Broken Youth

(Life of Konoha Academy Teens)

Ch. 4.1.2:U Can Do It

"Let me introduce you to Konohagakure's Yondaime Hokage." announced Tsunade. At that moment a yellow flash went vertically across the stage and ended at Tsunade's side. The yellow flash had transformed into a blond man with his back turned to the audience; he wore a white cloak with red letters running down it and red flame embroidering the bottom.

The audience was caught by surprised; never in all their years of school assemblies, had a guest speaker done a flashier entrance than the one he just did.

After their brief shock and when their jaw-dropped faces wore off, the crowd began to clap and cheer like never before, and even gave a standing ovation. The applause gave the man on stage a little relief from his earlier nerves.

When the cheers didn't seem like they would ever cease, Tsunade made a loud coughing sound through the microphone that got everyone quiet and back seated. She then handed the mic to the man and walked off to the side of the stage. He took a long deep breath and sigh while scratching the side of his head, before he turned to look at the audience.

"Um, well..." he began. "Good afternoon, students," he tried to give a smile as he waved at the audience. "Thank you all for the warm welcome you all gave me..." he paused to think of what to say next. " My name is Minato Namikaze and I'm the fourth hokage of the village hidden in the leaves, but you probably already knew the last part, because your lovely principle Tsunade introduced me as such. But there is really no need to remember my name you can all refer to me as Yondaime Hokage if you like."

There were lots of girls that were already fangirling over Minato, just because of his spectacular entrance, but once they saw his face the numbers grew. Even some guys became instant fans, of his sheer awesomeness.

"I hadn't really had the time to completely look around this enormous school of yours in years, until today," he said beginning a new topic. "Of course, it's gotten bigger and been through a lot of remodeling since my first days of teaching here, around 20 years ago."

The most crowd gasped at his last statement, and began to murmur things like:

"He was a teacher here?"

"Whoa, but he doesn't look a day past 30."

"I wish he was my teacher."

"I wanna look that good when I'm his age."

"I'm flattered that some of you think I'm younger than I am, but I'm truly not as young as I look, I actually have a son that's around your age, he's seated amongst you as we speak." stated Minato. "If you need more proof of my years just ask Kakashi. He was one of my first students, when he was a bit younger than the majority of you."

The students all directed their attention to Kakashi who was seated front and center, amongst the students and other staff and which the spotlight was now directed on. "Do you really have to put me in the spot like that Minato-sensei?"muttered Kakashi, face red with embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed Kakashi, besides I wouldn't give up the chance to show off one of my most gifted pupils," replied Minato with a chuckle.

"Thank you Sensei, but," answered Kakashi. "there was really no need to."

"Oh, don't be so modest, Kakashi!" Minato said with a wink. "And if you guys think that's surprising, Did you know that Jiraiya-sama, your art teacher, was my Sensei when I was a boy."

"Thanks a lot Minato you blew my cover, now they'll never believe I'm 25 years old," Jiraiya said jokingly with a chuckle.

"You haven't changed a bit Sensei," Minato said shaking his head while he laughed as well. Minato took a brief pause before continuing. "Of course, I was taught a lot differently back in my day, but enough of making myself look old, how about I start telling you what you really want to hear. For example how I became Hokage..."

Minato talked about his experience during the last Ninja War, How he got his alias: The Yellow Flash (of the Leaf) and How he was chosen to become Hokage of the new era by the previous Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi (who after stepping down as hokage, took a less stressful job as Konoha Academy's superintendent).

Minato had been talking for about half an hour when he suddenly took a long pause in his speech. After a moment of awkward silence Minato cleared his throat and said: "You're probably tired of listening to my rambling by now. How about we all take ten before I continue?"

The audience looked at each other confused, they weren't bored at all, it was actually quite the contrary, they were really enjoying his presentation and wanted to hear more. The audience expressed their interest in his presentation by trying to pep him into continuing.

"I'm thrilled that you are so enthusiastic, but even if you guys want me to go on I can't, I really need to take a break to go to the restroom," Minato said scratching his head, a bit embarrassed.

The audience expressions quickly change. The crowd was either laughing or giving themselves a facepalm.

"Okay, so you guys now have a ten minute break, I suggest you use it wisely, and something like stretch or take a trip to the restroom as well," stated Minato. "If you have nothing to do during the break, don't fret because I assure you the wait will be worth it, because after the break I have a couple surprises in store for you, as well as the easy tips to becoming Hokage," he explained. "Okay, be back in a flash!" he stated as he vanished backstage in a yellow flash.

