'God, I hate Mondays…' Sakura rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she made her way inside the school yard early on a Monday morning. Students from all grades came flocking in before scattering around the perimeter, forming huddles here and there. Despite still being early, cheerful conversation and laughing filled her ears as she headed towards her own group of friends.
"Morning guys." she greeted the three girls as she dropped down on the bench beside Hinata who offered her a kind smile.
"Morning, Forehead!" responded Ino, uncharacteristically chirpy for such an early hour. Come to think of it, she usually didn't show up until a couple of minutes after the first warning bell….
"Geez, Ino. Not so loud!" complained Tenten, cringing at her blonde friend's high-pitched voice. "What's gotten into you today? You're never this cheerful in the mornings." observed the brunette, settling herself beside the pink-haired girl who looked just about ready to fall asleep on the bench.
"Hello?" said Ino incredulously. "What hole did you crawl out of? Haven't you heard anything?" commented the blonde girl, glancing between her friends in surprise. Really, who hadn't heard about the news? It was the talk of the school the past few days! She shook her head. These three were lucky to have her as their friend or else they would have been behind the world.
Sakura rolled her eyes tiredly. "Not everyone is into gossiping, Pig. That's your job."
"Go back to sleep, Forehead. Your presence makes no difference, anyway."
"Why, you little-"
"What's all this talk about news, Ino? You've been going on about that since we passed the school gates this morning…." interrupted them Tenten, knowing that when these two started to roll, there was no stopping their arguments. And seeing the mood Sakura was in….Let's just say that it wouldn't have ended well for any of them.
The blue-eyed girl clapped her hands in front of her excitedly. "A new teacher got transferred here!"
The pink-haired girl rose an eyebrow in question. "And how is that of any interest to us? It's nothing new. Every year one or two new teachers come around."
Ino huffed. "Well, Forehead, I'll have you know that he will be taking over Kurenai-sensei's History classes. Which includes our class as well." she said, pointing at the four of them. "Don't tell me you forgot that Kurenai-sensei is away on maternity leave."
Sakura groaned. "Don't remind me, Pig." It was no secret that Yuhi Kurenai was the Haruno's all-time favorite teacher. She understood student psychology, didn't pressure them more than necessary and knew how to make History one hell of a class. The pink-haired girl couldn't recall even one time that anyone had complained about Kurenai-sensei's teaching methods or the homework she assigned. Although Sakura was happy that her favorite teacher was pregnant-the red-eyed woman had mentioned to her that both she and her husband wished for children more than once-she couldn't help but feel slightly crestfallen that she wouldn't be the one to teach them.
It was only natural that the school would search for a substitute but that didn't mean that she had to like it. They didn't even know who this person was or what kind of educational method he used. For all they knew, he could be some old man with an ancient mindset that demanded that they sit with their backs straight and their hands crossed on the desk.
"Don't be so moody, Forehead. I heard he's cute." said Ino, breaking her out of her thoughts and nudged her in the side with her elbow.
The pink-haired woman rolled her eyes at her friend's words. "This is not about whether he is cute or not, Ino. How do you even know that we are talking about a 'he'?"
The girl winked at her. "I have my sources."
"Meaning, what?" asked Tenten with a raised eyebrow.
"Meaning that she's the school's Gossip Queen. I'm surprised you even asked that, Ten."
"Shut up, Forehead!"
Hinata sighed in relief when the bell rang just in time to stop another one of the two girls' arguments as she stood from the bench and started walking towards the entrance of the school with her three friends following her example. They mingled with the rest of the students who were also making their way inside the building, pushing and shoving each other as it usually happened at times like this. Voices filled the corridors as students rushed to their respective lockers while conversing animatedly with fellow classmates, more often than not complaining about homework and surprise tests with a few in-between breaks to comment on the latest gossip.
