Streetgang Lovers
Chapter Twelve
"Would any of you happen to know where your... principal is?"
Four sets of eyes in different shades- chestnut, jade, ivory, ice blue- stared back at him. He sensed that he was interrupting something by the way they all remained planted into the ground, unmoving. It didn't even look like they were breathing. The one with the hair fashioned in two space buns slowly came out of the statue like trance and answered, looking him square in the eye.
"She is on a leave of absence right now."
He looks really old, too old to be a highschooler. The panda haired girl thought, biting her bottom lip so he wouldn't see how badly she was quivering. The soles of her feet felt tingly and the adrenaline in her veins was roaring. Her left eye rested on the phone sitting on Tsunade's desk, an arm's length away. If he tried anything, she would dive over and call security. Or maybe Mr. Hyuuga. Whatever. She had both numbers memorized.
The guy was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white shirt with holes in it. She spotted a red cloud tattoo inked on the side of his wrist and recognized it as the same weird stitching all of the other Akatsuki had on those hoodies of theirs. She concluded his hair was dyed because there was no way it was naturally that vibrant of an orange, but then again there was Sakura. His face was riddled with piercings from the nose down and his lilac colored eyes reminded her of those creepy contact lenses people wore around Halloween.
Talk about scary.
"I see. I'll be going then. Thank you." And just like that, he waltzed out the door like a gust of wind, closing the door behind him.
"Where did he come from? How did the person at the front door let him in? I knew Genma was a crappy security guard." Ino hissed, standing up from under the desk and straightening her skirt.
"Maybe one of the Akatsuki let him in?" Sakura offered, peeking over the top of the chair to make sure he was actually gone.
"Hm. You might be right about that one. But he doesn't even go here! Did you see a backpack of any sort?" Tenten pointed out. Her brain was still in the middle of processing that the Akatsuki leader had stood in front of them, a mere two feet away just moments ago. The even more shocking fact? He hadn't killed them.
"I'm just glad he didn't seem to know who we are… And that he didn't harm us." Hinata sighed with relief, fanning herself with a book catalog.
"We should have asked him if we could take a message for Principal Tsunade." Sakura said jokingly. Three pairs of eyes glared at her, still shaken from the unexpected encounter.
"Do you think she knows she's in danger?" Tenten wondered.
"I am not hiking to that mansion in the woods if that's what you're suggesting we do,Tenten." Ino replied, shuddering at the memory of that long and torturous trip. "And what would we tell her? That a gang leader is out to get her?"
"What do we do about Shizune?" Hinata asked.
"I didn't even think about that one." Tenten sweatdropped.
"You know what this means though." She said, crossing her arms. "We have to destroy the bug."
"I completely forgot about that!" Sakura shouted and was quickly shushed by Ino who peeked through the blinds of the office, watching the retreating figure leave the school premises.
They were back in Tenten's kitchen. Water was boiling at rapid speed in the giant metal pot she reserved solely for making extensive batches of soup, back when she was in a meal prepping craze freshman year. Other than that, it hadn't been used since. The brunette adjusted the knob on the stove to avoid any hot splashing. She placed a lid over the top carefully and perused her cabinets for useful kitchen tools. There was a pizza cutter, sashimi knife set, and cheese grater all at her convenience. Now, if only she could locate her blender. The blades on that thing were unmatched.
"You know, the logical way to go about this is to start the grill and toss the bug in there." Sakura stated plainly, as she leaned against the sink, clicking a lighter in her hand. "I'm ready when you are, Tenten."
"Oi! That's for my good candles! Put it back!" The pinkette shrugged at the panda girl's sudden protectiveness over an ordinary household object. Burning the bug was a good idea, in her opinion. Simple and easy.
"We might run the risk of causing an explosion in the neighborhood." Hinata pointed out as she drew the curtains closed and double checked that the lock on the door was secure. The paranoia was real.
"Yeah, I would rather not try that Sakura."
The four girls studied the plastic bucket on the floor of the kitchen, scheming on the best way to destroy the bug. The green light was still blinking, granting them no temporary relief. After his appearance in Konoha High, the group of friends came to the conclusion that the Akatsuki leader was not only omnipotent, but might as well be omnipresent. They didn't want to imagine what would happen if he figured the bug he planted was in their possession.
