Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ More Than Anything ❯ Operation Fail, Part I ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: Operation Fail, Part I

 

“Nah!” he grinned. “I'm fine!”

 

The other shinobi-in-training laughed slightly at the blonde. What they found funny was not the fact that Uchiha Sasuke had hurt him—though his spirit could not be dampened—but the fact that Uzumaki Naruto was trying to write off the pain. He was cracking jokes as if he only had so much more time before the world ended, but they could see that each time he moved, he winced.

 

“Besides—!” Naruto flashed another grin. “This isn't nearly as bad as last year, when Kagome decided to beat me up after Neji sent her all those—”

 

“I thought I told you to shut up about that,” the girl hissed in his ear. Her deadly tone warned him of the danger he was putting himself in, and Naruto turned his head up slightly to see the glint in her eyes. Her face was just as deadly as her voice, a wicked little grin settled on her lips.

 

He paled considerably.

 

Her honey colored eyes narrowing upon the other two shinobi-in-training, Mizuki flipped her hair just slightly and caught Naruto's attention. “Now, now, Naruto-kun, why don't you share what Neji-sama gave Kagome with the rest of the class?” Damn it! She was going to get that information, even if she had to break Naruto in order to get it.

 

Naruto remained silent, his eyes focused solely on Kagome. Only when her wicked little grin stretched a bit further on his face did he speak. “Oh god!”

 

“Naruto!” Iruka's eyebrow twitched considerably. He would have thought that after so many years of being in the Academy that the boy would understand that he could not yell whenever he felt like it. Though, he sighed, he knew it was probably because of his leniency.

 

Naruto sank into his seat, his face turned a ghostly white. If Kagome planned to look at him like that for much longer, he would plead with her. Never tell her little secret to anyone! Just as long as she promised never to give him that evil stare again.

 

His only reprieve came when Uchiha Sasuke turned just slightly in his seat to look back at them, because Kagome's glare was redirected toward the Uchiha. Lightning seemed to channel itself between them for several moments, before Sasuke finally turned away like a puppy with his tail between his legs. And Naruto chuckled underneath his breath at the sight, because it was hilarious to see the boy in such a position.

 

“Don't think I've forgotten about you.”

 

Naruto let out a small sound, as Kagome's head whipped back in his direction.

 

“You two are so bothersome,” a voice called down from the higher seats.

 

Kagome turned to where she knew the voice had come from, her glare settling onto Nara Shikamaru. The lazy boy with his head on his desk, though he was undoubtedly intelligent, stiffened underneath her stare almost instantly. “Do you want some too, Shikamaru,” she asked far too sweetly, “because I'm sure I have enough to share with the whole class.”

 

He shifted a little in his seat, nervous underneath the girl's angry glare. Man, that girl could get scary when she wanted to. Finally, he said, “Tch.”

 

“Hn,” Kagome hummed. She had done her job well!

 

“Ugh,” Mizuki called. “You're so rude and vulgar and—and simply not a normal girl!”

 

“Hey—!” Naruto shouted, ending his silence.

 

Mizuki ignored him easily, “I will never understand what Neji-sama sees in you.”

 

Her shoulders slumping, Kagome uttered quietly, “Neither will I, Mizuki. Neither will I.”

 

“Did you say something?” the Hyuuga follower asked.

 

“Nope!” Kagome grinned suddenly.

 

Mizuki narrowed her eyes at the other girl. She simply could not see what Neji liked in that girl. She did not praise his skills, or wait for him to come back from missions. All she was, was a complicated mess of emotions that shifted without reason and so suddenly that it could scare a person. No girl, or human being, should be able to change emotions so fast. It was simply unnatural!

 

Mizuki paused in her pondering. Maybe that was what attracted Neji to the girl? No! Certainly not! It was unbelievable to the point that Mizuki almost snorted, though her mind did silently file it away in a back corner of her head.

 

“Sasuke-kun, are you—” he did not even let her finish her sentence.

