21st Century Konoha

Author notes:

Hi, I've been absent from the fanfiction community for a long time. I wrote my first "Konoha High School" AU fic when I was 14 after experiencing exchange in Japan. Since then reading certain "Konoha High School" fics were difficult because they didn't prove any accuracies with a true Japanese High School Experience. Now, at 21, I've experienced a little more, I've decided to write this fic which would be adapting key plots from the original Naruto Universe into a more realistic setting. I really hope you all like my interpretations of our beloved characters, it's been a long time since I've written and hopefully the chapters get better as time passes.

This will be the development of all the Naruto Canon Pairings, but be warned - Sakura will be the Heroine of this fanfic and we will follow her POV so we will only see the couples and characters that would revolve around her world.

Another note, I am unsure how long it would take to finish this fic and I really hope I don't abandon it before I reach the conclusion I would like.

This is the introductory chapter, to set up the characters, setting and backstory. Sorry if the story progresses too slowly in the first few chapters!

Enjoy!

Chapter One: The calm before the storm

The sunlight was warming up the little room as a young student was carefully being tended to by their senpai. Outside, the yelling and the patter of storming feet on a basketball court echoed into the room.

"Arigatou Sakura-Senpai!"

"Don't worry about it. Just be cautious of your surroundings and maybe avoid the basketball courts... Boys tend not to be as careful as you think"

"Uh... yeah"

The junior smiled to herself. She made a small nod before a loud thump was heard. Their eyes directed at the windows as they saw the window panels rattle. Of the two, the elder kept her eyes directed towards the window. Her shoulder length pink hair framed her face while she tilted her head. She let out an audible sigh before commenting with her eyes closed.

"See what I mean. Now, quick, go get to class. Your free period will be ending soon".

She was off, gave a courteous nod and left through the only door of the room. A second loud thump came. Sakura, who was once sitting on the stool on the opposite side to the window had abruptly left her station. In a matter of seconds she was by the window, had unlatched the lock and swiped the basketball as it flew in. She pressed into the rubber ball between her fingers before slowly turning her eyes outside. Her eyes focused on the obvious culprit.

"NA-RU-TOOOOO"

Her screech came out. Her eyebrows furrowed together. The glint and the aura of her person had switched from the kind atmosphere she had just minutes earlier. His name echoed down the court. The young blond flinched and hesitated to run away or stay put. It was his name that was called amongst his friends. Though it was most likely their shared effort for the basketballs trajectory towards the window, it was always his name attached to the guilty party.

"OH SAKURA-CHAN! OHAIYO! Aaa... can we have our ball back please?"

"You can grab it back when I see you in class!"

The window would rattle for the last time, as Sakura locked the window and pushed the basketball into our tote bags of books and pens. The boys outside watched as their plaything vanished.

As Sakura began to clean up from her last job, she could hear that the confiscation of the ball had caused a rally against Naruto outside. She didn't seem to feel too sympathetic about her actions. He was such a troublemaker, but was well loved by his peers now. She finished rolling up the spare bandages and signed off her shift for the sick room. She scrawled onto a spare sheet for the next Student First Aid officer.

She closed the door behind her and began walking towards the closest staircase. This was her final year at Tokyo's Konoha International High School. Haruno Sakura had followed through since her infancy in this family of schools. It was complete with an elementary school, junior high school and of course the high school. The school didn't end there, as many universities and colleges had set up partnerships with the school for a smooth transition for students interested in tertiary education. (Which, everyone was.) For an international school, it had a large body of students, with 100 students in each grade. But that is no surprise as it was set up in the capital of Japan. Though their numbers were easily shadowed by the public schools in the area, how could the students of this school possibly join the public system.

Like most students in the TKIHS, they enrolled at a young age due to their parent's employment. Students had an array of interesting birth certificates from both within Japan and abroad. Sakura had been accepted with dual citizenship of United Kingdom and Japan. Because of this, she had flown back and forth most of her life until she found stability when junior high school began. Her father worked as a diplomat for the Embassy while her mother found work in translating Japanese to English for tourist departments. Her parents had originally hoped their pink haired daughter could join regular students in the public system but it wasn't flexible enough for their return visits home. Plus, this high school taught in both Japanese and English, so students had the advantage of becoming bilingual (or multilingual depending from where they were from).

As Sakura had her right foot on the first step of the staircase, she heard the sound of running footsteps on the other side of the staircase.

"Ah! Sakura!"

"You're late Ino-Pig. I've left the notes on the table for your shift!"

This 18 year old blonde standing before her was Sakura's closest girlfriend. Though they would hardly ever call each other with endearing titles.

"Urusai! I made it at least. Not much trouble during your shift?"

