Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
You guys are amazing, seriously. I told myself I would just have to update if I reached the 50 reviews mark and you guys did it. I almost contemplated just leaving at two chapters, but here's the third.
Thanks to:
LunarRose73
unexpection - who leaves cute reviews about all of my fiction
MM-Kokopelli
the waffle
TejiLuver - who is my fellow Neji/Tenten & Naruto/Hinata lover (heck yah!)
k i n d h a l o
Sirona of Arabia
tomboy901
saki-kun
ladyaymie
mtm123
FormerAurora - who has been a fabulous reader and reviewer of almost all my works.
MisSs005
animesweetie
KinjuSakura
Kuyaga
everlasting memories - who is another of my fave reviewers
aedsax shiroyuki
morelove
FalconFire
sasukuru
tsukigana
BloodHeron
.Rainmoon.
nightingale520
starlight15 - thanks for trying to motivate me! haha.
So to all of you who had been waiting, here it is. Sorry for taking so long. Also, this chapter is the longest chapter yet...even though there's only three. Hope you like it!
Enjoy!
Of Daydreams, Clubs and Name Calling
As the last chime of the bell rang, homeroom had begun. Sitting with her shoulders squared, legs crossed, and back as straight as a ruler, Sakura waited for her teacher patiently. Pink hair held back by a white barrette to match her uniform shirt, she sighed softly as she glanced around. Seeing the previous students from last year chat amongst each other and the newer students exchange nervous glances, she eyed the familiar figure of a dark-haired boy.
"Hey, hey!"
Turning towards the loud disturbance since she had started this school, also known as Naruto, she gave him a small frown. "What Naruto?"
The blond boy gave her a grin. "Hey, Sakura! We're in the same class!" Taking a seat in front of her, he rested his arms on her desk as he faced her. "What's up?"
She rolled her eyes. "Nothing, Naruto. You?"
Naruto gave her a thoughtful look. "Well, you see, I have a question to ask you."
"Alright," Sakura said slowly, tilting her head, "what? And if you're going to ask me out, my answer is--"
"No," he interrupted quickly, "I know." Sakura just nodded and he began slowly. "Well you see, there's this new girl." Pausing as he looked to glance behind him in a suspicious manner, he tilted his head forward. Sakura gave an interested 'mhm' as she waited for him to continue. "And well, can you get me her name?"
Sakura's eyebrow rose. "You want me to get her name? You don't know it?"
Naruto scratched his head. "Well you see, I didn't really have the time. She just sort of walked away." He frowned slightly at the memory. "But she was the one who crashed into me! I swear it!"
Confused, Sakura nodded slowly. "O-kay, but why do you need me to get it?"
He shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested. I just want to know her name."
"Right," she answered, a small smirk lighting her features. "If you weren't interested, you wouldn't need to ask me to ask for her name to give to you."
Naruto shook his head fervently. "No, no, but I'm not!"
Glancing at the questioning looks that Naruto and she were getting, Sakura tried to hush him. "Okay, okay, I'll make you a deal. Only if you're interested in her, I'll get you the new girl's name. If not, then I won't." Shrugging, she gave him a smug smile. "And you better be honest."
Two hands quietly planted firmly on her desk beside her arms. "About what?"
Startled, Sakura looked up towards the one and only 'spiky haired stoic ice-box'. As green eyes stared into dark intense eyes, her mouth dropped slightly. As smart as Sakura Haruno was known for, nothing could have helped her in this situation. She tried the most intelligible thing that came to mind.
"Huh?" she asked weakly.
"Naruto, why are you talking to her for?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowing. "Were you asking out another girl?"
Naruto gave a timid grin. "Of course not, Sasuke! Why would I ask Sakura out when every time she just says 'no'?" Sakura's head lowered, her pink hair covering her grin.
"And besides," he continued quite loudly, "I wouldn't even be able to date since we agreed on that pa--"
"Paying attention so none of us gets AIDS is smart," Sasuke interrupted calmly. "I know."
