~Chapter 22~

Consequences

The next day in class, there was a lot of hype about a festival being finished with preparations. Kinata was interest but too anxious to ask her classmates just what they were talking about. It was clearly a common celebration in the village and she would only seem more out of place if she had no knowledge of such an event. Later on, during their lunch break though, she asked Sasuke about it. They seemed to have developed a routine of going out for their meals together.

"It's called the Star Festival." He finally told her offhandedly. She nodded enthusiastically to him in hopes that he'd continue. He didn't sound too excited about it like everyone else.

They were sitting on the freshly watered grass, so it was still damp. It felt nice against the blaring sun. Sasuke, especially after last night, truly did NOT want to be the one to have to explain this to her, but after looking into her prying eyes he figured he didn't have much of a choice.

"Okay?" She inquired further. He sighed, staring up to the blue sky.

"It's a holiday to celebrate, *sigh again* I don't know, I guess love…about a goddess, or like one, and a soldier in the sky. They fell in love. They became distracted, they separated. They could only meet on the 7th day of the 7th lunar moon." His voice was borderline board and annoyed. He couldn't help the tension in his body. It was also a day were many would be expected to admit their feelings – very personal ones – to another, in hopes of seeing that person to be with them. It was a detail though that he was happy to leave out.

"Oh. Sounds romantic." She mused, smiling to herself, following his eyesight up to the sky.

"To some, sure." She gave him a questioning look.

"What? You don't care for the festival then?" He gave a slight shrug.

"Let's just head back to class." He quickly stood up, sticking his hands deep in his pockets and giving her the cold shoulder. Kinata stayed on the ground, surprised by his suddenly darkened mood.

After a moment of trying to understand what his problem was, she shrugged it off, getting up to tag along back to the Academy.

Kinata wanted to join in on some of the activities, but her mind was so caught up on the upcoming festival that she wasn't any help to her peers at the table. Sasuke noticed this. He tried to hide his irritation. He couldn't get why so many people, more so the girls, would act so obsessed over a supposed event having taken place ages ago, and the concept was silly to him. Love…he scoffed, ignoring the females at his table. He stood up with a paper board in his hand, representing their 'team' consisting of Kinata, Hinata, and himself.

They had to come up with a complicated tactful scenario in a location with specific environmental uses. Iruka-sensei nodded his approval, dismissing their table. Sasuke smirked. Kinata had barely participated and the answer was solely based because of him. They had chosen the correct demonstration and the prize was early release from class.

Hinata excused herself as soon as they walked out of the building. Kinata shook her head.

"Her family is so strict." Kinata commented sadly. Sasuke shrugged.

"It's the Hyuga clan. What do you expect?" She eyed him. He had his hands in his pockets again and he seemed less concerned about life than usual. She frowned.

"I expect a family to let their child have a moment to enjoy life, at least when given the chance." She was using her serious tone. It made Sasuke pause. Her eyes were directed forward and her fists were clenched. He shook his head.

"You expect too much." She glanced over at his half smirk. She realized that he was only trying to calm her down. She blew out some air, like a deflated balloon. He watched, amused.

"Just like me worrying too much, huh?" She joked.

"Hmph. Yeah. Pretty much." He sounded like he was scolding her. She smiled.

"Oh well. So what do people wear to festivals like this one?" He managed to glimpse her way without her noticing. She had her hands folded behind her back and was watching the citizens scurry about. She was in deep concentration.

"Most buy kimonos. I don't dress up though." He was bored of talking about the subject already.

"Not surprising." She smirked as she directed her comment to him in a taunting manner. After a minute she frowned, watching her steps.

"So…it's by choice to wear a kimono?" He eyed her.

"Why ask?" She shrugged, staring at the ground before her.

"Well, I don't own a kimono. I don't want to look ridiculous if I go dressed casually." He was stunned by her words but kept his face in check, simply nodding.

"You'll be fine. But why go?" Kinata bit her lip.

"I've only been to one festival. Before, it was too risky for me. That one festival I went to was actually here. It was with one of my foster families." Gramps Izu…She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the image that wanted to invade her thoughts. Sasuke felt his throat tighten at her pained expression, despite how well she tried to hide it. He looked away.

"Hn." He didn't know what else to say.

He really could care less for the Star Festival, mainly because of all the girls that went overboard in showering him with gifts. He had found that if he locked himself in the house for the weekend event, he could wait it out in hiding. But he couldn't stand the thought of Kinata, alone on the streets, only for some overconfident jerk to come along and snatch her away. There was a large majority of guys who just liked the competition of having the most attractive girl accompany them at the Star Festival.

