I'm back with chapter 2! I appreciate the positive response to chapter 1! I had lots of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it.
I don't own Naruto.
"Forehead, you've got to calm down!"
"How can I calm down, Ino-pig!? That bastard was wearing that arrogant smirk of his for the entire class. He knows I'm terrified, and he's going to enjoy every minute of it!" Sakura exclaimed before taking a sip of her tea.
The two girls were finished with their first day of class, and decided to let off steam by going to their favorite café. However, sipping on tea was doing nothing to ease Sakura's mind. She couldn't believe her terrible luck. What kind of unspeakable things had she done in a previous life to deserve this? This was her last semester before starting medical school. The last thing she needed was some asshole professor screwing up her plans. He wouldn't fail her just because of some petty grudge, would he?
"Penny for your thoughts?" Ino questioned, snapping her fingers at the medical student.
Sakura quickly snapped to attention, finally coming back to reality. The girl sighed and placed her head in her hands in exasperation.
"I'm just… Worried. I'll be ruined if I fail this class," she said softly.
"I know you're worried, but Uchiha-sensei can't fail you unless you genuinely bomb the assignments. Everyone knows that'll never happen. You're making a big deal out of nothing," Ino replied.
Sakura nodded at the blonde, calming down somewhat. If she was being honest, she knew Ino was right. She knew that a professor could lose their job if they were to fail a student for no good reason. Maybe she watched too much television. Things like that only happened in fiction. No professor in their right mind would be so petty! Her professor may be an asshole, but he didn't strike her as an idiot. Surely he wouldn't put his ass on the line just to make her life a living hell.
"You're right. I've consistently been at the top of my class, and ethics is mainly common sense anyway. I've got nothing to worry about."
Ino nodded, taking a bite of the pastry she'd been neglecting. "That's the spirit, billboard brow! It'll be fine. Though for some reason, I don't think the class will be that easy. Uchiha-sensei is smoking hot, but he seems like one of these guys that'll make the class much more difficult than it needs to be," she said, still chewing.
"Always keeping it classy, pig," Sakura muttered.
Ino rolled her eyes at the girl and continued. "Seriously though, I can't believe he assigned a research paper on the first day of class. Strong thesis and supporting material my ass," she muttered.
That earned a chuckle from the medical student. Usually the blonde would complain about any and all assignments for no good reason, but this time she had a point. The class had been shocked when their professor assigned one hundred pages of reading, followed by a research paper. All of it was due in a weeks' time, which was ridiculous. Didn't he realize that his students had other classes to worry about as well?
"I'll bet he's single, lonely, and has no friends," Sakura muttered in annoyance.
"Who's single, lonely, and has no friends?"
The girls looked up at the familiar voice to see none other than their friend Naruto Uzumaki walking in their direction with a smile. Sakura smiled back and waved at the blond, before pulling up a chair for him to sit down.
"Fancy running into you here! Billboard brow was just ranting about our ethics professor," Ino snickered.
"Already? It's only the first day of the semester. Is he really that bad?" Naruto asked in concern.
Sakura let out a very unladylike snort at the question, launching into a full scale rant. She explained how she originally met the man earlier that day at a coffee shop, and the two duked it out over the last donut. Telling the story did nothing but make her mad all over again, and she clenched her fists tightly. How the hell was he a professor? When he'd mentioned that he had an 8AM class, she had honestly thought he was a student. He looked too young to be a professor, and was incredibly unprofessional.
"Honestly, who gets that worked up over a donut!?" Sakura screeched.
"Well, your professor. And you, from the sound of it," Naruto laughed.
Ino gasped and let out a loud laugh, slapping her knee as if Naruto's comment was the funniest thing she'd heard all day. "Oooh, shots fired!"
The medical student glared daggers at her friends, and she felt her cheeks heat up. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't tell. Though rather than try and defend herself, she remained silent. What could she possibly say?
"I'm just messing with you, Sakura-chan. I seriously feel for you! Though I can't help but wonder who your professor is. My best friend just started teaching at the university. He's kind of an asshole himself," Naruto said.
"His name is Sasuke Uchiha, or Uchiha-sensei," Ino answered.
"Yep, that's him!" Naruto exclaimed.
"WHAT!? How are you and that fucking prick friends!?" Sakura yelled, earning stares from everyone in the café.
