This is a new story I have been writing out of the blue. It is a continuation of the Naruto series through the eyes of the character's children as they finish their last year in the Academy. I might continue afterward. Here's the story background:
Setting: Future- when everyone is grown and has kids.
Current Hokage: Naruto Uzumaki
Main characters:
Ryuu Uzumaki- son (and only child) of Naruto and Hinata. Average kid but extremely clumsy.
Hikari Uchiha- daughter (and second child) of Sasuke and Sakura. Analytical and headstrong. somewhat arrogant.
Kaito- new kid in Konoha. Something is off putting about him.
Kenshin Inuzuka- aka "Ken" son of Kiba. Flirty but also loyal to his friends.
Emi Hyuuga- daughter (second child) of Tenten and Neji. Hyperactive and fun-loving.
Teru Nara and Tetsu Nara- twins of Temari and Shikamaru. They are one in the same.
Zan Yoshida- son of an anti-shinobi protest rallier. The antagonist of Ryuu.
Please note that this story is purely for my creative writing practice. I have written in first person for now but may change to an omniscient narrator if I need to practice that.
I do not own Naruto, but I did create the new characters in this story based on the people I personally know and maybe some characters in the Final Fantasy series.
Enjoy!
The 1st Day
Ryuu's POV
Never again shall I set my alarm the screamo parody radio station. Even though I favored Woe is Me, I still thought waking up to their music was a bad idea… after I woke up. "WAKE UP IN THE MORNIN' FEELIN' LIKE P'DIDDY! GRAB MY GLASSES, I'M OUT THE DOOR, I'M GONNA HIT THIS CITY!" SMACK!
"Ryuu, honey, are you awake?" My mother asked in her quiet voice. Her pale eyes crinkled with a smile as she opened the curtains. A blinding light shot out and eagerly sought to gouge my own eyes out.
"Ughh… Nope, not at all, Mom," I replied, though she didn't seem to care about my morning attitude. Mom knew I was never a morning person like her. My internal clock was more like Dad's: ugly mornings and raving night parties... if you count playing videogames as night parties.
Mom's dark blue hair swayed as she turned abruptly around. "Start getting ready. I made your favorite since it's the first day of school: chocolate chip pancakes!" She smiled warmly and exited the room. Lazily, I threw on my school uniform and brushed my teeth. I didn't bother with my blonde hair. It seemed fine to me, so I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen… more like tripped on my shoelace, tumbled down and nearly rolled onto my dad's feet.
"Good morning to you, too, Son," Dad chuckled and offered me a sip of coffee. I declined politely, mumbling that the grotesque liquid was disgusting to taste, though nice to smell in the morning. "Ryuu, why do refuse to tie your shoes? You know that's how you end up tripping and one day, you'll embarrass yourself in front of the prettiest girl in school."
"Dad, shoes aren't in the top ten of my priority list." I replied jokingly. "Did you forget to shave? What's with the stubble?" I asked as I scarfed down my chocolate pancakes.
"Hmm? Oh, I thought I should go for a new look. What do you think? A little stubble okay?" My dad's blue eyes caught the sunlight as he rubbed a finger against his cheek.
Not wanting to spray chocolate everywhere, I took a swig of milk before replying, "Eh, so long as you don't look like Santa Clause, I'm okay with it."
Mom giggled as she set down a plate for dad and sipped her own coffee. "Naruto," she said to my dad. "Shouldn't you be heading to the Academy today in order to give a speech to the younger children?"
"Hmm? Uhh, is that what I'm supposed to do?" he scratched his chin, trying to remember what his secretary had told him last Friday before the weekend.
A vein popped out on Mom's right temple. "Naruto, how could you forget? You always give a speech at the academy. You're the hokage!"
Yeah, my dad is Naruto Uzumaki, the sixth hokage of the village hidden in the leaves. My mom is Hinata Hyuuga, a leading member of the Hyuuga clan. And who am I? I'm just a kid still in his awkward stage and going to Ryuunoha Sanin Academy, the finishing school for shinobi. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. I'm fifteen and still going to school. Why? Well, right before my dad became hokage, the education department changed. The elders felt that kids on the field were too young to be sent out on missions, even on C -ranks. So, our education was extended until the age of 16, instead of 12. Yep, my life sucks.
A knock came at the door and Mom answered it. Standing there, prim and perfect, not a hair out of place, was one of my best friends, Hikari Uchiha. "Good morning everyone," she greeted in a calm voice.
Automatically, Mom brightened up. "Good morning, Hikari. Please come in, have you eaten yet? I've got pancakes." Hikari was like the daughter Mom never had, though I don't think the Uchiha girl felt the same. She was one of those people who picked and chose what she cared about and how much. Hikari just liked Mom and Dad as an aunt and uncle, similar to how I feel about her parents, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha.
The Uchiha held up a perfectly manicured hand and answered, "No thanks, Aunty. But my mom did want me to give you this." She handed over a dark green and brown box labeled "Tea." "Mom thought you'd like this new brand of chrysanthemum tea."
"Well, I haven't had that in a while. Tell her I said thank- you once school's over."
Hikari nodded, her dark purple, almost midnight black hair shook with the motion and her even darker green eyes darted around the room, searching for its target. "Ryuu! You ready?"
Shoving another forkful of pancake drenched in syrup, I washed it down with the last of my milk and grabbed my backpack. "Have fun at school, you two!" My parents shouted.
Once out the door, I commented on her hot pink nails. Normally, she didn't put any sort of paint on her hands; it was just something a little too girly for her. "Nice nails, are you gonna turn me into a rotten princess, too?"
She scoffed and shoved me into a pile of wood standing on a nearby wall. Just before I thought the lights were about to go out on me, I felt a harsh tug on my arm. Hikari yanked me back and away from the boards. "Sorry, about that."
