Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ More Than Anything ❯ Simplicity ( Chapter 22 )

Chapter Twenty: Simplicity

 

It was so simple, Sasuke could not believe that he had not thought of it in the first place. And, while he hated to admit it, he would never have come up with the plan if it were not for Itachi and that arrogant, foolish Hyuuga.

 

“Hey, Sasuke-teme, are you listening to me, at all?” Naruto frowned deeply at the Uchiha boy, as he sat, silently, with his chin resting upon his folded knuckles. “I'm trying to help you here, and—Ugh! Pay attention, will ya!”

 

If anyone were to ever find out how he had figured it out, though, Sasuke would deny it. Or, if anything, give most of the credit to his brother, since that stupid Hyuuga did not even know he had thrown the correct memory in Sasuke's face when he needed it.

 

Not only that, but that stupid Hyuuga did not realize that he had the facts backwards. The only thing that Kagome did notice were the small, insignificant little gestures that any other girl probably would have ignored. While other girls would have noticed immediately that an item was not the best or the finest or the most expensive, Kagome was happy to accept it simply because it was a gift.

 

It was meant for her.

 

“Hey!” Naruto growled. What? What? Was Sasuke suddenly hard of hearing? Did he not understand that he was trying very hard to help him in his endeavor? That he had the perfect plan!!

 

“Hn?”

 

Noticing the way Sasuke's onyx colored eyes slid onto him, the blonde shinobi-in-training made sure to growl in his face. “I've got the perfect plan over here, and you're not even bothering to listen to me! What's the matter, huh? Have you suddenly decided to let, I don't know, Hyuuga Neji become Kagome's boyfriend?”

 

“Tch.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. That was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. If he were to let Hyuuga Neji become Kagome's anything, it would, most definitely, be the person that had the honor of licking the scrum off the bottom of her sandal.

 

“Oh my—That's it, isn't it!” Naruto's eyes widened dramatically, before he gave a fake, loud cry. He was surprised that Iruka-sensei did not come charging into the room, despite the fact that Academy hours had not started yet, but Naruto did not let it bother him. Instead, he threw out his arm, trying to make sure that everyone knew those dreaded, awful, pink bandages were finally gone and pretended to cry.

 

“You're an idiot,” Sasuke stated.

 

“What?” Naruto scowled suddenly. “I'm practicing for later! You know, when Kagome's all like, `Oh, Naruto! Why are you at the Academy on time, again?!' and I'm all like, `Oh, Kagome! Look at my arm! Look at it! Your horrible, mean, cruel damage is gone and you do not have to worry anymore!'”

 

Watching the idiot's display, waving and pointing at his now uninjured arm, Sasuke merely blinked. Then, as slowly as he could, he said, “You're still an idiot.”

 

“Eh?” Sputtering in outrage, Naruto replied, “You j-just don't understand!”

 

“I think I made it perfectly clear that I understand quite well,” Sasuke mumbled. Naruto's constant need for banter was useless at that point, otherwise he would have made sure the blonde could hear his remark.

 

Squinting at the Uchiha boy, Naruto got as close as he dared. “Hm.”

 

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke snapped, “What?” He did not appreciate the idiot's sudden desire to be close to him, nor did he want to feel his breath fanning against his favorite shirt.

 

“Oh, nothing,” Naruto snickered. “I was just trying to see how close I could get without catching something from you.”

 

“Dobe,” Sasuke growled.

 

Grinning, Naruto leaned back and patted the Uchiha on the shoulder, despite his attempt to shrug him away each and every time. “Ah, I was just kiddin', Sasuke-teme! But, now that I have your attention, could we please go back to the plan?”

 

Finally swatting the other boy's hand away, Sasuke leveled a glare upon him and frowned. The idiot was becoming far too familiar with him lately. Almost as if he, through some idiotic thinking process, had come to the conclusion that he was entitled. And, no doubt, that was because he was Kagome's best friend and all.

 

“Eh?” Naruto blinked rapidly at the Uchiha's strange response, before frowning deeply himself. He leaned in again, asking, “Hey, Sasuke-teme, do you know that your face can get stuck like that if you do it too often?”

