Chapter 3: Trouble in School
The next day at school, Sakura went to her class. When she entered the school gate, she had eyes turned to her direction. The girls gossiped that she will not have Sasuke looking at her with short hair, but some liked it for finding it nice. In addition, she had some boys looking at her for finding her cute with her new haircut.
With her friends, they took it quite of a shock. Ino went on a girl rampage on her, asking her why cut her long hair and what made think about cutting it, and demanded for a straight answer and a real reason. Hinata held her back, calming her down. Sakura sweat dropped and laughed from Ino's hustle. She decided to tell them during break time, which Ino reluctantly agreed, so they accepted to wait for it.
During break time:
Sakura told her friends the whole story. Hinata and Ino were upset how Karin tortured her and her two friends helped supporting it, and Ino took it hard.
"So, they just ran off scot-free." Ino exclaimed, "You shouldn't have it like this, Sakura."
Hinata agreed. "That's right! What happened yesterday shouldn't be overlooked."
"Don't you remember that time? It was important for you." Ino tried to reason her about reporting Karin and remember their childhood goal.
Flashback:
Back during kindergarten, Sakura went to the park with her parents, running to find her best friends. When she found them, she called them while waving her arm out. "Ino! Hinata!"
They both heard her and were happy to see her. "Sakura!" Ino was glad that she came because she wanted to play together with her friends in the park. "I am so happy to see you here, Sakura. Now that the three of us are here, let's go play!" Hinata clapped her hands with excitement.
Before they go play, Sakura stopped them. "Wait a minute! I have something to tell you." Ino and Hinata turned to listen with curiosity. She stated, "I have decided to grow my hair long!" Hinata blushed for liking the idea, and Ino stared blankly because remembered hearing in class that Sasuke likes girls with long hair.
So, Ino decided, "Since you will do that, I will also let my hair grow." Sakura clapped cheerily, and then they both turned to Hinata.
Hinata blushed red and shrieked from the stare. "W-what?" they leaned close and she stepped back. "What's wrong with you guys?!"
"Nothing…we are just wondering if you are going to let you hair grow like us." Sakura stated a question, "Are you going to grow your hair?"
"Well, are you?" Ino asked next with hurry.
Hinata stared back and forth at them and stuttered, "Well…I…" she spoke shyly while playing with her fingers. "I-I…Yes, I will!" she shouted with an outburst which started them and the people around.
"Alright…" Ino said, "it's decided. Us girls will grow our hair long with gorgeous beauty!" Sakura and Hinata cheered as they clapped hands.
Sakura smiled for remembering that childhood time. "Yeah, I never forgot that day, but it will take time for it to grow back." She said while stroking her hair, "It's not so bad, anyway. Good thing, my mom was able to fix it last night. She and my dad were taken by surprise when they saw it."
Last night:
When she arrived home, she went to her room to change. She placed Sasuke's jacket on the computer desk and changed into her pajamas. Afterwards, she stared at her mirror to see her haircut again. She sighed as she stroked it.
She heard a knock and her mother calling. "Sakura, you're back already?" Mebuki opened the door, "Saku-ah! Your hair! What happened to you?!"
Before she could tell her mother, her father came after hearing the screech. "Mebuki, what is—!" When he saw Sakura's hair, he wanted to ask but the sight of the messy haircut pause his voice. They entered her room slowly, still in shock. "Sakura…what happened to your hair?" he wanted to hear the real story and with true words.
"Did you cut it? Or did somebody do this to you?" Mebuki asked as she touched Sakura's hair, brushing it softly.
"Of course not, Mebuki." Kizashi suggested, "It's pretty obvious that someone did this to her." He asked Sakura to get the actual truth. "Sakura, did someone cut your hair forcefully? Don't say you and your friends had a 'Girls Haircut Day' because I know you girls are smart enough of having hairs well-groomed instead of leaving it as a mess."
Sakura stared at her father and then looked down, "Yes, daddy…you're right." She looked back up at him, "I was at the mall with my friends…" she told him the whole story and Kizashi became upset. Mebuki was also upset and hugged her while rubbing her back.
