So...I'm pretty much the worst updater ever known to mankind. What can I say? I love this story, I love my reviewers and I love Naruto. I hope you guys aren't too frustrated with me, just know that I would never ever drop this story. It's my baby. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 7
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Hyuuga Hinata was having a very good day. The sun was shining, birds were twittering happily, and by the looks of it, Uchiha Sasuke looked royally pissed off.
Life was good.
Hinata suppressed a small smile as she passed the moody, dark-haired prodigy after breakfast. The night before had been hell for her, but it paid off in the end. Revenge was so, so sweet. Although Ino and Sakura had looked ready to murder her, Hinata had no regrets whatsoever. Who knew breaking the rules would feel this good?
Hinata gracefully maneuvered herself through the crowded halls of the school, with an occasional apology here, and a slight gasps as people bumped into her.
"P-pardon Me," she said politely as she stepped on someone's toe, to shy to look the person in the eyes.
"Whatever," the other person said, and Hinata kept her eyes on the floor. You're welcome.
She had Weaponry first period, and her teacher's name Maito Gai. She was curious about that class; she'd heard it was tough.
Hinata managed to make it to her classroom without any more apologies, and gasped in relief as she entered the large classroom. It looked like…well; one could tell that a weaponry class took place in here. There were targets placed along one wall, opposite from it was an entire wall dedicated to different types of weapons. Katanas, shurikens, knives, axes, spades, spears, arrows, wooden sticks, wooden swords, even senbon. Hinata gulped.
The room smelled like sweat…and blood.
"Hinata!" she jumped as she heard her name called. Turning around, she smiled softly when she saw Kiba's happy grin only feet away from her.
"Good m-morning, Kiba," she said, feeling slightly guilty for what she had done the night before. She tried to keep her face straight.
"Hey, did you hear about last night?" he asked eagerly. Well, good morning to you too.
Her stomach clenched.
"Um. No. What about last night?" she asked, feigning curiosity.
"What do you mean you didn't hear about it? It's all over the school!"
It is?
Shit…
"Um. No I h-haven't," she said meekly, poking her fingers together.
"Well…someone snuck into our dorm and completely sprayed us with whipped cream. They had to have been a pro. I mean, he pranked the ice-prince too!"
She blushed, and took a deep breath to steady herself. In her mind, she willed Kiba to be quiet.
"Oh…r-r-really?" She prayed that she didn't appear guilty.
"Yeah, and it was so amazing too! I mean, very creative and perfect timing. Naruto and I were dying this morning. That guy is my new god."
At the mention of Naruto's name, her heart skipped a beat, and she bowed her head at Kiba's praise.
But sadly, she would be the only one who knew.
"D-do you k-know who m-might have d-done it?" she asked, heart pounding wildly in her chest.
Please, please, please say no…
Kiba shrugged, still grinning. "We don't know. But the ice-prince swore that whoever it was, he would kidnap them personally see that they died, and I quote, ' a slow, torturous death involving wrenches and butcher knives'."
Hinata paled. The room suddenly felt very small. She was sweating.
"But he has issues, as we all know. So whatever. But still, how amazing is that?"
"Oh, v-very." Hinata squeaked, collapsing onto the floor. I am so dead.
"Hey, Hinata? You ok? You seem kind of pale." Kiba asked, pressing his hand to her cold forehead. It felt warm, and oddly comforting.
"K-kiba-kun? W-Who exactly is t-the i-ice prince?" she asked, torn between wanting and not wanting to know. She already had a pretty good idea of who it was, but wanted to make sure all the same.
"Sasuke, of course. Why?"
"Oh, no r-reason."
Hinata took a deep, steadying breath before completely losing her mind.
Yep, she was definitely a goner.
-o-
Uchiha Sasuke was pissed to say the least.
First, he woke up to find out that he was covered in disgusting goop, the he found out that his room was covered in disgusting goop, then he discovered that his freakish fangirls raided his locker- his gym locker- and took all his training clothes. And then, he missed breakfast, trying to find all his crap. And now, he was late for class.
He wanted to punch something.
He burst into the classroom, relieved to find that it hadn't started yet. He looked around, and frowned when he saw that he had basically the same people here as he had in his other classes. All idiots.
Great, just great.
He picked a spot out in the corner, away from the admiring eyes of the girls, and the death-glares he usually received from the males. How he hated school. Already a chuunin, he couldn't wait until he graduated to Jounin level and then made ANBU. Once he did, he would have an excuse to kill anyone who annoyed him. Things would be so simple then.
"Sasuke-kun!" a loud, obnoxious girlish voice said.
Here they come.
He didn't' even bother to acknowledge them. "Sasuke, why don't you come and sit with us?"
I'd rather die.
He folded his arms over his chest, leaned against a wall and deftly ignored them and their giggling. He decided to look around the room. He saw Naruto, Chouji and Shikamaru…being idiotic as usual. Then he saw most of the girls huddled over in one corner, they burst out in whispers once they saw he was staring. In another corner, he saw Hyuuga Hinata meekly talking to Inuzuka Kiba. She seemed to be the only girl in the room not being loud and obnoxious.