 

Deciding that the blonde shinobi-in-training was too close for his liking, Sasuke made a very instinctive move by placing his hand on the other boy's face and pushing him away. “Don't touch me,” he said.

 

Unwilling to do so, since it was clearly getting on the Uchiha's nerves, Naruto pressed back into his hand. He closed the his eye to keep the Uchiha from poking it out, while grinning the best he could while his face was squished up against the boy's flesh. “'ey!” He chuckled, trying to catch his eye with his only open one. “What's the matter, Sasuke-teme?”

 

His voice coming out as little more than a hiss, Sasuke said, “I told you to get away from me!”

 

“But—!” Naruto knew he was pushing it. He could see it in the way Sasuke was beginning to glare at him harshly. “—Sasuke, I'm only trying to tell you about my brilliant plan—!”

 

“I said—!”

 

“—it involves you and Kagome and some dango, and—!”

 

Sasuke nearly fell over from the suggestive wiggle that Naruto put in his eyebrow while stating that sentence. However, someone as idiotic as Uzumaki Naruto would not defeat him! So, planting his feet firmly on the ground, he put his entire body weight into pushing the other boy away from his personal space.

 

“—Ohh, come on, it'll be—Eh?!” Naruto's sudden drive to win disappeared, as the classroom door clicked open. The situation suddenly seemed all too familiar, as he felt the force of Sasuke pushing him away diminish.

 

Then, the door swinging open, Sasuke finally reacted by shoving the Uzumaki boy over. He smirked only a little, amused, when the idiot landed on his back, swinging and kicking despite the fact he was still half seated in the seat he had been pushed from. “I told you not to touch me,” Sasuke told him.

 

Iruka, stepping into the classroom, could only sigh at the all too familiar sight. From what he saw, the two boys were finally learning how to work together, and yet, they still managed to fight every other chance they got. And, really, Academy hours had not even started! He did not deserve to deal with this!

 

“Oh! I just knew it!” Mizuki clapped. The Hyuuga Neji Fan Club member then flipped her hair over her shoulder, a bright smile on her lips, because every time she caught Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto together, she was positive that she was another step closer to Neji's heart!

 

Growling from his tangle position, Naruto leaned up the best he could, and glared deeply at the Uchiha smirking down at him. “I hate you.”

 

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

 

Naruto slowly slid his eyes over to his best friend, while she patiently waited for Iruka-sensei to dismiss them to the Academy training grounds. Today, after all, was the day that they were scheduled to practice their technique and show Iruka-sensei that they had improved since the last time they had been allowed out.

 

“What is it, Naruto?” Kagome asked quietly.

 

“You look,” Naruto paused, before saying, “good.”

 

Tilting her head in her friend's direction, the Higurashi girl blinked at the silent, blue-eyed stare he had focused upon her. “You don't have to worry, Naruto!” she whispered. A grin spread across her face, before she returned her face to the front of the class. “I'm fine!”

 

“Uh huh.” Naruto did not believe that one for a minute.

 

“I'm serious,” she sighed. “My grandpa decided after dinner that I was acting too emotional for him—Rule Number 25, y'know—so he took Souta and I out to show us a new technique. I haven't perfected it yet, but I'm really excited about showing it to Iruka-sensei.”

 

His concern for his friend's mental health forgotten, Naruto grinned at the excitement she truthfully showed. “Really?!” he asked. “Is it as completely awesome as all those other lightning techniques he's been teaching you?”

 

Iruka took a deep breath.

 

“It's a water technique, Naruto,” Kagome replied.

 

“Eh?!” Naruto made a face, making sure that Kagome understood his displeasure with the information. “A water technique! What in the world are you going to do with a water technique?”

 

The rest of the class turned to find out what exactly Uzumaki Naruto had decided was far more important than Iruka-sensei's instructions. This time, that is, since it was not a rare occurrence for the Uzumaki boy to make a ruckus.

