a/n
Story notes:
*Italicized phrases are thoughts
Disclaimer:
*I do not own Ketsueki. She is a figment of my good friend's amazing imagination. XD All credit for Ketsueki belongs to the author "JashinnDamnit".
The leaves of Konohagakure were changing color again.
All around the city, the trees blazed with autumn colors. From scarlet reds to shimmering golds, the little leaves dropped one by one off their trees; only to be carried off by the wind to wherever it desired.
"It's a nice day isn't it Itachi?" said a young Mikoto Uchiha to her eldest son.
Itachi merely nodded his head in agreement, his head swimming with thoughts of his own.
Mikoto sighed gently.
Itachi was ridiculously hard to get through to.
Mikoto tried to remember a time when Itachi hadn't behaved this way. Hadn't behaved so quiet and unfeeling.
But hard as she tried, the image of a silent lonely boy always came to mind. Ever since childhood Itachi had always been a bit...different.
Since childhood Itachi had always preferred books and solitude to toys and friends. Whenever the young mother would try to arrange playdates for her little boy, they always ended the same way. Itachi sat in the corner by himself while the other children cheerfully played amongst themselves, paying no heed to the quiet black haired boy.
Funny thing was, Itachi seemed to like it that way.
But even if he was silent and anti-social, even though it pained her to see him so emotionless, Mikoto still loved her son. She always did her best to milk some sort of conversation or emotion out of him whenever she could.
"Are you excited about tomorrow," she tried again. "Do you think you'll make any new friends?"
Itachi gave her a strange look.
"Do you think you'll make any new friends?"
"I suppose," Itachi said to make his mother happy.
She smiled with success.
"Good, I'm glad to see you're thinking positive," Mikoto said cheerfully.
They were silent for a moment as they sat together on the porch on the front of the house. The porch, along with the patio it was seated on, was white, contrasting beautifully with the soft creamy brown of the two story house they owned.
A cool breeze swept through the streets and tussled their ebony hair. Proving just how closely mother and son resembled each other.
Without thinking, Mikoto let her eyes wander down the street for the umpteenth time.
They landed on the house at the end of the block.
It was simple and white and also had two stories.
The house also had a "For Sale" sign posted on the green grass of the front yard. Written across the sign in big bold letters was the word: SOLD.
"You know Itachi, I hear the man that moved in down the street has a pretty daughter about your age," Mikoto started again, a sly smile on her face.
Itachi continued staring ahead, catching on to what she was thinking.
"Maybe the two of you could get to know each other," she said playfully.
Itachi lost control of his stoic facial expression and turned to give his mother an incredulous stare.
Mikoto laughed softly and rose from her spot on the porch to stand near her son.
The silence returned soon after.
Mikoto let out a small sigh and took in the sight of her son.
"Always so quiet..." she thought to herself with just a hint of worry.
"Is something wrong mother?" Itachi asked suddenly, noticing his mother's gaze.
"Oh! It's nothing love." she laughed gently, running her hand through his long hair. "You're just growing up so fast." she smiled.
Before she turned to leave, she gave Itachi a soft peck on the side of his forehead, leaving him slightly annoyed.
"I'm going to go start supper. Are you coming inside?" she asked nicely.
"I'll stay out here for a while longer," Itachi replied indifferently.
"Alright then, I'll call Sasuke out here to keep you company."
A vein in Itachi's forehead twitched.
He knew his mother meant well. But sometimes...
Itachi watched his mother's figure disapear through the front door of the house.
He sighed. He wasn't excited about returning to school, but he wasn't nervous either. To him, school was just a small task that had to be completed every year.
A simple talent among many others.
Itachi noticed the leaves begin to twirl around as the breeze picked up again.
As he watched them dance around, face blank and mind a blur, a small part of him wondered what it would be like to join them.
But he gave it not another thought as he watched the leaves disappear just as soon as they fell from the brightly colored trees.
Itachi's eyes wandered the familiar streets of his neighborhood as he contemplated the pool of thoughts that always seemed to plague him.
For some reason or another, they fell upon the same white house his mother had mentioned earlier.
He rolled his eyes and got up to go inside.
As for the girl that moved in down the street, Itachi couldn't care less about what she looked like or if she would be attending the same school.
Girls were a mere distraction among many others.
"So do you like it here so far?" a dark skinned boy of about eighteen asked his sister from his place on the carpet.
