Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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A/N: Great thanks for the reviews. :) Tadaa, here's another chapter, hope you'll like it. I don't really, personnally, but I just couldn't figure out how to write it otherwise so... we're stuck with it, bleee. :D

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CHAPTER 3


"We could go to your place", Sasuke asked him lowly, swaying his hips from left to right to an imaginary beat.

Naruto lowered his hands to cup his butt cheeks through the tight jeans, pecking him lightly on the lips. They were actually in front of the school, and neither wanted to go to class. They had spent lunch time teasing each other and playing with light touches and now… Let's just say they were peculiarly in a good mood.

"Indeed", he whispered lustfully, pressing his torso against the slightly smaller boy's one. Sasuke chuckled in his ear, before taking one of his hands and stepping back with a suggestive look. He winked and then turned, beginning to lead him to the car with his graceful demarche.

Naruto observed it all with a sinful smirk, before following his boyfriend.

Then, he abruptly stopped and his brows furrowed, as realization dawned on him. They couldn't go to his place. Iruka had called in sick this morning before he had left, and told him he would stay at their apartment all day. And- umm… Iruka didn't really know about Sasuke, and Naruto would prefer it staying that way.

Speaking of Sasuke – the latter turned toward him with a quizzical raised eyebrow.

"What?" he asked lightly, walking back on his steps to stop before Naruto, their hand still untangled.

Naruto used his free one to scratch nervously the back of his head, looking up at the sky for an escape. "I-Uh. We can't really go to my place, after all." Then his gazes dropped, just in time to see the brunet biting onto his lower lip.

"And why is that?" he asked in such a sexy way that it was all Naruto could do not to jump him right here. Unfortunately, the thought had made its way into his skull, and it was more difficult to concentrate.

Wait. What were they talking about…? Oh- Iruka.

"The power went out" was the only thing he could think of as an excuse.

"I don't mind playing in the dark", his boyfriend almost purred, coming closer to grind his crotch with Naruto's. The smirk he was wearing told all there was to know about his inner thoughts. "Moreover, it's the afternoon. There will be light."

Naruto swallowed.

"Mmm, Babe, I swear it's not practical", he moaned out. "Why not go to your place?" he asked instead, thinking that, after all, he had never been at his boyfriend's home.

Sasuke tensed immediately, albeit discreetly, but Naruto knew him too well and it worried him in an instant.

"Teme?"

"Hn. You know what, you're right. Let's just go to the park, or something. I want to spend time with you, and just you."

"Oh. You're parents are there or something?"

Sasuke didn't reply, his eyes focused on a point behind him.

"Yep. Right. I'm sorry", he said flatly.

Naruto kissed him on his left cheek, joining their other hand.

"Maybe it would be the perfect time for me to meet them, no?"

Sasuke immediately shook his head. "Nuh-uh, they would know we're skipping, and um- they are in a pretty bad mood this week, so…"

He seemed to swiftly compose himself again, as if leaving some sort of trance, and looked up to meet Naruto's incredibly blue eyes. He smiled, one of these genuine smiles he reserved only for the blond.

"And, like I said, I want to spend time with you. Only you."

Naruto melted at that.


"Look, brat. I know it's not easy, but I don't have the choice."

I stood up from my seat, face red.

"What?" I yelled. "But you always have the choice! Didn't you learn that in philosophy shitty class? Seriously, granny, you can't do that to me!"

"I can and I will! And don't call me that", Tsunade, headmaster of this damned school, and actually a major pain in my ass, glared at me disdainfully.

I may have had a little pride usually, but it seemed like it was missing today. It should explain why I dramatically fell on my knees and joined my hand in a prier-like fashion, anger forgotten to be replaced with pleading.

"Please, please, pretty please! Don't make me do that! You know I can do better, so pleaaaase", I whimpered pathetically, almost creeping up to her to pass on my message.

Unfortunately for me, the old hag was incredibly unperceptive to my pitiful attempt.

"No. If I let you keep on like that, you won't pass at least three of your classes! And I'm being nice", she added, grumbling, with a sideway glance. "'Cause it would be more like five…"

I narrowed my eyes. Way to be nice. Dammit, never heard of tact? Even blonds have feelings! She should know it besides… She was blond. Unless…

Damn, Naruto. Focus.

Back into Alien-mode.

"So what? You think a fuckin' tutor's gonna help me? It's totally ir-"

"Language, brat!" she barked out at me. "And sit down correctly, instead of rolling on the floor like that, you weirdo."