Kinata had a natural beauty about her that would easily bring the guys to her – and probably the older ones. He argued that it'd be a nice change to get out and enjoy the event after many years of missing out on it. If he had Kinata by his side, a large portion of the girls would be turned away by her presence. He felt flushed at the thought. He looked over to the girl of his focus. She wasn't paying him any attention, caught up in her own thoughts. Then again, afterwards, rumors would spread around like wildfire that they had been together at the Star Festival and they would officially be branded as a couple.

He let out a silent sigh, looking forward. Kinata's whole demeanor had dampened after bringing up her foster families. She must've had fond memories of the last festival she'd went to, more so since someone she'd cared about (who was long gone in her past) had been there with her.

Sasuke felt the urge building in his stomach to fill that void.

Last night she had returned his kiss (on the forehead). It was leaving lasting effects in his mind. Sasuke couldn't believe how much she had gotten to him, but he reflected over what she might say if he asked her to join him for the festival. He glanced over to her again. Out of nowhere, still lost in thought, Kinata smiled brightly to herself. It transformed the atmosphere around her (and thus him) completely.

He felt better in just seconds. He shook his head and made a decision.

Sasuke woke up in brighter mood; of course his expression stayed neutral. He had plans after class, but he'd have to come up with an excuse to tell Kinata where he'd be going. It was too anticipated that she'd ask out of curiosity.

When he walked into his hallway to go downstairs, he caught sight of Kinata opening her door. He paused. She wasn't fully awake, in the middle of stretching her arms and yawning. Her long dark curls were tangled. Her shirt rode up a bit on her right hip, showing smooth skin. She wasn't looking at him because her eyes were still closed. He felt his cock twitch at the sight of her vulnerable state.

"Morning." He nonchalantly spoke. If it was one thing he could pride himself in, it was keeping it together like he did. She came to a halt with her actions, looking his way. As soon as their eyes met she gave him a lopsided smile.

"Good morning." She replied, almost embarrassed that he had caught her appearing so groggy. She walked over to him as he stood by his door. Sasuke felt kind of flustered as she came closer. He had realized all of the details that he should be ignoring. Fuck this physical attraction…I can't do shit to stop it. He grumbled to himself, tensing when Kinata bumped his shoulder to get his attention.

"You okay?" She asked, poking him in the side. He gave a curt nod.

"I'm fine." He lied. He sounded on edge. Kinata eyed him but shrugged after a few seconds, letting it go. She turned to go down the stairs. Sasuke watched her retreating form. When she had disappeared, he brought his hand up to cradle his face.

"I'm far from fine." He hissed, trying to convince himself that his 'morning wood' had nothing to do with the girl that had yet again turned him on. This was becoming a bad habit.

When they walked into class, Iruka-sensei asked Naruto, Sasuke, and Kinata to stay while the rest of the students left to go out on the training grounds (as it was Friday). As soon as it cleared in the room, their teacher let them have an earful. Kinata was frowning the entire time they were being lectured for pulling the prank.

How'd they figure it out? She barely even heard their teacher as she remembered each step, going over what could've possibly had been their mistake.

Sasuke kept his face impassive while Naruto whined loudly about how unfair Iruka-sensei was treating them.

"Come on! We pulled off the greatest of all pranks! Don't we get SOME recognition? We worked hard, believe it!" Their teacher screamed back at how consequences follow reckless actions. Kinata caught the last bit as he finished up his tirade.

"…you three thus will be stuck painting the Hokage's outer wall today, seeing as how you find paint SO useful!" Both of the guys grumbled at that, Sasuke now displaying his irritation publicly.

Kinata just nodded, frustrated with herself. She still couldn't figure out how the jounin had discovered it was them.

After a couple hours of painting, Naruto began to complain.

"Shut up idiot." Sasuke growled.

They were hanging on wires, all holding paint rollers. The building for the Hokage was one of the greatest in size and the three had been assigned to touch up the rear part, which was a lot of coverage.

"No! You shut up jerk-off!" Naruto practically shouted. Sasuke ignored him. Kinata had been silent the whole time and it had the Uchiha boy's attention. She always had something to say, and usually intervened when Naruto got wound up. However, he could tell she was focused on thinking over something. He had no idea what though, and he wasn't about to ask her with Naruto RIGHT there. The blonde was placed in the middle, much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"It was probably your fault that we got caught!" Naruto continued when he got no reaction from his current enemy. Sasuke snapped his head to the blonde, glaring.

