Hey 'yal! I'm digging myself a deeper hole by starting this story, but the idea randomly popped into my head out of the blue and I just had to post it. So I'll just see what kind of response it gets and decided if I want to continue it… (Shrug)
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Over. My life is officially over. Anybody want to be "acquainted with" the cause of my stress? Hmm? Anyone? Ah, yes you in the back; with the face! You want to know why my life is completely over. Well I'll tell ya…Seven words.
Hardgrave Military Prep School for the Troubled Youth…
Troubled? Me? Whatever gave my guardians, Jiraiya and Tsunade, that idea? I'm innocent, I swear!
Alright so I guess I have some idea of why I'm boarding this nauseating mustard yellow colored bus right now and making my way to the far back seats only to have it drive me away to my synonym of Hell. So what if I unscrewed the bolts from my algebra teacher's chair, causing it to collapse as soon as he sat in it? So what if I dressed up the statue of the founder of our school in the girls uniform (panties, makeup, and all)? You can't prove that I spray painted my name on the side of the school! I was framed I tell ya! Framed!
But here I am. Sitting in the far rear of the airplane like bus taking me to Satan knows where, listing off the countless delinquent activities in my head that I did not do. I can't escape now though…the doors have closed in on themselves and the bus is pulling away from my home; Jiraiya and Tsunade waving goodbye to me on the front lawn, fake smiles playing on both their faces as we drove away.
And that's that. Me and the other six kids on the bus were headed toward Hardgrave Military Prep School for the Troubled Youth like a rocket to the moon.
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"Alright, we're here. Now get the hell off of my bus, brats." The driver popped the bus doors open and glared at all the bus' inhabitants through the rear view mirror, making most of them scramble for their belongings and rush out the door as fast as greased lightning. Only one casually got up, dusted himself off in case any excess dirt had clung to him during the long ride over here and slowly brought his rucksack out from under the seat in front of him, swinging it over his shoulder haphazardly.
He strolled forward down the isle as if he hadn't a care in the world, thanked the bus driver haughtily and ignored the few stairs off the bus completely, jumping over them and out of the bus' body, the doors almost catching the seat of his trousers as they were closed.
The bus drove away, the young man sticking out his pink tongue at it's rear until it disappeared from view. He huffed and headed toward the luggage cart to retrieve his belongings.
"Oh, gosh darn it! M-move!" The corner of the boy's mouth twitched upward into a small smile as he laid his eyes on a young woman, who was struggling to remove her duffle bag from under the mounds of other suitcases and what not. "P-p-please m-move!" she begged.
He made his way over to her a crouched down to her eye level, "Need some help?" She looked up, startled, a pretty blush spreading over her pale cheeks and nose. Eventually she looked away and nodded, tucking a loose strand of dark cropped indigo hair behind her ear.
"Y-yes, p-please." She replied quietly.
"Okay! You lift that red one above it and I'll yank yours out." He grasped the purple handle, "Wait, is there anything fragile in here I should worry about banging up?" The girl shook her head and lifted the red suitcase above hers. "Okay, ready?" She nodded to him, "One…Two…Three!" With one swift jerk, the lavender duffle bag slid from it's place and unto the grass below.
"Th-thank you." She hoisted the now freed bag over her shoulder, balancing it partially on one hip, like a mother would to a baby.
"No problem," He swiped his hand against each other to get rid of the burning sensation that the friction had caused when he jerked the bag. "What's your name?" He asked innocently enough.
"H-H-Hyuuga Hin-Hinata." She stuttered, her blush coming back ten fold, making her pearly eyes stand out even more than before. "A-and y-you?"
"I'm—"
The sharp whiny and demanding sound of a whistle met the teen's ears, and a just as demanding voice following after it, "New recruits, line up and prepare for roll call!"
The young man that said this had long chocolate brown hair tied off at the very end. He was tall and lean, but you could see the muscles in his defined arms and legs, under the blue uniform jacket and slacks that were pressed and ironed perfectly; hemmed up so you could see the sparkling polished black shoes on his feet. "Come on, now! We don't have all day!"
