Chapter 29 – I Was Able To See
"Why should I tell you anything?" Gaara asked rather coldly, his emotionless glare making Naruto shift uneasily from foot to foot. It made Gaara want to scoff. So much for being tough. But then again, he knew how intense his glares could be. "Why do you even care?"
"Of course I care!"
Naruto's sudden loud yell made those who were still in their seats turn to face them, now watching eagerly when they recognised Gaara from the video and Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura's ex–best friend and ex–lover. Was a fight going to break out between them? And was that Uchiha Sasuke making his way over to them? Oh damn! There was going to be a fight.
"What's going on?" Sasuke demanded, his eyes narrowing on Gaara.
In response, the redhead scoffed, looking at the Uchiha with disgust. "I'll admit, this does concern you, but it has nothing to do with Uzumaki."
"It has everything to do with me!" Naruto exclaimed, taking a step forward, only to be stopped by Sasuke as he shoved him backwards.
"No, Naruto." Sasuke admitted rather reluctantly. "It doesn't concern you."
Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth dropped in shock, betrayal and hurt, before it slammed back shut and his eyes narrowed with anger. "Teme! How the hell can you say that, eh? I've always cared for Sakura–chan!"
"So you're back to calling her Sakura–chan, now?"
It was obvious that Naruto was starting to get pissed off and not just a pathetic, schoolgirl sort of pissed off, but almost like how Gaara got pissed off. He was practically seething, spitting out between clenched teeth, "You know that I've always cared for her, Sasuke."
Oh Sasuke was so not in the mood to argue with the idiot today, especially not after what he had just discovered. It felt like his stomach was burning and twisting, like he was about to throw up at any moment. Sasuke glared openly at Gaara. Sakura chose to tell him? Why did she go to Sabaku? She could have come to him! He would have listened to her and tried to help! What the hell was this guy to her? On the video, Sakura had said she was falling in love with Gaara.
His glare intensified.
But it seemed Gaara was unaffected as he once again scoffed. "So instead of going to see if Sakura is okay, you want to fight with me?"
For a moment, the Uchiha could do nothing but stare, too stunned to even speak, though his glare didn't lessen up at all. Gaara did have a point, though. What was he doing? He should have gone after Sakura like Sabaku tried to before Naruto stopped him. "Kakashi is with her." Sasuke retorted coolly, his eyes narrowing. "It's not like she'll want to see anyone."
"You really don't know her, do you?" Gaara smirked, but it was obviously forced and they could see the anger and hatred in his eyes, which only increased as his fists clenched tightly, like he was stopping himself from attacking them. "Do you really believe that she will want to be alone right now?" Again, there was only silence, making Gaara shake his head with annoyance. "You're wrong. If it's one thing Sakura hates more than anything, it's being alone."
Naruto tensed visibly.
That was all Gaara needed to pounce. "You, Uzumaki Naruto, were supposed to be her best friend. She always speaks so highly of you, always says nice things. I, for one, don't think you deserve the things she says or her feelings."
"What?"
"For fuck sake!" Gaara suddenly snapped, his glare intensifying and making Naruto take an uneasy step back. "Even Uchiha forgave her before you did!"
If Sasuke was affected by his glare or his words about him, he said nothing and instead turned towards the screening closet. It was where all of the computers were and the controls for the big screen. "Whoever did this is still in there." he commented. "They wouldn't have been able to leave since we were all in the hall and they would have been seen."
He had their attention immediately and both Sasuke and Gaara noticed how Naruto relaxed slightly now that the redhead wasn't verbally attacking him. Gaara didn't care. If he had to, he'd just find the blond later and deal with him. He was so sick of Sakura being hurt. She didn't deserve it at all! Damn it. How did such a great morning end up like this? It felt like he had woken up with Sakura weeks, maybe even months ago. It felt so far away and right now he wanted nothing more than to go back to that peaceful moment and hold her in his arms again, where she couldn't be hurt.
Gaara was outside the door in a second, slamming his foot and ramming his shoulder into it repeatedly and he didn't miss the startled shriek that came out from behind it, which only made him angrier.
"Gaara!" a voice snapped from somewhere near him, but Gaara was too livid to bother to look.
It wasn't until a hand grabbed his shoulder that he stopped, looking over his shoulder with such a menacing look that it had the woman stumbling backwards into a man. He recognised them both immediately. They were teachers here, Kurenai and Asuma. Sakura spoke of them often. Where the hell were they when all of this shit was happening? Why hadn't they stopped any of it?
"Calm down." Asuma warned him as Sasuke and Naruto made their way over to them. "We don't need any more drama today."
"Drama?" Naruto yelled in outrage.
It wasn't only Naruto who was angry as Gaara turned around fully. "You think this is just some petty school drama?" he demanded. "You have no idea what you're even talking about! You don't even know Sakura."