I stood up again and regain my seat on the other side of her gigantic desk with what little pride I still had, glaring at her. She put her two elbows on it, and placed her riddle-less blonde head onto her joined hands. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Now, listen to me. You're going to get a tutor, 'cause you are awfully in need of one, and you're gonna work your ass off to bring me back good marks. Am I making myself clear?"

Like I was gonna abdicate.

"No, I'm probably too stupid to understand that too."

She sighed, passing tiredly a hand on her face. "Naruto-"

"Oh, don't 'Naruto' me! You know my marks are on the increase, I just get an A yesterday", I snapped, thinking furiously of other arguments I could use. "And Anko congratulated me for my performance just one week ago. Isn't it improvement?"

Instead of sounding intimidating, my last sentence rang out imploring. I clenched my teeth. That was not it at all.

"Please, brat. You got an A for running around the gymnasium in PE, and Anko is a teacher for drama class." She mumbled the other part. "Of course you above all would be good at that…"

I pointed an accusing finger at her.

"What that's supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a shitty quack, and that I'm not listening to you anymore." She then crossed her arms on her gigantesque breasts – how did it not overflow? – and glared at me.

I pouted.

"Not nice, old hag."

"Brat! Stop calling me that!"

"Old hag, old hag, old hag, OLD HAG!" I repeated furiously, as she clapped her hand on her ears.

"YOU", she pointed at me when I finished, "are getting a tutor by tomorrow! And this is no longer negotiable. Plus, I found you a perfectly correct one."

"I'm totally upset right no-" I paused. "What? YOU HAD ALREADY FOUND- Fuck, you didn't even ask me!"

Nice to know you had been betrayed by someone you thought care about you. 'She's doing it because she cares about you', a little voice said. I puffed my cheeks like a child. Okay, I loved Tsunade – she was like my granny – but sometimes, I just wished she was just that. And not a damn headmaster who could drop the tutor-bombshell on me.

"Please, I don't need to discuss it with you. As the adult, I make the choice, and you follow my lead."

I had the urge to flip her off.

But then, a thought suddenly occurred to me. I voiced it in the next second.

"Who were you talking about?"

"Ne?"

And they say I was the one with the slow-brain.

"The perfectly correct tutor you found me. Who it is?"


Bang-bang-bang.

"Naruto, if you keep banging your head on the wall, you're going to have a concussion, or something."

"More like a headache."

"Pshh, he's the one giving us a headache."

"Shut up, Kiba. Seriously, Naruto, what is wrong with you? Che, you're getting a tutor? So what?"

"I don't think it is what he's worried about, though."

"So what is it?"

Sideway glance.

"The tutor themselves."

I stopped banging my head to give an unfriendly glance to Shikamaru. Did this guy always know everything? Geez. I turned on the small wall I was currently sitting on to face my friends. There were only six of us, now, with Kiba, Ino, Sakura, Shika and Gaara. The latter was the only one silent, smoking tranquilly on my left. His green eyes, though, were scrutinizing me with every drag he was taking.

"Wha- why? Who's the tutor?" Ino asked, her nose wrinkled up in confusion.

Sakura seemed suddenly horrified, as her eyes widened. "Don't tell me it's-"

"No", I said. "No, no, no!" I added quickly when I saw three pairs of doubtful looks piercing holes through my skull. "I'd really, really be the unluckiest bastard on earth, if it was the case. You're close, though."

"Suigetsu?" Kiba asked blankly whilst stroking Akamaru's ears.

I tsked and tried to give him an imaginary punch, but he was too far for me to even manage to reach him. "Give me some credit, dude. The guy's got marks even worse than me."

"And that's saying something", Gaara smirked, before busying himself by making some circles with the smoke he blew.

I nudged him.

"Bastard", I snorted. "And why are you doing here, anyway? Where is your boyfriend?" I couldn't help but ask a little bitterly.

Not that I didn't like Neji, but I wasn't really comfortable in his presence, especially since… you know. Gaara once told me it was because I had trouble getting over the fact that their relationship lasted, while mine and Sasuke's… well, didn't. That day, I gave him the finger and then ignored him during a week. Because I knew deep down that he wasn't totally wrong. And that, I didn't like.

Anyway.

Gaara smirked at me, manifestly amused.

"Neji's not here. Had to help a friend."

I picked it up immediately, narrowing my eyes.

"Which friend?"