"Sorry for almost killing me, or sorry for almost ripping my arm off?"
My friend rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her long, dark hair. "It's not every day that my mom is home and decides takes me to the salon. Besides, I got really bored yesterday."
I put my hands behind my head and looked up at the clouds. "Hey, Hikari?"
"Hn?"
"I can't wait until we graduate. I'm really starting to hate school."
"Hn."
"I mean, it feels so unnecessary. Our parents started going on missions when they were twelve. Both of us are fifteen and the only thing we've done is D-rank stuff. Even with a load of training on the side, I'm sick and tired of being a civilian rather than a shinobi graduate. Believe it."
"Hn."
"Are you listening to me, Hikari?"
"Hn."
"Is that a yes or no?" I hated this Uchiha trademark. The sharingan is cool and all, but she and her brothers have this one word that I hate so much. I hated it enough to come up with my own trademark line, but it's not really original. I just can't remember where I always hear it from, though it always sounds just right. Believe it.
"It's a yes. And don't be such a drama queen, Ryuu. I know it's boring being at school and all, but I guess you forgot the most important thing about this year."
"Huh? What's so important?"
"This year is the chunin exams. And about a week from now, we'll be separated into teams."
"But, what about school?" I asked, genuinely confused. No one ever told me this, not even my dad, the friggin' hokage!
"Our class will do both this year. Gosh, you forget so easily," she rolled her eyes again and continued as we walked towards the school. "Students in their final year of Sanin Academy will still be attending classes on usual hours, but will also be taking on missions with their teams. We have a year to train together and once the summer starts, we'll register for the chunin exams."
"Aww sweet! I'm gonna wipe the floor with my enemies! Hey, do you want to be on my team?"
Hikari sighed in frustration. "Ryuu, we don't decide our teams. That's what our teachers do."
"Aw, balls! I'd hate to have to fight you."
A smirk appeared on her lips. "Yeah, because I'd be the one wiping the floors with your face!"
"What? You wish, Uchiha! I'm the son of the hokage! Naturally, I'd be the best!"
"Alright, we'll settle this in gym class, today."
"You're on, girlie!" I chuckled. It was always fun to tease each other like siblings. I never had a brother or sister, so Hikari was a great substitute, though she could be rather blunt if I ever asked for her opinion.
"Don't start PMS-ing," She jibed and elbowed me in the ribs.
We ran into Emi, my cousin, right before entering the schoolyard. Actually, she jumped me. WOOF! I think I yelped in a really high pitch, but I hoped I didn't. Either way, I ended up with a mouthful of dirt and my nose started tingling.
"Hey guys! Haven't seen you around lately, Ryuu!" Emi shouted in my ear. For someone of the Hyuuga clan, Emi was really loud. "Hey, Hikari! I love your nails. Hot pink screams pretty and punk, but I prefer the awesome black." She held up a hand with short nails and black paint already chipping. She must have bitten her nails a lot.
Still prancing about on my back, Emi asked, "Hey, Ryuu, I don't see you around the Hyuuga compound anymore."
"Gee, I wonder why?" I asked sarcastically. It's not that I disliked my cousin. It's just that we don't see eye to eye. I got more broken bones from hanging out with her than with anyone else. Plus, her spontaneous bipolar attitude often freaked me out. A better explanation would be that I mastered Gentle Fist and the shadow clone jutsu while she took pride and excitement in a collage of explosives and wires. "Hey, can you get off me?"
"What? Oh, but we never have time to build family bonds, Cousin."
"Get… off… can't… breathe."
"Oh, well, why didn't you say so? And don't you dare call me a fatty just because your lungs constantly collapse." Her off-white eyes narrowed at me. Emi inherited permanent Hyuuga eye color while I did not. My own eyes are a lighter shade of blue than my Dad's, but my pupils only disappear when I activate the Byakugan. At least, that's what Hikari told me when I asked her in the middle of one of our training sessions.
Thankfully, Hikari interrupted before Emi could squeeze some sort of response from me. "Hey, did you ever finish the summer project?"
A wide grin formed on Emi's face. "Yep, last night! It's kind of a poor finish, but I had way better things to do over the summer. How about you?"
"I've been done so long ago, I had to refresh my memory a week before today," Hikari giggled.
"AWW, Crap!" I moaned.
Emi's head darted my way. "What? Did I break your nose? If so, I can totally fix that."
"No," I palmed my forehead and got to my feet. "I left my project at home!"
Hikari scoffed, "Well, what are you waiting for? If you run like hell, you'll make it back in time."
"Save me a seat," I said and took off, running through the maze of early morning vendors like my life depended on this project. Well, my grade did.
Hikari's POV
I watched Ryuu trip over his own shoe laces again, nearly run into a steamed bun vendor and skid around the corner. I forgot to mention which class we were going to be in before he left. Oh well, he'll find his way.
Emi linked her arm around mine the way girls in kindergarten would. "So, where to?"
In only half a second, I felt another arm trap my free one. It was Kenshin; a.k.a., the dog boy, but most people just called him Ken. "Guess what?" He mused.
"Chicken butt!" Emi shouted enthusiastically. Kenshin's dog, Blazer, barked excitedly and weaved between our legs like a circus performer.
"Err, no, but I know what room we're in," he gave the two of us a toothy grin and winked his one pastel blue eye. The other one, brown, crinkled as a reaction to the wink. His wolf-like puppy barked again as if in agreement.
"We're all in the same room?" I asked as Ken steered me and Emi through the halls.
"Yep, room 32A; a window classroom. Wait, where's Ryuu? It's not like him to miss out on the first day of school."
