Disclaimer: Nope. Never owned Naruto.
A/N: Hisashiburi! It's been a long time since I started this story and I want to apologize for my very looooonnng absence (bows head). Anyways, the next chapter's here and I kind of feel bad that the previous one was way…off. But don't worry! I promise to clear things up so please be patient! So anyways, please enjoy the new chapter!
Chapter 17: The Dreaded Tot Project
6:30 AM
Sunlight filtered through the blinds. Birds chirped as they met the replenishing light of the sun. A knocking sound could be heard behind the glass panes as the birds flapped their wings for the sudden distraction.
"Ototou! Wake up now or you'll be late for school!"
A raven head popped out from the blankets as he focused his sleepy eyes at the nightstand clock.
"Six-thirty. Too early," he thought groggily. He yawned as he snuggled back down on the covers.
The pounding on his door continued. "SASUKE!"
"Yeah…yeah. I'm up, I'm up," he muttered under his breath. He used his arms to push himself into a sitting position. Scratching his head wryly, Sasuke climbed out of bed then dragged himself to answer the door.
He flung the door open to meet his older brother's irritated face. "What do you want, 'nisan? It's only six-thirty in the morning," he yawned.
Itachi bonked him on the head with a spatula. "Foolish little brother! Don't you know that you only have thirty minutes left to fix yourself up and haul your ass off to school?" Seeing his brother rubbing his head, he sighed as he made his way back to the kitchen to cook.
Sasuke made a face. "I wonder what made him so cocky in the morning…" Instead of pondering over the matter, he shrugged his shoulder and marched towards the bathroom.
…………
Minutes later, the two brothers sat face to face at their small square table. Itachi tried not to cringe as he took note of the bright orange long-sleeved turtleneck and kitschy brown khakis that Sasuke wore. His brother on the other hand kept on eating, unaware that the other was observing his lowly garb.
"Sasuke."
"Hm?"
"I really hate seeing you in those horrible clothes."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Change them."
"No."
"Brat."
"Heh." Sasuke smirked as he slurped his miso soup and presented his brother with an empty bowl. "More."
Itachi rolled his eyes as he gave him another helping. "Haven't you looked at the time? You're going to be late, ototou."
As soon as he received the bowl, Sasuke resumed eating. He was still chewing as he answered, "That would be all right, 'nisan. Today's cleaning day. And since I'm the only one assigned to do the job for the Cleaning Group, it's okay for me to be late."
His brother snorted. "That's a load of bull. Tardiness was never included in the Uchiha Family's Code of Ethics. Tomorrow I want you to get out of here as early as 6:00 am sharp. Got that?"
Sasuke finished his meal and muttered a word of thanks. "Yep."
As they cleared the table, Itachi suddenly remembered something. Turning to his brother who was busy washing the dishes, he smirked. "Say, ototou, how are your cooties coming along?"
It was a good thing he finished rinsing the plate or he would've threw it on Itachi's head. Sighing, he placed it on the rack to dry. "After you informed me that cooties are only figments of one's imagination, I decided to remove that word out of my dictionary."
Itachi laughed. "You're such a simpleton."
"Whatever." He wrung his hands dry with a rag then used it to wipe the counter clean. He could still feel his brother's burning gaze behind his back and it was starting to annoy him. Itachi was still laughing and clutching his sides.
He held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Sorry I laughed at ya." When Sasuke stuck his tongue at him, he chuckled. "But really. You do have a weird sense of humor, Sasuke."
"I do not!"
"If you say so..." Itachi said in a singsong voice.
"Hmf! I'm leaving," Sasuke stomped out of the kitchen, the sounds of his brother's laughter ringing throughout the entire house.
8:00 AM
Konoha Academy…
"Man, what a day!" Naruto stretched his arms as he eyed the sun admiringly. He was bonked with a broom on his head. He glared at the person who hit him. "T! Watch your broom!"
Tenten raised her broom high in an attempt to hit him again. "You're staring into space, you lazy ass! If you want me to stop knocking your head off with a broom, you better do what I say!"
"No freaking way! I'm not going to help you anymore. Instead, I'll just go and help Sasuke-chan with his cleaning!" With that he dropped his broom and headed to where their bespectacled friend was, sweeping off all the clutter that was left after yesterday's festivities.
Tenten's nostrils flared. "Of all the nerve…! I'll definitely kill him later." She turned her attention back to her work, sweeping the leaves vigorously with her broom.
…………
Sasuke finished piling up the mess. Now, he was putting them inside the garbage bags so that the janitor would pick them up afterwards. While he worked, his thoughts drifted to last night's conversation with his brother.