His smirk widened, discovering straight and white teeth. 'Just guess', he mouthed at me. I gave him a gruffly look.

"Yeah, well, super, but we don't care", Ino suddenly broke in, pursing her lips in annoyance. "Now, Naruto, tell us. Who is the tutor?"

I blinked. "Ne?"

"The tu-tor", Sakura spelled out, slapping the back of my head. I glared at her, saw her own glare, inflate my chest to prepare a witty comeback, took another look at her glare, and then…

…I dropped my head with a grumpy pout.

"Karinsmytutor" I muttered.

"What?" Sakura asked. "Didn't quite catch that."

I sighed. "Karin's my tutor."

I had expected a lot of things to happen, following this statement. That they burst into laughter – not one of these things.

"Man, you really have no luck", Kiba snickered. "She's a total bitch."

"Yeah", Ino added between chuckles. "And she totally hates your gut."

"My, thank you, Ino. As if I didn't know that already." I said cynically. I had the unpleasant feeling to be the center of a sick dramatic movie and it was not. Making me. Laugh.

Ino sent me a mean look. "No need to be bitchy about it."

"I'm not!" I defended myself. "I'm just- Tsunade said I'm failing most of my classes, right now. And, well it's killing me. I don't want to be tutored by Karin, I mean, she's crazy. She'll bite my head off or pay someone to do it instead." And like I'd want that to happen. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. I turned to Shikamaru, smiling hopefully. "Hey, can't you tutor me? You're a genius, so why not?"

Shika glanced sideway at me, stopping his cloud-contemplation, and I tried to make my smile brighter. He sighed, muttering a small 'troublesome'.

"Sorry, dude. Can't. Already got a student."

I raised both of my eyebrows. "Huh? Why didn't I know it? How come I'm always the last to-"

"Don't worry, Naruto, he just didn't want to tell it because it's not really lessons he's giving."

"Ino-", Shikamaru began threateningly, one of the rare times his voice was not totally bored.

"It's Temari", she pursued like he never interrupted her. She smirked at him. "Yeah, she's really smart, so what is the point of tutoring lessons, you'll ask me? Well, next time you see hickeys on Shikamaru's neck-"

"Ino!" he almost yelled – almost, because it was still Shikamaru, after all – sitting up. "Just shut up."

"No shit", Kiba swore.

I grinned, sharing a knowing glance with him.

"It's so cuuute", I babbled. "Shika got himself a little giwlfwiend, wouuh." I burst out laughing as well as Kiba. "Come here, man, it makes me want to cuddle."

"Me too, cuddy-bear", Kiba snickered before coming onto me as we hugged like two lovey-dovey persons. I heard Sakura and Ino giggling in the background.

"Sweetie-pie!" I purred, trying to stifle my chuckles.

"Pumpkin!" he replied with the same tone.

Shikamaru's voice, however, was cold-bored.

"I fucking hate you, guys."

"You heard that, smoochums?"

"Yeah, and it's bad, Foofie-foofie."

Afterward, I think we just died of laughing.


I was musing as I walked beside Gaara on the pavement. We were going to the parking lot to find our cars, and had parted ways with the others some ten minutes ago. A silence had found its place between us since then. I couldn't help but being a bit bothered and curious about Gaara's earlier paroles, and was wondering if I should ask him about it or not. I knew he was going to give me shit if I did, but then again, with the little smirk that was curling up his bloody-red lips, he was just probably waiting for it. Smartass. I sighed. What to do, what to do? Fuck, the tension was killing me.

"Ok, you won, I give up", I declared suddenly, gazing down at the ground as we keep marching on the sidewalk. "So go on. What did you mean, earlier?"

I didn't need to glance to know that Gaara's face was currently looking pleased, in this twisted psychological/mental way he particularly appreciated.

"Earlier?" he repeated tranquilly, his grave familiar tone appeasing, in spite of myself, my fears-wonders. Although I didn't really like what I was hearing.

I knew what he was trying to pull off. What he was trying to make me say. Alas, I wasn't intelligent enough to react maturely, and I think I blew up my cool-cover the exact moment I turned to give him a glare.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

And he did.

He had to, providing the smirk that widened on his lips. He glanced right back at me with an amused face, and I just knew what he was trying to imply. His green black-circled eyes were lighten up with the shimmer of someone who knew they were right, and will obtain just what they want. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing and feeling suddenly weary.

"Gaara…" I said, and it sounded suspiciously like a plea. Except I didn't do pleas.

