a dog is priceless."
"But I didn't compare Sasuke-kun to a dog," Hinata said defensively. "And it's not… I mean, I'm not in love…"
"Yeah, you are," Ino said, catching Hinata off-guard.
Naruto stopped laughing and looked at Hinata seriously. "But who is it, Hinata-chan? I mean, you and Sasuke are already engaged and knowing your father, you know… sorry for saying this, but he's a huge pain in the ass with all that 'sticking to tradition' stuff he's got going on."
Hinata looked down. Sakura could almost see tears gathering on the side of her eyes.
"Hey," Sakura interjected. "Hinata… it's alright."
Ino noticed the shift in mood and said, "Sorry, Hinata. I didn't mean to pry.
"It's okay," Hinata said with a hiccup.
But it seemed that Naruto was more than concerned in this matter. "Is it someone from outside our circle? You know you can always tell me, Hinata-chan. I have your back. I promised you, didn't I? I don't go back on my word."
Sakura could see, and now she knew that Ino too could now see, the brimming love in Hinata's eyes as she looked at Naruto. Ino was grinning at her conspiratorially but Sakura just shook her head subtly. She knew that they shouldn't interfere with these things. It was far more too complicated than a simple 'matching up'.
"Whoever it is, I sure hope it's not me," Naruto suddenly added. "Coz if it's me, you're totally screwed, Hinata. Hiashi hates me. I'm a bane in his 'traditional lifestyle'. Seriously, guys, one time, he even asked me if I was adopted and – "
Before he could finish his sentence, Hinata fainted.
"Now that was interesting," Ino commented, twirling a strand of her ponytail.
Ino and Sakura were making their way back to the classroom. For Sakura's part, she didn't want to talk about lunch anymore. She just wanted to get her shit together and start focusing on class. They already missed the first period after lunch. They were making their way to their second period which was Physics. The teacher was new but she was headstrong and crazy. Some students called her a bitch and she nearly qualified as one, if she wasn't so brilliant.
"Anko might be pissed that we're late," Ino said, going unusually off-topic.
"She has no right to be," Sakura stated. "We're excused from first period. Grandma even gave me a slip. We helped Hinata out."
"One of the perks of being the headmistress' granddaughter," Ino said with a sigh. "But do you really think, with Anko's craziness, she won't give us some form of punishment?"
"I don't know," she replied. "Naruto's sure to have one."
Yes, because Naruto opted to stay with Hinata. It was both his choice and another type of punishment given by Neji and Sasuke. It was because he, upon much convincing from Ino and Sakura, called Neji and Sasuke about Hinata's predicament, causing the two to cut their lunch meeting short and head straight back to school. When the two arrived, they each landed well-aimed hits to Naruto's face, threatening him with death if he left Hinata alone. Neji and Sasuke would have insisted to be with Hinata if it weren't for Tsunade's famous rage fits. The woman promptly set off the two grumbling boys back to class.
"So… Hinata likes Naruto, huh?" Ino said, her voice hushed. "And Sasuke likes Hinata, but Hinata doesn't like him back because she does like Naruto."
"As you have said over and over again," Sakura said with exasperation.
"And it seems very convenient because Hinata already loves Naruto and those feelings won't go away anytime soon," the blonde assessed. "And Naruto has a huge crush on you, forehead."
Sakura glared daggers at Ino. "And your point is?"
"And you obviously love Sasuke," Ino pointed out smugly, crossing her arms across her chest. "So, to get this straight, Sasuke likes Hinata and is engaged to her but Hinata loves Naruto who has a crush on you but then again you love Sasuke. Isn't that very complicated, yet so simple at the same time?"
"What the hell do you mean, Ino?" She didn't like Ino's tone at all.
"Well," Ino said, as if Sakura wasn't seeing her flow at all. "We just have to straighten things out and just get people to date who they want to date."
"And?" Sakura said, stopping in her tracks and facing Ino. "You can't do that Ino. If people date who they want to date, it'd be a lot simpler, but it's not. If Sasuke-kun likes Hinata-san, then shouldn't he have the choice to date her?"
"But then again Hinata doesn't like Sasuke. She loves Naruto, remember? Doesn't she have the right to date Naruto, too?"
"Ugh! You're making me crazy, Ino!"
"You're just overcomplicating things. Don't you want Sasuke to be yours? Then make sure he gets the loving he needs! It's not like he's gonna get that from Hinata any time soon!"
