Taiikusai

Thanks everyone who reviewed :) I'm glad some of you are enjoying it. ^^ Here is a long chapter to reward your waiting.

[A few notes before reading]:

kyouto-sensei = vice principal (Tsunade's position)

shinkansen = the bullet train and fastest way to travel besides airplane

a note about club activities- The Japanese school year begins in April and ends in March. Summer vacation is a month (usually August), but students still go to school for club activities every day. Some students don't work directly under a supervisor and self study, so to speak. Meaning, many students are on campus, but not under direct adult supervision. Perhaps this will help convey the severity of the rumor coming up ;)


~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Rumors & Conflicts ~*~*~*~*~*~*

Naruto rolled over in his bed. He smacked his alarm before groaning and throwing his sheet back over his head.

It was 7AM, on a Sunday morning, and he had to get up and get ready for work. What sort of summer vacation was this? What crazy employer makes a high school student open the store during summer vacation?

Naruto pulled down the sheet and sat up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, yawning and stretching before slowly getting onto his feet. He padded his way to the shower and turned on the water.

Waking up a bit more at the feel of cold water hitting his hand he sighed a little as his mind wandered back to the events of the previous day. Man had Sasuke thrown him in for a loop. Weeks of hard work and trying to get things back to normal between them and it had all been for nothing. Sasuke had been acting all along.

Naruto rubbed his face. He had been at the track meet until six and then was talked into joining the team for dinner and karaoke by the ever energetic Lee. The exuberant bushy eyebrow-ed boy had begged both boys to join in the celebration festivities. And so Naruto was whisked away and managed to forget one important task.

Naruto still needed to talk to Gaara. He knew Gaara would be livid over Sasuke’s actions, but it was better to tell him sooner, rather than later.

Naruto let the water run while he went over to his bag, stripping off his pj bottoms on his way to retrieve his bag from yesterday.

He rummaged inside, looking for his phone, but couldn’t find it.

The club house! He remembered, slightly panicked. He had stuck his phone in his pocket after work, waiting for Gaara’s call. After Ino walked in on them, he had completely forgotten that his phone had been smacked onto the floor. Which meant… it was still in the club house! If someone hadn’t picked it up and taken it… but it was a free phone so he doubted anyone would steal it. Thanks goodness for being poor.

Naruto groaned. Gaara must be worried sick. Or really pissed off… Naruto didn’t want to think about either, especially when he knew he’d have to explain to Gaara why his phone had been left in the club room. Not to mention he was working all day today. He would have to wait to retrieve his phone tomorrow.


Gaara mailed Naruto one more time, hoping to get any sort of response from the boy. He had called him over a day ago and still received no response. Naruto was slow sometimes but usually he was considerate. He’d always attempt to deliver a relatively prompt reply so this was unlike him.

Picking up his phone, he dialed in another number instead.

“Moshi moshi? Hyuuga speaking.”

“Neji, it’s Gaara.” He tried to sound calm.

“I know, your name popped up when the phone rang.”

“Don’t be a smart ass. I need to know if you’ve heard from Naruto.”

“Naruto? I haven’t talked to him since we were both at school on Friday. Why, what’s wrong?”

“We were supposed to talk yesterday after he got off work, but he hasn’t answered his phone.”

“That’s strange. I’ll call him right now. Did you try emailing him?”

“Yeah, but can you try to contact him? Let me know if you get a hold of him.”

“Will do. I’ll call you back soon.”

Gaara hung up and paced around his room. His open suitcase sat on his bed with half his things stuffed inside. Naruto knew he was returning tomorrow, but Gaara wanted to see him. He’d return just early enough that if he rushed, he could make it to school before Naruto left. He just hoped everything was okay.


Neji called Naruto a few times before giving up and leaving a message. Searching his address book, the next number he called was Sakura’s. As Naruto’s classmate and fellow sign board creator, the two were pretty close. Perhaps she’d have a clue in this mystery.

The phone rang a few times before a female voice answered.

“Hello Haruno-san, this is Hyuuga Neji speaking.”

“Oh! Hello Neji-sempai. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Yes, actually I was wondering if you had heard from Naruto lately.”

“Naruto? He should be working today. Or at least he should have been. I imagine he’s at home right now. Did you try calling his phone?”

“Yes. Actually a few of us have and he hasn’t answered anyone’s calls for over a day.” Neji waited for her response, but she was quiet on the other end. “Haruno-san?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. To be honest, I was thinking about calling him today. I talked to Ino earlier and she… mentioned a few things about Naruto. Apparently he was at the track meet yesterday and joined their party afterwards. Maybe he just turned off his phone yesterday.”

While it sounded plausible to Neji, Sakura didn’t sound too certain nor too happy by her own explanation. But Neji wasn’t going to press her.

“Thanks for your help. I’ll try to call him again later.”