"We just moved here stupid. How should I know if I like it here or not," came her reply as she slowly unpacked what looked like a large mass of newspapers from a cardboard box.
"Pi-sy. I can't believe you're still upset that we moved." the boy joked.
"I can't believe that you're not upset that we moved," the girl replied, ever so carefully fussing with the small package of newspapers.
"A change of scenery is good once in a while," continued the boy. "Besides, it was all crime scenes and police sirens back in Kumo'... Nothing but drama..." he finished shaking his head.
The boy hesitated for a moment, pondering what to say next.
"...Plus I hear the girls are really pretty here." he said in a dreamy voice.
His sister began laughing whole heartedly.
Her brother always knew exactly what to say to cheer her up.
She continued to meticulously unwrap the newspapers, and eventually revieled a small black radio. Gently, almost ceremonially, the young girl placed it down on an otherwise bare nightstand.
Her most precious possession.
"Geez Hitori, it's not made of glass you know," her brother laughed softly as he watched her. "But I sure did a good job picking out your birthday present this time." he pridefully puffed out his chest in a playful manner.
Hitori went sick with giggles again.
She brushed a maple-brown strand of hair from her face as she continued to unpack. The room the siblings occupied was Hitori's; plain and simple with cream colored walls and a balcony overlooking their new backyard.
The two siblings continued to chat and unpack when they suddenly heard a loud crash from downstairs!
An ominous hush fell upon brother and sister, the pupils in their deep brown eyes becoming smaller with fearful anticipation.
"HITORI!! Get down here!!" a loud piercing voice disrupted the cheery atmosphere.
Hitori and her brother were very still.
She looked at her brother.
"What do you think he wants Tai?" Hitori asked her brother, the slightest hint of fear in her voice.
"I don't know. I don't think...he's been in a better mood than usual since we moved. You'll be okay." Tai reassured his sister, placing a loving hand on her shoulder.
"I hope so..." Hitori whispered in prayer.
She opened the door of her room and solomnly headed down the stairs to confront her father.
"History, Math Analysis, English, Biology...Neh, what does your schedule say Itachi?" a large blue skinned teen asked his friend.
The two boys traded schedules, the larger of the two eagerly skanned the half sheet of paper, mumbling as he read.
"How the hell did you end up with Calculus?!" shouted the giant boy Itachi knew as Kisame.
The two had been best friends since junior high school, and though the two seemed an odd pair-Kisame the giant wise-cracking teen and Itachi the stoic and studious one-Kisame was one of the few people Itachi could ever be seen socializing with.
"Hm, math analysis? You're getting there." Itachi commented on his friend's math class.
Kisame smirked and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."
Subtle as it was, this was the closest the impassive Uchiha ever came to "joking around".
"Hey, I didn't know you were taking psychology as one of your electives." Kisame commented with a suprised air.
"...Yeah, I didn't want to take physics quite yet..." Itachi replied quietly.
"Does your dad know about that?" Kisame questioned with a concerned look.
"Not yet..."
Silence fell upon the Uchiha and Kisame understood at once that a change of subject was necessary.
"Boy I can't wait for swim season to start again." Kisame stated enthusiastically as he handed Itachi back his schedule.
The two boys began strolling down one of their high school's many hallways and Itachi appeared to appreciate the diversion.
"You performed quite well as last year's swim captain. Are you aiming for that position again this year?"
"Without a doubt! I dare you to find a human alive that can swim faster than Kisame Hoshigaki." Kisame gloated slightly puffing out his chest in a playful manner.
"Cocky as always." Itachi smirked as the boys continued their walk through the school hallways.
Nearly every wall they passed was overflowing with colorfully vibrant "Welcome Back" and "Dream to Achieve" posters. Occasionally they would pass by a lonely balloon or two. Everywhere kids could be seen reuniting with each other after their long summer vacations; rabidly comparing their schedules together to see who got what class and if they had the same lunch period together.
"I think they went overboard with the decorations even more than last year." Kisame commented while bashing a shiny red balloon out of his way.
"This school always over-reacts when it comes to 'speacial occasions'." Itachi said impassively.
"I'll say. Hey did you hear? Some new kids just moved here from Kumogakure. You know the "ghetto-ville"? They're supposed to be coming to this high school."
"Remind me again why we care." Itachi replied, almost snidely. Not bothering to make the connection from the 'new kids' to the people who had just moved in down the block from his house.
"Well-"
BRRIIING!!