 

“Whatever,” the Uchiha said. He turned away from the fan girl, resting his head onto his hand, and tried to debate how much longer it would be before Kagome's anger subsided, even a little bit.

 

“That was so mean,” Kagome whispered.

 

“I know!” Naruto whispered back. He made sure his voice was just loud enough that each word would jab into Sasuke's head. He was still pretty pissed off about that fireball.

 

“He could have at least let her finish her sentence,” she continued.

 

“Definitely,” Naruto nodded in agreement. “Though, I find it kind of odd that he hasn't tried to shut us up yet.”

 

Kagome looked down at the Uchiha, staring off toward the windows as if they would be his salvation. She did find it was little odd that he only sat there twitching. Normally he would have told someone to be quiet, at least, by the second sentence. But, she supposed his father could have gotten a hold of him. Yelled at him. Smacked him around a little. Beat him and forced a medic-nin to repair the damage. There were so many possibilities, but at the moment Kagome was more than willing to think of each and every one.

 

He had no right to hit Naruto with that fireball!

 

“Indeed, very odd,” Kagome chirped.

 

“Will you two shut up?” Sakura hissed, her green eyes flashing as she turned in their direction. “Sasuke-kun doesn't need to listen to your commentary!”

 

“Eh?” Kagome blinked. “Look at her. We're defending her and she's defending him. What do you think about that, Naruto?”

 

“I think,” Naruto began, “that Sakura—”

 

As Sakura's fist connected with his face, all he could think was that Sakura's punches hurt. He grabbed onto his nose the moment she pulled away, whimpering at the pain that radiated up through his face.

 

“Hey—!” She was not going to let Sakura get away with that one! She could not even believe that she had just hit Naruto, and right in front of her!

 

“I told you two to shut up!” Sakura growled.

 

Ino, her mouth open in shock, blinked at the other girl. Then, she scowled, “I think Sasuke-kun can defend himself, Sakura. So, if he doesn't have a problem with them talking about you two, you don't have any right to hit Naruto!”

 

“Why don't you go back to writing your love letter to Uchiha Itachi, Ino!” she hissed.

 

“Why don't you stop being such a bitch?” Ino snarled.

 

“Sit down, all of you!” Iruka shouted from the front of the class. He glared over them, watching Sakura and Ino closely, because he knew that though they were sitting, they were more than ready to go for each other's throats. “Though you didn't notice, the bell has rang! This is class time! And even if it wasn't, you shouldn't be fighting with your fellow shinobi unless sparring and especially not in a peaceful environment!”

 

Kagome patted Naruto on the back, agreeing with Iruka-sensei on all the issues he spoke about except one. The classroom, from what she had seen since entering the Academy, was never a peaceful environment.

 

Clearly he needed to update his notes on that subject.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

It was a simple mistake; one that any shinobi could have made.

 

Smoke billowed from Sasuke's mouth, as he clutched his neck. Damn it, his throat was on fire! It hurt so much that he felt his knees shaking, his body demanding that he hit the floor and try anything to make the pain go away. He had not expected it to hurt that much, but then again, he had never thought about purposely screwing up the Uchiha's signature fire technique, either. Not before her, at least.

 

A part of his brain hissed that it was all Higurashi Kagome's fault. If she would just notice that he liked her, wanted her, he would have never thought about screwing up the fire technique! If she were not so damn oblivious, his throat would not be on fire! If she would just realize that he had not meant to hit that idiot, Naruto, with that fireball, the event would have never happened!

 

Sasuke was quick to push down that hissing part of his brain, though. It did not matter if Kagome was the reason that his throat was on fire, as long as he got what he wanted in the end. Besides, it did not hurt that much—he was training to become a shinobi, after all.

 

Iruka-sensei, always present and watchful, was quickly at his side. “Are you alright, Sasuke?”

 

“I—” more smoke escaped his mouth, “—I'm fine.”

 

“Are you sure?” Iruka asked. “I can get you some water for that throat, and you can sit down for a while if—”

 

“I'm fine,” Sasuke said again, brushing him off.

