A/N: I really hope the timeline makes sense lol. I think Inaka is going to be memories and moments in the countryside rather than following a linear plot. So chronologically the first chapter is present time whereas the second and so on will probably all be past. I'm not 100% sure yet, since I'm writing Inaka for enjoyment hehe. I'm also thinking of making chapters longer, but I have no clue what's a good length?

Also as a side note, I took an AP test which comprised of an essay (out of 5 points) in May and got the results back. I got a 5 and am absolutely stunned. It feels great to see my hard work pay off, as I am certain that writing fanfiction has actually helped me in articulating my thoughts and other necessary components. But as for one last victorious outburst: YAAAAS SJKFVHBJK!

Sasuke drummed his mechanical pencil against his desk impatiently, waiting for his paper. The lead inside rattled. In front, Kurenai-sensei was briskly sweeping by each row of desks, handing a small stack of worksheets and having it passed back. Behind him sat Haruno Sakura, the angry girl with the scratched-up bike. It had been a couple months since their little incident occurred, but she had made sure he was reminded of the condition her bike was still in, shooting glares and dirty looks whenever his back wasn't facing her. No, scratch that, Sasuke thought he could literally feel the heat of her stare on the back of his head at times.

Here's a surprising thing he'd learned about her, though: Haruno Sakura liked to nap in Honors Calculus, particularly right after their lunch period, so she looked even more undignified with grains of rice stuck on her cheeks from the bento box she carried in everyday. No, Sasuke was not watching or paying any particular attention to her. They're simply observations he's made, thankyouverymuch. But yes, he did find it amusing when she usually (okay, fine, it had only happened once) had a few stragglers from lunch on her face. Or when she did a little wiggle in her chair, hand raised, just dying for Kurenai-sensei to call on her. Or even that she collected those cutesy stationary items and used them during note taking. But she was a source of entertainment to him, and nothing more.

At the moment, however, Haruno Sakura was just an annoyance.

"Oi. Haruno."

Sasuke tapped her forehead again, this time with the eraser on his pencil.

"Ha-ru-no."

Kami, she was an airhead. She might have a 4.0 GPA and be involved in nearly every single extracurricular activity the school offered, but she was by far the most oblivious person Sasuke had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

He sighed, it's none of my damn business, and placed the paper on her head before turning around and copying the notes their sensei was writing on the chalkboard. That was another thing—the school's technology was not the greatest. In fact, it's rather pathetic compared to what Sasuke was used to. In the end, he figured, their purposes weren't too different though. But imagining the chalky residue on his own fingers and listening to the scratching on the chalkboard left him momentarily disturbed.

Sasuke's mind wandered after he caught up to whatever was on the board. What would his father say about his train of thoughts? Most likely something about how he's so entitled to complain about using a chalkboard instead of the city's "high-tech gadgets" his father was always struggling to use. Gah, screw his dad. Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto wouldn't be visiting for at least a few months, so he had plenty of time.

Sasuke found a new topic to think about. His eyes wandered to the front of the room, where a particular blonde was fidgeting in his chair. Naruto. Sasuke's original perception of him wasn't far off. He was well-liked, a tad bit obnoxious, and mediocre at schoolwork. But Naruto's got one hell of an arm. Sasuke had started out on the boy's baseball team as pitcher throwing to Naruto, their catcher. But somehow along the way their coach Asuma-sensei (he taught physics but coached boy's baseball in the spring) switched them up and found that Naruto's wild side had an advantage. He was able to pitch harder and faster, Sasuke begrudgingly admitted, and so they swapped roles. Maybe at first he had been spiteful, but Sasuke found that he enjoyed staying in the corner of the playing field, surveying everyone's movements and then acting accordingly. It wasn't as flashy as pitcher, of course, but it just seemed right for him, staying in the back.

Speaking of back… Sasuke turned around and was mildly shocked to find Sakura still asleep. Usually she was awake by now. He snuck a glance to Kurenai-sensei, who was still standing with his back to them, but scribbling away at an equation they would probably never use in their careers. Sasuke paused. If he were sleeping, would he want her to wake him up? Yes, he decided, because he didn't trust anyone else's notes, and so Sasuke took the paper off of her head and poked the mass of pink hair. Okay, it was actually softer than he had expected, but it's not like he was about to be accused of petting her hair or something weird. Did other people think that way? Sasuke paused, then gently shook one of her arms supporting her head. This seemed to get a reaction, and the godforsaken bike-girl seemed to have finally started waking up. Sasuke checked back to what Kurenai-sensei was doing, then turned again.