"She might, you know," Sakura said, looking down the corridor.
"But she isn't. Not right now," Ino retorted firmly. "And from what I've seen, not anytime soon."
"So you mean to say that Sasuke and I should just date so that Hinata and Naruto can date?" Sakura said incredulously. "As if it's that simple."
"It's not that simple getting there. But it's not impossible," Ino countered.
"You're really too optimistic for your own good when it comes to love," Sakura said, shaking her head in amusement. "And what about yourself? Kiba hasn't even looked at you with interest for the past four weeks."
"It's because I don't want him to," Ino argued. "I don't love him. I'm just a fan. A huge fan."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You always want things you can't have, Ino. We both know that. And you tend to fall in love with guys who just hurt you. Why don't you change that?"
Ino fell silent and Sakura immediately regretted what she said. "I'm sorry, Ino," she said. "Just… be careful. At the very least, Kiba isn't leading you on like those other jerks. But you need to stop pining for him. I'm learning to do that with Sasuke-kun even though it's hard. I want to be optimistic, but I just don't want to ruin other people's lives."
"And what about yours? Your own happiness, Sakura?" Ino said, looking at her with sad, blue eyes.
"It will follow."
The door to their classroom suddenly opened wide. Anko stood there, looking at them with death in her eyes.
"Why don't you girls stop talking about happiness and just enter my classroom?!" Anko hissed. "Wouldn't you be happier if you get a little knowledge in those pretty little heads of yours?"
The two immediately bowed their apologies and went in, scrambling to their seats. Sakura hastily shoved the excuse slip to Anko, who merely crumpled it and threw it in the bin.
"Tsunade-sama already told me," Anko said. "But you were disrupting class with your fantasies so I give the two of you detention."
"What?!" Ino exclaimed while Sakura groaned. "You can't do that! Besides, I have a photo shoot this afternoon and – "
"I don't care if your grandma is dying or if you're the Prime Minister's daughter," Anko snapped. "Speaking of the Prime Minister's offspring, tell Namikaze that he has a week's worth of detention to look forward to."
Sakura shuddered. Anko really was crazy. Most teachers were intimidated by the status of some students in Konoha Gakuen. Only she and Kakashi-sensei were uncaring enough to shell out harsh punishments. Sakura could understand Kakashi because he was well-known, well-liked, and had worked at this school for years. But Anko was only three months old in this institution, but she'd already earned the moniker, "Poisonous Bitch." Or 'Witch' for those who didn't want to use bad words.
"So now that's all out of the way," Anko continued, "let's ask Haruno-san to solve this equation on the board."
It took all of Sakura's inner restraints not to let herself go and punch a teacher on the face. She gritted her teeth, walked towards the black board and started solving the equation.
"I haven't had detention ever!" Sakura groaned, stamping her legs as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of today's classes.
"Lucky you," Ten-ten said, approaching her. "I've had detention almost every other month."
"That's because you have no sense of restraint," Hyuuga Neji said from behind her.
Before Sakura could stop her, Ten-ten sent her book flying towards Neji's head. Fortunately, Neji had amazing reflexes and dodged the book, which was perfectly aimed, just in time.
"And you need to restrain your arrogant mouth," Ten-ten said venomously, ignoring her neglected book and stalking outside.
Neji went after her, much to Sakura's chagrin. She wanted to follow the two of them to prevent further fighting when Ino stopped her.
"Just let them be," Ino said with a chuckle. "Those two have so much rage going on about them that I can mistake it for sexual tension."
"Are you always this obscene, Yamanaka?" Inuzuka Kiba said as he passed by the two of them. Immediately after he said that, a hoard of giggling girls surrounded him, apparently amused by the jab the popular idol made on the reportedly snobbish Yamanaka actress.
Sakura was surprised at this and almost went after Kiba but the look on Ino's face stopped her. She was looking at Kiba with very lonely eyes. Before Sakura could say anything, Ino immediately turned to her and grinned – a grin that did not quite reach to her eyes.
"Come on," Ino said, taking her by the arm. "If we're late, who knows how many more detentions Anko will give us?"
"Okay," Sakura replied, letting it slide for now. She made a mental note to talk to Ino about it later. The two of them walked straight towards the detention room where a smiling Anko was waiting for them.
