Chapter 7 – Mai, and a flower

Class 2-1 were… a little different from other classes. It was more like a gathering of strong individual personalities, trying to fit in and shine through all at the same time. They worked well together if needed, even though they had vast differences in opinions and values. This might sound like any other classes as well, but what did set them apart from those types, were their background, their upbringing. Or rather, the influential and powerful connections they had.

There was the Hokage's son, with his loud and enthusiastic personality, acting as the class clown and its mood maker. His best friend, the second son of the police chief, a silent guy with an incredible brain. Naturally, with his logical thinking, he was one of the two class representatives. Then, there was the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, one of the biggest and most influential clan in Konoha, with her calm and generous character. The lovely angel of the class, if you wanted to call her that. Among other not less important figures forming the future of not only Konoha, but also the whole Fire country. All together in one class, the elite class some people liked to call it.

In addition, the class got a new member during the start of the second year, the adopted son of the Kazekage no less. Another colorful addition to the bunch of strong personas. And even with all those interesting personalities, his mix into the class had a giant impact on the atmosphere of it. While Itachi and Sasuke had a secret task to overshadow him, it was Sakura who managed to find out the most about his identity. The boys only had to reduce and minimize the attacks on the new student, and everything went back to how it used to be. With small incidents here and there, nothing worth mentioning.

That was until a week ago, the incident between the new student and the composed guy. Obviously, the headmaster wasn't happy about that. A fight between the Kazekage's son and the son of the police chief no less.

"So? What happened?" Sitting on his comfortable chair, the headmaster watched them both with serene eyes. On his left Uchiha Sasuke with an injured hand, on his right Sabaku no Gaara with a swollen cheek and a bloody nose and behind them their homeroom teacher Hatake Kakashi.

While Sasuke was sitting upright on his chair, looking almost bored at the headmaster, Gaara was crouching on his, staring intently at the old man in front of him. Always glancing back towards the door, where a pink-haired student was ordered to clean up her blood-stained face, before coming back. A weird sentence to say out loud. Neither of them said a word.

"Do you both really want me to call your parents?" The headmaster threatened. It was just a bluff, but it got the intended reaction he wanted. No way in hell was he going to call one of their parents, if it could be avoided, but the students didn't need to know that.

Both perked up by the mention of their parents and funnily, they reacted almost exactly the same way. Both pair of eyes widened, their breath hitched, their faces paled visibly, and the headmaster could see their minds were working restlessly for something to say.

Finally, the class rep answered. "There is no need for that, Sarutobi-sensei. We were… just having an argument. But it will never happen again." He finished lamely. The headmaster watched them for a few seconds longer, in case they wanted to add something, but they didn't.

"A violent argument. What am I going to say to your parents? Hm?"

"I… fell during gym classes."

"Me too."

And that was it. Everything went back to how it was, the year ended nicely and a few years later they graduated without problems. Or so Kakashi wished. But when Sarutobi-sensei called him and the other teachers for another meeting later – the second one already and summer wasn't even there yet – he prayed that it wasn't more trouble coming his way.

Needless to say, he wasn't even surprised when he got another student from an influential clan. On the contrary, it would have frightened him if his luck suddenly decided to pop out, after all these years. But one can still hope.

"From the Shimura-clan?" Asuma asked astonished. "Isn't it tradition for them to be home tutored?"

"Yes, it is tradition. But Danzo-kun decided, his grandson needs to learn how to interact with people his age. Apparently, he's a little shy and unexperienced to have around." Sarutobi-sensei answered while nodding approvingly. "Therefore, try to help him to get used to the class, Kakashi-kun. I'm counting on you."

Yeah. As if I didn't have enough to do with the class as it is now, Kakashi thought dryly. But what came out of his mouth was, "Of course, Sarutobi-sensei", along with his famous eye-crinkle smile.


When Sai was first introduced to the class, they were all cautious around him. Everyone knew that the Shimura clan was one of the strictest clans there was in Konoha, if not in the whole Fire country. Tradition was the most essential thing of that clan, so they weren't sure how to approach him. In addition, his attitude didn't help him at all, and he didn't seem to mind the distance between him and the class. So they didn't mind it too.

Gaara liked the new guy though. He definitely got less stares during the first few days with him around and the new guy was silent and blank, a nice change with all the loud humans surrounding him. If it wasn't for the fact, that his task wasn't to befriend anyone anymore, and instead to spend more time with Sakura, he would have made him his next target for sure.

Lately, it had been getting hotter, Gaara could feel it in the dry wind that occasionally blew and the blazing sun, shining throughout the day. Summer was clearly around the corner. But with the sun, there came the heat and it was unbearably hot in this village. He really missed the forest.

