He stopped and faced me, serious. There was those eyes again, pulling me down, down, down… I felt as if I could lose myself in them.

"Hinata-san, don't you find it strange that Kakashi-sensei asked Gaara, along with us, to help him grade projects? I was a little surprised yesterday, but now it doesn't make sense to me." He looked very serious.

"Huh? I… I don't really get what you mean," I said, confused. "Uh… So… You-you think that Kakashi-sensei shouldn't trust us to help him?"

Sasuke-san looked surprised, then serious again. "No… No! What I mean is… Don't you find it strange? And also about Gaara. He's new, isn't he?"

Before I replied, my gut feeling told me there was something different about Sasuke-san today. Usually he didn't bother explaining things to people, unless he was a group leader or he was reciting in class. Not that we were very close (unless you count the time when we were in the library together), but that was what I just thought of him. Sasuke-san continues to surprise me lately. He was proving to be a different person than I thought.

And I also remembered having this conversation with Shino-kun. "We-ell… Yes…" I said slowly.

"Hinata-san, don't you see? Grading projects, the four of us… We have different standards, and if we ourselves grade, then we might give a low grade to those with a fairly good job, and vice versa."

I wasn't hard to catch on to his point: we have different perspectives, and we might give out undeserving grades. But it would've been nice to grade everyone's projects, I thought with a sigh. It seemed a good idea at the time, though. "I guess you're right, Sasuke-san."

He didn't say anything, but resumed our way through the maze of chairs to the teacher's desk. When we arrived, some of the group leaders were already there, talking to Kakashi-sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, please! It's impossible to make a novel in six months!" Sakura-san was saying.

Kakashi-sensei said nothing, letting the leaders talk. Sasuke-san and I stood near the blackboard.

"Yeah, it's totally impossible! We also have other subjects too!"

"Inspiration doesn't come easily, you know!"

"Yeah, we don't want to disappoint our sensei with a half-arse work!" Here Kakashi-sensei smiled.

"We can't pour all our time making it!"

"How will we know what to do?"

At length, Kakashi-sensei held up his hands. "All right, enough of this." He sighed. "'Ruka tells me I drive you all too hard anyway."

"Iruka-sensei?"

"You are not going to make a classroom play, then. You will either do a novel, or a play, but you are not going to act it out anymore." Kakashi-sensei's eye curved upward, a sure sign of amusement.

"B-but! Kakashi-sensei! Didn't you hear us?" spluttered Sakura-san.

"I am not going to change it. It's final. Making a full-length novel or play is hard, but not totally impossible. Besides, you have your groups. Go figure something out."

Grumbling, the other leaders turned away, and returned to their groups. Sasuke-san and I stayed behind.

"Yes?" Kakashi-sensei asked, but stopped. "Ah, Sasuke and Hinata. I was going to tell something about the job I gave you. Where's Gaara?"

We swung around, looking for Gaara. I saw him instantly because of his fiery hair. "Sabaku!" Sasuke-san called out.

He looked at us for a moment, then stood up and went over. It was a wonder he could hear Sasuke-san over the mini-racket our class was making.

Before Gaara could reach us, Sasuke-san told Kakashi-sensei, "Sabaku Gaara is new this year, sensei. Are you sure about making him grade projects?"

"Ah," Kakashi-sensei answered, "Part of what I want to say."

Gaara stood beside me. I gave him a little smile, and he acknowledged with a slight nod.

"Well, I gave the job to the wrong class," Kakashi-sensei answered, rubbing the back of his neck, sounding sheepish. "You see, I was substituting for Miss Makoto, and I thought it was this class. I realized, rather too late, that grading projects was for the senior class."

Sasuke-san snorted, although Kakashi-sensei couldn't hear it. "Che."

"That means we don't have anything extra to do anymore, then," Gaara stated. It wasn't a question.

Kakashi-sensei held up a finger. "Wrong. Since you three have volunteered, I won't let it go to waste."

I fidgeted. I didn't exactly volunteer myself; my classmates volunteered me! However, if this is for English, then it's perfectly fine—in fact, I felt privileged! What does Kakashi-sensei have in store for us now?

"You three are going to interview three local authors in this area. You will then write a paper on them, to be submitted as a group. You will work on this together, and you will turn it in on December 5, three months from now. Any questions?"

I wanted to run away. Interview local authors? I can't even look at Sasuke-san or Gaara in the eye without blushing or stuttering! Oh, Kakashi-sensei!

"What will the paper contain?" Sasuke-san asked, his eyes narrowed.

