-Sigh- alright, alright. i promised it would be here, and there you are: Chapter 18, everybody. -Rounds of applause-
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Disclaimer: you think I could own Naruto? PSH! yeah right.
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Three more days passed before Sakura could gather up the courage to ask Naruto about Gaara's former 'incident'. And actually, it turned out he was a very hard person to ask a serious question. For one, she could never get the blonde alone to ask him anything…and the one time she did he had asked her why she had suddenly decided to push him around a corner and up against the wall. Sakura apologized and just asked him to call her that night. It was unlikely he would though; Naruto could never remember anyone's phone number.
Also, Gaara wasn't making Sakura's job any easier. Every time she tried to hold his hand or walk next to him in the hallway, he would get a sort of fearful tint in his eye and turn her the cold shoulder. Why are doing this to me!? Inner Sakura screamed at the back of her disappearing boyfriend, while outer Sakura growled and punched the school wall before tears started forming and she screamed out loud herself.
For the fourth time that week, Sakura followed Hinata and Neji home. For the fourth time that week, Sakura shadowed their steps as they walked into their home. For the fourth time that week Sakura trudged towards Hinata's room to work on homework. But this fourth night was different…this fourth night was the night that Naruto had forgotten his homework…
Hinata answered her ringing phone. "Hello?" pause. "Naruto?" pause. "You left it at school?" pause. "I don't know…I'll have to ask my father." Hinata motioned to Sakura that she would be gone for a moment and hurried out her room. Sakura stared at her history homework with no form of motivation whatsoever. Instead she decided to count the sheep that were oh so happily jumping past her over Hinata's pale green bedspread and into the matching pale green wall…
25……26……27……28……29……30……
"Sakura are you ok?"
Sakura glanced up to meet the pearl eyes of her now returned friend. "Just counting the moments until you returned!" the girl answered with a sheepish smile.
Hinata tried to smile back but couldn't. "Um…are you sure?" Sakura took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The white-eyed girl nodded and continued. "Ok, well Naruto forgot his math homework at school and if he doesn't get at least a B on this assignment Iruka-sensei is going to fail him for the semester. He's coming over now so we can help him."
Upon hearing the news that she might possibly have a slight chance at getting Naruto alone to tell her about Gaara suddenly put Sakura in a better mood. It wasn't long before the two girls were engaged in yet another silent conversation while they waited for Naruto to arrive.
Of course, Naruto had absolutely no respect for their silence. He barged in quite unexpectedly with Neji trailing his heels. At seeing her cousin, Hinata gave him a questionable glance. "Hiashi doesn't want a guy in your room without supervision." was all he said. It makes sense, Sakura thought. Hiashi-sama was one of the most traditional people she knew. He would indeed say something like that.
"Hi Hinata! Hi Sakura!" Naruto greeted with a grin. The girls said their hellos. The blonde boy took off his back pack and dropped it to the floor before he sat down. Ramen spilled out of it like an angry army of ants whose hill had just been kicked.
"No wonder you're failing almost all your classes. All you can think about is ramen." Neji stated disapprovingly.
"That's not true! I just appreciate a good snack every now and then!" Naruto retorted defensively while trying to shove all the ramen back in his bag.
Hinata took the chance to break between the two men before an argument arose. "Naruto, don't you need a copy of the assignment?" she asked. Naruto nodded. Neji, who was very quickly becoming annoyed with having the blonde-idiot-wonder in his home, picked up his own sheet of the homework and preceded down the hall to a room with a copy machine.
With Neji gone, Naruto seemed a little more at ease and made himself comfortable on Hinata's floor. "I'm thirsty." He announced.
"That's amazing." Sakura countered sarcastically. Naruto gave her a playful glare before turning and looking hopefully at Hinata. She rolled her eyes before saying, "I'll go make some tea…"
Sakura's eyes widened. This was it! Her chance to ask Naruto her question! As soon as Hinata's silhouette faded from the frame of her sliding door, Sakura bounced off the bed and onto the floor so that she could be eye level with the fox boy. Blue eyes blinked at her in surprise. "Ah-uh Sakura-chan?" he asked. Sakura bit her lip. "Naruto, I need to ask you a question. It's important." She explained. Naruto tried to create at least some distance between him and the girl, but gave up after only accomplishing a couple inches.
"But Sakura-chan, you're the smart one! I came here for help on my homework, not yours!" he whined. Sakura's eye twitched and she hit him upside his idiot head.
"Stupid! It's not a homework question!" she barked. Naruto moaned and held his head.
"You guys always have to hit me! Why do you always hit me?" he whimpered. Sakura gave him an apologetic look. The poor kid did get hit a lot.
"Sorry," she offered. Naruto looked at her and nodded in acceptation to her apology, so Sakura continued. "Naruto, please take this seriously. I have a question about Gaara…"
But Naruto wouldn't let her finish. He shook his head no and stood up. Sakura sat in confusion before realizing she had to work fast. "Please Naruto! I need you to tell me what he was expelled for. I know you know. Please!" she begged. She stood up and grabbed his arm. "Look, I tried asking someone else but they told me to come to you. Naruto, I know what he did was bad, but I promise I won't think differently of him, or anyone that was involved,"
"You can't promise that!" Naruto snapped. "We put all that in the past, and we each swore not to bring it up again, for Gaara's sake."
And there it was. A side of Naruto that Sakura had never seen before. There he stood, much taller and larger than she had ever realized. He wasn't smiling. His eyes stared at her. They were hard, intense, and unblinking. He was protecting his friend, and there was nothing she could do to sway him.
Sakura sighed and let her arm fall limply away back to her own side. Her mind searched for something to say, but came up with nothing. She let her shoulders droop in defeat, and turned her gaze away in shame. Naruto hated seeing Sakura that way, something usually so strong and cheerful suddenly fallen like a wilted flower in the peak of spring. It was just something you didn't see, much less want to see.
"Sakura, who told you to come to me?" Naruto asked. Sakura wondered if saying Hinata and Neji's names would be like betraying them, since Naruto had said everyone had sworn to leave the truth behind them. However on the other hand, perhaps if he knew Hinata had told Sakura to come to him, he might see it as an act of trust in a way. She decided it too risky.
"When I talked with Tsunade-shishou, she mentioned something. No one told me, I-I came to you on my own." She lied.
"Tsunade-baabaa-chan? Heh! That old bat; seems like something she would do." Some of the usual Naruto began to show through the severe. "But why did you come to me?" he asked. "Why not to Temari or Kankuro?"
"You're Gaara's best friend," was Sakura's convincing finish. Now that hit a soft spot in Naruto. He tried to look at anywhere but Sakura, but failed.
After a few moments of silence, the returning footsteps of Neji from one direction, Hinata from another, were heard coming down the hall. Very quickly and quietly Naruto said, "I can't tell you here…but…" he thought rapidly. "meet me at school tomorrow, super early. Before even Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Got it?"
Sakura nodded hurriedly before adding, "You promise you'll show?" Who knew? Was Naruto even capable of waking up that early?
Naruto sighed and said, "Yeh I'll be there. I never go back on a promise."
And with that confirmation they regained their positions in the room just in time for Neji's arrival with the copy and Hinata's with the tea.
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Sorry, it's so short. i didn't originally place chapters diliberately throughout the story when i wrote it, so it's difficult finding cut-off places. anyways, i hope y'all liked it, and i really am going to try and finish up the story as soon as i can. Thanks again to all my dedicated reviewers!
Hope everyone's enjoying their summers-
Olly BaaBaa-Chan