Rin: Welcome, welcome, welcome. I present chapter seven! Sorry for taking so long… This one's a long'un. Okay, warning there is some Sasuke-bashing, but I think even you Sasuke fans will find it a little humorous.

Disclaimer: I claim the right to say 'ditto' to what I had previously.

I didn't want to go to school. Everything felt so, painful. I told my mother that I didn't feel well, but she didn't believe me. I walked sluggishly to school, feeling embarrassed, hut, and God knows what else. My heart was a stormy sea, literally. I still really liked Gaara, so that brought in the rain clouds. Then Sasuke came in and did all of that stuff yesterday, stirring the crashing waves and lightning. I reached to clutch the cloth of my shirt, which covered my heart.

"Tsukiko?" I looked up to see Kayla, with Neji in tow.

"Hey," I mumbled, not bothering to disguise my melancholy.

"You going to be okay?" she asked. "That new girl is coming today…"

"I guess," I answered quickly. I didn't feel like hearing her go on and rant about something random, like Turkish Delight.

"You know you still sit beside Gaara, right?" inquired Neji. I took a step back. I had completely forgotten about that.

"I'll just switch with the new chick. She and Gaara are probably-" I stopped. I caught a glimpse of red hair. It made my jaw drop. It was Gaara and Kotori, the girl who called me her enemy the day before, and they were holding hands. I was vexed, quite vexed, just as Sasuke was. I turned my gaze away from them. Quickly looking for an escape, I ran into the school, to our classroom. All of the desks had names on them, except for the one beside Sasuke.

I groaned and contemplated my decision. I could keep my seat beside Gaara and have my heart pounding and hurting at the same time, or switch with Kotori, who obviously was going to get the empty seat beside Sasuke, who I have no clue how to react to his every prod.

"Damn it," I said. The door slid opened behind me and my classmates filed inside. I took my usual desk. I gaped at each person individually and saw Gaara. He instantly shot me a irresolute look and took his seat beside me, not saying anything at all. I mentally sighed and put my head on my desk, shutting my eyes.

Gaara's P.O.V

He picked up Kotori from school that morning. Gaara was nervous, but nonetheless excited, for lack of a better word. They were halfway to school when Kotori turned to him.

"Are we, like, going out now?" she asked. Gaara shrugged. If they were, it sure didn't feel any different that before they were.

"Okay, then, I want to go on a date together soon," Kotori smiled. She was absolutely radiant. Gaara's lips curled into a small smile in response to Kotori's smile. Gaara felt happy but a little guilty at the same time. Tsukiko entered his mind. The look on her face when he asked her to leave was painful, sorrowful, but there, buried in it all, was a tiny bit of happiness. Gaara couldn't help but wonder what that happiness was directed at.

A hand grabbed his and Gaara broke out of his thoughts and back into reality. He still really liked Kotori.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

Kakshi-sensei came into the classroom and surprisingly enough, he asked for our attention. I sprang up from my nap and sniffed.

"I would like to welcome a new student," he said. "Her name is Kotori Osara, everyone try to make her feel welcome." Then Kotori, pranced into the room. All of the boys' jaws dropped and I rolled my eyes. I then scowled to myself and ran a finger around in circles on the desk. I think I was already hating her.

"Hello, my name is Kotori," she said demurely, taking a bow, "and that man over there-" she pointed to Gaara, "-is my boyfriend." There was a cornucopia of gasps followed by a short whistle. I figured that the person who whistled was Falcon, she was one who liked to be unconform. Kakashi-sensei walked over to her.

"Now, Kotori, we only have one free seat," he explained, "and that is beside Sasuke. So-"

"Can I have the seat beside Gaara?" she interrupted.

"But that seat is already taken," he said. I gathered my stuff together and stood up.

"It's okay," I smiled falsely, "she can have my seat."

"Well, Tsukiko, then take the seat beside Sasuke," Kakashi-sensei ordered and I nodded.