 

Sakura rolled her eyes, hissing, “Naruto.”

 

Iruka took another long, deep breath.

 

“Seriously?” Naruto continued. He did not notice when Kagome stiffened beneath the sudden attention, nor did he notice when Iruka-sensei seemed to pop a vein the more he chose to speak. “A water technique is just like, eeh! compared to all those totally awesome lightning ones he's been teaching you! In fact, I think that that old man's just trying to punish you, because—!”

 

“Uzumaki Naruto, will you please be quiet!” Iruka finally exploded.

 

His face falling in an instant, Naruto nearly jumped out of his seat. And, feeling the impending doom from the front of the classroom, Naruto tried to simply laugh away the whole situation. “I-Iruka-sensei, I, uh, well, uh—!”

 

“Now!!” Iruka hollered.

 

Recognizing the look on Iruka-sensei's face all too well, Naruto wondered for a moment if he should run. But, as his toes twitched in order to do so, he felt Kagome's hand grip onto his sleeve and practically glue him to his seat. “Hey!” he cried. “Kagome, what are you doing?!”

 

“I told you I was fine—” an evil grin stretched across Kagome's lips, causing her best friend to freeze on the spot. There was no doubt in her mind that he understood the reason she was keeping him there, as, slowly but surely, Uchiha Sasuke turned in his seat to watch them struggle against one another, “and you didn't believe me, so this is your punishment, Uzumaki Naruto.”

 

“Let me go!” Naruto whined. He had not noticed when the dark haired Uchiha turned to look at them. “Let me go!”

 

A frown instantly taking over her face, Kagome gasped in disbelief. He had not—! What kind of friend was he?! “You idiot!” she shouted. “Sit down and shut up before I make you!”

 

Watching as Higurashi Kagome slung one arm around Uzumaki Naruto's neck, the rest of the class quickly began to whisper amongst themselves on who would win the struggle before Iruka-sensei put a stop to it. The Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club was quick to place their favor with Naruto, despite the fact he was dead last in the Academy rank, because there was simply no way any of them were going to cheer on that little Higurashi twit.

 

“Come on, Kagome!” Naruto yelped, as, suddenly, the Higurashi tipped them both out of his seat and into the aisle. He heard her breath leave her when his elbow dug into her side, and nearly laughed manically at the small victory. “Give a friend a break, will ya?”

 

“Nar-u-to,” Kagome hissed. That had really hurt, the jerk! How dare he ask to be let go, again, after he purposely hit her in the side with his pointy little elbow!

 

“Oh no,” Naruto whispered. He began to struggle anew, trying to wriggle out of the kunoichi-in-training's hold. Then, fearing for his life, he called out, “Iruka-sensei, help me!”

 

Oddly enough, Iruka-sensei appeared to have simply leaned into his desk in defeat. The class, however, quickly turned silent when a loud crack resonated from the front of the classroom where Iruka-sensei stood. Even Naruto and Kagome, struggling upon the floor, glanced forward, and watched as Iruka-sensei lifted his hand to show off the piece of wood he had snapped off from the corner of his desk.

 

“Uh oh,” Kagome gulped. She scrambled off of Naruto as quickly as she could, diving back underneath her desk, before sliding neatly into her seat.

 

Naruto was not so lucky, as Iruka-sensei's face snapped up and found him still sitting in the aisle. “Uh, uh, uh, Iruka-sensei, it wasn't my fault—!”

 

“NARUTO!”

 

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

 

“Nghhh, my head.” Naruto pouted at his best friend, trying to make her understand, and quickly frowned when he noticed that she was watching Uchiha Sasuke. “Come on, Kagome, I'm sitting here with a head injury, and all you can do is ogle Sasuke-teme!”

 

“I am not,” she denied. She was rather glad that they were forced to sit away from the rest of the class as punishment until Iruka-sensei gave them the signal to practice. Otherwise, she probably would have throttled the shinobi-in-training for saying such a thing in front of everyone.

 

“Yeah,” Naruto mumbled spitefully. “That's definitely not the reason you're blushing then, either.”

