Chapter 1

With care, she inched the tie off of her bento box, stowing it carefully into her sweater pocket. Sakura then laid out her lunch on the deep purple colored furoshiki (1). Glancing about cautiously, she began to eat quickly; for fear that they would find her. Chewing as quietly as possible, the little girl pressed herself into the corner of the hole underneath the great roots of an oak tree. Some time ago, it might have been a fox's nest, but Sakura hid here to eat her lunch during the class' one hour break. This oak tree was surrounded by other oak trees that looked exactly the same, leaves unfurled to gather their life energy from the sun. The pounding of other children's feet up above startled her. She closed her eyes tightly, wishing to every kami she knew that they wouldn't discover her. The footsteps faded away, towards the school. The teacher blew the whistle a few moments later. Five minute warning. All the other students would be going inside…she would too. Under the watch of a teacher, she wouldn't be bullied quite so much.

Yes, Sakura had imagined school to be a fun, lively place. She had read about it in books that her mother and father brought home. When she got there, she realized her great mistake. The older students were mean. Timid and shy already, she and her first year class had innocently walked into the "territory" of the sixth years. They laughed and called them cruel names, made them bow low and call them "senpai."(2) Sakura was a bold little girl, and had never encountered bullies. She answered back. And her fate was decided.

"So, the little Sakura wants to question her elders?" sneered the older boy, Kaite. "Well then, take this!" With that, he slapped her cheek. It seemed to echo down the corridors. The teachers didn't even look up.

Sakura cried out in pain, and stomped on his foot, the naïve child she was. With no regard to his status as a sixth year and his great size.

Yelling angrily at her, he pointed and shouted to the growing crowd, "This is a troublemaker! I, Kaite declare her to be an outcast from this day on, for the rest of her years here. Heed my orders, and you won't be punished." His friends nodded solemnly, glaring at everyone.

The fifth years would try their best to bully the little girl to get in Kaite's exclusive circle, and when they became sixth years, the fifth years would do the same. Sakura was doomed for isolation until she became a sixth year. Even then, her own peers would shun her, for fear of being shunned as first years in intermediate school. Sakura did not know this, but she would learn in the next few days, what that statement really meant.

Now, she knew well enough. The teachers never paid mind. It happened every year. There were outcasts pointed out every year by the pompous sixth years. Everyone was bullied as first, second, and third years. Then, once they became fourth years, they unloaded their own experiences on the new children, continuing the cycle of terror. That was how schools worked. Unless someone was severely hurt, the adults didn't stick their noses in the complex hierarchy.

Sakura was stuck like this for not blending in with the other first years that day, and retaliating. Whatever the older students said, the younger ones did. If you didn't you were shunned. Sakura didn't tell her parents, but instead, worked hard in class to achieve the best grades. This only made the other students jealous and more hateful, but they never found her during lunch after she found the foxhole. They still called her names, but they didn't dare to physically abuse her right in front of the teacher. The only chances were before and after school. Sakura worked up some stamina from sprinting to home right as school ended.

Though reclusive, she was an impressionable little girl and she never failed to observe her peers, as they wouldn't talk to her. Shikamaru, Gaara, and Neji especially captured her attention. They had all been able to skip grades and take math, science, Japanese literature, Japanese history, and English classes with the older fourth years. He, faithfully abiding to the unspoken rule, ignored her.

Temari, a fifth year, seemed very tomboyish, and reluctant to wear kimono. She was very cruel to the younger students. Her brother, Kankurou, was in her Japanese literature class. He was a little absentminded, and often doodled on a corner of the workbook after copying down haiku and passages he didn't understand.

In her own year, there was an interesting cast of people she observed more than others. Ino. Hinata. Tenten. Friendly and happy despite the environment and being bullied for being happy. Shy and shyer after going through the tormenting older senpai. Athletic and slightly less bullied due to pulling the primary school to the championships in baseball.

The population of boys was much greater here. The patriarchs liked to have sons, and daughters were often sent to private schools to learn manners and marry to reputable men. Chouji. Lee. Shino. Naruto. Kiba. Neji. Gaara. A rather chubby boy with the best cooking abilities of anyone here. Energetic and lover of green and the environment. Also energetic, extremely fidgety, and not very attentive. Great with the stray dogs at school, fun loving, and first to try something new. Serious, intelligent, suave, and handsome. Neji was very eye catching, though he rarely said anything at all, except to answer questions in his perfect pronunciation. A quiet boy with intense green eyes like hers, whom, she remembered, had the greatest patience while in the sandbox, making castles.

Then there was Sasuke. Sasuke. She wanted to say his name over and over again. His older brother, I something, was a first year in high school. He was athletic, smart, very handsome, a little arrogant, being the son of an important government official and deceased official's daughter. He made her nervous, he made her self-conscious, he made her feel things she didn't feel before. Uchiha Sasuke wasn't bullied because his parents were so important. His only friend, Naruto similarly avoided being bullied. Pity, he was just like Sakura, naïve and with brave heart. But he was friends with Sasuke-kun.