Eh, good for her.
After a few more minutes, the opening of the door once more signaled the arrival of their teacher. He ran in so fast all the students saw was a green blur.
"GOOD MORNING! I HOPE YOU ALL ARE SWIMMING IN THE FIREY POOL OF YOUTH THIS FINE DAY!!"
Sasuke winced. Dear god, no.
The teacher that suddenly ran in seemed to be wearing a….green spandex jumpsuit. A skin-tight green spandex jumpsuit. He didn't seem to be wearing anything underneath either.
Sasuke truly didn't know whether to smirk, cry, scream, laugh or just plain walk out of the classroom. This was too much to bear.
Students were laughing and muttering to themselves, others averting their eyes, and Sasuke was among them. He was not putting up with this ridiculous school just to see some middle aged man's family jewels swinging around everywhere.
"SO! Today we are going to embark on a new journey!! YOUTH SHALL OVERCOME! ALL OF YOU, A RACE-TWELVE LAPS AROUND THE CAMPUS!"
Everyone groaned. Sasuke glared. Was this man on drugs?
"We won't have time, Sensei. The campus is way too big," someone piped up.
"TIME? TIME IS NO FACTOR! YOU ARE ALL NINJA! YOUTHFUL NINJAS! GO!"
Sasuke was the first one up.
At least it would keep him in shape.
The class went outside, grumbling, muttering, and wishing a million painful deaths upon their mental teacher. He lined them all up, and they tensed, waiting for his mark to start the race.
"ANNDDD START!" Gai shouted, blowing his whistle.
They were off.
Sasuke found it was better to start his fastest, that way he could leave everyone else behind and then rest up ahead. It was what he usually did, sort of like the rabbit the story. But the rabbit, unlike Sasuke, was stupid. He would never let his guard down and let others surpass him. He liked the feel of pushing his muscles to the limit, and the satisfaction that came with knowing he was the best.
After a few seconds of sprinting, Sasuke looked back, most of the class had been left behind, save for a few. Naruto was in second place, about thirty meters away. And behind him- Sasuke stumbled when he saw who it was.
It was a girl. Wow, who was she? He was running too fast to notice, but he didn't care, he would catch a glimpse of her once they hit the curve.
Panting, Sasuke sprinted on, slowing down for the curve so he didn't fall. Once he hit it, he turned his head slightly to see who the girl was. He saw white skin and caught a glimpse of a baggy gray sweater.
The Hyuuga girl? That was unexpected.
He smirked and ran on.
-0-
Hinata's legs were numb, she had four different stitches in her stomach, she couldn't breathe, and her breath was coming out in short, ragged gasps. But still, she didn't' slow.
Stay right behind him….right behind Naruto.
Her plan was to catch up to him once he slowed down. But it didn't seem like that would happen soon. But it had to happen sometime, didn't it? Until it did, she would hold out.
She was in third place, as far as she could tell. Naruto was second and the Uchiha in first. She didn't even know why she was killing herself like this; just that she felt the need to prove herself to Naruto.
He was a fast runner. But luckily, so was she.
Hinata stayed a meters behind him for the first few laps, letting him set both their paces. Which was stupid, since Naruto seemed to have the endurance of a horse and he completely sprinted the first few laps. But then once she saw and opening where she could attempt to get closer to him, she forced her legs to speed up. They were cramping, and her body was screaming at her to stop, but as always, she didn't heed the message and sped up, it was beyond painful.
She tried her hardest to swallow as she got a few feet behind him, and then diagonal from him…and finally next to him. So she melted once she saw his face close up. Big deal.
He looked utterly concentrated, beads of sweat falling from his perfectly tanned face down to his bare neck, each short breath in perfect time with his legs, he seemed completely unfazed, and looked as if he could run 100 miles an hour for the rest of eternity. His body was a perfectly running machine, hers sounded like a broken down car.
Just keep moving your legs, don't stop, its all going to be over soon.
She smiled inwardly as she saw Naruto's look of surprise as she drew up with him. They were running too fast to talk, but she awarded him a smile all the same.
Her smile turned to a small smirk as she passed him. Had she been bolder, then she would have winked. But, Hinata being Hinata, did not. And she knew she would beat herself up for it later.
Oh the complexities of being a girl.
She ran on, never stopping until she knew Naruto had gotten the message that she was a faster runner than him…until she felt his loud breathing right next to her. The look on his face clearly told her that he would not let her beat him.
Have it your way then.
So she sped up. And was happy to find that he did too. Her legs were so beyond pain, they had turned numb. Hinata knew that no way would she be walking that night, but still, she kept going.
They kept up their little pattern- she speeds up, he speeds up, she speeds up again, he speeds up again- until at last they reached the final stretch of the final lap. Hinata ignored the astonished looks of her classmates as Naruto and she passed them again and again.
