The precious students of Konoha Gakuen are living the lives of the wealthy and elite, where anything, and anyone, has a price.
Teenage Aesthetics
By Capricious Insanity
Nara Shikamaru had an unpleasant feeling. He was rarely the type of person who would doubt his own choices, but the moment he entered the Offices building of Konoha Gakuen, he instantly felt an uneasy weight in his stomach. Maybe he should have skipped high school, or fought to enter a different school. A deep sigh escaped him as he neared his destination. With his lazy ways, he had managed to avoid some of the responsibilities that came with being an individual labeled by several tests and institutions as 'superior' or 'genius.' If he was an evil bastard then he could probably use it to his advantage and manipulate everyone around him to do his bidding. But he was a simple person, with simple desires. And his number one desire was to avoid troublesome things. But dealing with this woman, meant the opposite of that.
This unnerving somersault of his insides served as a clear warning of how his high school life was going to be once he was in her clutches. It only meant one thing. Trouble.
The secretary with the short hair smiled and nodded when she glanced at his I.D.
"Please go in. She's expecting you."
She gestured to the intimidating charcoal doors, and resumed typing. The young Nara slowly approached the tall doors and paused in front of the left one. He listed his hand and hesitated.
What's the use? I'm already here.
Steeling his resolve, he finally knocked.
"Come in."
He turned the handle down and pushed the door open.
"You wanted to see me?"
His face now held his usual bored expression, but the tone he had used held a hint of annoyance. The blonde seated behind a huge desk raised her eyes to him, and motioned for him to come closer. The young freshman obliged, and walked up to stand directly in front of her.
"Good morning, Nara-kun, or can I still call you Shikkun?"
He just shrugged his shoulders in reply, making the woman chuckle in amusement.
"I'm just kidding, Shikamaru-kun. I can't believe you're already in high school."
The woman in front of him was Senju Tsunade, principal of the prestigious Konoha Gakuen, and one of the world's renowned biochemists. Rumor has it that she was getting closer and closer to a Nobel Prize every year. She was also a friend of the Nara family, and had watched him grow up just as much as his parents had. She was already like family to him.
"That reminds me, why didn't you advance to the 12th grade? Skipping a year or two would've saved you a lot of time. You already have a slot in several universities. They've already sent letters."
Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, an upset I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it look on his face. He opened his mouth to reply but Tsunade said it for him.
"It's too troublesome, right?"
Sighing inwardly, the boy nodded, corners of his lips lifted slightly to form a small smile. Tsunade shook her head, amused and not the least bit convinced. For some ungodly reason, the woman had this notion that Shikamaru was just pretending to be bored with everything. That it was all because he hadn't seen a challenge worth undertaking yet. That once he found it, whatever the hell it was, he would stop being bored and amaze the world with his mental prowess. Sadly for him, she took it upon herself to open up opportunities for him to 'shine.' This meant a life of being entered into competitions without his awareness, his private journals being submitted without his permission, or being tricked into solving equations.
"You should have a more meaningful reason for avoiding university life. Better yet, for wanting to stay in high school. High school's a bitch."
This comment made Shikamaru smile wryly, while the principal's turned into a mischievous one.
"But I'm glad you stayed. High school will definitely put some life into you."
The brunette glimpsed doubtfully at her, his smile almost turning into a smirk.
Like hell it will.
"I'm just going to be a fly on the wall, breeze by. I'm not going to have any 'achievements'."
He pointedly stated. He wanted to say more things he wouldn't do, but he knew the cogs for his future had started to turn faster the moment he woke up this morning. Tsunade knew it too; she would probably be the one turning the hardest, which only made her smile more.
The kid would always try to be lazy.
"We'll see. Anyway, I called you here to check the speech for the opening ceremony. Might I see it? You've made the revisions I've asked for, haven't you?"
His eyes widened, his lips parted and mouthed inaudibly.
Shit.
"I left it. At home."
The teenager admitted stiffly, silently reprimanding himself for being the source of trouble. So much for Tsunade being the troublesome one, here he was troubling himself. He hadn't even printed it yet because he was too preoccupied with escaping the Nara residence with his dignity intact. His mother had always been a doting mother, and he loved her, terribly. But there were times when she would get overwhelmingly emotional over her 'little baby Shikkun' and recite guilt-inducing and embarrassing narrations that would always begin with his unexpected creation. And they only got worse as he got older.
The buxom woman was laughing heartily, when someone knocked.
"Come in."
She said, her laughter dying down.
"It's alright Shikkun. Though it's rare for you to make a mistake, you still have time."
The door opened, and an alabaster-skinned student stepped inside, and patiently waited for their conversation to end. Tsunade composed herself and gestured for him to come forward.
