Ok guys! 5th chapter! Let's do this!
Sasuke walked home alone. He didn't care about fangirls. They just followed him, taking pictures, making futile attempts of conversation. Besides, if they missed time for practice, then wasn't it their fault? He did normal things, didn't he? He didn't flirt with the fangirls. They brought it on themselves, drooling over him like a god. He hated it. He hated them. All of them.
But Maiya apologized. Which should've cleared things up, but didn't. He could feel the emanating warmth of her hand on his shoulder. In some unexplainable way, he wanted, no, needed that warmth. His mother would sometimes pat him, but then came him. Itachi Uchiha. The sole killer of the Uchiha clan. All of them, gone, dead. The raging, boiling hatred began to surface, and Sasuke switched thoughts. The only way to contain his sadness, his grief, his sorrow, melting into hatred. Condensed all at Itachi. His own brother.
It had been such a long time before he felt that warmth again. And now, Maiya Akimoto burst onto the scene. Then she left, running away before he could ask her to explain. Damn. Sasuke didn't understand anything. He felt as if a large, jumbled puzzle was staring him right in the face. Chaos, pieces that didn't fit, problems. He didn't understand any of it.
I puzzle over what happened with Sasuke. God. I was just doing great today, wasn't I? My teammates fighting, hurting Sasuke. Why did I even care about him that much? I'm starting to be a fangirl.
My hands flutter to my hair. The long waves of black silk cascade over my shoulders. Without thinking, I undo the hairtie, letting my hair fall freely. It slides down to the middle of my back. With one hand, I stroke the smooth hair. One by one, memories come flooding back.
I can remember my mother's face. Smiling, not knowing, not realizing that the fateful trip to San Francisco would kill her. My dad, his arm in hand with hers, driving down the driveway, waving goodbye. "We'll see you soon!"
I would never see them again.
The ambulance flashes in my head, over and over again like a painful mantra. "She's gone through post-traumatic stress disorder."
I know what's going to happen. I drop, my knees crumbling as my screams replay over, and over in my head. I shut my eyes tightly. Shakily, I stand up, veering to the left into a small alleyway. The sun peeks through the alley, brightening up everything but me.
I can't stop the replay. Me screaming, the heart-wrenching tears flowing from me and my grandma. The beep of the heart sensor getting slower, then going flat. Beeeeeeeeeeep. I can remember my mother's last words.
"I love you, Maiya." She whispered, weakly fading from me. I was seven.
Wet, hot tears flood my face as I cry. I'm not ashamed. My mother wasn't killed immediately, but my father was. Then, the stress, the pain was too much to handle. My grandmother and grandfather passed, months within each other. I was technically an orphan. But I maintained myself. Living with my aunt, going to school, a quiet friend group, small but unique. I was an only child.
I feel comforting arms wrap around me. I look up at a pair of onyx eyes. Staring down at me, and hugging me closer. If I wasn't already crying, I would probably rip him away from me. But I don't.
"What happened?" He asks gently. I know he's gone through this before.
"Dad. Mom. Grandma. Grandpa. In the same order." I whisper.
He pulls me closer, and scoots a little in the shade. His hand strokes my hair.
"Post-traumatic stress disorder." I explain. I don't need to be lengthy. I just need him to understand.
We don't move. Instead, we stay there until evening. I fall asleep for a while. I can feel a bond between us. A thick, strong bond. Sasuke went through the same things as I did. I wake up when he falls asleep. I hesitate, then lean closer. My lips brush his cheek. I jerk myself away. Good thing he's still sleeping. Slowly, I carry him back to his home. Then, I walk back home. I'm grateful to him, really, after every thing I said to hurt him, and him paying me back. By comforting me.
The next day, I jump out of bed. Reviewing all the techniques Sasuke told me a few days ago as I grab breakfast, I gulp. Kakashi-sensei is one of the hardest teachers. Rumors about him never passing any team.
Hello. Author here. So Maiya watches Naruto, (sorta just original, not Shippuden) so she knows some basic characters, but NOT all. :D
I swallow my fear while I wait for the rest of the team. Sasuke and I are here. Naruto's probably sleeping in, dreaming about ramen. Absentmindedly, I form a water sphere in one palm and begin to mold it with chakra on the other. A bit like Naruto's Rasengan, but this time I pull the water into sharp, pointy spikes. I test around, and will the water to protect me.
I shape the water into a point again and walk up to Sasuke.
"Is it pointy?" I ask. They seem pretty sharp to me, but something's missing. I test it, drilling it into the ground with a sharp thrust of my palm.
"Eh. Here." Sasuke walks over, gently putting his hand over mine and stilling my chakra. This simple act, simple move makes me catch my breath. Sasuke doesn't seem to notice.
"Make your chakra focused. On one thing, one thing only." He advises.
Naruto's head pops up in front of me, and I mold my water into a hammer and whack his head. Letting go, I release the water as it sploshes onto his head.
"Hey! Naruto, you dobe. Don't waste your chakra." He initially aims the warning at Naruto but then turns it to me.
"But it's fun!" I protest, relenting. Soon enough, Kakashi-sensei lazes over, a smut book in one hand and a kunai spinning in the other.
"Time to begin, guys. You remember the instructions from yesterday, right?" Kakashi asks, the kunai like a crazy spinning top. "Remember, if you get the bells, you can eat lunch. If you don't, you skip it. Also, if two of you guys get the bells, then the third without a bell will skip lunch. Under NO circumstances are you to share food. If you do, your team will be disqualified." Naruto gulps. Sasuke stirs. I feel as scared as Naruto looks.
Without warning, Kakashi grabs the kunai, stopping it completely with sheer willpower. "Then. Let's begin. Go!"