Fluffystwin: Ahem, yea, been a while but this story has been nagging at the back of my mind like no other. It screamed at me for over a year. Pleading with me to rewrite it and give it it's opportunity to show it's full potential. So while summer is in session for me I intend to do just that. For all the people who read this from the beginning, thank you. I hope you enjoy this rewritten version that I'm putting out. It'll be more powerful than the last thanks to how my skills have improved. I know everyone will enjoy this and maybe it will receive the same recognition it got last time. I promise I won't let you readers down this time. It will get posted and rewritten, and you will see the sequel which has been sitting on my laptop. Promise.
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All our lives we've been treated like scum. Never given the opportunity to show our true colors. Never given the chance to prove our worth. We dealt with the harsh words with a façade. Those words hurt.
Slut.
Bitch.
Dyke.
Faggot.
Monster.
Worthless.
Trash.
Weirdo.
Fatass.
Waste of breath.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt is how the saying goes. We've learned that the sticks and stones hurt less than the words. Living a life of hatred and despair, wondering when that savior will come to save the day. We lost our hope when those days began to blur past us with no hope in sight. No hope. No trust. No love. No love ever given to us. The one thing we wanted most, never given to us. All we had was our pride and determination to prove that one day we would become better than the rest of those around us.
It became a reality when a little blonde haired boy moved in with his adoptive father across the hall from a young girl and her adoptive father. The boy no older than 9 and the girl one year older. Both had been through lives that would make hell look friendly. Both bearing the scars of their past. One determined to show the world while one was on the verge of ending his life in the world.
One friendly word.
One hand held out.
Tears brought out into the open.
And multiple lives changed throughout the years.
Saeka always told me that every cloud has a rainbow lining. She said that silver was too bland and that rainbow encompassed everyone who had the desire to do things the right way. That had the desire to believe in themselves. That had the desire to prove others wrong and to become friends with whomever they so desired. Friends were of all different colors, genders, and sexual orientations that no one should be turned away.
I guess Saeka rubbed off on us more than we thought, her words are what we live by now. Her words were what we strived to achieve then. We knew that our lives were changed and we extended to keep them in a happy state. No more hatred. No more despair. No more of us hating our lives.
Our rainbow lining was our goal.
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A heavy sigh and more ripping of paper continued. The notes were beginning to pile up in his locker and he had a feeling that he might want to get rid of them soon or he wouldn't have anymore room. He opened his locker while balancing the books in his arm and his soda in the other. He placed the books and soda inside, trying to not disturb the stack of notes in the corner. He growled and pulled them out and dumped them in the trash can next to him. He was tired of the words. He angrily stuffed his books for his next classes into his bag and slammed the locker door shut. He jumped in surprise when he noticed his friend standing there smiling brightly at him.
"Hey Naruto.
Naruto smiled, "Hi Saeka."
Saeka bent down and picked up a note that had fallen to the ground. She read it and scoffed. She balled it up and threw it into the trashcan behind him, "At least those are nicer than the ones I've been getting," she said.
Naruto laughed as she stuck a ring pop in her mouth. They had been best friends for years, he actually considered her more of a sister than a friend nowadays. She was lesbian and he was gay. Been that way since they were born. Took them a bit to figure it out though. Took a bit for the people around them to figure it out too and most of them had turned against them. Homophobia was strong in people who didn't understand. It hurt, the words were the most powerful said. Naruto shook his head to get his thoughts away from that. He had Saeka by his side now so things were just fine.
Saeka sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, "Apparently Kakashi has some surprise reading assignment for us."
"Oh god."
"That's what I thought too until I saw the titles of the books."
"What?"
"Don't you know this? He is dating your dad, it should be easy to get information out of Iruka. Anyways, you'll like them. Trust me," she winked at him and walked into the classroom.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Her trust me's usually had him in the infirmary and her laughing her ass off. He did trust her even if she was a crazy ass friend. Her short spikey black hair bounced as she walked to her desk. The rainbow pins in front held her long bangs back and clearly stood out. She even had a shirt on that said 'Will kiss a girl for no fee'. He couldn't help but smile when he looked her over, she was supportive of her decision in life. Saeka took a seat in front of the classroom instead of in the back like normal, which slightly confused Naruto as he sat down in the desk next to her.
"What are you doing?"
"Just watch," Saeka whispered to him with a smirk.