He was sitting on the window sill, both legs bouncing outside, his back turned to the class, surveying the school ground for his favorite human on the whole planet. Just when he decided to take of his annoying shirt, he felt ominous eyes on his back. He sat up immediately, ready to jump into safety, but nobody was looking his way. Some of his classmates were looking at him – his sudden turn had surprised them – but he wasn't searching for those confused eyes.

His shirt was loosely hanging on one of his arms, the fabric tickling him lightly, alive with the wind, but he wasn't concerned with that at the moment. His cautious eyes briefly met questioning black ones. But then they turned away, skillfully ignoring his stare.

"Gaara-kun! What are you doing there? Be careful!" Sakura's voice tore his attention back towards the outside. Turning his head, he saw her walking over to the school entrance, two floors beneath the classroom. Next to her were Hinata and Ino, all of them carrying a bag full of food. He saw her widen her eyes while shaking her head and heard her repeatedly say "Nonono", realizing her mistake, but it was too late.

The redhead had already jumped from the second floor and landed crouched on the floor, effectively startling several students during the process. Striding those ten meters separating them, he engulfed her in a hug. Before he could start licking her face, her hand shot out and clammed his mouth shut. She waved her friends away, telling them to go inside first and they did under giggles and laughter. Then she turned back to him.

"Gaara-kun. I've told you, don't just jump from the second floor! No, wait. Don't jump from any floors! You could have used the door, like any other person." She scolded him, her hand still on his mouth.

He wasn't sure why she was reprimanding him. That was the same as telling him to stop jumping forever, which was confusing. Nobody prohibited them to stop walking too, right?

"And we've been through this one as well." With her free hand, she motioned to his mouth. "Not in public."

He nodded his head obediently and she replaced her hand on his face, pulling him subtly towards hers until their foreheads were touching lightly. "But this is okay. Got it?"

Again, he nodded and pulled her body to his, embracing her. That earned him a surprised squeak and a light blush. "I only went to buy lunch. Did you miss me already?"

Without waiting for his response this time, she took his half-discarded shirt and looked him sternly in the eyes. She hadn't noticed it before, but somewhen between their meeting in front of the school entrance months ago and now, he had grown a couple of inches. Or was it the way he held himself? His posture was straighter, he clearly was less hunched over than before. Nevertheless, he did have a growth spurt. They were the same height now.

"Gaara-kun, I know it's getting hotter, but if you can manage to live through it, please at least wear this shirt. Summer isn't even here yet, what are you going to do when you're half-naked now already?" He took the sleeve she offered, snaked his arm through the fabric, while making a troubled expression.

"You know the headmaster ordered you to abide by the school rules, just like everyone else. He's already extremely lenient with you. You wouldn't want to get into trouble because some parents complained about your attire, right?"

That got her an immediate negative shake of his head. "Why can't I be half-naked?" He asked instead.

"It's… indecent." Sakura finished lamely and even she was unconvinced, while saying it out loud. It only seemed to further trouble Gaara too, so she added. "Just like touching people randomly, even if you are befriended with them. Some people just don't like it. You know?"

"You don't like it?" Gaara asked, his expression absolutely terrified and she forced her laugh down. "No, I didn't mean that. I like it, if it's you." She told him honestly.

Smiling reassuringly, she touched his face as if to prove it to him. Just when Gaara decided to grab her face in return as well, she abruptly turned around and reached into her bag. Unaware of his intentions. His hand floated mid-air and unsure what to do with it, he took it back in a snap decision.

"Here", Sakura took out a cooled water bottle, "for you. It is getting hotter now."

Giving her a joyful smile, he took the bottle and uncapped it, just to dump the content over his head. Sakura jumped back in surprise but then – seeing as he was utterly happy to have a refreshment – she laughed heartily. Oh well, my fault. That was kind of obvious.

He tried to embrace her again, but she evaded him and squeaked loudly. Both unaware of a pair of black orbs watching them.


Sasuke didn't know why he did it. Leaning against the classroom window, he observed his classmates, who were happily chasing after each other. They seemed oblivious to the attention they were drawing. Even though it hurt him to watch them like that, he couldn't look away. Aside from the hurt and jealousy, there was also a mix of… Longing and regret. And happiness too. Still, he was glad when Naruto finally force-broke his attention.

"Yo, Sasuke!" Screaming unabashed from the classroom door, Naruto held up a bag. "It's lunch time!"

Sasuke glanced one last time outside the window and then followed his friend out of the classroom and went upstairs.

"What were you doing? Everyone's waiting for you!" Before Sasuke could give him a lame answer, Naruto blocked his way in the middle of the stairs. Looking up, Sasuke saw him sporting one of his serious faces. "I've been wanting to tell you. Gaara wants to court Sakura-chan."

