Aiming High
After lunch…
Following a very enjoyable conversation with Tayuya's team and his own, which even Sasuke found surprisingly pleasant from the small smile he wore on his face, the two groups then parted ways. They promised to meet up with each other later onwards, and once numbers and addresses had been exchanged, retreated to their designated rendezvous points.
Also, for whatever reason that was shaking her, Naruto couldn't help but notice that Sakura was acting more distant towards both him and Sasuke after her little chat with Tayuya. She was a lot more anxious than before, a sight that told the jinchuriki that something was bothering her.
All the same, as long as she was still with them back in the classroom they didn't have to worry about the team going on unaccounted for. At least Sasuke was pleased at the change in atmosphere, since he was no longer getting swamped by the pinkette or her blonde haired rival. This made their journey back to class far smoother than it probably would have been if Sakura were in a better mood.
When the bell sounded and all the newly graduated Genin filed back into their soon to be former homeroom, they found a group of uniformed adults already there and waiting for them. Doing the logical thing, Team 7 decided to stick together for the upcoming procedure so upon finding their own row at the side of the room, sat in the usual manner prior to their recess hour and waited to be introduced to their sensei.
"I hope you all had a good break," Iruka began with a smile as he directed everyone's attention to the shinobi behind him, "Because it's time to get down to business. The men and women you see standing before you are going to be your Jonin instructors for the duration of your tenure as Genin. They will be the ones who will be leading your team on missions and overseeing your training as a group, so make sure to work hard, study hard, and listen well."
With that said and done, each of the Jonin captains at the front of the classroom then stepped forward one after the other and began taking teams away by the number they were assigned. The squads were led out in no particular order, but soon enough every single group was transported out of the room, leaving only Team 7 and a slightly confused looking Iruka standing at the front.
Sakura, confused and concerned, stood up and raised her hand, "Umm… Iruka-sensei… what about our team leader? Isn't he here yet?" She hoped he was late because if he wasn't and she was about to learn that they had in fact failed as a squad she was going to cry.
Iruka sweatdropped and looked down at his clipboard, "Uhh… you guys have Hatake Kakashi as your instructor, right?" He looked up and saw three affirmative nods. He then smiled in amusement, "Yeah, you're going to be waiting here for a while."
Mouths opening to gape, Naruto and Sakura looked like they were about to mount some sort of complaint until they saw the Chunin turn tail and grip the frame of the entrance. He turned and grinned back at them, "I've got a lot of work to do now, so I gotta go. Good luck you guys." He then slid the door shut, leaving behind two very perplexed kids and one who was still in a state of complete composure.
Sasuke laced his hands together and propped his elbows up on the desk, "Well… he said we'll be here for a while."
The pink haired girl beside him huffed and folded her arms, "That's just great."
The three of them then planted themselves wherever they were presently stationed and waited.
The first fifteen minutes was spent in relative silence in the same row the group had picked out when they first arrived. But as the clock continued to tick and time pulled into the half-hour mark, the trio started to grow a little more restless. Naruto took to wandering the classroom and jumping around the desks, whereas Sakura had moved off to the side to look out the window. The only person who was really able to keep it together was the Uchiha, who spent his time in contemplative hush and trying to block out the rest of the world around him.
When an hour came and went, in which Naruto then found himself lying across one of the desks up in the middle row, the boy suddenly found the rays of sunlight he was bathing in blocked by the familiar silhouette of Sakura coming to stand behind him. The jinchuriki sat up with a start and looked at the nervous looking kunoichi with inquiry, "Hey, Sakura-chan. What's up?"
Shuffling uncomfortably on the spot, the pink haired teen slowly turned to look up at the boy with an apologetic expression. It was apparent from her long period of silence after their break that she had been thinking a lot on whatever it was that had been troubling her, and so had chosen now rather than later to finally bring it up.
Based on her current state of appearance and mood, she obviously had something serious she had to say to him.
"N-Naruto… I… I just wanted to say… I'm sorry."
"Huh? For what?"
"It's just, after lunch I had some time to think and… well," the girl sighed and, clenching her fists tightly for a moment, faced the boy with utmost intent and purpose. Kami, this was difficult. But if she didn't say this now she wouldn't be able to move forward and their group would suffer because of it. She had to say it. She HAD to. "In all the years I spent here in the academy, I only ever thought of you as nothing more than a delinquent and a troublemaker, and I always ignored you every time you tried to speak with me. Because you were always acting silly and always causing problems for the teachers, I didn't try to get to know you like everybody else, because I thought you were a bad influence on people."
Naruto blinked, tilting his head towards the girl as he listened in to what she had to say. It was compelling stuff, particularly since it was all concerning him, and he had no intention of stopping her.
From the way she approached him before all anxious and rigid, he knew she had to get this off of her chest.
Sucking in air, Sakura tensed up, "I was stupid and insensitive. I labeled you as an idiot and a nuisance right from the start, and stayed away from you. Because of that, I wasn't able to get to know you like I should have. I misjudged you and avoided you, so I wasn't able to see what a nice guy you really were. It was awful of me to treat you the way I did… and I'm sorry." She bowed low and clenched her eyes shut in dread, afraid that the boy might snap at her. He had every right to, "I'm very sorry."
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