A/N: Hello my dear readers! I am terribly sorry that I've been running so far behind updates. Now that my semester is over, I should be able to get more writing done this summer. So, yup :) I hope this doesn't disappoint! I haven't read over it as closely as I should so there may be typos. So, I'm sorry, but please enjoy

Chapter Four: How to Get Along with the Jerk You're Rooming with:

The first day of school had been a hit and much easier than expected, much to Rena's surprise. It was true that she and the girls had gotten a lot of attention, but other than that, it was just like a normal school day. By the end of the day, she was still tired, but settled herself at her desk and began her homework. She hardly even noticed when Sasuke returned…that is until the door slammed shut and Naruto's voice sailed through the air.

"Man!" the blonde boy cried. "What a day! I didn't think it would ever end."

Rena tried not to sigh in frustration. That was something she really did miss about Natsumi. Quiet study hours.

"Don't you have something better to do?" Sasuke said, annoyance coating his tone.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like go hang out in your own dorm."

"Come on Sasuke! We're supposed to play a game of soccer later and you're supposed to help with my chem!"

Rena felt her eye twitch in annoyance. Were they always this loud? Would this be what she could expect every day after classes were done? If that were the case, it was going to be a long and miserable year. At the very least, she wasn't going to sit around and simply put up with it. If she was forced to live with Sasuke, she was going to set down a few rules. She was not about to lose her 4.0 average because he didn't care enough about his roommates to shut up so that some homework could be completed. She pushed away from her desk and walked out to the main room.

"Hey, would you guys..." she began.

"Hey Rena-chan!" Naruto cried smiling at her. "What'd ya think of your first day at Konoha? The school work is crummy, but…"

"Calm down, Naruto," she said holding up her hand. "Konoha is a pretty interesting school. It was a lot easier than I thought to make the transition. I could, though, do without the noise."

"What noise?"

"The noise you're making and have been since you guys got to the dorm."

The blonde boy stared at her completely speechless. She could tell by the look in his eyes something about the situation wasn't quite clicking in his head. She sighed as she tucked some of the hair behind her ear. It was going to be a long year.

"Look, I understand you guys are friends and want to hang out…"

"Because you're such an expert, right princess?" Sasuke sneered.

"However," she continued ignoring him "it's hard to study with all the noise. I'm here for my studies. I would really appreciate it if you could keep it quiet here just for a few hours a day. Think of it like study hours. That way it gives me, Ryoma, and even Sasuke a chance to get some work done. Sound reasonable?"

Naruto stared at her for another moment as her words slowly sunk in. She kept repeating to herself that she needed to be patient and everything would work out in the end. It was hard, but she could do it. She was one of the Natsumi Kunoichi.

"You mean…you actually spend time every day studying?" he finally said dumbfounded.

"Yes of course," she smiled. "I didn't become one of the top students at Natsumi High by just sitting around and doing nothing."

"Humph. What makes you so special? It was just an all-girl school," Sasuke said.

She glared at him in response. She reminded herself that she needed to remain calm. She had to for the sake of her school. She would prove she was the bigger person.

"I was the top student. My GPA has never dropped below a 4.0. I competed in several different competitions and was a member of several clubs to give me a well rounded schedule. I helped found the Natsumi Kunoichi. My teachers recommended me as a tutor and I often volunteered with the school's tutor program. Just because it was an all-girls school does not mean it doesn't have the same if not higher standers than Konoha High. You should be…" she began.

"Wow really? You're that great of a tutor?" Naruto interrupted grabbing her shoulders.

She blinked at him a bit surprised. Out of her entire little speech, the only thing he had gotten out of it was that she was a "great" tutor? What went through his mind? She had a feeling that was one mystery that would never be solved.

"Um…yeah," she said slowly. "You know, at least that's what my students say."

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered as a grin broke out across Naruto's face.

"That's so awesome! That means you can be my new tutor right?" the blonde cried.

She stared at him in complete shock. Was he asking her to tutor him? Where did that come from? It seemed so out of the blue. Was he serious? Or was this just something to distract her so that he and Sasuke could hang out and goof of more? She blinked slowly staring at Naurto. His grin never faltered. He kept looking at her expectantly. She kept waiting for him to say he was kidding or pull the rug out from under her or something. When he didn't, she figured she should probably reply.

