Hell High
Chapter 4: Dark, Dark Knight

Her eyes continued gazing at him discreetly.

Sakura made sure that the thick history book was enough to hide the fact that she was staring at her Knight, wondering what he was thinking about since he had his head turned to the direction of the window and not on his book.

"What's on your mind..?"

"Ahem."

She blinked and looked up to see the teacher looking at her with his arms crossed.

"Yes sensei?" She asked with a sheepish grin.

"I'm not surprised to catch a girl watching Uchiha." He said, glancing at the said boy who now turned his attention to the commotion. "But I never expected you to be guilty of the same act."

"Well," she lowered her book and stood up, not giving in to the embarrassment the teacher most likely wanted her to feel. "I was only concerned."

"Concerned with what?"

She raised her head to meet her teacher's stern look. "He's too deep in thought, so I was worried that he may be having a problem." She spoke calmly, causing Sasuke to smirk a bit. "Is it wrong to be concerned for a friend?"

"Hm." The teacher turned his back to her and walked towards the chalkboard. "Alright then Haruno, I'd like you to stay after school with Uchiha." He turned to Sasuke who raised a brow. "You are her friend, right?"

"No." Sasuke answered, glancing at Sakura who looked hurt. "I'm her Knight." And he smirked at her now blushing face.

"You two will be cleaning up this classroom, including the six others of the same year level." He eyed the two. "Understood?"

"Yes sensei."

"Hn…"

Sasuke turned to his companion and smirked due to her non-stop grumbling.

"I take it you're not used to cleaning duties?"

She glared at him, and then sniffed. "I hate dust."

He just shook his head in amusement and proceeded in mopping the floor.

"This is your fault." She muttered.

"Really now..?"

"Yes."

"I think," He stopped and put his weight onto the mop's handle, smirking directly at her. "You were the one who got caught looking."

"If you didn't look so deep in thought I wouldn't have looked!"

"You sure that's the reason?"

She twitched and threw the dust-filled rag at him, which he just evaded.

"For someone who claims to be my Knight, you sure don't act like one."

"As far as I know, Knights save Princesses, or at least protect them." He glanced at her. "So, what am I doing wrong?"

She hated that arrogant smirk of his. "You're no gentleman…"

"That, I can assure you, I'm not."

"Lee is a much better Knight!"

He snorted. "You mean Jester."

"You're no Knight!"

"Oh?" he raised an amused brow. "Let's hear it."

"You're broody for one thing."

"Hn."

"And you're cold."

"Hn."

"And you're anti-social."

"Hn."

"…You're not listening."

He smirked.

"See! You're no Knight!"

"And how can you tell that Lee would be better?"

"…His hyper attitude and… passion," she mumbled the last part. "He'd really play the part right, as if he's one."

"Pfft. No doubt." He snorted and finished mopping the classroom's floor. "I'm heading out to the next one."

"Sure."

"Don't let any of the ghosts catch you." As he slid open the door, he wasn't able to step out because he had fallen face first. "Ow! The hell?!" he pushed himself up yet couldn't turn on his back since someone was clinging to him. "Sakura, get off."

She mumbled something he couldn't understand.

"What?"

"Gh..ts…sc..y…"

"What?!"

"Ghosts are scary!" she yelled, clinging tighter.

"God spare me…" He muttered. "I was only kidding!"

He felt her grip loosen, so he turned and sat up, eyeing the girl kneeling in between his legs and wiping her eyes.

"Oh hell, you're crying?!"

She sniffed, and he blushed when she had puppy dog eyes.

"That wasn't funny!" She yelled.

Instinctively, he reached out and placed a hand on her head while looking elsewhere, the blush still on his face.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn… Sorry." He mumbled, daring to look at her. "It was just a joke."

She blinked a few times, before beaming with a tilt of her head, his hand still on top of her pink tresses.

"Geez. You're really weird." He stood up, pulling her along with him. "Look, I'll wait for you alright? So get moving."

Sakura nodded enthusiastically and went back to cleaning, leaving Sasuke standing there to lean against the door's frame with his arms crossed, eyes never leaving her form.

"This girl," he closed his eyes and smirked. "...Is such a weirdo."

"Faster! Don't even bother slowing down!" he yelled at the players. He turned his head when he spotted two figures approaching. "Uchiha, where the hell have you been?"

"Cleaning duty," He muttered. "I'm making up for practice this Saturday."