"Good a break! I really needed one I was beginning to get as stiff as one of you puppets, un," said Deidara to Sasori as he twisted in his chair to pop his back.

"My puppets are not stiff! They are as maneuverable as a human body! Or maybe even more!" exclaimed Sasori. "How can you be so thrilled about an intermission? I thought you had 'babes' to see or something."

"Whatever, they can wait a bit longer, besides this guy is pretty interesting, un." answered Deidara rolling his neck. "Also I can take a few pointers on how to continue being a chick magnet even at his age."

Sasori rolled his eyes and face palmed while shaking his head in disapproval.

As Sasori expressed his disgust, Deidara continued stretching in his seat. He stretched his arms by lifting them high to the sky or in this case the ceiling. On their way up his hand came to a halt when they bumped in something or more accurately a pair of somethings. Without bothering to look up, Deidara let his hands investigate what the foreign objects were instead, cupped his hands around the blocking objects and without a second thought he pressed down his fingers around the objects to get a better feel.

'It's squishy? Huh?' Deidara thought as his fingers applied pressure.

A bit earlier (in the row of seats behind):

"Aw. An intermission, but it was just getting good!" complained Ino.

"That's a first, usually you're dying for an intermission, Blondie," said Temari with a snicker in her voice.

"Well, I have to say it's very understandable, Mr. 4th Hokage is very charismatic and what he talks about is very interesting," reasoned Tenten.

"Your just saying that because he happened to talk about your favorite subject, weapons," countered Temari.

"Yeah, that's true, but I thought the rest of his topics were interesting too," answered Tenten.

"Okay!" said Ino standing up getting the attention of all her friends. "Forget my last statement, I'm kinda glad there's a break now, because I need to go to the restroom. Now, who wants to come with?"

"I'll go," volunteered Hinata raising her hand.

"Good, anyone else? This is your only chance until the assembly ends," Ino reminded.

"I don't really need to go, I'll go with you. I kinda need to stretch." Sakura said turning her head in the direction of the restrooms and standing up, at that moment something touched her chest and a moment later she felt a slight pinch.

"Kyaa!" Sakura yelped at the pressure that had gotten heavier. Sakura looked down at her her chest and saw Deidara's disgusting, perpetrating, groping hands. Sakura instantaneously became red, both of embarrassment and anger.

After hearing the squeal, Deidara turned his head up to see Sakura standing behind him. His hands dropped down faster than lightning. He also began to slouch into his seat.

"Oh Uh," he said when his brain finally realized what he had been doing, he continued slowly melting in his seat. Everything around Deidara seemed to be going in slow motion, he could even swear he saw his life flash before his eyes as he saw the enraged Sakura ready to strike. The girls around Sakura where trying vainly to calm her down.

Sakura began to slowly and angrily state Deidara's name as she charged up her super punch.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I swear it was an acci-" Deidara said before the impact. "-dent," he finished as a projectile struck his face.

Sakura manage to say "Dei...dar...ahh!?" before she grew silent and froze like everybody else around Deidara's radius.

Sakura had not hit Deidara, her fist was still in the air, and it slowly fell down to her side as she saw the scene in front of her.

Something had hit Deidara's right cheek and hard, so hard that Deidara even blacked out for a second. When Deidara regained consciousness the fist that had struck him was still at the point of impact, while Deidara's face was turned away from it. When Deidara rotated his face to see the fist that struck him, the fist ended up being millimeters from the tip of his nose. Deidara followed the fist to see Sasori, who had punched him without even looking, as if it were a reflex.

"What the heck, man!" screamed Deidara, breaking the silence, grabbing his injured cheek with hand. "What was that for?"

Sasori put down his fist and turned to glare at Deidara. "Do you seriously need to ask?"

Deidara was without words, yet his mouth was desperately trying to make some, making him mumble senseless gibberish. As Deidara was trying to collect himself from the shock he was still in, someone behind Sasori had tapped his shoulder. Sasori turned his head to see Sakura bowing.

"Thanks, again, for 'saving' me from that creep," she lifted her head and looked over at Deidara. She then straightened herself up from her bow. "That's twice in one day, you really are my hero, Sasori-kun!" she smiled.

"You're welcome, just doing my duty," said Sasori returning a half-sided smile. Sakura and Sasori maintained eye contact for a long moment.