"You're wrong, Gaara." Kurenai responded quietly, trying her best to calm the boy without accidentally angering him further. Kakashi had warned her about him right before he left to help Sakura, warned both her and Asuma about how he got when he was angry. Unfortunately, she had failed to take notice of his warning not to touch the redhead. "I know Sakura quite well, not as well as you do, but well enough. I know for a fact that she wouldn't want any more attention today."
"Which is why we want to deal with whoever is in there." They were all surprised as Sasuke appeared beside Gaara, seeming to be on his side. If Gaara was shocked though, he didn't show it. "If we don't, then they'll find a way to sneak out of there."
Asuma shook his head. "There's only one door to that room. Whoever it is in there, they're not getting out any time soon unless they want everyone to know who they are."
Naruto gave him an annoyed look before shaking his head. "There's more than one way out of that room. Trust me." he sounded so sure, so certain that they couldn't help but look at him blankly, which made Naruto grin sheepishly and scratch the back of his head. "Well… you see… when I get tired of lessons… I kind of–"
"So this is where you hide to skip my lessons, eh?" Asuma narrowed his eyes before shoving his hands into his pockets and sighing. "We'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to focus on the person in there." he scanned the hall for a minute, not even paying attention to the others who were watching curiously and when he spotted two familiar faces (though they looked much paler than usual), his raised his hand to them and they immediately made their way over. "Choji, Shikamaru, I need you to go and find the janitor and make sure he has his keys for the screening closet."
Gaara looked over at Shikamaru, recognizing the name instantly, but choosing not to mention anything about the fact he was dating his sister or had been one of Sakura's closest friends. Instead, he merely said, "Tell him it's about Haruno Sakura." At their unsure, skeptical glances, he rolled his eyes. "During our time in detention, the old man grew fond of Sakura and always said that she's a nice girl and others should be more like her."
He, for one, was glad Sakura was one of a kind. If more girls were like Sakura then he wouldn't have… fallen for her? Was that what these feelings were? Gaara wasn't too sure. Whatever it was that he felt for her, it was strong and he would do anything to keep her from getting hurt and if somebody did manage to hurt her, then they would have him to deal with.
"She's friends with the janitor?" Naruto questioned, frowning as he watched Shikamaru and Choji rushing out of the hall, which was surprising for the two since one was lazy and the other… Well, it was safer to say that he enjoyed his food.
"Like I said," it was obvious Gaara was getting more annoyed by the second, but his anger was slowly calming down, "you don't know Sakura anymore. She and Akio often spoke with one another." his eyes narrowed on Naruto and Sasuke. "He was one of the very few people who treated her like she's a person."
Before either boy could reply, Kurenai spoke, her voice soft and quiet. "Gaara, is what we all saw today on that video true?" When Gaara simply stared at her, refusing to answer, she bit her lip. "I knew something was off about Sakura. That day when Kakashi had to take her out of class…" Kurenai shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I can't even explain what I saw! She was hysterical."
"I remember." Sasuke stated, his eyebrows knitting together. "Everyone in the class heard her screaming at Kakashi."
Kurenai nodded sadly. "I can't begin to imagine what she must be going through."
Just as Naruto was about to say something, three people started running over to them, the man at the back fiddling with his keys. There was a look of anger in his eyes as he stormed straight passed the group, only to pause when he spotted Gaara. "Gaara, is Sakura okay?" No answer, though Akio noticed how the redhead's fists clenched tightly. "I see." he nodded once, making the others stare at him in confusion. It looked as though he and Gaara were having some sort of telepathic conversation! "Take care of the girl, won't you?"
This time, Gaara nodded. "Open the door."
Akio did as Gaara told him, finding the key and unlocking the door with ease. Just as Akio tried to open it though, the person on the other side grabbed the handle and tried their best to keep it shut, which made Gaara's eyes narrow dangerously before he walked forward, Akio immediately moving back for him, and all but ripped the door from it's hinges, earning a cry of pain from the person when the handle was yanked out of their hold.
His vision turned red when he saw who it was.
It was Karin.
Before he could grab the redhead, a feminine figure appeared in front of him, her back to them and showing only her midnight blue hair. However, it seemed whatever expression on her face was terrifying as Karin's eyes widened a second before the girl shot forward, yanking Karin out of the closet and passed a slightly stunned Gaara. Then, her hand lashed out, slapping Karin harshly across the face so hard that her glasses flew right off and clattered to the ground.
"How could you do that?" the girl yelled, her usually quiet and soft voice loud and hard with anger.
All three boys' eyes widened when they saw the pearl–coloured eyes, making it obvious just who this girl was.
"Hinata?" Naruto called out, seeming completely and utterly shocked. Nobody could blame him, even Sasuke and Gaara were unable to hide their shock as the seemingly harmless Hyuuga had Karin almost in tears!
