Well hello! This is A new goal-fanfiction's new chapter. See ya the next chapter.
Natsuki walked with the others to the lobby of Orihime Private as the sun rose, and then looked at her friends:
"Morning, Ino, and Hinata. Has the theme for the autumn party been decided yet?"
"No, we haven't..." Revealed Ino. "We spent the entire weekend brainstorming for ideas, but couldn't reach anything."
"Well, that's strange...But don't worry. I found a certain someone that can help us." Having said that, Natsuki turned around and let her giddiness take her over. Ino and Hinata looked at each other over that remark.
"There's something you don't wanna tell us," The blonde girl inquired.
"Umm, Ino? I think we shouldn't pry into Natsuki's life like that?" Requested Hinata.
"No, it's alright," The red-headed girl turned around again, and addressed her friends. "You may or may not believe it, but it happened... I spoke with Sasuke, and..."
"Wait...WHAT!?" Both Ino, and Hinata blurted out so loudly, it caught the attention of a few other students passing by.
"Actually, I just asked him to help me out with archery, and...Let's say we hit it off a little better than expected", Natsuki said.
"Does that mean...You and Sasuke-kun..." Ino said.
"No! Not like that!" Natsuki promptly dispelled any ideas that her phrasing may have risen.
"Absolutely not like that!" Ino repeated, because her herself also having a bit of a crush on the guy.
"We just talked a little about ourselves and helped each other beyond just archery," Revealed Natsuki. "And I think we can talk to him better now about the theme for the Autumn Festival."
"Way to go, girl!" Ino congratulated her friend with a strong, but amicable one-armed hug.
"Sasuke-kun always seem so unapproachable," Added Hinata. "For him to agree to even help you out like that, you must have hit something within him."
Deep inside, Natsuki wanted that hypothesis to be true somehow.
"How about something like a vendor party? I could bake some. I'm planning on opening my own bakery at some point," Natsuki said.
Natsuki had tied a light blue headband around her hair, and painted her nails with light blue nail polish.
"I'm not trying to sound rude, but what would a dance after the vendor party be like?" Natsuki asked.
"Well, it would be fun to dance," Hinata said.
Natsuki went inside with the others, they put on their indoor shoes, and sat down in their mother tongue classroom. The floor of the classroom was brown like the lower wall, and the upper walls were white like the ceiling, with ceiling lamps. The floor was gray, and on the floor there were brown tables and chairs. On the back wall were hangers for coats and umbrellas. The door to the room on the right wall was a white sliding door with a window above it. In front of the room was a brown podium with a brown table on top and a brown chair behind it. On the wall behind the table was a large chalkboard, and on the left side of the room were windows. The speaker was in the upper right corner of the wall of the room.
"Unfortunately, this year's class trip to Kyoto has been canceled. From now on, there will only be one class trip each school year. Our school was ranked last in a comparison of decent schools due to the bad attitude towards studying shown by some older students. Because of them, you are now in a bad situation, and it seems that you have betrayed the noble traditions of our school, and your parents. In order to restore the honor of our school, the high school students must improve their results. If they fail to do so, the sacrifice of middle school will have been in vain," The speakers announced unexpectedly(taken from Studio Ghibli's Umi ga Kikoeru-film, for which I do not own the rights).
"Presumably those boys who sneak out at night and throw unauthorized parties in the Orihime Private volleyball hall. Their leader is Hasumi Yusuke, right?" Natsuki asked Ino, who was sitting on the seat at the table next to Natsuki.
"I suppose so. Those boys do naughty things whenever they find the time," Ino said.
"Well, I'm not trying to sound boring, but now we can focus on the preparations for The Autumn Festival," Natsuki said to Ino.
Suddenly Yamato entered the room, and the whispering immediately stopped:
"Good morning."
"Good morning," The children said.
Crik! Suddenly, a stone was thrown through the window of the room, hitting the chalkboard, and then falling to the floor.
"Hasumi Yusuke," Natsuki said after looking out the window, and saw Yusuke and his gang standing in the courtyard, holding rocks in their hands.
"Hasumi, I believe you heard, what was said about you and your gang earlier?!" Yamato asked, opening the window, and looked at Hasumi angrily at his recent action.
"What does it matter?" Hasumi asked.
"They must be planning some nasty things again," Natsuki shook her head in annoyance.
(Later)
Natsuki shot an arrow right in the middle of the target in the archery hall. Then she blushed, when she saw Sasuke looking at her, but tried to stay calm:
"Thanks for your advice earlier, senpai."
Sasuke also felt glad to see Natsuki approach him like that:
"No problem. I see you got better at archery, and at being seen in public as well."
Natsuki lowered her head in an attempt to hide her blushing face, and her goofy smile:
"Wow...Thanks again!"
A short silence followed, and it was the young man who broke it:
"Listen, I..."
