Chapter one. The Beginning of a Journey
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto !
The young girl bowed her head over the self-built shrine in her living room, dried up tears making its way down her face. It had been nearly two years since he had died and she didn't need to cry anymore; but that didn't mean she didn't feel sad. Clapping her hands twice, she looked up after saying her little prayer and smiled desolately at the happy face of her loving brother. She picked up the picture and wiped invisible dust off the elegant frame.
"I'll make you proud onii-chan," she whispered. She closed her eyes and placed her small hand on top of his face, pouring out her feelings as if trying to reach him. She opened her jade green eyes once again and placed the picture back in its rightful place. She stood up and straightened out her black, grey and blue plaid uniform skirt, making sure she looked presentable. She turned to look in the mirror hanging above her dining room table. Pink hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun and her soft pink lips held a hopeful smile. She pulled her white dress shirt down a little and fixed her blue tie that was inching over to the left a bit. Once she approved of what she saw, she picked up her bag and grey uniform cardigan and turned back to the shrine.
"I'm going now onii-chan. Please watch over me." She took one last look at her brother's smiling face and ran out of the room, heading straight for the front door. She didn't bother waiting for her mom and dad to see her off. She knew they wouldn't care and even if they did come, they'd only try to convince her not to go. But it was too late already; she had made up her mind and she was going to stick with her goal. Stepping into her black flats, she opened the door and was faced with a blast of sunshine; a good sign. Instinctively, she reached for the black, white and brown shark-tooth necklace hanging from her neck. This was her chance and she was going to take it no matter what obstacles were thrown her way. With that resolve in mind, she dashed for the bus stop, hoping her first day at the Notre Dame Academy for the Fine Arts would go as smoothly as she wanted it to.
...NDAFA...
"Hinata-sama, your father requests our presence in the garden," a tall, lean boy called from the other side of her bedroom door. Hinata sighed and stopped brushing her long mindnight blue hair, resting her comb on her white vanity. She knew what was to come and she was prepared for it. Buttoning up her cardigan, she grabbed her black school bag and violin case in both hands and opened the door.
"Good morning Neji-nii-san," she replied calmly, pupil-less eyes meeting its twins. He nodded in return and stepped aside, letting Hinata go first. She rolled her eyes at his courteousness but didn't let him see. It had always been like this, even if she didn't want it. Truthfully, being treated like a princess was highly overrated. They made their way silently to the back gardens, the maids and servants bowing as they passed. Hinata tried to smile to make them lighten up, but she knew it would be impossible with her stoic cousin following her. When they finally reached their destination, the two bowed low and knelt on soft green pillows in the gazebo where Hinata's father and little sister were awaiting them.
Hyuuga Hiashi sat stiffly behind a low table, sipping green tea out of a light blue china teacup. His eyes were closed and Hinata knew that once they were opened, she would begin cowering in fear. As much a she tried, she just couldn't bring herself to stand up to the man; and who could blame her? Negotiating with the head of the Hyuuga household was like talking to a brick wall, though a wall would be the more likely party to give in.
"Hinata, Neji." Hiashi greeted in a low, menacing voice. He lowered his teacup and opened his cold, lifeless eyes. Hinata visibly flinched and Hanabi frowned at her sister's lack of confidence.
"Otou-san," Hinata squeaked quietly while Neji subsequently replied with, "Hiashi-sama."
For a moment, the older man didn't speak, taking in the children's appearances. Hinata knew what would happen next, but she was still dreading it. Taking another sip from his cup, Hiashi turned to her and looked pointedly at her violin case.
"It is such a disgrace to have a child with such low grades in her music classes. I am ashamed of you Hinata." He stood up and turned his back on them while Hinata lowered her head. "You are starting your tenth year today girl and Neji is still miles ahead of you. If your grades don't pick up, I'm going to drop you out of that school and send you to America where you will study there instead. Am I making myself clear?" He turned around and glared chillingly at her, kneeling back down to slam his palms against the low tea table.
"Hai otou-san," she whispered feebily. Usually one would think that these words are much too harsh to be saying to your daughter; yet after years of being repeated, she kind of got used to it. Besides, she knew that being the failed daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi – the world famous violinist – wasn't ever going to fly in his books.
He dismissed them with a wave of his hand and the three children made their way around the house to the front yard where their ride awaited them. Hinata sighed dejectedly and Hanabi took her hand reassuringly. This was going to be a long day.
...NDAFA...
