Chapter 7 – Classroom Madness

Sasuke went back to the party half an hour before it ends. He stayed in his room in the Quarters all this time. He was about to go to his table when he saw Itachi walking toward him.

"Sasuke." Itachi stopped beside him. "Mom and Dad wants to talk to you. They're waiting in the front by the buffet table." Sasuke nodded. Itachi placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Well, I'm off now. I'm on duty. See ya." With that, he walked away.

Sasuke headed for the direction his brother pointed out. However, before he reached them, the music stopped.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please."

Sasuke stopped and looked to the front. Directly in front of the ice sculpture were the deans.

"Hi, everybody. Did you have fun tonight?" Jiraiya's voice filled the air. "Well, I sure did!" He slid an arm on Tsunade's shoulder. She elbowed him on the ribs and the crowd laughed as he winced in pain. "She's a bit shy, you know." Tsunade glared at him and he immediately raised his hands in defense. "Okay, okay. Sheesh." The crowd roared with laughter once again.

Sasuke lost interest and went on. He reached his parents' table and whispered, "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes." Mikoto smiled at him. "Have a seat first." Sasuke followed and waited for them to speak. However, both his parents were focused, listening intently to the closing remarks. He had no choice but to listen, too.

"We would like to thank you all for coming here today," Jiraiya continued, now serious. "We hope that we have exceeded your expectations regarding your children's education." The crowd applauded. "Thank you. As the night closes, let me send you off with a song I've been practicing -" He was cut short when Tsunade hit him on the head. Laugher. "What now?"

"Stop fooling around," Tsunade said and turned back to the guests. "I'm sorry you had to see that." The guests shook their heads with a smile, clearly enjoying the show. "It's getting late and the children have classes tomorrow. Let's end this night with a toast for a fruitful year ahead." She raised her glass, so did the crowd. "Please take your time saying good night to your family. Again, thank you all for coming." She and Jiraiya bowed and parents started to look for their children and vice versa.

Sasuke turned to his parents, waiting for them to bid him goodbye but they didn't.

"Let's go," Fugaku said, already finding his way through the crowd. Sasuke frowned.

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Mikoto said, smiling. She stood up and waited for Sasuke to do the same. He did and Mikoto motioned for him to follow her. Seeing the troubled look her son has, she added, "We have a surprise for you." His frown deepened.


Sakura was already in her pajamas, getting ready for bed, although she didn't feel sleepy. She tied her hair in a side ponytail like she always did before bed so they wouldn't tangle much. She was climbing to bed when someone knocked.

'Is the party over?' She grabbed her night coat and went to answer the door. "Tsunade-sama!" Tsunade was standing in the doorway with a stern look on his face.

"Come with me." Tsunade turned on her heel and walked away. She looked back and called, "Move it."

Sakura gulped and nodded. She closed the door and followed. 'What did I do now?' She followed her outside. She wanted to ask where they were going but she was too scared. Usually, when Tsunade is quiet, you must shut up, too. After a minute or two, she found herself in front of her office. 'Not again.'

Tsunade looked at her, her brown eyes smoldering… with anger? She gulped again. Then, Tsunade opened the door and came inside. Sakura followed but stopped short when she realized there were others in the room.


Sasuke's scowl deepened as he saw the girl by the door. Really, he kept running into her the whole day.

"Sit down, Sakura," Tsunade ordered and sat down behind her desk.

"Good evening," Sakura said hesitantly and sat down.

"Good evening," Mikoto said. "We're sorry to pull you out from bed." Sakura raised her eyebrows. Did she look like she just woke up? She waved it off, though. There were more important things.

She turned to Tsunade. "May I know what's going on?" She's got a bad feeling about this.

"You didn't tell her?" Mikoto asked Tsunade, who shook her head. "Oh, then it's a surprise for you as well." Mikoto looked really happy as she addressed Sakura. "You see, Tsunade-sama, Fugaku and myself agreed that you two be betrothed."

The room went silent. Too silent. Sasuke and Sakura's eyes met, both trying to figure out what was happening. Then…

"What!"

In an instant, they were both out of their seats.


Students filed out from the doors of the dormitories. The grounds filled with idle chatter among students, excited to see their friends after a long vacation. It was the first day of school and the students are making their ways to their respective classrooms. Class schedules have been sent out last week - with the subject, room number, building and the teacher handling the class.

"Hey." Sakura felt a soft nudge at her side. Ino looked worried. "You've been quiet since you woke up. Is there something wrong?"

Sakura could not sleep a wink last night although she kept her eyes closed and maybe it was showing on her face. She forced a smile. "Just a bit sleepy, Ino. Don't worry." She faked a yawn.

"Okay." Ino was still worried, though. They made their way to their room while Ino told her about the Gala, her latest booked shows and other stuff. Sakura was barely listening, her mind still occupied with what happened last night. She occasionally nodded or responded to Ino when necessary. Finally, they reached the classroom and went to find seats - not a problem since only a few got there before them.

"Good morning, Sakura, Ino," said Hinata as they sat on opposite sides of her - Sakura on her right, beside the window, Ino on the left. Sakura smiled at her and buried her face silently in her arms on her desk.