"Yes?" Natsuki asked.
Sasuke then shook his head and stammered for a bit:
"Uh, well...I was thinking, if you would like to join us to give Hasumi and his motley crew a well-earned lesson."
"Wow... I'd love to!" Natsuki felt honestly flattered by that invitation. "Us? As in, you and who else?"
"I am mounting a team with some classmates, and each will be responsible for something. Neji and Shino will perform recon, Shikamaru will draw out a plan, and Rock Lee and I will be responsible for the final attack. I think...One more in the front like would be an excellent addition, and I can't think of anybody else who can do it better than you."
"Really?" Natsuki asked.
"Yeah, you can now hit bulls-eyes with perfect ease. This will help us from a distance", Sasuke said.
Natsuki never thought she would be at such a point where her senpai would not only notice her presence, but also praise her skills. She felt honored and relieved for that:
"Alright, I'm in. So, when do we start?"
"How about tomorrow?" Sasuke asked.
"Okay. By the way, Neji is my friend, Hyuga Hinata's cousin, and in a way a friend of my friend. By the way, I should talk to you about the theme of the Autumn Festival, which I've only talked about with my friends Hinata and Ino so far. I suggested to them that you might want to help us with it, and I already have a plan," Natsuki said:
"Can we talk about it at my house today?"
"Luckily, there are no photos of Sasuke in my house so that Sasuke doesn't know that I have a crush on him, because I want to tell him, when I get to know him better so that I don't seem too pushy," Natsuki thought.
"Okay," Sasuke said after thinking about it for a moment.
"Thank you," Natsuki said.
(Later)
"My home is here," Natsuki said, closing the front door of her apartment behind her and Sasuke, and saw a newspaper and a brown package fall from the mailbox on the hall floor, and bent down to pick them up.
Natsuki stood up to her full height, and went with Sasuke into the living room, and sat on the living room couch, and put the newspaper, the package, and her bag on the table in front of the couch, and then looked at the video game console on the long table on the floor under the flat screen TV:
"I like games. I'm not trying to sound intrusive, but what would you say if the theme of The Autumn Festival was first a bazaar, and then a dance? I could bake with the others at the bazaar. I bake sometimes."
Natsuki opened the package, and saw a baking book inside:
"I think mom sent me a book with various baking recipes from grandma."
Natsuki started doing her homework, and after she finished her homework she read the baking book:
"How would an apple pie sound for the vendors? The apple pie my grandma made was really good, but I could also make cupcakes."
Natsuki continued to study the book until she saw a recipe for a blueberry pie, and smiled a little as an idea came to her mind:
"I could bake that blueberry pie for those vendors too, if you think organizing them is a good idea."
"By the way, senpai...I heard your birthday is July 23rd," Natsuki put the dark blue scarf on the table into Sasuke's hands. "Let's agree that this is a belated birthday present. I'm sorry I didn't give it to you sooner."
Natsuki had knitted the scarf in question after learning the exact date of Sasuke's birthday, and wanted to give it to him now, trying to be happy that Sasuke was now her friend.
"By the way, senpai...I heard that your birthday is July 23rd," Natsuki put the dark blue scarf on the table into Sasuke's hands. "Let's agree that this is a belated birthday present. I'm sorry I didn't give it to you sooner."
Natsuki had knitted the scarf in question after learning the exact date of Sasuke's birthday, and wanted to give it to him now, trying to be happy that Sasuke was now her friend.
"My birthday is October 10th, and my horoscope is Libra," Natsuki said, and started reading her horoscope:
"You're stressed out because of crushes, but if you're brave enough, you'll eventually manage to tell your crush how you feel."
Natsuki blushed a little, and put the magazine on the table, closing it, and started reading her grandmother's book:
"Senpai, what's your horoscope? Sorry for asking this question."
Natsuki blushed a little more as Sasuke looked at Natsuki:
"So I'm not trying to seem terribly superstitious. And I think I came up with a plan for Hasumi's gang. My friend Ino is the class representative, and I'm the alternate representative."
"Do you think Ino could also help us in the raid against Hasumi's gang?" Sasuke asked.
"About what we talked about earlier, and well, if it's not too much to ask...I think Ino, and Hinata could also help out in any way they can. They are also deeply disturbed by their behavior, you see," Natsuki said.
"Alright, I'll talk to the boys later and see if they agree to let them in," The young man concluded. "I think the fact Ino is class representative could be useful as well. Tell your friends to be ready."
"Gotcha," Natsuki said.
"Umm, yeah, by the way...You were right. My birthday is July 23," Sasuke said.
"Way cool, you're a Leo!" Natsuki chipperly added. "Okay, I won't disturb you anymore. See you!"
After waving goodbye to Natsuki, Sasuke remained still and wondering about the conversation he just had:
"I do wonder, how Itachi would react, if I told him I opened up myself like this to a girl..."