 

Iruka almost sighed at the Uchiha's arrogance. He was clearly trying to regain some of his dignity after that pitiful display. And Iruka could understand why, though he was a little confused over Sasuke's sudden lack of concentration. “Well, if you're sure,” he frowned.

 

“I am,” Sasuke replied. His throat throbbed again as he spoke, but he ignored the pain. His eyes were already searching for the one that he had performed the display for, and he found her looking at him from Naruto's side. He stared for a moment, sliding his eyes over to the blonde, before looking away.

 

A smirk stretched across his face as he turned away from them. A few more displays like that and it would be easy to make Kagome help him once he pleaded his case.

 

The shinobi-in-training watching from a distance began to whisper to one another the moment Sasuke was no longer looking toward them. They had never seen Uchiha Sasuke screw up in ninjutsu before! And they whispered more when they realized that he had just tripped up in taijutsu class a few hours before. It scared them to suddenly see the best Academy student mess up, because they could not think of a single reason for his concentration to be elsewhere.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Did you see that?” Naruto laughed, slapping his knee. That had to have been the best thing he had seen all week. Uchiha Sasuke, the guy that just blasted him a few days before, messed up the same technique! His smile stretched a bit more as he grabbed his neck in mockery, choking, “Oh, look at me! I'm Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm hurt, but you should totally love me more!”

 

“Don't be mean, Naruto,” Kagome scowled. True, she was a little pissed off that Sasuke had burned Naruto's arm, but there was no reason for him to make fun of him. “He could have seriously gotten hurt.”

 

That was the perfect Kagome response, but Naruto rolled his eyes when he heard it. “You're too nice to that bastard, Kagome,” he replied. He would have crossed his arms, too, but it hurt too much. The medic-nin that had worked on him had said she had done all that she could, but the way she scurried out of the room afterward made Naruto suspicious of everything she had said.

 

“Hey!” Kagome scowled harder. “He could have gotten hurt! And, if you didn't notice, he looked over here afterward. I think he might be guilty about what he—”

 

Naruto snorted so loudly that a few other students turned to look at them.

 

“Don't give me that look,” Kagome growled. She had been around Naruto long enough to know that he thought she was crazy, and she was not going to take it from him. “I'm serious! I really think that he might be guilty about hitting you with that fireball! Why else would he have suddenly lost his concentration?”

 

“You're no fun, Kagome,” Naruto said, ignoring what she had said. “One minute you're a scary Uchiha-killing monster and the next you want to help him lick him wounds.”

 

“I do not want to help him lick his wounds!?!” Kagome snapped. She could not believe Naruto had just said that! What did he take her for, some Uchiha Sasuke Fan Girl?!

 

“I mean, come on, this is Uchiha Sasuke,” Naruto made a face, “we're talking about. He's incapable of feeling, let alone being guilty!”

 

“Just because he's an Uchiha does not mean Sasuke can't feel guilt,” Kagome argued. She briefly noticed that a Sasuke fan club member turned to glare at them, obviously wondering why they were talking about her precious Sasuke. She was easily ignored, though, since they could talk about him all they wanted. Hell, if she wanted to scream his name from the rooftops, she could!

 

Not that she would, but it sounded good in her head.

 

Naruto's voice rose a bit, “Every Uchiha is incapable of feeling!”

 

“Will you shut up? You're going to get us in trouble,” another student hissed. A lot of other shinobi-in-training quickly agreed, because they knew that Naruto's need to shout would most likely get them into trouble with the ninjutsu instructor. And personally, none of them wanted to get into trouble because of the idiot.

 

“Eh?” Naruto blinked. Then, lowering his voice, he grinned sheepishly. “Whoops.”

 

“Naruto,” Kagome kept her voice low, “every Uchiha is capable of feeling.”

 

“No, they're not,” he hissed back.

 

“Yes, they are,” Kagome frowned. Why did Naruto have to argue over it? The evidence was right in front of them!