Emi started to skip, but thankfully she didn't drag me into it. I tried to slip my own arms out of their embrace, but resistance was futile. Ken and Emi were the kind of people who liked constant physical contact, a reminder that they had a connection to the rest of society. Her arm simply bobbed against mine as she answered, "Ryuu's on an emergency run. He left his project at home."
"Ah, now that's more like the Blondie."
Bluntly I pointed out, "You're blonde too."
A hearty laugh escaped his chest. "Touché ma Cherie," he commented in French. A girl standing too close to us, thought he was talking to her. The dense prep nearly fainted at the sound of his perfect French voice. I rolled my eyes.
"You should learn more French," I suggested deviously. "Then you can clear the hallway for us."
"Hmm… Nah, it's too much of a bother to remember besides the swears. Maybe just a few more pick-up lines to get the ladies' attentions." His multicolored eyes began to roam around the halls, taking in every miniskirt he saw.
Emi stomped against the wooden floors and interjected in a humorous and sarcastic manner, "What are we? Chopped liver? C'mon Dog Boy, you're practically clinging to an Uchiha girl and a Hyuuga chick."
"Actually, I'm just clinging to the Uchiha. You're eyes are too freaky looking," He jibed playfully, though Emi took this chance to let go of me and begin chasing Ken, screaming that his eyes weren't ordinary either. Blazer glanced up at me, wagging his fluffy tail before he sped off after his master. I sighed, glad my arms were free and sauntered into class after the two. I didn't take their bickering seriously because Kenshin was a natural flirt, he couldn't help it, and Emi was the kind of person who picked up whatever conversation caught her eye and ran with it until she found something else.
The desks in the classroom were lined up as if it were a stadium so that all could see the teacher. There were three columns of desks, one by the window, one by the door, and one in between, and five rows in total. Emi was already seated by the window, Kenshin next to her, and Blazer in the aisle seat as if he were a person as well. On a whim, I chose a window seat in the row in front of Emi and looked outside. Nothing interesting besides the now crowded streets entertained me.
Eventually, the bell rang and I heard a familiar voice call to our attention. It was Iruka-sensei. My eyes widened slightly in surprise as I saw one of my previous teachers silencing the class and calling roll. Hmm, he must have gotten promoted.
I heard a cough and then a sound like someone clearing their throat. Without moving my head, I used my peripheral vision. Out of the corner of my eyes, a dark haired boy with charcoal eyes was facing me. I had to admit, he was kind of cute, but it normally took me a while to warm up to new people. "Is this seat taken?" He indicated the seat next to me.
"Hn."
"Uhh, I'll take that as a no," he slid his bag under the desk and casually seated himself. "So, uh… I'm Kaito. What's your name?" The dark haired boy held out a hand.
I didn't hear him when I turned my eyes back to the front, but almost immediately, I caught something else out the corner of eyes in the window. "What the-?"
Ryuu's POV
I slammed open my front door and flew up the stairs rather clumsily since I missed a few steps. My project was right where I left it; on top of my desk in a neat bradded folder with a clear presentation cover. I also grabbed the summer book that the project was over and slid them both into my backpack. Then, I heard a cough.
"Hey, Kiddo," my dad waved from the door frame. "Forgot your homework again?"
"Yep," I replied. "But I really gotta hurry, Dad."
My mother passed through the doorway, carrying a laundry basket and took a double take. She tapped Dad's shoulder in order to get him to move. "Ryuu, honey, please change your shirt. You've already smeared that one," she tossed me a freshly ironed, white button up.
Glancing down at my current shirt, I did notice a streak of dirt. Emi! Furiously, I ripped off my blue tie and current shirt, tossed the shirt to my mom, and threw on the new one. I hated putting on a tie since it took so long, but I got it right this time.
Dad smiled at me and said, "I'm proud of you, Ryuu. When I was young, I never did my homework." I decided that the window was faster and opened it. As I sat on the ledge, ready to go out, Dad continued. "You're a responsible kid… most of the time. But, I'm proud of you."
"Thanks Dad," I smiled back.
Mom pointed to the clock on my nightstand. I couldn't see it from this angle, but I knew what she meant. "Hurry, Ryuu! Or you'll be late!"
"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" I waved before I vaulted myself from the hokage building. Damaging almost every tree on the street with too much chakra, I leapt from branch to branch, praying that I won't face plant again. Thankfully, I didn't. I saw two familiar faces in one of the windows on the upper floors of the high school. One was a brunette girl with high pigtails bouncing in her seat. Another was a purple head with long hair facing what I assumed to be the front of the class. Emi and Hikari! Hot dog, today's my lucky day! If I put enough chakra into my feet, then I can jump off the ground, towards another tree and propel myself into the classroom without a hitch.
I wish I spent more time paying attention in physics class. Hmm… no, I just wish I saw the window as I hurled towards it. My eyes widened in panic, and I couldn't help but scream. "AAAAAHHHHHHH! Thankfully, Emi threw open the window at the last second. I saw Hikari's green eyes bulge out in surprise and she dove under her desk. Though, none of this stopped me from slamming into something. "OOOF!"
I heard a familiar but commanding voice call my name. "Uzuamki Ryuu!"
"Present!" I sprang to my feet again, ignoring the person I'd landed on.
"Project?" Iruka-sensei's voice asked again.
"Got it!" I pulled out my folder, but he motioned for me to sit down first. Finally, I turned my attention to the guy I had fallen on. "Sorry about that, man. You okay?"
"I think so," he replied. "Do you do this every day?" He rubbed his shoulder blade and got to his feet.
Naturally, I was about to sit next to Hikari, but I saw a bag in the way. Must have been the new guy's stuff. So, I took the seat next to him. "Man, I hope not, but this is more like a once a week deal. I just had to run back home and grab my project. I'm Ryuu, by the way." I extended a hand.
