Disclaimer: I do not own Naurto or its characters
Pointers: 'italics' means that the character is thinking
Summary: Hikari just transferred to Senju Academy in a town called Konohagakure in Kyoto. She wants to leave behind her past life and start a new one in a new city. Everything seems to be going fine until she finds her heartstrings being pulled again. Pairings undecided.
Author's Note: 'Thinking' and 'Text/Notes'
Chapter One:
Welcome to Senju Academy!
And I never thought that I would be moving, especially to Kyoto of all places. I never wanted to move at all, but that's the price you pay when your father's promotion makes you move almost eight hours away from your old home. The only home that you had known all your life, made friends and memories, as well as knew like the back of your hand. Osaka was my everything and now I'll be moving to Kyoto, which is a nice place but nothing like home. As
But what can I say? There wasn't thing that I could do about it and it wasn't like this move wasn't all that hard on me. In fact, I'm actually quite happy about it since my last day at school didn't end the way I had wished. Maybe this change of environment would actually be good for me. Who knows, really? I just hope that I can fit in and make something more of my life. Moving at the age of sixteen though? It didn't sound too much fun to me, but I had just a few more years of highschool left so it'll be fine.
Not just that, I wouldn't have to see his face again.
"Hikari, did you get the box that says 'China Dishes'?" A woman had called from outside as a young, 5'3'' girl had stood in the middle of what was the kitchen. Her auburn hair, in its usual coiffure that consisted of pigtails had moved along with her head movement.
"Yeah, 'Kaa-chan." She answered before carefully putting the small, brown box in the corner in which she thought would be safe. Moving was sure of wreck, but she had hoped that she could get distracted by the neighbors if they were friendly enough.
The girl walked out of the kitchen and into the open hallway and towards the large, white front door and towards the driveway where she saw her brothers and father struggling with getting everything. Hikari chuckled at her eldest brother, Takumi's, face as he winced.
He didn't live with them and was attending college in Kyoto, which was a good thing for him. He could visit them without all those long hours and Hikari could spend as much time with her favorite brother as long as she wanted.
"Have you met the neighbors yet, sweetheart?" Her mother asked as she was instructing her brothers where certain boxes were and were they should be.
Hikari shook her head, "No. They haven't come to see us?" She asked as her mother shook her head.
"Maybe they're waiting until most of our things are gone. That'll take a whi- Oh wait, nevermind." She said as she smiled, waving at this blond-haired boy that was coming their way. Hikaru's eyes had looked in his direction as he wore this citrus orange shirt, black pants, and black and orange sneakers. Boy, this kid sure loved orange.
"Ohayou gozaimasu!" He cheered politely in which made Hikari smile. This guy had a fun personality, she could tell. "Welcome to the neighborhood, I'm Uzumaki, Naruto." He introduced with a polite bow in tow.
Hikari did the same, "Hajimemashite, Naruto. I'm Kazuna, Hikari." She replied as he stood there, grinning from ear to ear. He had spikey, blond hair and bright blue eyes.
"Where you guys coming from?" He asked, curious as she imagined he would be.
The auburn-haired girl looked at her belongings and then at him, "We're from Osaka." She answered, "My 'Tou-san got a promotion and so that's why we are here." She shrugged a little, not finding her explanation all the credible and short.
The boy, Naruto, merely nodded his head. "Oh, well that means you'll be going to Senju High, right?" Hikari smiled, which confirmed that it was a yes. "We'll be classmates!"
"Great!" Hikari said with much enthusiasm, both of them having their fist balled up in front of them to show their excitement.
"Naruto, I hope you're not causing this girl trouble!" Hikari and Naruto both looked to see a bubble-gum pinkette, with the brightest green eyes that Hikari had ever seen. Her skin was pale and she had a petite figure.
"S-Sakura!" The boy said out of shock as the girl then gave Hikari a welcoming smile, "She's going to our school, Senju High."
"Oh?" Sakura then looked back at the girl, who nodded nervously. Boy, she was slightly awkward. "Well this is great, we're all in the same neighborhood." She smiled, "We can all walk to school together."
"Our other friend Sasuke lives further down the street and we usually walk with him too." Naurto then added, "But it'll be fun."
The auburn-haired girl had her forefinger curling a lock of her hair, trying to find a way to beat her shyness. "Yeah, it would."
Sakura smiled, Naruto still smiling as well. "Oh, does your family need help?"
"No, we're fine." Hikari's twin, Hikaru had answered with a rather dull expression on his face. He looked exactly like Hikari, but instead of the rather big eyes of his sister, his eyes were more almond shaped. His hair was obviously shorter, a bang covering his left eye somewhat and his eyes a darker hazel. Like almost all of his family, they had tan skin. He was also taller than Hikari too, standing at 6'1".