"Good morning, Tsunade-sensei."
He bowed then strode to her desk, stood beside the Nara heir, and handed her a neatly folded white paper.
"The revisions are done. All the speech needs is your approval."
"Thank you, Neji-kun. Kimimaro-kun has already informed me that you will deliver the speech."
Neji nodded. Shikamaru glanced down at his watch as Tsunade began to talk about the student council with the pale boy. He waited for the right time to cut in and excused himself. He was almost out of the door when Tsunade called.
"Wait, Shikkun. How are you going to get the letter?"
"I'll walk. I didn't bring my car."
The principal then fixed her attention to the student in front her. If it wasn't for the uniform, Shikamaru would've completely mistaken him for a girl, a tall one, but a girl nonetheless.
"Are you done with the preparations, Neji-kun?"
"Yes, Sensei."
She raised her hand and pointed to Shikamaru's direction.
"Would you mind accompanying Shikkun to get the first years' speech from his house?"
The mentioned boy looked disdainfully at his Aunt, and then took a quick glance at the refined male.
"It's okay. I can walk."
"I don't mind."
They both said in unison. The elegant boy casted him a swift sideward glance, and briefly glared. It freaked Shikamaru out a little. What the hell. It was one of those I'm-better-than-you looks he knew well. He avoided this kind the most.
"Don't argue, Shikkun. You guys probably know each other already, right?"
She said assumingly, shifting her eyes between the two teens. Neji remained silent, and inspected Shikamaru, unable to mask the faint trace of disgust on his face.
"No."
Shikamaru answered, deciding to ignore the older male. Tsunade appeared surprised, a disbelieving crease between her eyebrows.
"Really? I assumed you did. You two live next to each other."
The sole Nara heir blinked in surprise. Really? They were neighbors? He turned to Neji, and scanned his memory. Nope, there was none that involved a neighbor that resembled this arrogant one that obviously revolted the sun. But there was no one that came to mind. It was expected though, since he didn't go out as much as a boy his age normally would. He found the things that attracted teenaged boys too troublesome.
"Alright then. Introduce yourselves."
Without missing a beat, the student officer offered a slender, flawless hand. The darker of the two stared at it. Seriously? As offending as it was, even this guy's hand was effeminate. He took the hand and shook it, and immediately took note that the hand had a firm grip, but was as soft as a woman's. It confused Shikamaru.
"Nara Shikamaru, 1st year, Class A."
"Hyuga Neji, 2nd year, Class A."
The taller of the two stated in a deep, flowing voice, and immediately broke contact when the younger teen's grip loosened. He turned his arm over to check his watch. Tsunade noticed this and checked the clock on her desk as well.
"You two better get going, I still have to check the other year's speeches with their representatives."
"Yeah, see you later."
Shikamaru slightly bowed and headed out first.
"Good bye, Sensei."
Neji bent gracefully, and followed. Outside, he quickly caught up with his kohai.
"North A."
"What?"
"My car. It's parked in North A."
The high pony-tail shook as its owner turned away and resumed walking.
"No Thanks. I'll walk."
"It's no trouble. I'm heading home anyway. I'm going to pass by your house so I might as well give you a ride."
His words were polite, but his face said otherwise. Shikamaru didn't know why this senpai was so hostile, despite his contradictory tone, and he didn't want to find out.
"It's alright. I've still got time."
Neji stopped, and pivoted to face him.
"It's 6:34 right now. The ceremony starts at 8. It takes precisely 38 minutes on foot to reach your house. Another 38 to return to school. 10 minutes to acquire the speech. 1 hour and 26 minutes. You do the math."
He didn't like it, but Neji was right on the dot. Not to add it still needed approval. The reason why he even got up extremely early was so that he could get this over with and go home once they were dismissed.
Shikamaru could almost hear the other boy say,'you're wasting time.' He could say that he would run home, but that would be childish, and would only tire him. There was no choice. The brunette looked up to meet the older boy's eyes, when a barely noticeable anxious clump formed in the pit of the Nara's stomach. Dismissed as a grumble of hunger, the younger teen quickly shifted his eyes away.
"Alright. Thanks."
Neji walked ahead, and Shikamaru followed, keeping at least two to three meters behind. Soon enough they were at the parking area reserved for faculty and student council members. Neji got into a sleek, black BMW, and started the engine as soon as Shikamaru was inside.
With unnerving grace and poise, the fair-skinned youth maneuvered the manual car effortlessly, albeit too quickly for the Nara boy's preference. They zoomed past the houses and buildings, and almost 12 minutes later they were perfectly parked in front in front of the Modern-Traditional Nara house. Shikamaru could feel his heartbeat slowing down, and stopped gripping the sides of the seat.