 

Snapping her head away, she mumbled back, “I can't help it, ok?”

 

“I know,” Naruto sighed. “And, I kind of understand, but, come on, Kagome, Iruka-sensei threw a piece of his desk at my head! You could at least try to act concerned for a little while, couldn't you?”

 

“I'm sorry.” She knew that he was right, so, reaching out, she poked a bit at the bump that Iruka-sensei had succeeded in forming on his head. “Does it hurt a lot?”

 

“Yes, yes it does.” He swatted her hand away, hissing a little at the feel of her nail probing the tender flesh. “So, stop touching it! This isn't a freak show or something, you know!”

 

Giggling a little, she made sure to poke his injury one more time.

 

“I said—” Naruto began.

 

“Hey, Kagome—” the duo snapped their eyes up to find Yamanaka Ino looking down upon them, “—Masao-sensei said that he wants you to demonstrate that new water technique you were talking about in class. Um, apparently Iruka-sensei told him that you and Naruto were fighting about it, and he really wants to see it.”

 

It was clear that the insane ninjutsu instructor made Ino nervous, from the way she was glancing back in his direction. But—

 

“That's so awesome!” Naruto grinned. He hissed a little when he bumped his injury with his hand, trying to cheer properly, but did not let it deter his smile. “Now, we'll really get to see whether or not that crazy old grandfather of yours is teaching you something worth while!”

 

“Do you want to be hit again, Naruto?”

 

Her voice nearly murderous, Naruto quickly shook his head in the negative. “No.”

 

Rising to her feet, Kagome said, “That's what I thought.” She had not meant to snap at Naruto so suddenly, but, ever since Uchiha Leiko had decided to take a stab at her precious grandfather's past, she was quick to react when someone questioned his mentality. Yes, he was, maybe, a little too focused on the past and what he once was, but that did not mean that he still was not one of the greatest shinobi that Konoha had ever had!

 

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

 

Sasuke watched closely, as Higurashi Kagome jogged over to Masao-sensei's side and bowed. The sight of her tightened his stomach into a knot, knowing that it would not be long until he would need to implement his new plan. Yet, knowing that the Higurashi girl was not oppose to his affection and was nearly effected by the mere sight of him, the feeling in his stomach did not seem as intense as it normally did.

 

“You ready, Higurashi?” Masao-sensei asked.

 

“Yes, Masao-sensei!”

 

Straightening up a bit, Sasuke noticed the way Kagome's hair flipped as she turned on her heel to face away from the rest of the class. Her feet spread a part, as her arms lifted, and then, without hesitation, she began to shift through a series of hand seals that he could not quite see from the angle and doubted he would recognize.

 

“Water Release—” her hand lifted toward the sky in one fluid motion, and a large, imposing wall of water began to form in the air around her, “—Infinite Blades!”

 

The first swipe of her hand seemed to do nothing, and the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club members began to whisper in mocking tones nearby. Sasuke resisted the urge to glare at them, making sure to keep his eyes on Kagome when he recognized the feel of chakra pulsing from her body.

 

The kunoichi-in-training then swept another hand through the water before her, chakra pulsing, and the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club nearly squealed in fright when a large blade of wall released itself from the wall of water and crashed into the farthest wall. A clear cut had appeared in the cement, but it did not seem that the Higurashi girl was done, as, rapidly, she began to sweep her hands through the water as quickly as she was able.

 

Blades of water rushed forth, chakra sharpening each edge, and began to eat away at the wall that had been chosen as their opponent. The attack was devastating while it lasted, chucks of cement flying as each new blade of water chipped deeper into the wall.

 

Masao-sensei cackled, stopping Kagome with a single hand to her shoulder. “No reason to destroy the poor thing, Higurashi!” he laughed. “Though, I'm sure you understand that attack is rather limited. Any trained shinobi would probably get away after realizing the blades were all coming from the same direction, and, not only that, but it was eating up your chakra pretty quick there.”

