Weightlessness.

Buoyancy.

Hikari figured these words were the only ones that could truly describe this feeling of freefalling from the sky.

She didn’t even remember falling in the first place.

But here she was falling to her death - completely helpless.

The journey itself felt eternal, long-lasting, but the ad infinitum drop was probably just her imagination - her waning senses playing mind games with her.

It would only be moments before she came to her climax - her death.

‘This has to be it…’ she wondered.

Her breath grew hollow. Her pale lids slowly slid over her blue-gray irises.

‘Only a miracle can save me now…’

And honestly, Hikari was not sure if there really are miracles.

…that is until at that moment.

“KARI!”

Her eyes struggled to remain open, resisting the murky shadows.

‘W…who… Who is that?’

“Kari, hold on!”

“H…Help. Help me please…” the girl whispered as she felt herself dive in the darkness.

Suddenly the sensation ceased as gravity finally set in.

Did she fall? Is this what death feels like?

“Kari, I got you. You’re safe now.”

Her gray orbs fluttered open as she felt strong arms wrapped tightly around her frame. She slowly looked up to see her savior’s face.

His countenance was veiled in the cover of the shadows, but she could faintly make out an outline of a face - his lips curved to a grin.

“T…thank you,” she whispered, trying to regain her lost breath.

Just moments before she could hear his voice… a strange beeping sound aroused her from her dreamy state.

“Mrghgrhaga…” mumbled the sleepy girl as she tried her very best to ignore the strident cacophony of her alarm clock.

During the first few moments, Hikari found the soundtrack remotely tolerable. She was much too tired to move and quiet it anyway.

As the beeps grew louder and louder, so did Hikari’s irritation over the infernal timepiece. The girl finally released a low groan and rolled over to her side, hammering the snooze button with a lazy fist.

‘Finally! Silence at last…’

The girl collapsed into her cottony comforter, feeling herself fall back into the inky abyss.

“Hikari?” a male voice asked the sleeping female. “Hikari, are you awake yet?”

Only silence replied to the man’s queries.

She then heard the man release a ragged sigh and thought aloud, “I guess I was much too naïve to believe that ultra annoying contraption would be more than enough to wake you, Kari…”

Kari squirmed in her place, burying her head under her fluffy pillow in order to block out the man’s ramblings.

“Shrumpt Mraup…” a muffled version of the girl’s voice mumbled tiredly.

“Maybe I was not as incorrect as I originally believed. It seems my clock actually did awake you, but little Kari-chan is too lazy to move her ass out of bed,” the man remarked as he seated himself beside her. “Okay. I’ll give you to the count of three to get out… or else.”

“Just go away!” she articulated with a little more clarity.

“One,” he said, ignoring her demand.

Kari did not bother to respond.

“Two. ”

The girl released a low moan, pulling the covers over the pillow.

The man paused for a moment, awaiting for further response.

He shrugged, “Fine, Kari. You asked for it. Three…”

The weight suddenly disappeared from her side. Kari listened carefully as the man’s footsteps sauntered right out of her quarters.

‘Oh thank you. That crazy old coot finally left…’

…Or so she thought.

Before she could readjust herself to a more comfortable position, the lights suddenly snapped on. Her blanket was ripped from her grip.

“What the…?” Before she knew it, an icy, cold liquid was dumped all over her frame. “EEK!”

With her eyes wide open, Kari immediately leaped from her bed, her body drenched with the freezing liquid.

“Oh my god! I’m soaked!” she cried, watching as droplets of the icy liquid slithered down her pajamas and onto the floor.

“That’s what you get for being such a lazy gal, Kari-chan…” muttered a tired, male voice.

Kari’s head snapped towards the source of the sound, her steely-blue orbs narrowed into a heated glare.

The target of her harsh gaze was an older man with short, pointy white locks. A white mask concealed his nose and mouth. The one eye Kari was able to see in the veil of white hair remained fixated on a tiny salmon book. Her gaze then was attracted to a silver bucket that shone brightly in the fluorescent illumination.

“Hatake Kakashi, you are so cruel! How dare you dump a bucket of water on me?” she shouted vehemently.

“Good morning to you too, princess. I knew you would be simply ecstatic once I finally aroused you from your slumber,” Kakashi replied in a nonchalant tone, unfazed by her apparent rage and simply turned a single page in his novel. “And please enlighten me on a more effective way I could have awakened you?”

“Well anything would have been better than that stupid bucket!”

“It really was your own fault, Kari-chan! If you only woken up when I beckoned earlier, you would not have felt the wrath of the silver bucket.”

Kari opened her mouth to retort, but quickly closed it shut. She only replied with a loud grunt as she whipped her head away from the man, causing her long, wet tendrils to slap her right in the face.

‘…Ouch…’ she whimpered in her mind, trying ever so hard to ignore Kakashi’s chuckles.

“You know, you really should be thanking me, Kari. Thanks to me, you don’t have to worry yourself about showering!”

Upon hearing that statement, Kari’s face contorted into a heated sneer, screaming that she would rather approach her personal hygiene in a different manner.

Kakashi simply shook his head. “Oh dear. By that ungrateful look on your wet face, it seems you still don’t get it…”

All anger left Kari’s visage as confusion took its place. As if to verify her already palpable perplexity over his remark, she blurted out an unintelligible, “Huh?”

Kakashi rolled an obsidian orb as he mumbled, “Do you even have an ounce of intelligence? Did you even retain anything I taught you the passed year?”

“What was that?!”

“Oh nothing!” Kakashi quickly stated, sidestepping the subject with such effortless grace that it annoyed the already cantankerous girl, who was too irritated to press the subject any further. “I just want you to think of what today is.”

Kari followed her guardian’s suggestions and contemplated for a moment.

Finally, realization hit her.

“OH MY GOD! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier, uncle!?” she questioned, her steel-blue orbs wide with shock.

“One, you were sleeping like the hardheaded block of stone I know you are. Two, you were so busy yapping I couldn’t have told you even if I wanted to.”

“…just shut up.”

“Just dry off and get dressed. I placed your uniform in the bathroom already, kay? So just hurry up. I don‘t want you to be late for your first day of school.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Kari said as she dashed into the bathroom.

Kakashi followed right behind her, ambling his way instead into the living room.

“OH. MY. GOD! Kaka-chan, what the hell is this?!” Kari yelled just as he sat on the couch.

“What is what, Kari?” he asked.

“THIS!” He slowly raised his head upward to see Kari standing right in front of him… holding a certain garment in her hand. “You can’t seriously be telling me that this thing from the depths of the hell is actually the uniform for girls!”

Kakashi slowly shut his book closed as he met her shocked gaze. In a calm, even tone, he simply remarked. “Hikari, that thing from the depths of hell, is just a skirt.”

“And you know how much I hate skirts! This has to be some sick joke!”

“If I said it is, will you just put it on? We’re going to be late because of your irritating prattle, Hi-chan.”

“Fine! I’ll demean myself and put this stupid thing on! Like you care, Uncle Kakashi…” she griped, shuffling her way back to the bathroom.

“Don’t worry! I don’t!” He called out, shaking his head. “I knew this would have been interesting…”

“Uncle Kakashi, do I really have to go to high school now?” Kari asked as they neared the school vicinity.

“Yes, you must. We agreed I’d let you stay and teach you for one year. That year is now officially over. I even let you stay home for the first few weeks of school as compromise for your earlier gripes,” Kakashi stated.

“But I feel ridiculous!” Kari stopped in her place, tugging her navy blue skirt down. “Just look at me, uncle! I look absurd.”

“You look just fine, Hi-chan,” Kakashi assured the girl. “You know, I still find it bizarre you would call me your uncle. We are not related in any way.”

“But you had been in my life for so long, I consider you like family! You have to admit, we do share some sort of resemblance!”

“I suppose so. You so have the same colored hair as I, but I still say you look more like your father. You have his eyes after all,” Kakashi pointed out.

Kari smiled as she replied, “And I’ve never been more proud! Well, you should know that you deserve the title of uncle since you were so kind as to take me in.”

“Like I had a choice in the matter, Hikari,” her guardian said.

Kari then inquired, “Where else could I have gone? It’s not like I could have went home to father…”

Kari swallowed a large lump in her throat, her gaze falling downcast. Kakashi’s features softened as he went to her side. “Ah, don’t be like that, Kari. I thought you were over that now. That why I taught you at home for a whole year just so you could recover.”

Kari shook her head as she replied, “Don’t worry about it, Kakashi. I’ll survive. I’m better now than how I was last year!”

The girl forced a smile on her face. As she endured Kakashi’s meticulous scrutiny, she hoped that her small assurance was enough to appease her worried guardian.

Kari relaxed when she heard him release a tired sigh. “Okay whatever you say, my dear Hi-chan. Now if you are done with all of your drama, can we go inside now?”

Kari slowly played with the ends of her long gray tresses as she constructed her response. “Um, I suppose, but do I truly look presentable? I feel almost nude wearing this garment.”

Kakashi assured the disgruntled Hikari, “You look wonderfully radiant, Kari. Just get your big butt moving.”

“Fine! Let’s continue the degradation.”

Kakashi chuckled at her grumbling and continued forth.

Then there is was. Kari gasped. “Oh my god… Kaka-san? I… is that?”

“Yes, it is. Welcome to Konoha High, Hikari.”

“Konoha High, a prestigious school that expects nothing, but the very best from its students. The curriculum always challenges the aspiring scholars to improve themselves and strive for excellence.”

“And their most prominent teacher from their so-called fabulous team of instructors – Hatake Kakashi – provides inordinate and superfluous amounts of meaningless dialogue!” Kari cried.

Kakashi corrected, “That, my dear Kari, would really be called monologue. I also meant it to be a form of soliloquy. I would think even you, a simple-minded maiden, would be able to grasp such a simple concepts as that.”

Kari grumbled her retort, “Whatever… monologue or not, I’ve heard that about a thousand times… Who are you even talking to? Not me I hope.”

“It’s none of your concern. Just keep moving, Hi-chan,” Kakashi ordered, and Kari complied. The two figures walked through the droves of bustling adolescents and finally made their way inside the school building.

To Kari’s dismay, most of the girls were clad in the same button shirt and glaring navy blue skirt.

‘I was seriously hoping that Kakashi was kidding around with me… Ugh! Evil school!’

“Alright, Kari. Now you are going into the headmistress’s office. While there, she will fill you in on everything you need to know,” Kakashi informed her.

“Yes, I know, Kaka-san. You’ve told me that even more than the actual school. Can I go now?”

Kakashi did not reply immediately. His lazy dark eye gazed at Kari carefully, scrutinizing her general expression with the utmost care. Kari felt all air rush from her lungs. She held her breath.

“No…not yet, Hi-chan”

Kari blinked several times, tilting her head to a slight incline to accentuate that inquisitive look varnishing her rosy features. “Why the hell not?”

Kakashi then playfully admonished, “Stop fussing with your skirt already. If you yank on it anymore, it will probably slip off your skinny hips. I know you wouldn’t want that happening, would you?”

The silvery haired female’s heart pumped heat into her cheeks as she released the hem of her garment. Kari pouted her full lips and shouted, “Kaka-san! Don’t joke about that sort of thing! You probably cursed me and my already unpromising day. For all I know, because of what you said, this bloody skirt really will fall!”

His one eye seemed overcome with curiosity by her statement, but dared not press the subject any further… at least for that moment of time.

The snowy haired man instead chuckled. “I don’t know why you have such a deep distaste for that garment. You look as cute as a button!” His one visible eye curved to a cheerful arced crescent, indicating a broad smile was appearing under his masked face.

Kari relaxed her pursed lips, chuckling. She never knew her uncle could act like a doting father.

“I offer no further comment concerning this topic. You look too happy right now, and I’ll feel so bad if I ruin that pleasant expression,” she said with a light grin gracing her lips. “Now is there anything else on your mind?”

Kakashi’s eye slightly opened, pondering his word choice carefully. “Hmm… actually there really isn’t anything on my mind exactly. I am more curious to hear if anything is on your mind.”

His niece’s lips pressed together to form a thin line. Her muscles grew tense.

Once she was able to relax her physical visage into barely a shadow of poise, she inquired, “What would be on my mind, Kakashi?”

“That’s why I’m asking. What would be on your mind?” He repeated. Kari swallowed a large lump wedged deep in her throat. Her breath felt stagnant. Was she truly that transparent? She wanted to kept her troubles a secret. Was she truly ready to divulge her everything now?

“Well, Hikari? Is there anything bothering you?” He asked again. Kari swallowed once more before opening her mouth to reply.

“Oh, I am just fine, Kakashi! You worry too much, you know?” She assured him in a slightly shaky voice. The only thing she could think of that could possibly conceal her unease was a brilliant smile. After all, smiles always made everything better… right? “Now if I passed this examination, will you allow me passage? I am a very busy girl, you know.”

Kakashi’s one visible eye blinked several times, taken aback by that one statement. As ennui overtook his general expression, Hikari mentally cursed herself. She knew that Kakashi would not pry into her problems. He certainly was not the type to duress the info out of her or use the deceptive guile, which she was certain he possessed, to procure it from her lips.

The most emotion she was able to perceive on his typically somnolent face was a flicker of disappointment. He surely must have thought her answer was rather anticlimactic.

“Okay, Hi-chan. If you say so. You can go on inside. I apologize for wasting your time.”

Kari nodded her head in acceptance and sauntered inside the office.

‘…Phew. At that problem is averted. Now I have to deal with this one. This one should be easier to deal with.’

Once she motivated herself to move passed this next challenge, a woman materialized before her, her thin lips curved to a light smile.

“Hello there! How may I help you?” she asked, brushing a short dark lock from her charcoal eyes.

Kari felt her whole body froze. So much for confidence… The silvery-haired girl glanced back to the doorway, not seeing even a silhouette of her indolent guardian.

‘And so much for being supportive on my first day!’

Her aqueous gray orbs slowly met the woman’s questioning black irises. She cleared her throat and replied, “Oh, I just came by to see…”

The shorthaired woman released a low gasp of understanding, interrupting the girl’s speech completely. “Oh, yes! You must be the new student Kakashi-san told us about. Come in! Come in! Our school’s headmistress is inside here. We both have been anticipating your arrival.”

The dark-haired woman gestured the young adolescent to follow her, heading inside yet another doorway. The silver-haired girl politely nodded her head and ambled her way inside the threshold of the new room.

“Oh, Tsunade-sama!” The woman beckoned for her senior.

“Yes, Shizune? What is it?” The woman known as Tsunade replied, twirling to face them on her chair. Her golden locks were tied in loose ponytails and her general appearance revealed an age much younger than Kari initially expected.

‘By the way Kaka-san described her, she should be an old hag by now. Wow… plastic surgery these days! They even make the oldest of prunes appear young!’

“Please tell me you don’t have anymore of those stupid papers for me? Can’t you just say they’re fine to begin with? Better yet, Shizune, just forge my signature so I don’t have to see another stack again!”

“For one thing, I believe forgery is illegal,” stated Shizune, feeling a watery droplet of perspiration slither down her neck. Kari was just in unadulterated shock.

‘Oh… wow. To think this is supposed to be a ‘prestigious school’… how can it still be standing with someone with that attitude?’

“Secondly, I don’t have any paperwork at this moment,” the secretary added.

Tsunade then raised a thin brow. “Then what do you want from me? The school’s not bursting into flames. I’m not really needed.”

“Ah. Now I think I understand,” Tsunade murmured, her gaze descending on the girl, silvery blue irises floating in a sea of white sclera. “Kikuchi Hikari… oh, it’s splendid to finally meet our newest addition! Um… just so you know all that stuff I said? That was a silly little joke Shizune and I share! Please discount every little piece of it!”

“Oh, you don’t worry. I will,” assured the young girl. She was much too traumatized by the elder woman’s apparent disinterest to tell a soul. “But please, call me, Kari.”

“Alright. Thank you, Kari-san,” Tsunade said, drawing in a relieved inhale, comforted by the fact that there won’t be lawsuits in the distant future. As the blonde regained her lost composure, her general countenance softened. “My… don’t you two look alike?”

“I know,” chirped Shizune, “Even though they are unrelated, Kakashi-san and Kari-chan could pull off some sort of relation!”

“Oh yeah! That too. The shade of Kari-san’s locks is almost the exact same tint as Kakashi-san,” cried Tsunade, her eyes alight by that simple realization. “But that was not what I was referring to.”

“Oh? Then what were you thinking of then?”

“I just thought that the semblance she and her father share is uncanny. They even have the same similar piercing blue-gray eyes.”

Shizune nodded in deep agreement while Kari felt all the blood rush to her rosy cheeks.

“Oh, sorry about that. You’re not here to listen to the both of us chatter about such trifle details,” Tsunade said, clearing her throat. “Allow me to offer formal introductions. My name is Tsunade, and I am the headmistress of Konoha High School. This lady that stands besides you is Shizune - my second-in-command and personal secretary.”

“Well if I didn’t, you would probably be indulging your bibulous appetite until your drunk yourself into a stupor…” murmured the short-haired woman, ignoring the irritated glower her superior shot her.

"Anyway, now we got that out of the way, here are the things I believe you need: your schedule and a map of the school," the headmistress stated, handing the girl the specified paperwork. "I believe that would be enough to get you by until you reach your first period class. By then, I think you will already have met the student that will help you throughout the day."

"Wait... Student? What's that supposed to mean?" asked the silvery-eyed girl, her glittery irises sparkling with curiosity at the very phrase.

"Well we have a student volunteer who will guide you throughout day, give you a general tour of our school, and answer any questions you may have."

"Any other concerns right now?" asked her assistant.

Kari shook her head, flipping between the two sheets of paper. "No, I think I’ll be fine. So what's the kid like?"

"Who?"

"You know! That person that was supposed to be my froshy 'supervisor'."

"Oh... Well that’s an interesting way to call it,” the headmistress murmured before replying in a more articulate voice, “Well, you'll see. This is one of our most prized students. I think there won't be too much trouble."

Shizune glanced over to the blonde woman with an inquiring look in her eye. Tsunade remained unruffled, offering nothing more than a light smile.

"Well if you say so. I always did enjoy a good surprise!" grinned the young scholar.

"Oh this would be one good surprise for you--- ouch!" Shizune yelped when Tsunade’s elbow made contact with her secretary’s slender arms.

"Now you better get to class, Kikuchi-San. I don't want you to be late," the headmistress said.

Shizune shot her a look of total disbelief. "You're worried she would be--- OW!"

"Now run along. Just ignore anything if not everything my silly assistant has to say. It’s nothing that should concern you! She’s just has a few issues upstairs if you know what I mean…"

“Um, yeah. Okay, see ya,” Kari said with a slight bow. She quickly dashed out the door, wishing to be away of that strange old lady and her quirky secretary.

‘Her secretary is not the only one with problems. With great age comes with even greater senility, I suppose… Crazy ladies…’

When both women were sure their newest student had fully escaped from the midst, Shizune glanced over to Tsunade.

“What’s with that ‘oh-I-can’t-believe-you-just-did-that’ look?” asked Tsunade.

“It’s nothing like that at all. I’m just wondering how you could fill that poor child with such lies…”

“Ah! The gaze of disappointment! I know that look so well!”

Shizune simply strengthened her glare, extricating a tired sigh from the blonde’s lips.

"Well, in some respects, my statements are true. Her 'froshy supervisor', as she so aptly called it, is one of our most valued students, and the teacher would be upset if one of his students were tardy... Even if he himself is infamous for his own unpunctuality," countered the blonde-haired woman. "Besides, those are just the little eccentric parts of our institution she needs to learn herself!"

The brunette simply sighed. "I suppose some surprises would be alright, but I don't want to scare her on her very first day of school..."

"Oh, you worry too much! I know Kari-chan would be just fine. She is a Kikuchi after all. They’re pretty tough you know."

"Kikuchi... Oh dear... Is she from the---" Shizune felt her words trail off as the headmistress nodded her blonde head. "She is a very lucky girl, isn't she then, Tsunade-sama?"

The blonde woman chuckled under her breath. "Oh, I think she would be even luckier if she survived the day!"

Meanwhile, the said Kikuchi walked down the near empty hallways, her mind deep in her own thoughts, when all of a sudden, she released a rousing sneeze. "AH-CHOO!"

Kari sniffled, almost automatically recalling the sneezing superstition.

Kakashi always did have this innate ability to see things Kari did not want others to see. The lazy man was correct. Underneath the smiles, the veneer of general poise, Kari was worried out of her poor mind. The reason for her discontent?

‘That stupid dream has to cause me so much problems! Why!?’

She never did have those types of dreams before. Everything just felt so real… like she truly was falling right out from the sky.

‘Does it even mean anything?’

Should she consider her dream an omen of sorts? Should she concern herself of the events that may transpire that day?

Was she going to fall in the physical sense? Or was it foreboding of a plunge in the metaphorical sense?

Kari quickly shook herself of her musings and reverted her attention to the map. She did have other issues that required her attention. She shouldn’t worry about her dream. She was just overreacting!

The silver female dropped her gaze down towards her given map. "I hope I'm reading this right. I mean, how do I know this isn't upside down?"

Kari swallowed hard, realizing she did not. She sporadically looked up from her map to the winding hall, searching for some sort of landmark that confirmed she was heading towards the accurate direction.

Her spirits slowly fell when she saw absolutely nothing. 'It's official. I just can't read things like maps!! I really am hopeless…'

With her gaze firmly absorbed on the paper, she paid no heed to the patter of footsteps...

'Okay, do I make a left turn or do I keep going straight?' The young Kikuchi wondered, completely oblivious to all sounds that encircled her... Or did she even pay any attention to a certain person that ran right for her.

"GET OUT Of THE WAY!"

Curious by the noise, Kari raised her head. "Huh--- WHOA!"

Everything went much too fast for Kari to react. Before she had time to get out of the way and dodge the incoming person, she fell right onto the floor… with the person lying right on top of her. Both their stuff flew all around the empty hallway.

"Ow... What happened?" She wondered aloud, finding her silvery orbs attracted to a pair of coal irises...

All was so very still. Not a single sound escaped the two figures. A girl with colorless, gray tendrils lay on the cold tiles floorings of her new high school, staring at the boy that lay before her.

The boy himself held very distinct physical features - midnight black locks, deep obsidian orbs, and a similar confused look glazed his countenance.

The two did not move from their awkward positions, trying earnestly to collect themselves and figure out what happened.

Suddenly everything clicked in their minds.

"Hey, jerk! Can you get off of me?" Kari snapped, glaring at the boy fiercely.

The boy grunted his retort, quickly jumping to his feet. Kari followed suit, climbing to her own two feet and wiping off any dust that clung to her new and horrendous uniform.

"So what was the matter with you? Do you suffer from a hearing impairment?" The dark-haired boy asked languidly, his eyes narrowed into a cold sneer.

Kari twitched. An angry nerve pulsated from her pallid temple. She could not belief what she was just hearing. "Me?! What's the matter with you? I had the right of way. I wasn't looking!"

"Huh. Well I guess the fault falls on you for not paying attention then."

"No way! It's your stupid fault! I was looking at a freakin' map for god’s sakes!"

This final statement almost instigated a heated glaring match, but another realization flooded into her clear oceanic gray orbs...

“Map…?” She repeated softly, dropping her gaze to the floor. “Oh my god…”

Everything was scattered over the floors: the books the dark-haired male carried and papers of all sorts... Most likely including the silver-haired girl's potent papers.

"Now look what you did!" The two shouted, bending over to scoop up all their papers.

"Oh no! Kid, don't get me started with all that crap! I'm going to be late because of you!" Kari exclaimed, shuffling through the paper to locate her specific ones.

"Maybe if you'd stop messing all of my stuff, then I wouldn't be late!" he scowled, retrieving the fallen parchments from the floors.

Moments went by in furious silence as Kari found her schedule and the obsidian-eyed male collected all of his items. Once both scholars accumulated all their respected belongings and cleaned themselves accordingly, their gazes – torrential oceanic orbs locked on a pair of smoldering dark irises – narrowed into heated glowers.

"Now, if you would excuse me, I have to get to class," he said with an irritated tone of voice.

She replied, "I hope so. I can't stand seeing your face any longer!"

Grumbling incoherent curses under his breath, the mysterious boy pushed his way passed her, nearly knocking Kari off her feet.

Kari's face was bright red, gazing hotly at the boy's white shirt as he stormed off.

"Donkey-butt!!"

She breathed heavily, trying to collect her frazzled wits. Her glare remained fixated on the waning piece of white cloth.

Suddenly her muscles relaxed. 'Whoa. Wait a sec - Did I just say... DONKEY-BUTT?!'

Amused by the thought, a low chuckle erupted from her pale throat. As moments passed, Kari’s hilarity slowly increased, eclipsing all other rational thoughts... or allow her any consciousness of a certain spectator that may be within the vicinity, perceiving the youthful Kikuchi as a lunatic if not, at the very least, on the verge of mental instability.

Still consumed with laughter, Kari dropped her silvery orbs down towards her piece of paper.

A startling realization struck as she observed the number of papers in her hand. There was exactly one paper - a schedule she already surmised at an earlier time.

The problem was that her mind recalled that the headmistress handed her a PAIR of papers, exactly two pieces of parchment.

Her laughter slowly waned. Her eyes widened into silvery plates.

'This can't be happening...'

Wishing to be optimistic of the dilemma at hand, the vexed silver female turned her lone schedule into all sorts of directions. No matter how many ways she angled the simple white sheet, the other side remained totally unblemished and utterly blank.

'I refuse this to be true! ' She thought obstinately in her mind, allowing her gaze to fall downcast towards the pristine white tiles.

After a rigorous search... she found absolutely nothing.

Kari dropped her head, feeling herself succumb to defeat. How could she lose such an important document? She would much rather rid herself of the evidently less significant piece of parchment than lose her map.

As her troubled mind fell into the dark, brooding depths of self-pity, she mentally evoked one possibility...

"That jerk!" She raised her head from the abysmal chasm, sneering out into space as her mind conjured the boy’s striking appearance. "He probably has my map - the one thing that I actually need!"

That spiteful dark-haired boy must be the culprit. Who else would hold such indignation and take a new student's papers?

'I hope I never have to see his face again... Bastard...'

She then gazed back to her lone schedule, which only stated the number of the rooms she was to attend for each class.

She drew in a weary breath, shrugging her shoulders. "A girl has to do what a girl has to do..."

With her gaze firmly in search of the specific number plate, Kari moved forth...

'Maybe finding my room won't be that hard... Right?'

"Oh my god!" she moaned happily, feeling rivulets of imaginary tears trace her flushed cheeks. "I finally found you!"

She looked down to her schedule to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her. That would only demonstrate that she truly has a fallible sense of direction.

"Phew… this really is the right room!"

Poor Kari learned that locating her fist class was much harder than she predicted. She found herself aimlessly shuffling the empty halls, not seeing her elusive classroom anywhere in sight.

Turns out, every time she ambled her way through that hallway, Hikari would simply miss it, looking the other way or just too busy pitying her predicament to see it.

"I really must be blind to miss this," she thought aloud and feeling a watery droplet of perspiration dripping down the nape of her neck. "I guess I should just head inside..."

Kari slowly turned the knob and stepped forward, already concocting an excuse for her unpunctuality to her disgruntled teacher.

"Sorry, sensei! I'm a new student and I got..." She allowed her sentence to trail off all words slurring to an incoherent mumble. "…lost?"

Her whole body refused further movement, processing her timing.

Her silvery blue orbs glanced at the clock. She was surely late. As she neared the classroom‘s door, the bell already sounded its grating blare.

'Okay. The bell already rang, and teacher is nowhere in sight. How does that work?'

Kari resurfaced to reality when the door slowly closed shut, a male voice bleeding through her deep contemplation.

"Sorry, class," a deep voice apologized, "I seemed to have gotten lost on the winding hallways of life!"

"How many times have I heard that?" grumbled one of his students, but the young girl was dubious the man paid any heed to it.

Kari just found herself immediately intrigued. That languid, male voice... That evidently trite, groundless excuse... Could it be?

She gradually turned around, her oceanic silver orbs locking with a single black eye.

"Kakashi-san?" she murmured quietly, struck by an overwhelming sense of surprise. "You're my teacher?"

"And I'm glad to see you too, but I would think any normal student would at least offer their sensei with a decent salutation."

"Oh, um... Sorry, Kaka-sensei," Kari squeaked out, repressing her customary petulant retorts. "If I may, why did you let me go through all that trouble? You knew you were my first period teacher. You could have easily given me everything that crazy woman gave me."