Giving him an annoyed look, Sasuke evaded him to the right. "Wow. You've realized it earlier than I thought."

"You knew?"

"Everyone knew, Dobe." Sasuke stopped but didn't turn around. "You're the only one, who didn't know."

"So. The fight last week? Was that about Sakura-chan?" It was almost a miracle, how nobody aside from him, the redhead, Sakura and Kiba knew about the kiss. Even though there were so many spectators around. Maybe it wasn't something new to them, to see the redhead being all touchy with the pink-haired student.

But he had lost his control. Him, of all people.

"… Yeah."

There was a deafening silence and then. "How are you?"

Sasuke wanted to laugh. After a week, his best friend decided to ask him such a stupid question. But then again, he had thought that Sasuke just didn't like Gaara in general and he wasn't aware about the real cause of the fight.

"I haven't heard her laugh for a long time." Sasuke said instead. Turning around, he was startled to see Naruto right in front of him. He hadn't even heard him getting closer. Sneaky little bastard.

"Yeah. Me neither." Naruto smiled sadly, looking down at his shoes. "Two years? Since her dad's death…"

Sasuke nodded. Two years already. "I'm glad she found someone who could make her laugh again." Turning back around, Sasuke took the next stairs up. Leaving a perplexed Naruto behind.

"So. You're giving up? Just like that?"

"We've tried it once. And it didn't work."

"But I thought, that was because of her dad." And your dad, swirled heavily between them. Unsaid but heard.

"No. It was way before the incident with her dad." Sasuke turned another corner and disappeared. This made Naruto hastily fly up the stairs, to stand in front of him again, effectively blocking his way. It was rare for Sasuke to be so talkative and Naruto wasn't going to let this chance go to waste.

"Why did you never tell me?" Naruto whispered. His arms spread wide open, the bag hanging heavily on his wrist.

"You never asked." Sighing deeply, Sasuke didn't look one bit affected by their talk. But Naruto knew him better. "Stop blocking the way. I'm hungry."

"You still love her." The blonde looked him straight in the eyes. Sasuke couldn't fool him. He might be able to fool himself, but not Naruto. Sasuke stared impassively back at him. Deeply in control of his emotions, his poker face unwavering.

"Who knows."


Naruto and Hinata weren't bad role models. In fact, they were the best. Both loved by everyone, always helpful, and fully believing in the good of humans. But sometimes, they were just so boring. Gaara thought that mates were supposed to cuddle up, to lick each other and to pat one another, but all they did was sitting next to each other on the park bench, talking about everything and nothing.

From the rooftop Gaara was perched on, he could see Naruto waving his arms around frantically and Hinata laughing at his demonstrations. They weren't even touching each other. The redhead went up and down the small space on the roof a few times and then glanced over at them again. Still, nothing worth his attention. Maybe he should get closer and see if he could pick up something about their conversation?

He was preparing to jump over to the next building, when he felt a sinister aura nearby. His senses immediately switched to flight mode and he ducked low, pressing his body flat on the dirty plateau. His neighbors, the pigeons, undisturbed by his dramatic behavior. Cooing around him while sunning calmly.

For a while, he stayed like that, even after the evil aura had already vanished for some time. Then, the redhead dared to get a quick look on the street. Nothing that screamed of danger, but still, that didn't mean there wasn't anything to worry about. The redhead had survived that long because of his fine-tuned senses, and they had never given out a false alarm.

Checking his surroundings once more, he detected the blank guy walking along the street and Ino just down said-street. He should definitely warn those two, just to be on the safe side. Hopping off the roof, he landed safely on the ground, ignored the squeals around him and dashed over to Ino. Within seconds he traversed the distance between them and made a full-stop in front of her.

Her back was turned to him and she was watering the plants, humming to herself. Uncertain how to make himself known, he growled in despair. Shocking her to death with his sudden noise, she would have slammed the watering pot into his face, if he hadn't blocked it in time. The water inside tipped over and splashed his face. But he only blinked. There was an urgent matter to accomplish.

"Gaara! You scared me!" Breathing deeply, she placed a hand over her erratic heartbeat. "What are yo-"

"Stay inside with him." Gaara interrupted her mid-sentence and turned her around so abruptly that she got dizzy.

"What? Who?" Looking around, she couldn't follow his lead, even after he was impatiently pointing the direction to her. He could be pointing at any of the passersby. How should she know who he meant? And for what reason?

"Stay inside." He repeated and rotated back, already dismissing Ino, but she took a hold of his sleeve, preventing him from leaving. Visibly distressed, Ino's eyes were looking everywhere, trying to perceive what got him – and her – this agitated. But aside from the redhead himself, she hasn't discovered anything else suspicious.

