CHAPTER 3: Flustered and Confused: Sakura's Complication
Hinata was still crying as she was being led at the garden by Tenten. She still couldn't believe that Sakura was capable of thrashing around like that when angry. Tenten, at lost for more soothing words, just rubbed her back and handed her a clean handkerchief. They didn't notice that they were nearing the spot where Neji and Shikamaru were, so Tenten was very much surprised when Neji suddenly showed up in front of them, with Shikamaru behind him.
"Miss Hinata! What happened to you? Are you hurt?" Neji asked frantically.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Here we go again… Neji and his over protectiveness. What a trouble for poor Hinata," he thought.
When Hinata didn't answer, Neji looked at Tenten accusingly. Tenten, knowing full well that look, immediately defended herself.
"Excuse me, Hyuuga Neji. If that's what you're thinking, I tell you that you're absolutely wrong. As if I'm going to make Hinata cry and upset. You know me better than that," she said defiantly.
Seeing the honest look in her eyes changed Neji's mind. To make amends, he asked, "So, what happened? Will you tell me?"
Tenten sighed. But as she was about to speak, it was Hinata who answered Neji's inquiry.
"I-I'm alr-right, Neji. Please. It's not Te-Tenten's fault. Tha-thank you fo-for your co-concern," Hinata bowed her head—a gesture of thanks, "I-it's ju-just… I fe-feel upset. I'm so-sorry, Tenten. I sho-should ha-have wa-waited for yo-you and I-Ino…"
Tenten shook her head, "No, Hinata. It was not your fault," she said firmly, "Sakura… she took it out at the wrong person. We—Ino and I—should be the one to apologize… for Sakura's behavior."
Neji looked at Tenten then at Hinata. "So you mean to say—President Haruno found out about Naruto already?" he asked.
Tenten and Hinata nodded their heads. Neji pursed his lips tightly. Shikamaru sighed, "Well, it's inevitable. If Naruto's going to work with you, she will know, being the President and all. But I was a little surprised at how she reacted. I'll understand if it's Ino who's going to thrash around, but Haruno? That's…a little unimaginable," he said.
"That's how Sakura is when angry. Right now, only Ino can make her see sense," Tenten said seriously, "Those two… understand each other more than anyone else."
Meanwhile, inside the Student Council headquarters, Ino was still trying to pacify the angered Sakura. She knew that her friend wouldn't listen to anyone except her. So in order to avoid casualties (which includes the whole room), she tried her best to cool her down. Incidentally, some idiot in the school radio station started playing the song "Fix You", which can be heard all over the school ("Damn. Is it lunch already? The clubhouse sandwiches…oh never mind," Ino thought sadly).
"Sakura?" Ino asked tentatively, careful not to awaken her "inner demon", as she called it.
Sakura didn't respond. Her whole form is still shaking with anger. This time, annoyance and desperation took hold of Ino. She took a deep breath and marched right in front of Sakura. Looking deep into her eyes, she raised her right hand and slapped her.
The impact of the slap must have awoken Sakura, for when she finally looked at Ino, her eyes were surprised and her trembling stopped. Grabbing her opportunity to scold Sakura while she's still dumbfounded, Ino shouted at her,
"WHAT THE HELL, HARUNO SAKURA? Are you going to sulk here forever? I mean, look around you… our headquarters…you messed it up! This room is supposed to be the symbol of the Council—our symbol. Look what you've done because of your unreasonable anger! And Hinata! My god, you know full well how Hinata is, and you shouted at her! I can't imagine what…what trauma she might be experiencing now! And how are you going to face Neji? Neji, for humanity's sake, Sakura! Is this how you act? Are you really the leader of this school? If you're going to let your anger get the best of you, I suggest we look for another President capable of leading the council and her emotions!"
Ino stopped, her breathing uneven because of all the shouting. Sakura, on the other hand, only looked at her, at lost for words.
Ino took a deep breath, "I know full well how much you resented Uzumaki, Sakura. From the way you spoke about him, I know he irks you. He's your rival that you want to beat since high school. You told me once that you wanted to prove that you can excel by doing your best and not simply relying on "inherited traits". But if this rivalry will make you do something that will hurt others and our friends, you should stop it!"
