Hooray for Naruto fanfictions! :D Just...Kinda go along with this one. It's basically the same storyline as the manga, just...different...if that makes any sense.... In a way, it's just set up so I can have most of the characters in one place at the same time.
Points of view will change-often. Normally it's just between Gaara, Sasuke, and Naruto, but others will occasionally drop in, like Itachi and a few more made-up characters of mine. So, have fun, and at the end I'll give out a fun little guide explaining how to pronounce a few names and words you might not know. Have a fun read!
Gaara
He gazed at the impressive Konaha High School, surrounded by trees so tall they appeared to block the sun itself. A school where you could learn all of the normal things, like math, science, literature, and history. However, its main purpose was to train future shinobi.
Gaara followed his brother and sister, happy to attend the same school as his friends, but nervous about how he would be treated. While he was trying his best to leave his past behind, it had the tendency to creep up on him...
"Whoah!" Something moved in the corner of Gaara's eye, and he reflexively whipped around and caught a falling girl. Books and papers spilled everywhere, causing her to cry out in protest. He did manage to catch the hat that had fallen off of her head, exposing a cascade of long, straight chestnut hair. "Oh no! My books!" she said mournfully, unaware of Gaara's shock as he watched a fox tail lash about under her skirt. Part of him worried that the uniform's skirt was a bit too short to allow such an oddity-the rest wanted to know why it was even there.
The girl righted herself after collecting her things, then bowed to her rescuer. "Thank you very much," she said, smiling at him with apologetic brown eyes. "Sorry if I caused any trouble!" She didn't even wait for a response. Instead she ran off, calling a warm-hearted, "Hinata-chan!"
Gaara could only stare after her, wondering who could possibly be the girl who received such dirty looks from the students around her.
"Jerks," Temari growled, glaring at a couple of snickering girls. "They tripped her on purpose!"
"Calm down, Temari," said Kankuro. "Deal with them when no one's looking. We promised Lady Tsunade we'd be no trouble, here." Grumbling, Temari followed Kankuro inside. But Gaara stayed behind, picking up a paper left behind by the girl. It was a drawing of Naruto, the nickname "Naru-chan" written elegantly at the top. The artist was signed, "Uchiha Setsuna."
---
"Hey there, Gaara!" greeted Uzumaki Naruto, grinning like a fool at his once demon-infused friend. "It's good to see you!"
"You as well," replied Gaara.
"Hey, what classes do you have?" The blonde snatched his friend's schedule. "We've got gym and history together! I hear Kakashi-sensei's going to teach us some awesome jutsus this year."
"Sounds good." Naruto laughed at the boy's nonchalant attitude. "Have you had any luck with Sasuke?" This brought down Naruto's mood, bringing about an angry sigh.
"He won't even talk to anyone. Just runs around with Orochimaru all the time." He shook his head. "Granny Tsunade thought his cousin's appearance might catch his attention, but all he's done is accept her in to the Uchiha complex."
"But I thought Itachi had murdered everyone but Sasuke?" It seemed unlikely that anyone had escaped the slaughter. Gaara knew the young Uchiha had felt the same.
"Seems her old man kept her a secret," Naruto explained. "Bastard had a one-night stand with a demon that had taken on a human form. She died during childbirth, so he was left with a half-demon baby." Gaara felt the same angry disgust for the deceased Uchiha that his friend easily expressed with a string of curses. "Asshole thought he was too good to deal with his own problems, so he dumped his newborn baby on an old couple's doorstep. Didn't even know she had a clan until her Sharingan developed two years back. Since then she's been looking for any living family members she might have."
Gaara rolled the story about in his head, hoping the girl at least had something going for her. That's when he remembered the girl he had helped that morning. "Naruto, was she the one who drew this?" He produced the paper from his pocket and offered it toward the boy.
"Oh." The blonde laughed sheepishly. "That would be Sasuke's cousin, alright. She likes to give people nicknames..." Gaara smiled a little at the name written on the paper. "She's super friendly, thought. Kiba thinks she acts like a new puppy, the way Setsuna gets so hyper. Sakura thinks she's worse than me!" Naruto laughed again as the bell rang. "Well, see you later, Gaara!"
With that, the friends seperated. Gaara's first class was biology, where he found the odd girl, Setsuna, being forced inside. "No! I don't wanna go!" she cried, struggling out of their grip and running right in to Gaara. She decided to use him as a shield against Hyuuga Hinata, TenTen, Rock Lee, and an impatient looking blonde kunoichi with blue eyes. "He's creepy, touches me weird, and he smells funny," Setsuna declared, tail drooping like a frightened dog. "I don't wanna go!"
"Setsuna, you have to," Hinata said gently, giving her friend a worried look.
