000
000
000
Chapter 7
000
Behaviors
000
000
000
Sasuke looked down at me, perhaps trying to think how I ended up there.
The noise was much louder here. There were people all around: strolling and sitting on the benches, minding their own businesses. Some of them only stood near the sidewalks, hanging out or waiting for someone.
I slowly stood up from the ground embarrassedly and he didn't even lend me his hand at all. I felt flushed. He watched me straightened myself up. I should've known he was no gentleman.
"Missed me already?" His first words already upset me. There was that small grin of his again.
"You gotta be kidding." I panted.
He only exhaled noisily. He surveyed his eyes along the street behind me and tried to see who or what I was running away from. When he saw no one, he looked back at me.
"As far as I know, people usually prefer to go jogging early in the morning." he said.
I scowled at him, still fixing myself. "I wasn't jogging for exercise."
He crossed his arms against his chest and gave his head a brief nod, gesturing toward where we stand: Right at the side of the city plaza. The vivid colors around us where dizzying to look at.
"What're you doing here, then?" he asked.
"It's none of your business." It was better not to tell him that a maniac was just chasing me a moment ago, mistaking me for someone else. I wanted to forget about it as soon as possible. I could still feel my heart pounding louder and faster than normal even though I knew that pervert won't be able to follow me here now. As long as there were lots of people around, I was safe.
Sasuke shrugged. "You looked a little… harassed."
"I never ask you what I looked like." I said sourly.
He seemed to be in a good mood today. He didn't usually speak a lot when he was with others. And I prefer him with his mouth shut since he was a little less annoying. But still annoying, in any case.
"You're here to get your keys again?" There was a hint of amusement in his tone.
"No. And even if that's the case, you won't let me have it anyway."
"Right." His mouth twisted in a smirk. He uncrossed his arms together and held them up at his sides, as if he was waiting for someone to inspect his body. "But you're always welcome to try."
I scowled harder. "You just want my hands to be all over you." I didn't mean to say that aloud.
And then he laughed. I swear to Buddha that he had a split personality. He would have glared or threatened me with my response, just like the way he acted at the locker hallway. But now, he just laughed in front me.
What another weirdo.
"Don't you?" he teased.
I felt a vein pulsed angrily in my forehead. "You're such an airhead, Uchiha."
"So I've been told. But let's see now… you told me you weren't jogging for exercise, and you don't want to tell me what you're doing here—therefore, it only makes sense that you were stalking me."
"Ohohoho—you do have your head up in the clouds! You think every girl in this place is in love with you just like your crazy fan girls."
"Not really—just you."
I drew my face close to him, leveling with his eyes. "And what makes you think that? For all you know, I'd rather stalk a dog than you!"
"Oi Sasuke! Sakura!"
Both our heads turned to the direction where that recognizable voice came from. I calmly pressed my lips together as I saw Naruto and Hinata crossing the street toward us. Both of them eyed us a little mischieviously. Naruto waved his hand.
"Well, look it here—I didn't know you guys were dating." Naruto grinned as he and Hinata came to stop beside us. He was wearing a bright orange jacket, which looked loud with his hair. Hinata was wearing a white coat. She greeted me.
"We weren't." Sasuke and I synchronized, and glared at each other again afterward.
Naruto sensed the heated vibe and only held both his hands up. "Okay, if you said so."
Sasuke turned his head to him, still looking rather aggravated. "What took you so long, anyway?"
"I was in the shower—ready to slip into my PJs when that old hag suddenly called. I saw Hinata on my way here and picked her up with me since we're just heading to the same place. We couldn't find you easily with all these people out here too, you know." Naruto said, shrugging towards the busy plaza.
"The headmistress called?" I turned to Hinata.
She nodded. "She just called for an urgent meeting with the rogue students tonight. We're just about to head to the school."
"At this hour?"
"The Mortis Org room is always open when it comes to this matter."
Naruto turned to me with a smile. "You're coming too, Sakura?"
"She's not a member." Sasuke butted in. "She was just stalking me."
"Hah." I retorted.