The blond boy looked troubled. "What? Is that what we agreed on?"
"No dating? Agreed? What?" Sakura looked between both boys curiously.
Naruto, finally remembering that he was talking to a girl, he snapped his mouth close. Sasuke just glared at him, wishing he could somehow seriously maim the blond haired idiot without the pink haired girl becoming suspicious. Goodness knows how much Naruto had already said!
"What he meant," Sasuke replied casually, "was that he needed to focus more on school. You know, since it is his Senior year and he doesn't want to fail." And with that, he gave Naruto a satisfying kick to the shin. "Right, Naruto?"
Naruto whined, rubbing his shin slightly. "Ah come on, Sasuke, my grades aren't that bad!"
Giggling at the scene the two made, Sakura could only shake her head in wonder. They were in their last year of high school and they still acted like elementary kids!
"Maybe not," Sakura said with a smile, "but I agree with Sasuke. You should pay more attention to your school work than those air headed, bimbo type girls you usually date." Glancing towards Sasuke, she found his onyx eyes trained on her as he gave her a stiff nod.
Naruto gave her a wink, a fox-like grin covering his face. "But Sakura, you know you're the only girl for me." A pause. "Ow, Sasuke, what was that for?"
Rolling her eyes, she pressed her lips firmly to keep herself from laughing. "My offer still stands, Naruto."
"Oh, huh? Oh yeah, sure," Naruto replied nervously, his bright eyes dancing from Sasuke to her and back again. "I'll uh, see you later Sakura!" And with that, the bell rang, signaling homeroom to be over. Their teacher never even made it to the door.
Shikamaru dragged his feet in slowly, his posture laid back and slouched. Giving his usual 'troublesome' remark to his teacher when asked why he was late, he gave a smirk when the usual rounds of, 'he is so cute!', or 'Shikamaru is way to cool!', and even 'I so wish I could be like him!' comments started.
Making his way to a seat towards the back to most likely sleep without being caught, his ears caught many things being said before dropping in a chair. Eyeing the two girls who had turned towards him to engage small talk and flirt, his lips curled in a small smile before resting his cheek in his arm. He yawned.
"Oh, Shika! You are just so cute!" one squealed.
He sighed as he heard a burst of whispers erupt once more. Envious ones. Cooing ones. Annoyed ones?
Singling this person out, his commenter's voice was low, but still clear, and spoke of immediate disgust. "You are such a loser."
Used to hearing such comments from jealous boys, Shikamaru smirked as he twisted in his chair sideways slowly to give a cynical remark in return. But as he turned to glare at the commenter, his lazy eyes widened slightly at the spoken offender.
It was a girl.
Naruto saw that girl from the hallway again. And she wasn't even looking at him. Seemingly avoiding him, to be exact. It annoyed him to no end.
He casually strode to his homeroom, three minutes after the bell, and was surprised to see her in his next class, chatting idly with that dog obsessed boy, Kiba Inuzuka, in the front row. Actually, it seemed that only Kiba was doing the talking. The mysterious girl just seemed to be nodding and smiling faintly in attentiveness. How polite.
Smirking in satisfaction, Naruto plopped down in a seat not too far, ignoring the flirtatious calls for his attention. Well, until the blond goddess of Hokage High, otherwise known as Temari, walked in. Strutting calmly towards him in her strategically worn mini-dress and three inch heels, she leaned gracefully against his desk as she gave him a coy smile.
"Why good morning, Naruto," she practically purred. Blue eyes rove appreciatively around her curves.
Naruto grinned. "Good morning to ya too."
"So where have you been this whole summer?" the female blond asked, pouting cutely, "I was getting worried you guys had a vacation without me."
"Me?" Naruto returned, the epitome of innocence, "I would never. We were just hanging around at Sasuke's for a bit."
"We?" Temari asked. "As in the Elite four?"
"Yup," he said enthusiastically. "It was good guy downtime. Ya know, since this is our last year and all."
A thin eyebrow raised as another smile graced her lips. "So what did you boys talk about, hm? Colleges, cars, girls?"
