....
"Damn! Is this treason?!"
Naruto stared at Haruno Sakura with a bewildered expression. She pursed her lips, putting on a shy act as she murmured, "Naruto-kun~ don't look at me like that..." Her behavior was so out of character that Naruto couldn't help but call her out.
"What are you pretending for?" he grumbled, unimpressed.
Sakura immediately dropped the act and stepped closer, studying him intently. Naruto instinctively leaned back, wary. "What are you doing? Don't mess around, I'm serious. If Hinata finds out, I'm dead." With that, he pushed her away.
But Sakura just smirked and countered, "It's fine. We can avoid Hinata."
Naruto froze.
'Oh hell no. This girl's lost her mind.'
Without another word, he turned and walked away. Sakura quickly caught up, chattering nonstop in his ear mostly gossip. Then, she dropped another bombshell.
"Hey, Naruto… did you know the underwear I bought you was tampered with?"
"WHAT?!"
Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. That was not something to joke about. One wrong move, and his entire future could be ruined. Seeing his panic, Sakura hastily clarified, "Don't worry, Naruto! I'm not sick or anything."
Wait, that wasn't the issue here!
Hold up… Did she just imply she tried them on before giving them to me?
Naruto's face twisted in horror. Now it made sense why there was always a faint, lingering scent on the clothes she "gifted" him. He shot her a warning glare, and Sakura immediately raised her hands in surrender.
"Relax, Naruto! I won't do it again."
'Yeah, right.'
Her sly grin said otherwise. Naruto's eye twitched as he mentally added buying his own essentials to his to-do list. This was way too creepy.
Fortunately, Sakura behaved during class, mostly because they had an audience. Instead of bothering Naruto, she turned her attention to Ino, and the two immediately launched into their usual bickering.
"Ino-pig! Why do you always copy what I like?" Sakura snapped.
"Me? Copy you? Please. You're the one who followed me around obsessing over Sasuke!" Ino shot back.
"I've moved on! I only liked him because you did. But now I realize what I really want is Naruto." Sakura crossed her arms smugly. "So you keep fangirling over Sasuke. Go on!"
"You're impossible!"
"Tch. Wide forehead."
"INO PIG!"
Behind them, Naruto sat frozen in his seat, utterly drained.
"Troublesome, isn't it?" Shikamaru's voice drifted from the back row.
Naruto glanced back and nodded in silent agreement. Next to Shikamaru, Kiba stared at the girls squabble with a dumbfounded expression, even Akamaru looked stunned.
Meanwhile, Sasuke felt nothing but relief at the sudden lack of fangirls crowding him. He had Naruto to thank for that.
More importantly, the training method Naruto had suggested actually worked. That strange posture drained his stamina faster than usual, pushed his endurance, and even worked muscles he normally didn't engage. Convinced he'd surpassed Naruto, Sasuke decided to challenge him during afternoon practice.
Afternoon – Final Class Before Break
Iruka stood at the front of the classroom, smiling. "Alright, everyone! Exams are over, and break starts soon. So today, we'll relax with a simple assignment."
He held up a blank sheet. "Here's the scenario: If the moon were about to fall, and the world had only one day left… who would you spend it with?"
Choji mumbled dreamily, "If the moon was made of meat…"
The class burst into laughter.
Once the noise settled, Iruka handed out papers. Naruto stared at his, Hinata's face flashing in his mind. Spending the last day with her would be warm… but heartbreaking.
'If it's really the end, a ninja should act like one.'
So he wrote: "Do everything possible to stop the moon."
Most of his classmates, however, had other priorities. As Naruto collected the assignments, he skimmed the answers, nearly all of them were variations of "Uzumaki Naruto" or "Uchiha Sasuke."
'Seriously? Do these guys have nothing else in their lives?'
The boys weren't much better, most picked their crushes, though a few chose family. The only other person who didn't write a name was Shikamaru, whose answer mirrored Naruto's.
Iruka had hoped the exercise would help him understand his students better. Instead, he was just confused.
Final Period – Combat Training
Sasuke had been waiting for this. The moment they reached the training grounds, he marched up to Naruto.
"Your training method worked. I'm challenging you."
His declaration sent a ripple of excitement through the class. A showdown between the two most skilled students? This would be good.
Naruto, however, was stuck on one thing.
'My training method? The… plank?'
Sasuke's confidence suggested he wasn't joking. Maybe I should try it later.
"I won't lose this time," Sasuke declared.
Naruto shrugged. "Sure. Let's go."
The crowd erupted as they faced off. The commotion even drew students from other grades—Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee among them.
"Who are they?" Lee asked.
Neji's gaze lingered on Naruto. "One is the last Uchiha. The other… is a monster."
Soon, nearly half the school had gathered. Iruka had to step in to keep order.
On the field, Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life. "Ready?"
Naruto smirked. "Bring it on."