Sakura rubbed her eyes as she made her way to her locker in order to grab the books she needed for first period-Math with Jafar-sensei- and only half-listened to Ino's babbling about the new substitute teacher. Really, she wasn't in the mood to hear about this guy-whoever he was. She was being horribly biased but she just couldn't help it. She and Kurenai-sensei had a unique teacher-student relationship. Sakura knew that if she ever needed anything she could always turn to Kurenai and the older woman was always willing to listen to her and give her advice every time the pink-haired teenager needed a confidant. Yeah, she was almost sure that she wasn't going to like this new guy. He could be the best teacher on the planet but in her eyes Kurenai would always be better. Not the best way of approaching a new teacher but….Oh, well. She would have to deal with it; both she and the new teacher.
Making her way around a huddle of students, she walked in her classroom and took her seat at the front before pulling out and putting on her glasses as Ino headed towards the back of the classroom. She took out her math textbook just as the rest of her classmates filled the room and took their seats, never ceasing their conversations.
"Good morning, Sakura!"
She raised her eyes at the sound of that voiced and beamed at the blond boy. "Good morning, Alibaba!" she greeted her friend happily. "How was your trip to your friend's house? I haven't seen Kassim in a while….."
"It was fine." answered the boy as he took a seat beside her. "Kassim's been going through a phase lately but he's much better now. He told me to say hi."
The girl hummed. "I might pay him a visit at some point to see how he's doing."
"Please do so. He needs a good beating to get his shit straight."
Sakura nudged the boy playfully. "Are you trying to say that I am violent?"
Alibaba laughed. "I'm not trying. I'm saying."
The pink-haired girl pouted. "You are so mean, Alibaba-kun. How's Morgiana? I haven't seen her since last week…."
"Oh, Morg-chan went to visit some relatives. She's fine, will be back by the end of this week. That cousin of hers though…."
Sakura giggled. "Masrur's been giving you trouble again?"
The boy's shoulders slummed. "I swear, we can't go on a date without bumping into him at one point or another. I think he hates me…"
The girl ruffled his hair playfully even though he was taller than her. "Don't think like that. I'm sure he just wants to protect his cousin. Masrur's a real softie once you get to know him. But don't tell him I said that!" she added, making both of them laugh.
They kept the conversation bouncing between them, offering the occasional greeting to friends and old acquaintances here and there. She straightened her back when Jafar-sensei walked inside the class and quickly all conversations came to a stop as all students-most of them at least-focused their attention on the teacher.
"Good morning class. Please open your textbooks and turn to page 30."
Focusing her eyes and attention on the white-haired man, Sakura pushed all thoughts of the new substitute teacher to the back of her mind…
XxxOxOxOxxX
The first three periods came and went without Sakura really noticing. Before she even knew it, it was finally time to head to Kurenai's History class that this new substitute teacher would be taking over. She retrieved her book from her locker and started making her way towards what used to be her all-time favorite class, all the while thinking about who this replacement was. She wouldn't lie by saying that she wasn't curious. After all, she was a star student and she had expectations. Med School didn't just open their doors to anyone. She certainly wanted a teacher that was understandable, diligent and took his job seriously. Simple as that. If this new substitute ticked enough of her boxes, then she would give him a chance.
Making her way inside the classroom, she walked past the first few desks and took her seat beside Hinata in the middle row. A couple of minutes later, Ino and Tenten joined them as well, taking their respective seats beside the two girls. Sakura glanced at her watch to see that the new teacher was 10 minutes late and she frowned disapprovingly.
"Stop frowning, Forehead. Your face is going to be stuck like that."
The pink-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Cork it, Porky. It's annoying enough that our new sensei is late. And on his first day, on top of that."
"Quit being such a perfectionist, Forehead. You're going to get wrinkles."
"Is that really supposed to be a valid argument? You're losing your touch, Ino." commented Sakura before glancing at the door. She sighed heavily and started tapping her foot impatiently. "Where is this guy, anyway?"
"Perhaps he needs to take care of some last-minute details regarding his transfer here?" offered Tenten.
"I don't think so, Tenten. These things are usually taken care of long before a teacher takes over a class." commented Hinata timidly from her place beside Sakura.