Naruto smirked, his grin fox-like. "Yup, you know it babe."
"Oh?" she asked, a smug smile on, "Any girl in particular?"
"Any…girl?" his lips twisted and eyebrows narrowed in thought. Hmm. Bright eyes strayed to a certain dark-haired girl three seats in front of him, two rows over. She knew his name, so why couldn't he figure out hers?
Oh, right, Naruto thought idly, almost everyone probably knew him. Not to be boastful, of course. It was just how it was. Eyes traveling back to the mysterious girl before him in another inspection, Naruto's eyes traveled from her ragged, bobbed hair to her clothes. Short, dark hair. Pale, lavender eyes. Cute, petite nose. Fair, porcelain skin. Big, baggy clothes…
Now where had he seen her before? She just looked so familiar. Maybe he should have taken up Sakura's offer after all. This itch in his fur was killing him. Scratching his head in a thoughtful manner, he failed to see the perfectly manicured hand waving in his face impatiently.
"Naruto? He-llo! Geez, stop staring at nothing!"
Jolted from Temari's voice, he hurriedly stated, "No one! Absolutely no one!"
A confused look crossed her face. "Huh?"
"Oh," Naruto said sheepishly, noting all eyes were on them two, "Sorry about that. I was just day--"
"Dreaming, Naruto?" Jiraiya finished, a leery grin on his face in the front of the class. "As much as you must find Temari interesting, I would appreciate it if you two would save your flirtations for later." He eyed the suddenly bashful Naruto and the pouty Temari before giving a hearty chuckle and turning to write notes on the board.
Naruto didn't even want to guess what his pervy teacher was thinking.
XoXoXoXo
"Lunch! Lunch, lunch, lunch," Naruto cheerfully chanted, his arms full with the food he had just bought.
Sasuke's nose wrinkled in plain disgust. "I can't believe you actually eat that crap."
The blond head feigned a look of hurt. "But it's so cheap for a lot of food! I don't care! I'll eat--Sakura!"
Onyx eyes narrowed. "What?"
Naruto looked past his friend, waving at a pink-haired girl behind him. "Hey, hey Sakura! I gotta talk to you!" Throwing his contents on their usual table, he took off with one last glance. "Hey, Sasuke, can you watch that for me?"
Sasuke just grunted before sitting down.
Making a bee-line in Sakura's direction, he grabbed her arm before rushing her to the side of the cafeteria. "Okay, okay, I give. I'm interested. Now can you please find out her name?"
Sakura sighed, slightly annoyed. "Naruto, you're annoying. I just lost my place in the lunch line because of you." She huffed, blowing a stray strand upwards.
"I'll give you some food," he offered, "I have tons."
"Alright, alright," Sakura said, waving her hand, "so describe this 'mysterious girl'. And make this quick," she added.
Naruto scratched his head. "Right. So she's kinda small."
Sea green eyes rolled in annoyance. "Wow, big help."
"No, and you see, she has dark hair." Lips twisted. "And it's short."
She nodded. "Right, right."
"She's more cute than pretty."
"Mhm."
"And she has these really amazing eyes. Pale, lavender eyes."
"Okay."
"She kind of stutters, though."
"Alright."
"And her voice is kind of high, I guess. But it's still nice."
"And?"
"And she wears baggy clothes all the time."
Eyebrows furrowed, Sakura frowned. "Short, dark hair. Pale, unique eyes. Is petite, stutters, and wears baggy clothes all the time…" She snapped her fingers then looked him straight in the eye. "Naruto, you're such an idiot."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Huh? What? Did I miss something?"
She shook her head. "I can't believe it Naruto, all this time. Gosh! How dense can you be?"
The blond scratched his hair once more. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Naruto, you've known her for like…ever!" Sakura exclaimed. "My goodness, I shouldn't even help dense people like you!"
"No, no," he protested earnestly, "help dense people like me!"
"With what?" interrupted an angry voice.