Hikari gave her twin a rather angry expression, her brows knitted together and her eyes reading 'stop being a jerk'. "Sorry, my twin…. isn't the friendly type." She apologized as the boy 'hmphed' and walked off, leaving Naruto and Sakura looking at each other then back at her.
"Your twin, huh? Sounds like fun." Naruto said, interested in the whole idea of having a twin.
"Not really. We're complete opposites!" The dark-haired girl confirmed, "I have six brothers and I'm the only girl." She explained, laughing nervously.
"Six brothers?!" Sakura and Naruto repeated incredulously.
Hikari continued on with her nervous laugh, "Yeah and its harder trying to feed all of them, but three of the oldest ones are in college. One is in college here, the other two are going to college in our Tokyo, while it's just me, my twin, and my other two older brothers." She explained the best way she could.
"Wow," said the pink-haired girl, "I can't imagine your mother trying to feed seven men in one house."
The girl laughed, "Well, she had me to help her when I was a little older. So, I eased her pain some. Anyway, I should be helping unpack, but I'll see you guys Monday for school." She waved her hand as the other two nodded.
"It was nice meeting you, Hikari." Naruto said with a wave as Sakura waved as well and then pulled his ear.
"All right, don't waste anymore of her time!" The blond-haired boy yelped as he was being dragged away, Hikari couldn't help but smile at the bizarre way they behaved towards each other. She wondered how their other friend Sasuke was, she hoped he was just as friendly as they were but not as loud.
With a sharp turn, she had walked towards the moving truck and picked up some of her boxes for her room and carried it into her house. She couldn't wait for the day school would start after meeting those two.
But first, she would have to eat dinner with her family. They managed to unpack enough to have a comfortable meal, "This is delicious, Chiasa." Her father had said, feeling relieved after all their work. Hikari was sitting in between Hikaru and Kichirou. Kichirou had black hair like their mother, which only he and Isamu were the only ones who had. Hikari, Takumi, Jiro, and Hiroshi all had auburn hair like their father.
"So, how were the neighbors?" Chiasa asked as everyone's eyes were on her. The sixteen-year-old girl had picked up her sashimi and before she bit it, answered her mother's question.
"They were pretty nice. I only met two of them, but they are going to be my classmates." She said before she placed the sashimi in her mouth, chewing it.
Chiasa smiled, her husband smiling as well. "Hopefully, you'll make a lot of new friends for the ones you left behind. I'm sorry Hikari, I know how close you were to Saki, Ayumi, and that boy…"
"Arata, 'Tou-san." She corrected him, her eyes looking down as she thought about him. 'Arata…'
Once dinner was over, Hikari had gone to her room after a bath and lied down on her bed. She brought her cellphone to her face and saw many text messages from Ayumi, Saki, Hiro, and then… Arata. All she had done was put the phone down her the table next to her bed and curl up in a ball. 'I promised myself that I would just forget all about him. I'm going to start myself anew.' She thought, her face pressed against the large panda on her bed.
- / - / -
"Hikaru, are you comin' or what?" She asked her brother as she was fixing her brown loafers at the door area. Her twin had came walking alongside Kichirou who was adjusting his randoseru before walking over.
"You sure are in a rush; we're already quite a bit early." Kichirou noted as his sister looked at him.
"I promised to walk to school with Naruto and Sakura." She explained as she then stood up, "I can't keep them waiting. Well, whatever."
Daiki and Chiasa had walked towards the door, "Have fun you two." Their mother said before looking at her husband, who was adjusting his tie. "You need to be get going as well."
"Yeah, yeah." He said as his wife then rolled her eyes and then helped adjust his tie before they all came walking out the front door, leaving her and their small Samoyed at home.
"Looks like you're my only company now, Tsuki." Chiasa said as the dog barked at her as if replying.
Hikari then saw Naruto and Sakura at the corner, the girl yelling at him over something. She wasn't sure what the girl was angry about, but Naruto had an uneasy look on his face which to her made it look like it was her fault. When she came over to them, she gave them a smile. "Ohayou!" She greeted them and heard them say it in unison.
"Oh, aren't we supposed to meet your friend?" She asked as they both nodded and pointed up the road, "Oh yeah, that's right." She laughed nervously before following them.
They were all wearing their school uniforms. The girl uniforms were a short, navy blue skirt with a white skirt with a green and white collar with a red, ribbon necktie. The boys wore a white shirt and navy blue pants, but during the winter they wore a gakuran.
They all walked alongside each other, their chatter mostly about how it was like in Osaka and how much she was adjusting to Kyoto. Even though it was her second day here and she hadn't traveled much into the town, she had liked the serene feeling in the town. "Ah, there's Sasuke!" Naruto pointed as a dark-haired boy had leaned against a wooden fence, his hands sheathed in his pockets and his eyes closed.
