Best Friend's Brother 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides my OC.

Natsumi currently sat in her fourth hour class staring blankly at the clock.

'Almost done' Natsumi thought counting down the minutes until lunch.

"Oh students before I forget, this is your last week of training, so I recommend starting to find teachers you'd like to make yourself available to before the end of next week" Shizune-sensei said turning her attention away from her laptop to the class just before the bell rang. Most of the occupants of the class gave nods of understanding before filing out.

'Great' Natsumi thought sarcastically as she rose from her seat. 'Well I suppose I don't have to worry about that too much for now' she went on in thought as she let her mind wonder over the various teachers she could ask.

"Hey Natsumi!" a voice said loudly bringing the teen girl out of her thoughts as she turned to meet the source and was met with Kiba's bright smile.

"Kiba" she said in acknowledgment of the young man as he began to walk alongside her.

"I didn't know you walk this way" he said nonchalantly earning a questioning look from Natsumi as she raised a brow in disbelief.

"Well my class is right there" she said pointing toward to door of Shizune-sensei that was a simple 4 feet away.

"Oh well I didn't know you had that class" he said scratching the back of his neck with a sheepish smile crossing his face.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure you asked what I had before lunch when we were in history today" Natsumi thought out loud making the brunette release a nervous laugh as he blushed a deep shade of red.

"That's not important right now" he tried to laugh off as he wrapped an arm around the dark haired girl's shoulders as the pair started down the hall again.

'Smooth' Natsumi thought giving the young man a blank look as he began a new subject that she was already tuning out.

"So what do you think?" Kiba suddenly asked surprising Natsumi as she'd expected him to just drown on as she'd grown accustomed to Naruto doing. "We could go after school if you want" he went on offering the young girl a kind smile that showed his canines.

"I'm actually supposed to be meeting my mom afterschool to go over my visitation schedule with my father" she replied back with a blank expression, which left Kiba feeling slightly awkward.

"Oh I understand" he replied back running a hand through his hair. Natsumi observed his actions, curious as to what he was originally asking her, when a thought popped into her mind.

"Hey Kiba, so you know why Hinata wasn't in class last hour?" she asked changing the subject.

"Hinata has that class with you?" Kiba asked curiously, making Natsumi raise a brow in question.

'Some friend' she thought inwardly judging the brunette but in the midst of glancing Kiba's way, she collided with another. Immediately taken aback by the sudden action, Natsumi started to stumble back until being caught by the arm and looking up to see who she had run into.

"Kakashi-sensei" Kiba said acknowledging the presence of the silver haired male teacher, yet didn't notice the sudden wave of pink flushing Natsumi's face.

"Oh hello there" the man greeted with his signature closed eyed smile through his mask. "Doing alright?" he asked removing his hand from Natsumi's arm as he patted the young girl on the shoulder, bringing her out of her flustered daze.

"Y-yes" she responded immediately stepping back to bow to the man and hoping her face would return to its normal color. "Thank you sensei I'm sorry I should've been paying attention to where I was going" she apologized before rising to meet his gaze, but to her surprise he was preoccupied in reading the same book he always did in class.

"I'm sorry did you say something?" he asked nonchalantly, striking an inner nerve with the young girl as she gave him a confused look.

"Um I'm sorry for bumping into you" she repeated in a less apologetic tone as she observed the silver haired man and took notice that aside from his book, he also held a stack of papers with a bento lunch box balanced on top.

'Lucky I didn't knock that out of his arms' Natsumi thought releasing a deep breath of relief before Kakashi placed his book under his arm and patted her on the head.

"No harm done Natsumi" Kakashi-sensei said in a reassuring voice. "Well you two enjoy your lunch; I'll be spending mine in the copy room trying to get these entire worksheets ready before classes start again." He went on alarming the pair.

"You really have to do all that for lunch?" Kiba asked looking over the stack Kakashi held. "Can't you do it another time?" he asked after the silver haired man nodded in response to his first question.

"No other time to do it, since I'm usually so busy grading papers during my prep hour" Kakashi responded as Kiba nodded in understanding. "Orochimaru is lucky he has Kabuto to do things like this for him, I could really use the free time seeing as I haven't even had the chance to pick up this quarter's reading material yet" he went on sighing at the end.

"That must be really hard for you" Natsumi said sympathizing with the man when an idea suddenly struck her. "That's probably why Hinata wasn't in class today, she must have been looking for a teacher to be an aide for" Natsumi exclaimed happy to have figured why her friend was absent for only one class.

"Hinata?" Kiba asked giving Natsumi a questioning look.

"Do you think she'll be at lunch?" Natsumi asked turning her attention to Kiba as Kakashi sweat dropped at her actions.

"Uh maybe" Kiba thought scratching his cheek in thought. "She might be in the cafeteria now if you wanted to eat with us today" Kiba offered.

"That would be great then I can ask her how she's going to be picking a teacher" Natsumi said letting a small smile cross her face.

"Hinata is going to be a teacher's aide? Wow I could sure use one" Kakashi-sensei said running a hand through his silver locks as he thought out loud.