Sakura and Naruto both looked up and gulped. "Um, nothing, I mean, well, Naruto was talking about math! You know," she jabbed him in the ribs, "cuz' he's just so bad at it and he's just so dense."
Sasuke eyed the two suspiciously, not believing a word the pretty pink-haired girl said. "I don't buy it. Sell me another."
"But it's the truth!" Naruto objected, crossing his fingers behind his back. "It wasn't anything that important."
Sasuke gave Sakura a lingering stare before turning to Naruto and grabbing him buy his collar. "Strike two," he muttered before dragging Naruto towards their table.
Neji's eyes flashed, his cold demeanor slowly dissipating with every passing second into anger. "You guys are a bunch of idiots!" he yelled. Watching the martial arts club freeze at his voice, he eyed them all with distaste. "You all fight like a bunch of girls," he seethed.
"How the hell are we even going to be able to compete in the annual Konoha competition with a bunch of imbeciles like you?" Neji continued to rage, "This makes me sick, you are all a bunch of failures. I want to see all of you working twice as hard as you are now and I will hold you back after school. Last period or not, you still have to work hard before you can go home. I bet that the next girl that would come walking through these doors could beat the cra--"
"Um, excuse me!"
Glaring over at the sound of a feminine voice interrupting his lecture, he was annoyed to find a girl standing at the entrance of the gym. A confused look adorned her face. "Um, am I in the right place?" she asked. "The gym? There's supposed to be some sort of club that I'm interested in joining."
"It depends, oh beautiful flower," Lee replied joyfully from his place on the mat, not a bit fazed at Neji's previous yelling, "on what club you wish to join."
Lips twisting in a slight frown, Neji noted she looked a little familiar.
"There are two clubs in the same place, at the same time? What are they?"
"It depends," Lee said once more enthusiastically before Neji could answer, "whether you wish to join the youthful, dynamic martial arts club, or Neji's fan-girl club!" Motioning to the bleachers scattered with whispering, giggly girls with some who started glaring at the girl for interrupting the o-so-hot-even-when-he's-mad Neji Hyuuga, Lee turned back to the obviously confused dark-haired flower.
"Um…I meant the martial arts club," she answered.
Neji finally stepped in, straining to get a better look from across the gym. "What do you most excel at."
"Weapons," she replied confidently.
"Any in particular?"
"I do all."
His eyebrow rose. "Oh? And how exactly accurate are you in throwing." Watching her face brighten instantly, she gave him a smug grin.
"One hundred percent."
"Taijutsu skills?"
"Above average."
Neji nodded, his temper cooled slightly by the news. "Your name?"
"Tenten," she answered coolly.
"Is this your first time here?"
"Yes."
"Then you can sit on the bleachers and watch."
Tenten automatically protested. "But I want to start today. Now. And besides, it seems like you need more experience fighters than you have at this moment."
"Are you always this disrespectful?" he asked coldly, referring to the interruption.
"Only when I want to," she replied stubbornly, a sense of déjà vu washing over her. Eyeing the long-haired, muscled boy, whom seemed to be the president of the club, Tenten almost gasped. He was the pushy, arrogant guy from this morning! Alright, so perhaps he wasn't arrogant…yet. But most guys like him were. Psh, pretty boys.
"Well, Tenten," Neji said smirking, his tone reeking authority, "you want to practice? You practice with me." Then he added arrogantly, "If you can."
Fingering the tips of her slightly dull-from-use weapons, she shot him a catty smile. "With pleasure."
XOXOXO
Forty-five minutes and two water bottles later, Tenten was drenched with sweat lying face-up on the floor, her chest heaving. Feeling every muscle in her body scream in agony when she so much as breathed, Tenten was not too keen on the idea of having to get up and walk a couple blocks home with Sakura. Stupid long-haired, pretty boy.
"Pretty good," Neji said, his face right above hers, "for the first day of practice." Thin lips were twisted in a superior smirk. Tenten wanted to kick him. "Do you give?"