"Exactly." agreed the pink-haired girl with a sharp nod of her head. "I bet he's just some old geezer who can't find the right corridor….."
It was at that moment that the door opened and someone walked in, shutting it behind him with a loud bang.
"Alright, brats. Settle down before things get ugly." All heads turned at the sound of the foreign voice and multiple eyebrows were raised in question.
Ino smirked at the sight and nudged Sakura in the ribs with her elbow. "You were saying something about him being old?"
"Shut up, Pig." growly the girl lowly before refocusing her emerald eyes on the male standing at the front of the classroom with a scowl on his face. He was young, surprisingly so, and had long black hair pulled back in a segmented ponytail. Crimson-red eyes stared at them behind thin rectangular black glasses. His black pants hugged his hips nicely and the white shirt was untacked with the first few buttons left open. He was tall with a slender muscular build and appeared to be not much older than they were.
"Alright." he said as he leaned on the teacher's desk and crossed his arms across his chest. "Since your previous teacher thought that it would be a good idea to get herself pregnant, I will be teaching your class in her place from now on. My name is Judal but you are to address me as Judal-sensei." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I will not tolerate any form of disturbance or interruption of my lesson unless there is a very serious reason. Also, I'll be giving you 15-minute quizzes every week on the lesson. Any and all forms of cheating are strictly prohibited and should I catch anyone cheating, they will be punished severely. Are we clear?" He waited for the students to nod before continuing. "Good. Any questions so far?" A couple of hands were raised and he motioned to a girl to speak up. "You with the red hair."
Sakura saw Kougyoku lower her hand and heard her say. "How old are you, sensei?"
The dark-haired male sighed. "Not that it's any of your business but I'm feeling generous today. I'm 24."
'Wow…..He really is young….The guy's like 6 years older than we are. How did he even get to be a teacher at that age?' thought Sakura as she watched the male, paying little attention to her classmates' inquiries.
"Ok, enough with the questions." he said at some point. "It's about time we set some rules. Rule No 1, you forget everything you've been taught about History. I took a closer look at your books and I can honestly say that they are total crap."
Sakura's eyebrows shot to her hairline at those words. What happened next really wasn't her fault. Well, actually it was since she couldn't keep her mouth shut when she should. Damn that mouth! Impulsively and before she could stop herself, she shot up from her seat.
"That's outrageous, sensei! You can't just ask us to forget everything we've spent years learning!" she said determinedly, ignoring Ino's tagging at her sleeve to pull her back down.
Crimson eyes focused on her and she fought down a shiver but refused to back down. Whoever this man was, he had no right to ask them something like that. They couldn't just wipe out every piece of knowledge they had stored in their minds and had spent so many years acquiring. She watched him carefully as he pushed himself off his leaning position on the teacher's desk and started walking towards her. He came to stand in front of her desk, staring at her with those penetrating red eyes and she realized that he was a good head taller than her. For a moment, she felt her resolve weaken but she remained rooted in place with her eyes staring deeply in his own.
"And who might you be?" he asked, crossing his arms across her chest.
"Haruno Sakura." she answered, trying to sound more confident than she felt.
"Well, then Miss Haruno, congratulations. This is your lucky day." he said with a smirk that made the hair at the back of her neck stand on edge.
Her eyes widened slightly and she sent him an incredulous look. Was this guy for real? "What do you mean?"
"You just broke my second and most important rule." he said and his smirk widened. "Rule No 2, you never question me or my teaching. Do you know what that means?"
As pale as a ghost and with all her previous confidence gone, Sakura glanced up at him timidly and more than a little scared. "Trouble for me?"
Judal chuckled. "You're a smart one. I like that. Haruno, two hours detention after school today."
"But sensei, I-"
"Haruno, two hours detention after school for the next two days."
Her mouth fell open in shock. "What?!"
"Two hours detention after school for the next three days. Keep going, Haruno. We still have another two days to complete the school week."