"There's the bell. Guess we better get going."
Itachi nodded in agreement.
The two teens headed off in different directions towards their first class of their sophomore year. Itachi somewhat quickened his pace as he made his way to his first class of the day.
There was a certain someone he always hoped to avoid, especially when the beginning of the new school year came around.
"It's this way."
"No I think it's this way."
"Are you sure?"
"Course I'm sure. I saw a sign and everything!"
"Well you're not exactly good with directions." Tai said in a gentle tone.
Hitori glared at her brother.
"Fine. We'll take your way."
The two siblings rounded a hallway corner and came face-to-face with the Student Services Window.
Tai gave his sister a triumphant grin.
Hitori rolled her eyes.
"Well sorry for trying to help."
"Aw, don't be sad hun, maybe next time you'll get the directions right."
"Yeah, yeah, next time..." Hitori grumbled stepping up to the window.
After a...'minor consultation' with their father that morning, Hitori and Tai had been set back by at least ten minutes. They had left the house much later than intended, had trouble finding their new school, and had journeyed around at least half of the school's entire perimeter trying to find that damned Student Services Window.
Obviously, they were late for class.
Very, very, late for class.
Hitori sighed and swept a stray piece of hair from her face as a woman appeared at the window.
The woman looked pretty young and was more or less attractive. She had dark hair and matching eyes and also wore a name tag that read: "Miss Shizune".
She held a slightly shocked expression when she saw Hitori at the window. Carefully, she slid the window open.
"My, you're certainly late for class."
"Yeah," Hitori said with a bit of an embarresed look."Sorry about that my brother and me got...delayed. I get my schedule here right? I'm sort of new here."
"Yes, I'll print your schedule out right away." Miss Shizune said cheerfully. "Can I have your last name please?"
"Hatsuyume. H-A-T-S-U-Y-U-M-E."
Miss Shizune turned to a computer on her desk and proceeded to type in Hitori's name on the keyboard.
Hitori took a peek inside the office and was somewhat impressed at its neatness and clean appearance. This was definetly nothing like her old school.
"Here it is. Hitori Hatsuyume right?"
"Yup."
"Here you are." Miss Shizune said still smiling, handing Hitori a blue half sheet of paper, still warm from the heat of the printer.
"Thanks." Hitori replied stepping away from the window while her brother stepped up.
"You have no idea what I had to go through to get you..." Hitori thought as she glared at the schedule in her hand. "Stupid little piece of paper."
"So what's your first period?" Tai asked with his own schedule in hand, trying to read his sister's schedule over her shoulder.
"Ummm...looks like History...What lunch period do you have?"
"Second."
"...I've got first." Hitori said with a solemn air.
Their schedules didn't have a single thing in common.
"Well...we'll talk after school. Right now we're late as it is."
"Yeah all right..." Hitori said quietly.
She turned on her heel and headed for her History class which, according to her schedule, was hosted by someone called Ibiki sensei.
"Hey!"
Hitori turned to see her brother giving her a goofy grin and a thumbs up.
She broke into a smile and laughed. With renewed spirits, Hitori turned and continued on her way to her classroom.
"So Itachi, how was your summer vacation?"
Itachi desperately tried to ignore the girl who, no matter what, always found a way to get what she wanted.
Haruno, Sakura was not your average everyday girl.
Her looks were far beyond that of normal.
Dazzling green eyes, perfectly manicured, polished nails (their color changed every week), and hair soo pink, it put the color of bubble gum to shame.
Due to the vast amounts of money her parents raked in every month and her general preppy outlook on life, Sakura had grown accostumed to getting whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
So when an attractive and talented boy like Itachi ignored her very presence, something inside of Sakura just snapped.
There was just that little annoyance that itched inside of her when Sakura discovered there was something that she could not have.
A tiny little annoyance that grew and grew every time Itachi refused to meet her stunning gaze.
Sure, Sakura could most likely have any boy in her grade level with the proper flirting strategies and outfit, heck the boys practically pooled at her feet they way girls did around Itachi.
To Sakura, it seemed only fitting that the most popular boy and girl in school be together as a couple.
"So," Sakura tried again, trying to flaunt as much cleavage as physically possible. "I'm having a homecoming party at my house next weekend..."
Itachi still didn't seem to notice her.
"...and I was wondering if you'd like to come. It's invitation only of course." she purred in his ear, slipping a beautifuly crafted invitation onto his desk.