"Sure, if you want. I can tutor you, Naruto."

"Sweet!" he cheered throwing a fist in the air with a jump of excitement.

"Be warned," she said holding up a finger "I make all of my students work. I make sure they pass. So are you willing to work?"

"You're wasting your time," Sasuke said sitting on the couch, crossing his arms. "Naruto is about as block-headed as you can get. I doubt someone like you could get through his thick skull."

"Hey, I'm not that bad teme," Naruto pouted.

Rena looked over at the black-haired boy and glared. Could he really be so mean to his best friend? Besides, no one was so boneheaded that he or she could not learn. Everyone could be taught. It just took a little extra work sometimes. She had never had a student fail on her before and she sure as hell wasn't going to back down now. The fact that Sasuke didn't think she could do it was just an added bonus. She was going to rise to the occasion and wipe his arrogant little nose in it.

"Everyone can learn if he or she has a teacher willing to work for it," she said simply. "I have a long standing record of success cases. I will add another student to that list by the name of Naruto."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto beamed.

"A little arrogant, aren't you Princess?"

"Not at all, especially when I'm standing in the same room with the King of Arrogance. I'm just confident. There's a big difference," she replied smoothly.

Sasuke scowled at her while Naruto laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You're something else, Rena. But I think you're going to fit in juuust fine here," the blonde smiled.

She giggled and smiled at him.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll do just fine. That's why I'm here after all."

Sasuke let out a short "hn," but said nothing more. Rena fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She had to be the bigger person…no matter how tempting it was to act otherwise. Instead, she turned to Naruto, ready to hash out a tutoring schedule. It really did feel good to quickly be able to get into the swing of things at a new school.

Over the next few days, things began to fall into routine. Rena would wake up and go to breakfast with Ryoma, Naruto, and a grumpy Sasuke. There she would eat with the girls and/or some of the friends they were beginning to make. After that, they would go through the school day. Once school was over, Rena would sit and study with Naruto, helping him with his homework. The girls would have a small get together after their homework was done to discuss their day, compare school notes, gossip, and have dinner. By the end of the day, Rena was always ready to just collapse on her bed and sleep until it was time to do it all over again. Although the routine was becoming more or less stable, Sauske still didn't warm up to Rena. He was still cold, arrogant, and rude to her. Ryoma told his sister to ignore him, but it was hard. After all, Rena did share two classes with him and lived with him. Sasuke Uchiha was practically impossible to ignore. He was very much like a bug bite. You know you're not supposed to scratch them or they swell and stick around longer. Still, it was so tempting to itch and sometimes you just have to give into temptation. She knew things would have been better off if she would just stay clear of Sauske and not speak with him, but sometimes she couldn't help it.

In fact, it was the beginning of the second week when she found herself forced to answer the "itch" called Sasuke. Naruto was in the dorm for his afternoon tutoring session. He and Rena sat in the main room with books and papers spread out yet neatly organized. While Naruto worked fairly diligently when she cracked the whip, he still strayed off topic now and again.

"Hey Rena-chan, why are you rooming with Ryoma and Sasuke instead of the girls?" the blonde asked looking up from the chemical equation he was suppose to balance.

"Well, the girls had their rooms all situated with who was rooming with whom. I'm the only one with siblings attending here so I had a long discussion with the headmaster. I presented the case that it made sense just to put me in with one of my brothers and, after much deliberation, he consented to let me stay with Ryoma," she replied shrugging. "It was a long, grueling battle, but in the end I won."

"That's pretty impressive. That old perv is really stubborn. He usually never changes his mind on anything. I can't believe you got through to him," he replied.

"Hn. I'm sure she had to try real hard," Sasuke mumbled as he stood from the opposite couch to head to his room.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Rena demanded. "The debate team kept trying to recruit me at Natsumi High. My skills should speak for themselves."

"You're a girl," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "All you have to do is give the Headmaster a show and you'll get away with anything. Not impressive."