"Naruto–kun," she replied with a firm voice, though her eyes stayed locked on Karin's.
Naruto frowned, looking between Hinata and Karin, the latter quickly grabbing her glasses, cleaning the lenses and putting them back on whilst trying to ignore the murderous glares that were focused on her. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you and Sakura–chan were friends!"
"I may not know Sakura–san as well as you all once did or do." Hinata spoke softly, but there was an air of seriousness about her as her pale eyes narrowed. "I may not know her at all, but I have noticed that for the past couple of months, Sakura–san has been happy. Every time she sat beside me, she was unable to wipe the smile from her face. At first, I thought it was because of you, Sasuke–kun." she faced him, but then, her eyes trailed to the boy beside him. "But it was actually… because of you, Gaara–kun." There was a small, hesitant smile on Hinata's face as she twisted the ends of her sleeves between her fingers. "I know I am speaking out of place, but what Karin has done to Sakura–san… it has destroyed what happiness she had."
"Hinata…" Kurenai spoke softly, her eyes saddening at the sight of her pupil.
They were shocked as tears filled Hinata's eyes. "I saw the happiness in Sakura–san's eyes shatter when that video was played." her teary eyes turned to glare at Karin, who was simply stunned. "I always knew… I always knew that quite a few of the 'popular' people were awful. I do not like labelling others, but from what I have seen today… from what I always see, what I say about you is true."
Suddenly, there were three people stood beside Hinata, startling the girl as she spun around to face them. However, after seeing who it was, she smiled, "Neji–nīsan, Lee–kun, Tenten–san!"
"Is there a problem here, Hinata–san?" Lee asked, his brows furrowing ever so slightly as he looked over at the group behind Hinata, who were all staring at the girl's back in shock.
Hinata shook her head. "Not at all, Lee–kun," she smiled. "I was just… I just had to tell them something."
Naruto frowned as he took a step forward. "Hey, Hinata, how do you know all of this?"
Her smile saddened as she looked over her shoulder at Naruto. Then, as she turned around fully, her smile slipped away. "Because when nobody else would speak to her, when she would sit beside me in English with Kakashi–sensei by her side, I was able to see."
"See what?" Sasuke frowned. A part of him was wondering if all girls were this dramatic.
"I was able to see that her smiles were not genuine." she half–whispered and had to refrain from bringing her hand up to her mouth. "There was pain in her eyes when she would look at you, Sasuke–kun. When she would look at anyone she remembered there would be great pain, regret and guilt in her eyes." Again, Hinata was hesitant as she turned to face Naruto. "But there was never a greater pain, regret or guilt in them than when she was looking at you, Naruto–kun."
His eyes went wide, "W–What?"
Hinata forced her tears back as she looked down at the ground. "I heard what happened between you both from the first fight between Ino–san and Sakura–san, but also from when Sakura–san was talking to Kakashi–sensei." she bit her lip softly. "I know it was wrong of me to listen and I feel bad for doing so, but I know that her friendship with you, Naruto–kun, meant a lot to her. You were her best friend, someone she believed she could rely on and have by her side when she needed you."
By now, Naruto's eyes had filled with tears. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Was what Hinata saying true? With the way Neji, Lee and Tenten were watching her, and with the way she looked so torn, it was obvious this information had been tearing her up. It was obvious she didn't know whether to tell him or not.
"I heard her say on more than one occasion that you were her 'boys'." Hinata smiled softly as she looked up at them. "But Gaara–kun, to Kakashi–sensei, she spoke about you the most. At least, recently she has." When she saw his icy blue eyes narrow, Hinata quickly looked down again. "T–They weren't bad things! She would tell him about how you were helping her, how you kept her grounded and from going 'insane'."
Gaara looked shocked, or as shocked as a boy who never showed emotion could, which was in fact quite a lot considering his eyes were wide and his lips were parted ever so slightly. "She…"
Hinata nodded and smiled once again when he trailed off. "She said quite a lot of things about you, Gaara–kun." Then, she looked at the others who were listening intently before looking back at him. "I won't tell you everything, because I'm not sure what some of it means."
He nodded once, finally managing to get his emotions under control. He was grateful that the Hyuuga girl wasn't going to say anything. Then, his eyes narrowed as he turned to Karin, the girl who had caused all of this, making her flinch.
"You–"
But he was cut off as a flash of platinum blonde hair stepped in front of him.
"You bitch!"
She took the words right out of his mouth.
"How dare you do something like that!" she all but screamed, her fist swinging forward and smashing into Karin's face. Her chest was heaving as Ino watched Karin fall to the ground, yelping in pain as she lifted a hand to her face. "Get up!" Ino yelled at her before moving forward and dragging the girl up by her hair. "What the hell gives you the right to hurt her like that? Even I know that posting shit like that is too fucking far!"