 

“No, they're—” Naruto stopped quite suddenly, straightening his back. He frowned a bit, bringing his hand up to his chin, and allowed himself a moment to think. Now that he thought about it—

 

“What's the matter?” Kagome asked, concerned. It was not often that Naruto decided to stop arguing with her, so there had to be something wrong with him.

 

“Sasuke's up to something,” he stated slowly.

 

Kagome gave him an odd stare, wondering how in the world he came up with that from their argument. She supposed she would never understand the way Naruto's brain worked, though.

 

“Something big,” he continued.

 

“How do you know?” she asked out of curiosity.

 

“My gut,” he said in the same slow tone. “It's been screaming at me all week that something was weird, and I just realized that it's Sasuke. It has to be.”

 

“What gave you that idea?” she tried again. Best to try a different approach, since his answer had not actually answered her question.

 

“Well,” Naruto started, “first there were all those strange gifts that you got. Don't get your hopes up, though, cause they were definitely from Neji—”

 

“And just what are you implying?” Kagome hissed. Again!?! Did he seriously think she was an Uchiha Sasuke Fan Girl!?! Sure, she appreciated the thought the person put into the gifts, but she was really only wearing the cat charm to be nice. She did not know where they came from, though she would like to know, but she did not want them to have come from Uchiha Sasuke!

 

“—and then he starts going on and on about how great the Uchiha clan is!” he basically ignored her. “Then he blasts me with that fire technique!” He was still pissed about that one. “But! But!”

 

“But!” Kagome asked, forgetting her anger in that moment.

 

“But then,” Naruto stated proudly, “he screws up the same technique only a few days later!”

 

“I already told you—” Kagome sighed, but the blonde did not hear a word of it.

 

“Suspicious!?!” Naruto's voice rose.

 

“Naruto,” she tried.

 

“Yes!” he cried. “Suspicious enough that it must be investi—”

 

A shadow loomed over the short shinobi-in-training, a voice calling out, “Uzumaki Naruto.”

 

Naruto stiffened suddenly, his eyes widening as he turned to find the ninjutsu instructor, Denjiro Masao, standing over him. The man's wild brown eyes glared down at him, and Naruto gulped while staring into them. He could swear that he saw his death flash across those crazy eyes every time he looked into them, and he whimpered just slightly.

 

“What have I told you about yelling?” Masao asked.

 

“M-Masao-sensei?” Naruto whimpered, knowing that he would not get away. The ninjutsu instructor would chase him through hell and high water just to dish out his punishment.

 

Kagome took a quick step away from her friend, her eyes widening, as the ninjutsu instructor began to smile slowly. The sight of the smile was enough to make her turn tail and run, leaving her friend to his own demise. There was simply no way she was going to stand up to that crazy man, and she was more than willing to let Naruto be punished alone when it came to him. Because, seriously, who let that crazy man become the ninjutsu instructor!?!

 

It made her wonder if maybe Naruto was right and the Hokage really was going senile in his old age.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Well, if you're sure, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura stated slowly. She had just hoped that he would see it her way for once. That he would let her help him concentrate and stop messing up that fire technique he was so proud of. It scared her to see him clutching his throat in pain every time he tried to use it, and she only wanted to see him perform it correctly once more. Maybe even acknowledge the fact that she had been the one to help him—though she knew that was not happening now.

 

The blatant roll of his eyes stabbed at her heart, as he stated, “I'm going to the bathroom.”

 

“O-oh,” she nodded, blushing a little. She knew not to follow him into such forbidden territory, no matter how much she wanted to make him understand that she only wanted to help him become stronger. And hopefully receive his love in return. “O-ok.”

 

He was already walking away from her, though, and she doubted that he had heard a single word that had fell from her lips. She stared at his back, wishing he would turn around and see how much he was breaking her apart inside. She wished that he could just understand how much she wanted to be with him, make him happy, and hold his heart in her hand. She wished he would just acknowledge it, instead of constantly ignoring her existence.