"Well we should get going then" Natsumi said more towards Kiba, before turning back to the teacher. "Good luck with everything Kakashi-sensei" Natsumi said as she and the brunette side steeped the man and continued on their way to the cafeteria.

"Maybe I should've been more forward with my offer" Kakashi thought dejectedly as he released a sigh and started on his own way.

'Perhaps it would've been better if Sasuke hadn't turned down the aide class' the silver haired man thought, letting his thoughts wonder to his other dark haired student. 'But there's nothing to be done about it now, besides I'm sure Natsumi will come around' he continued in thought as he retrieved his book and began reading once more.

...

Natsumi and Kiba quickly made their way through the lunch line upon entering the cafeteria.

"Looks like the others aren't there yet" Kiba said looking over to his usual table as Natsumi nodded in understanding as she continued to follow the brown haired male. Yet before taking a seat at the empty table, she couldn't help but glance back to the usual table with the friends she's come to know.

From the looks of it so far everyone appeared to be present except for her and Naruto.

'I wonder where he is.' Natsumi thought letting her eyes wonder the room in search of his tuft of blonde hair.

"Everything alright?" Kiba asked curiously as he watched Natsumi turn her attention back to him.

"Yeah" she replied simply taking a seat beside him.

It didn't take long after this for Kiba to start talking her ear off again on a new topic, that she had no idea about seeing as she once again was tuning him out.

"Natsumi?" a quiet voice asked, catching the attention of both teens as they turned to see a surprised Hinata approaching the table along with a very upset looking Shino.

"Oh hey" Natsumi greeted the pair with a small smile and wave as they neared.

"Kiba" Shino said in a warning tone, making a look of realization dawn on the young man.

"Shino!" Kiba exclaimed as his eyes grew wide.

"You knew the biology class wanted my assistance in showing the various insects in my collection, so you were supposed to meet me after class to help me carry the containers to the front to meet my dad" Shino said in an angry tone as he stood by the table looking down to the brunette.

"Y-yeah that's my bad I kind of-" Kiba began to explain between nervous chuckles before being cut off by Shino.

"Forgot about me" Shino said bitterly finishing Kiba's sentence and making everyone at the table grow tense.

"Shino don't put it that way" Kiba pleaded looking over the teen.

"Its fine I'm used to it at this point" Shino said coldly as he finally took a seat on the other side of the table.

'Doesn't seem fine' Natsumi mentally noted observing the gloomy aura the boy was currently emitting.

"Oh come on Shino don't be like that" Kiba said.

"Hinata helped me so it's fine" Shino responded turning his attention to his tray as Kiba released a defeated sigh before doing the same.

"So Natsumi how was class today?" Hinata asked gaining the attention of the teen girl beside her.

"Pretty uneventful all we did was go over the basic filing systems teachers use" she responded. "Where were you today?" Natsumi asked curiously allowing her eyes to wonder over her shy friend.

"In a meeting with Principal Tsunade and my father on the direction of my future" Hinata replied, alarming Natsumi.

'Wow and I thought my mom was on my back about my future, well at least she doesn't set up meetings with the principal' Natsumi thought turning her attention to her tray as she nodded in understanding.

"Wow I figured you might have been trying to find a teacher to be an aid for" Natsumi admitted looking up to meet the gaze of Hinata's light purple hues.

"That was something discussed, since I decided to go to school instead of taking the private tutor route with my sister" Hinata said.

"Hn" Natsumi said returning her attention to her tray again.

"He believes since I chose to go to school I should be taking a better advantage of my opportunities especially in who I choose to work under" Hinata explained as she picked up her fork and began to eat.

'Hinata struggles so much with her life as an heiress, I feel bad for her having to up hold those standards, but at the same time I'm grateful I'm not in the same boat ... Then again I could've been if I had chosen to stay with dad instead of mom" Natsumi thought starting to space out as she stared at her tray.

"You know Kakashi-sensei sounded like he could use a teacher's aide" Kiba said loudly bringing Natsumi out of her thoughts as she turned to look at him, and much to her surprise saw him leaning in a little too close for comfort as he was invading her personal space to get into the conversation with her and Hinata.

'Oh boy here we go with this guy' Natsumi thought as her eyes grew wide in alarm at the brown haired boy's proximity, something Hinata immediately took notice of as the exchange made her laugh lightly.

"What about you Natsumi, do you think you'd want to do it with Kakashi-sensei?" Kiba asked turning his head from Hinata to Natsumi, only noticing how close he was to the teen girl, whose face was not mere inches from his but ablaze in red.

'Phrasing Kiba' Natsumi thought trying to suppress the blush on her face, as the thought of the silver haired teacher filled her mind.

"P-personal space Kiba!" Natsumi exclaimed pushing the boy back to his seat beside her, alarming him as he now stared intently at her.

'I made her blush' Kiba thought triumphantly as he observed the light pink dusting fading from her face, making him smirk.

"I'm not sure I would be able to handle working under Kakashi-sensei" Hinata said catching the attention of the table as the teens turned to look at her.

'Thank you Hinata' Natsumi mentally thanked her friend as she felt Kiba's eyes finally stop staring at her as if trying to mentally pry into her mind.