"Kaito," he shook my hand. The guy leaned over and pointed towards a scowling Hikari. Apparently that dive she took messed up her hair a little because she was brushing it furiously with a black brush. "What's her name? I asked earlier, trying to be friendly and all, but I think she valued her life more than my feelings. Ha-ha."
I laughed too. "That's Hikari. You gotta be careful around her. She judges based on first impressions and it takes her a while to warm up to someone. But once you gain her respect, you're a friend for life."
"Oh," Kaito responded. "I guess you should sit in the middle then."
"Nah, its fine. She'll get used to your aura. Ha-ha-ha! Besides, she's a good person." Hikari must have overheard us because she rolled her eyes at me as she put her brush away.
Iruka-sensei began lecturing us over what Hikari had already explained to me that morning, so I took the opportunity to talk to Kenshin. "What's up man?"
"That's quite an entrance. Interesting first day so far," he chuckled. Blazer leaned down to sniff my unkempt hair.
"Yeah, well, why not use a bit of style every now and then? That's how you survive school."
"Ha-ha! Pulling a stunt like that could kill a person if he's not careful. And dude, I hate school. It's so annoying."
"Me too… can't wait to graduate," I sighed.
A written test over the summer book was given to us. Usually, I got nervous around tests so it was no surprise that I nearly broke my pencil trying to write my own name. Just relax, you've read through the book and knew what you were doing on the project. No problem.
First question, who wrote the book? Well, that's easy… wait who did write it? Ugh… the book was called "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi," so the writer was… Jiraiya!
Okay, next question: Who was the main character and how did he influence society today? The name was Naruto, like my dad, and he influenced society by… damn, this is a hard question… he influenced society by…. by saving his friends and innocent civilians even though it jeopardized his mission.
Number 3: In what ways was the main character hindered from becoming a shinobi in the first place? I pick answer C.
I felt exhausted after answering thirty questions, but I thought I did okay. Tomorrow, we'd get our grades back so worrying won't do a thing. Afterwards, we discussed the book and presented each and every project. I slept through most of them since there were just too many for me to care. Iruka-sensei commented on everyone's presentation, saying "Nice job" and "Excellent detail." It made me miss going to the academy when all of us were little. Recess was what I missed most, but getting a gold star sticker on a report made me feel all warm inside. Whoa, that makes me sound like a major nerd. Well, in the words of Hikari, 'Pfft, who cares anyway?'
Nothing else interesting happened in our other lessons besides Chemistry.
Our teacher popped in one of those boring black and white videos about "groundbreaking" research that happened like a hundred years ago. I fell asleep again, but was prodded awake by something tugging at my pant leg. Using one opened eye, I found Blazer wanting my attention. He pointed his nose back to Kenshin and Emi.
"Wanna throw some grapes?" Kenshin whispered.
Finally, something interesting after all those other boring classes! "Toss me some."
Emi flung a zip-lock bag and I caught it. But, I didn't notice that she had flung an individual grape at me as well until it hit me in the head.
"Look alive!" She hissed.
I chucked one at her and she engulfed it in her mouth, though she did have to lean over a bit. I tossed one to Kenshin. Blazer jumped in his way and snatched it without a single bark.
"Ha-ha, I didn't know dogs liked fruit."
"Not particularly," he patted the husky's flank. "Toss me again." Expertly, Ken used his nose as a backboard, letting the fruit roll down his nose and into the bottomless pit. Emi threw one at Hikari, but it was too far for her to lean over the desk, so she used her hand to catch it. The grape was thrown right back at Emi, however, she suffered a sharp pain to the head by knocking herself against the window. We all laughed until Emi hatched an idea.
"Ryuu, get ready," she commanded. Using the cap of her pen, she balanced the green orb and flicked it high into the air. It was coming closer and closer, but it was so hard to see because the lights were off. Focusing on its shadow, I leaned farther and farther into my desk. Darn, it's still going. I had to face Blazer in order to get myself in the right angle. Just a little farther… farther…. "Wah!" BOOM!
Apparently, the guy and the girl in front of me were about to cuddle, because I found myself right in the middle of the two with my legs stuck up. "Hey guys," I waved my hand and pulled myself up, using the stairs to get back to my previous location. Emi, Ken, Hikari, and Kaito were snickering at me.
"Wow, way to ruin their moment," Emi cackled.
"Are you okay?" Kaito asked, concerned. I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling a little numb.
"I've been through worse. Ha-ha!"
I think I failed gym class already. We were taken to the track field in order for our teachers to takes notes on our athletic ability and ran about 5 kilometers for endurance. I didn't finish last, but I certainly didn't make an impressive time. The entire worRyuuut, I was sucking wind like how an elephant drinks water. However, Hikari made first place and Kenshin was only second to her. Loyally, Blazer stayed close and tied with his owner. I can't remember who else was in front of me because I started seeing little black and yellow dots that morphed into stars and then back into dots. I think I passed out because the next thing I knew, Emi was slapping the heck out of me while pouring water onto my face. At first, I choked, but soon got the hang of holding the water bottle and quenching my thirst.
After that, we rested for about ten minutes. In that time Hikari patted my shoulder. "Don't overdue yourself, Ryuu. You still have the rest of the day to go."
"No, I can't give up. Besides, I wasn't last! That's gotta count for something!" I cheered.
She smirked. "Hmph. You're right. But if you would have taken my offer to run every morning in the summer, then you wouldn't feel like this, would you?"
"Again, I wasn't last," I urged. No way was I ever enthusiastic to get up at the crack of dawn and run around town or the forest like Hikari. Plus, I valued a good night's rest over killing my lungs first thing in the morning.
Twice, she sighed. "Whatever."
"By the way, since I didn't finish last, who did?"