 

A tear streaked down her cheek as he rounded a corner, disappearing from her sight. He had left her alone, never noticing that she was still standing there, wishing that he would tell her at least why he would not acknowledge her feelings. Why it seemed that everyone else around her could catch the attention of an Uchiha they liked, but the one she wanted constantly turned away from her? Was she not good enough? Was she not pretty enough? Did she lack the strength, the stamina, or the intelligence?

 

What was wrong with her?

 

“Sakura?”

 

She stiffened when she heard the voice, her heart instantly locking itself back up inside her chest. She wiped at her eyes, destroying any evidence of her weakness, and felt her determination swell once more. “What do you want, Ino?” she asked, turning just slightly to see the other girl.

 

Ino's eyes narrowed in suspicion, before she shrugged slightly. “I thought Sasuke-kun told you he didn't want your help?” she asked. It did not take a genius to figure out why Sakura was standing in the hallway alone.

 

“I wasn't following him, if that's what you're implying!” Sakura snapped. She was quick to defend herself, before she noticed something odd. “Why are you out here, anyway?”

 

“Not that it's any of your business,” Ino scowled, “but I have to go to the bathroom.”

 

Sakura stood still for a moment, as Ino began to walk by her. Then, realizing that the blonde girl was about to go in the same direction that Sasuke had, she caught onto her wrist. “You're not going anywhere!” she bit out.

 

“Hey, I just have to go pee, so why are—?” Ino started. Her voice died away when she recognized the look on Sakura's face, though, because she knew why she would have that hardened, crazy, defensive look any day.

 

“You're not going to fool me, Ino-pig!” Sakura continued. “I know what you're real game is, and you're not going to get away with it while I'm around!”

 

“I don't know what your problem is, billboard brow,” Ino hissed, “but I'm not going to go walking into the boy's bathroom just because Sasuke-kun's in there. What do you take me for, a pervert?”

 

“Ha!” Sakura huffed. “Don't even try that one with me, Ino-pig. I know for a fact that you walked straight into the boy's bathroom because Itachi—”

 

“You actually listened to that stupid little rumor?” Ino spat. “Gah, I knew you were getting really obsessive when it came to Sasuke-kun, but I didn't think you started listening to those airheads.”

 

“They're your friends!” Sakura cried, her mouth falling open.

 

“Yeah!” Ino rolled her eyes. “But that doesn't mean that I don't think they're completely stupid! They only became shinobi in order to try and catch Itachi-kun or Sasuke-kun's attention! That's all they think about! They don't care that they have to be strong to catch their attention, or that they're supposed to defend the village after they pass the Academy test!”

 

Sakura stared at the other girl for a moment. She could have sworn that that was the reason Ino was striving to become a shinobi, to try and catch the attention of Uchiha Itachi. Yet the way she spoke told her that Ino also wanted to be a shinobi because of other reasons, and Sakura wondered how much she did not know about her old friend-turned-rival.

 

“So, you might as well stop trying to be a guard dog, Sakura,” Ino huffed, “because I'm not that kind of girl!”

 

“Where do you think you're going?” Sakura hissed, when Ino tried to walk away again. She was not stupid. Ino could not fool her. The girl might say that she would try not anything, but it was Uchiha Sasuke they were talking about. There was no way she would not try something!

 

“I told you,” Ino hissed back, “I'm going to the bathroom.”

 

“No, you're not,” Sakura growled.

 

“What is your problem?” Ino screeched. “I already told you—!”

 

“I'm not letting you try anything with Sasuke-kun!” Sakura snarled, her green eyes flashing in her anger.

 

“Fine!” Ino cried. “If you want me to fight my way through you, I will!”

 

She could press down her need to piss, despite the screaming of her bladder, if Sakura wanted to play that way. Especially when the other girl just could not understand that she liked Itachi more than Sasuke in the first place, so she really was not going to go walking into the bathroom after him! And hopefully beating the other kunoichi down a little might get that point across!