“Yeah, no problem,” she replied rather absently. Neji hung up the phone before reviewing her response. Sakura seemed rather troubled by Neji’s news. Was she perhaps worried about Naruto too? She had mentioned Ino and by the sound of it, whatever Ino had told her didn’t seem to be good.

Neji dialed one more number.

“Hello Neji! To what do I owe the pleasure of this delightful call?” an enthusiastic voice boomed from the receiver.

“Hello Lee. I heard the track meet went well yesterday.”

“Yes! We had a score of victories against the other schools. Though they all burned with fiery youth, they could not compete with the blossoming power of Konoha!”

“Congratulations. I heard you celebrated after the event. Did you happen to see Uzumaki Naruto?”

“Why yes! Young Uzumaki and Uchiha helped us a great deal during the event and I insisted that they join us in celebration! For there were many things to celebrate that day! According to Ino, those two boys are burning with youthful passion! I wished them both luck, but those two insisted on being modest and denied it.”

“Uzumaki and Uchiha?”

Neji tuned out whatever enthusiastic speech Lee rambled on about. He caught fragments about summer heat and exploding with the power of such and such, but his thoughts had derailed as soon as Lee mentioned Uchiha and Uzumaki. Uchiha had been trying to get close to Naruto for weeks, but Neji had always been confident that Uzumaki was loyal to Gaara. Had something actually changed? Had Naruto stopped answering his phone to avoid Gaara? To avoid him?

“I gotta go Lee. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay Neji! I’ll see you at school tomorrow where we’ll..”

“Later Lee.” Neji hung up the phone. Neji rubbed the bridge of his nose. This next call would not be fun.

Pulling up the correct number, he hit dial and waiting for the other party to pick up. “Hello?”

“Hey Gaara. I couldn’t get a hold of Naruto, but I did catch something that I think you should hear. There seems to be a few rumors going around…”

Naruto strolled into the locker room and quietly changed into his PE clothes. After Saturday, he wasn’t sure if Sasuke was going to show up to practice with him or not. He didn’t bother waiting to find out.

Walking out onto the track field, he joined the other members in their regular stretches to prep for the morning runs. Lee gave him a rather enthusiastic wink when he saw him and a thumbs up before jogging off onto the field. Naruto wasn’t sure what it was for, but he smiled and waved back.

A member of the track team he didn’t know too well approached him as he stretched. “Alone today Uzumaki? Don’t have your girlfriend here to join you?”

“Girlfriend? You mean Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked confused.

The boy laughed, shooting a knowing glance at the friend behind him. “Did you make up that pet name yourself?” he laughed before walking away.

Naruto scratched his chin in confusion. “Weird guy.” He shrugged it off before returning to his stretches.

The morning was relatively normal except for the fact that Sasuke wasn’t running with him this morning and a few of the students shot him an occasional glance as if they were trying to assess something and weren’t quite sure what conclusion to draw. If Naruto hadn’t had so much experience with such behavior in his childhood, he might have actually been bothered by it. Instead he wondered if he somehow had rice stuck to his face or if the team members were suddenly bothered by having a non member joining their activities.

When the morning runs were over he went back to the locker room, changed back into his regular clothes and wandered over to the club room. It had been unlocked in the time he had been running and he wandered in, hoping to locate his missing cellphone. He looked all along the floor, shifting a few objects around, hoping to find it hiding under some well placed sign board or piece of equipment, but he couldn’t find it anywhere.

“Looking for your phone?” Naruto turned around to find Ino standing in the doorway. Her arms were crossed as she leaned one shoulder against the wall. “I turned it in to the office. I figured it had to be one of yours.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You or Sasuke-kun’s,” she smiled mischievously. “Must have been some make out session if your phone ended up across the room like that.”

Naruto’s brows furrowed in anger. “What are you talking about? There’s nothing weird going on between us.”

“That’s not what it looked like to me,” she grinned. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind if you like boys. After all, doesn’t our own school president admit to being of the other persuasion? It’s just a shame. Such a waste. Sasuke-kun’s fanclub will be so heartbroken.”

“I said there’s nothing going on between us. You just caught us in the middle of a fight.” Naruto was angry now. The last thing he needed was the school gossip spreading nasty rumors that weren’t true.

“Sure, sure, whatever you say. Just thought I’d let you know your phone was in the office.” She dismissed him with a wave and walked away.

Naruto stomped all the way down the hall. Stupid Ino and her big mouth. After realizing the implications of her little discovery, Naruto also realized why the track team was acting so funny. Ino was their lead manager. She must have told the entire team about her little “discovery”. Naruto clenched his teeth in disgust. He HAD to talk to Gaara before this rumor reached him. The last thing he wanted was for Gaara to get hurt.

Naruto turned the corner to cross the bridge to the north building, but was suddenly called from behind.

“Naruto!” Naruto turned around to see a worried Sakura chasing after him. She stopped a few feet in front of him, hands on her knees and bent over as she tried to slow down her breathing. “I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday but you wouldn’t pick up your phone. What’s going on? Ino called me yesterday…” Naruto groaned, “and told me this crazy story about you and Sasuke-kun.”