"A biography, a brief summary of his or her works, and your own essay on his worth as an author, and a review on your favorite book that author made."

"That goes for all three authors, right…? So there will be… um… three essays per author?" I asked, fearing the answer. Please no, please no, please no…

"Yes." No! "That's why you can't interview an author per person, and then meet up later. You have to go there together."

That was a ray of hope. I hope Sasuke-san would do a good job. I was counting on him to talk, because Gaara didn't strike me as talkative enough for the interview. Not that Sasuke-san was talkative, though. But when I think about it, none of us were really interviewer material.

…It wasn't exactly a good alternative for grading projects, but then Kakashi-sensei didn't want to waste our volunteer. On the other hand, I wanted him to just forget about giving us a project in the first place.

"As an added bonus, I'll be there to oversee your interview, and possibly step in when it goes awry." His eyes curved upward again. "And of course, this will be counted as your extra credit."

I smiled, trying not to grin. For the love of extra credit, I'd do anything!

"Good luck," Kakashi-sensei added.

The three of us turned away, and Gaara returned to his seat. Sasuke-san was walking slower, so I kept pace with him.

"Yatta… This is my big chance," I heard him say, and then he snickered.

I blinked. Did Sasuke-san have a fever? He was acting very strange. What did he mean by his big chance?

I scoffed at myself. Of course he meant the extra credit. He had always been—dare I say it?—an overachiever when it came to academics. And he always had a position in the Student Council and the Math Club.

Sasuke wove in and out of the teeming people in the corridor, trying to find Hinata. She had left early because her cousin was outside their room even before the bell rang.

He snorted to himself. Hinata was already seventeen, but she still had to be escorted to her lunch table. Hyuuga Neji was so unreasonably overprotective. And that time at the grocery yesterday… Neji had kept him from scoring points. Asshole.

But then, there was a marked change in Hinata compared to their earlier days. Perhaps Neji had also noticed that she was developing too, and that was why he was so overprotective.

But with their extra credit for English, he could spend time with her without Neji in the way. He could conveniently ask her to eat with him—alone—after Gaara and Kakashi had gone.

What had drawn him to her anyway? She didn't attract much attention because of her shy and quiet demeanor, and Sasuke didn't spend much time observing her before.

It all started last year, during his preparation for the National Science Quiz Bee for the National Science Fair. His biology teacher had sent him three weeks prior to the competition to the library to brush up on the subject. Of course, he had been pulled out of all his classes and was supposed to be spending his time preparing himself.

Only he wasn't doing that.

During that time, Hinata was also sent to the library for the massive Language and Literature competition to be held out of the region.

And Sasuke, tired and bored of the science behind Science, took the opportunity to study and watch Hinata. They were literally alone in the library, since Yakushi Kabuto, the librarian, was almost always out, filling in other classes as a substitute teacher. Yes, Konoha High was understaffed, but it wasn't a serious problem. Not yet, anyway.

During recess time, both of them didn't really go out of the library, being introverted people.

During recess time, Hinata would shyly offer him her food, and for the first days, he would refuse until, eventually, he gave in.

During recess time, both of them would bother attempting to make small talk until, eventually, the small talk progressed into somewhat of a conversation.

During recess time, Sasuke—without being aware of it—would turn toward Hinata, as if expecting something from her.

During recess time, Hinata would give him that shy, innocent smile, twiddle her fingers, shyly offer him food, fidget, and smile at him again, nervously.

Sasuke would anticipate recess time from then on, for some reason. Being the genius that he was, he found—right away—that the reason was Hinata. He would always wish that the competition would never take place, and then recess time would inevitably come.

But the competition took place, and they were in separate locations for a week. When they started going to classes normally again, both of them had treated each other like strangers again, like they had never shared a bond of some sort. But there really wasn't much of a chance of approaching Hinata anyway, what with Kiba, Shino, and Neji always around her.

Back then, he thought, the only chance he had of talking to Hinata without anyone near her was if he would ambush her in the girls' bathroom. So he waited for her to make the first move.

And now, since waiting for her to approach him didn't work, he was approaching her. He would unveil his intentions when the right time comes.

He huffed silently to himself, and cursed. If Sakura hadn't kept him after Science class, he would have had time to catch up with Hinata and her group. He burst inside the cafeteria doors. Most of the girls turned to look at him, causing minor food spills. Too bad he could care less. He scanned the room quickly. Sure that Hinata wasn't inside, he proceeded to the tables that were placed at the back of the school.

