School Days

Chapter 1: Boys Will Be Boys

Naruto watched Sasuke from a distance. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he so intent on seeing that asshole? Sasuke took little note of him as he continued to just watch the water swaying softly. Naruto grunted and started to walk again. Had he always been this worried about such a dumb jerk? Why was he always so confused around that guy? Naruto grunted again as he walked by. Sasuke had noted the grunt and stared at Naruto.

"Got something to say, Loser?" Naruto stopped mid-step and turned to face the other boy.

"What was that?! You wanna start something?!" Naruto almost spat the words at him. His anger was strangely mixed with an interest in the boy's voice. Had it always been that smooth? What does it matter! He had just insulted him. Naruto took a step forward, taking a fighting stance. Sasuke just stared at him for a long while before he closed his eyes and turned away.

"Don't even start with me today, baka." Sasuke walked away. He let the words just drift in the air, not really caring if Naruto had heard him. Naruto watched him; his anger boiled hot under his skin.

"Come back here you moron and fight me!" Naruto darted after the boy. His attack was cut short however by a very loud school bell. Naruto looked at his watch and nearly died. He looked up only to see that Sasuke had already gone. "Baka! If I ever get my hands on you…I'm gunna…!" Naruto growled as he started into a full pace run. If he was late one more time Iruka was going to kill him.

Naruto managed to get into the class seconds before the final bell had rung. Iruka gave him a pleasant glare. He was happy to see Naruto to class on time but the boy always just barely made it. Naruto quickly took his seat near the back of the room and opened his book and binder. Damn that was a close one. If he had been late Iruka would have probably scalped him. Naruto shivered a bit at the thought. That guy sure could be scary sometimes.

The class went on pretty uneventfully; same old boring lecture, same old boring chatter, same old boring teacher. Man, nothing could be worse than History. Naruto had finally settled on drawing a picture of Iruka with a pigs face when something hit him on the back of the head. He turned slightly to see what it was. A small ball of paper sat on the floor and he looked for whoever might have thrown it. Not like the choice was limited. All of the kids in his classes hated him. Not like it mattered anyway. He glanced around the room only to see Sakura snickering. Wow, that one hurt. Naruto just turned back to the front of the class. He had liked that girl for ages. Not like she even cared that he existed. She was popular and he was an outcast. He never even stood a chance.

Finally after an eternity of turmoil the bell rang. Naruto quickly crammed his stuff into his bag and walked out of the class. Well, one down and five to go. He looked at his watch. Plenty of time before second period started. He took his time and walked through the hallways slowly. He walked through the 

senior common room before heading into the last hall in the building. He set his stuff down on the ground and plopped down into his seat. People looked at him and laughed from time to time. Nothing new.

It seemed that his classmates were always making fun of him. After all he did always wear a bright orange t-shirt, black jeans that were just a bit too short, and a pair of sandals. Not to mention that his face was scared on his cheeks so it looked like he had whiskers. Even with all of that, he still didn't know why people were so obsessed with picking on him. Sure he could be a class clown but…was he really all that bad? Even some student's parents had hated him. Surely he hadn't done anything wrong to them? Naruto just sighed softly to himself before he took out a sketch pad. Nothing left to do before class other then draw a bit.

Just as he started to really get focused a shadow loomed over his desk. Naruto grunted to himself. Great, the other idiot was back. He looked up and was met with an irritated grin.

"So, who the hell let you back into school, punk?" The boy was slender. His thick greasy hair hid most of his face. Naruto just rolled his eyes at him and went back to drawing. No point in getting expelled for this idiot. Iruka had barely gotten him out of a suspension the last time he fought with him. Better just take it easy today and let the idiot bury himself.

Just as Naruto set his pencil to the paper again the other boy snatched it. Naruto looked up, anger building quickly.