"Ohayou!" Sakura greeted him with a smile, but the boy had just opened his eyes halfway and gave them a 'hmph'. Maybe that was his way of greeting? Hikari raised her hand and did a slight, nervous wave and his onyx eyes were on her form. She felt herself stiffen and keep her hands on her randoseru's handle.
He was extremely good looking, she could give him that but he had this intimidating expression and aura he pressed off. She summoned that he was aloof, not much of the talkative type. She could also gather he was popular and the objects of Sakura's affection, seeing as the girl's eyes seemed to light up in his presence. Even though Naruto had a smile, she wasn't sure what she saw in those sapphire eyes of his.
"Sasuke, this is our friend Hikari. She just moved here and is going to our Highschool." Naruto captured her attention, her eyes no longer looking at the ground in thought.
The boy didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Uchiha, Sasuke." The auburn-haired girl figured that was his form of an introduction.
"Kazuna, Hikari." She replied shortly, "Hajimemashite." She bowed slightly.
The boy just turned and started to walk, "Sasuke! Wait up!" She said, running to catch up to him.
"He doesn't have much of a friendly attitude." The blond explained, the hazel eyes of the girl beside him looking up at him. "But he's a good friend, almost like a brother to me."
The warmth in his eyes and the way he said that had made Hikari smile as she then looked ahead as Sakura was walking alongside him. "Sakura really seems to like him."
"Ever since we were in Kindergarten." He said as they started walking, still behind them.
The girl nodded her head, "But I kind of thought that you two wer-"
Naruto bursted into a fit of laughter, "No way! Sakura would never look at me in that kind of way." He said even though Hikari frowned, feeling as though he was holding something else back.
"Oh…" Was the only thing she could manage to say. "Well, do you guys have any other friends?" She asked as Naruto nodded his head.
"Don't worry! You'll meet them when we get there! I hope you're in our class." Naruto said as Hikari gave him a small smile.
She could tell that Naruto was a good friend as well as Sakura. Maybe she could make some more friends as well.
Once they reached the school, they had walked through the gates and Hikari had pulled out her slip of paper. "Does it say what class you're in?" He asked as she nodded her head, almost forgetting about during their walk here.
"2-A." She said as he gave her a large grin, "Same class, huh?" He gave her a nod and then headed off towards the class.
Once they reached the classroom, Hikari had walked towards the teacher and stood there waiting. The seats began to fill up and she swore she saw some of the oddest people she had ever seen in her whole life. More importantly, the teacher was, well, very good looking. His eye was covered by his silver hair, but it he did have a striking face. It almost made her forget where she was and even who she was! But Hikari wasn't one to fall for a teacher, which would be just weird in her case. "I'm your homeroom teacher Hatake, Kakashi." He introduced as he gave her a smile and then a marker.
Hikari took the marker in her right hand and began to write the Kanji of her name on the board. "Hello class, we have a new student." He said before looking at her, signaling for her to introduce herself.
"Uh," She then placed a fist over mouth and cleared her throat before lowering her hand. "My name is Kazuna, Hikari and I just moved to Kyoto yesterday. I'm from Osaka and I hope to get along with all of you." She gave everyone an easy smile.
She heard chatter, but none of it seemed to be negative so far. Maybe she did a good first impression. "There's an empty seat next to Naruto in front of Sasuke and behind Sakura. Naruto, raise your hand."
Naruto rose his hand, a grin on his face. Hikari already knew who he was but Kakashi didn't know she knew. She walked down the aisle and then towards the seat, placing her randoseru on the desk before taking out her notebook and mechanical pencils and eraser. She was happy she was next to the window, it would give her something to do whenever she was bored.
The boy gave her a smile and Sakura turned around, "Lucky thing that kid moved out of our class or you might've been stuck next to Lee." She explained, pointing to the boy with the big black eyes and shiny, black bowl cut.
The girl gave him a once-over, a bit surprised by his appearance but made nothing of it. "What's wrong with him?" She asked.
"He's…. a weirdo." The pinkette put it simply as the auburn-haired girl gave her a skeptical expression but shrugged her shoulders. Next to Sakura was a girl with long platinum, blond hair. It surprised her because she figured that she would be next to Sasuke, but next to Sasuke was a boy who was pale and had dark hair and eyes just like him except in her mind, Sasuke was better looking than he was.
Then it was time for roll call, "Aburame, Shino." He called out, a boy with dark shades had raised his hand. He didn't say present or anything, "Okay…" Kaskashi check him off as present. "Akimichi, Choji." He called the next boy, who was a chubby boy. Hikari noticed he was munching on a bag of chips, "What did I tell you about eating in class, Choji? This is not lunch time."
"S-Sorry, Kakashi-sensei." The boy said before rolling the bag at the top and then putting it in his randoseru.
The man sighed and shook his head, "Haruno, Sakura."
"Present"! The pinkette chirped, her hand in the air.
