again & again - [ sasusaku ] [ au one-shot collection ]

four.i

for biancajade on ao3

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Some might say that "hate" is too strong of a word to use when talking about how one feels about another person.

Haruno Sakura begs to differ. It's not strong enough.

As a young girl, she was always at the very top of her class. Always number one, as it should be. She came from humble origins, with parents that only completed high school and immediately went to get careers rather than attending a university. Other students in her classes would always have some sort of advantage over her, whether it was wealth or status or connections, but she took pride in the fact that she didn't let that stop her from going above and beyond. In fact, it motivated her to be the best she could be.

However, once high school came around, it was horrible. The merging of middle schools around the area happened and she was forced to be in the same class as the boy who was number one in his middle school in Otagakure.

Uchiha Sasuke.

At first glance, the boy was (unfortunately) very unbelievably attractive and cool. Everyone knew about him, since he came from an extremely wealthy family and his brother is a known genius around the area. She didn't let that bother her; just another kid with some sort of advantage over her. But as time went on and test scores came into the picture, she realized that this pretty boy also had a brain. It was when they received their first grades of the year that she had come to a conclusion that she would refuse to change her mind about.

Haruno Sakura hates Uchiha Sasuke.

She hates having to share her hard earned spot with someone who constantly gets praised for having a genius brother and a silver spoon in his mouth. She hates how he doesn't try to cram in last minute notes before an exam the same way she does and he still manages to do as well as her, or sometimes even better. She hates how her teacher, Kakashi-sensei, uses him as an example for the class mostly because he reminds him of himself when he was younger.

Most importantly, Sakura hates how her feelings don't seem to be mutual.

Yes, he competes with her, but he never seems to make it a big deal. If anything, Sasuke makes it out to be like a simple little joke of a race. Like it doesn't matter to him. That makes her blood really boil. When they're getting tests passed out, he turns towards her slightly to look out of the corner of his eyes and he smirks at her before saying a simple, "Good luck," and then turning back to start. She snapped her pencil in half the first time he did that, which was a horrible waste of her time since she had to get a new one.

As time went on, she only grew more frustrated with him. Being at the top of their class, the two were constantly taking advanced courses with sometimes only them and 3 others at most in the course. This pushed their little competition even further, since they both excelled.

However, the true breaking point was the day they both got called to the headmaster's office on their last year of high school, a week before graduation.

"Now, I'm sure you both know why I've called you two in here." Senju Tsunade rubbed her temples before taking a swig of her questionable beverage. "You two have truly managed to go above and beyond with your academic achievements, and I'm extremely proud of that. However," here, she paused to look at the teens who side eyed one another, "I can only have one valedictorian. Never before has there been two, and we plan on keeping it that way. I am going to assign the two of you a project that may seem simple, but it won't be. Sakura, Sasuke. You haven't been the best of friends, or friends at all, which is what will make this project tough. The two of you have to write an essay about one another, and the reasons the other person may want this position of valedictorian. You have to be honest and genuine with this, and Kakashi will be the one to grade these since he knows the two of you better than I do. You will have by the end of this week to turn them in. Dismissed." With that said, she shooed the stunned teenagers out of her office with a well manicured hand and slammed the door on their still shocked faces.

It felt like an eternity before they snapped out of it and turned to face each other. As Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, Sakura quickly blurted something out.

"Let's go out!"

The raven haired boy raised a dark brow as his face showed his amusement at her statement. Sakura blushed before continuing with frantic hand gestures.

"I mean, not as a date but as a way to get to know one another better! It's doesn't have to be today, since I plan on starting a rough draft and I'm assuming you will too! So maybe tomorrow?"

She let her pink bangs fall before her eyes slightly as she peeked at him from under them. He seemed to be considering it, and slightly excited, until his face suddenly turned blank.

"I see. We really don't know each other too well, do we?" Sakura quickly nodded her head up and down. "Library. 5 o'clock after school tomorrow." With that said, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away before she could say anything. She huffed at the fact that he came up with that all on his own without asking for her opinion.

It's so on.

So Sakura went home and sat at her desk later that night, pen in her hand and a piece of paper in front of her face, ready to write down all the reasons that prove she is, in fact, superior to Uchiha Sasuke. After tapping the pen on her bottom lip a couple of times, she slowly lowered the tip of the pen to begin writing.

Uchiha Sasuke is a pain in my ass.

She quickly marked that out before chuckling and starting her real rough draft.

Uchiha Sasuke is the son of Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, a power couple that runs the best police force of the entire country. Sasuke's eldest brother, Uchiha Itachi, is an important member of a team of successful lawyers who work to bring justice to the world. The Uchihas are a family of old money, having ancestors that helped establish the town of Konoha along with the Senju family. With these role models in his life, it's only natural that Sasuke would feel entitled to be considered best of the best. Sasuke-

Here, she paused. What else could she say? She didn't know enough. What more was there to Sasuke? Sakura tapped her forehead with her pencil, willing for more words to come to mind. With a sigh, she set the paper aside on her desk and checked the time on her watch. Man, she really hated staying up past midnight. Sakura released another sigh and simply got ready for bed.

She silently went over her thoughts about Sasuke as she stared up at the clean white ceiling above her. Was he finding the project to be easier? What if he knew more about her than she knew about him? Sakura's eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed.

There's no way that Uchiha jerk can do better! I'll show him!

With a smirk on her face, she slowly slipped into a dream about annoying Uchiha boys with pretty smiles.

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A.N./ there will be more to this! As an apology for taking so long, I decided that I will extend this piece. Plus, I felt it would be cool to include Sasuke's POV as well! Thank you!