The Keeper

WARNING: Sakura is extremely OOC in this. If you thought Ino was bad, check her out. The couples are as follows:
NaruSasu KibaHina SakuLee NejiTenten InoShika. I'll mention other's along the way.

Chapter Four: Sasuke and Naruto

Sakura said nothing to this but lift a shoulder, and so they continued on walking downstairs in the tense silence that now surrounded them. Luckily for Naruto, they were easily able to find their classroom once they descended the ground floor through the loud bellowing of their overly dramatic English teacher, Mr. Richmond.

'Great' Naruto groaned, leaning his head backwards 'It's not even 10 and the weirdo's in Shakespeare mode'

Sakura smirked.

Sakura looked positively bored as they entered the room, with Naruto following suit behind her. Upon entering, he looked around and was surprised to see that the class was chock full of faces he had either ignored for the past three years, or hadn't been in any of his classes until now. Great, so what was the point of being popular if you had no friends (minus one bad-tempered best friend) in your classes?

It appeared that Mr. Richmond (who was a grey, flamboyantly eccentric man in his mid-fifties) was just finishing up on roll call as he closed a hot pink folder and began shuffling a few stacks of untidy papers on his desk. At the sound of their close arrival, though, the older man glanced up towards them with his glasses perched half-way down his nose and and an expression on his face that suggested he wasn't overly surprised by their late arrival.

'Ah, so it seems Mr. Uzumaki and Miss Haruno have finally decided to grace us with their presence. How lovely' His tone was drenched in irony, but given the circumstances, Naruto wasn't goanna be the one to back chat.

'Morning, Sir' He greeted in his usual airy, cheerful manner 'How's it goin? You have a good holiday? I sure as hell did' And with that, he habitually crossed his arms behind his head.

As he said all of this, Sakura quietly manoeuvred herself towards the back of the classroom, where she perched herself on a seat to a girlfriend. Said girlfriend who happened to be really cute. What was her name again? - Tenten, or something?

'It was splendid, Naruto' Oh, that's right. He had been talking to the teacher. 'I only hope that over the holidays you managed to learn the exercise of self-restraint'. Shit. He had a point there.

Mr. Richmond didn't look amused with Naruto's dry attempt at greasing up to him, but it didn't stop Naruto from smiling at him all the same. 'No worries, Sir, I'll be on my best behaviour this year' he said casually with a salute, before deciding to get a move on.

Yeah, it was probably splendid for you, alright. Naruto thought as he made his way over towards the back rows You probably spent your entire time at home knitting socks for orphans or something equally boring

Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks. He had been about to move to the back of the classroom where Sakura was sitting when he realised that there were hardly any seats even left in the room. Shit, he hadn't realised that at first. Sakura had though. Casting the pink haired girl he called his best friend a disbelieving look, he was surprised to find himself graced with a snigger on her behalf.

The bitc... It was no wonder she was friends with Nolovoska!

Resigned, Naruto made his way over towards the only free table (directly parallel to the teacher's too, at that) and plonked himself down. He was lucky it was next to the window.
Lazily, Naruto pulled out his dodgy work book and the one pen he always carried around with him, but out of sheer boredom paid no notice to Mr. Richmond as he droned on about something and began leaning back and forth in his chair like his owned it.

He didn't give a rats if Richmond told him off, or not. Anything would be better but this.

I want Miso Ramen. Eight bowls of it. And I want it from Ichiraku's, not from some cheapo packet.

And then he saw it. Peeking out from the corner of the outside school window, it was small, royal blue, and very much resembled what Naruto could only describe as a -

'Come in, Mr. Uchiha. You're late'

Peeling his eyes away from the window in something of a daze, Naruto glanced around to find his gaze land on none other than the bastard, Sasuke Uchiha, who was standing next to the open door with a green late slip in his hand and a what looked like a very stoic expression on his face.

Naruto scowled, forgetting about the strange blue creature he had just seen. It could have been a trick of the light for all he knew. Besides...the bastard still looked as posh and up himself as ever, what with his perfectly styled hair and his uniform all neatly ironed and tucked in. Naruto could see from the corner's of his eyes some of the girls in the classroom eyeball him greedily.

Asshole. And here I thought he was above flaunting school rules.

Sasuke said nothing to Mr. Richmond other than to hand his green slip over to him. With that, Naruto noticed the blonde eye's scan the room and was deeply satisfied to see the blonde's face harden once his eyes landed on him.