"Okay, but I am glad you're alright, Sakura." Kizashi sighed, "Tomorrow morning I'm going to have a talk with the principal and discuss what punishment those girls should have." Sakura wanted to tell her dad that he didn't need to do that, but she knew how serious he was. Her dad has always been a serious man as he has always been a loving, caring father and husband. Then, he went back to his room.
"Come with me, Sakura. I need to fix this bad haircut," Mebuki took her and led her to the kitchen. Sakura was pleased that her mother was able to help her, fixing her hair into a neat style.
"If I were you, Sakura, I would go and explain to the principal what they did to me." Ino idolized herself as Sakura with different personality. Hinata agreed again and would do exactly what she should do if she gets tortured by bullies.
Sakura reasoned, "I actually want to avoid problems when I have other things that are important." She believed that reporting bullies to the principal will only bring her more enemies and trouble.
"Well, don't think that we didn't see you coming to school with your dad." Ino and Hinata grinned. "Unlike you, he doesn't overlook bullying and does the right thing by report the incident." Sakura sighed and dropped head in depressed aura because she hoped that her friends wouldn't notice her dad in the school campus.
"Kizashi-san is not only a great detective," Hinata complimented "he is also a devoted and caring father. He wants to protect you because he loves you." Sakura smiled and closed her eyes with pink cheeks, and she has known how much her dad loves her similarly as she loves him. He has always loved her in all her life.
"Thanks to him, Karin and her friends will soon get what they deserve." Ino said, "Another thing, Sakura, shouldn't you be looking for him? Or you are planning to later?"
Sakura jerked and Hinata said, "We saw you carrying a bag and had Sasuke's jacket in it when you came to class." Ino gave her a freaky eye-looking stare, and she figured that Sakura has won having Sasuke as her boyfriend.
Sakura blushed, "Now that you mentioned, I really should go return his jacket before break ends."
Ino and Hinata cheered with encouragement, "What are you waiting for?! Go and show him what you are made of!" Sakura laughed shyly and left to go find Sasuke.
After Sakura left, Ino whispered so none of Sasuke's fangirl would hear her. "Hinata, I am so happy for her." Hinata smiled for feeling the same for her friend. "I am wondering about you. Have you told Naruto that you like him yesterday?"
She shrieked with red face and stuttered randomly about what happened last night. Ino couldn't understand, so she interjected by pointing a finger at her. "So, you didn't tell him. Alright, I'll help you!"
Hinata was about to talk, but Ino interrupted her. "I have to find Sai right now, so I will help you later." It gave Hinata relief because she wasn't ready to learn some lessons—acting and talking like a real girl. So, Ino left and Hinata went to find a space to study.
To Naruto:
Naruto was inside the classroom, reading a textbook. It appeared that he was having trouble with the chapter he was reading for the exam because he couldn't understand a thing about the topic. He sighed hoplessly, "Characteristics of the seventeenth century, I should ask Hinata for some help."
Suddenly, his book got snatched out of his hands and he looked up. It was his best friend, Sasuke. "History…" he asked, "Since when you decide to study during break time?"
Naruto glared for a moment and stood up, "While you are dealing with your crazy fan club," he straightened up and lifted a thumb facing himself, "I, the new Naruto Uzumaki, am studying to pass those exams."
"New?" Sasuke sweat dropped, "All I see is the same old idiot I see every day." He then closed the book and asked, "I just heard you mentioning Hinata. Did something happen between you and her yesterday?"
"N-nothing!" Naruto stuttered blushing, "She's just helping me with my studies!" He turned his face away, "Besides, it's none of your business." Sasuke shrugged that he could care less with whatever business Naruto has.
"What about you, teme?" He then opened his left eye and turned back, "You left in a rush after giving me your food order. I had a hunch that you went looking for Sakura-chan when she didn't come back."
Sasuke stood silent for a second as he was facing Naruto with a confused. "What are you saying, dobe?" Since he was young, he has had skills of concealing his secrets from his friends with a professional expression of confusion, and he has intended trying harder acting confused every time he is alone with Naruto. Therefore, Naruto was smart enough to figure him out when he can tell Sasuke was lying.
"Come on, man!" Naruto was trying harder to crack him up, "You're my best friend. What are you planning on doing with Sakura-chan?" He wasn't planning on giving up having Sasuke talk to him.