Naruto smacked his forehead. “My phone has been in the club room since Saturday afternoon. And now it’s in the teacher’s office. I was just about to go get it.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes in confusion. “How did you manage to leave it in the club room? Don’t tell me Ino really did walk in on you and Sasuke-kun…”

“It’s a bit of a long story. Let me get my phone and then I’ll explain it to you. I need to talk to Gaara as soon as possible. He’s supposed to return home today and I was supposed to talk to him Saturday.”

Sakura nodded and accompanied him to the teacher’s room.

They managed to make it as far as the door when Iruka-sensei popped his head out and stopped them.

“Uzumaki-kun.” He didn’t seem angry for once. It was worse- he looked concerned.

Naruto turned and bowed to his teacher. “Ohayou gozaimasu.”

Iruka-sensei smiled. “Good morning. I was wondering if I may have a word with you.” Naruto sighed and nodded.

“I’ll see you in the art room Sakura-chan. I get the feeling this will take awhile.”

She nodded hesitantly, glancing at Iruka-sensei apprehensively. She bowed to him before turning around and walking back down the hall. Naruto noticed her look back one more time before he entered the disciplinarian’s room.

“Have a seat Uzumaki-kun. I have a few things to discuss with you.”

“If it’s my hair, I can always try to dye it black, but you seem to have a thing against dying hair,” he grinned. He hoped that if he stayed cheerful than whatever news Iruka-sensei had might not be so bad. It was unusual for the disciplinarian to look so somber.

Iruka smiled weakly before sitting in front of Naruto. “No, no, Kyoto-sensei* has assured me that it’s quite natural. That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.”

“ Is this about my request to eliminate the school uniform?” Naruto smiled again. But Iruka only shook his head with that odd smile on his face.

“Uzumaki-kun, there have been some rumors floating around the campus apparently. Something concerning you and Uchiha-kun.”

Naruto smacked his forehead. Ino worked fast. “It’s NOT true! Ino made up the whole thing!”

Iruka sighed. “I was hoping you could tell me what happened that day. Some of the kids apparently told their parents and we’ve had a few… concerned calls from the PTA. I imagine you can understand why. We don’t condone any sort of sexual behavior on school grounds, and using the club house … well, why don’t you explain to me what happened first? I plan to speak to Uchiha-kun as well, but I figured it was better to speak to you both individually before the principal requests both of you in his office.”

Naruto’s eyes grew wide with worry. Just how many people had Ino told? Though when he thought back to this morning when two boys he hardly knew approached him, he realized it was the whole track team at least. And how many people had they told for that matter? Sakura hadn’t even gone to the track meet on Saturday and she had already heard. Bad news traveled fast it seemed. He cringed when he thought of how the Sasuke fan club would try to murder him for this one.

“Ino asked us to help the track team pull out these cones, only they were BURIED under this humongous pile of junk! Sasuke and I were totally cleaning it all up too, but you know how boiling the club room gets and it must have been around 3 or 4, which is the hottest time of day! So I took my shirt off cuz I was seriously sweating like a pig. We were almost done when Sasuke made this smart ass comment, and I yelled back at him, and so on and so forth until we were staring each other down and ready to throw fists when Ino walked in on us.”

Iruka nodded, smiling in what seemed to be the greatest sort of relief. “Crazy girl thought we were doing something pervy, but we were really just fighting as usual. But seriously, me and Uchiha? As if. Now had it been Sakura-chan,” he grinned lasciviously.

Iruka held up a hand. “That’s fine, that’s enough for now. I’m glad to hear this was all one big misunderstanding. Although, I must say I disapprove of fighting.” He tried to look stern, but Naruto noticed that his earlier tension had lifted.

“Can I go now?” Naruto smiled. Iruka nodded and he rose to his feet. He was about to leave the door when Iruka piped up from behind.

“Uzumaki-kun. Just one more question.” Naruto turned to look at him to show that he was listening. “How did your phone end up across the room?” Naruto felt a moment of panic as he tried to think up a plausible excuse. He couldn’t think of any so he tried for the truth.

“A friend called in the middle of the fight, but Sasuke didn’t like the interruption. He knocked it out of my hand which is why the fight got so heated between us.”

Iruka looked surprised to hear about Sasuke’s lapse in conduct, but simply nodded. “Thank you. You may go now.”

Naruto walked over to the teacher’s room and opened the door. “Shitsurei shimasu.” He strolled over to Kakashi-sensei’s desk and smiled. “Ino told me that she turned in my phone. I was wondering if I may have it back.”

One droopy eye looked at him from over the top of his book. “Ah, yes. It’s been ringing off the hook.” He opened a drawer and pulled out the familiar orange phone. His little crab still dangled from a strap. “Take better care of your stuff Uzumaki.” He smiled a bit. Naruto nodded and picked up the phone.

“Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. I will!” He bowed before turning to leave. Before he even made it back to the door, his name was called again.

“Uzumaki! Get your butt over here.” Naruto turned around. Tsunade glared at him from her desk, telephone in hand. Like one stalking towards the executioner, Naruto dragged his steps. “You and Uchiha-kun are requested to appear in the principal’s office at 3pm today. It seems you two have been getting into trouble again. Old habits die hard, eh?” Naruto stared at the floor sheepishly. “I’ll expect you there at least five minutes early. Don’t forget.” Naruto nodded. “That’s all, you may go.” He bowed and quietly left the room.

“Shitsurei shimashita.”

Naruto checked his call history first. He had about six calls from Gaara, three from Neji and two from Sakura. His list of mail just went on. By the time he had gotten to the art room, he had managed to get through quite a few of them, but as soon as he entered the classroom, Sakura nearly pounced on him.

“Spill. What happened on Saturday?” Naruto was taken aback by the sudden attack

“Oh man, Sakura, you’re gonna think I’m stupid.” Naruto groaned and rubbed his eyes with his palms. “In fact, I probably AM stupid.”

“Uh oh, Naruto, what did you do?”

“Me? I didn’t do anything. Not really. I was just fooled. I thought things were going back to normal between me and Sasuke. Then on Saturday he pulled that stupid move and probably would have tried to molest me or something if Ino hadn’t walked in. Stupid bastard.” Naruto growled.

Sakura’s eyes flew wide. “Sasuke-kun? He tried to make a move on you?” She put a hand over Naruto’s knee. “He didn’t try to force himself on you, did he?”

“Not… quite. Though it could definitely be considered along the lines of sexual harassment.”

Sakura gasped. “No way. Sasuke-kun? What’s going to happen? Did you tell Iruka-sensei? Sasuke could be suspended for this.”

She seemed genuinely worried, though for who, Naruto couldn’t quite tell. “There’s a disciplinarian hearing this afternoon. The PTA has their panties all in a twist and want Sasuke and me both to attend.”

Sakura’s eyes went wide. “Today? That’s rather sudden.”

“I guess they want this over with as soon as possible. We were caught doing something inappropriate on school grounds when regular school wasn't in session. It doesn’t bode well for the school if news like that gets out.”

Naruto huffed and stared up at the ceiling. “I only hope they don’t ask the student council president to be present. Gaara is supposed to return today.” Naruto hunched over and clasped his hands together. “I need to tell him everything that’s happened before he hears it from the school.” Naruto pulled out his phone again. “Could I have a few moments of privacy, Sakura?” She nodded and quietly got up to leave the room.

Naruto fingered the buttons on his phone before pulling up Gaara’s number to dial. He took a deep breath and waited for the ring tone. It rang perhaps once before a woman’s voice spoke up informing the caller that the present phone was set on manner mode and all calls would be directed to voice mail.

Naruto groaned. That’s right, he’s going to be on a train all day!. Gaara would be on the shinkansen* for the next few hours at least. He always turned off his phone to be polite. Gyaaah! Stupid Gaara, why are you so polite!!


Gaara sat by the window, staring out at the blur of scenery whipping by. Temari sat next to him, quietly reading a book while Kankuro bobbed his head to whatever ungodly music he was playing on his headphones.

Gaara’s hand was in his pocket, holding onto his phone, tempted to exit the car in the space designated for smoking and phone calls to attempt to call Naruto one more time. He had tried calling a number of times, but the boy never picked up. Gaara was frankly worried. His mind was filled with a million gruesome things that could have happened to him. And since Naruto lived alone, it was up to his friends to notice he was missing. He refused to believe the rumor Neji had told him. Naruto may have been frustrating at times, but he was not unfaithful. Naruto had been so intent on becoming friends with Uchiha, but friends only. Naruto only had eyes for him, right?

Gaara’s brow furrowed. He firmly told himself that Naruto was not avoiding him. Something had simply happened, and when he got back, he’d find out what. He had to. It was the only thought that softened the pain in his chest.


Naruto had kept himself busy the entire afternoon. He painted perhaps a little too fiercely, and after botching up a few faces, Sakura gave him the big paint brushes and told him to take over Sasuke’s parts since it seemed their classmate would not be joining them today. Naruto complied and tried to focus on his work instead of constantly glancing at his phone to see if Gaara had emailed or called or something.

Sometime in the afternoon Neji appeared at the doorway, knocking tentatively before entering. Naruto looked up and gave a weak smile. “I’m glad to see nothing too awful has happened to you Naruto. You’ve had quite a few people worried about you.” Naruto nodded grimly.

“I’m sorry about that. I couldn’t get to my phone until today. Otherwise I would have called you much earlier.” Neji nodded, stepping forward to kneel in front of the panel Naruto was working on.

“You sounded distressed. I would have been here earlier, but there was quite an unexpected flurry of activity in student council today. Apparently you and Uchiha have been summoned for a disciplinarian hearing.”

