A.N: Tada~ I have to say, this has to be my favorite chapter I've written, at least for now. I hope you guys enjoy it just as much as I had fun writing it! I do want to thank everyone for reading my story, and I hope you all review this time, too! I still don't know about the couple - so I'm sorry about that. I believe the chapter after this one will be the last one when they are young. So, chapter six will be the start of the teams and what not!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Tough
Chapter Four
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This is it. Ami-chan will want me to beat her up until she can't move. I have to do it, or she'll kick me out of her group! If I'm kicked out, Ami-chan will win over Sasuke-kun's heart! I can't, and will not let that happen! Ino Yamanaka thinks to herself while running a hand through her short blond hair nervously. She has nothing against the pinkette, and truthfully her parents made her promise to never harm the pinkette, unless the pinkette did something to hurt her. Mom and dad will be disappointed. Friends come first though right? After all, I need to keep my enemies closer...And Ami is my biggest enemy when it comes to winning Sasuke-kun's heart! Ino's blue eyes soften while staring into Sakura's emerald-green eyes, I'm sorry, Sakura! I have to win though, and make Ami think I'm on her side!
"Yamanaka-san?" Sakura asks gently, watching Ino's face form different expressions in the past few minutes, "If you do not wish to fight, we can always do it later." Suddenly, Ino snaps her attention and growls lowly under her breath, mentally apologizing to her family, and the pinkette.
"I'm perfectly fine, forehead freak!" Ino hisses out the nickname coldly while getting down into her comfortable fighting position, "Stop trying to act tough, no one likes you! After all, didn't your whole family ditch you?" Ino throws her head back, letting her evil laughter ring through the Academy's courtyard before smirking, watching Sakura's emerald-green eyes pale slightly. Harsh. How can I say that to a classmate? Ino closes her eyes, ignoring the comments her classmates mutter among themselves, I've always been mean to her though. I called her names, beat her up, and even told her how I was going to kill her one day. I'm pathetic. But, I am quite sure I caught Sasuke-kun's attention now.
"Are you done yet?" Sakura asks, tilting her head to the side, "I would appreciate it if you stop throwing insults at me like that." Sakura then shifts into her own fighting position, "I would also appreciate it if you stop talking about my family." The aura around her turns cold while her eyes narrow into a fierce glare, "I advise you not to go easy on me, especially if you plan to insult me through the whole fight, Yamanaka-san." The way the pinkette said her name was deadly. Earlier, when Ino first insulted her, Iruka stepped in, planning to stop the fight but Sakura told him no, and forced him to let her match continue.
"Acting strong? You're just a pathetic, pink-haired freak!" Ino growls out, feeling her heart tighten in her chest. She knew right away that Iruka is going to tell her mother, and she knew her parents will be grounding her for life, but she has to keep going. She needs to make Ami think she's with her group.
"You seem like you're doing the same thing, Yamanaka-san." Sakura taunts while taking a small step closer, throwing her opponent a smirk, "If you are trying to say something to get me distracted, it won't work." She continues to approach the blond calmly, "Kenji-sensei made sure people can't rile me up with bringing up my family." She stops a few feet in front of Ino, "I was in the hospital last time I let someone's words influence my actions, and I am not planning to let it happen again." As soon as she said that, Sakura swings her fist at Ino, hitting her cheek; Ino's head is thrown back from the power before she spits out blood all over the pinkette. "Get serious." Sakura demands watching as Ino let her words anger the blond even more.
"You've asked for it, pinky!" Ino yells angrily before raising her fist and swinging it at Sakura's face. Sakura quickly ducks and swipes her leg under Ino, making her fall on the ground with a thud. Sakura quickly jumps ontop of the blond and raise her fist, quietly threatening her. Oh, you are going to pathetically easy on her. Why? She insulted you, did she not? Inner asks cocky while clutching her hands into fist herself, Just kill the worthless blond! Shut up. Am I suppose to kill you too, then? You always insult me. And I am not going to kill her! She hasn't done anything wrong! Sakura growls lowly under her breath while Inner slowly disappears. "Distracted?" Ino taunts, flipping herself over and hovers over Sakura while raising her own fist. Ino stares into Sakura's eyes and freezes, watching as Sakura stares blankly at her. "Why aren't you scared?" Ino asks angrily before punching Sakura in the face. She watches as Sakura eyes narrow at her, but still hold the same blank look. Ino growls lightly before punching Sakura in the face repeatitly, hearing a crack every once in a while. "Why? Why do you not give up?" Ino asks weakly after staring down at her classmates face. Her lip is busted, blood is dripping from the sides of her mouth, and she has bruises everywhere.
"Are you done yet?" Sakura asks softly before pushing the stunned blond off of her. She stands up and walks over to Ino before pinning the blond's hands over her head and holding down her legs, "The reason why I never gave up is because Kenji-sensei would kill me. The reason why I was distracted is for you to have a chance to beat me, and the reason why I'm not scared is because I've been through hell and back again." Sakura turns her head to Iruka and nods lightly, "Iruka-sensei, I believe she lost this fight, am I right?" She asks, ignoring the blood that is dripping from her mouth.
