"Detention, Namikaze." Orochimaru smiled, creepier than the one earlier. "And please refrain from fighting outside school too. If you don't want to have aching muscles or stay at the hospital during the supposed tournament. All Fighters are required to attend. You can treat it as an exam." He smirked. "A one-of-a-kind examination that makes students exert not only sweat but also blood."
I could feel the blood draining from my face at those words. Surely it was just some friendly game, right? Some friendly tournament, right? But as far as I had witnessed in the first three days that I transferred here, there was nothing game-like in the way students played in this school.
Damn...
And then there's the whole Sasuke bastard ordeal. I wonder if he and his underlings would ambush me somewhere outside the school. But hey, Orochimaru said that fighting was banned for two weeks, right? So I guessed there would be no one who'd kidnap me and disembowel me for hitting one of the Knights, right? Right? Please tell me I was right! I certainly didn't want to end up cemented in a barrel sinking in Konoha Bay!
In the end, I went back to the place where I last saw Sasuke bastard Uchiha. Of course, I was not hiding... I really wasn't! I lay down on my back on the soft ground again and looked at the sky. Or at least I looked towards the sky. It wasn't really the sky that I saw, but the quiet leaves rustling against one another on the branches of the trees. In between them were tiny rays of light coming from the sun but it wasn't enough to reach me permanently because the leaves were shifting and so were the rays. It was calming, looking at those leaves. I sighed.
Maybe I should go to my class.
The time was in the middle of the second period and I was sure that teacher Shizune would never hear the end of it if I came inside the classroom now. No, this school was different, right? Maybe I should go? And I sighed again. Since when did I become someone who would ditch classes just for the fun of it? Have I truly become one of these delinquents too?
But it's no matter. Since I already decided to go to class, I would definitely go.
And with my newfound determination to go to class, I padded down the corridors leading to the classroom where Mathematics 101 would be taught. I exhaled when I reached the door. It was closed. I bit my lower lip and I could feel my hands getting clammy. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all? I think that it was far scarier to face an angry teacher than to face a horde of B Class students. You'd think I would say A Class or S Class? No, like I said, I was reckless, but not suicidal. And–
"Are you coming in or not?" A voice from behind the door said and that snapped me out of my thought. The door suddenly slammed open and a glaring Shizune looked down at me with piercing dark eyes. "Well?"
"Uh... sorry, I'm late." I gulped. But other than that, I tried my best not to show just how much I was regretting having the sudden urge to go to her class.
I felt relief when she seemed to have calmed down a bit at my apology. "Very well then, don't waste any more of my time by standing there. Get inside."
I nodded and walked inside the classroom just as some buzz of whispers reached my ears. I pretended not to notice even if it was quite exasperating. I looked for an empty chair and found one. And fuck. What do you know? It's in between that Sakura girl and that blondie. Really, f*ck. This was going to be the longest second period ever. And as usual, they were chatting endlessly, facing each other. I wonder why they didn't just sit beside one another just to save a bit of their dignity.
I glared at them before I sat in between them. They didn't seem to mind it though. They continued chatting like no one just sat in between them. And as for Shizune, she continued teaching without any heed to the conversation taking place quite loudly on my either side.
"Did you see it? I heard it was a kind of foul play." Sakura asked, leaning her head a bit on my side. The blondie girl also did and now I felt like I was the one who needed to lower my head so they could see each other better.
"Yeah, it seems someone managed to sneak up on him and punch him." The blondie answered just beside my ear, much to my annoyance. "I swear if I knew who hit Sasuke-sama, I'll kill that person." Oh. So they were talking about that. Right, I forgot that these two were practically part of Sasuke's cheerleading squad. Also, the person they were looking for was here though. But they would never know. Heh.
"Hey, Ino. Did you know that that Namikaze guy is the younger brother of Nagato-sama?" Sakura asked the blondie whose name was apparently Ino and my eyes almost widened at her. How could she even ask that in front of me? The damn b*tch! Was she annoying me on purpose?
I could feel other eyes starting to look at the two of them, as if wanting them to stop because the subject of their fucking conversation was just in between them. But no one dared say their thoughts, and thus the two ignorant chatters continued like no teacher was talking in front.
