University of Konoha (Modern Naruto Various)

Chapter 5

When Hinata and I arrived at our first class the next day, I noticed that the man with the scarred face and Akatsuki jacket wasn't there today. I wonder if I'll meet him tonight. I noticed the others didn't bring up my meeting with the Akatsuki that I was going to have later today. I guess they decided that there was no point in bringing it up. Class went on as normal. At the end of class, as I was walking out I heard Neji say to the others, "I'll catch up with you guys later. I'm walking Asami to her next class again." I blinked in surprise as Neji came up next to me. "Are you sure Neji? I think I can get there on my own now." "It's fine," he replied. We walked in silence for a little while. Suddenly, he handed a slip of paper towards me. I gave a confused look but I took the paper from him. I noticed that his phone number was on it. "I know I probably can't change your mind and I'm not going to try but just know that if you need someone to get you, I'm just a phone call away." I smiled at him. "Thanks for respecting my decision and still having my back," I replied. He smiled gently at me. "Anytime." When he smiles like that, he really is quite handsome. Wait, where did that thought come from? As I realized this, I started to blush and looked down at my feet. "Everything ok, Asami?" Neji asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled. I saw my classroom up ahead and made a beeline for it. When I reached the entryway, I turned to Neji. "Thanks for walking me again. I'll see you later." "Alright, see you around," he called. I made it to my seat and focused on getting my supplies out.

"Hey Asami, is everything all right? Your face is a bit red," Tenten said next to me. "Yeah, I'm just a bit warm is all," I told her. I was saved from having to say anything else by Sasuke and Naruto coming into the classroom. Instead of sitting in their usual spots, Naruto ended up sitting right next to me with Sasuke on his other side. Uh oh. I noticed that Naruto had an intense look on his face. Looks like Naruto hadn't sat well with my decision. Sure enough the first thing out of his mouth was, "Asami, you have to change your mind about visiting with the Akatsuki." I looked to see if the two Akatsuki members who were in this classroom were within ear shot. They were too far away and didn't seem to notice we were talking about them. I kept my voice low. "Look, Naruto-" I didn't get to finish my sentence before he interrupted me. "If you really knew what those guys were like than you wouldn't even give it a second thought. I'm telling you their bad news." He was flailing his arms as he was making his point and I snatched one of his hands in both of mine to grab his attention. He stopped and stared at me in shock. "Naruto, can you just trust me? I promise I'll be ok. Besides I have friends like you looking out for me." He looked like he was about to say something else when Sasuke spoke, "Naruto, quit being annoying and just drop it. She can handle herself." I was surprised to see that Sasuke had spoken up for me. I had gotten the impression that he didn't care for me much. It was hard to read that aloof expression of his. I looked back to Naruto. "Please Naruto?" I begged. He blushed and looked away. "Fine," he mumbled. That was when the teacher walked in and the subject was dropped. At the end of class, Tenten rushed off saying she had to meet up with Neji and Lee. "Hey Asami, I'm going to walk with you this time," Naruto told me. I shrugged. "Ok, I would enjoy the company." "I'm coming too," mumbled Sasuke. I had asked Naruto about the town and he was telling me about it with much animation when we suddenly heard a bunch of squeals. "Sasuke!!!" I turned towards the source of the noise and noticed a bunch of girls yelling Sasuke's name. I heard Sasuke say, "Crap. Run." Someone grabbed my hand and started pulling me along. I looked around to see Sasuke pulling my right hand while Naruto was on my left. We ran into a thick crowd of students. Sasuke managed to pull us through the crowd and ducked into a small alleyway. The group of girls seemed to lose sight of us and walked off. I realized that Naruto was no longer with us. "Where did Naruto go?" I asked. "Who cares," Sasuke replied. I frowned at him. "What was that all about anyways?" "Just some fangirls," he mumbled. "Wait, those girls are fans of yours?" He nodded. "Are they always after you like that?" "Pretty much." I suddenly burst into laughter. He frowned at me. "What's so funny?" "Poor Sasuke. You must have to constantly watch your back with those fangirls hounding you." I doubled over with laughter. "I can't believe you had to run from them." "Tch, whatever." He looked away from me but I noticed a slight blush on his cheeks. I was laughing so hard that tears had come to my eyes. When I finally managed to calm down, I noticed he was looking at me with an annoyed look on his face. "You don't like me much do you?" I asked. He blinked in surprise. "Why would you say that?" "Because you're looking at me annoyed. You gave me the same face yesterday when Naruto had offered to help me. So I figured you must not like me." "I wasn't annoyed at you," he replied. "Then why were you annoyed?" "Because Naruto had offered to help you first," he mumbled below his breath. "What?" I asked. "Look, it's nothing. I wasn't annoyed at you." I shrugged my shoulders. "If you say so." I walked out of the alleyway and back towards the direction of class. Sasuke kept pace next to me. It was a lot quieter now that Naruto wasn't here. We walked the rest of the way in silence. When we reached my classroom I said, "This is my class." Sasuke walked off and said, "See ya." I couldn't help myself. "Watch your back Sasuke. You never know when those girls are going to catch your scent again." Even though his back was to me, I swear I could see the eye roll. I giggled.

