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Chapter 6
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Individuals
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"I heard she's the new girl in Sasuke's team."
"What's she doing here, anyway?"
"How did she get in?"
I could hear some girls whispering behind my back as I passed by the corridors to my first class the following week. I kept my face unmoving as I continued my way.
Stupid fan girls and their stupid clubs.
I couldn't believe that Uchiha had so many die-hard stalkers that always keep themselves updated on every news and rumors about him. The freshest one was that he now has a female teammate, and, unluckily, that was me. I noticed a few days ago that some girls had begun looking and following me suspiciously. It was getting annoying. They looked like a bunch of predators and scavengers.
"Morning, Sakura." Hinata greeted as I entered the classroom and sat next to her.
"Morning." I tried to break my stony face. I slumped my bag on my desk and sat on the seat grumpily.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
I sighed. "Nothing." I drew my head closer to her to hiss. "Just how many fan girls does that airhead Uchiha have in this freaking school?"
Hinata tried not to laugh and shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure. I can always spot one stalking him in and out of campus, just like Neji's. They're almost everywhere."
"Oh, hell, they are. Obsessive, maniac fan girls." I cursed again under my breath. I scanned my eyes around the classroom, but the unique features of the spiky, black hair was nowhere to be found. Looked like the bastard was skipping the first class today. What else can you expect from a self-centered rogue.
I propped my notepad open and started doodling some mutated, unidentified living things. Naruto sat on a vacant desk near us. His face was drawn into a frown and his hands were rubbing his belly sympathetically.
"Hungryyy…" he groaned.
Hinata heard his grunts too, and drew out a wrapped chocolate bar from her bag and nervously held it out for him. I could see her face flushed at once.
"Here. You can have it." she said delicately. She suddenly turned like a little admirer from the way she was acting.
Naruto looked at her pale hand, which was holding a rectangular bar, for a second. "You're not gonna eat it?" he asked, his blue eyes all round.
She shook her head. "I don't mind."
Naruto gave her a big, blinding smile and took it. He hastily tore it open and sank his humongous teeth on it. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. I was on a hurry to get to class on time that I had to skip breakfast."
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I fumbled around every pocket of my uniform and still couldn't find my locker keys. I had dumped all my things from my school bag and, still, there was no trace of it. I only stood at the locker hall.
My next class was about to start in fifteen minutes and I needed my textbooks inside my locker. Professor Ibiki was very sensitive when it came to punctuality, and I was not planning to try my luck on that. He looked scary, with all his scars and deep set of eyes and all. Not to mention that I was a little left behind in his class so I really needed the textbooks.
I tried to calm myself, and sighed. I used my locker the other day after my training with Kakashi. My dirty clothes were even in there. And if I remembered correctly, I put them inside my jeans' pockets that day. But then again, I didn't notice the keys inside them that night when I took them off to change into my pajamas. It must had fallen out on my way home.
However, I recalled putting them in my jeans because I knew that it had a smallpocket, the type which had a button so it was more unlikely that I would just accidentally drop it somewhere.
Okay, so… before going home that Saturday, I took a shower and headed to my locker. I couldn't pay much attention to what I was doing because I felt so used up, and not to mention, I bumped into that stuck-up Uchiha who just made my day. And I—
I felt my eyes popped out wider.
It was really quite unlikely for me to lose the stupid keys in my pockets by mistake, unless someone took it from it.
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I hastily trudged across the side of the field with my backpack swaying rapidly behind my back. There were groups of seniors playing soccer in the field. Rock Lee saw me and waved, not noticing the zooming soccer ball right toward him and hit the side of his face with a thump. A number of enthusiastic girls were also watching them at the side. Some of them were even screaming their names as if there was a real match going on. From the looks of it, the players were just practicing.
I continued my heavy stomping, and finally found the one familiar head I was irately looking for. Sasuke was just heading toward the back of the field, where the drinking fountains were. He didn't notice me arrived and I hurriedly followed him.
He was drinking from one of the fountains when I caught up with him. His head was bowed low and I couldn't really see his face. He wore a plain shirt and sweat pants, one of its end was rolled up just under his ankle.