"I heard that he made a scene in the stadium earlier." Ino grimaced. "How lucky, for him to be Nagato-sama's younger brother! But I heard he isn't like Nagato-sama at all." Oh, okay. So they didn't know who I was, at least not personally. Well, basically, they were just my classmate in this subject which I didn't even bother going to except during the first day of class, and in P.E., which they didn't like going to.
"Nagato-sama is very handsome, and yet very cold and brutal, especially when he fights. But his younger brother is the total opposite. I heard he was crying as he ran after his brother." Sakura b*tch said. I could feel my fist tightening on my lap. I tried to focus my attention on Shizune but it was no use. They were practically speaking on my either ears. It was frustrating and annoying at the same time. I wish they were both Fighters whose levels were closer to mine so I could just punch them and leave the f*cking classroom.
I tried to tune them out but every time my aniki's or my name was said out loud, my focus returned to them with vengeance. I gritted my teeth. They were really trying to find out how thin my patience was. If they were doing this on purpose, I would say they'd already won. But if they were pretty oblivious of their surroundings, like how it appeared to be, I'd say I still wanted to punch them for being ignorant fools.
"And Nagato-sama, yesterday–" Sakura started, but I lost it all.
"Can you please just shut up?" I turned my attention to her. "I'm trying to f*cking listen to the teacher and all I could hear was your annoying high-pitched voice." Many snickers echoed my comment and I was contented that the silent giggles of other females and snickers of other males brought the two out of their supposed trance to one another.
They both stopped and glared at me, as if seeing me for the first time. But I didn't care. I was able to convey my message and I was happy. But then it seemed the two of them wouldn't let it go just yet.
"What do you mean shut up!? Who do you think you are, huh?" She bellowed, literally taking the whole classroom's attention. Ah, so f*cking embarrassing. If she was my girlfriend, considering I was insane enough to fall for someone like her, I'd probably die of shame for being her lover.
"So f*cking annoying." Ino voiced in disgust on my other side. But I didn't care. At least they weren't talking about aniki and me anymore.
"Haruno, Yamanaka, Namikaze." Shizune called our names in the coldest of all possible tone of voice as she glared at each of us. "If you don't want to listen, get out."
Sakura was about to talk but she stopped when she seemed to have realized what Shizune called me. She turned her attention to me and gaped. Ino's eyes widened and I pretended not to see them.
"I'll listen." I answered, directly looking at Shizune whose glare was now directed at the two gaping females who seemed to have nothing better to do in their lives.
"...Just because you're Nagato-sama's younger brother doesn't mean we'll treat you with the same respect!" Sakura hissed at me when she recovered from her shock. "Just because you can suck up to him–" And she stopped when she received a particularly cold Namikaze glare, courtesy of me. I would be able to take it if it was Sasuke who said it, even if I punched him, because the guy was strong. He had the right to react. But if these girls were to tell me that I was sucking up to my brother, then all hell would break loose. And aniki might look like a cute kitten incapable of harming anyone in comparison to me when I finally lose it.
Or maybe that's what they wanted? Some fun in this boring classroom?
Sakura was pissed but she couldn't say anything else because even if I was cute, and I was saying the truth just now, my glare was not a second rate. It was one of the few tricks that I perfected together with aniki, being on the receiving end of it for almost all our lives, courtesy of one Minato Namikaze when pissed.
Yep, aniki and I took after chichi-ue after all. And he would surely kill us if he learned that we claimed we took after him and we went to fight against other students. Oh, the dishonor!
And so one pink-haired female could do nothing but fume inside while attempting to glare back at me. Ino had a different reaction though, and I'm not sure I wanted it either, if the glazed eyes that felt like slowly undressing me were any indication.
After a while, the bell rang and I was just so happy to go to my next class. And I hoped there would be no annoying seatmates anymore. I stood up and carried my bag, intending to walk out of the classroom immediately.
"Where are you going?" A voice so foreign and yet so painstakingly familiar spoke with ridiculous arrogance and everyone seemed to have stopped breathing and moving. Sakura and Ino's eyes widened and I didn't think I'd want to turn around to know who said it.
