Homecoming Blues

by Devi77

Here my sixth story of Naruto High School. In this one, Naruto gets whisked away by Deidara and Tobi to school, gets a birthday surprise, and has a lot of luck on his side, especially when it comes to Hinata.

Naruto High School

Story 6: Homecoming Blues

(Rated T for mild violence, adult content, and adult language.)

(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Naruto because it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. As for the drama in high school, it really has some coolness in it. So, enjoy the show!)

Naruto was up as he was eating some breakfast while he was still in his robe and nightclothes. After recovering from both exhaustion and a slight cold, he was feeling better, but he had to stay home due to a doctor's note. He wanted to go to school so bad as he took a bite from his honey-nut toasted oats in his bowl full of milk. After he finished breakfast, he put his bowl and spoon in the sink as he went into the living room and sat down. Just as he was about to turn on the t.v., he heard the sound of a fast car approaching as it was parked in front of his house. Who could be driving like that at seven-thirty in the morning? Naruto opened up the door as he saw a student from Akatsuki Academy step out of a green sportscar that was a bit on the retro side. It was none other than Deidara as he was on truant officer duty just to make sure that no student plays hooky.

"Well, well; if it isn't the yanki," said Deidara as he was standing next to his car.

"Look, I have a doctor's note that I have to stay home for a couple of days," said Naruto.

"Deidara!" cried Tobi as he got out of the passenger's side of the car. "It's getting late! You don't want Yahiko and Nagato to get mad at us again."

"Idiot!" he cried. "You're supposed to stay in the car!" He was staring at Naruto as he was ready to bag him into the sportscar. "And as for you, grab your backpack and all the trimmings 'cause you're going for a ride!"

Without another word, Naruto grabbed his backpack as he also had his wallet, keys, and cellphone with him. Locking the door, he was in his slippers as he was being hauled by Deidara and Tobi into the sportscar. It wasn't long until he was in the back seat while the "truant officers" got into the driver's seat and passenger's side as the sportscar's engine revved up and drove off towards town. Naruto found it very uncomfortable being in a muscle car as he even had his seatbelt on. The sound of speed radiated from the green muscle car as it made its way to the two schools from the opposite sides of the street: Konoha Academy and Akatsuki Academy. When Deidara and Tobi got out of the car, they opened up the back seat as they grabbed Naruto, backpack and all, as they hauled him into the school halls. Everyone was completely shocked to see him all dressed in his pajamas as it was also the start of Homecoming week.

What Naruto didn't expect was that a trio of sophomores were dressed in their pajamas for the day as they had never expected him to get to school even after being forced to stay at home for exhaustion. They were a grade older than him as they consisted of Neji Hyuga, the top genius in the sophomore class, as he was accompanied by the fiery Rock Lee and the leading home ec student, Tenten. They were still shocked to see Naruto being carted in by Deidara and Tobi as they were not only students from the high school across the street, but they were the "truant officers" on wheels when it came to seeing people out of school and missing a day.

"Look at the yanki who was about to play hooky," said Deidara as he was pointing directly at Naruto.

"Hey, this isn't your school, Deidara," said Tenten.

"May I remind you that people who feign exhaustion are no better than those who play hooky."

"But I wasn't playing hooky!" cried Naruto. "I had a doctor's note stating that, you know!"

"Shut your trap, rookie! I'm the truant officer in charge and I'm watching you; you got that, ya piss-poor yanki?! Tobi, let's get the lead out!"

"C-C-Coming, Deidara," he said as he followed him out the door.

With the "truant officers" out of the building, Naruto went to his locker as he opened it up to get his binder. He had never been embarrassed in all his life like that after being forced to stay at home as he closed it and went to class. With Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee watching from a distance, they were on their way to their first period class as it consisted of home ec. The class itself was a smorgasbord full of different ways to cooking meals, making clothes, and designing art for housing. Home ec was also Tenten's favorite subject because of her way of cooking her favorite pulled pork dumplings as the class was already filling up with several students from various grades.

"I can't believe that guy!" yelled Tenten as she was not too happy with Deidara. "He knows that Naruto's still not feeling well and has to stay home."

"I know that you're not happy with him, but he is one of the 'truant officers' around here," said Neji.

"Deidara should at least pay attention to his studies instead of his sportscar," said Lee.

"Ah, the smell of motor oil and testosterone can surely turn someone off real quick," said Tenten.

"We can worry about that another time," said Neji. "Right now, Miss Shinseki's about to teach us how to prepare dessert."

