A/N: *dodges angry mob of readers* I'm baccccckkkkk! I am sorry I have been away for so long. College got a lot crazier than I ever expected, and I also went through some personal issues, including lack of confidence that stopped me from even thinking about writing.
Having just graduated, I felt inspired to write an AU Sasuhina set in a college very similar to my own experience. I wrote this chapter on my plane ride home after not having looked at this account for years (so it's a little shorter than usual and might be a little rough from the few edits it has gotten). After returning to this site, I was very surprised to see people still reviewing Uprooted and sending messages asking about updates. I had convinced myself that my first story was horrible and no one wanted to read it, and I feel terrible now looking at all of the positive messages I received from people. I know that starting this story is definitely not what you guys asked for, but I was really excited to post it and couldn't wait. Fear not though, the next chapter of Uprooted is in progress, and I will post that soon seeing as I don't have much to do this summer.
I'm very excited for this new story, despite the horrible name (relating fanfic titles to Microbiology is harder than I expected). However, I hope you guys overlook my bad title and love this new chapter. As always, let me know what you think. I'm not thinking I'll venture into M territory for a while, but with Sasuke I feel like excessive cussing is expected, especially between him and Naruto. And if I'm feeling brave, things might get a bit steamy later on ;). Your reviews are actually what inspired me to begin posting again, so please please please leave reviews! I hope I can entertain you guys with this new story!
XOXOXOXOXO- mm34
Chapter One
Hinata set her backpack down by an aisle seat with a quiet sigh. She was slightly sweaty from her walk to class; the beginning of the semester always had the worst weather. Konoha University was hot and sticky starting in mid-May and continuing well into September, so she still had at least a month left before she could look forward to cooler weather. Wiping the salty liquid from her brow, she grimaced slightly at the thought.
The things she endured to get an education.
Hinata couldn't complain though. She knew she was lucky to be able to attend one of the best universities in the Fire Country, so dealing with a bit of hot weather didn't bother her too much. She sank into her chair and dragged the bag closer to her feet as she got settled, glancing around the lecture hall.
It was surprisingly big for a course like this, Hinata thought, seeing as BIOL 351 was an upper-level class. The hall easily had to seat 200 students, with two seating sections of about 15 rows each, separated by sets of stairs in the middle and flanking either side. The room appeared rather empty, but that was to be expected, seeing as she was about 15 minutes early to class.
She didn't think it would make much of a difference though, even if the whole class was here. She doubted that Microbiology had enough students registered to fill the hall, but since multiple majors were required to take this class, she guessed they must have had enough students to merit scheduling this room.
Heads were dotted among the seats, bent over phones or eagerly searching for friends. Hinata peeked down her row, but it just had two other girls six or so seats away. A shock of short pink hair and head of lengthy blond locks pulled into a high ponytail were hunched toward each other as they spoke, and Hinata could hear their conversation oscillating between nosy gossip and harsh bickering.
Puzzled, Hinata observed for a few minutes as they switched between these two states. She could only see the pinkette's face from where she was sitting; the girl was a classic beauty, with clear, cream-colored skin, soft pink lips, and defined facial features. Her jade eyes would flash passionately as she argued with the blond, whom Hinata could only assume was just as beautiful as her friend. Well… she guessed they were friends, but that was an odd relationship from what she could tell.
Shrugging to herself, she turned away and bent to unzip her backpack. Hinata didn't know of any friends who were taking Micro, so she was alone in this class. Kiba was an Animal Science major and Shino was in Entomology, and they had been taking pretty different courses from her since the end of last year. And she didn't recognize anyone else from her major that she knew. Genetics consisted of a pretty small group of students, so she rarely met another of her major anyway.
She rifled through her bag's contents until she found the notebook she had chosen to use for this course. Majority of the students she took classes with usually took notes on their laptops, but Hinata had found that she was able to take more thorough handwritten notes than when she worked with PDFs of PowerPoint slides on her computer.
While it did mean that her backpack was a bit fuller than others, she didn't mind; her method had worked for her so far seeing as she still had a 3.86 GPR in her fall of junior year, so she saw no sense in changing it now. She opened the notebook to the first page and bent down to retrieve her pencil bag.
From her place in the third row (the perfect spot if you asked her: not too near to the front to be uncomfortably close to the professor or be in sight of everyone else, but not too far in the back to have a hard time hearing or paying attention), she could catch snippets of other nearby students' conversations, ranging from regaling tales of summer adventures, to half-hearted complaints about schedules for the newly started semester. The first few rows had rapidly begun to fill up as it got closer to class time. She ducked her head to look in her backpack and sifted through the folders containing each of that day's syllabi before her hand wrapped around her pencil bag, and she began to lift it from the pouch.
A booming laugh startled her, and she dropped the case at the bottom of her backpack as her head shot up. The classroom door was falling shut behind its owner and his companion as they entered the room, and Hinata's breath caught.
Bright blue eyes sparkled with mirth above an open mouth, lips pulled back into a smile that showed shining, straight white teeth. Golden hair—cropped short on the sides, with longer hair poking out on top—bordered a pale face with a strong pointed jaw. A slender neck sloped into a bright orange warmup shirt with a picture of the school's mascot, a fox bearing a mischievous grin, adorning it. Large hands were crossed behind the man's head as he strolled into the hall. His broad shoulders and slender torso ended with impossibly long legs, but his tight black joggers hinted at surprisingly muscular limbs beneath, designating this man as a likely school athlete.