The coach twitched. "Seeing as you're still in uniform, I'm guessing you'll skip today?"

"Hn. There's only thirty minutes left, what's the use?" he shrugged. "I still have to go to work."

"Work?" Sakura thought.

The coach snorted. "Be sure to be here on Saturday." He turned to Sakura who was watching Sasuke's retreating form. "Haruno, you can just go."

"Eh? But-"

"You can start as Assistant Manager tomorrow, not today." He looked back at his clipboard. "I'd rather have Uchiha around when you're here." He glanced at her. "Catch my drift?"

"Um… yeah, sort of." She mumbled, smiling sheepishly.

"Be here on Saturday as well. You and Uchiha can make up for today. Dismiss."

"He sure acts as if he came from the military." She thought; sweat dropping before turning around to run after Sasuke. "Operation Stalk Sasuke begins." She grinned, peeking from the corner to spot her target casually walking, hands pocketed as always. "I wonder what work he's doing…"

Sakura blinked when she saw him stop by the park, head turned to the side and looking at the grass.

"What's he up to?"

He soon knelt down on one knee and picked something up. From the looks of it, he seemed to make sure it was handled with care.

"…A… bird?" she squinted, seeing the brown, white, and black hues of the sparrow.

"Hey little guy," she heard Sasuke speak, causing her to almost fall down at the very uncharacteristic Uchiha. "How the heck did you get injured?"

She watched as he stood back up with the sparrow on his right palm, since his left one was digging something in his pocket.

"Hold still, alright?"

She gaped when he ripped a piece of his handkerchief and used the tiny part to wrap the wounded wing of the sparrow. It hopped around once Sasuke finished the treatment, and then returned to him, chirping what Sakura assumed a 'thanks'.

"Come on," he coaxed the bird to hop onto his open palm, before getting back up. "I'd rather you heal indoors than out here where cats or bigger birds could eat you." He smiled slightly, a grin Sakura never thought he had. "Or dogs." He turned his back to the park and proceeded to walk to his destination.

"…was that really Sasuke?" she touched her cheek and felt how warm it was. "Hell! I'm blushing?!" she violently shook her head from left to right and jogged after her Knight. Unfortunately for her, she lost sight of him. "Great." She sighed and turned back to head home; deciding that tomorrow is another day.

"This time," she peeked from behind a tree. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out."

She saw him exit what she assumed to be his house – er apartment. In his hand was the same bird from the other day.

"Where are you taking it Sasuke?" she thought, checking her watch for the time. "Half an hour left before school starts…" she followed Sasuke at a good distance, seeing him head for the park where he found the bird. "Eh?" she hid behind a tree when he set his bag down, afterwards, climbed a tree.

"I don't know if this is where you live but…" he set the bird at the empty nest that lay on the thick branch. "Since you kept me up all night, I guess you prefer to be outside then." He pulled out a packet of seeds and opened them, feeding the bird with his palm open as the sparrow pecked at the small kernels. "And from how lively you're acting now, heh." He looked down to brace himself for a jump once the animal had finished eating. "Stay put alright? I'll drop by again later." And he jumped down, causing a few leaves and small twigs to land on his hair and clothes.

Sakura had to stifle her giggle at the way he looked.

Sasuke brushed them off and picked up his backpack. He gave one last look to the sparrow which hopped back to the nest before taking his leave.

Sakura stepped out of her hiding spot and pretended as if she was passing by.

"Hey Sasuke!" She greeted.

"You can stop following me now." He said, walking pass her. "You're not a very good stalker."

She flushed. "You saw me?!"

He smirked at her. "You're noisy."

A twitch.

"Come on." He nudged his head to the direction of Oto, and Sakura walked next to him.

"So, if you knew I was following, why show another side of you?"

"What side?"

"The caring and gentle side."

Sasuke glanced at her for a moment before looking back up ahead. "Why do I need to hide it?"

"Reputation? Image?"

"Non-existent." He said back. "Besides, I would have scared off the sparrow."

"Well," she smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "That was really sweet of you."

He cringed and clicked his tongue, looking away from her. "Don't bring it up in school. I'd rather not deal with questions."

"Sure, you're secret's safe with me!" she gave a mock salute. "So, was that the work you were talking about?"

"I skipped work just to tend to that injured bird."

He did not take note of how her gaze had softened upon hearing that.

"Skipping practice again?!"

"Work." Sasuke muttered, not looking at his coach in soccer.