"Why would I plan something?" Sasuke asked.
"Sakura-chan has been in our class for a long time." Naruto reasoned, "Why are you suddenly so interested in her now? What that girl did to you long ago doesn't mean all girls are like that. Playing like that will do nothing good to anyone, not even you."
"That was a long time ago." Sasuke remembered the girl who he previously liked and got hurt from. "It has nothing to do with the present." He considered that girl nothing but a heartthrob, but Sakura is nothing like that because he has known her since elementary school. She is so different from all of his annoying fangirls, so he believed that she will never do anything to hurt him with betrayal. He has known her well.
To Sakura:
Sakura was walking through the hallways, searching for Sasuke. I wonder where he is? Sakura wondered, He wasn't at the field where he usually goes hang around alone. Before she noticed, she arrived close to her classroom and decided to check if Sasuke was inside.
If he is studying inside the classroom, I hope I'm not disrupting him. As she reached the doorknob, she opened the door a little and heard voices inside.
"As I said before, teme." She recognized whose voice belonged to. Naruto? "Since that time, you became egocentric and didn't care about anyone else." Who is he talking to?
She then heard him included. "Sakura-chan is a nice girl." Naruto said. What are they talking about? "You shouldn't play with her like that."
"Don't worry yourself on what I do and don't do, dobe." She heard another voice and knew who it was. Sasuke-kun?
She grew shocked, at the most part when Naruto mentioned Sasuke playing with her like a dating pet. Sasuke-kun…is playing with me? She felt her heart was pounding with hurt and she couldn't breathe. It was like she was ripping away by the boy she has been crushing on since elementary school who was just using her to seek entertainment. Her hand slowly let go of the doorknob and dropped the bag on the floor. She then ran off through the hallway.
To Sasuke and Naruto:
"I don't need your sermons either." Sasuke said. He threw textbook back to Naruto who quickly caught it. "Take your book. Just for you to know, I am not playing with her." He lastly suggested, "You don't know where you get that playing stuff from, so get it out of your mind."
Naruto stared, "So, you're seriously not?" He was somewhat not cleared about Sasuke being serious with his relationship to Sakura. He wanted real closure about his unsolved inquisition.
Baka! Sasuke casually shook his head for considering Naruto as an idiotic dumbass, and he wondered what made Naruto think that he would be play-dating Sakura. He also thought why Naruto would ponder enough to understand him about his honesty to Sakura.
When he was about to walk out of the classroom, he spotted the paper bag on the floor. So, he picked it up and looked inside. Naruto went close to see what his pause and saw the bag. Sasuke pulled out the jacket that was inside, and Naruto recognized. "Teme, isn't that your jacket you wore yesterday?"
Sasuke remembered giving his jacket to Sakura last night. Sakura was here? He wondered why she wasn't right there with the bag, and he did promise her that he would wait for her to give it back to him. He pondered if she was standing by the door and listened to the conversation he had with Naruto, but she must have ran off before hearing the end of it. Did she heard…?
Naruto watched Sasuke standing there quietly and looking into space for a minute. "Teme, what's with you?" he asked, but Sasuke didn't listen to him. "Did something happen?"
Sasuke quickly gave Naruto the bag and ran to the hallway, "Naruto, there's something I need to take care! I'll be back later!"
"Huh? What?!" Naruto called while trying to ask, but Sasuke was gone. He grew depressed aura with a trail of falling tears, "Why won't Teme tell me what's going on?"
Outside the school building:
There were a lot of students around, friends chatting and hanging around. Inside the crowd, Hinata was there sitting on a bench, reading her history textbook. She was studying calmly and silently. Not so far from her was Neji observing her, and his friend, Rock Lee, with him.
"So, Hinata was out with Naruto last night?" Rock Lee said, "I don't see what the problem is, Neji."
"You don't understand, Lee. Hinata is the only heir of the Hyuga Company." Neji explained, "If she maintains her relationship with Naruto, there will be trouble with the Hyuga family. Naruto is the part of the Uzumaki Company which is the biggest rival of the Hyuga Company, and there had been many conflicts that Hinata doesn't know."
Lee understood the situation. "I see. That lays the problem, but what will you do?"
