Yay, Chapter eight is here! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter!
DISCLAIMER – I CLAIM that I do NOT own Naruto! So no toaster or French fry will tell me… yeah… walks away…
Ok, before I begin this chapter, I just have to let you all know the official pairings if you did not get them through reading the notes and story.
PAIRINGS – NaruHina, SasuSaku, Koga (Kyuubi) possibly Ayumi, InoCho, ShikaTemari, and NejiTen. I think that's everyone!
"Speaking"
Thinking
Koga speaking in fox mode
Ok, ENJOY!
(Ninja Academy in Konoha.)
It had been several days since Naruto left, and things weren't getting much better. The ANBU didn't use any genjutsu on Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke, and eventually one of them began to blab about Naruto's secrets to other people, regardless of Itachi's warning. Itachi figured it was one of the girl's, since he knew his younger brother would not spread anything about his best friend.
So, which at the academy, Sasuke began to get very irritated that someone behind him was talking about Naruto, asking his friend if he believe that he was really the nine tailed fox.
"I wonder if it's true…" Kiba muttered to Shino.
"It's best to leave someone else's secrets as their own business, there is no need for us to get involved in this." Shino answered.
"Yeah, but this is huge! Not just some small itty bitty secret like love interest!" Kiba exclaimed.
"No matter how large it is, it isn't our business." Shino muttered.
"But Naruto could possibly be the Nine Tailed Demon!" Kiba shouted at his friend.
Shino didn't answer to him, instead Sasuke finally got up and screamed at Kiba, "He isn't Kyuubi! He is just a normal boy like you and I! Whoever began these rumors should be BEATEN!" He made the last word sound incredibly threatening as he shot a glare at both Sakura and Ino.
"You're just saying that because he's your friend." Kiba muttered.
Sasuke heard this though, and grabbed Kiba by his shirt's collar and said sternly, "I said it, because it is true…" Sasuke eyes held much anger, and all Kiba could do was whimper in fear.
"Sasuke stop it!" Someone yelled from his side.
Hinata stood there, a face mix with confusion and anger, a trait that even Sasuke didn't know she had. She marched up to Sasuke and pulled his hands away from Kiba, who gave his thanks, and she had an angry look on her face when she turned back to look into Sasuke's eyes.
"I didn't know that you could act like this Hinata." Sasuke muttered.
Hinata just huffed and sat down. Eventually everyone began to chat about multiple things, careful to keep things about Naruto out of Sasuke's earshot. When Hinata felt that no one was looking at them she let out a breath she had been holding.
"That was some nice acting…" Sasuke whispered to her.
She completely ignored the question and asked, "Is it true about Naruto?"
Sasuke was surprised that Hinata could just completely ignore his question and get straight to the point. He pushed that though aside though and looked at Hinata straight into the eyes as he said, "No, none of it is true."
Hinata could tell he was lying, and her face was beginning to falter from the mask of anger she put up. Luckily she held it together long enough to whisper harshly, "Tell me the truth!"
Sasuke sighed, and whispered back, "After class…"
Hinata nodded, after this lesson it would be their lunch break, so it would be the perfect time. She then tried to focus on the lesson that was beginning to start with Iruka trying to quiet everyone down.
(After class.)
Hinata couldn't focus on her work, every time she even though, Naruto would pop into her mind, and then Kyuubi would pop up too, turning Naruto into some beast. Every time this happened, she would shake her head and continue her work, which ended up leading to the same thing…
Once the class ended or their lunch break, Hinata followed Sasuke outside and they both sat under a tree eating the food they had brought. Finally Hinata began their conversation…
"Is it true?" She asked silently.
Sasuke looked down upon his food. This is an S-class secret, I can't tell her… but… gah… He couldn't make his mind up. Finally he stated, "No."
Hinata looked disappointed and was about to say something, but Sasuke elaborated saying, "Naruto isn't Kyuubi. The demon was only sealed inside of him…"
Hinata could feel tears welling up in her eyes, so all the rumors were true. She was about to run away when Sasuke grabbed her firmly by the wrist. "L- Let go!" She shouted.
"If being told the demon was sealed inside of him makes you change your thoughts about him, then you're better not being his friend. He is the same person, the one you love is there, and he was never tainted by Kyuubi." Sasuke stated.