Balling her fists at her sides, Sakura gritted her teeth but remained silent and took her seat beside Ino who was trying hard to muffle her giggles. To say that she was angry would be an understatement. She was absolutely furious! No teacher had ever given her detention. No one! And now this guy had the nerve to give her six hours of it? And why? Because she had dared comment on his ridiculous demands? Sakura bit her tongue to keep herself from saying something that would put her in a worse situation. Oh, how she wished she could just walk up to him and punch him in the face…..She wasn't going to put much force behind her fist. Just enough to break his chin and nose. Nothing too serious.
"Alright, brats. Open up your notebooks and start keeping notes. You'll be tested on today's lesson next week."
She directed a heated glare in the man's direction and saw him smirking at her. She was pretty sure that steam was coming out of her ears by now. Turning her head away from his provoking expression, she took out her notebook and focused her attention on the life and legislative work of Senju Hashirama.
Anything to get her mind off the crimson eyes watching her…
XxxOxOxOxxX
Sakura gritted her teeth as she scrubbed what seemed like the hundredth desk that dreadful afternoon. Her shirt was wet and her the skirt of her school uniform was covered in foam. Her hair clung to her sweaty forehead and her arm was beginning to hurt from all the scrubbing.
'Seriously, when was the last time they cleaned these desks? To think that the school pays a janitor for these kind of jobs…' she thought as she moved to the next desk. 'It's that bastards fault. Stupid, arrogant self-centered, sadistic twit….' she growled in her head. Really, she had never been one to disrespect those in authority, teachers included, but the man was simply asking for it.
"Oi, Pinky, are you done yet? I don't have all day, you know."
'Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear.' She put a fake tight-lipped smile that bordered to being a scowl on her face and turned to him, fighting down the urge to glare. "No, sensei, I'm not done. You gave me two hours of detention, remember?" she gritted out, wishing she could just flung the water bucket at his head.
"Well, be quick about it. I have more important things to do than sit here, waiting for you to finish." he said as he took a seat and threw his feet on the teacher's desk, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, because scrubbing filthy desks with your ugly mug just a couple of feet away is just the ideal pastime in my book….." the girl murmured under her breath, clenching the sponge tightly in her hand.
"What was that?" he questioned.
"Nothing, sensei. It was nothing."
"You are not being disrespectful again, are you?" he said, raising a challenging eyebrow.
"Of course not, sensei." Really, this guy seemed to simply love messing with her.
"Excellent." he responded with a wide smirk before motioning for her to continue. "Carry on."
Sakura simply growled lowly in her throat and started scrubbing harder than before, wishing it was Judal-sensei's face under that sponge and not the hard wooden surface of the school desk.
XxxOxOxOxxX
Week 2
"But, sensei, isn't it a bit much to say that about King Solomon? From what we have learned so far, he was the only one of the Old Kings to unite the land and rule with kindness and justice." commented Sakura, watching her dark-haired teacher from her seat.
Judal smirked. "Well done, Haruno. You're getting better. You broke two rules at once."
The pink-haired girl's eyes widened. "But, sensei! I just asked a question-"
"Remember what I said a week ago? You forget everything you've been taught and you never question me. Congratulations. You just broke both. Haruno, detention after school."
The girl simply slumped back in her seat.
XxxOxOxOxxX
Week 3
"Haruno, two hours detention after school."
"What?! I didn't do anything this time!"
"You'll do something soon enough. I just like to be one step ahead."
XxxOxOxOxxX
Week 4
Sakura's toes curled in nervousness as she waited for Judal-sensei to pass out their marked tests. Although she had aced the previous two, she couldn't help but be wary. It was common knowledge among all of her classmates that she and their new sensei weren't on the best of terms. And no, it wasn't her fault. That bastard was the one to blame. She swore to God, her sensei was out for her blood. Not a week had passed that he hadn't given her some kind of detention-which usually included extra hours after school in his oh so enjoyable company-and to make things worse, her parents had started asking questions. It was becoming increasingly difficulty to look them in the eye and lie about why she arrived home late once or twice every week-depending on her sensei's mood. She was also running out of excuses. The library was a good one but she had used it one too many times and even though Ino had covered for her a couple of times, she had to fix this situation somehow. She knew that her parents wouldn't be pleased to find out that their precious daughter with the ambition to get in Med School was serving consecutive detention hours.