"And why is that?" Shino asked entering the conversation as Hinata looked down.

"W-well you see I don't think I'd be a good enough aide to him or anyone for that matter" Hinata admitted sadly looking to her lap.

"You need to be more confident Hinata" Kiba said brashly as if it was the most obvious thing, as Natsumi placed a caring hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Any teacher would be lucky to have you as an aide Hinata, even Kakashi-sensei" Natsumi said encouragingly earning a small smile from Hinata.

"Although it might be better to look into other teachers seeing as Kakashi-sensei has gone through at least six teacher's aides for the past two years" Shino explained catching Natsumi's attention as she raised a brow curiously.

"How has he gone through six aides in two years?" Natsumi asked looking to Shino.

"He apparently is very demanding in his expectations of his aides and when they fail to meet his standards, he marks them so low that they fail out of being teacher's aides or leave him" Shino explained making Natsumi furrow her brows as she processed this new information.

"I don't think I'd be able to cope with that kind of pressure" Hinata admitted returning to her tray, as Natsumi couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Oh come on guys don't listen to Shino, that's just a rumor that went around at end of last year" Kiba said trying to uplift the mood as the girls now had a notably dark gloom about them. "Besides Hinata if you're his teacher's aide you'd be working under the man who teaches Naruto for Applied Math, English, and Math" Kiba said in cocky tone as he folded his arms across his chest and lit Hinata's face to a bright shade of red at the mention of Naruto.

'Wow everyone really does know' Natsumi thought observing the flustered Hinata trying to suppress her blush as Shino fanned her from across the table and Kiba simply laughed. 'At least they have protocols' Natsumi continued on in thought.

"Enough Kiba" Shino said evidently aggravated by the boy's actions.

"Wait" Natsumi suddenly said turning to Kiba as a thought struck her. "How did you know Naruto was in Applied Math?" she asked curiously.

"Because he's taking that class with him" Shino answered automatically.

"Hey no one asked you!" Kiba said angrily at Shino.

"You shouldn't mess with Hinata so much on that topic, when the real reason you want her to work under Kakashi-sensei is so she can cushion your grades for when you inevitably fail" Shino shot back striking a nerve with Kiba.

"Who says I'm going to fail" Kiba asked with a blush of embarrassment on his face.

'Wow some friend' Natsumi thought as she watched Shino continue to call Kiba on his bullshit that the flustered boy could not deny.

"Natsumi what are you doing over here?" Naruto's voice suddenly rang out as the table silenced to watch the blonde approach the table with his tray and a confused look on his face.

"N-Naruto" Hinata exclaimed quietly as the boy came closer.

"Oh hey" Natsumi said offering the boy a slight wave as she turned to look at him.

"Oh hi Hinata" Naruto said acknowledging Hinata's greeting with his usual smile.

"Oh no" Shino stated as he observed Hinata's entire face turn bright red before it appeared she would faint.

Acting fast to catch her falling friend Natsumi automatically brought an arm around the girl's shoulders. Yet she noticed at the same time the arm of another individual shot round the teen girl as well, securing her on the other side. Looking around Hinata's passed out figure, Natsumi's brown eyes met light purple ones, as she registered it was none other than Hinata's cousin Neji. It seemed the teen boy was in the process of approaching the table when he noticed the events unfolding and made quick work of passing his tray to one of his friends while he reached the table just in time to catch Hinata from the outside of the table where she sat.

"Would you get out of here?!" Kiba yelled to a very confused Naruto who was still processing what had just happened.

"W-what did I do?" Naruto asked in a worried tone.

"Nice catch Neji ... and you too Natsumi" Tenten commented as she and Lee began to set down their trays, along with Neji's.

"Hn" Natsumi said nodding in acknowledgement as Neji motioned that it was ok for her to let go, as he had the situation under control.

"The speed at which you traveled to catch Hinata was a true display of youth!" Lee exclaimed loudly in an excited tone as Natsumi and Neji exchanged knowing looks. "How would either of you like to race me?" Lee asked excitedly, as the table grew quiet.

"Not now Lee!" Neji said as he held Hinata and Natsumi began to fan the girl.

"I guess the old pervert was right about flu season starting" Naruto said awkwardly scratching the back of his neck as he watched Hinata start to wake in Neji's arms, before his gaze traveled to Natsumi. "If these are the early signs of Hinata getting sick, you should sit with us since no one at our table is sick" Naruto said, reaching over the dark haired girl to pick up her tray.

"Hey Natsumi's sitting with us today!" Kiba yelled to the blonde who was not listening as he began to walk with her tray to the usual table he occupied with his friends.

"Hey Naruto he's right" Natsumi began to call after the blonde boy before feeling two hands grip her shoulders as she was brought to her feet, turning to the source she was met with Sasuke Uchiha.

"Do you not notice the scene you're causing?" Sasuke asked as he brought Natsumi to her feet, and she took that moment to notice the many eyes directed towards the table from when Hinata fainted. "If you don't come the dobe is going to make a bigger scene and I don't care to deal with that headache now" he further explained as he began leading Natsumi to the table he was previously at.

