When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 9 -

Kakashi Hatake stood in front of the class the next day, a trace of a smile evident behind his mask. He had been fifteen minutes late, as usual, but was now prepared to address the students with unusual pleasure.

"Well, class, today I'm going to give you your first project." There was a simultaneous groan from the class, which Kakashi quickly waved down. "Now, now; I know what you're thinking, but I think you'll like what I have planned. I'm going to split you into groups of two, and each group will meet over the next week to learn about each other. Then, you will all write your partner's life story from his perspective. Easy, right?"

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, knowing perfectly well what the man had planned. Of course, he still hadn't forgiven the teacher for his humiliation the previous day, and now that the Uchiha knew he was in love with Naruto, this resentment had only grown worse. It wasn't that Sasuke was overly concerned about his feelings for Naruto; it was more of a crush at this point, something that he could easily do away with. As long as he kept away from the blond, Sasuke could do away with these unnecessary emotions before he became dependent upon them, as he had in the past.

Then again, as he watched his teacher explain the project, the Uchiha had a sinking suspicion that avoiding Naruto would not be as easy as he thought. It would be just like Kakashi to set up this convoluted plan to force the two of them to be together, and Sasuke did not like the prospect one bit.

Do your worst, Kakashi. I can handle your meddling... I will forget about Naruto.

"Now, if the right side of the class – my right – will line up, I've have the names of all those on the right side in this hat. Do I really have to explain this any further?"

Sasuke quickly glanced towards Naruto, determining whether they would be considered on the same side of the room. As he suspected, however, they were in the middle of the class, putting them in different groups. Naruto seemed to realize this as well, and quickly turned his head away when he met the Uchiha's eyes.

Great... I'm sure Kakashi's enjoying every minute of this...

"Now, line up already," Kakashi said, pulling out his hentai novel as he spoke. "Stalling isn't going to make this project go away."

The class quickly complied, forming a neat, single file line in front of the old, leather cowboy hat, with each student pulling out a slip of paper and reading the name aloud to the class. While most were at least content with their fates, others were less than pleased. Sakura and Ino, for example, were immediately at each other's throats, causing quite a scene before Kakashi decided to intervene. Shikamaru simply sighed when he drew Shino Aburame's name, but none of this really mattered to Sasuke. Instead, he prayed that someone else would draw a certain blond's name, hoping that by waiting in the back of the line he might increase his odds.

When it finally came to his turn, however, Sasuke knew that he had no such luck. He had not yet heard the anticipated name, and the sole slip of paper in the hat told him that Kakashi hadn't made a mistake in his math. There was only one person left in the class for the Uchiha to be paired up with, and as he unfolded the slip of paper, his fears were confirmed.

"Naruto Uzumaki..."

Sasuke immediately took his seat and fixed his glare on Kakashi, not once bothering to look at Naruto. He could picture the blond's expression perfectly in his head, one both panic-stricken and excited while he struggling to he struggled to conceal these beneath a mask of indifference. Yes, there was no doubt that Naruto was secretly pleased with this state of affairs, but Sasuke was actually fine with this. It wasn't his fault after all; Mr. Uzumaki just got lucky, and why shouldn't he be happy?

No, it was Kakashi who Sasuke scowled at for the rest of class, knowing that, somehow, the teacher had set this whole thing up. Even though it had come down to chance, the Uchiha could not shake the feeling that Kakashi had been hoping for this particular outcome. As ridiculous as it sounded, Sasuke believed that the man could've manipulated fate if he put his mind to it, and the content smile on the teacher's face did nothing to alleviate this suspicion.