I don't own Naruto.
x.x.x
Ever since Kurenai had changed the seating arrangements, fifth period English had become a room full of tension. Some days were worse than others, granted, but the room was turning into a war zone. Discussions were becoming full out arguments; it was dangerous to look at someone, and making eye contact was a sign of aggression.
And, of course, whenever Kurenai left the room, all hell broke loose.
Today was a day worse than others.
When asked, no one would know what had sparked it. It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment when everything falls apart – it's just one of life's little mysteries.
Gaara knew, though. Unlike the other kids, he watched, and listened. He could tell you exactly how it started. Tensions had been mounting, and it was only a matter of time before they were released in a surge of aggression.
The catalyst for such a release was Sasuke dropping his pen.
One wouldn't think that the Uchiha extraordinaire would do something so mundane as to drop a pen, but he did, and perhaps it was someone so otherworldly doing something so human that set it off.
As it was, the pencil was under Sakura's seat. And, when he reached over to get it, Naruto saw his arm move and got the wrong idea. He flung his textbook at the other boy's head, but his timing was off; Sasuke was bending over, and it soared over him and connected solidly with the back of Shikamaru's head, startling him out of a nap.
Kimimaro snorted – about as much a reaction as one could expect out of him – and Shikamaru actually mustered the motivation to turn to the boy and slug him across the face.
Nobody moved for a split second. Then, Kimimaro lunged for Shikamaru, but didn't count on the other boy dodging, and instead he landed on Jugo.
And the boy went absolutely ballistic. He threw Kimimaro off him, whirled, and socked Sakura in the face for no apparent reason.
Next to Gaara, Ino stood. "Hey!"
And although ruckus was taking place, Kurenai had had her back turned and was oblivious – Ino's call alerted the woman, and she turned just in time to see Naruto lunching across two desks for Jugo's throat and Gaara throwing a spiral-bound book at Jugo's head.
"HEY!" Kurenai barked. Everyone froze, save for Naruto who collided solidly with Jugo. The other boy threw Naruto off, and he blinked up at Kurenai from his vantage point on the floor.
"Ino, Gaara, Naruto, and Jugo. Detention."
"What?" Ino and Naruto shrieked in a never-to-be-repeated moment of unison, just as Jugo screamed, "I'm innocent!"
Gaara said nothing, but his shoulders tensed visibly. Temari would be pissed.
Not that he cared.
"You heard me," Kurenai said all too brightly. "And it takes two to tango. Detention."
"For what?" Ino persisted, then figured it would be better if she sat down. She did, and Kurenai said, "For disrupting class. Now, if you would all be so kind as to open your copies of The Catcher in the Rye to page ninety-six, where we see Holden has an encounter with Sunny…"
The rest of Kurenai's words washed over Ino. Sakura turned around and offered a small smile, but Ino could see that Sakura was going to have a nice shiner.
Ouch. I can't believe that Kurenai missed that!
Ino sent Sakura a half-rueful, half-sympathetic look, but on the inside she was screaming. She had practice tonight. Coach was gonna be pissed. And what would it do to her reputation to be in detention with Jugo, let alone her marks.
At least demerits weren't mentioned…
Ino was a bit of a closet scholar, and truly cared about her grades – even if the only people who knew were Sakura and Shikamaru (both of whom had helped her study on more than one occasion.)
Ino spent the rest of the period glaring at the back of Kurenai's head.
She so didn't need this right now.
When class let out, Sakura rushed out, as did Gaara and Naruto. Ino sighed and gathered her things. She was one of the last people in the room, and probably the only one to notice the spiral-bound book that was left on the floor near Jugo's seat.
She frowned and went to pick it up. It was a sketchbook – Gaara's.
Curious, she flipped through it as she made her way to lunch.
x.x.x
Ino was certain that the school clocks had a conspiracy against her. Whenever she needed the day to end, and now, they would take their good old time moving; but when she could use the extra time to compose herself and enjoy the not-dread, time absolutely flew by.
Shikamaru, in a rare moment of wit, had called it the Theory of Inverse Cognitive Relativity – something about time either working one way or another depending on how much you wanted or didn't want it to.
Well, it totally explained a lot, and used big legitimate scientific words to explain that clocks hate Ino.
As it was, the day absolutely flew by and Ino was less than happy at two o' clock that afternoon.
And she needed to give Gaara his sketchbook back – he was probably missing it by now. She had no other classes with him and figured that detention was the next best thing.
But holy crap. That kid could draw.