"I don't know." Neji said, "If I can avoid it, I won't do anything as long that doesn't jeopardize the family business. Otherwise, I will do anything I can to get between them."
Out came Naruto, looking for Hinata. "Where is she?" He searched for her everywhere inside the building, so then he came outside. He really needed her help for the final exams. "Where…where…?" he turned and looked around the area.
Until, he spotted her on a bench and went to her. "Hinata!"
When Hinata heard someone calling her, she recognized the voice. She looked up and saw the person who she assumed was right. "Naruto-kun?" she wondered if he was looking for her.
"There you are!" Naruto said, "I have been looking for you everywhere!"
Naruto-kun was looking for me? Hinata blushed with the thought of her long-time crush looking for her.
"Hinata, I need to—" he was about to ask a question, but he tripped his foot on a half-open cement title without noticing it. "AAAAHHHH!" he yelled while he was falling forward. Hinata noticed his fall and sat still, watching.
Neji heard the scream and turned to see, and he found the most disgusted scene he greatly hated to see. He caught Naruto kneeling and had his upper body on Hinata's legs. Lee blushed and screamed for thinking that Naruto was lying on Hinata only to feel her. Not only Neji and Lee were seeing them, some of the students close by watched the whole fallen incident and were seeing Naruto on Hinata.
"Ow!" Naruto groaned from the impact of the fall. Hinata almost felt like she was going to faint while Naruto was on her, but she was more worried about him being hurt from his fall. "Naruto-kun?" She asked him, "Are you alright?"
Naruto lifted his head up, looking at her. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry about that." He was about to ask while getting up, "I only came—" He got grabbed from behind and was thrown away. "Ughh!" he hit his back on the cement ground.
"Get away from her, Uzumaki!" Neji shouted with great anger, and his shout caused more students gathered around. He threw Naruto very hard because he wanted him to get hurt. For likely the reason he believed that Naruto was attempting to arouse Hinata in a physical way.
"Neji!" Hinata cried. "Why are you doing this?! He did nothing wrong!" She pleaded her cousin to assure him that Naruto did nothing to hurt her and it was just an accident.
However, Neji was a person to refuse to listen to reason. He coldly scolded, "You still have to ask?! Perhaps you don't deserve to carry the Hyuga name!" Although he seemed to be cold person, he does care about Hinata and wanted nothing but to protect her.
"Can't you realize anything without getting mixed up with the rebels like Naruto?!" Neji asked her. "You're a disgrace!" His attitude appeared to be that he hinders Hinata for being too gentle and reasonable with their family's worst enemy's son. "Naruto will only cause you problems, and his surname will curse him!" He believed that people from the Uzumaki family were full of liars, and the Uzumaki name was bound to hell.
"Neji…" Lee said as he listened to his cursed words and watching him scolding Hinata so harsh. He sensed him having great power and pride from hate. He knew that it was hurtful, but he wouldn't allow himself from getting scolded by Neji for lecturing him.
Naruto listened to every insult Neji said about his family and to Hinata which made him angry. He clutched a fist, "Hey! You piece of shit!" Neji and Hinata heard him.
He shouted to Neji, "Before you insult any more about my family or Hinata, you better wash that mouth of yours!" While he was talking, he pulled out his long forehead band and tied around his head. "Who do you think you are for giving orders around here? You think you are a ruler in this school?"
After he finished tying his headband, he gave Neji a hand out telling him to come at him. "I'll give you a fist to see reason, and Hinata will be free from your vile ambitions and be mine." Everyone around were stunned for hearing that Naruto wants to have Hinata for himself and impressed how he was calling for a fight against Neji for her.
Hinata steamed red as she played with her fingers, "Be his…?" In her mind, it repeated the last phrase about Naruto saying that she will be his. It may be cleared that he was declaring her as his girlfriend, or did he meant that he wants to fight for her freedom from her controlling cousin.
Rock Lee shouted, "Oh?! That was quite a sexual implication!" He pretty much took Naruto's words to a big conclusion.
Neji closed a fist, filling up with great anger. "Fine! If that's what you want, I'll show you who you're really messing with." He strongly wanted to beat his worst enemy to the gutter, which his fist was itching for, and he wanted to keep him faraway from Hinata.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the whole school around cheered. "Neji…" Tenten watched the whole thing and didn't cheer with the others because she was worrying for Neji and what would happen in the end of the fight.