Rena jumped to her feet sending papers scattering everywhere. Her hands were balled into fists, snapping her wooden pencil. She was shaking with pent up fury. Who the hell did he think he was? Did he really think she would sit there and let him accuse her of giving the head master a strip show or worse? Like hell she would!

"You want to repeat that to my face?" she demanded.

Sasuke slowly turned toward her, his face showing only a bored expression. He wasn't even the least bit worried about her temper. She clenched her fists tighter. One more wrong move and she would slug him. She didn't care if she would regret it later or that she was suppose to be the bigger person or that she promised Ryoma she wouldn't start a fight. At that moment, none of that mattered. Sasuke was going to get exactly what he deserved.

"You're not impressive just because you can get your way using your passable looks," he said.

Bam! Her fist collided with his cheek with a resounding smack. He stared at her completely shocked. Her breathing was heavy as she reared her fist back and hit him again. She was passed pissed. She was livid. How dare he stand there and insult her like that. Did he really think she would stand there and tolerate it? He had no idea who he was messing with. She was a Kanari and Kanari's stood up for themselves. They did not let no good, snot-nosed, arrogant bastards rip them apart. They kicked some major ass. She raised her fist again.

"Rena!"

Ryoma rushed forward and grabbed her wrist with one hand and her waist with the other. He was lucky that he was a little stronger than his sister. It was probably about the only thing that kept her from breaking free and slugging the Uchiha again. She struggled against his grip. She could feel the tears sting her eyes. She was furious and hurt. She just wanted a little pay back. It was justice in her mind. Just a little payback for all the hurt he was delivering. Enough was enough.

"Rena calm down," Ryoma tried soothing her. "He's not worth it."

"I don't care!" she screamed. "I won't let him get away with this. He deserves everything he gets!"

"Calm down. What happened?" he asked softly.

"He said I did a strip tease for the headmaster."

Her voice cracked slightly, coated with tears. She hated the fact that the tears were threatening to spill over. She didn't want to give Sasuke that kind of satisfaction. She had to stay strong. All she wanted to do was hit him a few more times…just to make things fair. Was that really so wrong?

Ryoma tightened his grip on her for a moment. Personally, he wanted to hit Sasuke too. He had always stood up for his little sister and hated it when someone picked on her. Still, he knew what the right choice was. He had to drag her away, calm her down, and not get into a fight. He didn't want to be the bigger person, but he had to be.

"Let's get out of her Ren," he whispered.

"No! I want to…" she growled.

"I know. Believe me, I know, but we can't start a fight. Let's just go for a walk. We can get away and relax."

He pulled her close and turned her away from Sasuke. The first thing to do was to break eye contact. The next step was to pull her away from him completely. He pulled her toward the door. If they didn't leave soon he was bound to do something he would regret.

"What were you thinking teme?" Naruto shouted. "Rena-chan would never do something like that! You should apologize."

"Hn," the Uchiha replied. "I don't have to do anything."

Ryoma stopped, his hand on the door handle.

"Sasuke, I suggest watching your mouth. One more word against my sister and I will beat the hell out of you. Even if you beat me, any of our brothers will rip you to shreds. I highly suggest staying out of our way for the next few days. I can't guarantee I can hold her back if you do something so stupid again."

With that said, the Kanari siblings left. Ryoma walked his sister out of the dorms and out around the grounds. It felt like they had been walking for hours. After a while, Ryoma was able to let Rena walk more freely. He didn't have to hang onto her to keep her from going back and beating Sasuke to a pulp. As she got calmer, he in turn grew calmer which kept him from going back and beating Sasuke himself. For the most part, they walked in silence. There wasn't much to say. Sasuke had crossed a line that left them both upset. There was nothing more to it. What they needed to do was take some time to calm down. Rushing in, blindly throwing punches, wouldn't help anyone. At best they would end up with detention or suspension. That would end with wasting all the hard work Rena and the girls had put into coming to Konoha High in the first place. It wasn't worth throwing everything away over just one guy who stepped over the line.

"As soon as the time comes," Rena said as they headed back toward the dorm as the sun began to set "I'm talking to the headmaster. I can't live with him…not for the rest of the year. If I had a choice, I wouldn't live with him for another moment, but I know I don't have much of a choice right now. I promise I'll try not to start another fight, but…"

"Don't worry about it," Ryoma interrupted her. "I know why you're upset. We just have to try and take it easy."