"You're really a smart-ass jerk, aren't you? Where the hell are my locker keys?" I demanded as soon as I landed at his side.
He didn't look surprise to see me there at all. He simply pulled back his head from where he was drinking, and gave me an uninterested look.
"Dunno what you're talking about, loser." he said smugly and bent his head back to sip again from the thin, running water.
"I know you took it. Don't play dumb with me!" I yelled, standing there like an enraged statue. I knew dirty games like this in schools. I had been played and fooled like this during my high school years.
He ignored me and only drank at the small fountain. I counted to three. And when he still didn't say anything, I shoved my hand to where he was pressing the tap and pushed it irritably. The water instantly spattered over his face.
"What the fuck—" he hissed as he hastily pulled his head back. He finally faced me with his aggravated eyes. His face and the front of his hair were now both dripping wet.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY LOCKER KEYS?" I yelled at him louder. His glare wasn't that intimidating to me anymore. I didn't get to attend my next class because of him. And I knew I was right.
He must had taken it from my pockets at the locker hall the other day without me noticing. There was no one to be suspected other than him. It couldn't have been Ino and the others.
Sneaky bastard.
He didn't wipe his soaked face and only looked at me for a moment. I expected him to explode at me. But then, his lips only curved in that lopsided smirk.
"Can't believe it took you more than a day to notice." he said.
I was right. His hand moved so fast from his side that I couldn't even tell where it went, but I merely found my keys being tossed up and down lightly by his hand in front of me in a second.
I pointed accusingly at him. "The hell with you. Give that back!"
He unexpectedly laughed at me, as in laugh like I was such an inexperienced girl.
"You're really hopeless, you know that?" he mocked. "You were too transfixed at staring at me that you didn't even notice you just lost it. You're too easy to manipulate. It's too boring."
I watched him for a brief second. I was starting to think if he was some sort of schizophrenic or bipolar. He was just furious with me the other day, and now he was fooling around like a little, smart-ass tyrant. He had an odd character, this guy.
"Give it back to me." I ordered as I stepped up and tried to grab them.
He simply avoided my arm like an elementary bully. I stood back and straightened myself, reminding myself that we were a bunch of grown-up students. But his smile was too infuriating, it was hard to maintain your poise.
"Why the hell are you doing this, anyway?"
He seemed to think for a short while, then shrugged plainly. "'Cause I want to."
"You're being a bully, d'you know that?"
"Not really. I just want to mess around with you, that's all." The cold voice he used at me at the locker hall wasn't there by any means. His voice only reflected amusement and ridicule now.
"Why? 'Cause I'm a newbie? Is this your idea of getting me kicked out? Oh, that's very mature."
He seemed to have reflected about that for a minute there. He looked quite perplexed about something, but he shook his head in the end. "Nah. I just wanted to see how far you would go."
"I told you, I'm not planning to quit. So forget it."
"You haven't even last that long."
I sighed angrily. "Look, why don't you just hand over my locker keys so I could go back to my schedule and you could now go back to your stupid soccer practice and flirt with your lunatic fan girls."
That hit a nerve. His face turned serious at once and he closed his fist around the keys.
"I don't flirt with them." he said unfeelingly.
I took this chance to snatch my keys again, but he swiftly stepped back and held it over his head so I could hardly reach it. The soft amusement in his face was back again. He was acting weird. I had never seen him make fun of someone like this in the campus.
I was about to reach his hand when someone coughed behind us.
"Excuse me, lovers." I looked around and found Professor Asuma stood a few yards away, eyeing us doubtfully. I thought the campus was smoke-free, yet there was a lit cigarette stick on the side of his mouth. He turned to Sasuke, who was standing at my side. "What's taking you so long, Uchiha? The practice is about to be over."
I butted in at once.
"Professor, he stole my—"
Sasuke brought his arm down and hid back the keys in his pockets in a fast movement. I didn't get a chance to see where he exactly put it. He simply walked back over unworriedly.
"Just took a quick drink. She was just passing by." he simply said.
Professor Asuma took one last look at me before turning around and started heading back to the field. "Let's go. The team can't play properly with a missing striker."