"Sakura!" said Ino, breaking Sakura's stare, making Sakura blush as she turned to look at her. "Hello, restroom, still going? We don't have much time left."

"Uh? Yes," replied Sakura.

"Then let's go, now," Ino said grabbing her arm and pulling her.

"Okay, okay, I'm going no need to be so pushy."stated Sakura.

Sakura, Ino and Hinata quickly left to the restroom.

"What a great cousin," mumbled Deidara sarcastically with somewhat of a lisp. His right cheek was already swollen to the size of a baseball. "Going to the restroom is more important, than healing her poor beat up cousin, un."

"I wouldn't have let her heal you even if she had offered," said Sasori turning to look at Deidara.

"And why not?!" Deidara yelled angrily at him.

"Quiet down! You're causing a scene."

"And like your punching didn't, un," he retorted in a restrained, yet still loud tone.

"I think, I might not have punched hard enough, because your mouth still seems to be working just fine."

"You know, I would have rather taken the punishment from Sakura-chan," stated Deidara with a huff.

"You can't seriously mean that? I saved you from a far worse world of hurt, and you know it first hand."

"Well, that maybe true, but I'm sure her hand would have been softer, and not felt rough like your hand that was like being hit by a 2 by 4, un."

"I'm sure Sakura-chan's punch would not have been any lighter, now stop your whining and next time remember to keep your hands to yourself."

"Fine, there is no point in talking to you anyway, you won't listen," huffed Deidara crossing his arms and making his face pout. "Plus this whole stupid thing was all a big misunderstanding, un."

"Whatever," said Sasori turning away his face.

"Are you okay, dude?"asked Naruto who sat to the left of Deidara. "Your friend sure gave you quite a punch."

"How can you call that jerk, my friend, after what you saw him do to me?" exclaimed Deidara.

"Even if you don't think it now, or ever, he really did save you a mortal punch from Sakura-chan. In all my times of seeing Sakura pissed, and I have had my fair share, I have never seen her as angry as I saw her just a few minutes ago, and I have made her super mad countless times. I'm pretty sure, you would have been a dead man or at least a faceless man, if it weren't for your friend over there," commented Naruto.

Deidara glanced over at Sasori. The two guys ended up making eye contact. Deidara quickly jerked his head back to Naruto with a loud huff.

"Yeah, right, un," he said sarcastically with his arms crossed tight against his chest.

Sasuke sat irritated in his seat, he fiercely tapped his toe. The same words kept repeating themselves inside his mind. 'If only I had been one seat closer!' Sasuke had been ready to pounce and give Deidara his just deserts, but Sasori had beat him to it. 'I would have hit him 1000 times harder!' thought Sasuke. He kept running the same scenario in his head, of what would have happened if he had been the first to strike. Sakura would have been thanking him, instead of that redheaded akatsuki, Sasori.

The words Sakura had told Sasori seemed to be recorded in Sasuke's mind, and were making him uneasy. What did she mean that Sasori had saved her twice today? And since when had the two been so close, that Sakura was now referring to him as Sasori-kun? What annoyed Sasuke more than the words was the look they gave each other before Sakura left.

All the piling thoughts of what actually happened, and what could have happened were making Sasuke angrier by the second. His frustration would soon be manifested on the outside, and he didn't want that to happen at all, he didn't want people asking him what was bothering him, and ultimately, realizing his jealousy. So, to calm himself took a few deep breaths, and tried thinking of more pleasant thoughts. Why was he getting so flustered over this incident anyway, oh yeah, because one guy inattentively victimized his most precious flower, while the other was seen as a hero in her eyes.

Sasuke took a few more deep breaths, this time with his eyes closed. The visions he recollected while his eyes were closed, brought him peace and a small smile to his face. Sasuke remembered the beautiful crimson of Sakura's cheeks when he had kissed her soft hand, not to long ago that day. Also the thought of her still wearing the cherry blossom he had secretly gifted her that morning, made him ease up. With all his pleasant memories now in his mind, he gave a happy grunt before opening his eyes and returning to his unagitated state.

Sakura, Ino and Hinata made it back to their seats just in the nick of time.

"I'm back!" stated Minato appearing on stage. "Did you miss me?" he said jokingly. "So, are you ready for one of my surprises?"

The audience answered eagerly.

"Okay, then, well here," he said making yet another yellow flash backstage and back. "It is!"

To Be Continued...