He stared at all the new faces sternly with his icy white gaze, and when it landed on Hinata it seemed to get even colder. "Hurry up! Let's go, let's go!" He yelled, still eyeing Hinata as she and the others got into line. "You, Hurry up!" The brunette pointed to the young man that had helped Hinata. He grabbed his own duffle bag and proceeded to make his way into line next to Hinata.
"Sorry," he apologize, placing a hand behind his head in embarrassment.
"I don't want excuses." The man stated, taking a clipboard out from under his arm and flipping a few dozen pages back. "You must be Uzumaki Naruto. Am I correct?" he asked glancing up from what the young man supposed was his paper work.
"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, shifting from one foot to the other, "That's me."
"When addressing those higher in rank than you, you shall respond with 'yes sir' or 'yes ma'am'. Not 'yeah'. Do I make myself clear, Uzumaki?" the long haired brunette stepped forward so he could look Naruto in the eye.
"Yea—I mean yes sir." Naruto shifted his ocean blue gaze to his shoes, trying to avoid the interrogating white gaze of the taller man.
"Good." Was all they said, before stepping back again and reading off from the clip board once again, "Haruno Sakura?"
"Present." Naruto looked down the line to see the beautiful girl that had said this. She had emerald eyes that were wide in surprise. Her long bubble-gum pink hair pulled back into a ponytail at the top of her head, she wringed her hands harshly in anticipation.
"Haruno, we do not accept unnaturally colored hair here at Hardgrave Academy." The young man said looking upon her like he was looking upon a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
"But this…this is my natural hair color, sir." Sakura explained, bringing her hair over her shoulder a stroking it protectively.
"Is it?"
"Yes sir, I swear. I was born with it."
"Fine," He checked something off on her papers. "It will still have to be cut."
Sakura's eyes went wider if that was possible. But she nodded and flipped her hair back over her shoulder anyway.
"Moving on… Sarutobi Konohamaru?"
"Over here, sir." The boy that said this was extremely young and stuck out like a sore thumb among the older teens, his brown spiky hair covered up by a baseball cap. His smile revealed either a missing tooth or a very large gap in his teeth.
"Sarutobi, you are the youngest cadet to join us this semester." The instructor said, not meaning it to be a compliment. Naruto scowled when he saw Konohamaru nod sadly and look away sulkily.
A few more names were said, the instructor making a comment on each one making them all feel insignificant in some way or another. Then he came to poor shaking Hinata.
"Hyuuga Hinata?"
"…"
"Hyuuga..?"
"H-h-here, sir." Naruto noticed how much Hinata was quivering and how her breath hitched in her throat when the instructor came to whisper something in her ear. Only Naruto was close enough to make it out.
"I promised uncle that I would toughen you up by the next time he sees you and believe me I will." Hinata nodded and gulped as the instructor pulled away. "What was that Hyuuga? I couldn't hear you."
"Y-y-yes, sir!" Hinata squeaked.
The brunette snorted, "Your stuttering will have disappeared by that time too."
Naruto clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly as the man stepped back. Oh, how he wished to put that man's lights out.
"I am Sergeant First Class Hyuuga Neji and I will be giving you a tour of the grounds and taking you to our New Cadet assembly where rules and regulations will be explained." Neji tucked the clipboard under his arm once again, "You will get your Cabin and Family numbers after the assembly, as well as uniforms. For now just follow me, listen closely and do not laggard behind."
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Ugh…my poor little feet…they've never been exposed to this extent of walking before… Naruto groaned, dragging his duffle bag along the linoleum floor headed to the assembly room. He ran a tanned hand through his platinum locks and sighed, straitening himself up. C'mon Uzumaki! No pain no game! He slumped, who am I kidding…? He declared himself a straggler and continued to trail behind the group.
Neji had given them a tour of the whole campus. All fifty-fucking-acres! And damn were their feet killing them. They were now slowly approaching a wide grey building with heavy looking wooden doors.
"Alright everyone, we're here. Please keep in a single file and follow me to the collection station," Neji guided the new comers through the doors, back rigid, "Uzumaki!"