Naruto shrugged and leaned back in his desk. They waited a few more minutes and the bell rang. And Kakashi was on time! All of the students gasped. It was inhumanly possible for Kakashi to be on time. The man smirked under his mask. Saeka and Naruto smiled when they saw the box Kakashi had carried in with him.
"You have a reading assignment to do," Kakashi started off, "After you finish the book I want you to think about the situation we have in real life and apply some of the things you learned in the book to your paper. Boys will be reading On Target and girls will be reading Keeping You A Secret," Kakashi held up both copies of the book.
The rest of the class gaped in shock while Naruto and Saeka could only smile. The shit eating grins on their faces could not be hidden. They exchanged high fives and both made a heart with their hands at Kakashi. He could only smile at them, he was doing this just for them. Saeka had brought the idea to him a couple of days ago and spoke about the disrespect that her and Naruto were getting for being different.
One of the guys scoffed, "Like I'm gonna read a fag book."
Kakashi visibly glared at the student, "Well either you can fail the class or leave." The student was in shock at his teachers words, "You students fail to remember that I am your teacher and I have access to your grades and I'm also screwing the principle so it'd be wise to behave now."
Saeka busted out laughing as they entire class fell into silence and shock. Kakashi had basically dropped an atomic bomb on everyone.
"Please don't remind me that you're screwing my dad," Naruto groaned.
Kakashi only grinned under his mask and began passing out the books to the students except Naruto and Saeka. He ordered the class to begin reading and the two pulled out their own well worn copies of the books. Saeka even had a rainbow sticker on the front of her's. Kakashi sat on the desk and faced the two. Saeka closed her books and looked up at her teacher.
"So Sensei, does this mean you're going to Pride now?"
Kakashi looked over the class to make sure they were reading their books. He looked back at the two, "Yes I am."
"Cool, I still don't have a date though. It sucks as it's kinda hard to find someone not as straight as a rail in this school. Hell even the boys stay away from me. I think being in my presence will turn them gay," Saeka said with a chuckle.
Kakashi just shrugged, "It is just worse now than it was years ago."
Naruto closed his book and gave Kakashi a determined look, "I really don't care. They will learn to accept one day."
Saeka nudged Naruto with her shoulder and leaned on him slightly, "Ya know, Gay Prom is the day before Pride, you should take Iruka Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi actually sat and thought about the idea for a minute, though how to ask Iruka out would be his only issue. Naruto looked at the ground and sighed in defeat. Neither him nor Saeka had a date, though by Thursday he knew she would have a date. Saeka got up and wrote down a few things concerning Gay Prom and Pride on the whiteboard. Saeka smiled and balanced the marker on her finger as she leaned against the desk.
"Wanna go to Hamburger Mary's after school?" she asked.
Kakashi and Naruto glanced at each other and shrugged, why not? They had nothing else to do. A petite girl in the back raised her hand. Kakashi looked intrigued, she never normally raised her hand. He nodded at her.
"Um…h-how long does P-Pride last?" Saeka smirked and held up three fingers, "Uh, thank you."
Saeka's smile was from ear to ear. Naruto made a mental note to call her Cheshire later. Kakashi was refraining from giving a small chuckle and the look of utter happiness on Saeka's face.
"I have some flyers in my locker if you want one," she suggested as she walked over to the girl.
"Uh…I would like one."
Saeka bolted out of the classroom and ran to her locker. She ripped off the notes that had appeared on it since last class. She licked her finger and tried to smudge some of the dyke written in spray paint off but it wasn't going to. She sighed but opened the locker and pulled out a flyer. She ran back to the classroom and slid to a stop in the doorway of it. She walked back over to the girl and willingly handed it over.
"What's your name?"
"Hinata."
"Well hello Hinata, I hope to see you later today," Saeka said in her flirting way.