But I exhaled and turned around anyway. No wonder Sasuke looked familiar when I first saw him in the parking lot. Or at least I thought that's the first time I saw him. Now that I could see him here in the classroom, looking at me with his usual bored expression while his arms crossed over his chest, everything seemed to have re-winded in my memory and I even fucking remember how I admired–, no, past was past. Let's just forget it.
I could see that he was still nursing the cheek that I so mercilessly punched earlier. I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn't look at the bluish skin so obviously.
I arched an eyebrow at him, silently questioning him about the earlier interruption, and he actually looked amused. His eyes looked too cool and dark that I could feel myself being pulled in. This bastard was really dangerous. His eyes slowly darted off my face and then to the blue magatama dangling on my ear, indicating that I was now a C Class. His eyes darkened for some reason and I decided I was far better off not knowing what was behind it, especially since it didn't look like anger anyway. I stared at him for a while and when I realized that he would not talk, I decided to ignore him and turn around once more towards the direction of the door. But his next words made me stop completely.
"I suggest you start praying, dobe." He smirked. I swore he did even if I couldn't see his exact expression but his entire tone was serious. "I challenge you to a fight." And my eyes widened. He was serious, very.
I heard some gasps in the background but I didn't care. It wasn't like they were the ones challenged anyway.
I immediately turned around and narrowed my eyes at him, refusing to let my fear show. Like I said, I might be reckless, but I wasn't suicidal. "...I refuse." I might have caught him off-guard earlier, but I was 100% sure he'd do everything to pummel me to the ground in a serious fight. Aniki was so fucking strong, and Bee-san too. And if the aura that that Kimimarou emitted was any indication, I'd say he's far more dangerous than Bee. And Sasuke... Well, Sasuke was one of them, even if he sometimes didn't look like it.
He smirked, although I was sure he was not pleased. "I suggest you accept. It's for your own benefit too. Punching me like this is asking for a challenge, dobe." I heard some gasps again. It seemed they finally caught up with the fact that I was the one who punched their handsome but scary idol.
"I suggest you stop harassing Naruto-nii-chan!!" Ugh! Where did he come from!? Sasuke arched an eyebrow at the person behind me just as I looked over my shoulder and saw, to my horror, Konohamaru standing on top of a chair with his hands crossed over his chest. "Don't touch Naruto-nii-chan!! He's my opponent!" More ugh!!! Had he lost his mind?? I know he was now an E Class and all, but... that didn't mean he could just enter someone else's room and proclaim that I was his opponent! And to Sasuke of all people!! Kami, Sasuke was a black magatama holder!! Not even I had the courage to have a duel with him!
And why was he calling me nii-chan all of a sudden!? It's disturbing! We're of the same age the last time I checked!!
"I didn't know you have a little brother in tow, Namikaze." Sasuke asked, still with an arched eyebrow and I heard some snickers from my other classmates. Tch, they were only good during times like this. And oh wow, this was the first time Sasuke the bastard called me by my name. No, surname actually. Not that it just made me happy, not at all! You hear me, Sasuke!! Ahem, so... uh, maybe it did make me happy just a little, just a little. But that's that, okay?
I sighed. "I don't have time to play with you, Sasuke. What do you really want?" It seemed it's the very first time anyone has heard Sasuke being called by his name alone without any honorific. My classmates looked too shocked to react. No, actually, they looked horrified, as if they're expecting Sasuke to suddenly attack me now. Even Sakura and Ino were gaping, eyes as wide as saucers. I beat them to that, didn't I? Heh. Only Konohamaru didn't react like the others, not that I expected him to. And the fact that Sasuke didn't seem to mind either gave me courage, just a little courage, to continue calling him that if I wasn't too pissed to call him 'bastard.'
And so, Sasuke's eyes narrowed in irritation, not from the fact that I called him by name but probably because I showed no respect for him. Heh, only Sasuke was capable of looking amused in one second and annoyed in the next. Well, I knew it was because I was being rude to him in front of so many people. He gritted his teeth and almost spat the words. "You know what I want, dobe." No. No, I didn't think I knew. Though I probably had an idea...
And don't so casually say it like that, bastard! Especially with that cool voice of yours!! Now look at the faces of those students. I thought they're highly misunderstanding the situation!!