Sakura slipped out of the hole and took the long way to the classroom. She entered just as the teacher was about to blow the whistle.

The years first day

Thoughts and loneliness;

The autumn dusk is here

Another poem by Basho, the famous haiku writer. She loved listening to the deep poems and writing about its meaning. She copied the poem meticulously into her workbook, slipping the shitajiki under the page. (3) Sakura was startled by the poke at her shoulder. Was someone going to prank her? Would she suffer today, during her favorite class? It didn't matter. She couldn't turn to face whoever was there. The teacher would see her and punish her with two slaps to the palm if she did. Straightening her back, she ignored the other person.

Later, after class, she found a slip of paper on her seat. Don't go past Kamaji's house today. They are waiting for you. Thanking the silent messenger with her heartfelt whisper, she took another route home, avoiding the gang of annoyed students that might have ambushed her that day.

After the tip off, Sakura was surprised to see Neji-san sitting behind her in Japanese literature. She slipped him a scrap of paper too. Why? He didn't send her a reply. She was grateful for his help, and said nothing of it. It wasn't until the final group project for the year that she had to actually talk to anyone beyond the shallow, school related things. For other projects, she asked to work alone, and the teachers had consented.

Project Assignment

Homeroom teacher: Hakurei sensei, Partners:_ and _.

The assignment is due in two months. This annual project is meant to incorporate all the classes over the six years at this school. The theme this year is poetry, as last year was mathematics. Please select three or four appropriate haiku poems for consideration by the next week and a half. Following that, please choose one to work with. Both students must interpret this haiku and present their perception of the meaning in an essay, to be turned in. This essay must be accompanied by a calligraphy copy from each student of the haiku. Details regarding paper, ink colors, length, and content will be decided later, after all poetry has been chosen.

Have fun!

Being a little special, having taken fourth year Japanese literature, Sakura, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Neji were limited to being partnered with each other for the school years that followed. She was elated that they weren't that mean, and that it lessened her chances of having to work with a terrorizing fourth year.

Hakurei sensei read the slip of paper aloud for the class, and announced partners. She ran the list, and Sakura heard her name in the mix, right after Neji-san. The past two years, she had partnered with Gaara and Shikamaru. It was no surprise to her. Gaara's house was full of loud bickering between siblings, and sometimes, Gaara joined in and forgot she was there a few times. Otherwise, his family was accommodating, his mother an amazing resource of information about haiku meanings. Shikamaru was an only child, and his home was quiet. The occasional cricket chirped from time to time as they worked on the mathematics project. But just being around him made her want to slack off and watch clouds. He just gave off that sort of aura. Thankfully, she pulled through and finished most of the project, despite his inability to do work.

Sometimes, she wished that Sasuke had skipped too. Then there would be a chance for her to be partnered with him. A guaranteed chance. But no, he didn't pass. He failed the skipping exam by two points. She and Shikamaru had both tied for first, with eleven points above passing, one away from one hundred percent. Gaara and Neji were at a close second, six points and three points respectively, away from the other two. Now she was paired with Neji-san.

The teacher had allowed them thirty minutes to work out project details and out of school meeting times. She turned towards Neji, chancing a look at his face. It was an unrelenting scowl. She flicked her eyes back down. "Hyuuga-san…I hope you don't mind working with me. I know I'm not quite as knowledgeable in Japanese literature (she had scored below him on that portion, by one point), but I hope we will finish this project without problems." She bowed again, humbly. She didn't dare use his name in speech. She didn't try that with anyone.

"Haruno-san. I am unable to host meetings at my house. If you will allow me to go to your house today, I would very much appreciate it." His speech was formal and polite.

"Yes, I can do that. Will you be staying for dinner? I fear our family does not provide as much as you might regularly get, but I will be much honored if you would." She knew a little formal talk, despite being only nine. She read many books with formal characters in them, and modeled her speech after them. But how did he know?

"It is settled then." There was a silence between them as they sat facing each other. The others talked animatedly, but Sakura was much isolated, and didn't know Neji very well. She looked over at Sasuke, who was talking to Shino. She wanted to be talking to him, but the closest to that was when she said sorry to him once after blocking his way into the classroom.

After that minute's worth of conversation, Sakura seemed to get lost in her thoughts about Sasuke often. She stood up slowly, to wait for Neji. He meticulously packed his pencil bag, workbook, textbooks, and other items and placed them in his bag in an orderly, practiced fashion. Sakura blushed at her own hastily packed backpack. She pretended to shuffle around some things, when Samada sensei poked his head in and requested that she clean the blackboard. Happy to do something, she wrung out the rag and cleaned the blackboard as he now waited for her. Turning back to him, she explained that they should take the long way home, to avoid the bullies.

He stared at her. "We shall take the shortest, most efficient route. I am not scared of the senpai in this school. They will not be there. I should not fear bullying from them." Sakura cried out in frustration quietly. He didn't fear them, but she did. He wouldn't budge, so they set out on the shortest route. Sure enough, up ahead, the gang of sixth years were in a large group of six, walking along on the sidewalk, a fifth year dogging their steps worshipfully. Sakura motioned to move to the opposite sidewalk, but proud Neji didn't want to. "I will walk right past them. I'm not scared, and you shouldn't be either." But the slight tremor in his legs told her otherwise.