"Choukichi Akamichi."
"Food boy?"
"Hn."
"I guess that makes sense. What place did I get?"
"Well, you did cross the finish line before face planting. And out of twenty kids today, you finished at about fourteen."
"Hey, that's not bad."
"Well, this isn't the entire class. Tomorrow, there will be a new set of ninja in training while we're off doing something else."
"Oh… do you know what my time was?"
"I couldn't see the clock. Blazer got in my way when he tried to pull you off the track and away from the other runners."
"Damn. What was yours?" She flipped her dark ponytail confidently and gave me a look that said 'If I tell you, it'll just bring your confidence down.' I shrugged her off.
She began doing toe touches and calf raises. "If you don't stretch, your muscles will get tight," She warned.
In response, I began doing the same, thankful that I won't be as sore as I thought I would. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I looked up to see Kaito. "Hey, how'd you do?" I asked.
"Ninth place. Not what I'd hoped, but…"
I laughed. "Better than mine!" Both of us chuckled until a teacher started commanding us to hit the showers. Man, I had never been so happy to take a shower. Dirt and sweat clung to me in a grotesque feeling. Plus, I felt overheated from the run and I could feel my calf muscles aching. I guess the stretches can only help you so much.
"Hey, Ryuu!" I heard a voice.
It was Kenshin. "What?" I asked without turning my gaze. I was looking for my belt.
He was buttoning his shirt as he said, "What are you getting for lunch?"
"Huh? Why?" My belt was nowhere to be found yet, so I settled on finding my blue tie.
"I'm thinking of grabbing that lunch table by the window in the cafeteria. I want to get a big one so that all of us can sit together. What do you think?"
I frowned. "What do you mean by 'all of us'? Don't we normally sit together?"
"Yeah… but I thought we could invite some other people, too. Hikari, Emi, Mizuki, Naito, maybe even Kaito. He's not too bad."
After inspecting my tie, I grinned. "Sure, why not? The more, the merrier, right?" In the past years, I ate my lunch with Kenshin and another guy. However, that other guy, I constantly forgot his name, moved to another village. So, for a while, it was just me, Ken, and his dog. Once, some of the girls came to sit with us, but only because Hikari broke the table after having a serious arm wrestling contest with a stuck up guy. As soon as that table was replaced the following week, the posse left.
"Where the hell is my belt?!" I yelled in frustration.
Kenshin looked around, surprised at my outburst. Then, he spotted the problem. "Blazer!" he exclaimed.
With tail tucked between his legs and flattened ears, a guilty husky dropped a chewed up piece of leather on the bench. I picked it up and used my towel to wipe off the drool.
"Bad dog," said Kenshin. "You should know that chewing up other people's stuff is not cool." Blazer whined and knelt by his feet, anxiously casting glances between the two of us. He licked Kenshin's shoe as if to apologize. Kenshin frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not the one you should try to make amends with, Blazer." The puppy crawled over to my feet and licked my shoe, too.
I couldn't help but bend down and scratch his ears. "Just don't do it again," I said soothingly. Blazer nodded and sat at his owner's feet, still looking for approval. Eventually, Kenshin gave in and patted his head.
"So," he began again. "I heard the school reopened the soup line. You wanna check it out?"
Last year, it was closed down due to some reported illnesses surrounding the hot soup line. Though a few people really had gotten sick, the rumors only spread through other people feigning sickness in order to get out of school. I couldn't help but be one of them. Despite our untruthfulness, the headmaster couldn't afford to lose his reputation, so it was closed down in the middle of the last semester. Now that it was back up, I couldn't wait to try the ramen. Ah, ramen… I could eat it every day. So of course, I answered, "Yeah, I can't wait. Let's hurry before the line gets too long."
Without further ado, the lunch bell rang and we raced into the cafeteria. Besides the reopening of the hot soup line, the cafeteria hadn't changed much. I ordered shoyu ramen with an egg while Kenshin got some kind of udon and a meat tray for Blazer. Thankfully, the table Kenshin had planned for was available. Quickly, we sat down and scanned the crowd for our friends. In a matter of minutes, I found Hikari's dark hair, now black in the cafeteria's lighting, bobbing about in the crowd. Emi's brunette head lurked close to her. Kenshin and I waved them over. Emi caught sight of us first, grabbing Hikari forcefully by the arm and leading her towards us.
"Hi hi!" she greeted and swung her bag onto the table. Her lunch bag toppled out and onto the table as if she meant to do that. "Some freshmen group got to our spot before us. Guess we're sitting here for the year. Hey that rhymed!"
Hikari simply looked irritated at Emi. "Emi, they're freshmen! We could have driven them out with just our pinky."
Quick to respond was none other than the said girl. "Well that just wouldn't have been nice, would it?" She laughed only to receive a rolling of the eyes from the irritated Uchiha. "Besides, all that running made me tired and hungry." She took a huge bite into her sandwich.
"Don't let it bother you," I said. "And it's okay, because Kenshin and I wanted to set up a bigger table. You know, bring a whole crowd together."
Immediately Kenshin waved over a guy with light brown hair and dark grey eyes. It was Teru, holding a tray of rice and dumplings. Teru was the son of the Nara family and his mother was a sand shinobi. Funny enough, he had an identical twin, a guy named Tetsu, but I couldn't find him.
"Where's your brother?" Hikari asked.
"Oh, he's in the Sand village this semester. Lucky brat." He mumbled.
"I don't get it," I said. "Why does Tetsu always travel between the two villages and you don't?"
Teru sighed and stuffed some rice into his mouth with a wooden pair of chopsticks. "Because my uncle Gaara wants a leaf ambassador every once in a while and my parents don't think I'm as," he held up air quotes, '"responsible' as he is. The dude is younger than me by five whole minutes and my parents trust him over me!"