He simply replied, "Just going through all the procedures. I want you to be treated like an ordinary student, and that means you must meet with the principal and procure your papers there."

Kari nodded, dropping her head just enough to conceal an irritated twitch of her delicate brow. She knew always did know that her dear uncle was lazy...

"So, my new sensei, you're not going to make me undergo the torture every new student faces?" she asked, collecting her wits from her irritated mindset.

"Can I ask what exactly that is?"

"Don’t play dumb! You know what I’m talking about. You're not going to let me suffer the humiliation of introducing me in front of everyone, right?"

"Why would I force you to endure such torment?"

"Well... You can be quite… sadistic when the time calls for it. I'm ashamed already and my ego does not need further wounding," she grumbled, daintily pulling at the end of her garment, answering how else her pride was degraded to an even lower, more pitiful level. "Seriously, this thing could only be produced from the source of the all iniquity and malevolence!"

"Discounting that controversial statement, you shouldn't worry yourself. I will make sure you are as comfortable as possible," he replied, his gaze dipping back towards his tiny pink novel in his hands.

Kari released a grateful exhale. "Oh thank you! You have no idea how much that means to me..."

As Kakashi indolently nodded his head, Kari began thinking he was not as bad as she expected him to act - no longer befitting of the title of 'sadist'. Well, Kari would not go as far as benevolent, but surely something more along the lines of ‘lacking sympathy’.

"Class, listen up! We have a new student!"

The silver-haired girl felt her muscles grow taut. All incessant chatter ceased. As she slowly turned her watery gray eyes towards the rows of students that rose before her, she noticed all eyes were fixated on her tiny frame.

Kari was in complete disbelief. Kakashi did not just do what she thought he did!

"This is Kikuchi Hikari. I hope you make our newest addition as comfortable as possible."

The said Kikuchi female slowly raised her voice, discovering she was more speaking to the congregation than to her instructor. "If I may, please address me as Kari. Kari would happily suffice."

The annoyed girl slowly glanced over to the white-haired adult, implementing the most withering glare she could project in that moment. Kakashi seemed immune to the glower or was too engrossed in his novel to notice. Kari thought the latter to be more accurate.

"Alright, Kikuchi-San. You can take a seat by the empty one near the window," Kakashi informed her, ambling towards his own desk.

Kari curtly nodded her head and made her way through the aisles, grumbling crossly to herself. She had just found her earlier notion to be completely erroneous. Her snowy haired uncle was still the malevolent sadist that she grew to both hate and love.

Through her fuming over Kakashi's cruelty, Kari observed how many populations of the female gender gawked at their newest colleague, their gazes colored with horror. Some even had the temerity to sneer at her.

'Wow. At least I know the girls in this class are oh so very welcoming...'

What was the matter with these girls anyway? There was no reason for them to treat her in such an odd manner... Or so she thought.

As Kari followed the curve towards her newest seat, she felt herself abruptly halt. Her steel-blue orbs nearly rocketed from her sockets. Her mouth threatened to slack and plummet through the school tiles.

Her shocked gaze was met with a pair of equally shocked, inconceivably and irrefutably, dark eyes.

The boy shot up from his seat.

"YOU!?!?" They both exclaimed, shooting their pointer fingers toward each other.

"Kikuchi-San, is there a problem?" the class instructor inquired, lazily gazing at the two students, their hands outstretched and accusingly pointing at the opposing person.

Steely blue irises bored into a pair of smoldering ebony.

"I'll tell me my problem, Kaka-sensei," the female spoke up as they both lowered their arms. "I refuse to sit next to that... Thing! Can you please assign me to a different seat?"

"I highly agree with that statement," the dark-haired boy said.

Several classmates were rendered in a sheer state of awe. Many of their mouths fell wide-open while the majority of the girls in the class felt their lips curve to bright grins.

Kakashi remained completely skeptical, raising a pale eyebrow at the suggestion. "Oh? Please enlighten me why you shouldn't sit in the only available seat we have in this classroom?"

"Because," Kari began, sending a scornful glower towards the sneering boy, "That guy has to be the biggest jerk I ever had the misfortune of meeting. I'd rather much sit in the floor then sit next to him."

"I second that motion," the boy upheld with great fervor.

"Overruled. Now, since we have wasted enough class time and I am much too tired to listen to both of your issues, which I am aware is numerous, Kikuchi-San, please sit down," Kakashi ordered. "Sitting next to Uchiha Sasuke will not be the death of you."

"That’s what you think," she murmured quietly under her breath, slowly sliding herself into the desk. Throughout the rest of the period, the silver-haired female remained fixated on one thought: wondering how cruel her uncle is and will be for the rest of the semester.

She remained oblivious to the lesson the white-haired instructor began teaching the class... And even the curious gaze emanating from a pair of shining obsidian.

At the sound of the school's liberating bells, Kari swept her newly obtained books off from her desk and rushed out the classroom door.

'Alright! One arduous class down. I can totally get through this one day, ' the young silver-haired female deliberated cheerily in her thoughts, lifting her worn soul up from the dismal abyss. 'Nothing can bring me down!'

"Hey, moron," an impassive voice spoke up. Kari felt her whole being grow taut, her head slowly turning to face an emotionless veneer. She mentally cursed herself, deigning she had thought too soon.

"Oh, hello, cretin. What may I have the misfortune of your unwanted presence?" she replied indignantly.

Sasuke drew in a copious amount of air, repressing his automatic impulse to retort with some sort of derision. Though clouded by his bubbling irritation, he ignored the girl's remark and inquired calmly, "Your name is Kikuchi Hikari, correct?"

"Hmm... Let me think? I believe I had that name ever since birth so… yes," Kari replied sarcastically, her silvery orbs rotating in a full circle. The raven-haired male, following her brisk steps with ease, replied with a withering glower. "And your name is Uchiha Sasuke."

Suddenly, piquing her curiosity, the Uchiha boy's expression softened, his dark brow knitting together.

"Ak... I don't strike a cord of familiarity?" he queried, his voice soft and... Almost hurt?

Kari quickly shook her silver head, dismissing that mistake from her thoughts. She was just overreacting. There was no reason for some guy, whom she was certain she never met before, to be offended by that obvious statement.

"No... I would think I would remember an annoying guy like you."

Sasuke opened his mouth as if to dispute with her statement, but exhaled a weary sigh. "...Never mind. My mistake..."

His facial expression hardened back to a stoical mask, his gaze firmly set on some unknown object before them.

The steely-blue eyed female dismissed any inquisitive notions rushing through her mind and continued walking the halls. Even though she concentrated on reaching her next classroom, she could not help but take note a patter of footsteps harmonizing with her quick steps.

Kari at first did not mind to the sound. She just quickened her pace accordingly, hoping her follower was simply migrating towards a similar direction. When the footsteps increased with her speed with noted effortlessness, Kari brusquely halted in her place.

Her silvery sapphires whipped towards empty sable irises, which seemed to pause at a similar time.

"Okay, stalker boy, I don't know if you're just trying to tick me off any further or what, but can you please leave me alone? Have I endured enough anguish in a matter of one class period?"

"Hn. Well if you really must know, I can't," the Uchiha replied, his words laced with venomous annoyance over that agonizing fact and probably over her general outburst.

"Why the hell not?!" Kari asked vehemently.

The dark-haired male released a low snort. "Are you truly that ignorant?"

Seeing that befuddled, yet palpable rage thrashing in her torrential orbs, Sasuke confirmed his statement in his mind.

He rolled his obsidian orbs before elucidating further on the subject. "If you are truly as simple-minded as I believe you to be then let me offer clarification."

"I don't think I would want to know if you keep talking in such an overly elaborate manner. Just get to the point already," she grumbled crossly under her breath.

Sasuke completely discredited her grumblings and resumed with his terse explanation. "I am to be your escort for the day."

Kari's jaw slacked, dropping slightly ajar. "No freakin' way! How could you be my froshy supervisor?"

Sasuke gawked at her for just a few moments, taken aback by the interesting phrase she coined his awful job. His overall veneer reverted to his usual stoic expression, his voice growing harsher. "It’s not like I had a choice in the matter. Our principal forced me to do it. I am probably even more displeased by this arrangement than you are."

The silver female resisted the urge to bawl into tears, keeping those disconcerting emotions within. She instead quickly collected her misconstrued wits and griped, "I believe you're mistaken. I’m certainly just miserable right now."

Sasuke grunted in response, resuming forward. Not wishing to be left behind, Kari quickly trotted after him.

"So... Just how long do I have to enjoy the “splendor” of your company?"

The ebony Uchiha ruminated his word choice carefully before settling for a cryptic reply. "Our headmistress mandates my presence only when we share class."

Kari furrowed her pale brows and asked, "Okay… Just how many classes do we share?"

His midnight black irises gazed at her for a few long moments before he deterred from her curious oceanic gray spheres.

Kari was fairly patient at first, awaiting further response from the silent Uchiha.

As moments went by without a proper answer, Kari felt her fists clench. She gritted her teeth.

"Yo! Do you plan on answering me in this lifetime or shall we wait until you croak, mostly likely, by my hands?"

Sasuke shot his insolent companion a harsh glare - rage and malice radiating from his molten, dark orbs. Kari felt her body cringe at the unsettling sight and fought tenaciously to regain her fallen composure.

"W...well? What do you have to say?" She queried with a weak voice.

A contemptuous grin managed to break through his impassive expression, inciting Kari's overall rage to increase in a gradual speed.

Even though the smirk was fleeting, Sasuke's eyes retained a condescending luster. He then replied in a rather amused tone, "I honestly rather not divulge such unsettling info. I myself am already upset over it. Considering your general personality, you would be even more outraged by the set-up. Then I would get extremely annoyed, and I would not want to subject myself to such tribulation."

"I'll show you tribulation if you don't stop answering so ambiguously," she threatened, her aqueous orbs darkening into a terrifying hurricane.

Sasuke considered that statement and grunted. "Hn. True... Either way I'll be annoyed so why not? We almost have every class together. "

Kari felt her heart nearly cease beating. She could not believe those words were true. '...Every class?'

As her mind repeated that phrase endlessly, almost as if to taunt her over the painful ordeal, the silver girl dropped her face into her hands - all as to attempt to quiet the scream that leaked from her throat.

Once she felt confident she wouldn't break out into hysteria, Kari lifted her face, articulating indistinctly, "Stupid senile woman... She must love inducing such torture on her students."

"Kikuchi, you never let me finish," Sasuke said, referring Hikari by her surname. "I never did say we had every class together."

With her eyes alight by that small phrase of hope, she asked brightly, "Really?!"

The Uchiha nodded his head. "Yeah. We are apart for only one class," he growled, his blatant anger directed more to their flighty headmistress then his forced companion.

“So when is that blessed separation? I hope it’s soon.”

“It’s actually the last class of the day.”

Kari nodded her head in consideration. “Well… That’s not that awful.” She tried her with all her power to look at the situation with some sort of positive insight… which she felt was pitifully little.

The only emotion that she was sure was viable was her growing distaste for her new principal.

“But why must you babysit me at all times? I don’t think she would be aware if you left me to my splendid lonesome.”

“Hn. You have no idea how wrong that is. The woman may seem senile, but she has this strange gift – or curse if you will – to know when something’s amiss. Under that seemingly fickle exterior lies a soul of malice and deception. How else did she force me to do this denigrating job?”

"By the sound of it, you didn't exactly volunteer like she told me."

Under the incoherent grumble of swears directed towards their blonde headmistress, Sasuke revealed that she really tricked him into acceptance. No other student was willing to take on such a job. The only other factor that helped him accept the job was a threat, something he certainly did not want to discover if he did not comply or follow through with her demands.

"Isn’t that illegal?" Kari asked, shocked by the fact that Tsunade was wilier than her nonchalant exterior insisted.

"Who knows, and I don't really think it matters now," Sasuke shrugged.

Kari griped under her breath, "I don't understand why I actually need some despicable babysitter. I can handle myself!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Oh really? I don't see how a shrimp like you could take care of anything, let alone yourself."

The silver girl felt her temper flare. Her orbs deepened into a stormy blue. Whether the stoic Uchiha knew it or not, he had struck the female's most sensitive nerve.

Kari asserted, "Yes I can! Just because I am short, does not mean I can't handle myself! If I actually was in possession of my missing map, I would be far from you and your foul attitude!"

"What the hell are you talking about? You actually were idiotic enough to lose your map?" He asked, his obsidian spheres alight with amusement over that fact.

Flustered, Kari stammered wildly, unable to convey her explicit and unequivocal frustration into intelligible words and phrases.

"I don't need to answer that, Uchiha!" She finally shouted, losing all will to refute.

"What? No further name-calling? I would love to hear what other original names you would throw at me," Sasuke mocked, evoking the hysterical moment in her mind.

Rage deluged into her now perceptibly navy blue eyes. She could not believe he really heard. "Just shut up already!"

"Alright, fine. I poked enough fun for one day. Now if you're done ranting like a harebrained nutcase, we have to get to class," he mumbled. Sasuke continued walking forward – his expression void of all emotion - while the angry Kikuchi, stormed behind him, wishing him to disintegrate into a pile of molten ash.

The day continued in such an agonizing way that poor Kari was uncertain whether her imminent demise would arrive swiftly or torment her body with further misery until she no longer moved.

Sasuke truly meant it when he told her to follow him carefully. She gawked at his movements – all precise and swift… much too quick for her taste.

Throughout the entire day, Kari thought his stride was ruthless. He did do as Tsunade instructed him - guide the Kikuchi girl around the school and offer her some form of enlightenment.

His brisk pace and overall detachment was his own augmentation to the ordeal. If the rapidity of the day would not kill her, she was certain Uchiha Sasuke and his iciness would. Such a pain to her side. How she wished to strangle his throat...

But did she have a choice? Her map had suddenly disappeared, a fact she forced herself to admit. It would have only fueled her distaste for the raven-haired male, which she deigned as unnecessary. She already found him increasingly unpleasant without that fib anyway.

Whether she wanted to admit it as fact, or continue obliviousness, Kari needed Sasuke’s guidance, or risk getting lost in Konoha’s winding hallways. To her, the entire school seemed like a maze, something she could never navigate even if she tried.

"How are you holding up?" Sasuke later asked as they passed the newest threshold.

The silvery female straightened her worn spine and forced her tender soles to commence in a more powerful stride as she crossed the gray tiles, speckled with rivulets of white.

Kari dared not show even a tinge of weakness. She felt she needed to conceal her weariness from his mocking eyes. She had her dignity she needed to preserve.

She replied hardily, "I am just fine! Why would this simple walk wear me out? I’m strong enough to handle something as painless as this."

He raised one brow, watching as Kari drew a tremendous amount of air into her lungs, straightening her back to an unnecessary height. To him, she seemed like an overly blown up balloon... just waiting to pop.

Just as that thought ran through his mind, enticing him to burst the silvery bubble, he simply shook his head. After all, if he really wanted her hot air balloon to deflate, he needed to pick the perfect time.

"Whatever... We're here."

Kari forced her attention away from her escort and towards the newest room.

“Ooh! Finally! Lunch!” She squealed, sweeping the area with ravenous eyes. “That’s great because I am starving! ”

“Yes, this is the cafeteria room, and I doubt I need to explain what it’s used for. You can sit wherever you want. I don’t really care,” he languidly said.

“Wait! That means we can separate?!” Kari asked excitedly, her bright orbs flaring with anticipation.

“Yes, Tsunade-sama, wouldn’t give a damn if we separate to eat. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think you need to be escorted to the lunch line to retrieve food. Of course, I do find myself questioning your intellect…”

“If you would just shut your mouth now, I will pretend I never heard you and just get my food like a good little girl that I am.”

“Good, huh? Whatever delusions fancy you…”

After receiving the silvery female’s angry glare, Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, nodded his head, and allowed the female Kikuchi to leave from his wake.

Once Kari took her place in the winding queue, she released a relieved exhale. All her muscles relaxed.

She didn’t know how long she could have kept up with that charade. She was straining herself far beyond her pretending limits.

Her legs ached. Her whole being was worn down to a squishy pulp. If Sasuke even caught a glimpse of her fatigue, she would have to endure ridicule she was too tired to face.

She also had only remnants of her personal pride and dignity. Her skirt was already slowly stripping her of self-respect. She didn’t need Sasuke adding to the humiliation.

How she hoped Sasuke bought into her façade… but she wondered what are the chances of that?

‘I guess I shouldn’t worry myself about something like that! All I should think about is the food… and how finally I’m away from that idiot.’

“Oh, and Kikuchi?” A voice said in her surprised ear. Its warm breath fanned over Kari’s neck, forcing her to leap up into the air. The frightened female bit down on her bottom lip, suppressing a strident, terror-filled scream.

“Oh my god. What do you want now, Uchiha?” She snarled in a breathy voice, addressing the dark-haired male by his surname as a form of spite. Her heart palpitated wildly. Tiny rivulets of blood seeped into her mouth, giving her tongue an unsettling iron taste.

“I was just going to tell you that after lunch ends, you have to meet me at the cafeteria entrance to go to our next class,” Sasuke informed her innocently. Amusement flashed in his dark spheres. “Kikuchi, I hope I didn’t scare you.”

Her eyes narrowed into a heated glare as she spat out, “You certainly did not, Uchiha. I was just surprised. That’s all.”

Even though she was annoyed that the conniving boy would have the audacity to sneak up on her, she knew that wasn’t the reason for her disgruntlement. When he scared her, he caught her at her most vulnerable moment; it was when her poise was all gone. So much for withholding what little pride she had left…

To make the moment even more bittersweet, even though Sasuke did not utter a word, his eyes seemed to radiate condescending amusement over her frazzled disposition. That struck her more deeply than any words possibly could.

With her heart still beating rapidly, Kari cleared her throat and said, “Now, if you’re done entertaining yourself with my… minute unease over your surprise appearance, why don’t you just go? My eyes are nearly burning in its sockets at the very sight of you.”

Sasuke responded with nothing more than a slight grunt, leaving Kari to her lonesome once more.

As he slowly walked away, Kari released an angry groan. ‘Curse that Sasuke!’ Her mind seethed with irritation, combating with her more logical mindset that wanted her to just calm down. Sadly, logic was never her forte. The irritation still reigned supreme. Angry swears swirled in her aggravated mindset, all directed to a certain arrogant someone.

‘It’s official, ’ Hikari began thinking, inhaling slowly to control her rapid breaths. ‘I loathe him. ’

Bubble officially popped!

When Kari arrived at the front of line and retrieved her food, she already calmed her inner turmoil to a more acceptable level. The thought that she was going to be away from him provided more than enough comfort.

Besides, new qualms had taken residence in her mind.

‘Oh god… where am I going to sit? ’ She wondered uneasily to herself, seeing each table filled with chattering students – all still unknown to her.

‘This is just one of those times when I despise being new…’

Kari tentatively walked through the rows of creamy yellow tabletops, glancing at each one for a place to sit. She eventually nestled herself in a lone counter, all its sable colored seats completely empty. The young Kikuchi released a ragged sigh, lifting her newly obtained food to her lips.

‘At least now I can enjoy my food in peace…’

Of course, during that one certain day, her personal wishes never seemed to be answered.

As she slowly chewed her lunch, a shadow suddenly erupted over her, blocking almost all fluorescent lights. Kari tiredly raised her head, hoping with all her soul that her supervisor did not come to torment her with his presence.

Instead of cold obsidian eyes, deep crimson irises was the center of her attention. Thin black frames encircled the person’s blazing eyes, which, Kari soon realized, was a similar to the owner’s fiery hair.

Kari swallowed her food, noting even further the girl’s unusual hairstyle – one side of her hair was short and disheveled while the other half was finely combed and perceptibly longer.

“May I help you?” Kari asked anxiously, staring at the bizarre girl that towered over her, along with her posse standing right behind her.

“Say, you’re that new chick, right?” The girl asked in a shrill voice. “Hikati, was it?”

“Hikari, actually, but I kind of like Kari more,” the silver female corrected.

The red-head snorted, indicating she actually cared less. Kari inhaled a deep breath, feeling an angry nerve threaten to break from her pale temple.

Soon realization dawned over her. “Hey, and if you know my name, you must have been, at the very least, in my first class. Your name is…?”

“Karin,” the redhead informed her proudly. “My name is Karin.”

“Ah… Karin,” Kari repeated quietly under her breath.

She certainly could not forget that girl’s ostentatiously bright locks in the sea of students. It nearly stood out like a sore thumb. What truly caught Kari’s eye was the savage gleam of malevolence radiating from Karin’s red spheres.

‘And to think I wanted to punch the girl before…’ Of course, the silver-haired girl kept her resentment to herself. Karin did not deem to be a true candidate for her contempt… at least not right at that moment. Kari had just met her after all.

“Listen, I just wanted to tell you something that’ll help you survive the semester,” Karin offered, her unsentimental countenance making her guidance sound rather severe.

“Aw, that’s so sweet you would do that for me, Karin! Now please, divulge your almighty wisdom. I’m dying to hear it,” Kari said, her words laced with evident sarcasm.

Karin’s red brow twitched, perceiving the new scholar’s sardonic tenor. She just shook her unusual mop of hair, discrediting Kari’s comment from her mind, and said, “Of course. Since you are new here, I just wanted to tell you this: stay away from my Sasuke!”

Kari nearly choked on her food. Coughing violently, she immediately chased her lunch with her bottle of water.

“What did you just say?” Kari asked, her voice hoarse and resisting the intrinsic reflex to gag. “You’re not talking about Uchiha Sasuke, right?”

“Of course Uchiha Sasuke! I want to make sure you and those long gray hairs of yours are far away from Sasuke. He’s going to be mine, okay? I don’t even want to hear you saying anymore crap about him,” Karin threatened. Seeing Karin had confounded the girl to the point of shock, the redhead felt triumph tug at the corners of her lips. “Now, since I heard he’s supposed to be your escort, and you are an ignorant new girl, I’ll let today slide. If you’d listen to everything I just said, I think we’ll get along just fine.”

Her lackeys nodded in deep agreement as Karin’s smile broadened to that of impudence and over-confidence.

“Are we clear?”

All that answered Karin’s question was a soft brush of air. Kari was at a loss for words. Her mouth hung wide open.

‘Oh my god… this chick can’t be serious…’

Just before the silvery-eyed female could reply to Karin’s query, a voice interrupted her. “Aw, look what cat dragged in. It’s the school slut herself!”

Karin’s grin evaporated from her features as she snapped her head towards the voice. The invective had resonated from a girl with long blonde locks, pulled up in a high ponytail. Golden tendrils swung over her icy blue eyes.

“Oh, if I’m the school slut, then you must be the school whore, blondie,” Karin retorted, her fiery red orbs leering at the equally irate blonde.

“Of course, you should know what one is since you are one. Right, Karin?” Another voice barked. This time, it was a girl with long rosy tresses, her deep green eyes sneering at the redhead.

Karin snorted. “What do you know? With a big forehead like yours, I’m surprised you would even come out in public.”

“Do you want to fight?” ‘Big forehead’ inquired, cracking her knuckles in anticipation as her green spheres became ablaze with belligerence.

“I doubt you could even hurt a fly with those spindly arms.”

“Um… guys? Can you please stop?” A soft voice pleaded them. Kari turned her amused gaze from the arguing trio to the gentle tone. Long ebony tendrils framed the voice’s pale face. Her eyes were almost a shade of pastel lavender. “This, um, just wouldn’t be a very good time for this…”

“That girl’s right,” Karin said. “This doesn’t even concern the lot of you. I was just having a casual conversation with Kebi there. She doesn’t require rescuing.”

“You know… I am surprised to say that you’re actually right.”

The four girls froze in their place, discerning that neither of them had uttered a single word. Slowly they turned their heads towards the source.

“Kebi” wiped her lips, seeming blissfully content that she had finished her food. She had remained silent throughout the verbal melee, observing the opposing groups like an enraptured spectator. Now that she fully filled her stomach with some sustenance, it was about time the onlooker joined the action.

“I really don’t need rescuing. We were just having a civil conversation after all,” Kari stated, a smile gracing her lips. “And if I’m right, there was a question I failed to answer.”

Karin squared herself off, eyeing the relatively harmless Kikuchi with wary eyes. “Okay… just go on.”

With her smile increasing in radiance, Kari said, “Before I even continue, may I make sure I heard you correctly? You did say you planned on making Sasuke yours, right?”

Karin gingerly nodded her head. Kari snorted loudly, nearly breaking out into laughter at the verification.

“Just as I thought… Okay, first of all, don’t worry yourself about bird boy. I don’t even want to share air with that conceited cockatoo. Secondly, he deserves every bit of attitude I give him. His nose is so far up his own ass already, and he surely doesn’t need me to enlarge his overly inflated ego.”

The females gasped, finding her remark as the most unreasonable thing they ever heard.

Entertained by the flabbergasted expression, which, was most clearly displayed on Karin’s visage, Kari continued with her final blow. “And I simply find it pathetic that you would claim a boy, who even you admitted wasn’t officially yours in the first place. I’ve endured his presence long enough to notice he doesn’t give any girl in this entire school the time of day, let alone you.”

Karin gasped once more. Everyone that surrounded the candid Kikuchi was subdued to a point of complete speechlessness.

“Now, if you’re done offering me such ‘sage advice’, go crawl back to whatever rock you came from. I don’t give a damn if I’m on anyone’s good side really, let alone sycophantically obsessed fan girl.”

All blood rushed into the redhead’s countenance, flushing to a color reminiscent to both her hair and eyes.

Kari bit her lip, stifling the laughter that threatened to explode from her throat.

“Kikuchi Hikari, you will regret the day you messed with me!” Karin shouted, storming away with her followers trotting right behind her.

“That’s too late for that. I already regret wasting my breath on a whiny witch like her…” Kari mumbled loudly enough for the furious redhead to hear.

‘Ah, it’s always fun making fun of people... especially with short fuses like her!’

“Wow, that was simply amazing!” The pink-haired girl exclaimed, her green orbs glittering with delight over the sight.

“Uh… thanks, but I don’t think telling off that psychotic fruit basket is much of an accomplishment I’d brag about,” Kari stated flatly.

The three girls giggled, seating themselves on the chairs that nearly whined from neglect.

“True, but that was ten times better than anything I’d say! There’s really not many people here who can take the trash that chick dishes out,” the blonde one said with a slight smile.

The pink-haired added, “All bark and absolutely no bite!”

“She’s just not nice to anyone…” the timid one in almost a whisper.

Kari replied with a light grin, “And I’m guessing you three are the rebels of the school who dare challenge her then.”

“Hell yeah! There’s just so much crap I can take. She seriously needs her head examined…” Blondie said loudly then spoke in a calmer tone, “By the way, I’m Yamanaka Ino!”

“And you can just hear her bigmouth just as easily as Karin’s,” teased the floral haired girl.

Ino narrowed her eyes to an icy sneer, retorting in an affronted tone, “And this here is Haruno Sakura, the class’s biggest nerd and proprietor of the largest forehead the world has ever seen.”

“What was that, Ino-pig?” Sakura spat out, hostility blazing in her green orbs.

Ino then remarked in a similar aggressive fashion, “You heard me, Billboard brow!”

Electricity crackled violently as their gazes locked, intent on disintegrating the opposition until only their ashes lingered.

The silvery-haired female watched the two girls uneasily, feeling a watery droplet form at the base of her neck. “Hey, are they really friends… um…?”

“Hyuuga Hinata,” the ebony-haired female informed her. “And yes. They’re actually best of friends. They just express their closeness in a rather unorthodox way!”

“Unorthodox indeed. With friends like that, I don’t need any enemies.”

Hinata giggled in response. “Anyway, um, I’m sorry that your first is turning out not very well…”

“Oh yeah!” sounded Sakura, who momentarily paused her glaring match with the blonde Yamanaka. “You’re the new girl Kaka-sensei introduced this morning.”

“What was your name again?”

“It’s Kikuchi Hikari,” the silver-haired female said with a grin, “But I prefer Kari.”

“Nice to meet you, Kari-chan!”

“Oh. And, er, aren’t you being escorted by Sasuke?”

Kari’s nearly felt her spirit deflate by the very thought. She groaned, “Oh, don’t even remind me. I don’t know how everyone could tolerate that jerk’s presence.”

Hinata replied, “Well… I’m not entirely certain of that, but we have had him for quite a long time. Ever since we were children really.”

A gray brow raised upwards. “Really? Since you guys knew him for so long, is always he such a bigheaded block of stone?”