Watching the blond make his way across the front of the classroom, Hinata was reminded of sunshine on a crystal blue lake, and the man's exuberant personality seemed to immediately brighten the room. Feeling the hint of a blush, Hinata's eyes slid from the new arrival to his stark contrast of a companion.
Where the first student exuded friendliness and warmth, his friend seem to absorb the light his bright companion was giving off, leaving the space cold and empty. Hands were shoved into the pockets of worn out jeans. A dark blue T-shirt hung loosely from shoulders as equally broad as sunshine boy's, but the short sleeves did nothing to hide the defined muscle of his arms. A black backpack with a red and white symbol was slung casually on one shoulder to accompany its slight slouch.
Translucent skin was paired with inky hair, adding to the stranger's dark aesthetic. Thick bangs swooped across the perfectly clear skin of his perfectly proportioned forehead and spiked outward from the back of his head. Pale lips were overturned in a slight scowl topped off with a pointed, regal nose.
But his eyes were what drew Hinata in. Dark, calculating, and cold, they were as black as an obsidian knife, and their gaze was just as sharp. They reflected an obvious intelligence, paired with unwavering confidence and a touch of disdain, as if merely looking at you was a waste of time. Besides that, they gave no other emotion away. As she watched, Hinata could only frightenedly wonder how many girls had been pulled in by that dark, haunting look, hoping to gain access to the mind and emotions so well-hidden behind those midnight gates for eyes.
Eyes that she joltingly realized were returning her stare with a petrifying glare.
With a small eep!, Hinata ducked down and scrambled to grasp her pencil bag. Ripping it out of her backpack, she leaned forward to cover her burning face with a curtain of indigo hair as she hastily unzipped it and pulled out the first writing utensil she grabbed. Uncapping the pen with a trembling hand, she slowly begin to write out a heading for today's lecture on her paper, focusing on each stroke in an attempt to slow her heart's breakneck rhythm. She had just finished writing the date when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.
"Hey, 'scuse me?"
A hoarse voice beckoned her to look up, and her heart nearly stopped. Warm cerulean eyes met her own light ones.
"Would you mind if we sit next to ya?"
Hinata's eyes slid to the dark head glaringly threateningly at the ceiling, refusing to meet her gaze, before refocusing on the blond in front of her.
"Umm…sure," She answered meekly. A sunny grin rewarded her response, and Hinata's own lips involuntarily twitched into a small smile in return.
"Yes! Thanks! You're the best!" He threw his backpack down in front of the seat next to her—one of the last two in the row now—as she shifted her backpack to the left to give him more room, "This guy would've have killed me if we didn't get a spot in the third row. I don't think it matters, but he would pout all day if we missed out on 'the best spot'." He threw little air quotations up for emphasis.
He then slung the attached desk over his knees and leaned toward her conspiratorially. "Not like it would matter anyway. We all know he would still ace the class even if he sat in the back and slept the whole time," He stage-whispered, cupping his mouth with one hand while he jabbed the other one back toward his neighbor.
Hinata's eyes followed the motion and caught the irritated glance the brunette threw toward the blond. She couldn't help the small giggle that bubbled from her lips. Dark eyes slid toward her and furrowed eyebrows narrowed infinitesimally more in response, and then his onyx eyes slid forward to the front of the room as he elected to ignore her.
Oblivious to the animosity radiating over his shoulder, the blond continued, "I'm Naruto, by the way. Naruto Uzimaki!" He stuck out his hand confidently.
She grasped it lightly, trying to ignore the blush creeping up her neck as she felt his large hand wrap around her own, "H-hinata. Hinata Hyuuga. It's nice to meet you." The quiet words fell shyly from her lips.
"Awesome to meet you, too, Hinata!" He flashed a toothy grin at her as he let go of her hand and reached for his backpack, slipping out a laptop from the back pocket. He threw it open and pulled up the slides that had been posted for the first lecture before pointing at his sullen companion.
"Since this bastard next to me probably won't tell you himself, his name is Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha! He and I go waaay back." The man in question had a pained look on his face as Naruto blundered on, "He may look mean, but he actually has a heart of gold. Right, Sasuke?" He slapped his other hand on his neighbor's shoulder and gave it a little shake.
The pained expression had quickly morphed into sullen fury during this exchange, and Sasuke crankily shook his friend's hand off his shoulder. "Get off me, dumbass."
Unperturbed, Naruto chuckled and winked at Hinata—bringing her heartbeat to a screeching halt—before turning back to his device. Blushing furiously, Hinata spun forward in her seat just as the professor entered the front of the classroom.
Silver hair glinted above a surprisingly young face, half hidden by the dark turtleneck (in this weather!?) that he was wearing. Their lecturer sauntered over to the computer and fiddled with it for a few minutes, turning on the projector and preparing the presentation. The class began to naturally quiet down as he turned toward them with a bored expression, hands stuffed in his pockets.
"I am Dr. Hatake, and I'll be teaching your class this semester. Welcome to Introduction to Microbiology. If you are looking at me and want to know my age… I have no intentions of telling you. Why am I teaching this class? …I have reasons. What will this course be like? …Well, I guess we should go over course expectations, how not to fail, et cetera." With a resigned sigh and a muttered …just want to do research… Dr. Hatake changed to the next slide and launched into BIOL 351.
"Well, here we go!" Naruto's hoarse whisper drifted over, and Hinata glanced to her left. He threw her another blinding grin, gave a little thumbs up, and promptly pulled up in another window on his computer.
Hinata turned forward with a small smile as she started scribbling notes furiously, attempting to keep up with Dr. Hatake's monotone voice. She had a feeling that this was going to be a great semester.