Sakura Haruno could be found walking along an overgrown trail, which was brandishing different assorts of colors of flowers. They crowded over her feet as she hummed quietly to herself, clutching her books to her chest. She had always enjoyed school, despite all the drama and hard work. She inhaled the sweet summer air, knowing it would soon be coming to an end and fall would be setting in.
She reached the school doors, hearing excited chatter sounding from inside.
"Sakura-Chan!" She heard someone call from behind her. She turned to see a spiky haired blonde boy dressed in an orange T-shirt and black pants running towards her. She waved happily to him as he reached her.
"Hi, Naruto!" She said.
"Hey Sakura-Chan, wanna walk to first hour together?" He asked, catching his breath.
"Sure." She shrugged, pushing open the heavy metal doors that led into the busy hallway.
They made their way slowly down the hall, chatting as they looked for their locker numbers. Sakura looked around, smiling at her old friends that she seldom heard from over summer break.
"Sophomore year eh' Sakura? Its gonna be great! Don't you think? Sakura? Uh…Sakura?" Sakura was staring off in the distance, completely oblivious to Naruto's waving hand in front of her face. Naruto shook her shoulder, causing her to start out of the hypnotic trance that she had been in.
"Naruto…who is that?" She asked, pointing to a boy down the hall who was turning the dial on his new locker. He was dressed in blue jeans, black shirt, and a baggy gray sweater. Is hair was shaggy and a shiny chocolate brown color, with just a touch of messiness.
"Huh?" Naruto looked down the way her finger was pointed and laughed. "Oh, that's just Kiba, he's the new guy, I overheard grandma Tsunade talking about him to Shizune." He shrugged, and continued down the hall.
"Here it is." Sakura and Naruto said together. They laughed, and started turning the dial to put their fresh new school books away.
She heard someone cursing under their breath from the other side of her, and she turned to see Kiba fighting with his locker. He gritted his teeth, and then punched the locker, causing a huge dent to appear.
"Hey…umm…do you need help?" Sakura asked, slightly afraid, yet curious of this new kid. She reached over and pressed the dial in, turning it to 3. "I had that locker last year." She said, smiling at him.
He grunted, shoving his stuff in. Sakura pulled out her notebook and closed her locker; following Naruto away back down the hall to the dance room. She pulled open a giant wood polished door, and found a huge room with desks to the front and a stage and dance floor set behind them.
"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura heard a rather annoying voice call from behind them as they took their seats. Naruto turned and smiled at the tall blonde behind them. "Hey Ino, how's it going?" He asked, spinning around and putting his elbows on her table. She smiled and leaned in toward him, her blues eyes twinkling. "A lot better if you would be my science partner…" She cooed. Sakura rolled her eyes and spun around.
"Quit trying to steal my partner Ino, just because no one wants to be yours doesn't mean you can have mine." She said, glaring at the blonde.
"Shut up forehead!" Ino sneered, crossing her arms. "As a matter of fact, a lot of people would beg to be my partner!"She looked around the classroom, searching for a victim. "Hey! New kid! Wanna be my dance partner?" She asked Kiba as he entered the room. He looked from her, to the other kids crowding in the room, then to Sakura, and started walking towards them. "See, I told you, forehead." Ino smirked.
"He's only sitting by you because there's nowhere else to sit, Ino pig!" Sakura sneered and wheeled back around in her seat.
Stupid Ino pig…trying to show off…It's not like he really likes her…no one does…Sakura sat with her arms crossed, eyes closed, thinking to herself. Naruto nudged her arm, smirking at her.
"Hey Sakura, I think the new guy's looking over here at you." He teased. She gritted her teeth. "Shut up Naruto! No he's not!" She wacked him over the head, causing a gigantic bump to appear.
"Oowww…Sakura that really hurt…" He whined, rubbing his head. She looked towards the board, pulling out a pen and notebook. "Good, that will teach you no to lie."She said icily.
But still…I wonder…She thought to herself, chancing a glace back. Kiba was sitting with his elbows resting on the desk, and his face in his hands, staring at her. She quickly returned her eyes to the board and sat very still. What the hell is wrong with me?! Sakura's inner-self screamed. I've never acted this way with boys before…well… except for…She turned a bit in her seat, scanning the class room for one certain guy. He was sitting in the very last row, with his eyes shut, leaning back in his seat with his hands in his pockets. Sasuke-Kun… Her mind drifted a minute, and once again Naruto was waving a hand in front of her absentminded face.