"Hyūga, Hinata." His lone eye searched for the owner of the name.
Hikari looked around as well until he saw a hand hesitantly raise into the air. "H-Here." The soft voice stuttered. She could barely see, but it was a girl with long, dark purple hair and pale skin.
"Thank you, Hinata." Kakashi smiled. "Hyūga, Neji."
"Present." said the brown-haired boy, his voice was serious. Kakashi nodded and check him off.
The man then looked up again, "Inuzuka, Kiba."
"Here!" The boy said, rather loudly too.
"Mhm." The man hummed, "Lee, Rock."
"I am here, Kakashi-sensei! Never would I miss a day of school!" The boy, who Sakura claimed was weird, had then said. Hikari now knew why the girl classified him as weird.
The teacher gave him a dull expression, "I know you would never dream of it." He replied before continuing on, "Nara, Shikarmaru."
"Here…" The boy said with a sigh, his cheek in his palm. Hikari noticed that he was sitting in between Ino and the chubby boy named Choji.
"Sato, Sai." Kakashi called the next student.
"Present." The pale skin boy said, his voice quite as blank but somewhat of a smile appearing.
Kakashi then looked around, "Tenzo, Tenten."
"Present." The brunette answered. She was sitting between Neji and Lee.
"Yamanaka, Ino." Kakashi called next.
The platinum haired girl raised her hand, "Here!" She said in a lively fashion.
"Uchiha, Sasuke." Kakashi called out.
"Here." Sasuke answered with his arm raised.
"And lastly, thank God… Uzumaki, Naruto."
"Here!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
Kakashi nodded and checked off the paper, finally relieved that roll call was over. Hikari then looked at the board as Kakashi pulled out a book from the desk, "Today, we're going to be covering Japanese History."
"Now, can someone tell me what is the name of first age pre-jomon period?" He asked as everyone was already headlining their papers but not bothering to raise their hands. The hazel-eyed girl raised her hand, "Hikari."
"Kyūsekki jidai." She answered as everyone in the class looked at her, surprised. Kakashi was even surprised himself. Hikari looked around and then felt heat rushing towards her cheeks.
"Correct." He smiled, "Nice to know someone knows their history and participates." The man sighed and then began speaking about the history from the book.
Everyone was writing their notes, Hikari then seeing something at the corner of her desk. It was a small, white piece of paper in which the girl noticed was a note. Looking for Kakashi, who was at the other side of the room, she slid the paper towards her and carefully unfolded it and read the contents:
'Wow, you're pretty smart!'
Hikari looked around to see where the note came from, she looked to her right and saw that it was Naruto who was giving her handsigns. She nodded and then wrote a reply.
'Not really, I just use to be a history nut in middle school. I pretty much know all of this.'
She said, not really wanting to brag. She flicked the paper carefully back at his desk and then hurried up with her notes, trying to catch up with the teacher. In a matter of seconds, the paper was back at her desk.
'How can you remember all of that? I barely remember what I ate for dinner last night.'
The girl tried to suppress a laugh, but she caught Naruto's smile. "Am I boring you?" Kakashi said to Naruto, now in front of him which scared the blond half to death, his shriek feeling up the room. Hikari snickered with half of the class.
"Uh, no! I was just uh, wondering what they did back then, Kakashi-sensei." He lied, trying to find a good excuse.
The man hummed for a minute, "If you had been paying attention," he hit the boy upside the head with the book, "then maybe you would know." Naruto hissed and rubbed the back of his head. "Now, no more distractions."
The man then stood up straight and continued on with the lesson, leaving Naruto with a pout on his face. Everything had gone quiet and people were now seriously taking their notes save for a few who rather slept than do anything. Soon the period was over and Kakashi bid his goodbyes as they awaited for the next teacher. "What a show, Naruto." Sakura teased.
"That book was pretty hard, y'know." The boy said as he then placed his hand on his head.
"If you were doing what you were supposed to be doing then you would've have been hit." Ino chimed in, annoying the boy behind her even more.
Hikari then gave Naruto a thumbs up, "At least you didn't get detention." She said, trying to make light of his situation.
"Barely." Sasuke said, "He always gets himself into stupid situations."
Naruto's frowned deepened as he glared at the boy from the corner of his eyes. Sasuke did nothing but smirk and keep his eyes out towards the window.
Even though this was all fun and games, she felt a little bad that they ganged up on him but this had to be normal since he wasn't uspet. "Who is our next teacher?" Hikari asked, shifting everyone's attention away from what happened and on her.
"Iruka-sensei. He's our calculus teacher." Naruto answered. Meanwhile, Hikari frowned, deeply.
"Calculus, huh?" Hikari hated anything related to math. "And then what's after that?"
Sakura then helped, "Then we have Anko-sensei for Japanese, Kurenai-sense for home economics, lunch, Gai-sensei for Gym, and Asuma-sensei for chemistry."