"Oh, how I love the smell of cooking!" cried Lee as he was ready to tackle on the kitchen.

With the three sophomores already sticking to home ec as their first period class, they were ready for anything as they were ready to conjure another recipe in store. As for the rest of Konoha Academy, they were still hard at work as they were enjoying the start of Homecoming week. It was also a week that no one did any homework as they were very much relieved for this brief reprieve.

###

Naruto was in his third period class as he was still keeping up with the math class. After this morning's debacle with Deidara and Tobi, he was starting to get exhausted as he was trying to focus on the math problems that Asuma was putting up on the chalkboard. He had to stay on task as he was doing his assignment for today without fail. He couldn't even let Sasuke get all the glory in math class as he finished up his work when the bell rang. After all that work, there was lunchtime as he went towards the cafeteria to get himself something to eat. It wasn't long until he saw Shuga and Hochika sitting at their table as they were wearing their yanki uniforms. He didn't pay any attention to them as he went onward to the ramen bar, where he got the deluxe miso blend with sliced boiled egg and pork. When he got to one of the empty tables, he sat down as he broke apart his disposable chopsticks and was ready to eat.

The taste of miso broth with the ramen had really hit the spot as he was eating the whole lunch. He was happy to eat something after the morning debacle that he had. After finishing up his ramen, he threw away the chopsticks as he took the bowl towards the stack of dirty dishes that were about to be cleaned up. When he got back to his table, he saw a cupcake that had pink frosting on top of it as there was also a birthday card in an envelope next to it. He had never seen anything like it before as he started to eat the tasty cupcake with pink frosting on it. It was something to savor as he finished the cupcake with one fell swoop. It wasn't long until he opened up the envelope and saw the birthday card. It was a Regular Show card as it had Muscle Man on the front of it. When he opened it up, he saw some money fall out of it as it even had some signatures from some of the students from his classes.

"Hey, Naruto," said Aunt Kirina as she was carting away some dirty dishes onto her cart.

"Hey, Aunt Kirina," he said.

"I bet that you liked the cupcake that Hinata made for you. As for the card, Sasuke and Sakura picked it out for you."

"I should thank them later when I get out after school."

"By the way, there's no homework for this week. I know that you do this stuff the moment you go home, but this is Homecoming tradition and a relief for the students. It also seems that you got caught by those jerks from Akatsuki Academy, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but they were on truant officer duty when they pulled up in a green sportscar. Those guys got some nerve to get me out of the house because of the excuse of playing hooky."

"But you weren't playing hooky. You even had a doctor's note to stay home after that football game last weekend. When school gets out, I suggest that you stay in bed."

"It's not gonna be easy, but at least I don't have any homework."

The bell rang as it was time for fourth period after the first lunch. When Naruto got up from the table, he grabbed the birthday card full of money as he stuffed it into his backpack. Just as he was about to go towards Study Hall, he noticed that Shuga and Hochika were blocking his path as they were onto him. He didn't have time to go up against those juniors, but they were ready to pick a fight with him for no apparent reason as they also had a bone to pick with him as well.

"Okay, yanki, spit it out," said Shuga as he had his fists clenched. "I'm here to teach you a lesson after what happened at the arcade!"

"Get out of the way, Shuga," said Naruto. "I don't want to be late for Study Hall."

"Hey, runt," said Hochika. "I hear that you got a birthday card and a cupcake during lunch. I hope that you got enough cupcakes for everybody!"

"Hey, I just ate the damn cupcake that Hinata made. As for the birthday card, that came from Sasuke and Sakura."

"That's not all," said Shuga. "May I remind you that the card had money in it?"

"That money in the card was meant for Naruto," said Lee as he was standing behind the bullies.

"Why, you Spock-haired, beady-eyed nerd!" yelled Hochika as he was starting to get angry.

"Besides, isn't it time that the two of you should be in class right now?"

Both Shuga and Hochika left as Lee was still standing in the hall. Naruto was relieved that there was someone other than him who can go up against those bullies as he was on his way to Study Hall. Lee was no slouch when it came to confronting Shuga and Hochika as he also followed the rules of the school. After such a scuffle, he went to his own class as it was history with Kakashi. As for Shuga and Hochika, however, they went to their classes as they were still watching Naruto like a hawk, for he was just a newcomer at Konoha Academy that was branching out.