"Well, well…..If it isn't Miss Haruno….."
Sakura was abruptly broken out of her thoughts and her head snapped up to see Judal-sensei looking down at her with a smirk on his handsome face and a sheet of paper held in his hands. He extended it to her but suddenly pulled it back when she went to reach for the test.
"Say the magic word." he said with his smirk widening. Thank God her classmates were too preoccupied with their own tests to notice their teacher teasing her like that.
'I'm gonna rip you to shreds you son of a bit-' "Will you please give me my test back, Judal-sensei?" she said carefully, making sure to keep her voice levelled and steady. Her cheeks were burning but she wasn't sure whether it was from anger or the fact that he had lowered his face at an uncomfortably close distance to her own. In an attempt to take her mind off the smirking lips and the penetrating red eyes staring at her, she lowered her gaze to the sheet of paper in her hands only for her emerald eyes to widen.
"What?!" she hissed. "B-? Are you serious?"
Judal raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong with your mark, Haruno?"
"Are you kidding me?" she said incredulously. "Of course there is! How is it possible that I got a B-? I answered the questions perfectly!"
"That's for me to say, Haruno.
"I knew those paragraphs about the Torran people by heart. I even double-checked them after finishing the test. No, I refuse to believe that this the mark I deserve!" she insisted adamantly, crossing her arms across her chest stubbornly.
The dark-haired male chuckled. "Openly disrespecting me and questioning me for the umpteenth time. You really are getting good at this, Haruno. But you know how this goes…"he trailed off.
Sakura sighed dejectedly. "Let me guess….Two hours of detention after school?"
"What a smart girl you are!" he said, smirking at her widely as he patted her head, making her eye twitch in annoyance and exasperation. "See you after school, Haruno." he stated before turning around and continuing to pass out the rest of the tests.
Sakura fell back in her chair and rested her forehead on the surface of her desk. 'Please, kill me now…'
XxxOxOxOxxX
Sakura sighed heavily as she corrected yet another mistake on the eighth grader's test sheet. 'Seriously, what eighth grader doesn't know how to distinguish 'their' from 'they're?' She shook her head in disappointment but continued checking the answers.
"Still going strong, Haruno?"
She looked up from her papers to glance at her sensei who had just walked inside the classroom with a cup of freshly brewed coffee in one hand and a carton of orange juice in the other. He walked up to her and set the juice beside her hand.
"Drink." he ordered, though his voice lacked a great deal of its usual bite. "I don't want you fainting on me from dehydration or something."
More than a little surprised, Sakura raised an eyebrow at her teacher but accepted the carton and took a sip, letting the cold juice run down her dry throat. "Thanks sensei."
He waved her off. "How is it going?" he asked, motioning to the papers spread across the desk.
"The truth? Awfully. Some of these eighth graders should be sent back to elementary school." she responded with a heavy sigh.
Judal chuckled and it sounded surprisingly genuine. Come to think of it, her sensei actually had a pretty nice laugh. "Tell me about it. And it's all that dork Sinbad's fault."
"Principal Sinbad?"
The man scoffed. "Yeah, that idiot. Too bad I owed him a favor. Asshole took advantage of that and threw this pointless task on me." His lips curled up in a smirk and he winked at her. "Well, it's good that I have hotheaded students such as you then, right?"
Sakura scowled. "I'm not hotheaded! You just like torturing me."
Judal raised an eyebrow. "Torturing you? Where did you get that from, Haruno?"
The pink-haired woman crossed her arms across her chest. "Are you kidding me? You've been giving me detention since day one. And I didn't even do anything to deserve it!"
"Have I?" he asked as he placed his hand on the desk, staring down at her. For once he wasn't wearing his glasses. Had her sensei always been this handsome? His penetrating gaze bore into her own and she was almost sure that those scarlet eyes could see all the way to her core.