"She's right," added Lee. "Gai-sensei says you won't graduate if you can't pass this class again."
"What's wrong?" Gaara asked hesitantly, looking back at the cowering half-demon. She began whimpering.
"She's scared of Orochimaru-sensei." The blonde ninja was the one to speak up. She was looking at her friend with a mixture of pity and annoyance. "Setsuna, get in class now."
"I'll make sure he doesn't do anything," Gaara promised. Setsuna perked up a little and a small smile spread across her face. She nodded and allowed him to lead her in to the classroom, clinging with all her might to his sleeve.
They sat down in the farthest seats from the sensei's desk, right next to a tank holding a large tarantula. Setsuna appeared to be trying to melt in to the shadows, which is hard when you have a tail swishing about right behind you. By the time the year ended, she would probably be voted 'Worst Ninja' because of it.
Suddenly she began shaking violently, crouching low in her desk as Orochimaru-sensei entered the room. Everyone quieted instantly, revering the man with a fearful respect. "Good morning students," he hissed, giving the class a disturbing grin. "I trust you all have an interesting summer?" No one answered, and Orochimaru didn't seem to care. "Today I thought we might discuss plant cells. Now, I'm sure you already know about animal cells." The sensei was slowly making his way down the aisles, lightly touching each desk with his fingers. Setsuna sank lower with every step. "Can anyone tell me one of the differences between these two cells? Uchiha-san?"
Setsuna jumped a little, finding Orochimaru hovering above her. "Uh..." she muttered, appearing to try to reassure herself. "Plant cells...h-have cell walls...?"
"Very good, Uchiha-san," said the sensei. "Anything else?" Gaara noticed the man coming steadily closer to Setsuna, who cringed away as he looked at her like a hunter with a rare animal. All he needed to do was skin it.
"Plant cells possess cytoplasm, right, Orochimaru-sensei?" The man turned slowly to the blonde kunoichi, whose eyes seemed to challenge their instructor.
"Correct, Mai Tsukisaya-san," he answered. "I'm surprised to see so many past students in here. Didn't all of you pass Biology?"
"We like to overacheive where we can," TenTen chimed. "Right, Lee?"
"Most certainly!"
"How nice." Orochimaru smiled in a way that Gaara guessed to be "friendly." It wasn't fooling anyone. "However, Uchiha-san did not pass this class. Thus, I would prefer it if you allowed her to answer the questions I give her. " He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I do wish to help my...struggling students." Setsuna winced as his grip tightened.
When she let out a pained whine, Gaara said, "Sensei. Perhaps we could return to the lesson? Most of us are here for the first time." Orochimaru fixed a cold glare on the boy, but he did return to the front of the class.
"Thank you," whispered Setsuna to her friends as well as Gaara. "Hey, boy. I never got your name."
"I'm...Gaara," he replied. "I transferred from Sunagakure."
"That's cool. I'm Setsuna. It's nice to meet you." Gaara returned the pleasantries, but they were catching Orochimaru-sensei's attention so they ended the conversation there. Halfway through the class, he could hear a small scratching noise. A glance behind him showed that Setsuna was drawing on a piece of paper. She passed it forward a second later, and he saw it was a little cartoon of the two of them eating lunch together. Next to it she had written, "Do you want to?" There were two boxes, one titled "Yes" and the other "No." Gaara checked off his answer and passed it back. Setsuna smiled brightly.
The bell rang and Gaara watched Setsuna dart out of the room before Orochimaru could have a chance to say anything to her. She waited just outside for the others, but she was sure to hover away from the view of the door. "So, Gaara-kun," chirped the girl. Her tail wagged back and forth as she addressed her new friend. "What class do you have next?"
"Gym with Kakashi-sensei," he replied after a quick glance at his schedule. Gym was the longest class of the day.
"How cool! Mai-chan, Nina-chan, Saki-chan, and I are the same! I can introduce you to Nina-chan and Saki-chan when we get there!" The next thing he knew, Setsuna was dragging Gaara and Mai off to the gym. She appeared absolutely delighted with the idea, so much so that it made the boy of sand nervous. His new friend didn't appear to know his horrific past, but what if her friends did? Would she still want him after that?
It was too late to back down, though. Setsuna had pushed him in to the gym while she and Mai-san changed clothes, leaving him to be approached by Naruto. "I see you've met Setsuna," he said with a grin. "What do you think so far?"
"Why does Orochimaru act like that around her?" Gaara asked instead, catching the boy off-guard. "She's so afraid of him, and I know he can see it. But he just makes it worse!" Naruto sighed, running his hand through his hair as he contemplated his response.
