Konoha High
Chapter 1
- A New Student -

"I really don't wanna do this." Naruto sighed, sitting in the car with his father.

"Now, Naruto, don't make this hard for yourself," his father, Yondaime, replied, turning the steering wheel and driving the car into the parking lot of the school. "You're gonna be fine. Just be yourself and you'll have nothing to worry about."

Naruto sulked deeper into his seat and stayed there when the car had stopped.

"Naruto, get out of the car," Yondaime said.

"I don't wanna..." Naruto groaned.

"Naruto... now," his father said, a little more forcefully. "Want me to take away your PSP?"

"Fine, fine, I'll go..." Naruto said, protectively clutching the gaming device in his pocket. "Later, dad."

He watched the car drive away, and sighed, joining the mass of unfamiliar students.

He was a transfer student to Konoha High, because of his mother's job relocation. He didn't really care, anyways, since he didn't have many friends at his old school, but still... he didn't like it.

He found himself at his locker and easily opened it, taking an opportunity to look at his schedule.

"Okay... first period, Hatake, Science, room 1228. Now... where the hell is that?" he said to himself.

"You need help, little dude?"

He looked up to see a bespectacled senior with pale blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, a deeply tanned body and an open, Hawaiian-style shirt revealing a necklace with a fang on it leaning on his locker with a smile.

"...huh?"

"I asked if you needed any help getting to your class, little dude," the boy said. "Where's tha room at?"

"I'm not little," Naruto growled. "It's room 1228."

"Woah, no offense, dude," he said, smiling. "Ahh, 1228? You got Mr. Hatake for Science, right?"

"Yeah...?" said Naruto.

"Aww, man, that is one righteous dude," he said, scratching his head. "Really knows his stuff."

He grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and pointed down the busy hallways.

"What you need to do is go down this hallway right here. There's, like, two other wings branching off, but you need to take the very last one at the end and turn left. His room's at the very end, kay?"

"Okay, thanks," said Naruto.

"Stay cool, froshie-dude," the guy said. "What's your name, anyways?"

"It's Naruto," said Naruto. "Who're you?"

"The name's Kabuto Yakushi," he said. "Hang loose, dude, I'll see you later!"

Naruto turned and went down the hallway, the strange surfer's voice in his mind. He found his way to the room easily, and opened the door a little hesitantly.

The class seemed friendly, and the teacher was writing something on the board, his back turned.

"Hey, look, it's a new kid," he heard someone whisper. It took only a small while before everyone was looking at him, and he fidgeted uncomfortably as the bell rang.

The teacher turned around, and Naruto finally got a look at him. He appeared fairly normal in a blue button-down shirt and a long mane of silver hair that fell into his left eye, while his exposed right eye looked tired and bored.

"Ah, you must be the new student," he said, flipping through the attendance guide on his clipboard. "Uzumaki?"

"Yeah, that's me," said Naruto.

"Ahh... you can sit over here, next to Haku," he said, pointing to an open seat next to a person with long hair. Naruto stretched his shoulders and took a seat.

"Naruto, you wanna introduce yourself or anything?" Mr. Hatake said.

"Nope, nothing to say," he said. A few people laughed.

"Ahh, I see," said Mr. Hatake, a smile darting across his stubbly chin. "Well, if you all would open up your books to page 233, we'll get started."

"Teacher, he has no book," Haku said, raising his hand.

"Ah, I see," Mr. Hatake said, scratching his head. "Ah, Hinata? Mind lending him your copy?"

"Oh! Umm... err... I... yeah..." a soft voice from behind said. Naruto felt a slight tap on his back, and turned to see a girl with long hair pulled back with a ribbon offering him her book. Her face was downcast, so he couldn't get a good look at it.

"Er... thanks," Naruto said. She nodded, and he could swear that her face was turning red.

"Page 233, Uzumaki, we're going over formulas today, so you should be able to follow," Mr. Hatake said. Naruto turned to the page and found it free of blemishes and notes, which was surprising to him (most of the kids at his old school doodled all over their textbooks).

"Now, if you remember..." Mr. Hatake said, beginning the lesson. Haku gently poked Naruto, and he turned around.

"Hmm?" he said.

"I must introduce myself," he said, smiling. "I am new student, too. I am exchange student from China! My name is Haku; it is nice to know you."

"Ah, China? That's cool," said Naruto. "Nice to meet you too, I'm Naruto."

"I help you with homework, if you want," he said. "You have what other class?"

"Eh?" said Naruto. "You mean, what other classes do I have?"

"Yes, sorry, my English is not so good," he said, blushing a bit. "I am still learning."

"Ahh, here's my schedule," said Naruto, handing it to him. Haku looked it over.

"Ah, we have lunch and Art together at end of day!" said Haku. "Very good, I see you more!"

"Ohh... okay, then," said Naruto, looking up at the whiteboard and copying the notes Mr. Hatake had written. "Say, who's that girl behind us?"

"Hinata?" Haku said, looking at the girl in question (she was busy taking notes, her hair still over her face). "She is very smart girl, very shy. She like to help people, but very, very shy."

"I see," said Naruto.

"She have lunch with us," said Haku. "Maybe you talk to her more?"

"Meh, maybe," said Naruto. He heard Hinata squeak behind them and cover her face.

"...so if you substitute 3 meters for d, then what is the answer, Uzumaki?" Mr. Hatake said.

"Ah! Oh, um, 5.7 meters per second," Naruto replied, quickly back to the lesson.

