Jariya's office was very extravagant. It was filled with books and magazines and even had a leather couch in front of the humongous wooden desk. I made myself comfortable and stared at him.
He was looking out the window, finger stroking his chin, as if he was contemplating something dramatic. He sighed and turned around, with a look of confusion on his old wrinkly face.
"So..Naruto?" He stared, and sighed again. "What made you want to come to an all girl's school?"
"Uh-oh!" I thought. "Is he on to me?" I smiled widely and told him, "Well, I just wanted to get away from everything, you know. An all girl's school would be a great start for improving my social skills too."
"Ah," he replied, obviously deep in thought. "So, you want to improve your social skills with girls."
It wasn't really a question as it was a statement. I worried if he knew. I laughed nervously as he continued.
"So what your saying is, you don't know how to communicate with females, and that must be because you are a male. Am I correct?" He hit the nail on the head with that one.
I suddenly found myself fidgeting and uncomfortable. How could he know!?
"I um...well...I...you see...how do you know?" I finally managed to splurt out.
"You guardian, Iruka, informed me earlier," he stated, gazing out the window. I followed his eyes, and found him staring at the dark haired boy from earlier. He was still outside, standing in the pouring rain. He stared up at the dark sky, clutching a rose in his hand. Jariya sighed and shook his head slowly. "That boy is gonna' get a serious cold like that."
He looked back at me a gave me a warm smile. I stared down at my tan hands and shifted in my seat. "Um. Are you going to throw me out?'
A startled expression flashed across his face and he ran a hand through his long spiky white hair. "Throw you out? No, no, no, no. I have a proposition for you, Naruto." He replied calmly.
I cocked my head. "Proposition?"
"Yes. I you can prove to me that you belong in a school if this prestige, then you may stay. Also, you must promise not to try anything funny with the girls here." He stated.
I nodded and gave him the biggest smile I ever gave. "I promise! Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Pervy-sensei!" He chuckled when I called him that.
"Naruto, I only let pretty young girls into this school for a reason. They can't just go around trying things by just their looks. Someone has to teach them modesty, and if they succeed in school, no matter what they look like they can be successful in life." He explained. I nodded.
"Wow. That does make a lot of sense. But it still seems pervy!" I laughed.
He shook his head and pointed towards the door. "Now, Naruto, go to dinner. Your new friends are waiting."
I thanked Jariya about fifty more times and headed out the door. I walked down the hallway and took a right turn. I didn't even notice where I was, until I came to a big door at the end of a hallway. Only then did I realize I was seriously lost.
This might sound stupid what I did but, I sat down right in the middle of the floor. I learned if you get lost, don't go anywhere, someone will find you. So, I waited, staring at the intricately painted ceiling and walls, for about fifteen minutes. Suddenly, a voice came from the end of the hall.
"Dobe?" It was that Sasuke boy. I looked behind me to see the pale-skinned boy, who was soaking wet and holding a rose, giving me a strange look.
"Hey Sasuke-teme!" I greeted cheerily. He shook his head and walked towards me.
"What are you doing in this hall?" He asked.
"I should be asking you the same question," I replied with a smart-alek tone.
He graced me with a small, annoyed, smile and said, "You see that door?" He pointed to the one behind me. "That is my room. So why are you here, dobe?"
I stood up slowly and shrugged. "I got lost, teme, so I sat down and waited for someone. Do you know where the cafeteria is, teme? I'm starved."
He rolled his eyes. "Let me change first and I'll show you. Seriously, you're such an idiot."
I waited in the rather large hall for about five minutes before the teme returned. He stood right next to me and I looked up at him. He was so tall up close, and he smelled slightly of mangos. It was actually nice.
"Well, come one dobe," his velvet voice ordered as he walked away.
I had been so mesmerized by the scent emanating off his pale skin to notice. I snapped myself out of it quickly and ran after him. His movements were very lithe and graceful; it made me feel like a clumsy foal trying to stand. No wonder all the girls loved him!