"Oh, that sucks," I sympathized. Again, I didn't have a sibling, but I knew what jealousy felt like.
I then felt a light tap on my shoulder. It was Kaito again. "Hey," he soon asked, "Can I sit with you guys?"
Of course, I said yes since he seemed cool… okay, I also wanted to see Hikari's reaction. Kaito plopped down next to me so that I was between him and Ken. Hikari sat right across from me and next to Emi and Teru. Hmm, maybe we should have used a round table. Anyway, Hikari eyed him for just two seconds and went back to her meal. She still hadn't reached a verdict with this guy, but that was alright. Sometimes it takes her a couple of days to decide whether someone was going to be on her good side or not. So far, she's never been wrong and I respected that.
I turned my attention back to Kaito. "Funny," I started. "I've never seen you around before. Are you new?"
Kaito swallowed a mouthful of his lunch before answering. "Yes, I'm actually from the Mist village. I just transferred here because my mom got a job offer here."
"Really?" Teru asked. "What does she do?"
"Well, business stuff. She travels a lot so I end up jumping from place to place."
Hikari eyed him again before going back to her meal. She tensed for bit, forcing her face to stay neutral. Either no one else seemed to notice, or I was just imagining a lot of things today. Instead of saying anything to her, I steered the conversation somewhere else. "That's cool. So, are you going to show us some awesome moves in gym class?"
"Uh, sure… I guess." He scratched the back of his head nervously and gave a shy smile.
"Uh oh!" Emi exclaimed. Her head was turned to look at the scene behind her. "Looks like a food fight is about to start!"
I looked past the girls in order to see two freshman tables exchanging comebacks at each other. The verbal argument became extremely tense and there was no doubt that the rage would eventually spill over. I saw one kid pick up his apple. "Don't do it, kid. Don't do it!" I mumbled to myself though I'm sure the rest of my table heard.
The apple launched into the air and before it could make contact there was a scream from one of the other kids. "FOOOOOOD FIGHT!" Not wanting to clean the cafeteria as punishment for participating (yes, we've done that before) the six of us and one dog scrambled for the door and bolted back to class.
A confused Iruka-sensei looked up from his stack of papers. Seeing that it was only us, he merely waved and resumed his work. "Back from lunch, huh? It's a little early," he laughed, still not looking up from the stack. "What's the matter? Too nervous on your first day of school to eat?"
I was the one to tell him. "Actually Iruka-sensei, there's a food fight going on."
"WHAT!?" He exclaimed, jolting from his chair. "Not again!" Immediately, our sensei sprinted to the lunchroom, calling out to the other teachers for back up.
Hikari's POV
Finally, the last bell had rung and we packed our things together. Chatter filled the hallways as shoes scuffled across the room and into the fray. Shouldering my bag, I followed suit and pushed myself into the teeming hallway. However, if I thought the school wasn't busy enough, I had another thing coming. Ken, Emi, Terui, and Ryuu all crowded against me so that we walked out as a group. At least our rather large quintet intimidated others enough to step aside and let us through first. Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. The five of us had been together since we were born…maybe even before that if our mothers had taken some yoga classes together while pregnant.
Emi pulled Kaito over to the group and started chatting like a canary. She whispered something in his ear and he his eyes darted towards mine and then to the ground. He shook his head, said something in response and motioned that he had somewhere to go. Abruptly, he stole another glance at the rest of us and took off. Hmm, something is off about that guy. His personality is harmless but… I couldn't put my finger on it just yet. I felt like I had seen him before but from where? Odd, he did say that he traveled a lot due to his mom's job. And what was with those glances. It's like he can't wait to see what my response will be towards him. I didn't remember him asking me a question besides my name, and he did get it, just from Ryuu instead of me. Better keep an eye out.
"So what do you think of the new kid?" Ryuu asked as if we were on the same page. Dang, did everyone want an answer from me today? We were walking towards the hokage building while everyone else split off towards their own homes. Sometimes I wished Ryuu's home wasn't on the way to my house. Then, I wouldn't have to always come up with an answer to satisfy his demanding conversations. Honestly, why couldn't anyone just be okay with walking and thinking to themselves? Talking doesn't solve everything or alleviate every tense bone in the body. But it does allow others to know all about your personal business, what makes you tick.
I sighed heavily, "Truthfully, I don't know, Ryuu. Kaito seems okay, but I haven't found a reason to hate or like him yet. It's too soon for me to know."
Ryuu nodded but then said, "Well, I think he's cool. A little nervous, but hey, it was the first day of school and he is new to Ryuunoha."
"Hn."
"Plus, I can tell he's trying to make friends. I think we should keep him."
"Ryuu, he's a person, not a pet."
"I know that! What I meant was that I think we should accept him into our group. You know, so he can hang out with us."
"You make it sound like you're doing charity work."
Ryuu whirled on me so fast I nearly stumbled into his chest. Thankfully, my reflexes weren't dull from the worRyuuut today at school so I caught myself in time. I looked up to see a serious expression on his face. "Hikari, I'm being nice. That's just who I am and who I always will be. People deserve a chance or two."
Aw crud. I struck a low blow. I forgot how Ryuu sometimes thought I twisted his words around when in truth I simply let my mouth slip once in a while. It's not like I did it all the time. Sometimes he let his mouth run, too, but I guess I was much more cruel with my straightforwardness. My distant cousin was a sincere person and cared a lot about others, whether they were friends or just strangers. For the umpteenth time that day, I sighed heavily, diverting my eyes to the ground. "Sorry. That was low even for me."
A smile replaced the serious expression. Ryuu was returning to his old self again. "That's okay. I just think he's got potential to be a good friend."
"Whatever."
"What's up with you, Cranky?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking and then you interrupted my thoughts."
