CCNote: It's the most wonderful time of the year! Yep! Oct-Feb is the best time for me here! I'm usually super busy planning holiday lessons, making decorations, and creating lots of fun (and sometimes complicated) game ideas. Unfortunately, that means a lot of my creativity gets soaked up by endeavors that pay me and since fanfiction is free, this gets pushed back. However your reviews reminded me, bitch you got folks waiting. I don't have a beta but I did have two uninterrupted hours of free time today so here we go! Enjoy!
Fights with Food
Tsunade laced her fingers together and glared at the parents who were making this entire conference much harder than it had to be. None of them appeared remorseful in the slightest for their stubborn behavior. Fugaku and Hiashi refused to open their mouths unless it was to shoot insults at one another, or at her. Somehow they were both united when it came to questioning her authority as dean of the school. Kushina was ready to beat Inoichi to a pulp and it was only by the efforts of her husband that the man wasn't dead already.
"You all signed an agreement that you would stay in this room until the end of the experiment-"
"This is not what we signed up for." Inoichi snapped and Tsunade cut her eyes at him.
"Regardless, you signed an agreement. If you leave the room before the school day is over you will only further disrupt the day. The point of this is for you to see how your students behave and for us to correct the behavior."
"Well I've had enough watching and I know how to rectify this behavior. Kick their spawn out of this school or I'm unenrolling my daughter and my youngest will not attend next year." Hiashi spat, pointing his finger accusingly at the Uchihas.
"Like I've said, Sasuke is not leaving. You wanted to unenroll Hinata before. Go ahead and do it." Fugaku hissed back.
Tsunade slammed her hands on her desk, cowing the would-be dissenters into silence. These people were absolutely horrible. It was no wonder their kids sucked so much. The blonde dean opened her mouth to tell them off but the sound of the bell for lunch interrupted her potential tirade. A quick knock at the door quickly diverted their attention from screaming at one another. The door to the office opened just enough for two large plastic bags of to-go boxes to be passed on to Shizune who quickly shut the door as soon as they were firmly in her grasp. The smell that wafted off of the boxes made everyone's, even the most obstinate of the parents, perk up in their seats. Nervously, Shizune held the bag close to her chest, unsure of what to do just yet with everyone watching her like a hawk. Sensing a moment of opportunity, Tsunade cleared her throat.
"The students will be heading towards the cafeteria any minute now. Even if you were to march down the halls en masse and grab your kids, you want them to have a meal first right?" Tsunade said, her right eye twitching as she noticed drool dripping down Choza Akimichi's chin. "After all, your tuition money does pay for us to have the most nutritious meals prepared by some of the best chefs in training from the local university."
Stomachs began to growl all around the table as they watched Shizune's every move. All of this arguing and shock had worked up an appetite in all of them. Kushina rubbed her stomach, unconsciously licking her lips.
"I can't yell on an empty stomach." She mused and Tsume nodded her head in agreement.
"Certainly not."
Tsunade smiled as students began filing into the hallways just as she predicted and nodded her head for Shizune to begin passing out the boxes to all of the parents. Hiashi was the first to receive his lunch and he stared at the styrofoam container as though it were an affront to his very character. Hyuugas did not eat their meals off of such plebian materials. However, as the others began to open their boxes the savory smell was overpowering. His mouth began to water and his resistance cracked. Only this once would he eat like an animal. He sniffed and popped open his box finally as the main screen in the office changed to the cafeteria.
The Konoha cafeteria was a large space with high ceilings that made the cavernous room even louder than what it should be. Circular tables were scattered throughout the crowded area and students clamored quickly to find a seat to eat with their friends. Most of their children had already found a table to sit at, minus a few notable exceptions. Ino and Naruto were still nowhere to be found, although their mics sounded like they were somewhere with lots of rushing water. Shikamaru and Choji were also missing which made the food in Tsunade's mouth turn into sawdust.