I went into class and sat down at my seat. Deidara and Sasori were already there and they were arguing about art again. I decided to leave them to their argument and focused on class. After class, the three of us had lunch together again. "There's something I should warn you about Asami," Deidara told me. "What's that?" "Most of the guys are fairly chill but Hidan is the one to watch out for. He can be... pretty intense." I quirked an eyebrow. "Intense how?" "It's hard to explain. You'll have to see for yourself, hn." Hmm, I wonder if Hidan has anything to do with the incident with Gaara. We finished our meal and Deidara reiterated the details of our meeting. We went our separate ways and I arrived at my biology class. Gaara and Shino were already there. I sat at my spot next to Gaara and said hi to both of them. Temari arrived a minute later. "Hey Temari," I called to her. She didn't even glance my way as she sat down. Did she just... ignore me? I frowned. I didn't get to ask her what was up as the teacher started to go into his discussion. I tried to get her attention a couple of times but she didn't acknowledge me. Finally, at the end of class I asked, "Hey Temari, is something up? You've been ignoring me this entire time." She glared at me. My mouth dropped open in shock. "I can't believe you Asami. Even after we told you that the Akatsuki were bad news, you still try to be friends with them. How could you after what they did to Gaara?" I looked down and clenched my fists in hurt and frustration. "That's enough Temari," Gaara spoke. "But-" "No. You shouldn't be mad at her. She had nothing to do with it." Temari sighed and stalked out of the room. "I'm sorry about that," Gaara said softly. I looked up at him. He looked a little sad. "I can take you to your next class." I bit my lip and debated before I nodded. I said goodbye to Shino and we headed out the door. Should I ask? It seems to be a sore subject for them. "I'm sorry about causing you and your sister to fight," I spoke softly. "It's alright. She'll get over it." "Gaara, what happened between you and the Akatsuki?" He frowned and looked at the ground. "I honestly don't remember much of it. I only get bits and pieces. Someone yelling and maybe a fight? It's too fragmented." A fight? What am I getting myself into with these Akatsuki? Are they really bad news like everybody's been saying? I was starting to worry about the meeting tonight. But what about Deidara and Sasori? Sure they argue a lot but they don't seem like bad people. I guess the best I can do is be on my guard and be ready for anything. "Hey Gaara, being friends with the Akatsuki isn't going to ruin our friendship is it?" He looked at me in surprise. "I didn't realize we were friends," he mumbled. "Well sure. That is, if you still want to be." "Yeah." "So you don't mind if I'm friends with the Akatsuki?" "No. What's past is past and it doesn't matter to me," he told me. I smiled. "Thank you Gaara. That means a lot to me. I'm glad I still have you as a friend." He blushed slightly. "We're here," he mumbled. I looked up to see I had arrived at my last class. "Thanks Gaara. I'll see you tomorrow." I waved and watched him walk away. I met with Kiba, Ino, and my other classmates. We kept the conversation lighthearted this time and nobody mentioned the Akatsuki. It wasn't long before class was over and I headed back to my dorm to prepare for tonight. Hinata wished me luck as I headed out the door. I stood in front of the dorm building as I waited for Deidara and Sasori to pick me up. It's finally time to meet the rest of the Akatsuki.