She sighed. It would be a long next few weeks. Still, she needed to be patient and bid her time. If she could prove to be the bigger person, it would help her case in the end. She couldn't sacrifice everything she had worked so hard for over one guy. No guy was ever worth such a risk.

By the time they returned to the dorm, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

Good riddance, Rena thought to herself.

She had no interest in seeing the Uchiha boy. Not then, not ever again. She would be polite in class, but beyond that, she would refuse to interact with him in any way, shape, or form. If she did, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself. She took a shower to help calm herself further before changing into her pajamas. She curled up on her bed and doodled one of her notebooks, focusing on figuring out new ideas for the Natsumi Konouchi. In the end, she fell asleep with her notebook settled in her lap.

Over the next few days, Rena managed to avoid Sasuke for the most part. She avoided small talk with him in classes and rarely saw him in the dorm. Her temper had basically fizzled out and she was calm. Still, she wanted nothing to do with the Uchiha. There was no need to try and spark her temper again.

When she entered Chemistry Monday morning, she was immediately on edge. Each of the tables was set up with Bunsen burner. As much as she loved science and experiments, she hated working with fire. Her stomach churned, but she blamed in on the lingering gas from the previous period.

Just one period. I just have to make it through one period she repeated to herself.

She took her seat and waited for class to begin. As had come usual, Sasuke sat next to her, but didn't acknowledge her existence. Naruto talked with her as did Kiba when they came in waiting for class to start. The teacher explained that they would be distilling water. The lab would require the students to think creatively in order to get the best result. Nothing out of the ordinary or incredibly difficult. The would just have to figure out how to keep the container elevated and help catch the maximum amount of salt and distilled water possible. She could do that…just so long as someone else handled the burner.

"Man this is so boring!" Naruto complained as he poked at the beaker.

"Zip it Naruto," Kiba snapped. "You're not helping."

"But it's boring! I mean come on! That stupid fire isn't even that big!"

"It's big enough," Rena said with a slight snap. "It doesn't take a lot of fire to cause a lot of damage."

"It almost sounds like you're talking from experience, Ren," Kiba said raising an eyebrow. "Got some deep, dark secret we don't know about?"

She shook her head.

"Household fires can start from a spark. That's basic knowledge, Kiba."

"Hey Sasuke, let me try!" Naruto whined reaching for the burner.

"Leave it alone, Naruto. You're going to burn yourself," the Uchiha replied.

"No I won't. Now come on! You're the only one that's worked with it. It's my turn."

The blonde boy reached for the burner. Sasuke tried to stop him, but it was too late. Naruto pulled back with a cry of pain, his hand turning red from where he had gripped the not safe part the burner. The jerking motion caused the burner to teeter for a moment before falling into the fake sink area in the middle of the table. Fire erupted from the area as it caught the miscellaneous junk that had been tossed in there over several periods and began to spread.

"Everyone out of the room! Hit the fire alarm!" the teacher barked as the frenzy settled over the classroom.

Everyone ran from the room, Sasuke dragging Naruto behind him, cursing all the way. The gathered outside and waited for the traditional roll call.

"Naruto you idiot!" Kiba said hitting the blonde on the head. "We told you not to touch it!"

"It's not like I meant to start a fire," the blonde yelled back. "It was an accident."

"Hn. Just be lucky that we got out before it got worse."

"Sasuke! Naruto! Kiba!"

They turned to see Ryoma running toward them. Concern was etched across his face. Kiba waved at him.

"Hey, Ryoma. Where's your class?" he asked.

"I heard the fire started in Chemistry. Where's Ren?" Ryoma asked.

"I don't know. She must be around here somewhere."

"You mean you don't know?"

"It was a fire. We had to get it out. It's not like we were stopping to see where everyone was," Sasuke replied.

"We have to find her. I need to know she made it out," Ryoma said, panic edging his tone.

"What's the big deal?" Sasuke said.

"Besides the fact that there's a fire?" Kiba commented rolling his eyes.