"Oh, come on." Naruto gave a light slap on Sasuke's right arm. "The old hag wouldn't really mind if we bring her to the meeting. She's that Sarutobi guy's granddaughter, anyway. I heard he's a legend. It would be good if she could have an idea about the whole organization thing."
Actually, I didn't know if I wanted to go myself. I wasn't that comfortable with the school staff and the other students. I might just be a hindrance to their meeting. And I'm not sure if I wanted to be stuck with that cocky jerk a few hours more.
Sasuke gazed at me for a few more seconds, before rolling his eyes away. "Whatever."
"Great! It'll be cool if you'd come, Sakura." Naruto said.
"Er—well—I don't think it's a good—"
"My motorbike's just down the corner. I'll take Hinata with me. Where are you parked?" Naruto was already starting to walk back as he spoke to Sasuke.
"Just along the sidewalk." Sasuke took one glimpse at me with uncertain eyes, before turning back to Naruto, who was crossing back the street with Hinata at his side. "Fine, then—I'll just see your stupid face there."
I was giving Hinata a pleading look but she just chuckled at me and beckoned goodbye.
Naruto waved his hand again. "See ya!"
Sasuke walked past me and started to cross the plaza to the other side. I could see the print at the back of his black jacket: a pair of silver wings with a bloody, flaming heart at the center and ropes of thorny vines all over it. I only watched him moved further away, not sure if I wanted to follow.
When he had gotten at the center of the plaza, he stopped and turned his head back to me, seeing I hadn't moved an inch.
"So are you coming or what?" he called angrily.
I sighed. It was a long day.
I started to walk and followed him toward the other end of the square. We stopped at the sidewalk, in front of a huge, shady motorbike. At first I thought it was black, but upon taking a second look, I realized it was painted in a dark, metallic blue color, which can only be noticeable under the light. There were silver and black traces across the surface which served as the designs. It looked good because of its smooth and clean parts, unlike those rowdy ones which shows off stunning designs but weren't made cleanly. This one looked—well—classy.
Sasuke swung his leg over it and started the ignition with a small kick after inserting his key.
I only stood there and watched him. Though he looked good on it, I wasn't sure I'd be especially if it was moving.
He looked at me, seeing my expression. "Just hop on. You're not gonna die."
"Oh, that's a relief."
"We're already late at the meeting and it doesn't come much as a surprise for the old hag, but I do want to know what the small assembly is all about since I want to confirm something myself—so if you don't mind, get your ass over here so we could move." he said bossily. I heard the engine roared furiously as he twisted his grip on one of the handlebars, though the bike was still on its place.
"Fine, then!"
It felt uneasy to be this close to him as I sat awkwardly on the motorbike behind him, not sure where I should place my hands.
He handed me his helmet. "You take this. Hold on tight." he said. And if I was right, I thought I just saw a smirk crossed his face before he turned his head back.
I stared at his helmet for a while before putting it on my head. The visors looked like a mirror that only replicated reflections, unable for someone to see the eyes behind it. I could smell the scent of his hair inside. It smelled like... baby shampoo? WTF.
I planned to sit not too close to him, but when the motorbike suddenly shot off in a fast speed, I was gripping around his waist tightly with my head bowed low. We got off the side of the city plaza in a minute and were shortly speeding along the avenues across the city. I could hear the vehicles passing us by and see various shades of lights in a haze. I should've known Sasuke drives like a madman. He overtook cars smoothly as if he was riding big bikes since grade school.
I never planned to die in a motorcycle crash. I gripped tighter against him and I could feel a rumbling vibration from his chest. Was he laughing? He was lean and fit, and I could feel them under my arms. I tried to ignore it.
He seemed to notice my horrified reaction and appeared to be enjoying it. I would've shouted at him if not because of the freaking helmet on my head. Well, if this thing crash, at least my head wouldn't crack as hard as his.
After probably twelve minutes of horrendous ride, I soon felt the bike slowing down to a stop. There were not that much lights and noise on where we were moving along now.
When he cut off the engine, I hurriedly hopped off, pulled his helmet and shoved it against him.