"You know, I don't even know who our principal is." Hikari laughed nervously, "I didn't read much of the school of conduct book since I was distracted by us moving.
Ino then turned to look, "Its no big deal. Nobody reads that book anyway. Our Principal is Tsunade-kouchou and our vice principal is Jiraiya-kyoutou. They are really nice, but Tsunade-kouchou is really… tough if you get on her bad side. She's not as bad as our school disciplinarian, Yamato-sensei. He's really scary."
Hikari blinked several times, "Oh… Okay." She laughed nervously.
"Don't worry, I doubt you'll ever get in trouble." Naruto said as the girl looked at him, almost wondering if that was a compliment or an insult. Instead of finding the words to say back, she decided against it and watched as the new teacher had come into the room.
- / - / -
It was lunch time and Hikari had taken her bento and decided to go on the roof. She always liked eating on the roof, especially at her old school. She could've told the others where she had gone, but she didn't want to the bother them. Once she made it up there, she plopped down on her backside and leaned against a wall and slid off the lid of her bento.
Her mother promised to make her lunch, but how could she? She had to worry if her father and two brothers had their lunches as well. It never bothered her to make lunch of herself, she was more than happy to.
"There you are." Naruto said in which Hikari looked at him as he walked over, "Why are you eating up here by yourself?"
The auburn-haired girl shrugged, "I didn't want to bother you guys and so I came up here by myself. I like eating on the roof."
"I go up here sometimes too and in the spring me and the group sit under the big Sakura tree. " He said as he sat down next to her.
"Where's your bento?" She asked, "You didn't have any food? Why didn't you buy any?"
Naruto gave her a nervous smile, "Well… I'm not much of a cook and I don't have anyone to make lunch for me. And I don't have any money today to get myself something to eat today since I spent it on something… stupid."
The girl's eyes widened. Did he have any parents? "Well, if you want… You can have some of mine. I've made a lot and I wouldn't mind making you a bento anytime, if that's okay."
The boy looked at her, his eyes wide. "Make me a bento?"
"Yeah, I like cooking. Its something I'm good at and I have enough time in the morning and since I make enough for two people, I don't mind making a bento for you."
"You don't have to do that. Seriously, I don't want you to fe-"
Hikari shook her head, "We're friends, right? And friends look out for each other." She gave him a smile and then pulled out an extra pair of chopsticks, "Go on, and eat."
You didn't have to tell the Uzumaki twice. He immediately went for the tempeh with the sesame noodles. Hikari smiled at how his eyes widened, "This is good!"
"Really?" She said, happy that he enjoyed her food. She took some of the kale salad, knowing that he wasn't really inching towards that but he ate some of the of the chips and pineapple slices.
It was weird how fast friends she and Naruto were, but she felt happy about it. She hoped that they would always be friends as well as her and Sakura and hopefully her and Sasuke and a few of the others in class and in the school.
"I know you're wondering why I don't have anyone to make me lunch." He said as she looked at him, worried.
She didn't want to give the impression that she was nosy, but she was curious. "You don't have to tell me, Naruto."
"No, I do. If you're going to be to making bentos for me then I should." He then looked up at the sky, the few cotton ball clouds slowly moving by.
The girl had taken a chip and looked at him as he kept his eyes upwards. "My mom and dad passed away when I was a baby and I had a caretaker, but they passed away a few years ago. So, I have a job but most of my money goes to my rent anyway and I'm not much of a cooker and I survive on ramen."
The way he said it was so… normal. Like this was normal. The girl beside him frowned, wanting to apologize for making him say it but he already knew. "I-"
"Its fine. It doesn't really bother me since I never really knew 'em and my caretaker, I kind of miss her but I'm fine."
"So, you live by yourself?" She asked as he nodded his head. "If you ever need help, you can always ask me and my parents wouldn't mind you staying with us since we have an extra room."
Naruto looked at her with wide-eyes, "You're too nice." He laughed, a grin on his face. "But I'm fine, I've made it this far and I'll continue to make it."
Hikari couldn't help but smile at his independence, "Okay but it's nice to lean on someone once in a while."
"I know." Naruto said, "Same goes for you. If you need anything, I'll help."
"Thanks, Naruto." She said as she had ate some of the tempeh.
After a few seconds of them enjoying the guy, he then turned to look at her. He was slurping up a noodle, but his eyes soon turned to her as she was looking up at the sky with the ends of her chopsticks touching her bottom lip as she was chewing a pineapple slice. "Hikari." He called her name.
She turned look at him, "What?" She replied.
"Do you plan to join any clubs?" Naruto then asked, biting a chip and then looking at the sky.
The girl shrugged her shoulders, "I use to be on the track and field club in my old highschool."
"You should join ours." He immediately said, somehow she knew that's what he was going to say.