"Just a grazed knee. A junior got hit by a basketball, but it should be calm today"

Ino sighed. Her parents were from Brisbane, Australia. Which made sense as she was rather athletic and enjoyed the days when Japan's weather could compare close to the heat of Australian Summer. However, she was actually born in Tokyo, so she would only ever chance to see the Gold Coast when she returned for Christmas. Her parents were young travellers and paid a visit during their University days and fell in love with Japan's interesting culture. So after finishing their bachelors, they moved into the city and found employment in PR and Advertising.

"Was it Naruto and the guys again"

"Who else? Anyway, I best be going. Good luck. I'll see you at the gates after school. Ja ne!"

As seniors, and part of the extra activities offered by the high school, the majority of students took part of various clubs. Sakura had started dreaming of becoming a doctor since Junior School ended. So, she took the first aid course and volunteered at the sick room 2 days a week for 2 periods. Ino had followed suit as well, though her dream was not as concretely decided.

To be a Student First Aid Officer was quite simple, and perfect for Sakura. She was able to practice a little medical studies (though nothing beyond bandages), but she spent most of the quiet part of shift studying for upcoming tests and exams. Other than her academic achievements she chose to do Boxing on Thursday, which was sports night and is in the Female Initiative. It was a club with a mentor system that partnered ex-students and current students together established by the current school principal Tsunade-sama.

Being kept busy was all part of the school experience. The Tokyo School was the largest of all its International Schools in Japan, second was the Kyoto Suna International Schools.

As Sakura made progress towards her classroom, she felt the annoyance that was embodied as a basketball in her bag. She slid the sliding door of her classroom, 3-1, the last room of seven on the floor.

Before she could register the occupants of her classroom, she felt two hands grip her arms and began shaking her back and forth.

"SAKURA-CHAN! THE BALL! THE BALL! THE BALL! KUDASAIIII"

Sakura always had an issue with Naruto's immaturity. She tensed up in the boy's hands before breaking free. She stared into his cerulean eyes. How did she manage this friendship again? She recalled how she disliked the boy in their elementary days despite his obvious crush for her. He was loud and obnoxious, and she always labelled him as that goofy boy from the U.S but over the years and eventually in Junior high school, she grew a soft spot for his energetic personality.

Uzumaki Naruto, a tall and tanned blond boy who had a quiet and mysterious past which is a huge contrast to his personality, was born in L.A, that much was known but had moved to Tokyo after receiving a scholarship. It was only revealed recently that he wasn't just some American boy, he also was the intended heir of a large corporation. It's impossible to imagine such a boy in a suit behind a grand desk but the young lad had always exclaimed it as his dream.

Naruto had let go of Sakura, slowly bent down and realised his previous actions were out of line. However, he saw the silhouette of the ball in her tote bag and diverted his attention away from Sakura's furiously angry green eyes. He was basically bobbing up and down as he realised the ball had not been destroyed or been burst by her strengths.

His body stood up straight as he saw the ball being retrieved. Sakura gave a strong pass towards Naruto, he was taken back but his enthusiasm for the return of his beloved object, that he didn't care that possible bruising might have happened.

"Stop doing your trick shots at the courts or I'll decide to stick one of my practice syringes in it!"

"SAKURA-CHAN NOO!"

The ball was soon protected and held behind his back as his face distorted into horror at the prospects. He quickly stepped back into his seat as he cradled the ball into his chest. Sakura moved towards the seat next to him but with a disapproving face before prioritising the preparation for class. She took out her notebooks and pens and packed away her tote bag into her leather satchel.

A voice from behind Naruto came out.

"Naruto-kun, you always seem to annoy Sakura-san"

"Shut up Sai!" Naruto shouted as his neck snapped his head around to turn to a pale boy.

Sai was a transfer student from the regular neighbouring Tokyo High School. He came in on the second year of High School. He was awkward at first, despite his amazing academic scores, his social skills were horrendous. He always seemed to forget the cultural differences and made himself into difficult situations. However, in the last year his improvement of character eventually had him accepted in the group.

"Yes you do Naruto-Kun. Be more careful".

This comment had struck a nerve as the two boys started to bicker about the flaws in each other's personalities. However, one boy was taking this in as a constructive criticism while the other was taking offence with every word. Eyes around the class began to direct themselves to the argument, everyone laughing at the comedic display as the two boys misunderstood each other. Sakura tried her best to keep her attention forward and away from their showcase of stupidity.

The classroom door slid open again. A tall grey haired man walked in holding an orange book. His entrance created a pause in the quarrel, and seats and table legs etched into the classroom floor before silence fell. The class began, and students had their latest Japanese text to read for the literature class.

It was the end of the day, at Sakura's locker at the entrance of the school, as she pulled out her brown loafers and replaced them with her indoor slippers. Sakura was a very contemplative girl despite her usual short-tempered violent outbreaks. When she was not studying or being kept busy, she let her mind dawdle off as she became pensive about something.