She had no words as she let Sasuke bring her to the table. She was livid at the actions of both Naruto and Sasuke, tearing her away from the other friends she'd agreed to sit with. Yet even with the silent treatment she gave them, both males seemed oblivious to it, so it continued on until the end of lunch.

...

Walking to art, Natsumi took several large deep breaths to calm her nerves from the events of lunchtime. She had been the first to leave the table and was currently one of the first students back into the halls. Regardless of the actions the boy's had taken, she knew there was no use in letting it affect her mood in Art, besides it was one of her favorite classes.

Upon entering the room the teen girl was greeted as per usual by Kurenai-sensei, instantly uplifting her mood as she also observed she was the first student in the class. She immediately took to her seat and waited for more students to arrive while she pulled out her phone and began to busy herself in checking her email, something that took so much of her attention she failed to notice the new presence greeting Kurenai-sensei at the door before approaching her.

"I know art is an explosion, but I didn't expect the first thing I saw when I walked in to blow my mind." The sudden voice of a young man came beside Natsumi.

Turning to the source she was met with a smile from a young man with long blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail, as he took his seat beside her. She offered him a smile as well, before a confused look crossed her face as she began to look around to search for what he was referring to.

"I was talking about you beautiful" he said laughing a bit at the girl's look of confusion. "You can't tell me you don't hear things like this every day un?" the boy replied resting on his palm as he continued to look at the dark haired girl beside him.

"No not really" Natsumi answered giving an awkward smile.

"A girl like you doesn't have a boyfriend?" he suddenly asked, bringing an immediate blush to the girl's face as she averted her gaze elsewhere.

"And a guy like you can't mind his own business" a young man with red hair said now entering the conversation as he stood behind the blonde. Natsumi couldn't help but let a small laugh escape upon hearing the newcomer's comeback.

"Hey! No one asked you Sasori!" the blonde now shot back turning to look at the young man who was now making his way to the other desk beside the girl.

"Anyone stuck talking to you could use the save Deidara" the red head replied coolly, causing Natsumi to break into a fresh fit of laughter, before she quickly brought up a hand to stifle it. Looking between the two boys', she saw the redhead wore a smirk and the blonde had a look of both anger and embarrassment.

"Don't mind him, beautiful" the blonde said suddenly placing an arm around Natsumi's shoulders in order to bring her closer for her to hear his next sentence. "He's a bit of a creep, butting into other peoples conversations because he's socially awkward" he explained in a low voice, but still being heard by the red head that then shot him a dirty look.

"Would you stop harassing the poor girl? I'm sure she didn't intend on taking art to be bothered by an idiot." The redhead retorted. The blonde simply rolled his eyes in reply as he released the young girl, who unbeknownst to him was trying hard to stifle another laugh.

"Anyways I'm Deidara, and you un?" the blonde asked giving the girl a smile.

"Natsumi" the girl replied.

"Ah that's a lovely name, a true sentiment to the piece you are." Deidara went on, but nearly fell out of his chair when he noticed the dark haired beauty seemed to have focused her attention in the other direction.

"So Sasori, did I pronounce that right?" Natsumi asked curiously turning her head to the side in thought.

"Yeah and uh Natsumi, does that sound right?" he responded with a smile, to which the girl nodded. "Now that name is befitting of a beauty like you." Sasori went on, sending a look to Deidara, for recycling his line and actually getting a reaction form Natsumi, as she laughed shyly.

'I'm going to kill him' Deidara thought watching as Natsumi fully turned to face Sasori, and the two talked until the bell rang and the teacher called the attention of the class.

"Alright class as you can see these are the coveted interns" Kurenai-sensei said motioning to the two males on either side of Natsumi. The two immediately stood from their seats as the class turned to look over the young men and erupt into various hushed conversations over the pair.

"Oh my god these are the interns"

"I knew they'd be cute"

"Do you think they'd consider dating high school students?"

"Like you have a chance"

"Well they certainly took a liking to the new girl"

"Apparently she has a way with the boys" a few voices chastised, catching Natsumi's attention as she clenched a fist in anger, but stopping when she noticed Sai being absent.

'That's odd for him, he loves this class' Natsumi thought glancing to his empty seat beside her that was previously occupied by Deidara.

"Ladies let's keep the conversations to a minimum until I'm finished" Kurenai-sensei said silencing the ongoing whispers from the gossipers and regaining Natsumi's attention.

"Alright boys why don't you introduce yourselves and answer some questions?" Kurenai-sensei said to the pair who nodded in understanding before almost every hand of the females in class shot into the air.

The boys gave a quick introduction to the class and the topics they specialized in to be covered went by quickly. They were both attending the local university majoring in art, a couple years older than most of the students, and vastly different from one another. Deidara was loud, a specialist with clay, pottery, and sculpting while Sasori was more composed, specializing in sketching, painting, and carving. The differences didn't stop with personalities and interests but it was also evident in how they looked as Deidara had chosen to wear a grey t-shirt with a black hoodie jacket unzipped with the sleeves pushed up along with jeans and converse, whereas Sasori wore a black button up with the sleeves rolled back with black pants and shoes. These two starkly different boys may have been vastly different but both commanded the attention of the female population in the class with ease.