Naruto shook his head, she obviously learned that from her father over the years. Saeka walked back to her desk and Kakashi noticed the small blush growing across Hinata's cheeks. This was an interesting development for them. He never would have pegged little Hinata as someone on their side. Saeka and Naruto grabbed their bags and readied themselves for the bell to ring. Every day this was a hassle but it was something they had to do. When the bell rang they bolted for the locker rooms. They needed to get to the gym before the rest of the students did. Unfortunately for Saeka, that didn't happen. All the preps were already in there in by the time she had arrived. Hinata stumbled into her as she walked into the room. The petite girl apologized and Saeka smiled at her before heading to her locker. She had a bad feeling about this. All the preps were staring at her and some were even smirking, as if redemption was going to be given to them. Saeka calmly put her combination into the lock on her locker and took a deep breath. That breath saved her. A jug of hot pink hair dye spilt all over her. All the preps laughed and high fived each other. The names began anew. Hinata gasped in shock, but didn't make a move to help. Saeka wiped the dye from her eyes, picked up her bag, and hastily left the locker room. She walked across the hall to the boy's locker room and harshly kicked open the door. A lot of the guys quickly covered themselves. Saeka didn't care about them and their tiny dicks. All she cared about was the lone blonde in the far corner of the locker room. Naruto was sitting on the bench with his legs stretched out in front of him. She stopped in front of him with her tears turning pink as they made their way down her cheeks. Naruto's eyes widened and he took the bag from her and gathered her in his arms. He didn't care in the dye was going to damage his clothes. He sat and whispered soothing words to her to try and calm her down. All he cared was if Saeka was going to be alright. Naruto grabbed a towel off the stand next to him and ran it over her face. Her eyebrows and even her eyelashes were hot pink. Naruto thought she looked cute.
The boys were beginning to file out now. He knew Gai would understand so he stayed in the locker room with her. All the boys left and he picked Saeka up in his arms and headed over to the showers.
"Come on now, we need to get that off you before it does anymore damage."
Saeka nodded as he put her down on the ground. He handed her a towel and turned around. She pulled her clothes off and tossed them in a pile in the corner. They were ruined now. She wrapped the towel around herself and tapped Naruto. She was going to need help with her hair. Naruto turned on the shower and Saeka sat down on the floor under the water. The hot water felt good on her stressed body. Naruto sighed as he watched the pink water run down her back and stain the towel. He stripped off his shirt and pants so he wouldn't get them wet and bent over to try and get the rest of the dye out of her hair. He heard the door open and he spun around, almost slipping in the process. It was only Hinata, with some spare clothes. Naruto waved her over and she sat them on the bench and turned to him.
"I-I had some spare clothes in my locker. I thought I would try and be of some use. I think they'll fit her."
Naruto nodded, "Hey can you do me a favor though?" he asked before she could leave. Hinata nodded. "Can you check Saeka's things in her bag? It's probably all stained now."
Hinata sat down on the bench and opened the side bookbag. She pulled out some now bleached and pink notebooks and flipped them open. Most of them were notes but one wasn't. It was full of scribbles of different people, even a few comic strips were sitting inside. She pulled out a sketch pad that was now a pink color and was happy to see that most of the pages were relatively undamaged. That couldn't be said for her Keeping You A Secret book, which was almost entirely pink.
Naruto grabbed another towel and sat behind Saeka, while trying to get the pink out. Hinata smiled at them. They really were close enough to be brother and sister. She continued going through the bag and unzipped a pocket on the inside. Gravitation and Loveless mangas sat there completely unharmed. She carefully extracted them from the bag so they wouldn't get pink and set them off to the side. The bookbag was a lost cause and Hinata truly felt sorry for what Saeka went through. Naruto wrapped a dry towel around Saeka and helped her stand up. Her hair was now pink.
Saeka walked out of the showers and Hinata started giggling.
"You look like Shuichi."
Saeka cracked a small smile and took the clothes that Hinata had given her. Saeka dried off herself and slid into the clothes. Naruto was kind enough to turn around again. Saeka sighed and sat down on the bench and put her tattooed legs up on it. Naruto walked over with a dry towel and began to dry her hair. Hinata handed her the notebook.
"I tried to save it and it's pretty ok, but some of your stuff is ruined, including your bag.
Saeka smiled as she flipped through the pages of the notebook, "Thank you Hinata, I owe you one."
"Oh um, its no problem," she said with a blush.
Naruto smirked and pulled the towel off Saeka's head. He had to restrain himself from bursting out laughing. Hinata was giggling though. Saeka got up and walked over to the full length mirror in the locker room. She gaped, she really did look like Shuichi. A slightly taller and muscular version of him but still Shuichi none-the-less.
Saeka spun around and looked at Naruto, "I'm supposed to go to Pride like this?" she yelled.
Naruto busted out laughing.
Saeka pushed her bangs around, "Hey I really do look like Shuichi."
Naruto threw an arm over her shoulder, "There's always a rainbow lining to everything bad that happens."
"Really? You're using my line now?"
"Hey, at least I still have blonde hair."