"Welcome," Anko said. The way she smiled and the way she talked made the two girls shiver. Sakura's thoughts momentarily turned to one of her favorite fiction books and one of its scarier creatures. Anko reminded her of Harry Potter's dementors and how they could suck out joy wherever they go, leaving people numb and helpless. Anko was one scary dementor.
Dementress, maybe, she thought amusedly.
"Since you two were so busy talking about happiness back then, I'll give you something to be happy about," Anko said, motioning for the two of them to sit. "This will be a very educational experience for you."
"What the…?" Ino whispered from beside her.
"Yamanaka," Anko said, getting a huge pile of papers from the desk. "Check these papers."
"HUH?" Ino said, eyeing the huge stack with fear. "But that'll take me forever! Can I just - ?!"
"No negotiations. You can't always get what you want. Learn that," Anko said with finality. "And you, Haruno, will solve this test for me."
Anko handed her a sheet of paper with only one problem on it. When Sakura laid eyes on the problem, it wasn't 9th grade physics. It wasn't even within high school level.
"The homework I have for my PhD," Anko said, as if reading her thoughts. "I know how to answer that except I have a date tonight. And it has come to my attention that you're the smartest in your year, right?"
God, stop me from throwing this desk at that woman!
"Now, get to work," Anko said, walking towards the door. "Don't even think about leaving without finishing. I told Yamato-sensei to come here after an hour and a half to collect your work. He's gonna call me immediately if any one of you bails."
With that, she left.
Ino screamed.
"God, Ino!" Sakura bellowed. "You busted my ear!"
"I hate that woman!" Ino screamed again.
"Scream any louder and she'll hear you," Sakura said in annoyance. "At least you just have to check papers. You try solving a doctorate-level problem!"
Ino visibly deflated at this. "Fine. I'm in a better position than you. But still, I'll miss my photo shoot!"
"Boo you," Sakura said sarcastically. "Now shut up and get to work. I have to concentrate."
After forty minutes, Ino suddenly whistled. She dropped the red pen and put the pile of papers on the desk. Sakura wanted to ask her if she was done, not quite believing the obvious. If Yamato-sensei was going to be here after an hour and a half as Anko-sensei said forty minutes ago, then it meant that she barely had one hour left to finish the problem and she was going nowhere.
"Done," she stated, almost doing a twirl.
Sakura looked up in surprise. "What?! That's too fast!"
"I do very well under pressure," Ino said. "Besides, I can still make it to my shoot. Now, I'll go ahead! Just tell Yamato-sensei that I'm done. Bye!"
Before Sakura could even blink, Ino was gone.
Sakura groaned and hid her face behind her palms. She almost consumed an entire pad of paper trying to solve this god-awful problem that Anko gave her but she was stuck. Crumpled balls of paper were strewn all around her feet, making her wince at the fact that she had become too messy because of this numerical fiasco that she was in.
"I guess I should just give up then, huh?" Sakura said to herself, looking at the ceiling and trying to piece her mind together. God knows how scrambled it was after staring at numbers that didn't make any sense.
There was a knock at the door but Sakura was too absorbed in her own thoughts to care. Unbeknownst to her, Uchiha Sasuke opened the door and stepped inside.
Sasuke cleared his throat to alert Sakura to his presence but he had no luck.
Again.
Nothing.
"Oi," he said, disdaining the fact that he had to talk to get her attention.
"Huh?" Sakura said, as if woken up from daydream.
Sasuke was briefly taken aback by her eyes. They were green. They were light green. Not quite emerald, not quite sea. Lighter. He couldn't put his finger on it. But whatever shade they were, it captivated him for a few moments before the more rational side of him mentally slapped him across the face.
"What are you daydreaming for?" he said almost too harshly, more to himself than to her.
Sakura blanched. Sasuke just caught her staring her ass off at nothing. But she had no time to be rattled. She was much too annoyed by her current predicament anyway.
"I'm not daydreaming. This problem is just too fucking hard," she said, ignorant of the fact that she used an expletive in front of Sasuke.
Sasuke's eyebrows shot upward almost immediately. This was the girl that paled at what he had said earlier that day. This was the girl that blushed incessantly for years since the day the he met her. This was the girl that caused him to leave Konohagakure for years.
Throwing all thoughts away, Sasuke walked towards Sakura, looking over her shoulder and trying to take a look at the thing that caused her such grief.
It was a piece of paper with a Physics problem.
