SEVEN
Morning was something the students waited for. Search brigades were sent off to find missing students and the choppers were called to send the seriously injured pupils to a hospital. Fortunately, the searches were successful and all students were found either on another island or afloat in the ocean.
But unlike the happy students, Uchiha Sasuke remained in the bed with eyes shut tight. His body was enjoying the soft mattress for a couple of minutes more. And yes, he was completely nude for the room was completely his. The lucky comforter and the other materials on bed were the only witnesses to his finger-licking body. Oh how would girls wish that they were transformed into his blankets.
Sasuke's peaceful face resembled that of a child's in a certain view. He looked so innocent and he seemed to have no problems—both of which were in contrast with reality.
Most people didn't know that of course. Sasuke made it sure that no one would be able to read his mind and heart. He was obviously shoving people away from his life by giving them glares or by making them hear his famed "hn". He wished they'd never care because when they do, they would most probably ask him unceasingly about his incredibly pathetic life.
Their questions were scripted; and so were his answers:
"Are you alright?" He could foresee them ask.
"I'm fine." He'd reply.
He hated people for their foolish curiosity. He hated them for their shallow thoughts. But deep inside, he didn't actually hate them because of their concerned inquiries… he hated them for they were simply asking the wrong questions.
Knock! Knock!
The Uchiha clenched his fists before clutching a pillow and throwing it unsuccessfully to the door. "Gerawe…"
"Sasuke-teme! You'll miss breakfast!" More knocks proceeded after the wake up call.
"Get away…" the Uchiha managed to procure clear words. "I only have four hours of sleep—"
"SASUKE-TEME."
"Alright!" Sasuke threw the comforter off him and clapped his hand to his forehead. Dammit Naruto. Yes, damn his best friend for being so annoyingly good at persuasion. And damn himself for having a really short patience.
- - -
Sasuke had come to the dining hall in shirt and shorts. Supported by one of his hands was a plate filled with rice, meat and bits of vegetables. His other hand held a glass of milk.
"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" A group of girls greeted him in chorus. He eyed them with a blank stare but instead of being turned off, one of the girls even swooned.
"Oi! Sasuke!"
The Uchiha spotted Naruto sitting near the window. He was waving his chopsticks to catch Sasuke's attention. So, the raven head went straight to the table and sat across the blonde.
"Thanks a lot for waking me up." Sasuke mumbled before taking his spoon and fork.
"You're welcome!" Naruto just beamed while Sasuke's eye twitched. He didn't even get the sarcasm.
Both boys resumed eating after the exchanged statements.
"Hey," the blonde's head shot up, "have you asked your brother about the ambush last night?"
"Why would I even dare? Baka…"
"Aren't you even a tad curious?"
The Uchiha glared at him.
"Fine, Sasuke-teme."
Sasuke began thinking while he continued placing food in his mouth. An ambush? And they ambushed a ship containing students?
"Naruto! Sasuke!" Chouji was back to his own happy mood. Shikamaru, on the other hand, just waved with a smile.
"Aren't you guys going to sit with us? There are still two seats." Naruto inquired after taking a long sip from the ramen bowl.
"Actually, we're done with breakfast." Shikamaru scratched his head.
"He was asked by our teacher to welcome three guest students." Chouji added.
"Well, tell me if there are cute girls." Naruto winked.
"You know I hate women." Shikamaru said before leaving the two. Chouji whispered, "I thought you already have Haruno" before following Nara.
Sasuke looked at the blonde and gave a little smirk.
"Where were we?" Naruto said innocently.
"Excuse me."
The blonde's head turned immediately while the obsidian head retained his look over his dish. Obviously, he didn't want to entertain the speaker.
"Haruno-chan!" If Naruto had a tail, he might have been wagging it since he heard the magic voice.
"Sakura, please." Sakura smiled at Naruto and then turned to the Uchiha. "Good morning Sasuke."
Sasuke almost spat the milk he had in his mouth. He knew what Sakura meant when she said that she had found a friend. That meant a twenty-four-seven (24/7) irritation schedule for him. He was sure the pink head would stick with him as long as he'd stay as a student.
Without looking at her, he gave a slight nod to recognize her presence.
"Come! Sit with us!" Naruto earned an intensified, pressurized glare from Sasuke.
"Is it alright Sasu—?"
"Of course!" Naruto was too happy to take heed of the Uchiha's threat.