Choji wasn't too much of a problem outside of all the illegal contraband he brought to school. He constantly ate in class and had gotten into fights with brave, stupid souls who had attempted to get in on his snack action. The boy was largely harmless unless Shikamaru was around. Out of all the children, Shikamaru was the worst because he was smart. Any time a large scale incident occurred at the school, one could bet money that the lazy brunette was the mastermind behind it. The others had their strong points but Shikamaru was the one to pull them all together enough to execute his plans.
The boy had been mostly reclusive today which wasn't odd but it also wasn't a good sign. Nothing too terrible was happening at the moment but the nagging feeling in the back of her mind couldn't be shaken. She watched in dismay as the other occupants in the room eagerly ate their lunch while she pushed her own box of food away. There was a flash of movement on the second screen as the camera focused in on Ino and Naruto leaving one of the stairwells dedicated for the maintenance staff and finally making their way towards the cafeteria.
"Ugh! My skirt's all wet!" Ino whined as she twisted the edge of her navy blue skirt. Naruto looked at her curiously and grabbed a corner of the skirt.
"It doesn't feel too bad to me." He said as he rubbed the material between his fingers, unknowingly almost showing off Ino's underwear to the other students in the hall.
"Naruto!" Ino hissed as she snatched her skirt from his grip. "You can't just go around grabbing a girl's skirts in public like that!"
Naruto at least had the decency to scratched the back of his head sheepishly at her admonishment. Back in the office, his parents sank slightly in their seats. Perhaps they had dropped him on his head one too many times as a baby. He always bounced back quickly, sometimes he wouldn't even cry, so they never thought anything of it. Minato glanced depressingly at the grades in his son's record and gulped. They hadn't witnessed it yet but he was positive that Naruto was good at...other things. They just hadn't seen it yet.
Once the two blondes were inside of the cafeteria, they made a beeline to where most of their friends were already seated. Ino slid into an empty seat next to Sakura while Naruto preferred to sit on the edge of the empty table. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the fact that the table didn't have any food on it. Shikamaru missing, food missing...all of it appeared very suspicious. It was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. At least Kiba had managed to find Akamaru in the hall and the puppy was now happily being fed treats inside of the boy's bookbag. Sitting between Kiba and Sasuke, Hinata had her book only a few inches away from her nose and a fist clenched tightly on the edge of the table.
"So Sasuke." Karin's muffled voice sounded through the mics of the Uchiha's clothing. She pressed herself up against his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I took a peek at Orochimaru's partner sheets for today. Looks like it's just you and me again."
Sasuke rolled his eyes but didn't respond much further to Karin's flirtation. He was too focused on whatever was on his phone to care about what came out of the redhead's mouth.
"I think this project is going to be a hard one though. You know how Orochimaru is. He always assigns extra work to do at home. Wanna come over to work on it at my place after school?" She cooed, pressing herself closer.
"Sasuke." Hinata said stiffly without looking away from her book. "I didn't realize you were busy this afternoon."
"Hn." He grunted as he rolled his shoulders to get Karin off of his back. "I'm not."
"Good." The Hyuuga sniffed and flipped to the next page.
Karin Uzumaki ground her teeth together as the two blatantly ignored her existence. With a huff, she snatched Hinata's book from her hand and flipped through the pages carelessly. She snorted as she scanned the cover of the book before tossing it back onto the table.
"Trashy romance novels?" Karin smirked as she relished the shocked look on Hinata's face. "What would daddy dearest say if he knew you liked to read this kind of garbage?"
"Karin, you should leave. No one invited you here to this table." Ino spoke up and the other side conversations at the table went silent.
"I'm Sasuke's partner today for class. I can come over here to talk about assignments, can't I? Besides, the last I checked, this was a free country. I can go wherever I want and talk to whoever I want."
The snarky teen reached out to touch Sasuke's shoulder but was surprised when a small pale hand caught her wrist. She glared down at the pale-eyed Hyuuga who returned her gaze with narrowed eyes of her own.