###

When the bell rang towards three o'clock, the students were on their way home for the day as tomorrow was looming in the wings. As for Naruto, however, he kept guard of his backpack as he was on his way towards Ushiwaka just to see what was in store. When he got there, he unzipped his backpack as he counted the money that was given to him in the birthday card. There was a close amount of two hundred thousand yen there as he was ready to get himself something nice. He was there checking out the DVD/Blu-Ray sections as they had the latest anime releases that were in stock. To his surprise, he saw the anime, Tiger & Bunny, on sale as he wanted to get it. Even though it was only fifty percent off the regular sale price, he decided to get it after all as he grabbed it from the shelf. It wasn't long until he went towards the cash register to pay for his new stuff.

After he paid for it, he got some cash back as he stuffed it into his wallet. Even though that dinner was right around the corner, he left Ushiwaka as he was on his way towards the mall. He also decided that he was in for getting something that was more cool than anything. When he got inside, he noticed that there was a raffle giveaway on certain stuff as he was given some tickets for winning for a prize in the drawing. The prizes shown were a Blu-Ray player, a brand new muscle car, a number of bath sets, and several packs of gift cards that have a hundred thousand yen on them a piece. It wasn't long until he saw a man dressed up in a Regular Show t-shirt come up in front of the prizes as he was ready to give out the first few prizes.

"Our first prize is a set of gift cards that are worth a hundred thousand yen a piece," he said. "Now, shall we proceed?" He digs into a box as he fishes out a ticket. "The numbers are 59611. Does anyone have the ticket with the numbers, 59611 on it?" He notices several people seeing their own tickets. "Last call: numbers are 59611."

"59611? Wait! I have the ticket!" cried Naruto as he flashed it up above.

"There you have it. This young man has the first gift card set in this fall giveaway."

And so, Naruto got the gift card set that has up to five cards on it. It was not only his birthday, but his lucky day as well. With the cards blazing with the logos, such as Hot Topic, Benibara, The Fro-Yo Shoppe, Gamestop, and Daiso, he struck big as he decided to go towards one of his favorite store. Just as he was about to do so, he was stopped by the man in the Regular Show t-shirt as he had a the Blu-Ray player in his hands just to hand over.

"Wait!" he yelled. "You're also the winner of this popular Sony Blu-Ray player! Take it!"

"But I thought I only won the gift cards," said Naruto.

"Dude, that raffle also won you the Blu-Ray player, too."

And so, Naruto got the Blu-Ray player as he was carrying it in his hands. He wasn't expecting something like that from the raffle drawing, but he got it anyway. It wasn't long until he decided to rush into Hot Topic as he was looking for a large longstrap bag to put the Blu-Ray player in. When he spotted the new Regular Show longstrap bag, he wanted it for sure as he grabbed it and paid for it with one of the gift cards. It was a major godsend to have them as he took off with the new longstrap bag. With the paper filling taken out and the Blu-Ray player stuffed into it, he draped it over his shoulder as he was on his way to the Ichiraku Ramen for a bite to eat. He was really hungry as he spent some of his birthday money on a bowl full of miso and pork ramen. The taste of ramen surely hit the spot as he ate it in one big gulp. Sooner of later, he would go forth and shop around a little bit more as he went towards Benibara.

The place was like Konoha Market, but different as it had a few products of its own. Naruto was busy looking at some stuff as he noticed that the two truant officers were hanging around here. Both Deidara and Tobi were looking at magazines with muscle cars in them as they were most likely to be joyriding in the city. Naruto paid no attention to them as he went towards the clothing section. He only wanted to pick up a few things there as he grabbed a cart and went towards the men's section. The cavalcade of clothing proved to be something that was different as he gathered a couple packs of underwear and some socks. With the gift cards in tow, he was simply having the time of his life as he was on his way towards the snack section.

There was a whole smorgasbord full of mixed nuts and fruit as he wanted to pick up a few things from there. Just as he was about to do so, he spotted Hinata standing next to the fruit juices as she was about to get a bag of dried cranberries. He had never expected to see her here, but he never considered to have a girlfriend before. In the past few weeks, he was most likely to be studying and doing homework as he didn't have time for a girlfriend. His first choice was Sakura, but he kept getting punched by her frequently as he left her alone. As for Hinata, however, she was very shy, but beautiful as she noticed Naruto standing in front of the dried cranberries. With only a few bags, he left as he was on his way towards the electronics department. He noticed the smorgasbord full of game systems that were on sale as he was eyeing the PlayStation 3. It wasn't long until he asked for assistance from one of the cashiers as he finally got what he wanted, including some role-playing games that were on sale.