Naruto winced. “You heard?”

“Gaara is still absent, so as vice president, I was requested to step in to replace him.” Naruto groaned.

“I’ve been trying to talk to Gaara, but his phone is off. He must still be on the train.” Naruto glanced over at his phone sitting all alone on the table.

“His train is scheduled to arrive at Tokyo Station at 2:30. I talked to him last night. He’s been particularly worried.” Naruto glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even two yet. Neji noticed his worry. “Naruto, since I’ll be at the hearing with you, I was wondering if you would tell me what happened. If I’m familiar with the circumstances, I may be better prepared to help you.” Naruto looked at Neji’s concerned face and nodded. Neji of all people would be able to understand. For a moment, Naruto felt slightly relieved that Gaara wasn’t back yet.


The train ride had been long. He felt relieved when he stepped off the shinkansen, turning his phone back on to check for messages. He noticed with some alarm and relief that Naruto had called him while he was on the train. He quickly dialed back, but his phone had been turned off. Gaara’s brow furrowed in worry again. Quickly, he dialed Neji.

“Gaara, you’ve caught me at a bad time. Can you make it quick?”

“Uzumaki called me, but his phone is off again. Is he at school?”

“Yes, and his phone died today. He’s been trying to get in contact with you.”

“Can I talk to him?”

“Normally I’d say yes, but I’m about to go to a disciplinarian hearing. I’m afraid Naruto will be a member of the party.”

“Disciplinarian meeting? In summer?” Gaara was definitely worried. Disciplinarian hearings were usually reserved for offenses serious enough to end in suspension or worse- dismissal from school. For one to be called during summer was unheard of. “What time does it start at?”

“Three. I was just about to head to the principal’s office.”

“Alright, try to delay them. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He cut the power and turned to his sister. “Nee-san, can you take my luggage home for me? I need to get to school as soon as possible.”

She looked at him suspiciously, but didn’t question him. Nodding, she took the handle of his small suitcase. “Be careful.”

He nodded before jogging towards the escalator and towards the right number platform. He looked at his watch. Fifteen minutes. He wouldn’t make it in time for the meeting to start, but he could definitely try to get there before it was over.

Naruto stepped into the principal’s office followed closely by Neji. Sasuke was already inside, standing quietly before the principal’s desk with his eyes cast to the floor. Three women sat at a knee high table beside the principal’s desk and were, who Naruto assumed to be, disgruntled members of the PTA.

Both boys bowed as soon as they reached the principal’s desk. The principal looked at them sternly from his seat, nodding his head in greeting. Umino-sensei closed the door and came up to join them.

“I’m sure you know why we’ve called you two here.” Umino-sensei began. “Some of the students heard of some activities that were held last Saturday afternoon and some of the staff and parents are concerned.” Sasuke continued to stare at the floor while Naruto’s eyes darted from the angry parents to the principal, staring at both of them severely. “We were hoping that you boys could explain to us what happened that day so we could clear this mis…” Iruka paused, seeming to catch himself, “clear this whole thing up.” He smiled warmly. He looked at Naruto as though expecting him to speak up. It took Naruto a moment before he realized that he was being given a signal, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted.

“It was my fault.” Naruto was shocked into silence my Sasuke’s confession. “Uzumaki was completely innocent in the situation and I accept full responsibility.”

The mothers clucked and feathers ruffled from the couch, shocked by Uchiha’s sudden declaration.

“Oh I don’t believe this,” one of the mother’s spoke up. “You were such a role-model Uchiha-kun. Surely you don’t mean this. You’re not trying to cover up for this… this.. boy, are you?” The word “boy” slid off her tongue like it was the nastiest insult she could imagine.

“Oi, teme, what the hell?” Naruto turned and yelled at him. “Are you trying to get yourself kicked out?”

“Naruto!” Iruka-sensei pleaded, “please watch your language.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Naruto turned to face the principal again, bowing low at the waist and facing the floor as he yelled. “Uchiha-kun is just trying to protect me. We were both fighting in the club house when Yamanaka-san interrupted us. If you’re going to punish someone, please punish us both.”

“Fighting?” One of the mothers exclaimed. “Did anyone hear anything about there being a fight?” All the mothers looked at each other and shook their heads. “Explain, Uzumaki-kun.” Naruto righted himself to face them, feeling immediately pinned down by their stares.

“Uchiha-kun and I were helping the track team but I guess we got too carried away with the jokes and insults because we were ready to throw punches when Yamanaka walked in.” Sasuke snorted, but Naruto ignored him. “Geez, what did you think we were doing?”

The principal remained silent, clasping his hands on top of his desk and seemingly pondering their words.

“We heard that clothing had been removed and two boys were… a little too close than was appropriate.” A mother attempted to put it delicately. It seemed none of them were willing to be blunt.

“You mean you thought we were making out?” Naruto spelled it out for them. All three mothers looked away or covered their mouths in horror at his crudeness.