"Hey, dobe. I never caught your name," he said, his voice on the borderline of bored and annoyed.
"Naruto Uzumaki," I replied, smiling widely.
I heard him chuckle. It was a beautiful sound. "Naruto? Isn't that a boy's name?" He look into my eyes with his deep charcoal orbs, and a hint of amusement flashed though them.
My cheeks grew hot as I glared at him. "That's not very nice!" I crossed my arms. "Hmph. You're mean teme."
"My name isn't teme. It's-" I cut him off.
"I know your name. Sasuke Uchiha. I prefer teme," I retorted.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist, pulling through one hallway to the next. Five minutes later we arrived in front of a large pair of door embroidered with gold and pink. It was actually quite pretty. Sasuke looked at me and dropped my arm, and I let it go limply back to my side.
"This is the dining hall. Enjoy dobe," Sasuke said, opening the doors and disappearing through them.
I stared at all the girls seated throughout the large room. They were laughing and smiling and having a great time. No one would ever be able to tell what kind of background they were from either, considering every one wore the same outfit. There must have been about two-hundred other students in that room.
I scanned the room for familiar faces, and finding none, I went to the line waiting for food. When I sat down I realized I wasn't very hungry. I hated being alone. It gave me too much time to think, and that's just what I did.
I thought about my life; about how messed up and sad I was inside, although I would never show it. I just bottled up my emotions and kept them hidden. It wasn't hurting anyone, was it?
I remembered Iruka and his loving smile. I missed him already, that I admitted. I would be hard to get used to a new place, yet easy too because no one knew me. And I was grateful to Iruka and Jariya for allowing me this second chance.
I sighed and twirled my green beans with my fork and tried to think of the good that could come out of my new life. I can have friends, I thought, but would they still love me when they found out my gender? Would they think me disgusting, or creepy? I sure hoped not.
A voice broke through my thoughts and snapped me back into reality. It was Sasuke, holding a tray and looking at me quizzically.
"Hey, dobe? You okay?" He asked, trying to mask the slight, noticeable worry in his voice.
"Yeah. Why?" I replied.
He took a seat across from me and smiled gently. "No reason."
I looked at him for a few minutes and sighed. "What do you want teme?"
He shook his head. "I don't understand you. You aren't like the other girls here. They all swoon over me like I'm the last guy on Earth. It's annoying. But you, you seem like you could care less. Why is that?"
His question startled me a bit. There was one obvious reason to me. "I'M A BOY! That's why!!!!" I screamed in my head, but outside, "Um...I don't know. Just don't see the point in going after something that's impossible to get."
I didn't really know if the oh-so-perfect Uchiha was impossible to win over, but it sure seemed that way. I could feel many pairs of eyes on me as I kept up my conversation with the school "god", if I could call it that.
At a certain part of the conversation, my heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, do you have a boyfriend back home?" He asked.
I shook my head. Why would I? I didn't have a girlfriend, no one wanted to date the son of a serial killer.
"Well then, would you consider being my girlfriend?" He asked.
"That was straight-forward of you," I replied, hiding the unease I felt in my chest. Why would he ask me out anyways?
"I want an answer," he demanded in his cool voice.
"I'll think about it," I replied.
"Get back to me ASAP," he said.
"Um. Of course?" I didn't want to answer him. I had no idea what to say. I never had to accept or deny something like that before.
He got up and moved out the door quickly, escaping the sea of girls wanting his attention.
I just sat there, stunned by his question, for the rest of the dinner hour.
And when I got into bed that night, I suddenly realized my answer.
Even though we were both male, and I had thought that over many times, I wanted to be with him.
I was smitten.
~*~End of Chapter 3~*~
A/N- This is a very late update. I wasn't sure if I was going to write more in this fic or not but I was reading my story stats and I have 12 alerts for this so I decided to go on with it. Review please if you want more.
-Sara