The first thing he noticed was Gaara's hair. And sitting beside him was… Finally!

He squared his shoulders and strolled casually over to them. "Can I sit here?" he asked.

"What for?" Kiba narrowed his eyes.

"Sa-Sasuke-san!" Hinata squeaked. "S-sure…"

"Thanks." He squeezed beside Hinata and Kiba. He repressed a grin upon hearing Kiba mutter angrily and sidle a little to give him way. He—accidentally—brushed Hinata's arm, and could feel nervousness rolling off her in waves.

Kiba opened his mouth to speak, but there was a sound of pounding feet, and then, "OI SASUKE!"

Naruto. Damn…

He skidded to a stop behind Kiba. "Oi Sasuke, why did you leave me alone?" he asked.

"Leave you alone?" he echoed, deciding to play it safe. Shit, I forgot he was waiting at our table… Poor bastard. Heh, he should blame Hinata for this.

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "Don't we always sit together?"

Sasuke looked in time to see Shino's brow rise above the rim of his glasses.

"Hinata-san is going to give me something today," he said rather smugly, using the excuse he had to sit with them.

"Please… Sit with us, Naruto-kun," Hinata invited him. Why doesn't she stutter around him?

"Sure thing, Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned.

"Hey Shino! Hey Kiba! Hey…" Naruto trailed off, looking at Gaara.

"Gaara," the redhead supplied monotonously. Damn lucky Sabaku, sitting beside Hinata!

"Hey, Gaara! Are you new here? Haven't seen you around before! What section are you from?" Naruto cheerfully said, squeezing between Shino and Gaara and pulling out his lunch.

Kiba and Gaara looked miffed, but didn't say anything.

"You idiot, Sabaku's our classmate," Sasuke said from across Naruto, through gritted teeth.

"Oh, really! Hmm… I wonder why Anko-sensei didn't say… Oh well! Itadakimasu!" Naruto said, digging in enthusiastically.

"Itadakimasu!" Kiba, Hinata, and Shino exclaimed in perfect unison.

He and Gaara said nothing, but ate. Conversation ensued about who their last two subjects would be.

When they all finished eating, Naruto cheerfully exclaimed, "this is really great! Does anyone have dessert?"

"Oh, I almost forgot," Hinata said. She pulled out a carefully wrapped package with a white ribbon on it. "These are what you asked for, Sasuke-san." Shy shyly poked her fingers together. "…And… um… that's one of my favorite ribbons…" she added quietly, but he heard it.

He fingered the ribbon, enjoying its silky texture. He leaned closer to her. "…Can I keep it?" Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto and Kiba were having a somewhat normal conversation, Gaara was staring into space, and Shino was sitting still.

…Probably listening to them.

He cringed inwardly. He knew Shino's father was a psychologist.

Hinata looked surprised. She looked away, a pretty pink blush staining her cheeks. "O-okay…"

"…Thanks." He patted himself mentally on the back. She gave me one of her favorite ribbons, and I'm sitting beside her! Hmm… I wonder what excuse I could engineer tomorrow. "Why is this ribbon your favorite?" he asked, hoping to glean more information.

"Um… This is my favorite color," she replied hesitantly. "I used this… to, uh… braid my doll's hair when I was younger…"

He bit back a smile at an image of a chibi Hinata playing with dolls. "You don't mind me having this?" Sasuke leaned in closer to her.

"N-no…" she replied. "You can have it." She smiled a little, turning into a new shade of maroon.

"Hey!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, making Sasuke want to pound him. "I've got a great idea!"

Gaara raised an eyebrow at him, and Shino and Hinata turned to him.

"Not so loud, baka!" Kiba said, clutching his ear.

"Sasuke and I are lonely at our usual table, so why don't we sit here?"

Hmm, Naruto isn't that useless after all…

"I don't think so," Kiba crossed his arms, looking skeptical.

Shino shrugged. "Fine by me."

Gaara crossed his arms. "…Hn."

"G-good idea," Hinata said, a little shyly. "It sounds like… fun… Kiba-kun?"

"Fine, all right," Kiba grumbled, hearing Hinata's response.

Take that, Inuzuka! Ha!

"Oi, Sasuke. What are you doing, hitting on Hinata-chan?" Naruto's tone was deadpan.

Everybody turned to look at the both of us. His lips were still near her ear, and a blush was steadily rising to Hinata's cheeks. His blood boiled and skyrocketed to his head, and he hastily stood up.

