SS014

Finding Seikun at their shared desk with his head down, Kiba raised his brows and asked, "What's your deal this time? Don't tell me it's more girl trouble." 

Though Sakura sat at the desk in front of him and Ino to his right, Seikun didn't hesitate to raise his head and lazily respond, "I feel like every time I try to make friends with a girl, things become complicated. I'm starting to understand why you and the other guys in our class keep their distance..."

"I tried to warn you, man," said Kiba, taking his seat as he asserted, "Girls might look cute, but it's a trick. The moment you drop your guard, they—"

"Keep talking, and you'll find out how scary I can really be..." warned Ino, sporting a pouty expression as she propped her head up on her left hand and elbow. She felt like all the progress she had made with Seikun since the Winter Break had been undone in a single morning, but what bothered her most was that she wasn't sure who to blame.

"Sheesh..." muttered Kiba, sporting a frown of his own but wisely deciding not to engage Ino in a tit-for-tat. Instead, he focused on Seikun, asking, "Anyways, man, mind if I take a peek at your homework from last night? I totally did mine, but then one of the younger dogs I'm looking after tore it to shreds."

Seizing the opportunity, Seikun responded, "You know I don't approve of copying other peoples' work. But if you need help with your homework in the future, I could lend a hand..."

"Seriously!? Thanks, man...!" exclaimed Kiba, shouting loudly while Sakura, sitting in front of him, hung her head and frowned. She had been thinking about getting even with Ino by inviting Seikun to study at her home. They had both moved on from the Academy's curriculum to far more advanced subjects, so she felt she was the only one he could realistically study with without wasting his time.

Unfortunately for Sakura, while Seikun cared quite a bit about his studies, he was far more concerned with the possibility of her and Ino squabbling over him for the remainder of their stay at the Academy. Thus, if she really wanted to study with him, she would need to join the study group he was planning to form with Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and, though it wasn't nearly as likely, Sasuke, Naruto, and Shino...

...

..

.

With Ino and Sakura conspicuously absent during lunch, Seikun wasn't the only one with the sinking suspicion they were up to something. Most of the boys had enough sense not to say anything, but as he had no filter, Naruto couldn't help asking, "Hey, Seikun, did you do something to Sakura and Ino? I feel like they were super intense during this morning's training, and now they're skipping out on lunch. You didn't do to them what you did to Hinata, did you...?"

silence

"Not cool, Naruto..." droned Shikamaru, facepalming with his usual, half-lidded deadpan.

"What, did I say something wrong...?" asked Naruto, confused. Lucky for him, Seikun knew he hadn't meant anything by his words, allowing him to appear calm and collected as he explained, "Ino and Sakura both like me. But, after what happened with Hinata, I want to focus on my studies and increasing my strength. I had hoped the three of us could remain friends, but it seems that was wishful thinking on my part..."

"Wait a minute..." said Naruto, looking even more confused and slightly panicked as he asked, "You're saying that Sakura and Ino both like you, but because of something that happened with another girl, you refuse to like them back? Isn't that kind of unfair...?"

"That's life..." responded Seikun, closing his eyes as he added, "If it were fair, you and me wouldn't be orphans, and those who give it their all would always rise to the top. I like Ino and Sakura, but if their liking me causes a rift in their friendship, it's best that I remove myself from the equation..."

"Are you actually an idiot, Seikun...?" countered Naruto, his expression and tone incredulous as he asked, "If you like them and they like you, wouldn't it make more sense to try dating both of them? At least then, you'll have a reason to distance yourself from them if things don't work out."

'What the actual fuck...?' Seikun wondered to himself, amazed and taken aback by how reasonable Naruto's words were. He knew the latter wasn't the idiot everyone made him out to be, but he never in his wildest dreams expected a nine-year-old Naruto to be the voice of reason when even he, with decades more experience, wasn't sure what to do...

Feeling that his friend was under attack, Kiba retorted, "Use your brain, google head. Everyone knows that the girl Seikun likes is Hinata. You're saying he should give up and settle for a pair of girls who don't consider his feelings? It's no wonder your grades are dog shit."

"Your breath is dog shit...!" exclaimed Naruto, slapping his hands on the table with a bit too much enthusiasm, causing several people's glasses to be knocked over. This led to a kerfuffle that needed to be settled by their Chunin instructors, but as it diverted everyone's attention away from him, Seikun felt like he owed both Kiba and Naruto a favor...

What Seikun didn't notice was that, in the period leading up to the chaos in the cafeteria, Hinata had also slipped out with the excuse of needing to go to the bathroom, joining the duo already there for a very conspiratorial discussion...

...

..

.