'So these are the interns' Natsumi thought looking over the two, until Kurenai-sensei regained the class's attention to inform them that this class would be a free day so the students could sketch, freely converse, and get the chance to know the interns. This caused uproar of squeals and giggles to escape the female students, while Natsumi rolled her eyes.

'Great just what this school needed, more guys to drive the girls insane' Natsumi thought sarcastically before her eyes shifted back to where Sai usually sat and memories of his announcement on 'keeping teenage hormones under control' came to mind, making the teen girl blush before tuning into the noise around her.

"Sasori-senpai what do you think of my drawing?"

"Deidara-senpai do you like what I'm working on?"

"Sasori-senpai what should I draw?"

"Deidara-senpai do you have a girlfriend?"

"Sasori-senpai are you single?"

"Deidara-senpai what's your sign?" the many voices of the girl's in class sounded making Natsumi inwardly cringe at the desperation laced in their voices.

'Maybe Sai asking them to tone down the hormones would've been better now' Natsumi thought trying to tune out the loud flirtatious voices and giggles, until an unfolding event caught her eye.

"Sasori-senpai I want you to look at my sketch book" came the loud voice of one of the seniors Natsumi recognized as a part of the group that criticized her for being friends with Sasuke. "Oh senpai I think I'm going to be majoring in art at the university too, you know I'll be graduating this year so would it be alright if I just called you Sasori?" she asked batting her eyes at the red headed young man whilst twisting a strand of her hair around her finger as he approached her seat.

"You ask me to look through your sketchbook and you don't even have it out?" he asked looking down at the girl who'd now gone silent under his harsh gaze. "Well are you just going to sit there like an idiot? I don't like to be kept waiting" he stated crossing his arms over his chest as he rose a brow at the girl, who was taken aback by his harsh tone, prompting her to quickly take the item from her bag.

"Is this some kind of joke? You've hardly even used this book. How do you expect to cut it in the art program at the university if there's more work done on your face than with your craft?" he asked making the once loud girl cower back at his brutal honestly.

"Oh Sasori you'll make her cry with that much honesty un" Deidara said slinging an arm around the redhead's shoulder as he stood beside him. "On second thought maybe some of these kids could use the wakeup call" he said as his eyes looked over the sketchbook Sasori was flipping though.

"Kurenai-sensei don't you think some of this critique is uncalled for?" the girl suddenly asked raising a hand as she looked to the teacher with pleading eyes.

"If you can't handle the feedback, you can either push through to prevail or pick a different path" the teacher stated striking a nerve with the student before continuing. "Deidara and Sasori were a couple of my best students, they work well not only because they're so passionate about their work, but because they don't pull their punches when critiquing others and themselves. If you make the mistake of asking their opinion, it's not my problem if you can't handle what they have to say." She went on as the eyes of the girls in class shifted nervously over the said boys.

"Trust me we're not even as bad as half our professors" Deidara said with a grin as Kurenai-sensei nodded in agreement before motioning for the class to continue.

"Evidently you need to rethink your college plans, but to answer your last question, no I don't want to be called by my regular name by you in or out of the classroom" Sasori said placing the girl's book in front of her on her desk as the classroom's volume decreased exponentially.

"Back to work everyone" Kurenai-sensei called out from her desk as it was noted the entire class stopped to watch the exchange. The students quickly busied themselves with their work as to not be the next to deal with the words of Sasori. Natsumi had no problem with this as she took advantage of the new found silence to begin a new sketch in her book, until the boys seemed to make their way back to her.

"So Natsumi are you going to be attending the university with us next year?" Deidara asked taking a seat beside the black haired girl.

"No I'll be a senior next year" she said making the young man raise his brows in astonishment.

"I would've never known, you seem so mature for your age un" Deidara said making the teen girl grow nervous as she feel his gaze wonder over her frame. "So when are you going to be legal?" he asked curiously in a low voice as he began leaning forward so she would be able to hear him better, and now making a shiver run up her spine at his proximity and tone.

"Knock it off Deidara she's underage" Sasori said in a warning tone from the other side of Natsumi, making the girl sigh in relief as Deidara immediately backed away and shot the redheaded male a glare.

"Don't you have anything better to do than interrupt private conversations un?" Deidara asked in an annoyed tone.

"Believe me when I say there are a million things I'd rather be doing than keeping you out of jail or off a sex offender's list" Sasori retorted, making a slight laugh escape Natsumi before she covered her mouth.

"You know what your problem is?" Deidara shot back pointing to Sasori, before Natsumi cleared her throat, catching the attention of both males.

"Could one of you let me borrow your hands for a reference?" she asked looking between the two, until Sasori put a hand down in front of the teen girl while shooting a knowing look to Deidara for not acting fast enough. Deidara immediately had a tick mark on his forehead as he watched Natsumi take hold of Sasori's hand and began turning it in various directions before beginning to return to her sketch.

