Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would be very creative and rich indeed. Thus...I do not own it.
A/N: Yo! My first fanfic on here, gasp. See, I really don't like A/U stories, so I decided to write one! 8D So, erm, bear with me through this...read and review...and, yeah, all that.
-kina-chan
Chapter 1 - Arrival
Sakura Haruno looked out the car window and scowled. It seemed they had been driving forever, though in reality it had only been just over an hour. Her large green eyes, usually bright with life and energy, glazed over as they took in the nearby signs: The Shinobi Grill, The Kunai Corner. The rest of her body was limp and slumped against the car door. Sakura sighed deeply.
This sound did not escape unnoticed by her mother, sitting in the car's passenger seat. "Sakura, stop that," said Mrs. Haruno sharply, turning to face her daughter. "I understand this is not your ideal way to spend these months, but there really is no other choice."
Sakura did not acknowledge this quotation but merely sighed an even deep sigh.
"I know you would have liked to come with us," continued Mrs. Haruno, "but your father and I would never let you spend that much time out of school." Then, seeing Sakura close her eyes and slump farther over, she groused, "It's like talking to a wall" and turned back to the front.
In truth, Sakura didn't care all that much about accompanying her parents on their six-month trip to Europe. Sure, it would have been great to see the sights and say she had been there, but no matter how you looked at it, six months was an awfully long time to spend with virtually no human contact. No, Sakura was more concerned about her parents' "brilliant" idea of sending her to a completely new school—a boarding school, no less—in the middle of nowhere for these six months. Sakura couldn't understand how anyone could possibly think six months shoved into a new environment could be beneficial for a person. But, as her mother said, she had no other choice but to endure this punishment. Sakura sighed for the third time.
"Here we are," said her father a few moments later. He pulled the car into a long, hedged driveway leading to a tall brick building. In front of the building was a cluster of sculptures in the shape of a toad, a slug and a snake. Even Sakura had to admit the structure was impressive, with its many stories and wings.
"Well, shall we go in?" Mrs. Haruno said cheerfully. Within minutes they were all holding various pieces of luggage and standing in front of a pair of heavy wooden doors. Mr. and Mrs. Haruno strode through these doors, with Sakura reluctantly following behind.
The doors led into a large, airy entranceway. Seated at a desk and typing busily was a petite woman with short, dark hair.
"Excuse me?" said Mr. Haruno.
The woman looked up. "Oh, hello!" she exclaimed warmly. "I'm Shizune, the secretary. You must be the Harunos. I'll call the principal in." But before she could push the button on the intercom, a crash and a loud curse were heard from the direction of a nearby doorway.
"Damn it, Shizune, when will Jiraiya learn his empty sake bottles do not go on the staffroom floor?" loudly complained a blonde woman, coming into the entranceway. "Or that the staff room's not where he should pass out anyway, why can't he do that in his own damn—" she stopped short as she noticed the Haruno family standing by the desk. "Oh, shit," she groaned, "was today the day?"
"I told you yesterday, Tsunade," scolded Shizune exasperatedly.
The woman shrugged. "No matter." Then she turned to the Harunos. "Hi, I'm Tsunade, the principal of Konoha Academy."
"I'm Mr. Haruno," said Sakura's father, grabbing Tsunade's hand and shaking it heartily. "This is my wife and our daughter, Sakura."
"That's nice," replied Tsunade vaguely, discreetly removing her hand from his grip.
"It's so kind of you to take Sakura in on such short notice, and in the middle of the school year, too," gushed Mrs. Haruno.
"That's nice," said Tsunade again. Then she looked at her watch. "Not to rush, but I have a meeting in twenty minutes, and I'd like to talk to Sakura beforehand."
"I understand," said Mr. Haruno. He turned and held out his arms to Sakura. Before she knew it, she was the center of a parent sandwich, with phrases as condiments.
"We'll miss you so much—"
"I'll write every week—"
"We'll be thinking of you—"
"Be sure to behave—"
"We love you."