"Pretty close, the correct answer is 5.2. Nice try though, Uzumaki." Mr. Hatake said.

Naruto grinned and laughed a little.

-///-

The next few hours passed by a bit uneventfully; Naruto was paired next to nameless, faceless people he didn't really interact with (although in History class with Mr.Umino, someone named Shikamaru was being a smartass and made the teacher mad). Finally, it was lunch, before Art with Mr. Might.

When the bell rang, Naruto made his way to the cafeteria and got himself a cup of insta-ramen from the snacks. Filling it with water, he sat down at a table and waited for it to finish, until...

"Naruto! There you are!"

Haku and Hinata were approaching his table, and he couldn't help but smile a little.

"Hey there," he said, waving a little.

"I knew we had same lunch!" Haku said. "You got ramen?"

Naruto nodded and split his chopsticks.

"Yup! Chicken-flavored, it's my fave."

"Ah... that's... that's... that's good..." Hinata stuttered softly, poking at her salad. Naruto finally got a look at her face; it was round and rather pleasant, with big, pale, silver eyes that were the strangest he had ever seen.

"So, whatcha got there?" Naruto asked, pointing at Haku's lunch box with his chopsticks.

"Ah, this?" Haku said. "Stir-fry mushroom and sticky rice, with some beef. I made it myself."

"No kidding! You cook?" Naruto said. "If I ever have to bring a lunch, my dad always does it."

"Ah, I live with host family, you did not know?" Haku said. "I not much like American food, so I cook for self."

"I see, I see," said Naruto, eating some more noodle. "I-"

"Hey, you!" a nasally voice said.

They all looked up to see a blonde girl with bubblegum-pink lips in a cheerleader's uniform with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. A girl with pink hair and a boy with blue hair and a bored look on his face stood behind her.

"...yeah?" Naruto said, staring at her well-endowed chest.

"You're the new kid, right?" the blonde girl said, twisting a strand of hair in her fingers.

"Yeah...?" Naruto said again, still a bit distracted.

"Well... I'm Ino Yamanaka, and... like... yeah, I just kinda wanna let you know..." she said, her voice rising at the end of each sentence, "...you, like... seem the type to cause trouble, y'know?"

"Um... no...?" Naruto said, his mind barely in the conversation.

"She means she wants you to stay away from her, honey," the blue-haired boy said. "Right, Ino?"

"Chyeah," she said. "So like... don't get any ideas. I know what you want."

"Like he'd want an airhead like you," an acid voice said. Ino shivered and they all turned to see a girl with long black hair that brushed her back and enormous headphones strung around her neck.

"Uh-oh, it's her!" the pink-haired girl squealed. "Headphones-girl!"

"She giving you a hard time, new kid?" she asked.

"Er... I dunno," said Naruto, snapping back into semi-reality. "She said to stay away from her."

The girl sighed.

"Listen, bitch," she said tartly to Ino. "The only people who would want a girl like you are homos like Sakon."

"Wha-?" the blue-haired boy said in outrage. "I am, like, so not a homo!"

"Pshaw, riiight," the girl said, tilting her head.

"I am not!" he said again. "Grrr... man, I hate it when she's around."

"Lezbo..." Ino sighed. "Come on, let's go."

With that, the clique left.

"Sorry for ol' balloon-head over there," the girl said, sitting down at the table. "So you're the new kid? Nice to meet you, I'm Kin Tsuchi."

"Naruto," Naruto replied. "Er... thanks, I guess."

"Hey, no problem," Kin said. "Ah, Haku, na shi ni ma?"

"Shi de," Haku said cheerily. "Ni hao, Kin. Ni gao xing bu?"

"Hai ke yi," she replied.

"Woah, woah, wait a minute, you speak Chinese?" said Naruto, spewing a little bit of chicken broth and noodle.

"A little," said Kin. "Neat, huh?"

"Yeah!" said Naruto. "I never really did like languages."

"Oh... I... I see..." said Hinata, taking another bite of salad.

Naruto looked at her for a little bit, before going back to Kin.

"Fancy headphones," he said. "You like music?"

"Music is life," an ethereal voice said behind him. "It lives in all of us, and Kin is one of the lucky few to be able to tap into it and love it for the realness it holds in our everyday lives."

Naruto jolted in his seat a little to see a pale older boy with white dreadlocks and a red, yellow and green crocheted cap, and a tired air seemed to hang about his face.

"Kimi, don't freak the kid out," Kin said, fiddling with the cord on her headphones a little, "jeeze."

"My apologies," he said. "My name's Kimimaro Kaguya, sorry if I scared you."

"Not... not at all..." Naruto said uneasily.

"Back to your question... yeah, I really like music," Kin smiled. "What kind do you like?"

Naruto shrugged as Kimimaro took a seat at the table. "Dunno," he said. "I don't listen to music much."

"Ah, that's such a shame," Kin said. "Hina, you gonna drink that milk?"

Hinata shook her head, so Kin took the carton and chugged it down in one gulp. Naruto laughed.

"You liking the school so far, Naruto?" said Kimimaro.

"S'okay," Naruto said. "You guys sit here every day?"

"Well, we sit together every day," said Kin, "just not always at the same table. Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "I think I might join you guys, you're pretty interesting."

Hinata peeped a little and Haku grinned. "That is so very good!" he said. "I am very happy that you enjoy our company."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, I'm definitely sitting with you guys later."

Next
- Invasion of the Dark Ones