 

There was a slight pant in Kagome's voice, though she seemed rather pleased with the ninjutsu instructor's comment. “Yes, Masao-sensei. My grandfather told me that when I have the technique perfected, I should be able to command the initial water into a dome around myself for a more devastating attack.”

 

Sasuke smirked a bit to himself. The way the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club girls huffed and whined amongst themselves greatly amused him, because it was clear that they believed they could perform a much better technique should the need arise. When, in fact, Sasuke knew that none of them could perform such a high level technique so flawlessly.

 

And it only cemented Sasuke in his decision to enact his plan.

 

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

 

“That was so cool!” Naruto grinned from ear to ear. “It was like, WHAM! and then, BAM! and, and, I'm sorry about calling your grandfather a crazy old coot, Kagome! That was the coolest water technique I've ever seen!”

 

Amused by the way Naruto tried to duplicate the movement he had seen her use during the technique, Kagome smiled brightly. “I told you that water techniques were pretty awesome, didn't I? And you want to know the coolest part—?”

 

“What? What?” Naruto asked. “Come on, tell me!”

 

“—I figured out that if I push enough chakra into the water at the end of the attack, like, when I'm running low, the water will form the blades without my help,” Kagome told him. “I haven't told my grandpa yet, because, well, he has a habit of telling me that I'm ruining a perfectly good technique that's been tested time and again. But, I think if I do manage to figure out all the little details, he'll be really pleased, since I could, in theory, create a bunch of water walls and make them all shoot blades at the same time.”

 

“You gotta teach me that technique, Kagome,” Naruto said. “Please?”

 

“Well.” Kagome giggled a little at Naruto's suddenly large, pouting eyes. But, she still drew out the single word, making the Uzumaki boy squirm underneath her stare. “I guess I could.”

 

Naruto cheered, bouncing back and forth on his feet, until, turning in a circle, he noticed Uchiha Sasuke heading in their direction. He stopped in his movement, quickly putting on a nice little frown for the Uchiha, as he said, “What do you want, Sasuke-teme?”

 

Kagome felt her heart flutter into motion at the mention of the Uchiha boy, as she slowly turned her head to make sure Naruto was not joking with her. She had been fighting with her constant need to blush and her heart's desperate need to pick up speed beneath his stare all day. And, while she had been doing quite well, the sight of him walking toward her seemed to shatter her resolve to remain calm until he made some type of move to—

 

—to, well, she was not really sure.

 

“Dobe,” the Uchiha greeted the Uzumaki. Then, his onyx colored eyes sliding onto her, Kagome lowered her gaze so she was not caught in an embarrassing situation, since she knew that being mesmerized with his stare would no doubt cause one. “Kagome.”

 

“Uh.” She nearly bit her lip. “H-hi, Sasuke.”

 

While he was wondering what the hell Sasuke thought he was doing, Naruto grinned impishly when he noticed the similar look the two of them shared. The Uchiha boy might deny it to his grave, but it greatly pleased Naruto to know that, in the end, this would all be thanks to him, Uzumaki Naruto! “Hey, Kagome—”

 

Kagome stiffened, praying her friend did not give away anything. Because, damn it, if he did, she was so going to pound him until he slipped into unconsciousness!

 

“—is there something going on between you two that I should know about?” Naruto knew he was the best friend in the world, since he was almost handing Kagome the one boy actually trying to win her love to her on a silver platter. Yet, he still withered underneath her deadly glare and chose to alter his question to appease her at last minute.

 

“No.” Her glare alone told the Uzumaki boy to shut his mouth, and she was positive he understood that fact when he looked away quickly. “No, there isn't.”

 

“Kagome, I—” her attention snapping back to Sasuke, she caught the slight skip in his voice that made her heart pick up speed a second time, “—I wanted to know if—”

 

“Well, this is awkward,” Naruto mumbled under his breath. He did not quite understand it. Why was it that, every time they were near one another, they could not seem to say anything? Seriously. “Sasuke-teme, if you don't have anything to say, why don't you go away. Kagome and I were going to go and practice that totally awesome water technique she learned recently.”