Even if it means misery for me, I thought, it's for Gaara's happiness. I went, thought reluctantly to the empty seat beside Sasuke. I made my face as emotionless as humanly possible, but my sadness leached thought the look in my eyes. I could see the smirk on Sasuke's face.

"I'm doing this for Gaara," I muttered incessantly. I sat down at the desk and Sasuke leaned over to me.

"Finally deciding you like me better than that wet blanket over there?" he whispered.

"I'm doing this for Gaara," I repeated.

"Sure," he smirked.

"I AM," I spat.

"Who're you trying to convince?" Sasuke muttered.

"You," I retorted. I put my head on my desk, groaning. This would NOT be fun. Even though Gaara was happy, I obviously was not. I wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately, I would get no such peace from Sasuke. He poked my side as sharply as he could.

"Go away Sas-gay," I muttereg balefully. There was another jab and I snapped my head up. I glared pins and needles at Sasuke. He leered at me and I frowned.

"Having a nice time?" I growled.

"Hn," was the reply. I reached out and flicked his ear. Sasuke shuddered and I scoffed at him. There was a loud coughing from the front corner of the room. It was Falcom and I glowered at her. He smiled credulously at me. Rotating my eyes, I rested my head on my desk again. The period bell rang, giving us ten minutes before our next class. I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the world. Ten minutes before the next teacher came in was all I needed to take a power nap and figure things out. Gaara's face was vivdly implanted in my mind. The battle broke out.

'Why are you pining for him? There's no point, he loves that other girl, Kotori,' the little voice started.

Well you know that may or may not last.

'What about Sasuke?'

He's a bitch.

'No seriously, he seems nice enough.'

He made a kid commit suicide! A person can't be completely innocent because of that!

'You never know,' were the last words before the bell rang again. I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes. I yawned then the scent of smoke drifted into my nostrils. It was Asuma-sensei. The dude was a complete chain smoker. I was surprised that he hadn't been into surgery for lung cancer or any other malady. Asuma-sensei walked in, cigarette in mouth and smile on his face. Shikamaru and Ino went and threw open the windows. I got out a handkerchief and tied it around my nose and mouth. The smoke wasn't too bad as I breathed in and out.

"Today class, we will be starting our fairy tales. These stories will be written paragraph by paragraph, or, if you want to be simple, an improv' story," Asuma-sensei explained. "I've chosen the pairs, but I had a group of three: Sasuke, Tsukiko, and Gaara-," That would've been fun, "-but I have to split you up now. Umm, Tsukiko, could you go with Kotori?" I shrugged. I didn't give a…well, I didn't care either way.

"Okay," Asuma said, "Gaara you go with Kotori." I saw him nod, the excitement in his eyes resonating. Oh crap, that meant I was paired with Sasuke.

"With that out of the way," Asuma sighed, taking a puff of his cigarette, "the assignment is to write a three page story. For the improv', as I've already explained, one partner will write one paragraph and then the other will write one. You don't have to have any particular plot line. You can begin now." I rolled my eyes and looked at Sasuke. He had already taken a piece of paper and a couple of pens out and set them out on the desks.

"Do you want to start?" I asked, pointing at the supplies.

"Hn," he grumbled, and picked up a pen to write. I fiddled with my hair and tapped my fingers on the desk.

"Done," Sasuke said, sliding the paper over to me. I looked down at it, his writing neat, but slanted.

'Once, there was a handsome prince. The prince was quite intelligent too, though he was called a homosexual by numerous of his subjects. The prince would always sentence them to death, as he would not have such insolent people.'

I frowned. It sounded so stupid. I pressed my pen to the page and wrote.

'Then, there was a princess in a land faraway from the prince's. The princess had heard of the prince and thought that he was a pompous fool. Nobody deserved to die when they voiced their opinions. Without even meeting, the princess hated the prince.'