Naruto lifted up his fists and Neji stood in his family's signature, Gentle Fist fighting style. They both stood for a second, until Naruto was the first to move. He shouted, "You'll be the one who will see regret!" as he held up a fist ready to hit Neji.
To Sasuke:
Sasuke was walking through the hallways, still looking for Sakura. He couldn't find her anywhere, and it was taking him a long time but he kept searching.
"Where could she have gone?" Sasuke wondered, "I searched everywhere inside and outside. And she was not even by the cherry tree where she always sits."
While he was walking, he assumed that Sakura only heard Naruto saying about him being a player and ran off before hearing the end. He was pretty sure that she was feeling hurt with heartbreak and angry with him. She is angry with Sasuke instead of Naruto because he pointed the conflict at him for his own assumption. So, she listened and reacted without a doubt.
Therefore, he will confront the truth with her when she finds her. She couldn't have gone far…
To Sakura:
Sakura was in the hallway, leaning on an open window and staring outside. The breeze blew her short hair, which felt so nice, but it didn't calm the hurt she was having. She had sadness in her eyes with a frown, but she wasn't crying.
She was trying to understand the conversation she heard from Sasuke and Naruto. "That's what all it was? Why didn't I notice it before?" she said in a low voice. For a long time, she had known Sasuke…or so she thought she knows him. She never thought that he had a hidden personality, like he has two faces of good and bad.
Without turning around, Sasuke arrived and looked to his right, finding her. There she is…Sakura… He was about to call her, but he noticed the pose she was standing and the frown she had. His theory confirmed the sensation she was having from the conversation, so he must face her with the misunderstanding she mistaken.
Who would have thought about it? Everything was going just fine until that…! She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth not so hard, and Sasuke went to her. I don't know what to think of him anymore. She had blanks in her mind on what to think about him, but in her heart she still held feelings for him. I still love him…it hurts…
Sasuke finally approached behind her and leaned to her left ear, "After a long time of finding you, I don't know whether I can kiss you or not for the whole day." Sakura jerked a little but didn't scream with fright, "What do you think, Sakura?"
She turned around, and she was about to say something but didn't let words come out. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I have to go!" She couldn't face him after hearing the conversation he had with Naruto
She tried to leave, but he held her from leaving. "You're not going anywhere until you tell how much you heard." She tried to get free, but he grabbed her arm in a tight grip.
While she was fighting him, he was too strong and impossible for her to get away from him. She wanted him to let her go, yet he kept holding her. Then turned her facing him, she didn't face him or gave him a small glance. She answered lowly, tears falling down from her eyes, "Enough for me to know that you are a liar."
"Oh, really? You don't know a thing about me!" he shouted angrily as he held both of her arms. "If you like eavesdropping behind doors, you should have stayed listening until the end of the conversation."
"It wasn't on purpose! I was only returning your jacket back! Now get away from me!" she yelled and pushed him back. He released her arms, "If you like to play around with girls, find someone else! You have plenty of your fangirls who can provide entertainment for you!" he glared angrily, feeling his nerves ticking him off. "I hope you have a lot of fun!"
"Will you shut up for a bit?!" he snapped at her which surprised her. Another, he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her, and she wanted to pull away but didn't.
The kiss she was feeling it so passionate and real. A real kiss, there was nothing fake. How he moved his lips with such motion, it had drawn her to respond back and not wanting it to end. Later, the kiss ended with loud smooch and they let out a breath to breathe.
"Sakura…I will only say this once. Please, listen to me." He pulled her closer to hug her, "What Naruto said was his only guess. There is no games going on with us, I'm serious." He tightened his embrace but gently, so he would not hurt her.
Naruto… she started feeling ashamed that she believed Naruto's words and didn't wait to hear Sasuke's true words. She would have waited for the end, but she let her emotions run her. Instead of waiting, she believed Naruto more. She'll remember next time when she overhears backstabbing conversations and not take any hurtful words about the one she loves.
"Sasuke-kun…" she hugged him back, "I'm sorry. He sounded serious and I believed him without a second thought." She gripped on his shirt behind with shame for doubting him, I'm such an idiot.