Normally Itachi would have been inclined to snap at Sakura about how annoying she was, but, being the Uchiha he was, and having been brought up with the finnest manners imaginable, Itachi tried to remain as polite as his teenage hormones would possibly let him.
"Sorry," Itachi said almost through gritted teeth, "but I'm busy next week. I won't be able to make it." he slipped the invitation back onto Sakura's own desk.
"Oh, well, I can postphone the party to a time when you can make it-"
"Oh, no." Itachi said in a horribly fake sounding sympathetic voice. "I wouldn't want to trouble you."
To Itachi's dismay, a red headed boy snickered in the desk behind him.
"No really, it's okay, I-"
BRRIIING!!
"I've got to go." Itachi said quickly.
He got up and left without another word, feeling quite relieved. As he left he completely disregarded the forgotton invitation and Sakura herself altogether.
As he reached the classroom door, Itachi ran into the red headed boy who had snickered at him earlier.
Itachi glared at him; they walked out of the classroom together.
"Why so upset Itachi? She only wants you to come to her party." the red head said with a smirk.
"Shut-up Sasori."
"Huh..." Hitori sighed to herself.
First period had been a killer. Not only was History one of her least favorite subjects, but her teacher, Ibiki sensei, had to be worse than a drill sergeant.
"How the hell was I supposed to know who the Third Hokage of Konohagakure was?! For crying out loud I've been living in Kumo' all my life!"
Hitori bitterly reminessed about the pop quiz on the ancient history of Konohagakure Ibiki sensei had sprung on the students during the first five minutes of class.
She was completely confident that she had missed every single question on that quiz.
Hitori sighed again and looked down at her schedule, dodging random clusters of kids as she walked along the busy halls.
Period 2: English with Kakashi Hatake.
Hitori gave a huff and took another look at her schedule.
Room #451.
She scoped out the surrounding classrooms.
All of them were in the 200's range.
Hitori let out another aggrivated sigh and slumped her shoulders.
BRRIIING!!
The bell suddenly screamed throughout the halls but Hitori didn't scurry away to find her class like the rest of the kids in the halls did. She had already been late to one class, why not make it an even two?
Hitori dragged her feet on the pavement of the outdoor hallway, hardly bothering to lift her eyes from the ground to see if she was going in the right direction.
School was horrendously dull...
Suddenly Hitori felt an odd prescence and a hand on her shoulder.
She gasped and spun around, fists up and protecting her face; ready for the worst.
But instead of the perverted student Hitori had expected, she came face-to-face with a quite goofy looking man; most likely a school employee.
"Woah! Hey kid calm down! I'm not looking for any trouble," said the strange man trying to calm Hitori down.
Hitori lowered her fists but her look of suspiscion didn't disipate.
She took a few steps backward.
"Hey, hey, calm down," soothed the man. "I'm not going to hurt you. But I would like to know what you're doing out of class."
"Looking for where it is..." Hitori said in a quiet voice.
The strange man bursted into a silly grin.
"Is that what it is?" he asked chuckling. "I'm sure I can help you find your class. Here, let me see your schedule."
Hitori reluctantly handed the odd white haired man her slip of paper.
"Let's see...Room #451. That would be three halls to the right from this exact point."
"Oh, thanks..."
Hitori stretched out her hand to take back her schedule, but it seemed the weird man had other ideas.
"So, you're Hitori huh? That new transfer student from Kumogakure?"
"Yeah that's me."
The odd man smiled and laughed a little.
"That must be why you're having a hard time finding your class-"
"No offense mister, but don't you think I oughta be getting to class now."
"Aw, I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you. According to your schedule you've got Kakashi for your English teacher. If he's anything like the guy I know you'll make it to class before he does. But you're right. I'll shut-up and let you go now."
"Thanks," Hitori said a little weirded out.
"I'm your counselor by the way," the man called out as Hitori began to walk away.
She payed her schedule a confused glance.
Student Counselor: Jiraiya.
Hitori shook her head.
It wasn't that she didn't like Jiraiya; when you live your entire life with an abusive parent, it gets a little hard to trust any adults...
Hitori paused in front of room #451. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
As she stepped inside the classroom, nobody seemed to notice her. Not even the teacher, who was, infact, present.
The majority of the students were already seated though, leaving very few options as to where to sit.
Hitori swiftly moved to the back of the room where she found two vacant seats.