“He says it without even being shocked by it. Can you blame *us* for thinking it possible? What with the student president flaunting his … preference.. so blatantly. And poor Uchiha-kun under his supervision.” One of the mother’s looked at Sasuke sympathetically.

Naruto’s nostrils flared and he took a menacing step forward before Iruka grabbed him and pushed him back.

“Gaara has nothing to do with this! He’s trying his damned hardest to set a good example for ALL of us! Don’t go judging what you don’t know!”

Iruka pushed him back harder. “Naruto calm DOWN!” Iruka held him firmly by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes and reprimanded him with a glance.

Neji cleared his throat, sending Iruka-sensei a glance. Iruka nodded and Neji addressed the PTA. “I believe we are slightly off topic. Sabaku Gaara is not under review and it seems there is more rumor to this story than truth. Perhaps we should allow both Uchiha and Uzumaki to continue telling us what proceeded to occur last Saturday.”

The last mother to speak blushed in embarrassment and nodded her assent.

Iruka let Naruto go, and resumed his place beside the principal. “Who would like to speak up first?”

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances. Sasuke glared at him for botching up his heroic effort to save at least one of their asses, but Naruto challenged him, forcing Sasuke to glance away.

Knock knock.

It had taken just a little under 25 minutes to get to school and Gaara ran the rest of the way. He was relieved for once that their school was so close to the station and didn’t bother even putting on his school slippers, making a mad dash at the entrance to slip on some of the guest ones.

He raced across the hallway, making a sharp turn and running up the stairs. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t wearing his school uniform. He wasn’t even supposed to be at school today. He looked at the clock, noting that it was nearly 15 after 3 and hoped that the hearing hadn’t been completed already. He slid to a halt right outside the principal’s office and knocked sharply on the door.

He could hear a flutter of activity inside and upon the doors opening, the face or Iruka-sensei, the school disciplinarian, peered out at him curiously.

“Gaara-kun.” That one word was filled with a sort of amazement Gaara hadn’t been expecting. “I didn’t realize you would be back so soon.”

“My apologies for not notifying you earlier. I’ve just arrived. I heard there was some form of emergency involving a member of the student council. As Uchiha-kun’s senior, I felt it best to be present and relieve Hyuuga of his temporal duties.”

Neji wasn’t the only one who could talk smoothly when the need arose.

Iruka nodded a little dumbfounded and opened the door wider to allow him inside.

“Shitsurei shimasu,” he bowed to all members present. “I apologize for arriving so late, but I see the meeting is not yet concluded.”

Neji smiled at Gaara’s appearance, but Naruto looked panic-stricken.

“Shall we resume?” He looked at Naruto poignantly.


Sakura glanced at the clock, beads of sweat sliding trails down her back as she jogged slowly through the corridors. She would most likely get yelled at by the teachers at some point, but she thought with grim satisfaction that at least the disciplinarian wouldn’t. He was too busy at the moment.

Sakura had given up on the classrooms and the clubhouse and opted to find the track team directly.

“Lee!” She jogged up to the green glad junior who was jogging in place while laughingly talking to a first year member. He noticed her approach and gave her a brighter smile, if that were even possible, and a thumbs up.

“Oh Sakura, my lotus blossom! Have you come to accept my date offer?”

Sakura couldn’t help chuckling. He was persistent, if anything. To think that Naruto had once been the same.

“Actually, I was hoping you could tell me where Ino is.”

The change in topic and hinted rejection did nothing to deter his spirit. “Why yes! Our wonderful manager lady should be in the cafeteria where she said she would be seeking some refreshment. I fear she’s rather delicate in the summer heat, as I imagine you must be too! But should you feel that you are withering in these harsh summer days…”

“Thanks Lee, I’ll talk to you later!” She dashed for the cafeteria before he could finish.



Gaara’s expression didn’t change when he looked at Naruto and it frightened him. He didn’t like being looked at with cold, green eyes. He wanted Gaara to look at him the way he always did. He wanted to run up to him and hug him and tell him how much he missed him; NOT to stare at him in panic from across the principal’s office. His confession just became a lot more painful.

“As I mentioned earlier,” he stared at the floor, “Uchiha and I were helping out the track team. We were stuck in the club house for quite a while after Yamanaka dumped one of their chores on us and since it was boiling, I took off my shirt while I worked.” Gaara’s brow furrowed just a bit at this and Naruto realized then how utterly stupid a move that had been. “Uchiha made some nasty comments, I challenged him, we exchanged insults and it turned into a face off when Yamanaka came back.” The whole room was silent. Uncomfortably so- like they were waiting for another part of the story that would explain how the situation became so misconstrued.

“Then why would Miss Yamanaka feel the need to misconstrue the story so? If you two were fighting, as you say, then were did her story come from?”

“I realize now, that it must have looked inappropriate due to my missing shirt and the fact that we were practically staring down each other’s noses. It’s our way of… playing chicken, if you will.”