"Hmph!" he said, "Not everyone sound serious, unless you know them." She tiptoed up and he leaned down, and they kissed passionately. They moved with such passion, savoring their tongues with dominance.
While they were making out, "Excuse me" someone interrupted the moment which took by surprise. "It is very troublesome for me to interrupt something very intimating."
It was shikamaru…for his picky word troublesome. "What's going on, Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked him.
"I only came to tell that Naruto got himself into trouble." Shikamaru explained, "You should go see it yourself because he is fighting against Neji."
They both got shocked by the notice. "Neji Hyuga?!" Sakura recognized the first name, "He's the best fighter in martial arts."
"What made them come into fistfights?" Sasuke wanted to know what the reason caused them to fight.
To Naruto vs. Neji:
The reason was simple…Hinata Hyuga. They were fighting for her.
Naruto was down, holding himself up to prevent from falling. He was bleeding from the lips, blood dripping a little, and had some bruises on the arms. His clothes were mess up.
"Ugh! Damn it!" he grunted. He was feeling bruised, but he wouldn't give up. He still want to fight more…for Hinata.
"Ha!" Neji commented his skills, "You really turn out to be a weakling, Uzumaki." He believed Naruto was nowhere near good to fight him and too easy to beat. He was also beat up with bruises and clothes messed up. He was also bleeding on the lips which wiped the blood off. In his hand, he had Naruto's forehead band which he snatched during the fistfight without Naruto noticing.
Hinata watched the whole fight and cried with desperation, telling them to stop. "Neji! That's enough!" She cried and had tears, "Just leave him alone!" She really wanted her cousin to stop fighting, and she was scared that the boy she loves getting hurt with brutal injuries. The least she wanted was them hurting themselves.
Hinata… Ino watched the seriousness in the fight was getting and the hopelessness Hinata was having for them. Along with Sai, he just stood watching Naruto and Neji; instead of worrying, he was curious on the end of the fight.
While Hinata was crying, she heard Naruto called her. "Dry those tears, Hinata! I'm not done yet!" She looked at him and saw him standing back up, "Ugh…this was just a warmup!"
Impossible… Neji muddled about Naruto, After so many hits, he still wants to fight more. After Naruto stood up, he held a determined look on his face. So, he wasn't kidding a bit. He's serious what he said to Hinata.
"Don't cry…believe in me!" Naruto grinned with a thumb, pointing at himself. Naruto-kun… Hinata grasped her hands together to her chest.
"You can keep talking, but you better stop giving Hinata false hopes," Neji revolted him about his 'fake' compassion to his cousin.
Naruto was about to argue back when he spotted his headband in Neji's hand. He touched his forehead for a second and felt nothing but his skin. "Give that back!" he demanded.
"This thing…" Neji looked at it and smirked, "it's nothing but a piece of trash." He threw it down and stomped it with his shoe.
That pissed Naruto off really bad. His eyes turned furious and he gritted his teeth hard. "You…" he muttered, "You're a fucking asshole, Neji!"
What the hell?! Neji was stunned for seeing the new outburst he ever seen. He was looking and sounding very serious.
(~~~~~~)
Then, Sakura and Sasuke arrived to the fighting zone. "Ino! What's happened?!" Sakura asked while looking at the fight.
Before Ino could answer, they heard Naruto shout. "This ends here!" he started running at Neji, ready to take him down.
"About time you got serious!" Neji reclaimed and advanced forward to attack. "Prepare yourself, Uzumaki!"
"Neji!" Tenten cried. Lee and Sasuke widened as they witnessed the final blow.
Hinata became speechless after watching the last attack. Naruto and Neji had given their last shot with their fist. Afterwards, they passed each other and waited for the impact. Shortly for a second, Naruto grinned with a laugh.
Neji looked behind and found the headband in Naruto's hand. What? He was confused and looked down at his hand, finding the headband gone. How did he?
Naruto started falling forward, but Sasuke caught him. "I gotcha! You okay, Naruto?"
"How predictable." Karin said who also watched the whole fight, "It's pretty clear Neji won."
"I would suggest you talk less and watch more, Karin" Suigetsu recommended. He is Karin's friend and in the same grade as she is.