With the remaining time, Deidara had tried using wise quips and jokes to regain Natsumi's attention, but all attempts were thwarted by a snide comment from Sasori, which made the young girl try hard to not break down in laughter.

"It's nice to see you all getting along" the sensei commented walking up to the trio.

"I'd hardly call it that" Deidara mumbled out irritated.

"That's because you can hardly make a call" Sasori replied quietly, causing Natsumi to struggle in not laughing in front of the sensei.

Deidara could feel a vein beginning to pop out of his forehead as he found himself repressing the urge to murder Sasori, but those thoughts were cut short upon hearing the sensei herself begin to laugh.

"Putting someone in between you two, was the best decision I could've made I just wish I had come up with the idea when I was still teaching you two" the woman admitted beginning to wipe a tear.

"You would do this on purpose!" Deidara exclaimed holding up an accusatory finger dramatically.

"Of course, if I could go back I'd do it in a heartbeat otherwise you two would've bickered, just like all of last year over the meaning of art." The sensei replied placing a hand on her hip.

'This year is going to be hell!" Deidara thought as his mouth dropped open in shock, before the teacher walked off, soon after the bell rang, and he was brought back by a surprising hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you Deidara-senpai" Natsumi said bowing her head to the blonde who sat dumbfounded at her action as he watched her turn around and do the same to Sasori before beginning to stand and gather her things.

"Hey Natsumi" Deidara said catching the girl's attention as she stood from her stool and looked at him with her brown hues. "You don't have to call me senpai if you want you can just-" he began before being cut off by Sasori, much to his dismay.

"You can go ahead and just call me Sasori" the redhead said placing a hand over the girl's shoulder as she offered him a smile in return.

"Hey I was going to say the same thing un!" Deidara exclaimed angrily glaring at Sasori as Natsumi finally released a whole hearted laugh that surprised both males.

"I'm not going to lie, I was having a pretty rough day but you two made it a lot better. This year is going to be great!" Natsumi exclaimed with a bright smile to the two boys, further alarming them. "You guys had me trying not to laugh the entire time, I'll see you later" she went on before making her way out the door, leaving the two boys to blink in astonishment as they then looked after her and then to each other.

"It sounds like I have a chance un" Deidara said with a grin as he turned to Sasori who released an annoyed sigh.

"You know you should stay away from her" he said hoping that this statement would help it sink in.

"But that's the fun of the chase, besides she won't be so into you once I tell her I'm in the Akatsuki" Deidara said smugly earning a look of annoyance from Sasori.

"I'm in the Akatsuki too idiot" Sasori stated making Deidara's grin fall in realization.

"Well I'm calling dibs un!" Deidara exclaimed.

"She's underage" Sasori said rolling his eyes at the ignorant bliss of the blonde.

"Whatever you say Sasori, you just want to throw me off so you can move in" Deidara said crossing his arms as Sasori gave up and walked away after calling the blonde an idiot.

...

"Hello Natsumi" Sai said as he suddenly started to walk alongside the teen girl, surprising her as she registered his presence.

"Sai, you weren't in class today" she said looking over the boy's signature smile.

"Oh yes I was pulled out to assist the student council" Sai explained making Natsumi raise her brows in interest.

"You're on student council?" she asked in disbelief, as she thought about how to himself the young man was.

"No not at all why do you ask?" he asked curiously making the young girl give him a questioning look.

"Uh what were you helping Student council with?" Natsumi asked redirecting her question.

"Kankuro said they needed help from a few random students with doing an anonymous vote for the Homecoming theme" he informed the girl as she realized that she had failed to notice Kankuro missing from art class as well.

"Oh I see, well you didn't miss much except for meeting the interns" she said.

"Sasori and Deidara?" he asked alarming the girl.

"Yeah do you know them?" she asked curiously as turned to meet Sai's smile, but saw it wasn't there.

"No" he responded honestly confusing the teen girl. "But I've heard of them" he stated further intriguing the girl. She was about to inquire further but the pair came to an immediate halt as they neared the class.

"Kakashi-sensei" Natsumi said in acknowledgment of the man's presence as the teens observed him pinning a flyer on a bulletin board.

"Oh hello" he said with a closed eyed smile, that only Sai returned.

"What are you doing?" Natsumi asked curiously looking over the paper he hung to read it.

Teacher's aide wanted to assist under Kakashi-sensei

"Just getting word out that I'm looking for an aide" the silver haired teacher replied stepping back to look at the paper as Sai and Natsumi nodded in understanding.

"What does it entail?" Sai asked curiously, catching Kakashi's attention.

"The typical responsibilities of aides, are you interested Sai?" Kakashi-sensei asked hopefully as Sai smiled to him.

"No not at all, I'm not in the program" Sai said making Kakashi inwardly groan as gloominess found its way around him. " I was only asking if working closely under you would mean you could be confided in to ask anything, like what you mentioned on the first day but refused to go through with when I asked my questions about our hormones" Sai said with a fake smile that struck a nerve not only with Kakashi-sensei but with Natsumi as well.

"Why don't you two get to class before you're late?" Kakashi-sensei asked in an evidently annoyed tone that made Natsumi jump back from slightly.