Stuck in the inside of her locker's door were several purikura stickers from various photobooth visits during her younger days that she must have moved when she started high school. In a particular photo was of herself smiling happily in the center with Naruto on her left and a black haired boy on her right. Her lips turned downwards as she began to recall old memories. Her mind trailed onto other concerns.

It was 6 months until the final exams. She would have finished all her compulsory studies, and reality was coming faster. She would have to join the real world or take on further studies. For the students at this prestigious school, it was no surprise that post-graduation... Students would depart for an international life style. This made her fingers fidget at the charm on her black leather satchel. As she had grown up through the system, she had seen many students transfer out of the system when their parents found new work elsewhere. She closed the locker and stood still as she thought of her close knit friends. The departure of one of her friends had been a moment that defined her. Her eyes glazed as she stared upwards but she was soon awaken from her daze.

"Sa-Sakura-chan. Are you ready"

"Hai. Let's go find Ino"

As though nothing had happened, Sakura turned her face and smiled at the girl next to her. This was Hyuuga Hinata, she had long dark hair that shone with a blue hue under sunlight. She had a straight fringe and was very timid. She had incredibly light hazel eyes. Her family and generations before her had gone through the International school despite being part of Japan's elite families. But when these schools were set up long ago, certain families requested to have their children enrolled so they could have the advantage of being bilingual.

As they walked towards the large school gates, they compared their day. Sakura found her day to be mediocre so she was quite interested to hear of Hinata's day. Hinata was in the same year but in 3-3. She hung around two boys in class, Kiba, a Columbian boy who loved dogs and Shino, another Japanese boy with a strange collection of bugs. Despite the creepy hobbies the boys had, they were protective of Hinata as they had always been in the same class since the beginning. The boys always found a sense of responsibility towards her as she was very shy, they encouraged and supported her to be more assertive.

Hinata didn't share the same extra activities as Sakura, she took on Kendo for her Thursday Sports night, and she was reporting the news that Neji, her cousin, would be returning to become a sensei for the sport. She was also part of a books and crafts club, where a small group of students did various craft activities or exchanged their favourite novels for the week.

"Oh, how is Neji?"

Sakura returned to that subject. Hinata began updating Sakura about his new promotion at work. Her cousin had been orphaned at a young age due to an unfortunate car accident, so her father had taken him in at their household. He had accelerated his studies at the International School and finished extensive course during High School so he was able to finish his Bachelor in Business in the summer holidays. Recently he secured a position in a business firm.

"Ah, of course he's doing well. But who isn't doing well?"

Sakura said sarcastically after Hinata explains the details of Neji's busy lifestyle. The pair arrived at the gates to see Ino was already patiently waiting. She was gazing out and was people watching, but she recognised the shadows of the two as it came towards her.

"I'm so keen for this new sushi bar!"

Ino bursted out. She looked upwards, ran her fingers through her ponytail of blonde hair and reached upwards. Hinata had her fingers clutched onto some flyers and had them placed in front of her face as she let out a little giggle.

"Another girls' day! This is why I look forward to Wednesdays! Hinata-chan, did you ask Tenten Nee-chan to join us?"

Sakura asked while they made way towards the busy city centre.

"Hai!" Hinata responded with a nod, she continued "She said she'll meet us in front!"

Tenten was a year above. She was a daughter of a Chinese businessman and a Japanese textile designer who did most of their business in Singapore. However, due to her grandmother's request had lived in Tokyo to avoid the crazy lifestyle of moving so frequently. She had long dark brunette hair but had always enjoyed the look of having them in two buns on her head. Tenten had been invited the year after her graduation to become a mentor for the Female Initiative club. This was to be expected as she had interned at a design firm after her final exams. She was still studying at the Design College in Industrial design, but her success was admired. As she was good friends with Neji, Hinata and Tenten grew close over the years and Tenten was often invited into the trio's day out.

Sure enough, as Hinata had promised, Tenten was waiting and playing with her Samsung phone outside the restaurant. She was in her casual attire of midi length denim and a loose pale pink top. The trio arrived still in their Senior uniform of a knee length navy pleated skirt and a white button blouse with the Konoha Leaf insignia on the left chest pocket. However, only Hinata was correctly wearing the navy bow at her collar while Ino and Sakura had it tied very loosely.

"When did you two get so sloppy with your uniform" Tenten pointed out as she felt their presence. She pushed her phone into her back pocket as she held her hands forward to readjust their bows.

"Oi!" Ino stepped back, "You're not a student anymore! Don't tell us what to do!"

Tenten only managed to adjust Sakura's bow as Ino had dodged Tenten's grasps.