And good, too. Having Dei for an older brother made her aware of what was 'good art, hm,' and what art 'sucked ass.' Her brother's sense of what was….true art…was a little strange, but she could tell that Gaara had talent. There were pictures of everything and anything – a mug, a bird, a scene of a dragon destroying a castle, a forest, a cat, a raccoon, and her favorite – one of a cutesy little anime fox, all sketched in a perfect mix of cartoon and detail.
Who knew?
She handed the disciplinarian the slip Kurenai had so graciously written her at the end of class and went to the back to take her seat and start on her homework. Some moderators were stick and wouldn't let you do anything, but Asuma was lax. He didn't mind, as long as you were quiet and all technology was away (which was a pity, because Ino could really go for some Foo Fighters right about now.)
Gaara wasn't in yet – she'd give him the book after
She walked in and sat down near the window in the back. Naruto entered in soon after, and took a seat next to hers. "This sucks," he grumbled as he sat. "We did nothing."
"I know," Ino said quietly back. She snapped her mouth shut when Asuma looked up, then when he looked back down said, "Kurenai's crazy."
Naruto snorted. "Jugo's crazy. And she didn't notice anything until–"
"Uzumaki," Asuma shot him a warning glare, then went back down to the papers he was grading. Naruto glared back and grumbled something deep in his throat. He visibly tensed when Jugo stormed in, but the other boy took a seat on the opposite side of the room.
"Can't believe the psycho would up and punch her," he growled. Ino mhmed her agreement. Seriously. Jugo was known as one of the more unstable kids and all, and was rumored to have been held back two grades, but still, to just up and punch somebody…
"I'm surprised she didn't punch him back," Ino whispered.
Naruto cracked a grin. "She did after class."
Asuma looked up as Gaara entered. Ino watched as he strode in and took a seat behind Naruto, and wondered exactly how someone with so many chains could move so silently.
Well, not silently. There was only a faint clink, not an incessant jingle like she expected. It was strange, in a way.
"Well, there's Sakura for you."
"I know."
"Uzumaki!" Asuma glared at the boy.
"Sorry!"
Ino smiled to herself. Naruto had somehow managed to endear himself to almost all the teachers, and Asuma probably wouldn't do more than call him out on talking.
She sighed and turned back to her math worksheet and tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach.
x.x.x
When the detention hour ended, Jugo bolted out of the room. Naruto bid her and Gaara goodbye and raced after him. Ino sighed, and wondered if he'd ever learn. He was an alright kid, just really dense at times.
"Uhm," Ino said, turning to Gaara. She didn't know where the sudden attack of shyness had come from, but it was unnatural and ridiculous. She cleared her throat. "This yours?" she held out the sketchbook. Something flickered across Gaara's face; his arm flashed out, and the next thing she knew he was holding it rather possessively to his chest. "Why did you have it?"
"You're really good," Ino said, ignoring his question. "Like, seriously talented."
"You looked though it?" Gaara made it sound like she'd just eaten a baby and looked rather scandalized.
"Yes?" Ino didn't like how it came out more as a question, but Gaara ignored it. "Because you have a right to violate other people's personal property, am I right, princess?" he sneered.
Indignation surged up in Ino. "Will you pull your head out of your ass? I was looking for a name, jerkoff, and happened to see some of the art. Take a goddamn chill pill. I gave you a compliment. Just say thank you and go one your way."
"Of course, because you're such an expert on art," Gaara spat.
This guy is impossible. The smart thing to do would be walk away. But Ino, though intelligent, could be rather immature. "Actually, I happen to know a thing or two. Jeez. Just because you wear black and brood in corners doesn't mean you have artistic superiority – "
"I never said I did," he countered, taking a step forward. "I said you didn't."
Ino couldn't resist – she rolled her eyes. "Well shove it. Because I do –"
"You don't take art – how the hell would you know anything?"
"Some people just do," she sniffed, not really liking where this was going. There were several reasons why she didn't take art, and half of them revolved around one person. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not stupid."
"Yea, you just care too much about what people think."
Okay, that stung. She ignored it. "You're the one flipping because I looked at your sketches."
For a split second he looked surprised, as if he didn't expect her to turn his words around. "That's because," he said, not missing a beat, "They're private."
"Right," Ino drawled, a malicious grin crossing her features, "Or you just don't want people to know that the God of Goths draws chibi foxes." Yea, what now. I speak anime. SCHOOLED.
Gaara's looked changed from 'Annoyed' to DIE BITCH DIE. Ino figured that that would be a good point to leave the room, so she did.
Promptly.
And left a seething Gaara in her wake.
x.x.x
Consider this an apology for lack of updates. Yay!
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