"Oh, oh, oh!! Sit here! Sit here!"
Hitori turned to find a rather hyper boy wildly waving his hands at her, motioning for her to come and sit in the empty chair at his table.
The boy was actually pretty good looking, he had a certain young, sort of innocent quality about his face. He was also wearing one of the most peculiar looking shirts Hitori had ever seen.
Neon orange with spiraling black lines.
She turned away, hoping the poor boy wasn't zonked out on some sort of drug.
But as she turned she realized that her only other choice was to sit next to a pink haired girl.
Hitori's eyes widened.
Was her hair seriously pink? Hitori had never seen such a hair color before.
"What are you looking at?" the pink haired girl scoffed, giving Hitori a dirty look.
"Just your hair," Hitori replied, returning the nasty look.
The preppy pink haired girl instantly whipped out a compact mirror, finatically making sure that every hair was perfectly in place.
Hitori chose to sit next to the hyper kid. Hyper could be cute...right?
"HI!" the boy said cheerily.
"Uh, hi," Hitori greeted back.
"It's a good thing you sat here, Tobi is a good boy."
"Who's Tobi?" Hitori asked, utterly confused.
"This is Tobi," came a girl's voice from behind Tobi's figure.
"Hey," Hitori said to the girl on the opposite side of Tobi. "What was that again?"
"This," the girl said pointing to Tobi, "This is Tobi."
"Hi!" Tobi said again, waving at Hitori. "This is Ketsueki-chan! Say 'hi' Ketsueki."
"You'll learn to love him...eventually. Hey, I'm Ketsueki."
"I'm Hitori."
"You're the new kid huh."
"Yeah."
"I remember when I first moved here. Let me know if you need any help or something 'kay?"
"Gee, thanks," Hitori said appreciating the hospitality.
She couldn't begin to remember a time she had been treated as such, espeacially by a stranger.
"Alright class, settle down and begin working on the worksheet that is being passed out."
The voice of Kakashi sensei suddenly commanded the attention of the entire room.
Abruptly the boys in the class became silent and some of the girls even swooned.
Yes, swooned.
This was definetly different from Hitori's usual high school experience.
"Ahh, last period of the day. I thought it would never come," Kisame sighed.
He carelessly plopped his backpack onto the table where he sat next to Itachi.
"Biology should be a breeze. Then we can finally go home," the blue teen slumped comfortably in his seat.
"Don't get cocky. We have Orochimaru as our sensei."
Kisame's pupils seemed to get smaller as he recalled that minor detail.
Kisame noticed Itachi glancing around the classroom and instantly knew what was going through his friend's head.
"Yeah I feel ya Itachi, it would suck if we had Orochimaru and Sakura in the same class." Kisame chuckled. "Maybe if we purposely fail the class she'll stop following us."
A small smile crept onto Itachi's face.
Kisame was excellent at providing comic relief for the high strung Uchiha. It was one of the things that made the two boys compatible friends.
At the classroom door Ketsueki and Hitori made their way inside.
"Thanks for all your help. I would've been a goner without you," Hitori thanked Ketsueki as she aggressively shoved one of the many crowding kids out of her way.
"Don't worry about it, I feel for you. I can really relate to what you're going through." she smiled.
"Oh if only you knew..."
"You know, you must be really special or something," Ketsueki said as she recieved a dirty look from the kid she'd shoved away.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, as you can probably tell," Ketsueki paused in her sentence to stick her tongue out at the girl who'd given her a dirty look. "I don't exactly take to people that easily."
"Yeah," Hitori smiled "I noticed."
Hitori and Ketsueki had taken a rather rare shine to each other within their english class. Hitori was delighted to learn that not only did she have quite a few personal things in common with Ketsueki, but a few classes as well. Hitori had been expecting to have a miserable first day of school but instead was overjoyed to have made a new friend. Now she wouldn't have to spend her days at school all alone.
Behind the boys the two girls situated themselves at a table, paying no heed to the popular boys in front of them.
"I hear this Orochimaru guy is supposed to be the teacher of all teachers, a real psycho," Ketsueki confided in Hitori.
"You mean like that Sakura girl?"
Both girls laughed wildly.
Ketsueki had filled Hitori in on all there was to know about Sakura Haruno.
Apparantly you didn't have to be her friend to know who she was. Hailing from a family of regionally acclaimed doctors and surgeons, Sakura was known around the village as the top paramedical trainee of the Land of Fire and around the school as a popular and stylish snob.