"Does that mean you actually plan to be on time today?" Sai asked with an unchanging smile, that made a notable irk mark appear on their sensei's forehead as he seemed so angry, that fire could be seem behind his dark eyes.

"We'll see you in class Kakashi-sensei" Natsumi suddenly cut in before the silver haired teacher could fire back, as she firmly gripped Sai's arm and led him away from the angered Kakashi-sensei.

"Is everything alright Natsumi? You seem to be walking alarmingly faster than usual" Sai said as Natsumi released a heavy sigh in response. "You realize it's not healthy to hold in your feelings, then again you're not exactly the 'picture of health' especially after seeing how fast you finished your plate at lunch" Sai commented bringing the girl to an abrupt stop as she released the hold she had on his arm and immediately gripped his shirt bringing the tall pale boy down to meet her eye level with a menacing glare.

"What did you just say?" Natsumi asked with the anger evident in her voice as she looked into the black eyes of Sai that were currently studying her every move.

"The look on your face is very unattractive" Sai stated making the girl narrow her eyes as her grip on his shirt tightened. "It actually reminds me of the look Kakashi-sensei gave me back there, now that I think of it you two are very similar so why don't you be his teacher's aide?" Sai asked curiously as Natsumi's eye's widened before she released her grasp on him as she turned to walk away from him, leaving Sai with even more questions as he watched to girl continue down the hall to their class. "Are we not walking to class together anymore?" he thought aloud before starting to follow.

...

'Of course I've thought about being Kakashi-sensei's aide but I don't think I can handle it until I get a hold of this crush I have on him' Natsumi thought storming down the hall angrily in thought. 'Why do I have to feel this way? He's my teacher it's no big deal but at the same time I can't help the way my heart feels like it'll pop out of my chest when I talk to him. It's just a stupid crush, I shouldn't even look at him that way but I can't help it' the teen girl continued in thought as she made her way into the class.

"Hey Natsumi!" Naruto greeted the girl gleefully with a wave, which quickly brought her out of her critical thoughts on her feelings, before she registered the events of lunch and returned her to a bad mood.

'Why are boys so stupid?!' she thought angrily ignoring the confused blonde as she made her way to her seat beside him, plopping down and crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. 'Naruto is an idiot that doesn't listen, Sasuke is an ass who just goes along with whatever Naruto does, and Sai is a jerk who goes around –UGH who does he even think he is to make me think about why I can't work under Kakashi-sensei, he should just mind his own business! Besides where does he get off when I saved his ass?" Natsumi inwardly fumed as she glared at her desk in frustration.

"Uh you alright Natsumi?" Naruto asked worriedly looking over the teen girl whose only response was a look that sent shivers up his entire body as he quickly turned away.

"Hn serves the dobe right for being so annoying" Sasuke said snidely, earning a glare from Natsumi that made him go silent as he too turned to look away from her.

"Natsumi you left me behind" Sai said making his way to his seat as Natsumi clenched her fists, something Sai immediately noticed, "You seem upset are your hormones affecting your mood?" Sai asked in a confused tone that brought laughter to the class, but also set off the teen girl as she rose from her seat and had to be restrained by Naruto who worriedly held the teen girl by her waist from behind as she reached for Sai.

"Shut up Sai!" Naruto yelled to the teen boy as he tried to calm Natsumi. "It's ok Natsumi don't let him get to you" he tried to coax the teen girl before her head snapped to reveal the anger behind her usually warm brown eyes.

"And you! Do you realize how rude what you did was?" she asked, making Naruto's eyes widen at how fast she redirected her anger from Sai to him.

"What?" he asked obviously confused with as to what she was talking about.

"I have a right to be friends with whoever I choose and sit wherever I so please" Natsumi said breaking from the blonde's grip as she turned around poking him with every word she spoke.

"Uh O-ok" Naruto awkwardly sputtered out as he could try to swallow the fear he currently felt.

"Do you even know what you did?" Natsumi asked raising a brow, making the blonde begin to sweat nervously as he watched the look of anger return to the girl's face. "I was sitting with Hinata when she fainted but you pulled me away" Natsumi said as realization dawned on Naruto's face.

"B-but Sasuke was the one who pulled you away!" Naruto exclaimed pointing an accusing finger to the surprised Uchiha, who up until now was just as blown away by the dark haired girl's outburst as Naruto.

"I only did it because the do-" Sasuke started before being interrupted by Natsumi.

"I'll deal with you later" she said in a tone that immediately silenced the Uchiha as watched her return her attention to his flustered blonde friend. "He acted following what you did; he's not the one that walked off with my tray. Do you have anything to say?" Natsumi asked crossing her arms over her chest as Naruto could feel a knot grow in his stomach.

"I-I'm sorry Natsumi" the boy apologized bowing to the teen girl who pointed him to his seat which he took quickly.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Natsumi returned to her seat, unaffected by the many eyes boring into her after her outburst as the entire class was quiet.

'What's wrong with her?' Sasuke thought looking over the tense girl beside him. Her usual calm and stoic demeanor replaced with the anger that radiated from her small frame. Thinking back, Sasuke knew that lunch and whatever Sai did was not enough to set her off like this, it had to have been something about the day, when it suddenly hit him, the Uchiha immediately rose from his seat and made his way to the door.

