soo, the crappy little writer of this work has Easter-holidays, (for one week, but still, it's something), which means that she might actually pull off some writing since she's sooner or later gonna be dying with boredom, anyhow ^_^ and this humble little dumb creature also figured out how to reply to a review (which was just so painfully easy that we'll all be real nice to her and let it pass, alrighty?)
anyhoo, enjoy reading, and leave some sweet little reviews behind, 'kaay? *_*
~ Cherry Black - - Chapter Ten - Bruised ~
~ Sakura's POV ~
I was unusually tired as I walked through the still awakening city together with the others on Friday morning. I was just dazedly, and almost continuously yawning, reflecting over the fact that this was the last day of my first week at Konoha High as we turned a corner and I all but ran into Gaara - which did pull me a bit further into the world of the living. Next to him was Naruto - who looked like he'd just walked out of Fight Club.
A big, bruised wound had bloomed out on his right cheek bone, and there was a smaller wound right above his right eyebrow. The left side of his lip looked swollen and bruised, too.
"What the hell, Naruto?", Ino gasped next to me and looked bit like she'd seen a ghost.
"Dude", Kiba emitted and sounded like he didn't know whether to be impressed or just freaked out. As a matter of fact, the lot of them looked worriedly surprised. Well then, at least I then could guess this wasn't something that happened on a regular basis - which in spite of all, was a relief.
Hinata, though, just gave her blond boyfriend a good morning kiss on the undamaged side of his mouth as he laid an arm around her. I assumed that he'd told her about it, because, seriously, no one is that calm.
"What happened?", Tenten asked him from underneath Neji's arm.
"Nothin' really", Naruto sounded kinda sheepish. "Just ran into a guy from East yesterday."
Kiba frowned and actually balled his fists. "Oh man, Gaara, you've so gotta beat them at the next game."
I was more than just a little confused. East? Game? And beat who! I must have looked just as clueless as I felt, because, as we kept on walking, Ino turned back to me.
"Gaara's in the Soccer team", she casually told me. That didn't help. I stared at the redhead's back in front of me and tried to visualize him chasing a ball across a field. It didn't work very well.
"The Soccer team?", I repeated, sounding a bit like someone's disturbed parrot.
"Yeah, one of the top-players, actually", she nodded.
"Sure he is." I could have bitten my tongue off, because as I said that, Gaara threw a sort of amused gaze over his shoulder. Ino, of course, didn't seem to either notice or mind.
"And their next game against East is in three weeks, I think", she cheerfully went on.
I finally got the "East" thing. "The Konoha East High, you mean?", I blurted out.
"Yep", she nodded. I nodded too, and was eager to let the subject fall. For whatever reason Naruto had been beaten blue and yellow, I was still determined to go with "what I don't know, wont hurt me".
Since it was Friday and somehow, I'd managed to fall back into the old, casual school-rhythm already, the day went slow. At lunch I still hadn't managed to wake up for real, and was more than just relieved as I found that the cafeteria sold those take-away paper-cups of coffee, that always make me think of New York and Anne Hathaway (because of iThe Devil Wears Prada/i, mostly). I then joined Hinata at our table and started to dig around in my bowl of noodles, feeling a bit more alive already.
Due to P.E., me and Hinata were a bit late to lunch, and the huge room was already a bit emptier than usual. Kankuro, Neji, Shikamaru and Temari had already left and so our table wasn't as crowded either. Kiba, Ino and Tenten were all deeply involved with figuring something out on Tenten's cell, and next to them Gaara had his eyes glued to a bunch of papers - probably some test or something -, while Naruto was sharing his lunch with Hinata; and at the same time sneaking forkfuls from Gaara's plate.
As I tried to avoid bursting into laugh at the scene, I threw a look over my shoulder and caught eye on Mitsukai and Sasuke, a few tables from us. He was reading a bunch of papers, too, while she seemed to be trying to invoke some kind of conversation.
"It's not funny", she hissed, loud enough for me to hear in the now very scarcely crowded room. "Seriously. You're being ridiculous. Why can't you just tell me?" He didn't even look up at her. "Fine, have it your way then … ass", she spat with emphasis and looked on the border of trying to strangle him out of pure annoyance, and then stood to throw the rests of her lunch in the trash.
Not wanting to look as though I was eavesdropping, I quickly returned to my own lunch. Naruto had now realized that whatever it was that Gaara was memorizing, he should have had too, and was eagerly trying to read over his friend's shoulder, while he was continuously waved away.
"Hey, uh, Naruto." We all looked up at Mitsukai who now stood behind me. "Could you please tell me what happened last night?"
The blonde looked from the coal-haired girl, to the table behind her and suddenly seemed to have forgotten all about Gaara's papers. As I followed his gaze, I saw Sasuke get up and head for the door. On his cheek and chin and across his left eye, I could now see, that a big, bruised wound had bloomed out. He didn't look at any of us.