"A-Ah. Yeah. Ino Yamanaka is unable to fight, which means Sakura Haruno is the winner." Iruka coughs lightly before rushing over towards the pinkette and pulling her off of Ino, "Sakura, that was reckless." He scolds her while she wipes the blood from her face, "The rest of class is dismissed. I'm going to take Sakura to the hospital to make sure she didn't get her nose broken." He turns to Ino, "You will be serving detention for the next few months from bringing up the topic I told you all to avoid when you're by her."
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Sasuke sighs softly to himself while walking through the streets of the village with Naruto, heading towards his house. That girl is reckless; she probably injured herself greatly. But...what does she mean by she went through hell and back again? She couldn't of gotten someone to train her...but then again who is this "Kenji-sensei" person? Sasuke thinks to himself while his left eye twitches in annoyance. He does not like not knowing what's going on.
"Hey, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto questions while putting his hands behind his head and yawning, "Sakura-chan looked scary while fighting Ino, didn't she?" Sasuke shrugs lightly, "Teme, stop trying to act all cool, I know you!" Naruto growls out, shoving Sasuke slightly. "How are we going to get close to her now? Ino probably made her go home and cry..."
"She probably didn't go home and cry, dope." Sasuke comments walking into his the Uchiha compound, ignoring the greetings he got, "She's probably in the hospital with a broken nose. You did hear the crack, right?"
"Ino broke her nose?" Naruto asks frowning deeply, "How? Ino's never been the strong type." Naruto and Sasuke walk into their house before Naruto sighs. "She, Ino, kept stealing looks at you. Do you think you're the reason why she suddenly became stronger? After all, they say when you're in love you do stupid things."
"Aa," Sasuke replies taking off his shoes, "We are home!" He announces hearing his mother welcome them from the kitchen. He turns to Naruto and nods before walking into the kitchen with Naruto following.
"How was school today, Sasuke-chan?" Mikoto asks gently while chopping up some tomatoes for dinner, "If I remember correctly, your classmate was suppose to return today?"
"Hey Kaa-san!" Naruto greets with a huge smile on his face, "Sakura-chan did return to school today, but we believe she's in the hospital with a broken nose." Mikoto smiles lightly at Naruto before frowning.
"Why is she in the hospital?" Mikoto asks concern before handing Sasuke a tomato when he held his hand out, "Is she going to be okay?"
"She went aganist Ino Yamanaka; she won, but Ino got quite a few hits." Naruto explains watching Sasuke start to eat the tomato.
"Hey, Kaa-san?" Sasuke asks suddenly after swallowing his food, "Do you know someone by the name Kenji?" Mikoto looks over at her son and taps her chin lightly with her finger before shaking her head.
"No, I never heard of him, but then again if anyone would, it would be your father." She replies shrugging her shoulders, "Or maybe Itachi-chan. Itachi is home already, so if you really want to know he'll be the best to ask right now." Sasuke and Naruto nod before walking upstairs, heading towards Itachi's room.
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"Kenji?" Itachi asks while sharpening his kunai knife and staring at his brother with interest, "There are many 'Kenji's' in the world, little brother. Do you know anymore information?"
"Sakura-chan mentioned him!" Naruto interrupts while bouncing on Itachi's bed, "She called him Kenji-sensei." Itachi raises his eyebrow curiously before smirking, knowing who they are talking about.
"He's a retired shinobi," Itachi replies while putting his kunai knife back into his weapon pouch, "Actually, he just returned to his duty. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go train." Itachi stands up and opens up his door, motioning for them to leave. Sasuke immediately stands up and leaves the room while Naruto follows after him. So he really did get himself a apprentice, eh? Itachi thinks before leaving the house, heading towards the training ground.
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"She'll be fine, but she does have a broken nose." The nurse informs the young male chunin in front of her, "I will need her to return here after a few weeks to make sure her nose healed correctly. I am going to have to ban her from anymore fights so it doesn't break even more." The nurse stares down at the pinkette next to the teacher and smiles lightly at her, "You were very tough, child. Thank you for not crying." Sakura shrugs lightly and gently places her hand over her nose with a frown. Kenji is going to kill her for being reckless during her fight, even if it was with a classmate.
"I'll still be able to do the aiming lessons?" Sakura asks hopefully, "I promise I won't get into anymore fights, at least until my nose is healed."
"I...I suppose aiming lessons won't hurt," She turns her attention back to the chunin, "As long as it's just targets and not fighting with eachother."
"I promise that's all we will do," Iruka promises before patting Sakura's head with a smile, "She won't be fighting anymore." Sakura, who is pouting, puffs her cheeks out before turning on her heel and walking away.
"Thanks for taking me to the hospital, Iruka-sensei. But I have to go, I haven't eaten anything in awhile." Her stomach growls loudly, making her laugh nervously, "And I'm very hungry, surprisingly."
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Thank you for reviewing: Live2Dance, Guest, Passionforcandy456, Dina Sana, Chibified-chan, and Hopelesslyhope! I really hope you guys review this time too! Some of you may be wondering when my next update will be, and I'll tell the truth. I have no idea, at all. I have chapter five halfway done already, but I want to at least have a better concept of how the story is going to go. I do have an idea of where and when my story is going to end - but the thing is - I can't really plan too far since I need to at least build up the romantic feelings she has for whoever. Then again, romance isn't the main genre so that's good, right? I think I've talked long enough, so please review!
Kimi-the-Writer