"Where are you going Sasuke?" Sakura asked curiously, earning no response as the black haired male made his way out the door and the sound of the bell sounded.

"Is this what they call awkward?" Sai asked breaking the silence in the room.

"Shut up Sai" Sakura said, once again the students in awkward silence for a few more minutes until Kakashi-sensei entered the room.

"Hello students today we'll be reading pages 45-70 independently in your textbooks so no talking" he instructed the students as they groaned in annoyance as they took out the large books and opened the assigned pages. "Uh Natsumi do you think you could wait for me in the hall? We need to discuss something" Kakashi-sensei asked alarming the teen girl as she looked up from her text book.

"Excuse me sensei?" she replied raising her brows in confusion.

"Natsumi now please" the silver haired man stated with a closed eyed smile, that urged the teen to follow his instruction as she stood from her seat.

Making her way through the hall, she felt a heavy weight on her chest as the actions of her outburst sunk in, mortifying the teen.

"You're not one to attract attention so something big must be bothering you" Sasuke's voice stated bringing the girl out from her gloomy self-deprecating thoughts.

"Sasuke" she exclaimed in surprise as she observed the dark haired male leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"You might as well tell me now to get it off your chest otherwise it'll be a lot harder to tell Kakashi-sensei" Sasuke said waiting for the dark haired girl to say more as she neared him and leaning against the wall beside him.

'What does he mean tell Kakashi-sensei? Wait a minute how would he know Kakashi sensei wanted to talk to me unless ...' she thought registering why the silver haired man sent her out of the class.

"Did you say something to Kakashi-sensei? Is that why he asked to talk to me? What did you do?" Natsumi asked with an angry huff.

"Yes I did, I told him you were having a rough day and he should talk to you ... then I said I had to go to the bathroom so he wouldn't mind me coming back late" Sasuke explained making Natsumi fume.

"You think you have it all figured out" Natsumi said biting the inside of her cheek as she stared at the floor.

"Just get to the point" he instructed shocking the girl at his harshness.

"It's nothing" she lied, earning an annoyed sigh from the Uchiha.

"What happened at lunch along with whatever Sai said to offend you, isn't enough to set you off" Sasuke explained surprising the young girl as she looked up from the floor to meet the gaze of his onyx eyes.

"And how would you know that?" Natsumi asked.

"Because I know you. You avoid unnecessary attention every chance you get, but you just blew up like the whole class wasn't watching" Sasuke said further alarming the girl at how well he really knew her.

"You don't even know what Sai said" she argued back stubbornly.

"Now you sound like the dobe" Sasuke replied bluntly making Natsumi glare at him.

"I do not" Natsumi retorted turning her gaze away from Sasuke yet again.

"Oh yeah then what did he say?" Sasuke asked, making Natsumi blush as she thought back to Sai's question.

"Why I haven't asked to be Kakashi-sensei's teacher's aide" Natsumi admitted making Sasuke raise a brow in question,

"How did that offend you? Why don't you just be his aide if you want to be?" Sasuke asked as Natsumi nervously met his gaze.

"Because I'm not sure how to handle how I feel about him" Natsumi admitted looking Sasuke in the face as he registered what she met and both his brows rose in astonishment.

"You like him" Sasuke stated taken aback by her confession as she nodded in confirmation.

"Hn" she said continuing to nod nervously as Sasuke grew silent.

"That ... that's not what put you over the edge though" Sasuke said looking to the side as he waited for Natsumi to say more. "It's something you might not even realize is bothering you that much but that's the thing that's doing this to you" he further explained as he finally looked back to Natsumi, whose face dawned in realization.

"I'm meeting with my mom and dad after school to discuss the visitation schedule" Natsumi said furrowing her brows. "It's going to be our first time all together since we left Kyoto" she explained further sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

'I'm such an idiot' she thought holding her head in her hands, until she felt a hand placed on her shoulder, looking over she saw it was Sasuke. He too sat on the floor; not looking at her, hardly even close to her but the comforting gesture meant a lot as the teen girl smiled sadly.

"I don't know what to say but this seems like something you can't so easily open up about so I'll tell Kakashi-sensei we had a fight but I apologized" Sasuke said alarming Natsumi as she looked over him with wide eyes.

'Sasuke isn't a bad friend' she thought before nodding in acceptance of his offer before the teens stood and made their way back to the class, where Kakashi-sensei was barely exiting to meet Natsumi.

'Even now he's running late' both teens thought as the man approached them with an excuse of getting distracted with who knows what.

...

A/N: I hope you all loved this chapter as much as I loved writing it. I had this concept of Kakashi wanting Natsumi to be TA trope and I feel like I really accomplished that. Also I hope you enjoyed the how her friendship with Sasuke is building further. I didn't want to write one of those stories where as soon as the main love interest is introduced, everything just revolves around them, and because she still has other aspects of her life I want to use to help further the plot. Anyways though feel free to give me your thoughts in the comments because I love reading them