"How will you make up for it then?!"

"The whole day of Saturday." He shrugged. "Or maybe I'll just resign."

Sakura turned to Sasuke. "If you quit then I quit! You're the one who asked me to join here!"

"Geez." He scratched the back of his head.

"Fine, Uchiha. Just be sure to be here on Saturday." He turned to Sakura. "You too. If he doesn't stay, you don't stay."

"Then what's the point of me joining?!"

"Face it Haruno, without Uchiha, the guys will just pick on you, and I wouldn't really care much." He snorted. "Just go." He waved them off and Sasuke just shrugged and walked away, dragging Sakura along.

"This is not work, this is the sparrow." She stated, knowing that the direction they're heading for is towards the park.

"My brother can cover for me."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes."

"How about your dad?"

"Usually works overtime."

"Oh. I know the feeling." She mumbled, staring at the tree where the sparrow was.

Sasuke began climbing up once he dropped his bag. He took out another packet of seeds and fed the sparrow.

"You're just gonna stand there?"

Sakura flushed. "In case you're forgetting, I'm afraid of heights and have no talent in climbing."

"You did pretty good in gym."

"We had support!!"

"Come on already."

"No."

"Stubborn."

"Jerk!"

"Weirdo."

"Asshole!"

He twitched. "Get up here now."

"You're not the boss of me." She crossed her arms, keeping her glare at him.

"Oh for the love of God…" he sighed and stood up when the sparrow was back in its nest. "Don't make me carry you up here."

"I'd like to see you try."

He smirked, and she wished she kept her mouth shut.

"How long do you plan on clinging to me and shaking?" he droned out, eyes half-closed and looking at her nonchalantly. "You're cutting off my blood circulation."

"This is your fault!" She yelled, not letting him go and not bothering to even take a peek. "Get me down, now!"

"Hnnn…"

"SASUKE! I'M SERIOUS! GET ME DOWN!"

"…"

"Sasuke!!"

"Ignoring you…" he turned back to the sparrow and gently stroked its back as it lay comfortably on the nest.

"Sasuke! PLEASE!!!!!"

He sighed. "And I thought Princesses weren't capable of yelling too much." He pulled his arm away from her and jumped down, causing her to yelp. "Alright, come on." He raised his arms a bit to her, a motion that he'd catch her.

"Are you fucking out of your damned mind?!"

"…Cussing a lot now, huh?" he frowned. "Just jump."

"NO!"

"Fine. Stay there." He turned, about to leave.

"SASUKE!!"

"Just jump."

"But… but…"

"Sakura." He called, making her look at him as he gave her a serious look. "Do you trust me?"

Of course she does, but she was still afraid of heights.

"Do you think I won't be able to catch you?"

It wasn't wrong to be safe, right?

"Am I or am I not your Knight?"

She gulped. "That's not fair." She whined, yet still prepared herself to jump as he readied himself to catch her.

"On three," he told her, and she nodded. "One," she stood up, slightly shaking. "Two," she shut her eyes. "Three!" and she jumped, arms immediately shooting out to wrap around his neck in a vice-like grip, while his instantly wounded around her waist to assure her that he caught her. "That wasn't so hard." He said, turning his head to her a bit.

"Stupid…" she cried, still keeping her arms around him. "You stupid, stupid, stupid jerk!"

He just smirked and set her down, feeling her pull away slightly and look up at him with teary eyes.

"I felt as if I was going to die!"

"You're still alive, right?" he grinned.

"You're such a bastard!" she huffed, her fingers gripping onto his shirt while she still shook. "Don't make me do that again!"

Her eyes widened when he leaned down to kiss her lips, pulling away as fast as he came. "Alright, I won't." and he leaned down again for another, this time, a bit longer.

"W-why did you kiss me twice?!"

"Heh." He smirked. "You owe me one from yesterday, and then today." He pulled away and picked up his bag. "I still haven't smoked."

"You're avoiding the cancer stick on purpose, not because you really want to."

"Hn. I told you I needed motivation."

"How long are you planning on keeping this up?!"

He shrugged. "As long as it takes."

"You are not meant to be a Knight! I swear!!"

"Hn…" he eyed her with a sheepish grin. "Can I be your Dark Knight then?"

"NO! Jerk."

"How about… a Dark, Dark Knight?"

"What?"

"Heh." He shrugged. "You can't live without me."

"Yes I can!"