Ino shrugged her shoulders, twirling her long blonde locks as she pondered that inquiry. “Actually, Sasuke usually keeps to himself. He doesn’t talk very much, let alone associate with any of the fawning girls, like Karin. Apparently no girl on the face of the planet is good enough for him… but, of course, I don’t give a rat’s ass if he looks my way! I don’t care at all…”

Kari felt her lips quirk upwards as she watched Ino chuckle nervously under her breath, anxiously combing her golden ponytail. ‘Heh, poor Ino… she must have been rejected so many times she can’t even count any more!’

“But that’s only because he must be so intent on his studies,” Sakura added quickly. “He’s one of the smartest boys in our class.”

“I… guess so,” Kari admitted. When she actually paid attention to her newest teachers, Sasuke nearly answered every question and spoke in a rather articulate and intelligent way. There was no way the young Kikuchi could dispute with that.

“Besides that, that firm gaze of his just makes him all the hotter!” Sakura squealed, her cheeks flushing a pale crimson. “He’s so serious and focused, not to mention a great athlete! Ah! There’s nothing Sasuke can’t do!”

‘Oh… my… god. Great! Not another obsessed fan girl!’ Kari cried in her mind, defying the automatic urge to refute such biased remarks. ‘At least this one actually has half a brain… not a total psycho like the last one.’

“He’s, um… okay, I suppose,” Hinata chirped. “He’s not all that great, but he is gifted in several ways… I guess.”

Kari nodded her head in agreement, nearly tearing up that she has, at least, one sane new friend. Thank the heavens that there was at least there’s one girl in this entire school that’s not worshipping the dirt Uchiha walks on.

“HEEELLLOOO, GUYS!” an overly energetic voice greeted, alarming the the silvery-haired female. “Watcha’ guys doing here?”

Kari blinked countless times, eyeing the owner of the voice curiously. His lips were curved in such a wide smile that it nearly hurt her cheeks just thinking about it. His golden tendrils were spiky, making her wonder if it would be painful if she touched a single barb. His eyes were bright blue, a tint reminiscent to hers that were instead flecked with gray.

“AGH! NARUTO, YOU ARE AN IDIOT!” Sakura yelled, socking the blonde boy in the arm.

“Ouch! Sakura, why are you so mean to me?” Naruto whined, rubbing his injured limb carefully with his hands. “I was just saying hi…”

“But giving everyone a heart attack is not the way to do it, baka!”

Naruto’s smile melted to a sad frown, upset by the lashing Sakura unleashed. Here Kari thought Ino was the one that possessed the overtly large mouth. Apparently, Sakura is also in possession of two large physical attributes.

“Um… Hello, Naruto,” Hinata greeted him softly, dropping her gaze to the table. “It’s, er, nice to see you…”

Naruto’s ultramarine orbs suddenly regained its original luster, capturing Hinata’s pale eyes. “Gee, thanks, Hinata! At least I know my presence is appreciated.”

The Hyuuga girl gasped, blood rushing into her vapid cheeks. She nodded her head, sinking down lower in her seat in order to conceal her rosy cheeks. This sight certainly did intrigue Kari, who scrutinized Hinata’s countenance inquisitively.

“Hey, you!” Kari turned back to the loud blonde male. “Yeah, you’re the new girl, right?”

“Yep, and you are really loud!” she countered with equivalent vigor. “Do you know a little thing called an inside voice?”

Instead of feeling affronted by her remark, Naruto burst out into laughter. “Ha, new girl’s funny, guys! Really funny!”

‘I sort of meant that remark… oh well! Just smile with him, Hikari. Just smile,’ Kari told herself, forcing her lips to curve.

“And the new girl has a name, idiot,” Ino said. “Her name’s Kari.”

“Hi, Kari!” he greeted in a cheery voice, completely ignorant to Ino’s scornful tone. “My name’s Uzumaki Naruto, and I plan to be souban of the yakuza one day!”

“UGH, NARUTO!” Ino and Sakura yelled in perfect unison, harmoniously hitting the azure-eyed boy.

“Stop talking such nonsense,” Ino chastised heatedly.

Sakura then added, “I don’t want you and your weirdness freaking out Kari-chan on her first day!”

“Owies…” Naruto whimpered as he slowly collected his composure. “I only was speaking the truth.”

Just before the two irate girls could chide the blonde and his crazy talk, an unexpected noise pervade around the table: laughter.

“You’re certainly eccentric, Naruto!” Kari said in the midst of her giggles.

Sakura and Ino released a relieved sigh as Naruto’s grin widened.

“Really? Thanks!” he exclaimed, blatantly unaware of what ‘eccentric’ exactly means.

“But wouldn’t becoming the leader of the yakuza be hard? You need to be as tough as nails to do that job. Besides, aren’t all yakuza affairs crime-related?”

“That’s what you think. Once I become souban, I’ll be able to change that and make yakuzas something better! Like a group that helps people! Believe it!”

“Is that so…” Kari’s giggles ceased, and a wistful grin took its place. Her eyes suddenly withheld a pensive glaze.

“Anyways, so what’re you guys talking about?”

“We were just telling Kari here some background info on her escort, Uchiha Sasuke. So lucky…” Sakura released a desirous sigh, nearly propelling herself into several dreamy fantasies concerning the raven-haired genius.

Before Kari could tip over her chair from a fit of laughter, Naruto scoffed. “Ha! That guy’s not that special.”

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Ino growled, giving the impression that she may be more infatuated with the distant boy then she led on.

“You bet, Ino? Well it’s no wonder. You’re a girl after all,” he said with such a distasteful look on his face. Ino nearly flared in rage, but Naruto continued. “But, most of the girls here have fallen head over heels over Sasuke. Don’t know why though. I guess even though he’s so emo, he’s purportedly ‘better to look at’. ”

The silver-haired girl released an unladylike snort. “Neither do I. He’s a self-centered jerk.”

A blissful smile graced Naruto’s lips as he praised the heavens, “Finally! There’s a girl with a functional brain!”

An angry nerve exploded on a certain rosy female’s already menacing countenance. “Oh yeah? So does that make all other girls completely crazy?”

Naruto winced, fear deluging into his ultramarine orbs. Considering his word choice with the utmost care, he replied in a nervous voice, “N… no! The only crazy one is Karin… and Ino, but Ino’s undergoing rehab or something!”

“I thought so!” Sakura relaxed her visage, as a content grin tugged at her lips. Naruto also loosened up, ecstatic that another beating was yet again averted… at least by Sakura. He did fail to appease one girl.

“You bastard!” Ino slapped the boy straight across his cheeks, knocking him off the seat. “Just because I find him attractive doesn’t make me obsessive like all the other nutcases here!”

“That’s what you think…” Naruto muttered low enough so that Ino could not hear and crawled back onto his seat.

“Oh look at the time,” Hinata gasped, turning everyone’s attention towards the hanging clock.

“So I’m guessing lunch’s about to end?” Kari forced herself to ask, dreading the answer.

“Yeah, it is. So what class do you next?”

“Gym,” Kari replied.

“Ooh! Yes, I think we’ll all be together!!” Sakura cheered happily.

“At least that’s one reason to be happy…” she murmured crossly under her breath.

The bell then rang its harsh blast, signaling the end of the period. Students bustled out of their seats and raced for the door. Kari wasn’t all to excited too reach the doorway, motivating herself only by the fact the day was slowly coming to a close.

Sasuke stood by the exit as promised, awaiting her arrival with explicit impatience. “You’re so slow.”

“Ah, I had a wonderful lunch also. Thanks,” Kari said dryly, following Sasuke as he walked at the cafeteria. “You know, there’s a lot of colorful people here at Konoha.”

“Hn,” was the only sound Sasuke replied. Undeterred and wishing mostly to irk him, Kari persisted.

“Yes, the most irritating color had to be red, which I now officially despise. Not to worry though! My distaste for you outweighs red by a long shot!” Kari mused and continued rambling on. “But there were other colors I sort of liked. Lavender was the sweetest and the most sensible. Pink was rather annoying, but otherwise tolerable. There were two shades of yellows - the brightest one I found the oddest, and the other one just had a loud mouth.”

Sasuke glanced back at the babbling female, gawking at her as if she had finally admitted to lunacy for speaking about colors having distinct personalities.

“Then there’s black. Boy, after I saw black, I learned I simply despised it! I never knew that color could be so arrogant and full of itself, treating the color gray like a dim toddler…”

His stare deepened into a leer once he fully understood her multicolored references… or at the very least the last two colors. “At least the color black has half a brain. Gray sometimes is too crazy to make any sense.”

Kari chuckled and added, “You think gray is crazy? You should listen to yourself! You’re the one that’s not making any sense with all that talk of black and gray! You‘re acting if those colors are actual people.”

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, to say the steely blue-eyed female started such nonsense, but quickly closed it. “…so annoying…”

The so-called annoying female giggled, finding it entertaining to annoy the sable Uchiha.

“If you’re done amusing yourself with such nonsensical drivel, we have to get to class,” he barked as Kari nodded her head, finding herself blissfully optimistic of her next class. Certainly her day must getting better!

…Of course, Hikari will soon learn that her optimism is completely superfluous. The next period class will probably one of her most troublesome classes yet. It is gym after all. Whether she likes it or not, Kari’s going to sweat - either by her mysterious instructor or by some other force she had underestimated…

“Why do all girls take such a long time to change?” A cross Uchiha inquired as a silver-haired female materialized from the girl’s locker room.

“Well I don’t know why you’re asking me that question. I would have suspected you to be female with your hair. Do you have any idea how long it is?” Kari countered, patting down her gym clothes.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes into a leer. “Your hair certainly is longer than mine, Kikuchi.”

“Not to mention longer than all the other girls in school,” Kari murmured in such a way that made him uncertain whether she was rejoicing her individuality or cursing her great difference. By the way she held her tendrils, now bound in a messy bun, Sasuke thought the latter to be more accurate.

“And besides, I got out much earlier than the other girls, who are so engrossed on such superficial affairs that it makes me gag.”

“Whatever you say… come on.” Sasuke turned on the soles of his sneakered feet and walked towards the gym. Kari offered none of her usual defiance and just trotted right behind him.

Using his peripheral vision, Sasuke watched as the strange silvery girl skipped – frolicked really – towards the gymnasium, humming some sort of cheerful melody with a jolly grin tugging at her lips. Her loose bun bobbed with each step, releasing locks of silvery tresses from its bindings.

Sasuke soon asked, “Kikuchi, why are you so happy?”

“Why does it concern you? Can’t I just be happy because I want to be?” She queried, her joyful skipping undeterred and retaining its exuberance.

“It doesn’t. It’s just, if you don’t have a proper reason, people may swoop in and place you in a straitjacket.”

“Ooh! That’s the thing where people look like mummies, right? I always wanted one!”

“…I’m sure you do.”

Silvery blue orbs whirled in a perfect circle. “Anyway, if you truly want to know why I’m happy, I’ll tell you.”

“It’s not necessary. I’m starting to settle with the fact you’re just a retard.”

Kari scowled. “If I’m a retard then what are you? A loon, who has the hair of a chicken’s ass?” The Uchiha’s only response to Kari’s rebuttal was a heated sneer. When her own orbs gazed into his molten back irises, a shiver ran down her spine. “Alright, fine. I guess you really don’t want to know then…”

Well, whether her thinking was completely factual or erroneous, Kari assumed the first. “I’m just so happy to rid myself of that skirt for this one glorious period! Thank you, gym, for mandating uniform habiliments!” Kari shot her arms into the air, jumping wildly in pure ecstasy.

The gym uniform was similar to people of both genders. Kari noted that Sasuke's navy blue short grazed his sculpted knees, an insignia of a leaf embossed in his left side.

Kari's clothes hung in a similar fashion, but she speculated hers was simply a little big for her slender frame. She found the overall attire comfortable so she could not complain.

Sasuke simply said, “Yeah, you never did like skirts.”

The hyperactive female paused in her wild antics, eyeing the Uchiha curiously. “Oh? What gives you enough evidence to state that? You haven’t known me for that long.”

"That's easy. It's because you've all..." Suddenly, Sasuke's words died on his tongue. He shut his lips into a tight line, pondering his response meticulously. Moments commenced in pure silence, their shoes squeaking against the tiled floors.

Finding the silence overwhelming, Kari curiously queried, "Sasuke? Are you in need psychotic assistance?"

"No, and it’s pronounced 'psychological' or ‘psychiatric’!" Sasuke lashed out. "If anyone needs help, certainly you would need it more than me!"

"No, I really think I meant psycho. See? You must have lost your marbles if you’re mistaking your mental problems to be mine." The Uchiha's smoldering black orbs crossly bored into Kari's bright aqueous silver spheres.

His voice tight with antagonism, Sasuke then said, "The reason why I thought you disliked skirts was because you intermittently would fuss with the hem as if you were uncomfortable with it. Even a maniac could see that. If you kept tugging on it, it could...."

"No! You better not finish that sentence! I'm already cursed, and I don't need further condemnation flying out from your mouth!" Kari yelled, covering her delicate ears with her pale palms.

Sasuke's countenance seemed swept of all emotion, his cold gaze deluged with incredulity over her bizarre actions. Hikari certainly was proving to be the strangest creature he had ever met…

"Hn. Just hurry up. You're lagging behind."

"What?"

"You're lagging behind."

"Wah??"

"I said you're lagging behind."

"What?!"

"Kikuchi, remove your palms from your ears and move your bony self already!"

Kari promptly dropped her hands back to her side, pursing her lips into a little pout.

"Fine, but there's no need to yell. Jeez... such a meanie…"

Sasuke failed to respond. Kari only perceived a slight nerve peeking from his temples and his fist clenching into a tight fist. His teeth ground against each other. The silvery girl chuckled at his overall demeanor, commencing to move forward right behind him.

While she skipped forward, a slight trepidation nipped at her stomach. Why was she so anxious? It certainly wasn't about her early dream-related fears, which she forced to the back of her mind.

'There has to be something I'm forgetting...'

"Kikuchi, don't strain yourself like that. Your head’s going to explode if you keep thinking."

Kari retorted, "Sasuke, shut up! I have the right to think!"

"Not if you keep thinking that hard. Something up?"

Kari shook her head. "It's nothing really... I just feel as if I forgot something. It was something of dire importance, and my life depended on it. Oh well! It probably wasn’t important if I just forgot about it!"

"Hn. Whatever. Like I care..."

"Then why did you ask?!"

"It's either ask or let your gooey brain burst and splatter over the gym. Tsunade sama wouldn't be very happy if that happened."

"Hmm… I wouldn’t mind if you become headmistress bait. It would be incredibly entertaining to watch!"

As they marched into the gymnasium, Kari overheard her dark-haired supervisor grumble something with minimal clarity. Instead of dwelling on his unintelligible speech, Kari saw the tiled floorings transform into long wooded boards. The large lights hung in the high rising ceilings, illuminating the vast gym with their blazing white light.

Wooden bleachers towered towards her left side, reaching heights that made her stomach perform aerial acrobatics.

The silver-haired female shook herself of that unease and turned her attention to the clumps of students, stretching their limbs and their mouths with discourse.

"Gym class will start soon so it would be best to mentally prepare yourself now," Sasuke advised Kari, also stretching himself for the activities that would soon commence.

Unconsciously following his actions, Kari inquired, "But why's that?"

"You'll find out when you meet the instructors," he replied calmly.

"Oh, now you choose to slack off! What type of escort are you? You told me the identity of all the other teachers," Kari whined.

"Well this is a special case. No words could describe the instructors to the fullest degree. It's going to be quite a spectacle, I'll assure you that much," Sasuke said.

"Whatever. Is there anything you can tell me?"

The dark-haired Uchiha meditated over Kari's query. "Well there are two instructors, a male and a female. They usually split the class into boy/girl groups, but occasionally they do mix the classes." Sasuke glanced over his silvery haired companion. "Happy?"

Obstinately, she crossed her arms like a small child, pouting. "No! I'm not!"

Shooting his traditional cold sneer, Sasuke snapped his head away with a low grunt. More of her contemporaries flooded into the gymnasium, manifesting the large room with miscellaneous prattle. Kari stood quite awkwardly in her place, waiting impatiently for her teachers to arrive.

Just as Kari felt herself doze off into a dreamy slumber, a whistle sounded in the air. She jumped upwards, taken aback by the grating noise.

'I'm guessing the teachers finally decided to come to class.... About time.' Dismissing the ringing in her ears, Kari languidly turned her body to face the source of the whistle.

She nearly felt her whole body collapse onto the ground. Her eyes felt as if they were threatening to bulge out of their sockets.

Standing before her was a man.... With the furriest eyebrows she had ever seen. His hair was cut into a shiny bowl shape and his clothes...

'No man his age should wear green spandex!! It should be illegal!' Kari shuddered. Her bottom lip threatened to plunge to the wooden flooring, seeing the green hug his torso and legs. How grateful she is to see he had enough decency to wear shorts...

No matter how disturbing the sight was, Kari could not avert her eyes.

"Now, I heard that we got a new student today," Spandex man said. "Where is she?

No one responded. Poor Kari was too flabbergasted by the overall materialization of such a peculiar figure, that she lost all will to speak.

"Anyone?"

An elbow slammed into her exposed arm, retrieving a low yelp from her speechless throat.

"That hurt..." Kari whimpered, rubbing her reddened arm and glancing over to the dark-haired boy. He stood completely still in his place, seemingly ignorant of the glare she shot him.

Spandex man's dark irises glittered with realization and said, "Ah! You there with the red arm. What's your name?"

Unsure if the man was truly addressing her (Who else could it have been? If she had time to retaliate, there would be someone with a black eye), Kari gingerly replied, "Kikuchi Hikari, but I'm partial to Kari."

"Nice to meet you, Kari! You can just call me Gai," he said, smiling an almost blinding grin.

"Dude, I know you're a guy. What's you name?"

Undeterred by the verbal bungle, he repeated with increased fervor, "No, it's not 'guy', is Gai!"

"Oh my god! I know! Just tell me you're name already!" She cried.

Sasuke then elucidated in a soft voice, "Loser, it's G-A-I."

"Whoa! His name is Gay?" she inquired, her mouth opening in shock.

"Not g-a-y, moron! G-A-I," Sasuke repeated irritably.

Repeating the letters several times in her mind, Kari finally understood. "Oohh! His name is Gai! That makes more sense. Sorry, Gai- sensei!"

"That's okay! As the new student, it's okay to make mistakes. You just have to learn from them. That’s the magic of being young," Gai said, his porcelain teeth refracting in the incandescent lights.

"Oh, Gai-sensei, that was so wise!" a young man exclaimed.

"I know, Rock Lee. I know."

'…How was that in anyway cool?'

Curiosity got the better of her as her oceanic gray orbs turned towards the source of the voice.

'Eek! It's a mini version of spandex man!!'

Thankfully, mini spandex man’s clothes were only a similar shade of green, donning a shirt and shorts instead of the illegally tight spandex. Then she gazed at his head.

'Whoa! It really is Gai's mini me!' Lee's hair was cut in a similar bowl shaped manner as the older man. Two caterpillars seemed to take residence above his buggy eyes.

'As long as I don't have to wear that vile suit, I think I'll be content...'

"Now, since you are the new student," Gai said, snapping Kari from her reverie, "Are there any questions you wish to ask me?"

Waving away any other disturbances that still haunted her mind from Gai’s general appearance, Kari nodded her head. "Yes, there's one. I was informed that there would be two gym instructors." She swallowed hard, her throat becoming dry. "Where is she?"

"Oh, that's an easy question that will be answered very soon!" Gai replied. "Your other sensei will..."

"HEEEELLOO, NEW STUDENT!"

Suddenly, the spandex clad male was interrupted by a voice. All eyes looked upwards to see a strange blur of purple flip towards them, landing squarely on their feet. The figure straightened their torso upwards, revealing a piercing pair of striking scarlet spheres.

Kari nearly felt her heart plummet down to her abdomen, disintegrating in its acidic pool. She held her breath.

'Oh my god... This must be a cruel sick joke...'

The silver-haired female inched herself behind her taller, dark-haired supervisor, attempting to conceal herself from the new figure’s gaze.

"So hello again! My name's Mitarashi Anko," bellowed the purple-haired woman, making poor Kari cringe, "But, guys, should know my name by now! I'm telling that mostly for the new student’s benefit... Speaking of which, where is the lucky gal?"

Silence commanded the air, brushing Anko's purple tendrils with a gentle breeze.

"Hello? New girl? Where are you?" The female turned her head in all sorts of directions, desperately searching for the concealed silver- haired female.

'Just remain completely still... Maybe if Sasuke has an iota of benevolence in his soul, I can survive this...'

"Here." Before Kari knew it, her protective barrier sidestepped, forcefully pushing her forward. "Found her. Seems like she's hearing impaired."

The irritated female snapped her head back, infuriation radiating from her darkening blue orbs. Sasuke's countenance did not even hold a semblance of emotion; his cold orbs were the only thing that met her heated stare. 'Stupid Uchiha...'

Kari slowly turned her head back forward. Her whole body froze in its place. Her instructor's ruby orbs glittered happily, her lips trembling with delight.

"Kari-chan?" Anko asked in a happy tenor.

'Dammit!' She thought, a nervous droplet of sweat sliding down the nape of her neck.

Just before she could escape for safety, the purple woman swiftly leaped up, successfully glomping the young girl. Kari lay immobile on the floor; her neck was held in a tight vice-grip.

"Ah, Kari-chan!!! I can't believe Kakashi-San never told me told me about this! I never knew you were the new girl," she shouted, hugging the unlucky Kikuchi until all breath escaped from her lungs.

'And that was probably for my wellbeing... Kaka-San actually did one nice thing for me the whole entire day.'

"Anko... Me turning into pancake! No breathy!" Kari squeaked out.

"My goodness! What are you? A cavewoman? Doesn't Kakashi teach you how to speak proper sentences?"

"ANKO!"

"Fine... Be that way, Hi-chan." With a slight pout on her face, Anko released the silver-haired girl from her grasp, standing to her feet. Kari sat herself erect, drawing profuse amounts of air into her lungs, curing her momentary oxygen deficit.

"Thank you…" Swallowing another mouthful of air, Kari added, "And if I say, in some weird way, I'm glad to see you, will you be happy?"

"Yay!! I knew it! You do care, Kari-chan!" Anko again enveloped the young girl into her arms, crushing her in a strong grip.

'I should have known better... Now I have to face Anko's hug of death.'

“Ga… Gai-sensei! Help me please!” Kari pleaded in a raspy voice, entreating the green male with sparkling eyes. “Help! This… must b… be sexual harassment or something! Rape even!”

Gai cleared his throat, discrediting her assertions over the female instructor's actions. "Um, Anko-San? Can you please give poor Kikuchi- San some air? She's beginning to turn blue."

"Oh, of course!" Anko's grip loosened, allowing the suffocating girl to escape, desperately gasping for breath. "Sorry, Kari-chan! I didn't mean to do that!"

"Yeah, sure..." breathed the silver-haired female. She did find that delighted, silly grin debasing Anko's seemingly sincere contrition.

"Anko, you always seem to jump the gun, do you? I was just about to introduce you to our newest student. You probably scared poor Kikuchi-San with your crazy antics."

"Aw, Kari-chan's used to my bizarreness!" assured the purple-haired instructor. "She had to deal with me a lot. Right, Kari-chan?"

A semblance of a smile tugged at her lips as Kari nervously nodded her head. 'I just had to remember about Anko now... My luck...'

"Anyway, we will be your instructors for the year, Gai and Anko."

"And I'm also your health teacher for the part of year!" chirped Anko. "He refused to take part in it because only the heavens know why..."

Gai snapped back, "Well I prefer not speak so openly about such unsavory and youthful topics."

"Ah, it's not that bad! Birth's supposed to be a beautiful thing." The male teacher instructor gagged at the very thought, turning a shade of green reminiscent to his verdant habiliments.

Kari herself felt her pallor lose color. 'Oh my gosh... How could they allow that dissolute alcoholic teach health?'

"Come on, Kari-chan! Don't look so glum. It's better learning the birdies and the bees from me! You don't want Kaka-San teaching you anatomy and all that other fun stuff do you?" Anko teased. A shiver ran down Kari's spine at the very thought, evoking the dirty salmon book he carries always around...

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" The silver female leaped up, startled to see a mop of blonde hair, bright electric blue orbs gazing intently at her.

"Naruto, you take pleasure in giving people heart attacks, don't you?" she asked.

Unfazed, Naruto repeated his inquiry. "How do you know the old geezer?"

"Well... I sort of...."

"Ooh! I know! You're related to him! Aren't you!?"

Just before Kari could open her mouth to correct the blonde, the blabbermouth continued.

"Ooh, I knew Kakashi got around... You must be his daughter from one of his hordes of mistresses. Even though you don't have the same colored eyes, your hair is almost the same! Furthermore…"

"Naruto, shut up!" She finally shouted. "Kakashi-San is not my father. If he was, I would be the most miserable girl on the face of the planet."

Confusion flooded to his bright blue irises. “Oh? Then how is Kakashi- sensei related to Kari-chan then?”

Just before Kari could open her mouth and reply, Anko quickly jumped in. “Kaka-san is Kari-chan’s uncle!”

“WHAT? Kakashi-sensei is your uncle?” Naruto gasped.

“Anko, don’t fill his crazy head with such lies!” Kari cried and then turned her head towards the blonde male. “We are not related by blood. He’s just my guardian.”

“Oh… But still! That’s just as good if he’s related. You could persuade him to do so much like postpone tests, give us less homework… Ah! I’m so lucky to have a new best friend that actually knows that lazy teacher…”

The silver-haired female blinked several times, taken aback by the sudden declaration that she was his best friend. They had just met after all…

Hikari then just shook her head. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up. I don’t see that happening in the distant future,” she mumbled, recalling her skirmish the morning with Kakashi.

“And speaking of Kakashi, how could he do this to you!” Anko gasped in horror. “Doesn’t that cruel man love you at all?”

“What… what do you mean, Anko-sensei?” Kari asked, her head tilting at a slight incline to accentuate her confusion.

“Look at your clothes! They are much too big for you,” the purple instructor exclaimed, scrutinizing the young scholar’s attire.

“Oh… it is, isn’t it?”

‘I knew it! I knew it really is too big.’

Kari never really noticed how much shorter the other girls’ shorts were, reaching only up to their mid-thighs. It certainly made her longer shorts seem even longer.

“Well it’s not a big deal, Anko. I’m okay with it. It’s very comfy really.”

“But with your figure, it’s almost blasphemous for you to dress like that,” Anko groused. “Are you sure? I could totally snag a smaller size…”

“No! It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“And Anko-san, you’re wasting time…” Gai pointed out. “We have a tight schedule to keep.”

“Oh right! Sorry about that!” Anko apologized with a silly grin on her face and then shouted, “Okay, class, we will be practicing the mile for the first half of the class period!”

A melodious sound of groans echoed in air.

“Ah, suck it up, you lazy good for nothings! Just get your butts outside and run already!” Anko barked.

The students forced their feet to shuffle forward, heading out of the door. Poor Kari herself felt a little low in spirits, mortified by the fact she actually had forgotten.

"How could I forget something like this!" she moaned, grimacing at the very thought.

"Forget what?" Kari lethargically forced her head to turn towards the voice, resonating from her stoical supervisor.

"Something like Anko," Kari lazily explained. "That lunatic, hyper, purple female..."

Sasuke's brow arched upwards. “You know her?"

"Of course. She visited me frequently when I stayed at Kaka-San's home and even long before that." The silver-haired female felt her spirits plunge even deeper into the abysmal depths. "To think, even yesterday Kaka-San even warned me she would be me gym teacher..."

"But how can you possibly forget something like Anko-sensei?" he asked, surprised by the very pronouncement.

"It’s a feat only I could possibly accomplish," she groused, her lips curving to a bitter chagrin. "Curse me and my selective memory..."

Her words piqued a curious nerve in the generally passive boy. He repeated skeptically, "Selective... Memory?"

Hikari forlornly nodded her head. "It’s a curse only I endure. I always push bad thoughts, like certain harassment from that purple-haired nutcase, to the back of my mind. When I actually do remember what it is, it's usually too late. Very sad really..."

"Selective memory, huh? I wouldn't call that sad. I consider it typical for someone of your mentality."

"What was that, Uchiha? I seemed to be unable to hear you," Kari said apathetically.

"What? Now you’re deaf also?"

"Goodness, you have to speak louder or something! There's a pesky insect that keeps making this irritating sound. We really have to get a fly swatter and just bat it away!"

Sasuke refused further response, muttering crossly under his breath about feigning selective hearing. Kari giggled, feeling the joy of irritating her escort trickle through her languid veins.