"He's been that way since Setsuna showed up," he finally said. "No one knows why, exactly, but she's always saying he feels bad. You know-evil. She's afraid he wants to use her to hurt others."
"Naru-chan!" Setsuna called, tackling the blonde and hugging him. Her tail was wagging again. "Oh, you've already met Gaara-kun?"
"Yea, we go a few years back," he replied, ruffling her hair.
"Okay." Setsuna then turned to a tiny, fluffy-haired blonde and a skinny brunette. "The little one is Nina Akinori-we like to call her Chibi-chan-and the other one is Saki Gyo." The two waved, but Setsuna still prattled on as she said, "Saki-chan has a crush on Sasuke-kun, but she likes to deny--" Saki-san clamped her hand tightly over the demon girl's mouth, muffling her words as she blushed.
"Ignore Setsuna-chan," said Saki-san. "She just likes to tease."
"But I'm sure Sasuke-kun would--" Setsuna's words resulted in a hard pinch, causing her to yelp. With a whimper, she ducked behind Gaara. "Saki-chan's mean," she whined.
"Only because Sasuke-san is in the room," grummbled her friend. Setsuna looked around with interest.
"Sasuke-kun is in this class?" As she surveyed the area, Gaara could have sworn he could hear her sniff the air. "I wonder why he didn't say we had classes together? Hey, Sasuke-kun!" Gaara turned in the direction she began waving to. The Uchiha in question didn't even glance at her. "Huh. Maybe he didn't hear me," she decided, skipping over to her cousin. "Sasuke-kun! Hey, Sasuke-kun!!"
Sasuke
Sasuke stared at the advancing girl, inwardly sighing at her joyful expression. he still could not believe he had been saddled with her, being told she was some distant, lost cousin of his. Unfortunately her Sharingan was undeniable proof that they shared the same bloodline, so he was obligated to take her in. But she could be so suffocating, trying to draw him in to a family setting she had built up in her mind. Why couldn't she just stay with that damn old couple so he could complete his goals in peace?
But trying convincing her of that...
"Hi, Sasuke-kun," she greeted, tail wagging and eyes wide with happiness. Sasuke wanted to hit her. "I didn't see you this morning. I was hoping we could walk to school together, but I guess you were busy. But we can walk home, instead." Sasuke didn't reply. He just let the girl talk on, barely paying attention. She'd probably forget about it all, anyway. "Hey, Sasuke-kun," she said, prodding him gently in the ribs. "What should we have for dinner tonight?"
"Who cares?" he snapped, and Setsuna's face fell.
"Okay then..." The girl tugged on a lock of hair. "Uh...how about...sashimi...?" She watched Sasuke hopefully. He suspected she was trying to find out things he liked-they had eaten a different type of meal each day since Setsuna had arrived. They were good, provided nothing distracted her. Setsuna was the only person he knew who could set fire to water. This was no exaggeration. He watched it happen.
"Whatever," Sasuke said, shooing her off. He knew Kakashi-sensei would take at least another ten minutes to show up to class. He wanted to spend it in peace.
"Alright...Sasuke-kun..." Tail drooping like a punished dog, Setsuna went back to Naruto and the others. The blonde mentioned watched her with knowing eyes before shooting Sasuke a dark look. He looked away like he hadn't noticed. Let Naruto be angry. He was already more of a brother to her than Sasuke was even an aquaintance, anyway.
The only good that came from her was that she eliminated one of his goals. Only one
Uchiha was needed to revive the clan, and Setsuna would be fine doing that on her own...
Naruto
No good, stuck up, BASTARD. Couldn't he at least call her by her first name? Hell, last name! Instead he gave her three-word answers at most before thrusting her off on someone else.
Setsuna didn't complain much, she only sighed and wished Sasuke would open up to her. He wanted to confront her about it, but Kakashi-sensei's bad timing kept Naruto from doing anything. Instead they were instructed to pair up, and Setsuna quickly took Gaara as her partner, smiling as if nothing had happened. Sighing, Naruto paired with Nina, who giggled when Saki was forced to partner with Sasuke. What she saw in him, he'd never know...
"Alright, everyone," Kakashi began, nose in his book. "Today we're working with Genjutsu." Ugh. Why couldn't it be anything cool? "I want you to stop your partner from attacking you using whatever Genjutsu you can think of." He casually flipped the page. "Switch roles when I blow the whistle. Go."
Neither Naruto nor Nina could really complete the task assigned. Naruto's vision would occasionally change to a scene where Nina would disappear, but it was brief and she would reappear. Setsuna-while she was generally bad at performing Ninjutsu or Taijutsu-was able to stop Gaara's attack before he could even begin. She laughed triumphantly when the boy halted abruptly, looking at his surroundings in confusion. In turn, Gaara was able to execute a proper Genjutsu, but Setsuna stumbled forward blindly anyway before tripping over herself and falling to the ground. Then, to Naruto's annoyance, Sasuke was able to pin Saki to the ground within seconds. Both turns.
