Hello again! I apologize for the very late update, but I've been very busy lately. I want to take the time to thank all of you for keeping up with this story and for those of you who reviewed, I am very thankful for your kind words. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! ^_^ So without further delay, here's chapter seven!


CHAPTER 7

The Price We Pay

Sasuke leaned back in his chair. He could feel the other's gaze on him, questioning, curious and prodding. He fought back his annoyance and the instinct to glare at them and started to sort through his memories to best retell what happened. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could go. And so, with another heavy sigh, he started.

Sasuke had just walked out of his last class before lunch break. He was making his way towards the cafeteria to meet with an old acquaintance of his. He maneuvered through the crowd of students starting to fill the halls and heading in every direction. As he walked, a flash of pink caught his eye before it disappeared into the sea of people, making him stop and think of where she might be headed. He sighed as he realized that the odd girl from earlier that morning probably shared the same destination as he. He silently hoped he wouldn't have to interact with her as he resumed walking towards the cafeteria in a long stride, checking his pockets for his wallet. Taking a hold of it and seeing he had no money, he reached for his phone and dialed. The phone rang three times before the other end picked up.

"Hey Sasuke! Where are you? I feel like I've been waiting forever"

"Hn. I'll be a little late; I'm going to the bank in Baker Street to get some cash."

"Baker Street?! Oh come ON Sasuke, that's like two blocks away! You won't make it back in time for a decent lunch!" his eye twitched at the implication that he was slow. The bank was only fifteen minutes away by foot, and with Sasuke's long strides, he would get there and back in ten minutes.

"Well just get me anything; I'll pay you once I get back." And with that, Sasuke hung up and put on his earphones, changing his course to the main entrance of the school. He walked out the school and crossed the street, thankful that Konoha High gave students the liberty of going outside the premises in their spare time. He walked down the side walk, passing through various shops and hurrying workers coming and going to restaurants and cafes. After entering the bank and withdrawing money from his account, he hurried back to the school and when he entered through the double doors, he could hear students' excited conversations. A boy bumped into his shoulder, stumbling and apologizing before saying "there's an awesome fight going down in the cafeteria right now! You can't miss it!" and running towards said place. Sasuke, surprised, wondered why he hadn't received a text or call from who he was meeting. Usually, he knew everything that was going on and would text Sasuke about it all the time. As much as he hated it, it surprised him that he forgot to tell him about it. "Is the fight that good that he forgot to tell me?" he wondered. He made his way to the double doors of the cafeteria and entered. The sight that greeted him surprised him greatly. There was a huge crowd formed on the far corner of the cafeteria, shouting "Fight!" repeatedly to encourage the students involved. Sasuke calmly made his way to a table, standing on its surface to better locate his friend. His eyes widened as a flash of pink caught his eye again. The odd pink haired girl was lying on the floor, her hair tinted crimson with blood. Her brunette friend was being pinned to the floor by two seniors, and a blonde girl with a bloody face was angrily making her way to them. Sasuke could hear a faint sobbing being drowned by the students' loud cheering, and when he paid closer attention, he saw a chubby brown haired boy, covered in his lunch and barely recognizable, shaking and gaping at the scene unfolding in front of him. He saw the girl pinned to the ground faint, probably form lack of air. And just then, an angry, loud voice boomed through the cafeteria. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" the male voice said.

Everyone turned to the sound of the voice and found a blond boy, who Sasuke recognized as his classmate, Naruto, angry and red-faced in front of the back doors of the cafeteria a little further away from the fight. He, like the sobbing boy, was shaking, but not from shock or fright. Sasuke could tell he was livid; it showed clearly in his sapphire eyes. Without wasting time, he ran towards the nearest table and jumped into the circle the crowd had made. He tackled one of the boys holding the girl down and the other left her to help his friend. Naruto tried his best to fight both off. He grabbed the lighter one of the two and tossed him to the side, accidentally throwing him towards the still shaking boy. When the boy let out a yelp, Sasuke realized that it was his acquaintance that was shaking and sobbing and currently about to be beaten by the boy on top of him.

Sasuke jumped from table to table until he too jumped into the circle. He was a black belt in more than ten types of martial arts; he knew this fight wouldn't be a problem and he would end it quickly. He swiftly pulled the boy from the other one and punched him in the jaw, then the stomach, and knocking him out with an open fist at the back of his neck. Glancing at Naruto, and seeing him cut and almost out of breath, he kicked the side of the other boy's head and knocked him out as well.