"I think this can be resolved very easily without all this overthinking." Ino said in a matter of fact tone, reaching into the bucket and picking it up with her manicured fingers carefully before dropping it to the floor and attempting to crush it with her heels on. The remaining three were unable to utter a word as they watched their blonde friend. Tenten and Hinata exchanged equally horrified looks. After two full minutes of stomping on the small black device and chasing it as it skittered across the smooth floor, she gave up, not wanting to cause any more damage to Tenten's kitchen floor. Ino made her way over to the spot underneath the oven and picked the bug up. Her eyes bulged, seeing there wasn't so much as a scratch made.
"NANI?" Sakura's eye twitched.
"Kami, don't tell me this thing is indestructible."
"Let's try boiling it in water and seeing if it will melt." Hinata suggested, eyeing the pot that was still atop the stove. Steam was beginning to rift out from the sides and it was bubbling furiously. With a pair of tongs, Tenten took the bug from Ino's hand, carefully dropping the bug in and watched as it sank to the bottom. She adjusted the knob on the stove to the highest heat capacity and covered the lid again.
Boiling the bug had been unsuccessful.
The four of them glared tirelessly at the spy device now sitting in a pasta strainer. Tenten had opened up some windows to circulate air, seeing as she had forgotten to turn on the kitchen fan prior.
"We left it in that pot for over an hour and you're telling me nothing happened?" Ino groaned. "I'm starting to lose hope here."
"Water should damage if not destroy most electronic devices, I don't get how this is possible." Tenten commented in disbelief. It was time to bring out her projectiles. Nothing would seem too out of the ordinary if she explained to her neighbors that she was testing out fireworks in the middle of April.
"If it's a bug, there has to be a way to disassemble it." Hinata reasoned. "Maybe we can cut the wires inside?"
"You're a genius, Hinata." Sakura grinned, brandishing a set of gardening clippers. "Now, what are we waiting for?"
"Wait Sakura! We should use something more... delicate." Tenten put a hand over the gardening clippers in the rosette's hand.
"Okay, fine. What do you suggest? I have this as well." Sakura walked over to her backpack and pulled out a blue plastic box, opening it to reveal a set of silver equipment Tenten had only seen once, and that was for class dissections.
"Where did you even get that?" The brunette asked incredulously. So many poky devices. It looked like a surgeon's packet. She was just going to propose the sashimi knife. It had a much thinner blade.
"I may or may not have swiped this from Asuma-sensei's lab." An evil smile crawled across Sakura's face.
"I guess that works too. Can we try making a small incision along the side?"
"I'm on it."
Hinata and Tenten arrived to English class the next day, plopping themselves down at the desks nearest to the door, hoping to catch a quick power nap before Kurenai arrived. They, along with Sakura and Ino, had tired themselves out trying to destroy the spy bug yesterday after school and although the dissecting tools Sakura stole had helped make a small indent into the surface, it still wasn't deep enough for them to crack it open and check for wires.
Hinata had spent the remainder of the night back at home, researching ways to destroy cameras and audio recording devices while Tenten began designing and 3D printing more mini projectiles that she hoped to launch and destroy the bug with. Ino pulled up all the information she could find on Amegakure while Sakura busied herself with another trip to the hardware store, in search of who knows what.
"I am so sick of all this Hinata." The bun haired girl griped, her voice muffled from it being buried in her backpack on top of the desk. It was a rare day that she didn't have her hair in the signature panda buns and chose to sport two low braids instead. After a mere three hours of sleep and two black coffees, twisting her hair all the way to her scalp didn't seem the most ideal. Her headache was doubling by the minute.
"I never asked for the job of professional babysitter nor did I ask to be under a house arrest, and I most certainly did not ask to be a part time spy for this gang."
Hinata patted her friend's head in agreement, too tired to provide her with a verbal response. Closing her eyes, the Hyuuga leaned back in her chair, hoping to rest her eyes before class started.
No such luck, they soon heard Kurenai's footsteps making their way into the classroom and immediately sat up. It was a special skill everyone at Konoha High developed- being able to detect every teacher's footsteps just by the sound. How else were they supposed to sneak around?
"Kurenai-sensei!"
"Good morning Hinata, Tenten." The dark haired woman greeted the two of them as she set her materials on the desk. Seeing that Kurenai wasn't making any further steps to make conversation with them, the brunette resumed her previous position of setting her head on her desk. The lights in the classroom were blinding and in a few minutes, the class would be subjected to watching an hour long documentary on ancient writings of the past. Nothing like starting her day off with digital eyestrain.