That's right, there was only one spot left in the room, and it was next to him. But Naruto didn't give a crap about that. Asshole could sit on the floor, for all he cared. Apparently though, Naruto's glare wasn't as good as he thought it was, because the raven steered himself towards him regardless of the death stares he was receiving that clearly spelt 'Come ten feet near me, and you'll cop it'.

'Morning, Sasuke' Said a very game girl named Alex West. She was bluntly ignored. Naruto had to hand it to the poor chick for trying, but still, he resented every girl in school who was stupid enough to see the sun shining out of that idiot's ass.

'Dobe. I see that they let you enter the eleventh grade' Sasuke said by way of greeting as he reached their desk, smirking in that overly conceited way that was typical of him.

'You aint sitting here, teme' Naruto growled as the blonde went to pull his chair out.

Sasuke scoffed, making no move to stop his actions. 'Don't bother speaking if stupidity is all you have to offer. I see that even over the holidays, nothing's changed in that department for you'

In a swift move, Sasuke swipped all of Naruto's belongings to his side of the table, and promptly sat himself down, making sure his posture was perfectly straight, neat and composed.

Naruto glared him his side of the table, slamming down on his chair and catching a whiff of laundry detergent and the Ocean. 'I'm not stupid' he denied through clenched teeth, watching Mr. Richmond blabber on with his body turned towards the Whiteboard through his peripheral vision

Sasuke cast him a look that gave Naruto reason to believe he clearly thought otherwise. 'That's extremely debatable' he said in a low, jeering voice.

Naruto scowled. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

Sasuke flicked him a brief glance, taking his expensive school items out of his leather satchel. 'Exactly what it sounds like. Or is your skull that thick you can't even grasp where I'm getting at?'

Naruto's voice started getting louder. 'I understand where you're getting at, you stupid
bastard - '

'Being called stupid by you is ironic'

'Boys!' yelled Mr. Richmond as he turned around from the Whiteboard and slammed a heavy book onto his desk that made half the class jump and Sasuke glare away.

'You two can't even go five minutes without starting an argument! I thought that perhaps the holidays might have changed all of that, but you've clearly both proven yourselves otherwise, and it's starting to become a real liability in my classroom. Naruto, you're the catalyst. Pack your things up, and get the hell out. You're going to the Principal'

'No!' Quickly, Naruto sobered up and made an 'X' gesture with his arms that opposed this. 'I can't be sent to the old hag, Sir, she'll kill me'. It was true. The conversation Naruto had had with Principal Tsunade wasn't a pretty one. He was on the verge of expulsion from the outstanding number of fights and misdemeanours under his belt. If he was sent to her office one more time, just one more, then -

'Yes, Naruto. I heard about your probation this morning' Mr. Richmond said dryly, fixing his glasses up 'But frankly, you've done nothing but - '

'We'll keep it quiet'

Shocked, Naruto glanced over to see that the bastard, whose glare was for once not directed at him but their English teacher, had willingly stuck up for him. What was up with this guy? Was he on crack? The holidays couldn't have possibly given him enough time to grow a conscience, surely...

Mr. Richmond gave his best student a wary look, before closing his eyes and opening them again 'I see. Well in that case, then, in the matter pertaining to Belonging it is detrimental to take into account...'

'You got yourself into a fight on the first day of school? Isn't that a bit rich, even by your
low standards?' Sasuke queried with distaste, eyeing Naruto as he tried avoiding having to face him.

Naruto scowled down at his work book in front of him. He didn't like being questioned by the raven. It all sounded suspiciously similar to what Sakura had said to him earlier on in the hallway. 'Just to set the record straight, teme, I wasn't in no fight. I was put on probation before I even had a chance to flex my arms. The old hag's gotten paranoid. She think's I'm like, this stray dog that might run lose at any minute'

Sasuke smirked, leaning his elbows on the table 'I have confidence in her opinion. She is, after all, a Professional in this business' Great, and so he was back to being all haughty and prick-like.

'Screw you, Teme'

Sasuke scoffed, glancing over towards the Whiteboard where Mr. Richmond was scribbling down notes. 'No, thank you. I've got better things to do in my time'

Naruto's eyes widened animatedly. Oh, you -

He had been about to seriously give the duck butt a piece of his mind before he noticed the strange blue thing again hovering around the hallway outside of his classroom. It was little, and ferrety, but had the distinct resemblance of a...a monkey.

'What the hell...?' Naruto muttered under the breath, sparking Sasuke's attention on to him.

