OK! So, here's the first chapter in the rewrite! I actually like the way it starts out a bit better, although the other one was pretty cool too! I got my wisdom teeth out today, so I figured I'd go ahead and upload this chapter. See, I was trying to stay ahead of my updates and such by writing a bunch of chapters and THEN uploading once a week. It kinda didn't work, actually, so I'm just adding this one and then going to work on the other 3 chapters since I have nothing else to do.
Well, I hope this version is a bit better than the other one; I think it'll tie stuff together much more smoothly than the other one would have!
"Yo Mouse, you still awake?" came the muffled, slightly static laced voice from under a covering of papers. Fingers quickly clacked away at a keyboard, not bothering to reply. The man's voice spoke again, louder this time. "Mouse…!" With a sigh, the fingers stopped their quick dance and dug out the headset.
"Yes, V, I'm awake. I'm always awake." Came the annoyed reply as the fingers linked to the hand radio's frequency. "Now what do you want? I'm very busy."
"Hey, I'm just checking in like you said to, so don't get all pissy with me kid." V bit back. A smile twitched across Mouse's lips as her fingers went back to their furious typing.
"Alright then, what'dya got for me V?" She asked as her sharp eyes flicked rapidly across the screen.
"All clear on this side of town. That pack must've moved on already. Too bad though," V sighed. "It would have been fun to eradicate them…" Mouse's smile grew bigger and she let her voice adopt a teasing tone.
"What's this? I didn't know you could use such big words V." Before V could send back a retort, a sharp, high pitched cackle burst in on their conversation. Mouse jumped at the wild, unexpected sound, her fingers slipping on the keyboard.
"Dammit Crow!" V growled out. "Why the fuck do you have to do that without warning us!" A giggle answered him.
"Oh que j'ai peur le pauvre bébé? Je suis désolé ..." Came the silky female voice. Mouse could almost see the annoyed look on V's face as they young woman spoke in French. A small smirk graced her lips.
"Don't you have something to do?" She asked her partner.
"Don't you?" Came the bored reply. Mouse's lips twitched to the side in annoyance. "Anyway, we're clear over here." Crow reported, yawning at the end. "I doubt we're going to get much trouble tonight." Mouse rolled her chair across the little space to another set of computers.
"Alright," She said as she typed on that computer as well. "I'll check in with the others. You two can head back now."
"Got it." Crow yawned again and disconnected her radio.
"Finally…" V grumbled, disconnecting seconds later. Mouse keyed in a few more commands, and then connected to the remaining members of their group.
"Yo boys, this is Mouse," She said, scooting herself back to her main computer. "I need info, ASAP. All clear on your ends?" A soft wave of static whispered in her ears for a few moments before the first reply.
"It's Weasel. All clear here."
"Nothin'." Came the voice of Puppet. Cash was the final one to call in.
"I got nothin' either…" He said boredly. "Can we go home now?"
Mouse's fingers paused over the keyboard as she looked up in thought.
"Yeah, head back," She said absentmindedly. "Sorry I couldn't help out tonight boys; this stupid report has me busy…"
"Don't worry 'bout it Mouse," was Cash's lazy reply. "You're not missin' much." Moments later he ended the connection.
"Have fun with that report of yours." Puppet added in before he disconnected too. Mouse frowned at the hidden laughter in his words. She leaned back in her chair to stare up at the dark ceiling. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.
"Hey Weasel?" She called out quietly after a few moments of silence.
"…Yes?" Came the smooth reply. Mouse opened her eyes.
"I was wondering," She said. "Did you hear that Orochimaru is back in town?"
"Yes, I heard the rumor."
"Did you hear that he was bringing along a few kids too?"
"Yes."
"Do you know who they are?"
"…Yes, I do…" Mouse sat back up to look at her computer.
"Alright, just curious to see if you knew." With a click, the final connection was severed, and the fingers continued their furious typing.