Naruto snapped up so he wasn't slouching anymore. He hated to admit it, but Neji intimated him…but only a little! "Yes sir?"
"Keep up!"
Naruto nodded and winced at the demanding tone of voice Neji used, "Yes sir…" he ground out.
Neji rushed them all in and closed the door behind them. The auditorium was a good size and fit every one inside. Dull folding chairs were placed in rows upon rows for them to sit down and rest their feet. A small raised platform was placed before the rows where a podium sat, waiting.
"This is the Second Auditorium. The First is for special occasions and social gatherings like graduation," Neji began, "You will be spoken to by First Class Corporal Uchiha Sasuke…"
As Naruto sat down he heard a boy behind him mutter to another, "That's the General's youngest son, I think. He helps his older brother run this hellhole."
"Isn't he only, like, seventeen?"
"Eighteen… just turned."
"How olds his brother?"
"I dunno…mid, late twenties?"
Wow, Naruto thought, eighteen and he's running the place?
"…When he enters and greets you, you shall stand and salute. Do I make myself clear?" Neji finished, scanning over the now seated crowd.
"Yes sir!" They chorused.
Neji nodded and turned to the door, "'Till then you may socialize and speak with your peers…" No sooner did he say this than did the entire room break out in chatter and mindless blabber that was amplified by the high ceilings of the room. Naruto would've been one to join, but he didn't know a single person there, besides Hinata, who was sitting in the front stuttering to the girl Sakura and another girl with long blonde hair and a small frame.
"Hey," Naruto looked to his left to see a young man sitting there, glaring at him for all he was worth with his glacial mint colored eyes lined with dark circles, most probably from lack of sleep. Above the left orb was a blood red tattoo for the kanji "love", the same shade as his tousled hair.
"H…hey!" Naruto greeted, a grin displaying itself on his face, "I'm Naruto."
"Yes," The red head replied, "Your bag is also on my foot."
"Huh?" Naruto looked down to see the end of his duffle bag indeed, slowly squishing the other boy's foot beneath it, "Sorry!" He quickly lifted it so he could reclaim his limb.
"Hn," the boy leaned upon his fist and turned the other way, displaying his boredom proudly.
"C'mon Gaara, lighten up," Naruto turned around in his seat to view the owner of the new voice. It belong to a young woman with her sandy blond hair pulled up into four stout pig-tails, confidence shining within her dark teal colored eyes. "He was just being friendly."
"Hn…" Gaara repeated, rolling his eyes.
She sighed and tuned to Naruto, "Don't mind Gaara. He's always sour. But you…" She leaned forward and blew in Naruto's face, the minty smell from her gum tingling his nose, "…You look sweet enough."
Naruto smirked and leaned toward her too, "Really?" He'd admit it. Naruto was somewhat of a flirt; toward both genders. He'd declared himself bisexual a long time ago. As long as he was getting' some he was happy.
"Uh-huh," the other blonde confirmed, snapping her gum. "What's your name, Hun?"
"Naruto…Uzumaki Naruto. You?"
"Well Na-ru-to, I'm Temari…Sabaku no Temari. Yo—"
"Temari," A young man to Temari's right spoke up, cutting her off mid-sentence, "Remember why dad sent you here along with us?"
"Ugh…" Temari groaned and slumped back into her seat, "Yes…"
"Good." The brunette boy looked at Naruto, "Kankuro, Gaara and Temari's brother."
"Younger brother." Temari inserted.
"Not with the way you act." Kankuro mumbled.
"Why you—!"
The piercing sound of an air horn cut through the air like a knife making everyone in the room cover their ears to protect them from the damaging sound.
"What the hell!?" Someone in the back asked once the horn was quieted. The whole room fell silent as they feasted upon the sight of the owner of the horn. He was dressed in a pressed uniform much like Neji's only decorated with more badges and pins. His shoes made that click-clack sound that meant they were expensive as he walked up to the podium on the platform. No one's eyes left him as he gazed over them with his own onyx pair, like a bird of prey. When satisfied with the fallen silence, he flicked his raven wing hair out of his face with a jerk of his head and greeted them with a voice of velvet, "Hello everyone," he paused, "…I said Hello!"