Sakura settled down beside Naruto; and instead of being a loud speaker that she was whenever she saw the Uchiha, she remained as meek and mild as a lamb.
"Um, Sasuke, aren't you cold in that attire?" Sakura asked.
It occurred to Sasuke to slightly gaze around only to find that most of the students had their jackets. The other few had long pants and sleeves.
"Don't worry about Sasuke-teme, he's a snow man in disguise!" the blonde showed a thumb up. "Just look at his glares—"
"Aren't you supposed to be with the Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked after some seconds of avoiding any eye contact.
"He has things to do." She smiled.
"Lot's of things to do I presume?" The blonde grinned and moved closer to Haruno.
"Y-yes…" Sakura forced an uneasy reply from her throat. "I—uhm—hey, since I'm just an extra here (Sasuke fought the urge to shout "you finally realized that! Now leave!") I think I better entertain you guys." After that statement, her mood became lighter. "I have four questions for both of you to answer."
"Cool, I'm game." Naruto said.
Sasuke did not react.
"First: How would you place an elephant in the refrigerator in three steps?"
"Impossible." Sasuke replied.
"Wrong." Sakura spoke with an air of knowledge.
"I know!" Naruto raised his hand. "Open the fridge, place the elephant in and then close it!"
"Good!" She was slightly amazed by the blonde's logic. "Second: How would you place a giraffe in the fridge in four steps?"
Sasuke uttered an audible, "hn".
"I still know it!" Uzumaki waved his hand to and fro. "Open the fridge, take the elephant out, place the giraffe in and close the fridge."
"Wow, you're right!"
Sasuke finally looked up from his food that he barely devoured. He was growing irritable—especially because of the questions.
"Third: The King Lion asked all of the animals to come to an assembly. What animal did not come and why?"
Another grunt from the Uchiha. Foolish game. He thought.
"Hmmm… oh…" Naruto mumbled. "The giraffe could not come."
"And why?"
"Because it's still in the fridge!"
"You're amazing."
The hell… Sasuke, though he denied it, was intimidated. Naruto was getting anything while he sat there without a right answer in his head.
"Last question: You are to cross a stream where lots of crocodiles live. How would you cross?"
"Open the fridge, take the elephant out, place the crocodiles and then close the fridge." The Uchiha muttered.
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"What?" The raven head's eye twitched.
"That was funny man!" Naruto slapped the table.
Sasuke placed his chin on his palm.
"But that's not the right answer." Sakura said.
"I knooooooow!" Naruto exaggerated the formation of his lips. "Simply cross!" The contents of his ramen swirled when he moved his chop sticks in the soup filled bowl. "Since all animals were called to an assembly, there would be no crocodiles in the stream."
Suddenly, Sasuke stood up with his plate in one hand.
"Oi! Where are you going?" Naruto held him by the arm.
"I'm going to a decent place to eat." Sasuke was about to walk away but the blonde, who was one of the few who knew him, pulled him back while he laughed.
"Come on Sasuke-teme, we're having fun here!"
"You're having fun." Sasuke said before sitting down.
"Hey, sorry for that if you didn't like it." Sakura mumbled. He's so IRRITABLE man! Senselessly irritable! Her hyper sub conscience clenched her fists. It's just because he didn't get ANY of the questions!
Ding! Dong! "Announcement: Students please proceed to the lobby in ten minutes."
Some students began moving away from their tables while the three remained sitting while observing. Naruto was jovial for he had been with Sakura even for about five minutes or more. Sakura was determined—more of foolishly desperate—to befriend Sasuke. Sasuke was bushed and irritated; who knew what he would do if ever he lost his temper.
The fourth year students were noisy in the lobby. Though they were aligned and grouped, many still wandered off to speak to distant friends. Soon, the once disciplined pupils were creating their own world.
Sasuke had two girls by his side: Hinata and Sakura. Sakura was preoccupied by that time with thoughts he did not care to ask. Hinata, magically and miraculously, did not have any interest in the Uchiha. She was fond of watching Uzumaki Naruto from a distance. Sasuke, on the other hand, was checking his back pack if he forgot anything for the trip deep in the island.
"Seniors!" A teacher yelled to catch everyone's attention. "Please group yourselves and keep quiet!"
Some students actually followed while most needed a second announcement to push them to move.