Hinata stopped struggling and began to think… The rumors aren't true… they state he IS the monster… Not that it was sealed in him… But does it matter? She couldn't figure anything out. Finally the first thing that was on her mind popped out, "H- how did you k- know that I loved him?"
"It was obvious, the way you acted when he got near us, you stutter three times worse when around him also, and when he is mentioned your cheeks tu… used to turn red…" Sasuke stated.
Hinata's face turned sad once again when he said 'used to'. "I- I don't love him anymore?" It came out more as a question than a statement, Sasuke wasn't surprised, no wonder the village hated Naruto so much, they could never get over the simple fact that the demon was sealed and he was not the demon. Though it was kind of harsh to judge the whole village on one ten-year-old girl.
"Why did you love him?" Sasuke asked.
"W- well, whenever he was put down and hurt by someone, he would always look through it all with a smile, never getting hurt by the people, no one could ever wipe that grin off his face… Sometimes… I- I wish I could be like that…" She said.
"Hinata, that person you just described is Naruto, never let his seal alter your judgment. I was surprised at first as well, but as you can see, I got over it, and still view Naruto as my best friend." Sasuke explained.
Hinata looked to the ground. "I- I need to think this over…" She finally stated.
"You do that, and if you still view him as a demon, then leave him alone, and never speak with him again." Sasuke warned.
Once Hinata left, Sasuke felt he had other pressing matters to attend to. So he walked over to where Sakura, Ino, and all the other females they hung around and he stated, "Sakura, may I speak with you for a second?"
Usually, Sakura would be jumping with joy, she would finally get to be with HER Sasuke-kun, but right now, she felt as though she were facing the door to hell, and Sasuke was her eternal torturer. She turned to Ino for support but she simply simple and waved good-bye to her.
"S- Sure…" Sakura muttered. The other girls at her table were sending her death glares; THEY wanted to be with Sasuke, not Sakura! But fate is cruel to many people these days so they had no say as Sasuke waved them off and told Sakura to follow him.
"Sakura." Sasuke started, "Why did you tell everyone about Naruto?"
Sakura was lost for an explanation, and luckily at that moment the bell rang, meaning they had to head back in to class. "Sorry Sasuke, I have to head to class now!" Sakura said in a hurry.
Sasuke grabbed her hand again and said, "After all of our classes, meet me in the front of the academy."
They both entered the building, ready for a new lesson…
(Few hours later, in front of the Academy.)
Sasuke waited for a little bit for Sakura to come. When she showed herself she didn't run in joy over to him, in fact it was quite the opposite. She was terrified with the fact that she would be with Sasuke, she walked slowly over to him, hoping to be saved by something.
"You're finally here… let's get going." Sasuke said as he turned around and began to walk off.
"Uh, where are we going Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked when she caught up to him.
"Somewhere." Sasuke answered.
"I see…" Sakura muttered.
After a little bit, they arrived in the park, when Sasuke checked the surroundings to see if anyone was watching them, he sighed and sat down on a bench.
Sakura sat on his left, far on his left… "Sasuke-kun, why are we here?" She asked.
"I always feel relaxed when I come to the park and sit…" Sasuke answered as he closed his eyes and breathed in and out several times.
Sakura would have pounced on him and hugged the life out of him, but she knew under his cool shell, he was furious with her and that would make things worse, so she settled with saying, "I see…"
"Sakura… Why did you tell the others Naruto's secret?" Sasuke finally asked.
"Sasuke-kun… It was such a huge secret and… well, you see…" She couldn't figure a reason out.
"You don't have a reason?" Sasuke asked.
"Well… It was just so big! I couldn't resist!" She finally stated.
"I see…" Sasuke muttered. "Do you remember my brother's warning?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes…" Sakura muttered.
"At least you didn't tell them about Koga being the nine tailed demon." Sasuke sighed in relief.
"Yeah…" Sakura muttered… "About that… um, well you see… Ino and I at lunch were just telling the girl's about that…"
A vein popped in Sasuke's head. Do they have any respect for anyone's secrets! Sasuke shouted in his mind. "Why?" Was all he managed to say.
"I- I don't know…" Sakura said hanging her head in shame.