I slid the paper back on Sasuke's desk. He read it and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I smirked while tilting my head a little. Sasuke looked down at the sheet and wrote furiously.

'Also, the prince had head of the princess and thought bad of her. He thought that her goody-goody act was stupid. Her sense of just was warped, the prince thought that SHE was the gay one.'

I grabbed the paper from him. I scowled, clutching the paper. I slammed it down on the desk and began to write.

'Unfortunately for the prince, the princess was already in love with a man. This man was poor, but the princess didn't care. She visited him a lot. The princess contemplated about asking the man about his feelings.'

I simpered and shoved the paper in Sasuke's face. He stared at it angrily. Sasuke wrote quickly, his writing almost illegible. He smacked it onto my desk, as we were now writing on the back of the page.

'But the princess' father had other plans. He was going to make his daughter marry the prince, so that the alliance of the two kingdoms could be strengthend. Neither the prince nor the princess liked the idea, but they agreed anyways. It was their duty.'

I frowned then sighed, Of course, it had to be that way. Glaring at Sasuke, I wrote to counter his part.

'Still, the princess wanted to be with the man she loved. She devised a plan to get herself out of her arranged marriage. The princess was just going wing her plan when the time came.'

I sighed, as I couldn't think of anything. I slid the paper tiredly over to Sasuke.

"This is going nowhere," I muttered.

"Oh, it will," Sasuke scoffed. I glanced over at Gaara and Kotori. They were talking, er, it looked more like that were arguing. Gaara caught my gaze and I shot a look that said, "SAVE ME!" He started to laugh out loud. Everyone looked at him. I groaned. It was his own fault that he laughed at me.

Then the bell rang for lunch. I got up hastily, wanting to get away from Sasuke. I headed over to Gaara and Kotori, who still seemed to be arguing.

"Then you're my boyfriend, aren't you?" muttered Kotori.

"Well, I can't just abandon her," Gaara retorted, "she's my best friend and who knows what Sasuke will do."

"But-"

"Hey, um, Gaara," I interrupted, "Are we going to eat on the roof or not?" Gaara looked from me to Kotori then back to me. He sighed and swiftly grabbed Kotori's hand.

"Kotori's going to join us, 'kay?" he said more demanding than asked. I nodded, sighing mentally.

Gaara's P.O.V

He couldn't help it. The look on Tsukiko's face was priceless. Sure, Gaara had burst out laughing, (A/N: Which I know it TOTALLY OOC for him!) but the laugh was worth it. After he had calmed down, Kotori was glaring at him.

"Why'd you do that?" she demanded.

"'Cause the face that Tsukiko made was priceless," Gaara confessed. Kotori frowned at Gaara, though he didn't know why. He liked it better when a smile graced Kotori's face.

"Well, I'm your girlfriend, right?" Kotori asked threateningly. Gaara frowned. Kotori was being completely possessive and jealous.

"Yes, Kotori, you are my girlfriend," Gaara replied, groaning in his mind.

"Then, just abandon her, the boat of love only carries two, you know. Plus, she has her other friends. Then you're my boyfriend, aren't you?" muttered Kotori.

"Well, I can't just abandon her," Gaara retorted, "She's my best friend and who knows what Sasuke will do." Every word was true straight from Gaara's heart. He quickly glowered at Kotori before Tsukiko interrupted.

"But-" was all Kotori could spit.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

It was awkward; actually, awkward couldn't even begin to describe the atmosphere. I, who was eating a tangerine, was silent. Gaara ate nothing and sat as still as a rock too. Then, Kotori, who munched on yakisoba bread she bought, was quiet as well. Basically, anyone could hear a pin drop. We sat uncomfortably in the gauche stillness until the roof's door burst open. I jumped, the surprise was that great. My eyes widened. There stood Sasuke, looking completely pissed. He stomped over to our little awkward, erm, triangle.

"Help me get rid of my stalker," he said.