"Please refrain from touching my boyfriend." She said as Karin yanked her wrist away.
"Boyfriend?" She laughed. "Ha! You're nothing but a plaything little Hyuuga. You only have two options. Either Sasuke is going to become bored with your plain jane ways or daddy is going to step in. Maybe I'll let him know what his precious daughter does at school and speed things along-"
"Karin-" Sasuke started to interrupt the girl's rant but Hinata was already on her feet.
"You do this same song and dance every day and I'm sick of it." The Hyuuga hissed and Karin rolled her eyes.
"Oh, you're sick of it? Poor little Hyuuga, sick of someone being honest for once. Well newsflash, Sasuke doesn't belong to you. You're not his girlfriend, not really. You're not even official. He just keeps you in a closet when he wants to play-"
Smack
The sound reverberated around their small group although in the office it was very striking. Hinata's nostril's flared as she lowered her hand. Karin's eyes were wide as she clutched her rapidly reddening cheek with her hand.
"You little bitch." She gasped. Her expression was one of utter disbelief that Hinata actually had the gall to strike her. "How dare you!"
In the next second, all that could be seen was a blur of motion before Karin launched herself at Hinata. The momentum from her flinging her body at the Hyuuga caused both of them to fall to the ground in a heap of limps. Quickly a crowd began to gather around the two girls fighting. Back in the office, Hiashi immediately sprang to his feet as he watched the fight unfold. Karin's fingers were tangled in Hinata's long hair as she tried to pull on the locks with all her might. Unfortunately, Hinata was unbothered by such a weak move and wrapped her legs around Karin's waist and flipped them over so that she was now on top. Inwardly Hiashi cheered his daughter on as she pulled back her fist and punched the other girl in the face. He knew as a responsible adult he shouldn't condone his daughter fighting over a boy but her punch was perfect. He couldn't help but feel proud.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Aren't you going to stop this? Hinata could get hurt." Naruto asked worriedly as Hinata had her opponent in a headlock.
"No." Sasuke replied with a shake of his head and proud look in his eyes. "Hinata is more than capable of handling herself."
"You're such a bastard." Naruto grumbled but even his worry was starting to shift from Hinata to Karin who clearly wasn't expecting the wallflower to be such a spitfire.
"Wow, this is kinda hot!" A random male student just behind Sasuke said and the Uchiha clenched his fists.
"Yea!" Another guy agreed. "I wonder if they'll start ripping clothes off?"
"I hope so! I heard the Hyuuga has nice tits!"
That last comment was a bridge too far for the short-tempered raven who then turned quickly on his heel and grabbed the fellow student by his red tie. Naruto was barely able to drag Sasuke away by the back of his collar before he punched the teen in the jaw. The Uchiha smacked Naruto's hand away and pushed his way through the crowd that was quickly closing in on the fight between Hinata and Karin. He scooped the Hyuuga off of Karin and tossed her over his shoulder. Angrily she punched at his back but he refused to put her down, instead making a beeline out of the cafeteria. The shouts of displeasure of the male population were cacophonous at the fact that such a rare spectacle was being interrupted. Karin also didn't seem to know when to call it quits and was struggling to get back up on her feet so that she could pursue Sasuke and Hinata.
"Dammit." Naruto cursed and climbed up on top of a nearby table.
The blonde grabbed the nearest thing he could on his way up which just happened to be an opened cup of chocolate pudding and held it high above his head.
"Food fight!" He yelled and flung the pudding cup without much care at some poor unfortunate soul.
His declaration had the effect he was looking for and the cafeteria immediately descended into chaos, giving Sasuke the cover he needed to escape.
The second screen in the office came to life to show Sasuke finally setting an angry Hinata back onto her feet. The small girl frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, avoiding the Uchiha's dark gaze. Sasuke ignored her petulance in favor of grabbing her chin and inspecting her face for any cuts or bruises. He turned her face this way and that, carefully searching for any blemishes to her normally perfect skin. Hinata smacked his hand away and took a step back.