Sasuke made a sudden movement, and Sakura suddenly found his fist inches away from her face. Cold sweat ran down her head as she looked at it.
"You're lucky…" Sasuke managed to say as he recoiled his fist and walked away. He turned around one time and said, "I can't stand people like you."
Sakura still in shock from the fist, and then hearing those words from Sasuke, she stayed still until she noticed he was gone. She began to sob loudly. I shouldn't have said anything! After thinking some things over, she cried the entire time.
"I wish… I could make it up to you Sasuke-kun…" She mumbled through her tears… "Even if you didn't directly say it, I could feel the message in that last part… You hate me…" Finally she stood up and continued sobbing her way home…
(Next day, the Academy.)
Today was a day Sasuke would call, 'really weird' for his standards. First of all, Hinata stayed far from him, and Sakura too wanted to be away from him. All the guys in the classroom were in a corner, staying out his earshot probably talking about the rumor, and all the girl's looked at him with a menacing gaze.
I want to get out of here as soon as possible… He thought to himself.
After a little tension, one of his fan girls, came over to him and asked, "Is it true that you went on a date with Sakura?" She said the last name with a little disgust, probably out of jealousy.
"No." Sasuke answered coldly.
"Oh really?" The girl asked, jumping up and down with joy now, "Do you want to go out on a date with me?" She asked.
"No." Sasuke answered yet again coldly.
The girl whined softly to herself and walked back to her group, who had now stopped their evil gazes at him, and were now probably plotting some way to go out with him.
Even when the Uchiha name is practically hated in this village they all still have a crush on me… I hate my life sometimes… Sasuke cried out in his mind.
"Hey Sakura!" One girl cried out from the fan girl group. "You can come back in our group now!"
Banishing her because they thought she got the goal they're all working towards? What friends they are… Sasuke thought to himself.
"No thanks…" Sakura mumbled from her position in the room.
Looks like our,'talk' yesterday made her get off my back, yes! Sasuke cheered in his mind.
"It's your loss!" One of the girls said to her as she went back into the gathering of girls.
"Ok…" Was all Sakura managed to say as her head fell back into her arms.
It looks like she didn't have very much sleep last night… Sasuke muttered to himself. He looked over to Hinata, Same with her as well…
Suddenly one of the boys came jumping out of the corner he was hanging out in and went to Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke!" Kiba said.
"What do you need?" Sasuke asked.
"I need you to answer a question." Kiba said. Sasuke raised his eyebrows, making Kiba continued saying, "Well, you know how you defend Naruto and everything, so me and the guys were thinking… are you gay?"
At that moment, all the chatting in the room stopped, even Iruka who was going to begin class shortly. Tension was high on what Sasuke was going to say next.
Well, instead of say it was more like do… He punched Kiba right in the face, hard may I add, knocking him into the back wall. "Naruto is my friend!" He shouted, "Actually, my BEST friend, in no way is he my LOVER!" He shouted, a vein popped in his head.
"Sasuke calm down…" Iruka tried, but it was in vain
Kiba suddenly yelled, "Well then, you must be a demon as well in order to be friends with him!" It was meant to be a comeback from the punch, not an invitation to start a fight that Sasuke saw.
"Naruto is not a demon…" Sasuke muttered under his breath as he got up and turned to Kiba. "These rumors are not true, and for saying just that, I'm going to kill you…"
"Kill me? Ha, as if you could even touch me!" He boasted.
Before Kiba could say another word, he found Sasuke's knee in his stomach, and out from his mouth some blood flew. "Take this mutt!" Sasuke shouted.
Iruka suddenly got behind Sasuke and held his, and said, "STOP IT, or I will be forced to use Genjutsu on you!"
"Allow me to beat him!" Sasuke said as he struggled to get free from Iruka's grip.
"No Sasuke! Now calm down or I will have to hurt you!" Iruka shouted.
Sasuke sighed and stopped struggling, "Ok…" He muttered as he walked back to his seat.
Once Kiba was treated by some medical supplies Iruka had for cases like this, the lesson soon began.
(Several hours later, during lunch.)
Sasuke wandered out over to the tree both he and Hinata were sitting at the other day. I wonder if Hinata has gotten over Naruto being the demon vessel… Sasuke thought silently as he sat down against the tree.