She looked imploringly at Sakura, who shook her head slowly, "No, I won't. Not until that moron sees my point. Who cares if he's the son of the Yellow Flash? Who gives a damn if he's born genius? What good will his intelligence do if he won't use it for others?" she's shouting now, "I told him after elementary graduation that I will prove to him that intelligence should be used for others, not for oneself! So what if he's popular? So what if he's always number one? No, I will not and never back down!" she said.
Ino nodded at her words, "That's what I've been waiting to hear. This rivalry should make you do your best to prove yourself, not harbor feelings of malice. If he's to be a temporary member of the council, so be it. Instead of sulking and giving yourself and others a heart attack, use this opportunity to make him see your point," she pointed out.
Sakura nodded vigorously, "Yes. I will," she said firmly. She closed her eyes for a minute, as if contemplating. When she opened them again, Ino was relieved to see that her eyes were back to normal—fierce and controlled. She turned and walked towards the window then spoke formally,
"Vice President Yamanaka," Ino straightened her back, "Let's welcome our newest member, shall we?"
Ino smiled discreetly. "Yes, I think we should, President Haruno. But first…" she said.
Sakura turned towards her with a curious expression. "But first?" she asked.
"I think you should apologize to some people first," Ino said seriously.
Hinata and Tenten were still in the garden, waiting for Neji and Shikamaru to return (as it turned out, Neji insisted on buying water for Hinata. Shikamaru tagged along because he said that he "can't stand being with women"). Hinata still had this far-away look on her face, Tenten on the other hand, kept sending pitiful glances at her direction.
The tense silence became even tenser when they heard the footfalls of Sakura and Ino. Hinata froze and started shaking. Tenten stood up and walked over towards them.
Ino eyed Tenten wordlessly before swiftly walking towards Hinata, leaving her alone with Sakura. Tenten stood straight. "Yes?" she asked stiffly. Sakura flinched inwardly. She heard Tenten speak like that before, when some students badmouthed the council, but she never used that tone to her or to their friends.
Sakura looked at her nervously. "I…" she started. She took a deep breath, "I came over to say I'm sorry. That was very irresponsible of me, I know. I never should have let my anger control me. Really, Tenten. I didn't mean to…" she trailed off.
Tenten looked at her for a while. Much to Sakura's surprise, she grinned. "Really. If you're not my friend, I would have shouted at you right then and there," she laughed, "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Hinata. After all, she's the one who experienced your 'wrath of hell'."
Sakura looked over at Hinata, who was eyeing them nervously. She walked over to her and took her hands in hers. Hinata's eyes widened at the gesture.
"Hinata?" said Sakura softly, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you. I should have held back my anger."
Tenten and Ino looked on. When Neji and Shikamaru approached, Tenten shushed them. Neji was obviously displeased, with his eyes narrowed and the bottle in his hand about to burst.
Hinata shook her head. "It's alright. I understand why you reacted that way. Sakura really wanted to beat Naruto and I know how hard it was for you to accept him as a temporary member," she said.
Sakura smiled at her then turned around. She walked towards Neji and looked at him for a while before taking a deep breath.
"Neji. I want to apologize for the worry I caused you. I promise I won't make Hinata cry again," she said apologetically.
Neji merely nodded before walking off, with Shikamaru behind him. When they disappeared behind the door, Sakura let out a sigh of relief.
"Yamanaka, Tenten, Hyuuga," the three immediately perked up, "let's go. We have a meeting and some brainstorming to do." Sakura said seriously.
"Coome oon, Haruno! This is booooooring…"
Sakura let her eyelids flutter shut for a minute. It's been a month since Naruto joined them and obviously, everyday is a challenge. During the past weeks, Sakura's patience seems to have lengthened and her attitude towards Naruto became lenient. He, on the other hand, became a little responsible—he was no longer sleeping in class and wandering the school like he's some god. He's constantly turning down his fangirls' requests and spending time in the library with Sakura and Hinata. The weaklings in school and former heartthrobs were overjoyed at Naruto's unbelievable transition. Gone were the days when weaklings have to hide in the toilet and when the heartthrobs have to endure the pain of being turned down by girls who claimed to 'love Naruto and Naruto alone'. The bullies, on the other hand, were disheartened, for they look up to Naruto as an 'epitome of coolness' and 'jack of all trades, and the master of all'.