This guy is definitely crazy.
"I'll wait for you here."
Neji said as he unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for a book behind his seat.
"O-okay."
Shikamaru nodded, and steadied himself. He opened the door and slipped into his house without missing a beat. Roughly 10 minutes had passed when he reappeared and got in, with the newly printed speech in his hands. He was clipping on the seatbelt when he opened his mouth to say his thanks when the car roared to life, and they were on their way back to school. His fingers latched onto the seat again, and tried not to crumple the paper that had caused him such a troublesome morning. After securing himself, the young genius suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to ask where the pretty boy lived.
"H-hey, I.. uh. Thanks."
The words almost got stuck in his throat just as the vehicle took a sharp turn to the left.
"You got the top score for the entrance exam, right?"
Neji asked, his serious gray eyes fixed on the road.
"Y-yeah."
"Did you cheat?"
His grip on the seat loosened, and he almost fell forward. It was a question, but it sounded solidly like a statement
"What?"
It was one, if not the most enraging moment of his short life. He was used to being insulted, physically, emotionally – but never mentally. He didn't show it, but he had pride in his intelligence. So for this arrogant son of a bitch to not just question his intellectual capacity, but to downright accuse him of cheating when they hadn't even known each other less than an hour ago was too much for him.
"Hey, you-"
"Because if you did, then I would suggest a different mentor."
He was about to tell the prick off, but what he just heard seemed more important. And alarming. There was a familiar feeling in his gut, the one that he always got when something really troublesome was about to happen.
"Mentor? A different mentor?"
And they were back to the school parking lot. Without batting an eye, the pale senpai swiftly curved to his parking space and turned off the engine.
"It's barely the first day of school. You're not making any sense. I have no idea whatever it is you think I know, because I really don't."
Although he was sure that a certain blonde, hazel-eyed woman was behind this. For the first time since they met, the subtle but definite loathing in Neji's face subsided.
"Look, I have nothing personal against you. But I don't waste time, and I don't do well with people who enjoy wasting it. Tsunade-sensei assigned me as your mentor, to guide you to become a productive and outstanding student. A senpai-kohai enrichment program."
He knew it. He knew it. He goddamn knew it. Maybe he should have just taken a year off.
"I didn't know-I-how do I drop from the program?"
"You submit your withdrawal, and serve one school year's worth of community service."
Shit.
Hurried footsteps echoed in an empty hallway, further deepening the crease on a new female student's forehead. She held a piece of paper in front of her, and compared the digits inscribed to the numbers of the silver plates above each door.
"Augh. Where the hell is that damn auditorium?"
The pale blonde grumbled loudly as she walked towards an intersection, and looked up to see "Auditorium" engraved in gold on a platinum plate.
"There."
With a relieved smile, she headed towards it. If she had walked a little faster, or slower, she would have been safe from harm's way. But she did always have an uncanny knack for exposing herself to unlucky accidents.
A well-toned male body collided with her thin, fragile frame while she was near the auditorium's doors. There was a loud shriek, as the impact caused her to tumble harshly forward, face and hands against the swinging doors, causing them to open.
A loud thud on the school's floor produced whispers that resounded in the crowd of students, as they turned their attention to the commotion. Several gasps came from the students in the back and middle, while the ones in front tried to see what was happening.
"Getting frisky so early in the morning, eh Naruto?"
A male voice yelled somewhere in the crowd near the two figures on the floor. This caused the platinum blonde haired female to immediately sit up, despite the pain throbbing on her back, legs and hands, but something was preventing her from doing so. She raised her head and twisted her neck to see the obstruction atop her. Pale violet eyes focused on the bright mop of spiky yellow hair resting on her back, and the weight of its owner's body was immobilizing her legs. But something other than the body pinning her down sent a wave of panic through her. There was a hand grabbing her left thigh, too far from her knee.
Then the realization dawned on her. Someone was lying on top of her. Presumably, from the weight and the feel of the person, it was a male.
Oh fuck.
She screeched. Her free hands pummeled the groaning figure's head repeatedly. And even though her hands were small, her punches hurt. Naruto flinched at every blow and blocked some of them with his free arm, slowly pulling himself up. He felt something under his other hand and squeezed it impulsively. It was soft.
"DON'T TOUCH ME! GET OFF ME! I WILL RIP YOUR EYES OUT, PERVERT!"
The girl screamed with so much hate she could feel blood rushing to her head. The veins on her forehead were protruding with rage. She pushed herself up, and threw the person off her back. She spun to face him, and attacked him with her fists and feet.
