So, it's been a while since I've done anything aside from KakaSaku, but I'm giving this a try.
This is based on my own experiences from high school, and while a lot of it seems far-fetched, trust me, stuff like this did happen. This is set a few years ago, 2000-2001 to be exact, and that's done for a few reasons, to be revealed later on.
Review if you like this, because that's the only way it won't be abandoned. I have anon reviews enabled for a reason.
Oh- and this is being written from my BlackBerry, so sorry if the formatting is off.
2-12-10: I am reposting the chapters I have done so far, updated and whatnot. I like them, but upon further review, they could be a ton better. As a side note, I'm super happy. I just quit my job and will have a week off before starting my new one.
I do not own Naruto. The characters herein are, for the most part, created by Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.
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An alarm blared, signifying the beginning of a brand new day. A slender hand reached out from beneath a bundle of ratty blankets, worn from years of use, to delay said beginning for another fifteen minutes.
"Sakura!" An older woman, her peach hair short and permed, poked her head through the curtain used as a door. "Get up! It's your first day. Don't you want to make a better impression?" Her face was pinched in frustration as she regarded the room. It was small, roughly the size of an office, with blue and grey vinyl paneled walls. Clothes littered the floor, and whole magazine spreads decorated the walls. Bands like Orgy and Korn posed for Alternative Press, and a Ouija board was screwed into the paneling. Upon the white ceiling, a pentacle was scrawled, along with the magickal symbols for Goddess and Great Horned God.
Mitsu's nose crinkled in disgust, taking in the large chalkboard directly across from her. Rather than use chalk to draw upon it, Sakura had taken to using oil pastels and chalk pens to draw gruesome pictures and write obscene and offensive song lyrics. The current 'du jour' was a song named "The Reflecting God," the lyrics mirrored by bleeding roses binding a fallen angel to an altar, a succubus at the ready to plunge a dagger into its' heart.
'At least they're clothed this time,' Mitsu thought, wry and defeated.
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Came the response from beneath the mountain of covers. Mitsu's attention snapped back to the girl beneath the blankets, and she flopped her hands around in ire.
"Ugh! Fine! Be the same miserable girl you have been! You know, Dr. Kona said you should try to be less negative. I don't know why..." Sakura tuned out the ranting of her mother as she rolled out of bed and onto the floor with a distinct thud.
Brushing by her mother, she turned an immediate right into the bathroom, closing the door on the woman. From the other side of the door, she could hear her mother stomping off. "You're so goddamned negative! Forget getting a ride to school today, you can walk."
"Great," Sakura murmured. She stared at her face critically, trying to see if she had changed at all. Nope. Still had a huge forehead. She brushed her teeth, mindful of the cavity forming in the back. Just another thing for her mother to ignore. Sighing, she turned on the shower and stepped in.
Halfway through conditioning, her mother pounded on the door. "We're gonna be late! Hurry it up!"
"Oh, my dear, manic depressed mother, I thought I was walking," she retorted quietly. It didn't matter, her mother still heard.
"Now you are!" With that, she pounded the door one last time before storming to the back door. "And clean your fucking room!" Was heard before the back door slammed and her mother started the car.
As Sakura dressed, she mused to herself, "At least there are no 'first day' pictures. Upside? Hell yeah."
She grabbed her drab green Jansport bag, threw on her No Boundaries sneakers and Army issue all-weather jacket, and plodded out the door.
As she walked, her knock-off Discman played through Stabbing Westward's "Darkest Days" album, and she smoked a cigarette. She hung a left at the end of her street, turning a sharp right. She began to think to herself, thoughts mirroring the songs in her ears.
These days, it was becoming easier to pretend nothing was wrong. After being a consistent part of the Drama Department for the past three years, Sakura had grown accustomed to playing parts. So much so, she lost track of herself when productions came around. It was easy to be someone else, and she relished in the opportunity to ignore the gnawing feeling in her stomach.
But, like clockwork, as soon as the cast party ended on the final night, and she passed out drunk on achievement and Long Island Iced Teas, she was herself again. Hollow and wanting, she was left, until a one-act came along to give her another personality.