She shook her head, "Nah. I want to try something else…"
"But why? Weren't you good at running?" Hikari quickly gave him a confused expression as his eyes were curious.
Hikari then grabbed another pine apple slice, "How did you know I was a runner?"
"I don't know. I just guessed." Was his reply, a toothy grin adorning his face as she let out a snort.
"Figures." She mumbled, "But well, I was good and I made it into the state championship."
"Then why not join?" His voice was a bit agitated, which she didn't understand why.
The female sighed, "Well… I didn't join track and field for myself, but for someone else."
'You were always fast, Hikari! You should join track and field, you'll definitely outshine everyone.'
Her lids lowered, her right fist clenching as his voice echoed loudly into her head. She then closed her eyes as Naruto still looked confused by her words, but tried to be patient even though it wasn't working. "So, you join because someone was on the team or what?"
"It's a bit complicated." The truth was, she didn't want to even think about him, especially not now. She only had been here a few days and he was still on her mind as if she was back in Osaka, ready to see him sometime soon.
The blond-haired boy merely saw her saddened expression and took the hint that it was best to leave it at that. He would ask again, he definitely would, but he would leave her be for now.
"There you two are!" Sakura said, her hands on her hips. "What are you guys doing alone together on the roof?"
Hikari and Naruto's eyes were on her, "Just eating lunch." Hikari answered, "Naruto found me up here and decided to join me."
"Oh?" The pinkette was surprised, "Kiba was looking for you, Naruto."
"Oh, what for?" Naruto asked, making no intention of standing and finishing off the food in the bento.
Before Sakura would explain, she noticed Naruto was eating out of Hikari's bento. "Wait, why are you eating her lunch Naruto?"
"He forgot his lunch money and so I offered to share him my lunch." Hikari quickly answered, Naruto looking at her with a shocked expression as she then gave him a thumbs up.
The pinkette sighed, "Sorry, he's so forgetful."
"It's no big deal. I made a big lunch anyway." said Hikari, who smiled soon after.
Sakura merely gave Naruto a skeptical look, "All right, but it doesn't matter what Kiba wanted. I'll just tell him you're busy. See you guys later." The girl waved as they both watched her walk through the entrance door and down the steps.
- / - / -
"So, did you hear?" Ino said as they all stood in the locker room of the gym. "Naruto ate lunch with a girl today."
Hikari sighed, knowing the blond-haired girl was merely teasing her. Tenten, the girl was two bunds, had lifted her shirt halfway and gave Ino a surprised look. "With who?"
Hinata, who was standing at her locker, had looked at Ino. Even though she tried to pretend she wasn't curious, it was obvious that she was.
The auburn-haired girl had looked over towards Ino and Tenten, "We're just friends, all right."
Ino grinned from ear to ear, "Right. Naruto doesn't really hang with girls like that, so you must be special."
"We just met like two days ago, Ino. Besides, he hangs with Sakura all the time." She pointed out.
Sakura nodded her head, "True and we're just friends."
The blue-eyed girl merely pouted her lip, "Thanks for ruining my fun."
"Ruining your fun?" Hikari rolled her eyes playfully, "Someone else would hear and then it'll turn into a rumor. I don't want that spreading around."
"Fine, fine." Ino raised her hands, "You win."
Tenten the placed her shirt over her head and then leaned her back against the locker, "Why did they allow Gai-sensei to be a teacher? He puts us through hell."
"But he keeps our figures looking good," said Ino with a thumb up, "I don't even have to worry about taking a day to exercise since he works us all day here."
Hikari then looked at Sakura, "Is she serious?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Yeah, Gai-sensei is pretty… Crazy." The pink-haired girl then tilted her head back, "I don't even think crazy is a good enough word."
"Yeah, it isn't." Tenten then threw her hands in the air, "The man is insane!"
Hikari blinked a few times and then sighed, "I'll take your word for it."
"He acts like we're machines and that we can just do all these crazy laps like we're not going to get tired. He's insane, I tell you." Tenten went on, obviously enraged.
The girl seemed so passionate in her irritation that she just went off, Hikari and Sakura both looked each other and then back at the brunette who was still going. "Uh, Tenten. We needs to get to the gym."
The girl then stopped mid-sentence and then sighed, "Right."
All of them, now dressed in their uniforms, had made their way out of the locker room and to the hall that lead them to the gymnasium. A man with shiny, black hair and black eyes had approached them. "We're going to be doing gym outside today which means we'll be doing laps!"
Hikari could hear a bunch of the girls groaning, which meant that this wasn't good at all. "Where are the boys, Gai-sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Their already outside. You girls were a little late coming in here, but since this is a first I'll let it slide, oh-keh!" The man gave them a thumbs up and Hikari could've sworn he saw his pearly whites sparkle.