"Whatcha thinking about?" I glared at him. "Oh, did I make you lose your train?"
"Hn," I nodded. Indeed, I did let go of my thought process.
"Anyway…" my blonde friend changed the subject. " You never did tell me how your summer vacation went. How was the beach?"
"Fine." I stated concisely. My family owned a beachfront house a little ways from Ryuunoha in order to get away from the village every once in a while. To be honest, I actually enjoyed the warm weather that contrasted with the cool waters.
"What did you do? Come on, I know something cool must have happened." Ryuu chuckled, "Did you meet anyone new?"
"I actually took up surfing while I was there. And no to the last question."
"Really? Just the usual stuff?"
"Yes. Ryuu, you go to the summer cottage with us every other year."
"Hey, why did you stop?"
"Isn't this your house?" I said sarcastically.
"Oh, yeah! See you tomorrow!" he waved and disappeared into the hokage building. I waved back and started on my way home. The walk allowed me some more time to think to myself. I enjoyed the quiet more than my two brothers. I laughed on the inside thinking about how my little brother could possibly survive thirty minutes of being quiet unless he was asleep or watching the T.V.
Once I reached the front gates of the Uchiha compound, I found my mother watering the rose bushes in front of the house. "You're home early, Mom," I stated in a questioning tone. Normally she worked until five or six at the hospital and yet here she was watering plants like she had been home all day.
"Hello Hikari," she greeted in a tone that meant 'hello comes first before anything else.'
"Hi Mom," I corrected myself. Mom's light green eyes twinkled in the afternoon sun. "Why are you home so early?"
She turned off the hose and wrapped it securely in its place against the brick wall. "What's so wrong with being home once in a while?" I didn't answer right away so she answered herself as we walked inside. "Your older brother is bringing a girl home for dinner, so I decided that I'd get home early and cook something nice." She flashed a smile full of pride for her first born son.
I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion. "When did Hiro get a girlfriend?"
Mom snapped out of her daydream as she took off her shoes in the doorway. "I don't know, but I'm happy he had the sense to introduce her to us." I followed her into the kitchen, wanting to know what information she picked up. Changing the subject, she asked me, "So how was your first day of school?"
I thought over the events that happened today: Emi and Kenshin caging me in with their innocent arm links, Ryuu flying into the classroom like some jungle boy on death row, the grape flinging in chemistry, Ryuu passing out on the track, and the food fight. Deciding it was better not to tell since I did need to get my homework done, I answered with "Annoying. But I can't wait for the week to end so that I know who will be on my team."
She chuckled and opened a steaming pot of stir fried vegetables. With a wooden spoon, Mom stirred the mixture and added some more spices. "Well, did you learn anything new?"
"I learned that I'm the best runner in my class and that Hiro has a girlfriend," I said. Well, it was true. I doubted that anyone could have beaten my time. Plus, I didn't know Hiro had finally bounced back from his previous relationship. His last girlfriend had cheated on him and Hiro wasn't himself for a long while.
Again, Mom laughed. "Alright Ms. Arrogance, since you're so fast, did you bring home any homework?"
I thought for a second before replying, "No, but I only have a few stoichiometry problems to finish from chemistry class."
Waving the wooden spoon, Mom motioned for me to go upstairs and get straight to work. Once I was halfway up the stairs, she yelled, "Wash up and wear something nice for our guest!"
"Okay!" I yelled back and opened my bedroom door. Purple walls greeted me as i slipped my bag off and set to work. I finished most of the problems in the classroom and only had five more problems to go. Pulling out my binder, I took a quick glance at the notes and snatched a pencil from my desk. Let's see… so if glucose is C6H12O6 and there are thirty-two grams of carbon, how many grams of hydrogen are there? Easy, but tedious work. Not wanting to sit at my desk forever, I pulled out my calculator and input the numbers in specific formulas. Finally, after twenty minutes, I had finished all the problems. I looked at my clock sitting on the nightstand beside my queen sized bed. School was out at 2:30, I came home around 2:45, and got to my room after chatting with Mom around 3:10. Now the clock read 3:30. Mom usually called everyone to dinner around six, so I decided to change into a comfortable pair of blue athletic shorts, a hot pink t-shirt, and pulled my hair into a ponytail. After grabbing a basket of kunai and shuriken, I headed outside and towards our backyard.
Before my younger brother, Katsurou, was old enough to walk, Hiro and I would pick any tree on the property to practice throwing weapons. Mom got tired of seeing marks all over the majority of the trees so she nailed a target to one of them and forbade us to use our weapons on any other tree. "It takes a long time for a tree to heal and an even longer time for one to grow full size once you knock it down and plant another," was her reason. Dad didn't care too much since he had also used several trees to practice, but conformed to Mom's wishes and made sure we did the same. However, little kids were often forgetful, so we kept getting into trouble for a while before the rule sank in. Eventually, we realized that once a bull's-eye was hit, the knife had to be taken out immediately so that another perfect mark was possible. Dad only smiled at our dilemma and put up a few more targets for us.
I started off with simple flicks of my wrist which resulted in ten easy marks. Backing up about twenty feet, I then charged towards the target and threw several more. Again, the result was flawless. Now was the time to perfect my jump shots. Using my chakra to give myself a boost, I sprung towards a different tree, pushed off its trunk and swung my arm at the target. The kunai wasn't perfect, but it was closer than the day before. I worked for about fifteen minutes before I ran out of sharp objects.
"You're getting better," I heard a voice from the tree tops.
Turning around, I smirked at the owner perched on a branch as if he had there the entire time. "Dad!"
Like a cat, Dad jumped down from the tree. "Don't over work yourself when you're training for accuracy. When your body is tired, you will make mistakes and get into bad habits."
