DISCLAIMER: Full rights to anything other than Akiko Kobayash(OC) go to Masashi Kishimoto and any other parties involved with licensing.
THE UNIVERSITY YEARS
01|SEPTEMBER - Documentary
Moving was always going to be strange, but it was always something I'd associate with Spring. Like, with Spring cleaning, the old made way for the new. The cobwebs were dusted off. There was new life entering the world, and fresh opportunities blooming.
Moving was not something I would associate with Autumn.
The sticky September heat made my t-shirt cling to my back and the strands of hair that formed my fringe bunch together in sweat-slicked clumps. I'd been sat outside of my new accommodation for roughly two and a half hours now, waiting for the moving van to arrive; sat atop the one large suitcase I could pack into the back of the taxi in the heavy afternoon sunshine, and rubbing at the conspicuous mark the taxi's seat belt had left on my clavicle.
On to the subject of why I was moving, well, University of course. When applying in my last year of Secondary Education, I thought through my choices wisely. I made sure to put down the Universities local to my hometown, so that commuting wouldn't be a hassle; but I also took a punt on one University that was further afield. TonTon, when I visited with begrudging parents who'd driven for five hours straight all morning just to get there, was a very pleasant place. It was small, close knit, and picturesque. It was also incredibly accepting of… well, students who couldn't exactly afford to pay for their education in one fell swoop. Surprising really, for a University that accepted a lot of only incredibly intelligent, wealthy, or noble students.
I put it down on my application, but never expected to actually get in.
Which is exactly what happened, believe it or not.
Yes, I couldn't quite believe it either- my parents certainly couldn't. They thought I was joking at first. Then they began to panic about the cost, even though I assured them that Government funding and bursaries would cover it. The final excuse that sealed the deal on them remaining uninvolved was the ten-hour-round drive up and back down the country. Hence why I had to fork out of my savings for a taxi drive, and also for a moving service to cart all of my stuff to TonTon.
A moving service that was now…
I check my watch.
… four hours late. It was a good thing that all of the induction processes and campus orientation happened tomorrow. Though if my things didn't arrive I might never get unpacked on time to make it to them.
Just shy of three o'clock the rented movers van sputters to a halt outside of the house I'm going to be living in for the next nine months. They less than helpfully dump all of my boxes on the pavement, and sputter off again in the van; leaving me to the extreme joy of carting all of my belongings inside- box by flimsy box.
None of the doors in the hallway are open, though I can hear the faint murmurs of multiple voices. Many of my neighbours have probably unpacked and are either enjoying something to eat in the kitchen, or have sprawled out on the couches in the living room area in front of the shared TV that came with the accommodation. As typical in my life, my room would have to be right at the end of a long stretching hallway; which smelt faintly of fresh paint and lemon floor cleaner.
When all of my boxes have been shoved into the corner of my new room, I set to unpacking. Removing all of the carefully placed items and folded clothes is a lot easier of a task than when I had to place them inside in the first place. It's an awfully less stressful task too, considering I don't have both parents hovering and trying to discourage me from setting one foot outside of the house when September came around.
With all the majority of my things unpacked, I take the final box with me back down the hallway and into the kitchen, where I'm met with the first possible meeting of my housemates.
At the long kitchen table sit four girls, and two boys are perched on the kitchen counters either side of the oven's hob.
"Hi," I clear my throat to catch their attention, "I would wave, but I've got my hands full." My eyes flick to the cardboard box I have my arms wrapped around in a vice grip. One of the girls- she has pink hair, pink, gets up and helps me set it on the table.
My fingernails nip at the brown tape keeping the box closed, "I'm Akiko Kobayashi, I would have introduced myself earlier, but the movers were late bringing my stuff."
"We noticed," Says another girl, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder, "You were sat outside for hours on that suitcase."
I can feel my eye begin to twitch. So no one came outside to offer a hand, or ask what I was up to, but they still rubbernecked at me getting sunburnt through their windows?
Another one of the four girls notices my growing irritation; "We w-would have c-c-c-come outside a-and helped you, b-b-but, we weren't s-s-sure if you were m-moving in with us…" Her voice is light; airy and gentle, but the stutter is distracting. As she speaks, I feel my annoyance wash away. "I a-am Hinata Hyūga."
"Nice to meet you," I reply genuinely with a small smile, and remove my plates and cutlery from the box.