Ino quickly threw a hand over Sakura's mouth, shushing her and attempting to draw attention away from them. She understood her friend being concerned, but getting so worked up was uncalled for. It was just a silly argument, and probably nothing to be worried about. Uchiha-sensei wasn't going to fail her, and she needed to calm down. Ino loved Sakura, but sometimes she let her emotions overwhelm her too much.
"Are you trying to get us thrown out!?"
Sakura removed Ino's hand from her mouth, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, pig. I'm just stressed. That was uncalled for."
Naruto seemed entirely unconcerned by his friends' outburst. Instead, he gave Sakura a sympathetic smile, putting a hand over hers in support.
"Sasuke-teme and I have known each other since we were kids. He didn't really get out much because his father was too busy pushing him and his brother to do well in their studies. Not only that, but he's never been that interested in going out and socializing. That's why you two hadn't met him before now," Naruto explained.
The medical student snorted at her friends nickname for her professor. So he was an antisocial asshole. Truth be told, she wasn't surprised. What did surprise her was that of all of the friends he could have, he had Naruto. Not only were they friends, but from what Naruto said, they were really close. The two seemed like oil and water. How could they get along?
"Well, I could have gone the rest of my life without having met that jerk. I'm not looking forward to having to see him every week until the semester ends," Sakura muttered.
The blond suddenly turned serious, his expression turning solemn. "I promise he's not as bad as he seems. He's just going through a hard time right now."
Noticing the sudden change in his tone, Sakura was about to ask him what he meant. However, Ino cut her off before she got the chance.
"Weren't you studying to become a professor as well? What ever became of that?" Ino asked.
The frown on Naruto's face was immediately replaced with a wide grin. "Sasuke-teme and I were actually attending university to become professors together. He ended up finishing early, since he took on a bigger course load. This is his first semester as a professor, and today was my first day of student teaching. Pretty soon I'll be a professor too!"
"That's great! I'm really happy for you. Though I do admit, I'm a little jealous. You two are becoming big shot professors and I have yet to start medical school," Ino sighed.
"Don't feel bad, Ino-chan. Teme and I are two years older than you and Sakura-chan, so of course we're finishing our studies a little earlier than you two. I know you'll both be finished with school and be incredible doctors before you know it!"
The trio engaged in some small talk before a waitress came over and asked Naruto if he needed anything. The blond ordered his usual miso ramen, and placed an additional order of rice with a side of tomatoes. The woman took his order down before nodding politely and walking away.
"Look at you, ordering something healthy for once. I thought you hated tomatoes," Sakura said, sipping on her tea.
"Heh, they're not for me. See, I'm actually supposed to meet someone here and he really likes rice and tomatoes," Naruto said nervously.
It was only then that the girls noticed that something was off with Naruto. Ever since their professor had been brought up, he seemed kind of nervous. Who in the world was he supposed to be meeting?
Just then, the door to the café opened with a chime, signaling the arrival of someone. The girls were shocked as a handsome raven haired man entered and began walking in their direction. Ino snickered, and Sakura groaned. The universe was certainly working against her, she was sure of it.
"Oi, Naruto," Sasuke greeted, before spotting his students.
The raven immediately scowled upon seeing his pink haired student. After their first encounter, he'd hoped to never see her again. Upon realizing she would be in his class, he'd decided to make the best of the situation. But seeing her outside of class, having lunch with his friend? That was unacceptable. There was only so much bullshit a man could take. He didn't have the patience to deal with her. Either she would leave, or he would.
"What is she doing here?" he asked icily.
"I ran into her here. Before you say anything else, Sakura-chan is a very good friend of mine. I don't need to explain myself to you," Naruto replied.
The raven rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, utterly annoyed at the situation. If Naruto wanted to be that way, so be it. "That's fine, I'll just leave."
Sakura snorted at the man, her lips curling into an arrogant smirk. "I'm flattered, truly. Never thought little old me could intimidate a pretty boy professor."
Just as he was turning to leave, Sasuke immediately froze. He knew what she was trying to do, and he wasn't about to let her win. As much as it pained him, he decided to stick around just to spite her. He couldn't help but internally chuckle at her word choice.
'Pretty boy, huh?'
The raven took a seat next to Naruto, muttering something about how 'nobody could intimidate him.' Just as he sat down, the waitress came by with the food the blond had ordered. Sasuke nodded to the waitress in thanks before grabbing his chopsticks and wordlessly beginning to eat.