Sakura recited the right answers. "I'll miss you. Have a good time. Love you, too." Then after a couple of rounds of squeezes and kisses, she was watching her parents walk back out the door and down the walk to their car.
"Think of it as an adventure!" were Mrs. Haruno's last words before the wooden door closed and they were gone from Sakura's sight for six months. She turned around to see Tsunade standing by the desk with a slight smirk on her face. Then, seeing the girl's quizzical expression, the principal snapped to attention.
"Shizune, get Genma and Raidou down here to carry the luggage to her room—and see that it's the right room, too," Tsunade said briskly. "Haruno—come with me." Sakura followed her through the doorway and down a hallway to an office, where Tsunade gestured her to a chair by a desk.
"Okay," said Tsunade, sitting behind the desk and folding her hands. "There are a couple of things to discuss before you start your…'adventure'." She smirked again.
Sakura nodded, noticing for the first time there was a small pig sleeping in a basket in the corner.
"You have four classes a day," Tsunade began. "Every day you alternate with another four classes, so you have eight classes in all. Got that?"
Sakura nodded again.
"Oh, and here's your schedule before I forget," said Tsunade, handing over a slightly crumpled piece of paper with "NEW GIRL" scrawled across the top.
"Going off campus is only allowed on weekends or with a teacher's permission," continued Tsunade. "Meals are always taken in the cafeterias—no exceptions. And lastly, this may be a co-ed school, but these are NOT co-ed dorms. That means absolutely no—" She was cut off by the sound of a crash coming from down the hallway. Seconds later the door to the office flew open and a tall, silver-haired man strode in.
"Damn Jiraiya," he muttered, then straightened. "Tsunade, can't you talk to those boys? No matter how many times I meet with them, they keep on causing trouble and won't listen to me…." Then he noticed Sakura. "Hello, and who might you be?" he said with a smile. Or at least Sakura assumed it was a smile, as the lower half of his face was entirely covered by a dark blue mask.
"She's the new student, Kakashi, as you'd know if you listened at the meetings instead of reading that damned book," said Tsunade acidly from behind her desk. "As for those boys, you're the guidance counselour! Guide them!"
At that, Kakashi (who had coloured slightly at mention of his book), bowed to Tsunade. "Welcome to Konoha Academy," he said to Sakura, and turned to depart.
Tsunade shook her head after he had left the room. "I don't know why I ever hired that man," she muttered to herself. She pushed a button on her intercom. "Shizune, send her in," she said into it. Then she handed a small booklet to Sakura. "The rest of the rules are in there, if there's really anything you need to know. And you've got the uniform—that's to be worn at all times, unless you're going off-campus."
Then the office door opened and a friendly-looking girl with brown hair twisted into two buns walked in.
"Tenten," said Tsunade, "this is the new girl…Sakura. Show her to her room. It's 407, her luggage has already been taken up…or at least it should have been."
"Okay," said Tenten. She turned to Sakura with a smile. "Come with me."
Sakura found her voice. "Okay. Thank you," she said to Tsunade with a bow. The blonde woman just waved her off, looking impatient.
"Your room's on the fourth floor," said Tenten to Sakura s they walked up a flight of stairs. "Just like mine. Where did you come from, anyway?"
"My parents went on a trip," said Sakura vaguely, not feeling like expanding on that.
"I see. Well, you'll like it here," said Tenten. They continued on up the stairs in silence, until they reached a long hallway.
"That's my room," commented Tenten as they passed room 415. "I share with Hinata; she's sort of shy, but she's really nice."
"Who will I be sharing a room with?" asked Sakura curiously as they neared 407.
Tenten thought a moment. "I guess you'll be sharing with Ino, she's the only one on this floor without a roommate."
'Ino?' thought Sakura wildly. 'I never heard of anyone else with that name…but it couldn't possibly be the same one…could it?'
Finally they reached a door with a brass nameplate reading 407 attached to it. Tenten knocked on the door. "Ino, your new roommate is here," she called.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" a voice said back. Sakura wiped her clammy hands on her skirt.
Then the door opened, and she nearly fell over.