"Okay, fine, I overreacted, I'm sorry", Naruto said curtly, stood and had soon disappeared through the doors.
Mitsukai frowned after him. "Yeah, well, that's all good and fine, but it still doesn't explain what the hell you idiots were doing", she said sharply. Then she turned back to us. Gaara had looked up from his papers now, I noticed. "Uh, yeah, well, see you guys at practice, I guess", she said lowly.
"See ya." It was Hinata who was the only one who seemed to have common sense to answer the phrase. Ino looked remarkably bothered, and, well, I felt like the world just had cracked to start to crumble around me. How on earth could I possibly have managed to forget about the Cheerleading practice? Not that it actually concerned me - not at all as a matter of fact. Only, I felt very concerned by that impending event.
I stared at my coffee-cup, suddenly feeling utterly awake, and kinda down-hearted. I wasn't hyper-sensitive or something like that. I just had my … memories.
Religion after that was slow, and English even slower. I was so mentally occupied by the cheerleading-thing that I basically didn't listen during any of the two lessons, and then I just absentmindedly told Ino to point the way to my Chemistry-class. Too late, I realized that it was my first Chemistry here, and that just pointing the way wasn't quite sufficient for someone with my orientation-skills. Or, well, anti-skills. Muttering silently, I started stomping across the school-ground towards building A.
"Hey, you know, you look kinda lost." I jumped at the rough voice behind me, and turned to gawk at no less than the drop-dead gorgeous Sasuke Uchiha. Oh my.
"I, uhm - I'm, uh-uh, not", I stuttered. His eyes seemed to sparkle slightly - yes, sparkle, like if he was actually laughing or something, only just with his eyes (which of course made no sense whatsoever).
"Really?" He arched one black eyebrow, which did not make him look any less hot at all. Depressively. There was an ever so slight mocking hint to his tone, which made my cheeks heat up slightly. He had a black guy-purse swung over his right shoulder, together with his black school-jacket and the tie was slightly loosened. The bruises were in deep contrast against his pale, flawless skin, and it all gave him a sort of half-tamed bad-boy-look.
"Huh", I muttered. "I've got Chemistry in A-14 now, that's all I know."
He gave a kind of sly, cocky smirk. "Me too."
"Really?", I repeated. Only I sounded not at all calm and cool as he - rather high-pitched and all but choking.
The cocky smirk danced across his fine face again. "Really."
He walked past me then, making it clear I was invited to come along. I hid a grimace, and then I did close up next to him - at a decent distance, though. Sure, he maybe hadn't treated me like utter, unworthy crap, but he was still, well, him. To me that was enough, in spite of my wish to find the class as smoothly as possible.
A thought hit me then, and made me want to run around in circles while flailing my arms around and screaming in protest. "So, uh, that Physics' project", I started, feeling almost sick. For all I knew he could easily be one of those stuck-up bad-ass guys who never do any homework at all and instead make some bullied nerd-kid do it for them.
"Yeah, right", he said, to my relief. "How about we get to that next week?" Hey, he did sound almost, well, human. Even kinda polite. Jeesh, I'm sure hell just froze over somewhere.
"Fine with me", I stuttered. "What day would, uh, work best for you then?"
"I've got Soccer Thursday, Tuesday and Saturday, so what 'bout Monday?"
I was very, very close to stumbling in pure shock. Soccer? Him and Soccer? The almighty stuck-up drop-dead rich guy was in the school's Soccer team? Oh my. "Uh, sure, sure", I spluttered and fought hard not to stare openly at him. "Monday's okay with me."
"Your place or mine?"
Oh, crap. Somehow, I'd managed to totally forget about that part. But, no - oh, no, there was no way I'd let him into my apartment. Again. Not without the Halloween-thingy. Not at all. The place must look like a junkyard compared to his, uh, living quarters. "How 'bout we say yours? Mum is working night shift so she's probably home and resting by then and, uh …" I was blabbing, I realized with agony, and shut up.
"Done, then", he said calmly.
"Huh", I emitted brilliantly.
Praise the Heavens, a now almost well-known voice saved me from any further embarrassments. "Hey there, Sakura", Mitsukai waved beside the door to A-14. I hadn't even noticed we were that close to our destination.
"Uh-huh", I said and walked over to her. "Hey." The teacher arrived then, and I hushed to her desk to get my books. As I had that done, I realized there was just one seat left unclaimed in the room, and so I made my way towards it. Mitsukai had taken the place next to Sasuke and was whispering something with him.
I had already started recognizing several faces in different classes, even though I knew few names - but before I could excite myself further over any of that, I realized that the guy next to the seat was Gaara Sabakuno. Without really knowing if that made me feel better or worse, I sunk down in the chair, murmuring a lame "Hi".