title: Born to Be Three
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH 2015
rating: K-M
summary: oo5: Sakura knows how important his academic ranking is to the Uchiha family. So, to help him succeed, she passes on a secret or two.
dedicated to: my baes on tumblr - i love you all!
NOTE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MONTH: I wanted to add Sarada in many of these prompts, because she's a part of this beautiful family too /sobs forever at my babies having babies/ but sometimes I either couldn't find a way to fit her in and, to be honest, I have little experience writing about her! Hopefully that will change in the future!
.oo5.
Test
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Sakura knows how important his academic ranking is to the Uchiha family. So, to help him succeed, she passes on a secret or two.
.
I won't be a disappointment, Sasuke vowed. His tiny fingers clenched around the body of the pencil; the graphite tip became dull under lines of essay writing. I refuse to be the embarrassment of the family again.
Ghostwriting breached all ends of the examination in front of him, faded characters and numbers of what he hoped was the right answer—and wasn't. His ears pricked up at the unbearable squeaking of pencil running across the paper, and he scoffed in disgust. Of courseHaruno would be the one to show him up and make him look like a fool. She whisked through the exam as if she were writing an "about me," while Sasuke struggled quietly.
He felt worthless and ashamed. His eyes sealed shut, attempting to block out the maddening punishments of what was to come.
"Second?" Fugaku looked over his progress report while Sasuke, ready to crumble at the sight, bowed his head down in disgrace.
"I'm sorry, tou-san," Sasuke whispered.
Crumpled paper hit the ground. Sasuke winced, opening his eye just a bit to see his "mediocre" accomplishment crushed under his father's foot.
"You lost to that Haruno girl again, didn't you?"
His voice oozed with acrimony. Sasuke pressed his forehead to the floor, feeling bile rise up in his throat. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he breathed. "I'll do better next time."
There was no physical discipline, though Sasuke would have rather preferred it than the discontented sigh of a father's failure in his son. Fugaku walked out the room, leaving the crumpled paper behind.
RANKING: 2/68
"Not good enough," Sasuke choked. "It's never good enough."
Wet drops sprinkled onto his exam. Sasuke felt his nose redden, and ducked his head before anybody could see that his emotions. How embarrassing would it be for others to think that Uchiha Sasuke was crying!
"Sasuke-kun, you dropped your eraser," Sakura whispered. Sasuke looked under his seat and found nothing.
"Hey, what gives?" he asked, a little louder than he preferred. But when he glanced down at his exam again, he saw handwriting unlike his own along the border of his paper.
You can do it! Gambatte! :)
I believe in you.
His eyes turned to Sakura, who continued her work as if nothing had happened. But just seeing her encouragement—something he'd never received much, if any—swelled within his heart.
"Good luck," he murmured under his breath. Sasuke wiped away the remainder of his tears and smirked. "Because I'm going to beat you this time, Sakura."
He began to write.
updates come regularly on tumblr for each day. I'm lazy at uploading on , but rest assured everything will be up by the end of this month. XD