A Few Days Earlier
Hundreds of loud voices filled the air with greetings and shouts as they filed through the high wrought iron gates into the wide courtyard beyond. Face after face broke into happy grins as friends hugged each other tightly after the few weeks apart. Families crowded around together, talking as they all headed toward the main office building ahead. Excitement buzzed in the air for both new and returning students of Konoha High Boarding school. Once inside the cool office building, the crowd herded towards the desk where a young woman with chocolate brown hair was handing students folders and giving out directions. The young woman smiled as a familiar blue eyed girl stepped forward. Her pale blonde hair was loose and wavy for a change, falling over her shoulders and down to the small of her back. She had on a purple spaghetti strap shirt and a white skirt, a fancy pair of white Jimmy Choo's on her feet.
"Konnichiwa, Shizune-san!" The girl chirruped brightly.
"Konnichiwa, Ino-chan, how was your break?" She asked as she looked for the blonde's name among the tide of manila folders.
"It was great! I got to go to America for a while and visit my grandma. It's good to be back though, I'm gonna miss being a freshman and all, but it's great to be a sophomore now!" Ino gushed and babbled away. Shizune found the folder marked "Yamanaka, Ino" and turned to the blonde again.
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun during your break!" She said, handing the folder over. "Now, your keycard and ID should be in there, please don't lose them again like last year." The blonde grinned. "Your class schedule and a list of the rules should be in there too. Give the big packet to your parents to fill out and bring it back when school starts, it's got stuff for next school year. Oh, and welcome back to school." She finished with a smile. Ino took the packet and started back off to where her father was waiting.
"Thanks Shizune-san!" The blonde called over her shoulder.
"Oh wait, Ino!" Shizune called quickly as she remembered. The blue eyed girl looked back quizzically. "If you happen to run into Sakura and Naruto, send them up here; they're supposed to be helping me!"
"Got it!" Ino shouted over the noise and ran off to her father.
Meanwhile, a wiry blonde teenager and his pink haired conspirator were darting towards the back of the main office, weaving in and out of the crowd of students going towards the dorms.
"Ne, ne, slow down Sakura-chan!" The boy complained as he struggled to keep up with his tiny friend. Ahead of him, the pink haired teen ran easily through the throng of people.
"Forget it Naruto!" She laughed. "You need the exercise!" Behind her, she heard her friend gasping as he strained to keep up with her. She finally took pity on him and stopped a few yards from the back of the gym. Naruto stopped beside her, trying to catch his breath.
"That…was so…not cool…!" He gasped out. Sakura giggled, adjusting her jacket onto her slim shoulders, not winded in the least.
"You're right," She said brightly. "It wasn't!"
Opening a door, the two crossed the spacious gym and made their way past the cafeteria, through another door, and into the back room of the office. A few of their teachers lounged around, enjoying the final hours of break before they had to begin preparing for the new year's classes. A man that couldn't have been older than thirty sat with his back to the two as they walked in, his silver hair flying off to the side and head bowed over a little orange book. He wore a pair of jeans and a short sleeved gray shirt. A medical mask hid most of his face, like it normally did all through the year. He sat relaxed and carefree on the couch, seemingly oblivious to the world. Sakura snuck up behind the young English teacher and peered over his shoulder.
"Haven't you read that book like, ten times already?" She asked after a few moments. The man turned a page.
"Eleven times, actually." Kakashi said, his voice muffled by the mask he wore. Frowning in slight disappointment at her teacher's lack of emotion, Sakura vaulted herself over the back of the couch to sit beside him.
"Ten is close enough." She said with a shrug. "But how can you keep rereading that boring thing? It's got nothing but sex and adultery in it." Kakashi closed his book and gave his student a pointed look.
"First of all, it's an adult novel, so it isn't something a kid your age should read or should be interested in anyway. And second, don't you have something else to do?" The pink haired girl stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah, I do…" She muttered quietly. "Almost forgot. Come on, Naruto!" Sakura chirped, getting up and heading towards the front door quietly, the blonde trailing two steps behind her.
Naruto waved over his shoulder. "Later, Kakashi!" He called back. Kakashi waved absentmindedly towards his two favorite students, absorbed once more in his little orange book.
The two teens hurried down the small hallway behind the door and looked through the front window to see the hundreds of students chattering outside. Sakura stepped out into the loud throng, jumping over a stack of folders to get to the woman trapped inside.
"Sorry we're late Shizune-neesan! We had to finish putting up the rules and posters in the dorms before everyone got here." She said, giving the young woman a hug.
