Chapter 1: The Genius and the Clown
Basics were taught in grade school. Most parents didn't care where their children studied in their early years and school reputation and standard mattered very little. High school, however, was a completely different thing. The rich and the talented were always sent to the best high school there was, no matter what. The Uchiha family was one of the wealthiest in town and their youngest son, Uchiha Sasuke was born a genius. And so he could only be sent to the best high school, Aiko High School.
The question then in our prodigy's mind that particular afternoon as he sat through the boring high school orientation was why he had to sit through the said orientation. Everyone in school, from the respected principal down to the humblest of the janitors, knew where he was going to study after graduation. It was decided and he saw no point in going all through this bother like the rest of his undecided, average-level classmates. He would have stayed at home had his brother, Uchiha Itachi, another prodigy and a graduate of Aiko High School one year ago, not told him to watch the school's presentation. Sasuke always did what his brother bid him.
Frankly though, he saw nothing spectacular with the presentation. He valiantly fought off the urge to scoff but did not applaud the student representative like everyone else. Despite how some of his peers' eyes shone with interest, many of them, including himself, knew he was a far better writer and speaker compared to the young 'poet' climbing down the stairs. If Aiko Elementary produced those kind of students, he wondered just how good its high school really was.
One of the Aikian teachers who was playing host, a young man with spiky brown hair, reclaimed the stage once the applause subsided. He had introduced himself earlier as 'Iruka-sensei', a first year teacher. Sasuke had heard of him vaguely from Itachi and although he had sounded like a pretty good teacher, the young man was actually looking forward to lessons from one 'Sir Kakashi'. An elite student in his schooling days, he sounded, by far, the best teacher there was in the high school.
"And now, to sing us a song entitled 'Harumonia' are two of our loveliest Aikian girls. Please clap your hands for Miss Yamanaka Ino and Miss Haruno Sakura!" Iruka said enthusiastically but it was still obvious that his line was scripted.
With a small, inaudible sigh, Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and settled back into his chair, determined to wait patiently until this was all over. If it was ever going to end, that was. Really, it was a total waste of his time. If the program wasn't finished by the time the dismissal bell rung, he planned to just get up and leave. His usual group of fangirls would probably tail him as it was their wont, but no one in school would really stop him from going anyway.
Well, except one.
A few rows down sat his loud, obnoxious classmate, his self-proclaimed yet hopeless rival, Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde was not only their class clown, but also the school clown. Just as Sasuke was famous in school, especially among the girls, for his ingeniousness, Naruto was equally infamous in school, especially among the girls, for his annoyingness. The Uchiha youngest generally tried to avoid him as much as possible, while the other somehow constantly found a way to confront him and get to his nerves. Although, of course, he always retained his calm demeanor and never showed any sign of being bothered.
Strangely though, he noticed as his eyes fell on the boy, Naruto was exceptionally quiet this time around....
Sasuke focused his eyes back to the stage and saw the two girls who stood there. They both had long hair, one was blonde and the other was pink, and seemed to be having problems since there was only a single microphone. Sasuke didn't feel particularly irritated at the stalling, just a bit impatient. That was, until he flinched along with everyone else in the auditorium when the device gave a long, shrill feedback, a sound like what one would imagine a banshee's cry could be.
Sasuke stood up as one of their school's attendants handed the pink-haired girl her own mike. He stealthily slid towards the double doors, trying not to attract any attention, specifically from the crowd of his fangirls. Naruto, he was both glad and confused to see, was still quiet in his seat, staring at the stage. Whatever. He shook his head and escaped from the room.
And that was how he, Uchiha Sasuke, the most popular boy in school and Aikian student-to-be missed the song Harumonia, sung by the two girls who would make his time in Aiko High School...more interesting....
Nee kikoe masu ka?