"Just so you know, you could only get cooties whenever you get a kiss from a girl. Don't tell me you have forgotten that one piece of information too, ototou?"
"Damn you, 'nisan," he muttered under his breath. He scooped a pile of dried leaves and dropped them into the bag.
'Doesn't he know that cooties are real? And besides, there are lots of girls out there who went after me. Of course, one of them could be the one who managed to snag a kiss from me!'
After filling up the bag, he formed a knot to close it. He tossed it next to the other two finished bags. He was about to grab another bag, when out of nowhere a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck.
"SA-SU-KE-CHAN!!!!" Naruto greeted him with a shrill voice.
Lord, he almost died from the shock. "What the heck are you doing, you dumb fox! And," He bonked him with his fist hard on the head. "Keep your voice down when you're calling my name! Are you planning to blow my cover?"
Naruto rubbed his head gingerly then grinned. "I can't help it. Whenever I see your handsome face, all I want to do is leap into your arms and give you an earth-shattering kiss!" He flung his arms out to Sasuke with his lips puckered up.
The raven-haired boy smacked his face with a broom. "Smooth move, Naruto. But I'm afraid I'm not going to give you an opportunity to simply glomp me like that."
"Why?" The blond sank down to the ground with his hand covering his face in shock. He pretended to be hurt. "Is it because I'm not woman enough for you? Or," he batted his thin lashes. "Is it because you're already with someone else?"
"What?" Sasuke tried not to laugh. He was now beginning to doubt Naruto's gender. "You're acting all weird these days, dobe. I think you've experienced quite too much sap while watching those favorite J-doramas of yours!"
The blond sniffed. "You're so mean! I've always wondered why of all the hot and gorgeous men I fell in love with…why should it be YOU!"
He sweatdropped. "Naruto…"
"I'm not going to listen to you anymore! I hate you! I hate YOU!"
And before they both knew it, they caught the attention of some passers-by who are, of course, judging them as weird or 'one of them was probably gay' sorts of things. Sasuke's cheeks tinged pink as he took hold of Naruto's arm, trying to pull him to his feet.
"Get up Naruto, you're causing a scene!" he hissed.
Naruto only glared at him. "No! Not unless you say you're sorry!"
"Dobe…"
"No!"
He gritted his teeth. Of all the nerve… "Fine, I'm sorry. Happy now?"
As if a balloon began to burst, Naruto's face entirely lit up. He clutched the hand that was holding him and squeezed it tightly. The crowd began their chorus of "Aaawwwwww…"
The blond sniffed. "I knew you'd never leave me out here crying for everyone to see, Suke-chan."
Damn he was getting annoyed. They're going to become the main attraction of their school. "Whatever. Let. Go. NOW."
With a look of utter happiness, Naruto relinquished his hold.
12:00 PM
School Rooftop…
'Man, what a day.'
He used his hand to fan himself. The afternoon sun was scorching hot. After Calculus Class, he headed straight to the rooftop to try and get some shuteye. Sasuke removed his glasses, heaving a sigh as he removed some flecks of grime from the lenses.
'How long am I going to keep this façade up? It was kinda weird that Chouji and his bunch of bullies didn't attack me this morning…' He ran his fingers through his slick black hair. 'Maybe…I'm not sure but I think they might've got an idea of who I really am…'
Creeeek!
Sasuke's head snapped to attention as the door opened and someone stepped outside. He cocked his head to one side when he saw the same familiar person who kept bugging his mind.
It was that Haruno girl again.
'What's she doing here?' he thought. Suddenly he felt his arm began to itch. 'Shit,' he cursed then scratched himself. 'What the heck is happening to me? I'm scratching like crazy just by seeing this girl. It's like an allergic reaction or something…'
His eyes widened.
"Just so you know, you could only get cooties whenever you get a kiss from a girl. Don't tell me you have forgotten that one piece of information too, ototou?"
No way.
Like the snapshots from a Polaroid, the memories from yesterday began to dawn on him.
The forced marriage… Kakashi's constant proddings…The Fireworks Display… And then… THE KISS!
He blinked once then twice.
Kiss? Kiss?
KISS?
"Noooooooooo!!!!"
Thud!
…………
Sakura rubbed the soreness of her right cheek. Neji had hurt her…again. Before the classes started, she confronted the light-eyed Hyuuga and explained to him why she disappeared.
To her demise, instead of understanding her reason, he brought his hand up and slapped her hard on the cheek. The impact of the hit caused her to crash against the wall. Her back collided with the wall and she flinched not only from the pain but also from her boyfriend's vise-like grip around her neck.