As he expected Ino and Sakura to try and corner him the moment classes let out, Seikun was left feeling somewhat disjointed when they completely ignored him in favor of gathering and chatting happily with the other girls in their class. It was objectively a good thing, but since he had spent the entire day mentally preparing himself for a confrontation, he couldn't help feeling like he had missed something.

"You coming with us to the arcade...?" asked Kiba, breaking Seikun out of his thoughts. "If you don't have any money, Choji will probably cover you. His family is totally loaded."

Overhearing Kiba's words, Choji gave an affirming "Hm!" and a thumbs up. The arcade in question was one of his family's many businesses, so Choji didn't mind footing the bill for the entire class, much less Seikun alone. It would incur a slight loss for his family, but as it also reinforced his position in the class and increased the Akimichi Clan's prestige as one of Konoha's four noble families, his father encouraged it.

"Sure..." responded Seikun, rubbing the back of his head. He had planned to hang out with Kiba and the other boys, regardless, so he did his best to ignore the fact that Ino and Sakura seemed to be ignoring him. He would know for sure when he dropped by Ino's house the following morning, so after stealing a glance at the girls' group on his way out, Seikun spent the rest of the afternoon playing pinball and other classic arcade games with the other boys in his class...

...

..

.

After stealing himself to pass by Ino's house if she wasn't waiting for him, Seikun was surprised, confused, and a little relieved when he spotted her standing under the bright orange awning of her family's flower shop. What confused and worried him was that she wasn't waiting alone. Sakura was also present, sitting next to Ino with her sweater pulled over her legs and her arms tucked inside, shivering since the rest of her outfit consisted of dark purple spats under white shorts, knee-high purple leg warmers, and toeless sandals.

"Should I take this to mean that Sakura will be joining us from now on...?" asked Seikun, running over and stopping a few meters in front of the two with raised brows.

"Is that going to be a problem...?" asked Ino, leaning against one of the support pillars of her house with crossed arms and her right foot propped against the wall, supporting her butt.

"Why would it be...?" questioned Seikun, turning his attention to Sakura as he added, "If you're serious about becoming stronger, then, as a friend, I have an obligation to help and support you both..."

Exhaling a scoffing chuckle, Ino looked down at Sakura and asked, "Hear that, Sakura? He's obligated to help 'as a friend.' What do you think about that?"

"I don't like it. Not even a little..." responded Sakura, extricating her arms and legs from her sweater before rising to her feet. Then, gazing at Seikun with an intense, determined look, she said, "I don't want to be your friend, Seikun. I want to be someone important to you...just as you are important to me..."

"In case you really are as dense as you pretend to be, she's saying she likes you and wants to be your girlfriend," stated Ino, modeling a fierce, determined look of her own as she added, "And she's not the only one. I also want to be your girlfriend, and I'm tired of you pretending you aren't just as interested in the two of us."

"So, what?" asked Seikun, feeling a little defensive as he asked, "Are you saying I should date both of you? Or is this where you force me to choose which of you I like more...?"

Frowning deeply, Ino retorted, "We both know you like Hinata, but since you can't be with her right now, why not at least try and see how things work out between us? If they don't, then that's that. But I would rather look back on things and regret them not working out than spend the rest of my life thinking about how they could have if we just gave it a shot..."

'What the hell...?' Seikun asked himself, even more taken aback than he had been the previous day with Naruto. After all, Ino's point was just as valid, but since it was nearly a direct reflection of his personal views, he felt like he was being fooled somehow.

"Seikun..." muttered Sakura, stepping forward and grasping his left hand, holding it up between her own as she said, "I don't want us to grow apart, and I believe you feel the same way. Ino and I are willing to set aside our differences to try and make things work for all of us...so won't you at least give us a chance?"

"If it makes your decision any easier, we've agreed to put off things like kissing until after we've graduated," said Ino. "But, since we'll be putting our lives on the line as Genin, I'll expect at least a few concessions when I return from particularly dangerous or difficult missions..."

Having recovered from his disjointed stupor during Sakura's sincere plea, Seikun looked to Ino and then shifted his gaze back to the former, finding her large, pale green eyes and the hope contained in them...unfair. He felt like she and Ino hadn't properly considered the ramifications of what they were suggesting, but since they were willing to compromise to at least try and make things work, he felt obligated to do the same...

Closing his eyes, Seikun exhaled an exasperated sigh from his nose but ultimately replied, "Fine..." in a defeated tone. Sakura's face immediately lit up like a Christmas tree, but before she could express her happiness, Ino beat her to the punch, quite literally, as she threw her fist into the air and cried, "Yes! It's about damn time you came to your senses...!" Then, as Sakura turned her head to stare back at her, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around them both, embracing them tightly before she took advantage of their close proximity to plant a kiss on Seikun's cheek, surprising him with a playful wink as she asserted, "It doesn't count if it's not on the lips..."

...

..

.