Key: "talking"
'Thinking'
Flashback
(Standard key)
Disclaimer: Do Not Own Naruto.
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Chapter 1: The Transfer
Soft murmurs echoed within hallowed halls, the voices growing louder as more and more students entered the school, eyes alight and faces bright from the lingering memories of summer. Smiles were exchanged between teens as stories were told. Groups formed in the hallways with loud exclamations and exaggerated arm movements visible in the small crowds.
Arms waved wildly in the air as their owner recounted a story of water-skiing, their elbows knocking into a girl walking behind them.
"Sorry," the boy said, looking over his shoulder as he apologized. The girl turned, bangs shadowing her eyes as she nodded her head slightly before turning stiffly and staring at the floor. The boy stared at her for a minute before waving his friends to go somewhere else because the girl was starting to freak him out. The girl paid him no mind, too lost in her thoughts to notice when she felt a hand fall onto her shoulder. She tensed.
"Hands off, you fricking—!" she started before she found herself looking at a familiar head of shaggy hair. She blinked. "Oh, it's just you, RiRi. Sorry." Her friend merely waved it off.
"It's okay. So how was your summer, Megumi?" RiRi asked. Megumi shrugged. "Same old, same old. Have you gotten taller?" she asked suddenly, looking at her friend that seemed much taller than before. Last time she checked, RiRi was 5' 7" tall. Now, he seemed a good 5' 8"—5' 9" even.
"Nope. Boots," her friend answered lifting his feet so Megumi could see the black platform boots adorning them. She nodded, noticing the other things about how her friend was dressed. A scarf was tossed around his neck and the standard uniform-issue white button-up shirt and black pants, unlike her own uniform: a long-sleeved black dress that stopped above her ankles over a white button-up shirt with a large starched collar, white socks, and black shoes.
"So, you up for some exploring before school starts?" she asked.
"Later," came the monosyllabic reply.
"Later? Why later?" her friend inquired with sparkling eyes of interest.
"Because," he answered, twirling Megumi's long black hair around his fingers, smirking, "you didn't get your schedule." He lifted the strands of hair to his lips and kissed them gently.
"Oh right," Megumi replied pursing her lips. 'Idiot.'
Her friend smiled and rolled his eyes before leading her to the main office.
"We have the same schedule, huh?" Megumi asked as she stared at the paper clutched in her hands, eyes taking notice that there were less people were in the halls than before. Was class going to start soon?
"Yeah. Hard to believe we got here, huh?" RiRi said as he looked around the beige-colored hallways of their new high school. It was Konoha High, a private high school that was the most famous school in their region. Not only was the school expensive, every student that attended had connections to someone famous or was exceptionally talented. It just so happened that the two of them were lucky enough to enter the school on scholarships: Megumi for her art skills and writing, and RiRi for charm and general artistry. "I still can't believe we made it," he whispered in awe.
"Whatever. School is still school, and chances are that we'll flunk out since we suck so badly at math."
"You're overreacting."
"We got C's! And if I remember correctly, our test grades combined warranted a super F. Not a regular F—we're too good for that. We got a super F!"
"Details. Details," RiRi responded as if failure was the most harmless thing in the world.
Megumi rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I'm telling you; two, three months tops and we'll be back in public school working towards nine-to-five jobs like everyone else."
"My, my, aren't you the cynic?"
"Am not. I'm being realistic."
"Says the girl who told me over the phone five weeks ago that the milkman, the postman, and the cashier guy on 54th street were checking you out."
"They were! Just like—"
"Just like that guy in seventh grade. I've heard it already. You really need to stop thinking every guy is out to get you for some ulterior motive. You're overreacting. Can't you accept you're pretty?"
"I am not overreacting, and have you seen me lately? I'm 5'7"—which is freakishly tall for someone of my race and age—and look at my forehead! It's huge!"
"Mine's is bigger, and you're still overreacting."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"…Am not."
"Are too."
RiRi smirked. "So you do admit to overreacting…"
Her friend gaped openly, mouth flapping up and down as words struggled to form on her lips. "Wha—huh?—I—Gah! Damn it, I swear—
"Hello!" shouted a boy with a bowl-cut hairstyle, interrupting the argument and effectively garnering the attention of the two. The fact his smile was blinding also helped finish the effect. "My name is Lee. Welcome to Konoha High," he said as he extended his hand.
They looked at him with a confused expression, watching his large eyes blink as he awaited their handshake. A small glance between the two was exchanged before Megumi slowly extended her hand. A voice rang throughout the halls. "Lee? Lee?! Damn it, Lee!" the voice shouted before a male voice followed.
"Tenten, calm down. You're not going to find him by screaming into every hallway you see. And put away the knives. It's the first day of school. Wait until tomorrow."
RiRi and Megumi turned their heads to face the direction Lee's face was looking only to find a boy with long brown layered hair, blue-white eyes, and pale skin. Beside him stood a girl a few inches shorter than him, her brown hair placed into buns at the top of her head as a small throwing knife gleamed in her hand. Lee smiled.
"Neji! Tenten! I was just greeting the new students!" he exclaimed as Tenten pocketed her knife somewhere in her dress. How she did that (the girl's uniform had no pockets), Megumi didn't know, but both her and RiRi were intrigued to say the least. Lee turned to their audience. "This is…they're…"
Neji rolled his eyes. "You stunned another pair of students with your greetings and you don't even know their names? Typical."