The raven said nothing to him, other than to follow his gaze.

By the way his eyes widened slightly, Naruto knew that he wasn't the only who could see it. 'What the hell is that thing?' Naruto whispered, leaning towards Sasuke. He looked around to see if anyone else could see it, but everyone else seemed focused on listening to Mr. Richmond drone on about Belonging.

'I don't know what you're on about' Sasuke snapped, turning his attention back towards
the Whiteboard with steely eyes. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say you needed to be placed under psychiatric examination'

'Oh, fuck off, Teme' said Naruto angrily, watching Mr. Richmond's back with a careful eye 'I know you saw what I saw'

Asshole seemed adamant though at sticking to his story.

'Dobe. I understand that it is vital you simpletons have creative outlets, but would you mind pestering someone else who actually gives a damn. I have work to do' And with that, he started writing down the notes on the board, but Naruto got the feeling he was just making excuses.

Naruto fumed in his seat, watching the blonde with indignation. The arrogant...the stupid bloody...he was so goanna cop it at lunch time when Naruto rounded all the boys and -

'Take a picture while you're at it. It'll last longer'

Huh.

It took a moment for Naruto to realise that the comment had been directed at him, and that yes, it had come from the bastard, who was looking down at his notebook with a smug smile attached to his stupid face.

He had been staring. He had been staring at him and he didn't even realise it. Shame.
Naruto felt so embarrassed at having been caught that...he couldn't even come up with a...he was suspended in a moment of sheer...urgh, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame!

Distraught by this, Naruto quickly scanned around the room to see who might have heard it. Everyone was now involved in class work of some kind - even Sakura, who sat in her seat with her chin resting in her hand and her eyes glued to her work book. Naruto only hoped that by a matter of divine intervention, that she and her hot mate didn't hear -

'Naruto?'

Breaking him from his thoughts, Naruto turned around to see that Mr. Richmond, who had been watching the exchange at some length, now affected a look of deep concern towards him. Heh. That was a first.

'Yeah?' Naruto asked, dumbfounded

'Are you alright? You look a little...' Mr. Richmond seemed to be searching for the right word. He looked uncomfortable, and his hand covered his mouth like he was afraid he might say the wrong word.

Naruto frowned. Do I look alright?

Looking at Mr. Richmond though, he said otherwise.

'Yeah, I'm fine, aye, Sir. It's just this asshole over here' Naruto said, jerking his head over towards a now peeved Sasuke 'Out of all places to sit his Emo ass down, he has to sit with me'

Okay, so maybe there weren't any other seats in the room where the bastard could have stalked off to. But Naruto didn't care, he just didn't want him sitting next to him. Capadre?

'You should be flattered. Not everyone is willing to put up with your infantile antics'

'What the hell was that, Teme!' Naruto demanded angrily, leaning his fist over towards the blonde.

If Sasuke was intimidated in any way, he didn't show it. Instead, he rolled his eyes and sighed at Naruto like he was some annoying child that needed attending to.

'Do you think I would waste my time sitting next to an moron like you if I had a choice?'

Naruto was caught off guard by the question. Do you think I would waste my time...He stopped and regarded the raven with angry eyes, but decided to take another route.

'Sir, I really think you should send him over to see the old hag. Or a therapist, at that. He's so rude, he's even eavesdropping in on other people's conversations'

Sasuke flickered a glare over towards Naruto. 'I wasn't eavesdropping' he justified coolly to their teacher, despite his gaze still being on Naruto 'Loudmouth over here was screaming his conversation the entire time'

'Boys' Mr. Richmond tried reprimanding, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

Naruto gasped, affronted. 'I'm not loud, you asshole!'

'Understatement of the year. My ears bleed everytime you bellow' Sasuke deadpanned, resting his chin in his palm

Naruto drew in a deep breath. 'Oh, yeah? Loudmouth, eh? How's about we take this outside and see whose the loudmouth when they're screaming from the pain of getting their ass handed to them!'

Sasuke arched an eyebrow 'Is that a challenge?' he asked, smirking

Naruto scowled at the nerve of him. 'Oh, just you wait, you Tem - '

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise outside the hallway, which caught the attention of both Naruto and Sasuke. Everyone else however seemed to be oblivious to the noise, as they continued on doing their work without so much as an simple acknowledgement.

Startled by this, Naruto looked at Sasuke, who seemed intent on glaring at the open door.

'I need to be excused' he muttered quietly.