"Take that back, dobe," he said, a deadly fire glinting in his eyes. For God's sake, why can't Naruto just shut the hell up? Sasuke didn't care what everyone else said, but if Naruto was going to just expose sasuke like that, then to hell with it! He was going to kill Naruto!

And he wasn't hitting on Hinata. He was… Merely… Talking to her, with his face dangerously close to hers, which had been a very, very nice feeling. While everyone else was preoccupied with their business, he and Hinata were enjoying themselves, and now Naruto ruined it! Dammit!

Besides, using the word hitting on implied that Sasuke was a pervert. Which he definitely was not. Damn baka! Now Hinata's probably scared of me, thinking that I probably flirt carelessly with girls! Damn baka! I'll kill him!

Naruto, sensing that something exciting was going to happen, retorted quickly. "No way. You're hitting on Hinata-chan! Pervert!" He stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

You're going down, dumbass!

Naruto quickly bolted from his seat, and Sasuke, hot on his heels, was giving chase.

Three-quarters of the females around to witness the scene almost fainted. Sasuke's incredibly sexy dark hair was flying around, and his incredibly mysterious eyes were glinting with a bright fire.

Why can't Sasuke-kun chase them? Why that loudmouth idiot, Naruto?

"Why is Sasuke so affected?" Gaara asked blankly.

Shino pursed his lips to keep from smirking. He could guess the reason, and he knew the answer. His father's lessons about reading human behavior certainly didn't go to waste on him, and reading Sasuke was like his practicum.

That was the reason why he was always so quiet. He was always busy "reading" other people. Of course, there was no need for Hinata and Kiba, because their emotions were always transparent, even if they try to mask it.

For example, Shino knew that Kiba had a crush on Hinata during their elementary days. A few tender words, unnecessary enthusiasm, a perpetual need to show off, and a death threat to anyone who so much as comes close within a yard of her. Shino had casually dropped his "observations" to his one-on-one conversation with Kiba one day, and he didn't miss the red stain on his best friend's tanned cheeks, and the telltale explosion upon slipping on his words.

"Hey, Kiba. Have you seen Hinata anywhere?"

"Right now? She's in the music room, practicing—"

"Oh. Yaone-sensei was looking for her earlier."

"What time? I'll know! I know where she is all the time."

"…Really? You never let her out of your sight?"

"Yeah! You never know, some guy might try to hit on her or something... You know her. She…uh… can't say no."

"Oh? You know Kiba, you're becoming the stalker type lately."

"Whaddaya mean? Are you implying that I follow her around all the time even if I don't have to? Do you think I have a crush on her? Are you reading me again, Shino?"

"No, I'm not implying that. But since you say it… I do think you have a thing for her."

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE READING ME AGAIN, SHINO!"

"…I can't help it. Shall I tell Hinata that you're stalking her? She seems a little paranoid lately… I wonder… Is it because of you?"

"SHUT UP! Don't—don't tell Hinata-chan, all right? Don't tell her! Neji will kill me! Please!"

Interpreting human behavior was a lot of fun, especially picking up clues from the way a person talked. In a way, Shino was better informed than the rumor mill.

But Sasuke was an entirely different matter from Kiba. Or maybe the same, more or less...

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! –sighs- The first week of school is almost finally over, thank God. The first day was kind of boring, though. Just sitting around, and trying so hard not to go to the canteen or skip classes. XD I was a bad student that way… -giggles- Why don't you guys tell me about your first day/week, hm? –grins-

Anyway, I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, to tell the truth… Give your verdict, ne?

Moonsnow Neko: Yeah! XD Although you could put in a bit more Hinata time, eh? XD You know me, I'm a die hard Hinata fan! XD Hm, well… I dunno why he forgot… XD Probably because of the stress of being a leader, or he did remember, but he blurted out that he didn't know. XD My mind works sometimes that way. You know, when somebody tells me something, I grasp the fact a little slower than usual. XD

TheFutureFreaksMeOut: Wow, thanks for the greeting! XD Hm, unfortunately, hyper and loud isn't one of my strongest points. –sighs- I probably won't put Gai in as their teacher, if I could find a nicer substitute. XD Don't worry, I'm going to put Gaara in as much as possible… Cuz he's too quiet, sorta, so I'll put him wherever the circumstance is credible. XD

newblue: Here you are! XD

khmer shinobi: I'm nejified, that's why! XD –cackles- Nyar. XD Yeah, I think so too! Now, if Shino's hair could be black… Don't get me wrong, I love Shino too—in a way—but I keep imagining that his hair's black whenever I think of him. XD Waaaii! See! XD I'm nejified… Oh, oh, btw! I love your fic!

nightxXxshade: Ah, so you like Gaara/Hinata better, huh? XD Well, well… Be glad, my friend. Be glad. XD Yeah, brown looks okay, but as I said before, I keep imagining it's black, so I guess it's sorta kinda stuck on my mind. XD Nejified, I tell ya! Ah btw, yes, I read Ironically Dramatic and No Laws to Love. They're too great! XD But Of Death and Sand… Well… It says in the summary that it's ItachiOC, and GaaraOC though… Is there a lot of Hinata time there?