Her psychiatrist, if one could call her that, had told her to try and become the person she had always wanted to be. That when she played the role of a confident, happy person, it would simply become a reality. That the voice that often spoke back to her would silence itself due to a lack of unsavory circumstances.
'Should I really try to make a new start for myself? Would it matter? What would Naruto say? Sasuke? Would they be supportive?'
By the time she made it to school fifteen minutes later, she was in a right fine mood. Her steps slowed as she approached the impressive brick building. Two stories tall with a basement on one half of the building, the building was capable of housing 1500 students and a full faculty. The school had been built in 1952 and had been renovated repeatedly over the past 38 years, the result being two cafeterias, two gymnasiums, a large auditorium, and over forty classrooms.
Sakura walked into the back doors by the parking lot and wandered through the throng of students. The smell of floor cleaner and wax intermingled with rubber as shoes were scuffed. She could tell which ones were freshmen by the dazed look in their eyes as they gazed around the large lobby. She too looked around, trying to find signs of this year differing from the previous four.
'Nope, same old trophy cases filled with relics of the heroes long past. Same vending machine filled with half-stale snack foods.' Sakura shook her head to clear the voice she was sure she wasn't supposed to hear. 'You can't get rid of me, dumbass. I'm you.'
'Shut up,' Sakura mentally retorted back. She rubbed her temples trying to will away the voice, and after a moment of concentration, it worked.
Walking into the new cafeteria, she quickly found her friends. "Yo! Sa-ku-ra!" Naruto yelled, when she neared. He crushed her in a bear hug, grasping the air from her lungs.
"Dumbass, she's right there. You don't have to yell." The raven haired teen chastized. "Besides, we saw her last weekend."
Sakura laughed as Naruto twirled her around, and finally set her down. "But that was so long ago," he pouted.
"It was three days ago," Sakura corrected, while pulling money out for breakfast.
"See? Sakura gets it!" She heard Naruto comment as she walked around the corner to the register. She stood in front of the displays, wondering what to get. 'Hmm... poptart or breakfast burrito?'
"I'd get the poptart, hun. The burritos might walk off your plate this morning." Sakura's head snapped up.
"Kathy!! How's my favorite food service minion?" She grabbed a cherry frosted tart and apple and walked to the register.
"You can't just call me a lunchlady?" The woman laughed, and rang up the items. "I'm doing okay. Had the gallbladder op in July. Ninety-seven cents. So yeah, just takin' it easy. How was your summer?"
Sakura handed the brown haired woman her dollar bill and bit her apple. "Good, went to my aunt's house and babysat. Just got back a week ago. So you finally had the operation? Obviously everything went smoo-"
"How much is this?" A deep voice cut into their conversation. Both Sakura and Kathy turned abruptly, chagrined at having been chatting it up like two old biddies. A tall redheaded boy stood closely behind Sakura in the line. Instinctively, she stepped closer to the dividing half-wall separating the food line from the seating area, and allowed him more space. His aqua eyes flickered toward her in a calculating manner, as if weighing her for market.
"Eighty-seven cents, dear. I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?" Kathy asked the boy politely. She typically knew every student that chose her cafeteria over the newly added eating space next door.
"Obviously if you haven't seen me, then I would be new," the boy commented harshly, his blood red hair flicking into his eyes as he twitched with annoyance. He all but threw exact change at the woman, and Sakura could no longer hold her tongue.
"Hey, just because you're new doesn't mean you can treat people like that. She was just trying to be welcoming!" The roseate defended. She no sooner spoke the words than wished she could take them back. As the boy regarded her once more, he stepped closer, nose to nose, his aqua eyes meeting her own veridian gaze.
"Because you don't know me, I'll let that slide. Next time, think before you speak, Pinky." That said, he spun and walked into the lobby from whence he came. The bell rang for homeroom as he did, and Sakura scrambled to collect her bag. Throwing a hasty farewell to the lunchlady, she navigated the students to arrive at the History hall two minutes later.
Homeroom with Mr. Morino. She could hardly contain her joy. Sakura promised herself she'd go for the Shakespearian Society homeroom as soon as tryouts were announced. She was a shoe-in, having performed in a number of productions, but she had to at least go through the motions just to keep everything fair.