"I never really want to hurt you, Saku-chan. But because of your desertion, I don't think I will forgive you at all." His grip tightened and she whimpered. "I suffered humiliation. You made me kiss a frickin' post! Do you think I would listen to whatever goddamn reasons you're giving me? Absolutely not."
Tears formed in her eyes. He was going to kill her. The look in his eyes was frightening her. She had to…she had to get away from him; she was being strangled by the one she loved. She was about to be choked to death in any second…
She let her tears fall. A single drop fell and splattered on the hand that was strangling her. As if he waking up from a trance, Neji blinked and upon realizing what he was doing, he released his grip on Sakura's neck. The girl sank down helplessly to the floor, her tears forming crystal pathways onto her cheeks.
Neji brought his hands up in disbelief. Did he really do that? Did he really hit Sakura? No…it wasn't him.
It was…
It was…
He tried to reach a hand out to her. "Saku-chan…I-I'm sorry." He grasped her by the shoulders and hugged her. "I promise, I won't hit you again. I was just… I got… I, oh damn, I'm just sorry, baby. I promise, I won't hurt you again. Please, forgive me."
She wanted to believe him but she couldn't handle the intense fear she was feeling right now. She wrenched herself out of Neji's grasp then fled away from him.
She needed some time alone.
…………
Soon she found herself standing at the rooftop. She was planning to have a good cry when she heard a gut-wrenching scream coming from behind her. She turned around to look and her emerald eyes widened when she saw who it was.
It was the nerd boy she befriended a few days ago.
And the boy fainted at the mere sight of her.
Concerned, she rushed to the boy's side. "Oh my, are you okay?" she asked, making a move to touch him. The boy, upon seeing her hand about to touch him, sat upright then raised his hand to indicate he was okay.
"Don't worry about me. I'm alright."
"Okay." Sakura faked a smile to hide another onslaught of tears. Her face was already red to begin with so she just rubbed it with her sleeve to remove the remnants of tears.
"Uhm…how should I say this… I," she greeted quietly. "Hello."
The boy, instead of responding, backed away from her.
Confusion etched her face. "Is something wrong?"
"Uh…no! N-nothing at all," the boy stammered and all of a sudden, tripped on his own foot. He stumbled backwards, hitting the wall behind him with a loud THUD!
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed.
Seeing that he was hurt, Sakura immediately rushed to his side for the second time. "Are you all right?"
He automatically slapped her hands away. "D-don't touch me!" He was all worked up with the 'cooties' syndrome and he didn't want to have another allergic reaction from the girl. Not yet.
"I…I'm sorry," Sakura mouthed weakly. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak. She tucked her hands on her lap and bowed her head. She was not yet recovered from the incident earlier and now she was being treated as an outcast. She sniffed.
'Looks like I'm not able to hold them back any longer…'Now it was Sasuke's turn to get worried. He crouched next to her and tapped her shoulder. "A-are you all right?" he asked. He never meant to sound so hoarse. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sound it like that!"
She looked up at him, allowing her tears to fall freely. She didn't bother to wipe them off anyway, she was already found out. "No it's okay, it's all right. It's just that…my tears won't stop. And I don't know why…"
"Oh." That was a weird answer.
He pulled out a wrinkled white handkerchief from his back pocket and handed it to her. "You're an idiot, crying without any reason at all."
Still sniffing, she accepted the handkerchief. She wiped her tears then blew her nose out loud. Sasuke sweat dropped. He mentally reminded himself not to accept the handkerchief later. It was kind of gruesome to think about.
But first…
"Why are you crying?"
Sakura stopped. She toyed with the handkerchief, her green eyes dulling. "I…I don't think it's really any of your business. I…"
"Shit," he cursed. Running a hand through his hair, he eyed her coyly. "Would you be please stop with the 'It's none of my business' crap and just get on with it." When she didn't answer, he lifted her chin up, forcing her to look at him.
Sakura flinched. But this time, she was staring at a different person and not Neji-kun. "I…I don't know…"
"Just spill it." Man, he was getting restless.
And so she did.
2:30 PM
Inside the classroom…
Yuuhi Kurenai faced her class. "Okay class. Now that you've fully refreshed after the festival, I'm sure this time you're not going to complain of what I'm about to make you do." When the students started to whine, she glared at each one of them. "Oh, stop your whining! You're already in fourth year of high school so bear it."
Sasuke groaned. The one thing he hated most was being in Kurenai-sensei's class. And the worst part of it all…it was Home Economics. He watched Naruto obviously dozing off while Tenten was in some sort of deep thought.
