A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter. ^_^ The song Before The Worst is stuck in my head again... and it's giving me so much feels. TT~TT
NOTE: So I was reading the past few chapters and I thought of something... I've been completely thankless to the people who read BTW! So anyways Here it goes: Thank you for reading Before The Worst! To those who reviewed, favourited, and followed, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! To the silent readers: Thanks for still keeping up with it so far! ^_^
I'm not ending this series yet. I just thought to say my round of thanks. :) I mean, come on. How can I end it when our dear little Naruto is just starting to get all bubbly in the tummy for our baby Uchiha. ;D Keep staying tuned! We have still quite a bit of memories to go!
If ya'll don't know what halitosis is, well, you'll find out in this chapter. :D This chappie is ... more of a filler than anything. Let's just say it was a necessity chapter. Emotions to portray, characters to introduce. You know, all that jazz. :D Hope it makes you smile though. :) Let me know what you guys think about it!
*DISCLAIMER APPLIES*
BEFORE THE WORST
A Serious Case Of Halitosis
Part I
"Naruto, it's coming for you!" Sasuke effortlessly passed the small footbag to his teammate after having caught it with much ease from the opposing team. What would you expect? He was a football star in the making. Playing hacky sack should be a piece-of-cake for him. And this was Sasuke we're talking about! He could do everything!
Naruto grunted as she caught the small bag of sand. She kicked the thing twice before shouting, "Sakura!".
"Got it!" The older girl, almost not having saved the bag, juggled it twice and, on the third kick, passed it to their competition. The kids, all clad in their sweaty green and black PE uniform, gulped in apprehension. The pressure was getting thicker and thicker. Why? Because the score was tied fourteen-to-fourteen. Whoever scored next would determine who won the game. These two teams were currently playing a good round of Hacky Sack with a twist to the rules. The bag could only go through each person in a team once. A person could only kick the sack a maximum of three times. The footbag had to be kicked by each member of a team before being passed to the opposing team. The bag could touch any part of the body except the hands. Also, it was not allowed to stall during possession. Failure to comply to these rules or should the bag fall to the ground (while being in possession by a team) would merit a point against one's group.
"Pick up your feet, Shikamaru! Now is not the time to be lazy!" Ino reprimanded a certain lazy friend of hers as she caught Sakura's pass. She gritted her teeth at the fact that Shikamaru was just standing without a sense of urgency.
"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru followed the girl's command lest he be pummelled by the 'spirited' blonde. "Just let them win already. It's Sasuke's team anyway. Don't you want to win Sasuke's heart by giving his team the win?" He suggested to Ino after passing the sack to Chouji. He absolutely did not want to play the game anymore.
"Yeah, Ino. I'm getting hungry!" Chouji seamlessly caught and passed the footbag back to Team 7.
"Don't think I haven't thought of that!" Shikamaru and Chouji sweatdropped. So she really did have plans of selling out the team to get the guy... Figures. "You know I'd give anything to Sasuke! But Sakura is on his team too! I can NOT lose to Sakura!"
"Ino!" Chouji and Shikamaru simultaneously shouted, but sadly they were too late.
The pale blonde was too into her declaration that she didn't see Sakura powerfully kicking the ball towards her.
"Huh?"
Thump!
The hacky sack hit Ino the side of her head and then...
Plop!
landed on the ground.
The sound of a whistle blowing signalled the end of a good close match. Team 7 with a score of fifteen, Team 10 with a score of fourteen.
The Middle School Department usually had their annual intramurals after the Christmas break. Students in their MS Teams got to choose and play a wide variety of sports and games. It was a three-day event of pure unadulterated fun.
Good old-fashioned fun.
And sweat.
Lots and lots of sweat.
Naruto hastily guzzled down her water from her jug after their victory. "Ahh! Another game won because of my awesome skills!" She wiped her damp mouth with her wrist after which she grinned at her teammates. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the chirpy girl. Who was she kidding? The only reason Team 10 had tied with them was because half of the time Naruto kept dropping the bag. The other half... well.
"The bag kept hitting you on the head, idiot! How is that awesome skill?!" Sakura loudly voiced out Sasuke's thinking process.
"But Sakura-chaaaan, that was my strategy! You lower the enemy's guard then bam! You take them by a sweeping victory!" Naruto puts her hands on her hips and puffs her chest out as she cackles boastfully.
"... Why are you friends with her, Sasuke?"
"I'm not sure myself..."
"Yo, Sasuke." A familiar drawling voice from behind immediately had Sasuke standing in agitation. The thirteen-year-old Uchiha immediately groaned from sheer displeasure. No. Not him. Anyone but him. Sasuke didn't even bother looking behind. He simply walked ahead to avoid the contact altogether.
"Hey Kakashi! Sasuke! Kakashi's here!" Tch. Naruto had a knack for impeding flawless escapes. Resigning himself to his fate, Sasuke begrudgingly backtracks towards his ever annoying guardian.
Currently, Naruto was giving the silver(Sasuke argued it was grey)-haired man a tight hug. The man was in smart casual attire. He wore a plain yet classic white button-down, black slacks and a smart necktie; which was only proper really. The man was a teacher at Konohagakure High. Around his neck was a lengthy black scarf that covered up half is face.