They all followed him outside to see the boys stretching, getting ready for running. Naruto had given Hikari a wave and she had waved back, only to have Sakura grab onto her arm. "Oh no, here comes Lee."
The girl next to her seemed confused, "What do you me-" Before she could even ask, Lee came over.
That's when she noticed Lee and Gai looked like they could be father and son, but more importantly that wasn't what shocked her right now. "Sakura!" The boy said her name with such enthusiasm, "You and I should run next to each other."
Run next to each other? Did this guy… really like Sakura?" Hikari looked back at Sakura who gave an uneasy smile. "Sorry Lee, but I'm going to be running with the girls an-"
"But in order to fulfill the needs of youth, you need to run with someone who is a worthy comrade an-" Sakura had fled, her and Ino running down the field.
"Now that's the spirit!" Gai let out a hearty laugh, "Everyone, you should follow those girls for example. They are filled with the need to exercise and to maintain their youth."
Youth, what was is with these two and that word? Hikari merely sighed and scratched the back of her head, just what was with these people? "You'll get use to it."
Hikari then looked to her left to see a boy with long, straight brown hair. His eyes were a shade of grey, "He's one of hell of a teacher but he means well or that's what I like to think."
"You're Neji, right?" She remembered his name from roll call earlier.
The boy then looked at her, "That's right." He answered, not making any significance of saying more.
The girl merely felt uncomfortable, seeing as though she wished she had more to say. "Nice to meet you, classmate." She said as Naruto then came over to their group, Sasuke not to far behind.
"Hikari, making more friends?" The blond said eagerly, almost proud that she spoke to others.
Hikari looked at Neji from the corner of her eyes, but he wasn't looking her way. "Uh, I think?" Was her reply. "He just told me not to be so hard on Gai-sensei." She explained, "We should be running before he notices."
"She has a point." Neji said as Hikari then squeezed through the space between Naruto and Sasuke.
She didn't know what to say, but she didn't want to upset Gai and so she began to jog. She felt too awkward in that circle; she was never one to really know how to make a good first impression. She never knew how she made friends in the first place, but she always seemed to reel people in somehow.
It always felt good to run, especially with the sun soaking in her skin. She used to love running, feeling the wind and the sun on her skin. Maybe Naruto was right, maybe she should join track and field again.
As she ran, she thought about the purpose of why she joined track and field. What was her purpose? Was it solely Arata? He was the one to convince her to join it anyway and he was the one who told her that she would be great. Was the really it? No, that wasn't it. It was because thought she would be great but it was because she wanted him to see her for more than what she was.
Yes, that was her purpose. For Arata to see that she wasn't just Hikari and that there was more to her. She didn't want him to see her the way that he always did.
"You're a natural, Hikari!" A boy said, he was tall and a mop of jet, black hair and oceanic blue eyes. His smile was warm, "I knew you would excel in this."
"Yeah, yeah." Hikari said with a smile, "You were right." She said as she then picked up the pace, "Looks like I can out run you, Arata!"
"H-Hey! Come back!" The boy said as he tried to run, but Hikari was far faster than him. She turned to ook back, her tongue sticking out at him as she continued on. He grew farther and farther back.
'Now you can watch me, Arata. It's not going to be me watching you anymore.'
"Hikari?" The hazel eyes of the girl had soon widened, now snapping out of the memory. She skidded to a halt and nearly fell forward, only to be caught. "Hikari, are you okay?"
The girl looked up to see that it was Sasuke who caught her, but it was Naruto who was expressing his concern. "Thanks." Hikari told Sasuke who merely looked away.
"You would've been in my way had you fell." Sasuke had said causing Hikari to narrow her eyes at him. She wasn't sure if he said that just to not look like he cared or because he was genuinely mean and arrogant like that.
Instead of saying something back, she looked at Naruto. "You seemed out of it."
The girl then rubbed the back of her head, "I'm sorry. I was just… in the zone as they say." Hikari laughed nervously, "I haven't ran like this in so long that it felt good."
"So are you going to be joining track and field?" He asked with a smile.
"I'm still thinking about it." She answered and then waved, "If you excuse me, I'm going to finish my laps." She wave and then high-tailed off.
Sasuke let out a hmph, "She seems troublesome just like you."
Naruto looked at his friend, "What do you mean?"
"She's carrying something." He said, his hands now in his pockets. "Why are you always taken injured castle and trying to save them?"
"She's not a cow, Sasuke." Naruto defended her, "Why do you always see people as troublesome?"
The dark-haired boy narrowed his eyes, "Because they are, Naruto."
"Like you're so perfect yourself." The blond replied back, "You never give new people a chance."
"A chance? Like she had the option of having one in the first place." His friend replied, "She's less loud and talkative than Sakura, but that doesn't mean I'll be so accepting of her."
"Why? Is it because she's not falling at your feet? Your so used to girls liking you that you can't handle a girl not showing interest. " Naruto smirked.