Mr. Morino, a former Marine, silenced everyone with a hard look before assigning lockers. Even if she switched homerooms, this would be her locker for the rest of the year. '926,' she thought, as she sought the line of lockers. She had luckily put her deposit down on her combination lock for both her gym and standard lockers, so she would not have to memorize a new combination every year.
Placing her things in, she looked around her at the other seniors. Next to her would be some well-known football player, of course, and a daddy's girl on the other side. Sakura spied Tenten kiddie corner to her across the hall. The bun-haired brunette had been placed next to her longtime crush. Sakura caught her eye and shot her a thumbs up. Tenten grinned before turning back to Neji Hyuuga, but as she caught Sakura's eye one last time, the pinkette feigned swooning before rushing back into homeroom.
The only good thing about her locker location was it's strategic position next to the side entrance that had never locked quite right. 'Perfect for study hall signouts.'
Morning announcements came and went. The principle, Mr. Umino, was new and had been sure to greet the students. He added, 'If you ever need a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen, I'm here,' to which Kiba Inuzuka commented, of course.
"I'd be wary of what other body parts he has for auction, there. Ino, you gonna take him up on his offer?" The blonde in question flipped Kiba off and shook her loose hair around her shoulders.
"Don't be a pig!" She snapped.
"Pot calling kettle black," Kiba shot back.
"Ugh! It's just a name, Kiba! Get over it!"
Mr. Morino slammed his hands on Ino's desk, ending the argument abruptly. "Sorry, Mr. Morino," they both mumbled.
The bell rang, and everyone filed out, attempting a four minute lolligag to first period. Unfortunately for Sakura, her first class was just upstairs, in the English hall, so no amount of zombie-like shuffling could save her.
The first thing Sakura noticed about the room was the change in where the desk had been. If one the could be said about Hatake Kakashi, it was that he was methodical. So when Sakura wandered in a full minute before the bell, she fixated on the shift from the last three years.
His desk, which had been at the front of the room, had been replaced by a table from the Art rooms, and moved to the back of the room. A dressing screen and portable wardrobe cart took up space in the opposite back corner, and she could see the corner of one of the larger tackle boxes of makeup. The same four posters that had previously been on the wall were accompanied by those of Anthony Hopkins portraying Hannibal Lecter, and Sir Lawrence Olivier as Hamlet.
"Sakura? You're blocking the door." She snapped to and moved quickly to an empty seat. Turning to face the masked man, she took in his visage.
"So, what's up, Hatake? You finally get a woman who doesn't mind porn?"
"Romantic literature, and I don't see how it's any of your business." Came his shrewd reply.
"Yeah, Sakura, you know how Anko gets when she's spoken about behind her back," Sasuke joined the conversation after coming through the door. The two high-fived as Kakashi gave them a withering look.
"I am never telling you two anything ever again."
Sakura snorted. "Come off it, Hatake, you know you love it." He opened his mouth to reply, but some of the tardier students filled the room, and the bell rang.
The class flew quickly, and Sakura made a note in her planner to murder Kakashi in his sleep for the essay due the next day. As she left the room, she muttered simply, "I have one more class with you, and I know where you live."
He chuckled and ruffled her hair before unceremoniously shoving her out the door.
"I'll see you fourth period, Sakura."
She glowered and hung a left, taking her downstairs almost directly to her locker. Sakura put her things away, grabbing another couple of notebooks, before slamming her locker door. Turning to begin the trek to Biology, she ran face-first into something solid.
"Ow! What the hell?! Watch where you're going, asshole!" She exclaimed, rubbing her head.
"What did I tell you, Pinky?" The voice that replied froze her in her tracks.
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Here is the list of authority figures, just in case you wondered. Sakura is associated with them, one way or another, and the ones she has classes with have their class periods next to them.
Tsunade - mayor
Shizune - health (8th)
Kakashi - AP English, theatre (1st and 4th)
Asuma - AP Economics/ Gov't (7th)
Kurenai - Maths (3rd)
Ibiki - World History
Sandaime - Language (5th)
Orochimaru - Biology (2nd)
Kabuto - AP Chemistry
Jiraiya - Studio Art
Maito Gai and Mitarashi Anko - gym (8th)