The four entered the restaurant, passed the vouchers they had received and sat at a table with access to the sushi train. All you can eat sushi for 2500 yen! The girls had created a stack of plates as they took various sashimi, sushi rolls and other favourites. They had decided to finish their early dinner with a plate of hanami dangos.

"Oh! How are Shikamaru and Chouji?" Tenten directed this question to Ino before biting into the pink rice ball.

Ino looked up, the two boys were her close friends. Their families had become really close since her families move to Japan. Shikamura and Chouji were both from Japanese families. Shikamura exceeded his expectation in the Japanese schools, so as a challenge was brought in to learn multiple languages and start the accelerated business course that Neji also did. Despite his achievements, he was a very lazy teenager and spent most of his spare time just lying down besides Chouji who would never stop eating. He joined the International School when his parents decided he needed to take on the family business which had recently opened in Europe.

"They're same old same old! Bahhh boys!"

Ino muttered as she stuffed her mouth with her final dango ball. Clearly irritated, most likely by their laziness in class 3-2. It was a strange friendship they had, due to the families being so close they had become a second family to her despite their contrasting personalities.

"I heard Shikamura's penpal from Suna visited recently"

Tenten smirked, as she poked her dango skewer around.

"Pfft... I don't know, Temari graduated Suna last year. She found a job in Tokyo, but I think she's just doing relations. Plus they both studied Russian... so who knows"

Her shoulders shrugged as she began thinking into it deeply.

"Ohh! Do you think Temari-san likes Shikamaru-kun?"

Hinata gasped at the idea of budding romances among their friends.

"Hmm, they meet up sometimes but who knows..." Sakura thought aloud.

Subaku Temari was from Munich, Germany. She was a tall blonde girl and briefly studied at the Konoha School to finish off her Russian speaking exam with Shikamaru. She was very indifferent about most things, but she did like to laugh at jokes every now and then. She had two younger brothers, Kankuro who was in the same year as the trio of girls who enjoyed studying 3D modelling animation. The youngest brother was Gaara who was a blazing red head, who was in his second year of High School. He was always the key player in basketball when the Annual game was held at Konoha. They were a secretive family, but grew close with the Konoha School after their joint partnership in language classes.

"Yeah, nah. I really doubt anything there. Come on, Shikamaru is so... unfeeling"

Ino, might be right about that idea. As the girls chatted away in English, there were a group of young high school girls from the neighbouring public high school that recognised their uniform. They sent off stares in their direction before muttering a few things. Most of what they said didn't get picked up by the girls' ears but there was a phrase that they all picked up on.

"外人"

(Gaijin – foreigner)

Despite the achievements of the school, there was a lot of bitterness and tension between the school and other Japanese schools. Most of the public seemed indifferent about the whole situation but there was a growing cloud of negativity. The growth of the school and the successes of the students made certain Japanese families believe that jobs and wealth was being taken away. Some rumors passed around that students were ungrateful, snobby and believed themselves to be superior to other school students. All of which false, but these misunderstandings did seem to grow with momentum.

This tension had been built around for a long time. But the negativity never really bothered the girls. All of them looked foreign, even Hinata's unnaturally light hazel eyes struck a difference despite her Japanese heritage. The four of them sitting there, one was blonde, one had pink hair, another with light hazel eyes and the last had a visage slightly off from the Japanese face. Plus, they did not talk as quietly as they hoped in English. Speaking in a foreign language was bound to draw a little bit of attention.

The mood had changed amongst the group. Hinata and Tenten tried to lighten the mood. But they decided it was best to call it an evening as it was getting close to 9pm now. They lost track of time, they paid their share and decided on a new location for next weeks Girls' Wednesday.

When Sakura reached the front door of her home, she checked her phone to see that she had missed a few calls from her mother.

She made a quizzical face as she entered the door.

"Tadaima!"

Casually spoken as she changed out of her shoes and walked towards her bedroom.

"SAKURA?! OKAERI! GOODNESS WHY DIDN'T YOU CHECK YOUR PHONE?! HAVE YOU NOT HEARD?"

Her mother's frantic voice confused her and stunned her for a moment. She spun at her heels to face her frantic mother.

"Chotto, w-what happened?"

Sakura asked with anxiety laced in her voice. Her mother didn't know where to start as she spun around a bit before deciding to turn on the television. The action confused Sakura further. As the screen flicked on and from a McDonald's commerical a news bulletin was returning. An image of a burning building had captivated Sakura.

"Oh my god! KONOHA WAS ATTACKED?"

Author: I hope you enjoyed this. Sorry the juice took so long, but I much prefer to introduce characters at the beginning then to introduce them throughout the story. Don't worry, we haven't met all our beloved characters.

I do have Naruto pairings but I wanted this fic to be more drama than romance. I'm very sloppy with writing romances but maybe I can pull myself through eventually.

Please review, definitely appreciated.