"Ow! Ow! Stop-ow!"
Naruto tried to get up but the pelting fists weren't helping. After a few moments, he felt a hand on the back of his collar pull him up to his feet. The attack of the fists stopped once he was standing. The eyes of his attacker were wide and glared murder at him. Students had gathered around them, scandalized expressions on their faces.
"I am going to kill you."
She stated each word vehemently, making the blonde boy gulp. He took a step back and ran a shaky hand through his ruffled hair. He couldn't help it. It was a mannerism he had when he was panicking or nervous.
"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean for that to happen!"
He apologized in a raspy, high-pitched voice.
"What exactly happened?"
A smooth, male voice prodded. Naruto saw the owner of the voice step forward, situated himself between him and the enraged girl. The guy was taller than him and had short, smooth brown hair and wore glasses. The guy reminded him of one of those young masters in TV shows.
"I was running. I didn't want to be late. My uncle would take away my car, you know? Then she suddenly popped out of nowhere! I couldn't stop in time."
The bespectacled student nodded, seemingly accepting his reason.
"Oh, please. I'm not talking about that."
The fair-haired girl said exasperatedly through gritted perfect white teeth, and the brunette student watched her anxiously.
"HE-"
Her voice was loud, and angry. An accusing finger pointed at him. But her confidence faltered when her face turned red. This time, there was something mixed with anger, and whatever this was, couldn't let her say any more. She bit her lower lip in irritation, and glared at the blonde's hand. The blue-eyed teen followed her eyes.
Uh-oh. Those pale violet orbs aimed at the hand that had accidentally squeezed something. Then his eyes widened. He hadn't squeezed her, had he? The guilty hand mimicked its earlier action.
Oh! He had!
"I-I didn't do it on purpose!"
He quickly tried to apologize, but the expression on her face only told him one thing. He was dead. He opted to run, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Damn. It was definitely not his day.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Tsunade said, stepping beside him.
"So you've decided to follow that pervert's ways, eh?"
The tall woman sighed, and shook her head disapprovingly. The students surrounding them continued to murmur, but now they mirrored the disappointment in the principal's face.
"NO! You've got it all wrong! It was an accident! An accident!"
Naruti furiously cried. This was definitely not his day! Was God punishing him? Why! He wasn't even close to his perverted uncle's path!
"Accident my a-"
"Chouin Shion. I thought your mother said you were as well-behaved as Taruho-kun."
The said girl shot Naruto a hateful glare before her features melted into a frustrated, pleading expression.
"I am!"
Tsunade looked at the both of them and sighed deeply.
"Even though I'm very good friends with both of your parents, I'm afraid I can't let either of you off the hook. You both get detention for 1 week, starting today."
"WHAT?!"
The detainees both screamed in unison, and were about to protest when they were both silenced by the intense and serious glower.
"Not only were the two of you late on the very first day, but the both of you also disrupted the opening ceremony, something that has never happened."
That immediately deflated any bubbling argument from the energetic teens. She raised a hand to lightly massage her temple.
"Taruho-kun, please help them to their respective sections. I'll discuss the details of your punishments after school."
With that, she pivoted and made her way through the crowd. She marched back up to the stage, where the Vice President of the student council and the representative of the freshmen batch had remained standing all throughout the disturbance. The former wore an indifferent, prim expression while the latter was visibly bored and on the verge of sleep.
People had begun to walk back to their places, leaving Naruto, Shion and Taruho to themselves.
"Naruto-kun. I am Chouin Taruho, 2nd year Class A."
The brown-haired boy said, stepping in front of Naruto. He then bowed perfectly, startling the blonde.
"I would like to apologize for Shion-sama's outburst. Please don't hold it against her."
"No, I should be apologizing."
Naruto began, but Shion didn't want to hear it. She faced away from him and stared at the older male.
"Let's sit, Taruho-ni-san."
The brunette smiled sheepishly at Naruto, which the blonde returned.
"Let's sort this out after the ceremony, okay Naruto-kun?"
"Just leave him be, Taruho."
She snapped, and turned her back on them.
Didn't he hear her? The guy was a pervert! That stupid pervert had groped her, and now her supposedly smart cousin was being friendly with him? How she loathed them both now with her tiny heart. Fuming, Shion walked to the other side of the room and sat behind some people near the wall.
Taruho patted him on the back and went on to the front. The flustered teen scanned the area, and just decided to sit to the closest chair. His blue eyes flitted briefly to the light blonde hair.
"Crazy, violent girls are the worst."
"Sometimes accidents happen in life from which we have need of a little madness to extricate ourselves successfully"
-François de la Rochefoucauld
Note: Chouin = sealing.
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