Tenten rode her skateboard swiftly through the throng of students, avoiding collision with the moving objects. Video camera in hand, she laughed as she flipped over that kid Shikamaru, who was napping under a tree nonchalantly. Scanning the crowd while simultaneously keeping balance on her board, she looked for Lee, hoping to compare schedules. It was another year and she was prepared to make this one rock; after all, she was finally in the high school section.
The brunette skidded to a stop and stared around for a familiar face. She could see that there were many new transfer students, most of whom looked scared. Upon discovery that the green-clad actor was not present in the vicinity, she took off once again, around to the front side of the school, hoping to catch a glimpse of her long time best friend. Skating through the parking lot, she entered the student drop off area meticulously, making sure to not bump into any cars. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't careful enough.
"Hey watch it!"
Tenten swirved so as to not get hit, subsequently falling off her skateboard with a crash. Students stopped and stared, some laughing and some wondering if she was okay. She looked around for her video camera, praying to kami-sama that it was okay. Of course, she was always prepared with an extra one having learned long ago that, especially for Tenten, she'd need it. However, coming home with another broken camcorder wouldn't bode well with her wallet. With her eyes scanning the ground nervously, she felt a pair of small arms helping her up and asking if she was okay. From the corner of her eyes she could see pink hair.
"Hey kid, watch where you're going! Do you know how expensive this car is?" Tenten turned and found the driver who had stepped out of the car with glaring eyes. She gulped nervously, but stood her ground, determined to not be intimidated.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming," she replied calmly, hoping he would accept that answer and drive away. Instead, the man further left the car, shutting the door and inspecting the front.
"If you got so much as one scratch on it, you are going to pay."
"Hey man, what's your problem? I said sorry, didn't I? It was an accident," she retorted, clenching her fists.
The man turned and glared at her scathingly, and for the first time Tenten noticed pale eyes. She had only ever seen those eyes on three people. "Yeah, well sorry isn't going to pay for any repairs, will it?"
Tenten bit back a reply, knowing he was right. She knew when to admit defeat, no matter at whose hands they were. She proceeded to bow her head in another apology but stopped when she heard another voice.
"Wataya, please stop harassing my classmate." The brunette looked up and found Hyuuga Neji standing menacingly behind his driver. She had only ever talked to him maybe one or twice, so it was surprising he even recognized her. After all, he was the musical genius of their school and hardly had any time for "commoners" like her.
"But Neji-sama, the car..."
"Who cares," another, more feminine voice piped up. It seemed as if the whole car had emptied itself out. "Otou-sama probably won't even notice. It's not like he goes anywhere anyways."
"Besides, Wataya-san," the last girl, Tenten recognized as Hinata – the princess of the school, added, "you should be more concerned over the Tenten-san's well-being than the vehicle's."
Wataya opened and closed his mouth, gaping like a fish. Inwardly, the skateboarder smirked but didn't let the Hyuugas witness her smug expression.
"This is far enough Wataya, you may take your leave," Neji said, dismissing their driver. The poor man couldn't muster back a reply so he merely got back in his car and drove away.
"Are you okay?" Hinata asked the fallen girl. Tenten nodded silently, feeling a bit denounced by the presence of artistic royalty. She inwardly scowled, knowing that this wasn't who she truly was. She wouldn't bow down to those who thought themselves better than her; however, the regal air surrounding the family was enough to make even Uzumaki Naruto stop and stare. The Hyuuga heiress smiled warmly before walking away with her cousin and sister following. Neji spared Tenten one last look before following his two cousins through the door of the school.
Once out of view, the brunette gave a sigh of relief. The tension was brutal and it didn't help her meditate her artistic talents. Speaking of which, Tenten gasped as her video camera fell back into her line of memory once more. She looked left to right, searching for her fallen piece of equipment.
"Looking for this?"
The brunette turned as her video camera was shoved into her arms by the pink haired girl who had helped her up. She totally forgot about her.
"Oh thank you so much! I would have died if I had broken another one of these," Tenten laughed, hugging her camcorder gratefully. It looked to be miraculously undamaged. Once everything had calmed down and cleared up, she could finally evaluate the girl properly.
She was short for her age, maybe a head shorter than Tenten herself. The brunette couldn't deny that she was pretty though, with bubblegum pink hair twisted into a messy bun and emerald eyes staring curiously at her. She looked neat and proper and Tenten guessed that she was a transfer student.
"It's alright. Are you okay?" the rosette asked, smiling slightly.
"Yeah, thanks again. I'm Tenten by the way."
"Haruno Sakura."
"Sakura-chan huh?" Tenten tapped her chin curiously. "That's a pretty name. You're new here right? I've memorized almost every single face that walked through those doors and I'm pretty sure I would have recognized yours. You're not that hard to miss."