And nice, he was back on the nickname/insult-calling again. Cool. I couldn't help but sigh. "...I won't join you, Sasuke." I answered exasperatedly. "Stop pestering me."
He didn't look like he would do it though. Sasuke the prick was as unfazed as ever. "I wonder how your friends will react if they suddenly found themselves the target of everyone." He voiced coolly and I immediately glared at him.
"If you'll resort to threats just because I refuse to join you, then you are far from gaining my trust, let alone my acceptance." I gritted my teeth. I knew I was probably provoking him, and my friends would probably not appreciate it that they were being involved in this, but I didn't want to surrender to him just yet. "I'm leaving."
"I'll be waiting, dobe." I heard him say but I didn't act like I heard it. What's the point of reacting if I wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway?
And I walked out of the classroom, ignoring the stares and the sudden glares directed at me. Konohamaru tried to follow me but it seemed he found some other Fighters along the way and issued a challenge. Orochimaru said that this day would be the last day when people could freely fight one another so I guessed the idiot would be fine. Starting tomorrow though, there would be detention for anyone caught fighting. And tomorrow was Friday. I don't think anyone would want to spend their weekend in the hospital, right?
I went directly to my next class, by now used to the stares directed at me, although it still somehow made me irked. I immediately sat on the chair at the far back and stared outside the window while waiting for Ebisu pervert.
But really, now that I thought about it, Sasuke was kind of... a little... just a little... kind. He challenged me and I easily managed to refuse him. On top of that, I didn't show him any form of respect. I even punched him earlier. AND, I kind of humiliated him in front of everyone just now. But still, if he wanted to, he could've just humiliated me in the same way in front of everybody. He could've just punched me earlier just to prove his strength. He could've just fought me even if I refused like what those other students usually did. But he didn't. He merely used words to threaten me, without actually trying to overwhelm me at all. He didn't use force and violence because he knew he didn't need to prove anything to anyone. I found those kinds of people the more dangerous and respectable than those who acted tough in front of their opponents. So, all in all, he only wanted to talk earlier. And as annoying as it sounded, I couldn't help but smile.
"Uh, you're Naruto, right?" A voice asked and I sharply turned around to look at her, making her flinch at my gaze. And then I felt my eyes soften.
"Rin?" I asked, unsure if she was really the girl who bandaged me thoroughly over a simple cut. Not that I was ungrateful. Far from that, actually. She brightened at the fact that I remembered her and nodded.
"Um... Hi, N-Naruto-kun. Uh... May I ask you a question? Um... A-Are you really N-Nagato-sama's younger brother?" Another girl voiced. Oh. I forgot that she was my classmate too. Hinata looked at me shyly while waiting for her answer. I nodded and she seemed satisfied.
"Heh, you knew each other?" Rin asked her enthusiastically and I wanted to stop her because Hinata seemed a little embarrassed by her constant harassment. She and I nodded in uncertainty. Well, it's not that we really knew each other. We just knew each other's names and we're just seatmates in this particular subject. That's all. But I guessed I wasn't that much of a snob to not consider her an acquaintance.
"I'll seat here then." She said brightly as she sat at the seat in front of Hinata before she turned towards us again. "Hey, Hinata, can you teach me about the bandaging thing?" Yes, someone ought to teach her those things.
Hinata considerably blushed as she fidgeted in her seat. It seemed she was embarrassed again. "I, uh, I... I'm not that good... Maybe Sakura-san..." And my eyebrow twitched in irritation at the name mentioned.
"Nah, I don't like her even if she excels so much." Rin fanned her hand in the air to indicate that she refused. "She's good. I can see that much. But her attitude is... you know..." I couldn't agree more, though I didn't know she excelled as a Medic.
Ebisu came in at that moment and I heard Rin groan as she sat properly. The next several minutes were filled with lectures about Societal Values and everything under the sun while he constantly peaked at beautiful female students from behind his glasses.
"Okay, that's it. You better turn in your paper next meeting, meaning tomorrow." Ebisu said. "And there will be no exception or extension of the due date if you're not pretty. So you guys, wear a skirt if you can't pass your paper tomorrow." Some students laughed at the joke, though I didn't think he was joking. Now I thought I should just plainly not associate with him if he really swung both ways. He's way too perverted for my liking.