"And bad habits die hard," I finished. "I know, but I just can't help it sometimes. What else am I going to do before dinner?"
"I think you should wash up." He said and helped pry the metal off the wooden targets. With a full basket, the two of us walked back to the house.
"How was the mission?" I asked curiously.
"Success, but you don't need to know the details," he ran a hand through his raven locks. "Classified," he noted.
"Hn." I reverted my gaze back to the front. Most of Dad's missions were top secret and could only be discussed with the hokage. This was the usual response that I had been given ever since I could remember, but sometimes I would get the gist of the information.
He nudged my shoulder and asked, "Why is your mother in such a cleaning frenzy? I didn't think the house was dirty."
"Hiro's bringing home another girl."
"Ah." Dad nodded. "Well, you have thirty minutes to clean up."
"Hn." I set the basket in the closet, raced up the stairs and took a quick shower. I didn't want to put my school uniform back on so I changed into simple jeans and a black blouse. From downstairs, I could hear Katsurou arriving home from the academy. His heavy footsteps raced up the stairs and into the bathroom across the hall. "Hikari! Mom wants you to help set the table!" He shouted before slamming the door.
Indeed, Mom had wanted help so I put the rice bowls, plates, and chopsticks on the table while she took one last taste of the soup before putting it into a serving bowl. By the time Katsurou had descended from the upper floor, the front door opened. Mom stood frozen in place, watching, desperate to see. Hiro stepped in first followed by a girl wearing a pink dress. The stranger's chestnut locks bounced as her emerald eyes darted around the house like a nervous rabbit. She seemed different from the rest of the girls Hiro had brought home, but I couldn't tell why.
Mom put on her most comforting 'mom smile' and greeted, "Hello!"
Hiro's eyes were bright and cheerful. "Hi, Mom." He put an arm around the girl. "This is Eris. Eris, this is my mother," he extended his other hand to Mom and the rest of us, "my father, my sister, Hikari, and my brother Katsurou."
In three broad steps, Mom practically leapt over to the girl and took her hand. "It's so nice to meet you, Eris. Welcome to our home."
"Thank you Mrs. Haruno," Eris replied in a sort of relieved and gentle voice.
That's when I had noticed the difference between her and the other girls. This girl wore white flats. She was extremely gentle and cautious. Her movements were unsure. The eyes were soft. She was skinny and without any muscle tone at all. Hiro's new girlfriend was not a kunoichi, but a civilian. Instead of making my analysis clear, I pretended not to care and shook her hand as well. "Hi, I'm Hikari."
"I'm Katsurou," my younger brother did the same. He too had noticed.
Emerald eyes gazed at the both of us. A light smile took shape. "Nice to meet you."
Not one moment of silence could ease its way onto the table. Constant clanking of dishes against chopsticks and exchanges of questions and answers filled the room. Most of the questions were directed at Eris and a few at Hiro.
Mom asked the typical questions. "So, how did you two meet?"
A brief smile was exchanged between the two seventeen-year-olds before Hiro answered. "To put it simply-"
"Oh, no one wants the simple answer, Sweetie. Give us a story."
Eris's eyes lit up as she took over. "I'll start from before the beginning."
I leaned in intensely. This was going to be good.
The seventeen year old civilian began. "I work at Yamanaka's flower shop and sometimes Mrs. Yamanaka sends me out to deliver flowers. About two months ago, I was sent to the rougher parts of town to deliver some orchids. After the job was done, I ran into a bad crowd." Mom raised an eyebrow in worry, but Eris kept going, glancing shyly at Hiro. "I was cornered and they had knives for me if I did not cooperate. Thankfully, Hiro saved me."
Dad turned his attention back to Hiro to confirm the story. My older brother smiled, "I was on my way back from reporting to the hokage about my mission and I heard a scream. So I checked it out and found someone who needed my help."
Wow, I thought to myself, cliché but still made you say 'Aw.' After desert and some more topic discussions, Hiro walked Eris home, Mom washed the dishes while talking to Dad, and Katsurou and I wiped the table. Mom and Dad spoke in hushed tones but after my little brother left to go do his homework, I hung around by the staircase, listening.
"Well, I think Eris is a nice girl, even if she isn't a kunoichi," Mom stated.
"That's fine, Sakura, but Hiro needs to concentrate on his missions before he starts other things. The last time he tried to balance out a relationship and a job, he didn't succeed too well."
"Stop worrying. Hiro's seventeen years old now."
"Exactly. That boy should be careful."
"I think he can handle it."
"Like he did last time?"
"Hiro's going to fall every now and then. It's part of growing up." There was a pause that stagnated the conversation. "Let him grow up."
Dad sighed.
"Sasuke, don't worry. Hiro's doing fine. He already graduated as the top of his class, qualifies for A-rank missions, and still manages to be a good role model for Hikari and Katsurou. I think he can handle a girlfriend." Mom shut off the faucet before continuing, "You remember what it was like to be seventeen." Muteness followed and I realized that this was a good time to practice silent stair climbing as fast as I could.
If you think some parts were shaky, don't hesitate to tell me. Originally, the main character's name was Kenko otherwise known as Ko. I decided to change it because Ryuu had a stronger meaning. So if you see that name anywhere, let me know. I had to enhance my technique for college application essays and some help would be appreciated for any future use in my chosen university.
Also, I don't always take suggestions, but I do encourage you readers to give me some if you can. Sometimes, the best ideas come from communication with the world. And yes, I do have a tendency to get writers block, especially if I had already finished a long essay for school or a killer test.
Please note that I am not committed to this story. There are no regular chapter updates, so new chapters come in whenever I make them. I know it sounds harsh, but it's better if I tell you all now rather than let you figure it out yourself and be disappointed.
Thanks for reading!