"Give. It. Back." If looks could kill this boy would have burned alive. No one takes away the one simple pleasure he had in life. No one! Naruto moved out of his seat and he reached up for the sketch book. The boy yanked it away quickly, a sly grin on his face.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" The boy looked at the sketch and snickered. "Wow, you can't do anything right can you? Even this picture looks like shit." Naruto lunged for the sketch book again and this time he managed to grab the edge of it. He smiled to himself a bit and pulled hard. The boy's grin widened and he purposefully yanked at an angle. A loud rip settled the noise in the classroom.

"Ah…now look what you did. You've gone and ripped it." The boy laughed as a few of the torn pages fell to the ground. Naruto just stared at it for a moment. His stomach turned as he watched his hard work drift to the floor. Now..now it was war. Naruto looked up, vengeance gleaming in his eyes. The boy just continued to laugh.

"You…you…son of a…!" Naruto quickly dropped to one knee and kicked the boy's feet out from under him. The boy's head connected with the floor with a crack. He instantly curled up in pain, doing his best to ease the sudden ache. Naruto got up and looked down at him. Anger blazed behind his eyes. He brought his foot across the other boys face. The boy yelped as blood spurt from his nose and lip. Just as Naruto lifted his foot for another blow he was pulled back roughly by his shirt. He chocked for a moment but recovered quickly. He turned to see who had stopped him and his blood ran cold. Iruka stared down at him, disbelief in his expression.



"Naruto…go to the office." Iruka's voice was cold and distant. Naruto tried desperately to explain but was quickly hushed again. "Go to the office now, Naruto!" Iruka pushed Naruto aside and knelt down next to the writhing boy. Naruto took a couple of steps back. His heart and mind felt heavy. He sighed softly after a moment. What was he thinking? Maybe he had gone too far this time. He turned quickly as he got another glare from Iruka.

Naruto walked to the office slowly. Word of his 'attack' was already spreading. Some of the other kids glared at him and others moved out of his way quickly. He sighed softly. What was going to happen now? How was he going to get out of this one? He quietly cursed himself as he walked out of the main building and across the lot to the main office. People whispered as he walked by. One of them even threw a rock at him. Naruto just walked faster. He felt relief momentarily as he walked through the doors to the office. At least they couldn't get him in here. He walked from the short hallway through a set of doors to his left. He felt his stomach knot up as he walked to the office at the end of the small area. The Principle was already waiting for him. The woman just motioned for him to close the door behind him. Naruto winced as he closed the door.

"Naruto. This is the second time this week you have been in my office. I am truly disappointed in your behavior." She shook her head a bit as she spoke. Naruto felt sick as she stared at him. "Sit down, Naruto. I think we need to have a talk." Naruto stood there a moment longer before taking the seat in front of her desk. She sighed softly before beginning again. "Naruto, I know you can be a good student. Why do you insist on being a bully? You need to start ignoring the other students who pick on you and start using your head." The rest of her words seemed to get lost in the thick air. Bully? How was he being a bully? He had started it! It wasn't like he had asked for the kid to pick on him. Naruto sighed softly and let his thoughts ease for a moment as she finished talking. "I'm afraid I am going to have to suspend you, Naruto." Naruto's heart fell into the pit of his stomach.

"Wait, but I…." Naruto tried desperately to defend himself but was cut off by a cold stare. He sank back into his seat. Old feelings of defeat and hurt welled up but he forced them down quickly. "Can I at least explain what happened?" Naruto looked at her pleadingly.

"Naruto, given you record and the current situation…you should be glad you haven't been expelled. The suspension will be for one month. During that time you are expected to get make up assignments from your teachers. You are going to have to get notes from your friends on your own time." She sighed softly as she flipped through a file. "I will notify your guardian of the situation. You are to leave school grounds as soon as you have taken your last class. You are dismissed." Naruto sighed heavily as he stood up. Great, that was the last thing he needed. Not like his uncle actually cared. He didn't even live with him. If the school knew about that there was sure to be trouble. He was better off living in the small apartment his uncle rented for him anyway. He just sighed mentally as he walked out of the room.