"Hey! Sasuke-kun's left the auditorium! Let's go, girls!"
sora wa hate shinaku aoku sunde ite
umi wa kagiri naku koudai de ite
kimi wa itsumade mo egao de ite janai to nai chau kara
Naruto turned to glare at the females behind him whose whispers were spoiling the song for him. They were gone by the time he managed to turn around though, already pushing each other around the doors of the auditorium. Sasuke's fangirls. Figures it would still be Uchiha to ruin his moment of bliss. This was one time he would let his arrogant rival get away though.
mawari o mimawasa naku temo mou iin da yo
kono te no naka ni wa minna ga iru kara
A smile graced his face as he turned back around to watch the rest of the performance, glad that the buzzing behind his head which were the fangirls constant murmurs to each other had disappeared now that they were gone. That left complete silence around him as no one really wanted to sit next to the school clo--- the school's unknown and unrecognized no.1 student! They can say Sasuke's the best in class, but he, he wasn't part of that class. No way. He was above them all and they would see it. Someday.
naki taku natte nige taku natte
shiawase o wasure teu shimatta ra mina utae
hikari ga umare yami ga umare ta futatsu wa hitotsu
harumonia kanji te terepashii
The song neared its end. Naruto sighed and continued to stare up at the pink-haired girl who sang beautifully onstage, body swaying to the melody as if she was dancing. He couldn't tell if she was Yamanaka Ino or Haruno Sakura but whichever her name was between the two, Naruto knew he had fallen for the girl on first sight. And no matter the odds, he was determined to study at Aiko High School just so he could meet her.
Nee kikoe masu ka?
Sasuke sighed softly as he started to make his way up the High's steps on day one of school. He knew what was expected of him, everything that he was and had during grade school, as well as that of Itachi's when his brother was in high school --- top grades, basketball team, track team, baseball team, rich, gifted and popular friends belonging to the 'in' crowd, and, of course, the most popular female in his level as girlfriend. In short, Sasuke was counted on to be a prep, a jock, rich kid and genius all in one perfect package. It didn't matter if he would rather be left alone, or that he, like his brother, hadn't liked any of the vain girls he had dated before and that it was implausible to find one that he would like. Their parents had great expectations and the two prodigies had long since came down to the acquiescent point that they would just have to live the 'frivolities of the wealthy' down.
"Hey, Sasuke-baka!"
He turned around slowly when he heard the voice call him, hardly believing that he wasn't rid of his annoying, under-achiever classmate yet. Last he heard, Naruto was going to Konoha Public High School because the orphanage couldn't afford anywhere else. But there he was, shouting his head off at the foot of Aiko High School's steps.
They were attracting a lot of attention and strange looks from the other students. Much as the raven-haired freshman wanted to just ignore the other, he couldn't, because knowing Naruto, the flaxen-haired youth would tackle him and start a fistfight right there on the school steps without a second thought if he ignored him. He would be able to beat him easily, but didn't want to cause a scene on their first day. And so, resigned, Sasuke walked back down the steps as the world moved again around the two of them.
"Dobe," he said as soon as he was within Naruto's earshot, smirking.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that!" Naruto hollered, running up the steps until he was right in front of Sasuke, who glared at him and shot a pointed look towards the other students. Naruto immediately shushed up. It was remarkable that his reputation hadn't preceeded him here and he wanted to at least make a good impression. Perhaps it was his chance to be popular and get into 'the' group, like how Sasuke did wherever and whenever. Not that he wanted to be in the same crowd as the arrogant Uchiha though, make no mistake about it! "Didn't think I'd let you off the hook that easily, did you?" he asked evilly.
The bell rang then, saving Sasuke from actually having to retort.
Cafeteria. Sasuke had wanted to fix something up for himself that morning but knew that packed lunch would seem dorky, something his parents confirmed when they gave him his non-too-cheap allowance and quickly shooed him out of the house. The problem was cafeteria food, by stereotype, sucked.
Inspecting the contents of his tray as he walked towards an empty table though, he would have to say the food here didn't seem half as bad as in others. At least, the items were identifiable unlike the colorful mush he used to have in grade school. A taste of the definitely macaroni and cheese which only appeared to him as yellowish glue paste last year and he declared it pretty good.
Another lunch tray magically appeared in front of him.
Sasuke knew it would be sooner or later. He sat in an empty table and the only one the owner of the new tray knew in the whole school was him. Yes, he was stuck spending lunch with Naruto until he got together with his people and the idiot pushed away to the sidelines. That, of course, didn't mean the Uchiha prodigy couldn't complain though.