 

The other shinobi-in-training shot him a look, but it appeared that Naruto's comment had pushed him enough that he found his voice. There was no hesitation in his voice the second time, as he asked, “Kagome, I wanted to know if you would like to—?”

 

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

 

“Ugh, that Higurashi thinks she's so great!” Mayu hissed.

 

“I know!” Asuka did not bother to argue with the other girl, since everyone in the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club knew that the Higurashi girl was just trying to impress Sasuke and pull him farther away from them! “Just because she learned a low level water technique does not mean that she suddenly deserves a bunch of praise from Masao-sensei!”

 

“You know that she's just trying to become Kunoichi of the Year!” Reina huffed. “And, no doubt, failing miserably, since we all know who will be paired with Sasuke-kun when the time comes—!”

 

“—Me!” The Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club members immediately looked in opposite directions, refusing to believe that one of the others might be able to jump into the position that Uchiha Leiko had held for so long. Especially since, according to the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club rules, they were all supposed to give each other the same amount of time and opportunity to gain Uchiha Sasuke's attention.

 

“There's no reason to fight over it,” Sakura sighed. She had no doubt in her mind that, when the time came, she would gain the title of Kunoichi of the Year. After all, she was the fan club president! “Higurashi will lose in the end, and then one of us will be placed onto Sasuke-kun's squad. And then, she'll cry in her bed every night, wishing that it wasn't true, while he's giving his love to one of us!”

 

The Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club seemed to shiver in delight as a single unit. Many of the members placed put a hand to their face, as the thought sent their imagination into overdrive. Because, it was true! One of them deserved Sasuke's love after years and years of devotion! Unlike that pitiful little Higurashi brat, they loved Sasuke beyond belief and, in return, one of them deserved to win his love!

 

“There is a chance that Leiko might still get the position when she comes back, though,” Emiko pouted. She did not seem to notice the glares that turned in her direction. “I mean, while it would be terrible, she is an Uchiha and—”

 

“Ha!” Asuka laughed. “You know, Emiko, I've actually thought about it for a while now. And you know what I realized?” When the other girl shook her head, Asuka decided to elaborate. “Leiko is an Uchiha, just like Sasuke-kun, which means that she could, one day, activate the Sharingan. And, there's no doubt in my mind that Iruka-sensei—no, Hokage-sama himself!—will recognize that fact and believe that putting two Uchiha together would make that one squad too powerful. After all, each squad is supposed to be well balanced according to talent!”

 

“Of course—!” Reina suddenly piped up, “—if there are two Sharingan users on the same squad, that squad will be unbalanced! It would become an easy target to high-level shinobi because it's so one-sided!”

 

Mayu easily caught onto where the conversation was going, as she said, “Which means that one of us will definitely be on Sasuke-kun's squad!”

 

“Ugh, with the way you're all standing around, when we're clearly supposed to be practicing at the moment, none of you will leap into that position whether you want to or not.” Her honey colored eyes glimmered in the sun, telling the world that she, an avid Hyuuga follower, was greatly amused by the simple fact. “In fact, from my prospective, it seems like all of you will end up crying in your beds at night.”

 

Sneering at the Hyuuga Neji Fan Club member, Sakura snarled, “Why don't you go back to the hole you crawled out from, instead of worrying about our affairs, Mizuki? Since, from my prospective, you'll be the one doing so when Higurashi goes running back to her little Hyuuga lover.”

 

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Mizuki smiled back. “My, my, Sakura,” she said, “you've gained quite a backbone there, haven't you? I remember the days when you used to hide behind Ino, whining about how all of the girls here made fun of your big forehead.”

 

Sakura stiffened, a fierce glare appearing on her face.

 

“In fact, I bet I could reenact the situation right here and now.” Mizuki began to grin, loving the way she was getting underneath Sakura's skin without really trying to. “I bet we all could, since it's so easy. Here, let me try, `Oh, boo hoo, I'm Haruno Sakura and I have no friends, and while I'd love for you to like my big forehead, I hate the fact that you all like the same boy I do. Oh, boo hoo.'”