The professor was farther away when I tried to protest. Sasuke only turned his head back around me before following suit. There was a glint of mirth in his eyes, yet he kept it hidden in his usually composed face.
"If you think you're really good enough to stay here, then prove it." he spoke. He cockily turned around and walked back to the field.
I felt my face reddened in annoyance. "I'm NOT going anywhere, asshole!"
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I browsed the set of comic books in the shelf at the comic store. I became a usual in that place. Kakashi let me off from training early today and my parents were both out to greet some of their old friends someplace. I managed to sneak out of the house. Though my muscles were still a little swollen, it wasn't that bad anymore. I only slept the whole day yesterday.
I pulled out a pair of books from the shelf and walked to the counter to pay. I placed them inside my orange body-bag afterward.
I strolled along the streets on my way home. It was past seven in the evening. I watched the numerous shops around me as I walked by. I wasn't in a hurry to get home, and was enjoying the ambiance of the city.
School was somewhat bothersome today. First, some girls had been gossiping about me and about some useless things behind my back. Second, I was marked absent in Professor Ibiki's class today, which stank because my grades were starting to go down in the dumps in his subject. And third, I felt so violated by that Uchiha and his cocky acts. He must had peered in my locker by now. All he'd find was a pile of dirty clothes, some papers, and some heavy textbooks.
I shook my head in aggravation as I moved down the sidewalks. True, he had an eye-catching appearance. The stubborn, bad boy type. Yet I couldn't figure out why Ino and the dozens of girls in the campus admired him. He had an attitude problem and some bipolar issues. But what confused me more was that he didn't want anything to do with me, right? Then why did he started messing with me? He must had only shown that threatening, cold behavior to me before so he could pull a silly, idiotic stunt like this. How immature.
I shook my head again out of nuisance, and turned to a corner.
The next street was emptier compared to the last one, though there were still several vehicles passing on the road. I strolled along the sidewalks, where a few lamp posts kept flickering on and off. There was an alley up at the next block.
I was passing by the third lamp post when I noticed a guy several feet ahead. His head was bowed down and one of his forearms leaned against a pole with a wavering light bulb. He was facing the ground, as if staring blankly at some spot there. His back was turned to the sidewalk, so I could only see the side of his face.
As I came near, I noticed his hair was reddish and was messily styled. He wore a maroon shirt. I could see a few necklaces strapped from the back of his neck, and some studded bracelets around his wrists. I was about a foot from him when he noticed me, hearing my approaching footsteps. His head drew up and turned toward me, seeing me drawing near by.
I was mesmerized after seeing his face. He had a look of a child. He was taller than me, about the same size as that bastard Sasuke, but I couldn't recall ever seeing anyone looked more childlike than him. His eyes were round, with long eye lashes that created shadows above his smooth cheeks. I usually saw faces like that in advertisements.
He was also staring at me, as if being froze at the spot.
"You." I heard him whisper.
Suddenly, he left the corner beside the lamp post and unexpectedly seized my face with his hands. He held me too close against his face, as if he knew me. My eyes widened in surprise.
I quickly tried to push him back, but he held both sides of my head tighter. His eyes blazed with a strange expression as it stared right down at mine. His thumbs started rubbing the side of my cheeks tenderly.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I screeched with a gasp of panic, shoving his hands away.
His grip tightened around me.
"I knew you'd come back! I always knew you'd never leave me." he said in a very soft, somber voice. It was like a mannish sob. He didn't look conscious of my panic reaction, he looked like he was having a delusion. His brown eyes gazed at me as if he was searching for something inside my own. It was as if he was waiting for me there, at the side.
"Get off!"
He hastily pulled me in a very tight embrace. He buried his face against the side of my neck and held me there, lightly swaying the two of us side by side, like what mothers do when trying to make their babies fall into sleep.
My eyes popped wider. No guy has ever held me this tight before.
That's when I smelled the scent of alcohol from him. The guy was totally drunk.
"Get off me, you pervert!" I screamed, thrusting him away.
His arms only constricted his hold around me. I struggled to push him away again, yelling at anyone for help. But there wasn't anybody near us, and the wavering lamp posts only made that part dimmer.
