As she passed through the archway and directed her feet toward her home, Naruto Uzumaki rolled her bright blue eyes.

It just hadn't been her day. First she got a C on her midterm in History but that wasn't a big deal, and then Mr. Hatake had yelled at her because she hadn't been paying attention to his lesson on the best way to dissect a toad.

Who cared about dissecting a toad anyway that was just gross.

Her mind had wandered to the motorcycle that her Uncle Iruka had just purchased. It had 250 horses strapped to its metal frame and she was itching to get her hands on it. But Iruka had been adamant that she wasn't to touch it.

"It's not a toy, Naruto," he had stated firmly before pointedly locking the key in the upper left hand drawer of his desk in his study. A drawer that she had previously broken into to steal his stash of JD green. She smirked as she thought about the trouble her and her two best friends, Kiba and Neji, had ended up in.

Which was also why she was now stuck in this snooty, upperclass boarding school. Kiba and Neji were at home stuck in strict house arrest by their parents.

Naruto sighed as she walked toward the pool. She was cutting across the grounds as it was the quickest way to get back to her new home. She was lost again in the day dream of riding that irreverent monster over to Kiba's and busting him out of his dreary home.

Feeling two hands pushing her, she stepped off the concrete and realized that there was nothing left under her feet. She gasped out a scream that was quickly cut off as she met cold water that engulfed her and filled her mouth.

Coughing and gagging, she struggled to make her head break the surface of the water. Her mind scrambled to think of what she needed to do to keep her head above water as she fought to pull oxygen instead of water into her lungs. She had never learned how to swim. Her panicked brain came up with a spasmodic dog paddle and her legs kicked with great effort but it was useless. Her terrified body was slowly losing as her energy deserted her and weakness began to seep through her.

The cold liquid closed over her head once more as she lost the battle to stay in the life giving air. She sank to the bottom of the pool and looked up to where the sun shimmered on its surface. Her mind hazily thinking about how beautiful it looked rippling in white and blue lights.

Darkness started to cover her vision as her lungs began to ache indescribably, starved for oxygen. Her head grew fuzzy then warmth crept out starting with her fingers and feet. She dimly thought about what Iruka was going to say about this newest trouble.

Her eyes closed.

---

Sasuke Uchiha settled his lips tightly over the girl's lips as he blew his breath into her unconscious mouth. He forced air into lungs filled with water and then smacked her sharply on the face to revive her.

She gasped then her small frame vibrated sharply as her body began to expel the water in a violent bid for survival. He supported her by turning her onto her side to help as the liquid gushed out.

When she was finished she sagged weakly against him, so weak from her struggle and then the violent purging that it had just undergone. He held her as he swiped the golden blond tresses from her face, his body transferring some of his warmth to her shockingly cold one.

How had she gotten in the pool to begin with he wasn't sure and he didn't like thinking that she had done it on purpose.

He studied the delicate face as he held her firmly against his chest. He cradled her gently in his arms and he couldn't help but smirk. No one had ever accused him of being gentle, in fact, most people were terrified of him. He had garnered a reputation from being quick and ruthless. When someone offended him, he didn't hesitate to kick said offender's ass with as little emotion as possible.

Yet, here he was rescuing a drowning vixen, for that is what she reminded him of right now. Her high cheekbones held the faintest lines that unless someone was looking really closely wouldn't notice. They were like the whiskers on a fox which didn't detract from just how beautiful this girl was.

She was starting to come too as he sat there holding her. She murmured low in her throat a husky, seductive sound as she pressed her cheek into his shoulder. She opened deep sapphire eyes and blinked blurrily up at him before her eyes closed and she murmured again. This time he caught the phrase, "..must be dreaming…."

He smiled a genuine smile this time as he shifted her into a better position in his lap. She tucked her head underneath his chin and pressed cool lips against his throat.

His own eyes closed as heat suffused his body and he became aware of her breasts pressing into his chest, her nipples hard peaks against him. He shifted again to relieve some of the pressure that had instantly come into his groin.

She nuzzled against the crook between his neck and shoulder and he felt the swipe of her tongue against his Adam's apple followed but sharp teeth nipping at his jugular.

"You had better…stop…," he began to warn her, trying for the first time in his existence to do the right thing.

She muttered her displeasure about being interrupted and continued with her assault upon his neck.

His arms tightened about her as his eyes drifted closed on the pleasure he was receiving before his reached inside himself and firmly took control of the situation.

"Stop, now!" he said then grasped her arms and pushed her way from him.

Her blue gaze widened imperceptible as her mind cleared. She became aware of the fact that this wasn't a pleasant dream and she was sitting in the lap of some man she didn't know. With wide eyes she stared at the guy.

He was handsome, almost beautiful. His raven hair was swept back into spikes like he had run his hands through the satin locks. He had the aristocratic features of the nobility with sharp, high cheekbones, and full, kissable mouth that was settled into a frown. Thin narrow nose and deep obsidian eyes.

She swallowed as she pulled away from him. "I'm s-so s-sorry," she stuttered pushing against his chest until he released her. "I-I-I d-didn't…" she trailed off when she realized that she didn't know how to apologize for molesting the guy that had just saved her life.