"Alright!" The teacher, from where he stood, saw the entire batch. He nodded once to himself and then cleared his throat. "You are to be asked to explore the island for the next hours. You may come back here to do your paper work. But before five in the afternoon, all of you are asked to come back to the hotel. Those who would not be found will be asked to do extra work. And ladies and gentlemen, I mean chores here."
Groans came from the listeners.
"We discourage you from eating anything that looks edible. Medicinal plants that are found in the forest are listed in the pamphlet we gave you earlier so don't go picking leaves and squeezing their juices into your group mate's injury. Cell phones are to be used for emergencies."
The teacher looked at the people near him as if asking if he forgot something. He saw Shikamaru with his hands in his pockets and behind him were three people. "Oh, and I would like all of you to meet the guest students."
As if given the cue, the three students came forward with Shikamaru.
"Um—"
"Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino!" One of the female guests interrupted Shikamaru.
"And, these are Gaara and Temari from Suna." He continued speaking lifelessly as he pointed at the two stern looking teens by his side.
Murmurs came from the students. They didn't expect people from Suna would come and check their school out. Suna was a place of expertise so why go check out another place?
"Please feel at home." The teacher added after some silence from Shikamaru. "Okay seniors, move out!"
Sasuke walked ahead of the two women. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his chin was slightly down. His eyes seemed closed as he walked but actually, he was just keeping his sense of hearing sharp. Sakura was eyeing the place with such admiration because it was the first time she saw the island under the morning light. Hinata, however, was just following the two though she felt slightly uncomfortable for she was friends with neither of them.
When the three had gone into the forest, Hinata had accumulated enough courage to ask Sakura a question. "Um, what would we do again?"
Sakura thought for some seconds. "Actually, this is more of a break for us graduating students. We are just here to explore and discover whatever we may please."
"O-okay…thanks…" She slightly blushed, thinking that asking someone was a rather embarrassing thing.
"Hey!"
The two girls turned to see who was calling them and to their surprise, it was the one of the guest students.
"Yamanaka Ino?" Sakura held out her hand but Ino, the blonde, blue-eyed girl skipped and went straight to Sasuke who just kept on walking.
"Uchiha Sasuke?" Ino asked in awe. "I can't believe it! It really is you!"
Sasuke looked over his shoulder and then turned to face the loud blonde. "Uchiha Sasuke." Out of respect, Sasuke introduced himself but he did not offer his hand. Nonetheless, Ino happily grabbed his hand and shook it.
Gnaw on her head…RIGHT NOW! Inner Sakura screeched. Sakura didn't like Ino sticking to Sasuke because one: all the girls (remember, even she was attracted to him during the first day of classes) tried so so so hard to even touch the end of his hair and now this guest was clinging to him? Second: Since she already considered him as her friend, it was normal to feel sort of possessive.
"Excuse me—"
"Isn't my hair pretty long Sasuke-kun?" Ino obviously had grown her hair to the waist for mere showing off.
Sakura actually gaped. Hinata only stared innocently. How about Sasuke?
He shrugged. He tugged his arm. He turned his back on her. He walked away.
Ino was actually quite shocked by the cold, indifferent demeanor Sasuke had. But seconds after, her effervescent smile came back. "Rumors are true then!"
Sakura managed to force a laugh. Hinata followed Sasuke instead of staying for another dose of Ino's statements. "So, um, you're going somewhere else?" SAY YES YOU BITCH! Blood sucking inner Sakura was holding a placard bearing: YES.
"I think I'm going to stay for a while." Ino grinned. "I'm going to stick with Sasuke-kun!"
WELCOME TO HELL PIG.
Actually, Ino was the one introducing them to hell.
The four went up the trail to the mountain terrain. Hinata was silently observing the different species of flowers. She was spared from all the torture that the blonde was to share.
"Say what…um?"
"S-Sakura."
"Yes, Sakura." Ino walked faster to keep up with the pacing of the Uchiha. "Do you have contests in your school?"
Sakura shrugged. "Of course."
"That's good," she replied while waving her hand, "because in my school, I am usually the participant and of course," she grinned, "I always win."
Sakura leaped onto Ino and began biting her hair short…or off. When Ino bled she stood up and laughed. Even Sasuke laughed with her. And they laughed really hard.
Wait. Rewind.
"That's good," she replied while waving her hand, "because in my school, I am usually the participant and of course," she grinned, "I always win."