“We heard rumors of… body contact. How do you explain those?” Naruto blushed at the implications.

Naruto squirmed under the way Gaara was looking at him, and the murderous glare he sent Uchiha. Uchiha seemed to have stopped staring at the floor and stared back at Gaara in challenge.

“Uzumaki is telling what he thinks to be the truth.” All eyes suddenly shifted to Uchiha. “He saw it as just a fight, but my actions were nothing short of sexual harassment. As I said, Uzumaki is innocent. I accept the full blame.” Uchiha never took his eyes off of Gaara as he said this. Gaara’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Naruto looked between both of them, anxious about the way Gaara seemed to be clenching his jaw. He knew the red head was dying to throw himself at Uchiha.

To make things worse, one of the mothers seemed intent on saving the Uchiha and hell bent on blaming Naruto. “Oh, poor Uchiha-kun. Surely you must be confused. From what I hear, you were fully clothed and only,.. Uzumaki-kun,” she paused over his name like it gave off a bad taste in her mouth, “had clothing removed. You obviously didn’t remove it yourself, so can you say he’s completely innocent in this little.. seduction maneuver?”

“HEY!” Naruto objected fiercely.

“Uzumaki-kun wouldn’t do that.” Gaara spoke up calmly. Only Naruto could detect the anger underlying his voice. “He’s not the type.”

“And how do we have proof of that?” irate mother pressed on.

“Uzumaki-kun and I have been dating for over the past month, exclusively.” All three mothers gasped. The principal merely stared at his hands and gave a contemplative “Hnn.”

Gaara continued. “And as far as we’re both concerned, Uchiha does not share our persuasion. Neither of us would attempt to push our suit where it wasn’t welcome.” He gave Sasuke a rather pointed glare.



Sakura strode quickly out the north wing into the long open hallway that would take her into the cafeteria. Ino sat sipping from a box of Oolong tea, laughing a something Tenten had just said amidst a group of girls.

“INO!” Sakura was raving mad. Said blonde looked up at Sakura in surprise, nearly jumping when Sakura slammed her hand onto the table. “What the HELL did you do that for?” Sakura breathed heavily from all her jogging and could only imagine what a nightmare she looked like at the moment. “The whole track team, Ino? You said you only told a few people!”

“Chill Sakura, you’re just sore because I saw it first.” She flicked a strand of hair out of her face before turning to face Tenten again.

“Wrong bitch!” This received 3 shocked stares, “Thanks to you, your beloved Sasuke-kun may either be suspended, or worse, expelled.” Ino’s eyes grew wide at that one. “And Naruto too, though I doubt you care so much about that one.”

“What are you talking about?” She giggled nervously. “It wasn’t *that* serious.” She tried to laugh it off. Sakura could tell her words had jarred her.

“Both of them are standing inside the principal’s office right now, trying to explain to the PTA and the school disciplinarian why so many kids went home to tell their parents about two gay boys making out at a school event. Now were that story actually true, how many rules do you think that breaks and how much you wanna bet the prissy, conservative PTA is gonna come down on them extra hard because it involves two boys?”

Ino paled. “Sakura, I’m sorry… I didn’t think…”

“Damn right you didn’t think! Now are you gonna get your ass in there and fix it or do I have to drag you?”

Ino jumped to her feet. “Shut up forehead! I get the fuckin point already!”

She stomped past Sakura and strode out huffily. Sakura smirked at the remaining two girls and watched her retreating form. She was pleased to see that Ino walked a bit faster than normal.


“Hold on a minute!” One of the mother’s exclaimed. “Are you telling us that Uzumaki-kun really IS gay?” She sounded indignant. “If that’s the case, then how are we to take… their word that Uchiha-kun wasn’t being taken advantage of? You know how these gays are, promiscuous at every available opportunity.” She ranted.

Gaara remained calm. He apparently didn’t seem intent on arguing with the woman, though Naruto felt his blood boiling.

It was Neji who actually came to the rescue. “If I may interject.” He gave all three mothers a rather reproachful look. “I know it may be difficult to take Gaara’s word, since he is involved with one of the members present, but he is also concerned about Uchiha, I’m certain of it.” In other words, stop your hating. “I can also testify to the fact that both boys have been dating, and I am one of very few who is aware of it. Neither of the boys, eh hem, flaunt, their sexuality and are very concerned with maintaining good standing academically and among their peers.”

The principal shifted in his seat. If there was anyone in the room beyond reproach, it was definitely the highly esteemed Hyuuga Neji.

Suddenly, the principal spoke up out of nowhere. “What do you think of this Iruka-sensei? You’re rather acquainted with young Uzumaki here.”