"Sakura Haruno," says the pink haired girl, and I nod. "The blonde is Ino Yamanaka, and the brunette playing with breadknives over there is Tenten – no last name, even though we asked her politely if she had one."
My mouth pops open a little, and Tenten gives me a mischievous wave; one breadknife barely missing Ino's perfectly coifed fringe.
"It's so nice to finally meet you, youthful flatmate!" Exclaims one of the boys, who's weirdly dressed in a green spandex suit. I would have never put the former and a shiny bowl-cut together, but somehow he's rocking it. "I am Lee Rock, and my youthful red haired companion is Gaara Sabaku!"
Something tells me that this guy is a morning person. And a day person. And perhaps never pessimistic. He smiles, and I swear his teeth shine.
"Ah…" I'm still blinded by those teeth, "It's nice to… meet you?"
Why did that sound more like a question than a statement?
By now, I've removed everything from the box, flattened the latter like I had done with the other, and I am now looking for a place to store everything.
Taking pity on me, Sakura says; "You can put your stuff in the cupboard on the right. You'll be sharing it with Shikamaru; and you'll be sharing one of the fridges with him, Gaara and Hinata. Tenten, Lee, Neji and myself will be taking the other one. I'm not sure how Shikamaru's arranged his stuff, but if you go into the living room he's napping on the couch and you can ask him."
"How many of us are living on this floor?" I am curious, because my housemates don't just include those who live on this first ground floor, but the second and third floors above.
"Eight," Sakura replies, "Ino here is from the floor above, but came downstairs to visit"
The blonde scoffs and checks her manicured nails, "You wish, billboard-brow. I'm too good just to visit you!"
Sakura's face drops and her fists curl in tightly, "Then what are you here for, Ino-pig?" she says sweetly, with extra venom.
"I'm gracing you and your weirdo flatmates with my glorious presence!"
I gulp, "Er, you know what, I'm going to track down this Shikamaru bloke… okay?"
I don't wait for an answer before rushing from the kitchen into what I presume is the 'living room'. Sat stiffly in an arm chair solely made for slouching (by this I mean that the cushions resembled mustard yellow marshmallows, that just oozed 'Let me devour you…' in the cosiest way possible) was a young man with eyes similar to Hinata's from the kitchen. Except, this one was male… I think? He/She/It/I give up, sneered at me as I entered, and impolitely stuck his nose a few centimetres higher in the air. Judging from the resemblance to Hinata, this must be Neji? I think I'm going to leave this one well and truly alone; what kind of weirdo won't settle back into a comfy armchair? Probably one that's enjoying the world's dullest documentary playing on the TV right now…
Almost passed out on the couch, just as Sakura told me he would be, is Shikamaru. His spikey ponytail puffs out over the side of the sofa's arm, his feet hang off the other end.
"Uh…" I'm not quite sure how to go about this; how do you wake a perfect stranger? Stepping up to his legs, I give them a light nudge. "Shikamaru…? Hey? Shika-"
"Can you keep it down, I'm trying to watch something," the smooth voice of Neji Hyūga makes me flinch.
"I'm sorry," I reply, turning to Hinata's relative, "But I need to wake Shikamaru so that we can arrange the cupboard space we share."
Neji sniffs, grabs for the cushion propping up his back, and lobs it at the slumbering Shikamaru's face. The latter startles and swipes at the offending article:
"What was that for?" Shikamaru questions with a wide yawn.
"She wants to talk to you about living arrangements," snips Neji, "Now can you please hurry this up?"
Shikamaru groans, and begins to close his eyes again. Sensing that he may fall asleep any time, I rush to make my introductions and get down to business: "I'm Akiko Kobayashi, I would have been here sooner but my stuff's only just arrived. Anyway, since I'm sharing a kitchen cupboard space with you, I just wanted to know if you had any specific arrangements I need to follow?"
But Shikamaru has fallen back asleep, and it is Neji who answers me; "I'm fairly certain that he couldn't care less. Now, if you please." His hands gesture for me to get lost.
I promptly scatter.
01|SEPTEMBER - Musical inspiration:
"Innocence" – LAMP IN TERREN
Author's Note 01|: Did you miss me?
Reviews and PM's are appreciated; I may have missed some mistakes, as I proofread myself. Kindly point them out to me if they're glaringly obvious.