He had another thought, not likely; she wouldn't come and talk to me this morning… He sighed and relaxed slightly.
Suddenly he felt a presence coming to him, he slowly got up and muttered, "What do you need?"
Sakura stood there, looking down in shame like she was when Sasuke left her yesterday. She looked up again and silently said, "I- I'm sorry…"
Sasuke looked her into the eyes; "You should say that to Naruto when he comes back."
"I know but… I'm sorry for always being annoying to you…" She muttered.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Oh really."
"Y- yeah…" She muttered, unable to say anything else.
"Is that all you're going to say." Sasuke said coldly to her.
Sakura was slightly surprised by his rude answer, but nonetheless understood. "Sasuke, I didn't mean to spread the rumors about Naruto…"
"Then why did you do it?" Sasuke asked, barely interested in her presence.
"Temptation?" She more asked than stated.
"I am tempted to rip your head off right now, but you don't see me going off and doing it." Sasuke said, making a clear point to Sakura.
"I'm sorry Sasuke-kun!" She finally said. She fell to the ground, and began to sob.
Sasuke was usually a cold person to those people that try to ruin his friend's reputation, but even a girl crying right in front of him saying she was sorry about doing it could make his softer side come out for that person.
"Hey Sakura, don't cry…" Sasuke muttered.
"Why not? You hate me now, and I have no chance at getting you for myself!" She sobbed some more.
Why is it always about love with girls? Sasuke wondered to himself. "Sakura… I don't hate you, I'm just a little angry at you right now…"
"No… I know you hate me!" Sakura sobbed.
"Sakura!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and said, "I. Don't. Hate. You."
"Y- you don't?" She asked again wiping her eyes.
"No." He stated, and relaxed, thinking she finally got it through her head.
"S- so, what do you think of me?" She asked as she sat down in front of him.
Sasuke looked at her and sighed again for the hundredth time that day. "I honestly view you as an annoying fan girl." Sasuke stated.
"What if we can start over?" She asked in a little hopefully sounding voice.
"How about we become friends… I will stop hanging off you and everything…" She said looking away, fearing rejection to her idea.
"Sakura… I don't think…" Sasuke stopped mid sentence… Naruto would accept this in a heart beat… I wonder… "If you become my friend, you'll also be Naruto's, the demon carrier."
"Naruto is not the demon, I can see that already… you pointed it out many times to the others but they just ignored that…" She said. "Sure, I think it will work out…" She muttered.
Woah, I figured she'd be like Hinata… I only wish Hinata could see it like Sakura here… "Ok then, since you're my newest 'friend', what do you want to do?"
"Well… we can go do something when lessons are over after this…" She suggested shyly.
"How about training?" Sasuke asked.
"Uh… well I'm not too good at anything really…" She admitted.
"Well, this will make you better." Sasuke stated as the bell for classes to resume rang.
"Th- thank you Sasuke-kun." She said.
So they both began to head to class, both with very different thoughts in their heads…
This won't last a week… Sasuke muttered in his mind.
I swear that I'll be the best friend Sasuke-kun has ever had! It's the least I can do for making him so angry with me! Sakura thought with determination in her eyes.
Before Sasuke went into class he looked to the sky, which was now bright and sunny, and said silently, "Hey Naruto, I hope you're all right wherever you are…"
(Way over in Suna.)
"Ahh Choo!" Naruto sneezed. He looked over to his friend and said, "Someone must be talking about me!"
"Oh really?" Gaara muttered as he bit into some Ramen Koga had made for the two of them.
CHAPTER EIGHT – ENDI started this chapter only wanting a brief overview of what was going on in Konoha, but then I figured I should just make the entire chapter based on Sasuke as he went through two days at the academy. I hope you enjoyed it, next chapter will feature, Naruto, Gaara, Ayumi, and Koga a lot more than in this one, as well as a few other characters.
Question time!1Q – Why do the adults not react the rumors?
A – They do, I am just viewing from the children's perspective.
Ok, that was added by me, but I didn't feel like making the adults react the rumors, because they do, but I just didn't write them in this chapter, you'll see it in the up coming chapters.
See you in Chapter nine!