"Rena's afraid of fire. How close was she to it? If she was really close, there's a chance that she's still in there."

"What do you mean 'afraid of fire'?" Kiba asked confused.

"I mean paralyzing, frozen to the spot fear. We had some bad experiences with fire when we were little. She…she didn't come to terms with it as well as I did. We need to find her."

Sasuke remained quiet for a moment as Ryoma began directing the others on the search. The next moment, he was running back toward the school. He ignored the call of his friends for him to stop and the number of teachers threatening him. Instead, he blew through the doors and ran back toward the chemistry room.

The smoke was thick, making it difficult to breathe. He broke the glass in the door so that he could reach in and open it. He tucked his nose into his shirt to help cut out some of the smoke. His eyes watered from the sting, but he pushed forward. He could hardly believe his eyes. Rena was still sitting at their table, pencil in hand, ready to take notes. Her eyes were locked on the fire. He silently cursed her. She was supposed to be a top student? She definitely didn't act like it at times. He pushed forward and grabbed her arm.

"Come on you idiot. What are you sitting here for?" he growled.

She didn't respond. He tugged on her arm.

"Come on," he repeated. "Rena let's go!"

She still didn't respond.

"Rena!"

She blinked a few times before coughing, dropping her pencil in the process. She looked back toward Sasuke, surprise etched across her face.

"Sasuke? What?"

"We need to get out of here. Let's go."

He tugged her after him. To his aggravation, she collapsed. He turned to yell at her, but stopped short. Never in his life had he seen someone more petrified. She was trembling from the fear. Her eyes were watery and she coughed from the smoke. Her free hand was grasping her ankle. He had almost forgotten about her sprain. She kept repeating that she can't, and he could tell that she was trying hard not to cry.

"Rena come on. We have to get out of here," he repeated.

She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. He let out a low sigh. Time was against them. A fire in a chem lab could result in an explosion if the right chemicals got hit. They needed to get out. He bent down and picked her up.

"Just keep your head down," he said pulling her close.

With that, he took off back out of the building. The moment they were outside, they were pulled to the safe area by Ryoma, Naruto, and Kiba. Teachers came running over asking a million questions while lecturing between praising of God.

"You guys okay?" Ryoma asked, fighting to keep the panic out of his voice.

"Yeah," Sasuke coughed.

"Ren?"

Slowly, she raised her head from Sasuke's chest and looked over at her twin brother. Her eyes were watering. She reached slowly for him.

"Ryoma…" she whimpered.

Sasuke willingly handed her over to her brother. Ryoma proceeded to whisper soothing phrases as he tried to calm her down. Within the next few minutes, she was loaded into the back of an ambulance with Sasuke and Ryoma. The paramedics insisted that the Uchiha still be checked out while Ryoma was allowed to come as family. The fire was still being put out as they ambulance pulled away.

It was well over an hour before Sasuke managed to find Ryoma again. The Uchiha had been given a once over and given a clean bill of health along with a lecture. It was to be expected, but the lecture was certainly something that he could have lived without.

He found Ryoma sitting next to Rena's bed. She was asleep, hooked up to various machines including oxygen. Was she really that bad off? Ryoma turned to face the other boy when he walked in.

"Hey Sasuke," he said standing up. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Nothing a shower can't take care of."

He nodded.

"Look, Sasuke, I know you and Ren got off on the wrong foot and things have been rocky in the dorm…"

"Forget about it."

"No, Sasuke you saved my baby sister's life. I really owe you one. Thank you."

Sasuke averted his gaze.

"Don't mention it."

There was a slightly awkward pause the passed between them.

"They said they aren't sure when she'll wake up, but she should make a full recovery. She managed to walk away with only a few burns and minor smoke damage," Ryoma explained looking back at his sister.

"She got lucky."

"Yeah…she did. Hey would you mind just sitting with her?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Why would he want to sit with the girl who had been trying to make his life a living hell?

"I was going to run down to the cafeteria and get some coffee. I probably won't go home until she wakes up. But I don't want her to wake up alone. So…"

While he wasn't always a good guy and he sometimes came off as a cold, inconsiderate ass, he was still forced to live with them. Ryoma wasn't a bad guy at all. The least Sasuke could do was sit with his sister while he got some much needed caffinee.