The last of his classes that day had been hell. No one would even look at him. Even the teachers were treating him like dirt. Naruto sighed heavily as he walked home slowly. Damn it! How come he was always the bad guy? He felt sadness well up as he remembered the look on Iruka's face. Iruka was more 

like family to him than any one had ever been. It hurt when Iruka looked at him like that. His expression was almost like all the others, cold and angry. He sighed again and stopped a moment to watch the water gently sway with the wind. It was always so peaceful at the bridge when he was alone. There was no one to judge him, no one to push him away, just the gentle swaying of the water. Naruto rested against the railing heavily. He closed his eyes for a moment and just took in the sound of the water and the wind.

"Hey! Look who it is boys!" Naruto looked up quickly. A bit surprised by the sudden noise. He cursed mentally as he saw a group of boys walking toward him. He moved away from the edge a bit and was met with icy stares. He looked around a bit, trying to plot an escape route when one of the boys from the back stepped forward.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The boy's voice sounded awkward from the swelling in his face. Naruto's expression fell. It was the jerk he had beaten up in class. Fuck.

"Sorry guys but I gotta go. Maybe we can get together and have tea later." Naruto smiled as he started to back away slowly.

"Ah come on, Buddy. Why don't you stick around for a bit? We have a great new game we want to try out. Turns out we need a punching bag." The boy grinned menacingly at him. Naruto was starting to feel uneasy and kept moving back slowly.

"Well then. I hear the gym is still open. Maybe you could go ask Kakashi for one. Anyway, I have a lot of studying to do." The others started advancing on Naruto. By no means was Naruto a coward. However, given the situation, he was easily out numbered. Naruto was starting to feel like a trapped animal.

"Nah, I think you'll do just fine." The other boy grinned as a few of his friends moved towards Naruto. Naruto turned and started into a full pace run but was yanked back roughly. One of the boys had a hold on his back pack. Naruto quickly turned and swung at the boy but he dodged. He started to kick at the boy when a foot met his groin. The pain shot through his body and Naruto was on his knees in seconds, cupping himself defensively.

"…fuck…" Naruto tried to stand and was brought back down by another hard blow. He coughed a few times as pain seared through his chest. The greasy haired boy reached down and grabbed Naruto's hair. He yanked back hard forcing Naruto to look at him.

"See, I told you that you would be perfect. Just remember that this is what you get when you mess with me." The boy let go of Naruto's hair and took a step back and smiled at his friends. Fuck, this was bad. What was he going to do? Damn it!

Naruto got to his feet only long enough to be knocked back to the ground. One of the boys picked up a stick and brought it down across Naruto's side. It made a loud slapping noise as it connected and Naruto yelped. He kicked out at the boy but another one stomped down on his ankle. Naruto yelped again as his ankle met the hard wooden bridge. The boys laughed and all started throwing kicks at the wounded boy. Naruto swung and kicked hard, trying desperately to hurt just one of them. To no avail, the boys kept 

hammering him with hard blows. Naruto took most of the hits to his ribs. He coughed as they kicked the wind from him. The pain was intense and he did everything he could from crying out.

Finally he managed to grab one of the boy's legs. He yanked hard and the boy stumbled and fell. Naruto took this moment to make his move. He used the boy as cover and managed to get to his feet. He leaned heavily against the railing. He fought against the pain to get a few deep breaths of air. Blood trickled down his face from his nose and mouth. Damn it! What the hell was he going to do?! He steadied himself and turned only in time to see his attacker. Pain shot through his head and everything went black for a moment. He felt himself slip backwards and over the railing. It almost felt like flying as he fell into the cold water below. He stared up through the water. Was this it…? Is this how his pain will end? Slowly darkness claimed his mind as he drifted away.

Notes:

Well, I got the first chapter done! I hope you all liked it. I will keep working hard to get the next one out. Thanks for reading!! R&R please!!