She needed all the energy she could get to survive her next challenge…

Pant. Pant.

The sun's burning rays seemed to pound on the earth that afternoon, basking the land with its scorching heat to display its imposing might. The golden star was especially merciless on the runners, who forced their legs to continue forth around the spherical track.

Beads of sweat trickled down their necks. Even Kari felt the effects induced by the malevolent sun. She presumed the disgusting droplets of perspiration were more from the fiery star then the actual exercise.

Most females lagged behind, loosing all will to run and decided to walk the last lap. The other students continued jogging lightly, their breaths heavy.

Kari had pretty good stamina so she could undertake this run with some ease. The perspiring Kikuchi took a steady speed towards the front of the crowd, jogging at a safe distance between two specific runners.

Electricity flared when ultramarine orbs locked onto cold ebony. No one dared go near them... except, of course, the ignorant new girl.

'What's the matter with those two?' she wondered, scrutinizing their strange glaring match with inquisitive eyes. 'I'll never understand them!'

"What’s the matter? You're not tired. Are you, loser?" Sasuke inquired, a condescending luster lighting his cold orbs.

In a raucously loud voice, Naruto exclaimed, "Why would I be tired? I should be directing that question to you. You're sweating bullets!"

"You are too. I doubt you could even finish this last lap."

Kari sighed, feeling she never shall understand the complexities of the male brain. Boys always seem to be fighting over such trivial affairs. She doesn't even comprehend females and their obsession over Sasuke, let alone their fascination over fashion. Considering she was female herself, she found that fact a little pitiful...

Her shoulders shrugged, hearing the garrulous blonde actuate a ridiculous competition; the overall practicality the event served was only to release unnecessary amounts of hot air.

"Oh yeah? Well I surely can finish this lap before you!"

With a slight scoff, Sasuke nodded his head and turned his head forward. "We'll see about that, loser."

"On the count of three," Naruto said. "One..."

Kari noticed the blonde competitor draw close towards her right side, leering only at Sasuke, who, in turn, also closed in from her left flank.

"Two..." Both entrants nearly crushed the silvery onlooker, who tried desperately to search for an escape.

'Ah crap! You got to be kidding me!'

The fearful Kikuchi tried holding back, hoping to allow the two to move passed her and continue with their asinine race.

But it was much too late.

"Three!"

The two rushed forward, glaring daggers at the opposition... and dragging poor Kari right in the middle. Neither side seemed to notice though, intent more on arriving first at the finish line.

Droplets of tears formed in her eyes, feeling the blustery wind burn her orbs. All air rushed out from her lungs. She could barely utter a single syllable.

She was able to think one thing.

'Ah!! I'm going to die! I’m really going to die! Someone save me already!'

In what Kari discerned to be in a matter of ten seconds, the three of them completed the lap. Sasuke and Naruto separated from each other, releasing the tired Kikuchi from her constraints.

"I won!" They both yelled, their breaths heavy and uneven. Hearing the opposition proclaim victory, the two combatants glanced over towards each other.

Anger flared from both their irises, screaming that the other was sorely mistaken. Soon two arms stretched out, pointing to the person standing opposite to them. "Tell us who won!" Naruto and Sasuke yelled, looking at their teachers for a verdict.

"It looked like a three way tie to me. What'd you think, Gai?" Anko queried, unfazed by the feat that occurred before them.

"I suppose so!" Gai grinned, allowing his astonishment over their speedy race to morph to bliss. "Ah… that is the magic of being young! Even the elements couldn't stop them!"

"Wait! You said it was a three way tie," Naruto began his inquiry.

Sasuke then finished the thought, "But who the hell is the third?"

"Yeah, I'll pound that sucker for intruding in our contest," Naruto threatened, cracking his knuckles. "So where is he? Is it Neji? No, no it must have been Kiba! He had something against me ever since I asked him if he slept in a dog house with that demon mutt, Akamaru..."

Anko corrected, "Um, I'm not sure pounding HER to a fine powder is necessary. She's pretty beat already..."

"Her?" Both inquisitive males followed their instructor's outstretched hands, pointing to someone lying on the ground. This figure was lying right on her face, tentatively waving her hand towards them.

"Mrempo...." A rumble squeaked out from the silvery haired female.

(Translation: Hello...)

"Kikuchi, that you?" The Uchiha inquired, gawking at the prostrate girl who absently continued waving her arm in the air.

"Mrut mud mwrit mrook mwike?"

(Translation: What does it look like?)

"Aaahhhh!! Kari-chan!!" Naruto cried. He promptly lifted Kari from the track, shaking her violently. Her head and limbs flopped and flailed uncontrollably. "Kari, I am so sorry! It's Uchiha's fault! Please say something!"

Anko scolded, "Baka… if you snap her neck with all that shaking, how can she reply?"

Sapphire spheres widened, instantaneously ceasing his unruly acts. Again he yelled, "Ahh!! Don't die, Kari-chan!! I'm sorry!"

Normally, if the silver Kikuchi had a remnant of sense and consciousness, she would flare up in rage and knock the blonde silly. How dare he shake her and scream in her ears! She was not some rag doll. Then she probably would direct her hostility towards the stoical Uchiha only because he had assisted with her anguish.

But right now? It was exception her body forced her to accept. Her mind was still frazzled, her body lacking any movement or feeling. She was sure her hair was in complete disarray. She could barely do anything let alone move her jaw to snap at the senseless blonde.

Barely audible and in an exhausted voice, she murmured, "I... It's okay, Naruto... It's fine..."

"Yay! She lives!" He yelled, making the dazed female wince.

'Could he talk any louder?' she mused bitterly to herself, trying to dismiss the pounding in her skull.

"Should we take her to the nurse, Anko-San?" Gai asked, concern flowing into his midnight black orbs.

The purple-haired woman shook her head. "Nah! Hikari is a tough gal! She just needs a moment, and she'll bounce right back!"

"Who's going to carry her back though? I doubt she could move a finger in her pitiful condition."

Before Anko could reply, Naruto chirped up with a bright grin crossing his lips, "Oh, don't worry, Gai-sensei! Kari-chan said she was just fine!"

"Loser, you must be deaf because she clearly said..."

"Look! See?" In mere moments, Naruto released the lifeless Kikuchi from his rough grasp, allowing her to fall into the rocky track floor.

"Owies..." she whimpered. "That really hurt..."

"Ack! Hikari!!!"

"Baka... Well, since you two were the morons to render my poor Hi-chan to this soporific state, you two shall bring her back inside," Anko declared, already ambling her way towards the school building.

"But, Anko-Sensei!"

Gai quickly shushed the whining young boys, chiding them that they must atone for their actions and walked away.

The dark-haired and blonde lost all will to argue any further with their instructors, their silhouettes waning in the cover of the school's shadows. No matter what they said, they knew they would certainly lose.

They both looked down to the almost lifeless female, a ragged expression glazing her blank steel-blue irises.

The soft brush of air rustled their tendrils as students finally began crossing the finish line, shuffling their sweaty torsos back into the gymnasium.

Of course, the tranquility did not last for very long. The loudest and most uncouth of the two boys was the first to speak. "So... how are we going to do this?"

The stoical Uchiha scrutinized the prostrate Kikuchi, gingerly nudging her with his shoes. No response arose from her lips, failing to denote any signs the girl was still living.

Sasuke shrugged his broad shoulders. "You carry her feet, and I'll carry her upper body... Anko-sensei would murder us if we let Hikari-San die from the heat..."

Naruto nodded his head. The two painlessly lifted Kari off the ground.

'... She must be malnourished if she's this light. I would have expected her dense mind to way me down at least...' Sasuke thought, holding the girl delicately in his arms. He almost felt apprehensive that she would shatter at any moment if he was not careful.

"Okay! Come on! We can't be the last ones inside!" Naruto exclaimed, readying his feet to dash forward.

Somehow Kari was able to discern the blonde's actions through her tired haze. Trepidation spiked her veins, allowing her enough strength to speak.

"No, Naruto!" Sasuke and Hikari screamed... But it was all too late.

A blonde blur rushed forward, dragging behind an Uchiha and a screaming Kikuchi.

"Jeez... Kari-chan, I feel so bad for you," Sakura said, grimacing as the silver-haired girl lay inanimately on the wooden bench.

"Er... I suppose we should have said something about Sasuke and Naruto's competitions, shouldn't we?" Hinata said, her pale lavender irises gazing worriedly at her.

Kari replied impassively, "That would have been nice..."

As Naruto ran back inside, he jerked her raw muscles wildly, accentuating the pain the rattled her very bones. It enveloped her tendons and muscles in a thick veil of pain, slowly pervading through every point of her body.

'Moron... First he made me run in that intense heat, shook me uncontrollably, and now this! ' Kari groused, leering at the blonde as he competed with Sasuke for the basketball on the other side of the gym.

"So what is wrong with those two anyway? I suspected them to be mentally troubled before, but this is simply absurd."

Sakura quickly interjected, "Its all Naruto's doing! He's simply a nutcase!"

Kari eyed the pink-haired female curiously, feeling no voice to spurn such an incongruous statement. She found the obsidian-eyed boy to be much crazier than the blonde.

She turned her silver head to Hinata, who took full liberties to offer a more plausible explanation.

"It’s just this strange thing they do! Ever since they were younger they engaged in continual competitions, especially physical ones."

"Of course, Sasuke always wins! He's so awesome..." the pink fan girl crooned, a pale blush creeping up her neck.

Kari simply dismissed Sakura’s swooning and goaded Hinata to continue. "But how does my near deathly experience have to do with that?"

Hinata grinned wryly and replied, "Well they... Get really into it so to speak. Most people stay away to avoid getting injured."

"Oh... And of course, since I'm new I get to learn that the hard way. What joy!"

"Aw, It’s alright, Kari-chan. It could have happened to anyone," Sakura assured.

The tired Kikuchi lethargically nodded her head, gently lifting her torso to a proper sitting position. She shrugged her shoulders at the very thought, knowing only that misfortune could befall on her of all people.

Sakura gingerly inquired, "Um, Kari? May I ask you a question? It may sound a little... Strange."

The silvery female gazed at pink Haruno curiously. Her green orbs seemed to be analyzing Kari's countenance, predicting in her intelligent mind a valid response.

Even though her intuition demanded she spurn her request, her own body felt much too tired to protest. Kari inhaled a profuse amount of air, allowing it to settle within her lungs before slowly exhaling it out.

“Kay, Sakura. What is it?”

Her emerald eyes sparkled at Kari’s acquiescence. Sakura cleared her throat, preparing her word choice carefully. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Sakura frantically asked, “What was it like to be near Sasuke?!”

Her silvery blue orbs blinked several times, gawking at the inquiring female skeptically. Was she seriously asking her that question? Sakura surely is above those sorts of trifle things, especially anything related to being a fan girl. Sakura must be pulling her leg or something!

But seeing that glittery sparkle of anticipation, awaiting anxiously for Kari's reply, it did make the silvery female think otherwise.

'Great... Sakura is in fan girl mode...'

Just as the silver girl was going let the pinkette down gently, an influx of queries rushed out from Sakura's lips.

"How did he look? How did his shirt feel? How did he smell? Ooh, I heard even his sweat smelled good!"

Again, Kari was rendered to a state of speechlessness.

'What the hell...? Great! This is Sakura's obsessed fan girl mode...'

"Sakura, first of all, that's totally gross. I would not, in my wildest and craziest dreams, want to smell Sasuke in all his sweatiness," Kari replied, repressing her urgent need to gag at the very thought. "Second of all, I was kind of too busy screaming my head off and being dragged to take any notice of Sasuke or Naruto. Thirdly, I don't think I care."

"It’s worth the try..." Sakura dragged a good amount of air into her lungs before pushing it right out. "No one has ever been in such close proximity to him. If I was a little more psychotic and not your friend, I'd probably be very jealous of you."

"Gladly, I doubt I know anyone that is loony enough to stoop so low as that!" Kari smirked, oblivious to a murderous glare emanating from the court...

"Okay, good job everyone! We're going to rotate!" Anko exclaimed, signaling the end of the round with her whistle.

The silver-haired female felt her stomach lurch, her heart block all air from reaching her lungs.

'Please don't ask one of us to go down... Don't speak to us...'

"Okay, since Ino’s out, which one of you three lovely ladies would like to join them in a fun game of hockey?" Anko queried the three girls, inciting a mental curse in Kari's mind.

None of the three spoke up, all feeling much too exhausted to do much of anything. The mile had drained all three of valuable energy needed to continue gym.

"Seeing you all are much too lazy to participate in any way, I'll ask it this way," The purple-haired instructor suggested, eyeing the three of them warily. "Which one of you bums haven't played yet?"

Sakura and Hinata both chirped that they had, relieved that they no longer have to participate any further. The newest augmentation to the school felt completely different.

"Anko-sensei, you must be picking on your students or something because that question is definitely directed towards a certain someone, namely me," Kari griped.

"Well it wouldn't be fair to let one of these guys to go another time when a little lazy girl didn't even go."

"But I suffered a nearly fatal experience! I'm still physically unwell to go out and kill myself in that hell with hockey sticks."

"You just don't want to do anything. You've always been a strong girl. You can handle this, Hi-chan!" Anko encouraged. Seeing that defiant expression embed itself in the silver-haired girl's countenance, the instructor ordered, "Just move your fat, lazy ass out there already or else I get Kaka-san over here to move it for you."

The young Kikuchi allowed fear to flow into her steel-blue eyes before contorting her mouth to a contemptuous scowl. In one agonizing movement, Hikari lifted herself off the wooden bench and headed down to the court.

"What do I have to do?" Hikari grumbled crossly under her breath, unable to look at the triumphant demeanor of her purple-haired teacher.

"Simple! You just have to play offense. Here’s your stick!” Anko threw the sulky Kikuchi her hockey stick and waited for her to stand in her place. “See? Is it really that bad?”

“It won’t be anything catastrophic as long as no one passes me that puck,” Kari moaned. Red spheres whirled into a perfect circle, discrediting that comment entirely.

“Okay! Go!” With the deafening blare of a whistle, the game quickly commenced. The young Kikuchi stood unsurely in her place, watching as the hockey puck was passed between team members and hearing the quick thuds of stick smashing against the hardwood.

Hinata, Sakura, and Ino cheered Kari on, who dared not to move a single muscle. Ramifications would ensue if she even thinks about joining the game.

She amused herself by watching the most athletic out of her team. A girl with thick buns fluidly moved passed the clumps of opposing bodies, pushing the black puck with her stick with ease. When Kari was up at the bleachers, she watched in awe how easily that girl could score goals right after another. How she wished she had her skill… she surely would want to score at least one goal.

“New girl, head’s up!”

"Huh?" Arousing herself from her dreamlike trance, Kari dropped her gaze down to the wooden flooring. Her oceanic gray eyes widened, discerning a black sphere spinning its way towards her hockey stick. "I thought I said don't pass the puck to me!"

The silver-haired female searched frantically for her other team members. Most of them were guarding the opposition from reaching the puck. A swarm of enemy players encompassed the star player of the team at every point, quashing any further movement.

She looked up at Kari with her bright brown eyes, encouraging her to go forward.

It wasn’t like Kari didn’t know why. The goal was wide open since no one bothered to guard her (She barely bothered to move so the others found no need to watch her).

‘…Guess I should have been careful what I wish for…’

With a quick inhalation of air, Kari stumbled forward, shuffling the little puck awkwardly with her hockey stick.

Cheers from Sakura, Hinata, and Ino echoed in her ears.

Not many people noticed Kari’s race towards the goal, providing no impediments or hindrances. ‘I think I can do this… I can actually do this!’

Then there she was, standing before the goal. Almost impossible for her to miss. ‘Yes! This is it! I’m actually going to score a point!’ Thrilled by the very idea, the silvery girl raised her hockey stick to smack the puck right into the net…

It may have went in if it wasn’t for a sudden blur of red tackling right the unsuspecting Kikuchi.

Kari collapsed onto the floor, pain perforating through her back. The puck simply slid to the side… away from the goal.

“Oops! Sorry about that!”

After recollecting her frazzled wits, Kari looked upwards to see a pair of ruby orbs gazing down on her with condescending eyes.

The redhead’s physical assault wasn’t completely successful. The girl with the bun managed to break through the crowd and score the goal.

“Maybe you better luck next time!” With a contemptuous grin spreading across her lips, Karin whipped her head away from the shocked Kikuchi as she resettled herself in her respective place.

Kari slowly rose to her feet, allowing anger to darken her aqueous orbs.

‘Oh, it’s on!’ Kari thought, gripping her hockey stick roughly in her arms. ‘Two can play it that game…’

The game slowly increased in intensity. After Karin’s little assault on the newest player on the field, Kari did what any girl in her position would do: fight back.

‘If Karin thinks I’m going to stand by and take her crap, oh… she has another thing coming!’

Silver and red clashed continuously. Whenever Karin dared body slam silver to the wall, Kari was not reluctant to push her right back with even greater vigor.

To Kari, this was a battle - a scuffle that she couldn’t afford to lose.

Both soon took their places in the middle, the round puck sitting fearfully between their furious sticks.

Hikari felt her hair cling to her sweaty neck, soaked with droplets of sweat. Her dark, navy eyes glared only at Karin.

Karin’s spite seemed to radiate from her scarlet orbs, inundating from her black spectacles. Her lips were pressed to a tight, angry line.

Silence manifested itself, shrouding the humid air with its suffocating veil.

Both girls' flexed their muscles, awaiting the chance to pounce.

"How dare you..."

Kari felt herself slip from her furious disposition, surprised by the dark murmur of abhorrence that oozed from Karin’s lips like venom.

"How dare you!" she screamed, her fiery orbs flaring into angry flames.

"What's the matter, crazy? What did I do?" Kari interrogated, truly at a loss what was going on in her misconstrued red mind.

"Oh, I'll tell you why!" Karin yelled and illuminated in a more booming voice, "How dare you be so close to Sasuke-kun during the mile practice!"

Her shrill voice echoed in the large gymnasium, attaining everyone's undivided attention. Heads swiveled towards the two. Even the basketball game in the other side of the gym ceased, observing the two with inquiring eyes.

The shocked Kikuchi barely paid any heed to them, ignoring their gazes as they burned into her back. She was far too flabbergasted by Karin's response.

"You're blaming me for that?" Kari cried. "How is it my fault that I got stuck between those two morons?!"

"Don't you dare play dumb with me! You could have kept your distance, but no. You had to get in the middle with whatever idiocy Naruto thought of! I bet you wanted to be near my Sasuke-kun," the redhead retorted. "And how dare you call Sasuke an idiot. I can perfectly comprehend that blonde-haired loudmouth, but I thought I told you to stop talking trash about Sasuke!"

"First of all, I'm new. I never expected those two to get so into their competition they would squeeze me like a pancake. Second of all, you can keep your Sasuke-kun. I definitely didn't want to be in arms distance of him!" Kari shuddered at the very thought before continuing, "Lastly, you think Naruto is loud? You might want to turn up your hearing aid because you certainly have a bigger mouth!!"

Karin's face simmered into bright crimson, her blazing irises desiring to incinerate the mordant Kikuchi into a fine power.

"You just don't know when to shut your trap, do you?" Karin mumbled ominously under her breath. Nerves of all sizes pulsated around her rosy forehead. Her hands gripped the stick tightly in her long, spindly fingers. "I'll show you!"

Many of the girl's gasped as they watched the stick ascend into the air and rush down to strike a silver mop of hair. A pair of steel-blue orbs widened.

'I have to move!'

As the stick closed in on its desired target, a scream pierced the air. A loud thud reverberated throughout the gym.

Usually, Uchiha Sasuke never paid any attention to the daily drama. He found it a waste of air and time. It always annoyed him, especially when the girls argued. They always were bickering – screaming really when there is no reason to yell over such asinine things. Karin had proved repeatedly to be the perfect example of the kind of screaming females he preferred to avoid.

But there he stood, listening, actually watching the argument unfold on the other side of the gym. He didn't comprehend why he was even paying attention to it. It certainly couldn't be who was the target of the raucous verbal onslaught.

It was that girl's freakin' fault anyway. If she wasn't so stupid and had such a big mouth, she wouldn't have even thought of picking a fight with the most temperamental female in the entire school.

Still, no matter how true those facts were, the Uchiha could not tear his eyes away from the cantankerous girl, her long, gray tendrils escaping from their elastic bindings. It just didn't make any sense in his mind...

"I'll show you!"

Then everything that occurred next seemed to move in slow motion. Karin's straight edge was rushing towards its specified target - Kikuchi Hikari.

Fear flashed in her steel-blue eyes. She had to move - fast. If she remained idle for any longer, she may find herself with a fatal head injury.

Only a scream sliced through his haze. Who even was it? Ino? No, it sounded more like Sakura... Maybe another female classmate?

His mind waved the thought away, quickly predicting the turn of events as they occurred.

As the implemented weapon finally smashed into the target, Kari would simply move out of the way...

'Wait... What?'

He mentally replayed the events, dubious whether the occurrences truly transpired. The deathly strike should have hit her - should have being the operative phrase.

At the very last moment, Kari was able to evade the strike, sidestepping with some grace that was almost uncharacteristic of her.

When Kari was shuffling the hockey stick, she looked completely awkward. She could not be that fluid in movement.

'Well, well. Kari surely is full of surprises... ' For a split moment, Sasuke was remotely impressed, listening to the hockey stick smash into the wooden flooring with a loud thud.

Of course, he also had a precognition her luck wouldn't last for very long. She simply was too awkward and clumsy to be that fortunate.

Just as that thought raced through his mind, Kari accidentally (and somehow predictably) stepped on top of the hockey puck, slipped, and crashed onto the ground right on her buttocks.

"Ouchies..." she whined, rubbing her poor backside. Disappointment flickered over her features, upset that her attempt to look cool was foiled by a puck.

'Knew it. Once a loser, always a loser.' All praise that the stoical Uchiha felt (and would never say) officially passed.

But his classmates did not feel that way. Most of their eyes widened into large saucers; the more boorish and uncouth of the scholars allowed their mouths to hang and nearly sweep the wooden floors.

"How the hell did you do that?" Karin asked, her crimson orbs wide with shock, as Kari rose to her feet.

"Wouldn’t you like to know?" Kari responded cockily, her mouth curved to a condescending grin. "Goodness, you almost got me worried too... Well, I did say almost, ne?"

'Baka! She just has to push her luck...' Sasuke thought, watching as Karin dismissed her amazement over the feat and focused on her original blazing rage.

Karin yelled, "Well I don't plan on missing this time!"

The redhead chased the silvery Kikuchi with her hockey stick, swinging it wildly in hopes to strike the gray-blue eyed female.

Kari dodged all feeble attempts, running away from the livid girl as fast as she could.

One strike almost did hit its mark, but Kari blocked it with her own stick. Kari leaned back, pushing back Karin's stick with her own. Both stood in a total impasse. Neither irate females seemed inclined to move a single inch.

Karin was the first to move. She dropped her stick down to her side... Not calculating the amount of weight Kari placed onto her stick.

The moment the redhead moved hers, the silvery girl lost her bearings, accidentally letting her stick drop and smack Karin right in the face.

Both girls toppled to the ground. The main difference between the two was that Karin displayed a rather glaring red mark on her forehead.

Karin groaned, rubbing her sore head with her fingers. Anger effervescently glowed from her orbs as she sprang to her feet.

"Damn you, Hikari! How dare you hit me!?"

Still in disoriented haze, the Kikuchi mumbled, "It wasn't on purpose. You were trying to annihilate me for god’s sakes. I was just acting in self-defense."

Karin sneered. "Well I’ll show you self-defense! Maybe a good smack on your big head would knock some sense into you."

Kari froze in her place, unable to orient herself enough to maneuver herself out of the way. She simply watched Karin as she raised the stick to deliver the final blow.

"Whoa, whoa! Guys, stop fighting!" Anko exclaimed, holding the girl's hockey stick before it crashed down. "Just chill out."

"I think that's a little too late to say that, Anko-San," Gai pointed out, coinciding with the dark-haired boy's thoughts. The male instructor stood in between the two females, acting as a physical barrier. "Maybe you should have stopped it a little sooner?"

"Aw! But it was actually getting good," teased the purple haired female. Seeing Gai shoot her a sharp gaze of disapproval, Anko sighed and said sternly, "Okay, you two. Since this is Hikari-san's first day, I'm letting this little skirmish pass. If this ever happens again, I'm sending you to Tsunade-sama to provide a fitting punishment. Hear me?"

"Yes, Anko-sensei..."

"Now I want everyone out of here. Class is dismissed!" Gai bellowed.

'Finally... The last class of the day,' Kari lazily thought in her mind, dragging her feet to her respective classroom.

Gym had drained her of so much energy. Not only did Karin's little psychotic stunt tire her, she also still felt sore from Naruto's foolishness.

How she was relieved to hear her teachers end class a few minutes early! If she had to continue gym, she would have been rendered into a state analogous to deceased.

'Anko surely is an incorrigible woman.' She thought, remembering Anko collect their sticks, whispering she did a good job and sneaking a thumbs up.

Karin simply glared at her, shooting an unladylike finger right at her. A few students rushed to her side, asking if she's well and swooning she cool she looked.

One student was especially impressed. At the end of class, she had discovered the athletic female was Ten Ten, who also held a strong distaste for skirts.

'Ah, I'm going to get along with her fine! One of the sanest people I met!'

Sasuke did not offer much input on the topic. He simply directed her to her last class and was off.

'Figures... I knew he wouldn't care. I bet he would be content if that fruit basket did kill me!'

She was really lucky. If she wasn’t well-versed in self defense, namely martial arts, she may have not been able to get out of the way. Ten Ten even inquired if she wished to join the Martial Arts Club. Kari apparently had the natural reflexes. She would be a great addition.

Sadly, Kari declined. She was in no mood to join a martial arts club. She had enough to deal with at the moment. She promised she would join one day though.

Finally breaking Kari from her irritated thoughts, the classroom materialized before her.

"This looks like this is it."

After all... How many art rooms did the school have? Kari hoped there was only one.

As she entered the art room, all stress seemed to lift from her shoulders. She knew this was going to be her haven, her place to recover her sanity after a grueling day!

'And how grateful I am that block of stone is not an artist!' As a smile spread over her lips at the very thought, Kari trotted forward to grab a seat before class begun.

‘Yes! No more Sasuke!’

“Good afternoon, Kikuchi Hikari-san,” a mysterious voice greeted her from behind. Her blood ran cold. Her heart momentarily ceased beating.

‘No…’

That voice…that deadpanned tone of voice… Could it really be him?

‘No!! It couldn’t be Uchiha! He even said we had a different class at the end of the day!’

With her breath stagnant, her heart wedging itself deep in her throat, Kari slowly turned around to face the owner of the voice.

Instead of breaking down into tears, she screamed. Her heart nearly leaped for joy.

“AH! SAI!!” She squealed, embracing the sable-haired male with her arms. “I can’t believe you actually are here too!”

“Well I wanted to keep it a surprise,” he replied, a light smile curving his lips. “Who’d you expect?”

Kari scowled as her mind evoked one name. “You don’t want to know.”

“Anyway… Kari? Can you please let me go? I enjoy respiring.”

“Oops! Sorry!” Kari quickly released him from her grasp. “I was just so happy to know my best friend is at this insane asylum they call a school!”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure if we would even have one class together,” he said.

The two both quickly took their seat near each other. Class quickly begun, and the class proctor was named Yuhi Kurenai. She allowed the class to paint whatever their heart desires, officially making it Kari’s favorite class.

“So how’s everyone, Kari?” Sai asked, gently stroking his easel that stood beside hers. “How many people did you scare away?”

“Oh, and this is coming from one of the most unsociable person in the entire school?” She teased. Seeing Sai failed to offer any response to her banter, Kari sighed and said, “Well, it certainly was not my ideal way of starting my first day.”

“Oh really? Elaborate.”

“Well for starters, I’m beginning to dislike that headmistress, Tsunade.”

“Don’t be too mad at her,” Sai interjected. “She’s just taking her frustration out on others because she can’t drink as much as she wants anymore.”

“That would explain so much…” The silver-haired female giggled at the very thought. “But the reason for my growing umbrage for the blonde hag is because she assigned me the most detestable escort I have ever met!”

“Now I’m actually curious. Who is the lucky person?” Sai inquired.

With a low growl, she replied, “Uchiha Sasuke. He’s one of two people I hope I never have to see ever again.”

“Two people? Who’s the other person?”

“That red-haired big mouth Karin! She certainly gets under my skin.”