"So if I left you up in the tree, how do you get down?"

"…"

"Thought so."

"STUPID JERK! FREAKIN' BASTARD! ANNOYING ASSHOLE!"

"Ahem."

Sakura's eyes widened when she spotted her father standing there, giving her a stern look.

"Hi…daddy…"

"And so the Princess will be grounded by the King for cussing." Sasuke smirked at her. "Let's see you get out of this one."

Sakura flushed and turned to her father. "It's his fault!" She pointed at Sasuke who stood innocently.

Ikichi shook his head and sighed. "What am I going to do with you..?"

"Erm… pretend you didn't hear anything I said?"

"Sasuke, do me a favor, will you?" Ikichi turned to the boy.

"No problem."

"Keep an eye out for my daughter, and try to keep her from… using such vulgar words."

Sasuke gave a mock salute. "Will do." He turned to Sakura. "You're stuck with me." And he stuck his tongue out before turning back to Ikichi. "I should get going." He gave a small bow and turned to leave.

"Yeah! Go home! Shoo!" Sakura said, waving her arms in a motion to drive him away.

"Sasuke," Ikichi pushed up his eyeglasses. "I insist you stay for dinner."

Normally, he'd refuse, but seeing the look on Sakura's face caused him to smirk at her, and then nod at Ikichi. "Thanks for the offer."

"No! No!! GO HOME!!"

"Sakura, he's our guest, please treat him nicely." Ikichi went inside the gates, leaving the two teenagers behind.

"So, Sakura-hime," he dared to place an arm around her. "Treat me nicely, okay?"

That earned him a second slap from the girl.

"PERVERTED ASSHOLE!"

"Heh."

Sakura stretched her arms and yawned before looking at her toast bread, bacon strips, orange juice, and scrambled eggs.

"Is something wrong Princess?"

She looked up at her father who still read the morning paper despite speaking.

"I feel sleepy."

"It seems like you didn't get a wink last night."

"Sort of." She muttered, nibbling her toast. "Actually, I'm not in the mood to eat either."

Ikichi lowered his newspaper. "Do you want me to drive you to school?"

"No." She gave a small smile. "I'll walk." She picked up her bag upon standing, and went to her father to kiss his cheek. "See you later dad."

"Be careful on the way." He smiled as she left. "You're adjusting pretty well, could it be because of…" he just chuckled and shook his head.

Today doesn't seem to be something to look forward to.

The weather wasn't so bad, but the atmosphere seems to be a bit… depressing.

He sighed inwardly and kept his eyes looking forward, not wanting to run into a telephone post or anyone.

"Meow…"

He stopped and raised his head to see a tall tree with thick branches and dark shades of green leaves. With narrowed eyes, he spotted a baby cat, barely noticeable due to its dark fur and blue eyes.

"Hn." He kept his eyes on it as the wind continued blowing while the kitten seemed to keep mewing non-stop. "Stupid cat... if you're going to get stuck up there in the end, why bother climbing?" but he climbs up anyway, stopping once he was next to the kitten. "Come on." He extended out a hand to it, his pointing finger coaxing it to approach him.

The kitten's nose quivered a bit, and soon, the baby cat slowly walked towards Sasuke's hand.

"Good girl." He said after confirming first if it was a boy or a girl. He carried it in his arms and looked down, thinking how he'll get off of the tree without hurting the animal. "Here goes." He took a deep breath in and then sighed it out, before jumping down, startling Sakura who just arrived.

"S-Sasuke?"

He blinked and turned to the girl.

"Is… that a kitten?"

"No, it's a puppy." Sasuke said sarcastically, smirking. "Duh."

"It's too early to be sarcastic." Sakura glared.

"Hn." He shrugged and looked at kitten in his arms. "You can go now." He told it, setting it down.

"Meow." It rubbed against his leg a few times.

"Aww…" Sakura knelt down on the floor. "It likes you."

"Yeah, but I can't take it to school."

"Then hide it in your bag!"

"…"

"What?"

"I can never understand how your brain works at times."

"HEY! THAT WAS AN INSULT!"

"…"

"WHY AREN'T YOU DENYING IT?!"

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Lesser of Two Evils

"Eeep!" she slipped and fell forward, landing onto a hard chest. "Hell no!"

"What did you do this time?"

"It's not my fault! It was hers!"

Sasuke just sighed and sat up. "Where is she?"

"Hiding."

"…"

"What?"

"You. Suck."