"So, I know you've already met Ino-chan and Sakura-chan! What a coincidence, them being in your class and all. That means no introductions are needed! Uh, how's your mom?" Naruto asked, desperately trying to break the ice and make small talk.
Sasuke paused briefly to stare at his friend blankly. "Don't ask me questions you already know the answer to. Bad."
Naruto frowned and simply went back to eating his ramen, not quite knowing what to say without making things worse. Thankfully for him, Ino took a turn to speak.
"Naruto was telling Sakura-chan and I that this is your first semester as a professor. It must be very exciting for you to finally start your career. How do you like it so far?" she asked politely, hoping to relieve some of the tension.
The raven sighed, not one for small talk whatsoever. All he wanted was to eat his food in peace and get the hell out. Now he couldn't even have a conversation with his friend, since he hadn't expected to run into his students as well.
"I'm not one to make small talk, especially not with students," Sasuke replied rudely.
That was it. Sakura was sick and tired of the raven being a complete and total asshole to her and her friends. Sasuke clearly had no regard for others, and it got old very quickly. She was worked up, and she was going to give him a piece of her mind. Nothing was going to stop her at this point.
"Alright. I've tried to hold back, but you make it incredibly difficult. I don't appreciate your rudeness toward myself and my friends. Based on what was said earlier, I can only assume you and your mom are having an argument or something. Well I'll have you know that you're more than likely in the wrong. Mothers are always right, and she just wants the best for you. You should just go and apologize!"
Naruto let out a horrified gasp and shook his head frantically. "N-No, Sakura-chan! That's not it at all!"
Sasuke violently slammed his chopsticks down on the table, startling Ino and Sakura. The raven bolted out of his seat, pointing an accusing finger at the medical student.
"You know nothing!" he yelled.
Ino put her hands up in defense, hoping to calm the situation before it got more out of hand. "Okay, clearly Sakura-chan was wrong. Everyone just calm down!"
"No, Ino!" Sakura yelled, standing up and marching up to Sasuke. She glared up at him determinedly, not willing to back down. She knew she was probably out of line, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
"I'm not scared of you, Uchiha-sensei. I don't even know how you're an ethics professor. What the fuck would you know about ethics!?"
"I know enough not to make false assumptions and run my mouth," he hissed.
The two stood there in complete silence, and it was only then that Sakura realized how close they were standing. They were mere inches from each other, close enough to where Sakura could make out a few faint freckles dotting the ravens' nose. She felt her heart begin to speed up, though she didn't know if it was from fear or something else entirely. If she was being honest, she didn't care to know the answer.
Suddenly, Sasuke began to draw closer to her. For a split second, the medical student wondered if he was going to kiss her. Wait, kiss her? Why would such a thought even cross her mind?
He was close enough now to where she could feel his hot breath on the shell of her ear. A pleasurable shiver ran down her spine, and she held her breath. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she found it hard to think. Sasuke was a head taller than her, and somewhat intimidating. What in the world was happening?
"Instead of jumping to conclusions, maybe you should focus on writing your research paper. I'm a tough grader, Sa-ku-ra," he said lowly, immediately drawing away from her.
With that, the raven shot her one last look before walking out of the café in a hurry. What the hell had just happened?
Sakura took a moment to collect herself before quickly making her way back to her seat with a huff. She couldn't bring herself to care that every set of eyes in the café were officially on her. Just as she was about to go on a rant about how much of a jerk the raven was, she noticed Naruto's disappointed expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Sakura-chan, Sasuke didn't fight with his mom. They're very close, and they never argue. His mom is very sick. She has only months left."
Sakura's hand immediately flew up to cover her mouth, a horrified gasp leaving her lips. Guilt immediately wracked through her, and she didn't know what to do. She truly had been out of line, but she feared it was too late to fix it. She knew that her professor had a low opinion of her, and to be honest, she couldn't blame him at the moment. She put her head in her hands, trying to collect her thoughts.
What had she done?
Dun dun dun. Looks like Sakura dun-goofed. I wonder if she'll be able to fix this, or if Sasuke will just hate her more. Please let me know what you think of chapter 2! If you enjoyed, please save this to your favorites and follow, as well as review! Until next time.