Sakura continued to sit with the recuperative girls every lunch. They'd become quite close— at least close to the extent of revealing to each other the boys they liked. It was no secret that Sakura liked Sasuke and fortunately for her none of the other girls were into dark broody princes.
"I like Gaara-su." Fuu dropped the words so suddenly that the girls at the table almost didn't hear her. But they did and they were really surprised.
"Oh wow, that was fast!" Karui exclaimed while the others nodded their agreements.
Fuu placed her elbows on the table and rested her cheek in her open palms. "Who wouldn't like Gaara? He's just so...perfect!" She sighed dreamily. The other girls who had known the redhead since his violent phase didn't think so but they didn't want to burst her bubble. Not so harshly.
"I can't relate, sorry." Sakura voiced first.
"What?! Why?!" Fuu balked at the fact that there was somebody who didn't think Gaara was perfect.
"Shouldn't you be happy that nobody has eyes for your man?" Tenten drawled tonelessly but Fuu wasn't listening.
"Honestly Gaara-kun still scares me. He's calmed now but there's no telling when he'll go all violent and crazy again." Sakura spoke as she swirled her soda can in her hand.
"I refuse to believe that Gaara could get violent." Fuu huffed, Sakura shrugged and the conversation died there.
"So what about you Tenten?" Matsuri asked with a teasing eye wag. The other girls caught on to it and started prodding Tenten with their own teasing questions.
"That's right! When are you and Mr Handsome King going to announce your relationship?" Karui, who was sitting next to her, gave her a suggestive nudge. Tenten swatted her elbow.
"Stop that! And I'm not in any relationship with anybody." She argued.
"Riiight." Tamaki dragged the word the way people did when they didn't believe somebody. "Like you and Neji aren't dating."
"Wait what?! They're dating?!" Fuu asked, surprised.
"We're not!" Tenten yelled.
"I don't see you denying anything else though." Yukata pointed out much to the class Rep's detriment. "Maybe you like him." She added.
"Not maybe, she likes him!" Matsuri buttressed. "I mean, I understand why." She gave a sly wink that had Tenten flushing despite how angry she wanted to be.
"Hurry up, marry the king and become the queen!" Tamaki squealed and the others joined in.
"Alright, alright stop!" Tenten screamed in despair but the girls weren't about to stop. The continued teasing her about Neji being the king and she, the queen until Sakura (bless her soul) stopped the commotion before it got rowdier.
"Let's stop now. The poor girl is overheating."
"I am not!" Tenten shot back immediately despite how clearly red her face was. Sakura decided to let her have that one and branched of to another topic instead.
"So guys, I have an outing on Saturday with my friend from another school. He's going to bring his friends along and I don't want to go alone. Who would go with me?" Sakura asked.
"He?" Tamaki pointed out. "I thought you liked Sasuke?"
"I do. He's just a friend who wants to know how KSA girls look like. Come on guys, aren't you curious to know how boys from other schools look like?" The pinkette pleaded. There was a decisive silence until ...
"Coming from you, that sounds creepy as hell." Tenten blurted. "What?! It's true!" She insisted upon the looks the other girls gave her. She just didn't think that somebody as infatuated with Sasuke as Sakura was would arbitrarily want to 'see' how other boys looked like.
"Anyway," Karui shifted the attention to herself. "I'll go with you. I can't say I'm not curious."
"Me too I guess." Matsuri said and automatically Yukata agreed to go too.
"I'm dragging Gaara to a date-su. Sorry, can't go." Fuu, unsurprisingly, passed. Tamaki also passed because she had dance practice with Kiba, her partner. The only person left was Tenten who pondered over it for a long while before finally giving in much to the girls' surprise.
"What? Somebody has to monitor you guys, and besides you can't go anywhere without a chaperone from the student council." Well if she put it that way, it made sense that she was agreeing to follow them.
Meanwhile Ino was wondering why she was getting chilly shoulders from her classmates. Not cold shoulders because they talked to her in clipped, short sentences. They were just...chilly. It wasn't as if Ino interacted well with them before, but they were on good terms at least.
It all made sense when she saw Sakura hanging out with the girls from the recuperating class one day. She didn't know what her ex-best friend did but she knew she did something. Ino decided to ignore everyone's coldness altogether and continue speaking with the people that actually talked to her.