Hinata got worried. "Sakura?" She extended her hand to touch Sakura but stopped, hesitating.

"Don't worry," Ino said, looking worried, too. "She said she's just sleepy. Nothing's wrong." She said it like she was trying to convince herself. She turned back to Hinata and began talking to her about random stuff.

All the while, in the middle of thinking about last night, Sakura fell asleep. One by one, the students filled the room.


"Hey, hey," Naruto said as he and Sasuke were on their way to their first class. "Can I see your schedule?"

"No." Sasuke quickened his pace so he could have peace and quiet. However, this plan backfired when Naruto grabbed his bag, which was casually slung over one shoulder. "Tsk." He turned around and glared at Naruto. "Give it back, idiot. Now."

"Here you go." Naruto threw his bag at him. Sasuke caught it and saw his class schedule in Naruto's hands. "What the hell is this?"

Sasuke got the card back before Naruto could crumple it. "What?" He glanced at the card looking for something strange.

"How come you only have five subjects?" Naruto yelled.

Senior students are all required to take up physics, situational analysis and history as the staple courses. Along with it, they may choose two subjects they are interested in as electives, an art class and a music class. Seven subjects in all.

Sasuke smirked. "I cleared courses in advance." They entered the classroom.

Naruto was annoyed. He didn't know that was allowed - not that he ever bothered considering taking subjects in advance. He didn't mind music class since he likes playing the guitar but he couldn't stand art. There was not a creative bone in his body and he's stuck in painting. He saw Shikamaru in the last row and went to sit beside him.

"Here, Sasuke." Naruto pointed to the seat beside him. Sasuke headed there but stopped in the middle of the aisle. He frowned slightly. "What's wrong? Move it." He pointed to the desk beside him again.

Sasuke looked around the room, searching for any more available seats. To his dismay, though, there's not much and all of them are beside girls who were already ogling him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted and almost the whole class looked at him. Unwillingly, Sasuke went and sat beside him. The students looked away and the girls finally stopped staring. "You okay? Something wrong."

"No." Sasuke leaned back on his chair scowling at the pink hair in front of him.


Naruto looked around and saw the girl who went to their table last night chatting with another girl. "Hey," he whispered to Shikamaru, who looked bored. "Isn't that your fiancée?"

"Yeah."

Naruto was taken aback with the lack of denial. "Why didn't you tell us about it."

"Besides Chouji, it doesn't concern you guys, does it? Besides, I'm pretty sure Kiba and Shino knew. Unlike you, they're not total idiots."

"What?" He shouted. The two girls in front of them stopped talking and looked at him.

"Is he your friend?" The blond girl asked Shikamaru.

"Sadly, yes," he replied without looking at her.

"Then, tell him to shut up."

Naruto stood up and went to Ino's desk. "Hey, what did you need Shikamaru last night for?"

Ino looked up at him, brows furrowed. "I don't think that's any of your business." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't get close to me. I might get infected by your stupidity."

"Yeah?" Naruto leveled his eyes with hers. "You don't look any smarter than me."

"How dare you!" Ino was seething with anger. They glared at each other.

"Cut it out," Shikamaru finally said. They ignored him.

"U-um, please stop it." This time, it was a girl's voice. Naruto looked back and saw the girl he ran into last night. When she saw him looking at her, she blushed and looked down to hide her face.

Just then, Kiba, Shino and Chouji entered the classroom. Chouji went to sit beside Shikamaru while the other two found seats in the second row. They were about to go chat with their friends at the back when the bell rang. Students went back to their seats.

Hinata looked at Sakura who was still asleep. She reached out to her and lightly shook her shoulder. "Wake up, Sakura." Sakura didn't even stir. "The bell rang. The teacher will be here soon, Sakura." Nothing. Hinata sighed, "Sa-" She heard a loud thud and Sakura groaned. Slowly, she lifted her head, rubbed her eyes and looked at Hinata.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" She asked seeing Hinata looking at something behind her, a little surprised. She followed her gaze… and wished she didn't.


Sasuke was looking out the window when the bell rang. Then, he heard a girl's voice waking the annoying girl. He looked in front and she didn't budge.

"Tsk." Just looking at her annoys him. He heard the girl try again but to no avail. When the girl was about to try a third time, he slid his foot under his desk and kicked her chair hard. It worked. And soon, he found himself looking at her green eyes again.

"Why are you here?" she said. He ignored her. "Are you stalking me?"

"You're crazy," he said. It was too early to deal with her.

"Leave me alone," she commanded. "Go sit somewhere else."

"You're the one talking to me. Go annoy someone else."

"Jerk."

They were completely unaware of their friends looking at them - amusement, worry and interest in their faces.

"Good morning." By the door stood a man with silver hair and half his face and left eye covered with a mask. "Sorry I was late."


Author's notes: Hey guys! This is my first fic, I know it took me a while to update. The truth is, the chapters are ready, I was just waiting for more reviews, but none came so I was thinking if I should upload them. Again, the next chapters are available, but are not yet uploaded. If you think this is a good story or not, or whatever your opinion about it is, please tell me and REVIEW! Thanks a lot.