Jasmine Starlight: Hm, I'll try to fit Hayate in! XD Yup, there are some OCs, but I'm trying to not to put too much. XD Wow, you have Mugen Glider! I can't believe it! I've been looking for that! Waaaiii! Ah, I think I didn't mention Rocket No. 4 earlier… It's one of my favorite songs too. XD Ah btw, do you know Orange Range? They performed Viva Rock, the 4th ending. XD I've always adored its sort-of video. XD Oh, oh btw! Have you seen the video of Kimi to Iu Hana? It's soo cute, especially when they were dancing on the bridge! XDXD

RemyLuver: Ah, well, life's that way sometimes… XD Want peppermint:p

loneangel1016: Hm, about the pairings… XD Well… You have to wait and see. XP Believe me, both men play important roles for this fic, and its sequel (if ever there's gonna be one XD)! Hm, well, Shino… XD I love him to bits. XD I'm going to make him, er… Dunno how to say it, but I just hope you'll love him here! XD Waii, thank you so much for the greeting! –hug- Ah, they made some relatively confusing changes in our account window, but ir looks sorta kinda nice. XDXD And yep, I'm a Pinay! XD Are you too? XDXD I was thinking of putting up a C2 for Filipino writers, but that sounds kind of selfish. XD Anyway, I think you've made some SasuHina stories, yes? So sorry, but I can't check! XD I'm offline while writing this. XDXD

Shanice Miharu: Thanks for the greeting! Wow, I'm glad you liked the conversations! XD There's more conversations here for you to enjoy. XP I was quite meticulous about them… Hope they turned out okay! XD Tc and God bless too!

lunarangel: Wow, you like Math? XD Hm, well, it's not really that hard, I admit, but I guess the reason why I didn't like it that much was because I never paid attention to it. XD Especially in our second year, our teacher had a really tiny voice, and I was way in the back, so I just sort of lost interest. XD Hmm, I haven't thought about the elections, too! –screams- Omg! Yes, I forgot… -sighs- Wow, whatta dream! XD Did he notice you? What were you doing to notice him? XDXD Sorry for being curious, I was probably a cat in past life. XD

shikaruTo: Ya know, I actually hunted for my second-year notebook, because I couldn't find my third-year one. T-T I was supposed to get info from it… -sighs- Oh well. I'll probably put in Advanced Algebra, Statistics, and Trigonometry (which is what were taking up this year, yay). XDXD Wow, well I was going for Sasuke to be really smart, like this guy in my class. XD This guy's a little arrogant and snobbish too, but what the hey. XD Thanks for supporting the sequel! XD I actually wrote a draft of it already, and I posted some spoilers in my LiveJournal. XD You can visit it, if you want, hehe. XDXD –winks- Ayyy btw! I love your story! Too bad Hinata stopped Sasuke… Tsk tsk! XDXD

HakushoObsessive: Ha, well, thanks for the greeting! XD Hope ya like this chapter!

DFGH: Wow, a carbonated fic. XD I wonder how that works out. XDXD I'm glad we have a male teacher when it comes to Math. To tell the truth, I prefer male teachers to female ones. XD They're nicer, and less likely to explode. Probably because they're not arriving at menopause or something. XPXP …Yes, yes I will write another chapter! Please don't steal my pillow! (GASP!) Oh, the "waii" thing is just an expression. You know, when you accidentally step on a sea urchin on a beach, you can go, "waiii! I'll die!" XD Oh my! XD Thank you so much for the award! XDXD This is the first time I've gotten one that isn't from a journalism contest. XDXD It's cute… Nejified… Cute in a nejified way in a good way! XDXD

Angel Yuriko: Wow thanks! Don't worry, I'll add mush as much as I can, without Gaara looking like a creepy, deranged psycho! XDXD Kidding! Hehehe. Hm, well… XD