After he paid for his items, he was about to leave the mall until he saw Hinata standing at the front entrance. She was waiting for the bus to take her home, but it seemed that she was also staring at Naruto who was on his way home as he had his things that he bought. Somehow, he had never thought of Hinata being his girlfriend, but there would be a time when she would be awaiting him when the Homecoming dance rolls along this weekend. To his assumptions, he didn't have a date for Saturday's Homecoming dance as he still had to get through the special week. When he finally got home, he opened up the door as he set his things on the couch. Even though the first day of Homecoming week had ended, tomorrow was Nerd Day as he was most likely to be dressing into something geeky just to stay in the school spirit. Sooner or later, he would be overdoing it, but he had to be a little more careful when it came to being in school with some of the assignments and none of the homework.

###

The next morning, Naruto was in school as he was dressed in nerdy clothing, complete with white shirt, suspenders, highwater pants, and pocket protector. Today was Nerd Day as everyone in school was dressed up in such geeky attire. When he got to class, he noticed that Kakashi was dressed in the same gawky attire as he was giving the class some notes for next week's test. After the first period ended, Naruto left for his other classes as he was on a roll. When lunch got around, he sat at a table as he was eating his ramen for the day. Little did he know was that Hinata was staring at him from behind as she had a huge crush on him. She had never expected him to be more handsome, but he was a student who was striving to stay on the right track as he was still without a date for Saturday's Homecoming dance.

"Naruto," said Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata," he said as he turned around.

"I heard that you don't have a date for Saturday's dance."

"I heard all about it. Anyway, I'm only going because there's no one else for me to date."

"Naruto, I wanted to ask you if you would take me out to the Homecoming dance."

"Me? Well..., I'll do it. I'll dress up in the finest colors in Konoha Academy."

"Really? Oh, thank you, Naruto."

And so, Naruto accepted Hinata's proposal to take her to the dance as he finally had a date to the dance. Somehow, everything was working out perfectly as he was starting to enjoy the perks of Homecoming. Hours later, school was out as everyone went home. As for Naruto, however, he was looking forward to going on a date with Hinata as he was about to prepare for the dance on Saturday. It wasn't long until he went towards the mall as he was on his way to the Fro-Yo Shoppe. It was a breeze as he built his own parfait of peanut butter and chocolate complete with Reese's pieces, peanut butter cups, brownie bits, whipped cream, peanuts, and a cherry on top when he paid for it with his gift card. It was treat in his success of getting a date for the dance as he was grateful that he got himself someone for Saturday instead of going stag. It was a dream come true for him as he was also on a roll to keep up with the rest of Homecoming week.

Naruto dug into his yogurt parfait as he loved the taste of chocolate and peanut butter. It was his own treat in his usual success as he was ready to stay in the social scene after all, but he also had to do his homework and schoolwork as well. After finishing up his parfait, he threw away the container and spoon as he went out of the Fro-Yo Shoppe and onwards to Benibara. He was looking at some nice suits that were on sale as they were the formal kind. He saw a nice black suit with a white shirt as it was on sale just great for Homecoming. He wanted to get it as it was also on clearance. When he took it off of the rack, he decided to go into one of the fitting rooms as he was ready to try it on.

He looked good in it as it brought out his best features as well. It was the best suit that he ever had as he wanted it to be special. When he put back on his normal clothes, he took the suit as he got out of the fitting room. When he put it in the cart, he was on a roll as he was going towards the fragrance section. He saw the many designer fragrances as they were put on display. Somehow, he wanted to get something that would attract Hinata as he spotted a bottle of Nautica Oceans. It was the perfect cologne for him as he took it off of the display case. Still, it wasn't enough for him to look good as he went straight to the shoe section. He saw some great dress shoes that tailored to a man's taste as he saw a pair of black ones that were on clearance.

"I'm almost there," he said to himself.

Naruto finally got what he needed as he was on his way to the cash register. It wasn't long until he saw Hinata with a cart that had a beautiful dress in it as she was on her way to pay for it. He was thinking about her as he was still in line. It was a simple twist of fate that brought them here in Benibara as they were ready to pay for their nice clothes. When they went to the checkout line, they paid for their stuff as they were on their way out of Benibara. After they left, they went on separate routes as they stayed at the mall for a little bit longer. With Hinata going towards Hiroko's, Naruto was on his way towards Gamestop. He saw the new video games on display as he was staring at the ones that resembled fighting games.