"You're crazy, do you know that?" I shouted at him.
"What?" he asked, trying not to burst laughing. He ran a hand through his rumpled hair, making him look more boyish. He enjoyed the ride, clearly.
We had reached outside the school. The few lamp posts outside were giving a subtle glow around the neighborhood. No one was around but us. The street was quiet. One of the entrance gates was left slightly open.
I tried to organize myself first since my shirt became a little twisted with all the wind blowing of the ride.
"You should've seen how stiff you were back there. You looked like a glued statue behind me. I could hardly breathe. This is your first time to ride on one, isn't it?" Sasuke chuckled as he swung off the bike and hung the helmet on the handlebar.
I reddened as I tried not to look at him.
"Well... this was actually my first to have a girl ride with me." he simply stated as he walked to the gates.
I was somewhat surprised he'd say that. I met his eyes as he glanced back to me, entering inside.
"Let's go, slug." he teased, not waiting if I'd follow or not.
There were a number of people inside the Mortis Organization quarter when we arrived. We walked in without creating much attention since the staff were in a middle of a discussion. Some of the rogue students stood around the table, including Shikamaru and Neji. They blinked their eyes twice after seeing me entered the room after Sasuke. He landed beside them and tried to catch up with the discussion.
Naruto and Hinata were nowhere in sight yet.
"Got hold up a bit." Sasuke whispered next to Shikamaru. "What's the sudden call all about?"
Shikamaru yawned. He was wearing a plain shirt and loose pants. "Not much of an urgent. Seems like a second Mortis Org will be formed in another school."
"So it's true then? About the Ame Institute?" I noticed the change of character in Sasuke's whisper. I stood behind them without a word, like the average wallflower.
"Guess so." Shikamaru shrugged. "Seems like they're going to open up there around north soon. It's a new school, and Mortis Guild sees it as a good opportunity to recruit new members."
"They're not planning to merge us with them, are they?"
"Hope not. It'll be a ruckus."
Naruto and Hinata caught up in a short while and I was relieved to have them there. The room was still filling up even if the meeting had already started. It was almost nine when all the members' attendance was completed. Good thing no one paid much attention to me. I hardly belong there.
The headmistress continued to explain.
"Ame Institute will be opening late because of some difficulties. In order to catch up with the other school semesters, they will hardly put summer vacation next year. I've talked with Jiraiya about the new school's capability to hold another Mortis Organization, and we came to the agreement to build up another one there. He already signed the contract. The institute isn't as big as Konoha Academy and they will be recruiting other new enrollees there, too. They will have their own base and we will have our own. If difficult circumstances takes place and such help is needed, then steps for complete merging will be taken. But as for now, the institute is just beginning, so we cannot tell if the Mortis Org there will be a success. If all else go well in the following months, we might call up a meeting for you Rogue students to meet their new recruits and their staff, too." Tsunade continued to clarify at the end of the table. There were some brochures of the new school they were discussing scattered at the middle of the table.
Minutes passed, and after listening to some of their discussions and arguments, I found out the new academy would be opening up the coming Monday. It wasn't going to be a regular school, like Konoha Academy, they would be putting up the same student society that trains and hunts demi-humans. But as far as I had heard, they were still starting from scratch—still in the verge of looking for potential students.
I could see some of the rogue students in the room didn't look too happy to hear about it, including Sasuke and his company. His eyebrows were pulled together ever since we got here. Naruto and the others didn't look too pleased as well. Didn't they want a back up in case something happens to Konoha's Mortis Org base? Didn't they want to have new members from a different school? Only the school staff and professors looked fairly contented.
"Do you think he'll be showing up his face right here?" I heard Naruto hissed, still whispering with his friends about someone I probably didn't know about.
"Let's make sure he won't." Sasuke mumbled.
000
000
000
Friday came.
I was still as wretched as ever. My training with Kakashi continued and I couldn't see any improvements at all, though the aches around my body weren't as bad as before since I was getting used to the pain. The callouses around my knuckles became normal to me. I still hadn't made friends with a lot of people in the campus too, so I was often alone without Ino, Hinata and Ten Ten. And, of course, there was still that occasional banters I got from that airy bastard.