"Sakura, you don't have to be discreet about it." Sasuke commented on Sakura's subtle staring at Kakashi. This was her first time to see the man after all; and like everyone else, the first thing observable about the teacher was the fact that his eyes were mismatched. Although his spiky hair partially covered his left eye, it was still fairly evident that said eye had the deepest red color and had quite a long gash down the eyelid. His right eye, on the other hand, was of a deep mysterious onyx shade.
Hatake Kakashi was Uchiha Fugaku's 'adopted' son-slash-little brother of sorts. The Hatakes were the Uchiha family's next door neighbour. When Fugaku and his wife first moved into the pleasant neighbourhood, Kakashi had been a smug eight-year-old brat. He followed and pestered Fugaku all day. It used to seriously grate on Fugaku's nerves. A year later Mikoto had Itachi. Because Kakashi hung out far too much at the Uchiha residence back then, Fugaku and Kakashi grew to be very close. When Itachi and Sasuke were younger, it was always Kakashi who babysat them when Mikoto and Fugaku went out for the night. This was the exact reason why the twenty-seven year old teacher dubbed himself as the self-proclaimed guardian of the Uchiha brothers (Fugaku was all up for that idea).
"Sasuke, you didn't properly introduce me to your pretty lady friend." The teacher teased; the only indication that he was smiling was how his eyes cheerfully closed and formed an inverted U-shape. This was why Sasuke didn't like having the man around.
"Sakura, Kakashi. Kakashi, Sakura." Sasuke introduced the two in a bland manner.
The teacher, knowing for a fact that there would be no further elaboration by Sasuke, chose to take matters into his own hand. "Hi Sakura. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I used to babysit Sasuke and his brother when they were teeny tiny little Uchihas." A mischievous glint in Kakashi's eyes sounded the alarms in Sasuke's head. "Did you know Sasuke used to wet the be—"
Thump!
Much to Sasuke's dismay, the sound of the hacky sack he threw Kakashi's way did not come from the bag hitting the man's head but rather from the man easily catching the sack with his hand.
"Hn." Sasuke frowned at his failed assault. The frown deepened further at Naruto's snickering.
"Now, now, Sasuke. Be nice." Kakashi tossed the sack back to the young Uchiha before ruffling the boy's hair.
"Stop spreading lies then. What are you doing here anyway?" The raven-haired boy shot his guardian a dark glare. Kakashi could only sigh at his dear baby Uchiha's unkindness. "What happened to you, Sasuke. You used to be so sweet and adorable."
"Yeah. Tell me about it." Naruto, without missing a beat, wholeheartedly agreed with the silver-haired instructor. Sakura remained silent, clearly enjoying the entertaining exchange of the group.
"Kakashi..." The name was said in a forewarning tone.
"Alright, alright!" The man raised his palms up in a gesture of surrender. "I just wanted to visit you and Naruto. Haven't seen the both of you in a while." Kakashi fondly patted Naruto's head.
"What do you mean?! You live right next door! I just saw you this morning before I left for school!" Sasuke, in utter exasperation over the whole affair, lightly smacked his palm against his forehead. Dealing with Kakashi could be such a handful!
"We haven't seen each other since this morning? It has been a while." Kakashi chuckled, clearly enjoying how easily he could get Sasuke's feathers ruffled. "Kidding aside, I actually wanted to see Naruto who I actually haven't seen in a while" The teacher dotingly looked at the blonde.
"Hm? What's up?" Naruto tilted her head to the side, causing her short spiky hair to sway along.
"I heard some things from Iruka about you." The sentence was said forebodingly. It immediately had Naruto breaking into cold sweat.
Gulp.
"G-g-good things?" She awkwardly grinned as she asked.
Kakashi crouched down to Naruto's eye-level and slowly shook his head. "Bad things."
Another gulp.
Naruto, in an effort to save her skin, forcefully pulled at Sasuke and placed her best friend in between her and Kakashi.
"I heard you aren't doing so well in school. Is this true?" The Sasuke barrier did little to no help as Naruto still felt the full weight of Kakashi's stare. The blonde began to rapidly shake her head from side to side to deny the claims. Lies! All lies!
"No? I also heard you'd been pulling a lot of pranks on campus lately..." Kakashi shifted his gaze of doom towards Sasuke. "with Sasuke's help." The two kids instantly stiffened before shaking their head with great intensity. They weren't doing pranks! Pft! Of course not! Switching the washroom signs? Totally not them! Filling up the school halls with cups full of water? Pushaw! Probably some other kid! Painting the chalkboards orange? ... Errr. No way out of that one. That totally screamed Naruto.
"You sure you two haven't been up to no good?" The twenty-seven year old cracked his knuckles. The dynamic duo's bodies became absolutely rigid from fear. They answered by nodding their head. It felt as if dark lightning clouds loomed over the two as Kakashi continued to stare them down. This continued for a few more seconds when...