One side of his mouth lifted into a smirk and he said, "It's alright, I could think of more disturbing things than being kissed by a beautiful girl." He stood and grimaced when the damp, wet clothes constricted some of his movements. He started unbuttoning his shirt intending to take it off and wring it out.

Naruto watched with fascination when he exposed more and more of his pale muscular chest to the sun light. In comparison, Naruto sported a healthy tan left over from spending her time sunbathing in the backyard at home.

He shrugged out of the shirt and the wadded it up into a ball, squeezed the excess water from it. Naruto's eyes were fastened on the play of tendons, bones, and ropey muscles underneath his skin. His biceps bunching, contracting and releasing as his strong hand twisted the material to wring out the water. The tightening of his chest and abdomen at the simple chore.

Heat was staining her cheeks pink as she blushed hotly and look away only to have her gaze return swiftly to him.

"So, were you in the pool on purpose or not?" he asked as he tucked the shirt into his back pocket and looked at her intensely.

"What?" Her eyes lifted to meet his in confusion. Then her mind came back online as anger burned in her stomach. He thought that she had just tried to commit suicide? "No! I was pushed."

He held up a hand to forestall her from turning that anger into violence. "I didn't think so, but I didn't see anyone else around. Why would someone push you?"

Her brow furrowed as she thought about that. "I don't know." A headache was blooming behind her eyes when she tried to come up with reason why anyone would want to kill her because that is what nearly happened. She took into consideration that no one at the school knew that she couldn't swim, it was a rare find.

She lifted a hand to her temple, rubbing in an attempt to push the pain away.

She didn't have any friends here at the school. Everyone seemed to look at her with cold hateful eyes and she didn't know why. Iruka had moved her here just a month ago and she hadn't had time to pull any of her usual pranks so she couldn't understand the way people looked at her.

Back at home, she didn't seem to notice the way people looked at her; she spent most of her time with Kiba and Neji. Those two had been her best friends since she was six and had gotten into trouble when she had smeared paint all over the picture of the former Headmasters. She had been sent the current one's office to wait for her uncle to pick her up and speak with the teacher and present Headmaster. Kiba was in there for bringing his dog Akamaru to school and hiding him in the coat closet where he had peed on everyone's shoes and Neji was there because he had punched a classmate who had been picking on his cousin Hinata.

The three had stared at each other for several minutes before Naruto started laughing. She had held out her hand and introduced herself to both of them. They had been fast friends since then. Both had helped her plan most of her pranks and each had taken turns defending her and taking some of her punishments. She loved them and would protect them with her life if it came to it.

"Here." A hand appeared in front of her eyes holding a navy blue jacket. She took the jacket and held it a little away from her and looked up into those fathomless dark eyes. "Put it on."

"It's going to get wet."

"Mm..I don't mind. I don't want you catching a cold or anything."

Naruto slipper her arm into the jacket and shivered as a draft of cold air hit her. Quickly she pusher her other arm into the sleeve and put the jacket on.

Then she looked around for her school books and saw that they were at the bottom of the pool. Her shoulders drooped, Now what am I going to do. She continued to stare at them and heard the guy sigh. She watched in confusion as he stepped back to the pool and jumped in. Her mouth opened as he dove expertly to the bottom and gathered the books up tucking them into the bag that they had fallen out of before rising to the surface once more. He set the books on the side and heaved himself out of the pool once again.

"Oh, thank you, but you didn't have to do that," Naruto said as she gingerly approached the guy.

"Someone would have had to retrieve them and since I'm here and already wet I thought I might as well get it done," his voice held no emotion as if it was just a daily fact of life.

Naruto didn't know what else to say so she took a deep breath and introduced herself, "I'm Naruto, by the way."

"Funny name, Naruto-by-the-way," he said as he got to his feet and tugged his pants back into place from where they had sagged on his narrow hips.

Naruto gapped at him for making a joke when she didn't feel that this should be the time for laughing.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He turned back to her and held his hand out to her.

Naruto's hand was grasped firmly in his warm one and he pulled her a little closer as he lowered his head to hers. His lips settled and urged her to open her mouth.

Naruto's head spun as she was kissed by the Uchiha. She certainly knew who he was as all the girls in her class didn't mind talking about him in loud whispers. They all seemed to think that they would make him fall in love with them and marry them. Several had even started planning the wedding.

As his tongue worked over hers she suddenly gasped and pushed him away.

"What are you doing?"

He smirked, "Taking you up on your invitation from earlier." His intensely dark eyes bore into her.

She stared at him before dropping her sapphire eyes and shaking her head. "I'm sorry about that." She whispered, "But I didn't know who you were and I was just reacting."

"So you didn't mean to kiss me?"

"No."

"MM…"

"I—I have to go," she said as she bent to lift the soggy book bag over her shoulder.

"I'll walk to home," Sasuke stated with a tone that said to argue with him would be foolish.

Naruto was foolish. "NO! I…I mean thank you for saving me but I don't think it would be a good idea for you to walk me home."

Sasuke's eyebrow lifted in an arrogant slant but he decided to let it go, for now anyway, he didn't want to scare the little kit off right away. "Alright."

"Oh…um…here's you jack…" She started to slid the jacket off.

"Keep it," he said over his shoulder and walked away with a slight wave of his hand.