"Dobe, go away," he said irately while opening the top of his milk carton. Except when he got annoying or competitive, Sasuke really didn't mind Naruto's company. It was just that he was expected to mind and that a genius like him shouldn't be hanging around with a clown like Naruto. It wasn't good for his reputation and he visibly pushed the other away whenever he was with his jock friends.
"Don't call me that," Naruto hissed as he climbed into the chair opposite him, "and don't think for a second I like this either. There's just no other empty table." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. There were plenty of other empty tables. Naruto quickly dropped his gaze. "And, unlike you, I don't like eating alone," he added in an almost inaudible whisper.
Sasuke's dark eyes widened a little. How did Naruto know? His reply was short and simple though, not to mention indifferent if not at all cold: "Whatever."
"Thanks, Sas," Naruto said and if the other's shock had worn off already, he would have been surprised again by that. There was silence after as the two boys proceeded with their meals.
"Quit following me around, Naruto," Sasuke snapped as he walked down the hallway with the blonde boy tailing him. The first day was always the only day of school he could really be alone, no fangirls following him around or having to hang out with his friends, and he wanted it no other way this time. Eating with Naruto was fine, but Sasuke didn't want to spend any time with him more than necessary.
"I'm not following you!" Naruto protested. "My...er...locker is this way too," he lied, eyes darting towards the metal cabinets that lined the walls.
"We don't have locker assignments yet, you moron," Sasuke told him with a shake of his head and started down the school corridor again.
"H-Hey! Wait up!" Naruto yelled, speeding up. "Where are you going, anyway?" he asked when he managed to catch up with his long-time rival just outside the school building.
"None of your business, dobe," Sasuke muttered as he jogged across the courtyard. He was heading towards the gym, where he knew his type of people would be in for an after-school game of basketball. There were always some of them there. He had learned long ago that impressions were better off made out of the classroom and this was the perfect time.
When they got there, the game was yet to start. It seemed like the guys had enough for a four on four but basketball games usually had five or three on each team. Sasuke walked up to the group with confident strides, not noticing an uncertain Naruto right behind him.
"Kiba," one redhead said quietly when he saw the newcomers to a spiky-haired brunette who had his back on the two of them. The addressed one slowly turned around, eyes first meeting Sasuke's dark ones before Naruto's crystalline blues.
"New students, huh? You guys freshmen?" Kiba asked cooly. Sasuke nodded his head but didn't say anything, watching as Kiba's eyes lit up with interest. "Cool. The name's Kiba and this is Gaara." Another nod from Sasuke. "And you guys are?"
"Uchiha Sasuke," he said shortly, side-glancing at Naruto who he just realized was there.
"I am the great Uzumaki Naruto! The top graduate of our class! Nice to meet you!" Naruto exclaimed in his usual over-energetic way. Most of the first years sweatdropped. Sasuke stopped himself from beating up the loudmouth in front of others.
"Loser," Kiba snorted, ignoring Naruto's shouted protests as he turned back to the black-haired new student, "This guy with you?" he asked, obviously willing to give the blonde the benefit of doubt since they were seen together. It was very rare for preps to hang out with losers after all.
Sasuke shrugged, about to say no, when he saw the look Naruto shot him. It wasn't particularly hostile...more like begging, though he was sure the other would rather first die before putting into words what Sasuke saw in his eyes then. The look took the prodigy by surprise. He never thought the dobe wanted to be in the 'in' crowd --- he did always choose to stand out in grade school. "Uh, yeah," he answered, not knowing why he did so. Maybe he just wanted to have someone he already knew with him. Yeah, maybe.
to be continued...
Author's Notes: And there's the first chapter of my baby. This is my first try at a schoolfic here at fanfiction.net and I hope I get this right...and not boring. Reviews are welcome, but flames not yet. Keep them back until at least the second chapter, please! This chapter is dedicated to my pals at Hidden Secrets - a Naruto RPG although I highly doubt they read fanfiction or know that I'm a writer...btw, thanks to everyone who review By Starlight! You guys are so cool!
Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto, okies? I don't even know half the storyline as of yet. Oh, and 'Aiko' is the name of my best friend's(Ayane Selznick) OC in her Naruto fic, Unpredictable, so nope, I didn't come up with it and it's not mine either.