Naruto's gradual changing was not overlooked by the officials, who were stunned at how the Student Council was able to make Naruto into a 'better citizen of the nation'. They congratulated everyone, especially Sakura.
But even if that were the case, there were times when Naruto would 'break down' and lapse into complete idiocy—like this time.
Sakura opened her eyes. "Naruto, we have to finish cleaning the gym for the program. Otherwise, the Disciples of the Sistine Art Club won't be able to decorate it tomorrow," she explained.
Naruto gave her a look of pure annoyance. "I know that Haruno, but you're totally missing the point," he remarked while arranging the chairs.
She raised her eyebrows. "Which is? If you're asking about the maintenance, they went to…"
Naruto cut her off. "I know about the maintenance going at an outing. My point is… why are we the only ones cleaning?" he asked.
Sakura sighed. "Ino's dad came, so obviously she's spending time with him and Hinata has training with Neji today," she said.
Naruto sighed. "So you, who don't have a guy waiting for her, were left alone. What a pity," he mocked.
Sakura stopped sweeping. "You're right. I don't have a guy waiting for me. But I'm waiting for him," she said quietly.
Naruto froze. When he looked at Sakura, her expression was that of sadness. His blood boiled, but he contained it. "What? You're still obsessed on that pretty boy Uchiha? Where is he anyway? I thought he was studying here that's why…never mind," he said suddenly.
"He left. He joined the Tribe of Orochimaru," she said.
Naruto did a double take on that statement. "Wh-what? That idiot?" he exclaimed, "No way!"
Sakura just nodded, her tears threatening to fall. "Yes. He did. I tried to stop him, but…" she trailed off.
Naruto's eyebrows knitted together. "That guy. We made a promise to each other. He broke it!" he thought angrily.
His anger quickly dissipated though, not wanting to alert Sakura. He just sighed. "This brings back nostalgic memories. When we were kids, you're always waiting for that guy, yet he ignores you and leaves you. I often see you standing beneath the shed, waiting for him, even if it takes him forever to show up," he sighed again, "I may be your rival but I cannot stand seeing you losing it because of him." Sakura's head whipped towards him. "Huh?"
Naruto looked at her, not meeting her gaze. "Let's put it this way Haruno: you never got tired of waiting, even though the one you're waiting for never showed up. Someday, you'll find that someone is definitely waiting for you. He's just beneath the shed with you, waiting for you to notice him."
When he met her gaze, he was surprised to see her staring at him. "What?" he demanded.
Sakura blinked. "Nothing. It's just… I didn't know that you're capable of making others feel better, Uzumaki. I though you can only make people feel worse," she said, still stunned.
Naruto snorted, "Sorry to disappoint you Haruno, but I'm human," he shot at her sarcastically. "Let's finish this already shall we? The sun's setting and I'm hungry," he pointed out.
"Yes, I get it," she replied, rolling her eyes at his childish statement.
The sun cast a beautiful orange glow at the gym, illuminating the place. Sakura looked around and saw how the sun made the gym alive. She was about to tell this to Naruto when she was distracted by the warm glow being cast upon his figure. Her heart started pounding, thus making her feel nervous all of the sudden.
"What's wrong with me? It's just Uzumaki. Get a grip Sakura. He's your rival!" she thought indignantly.
Naruto turned around, driving Sakura out of her reverie. "This place seemed very much alive don't you think so Haruno?" he asked.
Sakura, still speechless, just nodded her head. Naruto smiled at her. It was the first time Naruto spoke about something so casually and out of the blue. It was the first time Naruto smiled to her that way, without sarcasm—only genuine intent.
A lot of firsts happened that day. But it wasn't the first time Sakura felt this way.
With her like this, history is about to repeat itself, she thought bitterly.
(A/N: Wooh! Finally done with chapter 3! Watch out for chapter 4 to know what's going to happen. R&R please! Thanks for reading!)