Without a word, he took out a handkerchief from his back pocket and handed it to the food stained boy and made his way to the fallen girls, completely ignoring the amazed and blushing blond girl looking at him. He knelt by the bleeding Sakura and swiftly scooped her up in his arms, with his left arm hooked under her knees and his right behind her back, leaning her head carefully to his chest. He could feel her blood starting to seep and stain his black shirt, and he was almost worried at the amount of blood that was actually coming out of her head. He glanced at Naruto, then at Ten-ten, silently indicating him to do the same and follow him. With a glare to the crowd, they made way for them to get through and exit the cafeteria through the black back door and head to the infirmary.

Konoha high's infirmary was greatly equipped for almost anything. The room was big enough to hold fifteen beds neatly rowed against the two side walls. The storage room contained medicine for almost anything and they even had a small blood bank. There was no nurse there, because this medical facility was run by a genuine doctor, who was also the principal's assistant and long life friend. Everybody knew how well prepared and diverse Shizune and Tsunade where, and that was probably one of the reasons they were so respected in the campus. Two young, beautiful and incredibly intelligent women was something to be really proud and admiring of, it seemed. When Sasuke and Naruto entered the white room they were greeted by three things; the overwhelming smell of disinfectant, white fluorescent lights clashing against white bed sheets and tiles, and a fuming Shizune, her foot expectantly in the middle of the room for a moment before she assessed the situation and directed them where to place the girls.

"you two have a lot of explaining to do" the furious voice of Shizune "you better be ready for whatever the principal throws your way. She absolutely doesn't tolerate fights." She said as she quickly examined Ten-ten and moving to attend Sakura after making sure the brunette was alright. She ushered them out of the infirmary with the order to go tell the principal what happened. When they got to the main office, Ino was already there, glaring daggers at them.

After that they just sat there in silence until the other girls came in. Shizune had to separate both blonds from Sakura, one with killing intent and the other with the intention of bear hugging her. To Sasuke, both actions could've had her killed. After finishing his side of the story, Sasuke leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and his interlaced hands pressed to his face, hiding it from the bottom of his nose to his chin. He looked up to meet Tsunade's eyes, unaware of the blushing pink haired girl staring at him. Sakura's embarrassment was written plainly on her face, as was Ino's indignation, Naruto's annoyance and Ten-ten's glare being directed at the blonde girl.

Tsunade briefly glanced at the sixth student, who until now had said nothing. He was shifting uncomfortably from left to right in his seat since they got here, hands twiddling nervously and slight perspiration forming on his temple. "So, have you anything to add to this, Mr. Akimichi?"

At hearing the principal address him, the boy snapped his head to look at her and quickly stutter a 'no'. Sasuke had taken care of explaining as much as the problem needed to be explained, he didn't see a need for them to know about the constant bullying of the other students. Sasuke glanced at him, his eyes both glaring and understanding of the boy's shame. "Choji" he said "we're already here, you might as well say what's on your mind". Said boy glanced at the raven haired boy he was waiting for and shook his head. "No, Sasuke. If I ever do decide to do so, I'll come here on my own. But thank you for your concern." He was tempted to deny concern for Choji, but decided to look back to the principal instead. His eyes narrowed and uneasiness settled in him when he saw Tsunade's pink lips turn into a somewhat evil and plotting grin as she moved her eyes from face to face.

"All right then!" she said, her strong voice tinted with a malicious glee that made them all look at her suspiciously. "I have just the thing to settle this kind of thing. So as to not complicate myself with deciding who's responsible and who's not, I'll just punish all of you!" She raised her hand before Ino had the chance to complain. "You'll eventually know what you did wrong. Now let me finish. Your punishment for today's action will be…" she paused, inwardly chuckling at the tension she could see in her students as they leaned in, both eager and nervous of what the punishment might be. Sakura's heartbeat quickened at the thought of expulsion. She watched as Tsunade made eye contact with each of them again and grinned wider.

"…community service!" She finished in a cheerful voice slightly coated with cynicism. The room instantly turned quiet, the only sound being the soft hum of the air conditioner.

And that's when Sakura knew all hell would break loose.


Tadaa! And so chapter seven ends. I'm sorry if it was short, I promise next one will make up for it, as I'm already working on it and plan to submit it soon. Thank you for reading another chapter of my story, Finding Solace. Please review and until next time! :D

Aiiro Hart