"Yes, you have." she said, hoping that her face was more composed than her mind. "And I don't even know why you hate me so much…"
For a while he remained silent without breaking eye contact before leaning closer to her face. "Want me to tell you a secret?" he whispered in her ear, his breath fanning her increasingly heating skin as the seconds ticked by.
"Have you ever thought that I might actually not hate you that much?" he continued in her ear. "Have you ever thought…" he paused. "That I might just want to spend some time with you alone? Just you and I…" His hand came up to brush her cheek and his touch felt surprisingly soft against her skin.
Sakura was having a hard time processing his words but that certainly didn't change what he had just said. Her face was burning and her heart was racing in her chest to the point that she was almost sure that he could hear it. Words failed her and she impulsively licked her dry lips, not missing the way his eyes followed the movement.
"W-What are you s-saying, s-sensei…..?" she managed to stutter out, curling her fingers on her lap but still not being able to free herself from the spell his red eyes had put her under.
Judal sighed. "And you are supposed to be a smart one, Haruno…..Oh well, I guess I have to show you then…." he said and smirked at her so alluringly that she felt her resolve crumble piece by piece as his scarlet gaze swept her off her feet like a typhoon.
"W-What-"
She never got to finish her sentence. Within moments, his lips were on hers as his hand settled on the back of her neck, keeping her in place. For a few seconds, she just sat there, frozen in place but she soon found herself getting lost to the kiss, her eyelids slowly dropping as her lips began to move against his own. Her hand went to circle his neck but she hesitated, afraid of crossing any possible line between them-not that they hadn't crossed it already but….Her fear dissolved when he grabbed her hand and placed it around his neck himself, her fingers tangling themselves in his dark hair. Their lips moved against each other in a slow sensual dance.
He pulled back slightly when the need for air became too great, leaning his forehead against her own. They were both panting and he couldn't help his eyes from following the rise and fall of her chest. He briefly glanced at his watch and smirked.
"Your detention's up, Haruno."
"I-I know." she said and couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks when she noticed the satisfaction that crossed his face at hearing her stutter like that.
"Tomorrow after school." he stated as he moved back. "I'll be waiting for you at the end of the street just around the corner from the school grounds."
"A-Alright." she answered timidly, blush still in place.
He smirked at her, thought it was dangerously close to being a smile and she couldn't help her heart from fluttering. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura." he said, giving her one last peck on the lips before turning around and walking out of the classroom.
For a while, Sakura remained rooted in place, finding it hard to process all that had happened. She was going on a date. With her sensei. Her handsome, young sensei. She was going on a date with her handsome, young, not-such-big-of-an-asshole-after-all sensei who had just given her the most exhilarating kiss she had ever experienced in her life…
'He called me by my name….' She couldn't help the smile that formed on her face and she touched her lips with her fingertips. She was going on a date with her sens-no, with Judal. Now, to think of something to land herself in detention. Hmmm….
THE END
Alright! I think JudalXSakura was the last of the requested one-shots so I hope I didn't disappoint you guys. I've been kind of wondering when you're going to grow bored of me and all these stories I've been writing. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed all of the one-shots and I hope that I have satisfied all of your requests. I'm taking a small break from fanfiction, mainly because I have a Horse Riding Competition coming up and training takes up a lot of hours every day. So, that means no updates and Magi/Naruto Crossovers for a while. But knowing me, I won't be able to keep away from the keyboard for long so…..yeah.
As far as this story is concerned, Judal is a bit OOC but I like him much better when he's not acting that much like a bipolar b**ch. So, this is my Judal for you! (^.^) I hope you enjoyed this AU one-shot. I used to have a teacher that dished out detention hours like this, though he wasn't near enough as cute as Judal! Anyway, hope you liked it. Your reviews make me happy so….READ AND REVIEW! Hope to hear from all of you again when I get back on fanfiction!
Lots of love!