Knowing the sight of defeat when it stared her right in the face, literally, she rolled her eyes and sighed. "For now," she conceded, but only for now.
Neji nodded before straightening. "Good." And with that last remark, he walked towards the boy's locker room leaving a fuming Tenten behind him.
"Jerk!" she yelled, willing herself to get up. Cursing the pale-eyed icebox a dozen colorful names, she stopped and blinked in surprise as a hand was stretched out to help her. She looked up.
"Need some help?"
Nodding, she took his hand gingerly and was pulled upwards in one swift motion. "Uh, thanks," Tenten said, flushing slightly. "I'm not usually caught this vulnerable."
The boy smiled. "I figured. You don't look like a pushover." He paused, running a hand through his dark hair. "I was watching you during practice."
Tenten blinked again in surprise. "Oh?"
"Yeah," he said honestly, "and it looks like you're pretty good."
She smiled. "You think? I don't know, Neji's a really good fighter." Glancing wistfully at her scattered weapons, she missed the dark look that passed the boy's face. Turning back to him with a small smile, she offered him her hand. "My name's Tenten. Yours?"
He shot her a confident grin. "Sai."
"Wow, like the weapon?" she asked, her brown eyes lit.
"Yeah, my parents are martial artists and are totally weapon crazy," he replied, looking slightly bashful.
She nodded appreciatively. "That's pretty cool. I'm quite a weapons fanatic myself."
Sai smiled. "How about I walk you to your locker before they close the gym," he offered, walking to the bleachers and picking up her bag, "and don't worry about your stuff, I'll carry it."
Tenten flushed, a small grin on her face at his thoughtfulness. "Er, thanks. I usually don't allow guys to, but since I'm really tired…"
He nodded. "No problem." Slinging her bag easily over his shoulder, he began striding towards the door. Dark eyes glanced back, waiting for her to catch up.
She jogged towards him, her cheeks flushing once more at his thoughtfulness. "How chivalrous," Tenten murmured quietly, ignoring her screaming muscles at every jolt.
"So," he started easily when she fell into step, "what did you think about our club?" Giving her a sideways glance, he added. "And did you have fun meeting one of the biggest jerks at our school?" he asked, his tone light and coal eyes innocent. Punching her arm playfully when she shot him a sideways glance and smile, Sai cocked his head and winked. "It's alright, you can tell me." Smirking when she nodded lightly and laughed, Sai shifted her bag slightly on his shoulder as the bun-haired girl started to rave about the "arrogant jerk". Glancing back, his eyebrows raised as pale eyes were trained on him, seething in rage.
Sai shrugged and lifted the gym bag on his shoulder higher. What was his problem?
"So let me get this straight," Sakura said twenty minutes later, tossing her long hair, "you went to the gym."
Tenten nodded, her face tiredly vacant. "Check."
"And you interrupted the captain…"
"Check."
"…While he was giving a lecture?"
"Check."
Emerald eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you crazy?"
"Che-- wait a minute." Tenten shook her head, tapping her temple with her pointer. "Nope, I don't think I am." Shifting her bag to comfortably rest between her neck and shoulder blade, the dark haired girl sighed. "I think he is, though. Seriously."
Sakura shot her a sideways glance. "Who?"
"The long haired ice-box," came a monotone drawl.
A pause. "Why?"
"Because," Tenten groaned, rolling her neck to crack a couple of stiff joints, "he went all martial-arts-taikwando-judo-my-eyes-are-seriously-hot-when-I'm-fighting on me."
The pink-haired girl was quiet, unsure as of what to say to that last comment. "…Uh-huh. Okay."
"Yeah…" Tenten trailed off, "So anyway, something else happened."
"Mhm," Sakura hummed, her head slightly tilted.
Tenten inhaled slowly. "Well after practice I could hardly even breath and was lying on the floor when this extremely nice, and not to mention kinda cute, guy helped me up and walked me to my locker," she exhaled quickly, a tinge of pink staining her cheeks.
Sakura grinned, her attention focused directly on Tenten. "And?"