"What?" He coldly threw at Naruto. He really didn't want to encourage the idiot's ranting but the thought had occurred to him too that perhaps his alibis hadn't worked, and that it had rather backfired, making the jounin more suspicious. For Naruto to have seen this meant that Kinata definitely had.

"I bet they saw right through your crappy clones!" Okay, so the idiot kind of had a point, but his clones had been perfect. Sasuke feared it was the story that he'd come up with for all of them that had been the problem. His explanation for their absences was too vague. He had the strong feeling that Kinata suspected the same thing, which would explain her grim mood. He kept his narrowed eyes on Naruto.

"There was nothing wrong with my clones. Unlike you, I actually know how to perform that jutsu." Said boy's face heated up instantly.

"I know how to make a clone!" He argued, twisting around in his wires to confront the dark-haired boy.

"Tch. As if." Naruto began to yell out more profanities when Sasuke cut him off.

"Then prove it." Naruto glared down but crossed his arms.

"Then yeah. Fine. Yeah! I'll do it! Believe it!" He was pumping himself up, beginning to make the hands signs, when Kinata stopped him.

She had snatched Naruto's right wrist, having pushed herself from the wall with incredible speed over to the boy's wires, using her chakra to direct her.

"No. Stop it. Prove it to him after we're done." Naruto had wide eyes, not having picked up on Kinata's sudden approach. She was fluid and swift. Her face had a hardness to it that had the boy next to her scared.

After taking in his shocked expression, Kinata eased up.

She was just pent up with disappointment at having failed such an easy prank and her emotions were now sparked high because of it. Sighing, she raked a hand through her long hair.

"It's just, I'd rather finish this as soon as possible. We could even be done before class is with over for the others." Naruto smirked at her last comment, now happy to see her calming down and offering a benefit to their punishment.

"Yeah. That's true!" He loosened his fingers from the hand sign, so she let go of his wrist, smiling.

"Good. So, I think we should make this a game. You know, to make it more fun!" She gave up the mindset of having failed, deciding that she would analyze the situation later. Now, she just wanted to make the best of their sentencing. Naruto's cheesy grin only motivated her more.

"Heck yeah! What kind of game?" Sasuke moved in closer, now affected by Kinata's unexpected positive attitude. He had been watching intensely with an expressionless face, hoping Kinata would put Naruto in his place. Instead, the idiot had only brightened her mood. It left the Uchiha slightly irked.

He also felt relieved since seeing her so cheerful now meant that she most likely was over the idea that Sasuke had been the cause of their current punishment.

"Kay, so…we should have assigned areas to paint…and, hmm, well whoever can finish their section first, I guess they can have something special from both the other two during the Star Festival." She smirked at the intrigued faces of the two boys.

"Really!?" Naruto exclaimed, throwing the paint roller high in the air, splashing some red paint in his hair. Sasuke seemed suddenly in deep thought. She nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, it's a vague prize, but that leaves a bunch of options for the winner to ask for whatever they want! I know there must be games during the festival, so imagine if one of us were to win. If the winner of this game decides they want that prize, they could take it! What do you think?" She asked them, smiling.

Kinata had thought back to the first time at the festival with Gramps-Izu. She had seen all kinds of prizes, like enormous stuffed animals and collectables, intricate weapons and beautiful jewelry. At the end of the day, if Naruto or Sasuke won something, she'd be able to have it. It made her eager to win. She had no money to play games, but the guys did. It would mean that she would have a souvenir so that she could remember the special day.

Naruto was grinning like a maniac. Sasuke had the tiniest smirk on and nodded.

"Sure. I'm in." He said, smoothing his black hair down with his hand. It didn't help, as the spikes sprung right back up in place.

"Oooh I'm SO gonna beat you guys! Believe it!" Sasuke scoffed, annoyed as usual by the blonde's repetitive behavior. Kinata's smile didn't falter.

"Yeah? You think you can be me Naruto? Come on now." She was teasing him, but he only raised his paint roller higher.

"I'm gonna be Hokage someday! And that means I cannot lose. I'll win! Even against you Kinata!" He was smiling like an absolute dork. His declaration had Kinata laughing in good humor.

Sasuke appeared impatient, more so because of Naruto's antics.

"Are we going to do this or what? His tone implied boredom but inside he only wanted to show up Naruto and impress Kinata. With his victory, he could ask for WHATEVER he wanted at the Star Festival, of both Kinata AND Naruto. He smirked to himself as they all returned to their designated spots. He would definitely make Naruto go as far away as possible, to the opposite end of where he planned on taking Kinata. He mulled over just what he would want from her though.

"Ready?" Kinata asked loudly. She gave no time for a response, initiating a countdown.