"You shouldn't get into fights." he said flatly as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"You shouldn't let Karin hang all over you." Hinata frowned as she stared obstinately at her shoes.
"She's been like that since freshman year Hinata. You and I both know that no matter what I say or do she still clings onto me. There is no reasoning with Karin."
"I don't like it when she touches you." Hinata pouted and Sasuke poked her in the middle of her forehead.
"I don't like it when other guys are trying to check you out." He replied as she rubbed her forehead and glared at him. "They should know you're mine by now."
"Sasuke, we can't-"
"I don't care anymore." He said in a low voice as he pressed her up against the lockers. "They won't be able to keep you away from me."
With that, he kept any other potential arguments from emerging from her lips by kissing her senseless. Back in the cafeteria, it was as if the catfight between Hinata and Karen had never happened. The attention span of their fellow students could only last for so long as they were now fully absorbed in flinging everything on their trays at each other.
Naruto added to the pandemonium, tossing a handful of salad here and an open milk carton there. Ino grabbed his arm as she held a red cafeteria tray over her head as a makeshift shield. On her other side was Sakura lobbing an apple back into the crowd that had just rolled to her feet. In one of her arms, she held a wriggling Akamaru who had managed to escape from Kiba's bag again.
"Well, that's one way to end a fight." Ino shouted over the screams and squeals around them.
"Let's just get out of here!" Sakura shouted as she narrowly dodged a macaroni and cheese missile.
Akamaru barked his tacit agreement at Sakura's statement, this was just too much excitement for him. Kiba managed to squeeze through the crowd as well and the small dog happily jumped back into his master's arms. The cameras followed the quartet out of the cafeteria and towards the path that Sasuke and Hinata had already taken. The screen in the office quickly changed to the almost empty hallway where Sasuke and Hinata were unabashedly making out against the lockers. Ino snickered as the color drained from Sakura's face but placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.
"I heard there's a cute transfer student from Suna in the other class. He's got the whole 'bad boy' thing going on too." the blonde said but Sakura just shrugged her hand off and walked ahead.
Naruto followed behind her but pulled on Sasuke collar to get him off of Hinata. The girl in question blinked and then quickly turned as red as a tomato as she realized that they now had company. She hid her face in Sasuke's chest, suddenly reverting back to the shy Hyuuga they all knew her to be.
"C'mon, Shikamaru's waiting." Naruto huffed before running up ahead to catch up to Sakura.
She shrieked in surprise when he flung her over his shoulder and tried in vain for him to put her down.
"You're going the wrong way." Naruto laughed as he headed towards the door to the maintenance-only staircase.
"I'm not in the mood to go anymore!" Sakura shouted but her protests fell on deaf ears. Ino pulled out a ring of keys from her skirt pocket.
"Don't such a party pooper Sakura. You couldn't stop talking about this last night. Don't tell me you've suddenly changed your mind." Ino grinned and led the way up the staircase.
Back in the office Tsunade groaned and laid her weary head on the conference room table. The camera still focused on the cafeteria showed that pandemonium still reigned supreme and regular teenagers had transformed into wild animals. Teachers were flooding into the area to try to quell the madness but to no avail. Any attempts to try to stop students from flinging food was met with an unidentifiable mass of goo to the face. Things would only end when the kids ran out of shit to throw at each other but by that point it would be too late.
'Naruto!' She growled in her mind.
Not only was the cafeteria going to be a wreck, they had lost sight of the children since the maintenance staff stairwell didn't contain any cameras. All they had was sound from the children's clothing but that wasn't telling them much. All they could hear was obnoxious heavy breathing as they climbed up the stairwell. The dean had a sneaky suspicion that they were heading towards the roof since Ino had the master ring of keys. How the girl had managed to swindle the janitor into letting his guard down Tsunade would never know. The only thing she did know was that she had several sets of angry eyes boring into her skull and Shizune slowly creeping away from the guarding the door.