Sakura's cheeks darkened to the same colour as her hair and she nodded. "Yeah, I'm in year ten and I specialize in vocals."
Brown eyes widened excitedly as their owner took the other girl's hands in her own. "Wow, we're in the same year! This is so exciting; I don't know very many people in the vocal department. I'm in the media section. Film and photography."
Sakura smiled a little wider, probably figuring that fact out a while ago.
"Have you got your schedule yet?" the other girl asked and Sakura shook her head. "Come on, let's go check if we have any classes together. Darn it, where's my skateboard." Tenten swung her brown messenger bag across her shoulders and looked around for her board. Suddenly, a blur of green came swishing passed them, did a full U-turn and stopped at Tenten's feet.
"Tenten-chan, I think you dropped something," the blur said, which turned out to be a skinny boy with a green hat, bag, skateboard and shoes. He held up her skateboard, still standing on his own.
"Oh there you are Lee-kun!" she replied, grabbing the board. "What happened to coming to school early? I've been looking everywhere for you."
Lee bowed apologetically, crying out dramatically about having to greet his beloved sensei first. The brunette sighed and waved away his apology before he started crying or something. "Anyways Lee, this is Sakura. Sakura, Lee. Come on, we were just about to grab Sakura's schedule."
Lee smiled brightly at the rosette, flashing a perfect set of pearly whites. Tenten rolled her eyes and grabbed the wrists of both her oldest friend and newest and dragged them inside.
...NDAFA...
Shikamaru yawned sleepily, trudging down the halls with contempt. His mother had dragged him out of bed that morning exclaiming that he should be at school on time at least one day. Unfortunately, that day was today. Usually, the boy would sleep outside under his favourite tree, but today was different. It was the first day of school after all. He decided that, before he went to take nap, he would at least grab his schedule first, seeing as how it would be troublesome to go when the crowd of nervous freshmen walked through the doors. With his large headphones covering his ears and wrapping back behind his head, the boy moved forward toward his destination while bopping his head to the beat.
He passed by the drama and art hallways respectively, looking for his own specialty department. For some reason, the school looked different this time. Maybe they renovated, or maybe Shikamaru just didn't pay enough attention to his surroundings to memorize where everything was. Nevertheless, he continued on down the "Street" as the long, main hallway was so fondly called. He eyed the vacant classrooms and hallways uninterestedly before realizing suddenly that he had no clue where he was. He frowned, wondering why everything in his life had to be so troublesome.
Grudgingly, the brunette boy removed his headphones, trying to grasp the situation entirely when suddenly graceful, classical music filled his ears and echoed down the empty halls. It wasn't loud per say, but the melody was enough to peak his interest, which not many things did. He could hear a violin and piano accompaniment in the mix, and he followed his ears to a supposedly vacant dance studio in one of the dance hallways.
The lazy boy peered through one of the windows on the door and found a pretty blonde girl in blue leotards dancing gracefully across the dance floor, her eyes closed in concentration. She was thin with toned arms and legs and a rather large bust. However, the way she moved –so graceful and alluring – Shikamaru just couldn't take his eyes off of her. He couldn't deny that she was good, the way her arms would sway from side to side and she would twirl in a pirouette.
Before long the brown-haired boy found that he had to let out a breath of air, having held it in for some time as he watched her in amazement. This behaviour wasn't natural for him; usually, he would mutter something about troublesome women and walk away uninterestedly. Yet, every time she moved fluidly across the floor and her long blonde ponytail would swish with her movements, he could feel his heart thumping louder and faster. Maybe he was sick. The girl's actions hypnotized him, enrapturing his attention, something nothing and no one found to be easy. Unfortunately, the trance was soon to be broken.
"Shikamaru!"
The boy blinked unconsciously, and shook his head like a dog with water in its ears. He suddenly felt very drowsy. Lolling his head to the side, he turned to the intruder who had woken him up from his pleasantly blissful fantasy.
A spiky blonde head came into view along with a contrasting dark-haired one. The boy sighed, irritated with the two familiar faces that had shown up. It wasn't that he wasn't fond of the two troublesome friends, but they just always seemed to have the worst timing.
"Yo," he stated simply, holding up his hand in greeting. Sasuke nodded his head silently while Naruto jumped up and down in excitement.
"What are you doing in the dance hallway?" the blonde asked, tilting his head to the side. Then a thought struck him and he shook his head. "No scratch that, why are you even at school this early?"