“That’s understandable. She’s a tactless, moronic airhead,” he commented impassively. “But why Uchiha Sasuke? He’s not –oh! He’s that insensitive emo boy! Yeah, never mind.”

Kari chuckled, commenting how sensitive and tactful Sai can be. He rolled his obsidian orbs and inquired on a lighter subject, “So other than those perfectly “charming” individuals, have you met anyone else?”

“Well I think I actually made some friends,” Hikari said casually, glaring at her artistic friend when he chuckled at the word. “There’s Yamanaka Ino…”

“That blonde bimbo,” Sai piped up.

Kari gazed at him for a few moments before continuing, “Haruno Sakura…”

“The neurotic, sycophantic fan girl with the large forehead.”

“…Uzumaki Naruto.”

“The lewd and noisy freak of nature.”

“…And Hyuuga Hinata.”

“The silent wallflower!”

“Do you have an insult for every person on this planet?” Kari queried.

“Of course,” Sai replied. “I even have ones for you. Of course, I won’t say them to your face because you may find them a bit mean.”

She sarcastically drawled, “Oh, thanks so much. At least I know you can be so sensitive.”

With a roll of his dark spheres, he then changed the topic. “So where are you staying?”

“I’m staying with Kakashi-san. Where else?”

“Ah… that strange, lazy drunkard… Poor soul. He won’t last a moment with a nutcase such as yourself.”

“Sai, you’re so mean!” she cried, gently socking his arm. “I’m not that bad.”

“If that’s what you wish to believe…” He sniggered lightly. “But I’m glad to see you’re in such a good mood! I was sort of expecting you to be in a sort of melancholy state after all you’ve been through.”

Suddenly his chuckling ceased. Kari’s gaze dropped down to the tiled floorings. Her bright silvery blue orbs retained a luster equivalent to glass, watery droplets beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

Sai drew in a deep inhale, awkwardly reaching an arm out to touch her shoulder. “Jeez… Sorry, Hi-chan. I just sort of assumed you…”

“It’s okay, Sai. I understand. If you try comforting me any further I may actually break down into tears,” Hikari joked, grinning slightly and blinking away any liquids that pooled into her eyes.

“Oh thank god. I didn’t even know what to say!” Sai released a relieved breath before wisely choosing another topic. “So how’s your painting?”

“I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. I’m at a total loss,” she admitted disolately and turned her head towards the sable-haired male. “Can I see what you’re painting? Maybe it could help rouse my artistic mind.”

Sai nodded his head. “I suppose so. I am just dismayed to inform you that this is not my best work.”

The silvery girl rolled her orbs into a full circle. ‘Knowing Sai as well as I do, I should be expecting something…’

Her mouth dropped.

“Extraordinary…” She mumbled, rendered into an unintelligible state of awe. “Are you serious? You actually think this is not your best work?”

“It’s nothing special. Just splashed on different colors. It’s just another piece of abstract art,” he shrugged, sitting back in his seat to fully observe his artwork.

The overall piece was exquisite, flecked with a rainbow of color that blended together to form a breathtaking array of color.

The female scowled in response, resettling herself in her seat. “Just shut up. If I had an even a quarter of your talent, I’d be rich by now.”

“Why don’t you quit your chatter and actually work, huh?” He suggested without any embellishment, reworking on his own art piece. Grumbling under her breath, Kari complied, turning her attention towards her nearly blank easel.

“So do you need an escort walking home?” Sai offered when the final blare of the bell reverberated throughout the school building.

The silvery Kikuchi shook her head. “Nah, Kakashi-san promised he would escort me out. Maybe later you could come over, and we could catch up?”

With a slight nod of his head, the artist waved his friend goodbye and walked away.

Even though Kari walked in a different direction all by her lonesome, she felt strangely light, joyous that her long-time friend shared at least on class with her. It made the excruciating day seem more bearable.

Soon enough her buoyant heart plummeted back down to reality.

‘Damn it… I should have asked Sai how to get back to the entrance or where Kakashi’s room is…’ she thought, inwardly smacking herself for her blunder.

She looked around, searching for some sort of comfort – a sign or even a person that could placate her restless soul.

No matter how many ways she wanted to look at it, the silvery Kikuchi was unconditionally irrevocably… lost.

‘Curse me and my fallible sense of direction!’

Not a single soul seemed to occupy the quiet institution, making Kari feel even more ill at ease. With her spirits tumbling into the dank, melancholy abyss, she forlornly shuffled forward and rested her head on a nearby ledge.

‘Whoa… this is pretty high.’

To her left, a thin line of stairways spiraled down to the level below, which in her eyes, seemed like a long ways down. She turned her eyes away from the sight and refocused her gaze passed the protective railings, down to the bottom floor.

A slight tremble ripped through her body, forcing her to step back, hugging her books close to her chest.

‘Maybe I should trapeze my way down to the bottom floor. The exit has to be around there at least.’

Just as the new scholar nodded her head, waving away any thoughts of acrobatics and anything related to a trapeze (With her luck, that thought may become reality), a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Yo, Hikari, where do you think you’re going?”

The silver girl’s lips contorted into an irritated pout, repressing her urge to groan. She slowly pivoted from the soles of her feet and turned to face the owner of the voice.

‘Seriously, why me? What have I done to face… her?’

With a shake of her long tendrils of lustrous silver, Kari replied, “Well I sort of was hoping to walk home. It’s been a long day, and I could use the rest. Now if you and your friends could kindly step aside, I’ll be going…”

She tried taking a quick step to her right, using her peripheral vision to focus on her goal: the staircase. Sadly, one of Karin’s cronies stepped into view, blocking her first way of escape.

In one fluid motion, Kari turned to her other side to only be stopped by another of Karin’s followers.

Karin towered right in front of her, her countenance hard and emotionless. Kari swallowed hard, hugging her books closer to her chest.

She was trapped. “Or maybe not. I suppose I can hang around here for a little bit. I’m not in a hurry. My house will still be in the same place as I left it this morning.”

“You shouldn’t be so tense, Hikari. I only wanted to have a nice… chat with you,” Karin said calmly – a placidity much too uncharacteristic for her usually fiery personality. It made the redhead seem more unpredictable - dangerous even.

“Well conversation is always nice. I do enjoy conversing with others,” she rambled, feeling like a babbling idiot. “Whatever about?”

“Simple. You and me. Rematch. Right now,” the redhead challenged, poking Kari’s shoulder to provoke her.

The young Kikuchi stumbled back a little, but swiftly regained her composure. She carefully processed her words in her mind. “So let me get this straight. You want… a rematch? Is this because of what happened at gym?”

“What else? You humiliated me in front of everyone with that fancy footwork. I just want to prove to you I can totally whoop your bony ass and show you who’s the boss around here.”

Kari blinked several times, gazing at the challenger with a completely unreadable expression.

“What’s it going to be, Kikuchi? Are you in or out?”

Seconds ticked by as the silver-haired girl remained emotionless. The air itself seemed stagnant.

Suddenly Karin received a reaction she never expected – one that made her blood boil.

Kari laughed.

“Oh god! You just crack me up!” she choked out in between giggles.

“I seemed to have missed the joke,” Kari said, her voice strained and tight with fury. “What’s so funny?”

After she fully calmed hilarity to a more acceptable level, Kari admitted, “It’s just I never realized you’re such a sore loser!”

“W…What?”

“Yeah, you heard me. You can’t stand losing to anyone. So you have to pretend to act all tough and all to conceal your wounded pride. How pathetic.”

Karin didn’t bother to offer a response. She dropped her head slightly, just enough to hide an irritated nerve that pulsated from her reddening temples. Her shoulders trembled.

“Now if you’re done, I suggest you just leave. I have no further business with a gangly coward like you.”

‘…Sore…loser?’ Her teeth clenched. Her fists tightened. All blood drained from her knuckles, leaving behind a ghastly shade of white.

Seeing Karin refused to budge, Kari shrugged her shoulders, turning away to gaze out to the bottom floor.

‘…Pathetic?’ Her crimson orbs burned into Kari’s clean uniform shirt, radiating with malice and abhorrence.

“A… coward?! You called me a coward and pathetic?!”

The silent Kikuchi felt her shoulders instinctively grow taut, but feigned obliviousness.

Karin was just letting off steam. She was all bark no bite after all. She was bound to leave if she failed to respond.

…or so she believed.

“Let’s see who’s the pathetic one now!”

Alarmed by the ferocity of her voice, Kari intrinsically turned around.

But she was much too slow.

The silver female felt her body collapse backwards passed the protective railings, flying out into open space.

‘Idiot…’ Sasuke thought, looking up from the bottom floor, watching the girls that stood on the second floor. ‘Kikuchi just doesn’t know when to shut her trap.’

The impassive Uchiha arrived at his certain location (hidden from the gaze of a certain silver-haired someone) when Karin walked up to her, challenging her to something… He deliberated something stupid so he didn’t truly care.

It was impossible for him to ignore it though. The obsessive redhead just did not know what a little thing called an ‘inside voice’ was. It seemed even louder because barely anyone remained. The ones that did occupy some space were also gazing upwards, watching them.

Then after a few moments had passed the designated prey began laughing hysterically, muttering something that surely hit Karin’s volatile nerves.

With her fiery locks, Sasuke thought she was as unstable was an active volcano, ready to erupt.

“A… coward?! You called me a coward and pathetic?!” Karin said ominously, her ruby orbs aflame with rage.

The dark-haired male just rolled his obsidian orbs. ‘Hn… If Hikari doesn’t watch her tongue, she’s going to get herself killed…’

“Let’s see who’s the pathetic one now!”

Suddenly, the Uchiha held his breath.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Just as Kari turned around to face the irascible redhead, Karin pushed Kari passed the protective railing and down towards the tiled flooring.

‘Moron! I knew something like this would happen!’

Soon his body reacted, unconsciously racing towards the falling girl.

Several schoolmates gathered around the certain spot, gasping as a blur of silver rushed helplessly towards the floor

‘Kari don’t worry,’ Sasuke thought, pushing passed the tight coveys of students that were frozen in their place. ‘I’m going to save you if it’s the last thing I do…’

Weightlessness.

Buoyancy.

Hikari figured these words were the only ones that could truly describe this feeling of freefalling from the sky.

She almost didn’t even remember falling in the first place.

But here she was falling to her death - completely helpless.

The journey itself felt eternal, long-lasting, but the ad infinitum drop was probably just her imagination - her waning senses playing mind games with her.

It would only be moments before she came to her climax - her death.

‘This has to be it…’ she wondered.

Her breath grew hollow. Her pale lids slowly slid over her blue-gray irises.

‘Only a miracle can save me now…’

And honestly, Hikari was not sure if there really were miracles.

Her luck was completely awful that whole entire day. Being paired up with the stuck-up Uchiha, Karin nearly crushing her into a fine powder… There’s no way she could experience something like a miracle.

…that is until at that moment.

“KARI!”

Her eyes struggled to remain open, resisting the murky shadows.

‘W…who… Who is that?’

“Kari, hold on!”

“H…Help. Help me please…” the girl whispered as she felt herself dive in the darkness.

Suddenly the sensation ceased as gravity finally set in.

Did she fall? Is this what death feels like?

“Kari, I got you. You’re safe now.”

Her gray orbs fluttered open as she felt strong arms wrapped tightly around her frame. She slowly looked up to see her savior’s face.

She blinked several times. She could not believe her eyes.

‘I must be seeing things… This has to be my dream…’ she thought, staring blankly at her rescuer. ‘But, there’s no way I would dream about him!’

This time, Kari could see her savior’s face clearly.

“S…Sasuke? Is that actually you?” She inquired, staring – gawking quite stupidly really – at the dark-haired boy, his lips curved into something reminiscent to a smile. Her body still quaked from the fright, clinging on Sasuke’s white shirt for dear life.

“What’s it look like, Kikuchi? You’re not blind are you?”

Just when she was about to allow a smile touch her lips and thank him… a startling realization dawned over her.

‘Wait a minute… Didn’t I have books?’

Gravity soon answered her question. First Sasuke was struck to the ground with a surprise onslaught of books, then Kari was hit squarely on her head with a heavy hardcover. They soon stumbled onto the floor, the violent novels lying innocently beside them.

“Ugh! Smooth move, Uchiha!” the silver-haired grumbled, recollecting herself after the stumble. She gently rubbed her skull, tender from the book attack. “I knew those books were detrimental to my health, but that was just ridiculous!”

“Just shut up, Kikuchi…” the prostrate Uchiha snarled, also rubbing his head.

A crowd of students emerged from seemingly out of nowhere, encompassing the two students. The females felt their eyes widen to two large plates. Even Karin who gazed from the upper floor was shocked, her mouth plummeting down towards the clean tiles.

“WHAT IS THIS?!” Both dazed students looked up to see a blur of green push passed the tight clumps of adolescent bodies and storm towards them. “I will not have this sort of erotic behavior in this institution! We demand decency in this school!!”

‘Er... WHAT?!’

Sasuke and Kari soon looked at each other… and then at their overall position. Kari’s head lay against Sasuke’s broad chest, and their legs were intertwined.

Suddenly Kari felt her heart pump blood into her naturally rosy cheeks. She yelped; she and Sasuke quickly pulled apart, scooting as far away as physically possible.

"There's no way we'd do anything like that!" the two shouted vehemently. Kari's face flushed even brighter from the very thought.

'Yuckies..... I'm covered with Uchiha germs!!!' she inwardly cried, scrubbing herself in an inane attempt to rid herself of cooties.

Gai scoffed, his dark eye obviously dubious. Everyone was too shocked by the whole arrangement to show any other emotion. Only Karin managed to convey her scorn that burned within her scarlet orbs.

Annoyed by the skepticism, the two yelled again, "We hate each other!!"

"Likely story... Gah! I knew I should have persuaded Anko into starting health class earlier this year... Oh, just wait until Tsunade-sama hears this!"

"Gai-sensei, that's unnecessary," reassured the dark-haired boy.

"Maybe if we explained the circumstances..." the female Kikuchi added, but Gai refused to hear any of it.

Lunging for the two's sensitive ear lobes, Gai dragged the two away. "I don’t need to hear whatever 'circumstances' you two lovebirds made up in your young minds."

"We're not lovebirds!" They protested. Gai's answer was just a quick thrust of their lobes.

'Owies.... This is all Karin's fault! Crazy fan girl...'

"Tsunade-sama!" Gai bellowed, barging into Tsunade's office.

Unfazed by the sudden appearance of the spandex man, Tsunade deterred her attention from her paperwork with a languid sigh and looked up. "What is it, Gai-san?"

In one effortless motion, Gai tossed the two students before the headmistress and stated, "I caught these two involved in some very youthful and unsavory activities all naive love birds seem to do."

"For the last time, Gai-sensei, we're not lovebirds!" Kari yelled loudly. "We would never ever do something like that."

"We can't even stand each other," Sasuke growled in a much calmer voice. "It wasn't like that at all."

"Alright, settle down you two," Tsunade said, assuaging the incensed adolescents. "Just tell me as calmly as possible what---"

"'I'll tell you what happened!"

Kari and Sasuke both screamed their explanations at exactly at the same time. Their voices blended together to form a vocal chaos.

"And that's what happened," they both concluded, panting from the outburst.

The blonde sat in her seat, gawking at the two. "Gai-san, did you get any of that gibberish? I'm lost."

As he shrugged his shoulders, ready to admit he also was just as lost, a voice spoke up, "I surely did."

Alarmed by the voice, the four of them turned around towards the voice.

"K... Kakashi?"

The white-haired man ambled his way through the door, his dark eye fixated on his beloved novel.

"You actually understood them, Kakashi-san?" Tsunade inquired, amazed by the very feat.

"Yep," he affirmed glibly. "The whole thing was much more innocent then it appeared."

Gai crossed his arms over his chest and challenged in a loud, almost accusatory voice, "Oh yeah. Really. Explain."

With a low sigh, Kakashi nodded his head indolently, shutting his book closed. "Long story short: Hikari-chan was pushed by one student, whose name will remain anonymous at this moment of time. Sasuke-kun saw her falling and rescued her."

"B...but do you have any proof? Evidence that vindicates their actions?" Gai asked, feeling his pride decrease as he realized his actions were almost brash and impulsive.

"Yep, I saw it all from the bottom floor."

"How about..."

"Anko and I were dealing with the person that pushed Hikari-chan off before I came here. That's why I came little late," interrupted Kakashi nonchalantly. "Anything else?"

Tsunade shook her head. "That sounds fine. I trust your perception, Kakashi-san. They're off the hook."

Hikari released a relieved sigh, Sasuke offered no input whether he was pleased about the exoneration, and Gai simply sniffled bitterly.

"That’s what I expect of my greatest rival," mumbled the green beast. "He always acts so cool!"

"Now, you two run along now," Kakashi said, ignoring the dark-haired teacher completely. "I'll catch up with you later. I need to speak to Tsunade-sama before I leave."

The two students nodded their heads, rushing out the door.

"Phew... I was worried for a sec there!" Kari said with a joyous smile on her face. "And I am so glad Karin is getting punished for her dastardly deeds!"

"You wouldn't have been worried in the first place if you only were careful," Sasuke growled.

The silvery girl gasped. "What? Are you actually saying it was my fault?"

"I’m not saying it's your fault," assured her escort. "I’m just saying if you were more cautious and held your tongue, you wouldn't have been in that mess."

"Ha! Like you actually care!" Kari shouted. "I don't even know how or why you saved me in the first place!"

Sasuke released a low sigh before he finally admitted, "Thank Karin's overtly large mouth. If it wasn't for her, I doubt I would have paid any attention."

"You... Were actually watching?"

The Uchiha nodded his head. "Yeah, I even saw you get pushed. Then before I knew it, my body just moved automatically after you."

Kari nodded her head in consideration, meditating his words in her mind. Suddenly, she giggled. "Wow! Does the heartless Uchiha actually care about little old me?"

Sasuke blinked several times, skeptical Kari truly was asking such an asinine questions. Seeing she was perfectly seriously, he quickly retorted, "No, I don't. I was only doing it as your escort. Tsunade-sama would murder me if I let you die on your very first day of school."

She simply nodded her head, sniggering under her breath. "Oh yes, of course. Very likely story."

He, in turn, shook his head, muttering crossly under his breath, "Loser..."

Just before Kari could taunt the irritable Uchiha any further, her guardian quickly appeared by her side. "Sorry, I took so long, Hikari."

"No problem! I was just having a pleasant conversation with Uchiha here. Right?" She said with a slight smirk. The dark-haired boy did not offer a response, glaring at the cheerful Kikuchi.

"Anyway, before we go, I just wanted to thank you for taking care of my little girl here. She can be a handful, I suppose, but I really appreciate it," Kakashi said, discounting the scowl that fluttered over Kari's visage.

Sasuke blinked several times, trying to comprehend more how Hikari was related to Kakashi then the fact he was actually thanking her. Recalling Kari's earlier explanation, he simply nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Like I actually needed it..." Kari mumbled with a low snort.

Hearing her whining, Sasuke scoffed. "Right... A girl with the mentality of a three year old could have handled herself quite well while falling from the second floor..."

Just before Kari could burst into a blinding rage - ready to scream at the insolent boy - Kakashi stepped in between them. "Alright, I believe we had enough fights for one day. You need rest. Are you ready to leave?"

She quickly inhaled a deep breath to pacify herself and inquired, "Can I have a few minutes? I promise I won't be long or do anything physically harmful to Uchiha."

With her face completely unflappable, she waited patiently as her uncle scrutinized her countenance. Finally seeing that her words held some truth and the possibility of a brawl occurring was seemingly low, Kakashi sighed. "Fine. I'll be waiting for you at the entrance. You have two minutes. If you remain any longer, I will drag you out myself."

"Understood," Kari said with a slight nod.

The snowy haired instructor then sauntered out of their midst, opening up his pink book.

"Okay, Uchiha, this is going to kill me, but I feel I have to say it quickly," Kari said.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked defensively, bracing himself.

Kari swallowed both a lump and her pride. Her steely-blue orbs gazed right into his pools of black obsidian. She quickly blurted out, "Thank you, Sasuke!"

Sasuke nearly toppled over. Of all things Kari could have said, he certainly was not expecting that.

"W...what?" he asked, attempting to recollect his fallen composure. "What did you just say?"

"You just love making me suffer like this, don’t you?" she accused. A sigh escape her lips as she repeated in a softer voice, "I will repeat myself once more and this will be the last time you ever hear me say this: thank you, Uchiha Sasuke, for saving me. Without you, I'd probably be a pancake and haunt Karin for the rest of my existence. I truly," she swallowed hard before spitting out, "Appreciate it."

Surprise flowed into his countenance, lighting his cold sable orbs. Fighting a smirk that tugged at the corners of his lips, he turned his head away and replied coolly, "Hn. Don't mention it, Aki..."

Just as a flicker of bliss spread over her countenance, her visage was overwhelmed by great shock. Her mouth nearly slacked and fell to the floor. She wasn’t even shocked that he was almost smiling. Did she really hear him correctly? “Wait… what did you call me?”

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows together, seeming to question what was Kari talking about. Suddenly, realization flooded into his eyes. All emotion was wiped from his face as Sasuke realized his verbal slip-up.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kikuchi. You must be hearing things,” Sasuke said coolly, his overall countenance stoical, hardening to his traditional emotionless veneer.

“No, my hearing is perfectly fine, thank you,” she corrected, “And I certainly did hear you say something.”

Moments passed by as Kari stood adamantly in her place, awaiting for Sasuke to offer some sort of explanation. The Uchiha stood silently in his place, pondering his word choice carefully in his mind.

With a low grunt, Sasuke simply ambled his way passed the curious Kikuchi, walking down the hall away from her.

Kari stood motionless in her place, feeling confusion cross her features as she watched Sasuke walk away. ‘What’s Uchiha doing?’

Then everything clicked.

“Oh! Now I get it!” She shouted. “Get back here!”

Kari dashed forward, running right after him. Hearing the stampede of her footsteps echo throughout the hall, Sasuke quickened his speed, turning his calm stroll to a full-out run.

“Wait! I’m not through with you!”

Soon Sasuke did a quick, sharp turn to his left, temporarily disappearing from her sight. Determined to catch up, Kari sped up, running right after him.

‘You’re not getting away that easily!’

Sadly, Sasuke was no longer in her view. All that surrounded her was pure silence.

“Apparently I stand corrected.” She looked left and right, searching for even a glimpse of his midnight black locks. “Damn it… I lost him. Curse his speed… Stupid Uchiha…”

“Hi-chan, is everything alright?” Kakashi lazily interrogated the silver-haired female as they walked out of the school building.

“Everything’s just peachy, Kaka-chan! Why ever would you ask that?”

“Hmm… no reason I suppose,” Kakashi said, using his periphery of his eyes to gaze at Kari. “I was just wondering why you are enveloped in such a dark, angry aura. It’s spine chilling.”

Kari offered no response. Malice and infuriation seemed to radiate from her small body, darkening her blue orbs into a deep navy. She ground her teeth, mumbling, “I hate Uchiha…”

“Well that’s nice to know you got along so well with your escort,” Kakashi remarked, drawing in a copious amount of air. “I was sure you would react better to him…”

“Why the hell would you think that?” Kari snarled. “No person could ever enjoy being in that arrogant boy’s company unless you’re blind, deaf, and have a chemical imbalance in your brain.”

Kakashi gazed at her irate navy orbs with his dark one before exhaling a languorous sigh. “No reason, I suppose. In time, I guess, you’ll see…”

“Whatever…”

“So how was your first day of school?” he asked her cheerfully. “Any good?”

With a loud, unladylike snort, Kari spat out, “Well if you considered being paired up with that pretentious block of stone, almost getting killed by some psycho, and getting accused of performing some unsavory behavior ‘good’, then my day was freakin’ amazing!” Kari released a loud harrumph. “Stupid school!”

Hearing the sarcasm, her pale-haired guardian chuckled. “Well, welcome to Konoha High, Hikari.”

“Hey… you said that already.” Kari pointed out.

“Well consider the first one as a necessary formality. This one is the official one, congratulating you that you actually survived the general insanity.”

“And is it always like this?”

“I consider this school to be… much worse then today was!”

“Whoop-dee-freakin-doo… Just what I needed…” Kari grumbled crossly under her breath while Kakashi only laughed.

“Yep, this will be one heck of year.”

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

"Come on, people..." Kari murmured quietly under her breath, her steely blue eyes fixated on a round, orange ball. Her head leaned on her hand for support; her teeth nibbled on two of her fingers nervously.

Squeak. Pause. Pass.

"Yes! That's it, guys! Team work!" Kari cheered, attentively watching the new recipient of the orange sphere bounce it up and down passed the opposing members.

Suddenly, one of the enemy team members jumped out of nowhere, intercepting the ball when it was passed to a new person.

She then yelled, "Ah, come on here! Who's supposed to be watching him? Defense, folks! Defense!"

Several weeks passed by, and the young Kikuchi had grown accustomed to her new a school quickly, immediately figuring which class she liked and which one she hated.

Gym was one of those in-betweens. She never truly detested yet, there was something about it that prevented her from adoring it.

The enemy team member dribbled the basketball to the other side, completely missing the hoop.

“Ha! Take that sucker!!”

The ball bounced once on the hardwood floor, rolling by one member on the team and into opposing arms.

"Oh my god... Are you blind? It was right there for goodness sakes!" the silver-haired female shouted, jumping up to her feet.

"Kari, calm down already. This is just a gym game. It doesn't matter," placated a voice resonating from above.

Kari sat back down to her seat and looked up. She smiled sheepishly and said, "What can I say Ino-chan? I get very excited during sports events. "

"But why get so pumped up? There's nothing exciting about them," the blonde asked, her nose wrinkling slightly.

She cheerfully admitted, "Well I can’t help getting all hyped up like this. I like watching sports."

Ino gagged at the very thought. "Bleck! You like sports? I hate them! You get all sweaty, and gross..."

"And you totally suck..." Her deep blue orbs snapped towards the source of the voice, emanating from a pink-haired female, who was drenched with sweat.

"Shut up, billboard brow. You're not all that great either."

With a roll of her emerald orbs, Sakura quickly ran back into place.

"Um... Why don't you join us up here, Kari? The view is much better," Hinata offered timidly.

The silver-haired looked up, considering her suggestion. As she gazed upwards at the towering bleachers, she nearly felt dizzy. She never realized Hinata and Ino were so high up. Her stomach lurched, twisting into a tight, thick knot. Kari quickly shook her head of her unease and said, "Nah. I'm fine here. I like being up close to the action anyway."

"Suit yourself. If you get smacked in the head with the ball, don't come crying to me," the blonde girl said airily.

"Come on! He was totally traveling!" Ten Ten shouted from Kari's side. "Yo ref, do you have eyes?!"

"...You two are so weird. I forgot Kari-chan wasn’t the only overly enthusiastic one here," Ino realized with a tired shake of her blonde locks.

Kari simply smirked, turning her attention towards the game at hand. She was glad at least one person understood her enthusiasm!

"So what's happening?" Kari queried the brunette.

"We're down by one, the ball is in enemy possession, there are only a few minutes until the end of the round," Ten Ten blurted out in one, cohesive sentence, her eyes firmly fixated on the ball.

"God... Someone better score already or else we won't have much of a chance… This may be the last round," Kari mumbled, watching the game closely.

As if to answer her prayers, a blur of ebony dashed in and stole the basketball out of the person's hands. He quickly dribbled it up the opposite end of the court and threw the ball into the hoop.

Swish.

"Boo! Bbbbooooo!!!" Kari yelled in the midst of frenzied plaudits and squeals. "You suck!!"

Her bun-haired companion then gently reminded her, "Hikari, Sasuke is on our team, remember? Shouldn't you be happy we're tied now?"

With an irritated scowl on her face, her eyes sneering at the dark-haired Uchiha, she replied, "I'm happy about the point. I'm just mad at the one that scored the point."

His cold obsidian orbs swept the gym for moment, glancing over to the bleachers. His own eyes narrowed into a glare, clearly directed to her and her fierce leer.

After Sasuke was officially stripped of his job as her escort, their total interaction waned to complete silence and animosity. She couldn't stand him and vice versa. She didn't have the tolerance to even ask him one important question.

'But it probably was nothing. My hearing must be considerably flawed if I thought he actually addressed me as 'Aki'. No one had called me that name in years...' she mused as the young boy tore his passive gaze away.

The whistle sounded, signaling the end of the round. "Okay, good job, guys. I think we have time for one more quick play," exclaimed Anko.

"So, teams, get yourself ready then we will begin," Gai added with a blinding smile on his face. "I want to see if any one of you guys can break this tie."