 

Asuka stifled a laugh behind her head.

 

Mayu coughed, trying to hide the slow grin that desperately wanted to appear on her face. While none of them had seen it coming, Mizuki had done a pretty good job with her reenactment. And, not only that, but with how high and mighty Sakura had been acting lately, the girl really did need to be knocked down a peg or two.

 

“S-shut up, Mizuki!” Sakura snapped.

 

“Oh, what's the matter, Sakura?” Mizuki blinked her eyelashes innocently, before adding, “Did I hit a nerve?”

 

“Well, if you're so keen on practicing, Mizuki—” Sakura growled. She would love the opportunity to pound the other girl after all her little jabs throughout the years, “—why don't we practice together?”

 

“Mmm,” Mizuki put a finger to her lip, “no, I don't believe I'd like to.”

 

“Why not?” Sakura tone turned mocking, as she continued, “Chicken?”

 

“As if, Sakura. You see, I made sure to train a little this morning before I came to the Academy, since I knew that we were going to be visiting Masao-sensei—”

 

“Uh huh,” Sakura snorted.

 

“—and, not only that, but, I want to see your reaction when you realize that your precious little Sasuke-kun is over there,” Mizuki pointed, “asking Higurashi Kagome if she'll train with him.”

 

“WHAT?!”

 

The Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club was immediately in an uproar, as they swung around in the direction that Mizuki had indicated to find that, yes, Uchiha Sasuke was indeed standing quite close to Higurashi Kagome. And, yes, it did appear that the Higurashi girl, as she blushed and nodded, had agreed to train with Sasuke as they walked a little distance away from Uzumaki Naruto, clearly pouting and kicking his feet around, and each slid into a taijutsu stance.

 

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

 

“This is unfair!” Naruto whined. Seriously, what in the world did the Uchiha boy think he was doing? “You promised that you'd train with me for a while, Kagome, yet—!”

 

The Higurashi girl managed to drown away Naruto's voice, as she watched Sasuke slip down into an offensive stance some distance from her. She was not even sure why she had agreed to train with him for a little while herself, but, with the way her heart beat picked up, she feared that she could not have told him “no.”

 

The rest of the class seemed to turn silent, watching in anticipation, with the exception of the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club. The girls were merely horrified and stunned with the event suddenly taking place before their eyes, and were unsure how to put a stop to it when it was clear Iruka-sensei would not allow them to. Iruka-sensei, no doubt, would drag them all to the Hokage himself if they even dared to declare violence upon the Higurashi should she not back down from willingly practicing with Uchiha Sasuke.

 

The fierce gleam that rushed across Kagome's eyes only made Sasuke shiver. He was aware that the Higurashi stare was known for stopping opponents in their tracks, fear racing through their system, yet the sight of Kagome's brilliantly blue eyes focusing upon him only delighted him. It tightened the knot in his stomach, before suddenly, the feeling seemed to burst into a thousand fluttering, little butterflies that forced him to bite his lip to control himself.

 

Suddenly, trying to fight down the heat rushing to her face, Kagome broke the silence by rushing forward. She cleared the distance between them with ease, throwing the first punch at Sasuke's surprised face, and was a little surprised herself when her fist dug into his cheek and forced him off his feet. “Oh my—!”

 

Naruto laughed hysterically on the sideline, leaning over to grab onto his side when the laughter started to turn painful. “That was—!” he could not contain the laughter, “—that was—! Way to go, Kagome! Kick that Uchiha's butt in—into next week if you have to!”

 

Ignoring the numerous gasps and cries from his fan club, Sasuke rose from his position on the ground and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. That was, admittedly, his own fault. He had been caught within those eyes that he loved so much, and, as a result, had been thoroughly surprised when, suddenly, the same brilliant orbs were nearly in his face.

 

Having come forward to help the Uchiha boy, Kagome said, “Oh, Sasuke, I'm sorry! I didn't, well, I mean, I didn't—”

 

Instinct pushed her into action, as Sasuke threw his own fist in her direction. It did not seem forceful, or truly meant to hurt her, but the Higurashi girl moved nevertheless. She twisted to one side, years of practicing alongside her grandfather and brother making the movement easy, and, planting both hands onto the ground, retaliated by swinging her foot in the direction of his head.