"Yeah, I can sit with her. Just don't take too long."

Ryoma smiled.

"Thanks. And trust me, I won't."

With that, Ryoma left. Sasuke walked around the room a little uncomfortable. What was he supposed to do? She wasn't conscious so what was there to watch? He could always leave. No one would know. Well, Ryoma would know. Ryoma had always been such a good guy and a decent friend. Things had been rocky ever since Rena had punched him. Still, he really did want to smooth things over. Not his favorite part of life, but one that was necessary at times.

"Ryoma?" Rena croaked.

Sasuke turned and walked toward her bed. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked around. She sounded awful.

"He went down to the caf. He should be back soon," he replied.

She turned toward him, confusion across her face.

"Sasuke? What are you…where am…what's going on?"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"You don't remember the fire?"

"Fire?"

"The fire in chemistry."

She looked at him confused. Then realization seemed to hit her. She bolted up right, her heart monitor going crazy.

"Oh my God the fire! Where's Naruto? A-and Kiba? Oh my God, Ryoma! He'll be worried sick! I…I…I gotta…gotta…"

"Calm down! Take it easy, geez!" Sasuke said, pushing her down. "Just relax."

"But…but…" she began.

"Calm down, Princess. Everyone got out just fine. You're the only that had to get pulled out. Ryoma…"

"Ryoma, oh God. He'll be worried sick! He must be…"

She tried to sit up again, but Sasuke kept his hand firmly on her shoulder as he took a seat in Ryoma's chair.

"He's fine. He just went for some coffee. Geez you worry a lot!"

"He's okay?"

"Yes! Yes, everyone's okay! Happy now?"

She bit her lip, but stopped trying to sit up. Her heart rate slowly began to decrease. He let out a soft sigh. She really was going to be the death of him. How did Ryoma put up with her?

"Sasuke, what happened…exactly?" she asked softly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what happened? At school. I remember the fire starting then…everything gets kind of fuzzy."

He studied her for a moment. Was she serious? Did she really have no memory of the event? How he saved her life? If she didn't…then he could certainly have some fun. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Naruto was being an idiot and knocked over the Bunsen Burner which caused the fire. We evacuated the building. Ryoma came looking for you, but no one had seen you. You ended up having to be pulled from the building."

"By who?"

He smirked.

"Me."

"You?"

"Me."

"Really?"

"Really."

She sighed and looked toward the ceiling. She put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. Sasuke frowned. Well, this certainly wasn't nearly as fun as he thought it was going to be. He was expecting her to be thanking him or say how she was indebted to him, but that never came. For a long time, she was quiet making it feel awkward again.

"I can't believe I froze up again," she said softly.

Another silence passed. What was she talking about "again?" Sasuke had a feeling there was a large piece of the puzzle he was missing.

"I'm sorry," she said turning to him again. "You risked your life to save me and I'm really grateful. I know we didn't get started off on the right foot. Is there any way we could…well, we could just start over? Make a fresh start starting today?"

He stared at her for a long time, half expecting her to change her mind. When she didn't, he decided it was his turn to be the bigger person. She and Ryoma were both making an effort. He could at least respect that.

"Sure," he finally answered before extending his hand. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I'm the guy that saved your life. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She smiled and shook his hand.

"I'm Rena Kanari, one of the transfer students from Natsumi High. It's nice to meet you, Sasuke. Thank you for saving my life."

She couldn't help but laugh a little. They were really making a fresh start. Who would have thought it would have even been possible. Then again, that was part of the exchange experience right? The ability to have new experiences, make new friends, and doing one's very best.

"Rena you're awake!" Ryoma said from the door.

"Ryoma-kun!" she squealed.

She sat up and tried to get out bed. Unfortunately, all the various equipment prevented her from getting far. She fell from the bed right on top of Sasuke.

"Geez! What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you understand that when you're in the hospital you're on bed rest?" Sasuke yelled as he tried to get her back into bed.

I think that this is going to be a very interesting year. Who would have thought those two would ever learned to get along? Ryoma thought with a smile.