"Set. Go!" They all went to painting.

The two boys became so focused and intense that their movement caused the wires to become increasingly strained. Not even two hours into it, nearly a third done for almost all three, did a loud creaking noise come from above, as if some object were stretching. Kinata, not as passionate about the game as the boys noticed the sound first.

"Guys? Do you hear that?" She tried to look down but was caught by surprise to see Naruto's wire breaking into smaller threads. She glanced lower to evaluate Sasuke's wires, only to find it in worse shape. Oh great! They've been moving too rapidly. They've ruined their wires…those idiots.

Both of them had ignored her first call, so she loosened her belt a little, readjusting her own wire so that she could lower herself to their elevation.

"Hey! Listen!" She tried again, but to no avail.

They'd decided their sections of painting by height and she was on the furthest left at the top. Naruto, being in the middle, was of course half-way with Sasuke on the right being the lowest to the ground. The building was approximately 120 feet and they had split their area into 40 feet dimensions, so Sasuke had only a 40 foot fall, meaning he'd have a good chance of walking away from it. Naruto had over an 80 foot fall and at best, if he survived, he'd have broken bones for sure.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Please, pay attention!" She was trying to remain calm but they were getting on her nerves. It was just a game! They had to get back to the roof before their wires snapped, and Kinata knew by the look of the threads that they'd only have minutes, ten if they were lucky.

Finally, they paused in synch, glancing up at her. She was completely out of range from her own section, initiating a time-out. It was the best move to make on her part. The boys didn't feel like she was trying to trick them to get ahead.

Kinata pointed to the wires. Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Naruto instantly followed her finger, yelping when he noticed just what she had a few moments ago. Sasuke stared at his own, not able to hide his surprise. He immediately took action, beginning to secure his wire to his equipment so that he could pull himself up. He stopped at the main breaking point, where more threads had broken free.

Sasuke reached in his side pouch, pulling out a small tube out. He opened it to take some odd silver square out, not even the size of his thumb. He held it against the threads, wrapping it up with them. Once it was situated, Sasuke performed a jutsu before Naruto had even thought to react. The other two had been curious and caught up in what the Uchiha boy was doing, both kind of in a trance. Kinata noticed Naruto's panic, not having whatever Sasuke had to fix the problem. She swung her wire over to his, meeting just a head higher than Naruto.

"Hold on. I'll pull up the lost tension on the wire. That way, you'll have slack and you can get passed the broken threads." Naruto smiled, relieved.

"Thanks Kinata." She nodded, giving a quick smile before working her way to heaving the loose threads. She kept Sasuke in her peripheral vision. A small blaze of fire had been set to the small square trapped in the threads of his wire. The square was now dissolving around it, bonding the wire. It cooled and solidified. Sasuke smirked at his work, satisfied that he'd used enough of the Plastonics to save his wire. He'd probably have enough to time to even finish painting his section.

Sasuke looked up to find Kinata helping Naruto. He had crossed the main point of the broken threads and was now climbing recklessly without the pulley. Sasuke frowned. Why couldn't Naruto just figure it out on his own? Kinata's full attention was now captured by Naruto. He glared at the blonde's back. What a fucking loser…why does she even care about that idiot? Sasuke shook his head, ignoring them to continue on with the game.

He would win, despite the interruption.

The three walked back to the Academy, to report to one of the jounin waiting for them. It had taken a full five hours to finish their work after Kinata had left to get different wires. Sasuke had won of course. By then, Naruto was just happy to have made it over the roof before the wire had snapped. Kinata had lightly acknowledged Sasuke's victory, having muttered a 'Congrats.'

It left the Uchiha boy frustrated. She didn't seem pleased at all with him. A permanent frown on his face had the other two edging away from him. He was tense. Kinata had mumbled a 'bye' to both of them as the left Ninja Academy. Sasuke snapped his head over to watch her.

Kinata was looking at her hands, which were folded in front of her oddly.

She was lost in thought.

"Uh, okay! Again, thanks a bunch Kinata. Ya know, for saving me! You really are something else…a pretty cool girl." His gloating made her visibly blush. Naruto had a cheesy grin on, his eyes squinted, and a slight red to his cheeks, scratching the back of his head nervously. Sasuke felt disgusted watching them both. He wanted to turn around and leave but he couldn't move.

"Well, sure! That's what friends do, right? They look out for one another." She gave him a smile that only further angered Sasuke. His fists clenched inside his pockets. He finally tore his eyes away from her to the ground, holding back a glare.

"Heck ya! Believe it!" Kinata giggled…giggled. Sasuke gulped.