"Hyuuga-san…please?" She whispered, as a final effort to convince him. He was not moved. They had slowly advanced to the sixth years, and upon hearing the footsteps, Tsuge Hiru whipped around to see the two third years making their way towards them.

"Ah, it's little Sakura-chan and…what's this? A Hyuuga shrimp too." By this time, his little crew had also stopped to tease. Fudo Matsure joined, saying, "Ha, are you thinking of walking past us? Little fools, you'll learn a lesson yet." Kaite's little brother grinned evilly, saying, "My brother has taught me some things. Haruno Sakura. You've been a great example to the school, how about you be a good sport and sport a bruise to show everyone tomorrow?" He motioned to the others, and they began to advance.

"Not so brave, Hyuuga-san?" whispered Sakura to her equally terrified but still trying to act arrogant partner. "Shut up if you know what's good for you," he growled back, trying to regain his composure. Sakura had more experience with running away. Grabbing Neji's hand, she squeezed her eyes tight as if to shy from the coming blows. At this, Hiru laughed and relaxed, pointing to laugh again. As he threw his head back in laughter with his buddies at his cruel joke, Sakura pulled on Neji's arm and leapt right past Hiru, nearly getting run over by a biker as she ran into the street, onto the opposite sidewalk. At that moment, Hiru made to give chase. His crew might have also followed, but once Hiru stepped onto the road, the red light turned green, and he only made it across.

Almost crying, Sakura turned to see Hiru. Her plan was flawed—she didn't time it well enough. Neji, bewildered, was intelligent, and ran too, faster than her. He slowed a tiny bit to allow her to lead him to her neighborhood. Hiru was there, almost there. His shouts scared the lunch out of her, and she nearly vomited from running so much. She needed to cross another road. She sped up, coughing from the effort, to get to the next stoplight early enough to do the same maneuver. Neji was slowing, but she didn't see, and crossed without him. Hiru was catching up to him, and horrified, she realized that she had left him with the devil incarnate himself.

"HYUUGA-SAN!" She was beside herself with tears now. Hiru had him up against the brick wall, threatening him some more. Once the light was red again, she crossed and snuck up on Hiru. The thought terrified her, but she aimed carefully for Hiru's private parts. She knew it would crush him because she had accidentally kicked her father there once. After, he had told her never to do that, and that it hurt boys immensely. Counting on the hope that Hiru was the same case, she launched her foot straight up. The scream of pain allowed Sakura and Neji to escape and cross the street, leaving the bully on the ground. Gasping for breath, they collapsed on her foyer, having run all the way there, for fear of Hiru's lackeys hanging around to get them.

Neji's usually immaculate dress and hair were windswept, ruffled, and mussed. Sakura was a little dirty from the fox hole, tear streaked, and equally messy. They looked at each other in amazement for a few moments, and then, Sakura giggled. Neji laughed, and Sakura joined him, laughing with happiness. They had just escaped a beating. They had just beaten up a sixth year. They had just run to Sakura's house twice as fast as usual. They had lived! They were alive and in Sakura's house. It was an amazing, however small, victory. Shouting their arrival to Sakura's mother, they headed up the stairs to avoid being seen so dirty to clean up before seeing her.

Once in her room, Neji draped himself on her bed, forgetting rules and implications and protocol, his body tired out from the events that afternoon. Sakura washed her face and straightened her clothes.

"…Hyuuga-san? Were you scared?" She probed cautiously, wondering what Hiru was like that close for him. A dry laugh sounded from Neji. "He had breath like rotten fish, and he was stupid. I wasn't that scared, then." There was a silence. Then, "It was…fun." Sakura laughed again, and agreed wholeheartedly. "You can wash up now, I'm done. I've put out another washcloth for you; it is hanging on the rack." He nodded at her, and disappeared into the bathroom.

After he came out, he sat beside her on the bed. "You may call me Neji-san." It was uncomfortable as she processed this, shocked. "Oh! Thank you, Neji-san. You can call me Sakura-san. We are working on this project, anyway." She twiddled her fingers a little, and smiled. Neji wasn't that bad.


Vocab Corner!

Furoshiki: a cloth that is often used to wrap gifts, possessions, etc. For many, it is used to wrap bento boxes, for carrying and decoration purposes.

–senpai: an honorific/title for seniority. So, Hiru would be Hiru-senpai, or simply, senpai.

Shitajiki: a plastic sheet that many Japanese students will use as a sort of clipboard, without the clip. It allows the pencil to write on notebooks without indenting on the back of the page or the next page, and keeps the notebook neat.

About the bullying. This is very common in many classrooms across Japan. Of course, I might have exaggerated a little bit, but not a lot. The gap between lower grades and higher grades is like a canyon deep and wide. The difference between a first year and fourth year is huge. And yes, first years have to do the bidding of the older students. Or else everyone will hate on them. If the others don't hate on the student, then they get hated on too.