"A Physics problem?"
Sakura nearly jumped out of her seat. He was right behind her, peering over her shoulder. "Y-yeah," she stammered, glad with the fact that he was behind her so that he couldn't see her blushing face. "Anko gave it to me for detention. It's a doctorate-grade problem."
Sasuke said nothing and merely took the paper from the desk. He studied it for a moment before taking her pen and sitting down on the chair beside her.
He started scribbling stuff down before Sakura could react. She just stared at him, wide-eyed. Sasuke-kun is solving the problem?!
It shouldn't come as a shock to her. Back in middle school, Sakura ranked second to Sasuke. Before he came to Konoha Gakuen, she was the top-ranked student of their grade. Now, with him around, Sakura wasn't so sure. Yes, she was smart, but all her genius came from hard work. She had potential, but she had to do something to get where she wanted. Sasuke just… he just flowed. He was a natural.
After getting over the initial shock that Uchiha Sasuke was actually doing her work for her, she was a bit giddy with the fact that she had some time to quietly observe him. Since he was so immersed in his work, he wouldn't notice. That was just how he was. Even though they had little interaction from the day she met him, she knew so much about him that others didn't.
His onyx eyes were even darker when he concentrated. His brows were furrowed and his lips were set in a straight line. Sakura wondered how he would look like when he smiled. She wished that she was the one who could make him smile.
But she didn't have to wonder. Not anyway. She saw him smile. Just once.
When Hinata tripped over the leg of her chair and landed on his desk.
Yes, he smiled. It was just for a fraction of a second, but she saw it. The slight change in his expression.
And it was caused by a young lady who didn't even love him.
This is a twisted world.
"If you'd just stop gaping and start looking at how I solved the problem, then maybe you'd have learned something," Sasuke suddenly said, standing up and giving her the paper.
Sakura turned away immediately and murmured a 'thanks'.
"Yamato called me to check up on you and Yamanaka," Sasuke said, explaining why he was here. "Told me to wait for you two 'til you were done. But I couldn't wait since I have someplace else to go."
Before Sakura could stop herself, she said, "With Hinata-san?"
Sasuke looked at her sharply. For the first time, Sakura noticed that Sasuke was holding a white envelope in his hand and his fists suddenly closed around it tightly. "None of your business."
Sakura frowned. "I know that. And by the way, Ino's done. That's her work."
She pointed at the pile of papers on the desk and started to move away when Sasuke suddenly grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip.
"What have you been doing all these years, Haruno?" he said, her surname rolling off his tongue like venomous honey.
Sakura stared at him, wide-eyed. "What the…?"
"Don't think I don't remember you. We were classmates back then," he said, his voice deadly and barely above a whisper. "You ruined my life."
Sakura's head was spinning. What is he talking about?!
"If you're trying to convince me that you have no bad intentions in being friends with Hinata, think again," Sasuke continued. "I know you all too well. You're only using Hinata to get closer to me. If that's what you're doing, stay away or else I'll make you so miserable you'll drop out of your own school. Hinata is kind and she'll never hurt a fly. She'll think that you really want to be friends with her. I've seen enough people try and use Hinata to know – "
Before he could finish, a resounding slap echoed in the classroom.
Sakura was panting, her left palm clenched and the other one barely going back to their original position. Sasuke's head was turned sideways, reeling from the force of Sakura's slap.
"Don't you dare presume what I can or can't do. Don't you dare presume who I am and what I want with people," Sakura said, her voice shaking with anger and hurt. "Hinata is indeed a kind and sincere girl. Truth be told, I pity her. She's stuck with a selfish and judgmental bastard like you."
"How dare – " Sasuke started, but was stopped by Sakura.
"I dare because you dared," she retorted. "She doesn't even love you, yet she stays with you. I may love you Sasuke and I may have been a fool all these years, but I won't take what you said lying down. I have – "
Suddenly, Sakura's phone vibrated. She took it out of her bag and answered Ino's call, ignoring Sasuke completely. She didn't even register the fact that she confessed her feelings to Uchiha Sasuke.
"Ino, what – "
Ino's voice was barely audible. It seemed like she was panting, like she ran a couple of miles. "Sakura, help… Hinata - "
Haruno Sakura ran.
All around the mulberry bush,
The monkey chased the weasel...
A rhyme for your thoughts about what will happen with this entire thing. Clues, clues...