'Oh joy... Another round for Sasuke to show off and be a total ball hog. Yay.’ Hikari rolled her eyes.

“Kikuchi, up. Now,” ordered the said ball hog, towering over her seated self.

“But I’m just so comfortable down here, Uchiha. Why ever would I do that?” she inquired, not at all concealing her contempt for the ebony male.

“That’s simple. You have to get up and actually play,” Sasuke replied coldly, his expression void of all emotion.

Her silvery blue orbs widened. “What did I say in the beginning of gym? Unless you’re such a coldhearted sadist and want people from both teams to suffer from fatal injuries, don’t let me play!”

Sasuke just scoffed. “You’re just being a lazy bum. We need you down there because Sakura is dead tired. In her condition, she won’t be of any use in the final minutes of the game.”

“Then get someone else out there. How about, Ten Ten? She can at least score you a few points and not kill anyone in the process!”

“That’s a big no, Kikuchi. Ten Ten already played. She’s dead tired. We need someone who hasn’t played yet,” Sasuke informed the reluctant Kari. The silver-haired female cursed under her breath, inwardly smacking herself.

Was she so truly blind? How could she have not noticed Ten Ten’s glistening, sweaty features, her irregular breath, and the very fact she wasn’t there for the entirety of the game.

‘I truly am oblivious…Why must the heavens induce such torment to me of all people? Do they derive some sense of pleasure from my suffering?’

“Come on already. Do you plan on getting off your fat ass or will I have to coerce you?”

After pondering the haughty Uchiha’s threat for a good few seconds, a condescending grin graced her lips as she said confidently, “I’d love to see you try.”

Sasuke’s dark brow twitched violently as he stared at the cocky Kikuchi, her general demeanor remained confident, defiant, and challenging to his patience. Such an irritating female…

Just as he was going to lunge for Kari’s pale neck and haul her down from there, his blonde teammate chirped up, “Ooh! Is Kari-chan going to join us?”

The young man turned around to see Naruto standing right behind him, his baby blues glistening hopefully at the very prospect.

Perfect. This was exactly what Sasuke needed.

A devious smile spread over his face as he replied calmly, “Yeah, dobe. She is.”

The silvery girl felt her stomach lurch. A nervous droplet of sweat skated down the nape of her neck as Naruto nearly leapt for joy. ‘Ah… crap.’

“Listen, Naruto, he’s lying. I’m not…”

“YAY! Let’s go!” Just before she could even begin to explain how he was mistaken and that he was just a mindless tool in Sasuke’s conniving plan, Naruto grabbed her wrist and yanked her down towards the basketball court.

“We’ll totally break that tie now!”

‘Yeah… and a few bones while we’re at it.’

Her steel-blue orbs narrowed into a fierce glower, leering at Sasuke. His overall demeanor exuded triumph, and his cold irises flickered with amusement.

‘And I certainly hope the breaking begins with him.’

“Oh great! Hikari’s here! We’re all doomed,” lamented a certain distraught redhead. Kari simply responded to Karin’s remark was a withering glare.

‘…Okay, maybe Karin’s jaw should break first then Sasuke in general!’

To quash any chances of a second fray occurring, Anko and Gai thought the best solution was always make sure Hikari and Karin were on the same team.

…Let’s just say that the two girls were not entirely ecstatic over the arrangement. Though there were no longer any brawls occurring in the gym, Karin felt no regrets ‘accidentally’ shoving or hitting Kari with spherical objects. Kari, of course, also felt inclined to retaliate when necessary.

‘Guess this is what it means to keep your friends close, but keep enemies even closer.’

“Alright, Kikuchi. You don’t have to do much,” Sasuke began telling her. “All you have to do is stand there and stay out of the way. It’s a tie game and not much time left anyway.”

“Which in Uchiha speak means, ‘Don’t get in your way’, right?” she said and quickly added, “Well, as long as you don’t pass me the ball, I think I’ll accept that.”

“Whatever…” he mumbled and quickly ran into position.

Soon the game quickly commenced. Cheers exploded from bleachers, encouraging Kari to go and score the winning point.

‘Hell no! I’ve learned my lesson from just thinking about scoring a point. The last time I did, I almost got killed by a hockey stick!’

Time quickly passed by, and Kari was sure that there were only a few minutes in the game. She expected someone like Sasuke to miraculously dribble the ball from down the other side of the court and score the winning point.

‘Whoop-dee-doo… I just want someone to just get the ball already and score…’

“KARI!” Instinctively, the said female slowly looked up at the sound of her name. She never expected to see an orange ball fly into her hands.

She looked around frantically, searching for one of her team members to swoop in and rescue her. She’d even pass the ball to the pompous prick, Sasuke, of all people.

As luck would have it, everyone on her team members were guarded by the enemy team, and she had a perfect shot at the hoop. Kari simply stood motionless – alone and unguarded.

‘Why does this all seem so familiar?’

In the midst of moving bodies, Naruto managed to convey a quick wink, mouthing that she has to go and make the shot.

‘Naruto is such a moron! I should have known he would be the one to pass anything to me of all people,’ Kari thought bitterly to herself. She examined her surroundings, surveying her distance from the hoop and the location of all of her other team members. ‘…eh, what the heck? Let’s see what happens this time…’

With great inelegance unique to her alone, Kari dribbled the ball quickly down towards the enemy’s hoop.

‘Whoa... I might be actually be able to score!’

Just before Kari could shoot the ball and even maybe score, a body soon stumbled in front of her.

She inwardly groaned. ‘I should have known something like this would happen…’

The sudden materialization of this human obstacle caused her to trip and fling the ball straight up into the air. She toppled down to the ground with this mysterious person lying right on top of her.

Her silvery blue eyes watched anxiously as the orange sphere rose high into the ceiling… and inevitably crashing down on her head.

‘Ow…’

Then whistle sounded. “That’s game!”

“Smooth, Kikuchi,” the figure on top of her grumbled, his warm breath fanning over her face and sending involuntary shivers down her spine.

Her blood boiled. She could only think of one person that would address her by her surname.

“See, Uchiha? That’s what you get for making me play and handing me the ball! Both of us getting hurt!” she exclaimed, her spheres sneering into a pair of molten ebony.

“Well, it’s not my fault I have such an uncoordinated team member,” he retorted heatedly.

“You were the one that got in my way! I had the ball. I was dribbling it towards the hoop. I was actually going to shoot it into the hoop!”

“Well it’s your fault for not paying any attention.”

“…I refuse to start that conversation again,” she growled, her mind evoking her very first encounter with the Uchiha boy. With both their eyes locked into a heated glaring match, she said through her clenched teeth, “Just get off of me already.”

“Hn.” In one quick, cohesive motion, Sasuke rose to his feet, brushed himself off, and politely extended his hand towards the irate female.

The young girl looked down at the gesture, staring at it as if it was some an aberration of sorts. How unlike Sasuke to do something remotely civil! Was he truly doing it from the goodness of his heart… or was he treating her like some sort of charity case?

Cleaving to her resentment towards her former escort, Kari swiped the hand aside, lifting herself off the ground by her own accord.

“Such a stubborn loser…” Sasuke exhaled under his breath.

With a loud harrumph, Kari stomped away towards the locker room, muttering a long string of curses towards the dark-haired male.

That was the reason why she never truly loved gym. She simply detested it when she had to go out there and participate in some shape or form. It always ends in some sort of catastrophe and her in some sort of pain. If she could only sit there and watch, she would actually enjoy gym class.

As she shuffled to the locker room – both cursing Sasuke and the people that was stupid enough to create sports like basketball – a red-haired someone flew to her side.

“Ooh, I hope you didn’t get hurt that badly!” Karin said, feigning concern over her wellbeing.

“Shut up. Like you can do any better,” Kari snapped, feeling little energy to fully tackle Karin’s verbal assault. She quickened her pace accordingly, hoping to lose the Karin and brood in peace.

“Ooh, I see someone lost a few brain cells after her little spill. If you forgot, I am so much more athletic then you!” she taunted, mimicking her brisk speed with ease.

Kari snorted, failing to suppress her hilarity over her remark. “Yeah right… Apparently I’m not the only one that lost a few marbles!”

Her flaming scarlet eyes became ablaze with rage, sneering at the young Kikuchi. She barked, “If you’re so confidant, why not we see who is the most athletic?”

Kari stopped in her place, raising a pale brow at her suggestion. “Well what do you propose we do?”

“A sports competition! You and I make up a team and see who would be victorious,” Karin challenged.

“I’m not so sure about that…” Kari admitted softly, contemplating the ramifications if she actually did accept. Just how many people would she injure… Would it be worth it?

“Oh, I understand if you refuse,” Karin said airily.

“You… do?” Kari said dubiously, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yeah! You just are scared to find out that I am more athletic than you.”

Hikari’s mouth slacked, threatening to plunge deep down into the floorings. “Me? Scared? HA! I think you’re the frightened one because you know you’d lose.”

“Confidant, are we?” Karin murmured dryly before saying with increased articulacy, “Well, why don’t we sweeten the deal?”

“What do you mean? Are you proposing… a bet?” Kari asked.

The capricious redhead nodded her head. “So do we have a deal, Hikari?”

The young Kikuchi watched as Karin’s hand stretched forward. She hesitated for a moment, calculating whether she should accept or not. After all, she did find handshakes to be one the simplest, yet most binding gestures. After that one simple shake, there would be no turning back.

Is she truly willing to make a deal with such an unscrupulous female? She did try to murder her… twice to be exact. Should she agree with such a volatile individual?

“Come on, Hikari. Where’s your confidence now?”

After few more moments of contemplation, Kari filled her lungs with air and slowly exhaled it out. Kari grasped her hand.

“You got a deal.”

“SAI!!!” Kari cried as she ran inside the art room. Her mind was spinning, corresponding with her wild, frenzied movements, as she raced towards the artist, his overall countenance unfazed by her cry.

“What sort of problems do you have that need to be bellowed to the world?” Sai calmly inquired, now implementing charcoal for his art. “Or is that simply that unstable mentality of yours speaking?”

“Jeez, thank you for the words of comfort,” Kari said sarcastically, seating herself right next to him. “I wonder how I can even begin to tolerate your snide comments sometimes.”

“Changing the subject,” he reminded her.

"Yeah. Just get to the point already, neh?"

Sai nodded his head. "Of course. I truly am curious how asinine this problem is. It could be a good laugh."

Discrediting that scathing remark from her mind, she said, "Well I made a bet with Karin!" Unfazed by the very mention of the redhead's name, Sai kept his attention on his artwork. Kari pouted then added casually, "Did I forget to mention that this bet is related with a sports?"

The dark-haired male paused, processing the breadth of her words carefully in his intelligent mind. He then released a small burst of laughter. "You must be joking. It's not one where you actually have to participate in some shape or form, is it?"

"If I was kidding around, would we still be having this conversation?" she inquired with no teasing inflection in her voice.

Sai shrugged his shoulders, setting his art supplies down neatly. Running his fingers through his hair, Sai asked, “But what do you want me to do, Hi-chan? I certainly can’t help you get out of that stupid agreement if that’s what you want.”

“Um… no. That’s not it.”

“Oh? Then what do you want from me? Assemble some fantastic team for you that will guarantee victory?”

Kari opened her mouth to retort, but quickly closed it, processing his words carefully in her mind. As a bright, hopeful smile spread over her lips, she tentatively said, “Well… that would work very well in my favor if you did…”

“Why should I? You’re the simpleton to agree to something like that. You should be able to assemble an adequate group,” Sai asserted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Because if I ask, half of the people would probably laugh right at my face while the other half would simply run away because they’re afraid of getting an injury,” she replied bluntly.

“Ah, yes! So true!”

“Plus, Karin would probably get all the good people and set up this kick-ass team that would put me to shame.”

Sai contemplated her words carefully, nodding his head in consideration. “Alright, so are their any other details I need to be aware of, such as what exactly is this sport?”

“Basketball,” Kari replied, watching as Sai released another quick burst of laughter at the very thought.

“Ah… no wonder you’re asking me. Like almost every other sport, you suck at basketball!” Sai stated. “Whenever we tried playing, you would somehow throw the ball right into your face!”

“Don’t remind me…”

“Anything else?”

“We have three days until Anko and Gai combine classes again. The first day is to assemble an actual team, and the second day is the practice. I just hope we can get something together when we actually have to play on the third day.”

“How about the bet?”

She simply shook her head. “We won’t be discussing the exact details of the bet until tomorrow after school.”

Again, his midnight black tendrils bobbed, his eyes ruminating her words carefully. “Okay, Hi-chan. I’ll see what I can do. You’re going to owe me big for this…”

“Wah?” Kari inquired, cocking her head to a slight incline. “Do you seriously mean you’ll help me?”

“…If I say I will, will you actually work on your art? Kurenai-sensei would like to see what we got done in this one period,” Sai said, and soon was assaulted with thunderous squeal.

Kari wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a joyful embrace. “Oh thank you, Sai! Thank you! I already owe you a lot so one more thing won’t make much of a difference!”

He whirled his dark orbs into a full circle, quickly patted her back, and liberated his body from her arms. “Yes, I know. Just come to the gym after you’re done speaking with Karin to see what I wrangled up for you.”

Kari happily bobbed her silver head, turning her attention towards her unblemished piece of paper.

All conversation lulled to complete quiet tranquility as the two individuals worked vigorously on their artworks.

Suddenly, Hikari broke the silence. “Sai? Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot,” Sai said, his gaze focused on his piece.

The silvery girl chewed on her bottom lip, considering how exactly she should approach her question. After a quick breath of air, she asked, “When was the last time you – or anyone I know for that matter – called me… ‘Aki’?”

Sai paused for a single moment, contemplating her question. “That’s a good question. I’m not exactly sure. You begged us to stop calling you that little nickname when we were still very young. You complained it was childish and wanted a nickname that made you sound more grownup or something silly like that. You then settled for Hi-chan since we already doted you by Kari.”

“Oh… right.”

“In fact, I think that was after you moved, Kari. You know, in that one town you lived in before you had to live with Kakashi-san,” Sai added as an afterthought.

“Yeah… that’s right,” Kari mumbled softly, controlling her breath to a smooth, even pace. Sai glanced over to her, regretting his careless word choice. Kari assured him she was fine with a light smile. He simply nodded his head, occasionally glancing over to his distraught companion.

The subject was quickly dropped as both concentrated on their artworks. The Kikuchi girl simply pushed all those thoughts to the back of her mind where they belonged, deliberating her worries were much more important.

Just what exactly did she get herself into?

“Ah, sorry, Sai!” panted a tired silver female was she rushed into the gymnasium. “After I talked to Karin about the bet, I kind of got lost. This school is freakin’ huge!”

“It’s quite alright,” Sai assured her. “I was just telling these guys that you had something very important to tell them.”

“Oh my god! You actually did it?” she cried happily, steel-blue orbs glittering brightly at the very thought. With a quick nod of his head, Kari quickly blurted out, “So where are they?”

“Right here.” With a wave of his arm, Sai gestured to the group of people that sat in the bleachers beside him.

All euphoria evaporated as shock rose and took full command of her features. She could not believe who Sai gathered. Her eyes scanned the small clump of students, racing passed pink, two blondes, before settling of impassive black.

Kari swallowed. ‘Oh boy… this is just wonderful…’

The air was completely stagnant. Not even a breath escaped from the silvery female’s lips, her deep silvery blue orbs wide with shock. She dared not move a single muscle; only her eyes managed some movement, continuously scanning the faces that sat before her.

‘Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Lee, Naruto, Ten Ten… Sasuke!?’ Kari nearly felt her knees buckle at the very sight of him. The others she could easily tolerate… Sasuke was an entirely different story.

‘Of all the people Sai could have assembled, he had to get Sasuke. Idiot…’

"So, Kari-chan, how do you like your team?" Sai cheerfully inquired the shocked Kikuchi.

Drawing in a copious amount of air, Kari finally responded with a slight scowl, "Words cannot fully convey my feelings towards this arrangement, Sai. I am just speechless."

Sai sniggered slightly under his breath, laughing at Kari’s blank expression as well as the others, who gazed back her with equal vacuity in their countenances.

Silence manifested itself, thickening the air with its suffocating veil.

Sakura quickly blurted out an inquiry in order to break the horrible silence. "Um… Kari-chan, you actually know Sai?"

Snapping herself out of her daze, Kari nodded her head. “Unfortunately, yes. I’ve known him ever since I was young.”

"That sucks! I can barely stand him! I have no idea how you could actually be friends with him," Naruto exclaimed, his nose wrinkling with blatant disgust. "He says whatever pops into his mind and just insults other people most of the time."

"Well at least I'm not a moron like you! You don’t even have the balls to protect yourself," Sai retorted with a bright smile on his face, inciting an angry nerve to explode from Naruto's temple.

The incensed blonde rocketed up from his seat, shouting, "I can totally beat Sakura whenever I want! She's not that tough! She just catches me off guard most of the time! Believe it!"

Sai's grin widened. "I never did say Sakura, did I?"

Naruto blinked several times, confusion replacing the thrashing rage in his ultramarine orbs. "You... Didn't?"

The young artist shook his head. Naruto swallowed a large lump in his throat, tentatively turning his head towards the said floral female.

"I’m not that tough, huh?" Sakura's emerald orbs glittered maliciously, infuriated nerves riddling her large forehead. Fear quickly drained his features, trembling in his irises.

"N... No! I.. I didn't mean it that way!" Naruto stammered nervously, droplets of perspiration rolling hastily down his temples.

"Let’s just see how tough I am, you baka!" Sakura punched the blonde squarely in the jaw, sending him flying across the gymnasium.

'Jeez! Sakura is scary when she's angry... I certainly don’t want to be in his place right now,' Kari thought, scooting away from the livid Haruno. After that herculean jab, Sakura brushed her uniform of any dusty debris and primly seated herself back down to the bleachers with a curt harrumph. Naruto slowly crawled back towards them, rubbing his bruised cheek with his hand. This was one of those moments where Kari was glad to be one of Sakura’s friends. Who knows what would become of her if she was one of Sakura’s enemies? Definitely not something she wanted to find out.

"Well, um, Kari-chan, you must be happy you know Sai,” Hinata mumbled shyly, wishing to change the subject. “At least you weren’t totally alone when you started school!”

Brushing those disturbing thoughts away with a quick shudder, Kari felt her lips curve to a happy smile. “I never thought of it like that, but that’s pretty true… even though he seems unaware of the meaning of ‘tactfulness’.”

“Yes, I do. I believe you’re mistaking your mental impediments to be mine. You don’t know the meanings of many words,” Sai retorted.

Kari’s steely blue orbs whirled in a full circle, gently jabbing the artist’s shoulder. “Just shut up. I know the meaning of several words.”

Just before Sai could refute such a statement – possibly making her head explode with strange, foreign words she never heard of – Sasuke barked, “You’re wasting our time, Kikuchi!”

Kari quickly snapped her head towards the Uchiha. His typically indifferent countenance was splintered with palpable irritation. Even with a quick, calming breath, Sasuke could not help, but say with a slight growl, “Why did Sai bring us all here?”

“Just chill out, Uchiha. There’s no need to snap at me. I was getting to that,” Kari said. She inclined her head to the side, feeling inquisition – not anger surprisingly – when her silvery blue eyes gaped into his cold, black orbs. His eyes seemed to puncture deep into her soul, shooting daggers right into her heart.

‘Jeez! Did Sasuke forget to take his happy pills or something? There’s no reason for him to yell at me…’ Kari mused. ‘What is he? Bipolar or jeal…’

She quickly waved that thought away. ‘That’s silly of me! There is no reason for that presumptuous schmuck to be jealous. Why would something like that pop into my mind? He just totally forgot his medication today. That’s why he’s moodier than usual.’

She quickly bit her tongue, stopping herself from converting her thoughts to spoken words. Sasuke seemed aggravated as is. If she actually said that, who knows how he would react? She valued her life and felt much too tired to defend herself from verbal – and possibly physical – assault.

“I just want to start out by saying thanks for all of you for being here and to Sai for actually making you come,” Kari began, glancing over every face. “Now I promise I will try to make my plea brief and concise as possible since I know all of you are curious why you are here.”

“Yeah! That and I’m starving. I’m thinking I’ll just buy myself some ramen!” Naruto shouted, waving a single piece of paper into the air. “I even have a coupon for Ichiraku!”

“Ooh!! I love Ichiraku! Their ramen is simply amazing,” Kari exclaimed, her train of thought skidding dangerously off track. “Do you have an extra one?”

"Yeah, but it’s at home. I can probably swing by and get it for you though."

"Oh my god! Yes, thank you! I'm eating ramen tonight!!" Kari cheered, nearly jumping up and down at the very thought.

“Kari, you’re getting distracted. Your stomach is secondary here,” Sai gently reminded.

“Oh… right! Sorry! I’m sort of hungry too,” she admitted sheepishly. “Anyway, I just wanted to ask the seven of you if you would spare a moment of your time to assist me in a noteworthy cause – a cause that would benefit many people, myself included. Not only would I be saved from utter degradation, but you would be helping our student body by fighting to defeat this very person - one that has caused everyone, including all of you, all sorts of pain.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ino asked curiously. “Who are you talking about?”

“Stop boring us with you unintelligent blathering and get to the point,” Sasuke said, his once harsh voice suddenly sounding as cool and calm as his overall placid demeanor.

The silver-haired female curtly nodded her head. “The point is, you impatient teme, that I request all of you to assist me in a competition of physical proportions and help me defeat that red-haired menace, Karin!”

Kari stood excitedly in her place, adrenaline pumping in her veins after her speech. Even though she improvised her whole entire speech, she thought she did fairly well. Everyone must be just as pumped up as she was… weren’t they?

The only response she received was silence and blank stares. Her heart sank deep in her chest, saddened by the fact her narrative did not arouse the reaction she desired. She turned her disheartened gaze to the raven-haired artist, who simply sighed in response.

“In normal terms you all would understand, Kari wants to know if you all will help her win a sports match against Karin,” Sai stated simply.

A chorus of ‘oh’s’ answered his simpler translation, absorbing the request in their minds. Finally, Kari received another reaction, but, yet again, an undesired one –laughter.

“Kari-chan, Sai’s joking right?” Naruto choked out in the midst of his hysteria. “You of all people wouldn’t want to play a sport! I mean, no offense, but you’re not the most athletic person I’ve ever met.

Sai nodded his head in agreement. “My thoughts exactly. It’s nice to see someone agrees with me.”

After a implementing her most withering glare at Sai, the young Kikuchi felt her spirits completely deflate. Her once confident soul took a nosedive into the desolate abyss. She once had high hopes that if Sai to round people up, she would be able to avoid such a release.

She certainly was disappointed to see many people laugh at her anyway.

“Come on, guys. Please stop laughing. I’m serious,” she griped in a whiny voice, her full lips contorting into an abysmal frown.

Sasuke – the only one not consumed by laughter – said, “Kikuchi, that certainly is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Are you seriously asking that of us?”

Their gazes locked, and she cringed in fear. Such a threatening glimmer radiating from his eyes! It rattled her very bones, shivering down her spine.

“On second thought, I think I wouldn’t mind if you cracked a smile once in awhile, Uchiha. You’re so scary! I can’t even begin to fathom why the female population worships you,” Kari said, increasing the space between her and the menacing dark-haired boy. His glare deepened, striking terror into her very soul. His obsidian irises seemed so cold, so empty, lacking any sympathy or kindness.

‘Yep, I would pay big bucks to see him show an emotion other than rage,’ she deliberated, struggling to recompose her fallen poise.

“Since Sasuke seems to have rendered Kari into such an unintelligible state, I will speak on her behalf. Let me tell you all, she’s dead serious. Even though we all agree that Kari lacks any athletic ability whatsoever, the only reason why she’s doing this is because she made a bet with Karin. She had exactly two days to find a group of people willing to join her and train,” Sai explained, his stern voice quelling any trickles of laughter surrounding him. Their eyes soon traveled over to the silent female, who meekly bobbed her silver head, gripping the hem of her skirt nervously at the sudden attention.

With a loud scoff, Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and inquired, “But why should we waste our time to help you out, Kikuchi? You’re the idiot who got yourself into that mess. Go help yourself. Don’t make Sai do all the work.”

As Kari parted her lips to explain, Sai interrupted. “For one thing, after a little research, it is proven that you all are one of the more athletic people in her gym class. Since you all are fairly acquainted with her, that should make building teamwork easier and increase her chances of winning. Also… I must be honest. If Hikari asked anyone, people would laugh right in her face and walk away.”

Kari snorted at the accusation, clearly affronted by his words. Her lips pursed, and her arms crossed right over her chest, creating a semblance similar to that of a spoiled toddler.

“So, since I’m pressed for time, are you all willing to try, or will you walk out? We would like a response now.”

Aqueous gray orbs widened, imploring them with each iridescent glitter of her bright eyes. “Please, guys? Don’t you all want to feel the satisfaction of Karin losing? I know I do! You guys don’t want me to humiliate myself, do you?”

No one uttered a word. The pleading female waited patiently in her place, feeling only a light breeze play at the ends of her locks.

Her hopes slowly waned as the silence dominated the air. “Alright, I get it,” she said forlornly. “I understand if you don’t…”

“I’ll give it a shot.” Kari immediately perked up, locking onto a pair of glistening brown eyes. “It would be fun giving Karin a taste of her own medicine!”

“T… Ten Ten?”

“If Ten Ten is going to try, then I shall try too! It would be the correct thing to do if we bring Karin to justice!” The green clad boy exclaimed.

“…You too, Lee?”

“I can’t let bushy brow show me up! I want in too!” Naruto shouted, jumping straight to his feet.

“I’ll do it too. I can’t let that idiot, Naruto, drag you down since he believes he is better then everyone here…” Sakura scornfully said, leering at the whiskered Uzumaki.

“Hey, I’m sorry, Sakura-chan! I didn’t mean it! SAI TRICKED ME!” The floral pinkette released an unladylike snort, clearly unconvinced.

With a loud scoff, Ino obstinately crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her nose snootily up in the air. “Even though crushing Karin is deliciously tempting, I refuse to participate in any sports! I hate watching them, and I hate actually doing them. I’m just going to sit here on these bleachers and cheer you on, pretending I care about whatever's going on out there.”

Sakura released a relieved sigh. “Phew! I think that would be for the best. We won’t have a chance of winning since you suck, Ino-pig!”

“Watch your mouth, Billboard Brow! You’d probably blind everyone when the gym lights hit your large forehead!” Ino retorted vehemently. Sky-blue orbs locked onto her forest green irises, engaging in a fierce glaring match.

“Um, that’s okay, Ino-chan,” Kari assured her, feeling a watery droplet of perspiration slither down the nape of her neck. “You don’t have to play. I totally need the support anyway.”

Hinata tentatively said, “Um, if it's okay, I’ll probably sit out as well. I’ll keep Ino company while you guys play.”

Kari nodded her head. “Now, I believe only one person never gave a response…”

The tiny girl pranced towards the silent male, his eyes observing her warily as she drew closer. With a hand firmly placed on her hip, Kari inquired, “So what’s it going to be, Uchiha? Are you willing to spare a moment of your time for a ‘lowly female of my insignificant stature’?”

The young boy scrutinized her meticulously, examining her stance. Standing before him was no longer the gloomy female that cringed at the very sight of him. Standing before him was the Kari he came to know and despise – confident, brash, completely and utterly annoying.

She stood before him, completely in control, nearly challenging him to accept.

Should he, a proud member of the great Uchiha clan, just cave? Accept her challenge and submit to the provocation glimmering in her blue eyes? It certainly would just be wiser to just refuse. Sasuke thought he should just spurn the crazy female. Kari was not worth his time or breath.

…then again, he did have his pride on the line. If he did refuse, she may consider that a sign of weakness, risking the possibility of endless taunting over his refusal.

Just what should an Uchiha genius do?

With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Sasuke simply grunted his response. “Hn.”

“What is that supposed to mean? To think, you complained about me speaking so unintelligibly…”

“Shut up." Kari quickly shut her mouth, awaiting patiently for him to clarify. "Even though you truly are an irascible shrimp with a big mouth, I think accepting that wouldn’t be a total waste.”

“Gee, I’m not sure whether to thank you for accepting, or slap your arrogant head for calling me that!” Kari scowled.

“I prefer neither. Is there any other details we should be aware of?” Sasuke inquired.

“Yeah! Yeah!” Naruto chirped up. “Ooh! Like how about the bet? What’s going to happen if either of you guys lose?”