Saeka spun and slugged Naruto on the arm. He hissed and rubbed his arm, that had hurt. Hinata laughed and handed Saeka her non-damaged things.
"Thanks again Hinata. Do you want to come to lunch with us to make up for this? Iruka's bringing us food this time around."
Hinata beamed, "Sure, I'll just let my cousin know."
Naruto nodded, "We'll see you in Kakashi's room at lunch then." Saeka and Naruto left the locker room and Hinata quietly followed after them. She didn't want to be caught in the boy's locker room. Naruto and Saeka headed down the hallway and knocked on the door to Kakashi's classroom. A class was in session but Kakashi went ahead and opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw the pink hair.
"Why is your hair pink?" he innocently asked.
Saeka growled and shoved past him. She plopped down in his computer chair. Naruto pulled Kakashi into the hallway, "Someone decided to be an ass and put pink hair dye in a can in her locker. So of course when she opened it dun dun. She turned into Shuichi. The pink wouldn't come out."
Kakshi nodded and he let Naruto into the room. Kiba was already at Saeka's side. He had become their friend about six years ago when they had met in elementary school. It had taken a while for all of them to get used to each other but Kiba had grown on them and was now a trusted friend. Even his boyfriend was a good friend now. Aburame Shino was sitting in a chair next to Saeka. Naruto nodded at them and he sat on the desk. Saeka rolled the chair over to him and laid her head in his lap. Naruto lovingly ran his hand through her hair to try and relax her. Her spikes were now gone thanks to the shower and it upset him. He was always used to seeing the bubbly version of her that he forgot the depressed side of her existed. He wanted to rip whoever did this to shreds. Kiba gently smiled and Saeka had a hold of Shino's hand. Kakashi quietly left the room to go explain to Iruka about what happened.
"You know you really do look like Shuichi," Kiba said to try and alleviate the depression.
"Shut up," Saeka said with a small smile on her face, "All I need is an asshole like Eiri Yuki now."
"Or a shy cute girl," Naruto said with a snicker.
Saeka raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "I don't see why not."
Naruto smiled and the bell rang. They all stayed put. It was lunch time now and they gave their order to Iruka after he asked how everything was going. They made sure to get everybody else's order so they'd have food when they arrived. Kakashi sat down and one of the desks and watched the four. Iruka gave him a peck on his clothed cheek before he left to get food.
"Um, can I be included on that list?"
Saeka leaned around Naruto to see Hinata standing in the doorway. Saeka smiled at Hinata. Kiba and Shino glanced at each other and nodded. They knew Saeka had an interest in the girl. Iruka agreed and took her order as well before he left. Hinata quietly took a seat a couple of desks down from Kakashi.
"You don't have to sit so far away," Naruto said, "We don't bite."
"Well maybe not us but these two do," Saeka said as she pointed to Kiba and Naruto.
"Hey!" both boys shouted in protest.
Saeka laughed and took off running away from them. The two chased her around the room for a while before she ducked behind Hinata. Naruto chased her around Hinata's desk and Saeka quickly jumped into Hinata's lap.
"Hah, I win Naruto.
Hinata was blushing madly. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Hinata's predicament. Kiba fell off the desk from laughing so hard. Saeka slid off Hinata's lap and poked Naruto in the forehead with one finger. He fell onto the floor because he couldn't keep his balance cause he was laughing so hard. Saeka rolled her eyes and walked back over to Hinata but not before catching the gaze of a black haired boy who walked into the room. Everyone fell silent.
"I'm looking for Principle Umino."
"New student?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes."
"Yo, I'm the assistant principle."
"Since when?" Kiba, Saeka and Naruto asked in amazement.
"Since last Friday."
Naruto threw a book at him, "Perv, my dad is not a way to get a pay raise."
Kakashi dodge the book, "You know that's not why I'm chasing him Naruto. You're the new transfer right?" he directed towards the boy who looked away from Naruto and back towards Kakashi. "You're going to have to wait for a bit because he went to go get lunch but you can stay here till he gets back."
The boy had gone back to staring at Naruto, "Alright, thank you."
"Hey," the boy turned to Kiba who had called out to him, "What's your name?"
"Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke."
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Fluffystwin: Yea I rewrote a lot but the skeleton from last time is still there. I hope you like it and once again I apologize for being away from this lovely site for far too long. I've learned how to balance college and life and I promise to make a return and give you the lovely stories you all wish to read. Once I get a day off at work I'll post the second rewritten chapter. I hope you enjoy it.