"Yeah, and someone wouldn't get up!" Naruto added, wading through the pale yellow sea. Sakura stuck out her tongue. Dictionary - View detailed dictionary
"Hey, I couldn't get any sleep, ok?" She said as she plopped down in the chair next to Shizune. A student stepped up beside the kid Shizune was presently helping.
"Name?" Sakura asked brightly.
"Um, Hirohata Keitaro…" the boy muttered, dropping his gaze to his feet.
"What year?"
"Uh, f-freshmen…" He peeked up from under his dark brown bangs. Sakura smiled at the new student.
"Alright then, we'll get your folder for you right away!" Sakura sifted through the stack of freshmen folders with Naruto until she found the right one.
"Aha! Here it is!" She turned back to the boy and handed him his folder. "Now give the folder to your parents to fill out all the forms and such. You're ID, keycard, and list of school rules are in there as well." The boy took the folder and nodded shyly.
"Thank you…" He trudged away quietly.
"Oh, welcome to Konoha High by the way!" Sakura yelled after him, giving a big wave to the kid. The boy stopped and gave her a small smile before waving back and leaving. With that, Sakura turned to the next student waiting in line and repeated the process. This went on for a bit longer until a familiar fury face barked in excitement. Sakura looked up and grinned at the giant white hound bouncing up and down in front of her, its owner walking up behind him.
"Hey, Akamaru!" Sakura said in a high pitched, excited voice, rubbing the dog's fluffy head between her two small hands. Akamaru barked loudly in reply, proceeding to eagerly lick at her chin.
"Alright, alright, down boy!" She giggled, attempting to set the giant dog's front paws on the ground again. A pair of dark tanned hands grabbed Akamaru's legs and wrested them from Sakura. With a grin, she looked up to see a dark haired teen with brown eyes and red streaks tattooed on his face. With ease, he put the dog back on all four feet, rubbing between his ears.
"Oi, Inuzuka!" Naruto yelled suddenly behind her. Sakura gave a small jump, clamping her mouth shut to hold back a screech. She waited patiently as the two trouble makers greeted each other.
"Yo, Uzumaki!" Kiba said loudly, bumping Naruto's outstretched fist. "How's it goin' man? How's Konoha been since I left over break?" Sakura smirked ever so slightly.
"Disappointed that you haven't got sent back to preschool so you can be with kids your own age." She interjected, fishing for Kiba's folder.
"Haha," Kiba laughed sarcastically. "Why not join me? I'm sure you'll fit in just nicely with the kids." He indicated Sakura's now hot pink and white hair, her bright pink and white striped sweater with matching jacket, white skirt, and hot pink leggings tucked into her combat boots.*
"Dude," Naruto put on a fake horrified look. "You don't wanna scare the kids do ya?" Sakura rolled her eyes at their loud laughs and handed Kiba the folder.
"Here dog breath, now shoo, you're holding up the line." She waved her hand at him. Kiba grinned and quickly ruffled her already puffed up hair.
"Yeah, yeah," He said as she swatted his hand away. "Later Naruto, Midget!" He called as he walked away, Akamaru trotting faithfully by his side. Sakura shook her head, smiling softly. Kiba might have been the second most annoying and loudest guy at Konoha, next to Naruto of course. He was a good guy though, usually laid back and carefree, always sparing a few jokes to lighten the mood, even if it was at the expense of his friends. A sudden yawn parted her lips and Sakura stretched in her chair.
"Here," she said to Naruto, getting up. "You can sit in the chair for a while."
"Yes…!" He muttered as he got up from among a pile of folders. Sakura sat down to take his place, wriggling around to get comfortable. The rest of the day passed in methodical slowness as one by one the folders disappeared. When the last student had been sent off to greet their roommate after the weeks apart, Sakura stood up and stretched. Loud pops ran from her neck to her tail bone as her back arched leisurely. Quietly, she helped Shizune and Naruto fold up the table and chairs, carrying them into the office behind them. Shizune riffled through the papers on her desk, booting up her computer at the same time.
"Sakura, can you put this on Tsunade-sama's desk for me? I need to type something up on the computer." The brunette asked, holding some papers out behind her.
