"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."-Newt Gingrich
"Naruto!" Emiko pleaded as she followed the blonde down the school's hallway. He peeked over his shoulder at her before sharply turning back. Megumi giggled at the sight but heeded Emiko's glare and stopped. 'Why won't he just…stop being stupid?' Emiko demanded before she quickened her pace to walk level to the blonde.
"Come on! It's for a good cause!" Emiko tried her best to persuade him, her patience was wearing thin and she could not be held responsible for any actions she took if he were to refuse again.
"Iie! I'm not doing this competition with Sasuke-teme!" Naruto declared without a break in his step. "Any-" Naruto toppled from view and smacked into the floor. Emiko moved her foot out from under his ankles and crossed her arms.
"Naruto we need one more person and Uchiha is smart whether you want to admit it or not." Emiko said calmly now that she had his attention. Naruto sat up, rubbing his forehead as he tried to think.
"Naruto-san," both turned to Megumi who stood politely behind them with a look of amusement in her eyes. "If Sakura-san is placed on the team," at this Emiko noticed a significant brightness shining from his blue eyes. "Would you be willing to work with Uchiha-san?" Naruto nodded fervently but Emiko stepped in.
"Megumi, we only have 4 places and you've already agreed to be in our group." She pointed out, not wanting to take away Naruto's newfound enthusiasm but also desiring to know what was going on.
"Hai, I know. But I'll step back. There are other teams and I can join one that is one person shy." Megumi smiled sweetly before she sank practically a foot under Naruto's hug.
"Yay! I get to be with Sakura-chan! And I'll show her how great I am!" Naruto shouted happily. 'I thought he was getting over her…' Emiko stared blankly at the two of them before shrugging. 'Oh well…now we have a four person group!'
"How are you going to get Uchiha-san to join your group?" Megumi asked once Naruto had calmed down. Naruto turned to Emiko, his blue eyes expressing the same question although he seemed more hopeful she would fail.
"I'll bother him forever?" Emiko wasn't entirely sure how she was planning on persuading the stubborn Uchiha to join their group, she hadn't really thought about it.
"Well I'm sure you'll think of something." Emiko scowled at the twinkle in Megumi's hazel eyes. 'Damn her and her 'I know everything so let's ruin your mental state' abilities.' Emiko turned on her heel and strode away from the two, her mind working on different plans to recruit Sasuke.
'What I really need is blackmail…'
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"Uchiha! Open up!" Emiko sighed and dropped her hand from the door. Once again Emiko had used Megumi as a ride although it was after the blonde's offer and she stood as patiently as possible before the Uchiha residence.
It had been seven minutes since the last time Sasuke opened the door and twenty minutes since they arrived at the house. At first he had calmly opened the door to listen to what she wanted but hearing the offer her flat out refused and shut the door in Emiko's face. Not really a smart move. Since then Emiko had gone through various stages of knocking depending on how long it had been since Sasuke had opened the door to tell her to go away.
"Emiko I don't think you're going to persuade him." Megumi chuckled from her stance beside her car. Emiko's shoulders dropped and she dragged her attention to Megumi who couldn't look more amused at the situation.
"Uchiha open up Megumi's killing me!" Emiko lied as she knocked softly on the door.
"Good." Sasuke's response was clear and close. Emiko's eyes widened as she heard the answer before she glared at the door.
"You're right behind the door aren't you?" It was more of a rhetorical question and Emiko sighed heavily. "Fine you jerk. But they give free scholarships and even if you don't want to waste time on a competition you're giving up a decent opportunity." Emiko scowled at the door before she turned on her heel. Before she could take a step away the door opened and she felt something grab the back of her shirt and jerk her into the house before the door shut again.
Emiko stumbled and fell to the ground but wasted no time in standing quickly to see Sasuke leaning against the wall beside the door. 'JERK! You were right there!' she thought in annoyance.
"So are you going to join?" Emiko asked hopefully, smiling faintly.
"Who else?" The question put Emiko on the spot and she shifted on her feet. 'Crap, if I tell him Naruto and Sakura he definitely won't join…' a fierce and swift mental battle between lying and telling the truth ended with a victorious lie.
"Not sure yet."
"Hn." Sasuke opened the door and pushed it open with his foot. "Out."
"Wait you just pulled me in to ask that and now you're kicking me out?" Emiko questioned, her annoyance rising in her voice.
"You're lying." Sasuke stated simply and Emiko nearly fell over once again. 'What is he, psychic!'
"Fine. Promise to join and then I'll tell you who the others are in our group." Emiko proposed, her fingers now crossed behind her back as she tried to use the best puppy dog face at her disposal which wasn't really something to be proud of.
"You're hiding something." Sasuke said blankly before he turned and began to walk down a hall away from the brunette.
"Because if I told you you would be a jerk and not join!" Emiko prophesized as she jogged after the teenager, her focus now upon wearing him out.
"Then why should I promise." Sasuke spoke and Emiko's eyes narrowed at his back before she sprinted around him to stop before him, her arms spread out to each side in hopes of keeping him in one place.
"Uchi-" She stopped as Sasuke turned into another room and closed the door effectively into her face causing her to jerk back to avoid being hit in the face. 'JERK!'
"Sasuke! Open the stupid door and just agree to join!" Emiko ordered angrily as she continued to knock on the door hoping at some point the Uchiha would simply give in. Hearing no response for minutes Emiko sighed, disappointed and annoyed as she began to walk shamefully back down the hall. 'Damn him…' She paused, realizing she'd accidentally called him Sasuke instead of her usual Uchiha. It felt comfortable but unnerving as well. She hadn't even realized it immediately nor did she feel upset about it. A small smile rose to her lips involuntarily.
"Emiko, I'll join." She spun around and grinned as Sasuke stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and his eyes blank as usual as he stared at the brunette. She let out a victorious shout before smiling broadly and waving to Sasuke as she sprinted down the hall
"We'll all sign up tomorrow Sasuke!" She yelled before darting out of the house.
A/n: Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks to Sailor Luna8692 again for helping me along and go check out her stories! She might be changing some of her stories around but I have good faith they'll be great. .
The next few chapters will hopefully be out soon but not this weekend because I have a writing project for English that has to be done before I procrastinate even more. Sorry for the shortness I thought it would be a good place to end.
-shyshi