The girl was glaring at him, head now resting precariously on her hand. One cheek had lines from where her face was on the spiral bound notebook. Her usually bright, green eyes were instead glassy and dazed, making her typically wicked stare more akin to the faces she sometimes shot Naruto when he made a dumb statement. "You again?" she mumbled quietly. "What do you want."

Sasuke's eye twitched. He opened his mouth to retort that he was only trying to be civil and considerate, traits everyone in the goddamned town seemed to lack, when he was interrupted.

"Uchiha, Haruno, I have a strict policy on talking during lessons. If you two would like to speak privately, I would suggest you do so outside of my classroom, or perhaps in privacy outside of the school." With this, the whole class swiveled to where the two guilty were, a few students snickering quietly. Then Naruto hooted, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively, causing all hell to break loose.

I thought we weren't in freaking primary school anymore, Sasuke brooded, annoyed but nonetheless appearing apathetic. He could sense an even more intense stare on the back of his head then, and met the green gaze head on. Sasuke restrained himself from flipping her off for the fun of it, and instead turned back around after a beat. Suddenly, a hand was on his shoulder and forcing him to face backwards.

Sakura glared at him, her face glowing red with embarrassment or anger or even a little bit of both. Her eyes darted around the classroom, picking up the stares and snickers exchanged between her peers. Sakura's grip tightened on his shoulder, making him wince. "Look, I can take care of myself just fine. So leave me alone and don't bother me. Do you understand?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell her that, no, she really couldn't because she was the most disorderly, chaotic girl who didn't have any of her shit together; also the fact that he was literally trying to wake her up so she wouldn't miss anything in the lesson because despite only sort of knowing her for a month or two, he knew she was extremely anal about her note taking. But, of course, everything seemed to go wrong with her, because he was then interrupted.

"That is enough, Haruno," Kurenai-sensei snapped. "For the next two weeks, both you and Uchiha will be attending after-school detention. If you can't refrain yourselves from talking in my class, you'll find time after. And keep your hands to yourself, Haruno." The last sentence stirred the class up even more, always taking even a remotely suggestive phrase and thinking the worst of it.

Sakura frowned, lips pursed, finally letting go of him. Detention with him? She shuddered, eyeing Sasuke only to find him in a similar state of distaste, cradling his shoulder. They glowered at each other for a few more moments. Then Sasuke sniffed haughtily and promptly turned back around.

Kurenai-sensei watched the interaction and then paused. "Actually, I won't be needing your services, so I'll lend you to Orochimaru-sensei. He should have some particularly...interesting tasks for you."

At this, Sakura immediately brightened. Orochimaru-sensei is the best, shannaro! However, after a beat she slumped over again. Detention was still detention. Especially with Uchiha.

Meanwhile Sasuke glared at the chalkboard, pointedly ignoring Kurenai's stare. Orochimaru-sensei gave him creepy vibes, if he had to be honest. And his sensei kind of reminded him of a snake; a really big snake. Sometimes he drew out the 's' in his words, making him sound as though he were hissing. Also the fact that he almost always had half the light panels turned off in his classroom at a time, or would turn all the lights off and have the window blinds open. And not to mention that during the winter he kept his puffy coat on so often that he basically lived in it.

Sasuke covered his face in his hands and sighed, rubbing his eyes. If he ever said these things out loud, he'd sound as batshit crazy as the people in Konoha. Aw, crap. Speaking of crazy, he had detention with the neurotic bike-girl who apparently had the grip of a freaking gorilla. Sasuke's shoulder still throbbed, reminding him of this fact. And shit, if he had detention then he wouldn't be able to go to baseball practice or help Itachi with dinner.

Itachi. Sasuke felt so guilty already, basically refusing to go back home and insisting on staying with his brother. But did he ever stop and think about what would be good for him? Maybe Itachi just wanted to get away from their family, the same way he did. Whatever, he tried to tell himself, if only to make him feel better. Maybe he could talk Kurenai-sensei out of detention? He sunk further into his chair. Like that could happen.

Detention with Haruno Sakura it was, and all because he had really tried to be a good guy for once.

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