Everyone suddenly remembered their instructions earlier and made haste to lift themselves from their seats, the scrapping of the metal legs of their chairs echoing around them. All right hands were lifted to their owners heads and held still.
"Lesson number one," Sasuke said into the microphone, "When those of higher rank than you enter a room, you will stand without being reminded and greet them, 'good morning, sir', 'good afternoon ma'am', etc, etc. and finish with a salute. Understood?"
"Yes sir!"
"Hn." Sasuke said and glanced around the room again, "Good enough."
"Hey, Gaara," Naruto whispered to the red head beside him, "He makes the same 'Hn' sound you do."
"Do you have something to say, cadet?" Naruto went rigid and turned back to the front where cobalt eyes met black.
"N-no sir?"
Sasuke stared Naruto down until he was so far in his seat Temari could barely see the top of his head from behind.
"Please be seated and let us begin; Reveille is at 6 o'clock every weekday morning. Cadets are required to attend formation 45 minutes later dressed in full uniform, complete with polished boots.
There, members of Alpha Company -- that's all the girls -- are scrutinized for signs of excessive grooming. Sparkle nail polish and heavy makeup are banned. Hair must be tied neatly into military buns or cut above the collar.
Cadets are called to formation before every meal and almost every new activity in their meticulously scheduled day. Simple pleasures -- watching videos and going into town on Friday nights -- must be earned. Academic achievement and good behavior within the Hardgrave corps are rewarded with rank, and with rank comes privileges.
Because a cadet's success relies on teamwork, peer pressure at military boarding schools is considered a positive influence. Cadets police each other by reporting, or "sticking," rule breakers. The lowliest private can stick the top cadet.
Administrators dole out hours of detail, or manual labor, based on the seriousness of the crime. A cadet's first unexcused class absence earns four detail hours; a Walkman or stereo will be confiscated the second time he or she is caught listening during evening study hall; a third transgression for littering warrants 12 hours of work.
Hardgrave, like many other military boarding schools, does not tolerate drug use, fighting, general misbehaving or sexual activity. A definition of the latter violation is included in the lengthy regulation book to avoid any misunderstandings: Cadets will not have sexual relations on campus or on any school-sponsored trip or activity, including while on town pass. Sexual acts include any form of intercourse, oral or digital activity.
Military schools are very good at helping students that are already behaving appropriately in their academics, leadership, discipline and teamwork. Is everyone following so far?" Sasuke was met with open pie holes and wide eyes. He hadn't paused once throughout his entire speech and lasted with one breathe.
"Continuing on, as you know you will be getting family numbers afterwards. Let me explain to you what Families are here at Hardgrave.
"Families" are formed by sleeping arrangements, dining assignments, and even through athletic competition. This healthy sense of family provides cadets with a support system and a feeling that they can depend on those around them. Stable teenagers often have a difficult time adjusting to this new lifestyle at first without their biological family around to provide support, but they often acclimate very quickly because in most cases, they are there willingly. You will be sharing a dorm with several other members of the same rank and gender during your stay here. They are your assigned Family. There is no swapping or switching. So don't ask!
"Breakfast is at 8 o'clock each morning after morning training. Lunch at one and Dinner at six. All meals will be provided. Any food you may have brought will be confiscated and thrown out—"
"WHAT!?" All heads swiveled to the front where a certain blonde had jumped up outraged. God strike him dead before they confiscate his backpack of miso ramen…
Sasuke stepped down from the platform and leisurely strolled over to Naruto a curious smirk playing on his perfect lips, a delicate eye brow quirked in amusement.
"Cadet?" He asked, coming nose to nose with Naruto, "This is the second time you've interrupted this assembly and I will not accept your behavior." Naruto quietly noted that Sasuke was a few centimeters taller then him, "Drop and give me forty…" Naruto kept glaring, while Sasuke leaned closer, "That's an order."
Naruto gave the raven one more fleeting glare before getting down on all fours and begin his push ups.
Stupid Teme…
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Thx for reading! Drop a review and tell me if it's shit or not 'kay? Ja ne!