The rift between the best friends was so noticeable that even people from other classes knew that something was wrong with their grade. They weren't necessarily joined to the hip before but their class was more divided than before. The students themselves didn't notice it yet but other people did.
There was nothing to do about it though. It was left to the grade 11 themselves to figure out what their problem was and fix it. Saturday marked the day everything officially became worse for the grade. It was the day Sakura and the other girls met up with boys from the other school.
Naturally, all of their attention was on Sakura who was the prettiest in their friend group but there was something she did that she thought the girls didn't notice, and they definitely didn't like it.
"Does she think we're stupid?" Karui asked Tamaki sarcastically. They were in the bathroom at Moonbucks and, of course, Karui was openly pissed at Sakura.
Tamaki was more disappointed than she was angry at Sakura. "I didn't think she was this sly to be honest. You think the thing with Ino was a lie?" She turned to face the mirror, checking herself out insecurely.
"Of course it is! If she could use us like pawns, what can't she do?!" Karui bit angrily.
"Calm down." A new voice made itself known behind them. Turning around, the girls discovered that it was Tenten. The girl walked into the bathroom and leaned her hip against a hand washing basin.
"How can I possibly calm down??" Karui snarled. "You also saw what she did!"
"I did." Tenten saw it coming from a mile away but she wanted to give Sakura a chance of doubt. She didn't take that chance and now she had greatly annoyed the class rep. "And I don't want you to do anything, just leave it to me."
Karui would have continued to argue had she not noticed the older girl's resolute face. Both of them knew for a fact that the pink haired girl was going to get what was coming to her.
"Right." The dark one conceded. Tenten nodded.
"Let's go back, Yukata and Matsuri are waiting for us."
The three of them went back to their table and put up with everything that was happening on their class rep's request.
"Sakura, let's talk." Tenten said once they got through the dorm gates and signed their presence with the portal office*.
"Uh? Okay."
They both waited for the others to pass before Tenten started to speak.
"What was that back there?" She began by asking.
"What do you mean? I don't know what you're saying." Sakura was clueless.
"I'm sure you do Sakura. You've known what you want since the first time you walked up to our table so I would ask again. What was that back there?" The steeliness in her voice made Sakura shift backwards subconsciously but she still tried to play dumb to save face.
"What has gotten into you Tenten?" She asked.
"What has gotten into you Sakura?" Tenten shot back angrily. Her patience was wearing thin already. She tried to calm herself but the more Sakura didn't want to admit her fault the less tolerant she was becoming.
"Alright fine. Since you're so clueless I'll tell you what you did. Your falling out with Ino made you realise that she attracts more attention to herself than you. What am I saying? You probably broke your friendship after realising that Ino gets more shine than you and wanted to get some for yourself. But you couldn't do that alone so you needed a bunch of background dancers to make you, the main dancer, shine. Who would do that better than a bunch of girls who are less pretty and less brilliant than you huh?"
Tenten stepped into her personal space, making the rosette shift back.
"You used us to make yourself shine, it was so obvious at the meet up with the boys from Konoha Science Academy. You revelled in the way they fawned over you and laughed at our drab looks in comparison to yours. I don't care about looks or what anybody tells me I look like but Sakura, the other girls you tried to use as your minions do.
They were beginning to form an attachment to you until you broke their trust by allowing a bunch of boys to say things about them just so you could be the best out of us. You hurt them. Now let me tell you something. I am the class rep of grade eleven recuperative class and it is my job to make sure my classmates are okay. If you come near my girls again, I will make the rest of your school life a personal hell, money be damned."
Tenten left Sakura biting harshly into her lower lip and looking very scared. The pinkette was indeed very scared but not because of Tenten's threat. She was more afraid of her memories coming back to haunt her. This was not how things were supposed to go. Things were not supposed to revert back to how it was before.
She hated this. She hated this! She had to think up another plan, anything not to go back to the weakling she was before. What would she do? What would she do?! What would she do?!
Sakura was on the verge of pulling her hair when somebody's feet came to a stop before her.