"Mm-hmm!" Sakura grabbed the loose sheets and headed towards the back office marked Tsunade, snagging a sweet off the table standing against the wall. The rosette hummed quietly as she walked into the cluttered office, maneuvering around stacks of folders that Tsunade had yet to open. She laid the paper down on the beautiful oak desk near the back window of the room, making sure it would be easy for the blonde woman to find amidst the ocean of other papers. Sakura shook her head affectionately; Tsunade could be so unorganized. As she pulled back over the desk, her elbow knocked into a small tower of folders, quickly sending it to the ground. With a muttered curse, she started picking them up, trying to put them in their original order. Sakura reached for the last few folders, and a familiar name caught her eye. She froze almost instantly, air suddenly disappearing in her throat, arm still out stretched. There on the floor, right in front of her, sat an open folder, a picture of a young man with dark hair and coal black eyes staring coldly up at her. A name on the label of the folder read: 'Uchiha Sasuke'. Sakura's fingers curled up slowly into a fist. Emotions that had been kept locked away seeped quickly into her thoughts. Blanking her face into a neutral expression, she fought back the raging feelings. A voice snapped her head around to full attention as her hand quickly closed the folder.
"Yo Sakura-chan," Naruto called from out in the hallway. "You back here?" Sakura nodded.
"Yeah, I'm in here." She called back. "Gimme a sec! I'm trying to get out of all this paper work!"
"Kay…" He said, his voice moving away from the office's door. Sakura looked back down at the folder clenched tightly in her hand. A million questions raced through her mind all at once, the bright haired teen quickly addressing each one. Had Naruto seen the folder? No, probably not, she would have known if he had. Should she tell him about it? Probably not. Definitely not. Should she tell anyone else about it? …Maybe. Who was there to tell that she could trust? She raced through images of the people she knew.
Tsunade? Nah, she obviously didn't want anyone knowing about this if she had marked the folders CONFIDENTAL.
Shizune? No, she would just say not to worry about it and wouldn't tell her anything else.
Ino? Haha, yeah right!
Shino, Gaara, and Kanku- No, definitely NOT Kankurou. He'd freak. Gaara and Shino would probably start ranting on how they were going to murder the black haired boy. Definitely annoying there. She ran through a list of adults.
Kakashi? Maybe, he'd probably know what to say. But it would most likely be depressing. Bleh. Sakura suddenly thought of her two roommates.
Hinata and Yoko.
Of course, why didn't I think of them first?
An image of the two black haired girls passed through her thoughts. One had a shy smile and soft lilac colored eyes. The other had deep black eyes that seemed to pierce anything they looked at and held a glint of mischief, with a smile that danced across her lips. Her strong arms wrapped around the neck of the other; they would surely know what to do. Her two best friends that knew her even better than Naruto did were the perfect choices. Feeling the slight waves of panic she had been forcing down trying to come back up her throat, she flipped out her phone and typed in a hasty text, hitting the send button.
TO: Yoko
'Where R U?'
A moment later her phone pinged, the reply popping up.
FROM: Yoko
'Dorm. Waiting with Hina. Y?'
TO: Yoko
'Need to tell U 2 sumthin important. B there soon.'
Sakura walked back out of the office and headed for the teacher's lounge. She walked as casually as she could past the teachers, Kakashi only glancing up as she past. Once clear of the door, she walked faster to get through the cafeteria and forced herself not to run across the gym. She could feel it now, the panic rising inside her chest. It was suddenly unbearable; she could feel a scream clawing at her throat. By the time she felt as if her emotions would bubble over and render her a sobbing, shrieking, wreck, her hands slammed down onto the latch of the gyms back door.
The moment they swung open she jammed her hands into her pocket and walked casually across the across the stretch of crowded concrete, making her way to the girl's dormitory thirty yards away. She weaved in and out of the students, ignoring those who turned to stare at her. Sakura wore her usual bored expression, exuding utter calm as she watched her mind tear away from her and across the concrete, emitting a terrible wail that only she could hear all the while. Quickly, she slid the ID card around her neck through the reader next to the glass front door. She opened it swiftly, keeping her pace brisk as she passed through the recreation room that took up most of the first floor. She never paused once as she slid her card through another reader, passed through the door, and walked up the staircase, taking the steps two at a time.