Sakura blinked several times before realizing that she actually imagined that she was almost killing Ino. But then she only stood there with eyes directed to that long blonde hair swishing with the wind as she walked with Sasuke.
"Sakura, are you alright?"
The pink head turned and saw Hinata with motley of flowers in hands. "Me? I'm alright."
"You're all pink." Ino replied for Hinata when Sasuke decided to sit on a medium boulder. She approached Sakura and glanced at her face. "Hmmm…and your forehead is pretty big too. It makes your face a lot more obvious, girl." But before she could speak again, she saw the flowers Hinata held and proceeded to her. "May I have them?"
"O-of course." Hinata surrendered the flowers to Ino and watched the blonde expertly handle the stems. Ino laid the flowers beside Sasuke and began fixing them into a bouquet.
"Isn't my hair long?" Ino asked again.
"Sure…" Sakura didn't know what to answer anymore.
Ino smiled and turned to Hinata again. "Actually, I want to improve in my studies." She said with an inclination of her head. "Your name?"
"Hyuuga Hinata."
"Hinata, what's your rank?"
"P-Pardon?"
"Well, because last year… I was rank 15." She smiled. "In the whole batch by the way."
"DO WE HAVE TO KNOW?" Sakura thought she yelled but actually, she didn't. She was, again, imagining things.
Hinata, however, was attentive to how Ino's fingers touched the leaves and the stems instead of thinking about the ranks. She was so focused on the action that she even noticed red gashes on Ino's wrists.
"You're injured Ino!" Hinata cried out.
"Oh, this? I just like hurting myself." Ino shrugged.
"Pathetic." Sasuke stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets once more.
"What?" Ino paused to catch the word again.
"You're pathetic." The Uchiha was brutally frank at that moment. "You think it's cool. You think you're popular or interesting when you have slashes on your wrists."
"Sasu—"
"Let me tell you this," Sasuke slightly turned to Ino, "you're just proving that you're a damn attention seeker."
Inner Sakura was yelling for Sasuke while the outer Sakura was rooted at the spot. Hinata dropped the new flowers she was holding and Ino was staring at the pissed Uchiha.
"Do we have to know your rank? Do we need to know you're the best? You're pathetic."
"I'm—"
"Shut up." Sasuke snapped. "If you want to show off, find someone else to bother." He glared at her before totally turning his back on them. He continued to walk up the terrain. "Sakura, Hinata, come on."
Sakura met Hinata's eyes before hurrying behind the Uchiha. They watched Ino sink back on the boulder where Sasuke sat before looking away.
"Sasuke," Sakura spoke minutes after they had moved far away from the spot where they left Ino, "maybe you were too harsh."
"It's better to tell her what she really is before she grows completely into an absolute attention seeker." He said flatly.
Sakura understood him anyway so she kept her silence. But she suddenly felt lighter when Sasuke looked over his shoulder and he actually smirked. "At least she doesn't have to tag along now." That smirk produced smiles on Hinata and Sakura's faces.
"So where would we go next?" Sakura increased her pace to go to the Uchiha's side. Hinata did the same.
The Uchiha, as usual, gave no reply whatsoever.
He did not even react when she wrapped her hands around his arm.
Maybe he accepted her now.
"May I?" She asked.
Why wouldn't he?
"Just don't ask if your hair is long." He replied.
Weren't they friends?
END
A/N: I reaaaaaalllly don't know how to end this chapter because I am distracted by the movie "Domino". It's cool. Really. But I didn't get to watch it fully because I'm typing this fic and I'm buffing a part of Ai no Kusabi. (Swoons)
As you've noticed, I slightly changed their relationship in comparison to the Naruto Series.
Anyway, if you found Ino very irritating, I would just like to let you know that I actually patterned her after someone. Okay, I exaggerated her a bit but she is still similar to someone I know. And I'm sorry to Ino fans…I couldn't find anyone who could brag about. Don't worry, she'll change. (God I just HATE that girl… that attention-seeking…!?$!!!!
Oh, about the four questions, it's a test conducted to check your logic. It showed that most professionals did not get the questions because they're making everything complicated. While most children asked were able to get the answers.
P.S. Those of you who meet me in places (school or wherever), if you have a slight idea of who she is, tell me before you tell her. So that I could defend why she's such an attention seeker.
Oh and hi to Mayu's friend… I don't know your name yet, sorry. She even made my fic (Angels I think) a banner in her blog or journal…I kinda forgot. Thanks!