"I am not a stalker," a voice shouted. A man/woman appeared in the doorway. This person's eyes were yellow-green and had purple eyeliner drawn on thickly. This, person was a total creeper. It, I decided, had long greasy black hair. It had pale skin, perhaps even paler than Falcon's, which is saying a lot.

"Sasuke-kun, I was just checking up on you," the person's voice was manly, but spoke in a very feminine way. Its voice seemed to hide an ulterior motive.

"Orochimaru, fuck off," Sasuke growled. Orochimaru pawed at the air then put its hands on its hips.

"Is that any way to talk to your former tutor?" Orochimaru pouted.

"Aha," I giggled, "Sas-gay had a tutor, who is, um, uh, WE NEED A GENDER TEST!" Silence, it was definitely having a laugh at us at that moment.

"I am a guy," Orochimaru said. I grinned evilly, as I came up with an idea.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun," I cooed in the same tone as Orochimaru, "is this the guy that gave it to you in the ass?" I swore I could hear a popping noise. Sasuke's face turned beet red and he had an expression that looked like he was going to kill me. Noticing the oppourtunity, Orochimaru quickly glomped Sasuke.

"Yeah, I wish," Orochimaru whined, "but it would most likely be Sasuke-kun as the one on top." Gaara and I burst out laughing. (A/N: I know, totally OOC, but still…) As we were calming ourselves from our fit of laughter, Old Man Sarutobi appeared and literally peeled Orochimaru off of Sasuke.

"Come and see me soon, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru called, giving Sasuke a quick wink before he disappeared with Old Man Sarutobi. I sniggered, kidding my smile from Sasuke. Kotori was surpressing some giggles too and Gaara's mouth twitched at the corner. Sasuke shot all of us a look before storming off, fists clenched at his sides.

The lunch bell rang and we went back to our class. After lunch, we had Kurenai-sensei. She was our art teacher. I groaned in my head. I loathed art, alas, we were all forced to take it. I preferred gym and music. I like to play the flute. Its sound was gentle and sweet, a polar opposite to me. Maybe I hated art because I was so bad at it. Art passed at a snail's pace and so did science. I closed my eyes. My elbow sat on the desk and my head rested on my palm. As soon as I got comfortable, there was a quick tap on my shoulder.

"Go away Sas-gay," I hissed.

"Excuse me?" My eyes flew open. Our science teacher, Iruka-sensei was standing over me, his face looking harsh.

"Crap," I uttered.

"Now, can you answer the question u on the board?" Iruka-sensei asked. I gaped at the chalkboard and couldn't make heads or tails of the chicken scratch.

"I'll answer it," the person beside me said. I looked up at Sasuke, who was now standing. There was some muttering around the classroom and a short, shrill whistle. I glanced around the room and my eyes came upon Falcon. She smiled evilly and waved. I glared at her, but she continued to smile. Sasuke went up to the board and picked up a piece of chalk. He wrote down the answer and headed back to his desk. Iruka-sensei went up to the board and sighed.

"Correct, Sasuke," he said.

"You owe me one," he muttered, "actually, if you count the fact that I listened to you while you were crying, you owe me, two."

"One, you already took my first kiss," I snapped in a whisper, "Two, I WAS, key word, WAS, willing to give you a chance in my heart, so, we're even." His eyebrows arched and I narrowed my eyes.

"''Tis nothing but a scratch,'" I said, breaking to intense stares.

"'A scratch? Your arm's off,'" Sasuke replied. A small smile crept upon my face.

Rin: Alright, alright… The appearance of Orochi! I just had to put that in. He won't show up again…I think. Anyways, I just thought that putting that little thing in would get things back to the humour part of things. I hope you like it! Oh, the quotes are from monty python on the holy grail, if you were wondering. Once again, sorry for taking so long. I probably won't be able to post for another week or so, me ish going on holidays then to buffalo to play softball.
Please read and review.