I stretched and yawned in my seat before I stood up. Hinata, Rin, and I went to our separate locker rooms and changed into our P.E. uniforms before we all went to the gymnasium. Rin was chatting endlessly while Hinata and I silently listened. Hinata would put some comments here and there and I would chat once in a while, but mostly it was Rin who did the talking.
After we got into the gymnasium, it was my turn to look shocked at my friends. Not that they weren't shocked to see me with a blue magatama earring. But Chouji who said he would not fight had so many bruises and bandages and now had a yellow magatama earring. He had become an E Class. Kiba was already D Class like Shikamaru and looked worse than Chouji. He even had one black eye. Only Shikamaru remained the same.
"Uh, hey..." I looked at them unsurely. "What happened to you, guys?"
Kiba chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. I noticed that it was Kiba's habit when he was embarrassed or nervous. "Err, we got into a fight. I wasn't able to go to the classroom because some Fighters ambushed me... or something like that."
Chouji grinned. "It's okay, Naruto. There's no need to worry." He said when he noticed that I looked really concerned about their bruises. I was not really used to having those kinds of bluish marks and everything because I healed fast. But that didn't mean I couldn't imagine how that would feel.
"Now you know how we feel when you come here one level higher with some bandages here and there." Shikamaru teased and I rolled my eyes in his direction. He chuckled before he turned to Chouji. "But really, Chouji. You told me that you would only go to the restroom and when you came back, an hour later, you already have those. What happened?"
Kiba and Chouji looked at each other, as if silently communicating. They were probably asking one another if it's okay to talk about it. Well, for me it seemed that the fight was done with the two of them together in one place. Their silent communication continued for a while before they decided that Kiba would talk.
Kiba scratched his head again before he chuckled, a little embarrassed. "Well, you said that Chouji went to the restroom right?" Shikamaru's eyes narrowed before he nodded. "You see, there were people waiting for him downstairs and they cornered him before he even had the chance to go and have a leak. It's just a matter of coincidence that I was passing by and saw the entire scene... And both of us got beaten to a pulp... but we managed to beat them up too. Sort of..."
Shikamaru and I nodded. But we were both not satisfied with their explanation. We knew Kiba wasn't lying but he wasn't saying everything either.
"Who were those people?" I asked, totally looking out for his reaction. My eyes narrowed when he slightly paled at the question. I noticed that Shikamaru had the same reaction as me.
"They're just some thugs." Chouji came to the brunette's rescue and I couldn't help but feel that they were accomplices in hiding things. But like I said, I wasn't the kind to pry into other people's business, even if they are my friends, especially if they didn't look like they would want to share what happened any time soon.
"Umm..." Oh. I forgot. Rin and Hinata were both still with me. Rin's voice got our attention. "The class is about to start, guys." She smiled timidly. Hinata, who was behind her, nodded in assent.
All of us decided that we would postpone whatever it was that we were talking about and save it for later. I also haven't told them yet about Sasuke's apparent challenge that I wholeheartedly refused. I sighed. If only the bastard knew what the word 'give up' meant...
PE started with all of us doing everything half-heartedly, each in his own world and thinking of who knew what. Of course, I knew what I was thinking about. It's the one and only raven bastard, as it had been these past few hours. Of course, I'd think of him. And it's not because of what you all thought.
He just challenged me in front of everyone, for Kami's sake! If my aniki found out, I wondered what he'd tell me! Or worse, what he'd tell chichi-ue! That blonde Minato would really kill me! Yep, I was more afraid of Minato than my aniki and Sasuke the prick combined. And I thought that was saying something. I just hoped the news wouldn't travel fast here. I hoped.
And so, PE class started and finished without me knowing what game or sports we played. Could you even believe that? And no, I was not a slacker. This time, I just had many things to think about: mainly, about the annoying prick, the tournament, the annoying bastard/prick, the paper to be passed tomorrow, the super annoying bastard/prick, my friends' bruises and injuries, the super-duper ultra annoying... okay, that's enough.
In short, I thought about 'Sasuke the bastard' a lot.
.
.tbc.
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