Shikamaru ignored both questions and replied, "I should be asking you the same question."
"Promised Iruka-sensei I'd come early today to help unload his paper and work. I don't even understand how he has so much stuff now when school hasn't even started yet. I brought teme with me to help."
The brunette nodded but stayed silent, hoping that the two boys would just leave so that he could go back to watching that girl. However, obviously with Naruto, he never did what you wanted him to. The blonde turned his head to see what he was previously looking at as Sasuke did the same.
"Isn't that Yamanaka Ino?" the dark-haired boy asked. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. How did Sasuke – the epitome of social rejection – know the girl who looked like the type to be a prom queen? Then again, she was probably president of his fan club or something.
When the youngest Uchiha saw his look, he shrugged. "She was my partner for a project in our advanced English class once and I thought she was going to cry with happiness, but instead she asked for a new partner. She's strange; mostly keeps to herself. She thinks she's like the best dancer in the school."
Naruto's azure eyes lit up in recognition. "No, she is the best. She can make her body move in the most impossible ways, it's freaky! Her mom was apparently some prima ballerina but was injured in some accident and pushes her really hard or something; that's why she's always here before and after school. She's famous in the dance department."
Before Shikamaru could reply, the doors that they were standing by burst open and an angry blonde woman appeared, glaring at the three boys in annoyance with pale blue eyes. Her blonde hair was cut short and down to her shoulders and she wore a tan business suit. The boys didn't notice that the music had stopped.
"I would really appreciate it if you boys left. My daughter needs her concentration and she doesn't appreciate a bunch of low-life misfits ogling at her as she practises. Therefore, leave!"
The boys nodded in fear and Shikamaru took one last look into the room under the women's opened arms and saw Yamanaka Ino staring at them longingly and apologetically.
Her eyes are a brighter blue than her mom's, Shikamaru thought before running away behind Naruto's orange-clad back.
Once at a safe distance away, the boys stopped to catch their breaths and the blonde looked up panting. "See, she's crazy! I remember one time, Ino ran away from her ballet lessons and stayed in our hip hop class. When her mom found her, I thought she was going to kill her daughter on the spot. I feel sorry for the girl."
Shikamaru let the words process into his mind well after he said goodbye to the two; after he got his schedule and after he lay down underneath his favourite tree to take a nap. Soon more students were arriving, and still the girl was on his mind. Yamanaka Ino.
"Shika-kun! There you are. You shouldn't be sleeping here, you could get trampled."
The boy lifted his eyelid open blearily and saw sandy blonde hair. Groaning, he sat up so as to not get punched by the glaring girl.
"Hey Shikamaru," a short, plump boy greeted him behind Temari. His two best friends and neighbours since as long as he could remember.
"Yo, is it time for class to start yet?" he asked, standing up and brushing off the grass from his black uniform pants. He grasped Choji's large hand familiarly.
"Almost," the boy replied, letting go to continue munching on the potato chips he was eating. He gave Temari a quick hug then looked around. The grounds were pretty packed with kids playing their instruments outside or break-dancing in the parking lot.
"Where were you?" Temari asked absent-mindedly, shifting her blonde hair to the other shoulder. She opened her black Jansport bag to search for her compact mirror.
"No where, just here," he replied, just as airily. A thought suddenly struck him and he turned to his closest girl friend. "Um... do you know a girl named Yamanaka Ino?"
Temari froze while searching her bag, but didn't look up. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh the dancer girl?" Choji questioned, stopping him mid bite of a new chip.
Shikamaru's face lit up minutely, and only those who could read his every move would have seen it. Unfortunately for her, that was Temari. Seeing the small change in his face through her thick wavy hair, the girl glared at the ground, knowing what this meant. Shikamaru never showed interest in any girl, so if he was now it only meant one thing. And that was definitely not a good thing for the blonde.
"Yeah, do you know her?"
Choji laughed, quirking his eyebrows teasingly. "Why, you interested?"
Shikamaru's face turned bright red while Temari thrashed around in her bag more violently. This was not happening.
"No," the brunette protested and Choji laughed harder. "I was just with Sasuke and Naruto in the dance hallways when her mom came out and yelled at us. It was scary."
Temari found this the perfect opportunity. "Yeah, well the girl is just bad. I heard that she is rude, spoiled and so full of herself," she sneered, her mirror forgotten.
Shikamaru took in her words thoughtfully and Temari hoped that she diverted her friend's attention away from the prissy blonde. Anyways, she wasn't even his type. She looked way too shallow and big-headed. He needed a more down to earth kind of girl.