He solely raised a non-existent eyebrow at me, his bright red hair accentuating the sadistic self-pleased expression on his smooth face.

"Yes?"

You couldn't put more hypocrisy into one word. Had it been another moment, I would have laughed at the idea of Gaara playing dumb. But then again, it was not another moment.

I pursed my lips.

"Okay, then…" I eventually gave up. "When you spoke about Neji just now, you know, like he had to help a friend and all and-" I swallowed, focusing on the cars parked along the way. "Well. Was it him? He… um, does he have trouble?"

There was a pause. Then, I heard Gaara sighing.

"Naruto, really, I don't know why you do that."

I scrunched my nose up in confusion.

"Do what?"

"That. Pretending you hate him and spend your time avoiding him, just to ask me about what goes on his life every time we're alone."

"I do not!" I protested, getting worked-up in the second. I could feel my cheeks burning up, as I bite onto my lower lip. "I don't care about him", I resumed in a more normal voice. "I just want to know if he's in trouble because – you know?"

"No, I don't."

I rolled my eyes.

"I don't care about him", I repeated. "I hate him. You know what he put me through, I mean, he- I-, he's a jerk. A fucking bastard. And I hope he'll burn in hell."

I had known Gaara for a long time, now, and I could tell he was annoyed at my childish answer. He smacked his lips together.

"He may be a bastard, but you are an idiot."

I glowered nastily at him. "Yeah? And why is that?"

"Naruto, you have to care to hate someone. So shut up about that, already", he said, completely ignoring my question. "And you know my opinion about you two. It hasn't change. I still think –"

"-that we're both two idiots and blablabla", I finished for him, before mimicking someone throwing up. I gazed up at the sky, before stating; "I may not have been honest with him all the time, and okay, I can admit that I screwed up more times than I can actually count, but please! For God's sake, he-"

"Yeah, I know, I know. But you never really let him explain."

"Oh, should I have? After all the Haku-fiasco-thing?" You could hear the sarcasm dripping from my voice.

Gaara gazed for a long time at me, and I ignored him as I kept walking awkwardly.

"I think-" he began, and then shook his head. "Never mind."

I nodded to myself, muttering a 'that's it' under my breath. I hoped he would keep on talking, but he stayed silent, brooding, or probably just thinking to himself. Most likely the latter, Gaara being Gaara. As he once told me, he didn't brood and glare at people for no reason just because he was pissed, he just 'cleared up his mind by entertaining himself with visions of people dying'. I asked him if he sometimes imagined me in one of this 'visions', something which he smirked at, before singing "a little bird, eaten by a tree, gave birth to birdies, who were not even alive" under his breath. I must say, I sometimes wondered why we were even friends to begin with – wait, I knew why. Because he was cool, and that we told everything to each other.

Made me think – back on the topic at hands.

"So?" I asked.

"So what?"

I tried to tap my foot on the ground impatiently like they do in cartoons – don't ask me why – but, as I was currently walking, I just failed miserably and almost tripped over myself. Regaining my composure lamely, I turned toward Gaara, just when we had finally reached the parking lot.

"So, why was Neji… you know?"

For one of the first time, I saw Gaara agape, as he stopped in his tracks. He seemed astonished, and I just had the time to wonder what amazed him all that much when-

"You're serious?" he asked, half-gaping. He must have seen my confused expression, however, because he began walking again, chuckling lowly. "I must say, Naruto, you're truly one of a kind."

"Um… thanks?"

Was I supposed to have another reaction?

"Fuck, sometimes, you amaze me", he mumbled under his breath, and I frowned. "Neji did go see Sasuke" – I cringed at the name used in a so carefree way – "because he had some trouble and he needed help with it. Happy?"

I scratched my head.

"What kind of trouble?"

Gaara's eyes bulged out, before a sarcastic aura came upon him, recomposing his entire face.

"And now, you're not caring for him at all, are you?"

Damn, he had problem understanding me, or what? Didn't I already say that?

"Not at all", I said brightly. "I'm just asking, 'cause ya know, I care for Iruka, and he's dating Kakashi, who is Sa- his guardian. So yeah, um, I'm concerned."

We had actually stopped now, in the middle of the parking. Gaara seemed to be staring at me hard, as if determining something in his mind. I began to feel a bit awkward at some point, and Gaara just shrugged before smirking at me.

"See you tomorrow, Naruto", he simply said before turning to walk to his car.