"Ugh!" Neji winced and dropped down. Not only he reclaimed the headband, he…
"Neji!" Tenten again cried but was shocked to see Neji beaten for the first time. Not only was her, the whole school stunned to see Neji's first defeat.
"I knew it." Naruto said with a big grin in satisfaction, "he wasn't as fast as he thought." He stood up with ease and faced Neji, "You aren't as good in martial arts as they always said."
Neji glared but still hurt, "Now listen…I won't tolerate you insulting my family again. Like it or not, Hinata and I will keep seeing each other more."
Hinata blushed, "Naruto-kun…"
"Unless you'd want some advice, you should talk to somebody about that attitude of yours." He finished talking as he tied his headband back on.
"Naruto!" he tensed when the familiar shout. "You've gotten into big trouble again!" It was Tsunade, the school principal. She was the most strict and scariest woman. If any student causes any trouble in school grounds, she would definitely get really mad. "In my office this instant!" she had Iruka- and Kakashi-sensei with her.
Naruto wanted to tell her that it wasn't his fault, but he knew that she wouldn't listen to reason quite yet. Iruka-sensei went to him, "Let's just go, Naruto."
"It wasn't my fault," Naruto whispered. "I swear, Iruka-sensei."
"Yeah, I know. I believe you." Iruka-sensei had no doubt of believing him because he had known Neji having grudge on Naruto and his family name since their first year of high school. "I will talk with him after school."
"He fought for you, Hinata." Ino reminded, "Go! Do the same for him." She encouraged Hinata to defend Naruto in return and confront with Tsunade about happened before the fight.
"Ino-chan…" Hinata blushed, still nervous to do so.
"Damn!" Lee stated, "Naruto really proved as a great opponent." Neji silently glared, and he won't be giving up yet. He was still hurt to get up, so Tenten helped him.
(~~~~~~)
Later, Lee turned and spotted Sakura who went to Sasuke. His face drooled with affection and red cheeks, so he found his true love. He first needed to be a polite man and then ask her out.
"Hey!" he called out, "Beautiful and sexy girl with green eyes!"
Sakura stopped when she heard him calling, "Huh?...Are you talking to me?"
Sexy, huh? Sasuke twitched for seeing a boy hitting on his girlfriend…for the first to see a fanboy. He's dead!
"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!" he gave her a wink with a flash smile, "Go out with me and enjoy our flame of youth!" He blew out two heart kisses.
"The what?!" Sakura jilted back and shrieked, "Get those away from me!" She got disgusted to receive a 'creepy' valentine hearts from a boy she never met.
Luckily, Sasuke saved her in time. He went in front of her and popped the hearts with his finger.
Lee screamed with outrage, "You broke my love profession for her!" He quickly assumed the reason of the interference. "Then that means you and her are having a burning extracurricular relationship?"
That paused every fangirl around when they heard Lee mentioning Sasuke in relationship with Sakura. Their reaction turned suspicious and Karin was skeptical about the thought; they don't want to believe it was happening for real. They all doubt that Sasuke would be dating an ugly forehead girl like Sakura.
Burning? Sasuke raised an eyebrow confused. "Hmph!" he decided to give his answer, "If you want to know if Sakura and I are in a relationship, then the answer is yes. Sakura and I are together. You satisfied?"
Naruto stood in surprise after hearing Sasuke's confession. So, you weren't kidding. You're serious about her. He sighed happy for them.
"WHAT! IT CAN'T BE!" The fangirls cried with tears in jealousy, "WHY?!" They all wanted to know how Sakura got Sasuke to be her boyfriend and what does she have that attracted Sasuke. They really wanted to know why her.
Sasuke looked around and noticed all eyes staring at him, and he confusedly raised an eyebrow wondering everyone was staring at him. Sakura blushed from her boyfriend's public announcement and noticed many girls glaring at her with jealousy. They both sighed with a frown, I knew this was going to turn out bad when they find out.
"Interesting." Suigetsu complicated, "Sasuke would dare say something like that in public. Huh, Karin?" Karin stood shock with a wide-open mouth, like her worst nightmare has come true.
Naruto stared out in wonder and Iruka-sensei glanced at him, Naruto, you…