He drew his head back to look at me again. One of his hands caressed my cheek. "I've waited for you for so long… Why did you have to go?"
I was about to roar at him again, but my tongue was held back after seeing him that close to me. There was sorrow in both his eyes and voice. There was that distinct look that reminded me of a little child who had just lost all hope and sat at a corner and cried himself to sleep. His innocent face looked shattered, as if he had already experienced too much sadness in his life. He looked… broken.
Now, I don't usually see guys look this sad and shattered. This one seemed to had serious problems. Troubled about something difficult to handle, maybe.
He stroked my face as if he yearned for me in a very long time. He examined the slightest corner of my facial characteristics, like a boy studying an airplane toy. His finger traced the light curve between my cheeks and mouth. It was only then that I noticed how warm his body was against mine. His other arm held the back of my waist securely to him.
My mouth was left slightly open. I didn't know what I was doing now.
After looking at me for a minute, he pressed his forehead against mine and sighed, still looking down at me with sentimental eyes. And after a while, he gave a small smile.
"I missed you." he whispered.
He acted as if I was his… lover.
I could've melted there at that point, only if he wasn't a complete stranger. He leaned closer, and was about to press his lips against mine when I rashly turned away and started to break loose from his stiff embrace once again. He only tugged me back in his arms.
Obviously, I couldn't escape too easily. Why did I feel so violated and harassed that day?
He chuckled at my actions and only started nuzzling the side of my neck. "You don't need to be shy. I know you missed me a lot, too." He, then, kissed my neck softly. "I really missed you a lot… Aya."
I finally struggled free.
"Get away from me!" I slapped him across the face. "You've got the wrong person! I don't know you!"
The guy blinked a few times and shook his head, as if trying to convince himself of something, still trying to face me. He didn't even seem to had felt the slap. He looked drunk and wasted. From the way he was acting, he might had been drinking the whole day. He must be drifting around the place dazedly and selflessly.
"No… Come back here." he moaned sensitively, stepping closer to reach my hand for the second time. "Where are you going again?"
"Oh—away from you. I told you, I don't know you!" I said, more alarmed now. He tried to hold my arm but I instantly yanked it away from his grasp. "You're drunk!"
"Aya, why're you going away again? Don't—Don't you love me anymore? Is that it?" his voice broke.
"I'm not Aya! I don't know what—"
He came close to me and then I immediately darted away toward the following streets while I still had my chance, leaving him there finally. He tried to run after me, but couldn't keep himself steady. He looked confused and bleary.
"Just leave me alone! I'm not her, you weirdo!" I screamed back. I took one last look at him over my shoulder. He kept himself balanced against one of the walls along the sidewalk and watched me with a heartbreaking air all over his face as I disappeared away into the brighter streets.
I was a few blocks away from him, yet I couldn't manage to stop myself from running. He was nowhere in sight anymore. There was a lot of people along the sidewalks to where I was moving down quickly, but I still kept running. I was bumping a number of people on my way and I heard some of them shouted at me for my carelessness. But I didn't care.
I was panting and was frightened. This sort of thing didn't normally happen to me.
I was held, embraced, and kissed (and gratefully it wasn't on the lips) by a complete stranger. I was scared to think of what more could have happen if I didn't get away soon enough. Some girls would've already burst into tears right now. But I was more shocked and alarmed, rather than terrified. But fright was still there.
Why, oh, why am I being hounded with demented guys today? I prefer being ignored. It wasn't like this at all.
I unthinkingly closed my eyes shut to steady my thinking as I rounded into a corner in a jog. I smacked against something sturdy and flat, and fell backwards with my bottom landing onto the ground.
"Ow—"
I quickly looked up as I rubbed my bottom. I should've just stayed home after school since my twisted day didn't seem to be over yet. It was following me here and there. Everywhere.
I groaned.
Sasuke stood before me, wearing a black jacket with his back facing me. His head was turned to me, looking down at me over his shoulder, a little surprised to see me there as well. He stood among the other people that were there. I only noticed then that I was already at the city plaza. There were vibrant lights from the light posts, from the screen billboards that were hung on the distant buildings, and from the busy avenues.
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Note: Guess who the wasted dude was.