"Sakura-chan?" The person sounded worried. She looked up. The person was the innovation she needed. "Are you alright dattebayo?"
A smile widened her pink lips. She was okay. She was more than okay.
Xxx melody xxX
Things got exciting as the fall festival drew closer and closer. Of course the season came with a peculiar dry yet chilly attribute that made people feel hot and cold at the same time but excitement overrode the discomfort for most.
For children, fall was the season of Jack o'lanterns and many treats but for the students of KSA, it was the season of school festivals. This year there was going to be a costume party at the theatre where every class (at least some classes) was going to do various things on stage as festival shows.
Ino was especially hyped for this because she was the one in charge of decorating the theatre for the event. By hyped, I meant overworked and very cranky due to the OCD she recently developed. All the boys in their grade and below suffered for it of course.
"No. No! NO! You dimwits! Move the lantern fifteen degrees to the RIGHT!" The blond yelled on the top of her voice at Lee and Juugo who were unfortunately the subjects of her aggression at the moment.
The poor boys were trying to hang a huge heavier than expected pumpkin lantern in the middle of the theatre stage while trying to maintain their balances on ladders but Ino was making things more difficult for them.
"Just drop the lantern on her head, that'll shut her up faster." Suigetsu, who was holding Juugo's ladder steady, suggested to the ginger even though he knew the other was too gentle to actually do it.
"That is not nice, classmate Suigetsu. Besides this is a good way to sharpen my balance and precision. Is this okay, classmate Ino?!" Lee reprimanded between laboured grunts and called out to Ino who gave him more snappish directions.
The sharp toothed boy rolled his eyes. Of course Lee wouldn't mind the manual labour Ino was putting them through. Exercise-obsessed freak.
"Choji! I said to arrange the serving tables over there, not here!" Said boy abruptly stopped, looking like a deer caught in headlights as Ino marched up to him angrily.
"But Ino I'm hungry!" The chubby boy whined. It served only to stoke the girl's anger rather than her pity.
"Oh for all the lovin-! There's a lot of energy in here to last for a decade! Choji, you're just too lazy!" She repeatedly poked his stomach as she yelled in aggravation. The chubby one wanted to cry but Ino was already distracted by another atrocity going on. "NARUTO!" She shrieked in horror. "What. Are. You. DOING?!"
The vulpine boy stopped painting the temporary wooden stage orange and squirmed away from the oncoming bull called Ino. It was too late though. "I-I thought we're matching the Halloween colour dattebayo!" He defended himself whilst trying to run away at the same time.
"Of all the boys in the world, I get stuck with idiots...!" Ino started to lament when the sound of something shattering reached her ears. She looked up and saw the very thing that would completely flip her brain upside down and make their blood boil. She inhaled deeply. "Neji...Sasuke..." She seethed. "What. Have. You. Done?"
Both boys looked from themselves to the broken plastic skeletons that lied scattered between them to Ino who was already red with crazed anger. They had the sense to step back very slowly as the platinum blond stomped over to tem in hot red rage.
Before she got to them though, Sai caught her by the waist and hugged her from behind. That was not what he did but that was what it looked like and Author-san decided to stick with it. "Relax Beautiful, take deep breaths with me." The pale beau placated.
Ino magically calmed down (more like fainted from combustion) with Sai's gentle touches. Neji and Sasuke used that opportunity to run away before she could send them on other errands.
Naruto was pretty disappointed that the stage back could not be his favourite colour but he stayed back to help repaint it. Lee and Juugo helped with the heavy work, Haku walked around inspecting and criticising every decoration detail until Ino kicked him out of the theatre, Gaara worked on the sound systems because he was the DJ for the night, Shikamaru (obviously) flunked work but Ino would get him later, Kiba, Omoi, Suigetsu, Konohamaru and other boys helped around here and there and Sai acted as a buffer for Ino's swaying moods.
By the time the theatre was ready and properly decorated most of the boys were worn out (or in Shikamaru's case getting a earful of words). They all collapsed in a dog pile at the lounge room, most too tired to even talk. Lee was certainly energetic which wasn't at all surprising.