Kari instinctively shuddered at the very thought. “Trust me… You’ll find out just how bad it is once we have a victor. It’s going to be a humiliating spectacle, I’ll assure you…”

“And the sport is basketball,” Sai added complacently.

A unison of sniggers and snorts responded to Sai’s statement, actuating a purse of silver-haired female’s lips.

“Hey, hey! Yeah, I know I’m bad at basketball… and yeah, I’m bad in sports in general, but I surely don’t deserve that sort of response! Give me some credit, people,” Kari said defensively.

“Aw, don’t worry, Hi-chan! We will certainly give you some credit if you improve after a ruthless practice session!” Sai consoled her, a brilliant smile gracing his thin mouth.

Her already pale complexion blanched; her rosy cheeks suddenly were depleted of all color. “W… WHAT?!”

Pant. Pant…

Labored breathes echoed in the gymnasium, harmonizing with the quick bounces of a spherical object.

“Okay, now just toss it up!” Sai advised, standing safely on the side. The tired figure complied, languidly flinging the ball upwards. The orange orb flew towards the hoop… before inevitably crashing back down to the wooden floorboards, failing to even touch the net.

“Kikuchi, can’t you get at least one basket?” Sasuke asked, wiping away a droplet of sweat from his forehead. “We’ve been at it for almost more than an hour and even practiced yesterday and you still can’t do anything let alone score a point.”

“Shut up, Uchiha! I’m doing my best,” she retorted in between heavy breaths. “Right, Sai?”

“Actually, your performance is quite terrible, Hi-chan!” Sai said candidly.

“Thank you. That makes me feel so much better…”

“But there is good news!” Sai said. The desolate Kikuchi instantly perked up, excited to listen to news. “We only need five people on the court at a time.”

“But… how is that good news?” she inquired.

“We have six members on this team, which includes you. Do you understand yet?”

Perplexity flowed over her features, causing her head to incline to the side to accentuate her confusion. With an impatient shrug, Sai elucidated for her, “You don’t need to play, Hikari. You can sit out. You don’t have to be out there all the time, do you?”

“No… don’t think so… Oh my god! That’s genius!” Kari cried and clapped her hands together, elation sparkling in her vibrant spheres. “We never did agree to anything like that… Oh, this could work out perfectly! Especially since we have one heck of a player on our team…”

As if on cue, Ten Ten dribbled the ball down court, expertly tossing the ball right into the hoop.

“Yeah! Another basket!” The brunette shouted, shooting her hands up in the air.

“With her on my team, we’re sure to win,” Kari thought optimistically.

Sasuke quietly added under his breath, “And we’ll be fine as long as you stay out…”

“What was that, Uchiha?!”

“Ah, nothing.”

Ten Ten quickly trotted towards the silvery female and said, “Well, I got to go guys! I have a martial arts match today!”

Kari said fearfully, “But isn’t that dangerous? Couldn’t you get hurt?”

“Ah, nonsense! Trust me, I participated in many matches, and I never got hurt too badly!” Ten Ten assured. “I’ll be fine for tomorrow.”

“Alright… good luck! Break a leg, Ten Ten.”

The brunette nodded her head in thanks and promptly ran out the gymnasium.

“Okay, Hikari. Try again.” Sai tossed the orange ball towards Kari.

“What? I thought I didn’t have to do anything tomorrow!” Kari whined.

“Well, we can never be too careful. You will be our alternate after all. Just try shooting again.” With an irritated snort, Kari forced her weary muscles forward, resisting the need to dunk the ball down Sai’s cruel throat…

“This is going to be great!” Kari said in a melodic voice, skipping her way into the gymnasium. Her heart felt light and her whole being seemed to be floating on thin air.

Why was she so happy?

‘It’s because we’re going to mop the floor with that red head of hers! We can’t lose!’

Especially if she stayed on the sidelines as they planned. If she just sat there and let them score all the points, oh! Victory is hers! How she would so enjoy preparing Karin’s bet when she loses…

‘Nothing can bring me down!!’

“Hello, my fellow classmates!” She cheerfully greeted, sauntering over to her instructors. “Hi there, Anko-sensei, Gai-sensei!”

“HI THERE, HI-CHAN!” Anko welcomed with great vigor.

“Oh… hello, there Kari-san. I see you’re as enthusiastic as ever,” Gai greeted her.

“So we’ll be playing basketball together as a class, right?”

“Um, yes. We shall.”

Kari’s grin widened. “Perfect!”

Then, Kari skipped away, feeling a silly grin embed itself in her lips. ‘I never thought I’d be so excited! This is going to be a great day!’

Finally, she reached her team. “Hello there, guys! Who’s ready for a victory?”

The group slowly turned around to face her, their countenances hard, somber… slightly apprehensive?

Curiosity flowed into her silvery blue orbs. “Hey… guys, what’s the matter? Usually you guys would be excited with me… well at least Naruto would. What happened?”

Her teammates then looked into each other’s eyes, seeming to nonverbally discuss an important issue.

“…Guys? You’re starting freak me out here… and I don’t like getting freaked out. That happens way too often in this crazy school.”

With another quick look, the group shrugged their shoulders, walking over to Anko and Gai when they beckoned them.

But Kari did not move. Kari’s heart sank. Her eyes widened, gaping at the white bandages that encircled a certain brunette’s leg. A sheepish smile crossed her lips. “Hi there, Kari-chan.”

Kari felt her whole body collapse on the ground, her gaze traveled to the injured girl’s face.

“T…Ten Ten?!”

“Alright, you maggots! By request, we’re going to play basketball again today!” Anko announced to the class. “You all can have a few moments to prepare yourself and your teams, and we’ll get started right away.”

“Yes, Anko-sensei,” the students answered in perfect unison… well the majority at least.

All except one spoke up.

One girl huddled close to the bleachers, her breathing heavy erratic. Her mouth was pressed against a small brown bag, inflating and deflating in unison with her respiration.

“Um, Kari-chan, calm down. It’s going to be okay,” Ten Ten soothed her timidly. “Please just take a deep breath or something.”

Despite the brunette assurances and words of comfort, the silvery female continued her nervous habits, her respiration remaining uneven.

“So how did you break your leg?” Sakura asked as their team banded together.

“It’s a long story,” Ten Ten said with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

“We have a few minutes. We can listen.”

“Alright…” With a quick intake of air, Ten Ten began reciting her tale, “As all of you guys know, I had to attend a martial arts tournament yesterday with my team. We were all very excited because we were going up against our school's greatest rivals, Suna High School. We never knew what to expect from them… especially to see three newest members of their team.”

“Ah, yes! I heard of those three also!” Lee exclaimed. “Suna High had three new additions to their school, and they quickly became the school’s prodigies. Those three siblings are considered geniuses!”

“Yep, and I got to fight one of those sand siblings,” Ten Ten proclaimed proudly. “Don’t remember the chick’s name, but boy, this blondie sure can fight! Throughout our match, we were neck and neck, throwing punch after punch, kick after kick… it was intense! I don’t remember having such a fight in a long time!”

“Ten Ten, you’re losing us… and more importantly my interest,” Ino reminded the fanatical brunette. “Get to the point and tell us how your leg was broken.”

“Oh, sorry!” Ten Ten rubbed the back of her head apologetically. “Well during the final minutes of the match, we were both exhausted – tired beyond all belief. At that moment, I decided to try implementing my last move – a move I’ve been trying to develop for quite awhile now!

“So just as she was going to kick me to the gut, I quickly evaded it, leaping up high into the air, planning to knock this chick out with a kick from above… but I have to remind you all that I was extremely tired and this technique was not perfected. Just as I thought this move was going to make contact, the girl quickly jumped out of the way at the last minute. Before I could catch myself, my leg crashed into the floor. Then they rushed me into the ER, and here I am with a broken limb!”

“But can’t you hobble down the court?” Kari finally chirped up through the brown bag. “I mean, even if you have one leg, you have two good arms, right?”

“Ha, actually I kind of sprained my wrist when I fell,” Ten Ten sheepishly admitted, raising her right arm to display the dark wrist brace.

Kari’s breath was caught in her throat, gaping in shock at the brace. “Ah, come on! But I thought you said you never got hurt to badly.”

“Yeah! Usually I get hurt a lot worse. I remember the first match I had last year, I broke my nose, both my arms and my legs, and sprained my neck! Me breaking my leg and spraining my wrist is nothing.”

“You have to admit, Kari-chan, you did tell Ten Ten to ‘break a leg’,” Naruto teased. “I was kidding! She wasn’t supposed to take it literally,” she retorted, gripping her bag for dear life.

Soon Naruto pointed out, "And hey... if Ten Ten can't play, doesn't that mean we have to use our back-up player?"

Kari felt her blood run cold. All air failed to exit her lungs.

"That's true. And, um, isn't your alternate...?" Hinata began adding, but all words died on her tongue.

All heads turned, twisting to face the speechless silver-haired female. Her orbs widened; realization flooded into her features.

"No way... no freakin' way!" Kari began hyperventilating at the very realization. "There's no way I'm going to go out there and make a fool out of myself!"

Sakura then said, "But, Kari, you have to. If you don't we would be one short... unless Ino or Hinata are willing to play in your place."

Hope glittered vibrantly in a sea of silvery blue, imploring her blonde and raven-haired friends.

“I told you already! I refuse to partake in it. I’d just cheer you guys on and that’s it,” Ino said. “I won’t even be swayed by that puppy dog face, Kari!”

With a loud harrumph, the Kari turned both her attention and pleading puppy dog eyes to the other female.

"Um, I... er, am very sorry, but I promised Ino I'd give her some company while you all play," Hinata replied meekly.

Kari mentally cursed, hugging her knees closer to her chest, paper bag still pressed tightly to her lips.

"…Hey, where'd you even get the bag, Kari?"

She failed to offer a response, rocking herself awkwardly in a fetal position.

"Kikuchi, are you done acting like such a baby already?" Her actions momentarily ceased, turning her gaze to a pair of cold obsidian.

"U...Uchiha?"

"It's your stupidity that got you into this mess. You get yourself out of it," he stated bluntly. "So either you stop acting like the shrimpy little wimp I know you are or continue sniveling and forfeit to Karin. I know the latter certainly doesn't appeal to you, does it?"

Then there was silence. The brown bag escaped from her grasp, fluttering down towards the hardwood floorboards. With her expression glazed with shock, she simply gaped at him. For once, she was at a lost for words.

"This pains me to say this, but for once in all the time I've known you, you're kind of right, Uchiha," Kari admitted reluctantly, her tense muscles relaxing. "But let me tell you, I was not sniveling. I was hyperventilating. You should know the difference between the two."

Sasuke's dark orbs whirled in a perfect circle. "I know I'm right, loser. So what are you going to do?"

All eyes turned towards the silver Kikuchi, their eyes filled with inquisition. In turn, her own gaze fell downcast, embarrassed by the sudden attention. She tentatively nibbled on her full lower lip, contemplating her response.

"Ah, Ten Ten, you broke your leg? What a shame..."

Moment before she could open her mouth to speak, Kari's head snapped upwards, staring right into a pair of blazing crimson, her expression reflecting feigned sympathy.

"And to think, she was one of the best players on the team... second to Sasuke-kun of course, but still. Your victory just flew right out the window!"

Rage spiked her veins, darkening her brightly hued orbs. "Oh? What gives you enough evidence to make such a statement? What makes you think you're really going to win?"

Undulating with confidence, she stated with a grin on her face, "For the reason I stated before. Ten Ten was one of your best players on your team. If she's unable to participate, you're team is forced to forfeit. You need one more player after all!"

"Oh... we're not short a person," Kari corrected.

Her crimson orbs flooded with curiosity, and her red brow quirked upwards. "Oh? Then who's going to play in Ten Ten's place? I surely hope you're not planning to send in that blonde anorexic at least."

"Shut your trap, Karin! Stop saying that! I don't have an eating disorder!" The slender Yamanaka rebuked, an angry nerve pulsating from her reddening temple. Her temper slowly fizzled away as she gazed at her silver companion.

Kari stood tranquilly in her place, rising to her feet. Her right thumb pointed backwards – pointing to herself. "I'm still in this game, remember?"

"You're... actually playing?" Karin repeated skeptically, blinking unintelligibly at the very thought. Kari nodded her head. Recollecting her fallen wits, Karin stated, "Ha! Like you'd make any difference. Your team is going to lose."

"We'll see about that. Don't you worry though. I have everything set for you, especially your costume!”‘ With a single, irritated grunt, Karin stormed off.

"Ooh! So what's a costume have to do with the bet?" Naruto inquired.

"You'll find out once I win, Naruto. You'll see once I win..." A startling realization flashed in her mind. Her confident demeanor wavered, slowly disappearing from her countenance. She blanched. "Oh my god. What cosmic force possessed me into saying all that?"

"Um, come on, Kari-chan. We have to set up," Sakura told her gently, guiding the shell-shocked female towards the court.

"Yes... I guess I really will do this… but I certainly won't like it! No one better pass me the ball or else there will be more people sitting with Ten Ten today." Kari pointedly glanced over to Naruto.

"Hey! Hey! Don't look at me like that. I'm sorry that one time. If you ask me though, if that teme never got in your way, you would have totally got it," Naruto said.

"Hn... like that would have happened." Sasuke's countenance remained completely calm, unflappable, even under a certain girl's murderous glare. "Just stay out of my way, Kikuchi."

"I was planning on it, Uchiha."

The team promptly disbanded, settling themselves in their respected place.

"How'd you even convince Anko-sensei and Gai-sensei to allow you two on separate teams?" Sakura inquired. “Last time I checked, they made sure you and Karin were always on the same team because they were afraid of another fight erupting.”

"Eh, it's a boring story really. We just negotiated with them that we can handle an occasional 'friendly competition.' We said it was supposed to help promote good sportsmanship and all that jazz. Apparently they bought it," Kari explained. Sakura simply nodded her head in acknowledgment.

Soon, everyone was in place. Naruto, representing their team, stood in the middle, facing off against one of Karin’s team members. The blonde threw his head back, looking up to gaze at his tall opponent.

Kari resisted the urge to groan. ‘Ah, come on! Of all the people she had to get, she had to get people on the basketball team. ’

Even the cocky and overly confident Uzumaki Naruto felt the urge to cringe, staring fearfully at the towering basketball player. He swallowed, crouching down lower to the ground both in hopes it would propel him higher in the air and from fear.

Kari herself felt trickles of fright shiver down her very bones, but she dared not show it. Not when Karin was there, watching her intently with triumphant eyes over her selection.

‘Just because she got lucky with teams means nothing. We can still win this… No need to get scared just yet.’

Gai stepped in between both figures, the orange sphere sitting precariously on the palm of his hand. “Are you two set?”

Both heads bobbed, and Naruto nervously swallowed. His muscles tensed, preparing himself for the jump-off.

“GO!” The ball rose high in the air, and both male figures bounded up to hit the ball. Sadly, the height advantage made an amazing difference. Before Naruto could even dream of touching the ball, the taller player slapped it aside, right into enemy hands.

Kari fought back a grimace, not trying to dwell on the terrible start. After all, this game had just begun. It was far too early for despair.

As if the assuage her of her fears, Lee bounded across the court, easily stealing the ball right out of the enemy’s hands. With a few adept bounces, he quickly passed it over to Sakura, who promptly tossed it to the eager blonde. Naruto rapidly dashed through, making the first basket of the game.

“YEAH! BELIEVE IT!” Naruto shot his arms right into the air, sticking a tongue out at his taller opponent.

“Good job, Naruto!” Kari cheered. Her heart actually felt light in her chest. Her spirits, once again, soared.

‘If we keep this up, we’re sure to win!’

The teams reset themselves back in their originally place as the Kari awaited for the next jump ball, cleaving to the hope that her thoughts were true.

A long period of time rolled by, but to Kari those chunk of minutes seemed like an eternity – an excruciating and painful eternity.

All original confidence dissipated to that of desolation. The score, once led by a measly one point, now was separated by a large gap of numbers – ones Kari was too afraid to know.

‘We’re losing… badly!’

After that one slip, the basketball team upped their game, taking absolutely no prisoners. Even Kari was roughed up… and she stood completely still in her place.

As her teammates struggled to ascertain some points, Kari made sure she stood to the side, completely out of any one’s way. She felt she would act more a hindrance than an assistance if she participated in any way. If the ball did accidentally make its way towards her, she would simply kick it aside or quickly toss it to one of her teammates. Karin was not even shy to hide her bliss over the situation, striding gloatingly passed the uneasy Kikuchi.

‘Oh, she will go down. One way or another, she’s going down if it’s the last thing I do!’

But just how could they claim victory? The scores certainly proved that idea was becoming less probable with each basket Karin’s teammates make.

Swish.

‘Goodness! You basketball players are not this perfect! MISS ALREADY!’

Another jump ball quickly commenced, this time Sasuke was able to slap the ball out of enemy hands, inciting the annoying squeals of surrounding fan girls.

The only sound that escaped from Kari’s lips was a dreadful groan. ‘Ah, come on! Why does that ball have to come to me of all people?’

She would have complained that this was in violation to their agreement to the game, but… she was much to engrossed on the incoming spherical object.

As the ball rolled onto the ground, coming towards her, Kari’s mindset was in a complete frenzy. What was she to do? If she actually touched the ball, someone would take the liberty to pass the ball to her more often. The ramifications of that action would be more fatal injuries.

If she just let the ball pass her by… there was a fifty/fifty chance that her teammates would be able to get the ball. Was that worth the risk?

She quickly made a decision, allowing the incoming orange sphere to sweep passed her and innocently sit a few feet beside her.

Her gaze ascended upwards, watching the stampede of players – all from the enemy team.

‘Oh man… this is not going to end well.’ Kari nervously swallowed. Just who could save her?

“I GOT IT!” Naruto materialized seemingly out of thin air, scooping the ball right from the ground and bouncing it passed the rush of people.

“Yeah, go Naruto!” she cheered, relieved to be rescued, but all merriment dissipated. Especially when she noticed the four basketball playing behemoths charge right for the blonde.

“Ah, crap,” Naruto mumbled under his breath.

The orange ball rolled out towards the side upon impact. Naruto lay inanimately under the masses of brawny bodies, crushed under their greater girth.

“Hey, I’m not a big basketball person, but that surely doesn’t look like something you see in basketball,” Anko remarked, walking over towards the dog pile.

“This is not football. There’s no need to tackle people,” Kari grumbled quietly, sympathy washing over her as they finally extricated the crushed Uzumaki. “That should totally be a foul or something.”

“Hey, Naruto, are you alright?” Sakura asked, rushing to his side.

“Uh… y...yeah! I’m peachy, Sakura-chan!” Naruto stammered, bright stars circling over his head.

“You don’t look fine, Naruto,” Lee added. “You really should take a minute to recover.”

Naruto dazedly shook his head. “N…no. We have a game. We n…need to do this…” “But collapsing is not going to help win this! Your wellbeing is more important then the match!”

‘A losing one at that…’

Pity nearly swamped her as Naruto struggled to remain erect, his feet wobbling with each and every second. She knew he needed a moment to get himself together. She refused to let her friend suffer on her account. “Listen, I’m going to call…”

“Time out.”

All heads snapped towards Sasuke, his stern gaze turned towards their two gym instructors.

“Sure, that would be a good idea,” Gai agreed. “A few minute breather then we’re starting the game right away!”

Guiding the dizzy blue-eyed male towards the bleachers, Sakura gently said, “You should sit down for a moment, Naruto. You look awful.”

“Yes, Sakura-chan,” Naruto said obediently, a silly smile spreading over his face. “Hee… Sakura’s holding my hand!”

“Moron!” Sakura’s grip around his hand tightened, extricating a cry of pain from Naruto’s throat.

“ACK! Sakura, that hurts!”

Kari sniggered, ready to follow them when a hand captured her wrist.

“We need to talk,” Sasuke stated brusquely, dragging the silvery female aside.

“Hey! Let me go, Uchiha!” Kari shouted, thrashing under Sasuke’s tight grip.

“Not until we talk about your performance out on court,” he said, irritation bubbling under the cold, blank depths of his dark eyes.

Confusion swept over her as she replied defensively, “What’s there to talk about? I’m in the game, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you’re right. You are just in the game. You’re standing there like some sort of idiot,” said Sasuke, his irritation seeping into his voice.

“Isn’t that enough? We agreed that no one passes me the ball, and I’ll stay out of everyone’s way.”

“That’s just the thing! It’s not enough!” Sasuke paused for a moment, trying to recollect himself. “Kikuchi, we are here because of your idiocy. We are willing to play this stupid game, but we can’t carry you and your dead weight! You actually have to get out there and do something.”

“But I’m athletically challenged! People will get injured if I play,” she snapped.

“Oh, trust me. That’s a little too late for that.” They both turned their heads the stunned blonde-haired male, hearts glittering in his eyes in being such close proximity to Sakura without any punches and jabs to his person.

“I don’t know, Uchiha. Naruto looks just fine to me…”

“Either way, for this game, I don’t really care how athletically challenged you think you are. You actually have to exert some energy and try. I thought you wanted to win.” Kari’s gaze fell downcast. “Yes, I do…”

“Well you’re not acting like it!” Sasuke admonished her harshly. “Sometimes you have to do things that scare you or you’re simply not good at. You can’t just avoid them. You have to face them head-on, and Kikuchi Hikari, I swear to god, if you don’t do anything now and get over whatever issues you clearly have, you won’t just be hurting yourself with your asinine bet. You would be hurting everyone that cared enough to help you win and risk an injury.”

All words simply failed. Kari gaped at him, a pain surging through her systems. She was not hurt by his words per se, but by the memories the words aroused – memories she tried keeping in the back of her mind.

Quickly resettling those thoughts to where they belonged, determination flared in her silvery blue orbs. A smile spread over her lips. “Uchiha, you’re so lucky that we have a game at hand or else I would clobber you for talking to me like that. I’m not five, and I don’t need to be chastised like that.”

“Hn. Physically you’re not; mentally I would say you’re more two years old,” Sasuke retorted, tugging at the corners of his lips was a… smile? Kari quickly shook her head from the thought, assuring herself she was just seeing things.

“Temporary truce, Uchiha?”

Sasuke coolly nodded and grunted his reply. “Hn.”

Kari scowled, resisting the urge to smack his raven head. “Fine, I’ll take that as a yes, you inarticulate teme.”

“Let’s just beat Karin and get on with this.” The Kikuchi nodded her head in agreement, following him as they resettled themselves on the court.

She curiously asked, “I have to ask this. You said that the people on this team are here because they care about me, right? They are willing enough to endure fatal injuries for me?”

Sasuke gingerly replied, “Perhaps. What’s it to you?”

With a conniving smile spreading over her full lips, she asked, “So does that mean you finally admit you care about me?”

Sasuke sputtered, quickly recollecting his momentary loss of poise. “Kikuchi, you seriously can’t still be curious about something as stupid as that.”

“Just answer the question!”

The raven-haired Uchiha shrugged his shoulders before finally replying, “My case is completely different. They care for you, and thus, wish to help you win the bet. I, on the other hand, only care about winning. I care less if you win or lose the bet. I simply hate losing above everything else.”

“Uh-huh. Sure, Uchiha…”

“And why do you want to know so badly if I care or not?” Kari’s pale brow rose upwards as a cocky smile crossed his lips. “Did you convert into those psychotic fan girls, who dream that I actually care about their existences?”

“W…what?!” Her cheeks suddenly felt extremely warm, flushing to a bright crimson. “That… that accusation is so stupid! How could you say that?”

“Wait, Kari-chan likes Sasuke?” Naruto asked turning his perplexed blue orbs to meet hers.

“What!? I thought you hated him!” Sakura cried, locking her fiery emerald orbs with her frightened silvery blue ones.

“I DO!” She insisted, shaking her head to relieve herself of such uncomfortable heat. “I was just taken aback by something so ridiculous. That’s all.”

Naruto and Sakura exhaled a loud sigh of relief, feeling all was right in the world. They were sure the world would crumble if Kari and Sasuke had feelings for each other in that sense.

“And likewise. Now please finally refrain from asking me such an asinine question again… or else,” he threatened calmly, walking over to his respective place.

With an angry nerve pulsating from her temple, she shouted, “At least my question made sense! Yours truly was stupid!”

A whistle ripped through the air before the Uchiha could offer some sort of reply. The ball was quickly put into play.

Sakura first held possession of the ball, but Karin promptly ran in, swiping it right out of her hands. The redhead tossed the ball to her teammate, who then began dribbling it down the court.

‘Okay, Kari. You can do this. You have to try…’ Kari encouraged as she threw herself in front of the massive basketball player.

He paused for one moment, blinking at the sudden appearance of such a scrawny girl. He snorted, trying to maneuver his way around the human obstacle.

But Kari was persistent. She refused to let him pass her. With an irritated grunt, the enemy member finally gave up trying to make his way around the adamant silvery female, and decided to dash forward, possibly prodding over Kari if it was necessary.

Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Kari jumped upwards, losing her balance completely. She toppled over, falling right onto her face.

‘Stupid clumsiness! There goes my first team contribution…’

Little did she expect the basketball player to collapse near her, tripping over her body and accidentally releasing the ball form his grip.

‘Wah…?’

She watched as the basketball bounce on the wooden floorboards, magically landing in Sasuke’s dexterous hands. He swiftly weaved through the masses of bodies and shot the ball in with a satisfying swish.

“We…. Actually scored?” Kari propped her torso up with her elbows, incredulous that such an event occurred. She thought she fell into deep unconsciousness and was dreaming.

“Good job, Kari-chan!” Sakura cheered, lifting the confused girl off the floor.

Naruto ran over and slapped her back proudly. “Yeah! You’re klutziness serves a practical purpose!”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Naruto,” Kari said, still in a daze. She turned her attention to Sasuke, standing alone in the distance with his arm crossed over his chest. His gaze slowly met hers.

“Hn.” Even if she was much too faraway to hear it, she could feel he was saying it, thinking it even.

‘Arrogant prick… can’t humble himself enough to say I did pretty good!’

After a brief glaring match between the two figures, Kari turned her attention to the incoming redhead, her eyes wide with shock.

“H…how… you… that?” Karin stammered, unable to organize into an intelligent sentence.

“What’s the matter? Cat caught your tongue?” Kari smiled and walked closer to her. “Don’t count on your victory just yet. This game is far from over.”

Karin ceased her unintelligent stuttering, her face flushing to an angry scarlet. With an angry groan, Karin shoved the confident Kikuchi aside, stomping back to her side of the gym.

‘Let the real game begin…’

‘Okay, Hikari, do not be scared. Do not be scared,’ she repeated in her mind, her calming mantra throughout the game. Her uneasy hands grasped the orange basketball with cold, nervous beads of sweat skating down her hot temples. ‘Just stay calm… Do not freak out.’

With each thunderous squeak of the incoming stampede, she felt her resolve waver, wearing down as her primordial instinct began to take control. Her vibrant steel-blue orbs shimmered in fear.

Finally, Kari snapped, allowing instinct to overwhelm logic. ‘Okay! Screw being calm!’ A scream ripped from her throat, echoing in the midst of the amalgamating din of squeaking sneakers and ragged breaths. She quickly dashed away, dribbling the ball away from the scary basketball players.

“STOP CHASING ME!” She cried, running wildly throughout the gym area.

“Kari, try dribbling the ball to the hoop,” advised Sakura, unable to advance any closer due to a red-haired roadblock.

‘Yeah… that would be the smart thing, wouldn’t it?’ Deliberating her next course of action, Kari turned and began running towards the closest hoop, fighting an anxious tightness building in her throat.

“Kikuchi, here!” Sasuke shouted, waving his arms over his head.

Kari simply gazed at him curiously, unable to understand why he wanted the ball. She had a perfect shot. She could shoot it in if she just got a little closer. Why did he insist on getting the ball?

Indignation welled deep within her as an idea blossomed in her mind. Did he doubt she could make it in? Would it just be a waste of time if she even tried?

‘I’ll show him! I’m going to make it in there!’ With a loud grunt and determination flaring in her once fearful orbs, Kari tossed the ball, watching as it arced upwards towards the hoop. Cheer exploded from the bleachers, increasing in intensity as the ball rolled around the hoop’s circular mouth.

Kari felt her breath cease, watching in restless anticipation to see if the ball would tip in, or topple right into the awaiting arms of an enemy team member.

‘Come on… please let my luck be good for once! Let the ball go in…’ Cleaving tightly to her hopes and wishes, she saw something she never expected to happen. The ball slowly fell in, slipping through the hoop’s opening.

“Yes!! I actually did it!” Kari announced gleefully, shooting her arms happily into the open air. “I scored, people!”