"Itachi, Itachi! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
Hitori and Ketsueki looked at each other.
"You left your invitation in first period."
Kisame gave Itachi a wink and failed to keep a straight face as he went wild with snickers.
"Thanks," Itachi forced himself to say.
Behind them, Hitori and Ketsueki were in stiches, snickering just as wildly as Kisame.
"Do the both of you have a problem?" Sakura jeered at the two girls.
"No, no. We would never come between you and your boyfriend Sakura," Hitori said, tearing with laughter.
"She's not my girlfriend," Itachi sneered at Hitori.
"Calm down lover boy, I never said she was your girlfriend."
Itachi glared at Hitori.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? I didn't say you could speak to Itachi-kun-"
"Silence!" came a loud booming voice.
"Sakura Haruno, take a seat. Now."
Orochimaru-sensei had arrived.
"Yes sensei," she scurried away to find an available seat among her friends.
Hitori could only gawk at her new biology teacher.
He almost looked like an 'it'. Long dark hair grown down to his waist and golden eyes that glinted in the light with the venom of a villian. His complexion was almost as pale as snow itself and...was that a python on his shoulder?
"Good afternoon class," Orochimaru hissed smoothly, taking in the view of all his new students.
"I would just like to begin with telling those of you who think this class will be easy, simply because it occurs at the end of the day, are sadly mistaken."
He paused for a dramatic effect, and it worked.
The entire classroom was deathly silent.
There seemed to be something about him that bothered the students in the classroom. Something that wasn't...human.
"As you will soon find out, I tend to do things...differently than most teachers and students expect. I do not tolerate misbehavior of any kind and consequences, well, let's just say they're dire. Any questions?"
The class stared at him with wide eyes.
"Good," Orochimaru smiled wickedly. "Let's start the year with a pop quiz."
He picked up a large stack of papers and proceeded to distribute them throughout the classroom.
As he passed by the table Hitori and Ketsueki were seated at, the python on Orochimaru sensei's shoulder hissed at her and stared as if to say: "You're dog meat..."
Orochimaru smiled and said "Don't worry Miss Hatsuyume, he doesn't bite...hard."
Hitori shuddered and turned to her quiz sheet.
"How the hell did he know my name?"
"Alright, each one of you has approximately nine minutes to complete this quiz. After the eloted time has passed, they will be collected and redistributed throughout the class to be graded. Understood?"
It was really more of a statement than a question.
"Yes Orochimaru sensei," the class chanted in unison.
"Begin!"
The class obeyed their orders and began their quizes.
Hitori slowly picked up her pencil, giving the quiz a sour look.
"Alright...just do what Tai says. Try my best and if I have no clue what the answer is, pick the one in the middle."
Hitori sighed and began reading over the first question.
Over on Itachi's table he was already more than halfway done with the quiz.
He recognized the material and saw the quiz as a simple review.
Question 10, Question 12, question 18, soon enough Itachi was finished and checked over his quiz with plenty of time to spare.
He silently tapped his fingers against the table as he waited for the time limit to expire.
"Pencils down! Pass your papers to the front!" Orochimaru's voice pierced the air like nails on a chalkboard.
Everyone sent their papers to the front of the room.
"How do you think you did?" Ketsueki asked Hitori.
"I'm pretty sure I failed."
"Oh..."
Itachi overheard the girls' conversation and rolled his eyes.
He was one hundred percent confident that he had gotten a perfect score.
As the papers were passed out among the class to be graded, Hitori could only marvel at the stroke of pure fate that had brought Itachi's paper to her seat.
It was only her first day of school in Konohagakure and Hitori already knew about Itachi's reputation as one of, if not the, smartest kid who attended the Highschool of the Land of Fire.
She could just imagine how arrogant he was, how much attention he drew, simply because he was smart.
Hitori didn't see what was so particularly special about intellect. Intellegence wasn't a trait that made you likable.
She sulked in her chair and prepared to grade Itachi's paper.
After Orochimaru went over the answers to the quiz, Hitori wrote 100 percent on Itachi's quiz.
As the students got up to exchange papers, Hitori leaned over and tapped Itachi on his shoulder to get his attention. He gave her somewhat of a dirty look before taking his paper from her.
Hitori glared at the back of Itachi's head.
"Your welcome..." she muttered inaudibly.
This was going to be a long school year, she could feel it in her gut.