"His name is Sai," Tenten confessed, a small smile lighting her face.
Bright eyes widened. "Wha--"
"Sakuraaaa!"
"--Oh no, not again." A small sigh escaped thin lips. Turning towards the blond, clueless abomination coming towards her at a speed track stars would be jealous of, Sakura groaned. "What now?"
"Please, please, please," Naruto begged, his breathing slightly ragged from the sprint. "Tell me who it is! I promise, I'll leave you al--"
"Na-ru-to," Sakura emphasized loudly, her words unheard by the babbling boy, "can you please--"
"And if you just tell me then I'll be able to--"
"Can you just--"
"Alright, fine, I might be a little interested," the blond continued to ramble, clasping her hands between his, "but I don't like her--"
"Naruto, I don't get what this girl has that you want so bad as to grovel at her feet for it," a low voice interrupted. Narrowing his dark eyes at the girl in question then to Naruto, Sasuke smirked. "And she's too smart to be interested in you."
Naruto snorted and softly 'harrumphed' as he crossed his arms, his lips in a scowl. "And what's that supposed to mean, huh?"
Sakura inwardly swallowed at his remark, her heart pounding. Could that possibly be a compliment she had just heard? "Um, h-hi Sasuke," she stammered out nervously, tucking a couple of stray strands behind her ear. His dark gaze landed on her once more.
"Why does he keep bothering you," he asked flatly, the question more like a statement.
Green eyes glanced towards Naruto. He was shaking his head violently, sending waves of blond hair flying.
"Um, no reason," she replied, slightly confused.
Sasuke's gaze narrowed. "Is it about a girl, by any chance?"
Watching Naruto fly into a fit of head shaking and hands crossing in an 'X' sign repeatedly, she stammered out, "Er, n-no."
He gave her an 'I-don't-believe-you' look. "Stay away from my knuckleheaded friend," Sasuke finally said, eyeing Sakura with onyx eyes.
"What?! He's the one who comes to me!" Sakura protested, wanting to scream in frustration.
A short pause. "Then avoid him."
"Don't be stupid," she replied.
"How am I being stupid?" he asked, slight amusement in his voice.
"Because that's what you are," she paused, "stupid."
"Idiot," he shot back.
"Loser."
"Dork."
"Imbecile."
"Priss."
"Pratt."
Sasuke paused once more as his face twisted in thought. "…This is stupid!" he yelled after a moment.
"Like you!" Sakura childishly yelled in return.
Turning abruptly, he grabbed the protesting Naruto as he turned away. His cheeks were flushed slightly. "You're lucky I don't hit girls."
"Oh what are you, ten? Come on," she exclaimed, "bring it on!" Raising her fist in a threatening manner, she watched the spiky haired boy with narrowed eyes until he rounded the corner ahead of them.
"Wait a minute," Tenten said, trailing off slightly, "isn't that…"
"Yeah," Sakura sighed, answering her friend's unfinished question, "we live on the same street." They walked casually as they rounded the corner. "I see him almost every day."
"Oh. How ironic."
"He's such a jerk."
"Mhm."
"He always--" A door slammed from a house beside them. The two girls looked at each other. "Think he heard that?" Sakura asked, her voice filled with mirth.
"I don't know…" Tenten replied, eyeing the expensive, detailed looking door, "but was it just me, or was he just flirting with you?"
Sakura flushed and made a face. "Eww."
Tenten slapped her arm. "Oh come on, what are you, seven?"
The pink-haired girl grinned as she rubbed her arm. "Maybe."
"And don't tell me you don't want him to like you," Tenten continued flatly, "I know you want him to." She paused. "It's so obvious." Glancing towards her friend in conformation, the curve on Sakura's thin lips were a dead give away. She knew it. "Well, then this should be interesting."
VxS
If this is in any way copying some sort of someone's fiction, then I'm sorry. Leave your comment in the box. Literally. These are my ideas and mine only.
But if anyone has any particular scene they would want me to write and add in the story, I'd be glad to think about it. No promises though.