"Hey Panda!" Tenten didn't even lift her head, recognizing the voice as Hidan's. She heard shuffling and the desk beside her moved slightly as he took a seat.
"What's with her today?"
"Tenten is a little grumpy. It happens when she doesn't get enough sleep." Hinata explained.
"It's nothing personal."
Tenten dashed out the door the minute the bell rang, dragging Hinata along with her. She discreetly peered across her shoulder before melting into the sea of students, not wanting Hidan to follow them.
"You do know he's in our Health class, Tenten?" The violet haired girl reminded her.
"Hinata, I am running on half a brain cell. Please don't expect much out of me today."
They made their way into the Health classroom and found Ino already at her desk, motionless. She was dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt dress and strappy sandals, complete with accessories and her hair up in its usual sleek ponytail. A pair of sunglasses covered her eyes. Of course, out of the four of them, Ino still managed to look good. Nobody could tell it had been a sleepless night. The blonde was going to have to teach the rest of them how to work those makeup skills. There wasn't a blemish or stress pimple in sight.
Tenten applauded her dedication and effort.
"Last night, I read up on Amegakure crime rates until my eyeballs couldn't move. I am about two seconds out from collapsing." The Yamanaka muttered, staring blankly ahead of her. "First period felt like ten years crawling by and I don't know how I'm going to survive the day."
"At least you'll go out in style." Hinata smiled.
"We need to think of a way to escape P.E." The blonde announced robotically, removing her sunglasses and wincing at the bright lights of the classroom. She reached into her bookbag for eyedrops. "Tenten, now that you're all buddy buddy with Gai-sensei, I think you should be the one to come up with the excuse."
"What? Why me?"
"The retreat! Remember? You're like his favorite now. But remember, we can't use the 'time of month' excuse anymore." Ino rested her chin in her hand, getting into deep thought.
"I think the sprained ankle and toe surgery excuse is out of question too."
"You are too much, Ino. I am not Gai-sensei's favorite. That title is reserved for Rock Lee and you know it."
"Who's his favorite?" Tenten and Ino turned around and saw Sakura waddling over to them.
"Sakura… you look…" The bun haired girl started.
"Like a nightmare, I know." Sakura waved her hand dismissively before taking a seat next to them. Students began filling the classroom shortly after, followed by Shizune.
"I haven't seen Sasori at school since two days ago!" Sakura growled, dropping her Baby Infant Simulator on her desk. Hinata jumped. "We haven't been able to work on this at all ever since the return from house arrest and whenever I do see him, we end up getting into an argument and I forget why I even needed to talk to him in the first place."
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him either. That's weird because Itachi, Hidan and Deidara are still here." Tenten replied, turning around to see if the redhead would pop up suddenly.
"Well, I did see him jump the gate yesterday." The pink haired girl said, twirling a piece of her hair. "Typical guy cutting class."
"Shizune looks stressed." Ino commented, watching as the Health teacher flipped through her lesson plans and sighed. "Do you think she knows her belt is inside out?"
"I feel like she has nothing to be stressed about though." Tenten postulated. "Tsunade-sama barely did anything as principal besides day drink and serve out detentions."
Although, that might be why she was stressing now. Shizune had pretty big shoes to fill.
"Okay class. Settle down please." The Health teacher clapped her hands hoping to dispel the rising chaos.
"I'm having some issues tackling stand-in principal duties along with the rigorous demands of being a Health instructor for three classes, so today will just be a work period for you and your Baby Infant Simulators. I know some of you might be a little more behind compared to others, and that is totally fine with me. You're all mature enough to know what you should be doing, so please take advantage of this free period. I will be downstairs in Principal Tsunade's office handling phone calls and paperwork if you need me." The class cheered, seeing as they were spared from an hour and a half of learning.
"Yes Hinata?"
"What if we have completed our hours for the project?"
"Great question. You're free to move onto the final portion which is typing out a two page reflection on your experience. And don't forget to include a partner evaluation and hour block calendar highlighting the dates you and your partner worked together. Laptops can be accessed on the cart over there and for the love of Kami, please plug them back in when you're done. It's not that hard! They aren't going to charge themselves."
"Okay." Hinata was pleasantly surprised. She barely had anything to do, seeing as Itachi had already made an hour by hour schedule on when they had had to meet up and work on the project. All she had to do was copy it into a block format and print it out.