He sighed. 'I hate this crap.'
"Well then. Now that I've all got your attention, we now have Jiraiya-sama to explain to us the details of our project."
The white-haired heavyset principal entered the room with a flourish. His easygoing grin annoyed some of the students. But to Sasuke, the lecher was evidently planning something, which was not good. He stood in front of the whole class, his grin widening even more.
"Good morning my beloved students! After the festival, I'm sure you're all tired right now, But! Due to the numerous amounts of money we received from the profits earned by the stalls, I'm happy to announce that you're going to have a fabulous project sponsored by yours truly!"
There was a loud groan from the entire student body.
Jiraiya coughed. "Well, aside from that, let me explain to you the objectives of our project. According to our Yes! Konoha magazine, the statistics of premarital sex is increasing. Although it is part of our human biology to reproduce, it's still a major factor to consider the age group in which sexual activity is to be rightfully allowed."
One student raised a hand. "Wait a minute sir, are you telling us that this project of yours is called Sex Education?"
The principal huffed. "Well…uh…yes."
The boys jeered. "OHHHH YEEEAAAAHHH!"
Kurenai glared at the principal. "But it won't be the kind of 'Sex Education' that you boys are thinking about."
"Awwwww…"
"Like we will let you!" The girls retorted.
"Anyway," the principal coughed, bringing back the attention towards him. "Like Kurenai-sensei here said earlier, this will be a different kind of Sex Education. Back to the statistics I'm talking about, in order to avoid the huge number of teenage pregnancies, we're conducting an educational program to serve as a wake up call to young teens out there to understand the consequences once they have tasted the path to eroticism."
Sakura fidgeted nervously. She and Neji certainly haven't gone to that level yet. 'Like I will allow him,' her inner self ranted. After their little bout at the hallway, she wanted to avoid him for now. She caught sight of the nerd boy who was sitting not far away from her. A small smile crossed her lips.
"If it weren't for him…I would've…"The principal continued his talk. "And now, we're going to discuss your project. Class, I want you to meet…" He held up something in his hand and the entire class gasped in shock.
"A DOLL?" Neji exclaimed. He was too pissed to even try to participate in a lousy project. And not to mention playing with girly girl toys.
"Yes, a doll. But this is no ordinary doll. It's called an infant simulator. Which means, this doll's programmed to cry, eat and move just, like a real baby. So don't be surprised if this little critter would suddenly just pee and poop at you," Jiraiya grinned then patted the doll on the back.
To everyone's surprise, the doll moved. It flailed its arms and began a shrill-pitched cry. The entire class went dead silent as the baby continued crying. Jiraiya smiled then handed the doll to Kurenai who shushed it with another pat on the back.
"Unbelievable. That doll's really something," Tenten concluded.
"So now let's get on with the project. The class will be split into pairs—one boy and one girl. Obviously, they will represent the Mom and the Dad. We'll assign them one infant simulator and together, they will take care of it for…" Kurenai looked at her notes. "A week."
Jiraiya presented two boxes and placed them on the teacher's desk. "Kurenai-sensei and I will now pick two names from the boxes. Take note, the partners assigned to you is permanent---until the week is over."
Kurenai stepped alongside the principal. "Well then, let's get the ball rolling!" She started to pick out names from the box.
"First pair: Neji and Ino."
Neji cursed under his breath. 'Great, the loudmouth Yamanaka is going to be my 'wife'. Ino groaned then resumed to pick on her nails.
"Second Pair: Hinata and Kiba."
Kiba gave a loud hoot while Hinata blushed.
The picking of the names continued until the pairs were down to four. Sasuke sighed as Jiraiya named the first two pairs. He stared at Tenten who stared back at him. He gave her a smile and to his surprise, she blushed and turned away.
"For the last two pairs…the first name would be," Jiraiya picked a name from the box then opened it. "The nerd boy."
All eyes traveled down to Sasuke. He gulped nervously, suddenly dreading the future that awaited him. 'Great. They're looking at me as if I'm a freak…' he thought ruefully. 'On second thought, I'm supposed to act like a geek…so that simply means I AM A FREAK.'
"Okay then," the principal proceeded to pick another name from the other box. "The nerd boy's partner will be…" As soon as he read the name, his eyes widened and his hands trembled as he began to read the name.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO?????????"
" NANIIIIII?"
A/N: There you have it, Chapter 16. My beta reader and I humbly apologize for the long update because our classes are inevitably separated and because of that we rarely get to see each other (Sniff! Sniff!). So that's why we were able to cut some of our busy schedule and came up with this chappie!
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