What the hell's my problem? Why the hell does Naruto bother me when he's around Kinata? Sasuke grasped, right after growling those thoughts, that it was because she paid his blonde peer more attention then him.

"So I'll see you tomorrow." She turned to Sasuke, raising an eyebrow at the negative atmosphere surrounding him. "We'll be at Sasuke's mercy," she gave Naruto a mocking side-smirk, "so don't chicken out." He puffed out some air, crossing his arms.

"Tchya, whatever! I'm not scared of him, ha! I'll be there." Kinata shook her head at his declaration. Naruto gave a wave, large enough to include Sasuke, though he ignored the blonde completely. Kinata frowned at him as Naruto took off.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" She sounded tired. He continued to glare at the ground, contemplating what to say to her…if he should say anything to her.

"What you did, for Naruto," he paused. His voice was flat. "Why?"

Kinata stared wide-eyed at him. She was shocked.

"Why wouldn't I? And why didn't you help? It would have made getting Naruto to safety a lot quicker." He wanted to turn his glare onto Kinata but he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Tch. What do I care if the idiot falls? With his luck, the fall wouldn't even do damage to his already damaged head." His words were crisp and cold.

It stung Kinata. She glared at him, folding her arms.

"Shut up Sasuke." He instantly looked at her, pissed and shocked at the defiant and infuriated brunette next to him.

"Don't try to convince me that you're that shallow. You're not. You have a heart. And even if YOU don't think of Naruto as a friend, I do! You're MY friend, so you should have helped." Her voice barely maintained a sense of control, but she was definitely holding back from yelling all of this in his face. Sasuke growled. She had moved unconsciously closer to him when in the midst of her lecturing.

"Fine. I get it." He was practically growling his words, like a fierce wolf. It reminded her of when he'd first brought her to his home, when they'd gone to his secret hideout. She took a deep breath.

"Okay then." They eyed each other. He finally shook his head, sighing. His shoulders relaxed.

"He's the most annoying guy I've ever met. And it's more annoying that of ANY other guy, you chose to be friends with HIM." She smirked as they began walking together. His tone wasn't cruel, more like in joking disbelief. The tense vibes disappeared slowly.

Kinata was starting to see his side. He was either jealous – which flattered her – or honestly completely incompatible with her first friend, Naruto. The latter would be a major problem. She felt loyal to the blonde boy. They had a lot in common. He made her laugh and had such potential. It all showed in his determination and passion. She couldn't understand why one wouldn't want a friend like that.

"I chose to be friends with YOU too." She teased, poking him in the left side. He rolled his eyes. Their conversation became neutral after that, both mutually wanting to change the topic and head back to Sasuke's place.

As soon as they got home, Sasuke went straight to his room. He grabbed a different pair of shorts and his cash. He went downstairs to spot no sign of her. He frowned. When he felt a sudden touch to his left shoulder, he instinctively jumped to dodge an attack. Kinata stared amused at him, trying pathetically to hold back a smile. She gave him a two-fingered wave.

"So, is there a reason why you're so hyped?" Sasuke frowned. She had a book labeled 'Reversal Taijutsu Strategies II' under her right arm.

"I'm not…hyped." He said the last word oddly, not sure what she had meant by that. "I just, I wanted to let you know that I'm heading out." He didn't want her to question why, and he felt nervous about having to lie if she asked.

Kinata's smile dropped a bit but she shrugged, nodding in the end.

"Yeah, I really wanted to read up on a few chapters, so I'll see you later, hopefully. If not, be ready for the Star Festival tomorrow!" Sasuke kept his whole body stiff, not knowing how to react in front of the naïve yet understanding girl in front of him.

Kinata waited for a response but opted off for a 'later' to let him go do whatever he needed to do. He was clearly distracted. He had been since the morning, and more so when they had all been painting. She sighed, hearing the door shut, Sasuke having left, only mumbling a 'Night Kinata' just before closing the door. It was hard to live with someone so special and yet so complex like her. She'd always lived with predictable people, besides her first real home. That had only been for five years though.

Now, the Uchiha had reminded her that she was not alone in dealing with important personal matters that exceeded what most children should ever have to deal with. And if he wished to talk to her about it, he would. She wouldn't press the matter, just as she would not want him to do with her own problems or secrets.

It wasn't like she'd asked to be born of the blood that seemed to define her.

And neither did Sasuke.

She grabbed a glass of water, sat on the couch in his main living room, and began reading.

She needed a good distraction.

The Star Festival was tomorrow…and she'd be spending it with Sasuke Uchiha.