I was not that good in academics, and it was worse if some of my textbooks were still locked up inside my stupid locker. My locker, and I cannot open it myself, because that schizophrenic Uchiha had taken its keys from me. And I hadn't able to retrieve it up until now. How pitiful.
I tried not to pay any attention to him. It was so childish. I decided to buy myself new textbooks. He could keep the locker if he wants to. I'm pathetic.
Nonetheless, it was all strange. With Sasuke's occasional mockeries, it wasn't only me who noticed his different behavior nowadays. He was just popping out of nowhere just to tease me even if I try to ignore him. His fan girls were even eyeing me with deadly stares as they saw him with me down the hallway one day. He was matching my hasty strides to keep up with me.
"You have some dirt on your forehead. You look nice, by the way." he mused as I tried to keep my pace faster.
I just finished training with Kakashi and was on my way out of the school so I could finally shower at home. I forgot to bring an extra shirt today. And it was hard to take showers in the school without my locker now.
I hastily wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and pretended I didn't hear him at all. It was hard though, especially if he kept popping his handsome face in front of me. He was relaxed and clean because he hadn't been in training for the past couple of days. I was the only one in our three-man team who was very left behind. I was still learning the basics, for crying out loud.
Even if my body had long been screaming at me to quit, my mind was firmly set. Sure, I got tempted to stop every now and then, but hearing others' ridicules just kept me going. This wasn't about if I had a bloodline or not, it was about pride and dignity now. I would show them one day. I could be like Sarutobi. My twisted passion was just starting.
"Why haven't you quit yet?" Sasuke continued to ask, walking briskly beside me, his eyes looking at me with curiosity. For some bizarre reason, he'd been suddenly turning up everywhere. I wasn't even sure if he was attending his other classes. He was starting to remind me of Rock Lee.
"Why should I? A month of training is nothing." I said arrogantly. I didn't look at him and only continued to stride out of the building. More students noticed me beside him and it was starting to get bothersome. It felt like I was too plain next to him.
"Hm—that's very… gutsy of you. Though you're face doesn't differ much to a street beggar today, you still have the egotism of a spoiled brat." he said.
I halted. We were already outside of the building and it was late in the afternoon.
"Egotistic? You're calling me egotistic?" I snapped at him. "Who acts like a spoiled brat among us two? Who acts like a self-centered asshole who thinks he's good at everything?"
"I am good at everything." He said. He didn't look bothered at all with my response.
"Oh, yeah? Well—you're not so good in treating people nicely, obviously."
"Want me to give you flowers and chocolates, then?" That smart-ass pose of his was just so infuriating.
"Just leave me alone!" I screamed at him.
What's with this guy, seriously? He wouldn't even take a second look at me the first time I met him. And yet he'd been bugging me ever since that weird incident in that locker hall. I'd never seen him act like this toward others.
I groaned when I heard his footsteps thudded beside me again as I walk faster toward the entrance gates, which was just a little further away. Some of the students who stood around the open field noticed us and couldn't help but watch our peculiar actions.
"Why should I? You're too fun to be with." He suddenly said in a lighter voice.
I noticed something behind his reply, but disregarded it. I just need a hot shower. Then I heard him stopped abruptly and I had to look back to see what he was doing again. He stood there, not looking at me anymore but at the entrance gates ahead of us. The humor in his eyes was suddenly gone now, and was replaced by an unsmiling one. His easygoing stance had quickly vanished.
I followed his gaze and saw a cluster of students just outside the entrance gates of the school. I noticed Naruto's bright, blonde hair among the group at once. They were all facing outside the gates so all I could see were the back of their heads. I heard Sasuke cursed before he headed straight to where his friends were. I sensed trouble, but I followed suit after a moment since I'd be exiting outside the gates eventually.
Some students inside the school were also watching the small huddle of males at the other side of the gates cautiously. I saw Sasuke pushed his way through the small group, with his friends, and disappeared behind the others as he got himself in front of the bunch. I heard his firm voice among the huddle as I approached the gates.