"Sakura!" He gazed towards the pinkette and chirped; his demeanour doing a complete one-eighty. "Have these two been causing problems?" He pleasantly inquires the oldest member of the team. Immediately after the question was asked, Naruto and Sasuke snapped their heads towards Sakura and glowered at her.
"Uhhh... N-n-not that I know of. No." She answered out of utter fear for herself. Thankfully, the heated look she was getting from teammates stopped. She was safe; she could breathe easy again.
"Hm. Very well. Innocent until proven guilty is what I believe." The silver-haired educator let the two young teens off the hook... this time. "But really, Naruto. I heard about your performance. I'd be happy to tutor you if you want. As Jiraiya's number one fan, I refuse to let his goddaughter fail any of her classes." Kakashi affectionately pinched Naruto on her still quite chubby cheeks. Apparently the show of fondness was not welcomed. Not soon after Kakashi's contact with Naruto's cheek, Sasuke dispassionately pushed the teacher's hand away.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm teaching her." The young Uchiha states matter-of-factly.
Kakashi smirked behind his scarf as he surveys his ward. He shouldn't have been surprised at Sasuke's reaction. The man looked to Naruto once more only to find the blonde red in the face. Hmmm. This was getting interesting.
Naruto gulped at Sasuke's words. There was that feeling again. Ever since the day she sprained her wrist from the Sakura rescue, she had been feeling the strange bubbly sensation in her stomach periodically. What frustrated her more about it was the fact that the sensation wasn't dying down. In fact, it was intensifying as time passed. The oddest thing about it was that she only ever got that feeling when Sasuke was around. It was as if Sasuke's presence was required to trigger the phenomenon. Every time Sasuke said something or did something, the bubbles would start popping and her heart would start racing. It was starting to drive her crazy!
Once she deemed herself calm enough, she politely turned down the teacher's offer for assistance. "Sorry, Kakashi. Sasuke offered to help me out first. We start after intrams." Sasuke gloatingly smirked at Kakashi after Naruto's words.
Kakashi gave the blonde a smile before fully standing up. "Alright. But if you change your mind, you know where to ask for me."
"She won't change her mind, Kakashi." Sasuke uttered in passing. This had the guardian smirking all over again. Things were absolutely getting more interesting.
"Whatever you say, Sasuke." The teacher ruffled the Naruto's and Sasuke's hair simultaneously. "I'll be going now, you two. It was nice meeting you Sakura!" He waved a goodbye before casually walking away.
"It was nice meeting you too, Mr. Kakashi!" The Haruno girl yelled out. Once the man was completely out of sight, Sakura looked at the time. "We should be having another game soon. I'm just get myself another bottle of water. Be right back!" The girl sprinted out the indoor gym and out into the hall.
Naruto didn't know why but for some reason... she felt kind of awkward to be alone with her best friend. You can just imagine how confused she felt. 'Awkward' and 'best friend' were two words that were never meant to be put together. The blonde peered at Sasuke at the corner of her eye. Maybe she was just sick? Yeah! That had to be it, right? The reason why she'd been feeling off lately was because she was sick! Oh no! What if she had a deadly disease? What if it was that thing Jiraiya had been telling her about? It was Hala—Halo – Hali – something.
"Hey? Something up?" Sasuke, noticing the odd look on Naruto's face, questioned.
Naruto was sure she was slowly dying. She was dying and there was nothing they could do to stop it. "I think I might be dying."
Sasuke shot her an expression of absolute confusion. "What?"
"Hear me out, Sasuke! I've been getting these weird feeling in my stomach and I get random heart palpitations! What if I'm down with something deadly?! What if I have a serious case of halitosis?!"
...
Halitosis.
Sasuke comically dropped to the ground. The boy started laughing as he tried to get himself up. "You idiot! People don't die from halitosis! Do you even know what halitosis is?" He sniggered as he wiped mock tears from his eyes.
Naruto pouted at Sasuke's insensitivity. "Shut up, jerk! I'm seriously panicking right now! Stop laughing!"
"Naruto, halitosis is a bad case of bad breath! You can probably die if you sniff the breath of a person with halitosis though." Sasuke had somehow restrained his chuckling.
"Oh..." Well, that was embarrassing.
"So tell me more about these 'weird feelings' you've been having." Sasuke tried to pry but it was at this time that Sakura returned with a water bottle in hand.
"I'm back. What'd I miss?" Before Sasuke could even answer Sakura's question, Naruto intercepted. "Nothing! Nothing's going on! Hey! We're up next soon right! Let's get a move on. We don't want to lose by default do we?" She suspiciously rambled and then hurried away to their designated court. Sasuke and Sakura could only curiously glance at Naruto's retreating back.
The blonde sighed. Thank God. She didn't have halitosis. Well, nevertheless, she was one hundred percent sure she was down with a bug. A cold, a flu, sinusitis or any other kind of -itis; whatever the hell it was, she was determined to find out.
Asking Sasuke or Sakura was out of the question. Jiraya was a no go; he'd probably just say something perverted. Iruka? Nah. Too much of a mother hen. Hmmm. She could always ask Kakashi. He'd definitely know what was up.
...
It was settled then. Naruto would ask Kakashi.