The entire first day in gym was just drills and reviews, which wasn't too surprising. Setsuna had managed to hit her head during an obsticle course, causing a roar of laughter to follow her out of the class. Naruto shot the idiots dark looks that went unnoticed.
"That was fun," Setsuna said, grinning broadly as she clung to Mai's arm. "What's next? Math for Mai-chan and me."
"History," Gaara said. Naruto and Saki confirmed that they were the same. Nina had biology, and the mere mention sent a shiver through Setsuna.
"Don't let him get to you," Naruto stated. "Think about something else."
"Okay," she muttered. "I'll think about sashimi. Naru-chan, want to have dinner with Sasuke-kun and me?"
"I dunno..." Naruto didn't like the idea of spending his evening with Sasuke, not when the jerk hadn't spoken to his so-called "best friend" in nearly two years.
"Please?" begged the girl. "Maybe Sasuke-kun will be more talkative with you. Or at least say what's on his mind."
"Just give up on that emo kid," Mai suggested coldly. "If he wants to be a pissy little asshole, let him. It's his loss."
"I just want us to be a real family." Setsuna sighed. "I thought we'd both be happy if we were with a living family member. But he barely even talks to me. Am I just asking for too much?" Naruto watched as she stared off at nothing, lost in her thoughts like she often was. He felt that Sasuke should feel grateful; to have family that cared so much about him. Naruto could only wish he had that.
"Fine, I'll go," growled the blonde. "But I'm going for you and the food. Sasuke can go screw himself." With a squeal, Setsuna hugged Naruto tightly, tail wagging away once more. She really was like a puppy...
"Thank you so much, Naru-chan!" she exclaimed. "See you at lunch!" Then she ran off, barely leaving the boy time to collect himself.
---
Lunch rolled around, and Naruto was happily slurping his ramen. Thoughts of Sasuke had been forced in to the back of his mind as Mai dared Gaara to eat the slimy surprise...whatever that the school had laid out for them. It looked gelatiness, and Setsuna had only taken it because she thought it was fascinating.
"It jiggles!" she cried, wiggling the tray about. "I want to eat it, but I'm afraid it's poisonous." She poked it with her finger and shivered. "Ewwww, it's warm..." She poked it again.
"I bet they let Orochimaru-sensei make it," TenTen teased, earning a warning look from Setsuna. "Before you know it, it'll jump up and take you to his secret lab!"
"Don't even joke about that." But everyone laughed, even Setsuna. "Hey, Lee. Bet you can't stomache it," she challenged.
"Oh really?" He took the tray from her hands, holding a giant glob of it on his chopsticks. The group around him began chanting, "Eat it! Eat it!" as the substance came steadily closer to the boy's lips. but before he could pluck up the courage and take a bite, Sasuke bumped in to Lee, smushing it all over his face. He didn't even spare his old rival a passing glance.
"Hey!" Naruto had stood, pissed. "You can at least apologize!" The asshole didn't even turn around. "Damnit, answer me!"
"Naruto, don't," Hinata urged, trying to get him to sit down.
"No! This is the last fucking straw!" Without putting any real thought in to it, Naruto launched himself at Sasuke. Of course he was prepared for it. The Uchiha whipped around, blocking Naruto's attack and punching him in the gut. This knocked the air out of him, but he quickly landed his own hit.
Before any further damage could be done, Kakashi and Jaraiya-sensei pulled the boys apart. "You bastard!" Naruto snarled. "You god damned BASTARD!"
"Naruto!" snapped Jaraiya. "Calm yourself!" But the boy ignored him, too transfixed on the Uchiha's emotionless face.
"What is she to you?! Don't you even care that she wants to know you?!"
"She's nothing," Sasuke stated. "Nothing at all." He turned and walked away.
Say them fast for the words to make sense, once you understand the pronunciation. (I know this should be obvious, but I'm making sure that everyone completely understands because...Well...You know...)
Setsuna- set-soo-nuh
Mai- ma-ee
Nina- nee-nuh
Saki- sah-kee
Tsukisaya- soo-kee-sa-ee-yuh
Gyo- g-yoh
sensei- sen-say
-kun- suffix used to address young men who are close to you
-san- suffix used to address someone politely. Similar to saying Miss, Mr., or Mrs.
-chan- suffix to address girls and children you are close to
-sama- rarely used suffix often addressed towards someone of high status
-sensei- suffix used to refer to a teacher, instructor, or a master of a craft (a writer, manga artist, etc.)