"Sakura!" Naruto said rather loudly. She frowned, turning back around to try and ignore him. He poked her in the shoulder. "Uh…Sakura…Hello….SAKURA!" Naruto shook her shoulders. She turned her head slowly towards him, a scowl plastered across her pale features.
"What…Naruto?" She hissed. He scooted away, his face turning red.
"Umm…well, Ino invited us to her party this weekend, and I just wanted to…tell you…" He said quietly.
Huh? Why would that PIG invite me to one of her stupid parties? Sakura asked herself, turning back to Ino. Before she could ask what the hell Ino was thinking, their teacher walked in. Everyone stopped talking almost immediately and turned towards the well known sensei.
Kakashi-sensei is out dance teacher?! This is going to be a disaster…Sakura thought, shaking her head.
"Kakashi sensei…you're late." Sakura stated. He scratched the back of his neck, a nervous smile appearing.
"Heh…let's just keep this between us huh? Tsunade will have my head if she knew I was late on the first day…" He added the last part to himself, sidestepping to the wooden desk placed at the head of the class room. "Okay class…I've decided that we will have a free day this morning, and let you all get settled." The class 'whooped', and started to chat among themselves. Kakashi sat, and pulled out a small orange book from his back pocket and began to read. Sakura turned in her seat, ready to question Ino, but the only person she found was Kiba.
"Umm…Hi." Sakura said awkwardly. He smiled, which was more like a grimace then a smile and leaned towards her.
"So did Ino invite you to her party to?" He asked, glancing sideways at the preppy blonde. Sakura scowled in her direction, clenching her teeth.
"Yes. But I have no idea why." She said, looking back at him. Her look softened, and she rested her elbows on the desk.
"A-are you going?" She asked nervously.
"Umm…" He glanced back Ino and shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so." Sakura nodded, and crossed her arms.
"Good, no one in their right mind would go to one of those stupid disgusting parties." She said matter-of-factly. He raised an eyebrow.
"Well when you say it that way, then I just might go." He smirked, also crossing his arms.
"W-what?!" Sakura spluttered. "But you just said you weren't going!" She said, pointing her finger directly in his face. He scrambled back as if she had hit him, causing his chair to topple over. He groaned from the ground and pulled himself up as the rest of the class laughed. Sakura just stared, and wondered what was going on. Kakashi-sensei momentarily glanced up from his book, took in the situation, and returned his gaze back to the rather naughty paragraph he was on.
"Umm…I-I didn't mean to scare you…" Sakura said, leaning over her desk, stretching out a hand to help him up. He gritted his teeth, and slowly took her hand, letting her pull him up. He righted his chair, and then sat back down, facing Sakura. She sat as well, and they both just stared at each other for a moment.
"I-it wasn't your fault." He said finally. "It's my fault, I never should have sat here." He looked down at the floor, shaking his head.
"Hey, what heck is that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked, slamming her firsts down on the desk.
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that! I just…I meant…" He trailed off, and gave a look of frustration. Just as Sakura was about to question him further, the bell gave the signal that first hour had ended. Everyone jumped out of their seats and pushed through the room, causing Sakura and Kiba to get lost in the chaos. She spent the rest of her day wondering what exactly he was going to say, and when the final bell rang she raced to her locker, hoping to talk to him before she went home. She waited, spending some time organizing her locker, and he still hadn't shown up. Almost an hour had passed and the last few people in the hallway were making their way out. She sighed, and closed her locker, only to find a highly amused face behind the door.
"Tsunade!" She yelled, clutching over her heart. "You scared me!" She shouted angrily.
"Calm down! Sorry to scare you. I just came by to ask if you had some free time." Tsunade said, crossing her pale arms and leaning again the rows of lockers.
"Hmm…let's see, between the loads of medical books you gave me to study and the lessons I have with you every other night, all on top of school, yeah, tons of time to spare." Sakura said sarcastically, pulling her book bag over her shoulder.
"Well good. I need you to do something for me, totally off the books." Tsunade said, suddenly becoming very serious. Sakura raised and eye brow. "I need you to befriend Kiba Inuzuka." Tsunade stood up right, and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura. This is of upmost importance. Don't let me down." And with that, she turned and strode away.
"Hey, wait! Tsunade!" Sakura sighed and hung her head.
Great…What the hell is up with this kid? What's going on with Tsunade? I've got to get to the bottom of this." Sakura thought as she left school, determined to find out exactly what was going on with the Inuzuka boy.