Iruka nodded. He seemed grateful to have been given a say in any of this. “I believe what Hyuuga says is true. I only suspected any sort of relationship between the boys when I bumped into them at a local matsuri. They’ve been very discreet about it. I imagine most of the student body doesn’t even realize it. And as for Uzumaki’s character, despite some minor issues, he’s never been the type of student to have serious disputes or fights with his classmates. At least, not since he’s entered this school. On the contrary, he’s taken on some leadership positions. And before anyone tries to hint that such a relationship might be a negative influence, all of Uzumaki’s teachers have been praising him for his remarkable scholastic achievements in the past month or so… which I believe is how long Gaara says they’ve been dating.” He smiled at this. “He’s been working hard to do better in school. I somehow doubt he’d try to do something to throw it away now.”

The principal nodded.

“We may just have to accept Uchiha-kun at his word.” The PTA looked scandalized. “Which leaves us to discuss punishment.” Uchiha returned to staring at the floor. “Uzumaki-kun, you’ll have extra cleaning duties and I’ll hand you to the P.E. teacher for mild fighting on school grounds.” Naruto nearly sighed with relief. The most the P.E. teachers did was make him run extra laps, which he was more than willing to do.

“Uchiha-kun, I’m afraid your punishment will have to be more severe.”

The door suddenly flew open and Yamanaka Ino nearly fell through the doorway.

“Shitsurei shimasu!” Her cheeks were flushed and a thin sheen of sweat covered her temples. “I just heard about the meeting and I’m here as a witness.”

Her eyes pleaded with the P.T.A. “It was my fault for starting the stupid rumor. I walked in on them arguing and thought I’d have a bit of fun with them so I made their argument into something a little more … steamier… than it really was. I’m sorry that it caused so much trouble!”

“But Uchiha has confessed to it being true. He’s accepted full responsibility.”

Ino looked at him, shocked. Naruto looked between both parties nervously and forced out a laugh.

“I told you he was lying! He was trying to cover me so just one of us would get in trouble.” He laughed nervously, hoping no one would notice. “Ah Uchiha, you’re such a bad liar. I could tell by the way you kept staring at the floor! Your eyes always give it away!” He nudged the other boy and Sasuke smirked. More out of incredulity than honesty.

“My apologies, Kouchou-sensei.* I thought it was the only way this would be resolved quickly. But I’ll accept whatever punishment you deem fit for fighting on school grounds.”

The principal nodded while all three members of the PTA were speechless. More than one was ashamed of letting their prejudices shine so clearly.

“Since no punches were actually thrown, you’ll receive the same punishment as Uzumaki-kun. I’ll notify the P.E. teachers immediately.”

Both students nodded, bowing low before they were dismissed.

Everyone was quiet as they left the principal’s office. Ino gave them all a sheepish look, guilt clearly having been the motive for the attempted rescue, but no one felt like talking to her when she attempted to apologize to them personally. She gave up shortly and returned to the cafeteria.

Sasuke muttered something about student council business and walked down the hall and the remaining party decided to go to the art room, where Sakura was no doubt waiting to hear the verdict.


No one said anything as they walked to the art room. Naruto tried to think of a million ways to explain, but decided that he didn’t really want to attempt it in the hallways. Gaara seemed rather distant as well. Like his mind was a thousand miles away. Neji quickly gave up trying to make conversation after the first few cheerful greetings were met with an angry glare.

It was Sakura who broke their silence as soon as all three boys stepped inside.

“Well? What happened?” She looked at their sullen faces apprehensively.

“Ino came to the rescue and told them she exaggerated. They received extra cleaning duties for slight arguing and fighting in the club house instead.” Sakura sighed in relief.

“So, everything is okay then?” She glanced between their faces, having noticed the grim air between them all.

Neji quirked his mouth, “between the administration and us, yes.” He gave both boys a sidelong glance. “Haruno-san, would you happen to know what prompted Yamanaka to come running in like that? I wasn’t aware she knew of the meeting.”

Sakura smiled coyly. “A little bird told her?”

Naruto’s eyes lit up. “Sakura-chan! You’re brilliant!” She giggled a little, smiling at the floor.

“Just helping out a friend, or two. But really, are things okay? I mean… what about you and Sasuke?” The barest flicker of surprise crossed Gaara’s face.

“Am I the only one that didn’t know?” Gaara spat out. “So the rumor was true. There was something going on between you and Uchiha.”

“NO!” Naruto shouted. He strode up to Gaara and wrapped two arms around him. Gaara struggled at first, but Naruto held onto him firmly. “Let me explain.” Naruto told him calmly. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day. At least let me explain now that I have you here.”

Neji took Sakura by the arm and quietly strode towards the door. “Today is a hot day Haruno-san. Why don’t I reward your heroic efforts with a drink from the cafeteria?”

Sakura looked at the two boys, Gaara still refusing to return Naruto’s embrace. She nodded and let herself be led out the door.





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A/N: kouchou-sensei = principal. It's a polite way to address the principal by both students and other teachers.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter =D Though with this length, I imagined you'd have to to get through all of it ^^; Please R&R. Feedback is always welcome.