I stayed there, standing open-mouthed like an idiot (no, don't even dare say what I know you want to say).

"But hey! You didn't tell me!"


Karin was a complete and utter bitch. That was a fact.

Karin used her supposed-intelligence to do bad things (very bad things indeed). That was knowledge.

Karin's father must have been Satan himself. She has to be the daughter of the Devil.

Karin was a complete and utter bitch. I just hadn't realized how much. Until now.

There – another fact. She had been one hour and twenty minutes late to our tutoring lesson. Okay, I wasn't really on time myself. But. I was still here. When I saw that she wasn't coming anytime soon, I decided to take a little nap on one of the library's table. For my defense, libraries are quite lightless places and are… calm. Anyway, it didn't matter since it was just to be woken up an hour later by a freaking hard shake that had me falling on the floor. For the record, my ass didn't get over it.

Afterward, because I was a really forgiving soul, I tried to ignore Karin's constant glare on me and get on with the work. I was here to progress, and damn it if I wasn't going to. But Karin was a bit problematic and, like, getting in the way of my success – and probably doing it on purpose too.

She was staring at me angrily every five seconds, and had found six ways to assault me in the past fifteen minutes. She had stamped on my foot, dropped her book on my head (what was she even doing standing there?), slapped me supposedly by accident to make a mosquito go away, pulled on my hair and-

"FUCK!" I cried out, as I withdrawn immediately my hand with a pained cringed from under her needle heel. I just meant to pick up my fallen pen but- "What the HELL is WRONG with you?" I yelled with every angry vibes I could manage as I finally exploded.

I couldn't take it anymore and I glowered hard, as she stared at me haughtily through her glasses.

"What?" she snapped. "It was an accident. Now, focus on this exercise."

Naruto, you don't hit girls – Naruto, you don't hit girls – Naruto, you don't hit girls – Naruto you don't-

"What the…? Did you just try to hit me?"

I gulped. And stammered.

"I- I tried not to!"

Epic fail, apparently.

"Well, I'm surely not trying not to!" she screamed back.

Her sentence didn't even mean anything, but before I could open my mouth – I was bitch-slapped. Then punched in the shoulder. Then…

"Fuck, let me go", I groaned under the aggression. "What is your problem?"

"You", she said before punching my arm once more. "You are my problem!"

That I had understood.

"Why did I ever do to you?" I asked, massaging my arm and my shoulder with a frown.

"Just the view of you repulses me!"

What an explanation. What did I do, huh? Nothing. Seriously, I knew she was friend with Sasuke, but… wait. "Is this because of Sasuke? Because, like you said that time, I stole him away from you?"

And that was true. The first day we made public our relationship, not long after I asked him out, Karin had exploded and had thrown a fit, screaming about how I was a fucking moron trying to steal her man, an impious who turned her 'Sasuke-kun' into a damn faggot and all that shit. I didn't really remember because, face it, Sasuke had then cupped my cheeks with his hand before kissing the daylight out of me to explain clearly that I didn't turn him into anything. And she had calmed down not long after (though it had needed a Sasuke-intervention too). It was great, at that time.

Maybe she had came back to her first personnality.

Before Karin could say anything to protest – and I knew thanks to her expression that she sure was going to, I continued, my voice icy;

"New Flash, Karin! He is gay. He will never like you. In any case, you don't have to feel threatened by me. It's not like we're talking anymore. And I certainly don't want him", I added after a small pause.

I thought I had made my point clear, but when I saw the harsh look on Karin's face, it made me think otherwise.

"You- you" she began to stammer, and you could see the fury in her eyes. "You are so preoccupied thinking about yourself and your little problems that you clearly do not see anything that does not revolve around you. New Flash, Uzumaki! You were not the only one in this joke you call a relationship, and you certainly weren't the only one to suffer the- Rhaa! You know what? Fuck you. You really disgust me."

She then took her stuff and stormed off out of the library. I stayed stunned, staring at the spot she had been sitting on.

What. The. Hell?

I didn't even-

My phone suddenly rang, announcing a received text. I startled, before taking it, my face blank. I was a bit shocked, to say the least.

'Naruto, I know you're with your tutor right now, so I won't disturb you. Just to let you know that Kakashi and Sasuke are coming over tonight, so if you come home first, tidy up a little. Love you. Iruka.'

Still thinking about Karin's paroles, I didn't even register what I was reading.

And. What the fuck did she mean by the 'only one to suffer'?

So much for a tutoring lesson.


TBC