"What're you doing here?" he said undesirably to someone. It was the same deep tone he used at me when he threatened me at the locker hall.
"Well. Surprise, surprise…" Another voice sounded and I can't see who it was. It was an unfamiliar one.
"You're not welcome here." It was Naruto's impassive voice now. I couldn't see his face too, only his hair. The other students with them kept silent.
"Apparently. But we're not planning to go inside, anyway—so don't worry. We were just… checking if the school's still the same as always. Heard it was better than the others. But we still want to see it for ourselves." It was that unknown voice again.
"Sure it is. Anything that you can't get your filthy hands on is always good." That was Sasuke's remark.
I edged outside the gate and was soon standing at the side of the cluster. I could see them a lot clearly out here. Sasuke and Naruto stood tightly in front of the group of Konoha students—Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Rock Lee and a few more of my classmates. They were glowering at the people who were standing opposite them, just a few feet away.
There was a set of outsiders there. Fewer of them, but they stood straight and calm face-to-face with the Konoha students at the other part of the street. They brought motorbikes with them which were parked just right behind them. They looked like a bunch of troublemakers compared to us, without school uniforms and with only their rugged civilian clothing. I could smell trouble from the way they stared irately at each other.
I scanned the faces of the outsiders. They were all tall and appeared to be the same age as me. They all stood composedly, their eyes scanning the school and the students with repulsed interest. None of them looked familiar to me… except—
My eyes fell on the guy at the middle of the outsiders.
It was that red-headed dude with that dreamy eyes! Oh, hell—I know that face. It was that drunken pervert I came across the street that other night.
The hideous memories quickly flashed in my head. How could I forget that innocent-looking face? I never saw someone that close to me in my whole life. Not to mention the way he groped me.
He was standing there with his arms crossed unworriedly, unthreatened with the number of guys Sasuke had in front of him. His face didn't change one bit, it was the same as I remembered even if I saw it in the dark. He really looked like a child in a man's body as he stood there with the other older-looking boys behind him. He wore a brown shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. Looked like he was the one Sasuke and Naruto were talking to.
I felt like sprinting back home at once. I wouldn't want him to see me. I tried to sneak up at the side as unnoticeable as possible. But, then again, the world just seemed to like making me an idiot, because I lost my balance on my other foot and nearly stumbled at the sidewalk on my haste to go away. I didn't let out a gasp and straightened myself again.
The sudden short, scruffy movement must have caught the red-headed guy's attention, because when I glanced back to see what they were doing, his brown eyes met mine.
I froze.
Did he recognize me?
I wasn't sure he did, but there was something about me that must had caught his eyes since he didn't move them away from me as I tried to straighten up and moved away from the school. He only stared at me with round eyes, almost forgetting the people in front of him.
I didn't know if it was the sweaty and filthy look on my face and clothes that had caught his attention. But whatever it was, I wasn't planning to stay there and be awkwardly stared at. I didn't turn around to see if he was still gazing at me, but I noticed the sudden silence at the crowd just outside the gates. I hurriedly kept walking, almost jogging now, thinking how much I like to go home. The following street was just up ahead. Only a few more steps left.
And then, a hand suddenly grasped my forearm, just below my elbow. I nearly jumped in surprise.
The red-headed guy swiftly held me back and was already standing next to me in seconds. I had to turn around to face him. His eyes examined my face with marvel. I soon saw that same intense look he once gave me, although it was better concealed now than the last time I saw him. He was standing too close again.
"Hold on. Please." He mumbled. His touch became light against my arm, as if careful not to frighten me.
He held me there for a long moment. His eyes never left me. It was as if he had forgotten everything that was happening, except me. It took me a minute to realize that the noises around us had also died and I could feel more eyes watching me from the short distance. I never felt so conscious in my whole life. I was never part of whatever they were doing. Why couldn't this guy just leave me in peace? He didn't even look drunk now.
And then I heard someone trudged forward from the cluster behind us, breaking the unexpected silence.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Sasori?" Sasuke's voice sounded provoked.
000
000
000