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder a third time, making sure that Haruno Sakura was not trying to follow him. The girl simply could not get it through her head that he did not like her that way, no matter how much she tried to push herself upon him. And even if he did, his father would never allow a kunoichi with pink hair into the Uchiha clan. He would probably try to get rid of her just so the hair gene she carried would not become a part of the Uchiha clan.

 

Now that he thought about it, that would not be a bad way to get rid of her.

 

Well, if he had not already decided that Higurashi Kagome would be the only—

 

The other student collided with him so suddenly that Sasuke did not have the chance to prepare for it. He stumbled back, his first instinct telling him to grab the other person by the throat and strangle them until they understood the disrespect they had just dealt the Uchiha clan. And he would have, if the other person had not been Higurashi Kagome.

 

“Ow,” the girl mumbled from her position on the floor. “That hurt.”

 

It took a moment, but Sasuke's second instinct kicked into action when his mind completely registered that, yes: Higurashi Kagome was on the floor in front of him. That, yes: they were alone for the first time in forever. That, yes: his stomach was beginning to do flips when she glanced up at him from beneath her lashes, giving him just the faintest glimpse of her blue eyes. But when it did, he allowed himself the chance to reach out his hand to help her up.

 

“Oh, thanks!” she grinned, taking the offered appendage. “I'm really sorry about that, by the way! I'm such a klutz!”

 

He helped her to her feet, his eyes narrowed just a bit in suspicion. She was angry at him, was she not? He had burned Naruto's arm not that long ago, so there really was no reason for her to suddenly act so nice toward him. But, he supposed he should not look a gift horse in the mouth, as he said, “Whatever.”

 

She stiffened just the slightest bit at his response, her pretty blue eyes narrowing in his direction. The feeling in his stomach increased with the attention, and he almost gulped a little. He had never been alone with Kagome before, despite his desire for her to someday be his wife, so he was unprepared for the tightening of his gut, the increased pace of his heart, or the blush that threatened to spread across his face.

 

And, damn it, he knew in that moment that she would become his greatest weakness. It could cost him his life in the future, but it was already developing. There was nothing he could do to stop it, even when he tried to beat down the faint blush rising on his face.

 

“Well,” she hissed lightly, “if you don't want my apology, I won't waste my time giving it to you, Sasuke.” Clearly, the anger she felt toward him was still just beneath the surface. “I'll be going back to class, instead.”

 

She brushed by him, her shoulder lightly knocking against his, before he realized his perfect opportunity was walking away from him. So, quickly trying to correct the situation, he spun on his heel and grabbed onto her wrist. “Wait!”

 

She stopped, glancing back at him in confusion. “What?”

 

Her wrist was so small. Sasuke almost did not want to let go of it, as he was given the chance to stare into her shining blue eyes, but he forced himself to drop it. He had not found that one thing that could capture her heart yet, so he did not dare give himself away. No matter how much he wanted to hold onto that tiny wrist and trace it with his fingers.

 

Her eyes narrowed again, as she snapped, “If you don't have anything—”

 

“I—” he paused. Damn it! She was just a girl! Yes, the girl he wanted to love him, but a girl nonetheless! It should not be that hard to talk to her!

 

“Yes?” she asked, trying to speed up the conversation.

 

Logically knowing that it was his pride preventing him from asking for her help—though the flips in his stomach said otherwise—Sasuke began to press it down into nothingness. It would do him no good to lose his perfect opportunity because of his stubborn nature.

 

“Seriously,” Kagome's eyebrow twitched, “if you don't have anything else to say, I'm leaving.”

 

“I wanted to ask for your help.” There! He had successfully shoved his pride aside and asked his question flawlessly! Now they could move on!

 

“Eh,” Kagome blinked, “you're gonna have to speak louder, Sasuke.”

 

Damn it! Sasuke almost allowed his stubborn blush to rise, as he finally said, “I wanted to ask for your help.”

 

“My help?” she asked. She tilted her head a bit, blinking curiously, and Sasuke's eyes were instantly drawn to the action. It was just so cute. “Why would you need my help?”