Throwing Karin to the ground, Ino kicked her in the stomach. "She was raped!" she suddenly screamed, once again lifting Karin, although this time by grabbing her blazer. "She tried to kill herself! How can you use something like that against her, huh? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Asuma was there in an instant, holding Ino's arms behind her back as he pulled her away from Karin, but that didn't seem to stop the blonde as she kicked her legs out, her foot smashing into Karin's shoulder. The redhead screamed in pain this time, clutching at her shoulder as her features scrunched up in agony.
"Let go of me, damn it!" Ino demanded, trying to break out of Asuma's hold. "Asuma–sensei! This bitch needs putting in her place. She can't just get away with doing that to Sakura!"
"And she won't!" he simply replied, looking over at the group surrounding him. "All of you except Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, Neji and Tenten get to the headmaster's office. Kurenai, will you send everyone to class and Akio, was it? Will you please clean up the front of the hall? The big screen was smashed and there will be broken glass about."
They were all gone in an instant.
Her palms were sweaty, but no matter how many times she tried to wipe off the sweat, it wouldn't work. The tears hadn't stopped falling and by now, Sakura had stopped trying to wipe them away or stop them. Also, her hair was a little dishevelled due to her running her fingers through it every couple of minutes whilst she paced Kakashi's office, waiting for him to return. Apparently he was speaking with Sarutobi, who had no idea that an emergency assembly had been called since he had been in a meeting. He had been gone for around twenty minutes now and Sakura could feel herself growing restless. Her earlier mood of pure exhaustion had passed and she could feel adrenaline pumping through her veins, almost making her tremble with the need to release energy.
And then that was when she heard them.
A loud slam made the walls shake, startling Sakura as she jumped almost a foot into the air, effectively pausing her pacing. However, what she heard next surprised her all the more.
"Get off of me! I can walk by myself." It was Karin who said this, Sakura noticed and for a moment, she was confused. What was going on?
"Not a chance!" This voice startled Sakura. It was Naruto and she hadn't heard him sound so angry in a long time. "After what you did to Sakura–chan–"
He didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence as Sakura darted out of Kakashi's office, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. The others seemed surprised by her sudden appearance and Naruto quickly let go of his hold on Karin as Sakura lunged.
"It was you?" she screeched, slamming Karin up against wall. "What the hell is wrong with you? What have I ever done to make you hate me this much?" Before Karin even had the chance to speak, Sakura pulled her away from the wall before slamming her against it again, making the air painfully rip out of her. "I'd beat the shit out of you, but it looks like somebody has already beaten me to it."
"You have me to thank for that."
At the familiar voice, Sakura let go of Karin like she had been burned and spun around to face the group behind her, her eyes widening with shock before they narrowed and her eyebrows knitted together uncertainly. "Why?"
"Why, what?" Ino frowned, rubbing her arm a little self–consciously, though she told herself it was because of how tightly Asuma had been holding her.
"Why did you beat the crap out of Karin?"
This time, Ino rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but look saddened. "Because even though you hurt me by doing what you did, you didn't deserve what happened to you, not today and definitely not last year."
"No," Sakura retorted a little bitterly, stepping to the side so that she was nearer to Gaara and so her back wasn't to Karin, who was also moving away from Sakura warily, "I just deserve to be belittled and picked on by you."
"You've got to admit, Sakura that what you did was a shitty thing for a best friend to do! You were like a sister to me." Despite her words being harsh, Ino's voice was soft. "But…" The blonde bit her lip, looking unsure for a minute before speaking again, a small smile on her lips, "even though I don't think we'll ever be able to be as close as we used to be, I would like to try and be your friend again."
Pity.
Ino was pitying her?
Just as Sakura was about to snap at her, to tell her that she didn't want her pity, a figure appeared behind her, his hand dropping onto her shoulder, though it acted more of a restraint than anything else.
"Sarutobi–sama will see you all now." Kakashi informed them, his eyes narrowing dangerously when he spotted Karin, though the look of anger was quickly replaced by cool indifference. "Sakura, I thought I told you to wait in my office?"
She looked up and over her shoulder at him. "If you were in my–"
"I understand." Kakashi interrupted her softly, giving her shoulder a light squeeze before letting go. "Ino, Karin and Gaara, you all need to see Sarutobi–sama. As for the rest of you, you can go back to your lessons. Sakura, go and wait in my office."
"No." Sakura told him without missing a beat.
"What?"
"I'm going in there, too."
A/N - I hate Karin. Not just in this story, but in the anime and manga too. Ugh! She does my head in.
Thank you all so much for leaving me reviews for the last chapter! They were honestly the best thing I woke up to and put me in a really good mood for the rest of the day.
By the way, if some characters are confusing you with what they're saying and how they're acting, just know that there is a reason behind it all.
HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)