"So what are your names, anyway?" Tenten asked.
"I'm Nakahara RiRi and this is Takano Megumi," the short-haired person introduced with a blinding smile.
Tenten nodded. "Tenten. Long-haired guy is Hyuuga Neji, cousin of Hyuuga Hinata, and you're already met Lee."
And just as Lee raised his hand to wave, a blur of yellow rushed the group, sending Lee screaming as he tried to buck the blonde boy off his shoulders.
"Bushy-brows!" the blonde screamed as he ruffled Lee's hair. Before Tenten could reach for Lee, a voice cut through the air.
"Naruto, stop harassing Lee," a red-head said calmly as he strode through the halls. He was tall, about the same height as Lee, with short red hair and dark rings around his aquamarine eyes, the kanji 'ai' tattooed on his forehead. The blonde stuck his tongue out in reply.
"You're no fun, Gaara," Naruto pouted, azure eyes shining brightly despite the dimly lit hallway. Gaara simply cocked his eyebrow, or rather, he would…if he had any. (A/N THIS IS A LOL-WORTHY MOMENT. WE COMMAND THAT YOU LOL. NAOOOO)
"Hn. It still doesn't change the fact you're an idiot." But Naruto smiled, eyes flashing and expression hungry as he slinked over to his new prey and skated his fingers over Gaara's collarbone. "But you like me that way," he purred as he slipped his fingers into Gaara's shirt, causing the pale boy to tense and flush and the new students to cringe slightly.
"What are they—?"
"They're boyfriends," Tenten whispered.
A small 'oh,' escaped the two's mouths. "Thanks for the heads up," said Megumi as she stared at a mesmerized RiRi. A bead of sweat slid down her face as Megumi shook her head side to side. 'Same old RiRi...'
Tenten nodded and smiled, replying, "No problem."
"Oh, new faces," a new voice interrupted as the students began to disperse, all headed towards their classrooms. Brown eyes honed onto the intruder—a man with silver hair looking to be in his early thirties with an eye-patch and a face mask over the lower portion of his face.
The first thing that popped into both Megumi and RiRi's minds was, 'Is he sick,' followed by an even more troubling 'Or perhaps... a yan'kii?' (A/N: A yan'kii, or yankee, is the Japanese term for a street thug/punk, often a member of a gang. It is a common trend for yan'kii to wear a face mask; white and rectangular, and although other styles have shown up in visual kei, the white face mask is the classic sign of the yan'kii.)
"You must be my new students," he said with a pleasant smile before a look of hunger crossed his visible eye and his smile turned dark. "You better be on your best behavior. If you don't, I'll have to give you detention afterschool. Maybe even an oral-exam," he said, leaning his face dangerously close to Megumi's as he tapped the spine of a bright-orange book gently on her nose. She, in reply, stayed silent and flushed a bright red and watched him walk away before turning to her friend, who, to her surprise, seemed unfazed by the action. RiRi usually snapped back with a witty remark, or burst out laughing, contributing to the victim's embarrassment.
"Did you see that?!" exclaimed Megumi. "That teacher was just coming onto me. I'm going to sue that jerk! Am I overreacting now? Huh? Huh?"
Her friend looked at her flatly, his tone the same deep tenor-alto sound. "Yes… it seems like he's doing that to everyone," he replied just in time for her friend to hear a high-pitched squeal and the bright red flushing of another girl's face. Smirking, he looked over at the girl and winked. Embarrassment caused the girl's blush to spread further as she smiled back in feeble reply, only to turn her attention back to the teacher… who, in her brief moment of exposure, walked off to his next victim.
"Oh," replied a slightly shocked Megumi, who then turned her attention elsewhere… which wasn't too hard to do.
"KYAAAA!!" came the screams. Girl upon girl let out cries of congenial delight as Naruto groped Gaara, taking the main scene in the hallway. Neji, the close minded man he was, glared at the scene while Lee exclaimed the health benefits of the power of youth. Ten Ten only let out an exasperated sigh, mumbling something to herself about boys and their strange ways. And, speak of the devil, one rode past her on a dogsled, of which a small crowd of gym teachers followed soon afterwards. It was like Disney on ice… sort of. Megumi slowly turned to RiRi, whose left eye was twitching slightly. She sighed to herself. If this was any indication of what the coming year was to be, she'd rather be homeschooled.
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Author's corner:
819: It's a new collab fic! Before we have to start dodging various items, hear me out. 102 wanted to do another collab fic between the two of us and since I still have problems saying no to her and other people, I said yes. The plot is pretty good from what she sent me (it's her plot, I'm just typing it out), and I hope we get reviews. They are much loved. Please and thank you.
(Explanation for Megumi's name: 819 got too lazy and too fearful of another computer crash to add another name to her dictionary, whereas 102 is a creative whore.)
102: My plot in a few words? Ah, let's see. How about: Fanservice and plot twists. And to add to that list: GALORE. Be prepared for the unexpected, ladies and gents. This isn't your ordinary 819/102 collab fic! I'm back and better than ever… with more craziness than you can handle! You'll leave comments. SO many comments. 400 comments. : By the way. More comments you leave, the more I'm motivated to draw. The more I'm motivated to write. The more I'm motivated to post. So. COMMENT NOW OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIFFHANGER DOOM.
The man'ga of this fanfic can be found at Deviant Art under the name NekoNoKuredoru.