Once on the fourth floor, she weaved through the packed hallways until she came to a door at the very end. This was the room that she, Hinata, and Yoko had chosen from the first year they had been roommates in the seventh grade. The door had been decorated with Hello Kitty, Spongebob, Pokemon, and Power Ranger stickers that they had collected over the years. Their names were drawn in colorful markers on a dry erase board in the middle, and other things were either carved, painted, or in some cases burned into the door. But none of this was taken in by the young teen's eyes as Sakura knocked quickly on the door. She heard movement on the other side, and moments later the door was opened by Hinata. She had her hair worn up in a high ponytail, her bangs falling haphazardly into her eyes. She had on a black fitted hello kitty shirt and a loose light blue jacket hung off her slim frame. A pair of Miss Me jeans touched the floor over her flip flops. Her soft bright eyes widened in shock as she looked down at her best friend.
"Are you ok Sakura-chan? You look awful!" She said taking Sakura by the arm and pulling her into the room. Inside the spacious room, four twin sized beds stood with their headboards against the wall. Three of them had already been made. The closest one was neat, with a simple white quilt and lavender pillows on it, a teddy bear sitting in its center. The one in the farthest right corner was unmade, exposing the neon pink covers and black neon splatter paint comforter, along with two other blankets between them. The last made bed had blood red sheets and a fluffy black duvet cover with a simple white square design along the bottom of it. Stretched on the bed was a slim figure, wearing a tank top, shorts, fuzzy pink socks, and a mask covering her whole face. Her black hair hung straight, falling over her shoulders and resting on the cover underneath. The young woman looked up from the book she was reading, and placed it down beside her. With inhuman grace, she glided across over to Sakura, and placed her slim arms around the girls neck.
"What's wrong petit princesse?" She asked sullenly. "Is it that important thing you wanted to tell us about?" Sakura paused, letting her head rest lightly in the crook of her other roommates neck. She shook her head.
"No." She said pulling away. "It wasn't very important anyway." The pinkette flopped down on her unmade bed in the corner, letting out a soft sigh.
"Tired?" Hinata asked from the chair at the desk beside her bed. Sakura put her arm over her eyes.
"Yeah, it's been a long day. I didn't think we were ever gonna get finished with passing out all those folders!" Sakura giggled. It really has been a long day… Sakura thought to herself. And he really doesn't help it all that much… The mattress next to Sakura suddenly dipped down, and a warm body lay next to her. Turning her head slightly, Sakura looked over to see what looked like two pitch black eye sockets staring back at her. She blinked and stared back up at the ceiling dotted with glow in the dark stickers.
"You're a very terrible liar, Sakura-chan…" Yoko said boredly. With a sigh, Sakura sat up and stretched forward.
"Yeah, I know." She answered, a bit of defeat in her words. "But I still don't wanna tell you guys. Not yet, anyway." Hinata pushed herself over to them on her bright purple rolling chair.
"Not the right time?" She asked softly, head tilting to the side slightly. Sakura nodded, before noting the sad look in Hinata's eyes.
"I'll tell you guys later though, promise!" Sakura said quickly, not intending to upset her friend. Sakura stood up, jumping over Yoko and landing in a cat-like stance on the floor. She leaned forward to look Hinata in the eyes and smiled brightly. "I really will tell you guys what's wrong, so don't worry. I just gotta get a bit more info before I start telling secrets, ok?" She tried to ignore the small voice of doubt in the back of her head. She'd put it off until they forgot about the whole thing most likely.
Hinata looked up at her roommate, searching her face for something she really wasn't sure about. The Hyuuga smiled gently, deciding that Sakura meant what she said this time.
"So, what's for dinner?" Hinata asked, spinning around boredly. "School starts tomorrow and we need to celebrate our last night of freedom before we're stuck here in this hole for the next four months." Yoko laughed lightly.
"Why not have a girls' night? We can go to Zaza's?" She sang out the last part tantalizingly. Sakura jumped in excitement.