She would be giving him full points for this partner evaluation.
"Wow, Hinata. You're so speedy! I didn't know you were already finished with your hours! Does that mean you've been hanging out with Itachi alot?" Sakura giggled and the Hyuuga girl turned red.
"Sakura, you know it's not like that!"
"No wonder you skipped movie night at Ino's house!"
"N-nooo! I would never choose a guy over you!"
"I'm going to get to work now so please be on your best behavior!" Shizune called as she sped walked out the door. "If there is an emergency, Kakashi-sensei is down the hall in the classroom to your right."
And with that, the students were left to their own devices.
"Argh! Why won't this dumb thing format correctly?" Tenten slammed a fist onto the keyboard, annoyed. The cursor continuously flickered in the same spot.
The classroom noise had reduced to a low rumble, with students splitting off into their assigned pairings. Some had decided to skip altogether the minute Shizune disappeared and Tenten didn't blame them. Sakura had moved her desk to the corner of the classroom, now complaining to herself about how much of a useless partner she had while Ino and Deidara were in deep conversation a few desks away.
Hinata and Itachi were sitting side by side, typing their reports diligently and Hidan was on the other side of her, slowly invading her personal space as he watched her work. She slowly plugged in her earbuds, trying to send him a subtle sign to back away.
The brunette had made such good use of this free period and already finished the partner evaluation and reflection. She decided to give Hidan full points, and he had decided to do the same for her as a mutual agreement. They were just three hours short of completing this project, (which she was so thankful for) and she would never have to spend time with him again. She was in the middle of translating the hours into a neat, color coordinated, calendar block schedule when her thumb slipped and exited out of the window, making all her work vanish.
Tenten gaped at the black screen.
"I'VE HAD IT!" She screeched, yanking at her hair and feeling herself on the verge of a meltdown. The brunette grabbed the laptop, trying to switch it back on and quickly reopen all the windows, but nothing was moving on the screen. She jabbed at the spacebar with her finger angrily, willing it to move.
"Tenten, I think you have it on lock mode." A calm voice behind her said.
I really need to start paying attention to my surroundings.
"Oh. Thanks Neji." She whispered as he leaned forward, taking the laptop from her and fixing the setting. As he handed it back to her, Tenten felt the warmth of his hand touch hers.
I touched the laptop and he touched the laptop. Does this mean we indirectly held hands?
Don't make me strangle you, Inner Tenten.
"Of course."
"Okay get back to your seat pretty boy." Hidan glared at the Hyuuga.
"What was that about?" The silver haired Akatsuki member leaned over, too close for Tenten's liking. She naturally shrank back into her seat, pulling the laptop towards her. "I couldn't figure out how to format the report." The brunette mumbled, now typing with no problem at all. She could feel her ears becoming itchy and was pretty sure they were turning red by the minute.
"Goddamn Panda. You could've just asked me."
"I know, I know."
"Your hair is different today." He remarked, reaching over to touch her braid. Tenten immediately drew back seeing how close he was to her, almost falling backwards in her chair.
"No touching my hair!" She snarled, furiously typing away. The whole class listened in silence as Tenten flew across the keyboard like a maniac, trying to get everything done in case her finger slipped up again.
"You should tell your friend to be careful before she destroys the laptop." Itachi said quietly, looking at Hinata who smiled uneasily.
Ino and Deidara studied the screen in front of them, looking at all the hours they had yet to complete. It didn't exactly help that they were both procrastinators.
"It looks like we need to spend more time together, un." He turned to her with a wink and she rolled her eyes.
"Can you not flirt with me in front of our child?"
Both blondes stared at each other until Ino turned her attention to the instruction manual in her hands, not wanting to look at her partner. This was the first time she had seen him since their 'date' to the art museum. She still felt awkward around him but a small part of her felt happy that they were working together on this project.
This must be how Tenten feels on the daily. Karma is a bitch! She thought, internally crying at her own demise.
"It doesn't really specify what activities we're supposed to do. Also, did you know this thing has sensors in its neck and cries when we don't support the head properly?" The platinum haired girl grabbed the Baby Infant Simulator and checked the back of its head. Sure enough, she spotted the sensors. There was a speaker on the back of the baby's head and Ino shuddered, cradling the baby with her left arm and hoping it wouldn't let out another annoying high pitched cry.