"Wait, wait, wait! Why do we have to stay inside? Where are you going? WHO IS HIM?" Gaara kind of regretted to have picked her to talk to the new guy. She was one of the loudest people he knew, and she seemed to like proving it whenever a chance rose up. But she was the nearest person whom he felt comfortable talking to. And there was no use regretting it anymore.

"Dangerous out here. Saving Naruto and Hinata. Blank guy." Still, he preferred to keep the talking to a minimum. Once again, he indicated to the other side and when she looked over, he silently bounced off. Searching for 'blank guy', she finally saw someone she knew. It was Sai, the new guy. The blank guy, huh? Looking back towards the redhead, she wasn't surprised to see him gone.

"Sai-kun!" Waving enthusiastically, she was determined to help Gaara out. Keeping him inside? Easy. But Sai didn't seem to hear her. He went straight ahead, completely ignoring her. Even though everyone else was staring at her, whispering among themselves. She huffed elegantly, put her hair back gracefully and strode towards him. This little attention wasn't of concern to her.

"Sai-kun! Did you not hear me? I need you help and it's urgent!" Grabbing his arm, she dragged him forcefully back to her shop. The blank boy stared at her quietly. He didn't stop her but didn't outright help her as well. "You just came at the right moment. What do you think? Should we put the asters or the chrysanthemums out?"

Holding both flower pots each in one hand, she proudly showed them to him. She was clearly struggling with this difficult choice. But Sai wasn't concerned about the flowers. He was intently watching her.

"Asters are quite popular nowadays, especially because they come in a vast range of colors, but chrysanthemums have always been the most popular flowers, ranked second just behind roses. So, what do you think?" Finally looking up, she was surprised by his intense stare. Which wasn't directed to the lovely flowers in her hands. Blushing lightly, she averted her eyes, a first for her.

"Why are you asking me?"

Ino blinked once. "Well. I couldn't decide which one to display, so…"

"So I should decide?"

Smiling brightly, she nodded. He was quick on the uptake. Ino didn't know why everyone seemed to make a bee-line around him. He was the new guy! Surely, that must have hurt him, even if he looked always calm and disinterested. She had approached him once before, but the conversation had been cut short back then. In her opinion, he was quite the gentlemen and the mysterious type. A nice combi if you asked her.

"I don't think I'm the right person to ask. If you'll excuse me, Yamanaka-san." Giving her a curt nod, he was on his way to the exit.

"Wait!" Ino quickly placed both pots on the counter and rushed after him. Before he could reach the door, she grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. Within a second, Sai was holding her hand and twisted it in a painful way, completely locking it. Ino cringed and screeched terribly.

"It hurts! Let go! It hurts!"

Blinking rapidly, Sai released her at once and took a step back, as if the distance could lessen her pain. "Sorry. You shouldn't grab me from behind. I… don't like it."

"Yeah. Thanks for the reminder." She tried to sooth the pain by rubbing her wrist. "So, are you going to help me now, or what?" She didn't even wait for his answer. Turning back towards her flowers, she placed both pots into his stiff hands.

"One of them is going to be displayed in front of the shop and the other one at the back. You decide." She gave both of her babies another stroke and a smile made its way on her lips.

"Why do you like plants so much?"

Ino's perfect eyebrows twitched minutely, nevertheless, Sai perceived it. "Don't call them plants. I don't like it."

"And what should I call them if not plants?"

"Call them… Babies."

She was joking, but the blank boy didn't get it. And Sai was definitely not going to call them babies. But at least Yamanaka-san smiled again. So instead, he chose to ignore her response. "What do you like about them?"

"Well. They spark joy whenever you see one. Don't you think so? And they turn into such a beautiful being, if you only take good care of them. Somehow, they have a majestic presence on them. Every single one is different. Each bringing another meaning with them. I still have a lot to learn from them..."

"Different meanings?" Sai couldn't really follow her train of thoughts, and only managed to grasp this one sentence, but still. Looking at the plants in his hands, he wasn't sure where their difference lay. Both had various colors, those called asters had a yellow center and the chrysanthemums were bushier, but those were the only difference he observed. Plants were plants. Yamanaka-san could have just selected both, why bother wasting time with useless things.

"Yes. Asters for example represent patience and daintiness, whereas Chrysanthemums signify optimism and long life. But depending on the color, their meaning differs a bit as well. Isn't that amazing?"

That doesn't even make sense, was what Sai thought. Once again, he didn't say it out loud though. "Then the chrysanthemums should be displayed outside and the asters inside."

"Right? That's what I thought as well! You're a great help Sai-kun!"

Then why didn't you just do so?


Author's note
I do not own Naruto. This is purely for entertainment purposes.
Well, I just can't seem to write a decent introduction scene. I'll have to do something about that.
Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I hope you're not too disappointed with how it's dealt with.
To all the readers, thank you for reading!