"OOH! Yeah! Let's go there for dinner! We can go see a movie too!" Hinata burst out laughing at her friend's reaction, which earned a quizzical look from Sakura who had returned to her seat on the floor.
"You're such a little kid sometimes Sakky-chan." Hinata said with a giggle. "So what movie should we see?"
"Ahh, we'll figure it out later. " Yoko said as she took out her cell phone laddened with straps*. "I'll tell Ino and Tenten to meet us over there in half an hour or so."
"Which means don't stay in the shower forever." Hinata added, poking Sakura on the side of her head. Sakura waved off her friend's hand.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya." She said as she got back up and headed to the bathroom the girls shared. She plucked her shampoo and conditioner off of the long sink counter and snagged a few towels.
"I'll try not to take long." Sakura said as she headed out the door, throwing a small wave over her shoulder. Her roommates answered back absentmindedly as they set about getting themselves ready to go. Sakura watched her feet carry her down the hallway to the dormitory bathrooms and thought quietly to herself. She wasn't sure why she had decided against not telling her roommates, it had just happened the moment she was able to tell them. Sakura shrugged the matter off and opened the door into the bathroom where a group of freshmen were excitedly chattering away. She ignored their lapse of silence as she walked by, knowing they were no doubt shocked at her out of place hair color, and didn't even pay attention to their whispers as she quickly got into a shower stall; her mind was already miles away, debating whether it was really a good idea to promise Hinata she would tell her this secret.
Sakura hurried along behind her roommates as they quickly walked down the sidewalks of Konoha. She barely listened to the two complaining about how they were all late for their get together because Sakura had taken too long in the shower. Again. Sakura's lips twitched in annoyance; she wasn't angry at her friend's, although they were getting slightly annoying. She was more irritated at herself for letting her thoughts slip away and causing her to lose track of time. She reached up for what seemed like the hundredth time since they left to attempt to fix her damp hair. A small scowl crossed her face as the unruly mess refused to stay spiked.
"Your hair isn't gonna stay up ya know?" Yoko said lightly, once again stopping to let the much shorter girl catch up. "So stop messing with it." Sakura stuck out her tongue.
"Mm, I can still try." All three laughed lightly for a bit and then walked in silence for a few more feet until they heard a familiar voice shout.
"OI! It's about time you three showed up!" The girls looked ahead to see a pretty blonde haired girl leaning against a brick wall. She had replaced the white skirt with her favorite pair of Miss Me jeans and wore a white short sleeved jacket over her shirt. Beside her stood another girl with tan skin and brown hair pulled up into two messy buns. She wore a loose MCR* concert shirt and an old pair of worn out, paint splattered jeans that barely concealed her black converse.
"What kept you?" the other girl asked, pushing herself off the wall. Silently, Sakura raised her hand as her two roommates pointed back at her. The brunette laughed and slung her arm around Sakura's neck. "Why am I not surprised it was you Shorty? What happened? You forget to get out of the shower again?" Sakura elbowed the brunette lightly.
"Ah shaddup Ten," she said giving her a hug. After a few moments she said in a miffed tone: "And maybe I did…" The group of friends burst out laughing and entered their favorite restaurant in a burst of giggles. Sakura wrapped her arms around her best friends, trying to push off the sinking feeling inside that made her dread the inevitable truth that lurked in the dark corners. With a determined shake of her head, she forced all thoughts of the dark haired boy from her mind. She wouldn't let Uchiha Sasuke mess with her head any longer. So he was coming back to Konoha after three years, big deal. Sakura had decided long ago that the Uchiha boy wasn't worth her time…
But that didn't mean she couldn't give him Hell.
A/N: ok, so. It's not the best, especially the end. I'm not too proud of it, but I guess it'll do for now. I hope you guys liked the rewrite chapter! Hopefully I'll get around to updating regularly (I hope I can get off my lazy ass to do it anyway :/) Sorry if the grammar sucks, I don't really pay much attention in English class =,= anyway!
Chow my dears!
*In case a few of you don't know what they are, straps are basically Japanese phone charms. It's really popular to load a ton of them onto your phone and there's a BUNCH of adorable phone straps out there. oh, and MCR stands for My Chemical Romance. It's a pretty awesome band.