Decoration and preparation for the fall festival was over. That led the boys to a very major problem that most of them were facing; their dates for the grand party. People like Sasuke, Juugo and Haku weren't bothered about showing up alone, in fact they preferred it that way. People like Neji had somebody in mind already, they just needed to find a way to convince (blackmail) their partners into agreeing with them.
People like Naruto and Kiba had somebody in mind. The only problem was how far out of their league the person was. Shikamaru wanted to ditch the party altogether and sleep in his room but the school president (aka his 'not' girlfriend) demanded him to be there otherwise she would pull some strings with her newfound authority and make him her assistant.
For a person as lazy as Shikamaru was, that was threatening enough to give him nightmares for the rest of the week. Fuu had basically marked Gaara as hers inspite of the redhead's opinion so Gaara was stuck with her for the night. He didn't mind much since he was going to be behind the DJ machine throughout the night anyway.
Lee was going for the youthful fun and Omoi and Choji were going for free food so having dates didn't matter much to them, and from the event back the theatre where Sai magically calmed Ino down, it was set in stone that those two were together and nothing was going to change.
Fast forward to a few hours after in Naruto's room. Kiba's boisterous laughter could be heard down the hallway along with Naruto's indignant demands for him to be quiet.
"S-sorry man..." Kiba managed between bouts of laugher. "Just that I kinda expected you to fall for Sakura and you actually did! She's way out of your league man!"
Naruto frowned distastefully at the idiot he decided to confide in with this one secret. He knew he should have just asked Gaara or Sasuke for advice instead. Then again the both of them had zero knowledge about asking girls out and would most likely blow him off if he asked. Some best friends he had.
"I know she's way out of my league dattebayo! There's no need to hammer it in. But there's no way I'm giving up without trying, that's my nindo!" The blond yelled at Kiba half angrily, half exasperatedly.
The tattooed brunet stuck a pinkie in his ear and wriggled it around. "Yeah yeah, I hear you man." He took out the finger and blew off the particles that were stuck on it. "There's nothing stopping you if you're that determined so I don't see the need for your asking me for advice. I mean, just walk up to her and ask her. She just might have a soft spot for you."
Naruto was about to sing Kiba's praises for being so wise when the idiot added;
"Although if she rejects you that wouldn't surprise me. I mean, it's you."
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Naruto squawked but it lacked any bite. Kiba stuck his tongue out playfully in return.
"And besides." Kiba continued.
"Hmm?"
"You and Sakura have gotten really close over the course of this week. It would be a cinch." Now that took the blond by surprise. When had that happened? He didn't even realise. Seeing his dump face, Kiba deadpanned. "You always bring her to sit with us during lunch and you don't know how weird that is? You're impossible."
After Kiba had left Naruto pondered on his words so hard. How come he didn't notice that he and Sakura were close now? More importantly, why did he not feel any more excited at the fact like he thought he should?
Weird.
Everything was just weird.
But still Naruto asked Sakura to be his date for the night. She agreed.
Meanwhile Hinata, who had summoned courage and had been looking for Naruto, stumbled upon Sakura's acceptance like a chick flick side character. The hurt she felt was greater because she was rejected before she even got the opportunity to ask him to be her date.
* I asterisked this because I was not sure how other schools do things but in KSA, boarding students have to follow certain principles before they go out of the outing for security's sake.
1. They have to get a permission slip from their homeroom teachers. If you were wondering whether Kakashi being grade 11's homeroom teacher is the reason they can go on outings as they please, you're right. Kakashi (lazy sensei) hands passes out just so they won't disturb his Icha Icha time. The amount of times they go out is limited though so they have to ask within that limit.
2. If not for a family outing, students have to be chaperoned by a council member. Now I don't know why I made it like this in KSA but the various times I mentioned them going out I always added a council member subconsciously (Neji, Kankuro, Temari) so I decided to make it a rule and the reason Tenten chose to follow Sakura.
3. When you go out you must sign your absence with the portal office, that is the guards at the dorm gate, and your presence must be signed in when you come back.
4. There is a 6:30pm curfew at KSA. Not keeping to it would attract punishment points. I wish I emphasized more on this punishment point thingny but my children are good students... At least for now.
I promise the fall party happening is not just something random or a plot filling device. Well it technically is a plot filling device but it is important for the story progression.
Please favorite and review.
-Star.