The cheers ceased. That silence slowly diffused throughout the room, broken only by the ear-shattering cacophony of laughter.

“You sure did, Hikari! Excellent shot,” Karin exclaimed, patting her roughly on her shoulder.

All jollity escaped from her features, slowly replaced by a growing pang of worried curiosity.

Karin congratulating her? Something must be wrong. There was no way that spiteful redhead would say something like that. Her head promptly turned towards the others, hoping someone would offer some sort of light in the subject.

Everyone’s features were utterly blank, gaping at her with evident shock in their wide eyes.

‘W… what happened? Did I do something wrong?’ Kari wondered worriedly, paging through her memory banks for some sort of reason. ‘Is it because I actually scored? Is everyone shocked that I shot the ball into the basket?’

Before she could project her inquiry to the general public, a harsh smack to her head caught her attention.

“You loser!” Sasuke growled.

“There’s no need for such violence, teme! That hurt, you know,” Kari snapped, massaging her tender skull.

“I was just trying to smack some sense into your brain since you don’t have any. Just what were you thinking? I was open for god’s sakes!”

“Oh? And let you score while I while I can do it myself? Fat chance!”

“Wait. Is that what you think?” Sasuke’s dark brow twitched in annoyance. “Your idiocy never ceases to amaze me! Are you really that oblivious? You just…”

“What a turn of events!” Gai’s booming voice cut off Sasuke’s harangue, catching everyone’s undivided attention with his roaring tone. “Karin’s team is now leading by one point!”

Kari’s mouth slacked ajar. “W…what?! How’s that possible? I just scored a point!”

“Oh yeah, you did. You just scored in our basket, baka!”

Her jaw completely collapsed, falling right down to the floor. Her bright orbs widened to a large, silvery blue plates. “You got to be kidding me, Uchiha! I did?”

The irritated raven-haired male nodded.

‘So that was the reason why Karin was saying something so cordially…’ Kari realized why she thought the cheers sounded strange – they really were incoherent cries to make her stop.

‘Just my luck! The one time I’m actually able to shoot a basket it ends up being a bad thing.’ With a disappointed chagrin on her lips, Kari turned her gaze towards different faces – ranging from blatant awe to gentle sympathy – and her gaze settled on Karin. Rage gurgled deep in her veins just staring at the condescension inundating from her black frames.

‘She’s enjoying my misery far too much. It was just a stupid mistake for god’s sakes!’

Kari reverted her incensed leer to the Uchiha male. All ire slowly fizzled away, replaced with a fear that chilled her very bones. Such malice that emanated from his cold, black spheres! It could make even the bravest and most fearless of souls cower, tremble in inexplicable trepidation.

‘…Alright. I guess now I know what Karin is enjoying.’

Kari swallowed, barely able to choke out, “S…Sorry?”

With his customary grunt, Sasuke stormed away from the unnerved Kikuchi to his respective place. His lips were pressed to a thin, angry line. His fists were clenched so tightly that all blood drained away, leaving behind a phantasmal shade of white.

The silvery girl was, of course, aware why he was so aggravated by the blunder. They finally tied the score after all.

After all that hard work, they end up being behind once more, and to top it all off, there was so little time before the game was over.

Sasuke himself had admitted her hated losing above all else. If Karin’s team was victorious…

‘Okay, scary thoughts! Scary, terrifying thoughts!’ Kari felt a violent shiver run down her spine.

“Hey, s’okay, Kari-chan!” Naruto appeared at her side, slapping her shoulder comfortingly. “This is just something I’d expect from our team’s klutz! You help make the game more interesting.”

“Er, thanks, Naruto… I think,” Kari replied, rubbing her sore shoulder.

“You shouldn’t worry though. I have a plan that will help us win!”

“Really? What is it?”

“We’re going to utilize your clumsy nature to our advantage!” The blonde cheerily stated, feeling no shame for his remark.

“WHAT?!”

“Yeah, you see that guy near the jumpers?” Kari followed Naruto’s outstretched hand, pointing passed Lee, his bug-like eyes fixated on the orange sphere, and his opponent. Standing near the two was a tall, young man, his defined muscles flexed and tensed and leaning slightly more on his right foot.

“Hey, isn’t that they guy that I accidentally tripped?” Kari wondered aloud.

“Yeah! When you both tripped, you must have sprained his ankle. Good job by the way! Injuring the opposition was genius!”

With an angry jab to his shoulder, Kari scolded, “Shut up! That is not a good thing, and definitely not something I’m proud of, baka! Do you plan on enlightening exactly what your plan is or do you need me to knock some sense into you?”

“No, no. I’m good. Just chill out,” Naruto soothed, rubbing his sore limb. “Jeez, that really hurt! Are you becoming a second Ino and Sakura? What’s next? Will you drool and worship at Sasuke’s feet?”

Fighting the urge to smack the blonde’s spiky head yet again, Kari growled with an irritated twitch of her silver brow, “Just spill.”

The whistle then blew, catching both of their attentions. Sadly, Lee was not so lucky in the jump ball. The enemy team member smacked the ball away, right into the crippled boy’s arms. Even with an injury, Kari was amazed how skillfully he weaved passed the incoming bodies, vying for the ball that bounced steadily in his hands.

The whiskered young boy said, “Okay, here’s my idea. I was thinking that while you guard that guy, somehow you’d both fall and he’d sprain his other ankle or something. With your clumsy nature, something is bound to happen!”

“That’s just awful! How could you want to exploit my clumsiness and wish I would harm someone?” Kari gasped.

“I don’t really want to hurt anyone!” He retorted. “I’m just hoping you’d trip and break a bone – preferably theirs, not yours. That’s all.” Doubt glazed her steel-blue irises as she gaped at him, raising a questioning brow. Naruto then asked, “Look, do you want to lose and show everyone what your side of the bet is?”

Kari visibly tensed, slowly pondering the query carefully in her mind. Then, once she finally deliberated a response, she released a defeated sigh. “No… but I just feel there’s something we’re forgetting that would be so much safer…”

“Point!” Anko exclaimed, retrieving two sets of oceanic orbs.

“Ah, come on! Already? That was way too quick!” Kari whined. “Who scored?” The blonde boy shrugged his shoulders, unsure of the answer as well.

The earsplitting din of squeals answered her inquiry.

“Oh, I should have known! That’s what you were forgetting, Naruto,” Kari reminded him. “You forgot to consider the ‘Show-off Uchiha Factor’.”

They both watched as Sasuke casually strolled towards the two, wiping away a single bead of sweat from his temple.

“Yo, losers. When you’re done yapping your mouths away, try actually playing the game?” Sasuke stated brusquely then ambled away.

“YOU TEME! I had the perfect plan!” Naruto yelled after him.

“Just let it go, Naruto. Let it go,” soothed the silvery female, glaring at the raven-haired male in the distance.

‘Arrogant show-off…’

“Okay, kids! We have only a few minutes left,” announced Gai. “Everyone, take a few moments to work out your last game plan.”

Anko grinned and added, “Yeah! I want to see someone break this tie.”

Kari mumbled, “Why do I have this strange sense of déjà vu?”

“Come on, Kari-chan! We’re going to talk about a plan now!” The hyperactive knucklehead clasped the silver-haired female’s wrist, dragging her to their small group.

“So does anyone have any ideas what we should do?” Lee asked.

Naruto’s hand quickly shot up. “I DO! I DO!” Doubt and skepticism varnished his fellow team members’ features, encouraging the hyper blonde to elucidate. “Okay, well I was thinking we should execute the ‘Klutzy Kari factor’!”

Several orbs widened, shock flowing into their eyes. The said female felt her knees buckle from beneath her, collapsing at the very suggestion.

She interjected from below, “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard! I thought we talked about this already!”

Ignoring the affronted silvery girl, Naruto offered further elaboration. “Yeah, we should just let Kari loose on all of Karin’s teammates. Eventually most of them would have broken limbs and can’t continue the game! Who knows? She may even knock one of them unconscious!”

The blonde suddenly howled in pain, gripping his poor leg after an assault from below. “Oi, baka! Don’t talk like I’ll injure everyone I’m come in contact with!”

“But, Kari-chan, it’s true. I thought I pointed that guy you crippled a few moments ago.”

“Just shut up!” The injured Uzumaki nearly collapsed, feeling his other leg the target of the next assault.

“…For once, I agree with Kikuchi,” Sasuke admitted languidly, seated on the bleachers. “That plan is completely idiotic, dobe.”

Naruto turned his head away with aloud harrumph, affronted by the sudden rejection of his idea.

With a loud humph, Kari scornfully said, “Thank you!”

“But… I agree with the fact we should implement her in some manner.”

“What?” Naruto asked, his electric blue orbs glittering curiously at the statement.

Kari cried, “WHAT?!”

Sasuke then took liberties to enlighten them. “Alright. Here’s the plan…”

“So does everyone understand?” The Uchiha asked, his fingers interlocked and placed under his chin.

“No!” Kari moaned, still seated pitifully on the hardwood floor. “Haven’t I subjected myself to enough torment and suffering in the sake of team participation?”

“No, not really. Besides, you need to do some form of redemption after that scoring slip-up,” Sasuke replied bluntly, unperturbed by her whining.

“Ah, come on, Uchiha! Everyone makes mistakes, neh? Cut me some slack already!”

“Just get up and move that fat ass of yours out on the court. We have a game to finish,” Sasuke told her sternly, unfurling his fingers and walking towards his respective place on the court.

The sulky Kikuchi raised her tired torso upwards, leering at him. “Stupid Uchiha… That is the worst plan I ever heard of…”

“Do not fret, Hikari! You shall do fine,” encouraged Lee, his white teeth sparkling under the bright fluorescent. She simply nodded her head in response, tailing behind the pink fan girl, squealing how cool Sasuke is.

The crippled boy stood in the center, seeming perfectly fine as he awaited for his adversary to arrive.

Swallowing a nervous lump wedged in her throat, Kari tentatively stepped forward before the tall boy.

A loud chortle echoed in the gymnasium. “Oh. My. God! Kikuchi Hikari is doing the jump ball? You must want to lose!” Karin choked out in the midst of her hysterics.

Kari’s countenance flushed an angry red, glaring at the hysterical redhead. ‘Oh so far, great plan, teme. Make me a laughingstock before I even do anything! Simply brilliant.’

“So are you two ready?” Anko queried, holding the basketball with avid excitement. Kari anxiously nodded her head as her opponent.

“Don’t be too hard on the shrimp, Himeji! With her height, I doubt she can even touch the ball!” Karin taunted, bemused by the arrangement.

‘...shrimp? She did not just call me a shrimp!’ Kari gritted her teeth; her muscles grew taut. An angry aura slowly radiated from her being, darkening her orbs to a torrential navy.

‘How dare she say that! My size has nothing to do with this!’ Kari crouched low to the floor, her angry eyes concentrated orange ball. ‘I’ll show Karin what this little shrimp can do…’

Then the room fell dead silent. Both competitors stood quietly in their place. Their muscles tensed, their gazes locked on the orange ball.

“…Go!”

The ball flew high into the air, and Kari jumped right after it. Himeji froze in his place, gawking at her incredible height. He simply watched as the silvery female smacked the ball to her teammate, landing gracefully on her feet.

With a confident smile on her lips, she turned her attention to the shocked redhead. “Not bad for a shrimp, neh? Who needs to go easy on who now?”

With a loud, irritated grunt, Karin turned her head away from her while the shocked Himeji simply bounded for the new holder of the ball. Still withholding her confidence on her generally visage, she skipped towards her spot. On the surface, Kari seemed to command poise and confidence.

…on the inside, her mind was abuzz with ecstasy.

‘YES! What now?’ She inwardly cheered, resisting the urge to jump in her place. ‘I never expected to actually get that! If that big behemoth did jump, I would have been in trouble!’

Returning her elated attention to the game, the silver girl watched as Sakura weaved through the sweaty crowd, passing the ball to Lee once she had an opening.

‘So far so good…’ Kari noticed, replaying Sasuke’s words to help comfort her mind.

‘No matter if Kikuchi is able to even touch it, Sakura will somehow get her hands on the ball, diverting all attention away from Kikuchi. She then will pass the ball to Lee.’

The crowd quickly surrounded the bowl-haired male, preventing any significant advances towards the hoop.

‘Next, Naruto will receive the ball.’

Somehow, Lee threw the ball passed the thick barricade of human bodies, and into Naruto’s arms.

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted, holding the ball away from enemy hands.

‘Then I will have the ball.’

Sasuke emerged from thin air, effortlessly grabbing the ball into his hands. The raven-haired Uchiha dribbled the ball down the court, followed by a bulky mass of players.

‘All of them should be surrounding me as I near the hoop. Once I decide the time is right, I will shoot the ball towards the hoop…’ Kari swallowed a large lump, watching as Sasuke toss the ball expertly above enemy claws. ‘And it land in your hands.’

‘Got it!’ Kari deliberated, immediately dashing towards the hoop when the ball fell into her arms.

‘No one should be close enough to stop you, but the moment the ball is in your hands, you have to run straight to the hoop. Don’t stop for anything. The other players will notice you have the ball and will be heading straight towards you.’

“Go straight to the hoop, Kari. No stopping,” she reiterated under her breath, feeling her heart thrum against her chest.

She hated to admit it, but his plan was pretty good. They certainly would have never expected someone to pass the ball to Kari and trust her enough to shoot the last basket of the game.

No matter how good or how stupid Kari thought it may be, she could feel the pressure weighing down her being, filling her head with a myriad of doubts and concerns.

How could they expect her to shoot the ball in? Sure, she was able to do it the last time, but that was probably a fluke – a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. Just what would happen if she missed?

‘Don’t worry about that now. Just go straight for the basket and shoot.’ Her breaths were heavy, and the ball thundered in her ears.

Suddenly, as she was shooting the ball up towards the hoop, a blur of scarlet obstructed her view and tackled her right to the ground.

“OOF!” As both females tumbled onto the floor, Kari felt numb to the pain that erupted from the impact.

Deaf to Karin’s loud gripes of pain and everyone’s cries of concern.

Blind to her teammates running worriedly towards her.

All she could see was the ball.

The orange sphere twirled around the basket’s mouth, performing a dance that shamelessly teased the anxious female. It tottered back and forth, making one unable to even predict where the ball would it would land.

‘Just fall already!’

After a nerve-racking eternity, the ball finally tipped over.

Her heart ceased beating. All oxygen rushed out from her lungs.

“No way…”

The whistle blew. “That’s game!! Kikuchi Hikari’s team is victorious!”

“Oh my god! You did it, Kari!” Sakura cried, enveloping the shocked silver-haired girl in a joyful embrace.

“I… I did, didn’t I?” Kari mumbled, more to herself then to her pink-haired friend.

“Yay! Good job, Kari-chan! We won!” Naruto exclaimed, emerging from thin air and wrapping his arms around the two females. “Your clumsiness really is good for something!”

“Don’t remind me, baka…” a muffled version of the Kikuchi’s voice spoke up, crushed by the two imposing bodies. “Can you two let me go? I think I’m starting to lose feeling in my limbs.”

“Yeah, of course.” The two quickly separated themselves from the suffocating Kari. Sakura heatedly glared at the content blonde. “I believe one of us was far too close for comfort.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Sakura-chan!” Naruto failed to feign innocence, joyous over the fact he got to hug the floral Haruno. “But I knew we’d have to execute ‘Klutzy Kari’ sooner or later! If we knew you could only score if someone tripped you, I would have pushed someone in front of you a long time ago!”

“Don’t say that, moron!” Sakura yelled, smacking the blue-eyed Uzumaki in the back of his head.

“Ouch! Come on, Sakura! Haven’t I received enough bruises for one day?” he whined, massaging his raw skull.

“Apparently not if you still insist on saying such stupid things! I’m not that clumsy,” Kari snapped, promptly jabbing him right in his arm.

“OUCH!” Naruto mumbled incoherently under his breath, grumbling something about Kari transforming into a ‘second Sakura’. Kari rolled her eyes, watching as the others clamored over to her.

“Good job, guys!” Hinata congratulated.

“Yeah… Kari actually made the stupid sport interesting with all that fumbling,” Ino teased.

Leaning on the two females for support, Ten Ten joked, “I guess you really didn’t need me after all!”

A pair of bright silvery blue orbs whirled in a perfect circle. “Oh yes! My suffering was more then enough to make up for your absence. I just can’t wait to count all the bruises I received from actually participating in this.”

Ten Ten chuckled, gently patting her on her shoulder.

“HI-CHAN!” A blur of purple flew from out of nowhere, crushing the unsuspecting silvery female with a bone-shattering embrace. “Oh, I knew you could do it! You’re not a total loss after all!”

“T…Thanks, Anko…” Kari choked out, desperately trying to drag oxygen back into her breathless lungs.

Anko simply hugged tighter, squeezing the life out of Kari in the midst of frenzied cheers. “But seriously! This was a spectacle! Sigh… If only Kakashi-san and your father were here to see this…”

Anko visibly tensed, cursing herself and her verbal blunder. The purple-haired instructor dropped her gaze to examine the silvery girl. Her ruby orbs dulled with concern, worried over Kari’s abrupt change in demeanor.

Sadness glazed steel-blue orbs, contorting her once jubilant smile to a deep frown. Anko quickly subdued her tight grasp on the girl to a soft, comforting hug. She gently crooned words of comfort, but Kari could not hear a single thing.

Underneath my smile lies a girl, broken like shattered glass.

Everyone was much too preoccupied in their merriment to even notice Kari’s sudden onset of melancholia.

My heart is wrought with holes, completely damaged from my loss…

Only one seemed to notice. This one person stood aside from the jollity, standing calmly and unperturbed by the victory, simply scrutinized the silver-haired female’s distraught form.

…Is there anyone out there that could help pick up my shattered pieces?

Just before this person could swallow his pride to interrogate her, a boisterous blonde presented a query, “Hey, Kari-chan, since you won, doesn’t that mean you have to prepare Karin for her bet?”

That inquiry sparked something deep within her, setting her oceanic blue orbs ablaze. Hikari extricated herself form Anko’s gentle embrace, processing Naruto’s words in her mind.

“Yeah! When are we going to see Karin humiliate herself?” Ino inquired, her icy blue eyes sparkling at the very prospect.

Dejection no longer held Kari’s countenance as joy overwhelmed her features. “That’s right! You guys will see at the end of the day. I did say I had everything ready, didn’t I?”

“B…But what are you going to do?” mumbled the timid Hyuuga.

“Oh, don’t worry! You’ll see, Hinata! It’s going to be something, I promise you that.” Kari quickly turned around to see Karin attempting to sneak away. “Now where do you think you’re going? We had a deal, remember?”

As the redhead turned to face the ecstatic female, her crimson brow twitched in annoyance, mumbling a flurry of invectives and curses towards Kari.

The rest of the day rolled passed quickly, especially in the eye of a silver-haired someone. Her step withheld a tiny skip, and she whistled some random, joyful tune.

Not even a remnant of sadness appeared in her gleeful countenance. One would have not even suspected she was depressed in the first place. It completely vanished from her visage, glowing only with palpable bliss.

“This day is just getting better and better!” Kari said melodically, nearly frolicking in the hallways.

“Kikuchi, why are you so happy?”

Startled, Kari jumped at the sound of the voice, biting down on her tongue to suppress a loud scream.

“Uchiha, what’s your deal? You… caught me by surprise,” she cried, trying to dismiss the metallic taste in her mouth as she straightened her posture.

“Irrelevant,” Sasuke replied and repeated his inquiry, “Why are you so happy?”

“Teme, have you forgotten that quickly? One reason why I’m happy is because we won! How could you forget how I scored the winning basket?” Kari inquired, placing her hands on her hips.

“It was because of my plan we won, or did you forget that?” he refuted.

“Even though it was your plan, I was the one who scored! That counts for something, doesn’t it?”

“You just got lucky, loser. I doubt it went in due to legitimate skill.” Seeing Kari’s lips purse to a pout, clearly affronted by the accusation, Sasuke’s dark orbs whirled in a perfect circle. “So what’s the other reason?”

She failed to respond, blinking several times in response. Confusion overpowered her irritation, flooding into her features.

“Hn. You really are such a loser…”

“Hey!”

Ignoring her cry, the Uchiha replied, “Well you said that was one reason why you were happy. There must be more.”

“Oh! That’s what you meant. You have to speak more clearly, Uchiha,” Kari said. “The other reason why I’m happy is because of the bet! I just finished prepping Karin up.”

“OOH! So we’re finally going to see what the bet was?!” Naruto cried, emerging in between the two scholars.

“Where’d you come from, dobe?” Sasuke asked, unfazed by his appearance.

“None of you business! I can talk to my friends if I want to,” the blonde retorted, leering at the dark-haired Uchiha. “What are you doing here, Sasuke?”

“If you’re really blind, you should know I was conversing with Kikuchi here.”

“So? I doubt she really is keen in speaking with you and your arrogant head.”

“I doubt she would be keen on speaking with anyone while she suffers from the massive headache she received from dealing with your loud mouth.”

“What was that!?”

“Um… It’s nice to see you, Naruto,” Kari nervously interjected, stepping in between the two angry boys. “And yeah! Everyone is going to see what Karin’s side of the bet was!”

“But what would Kari do if she lost?” The blonde inquired.

“What would I have to do? If I lost, I would have had to pretend to be super drunk in gym,” Kari admitted.

“Hn. That’s all? What a waste of my time…” Sasuke grumbled crossly under his breath.

“No! Don’t you dare say that, Uchiha! Do you have any idea how humiliating that would be? Smacking people, like teachers, across the face… actually being bald?”

“NO! Kari-chan would have to shave her hair off?!” Naruto cried, aghast by the very thought.

“Thank god no! I would have had to pretend I did by wearing a bald cap. That thing is so itchy and hot! I don’t want my hair sitting in that thing for so long.” Kari shuddered at the thought, tenderly holding her thick, silver tendrils in between her pale fingers. “Worst of all, I actually had to accidentally lock lips with two people because I’m ‘so drunk’.”

“What?” Sasuke asked, shocked by the thought.

Naruto inquired, “Who would those two people be?”

Wrinkling her nose in disgust and taking a tentative step back, she replied, “One random person and… you, Naruto.”

“WHAT?” Sasuke repeated his inquiry, his dark orbs widening at the statement. Kari and Naruto created a gagging harmony, covering their mouths.

“But I don’t even like you like that!” Naruto shouted. “You’re like a sister to me. If I kissed my sister… EW! That would be incest, wouldn’t it? GROSS!”

“Don’t make me think about it… especially in that way,” Kari gagged once more, fighting the bile that threatened to escape from her throat. “But that’s why I had to win! I needed to preserve my lip-ginity, you know.”

“Hn… I heard worse. That’s not that bad,” the dark-haired Uchiha grumbled indifferently under his breath, ennui spreading over his features. “What about the other one?”

Allowing another shudder to run down his spine, Naruto asked, “When will we see Karin?”

A bright smile graced her lips, sparkling her steel-blue eyes. “Oh, you will see in three… two… one.”

An eruption of laughter surrounded them as the redhead walked through the halls… at least, the partial redhead.

Naruto’s mouth plummeted to the tiled floors. His electric blue eyes widened into two wide plates. Even Sasuke was agape, gawking at Kari’s handiwork.

The proud silver-haired girl announced, “Please welcome… Karin the clown!”

The instigator of the hysteria was donning the typical clown habiliments – a bright, polka dotted, puffy top, oversized matching pants, and a pair of gigantic, red shoes. A frilly material pleated her neckline, framing her face, and a giant flower stood prominently against her garish shirt.

Karin’s face was painted a pallid white. Green and blue encircled her annoyed crimson orbs, and red paint decorated her mouth, concealing her scowl with a wide, red smile. The traditional rubber nose was lurid on the white paint.

Kari’s grin widened as she gazed at Karin’s hair – her masterpiece she felt.

“K…Ki…Kikuchi,” Sasuke choked out, finding himself completely speechless.

Naruto attempted to finish the sentence, “ I… Is Karin’s hair actually…?”

“Oh yeah. It is!”

Her uneven red tresses were coifed up into a poofy afro, but Kari did not stop there. Instead of leaving the female’s tendrils to its natural red, Kari felt exceptionally inspired. Each section of Karin’s already garish mane was devoted to a specific color of the rainbow. The clown’s puffy fro began with her natural scarlet followed by streaks of the brightest orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple she could get her hands on.

Sasuke remained flabbergasted, unable to contain his shock over Karin’s general appearance. Naruto roared into a sidesplitting laughter, rolling on the floor at the very sight.

“Ooh! This is brilliant, Kari-chan!” Ino happily told her, clasping a camera tightly in her hands. “I’m so happy I brought my camera with me today!”

“Get that thing away from me, you blonde pig!” Karin growled. Ino ignored her, quickly snapping yet another photo of the clown.

“Oh yes, I bet Karin just loves her new look. Isn’t that right, Karin?” Kari provoked, beaming.

“Watch it, Hikari. I’m in no mood for you,” Karin said ominously, rage bubbling underneath her black frames.

“But I’m just saying. I think I was helping you here. As a clown, you’re supposed to make people laugh and look! Everyone’s laughing because of you! Isn’t it nice to know you’re doing your job?”

“That’s it! Eat water, Hikari!” Karin squeezed the flower on her shirt… only for water to splash onto her face.

“Ha ha! Nice try. I rigged the flower so it would only squirt you. Who’s the smart one now?” Kari said triumphantly.

With a strange glint in her ruby orbs, she smiled. “Oh… I’m not done yet! Do you know what else clowns like to do?” Before Kari could ask what, a pie smashed into her face, covering her with cream.

“Clowns throw pies into people’s faces!”

The Kikuchi froze in her place, only moving to wipe the sugary pastry off her features. With a dark chuckle, Kari corrected, “Actually, clowns are supposed to throw pies into their own faces!”

With the white cream on her hands, Kari slapped it right onto Karin’s face. Enraged, Karin countered, plopping another boston cream right on top of her silver head. “Then I dub thee as the queen of clowns!”

“My hair!” Kari cried, tenderly caressing her creamy silver hair.

“Your hair? What about mine? This junk better wash off!”

“Oh, sure… eventually…”

Karin sputtered, rage resonating from her ruby orbs. “KIKUCHI HIKARI! ”

Thus began the pie war. Pans of boston cream flew through the air, landing on their desired targets, walls and ceilings, and even unlucky bystanders.

“Losers…” Sasuke mumbled, impassively watching the two continue in their food fight.

“Losers or not, this is all great for my blog!” Ino exclaimed, shamelessly capturing their creamy battle on film.

Naruto curiously inquired, “But… where did all the pie come from?”

The two simply shrugged, just as lost as he was. Sakura and Hinata sidled closer to them.

“Um… I think it’s from us…” Hinata daintily admitted.

The pink Haruno added, “Yeah, we were hauling a cartful of pies from the culinary arts class last period.”

The three diverted their attention away from the combating females towards the silver cart, piled high with pie.

“Oh!”

“But shouldn’t someone stop them?” Hinata asked.

“Nah, don’t worry, Hinata! Someone will come in about three… two… one.”

“What’s all this!” Gai exclaimed, his dark orbs horrorstruck by the state of the hallway. Karin and Kari froze, holding two pies in their cream-filled palms. “Ah-hah! You two have a lot of explaining to Tsunade-sama in her office!”

Skidding across the sweet, sugary substance, the green beast lunged for the two’s ears.

“Gai-sensei, she started it!” The two exclaimed.

Gai simply answered with arousing pull of the sensitive lobes. “Yeah, and you, Kari, and your carnie friend, will end it.”

“Aw… poor Kari…” Sakura mumbled.

“Yeah. Kari-chan got creamed!” Naruto said, snickering at his word play. A unison of groans sounded.

“That was the stupidest thing I ever heard,” Sakura cried.

“What? It’s just that Kari never expected victory to be so… sweet.” As Naruto roared once again into sidesplitting laughter, another harmony of groans answered him.

“Stop with all the puns!” Ino yelled, walking away from the whiskered male with Hinata and Sakura.

“You’re a loser…” Sasuke remarked, sauntering away from him.

“Ah, come on! They’re all gold, guys! You all just don’t understand my clever wordplay,” he shouted after them.

“If you mean we can’t understand how stupid you are for making such awful puns, then I agree…”

“What was that, Sasuke?! I didn’t seem to hear you!” After receiving absolutely no reply, the enraged Naruto stomped after him. “Don’t walk away from me, Uchiha! I’ll give you a taste of humble pie.”

As Naruto sniggered at his word choice, another loud harmony of groans answered, yelling, “STOP IT!”