"In any case," Choji interrupted them, looking down at his watch. "It's almost time for homeroom. Let's go."
His other two friends nodded and walked away from the large oak tree. Once again, Shikamaru sighed, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky. Yamanaka...Ino.
...NDAFA...
"Come on Teme, we're going to be late!" the blonde boy was nearly running down the hallways, knocking down several students in the process. He continuously had to stop, running in place to wait for his best friend, the stoic Uchiha Sasuke, who was walking leisurely behind him.
"Whose fault is that? I told you to get your schedule earlier," Sasuke replied nonchalantly, not caring in the slightest that the bell had rang.
"I forgot," Naruto whined as Sasuke caught up again. "Ino's mom scared me and it totally slipped my mind."
"Well that's your problem, dobe."
Naruto glared angrily, but when the second bell rang, he panicked. Grabbing Sasuke's wrist, he bolted down to the end of the hallway where their History class was. Sliding the door open, he ran in yelling in triumph. However, the victory was short lived when he suddenly bumped into a girl who was standing by the door, successfully knocking her over. The girl gave a yelp as Naruto landed on top of her while Sasuke ripped his wrist away from the blonde's in boiling annoyance. Blue eyes looked down and stared at pupiless ones, and to his horror, he had knocked over the Hyuuga princess herself.
The whole class quieted down as a few people started whispering. Naruto was afraid to look up, for fear of meeting the gaze of her cousin, whose similar pupil-less eyes probably didn't share the same kind of warmth as Hinata.
With both faces bright red, someone in the class coughed awkwardly which brought Naruto to his senses. "I... I'm so sorry Hyuuga-sama. It was honestly an accident." Normally, the exuberant blonde would never use such an honourific for anybody; yet, he couldn't bring himself to be so rude to the girl, in all his years of knowing her. They had been in many classes together throughout the years, but he was always forbidden to talk to her. Something about her carried such a majestic nature that just by staring at her, he felt unworthy. And this was Naruto we're talking about.
"U-U-Uzumaki-san," Hinata had managed to stutter out, nearing unconsciousness. "P-please, don't ad-address me in s-s-such a way. Be-sides, i-it was my f-f-ault."
Before Naruto could say anything, he was pulled roughly to his feet by strong arms and slammed into the blackboard. Hinata squeaked in surprise and as the Uzumaki boy groaned in pain.
"Neji-nii-san!"
"Don't touch Hinata-sama, you filthy child. You are not worthy to even look at her!" Neji growled in rage.
Sasuke found that it was finally time to intervene, as entertaining as it was. "Hey, back off man. It was an accident." He pulled Neji off him, but in turn, the Hyuuga male rounded on him and shoved him rudely to the side.
"This doesn't concern you Uchiha," he spat venomously. Narrowing his onyx eyes, Sasuke shoved him back and he stumbled into a desk. Neji was about to come back in full force when someone bravely stepped in the way, blocking all three boys from making any move.
"Okay, you guys so need to chill out," Tenten cried, shifting her eyes between all three men. The rest of the students stared at her in awe. That girl was definitely fearless to intervene a fight between an Uchiha and a Hyuuga. "Just go sit in your seats, the teacher should be here soon."
Naruto stared at the girl quizzically while the other two boys glared. Neji looked as if he was about to retort, but Tenten glared back at him just as fiercely and he relented with a huff. Helping Hinata to her feet, he led her away to her desk. Everyone else who had been watching the events unfold, followed their lead and went to sit in their desks leaving Tenten to stand wearily at the front. Spotting an empty desk beside her new friend Sakura and behind Lee, she dragged her feet to the back in between her pink haired friend and that Ino girl, who she hadn't really ever met yet, but had heard about.
"What a way to start the new year right?" Sakura whispered and Tenten laughed, just as the door slid open.
"Okay everybody, on your feet! We're late for the opening assembly." The class raised their heads to see their silver-haired homeroom teach smiling innocently at them. And everyone sweatdropped.
...NDAFA...
A/N: Tada! That 's the end of the first chapter. Hoped you liked it. Please review so that I'd feel motivated to update more often. This is just a glimpse into the lives of some of the Naruto cast with much more to come. I got this idea from the Fame trailer (the new movie coming out) and felt that I just HAD to write a fic about it. Some of the pairings are still undecided, but it's most likely going to be Sasusaku, Nejiten, Naruhina and Temashikaino. Don't worry for those Shikatema fans, Temari isn't a beeeeach in this story but I don't know how that story line is going to end yet so tell me what you guys want. Anyways, peace out homies :)
-amarie 3