 

Blocking the kick with his arm, the Uchiha boy quickly grabbed onto the Higurashi girl's toned leg. The split second, his fingers twitching to trace the toned muscle, was ruined, however, when her other foot dug into his side. That moment, though, her kick forcing the air from his lungs, the Uchiha realized he did not need to hold back.

 

She could take it.

 

Adrenaline pumping rapidly through her veins, Kagome found herself moving easier. The slight glimpses of Sasuke's face—the same face she often imagined reflected with flames—did not seem to affect her nearly as much. As she avoided and parried with the Uchiha boy, the refreshing feeling of excitement washed over her and drowned away the constant feeling of embarrassment she almost feared she would always carry.

 

Yet, no matter how much the adrenaline chased away her new, awkward feelings, Kagome could not get rid of the few butterflies that appeared in the pit of her stomach when she noticed the way Sasuke glanced in her direction a moment later. His dark eyes pierced into her system, brought back the heat in her face, and she earned a nice kick to the shin because of it.

 

“Hey!” Naruto shouted. “Unfair, unfair! I call unfairness, Iruka-sensei!”

 

“Get `em, Kagome!” The rest of the class seemed surprised by Yamanaka Ino's sudden declaration, as her voice rose over the field. “Girl power all the way!”

 

Watching Kagome shake away the pain in her leg, and rush toward him once more, Sasuke caught sight of the little nin-cat charm she wore around her neck. A smirk lifted on his face, as he avoided her first and second punch, before finally catching her third in the palm of his hand.

 

It was time that she learned the truth.

 

“W-what, Sasuke?” Kagome jerked away suddenly, as the Uchiha boy grabbed her by her upper arm and hauled her body close to his own. The blush she had been fighting back rushed forth onto her face, and her heart immediately picked up extra speed when she felt the heat of his body pressing against her own. “W-what are you—?”

 

“EH?!” Naruto's voice seemed insignificant compared to the burning gaze looking down upon her, but Kagome still heard her best friend in the background as his own confusion became clear.

 

“Kagome, I—” damn it, his tongue would not win this battle! “—I'm glad that—” damn it! “—you're still wearing that nin-cat charm that—”

 

Kagome blinked in confusion, and her mouth slowly began to slip open in a silent question. “Sasuke—?”

 

“—that—” Sasuke had hoped that he was over having to fight with his tongue's habit of disobeying him. But, recognizing the swollen feeling, he knew that, once again, his tongue had won the battle.

 

Trying to beat down the embarrassment that rushed through her, since her body was pressed rather close to the Uchiha's chest, Kagome gulped beneath his softening gaze. What had happened to the arrogant, prideful Uchiha that refused to show any type of emotion in public? What happened to the boy that she had known throughout her time in the Academy?

 

Tightening his hold a little, Sasuke tried one last time, “I—!”

 

Her mind in chaos, despite the fluttering of her heart, Kagome felt that she had managed to pick up on what the shinobi-in-training was trying to tell her. Yet, as her question came out, her voice softened into a whisper. “Sasuke, did you—” she lifted the hand she could still move and touched the nin-cat charm around her neck, “—did you—?”

 

Looking into that face that he adored, Sasuke could merely nod. His tongue refused to work in such close proximity, and he was quite pleased that she had quickly come to the conclusion that he had given her the little charm she wore daily. Then again, he would say she was as brilliant as she was beautiful, so it was really no surprise to him that she had figured it out so quickly.

 

“O-oh.”

 

He knew he had to speak then. His foolish tongue be damned! “I—” he reminded himself, once again, that she was just a girl. Talking to her should not be quite so hard, but, then again, it had been some time since he had been so close to her, “—I wasn't sure how—” he swallowed, “—how you would react if I—” again, but at least he was getting through his sentence, “—told you.”

 

“Sasuke, I—”