 

Sasuke almost smirked, as he said, “Well, you can perform all of the Academy's basic ninjutsu without problem—”

 

“Oh,” she blushed. His stomach tightened again, wanting to keep that look hidden from the rest of the world and never allow another person to see it. His greedy mind gobbled up the sight, devouring it, and blended the pretty pink tint of her face into his memory. “I-I'm not all that great.”

 

He ignored her, continuing, “—and your chakra control is excellent.” He paused, watching as she tried once more to correct him. “Both require quite a bit of concentration, and I—”

 

“Sasuke?” she asked the moment he became quiet. Her eyes reflected the worry she felt for him, and the unfamiliar feeling in his stomach twisted up in knots.

 

“I don't know what happened—” he actually found it quite easy to fake anger and sadness, as he stared at his hands, “—I just screwed up. I've been able to perform the Uchiha clan's fire technique since I was seven, yet all of a sudden I just can't.” His hand clenched. “Now I can't focus on anything else. I'm screwing up all the time. Every time I look the other way, I trip or I use the wrong hand seal and have a jutsu blow up on me.”

 

She was staring at him oddly, when he glanced up to make sure he had successfully managed to pull her into his little sob story, and it unnerved him a little. A look of triumph had formed in her dark blue eyes, and he could not possibly think of anything—from what he had said—that might have brought that look to her eyes. Unless, of course, she was happy that he was screwing up, but he seriously doubted it, since Kagome had never been that type of girl before.

 

“I can't concentrate—” he reached up to push his hair out of his face, partly as a show of frustration and partly to gage her reaction to the movement, “—and I know that you're not exactly happy with me at the moment, but I need your help. You're good at—”

 

She smiled a little, and cut him off. “You don't have to try and flatter me just to make me help you. Sure, you did hit Naruto with that fireball, but you didn't mean to, right?” Her eyes flashed afterward, as a warning bell began to go off inside his head.

 

“No,” he grumbled. “I only meant to destroy the clones. I expected him to at least jump out of the way.” Any serious shinobi would have jumped out of the way. And from the way the blonde continuously went on and on about how he was going to become Hokage, he had expected him to at least be a serious shinobi.

 

“Well,” her smile brightened, “I'd be more than happy to help you, Sasuke! I'm not entirely certain if there's a lot I can help you with, since your father and brother know a lot more than I do, but I'm willing to help!”

 

“Well.” Sasuke paused, realizing in that instant that he had just wasted all that time for nothing. All he had to do was say he was `sorry' about hitting Naruto and he could have easily avoided all of pain and humiliation he put himself through in ninjutsu class. And he wanted to bash his head against a wall in that moment, because he should have known that from the start. “Great.”

 

She did not seem to notice the slight irritation in his voice. She only continued to smile, saying, “I've got time after school if you want to practice then. Though, I understand if you have—”

 

“No,” he shook his head. No time like the present. Especially since he did basically nothing but train after Academy hours anyway. “That's fine. We can train by the Nakano River, if you'd like.”

 

“That's the Uchiha clan's training grounds, right?” she asked, clicking her tongue lightly. She obviously knew that not many from outside the clan were allowed in the area, and was debating whether or not that was such a good idea. However, considering what he wanted and the fact that she would someday have to familiarize herself with the area anyway, Sasuke decided it would not matter.

 

He nodded. “Yes. My father won't mind as long as you're with me.”

 

“Alright,” she nodded. “I'll meet you outside once the bell rings, ok?”

 

Again, he nodded, choosing silence.

 

Higurashi Kagome smiled once more, before deciding that she needed to return to class. He lightly raised his hand when she waved back at him, though they would be attending the same class shortly, and let her go. He had successfully gotten what he had sought out to achieve, and now it would only be a matter of time before he did or said something that caused Kagome to become putty in his hands.

 

A smirk lit up his dark features.

 

Higurashi Kagome would love him soon enough.