"Well, we've gone to a cafe, library, and switched off the doll every other week, un. As long as we spend time together with this baby and tend to his needs, we should be good. Shizune-sensei said it's up to us to decide the details, un." Aside from the responsibilities of having a baby, this was after all, a project revolving around building relationships.
"I was thinking we could go to a plant nursery or a flower farm. The weather's been really nice and it would be nice to do something outdoors." Truth be told, she just wanted an excuse to wear the new outfits she had bought during her last shopping trip with Hinata.
"How about a beer festival, un? I think there's one coming up next weekend."
"We can't do that! It's not a child friendly event and I'm pretty sure you have to be at least twenty one to get in." She stopped.
"How old are you anyways?"
"I'm of legal age if that's what you're asking, Ino." He replied teasingly and she smacked him over the head with the robot baby, which immediately started crying.
It was weird that he told her to meet him on this college campus.
The brunette never felt more out of place as she wandered the open area, noticing she was the only one carrying a brightly colored backpack with keychains hanging from it. Everyone looked so mature and she wondered how much she stood out with her eccentric panda hairstyle and utterly lost expression, carrying a paper map in her hand and baby carrier in the other. The bus ride here wasn't too far from school, and she wondered why she hadn't visited this place before. Shinrin University was the sister school to Konoha High, and the majority of students who graduated Konoha High fed into this college. It was just as prestigious, and rightfully so. By the looks of all the construction tape lining the area, they had just finished renovating.
Tenten found the building a mere twelve minutes later, embarrassed that she had walked a complete circle around campus and the destination had been in plain sight the whole time. Taking in everything was overwhelming to say the least and she was beginning to regret not bringing someone with her. As big as Konoha High was, this place was a whole new world.
"Can you please zip up your hoodie?" She asked, shielding her eyes from the nearly shirtless Hidan walking towards her. She set her backpack on the seat closest to her so the Akatsuki member had no choice but to sit across from her.
"What's wrong with it Panda?"
"I'm not a fan of public nudity." He reluctantly pulled the zipper up, laughing at her.
"We have so much to do."
"Well, it's your fault. We could've gotten some done last week but you were too busy taking a call. Where did you have to go that was so important?" Tenten narrowed her eyes, turning the key into the back of the Baby Infant Simulator to get it to stop crying. She gave it a pat on the head, willing it to shut up.
"You sure ask alot of questions, Panda." Hidan gave her a look as he sat down and stared at her. She noticed he hadn't brought so much as a backpack or notebook with him and mentally facepalmed. Her expectations for him were already ground level. Good thing she came prepared.
"You have a thing for that long haired boy in our Health class?"
"W-What?" She was caught off guard and tried to keep her facial expressions as calm as possible.
"I mean I saw you turn pretty red yesterday when he helped you fix the laptop." He smiled back, seeing her squirm in her chair.
"Don't try to change the subject! You didn't answer my question!"
"Ah, the phone call? Was about my scythe."
"Wait, so you still have that scythe in your backpack? Weapons at school are banned."
Ino was right, Genma was a crappy security guard.
"That was a one time thing. Our leader called, warning me to keep it stashed somewhere safe so I don't get kicked out of Konoha High. These damn rules."
"So you've killed someone before?"
"Well… Yeah." He shrugged off the question casually like she had asked him if the sky was blue.
"AH! I KNEW IT!" She shouted, clutching the baby and her backpack ready to run. A group of students in the middle of a study session turned from their deep discussion to glare at her and point to the 'quiet study' sign plastered on the wall.
"I am sitting with a felon." Tenten sulked, crying anime tears at her unfortunate state of being. She peeked at Hidan through her hands.
"We were ordered to not cause a ruckus since the law in Konohagakure is so fucking strict compared to Amegakure." The Jashinist explained, fiddling with the necklace hanging around his neck. "Anyways, I think time's up for this interrogation Panda. Let's get to this project."
"Right." She straightened up, getting back into student mode. "Do you want to try feeding the baby?"
"Sure, why not. Also, I need you to teach me how to change a diaper." Tenten nodded, reaching for her water bottle and taking a sip before handing the Baby Infant Simulator across the table to Hidan.
Then she saw something that made her do a spit take.
Grabbing her phone, Tenten stretched her thumbs and sent out a message to the groupchat.
CODE RED. WE HAVE A STALKER ON OUR HANDS.
A/N : Please review! I'll see you in the next update.
xo, D. Sparkle