Sasuke merely gave his friend a deadpanned expression, "I'm actually glad she's not one of those fan girls. They are annoying." He replied, "I'm not going to keep arguing."
"You're the one who started it!" Naruto pointed at him, disbelief in his voice.
"What are you two fighting over now?" Sakura asked, her hands on her hips.
Naruto and Sakura both looked in her direction, "He started!" Naruto said, his finger still pointing at Sasuke.
The girl sighed, "Naruto, why don't you just leave Sasuke alone then?"
"She has a valid point." Sasuke smirked as Naruto grew more agitated.
"Whatever!" Naruto said before storming off.
- / - / -
It was the end of the school day and Hikari was at her shoelocker. She was glad that the day was over and that at gym they had showered, she never ran that much in a long time that she knew she was beyond sweaty. Once she placed on her brown loafers, she had walked towards the doors and began walking.
She was going to wait for Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke but she hadn't seen them around. It was almost a surprise when she saw Sakura waving at her at the gate. Hikari ran a bit to shorten the distance, "Where is Naruto and Sasuke?" Hikari finally asked.
"Oh, they are both in the soccer team so they stay after school Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's." Sakura explained as the two began on their walk home.
Hikari then nodded, "I didn't expect that."
"For them to be on the soccer team?" She asked as Hikari nodded, "Yeah, but they are both the star players of the team other than Lee and Kiba. All four of them are the best, but Naruto and Sasuke seemed to shine the most."
"I take it that Sasuke is pretty popular among the girls, huh?" The auburn-haired girl asked as the pinkette nodded.
"He's always been popular since elementary school. I guess that's the curse of being good looking." Sakura said, shrugging somewhat.
The tan girl looked at her, "Well, you should know since you like him too."
The green-eyed girl's face had blushed fifty different shades of red. "W-What gave you that idea?!"
"Sakura, please. Its written all over you face." Hikari smiled, seeing the girl sigh in defeat.
"Yeah, but it seems that Sasuke doesn't seem interested in anyone or anything." Sakura said, looking at the sidewalk. "I mean, I confessed to him before but he flat out rejected me. And its not just me, but many other girls. He's not interested in guys, that's as much as I know. He just wants to be… alone."
What could Hikari say? It was odd, but she had knew many other guys like that as well as girls. "Maybe Sasuke isn't interested in dating right now, some people choose to wait until college or later on in life." It was probably the worse conclusion, but it did have some valid points. "Maybe he feels relationships are a distraction."
"Maybe but… its hard, y'know." Sakura sighed and kicked a small rock. "I kept telling myself that I need to stop liking him and that he's not worth it, but.-"
"But no matter how much you tell your heart that, it clings onto those feelings. I know." Hikari looked up at the sky, Sakura looking at her in surprise.
Hikari closed her eyes halfway, "I've been there before. The road is hard and a long one, but we all get through."
Sakura smiled at her, "Thanks."
"Thanks? I didn't give you much advice." Hikari said, now looking at the green-eyed girl.
"But its nice to know that I'm not the only one." Sakura looked away and then at the path ahead. "Anyway, what are you doing Friday?"
"Friday?" Hikari repeated and then went into thought, "I don't think I'm doing anything."
The pinkette smiled, "Good! Because all of us are going to Karaoke!"
Hikari stopped walking, a deadpanned expression on her face. "K-Karaoke?"
"Yeah and you have to come!" Sakura said, "Besides, it would be a good way to have fun and make more friends." Her friend explained.
It didn't sound like she had much of a choice or be able to say no or even hide. "I see." It was the only thing she could say.
Once they made it to their homes, her and Sakura bid each other goodbyes before separating and walking towards their homes. Once Hikari had opened the door and slips off her shoes and placed them on the rack, she immediately went towards the kitchen. "'Kaa-san, I'm home."
The woman smiled at her as she was in the kitchen preparing dinner, "How was you first day?"
"It was… a little weird, but all right." Hikari answered before going upstairs and down the hall and towards her room. She threw her randoseru on the bed and loosed her necktie before flopping on her large, pink bed. "Today was a long day." She said as she felt her cellphone ring. She immediately rummaged through her bag and pulled out her iPhone with the panda casing on it. She had a text message from… "Why him?" She mumbled. She deleted the message with a few keystrokes and then pulled her stuffed bear close to her form. 'I just want to forget everything about him…'
How was it? This is my first Naruto story and I always wanted to do a Highschool one since I read so many good ones.
Hikari: Feminine form of Japanese unisex Hikaru, meaning "radiance; light."
Few Facts/Info:
Randoseru is a Japanese briefcase book bag.
Hajimemashi means nice to meet you.
Since Hikari is from Osaka, she has a country accent and instead of Okaa-san and Otou-san, she says 'Kaa and Tou.