To his surprise, he saw the new Tekken game as it was on sale. There was also the new Soul Calibur game as it had some of the main characters on the front. With the Gamestop gift card in his hand, he picked up the two games as he paid for them, along with a new HDMI cable. He had luck on his side as he found it was getting late. It wasn't long until he was ready to leave the mall, but he didn't want to go without anything to eat as he went towards the Grand Deluxe Buffet. The place was packed as he went inside for a bite to eat. It was a big feast as he was seeing everything on display. The smell of pot roast was something to savor as he grabbed a plate and scooped up some of the tender meat. He also scooped up some mashed potatoes with gravy as he went towards one of the tables.

With a fork and knife on hand, he was ready to dig into the dinner that he wanted as he loved the taste of the food. He continued to eat as he couldn't get enough of it. The food settled his stomach as he was happy to get something a lot more than instant ramen for dinner. He was simply just enjoying another dinner alone as he finished up his plate. He was up for seconds as he went towards the nice juicy steaks that were on display. Little did he know was that Konohamaru was there with his family as he was getting some macaroni and cheese. It was sure nice to see Konohamaru once again as he was happy to see Naruto of all people.

"Hey, Naruto," he said as he was getting some macaroni and cheese on his plate. "How's it going?"

"It's going fine," he answered.

"I can't believe that the high-schoolers are going to the Homecoming dance on Saturday. Aren't you going there, too?"

"Yeah, but I'm also getting a date for the dance."

"What?! You have a girlfriend?! Get real! You hardly ever contact anyone."

"It's only for the dance, that's all."

"Okay, who's your girlfriend?"

"It's Hinata Hyuga. She's also going to the dance this Saturday."

"That's the daughter of one of the financial tycoons in this city. There's no way that you can sweep her off of her feet. Her cousin's a sophomore and one of the big geniuses in the Math Club and Honor Society."

"Yeah, I know. Also, I'm going to dress up nice and not like a ragamuffin."

"That's my main man! Go get the excitement!"

It was one of the greatest insights that Naruto held onto as he was given words of encouragement by Konohamaru. He loved the fact that he got a date for the Homecoming dance on Saturday as he was on a roll in maintaining the perfect setting for his upcoming date. Somehow, he was on the right track when it came to balancing work and play as he was happy to go to the dance. When he got a nice juicy steak on a clean plate, he also got into some fried shrimp and steamed crab legs as he was just getting into the stuff that was there. He couldn't get enough of the food as he finished it off in one fell swoop. With only a few minutes to settle his stomach, Naruto was taking a break as he was ready to get into the dessert. The smell of many pies, cakes, and cookies were very tempting to Naruto as he was ready to go for some of the chocolate cake that was on display. Gathering a slice of it, he went towards the pumpkin cheesecake as he took two slices of it. He also grabbed a slice of peach cobbler as he put some vanilla ice cream on it. He was having a blast as he was about to dig into the dessert. Just as he was about to dig into the chocolate cake, he heard the commotion from the table behind him as he saw Sasuke pulling a prank on Itachi. It was when Sasuke was creeping Itachi out after getting into a slice of red velvet cake.

"What are you trying to pull?" yelled Itachi.

"I've found something better than a chocolate birthday cake," said Sasuke as he was licking his fingers. "I prefer this better than anything."

"Damn it, Sasuke; you always pull such ridiculous pranks on me the moment that Halloween is coming up."

"Come on, Itachi; Halloween's in a couple of weeks. As for the Homecoming dance on Saturday, I'm taking Sakura out."

"Don't forget, there's also the crowning of the king and queen of Homecoming in their class. I bet that you got dibs on that title when it comes to Sakura. Also, next month's Thanksgiving and our father's company's got dibs on the parade."

"I bet that everyone from our clan will be there."

"By the way, there's also that kid."

"You mean Naruto? He's mostly alone all the time, but he has his relatives."

"You mean the janitor, arcade owner and Karin's father, the football coach? They invite Naruto to Thanksgiving, but the main branch always shuts him out. If I were them, I would at least give him a turkey and some pumpkin pie."

Itachi had a point there as he saw Naruto eating some dessert. In fact, Naruto was alone, but he didn't feel too discouraged at the fact that he was never invited by the main branch of the Uzumaki clan for any type of holiday whatsoever. After he finished, he paid his bill as he left a tip and went on his way. When he left the mall, he was on his way home as he had his stuff in tow from Benibara. When he went into the front yard, he set his stuff down as he unlocked the door. It was quiet again as he set his stuff inside and took off his shoes. Turning on the t.v., he saw another episode of Regular Show blaring as he was glad to be home and with a full stomach. With only a few more days to endure during Homecoming week, he was ready to savor what he had already as Saturday was on the rise already. Sooner or later, he would be going to the dance, for Hinata awaits him until then...

The End