But they still hadn't managed to catch up to Sasuke. Not that she cared.
Naruto decided to start sprinting the last few meters, and Hinata decided to start sprinting too. She knew she was going to collapse as soon as she stopped, but hell, she'd come all this way, she was not about to stop.
As they crossed the tree Gai was reclining against, they slowed to a stop.
Hinata collapsed on the floor.
All of a sudden, the pain came back, a hundred-fold worse. Her legs began to tremble, and her heart was beating so fast she couldn't breathe.
Naruto had thrown himself on the grass, chest heaving, while Sasuke was leaning against a tree, also trying to regain his composure on the grass.
" NOW DIDN'T THAT RUN SPARK SOME PASSION INSIDE YOUR YOUTHFUL HEARTS?! YOU THREE HAVE SET A NEW RECORD!!"
Hinata merely smiled, she couldn't will her body to do anything else. The floor was tilting upwards, and she felt her head spin, her stomach lurching as well. Maybe running like that hadn't been a good idea…
"Hinata….that…was….amazing," Naruto gasped out. He crawled over to where she was laying on the ground, spread-eagled, and trying not to vomit. "I'm…i-impressed."
Her face flushed more than it was already. She smiled giddily at the warm feeling that spread all over her body at his praise.
"T-thank y-you N-Naruto Kun," she wheezed, noticing their close proximity. She never wanted to move.
They lay there for a few minutes, as the rest of the class slowly trickled in. It took most of the remaining time to get everyone in, since Shikamaru had decided to walk. So long, that Hinata dozed off, the floor was just too comfortable.
"THAT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE! I am proud of all of you! Now tomorrow, we start with only seven laps, and then we get to working with the weapons!" Gai shouted gleefully, bouncing up down. "DISMISSED!"
Hinata slowly opened her eyes. Her legs felt like complete lead, as did her entire body. She tried to get up, but then collapsed again. She couldn't move for the world. Everyone was already leaving, most of them complaining about what they had just done.
None of them sprinted the whole thing...what do they have to complain about?
She tried again, and managed to get to her knees. Her entire body just felt so heavy, so she hadn't wanted to move? She got her wish. No one was stopping to help her…they were all too busy thinking about lunch.
Even Naruto.
"Ok…here we go again," she mumbled to herself. She attempted to lift herself using her arms, but found that an excruciating pain filled her entire body as she uncurled one leg. She yelped out in pain and closed her eyes. Everyone had gone to lunch. And now she was stuck out here, in the huge field, practically paralyzed. Once again, she was facing the consequences of her actions.
She tried to left her other leg up…but felt the same pain shoot through her leg and up to her hips. She grit her teeth in pain.
So running like that had definitely not been the smartest idea. She tried to stand up again, but to no avail.
"Here," a deep voice caused her to jump and open her eyes.
She gasped when she saw Uchiha Sasuke standing in front of her, extending his arm for her to take it.
"Erm…" Hinata stared at it for a few seconds before looking at him disbelievingly. Was she hallucinating?
"If you're going to take it, take it. If not, then goodbye," Sasuke snapped, dropping his arm and turning to leave.
"W-Wait," she mumbled softly.
Sasuke turned around and impatiently reached out again.
Grabbing a little of him as she could, Hinata heaved herself to her feet, hissing as her body cried out in pain.
"O-ow." she muttered, swaying a bit on the spot. Her knees buckled a little when she took a step and she unconsciously reached out to grab his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist, steadying her.
"Your body's too weak for you to run like that," he pointed out bluntly.
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Her face flushed red out of embarrassment, and the fact that she realized that his arm was still around her waist. Her heart started beating at his close proximity; she stepped away, only to find her knees buckle again, once again she steadied herself by putting a hand on his shoulder.
"S-s-sorry," she apologized, too embarrassed to meet his face. Why was it always him that saw her in the most difficult of situations? He probably thought she was some weak crybaby.
And suddenly, he let go. She swayed, but luckily her knees did not collapse this time.
"T-thank y-you," she said, looking at the floor, and slowly began to walk towards the main building. Each tiny step hurt like hell, but anything was better than standing around like that with the school prodigy.
"You're kind of heavy," Sasuke frowned, folding his arms across his chest.
Hinata felt her face burn. What a charming young man.
"Thank you," she repeated softly. She kept her head and low and continued on her way.
Sasuke just stood there smirking, watching her leave.
His day had just gotten very promising.
As she walked away his eye had caught something glinting off the sun in her hair. He looked at it closely.
It was a hairclip.
The same exact type of hairclip he found under his bed the night before.
Sasuke stared at Hinata's retreating back. He was shocked. Apparently one could not judge this girl by her shy demeanor.
Whatever his revenge was, it was her fault for leaving the hairclip behind in the first place.
He had some planning to do.
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I'm sorry if there were any mistakes. I read over them, but I can't always catch them all. I'm only human.
Thank you for reading (and for being so patient), please review
