Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

Okay, so this is a new Fic, completely different from What Do I Deserve? I realized recently that my other fic had no real base. It was just a bunch of pretty words strung together. I am now officially putting What Do I Deserve? on Hiatus indefinitely.

You will recognize Tsukiko in this fic but she's completely different from my other character. You'll see.

First Semester

Chapter One: Little Sister

Sunlight, streaming through my partially open curtains, awoke me from my slumber and chased my hazy dreams away. Sounds of Nanny cooking breakfast glided up the stairs and into my room, carrying the mouthwatering smell of eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls. Even so, I turned over in my bed, reluctant to leave its warmth.

"Ame! Tsukiko! Time to get up!" Nanny's voice sounded.

Suppressing a groan, I buried myself deeper in my covers, hoping against all hope that she wouldn't remember-

"It's the first day of school! Hurry, or you'll be late!"

Not even bothering to stop my groan, I rolled out of bed and landed on the floor with a dull thump. Today was the first day on seventh grade for me, and the first day of twelfth grade for my older sister, Tsukiko. Can't it be summer again? Getting up, I blindly stumbled my way to my own private bathroom and turned on the shower. Stripping off my pajamas, I stepped into the tub and let the stream of hot, hot water gently massage my back.

I had always been smart for my age. Too smart. The other students thought of me as a teacher's pet, the way I always finish first, the way teachers naturally notice me...School is always such a pain in the neck! I hated the way I was always ostracized, it gets depressing after a while. And when I had enrolled into Nagasaki Senior and Junior High last year, it just got worse! Not only did the teachers know me (at least by last name), but all the students kept calling me 'Tsukiko's Sister. Right?'

I didn't expect this year to be any different, so when I came out of the shower, I dressed in my usual ripped-up, camouflage cargoes, my dark green baby-tee with a black wife beater underneath, and my converses. I had started wearing this when I finally snapped from all the pressure. Boy, were the teachers surprised on the last day of school!

My school, like many in Tokyo, did have a dress code with uniforms and even regulation socks. I didn't care. It made me different, and I wanted to be different.

Stomping down the stairs, I entered the dining room to meet Nanny's disapproving glare.

"Ame! Go upstairs and change into your uniforms immediately. I will not let you out of this house looking like a...like a hooligan!" Nanny put her hands on her non-existent hips and glare at me with her beady, bird eyes.

I threw my practiced Don't-Mess-With-Me scowl her way and sat defiantly in my chair with my chin up. "Don't you make me call immigration!"

"I'm from Kyoto!"

"I know," I snarled, causing her to flee back into the kitchen via the swinging doors.

"You also know that you don't have to act tough at home, right?"

I caught only a glimpse of my sister before turning back to my soggy eggs. Tsukiko and I inherited our mother's small stature and noble features and our father's blue eyes and dark hair. I hated the fact that were looked so much alike, so much so that I had my long black hair cut off at the base of my neck. Said hair was currently crammed under my cap, a testament to how much I love my favorite baseball team.

Pulling out her chair and sitting down in one smooth gesture, my sister sat tall (or as tall as her 5'6" would allow) and regal, a slight smirk on her lips.

I sat in stony silence, refusing to look at her, and instead bore holes in to my hash browns with my gaze. She made no attempt to hold a conversation with me, but her smile was always there. Mocking me.

I downed a glass of orange juice and got up suddenly. "Let's go."

Primly, my sister dabbed at her lips with an embroidered napkin and got out of her seat. "Alright."

At the garage, we were suddenly faced with the dilemma of which car to use. I wanted the much less conspicuous Honda, but my sister wanted to go with the Porsche convertible.

"At our school, everyone will be riding in a limo or a sports car. A Honda will stick out like a sore thumb," my sister said sagely and thus won the argument.

Pouting and yet conceding to Tsukiko's victory, I climbed in over the door. My sister, as always, did things the proper way, and had to open and close the door to get in.

"Seatbelt," she reminded, and I grudgingly did as I was told. Securely fastened, my sister set off in a pace a snail could out run.

C'mon! I thought, leaning as far out the window as I could. VROOM. Huh? I looked in the side-rear view mirror and noticed a black motorcycle speeding up behind us. Tsukiko stopped and, glancing up, I noticed it to be a yellow light. The cycle sped past, and I could see two people riding it, one clearly smaller than the other.

We had just pulled into the parking lot when, out of nowhere, the motorcycle appeared and parked in between a Mercedes Benz and a Mustang. Getting off the cycle first, was a boy, around my age I assumed, with a ridiculous chicken-butt hairstyle. Then came the driver, hot and undeniably cool with longish black hair in a low pony-tail. He had premature worry lines on his face, but that only served to add to his mystery factor. Both wore the school uniform, though the older one had his shirt open for the first few buttons to reveal a glimpse of a strong, chest. I am in love!

I had been so absorbed in the newbies that i completely missed Tsukiko parking the car and cutting the engine. I scrambled out of the car after my sister and casually looked around for my Adonis. I was disappointed when I couldn't find him anywhere but I quickly brightened at the sudden realization. They were parked right across from me! Hopefully, I'll see him again, this afternoon.

OoOoOo

Leaving my sister to her gawking, I walked briskly toward the front steps on the main quad where the students gathered for the school doors to open. There, I found my friends, Ari, Asoka, and Yuki, gathered in a loose circle, whispering.

Ari was the first to notice me, and, with a flick of her auburn locks, beckoned me to hurry with an impatient hand. A regular bookworm, Ari somehow got a hold of all of the latest gossip.

"Did you hear?" she said excitedly. "Kagoshima got closed down 'cause some idiot set the gym on fire. Now, half the kids there are coming here. At least, for the first semester."

"I hear we are going to be sharing lockers. Man, I don't wanna share no locker with a stranger!" Yuki whined. She, and a handful of other students, was the only one brave (or stupid) enough to die her hair regardless of the dress code restrictions. Today it was blue but next week, who knows?

"Well," Asoka started, pointing at someone behind me, "I know who my locker partner is going to be!"

I turned and followed her gaze to one of the new kids, the boy Ame was staring at. No, the term 'boy' didn't suit him. He was a man, definitely. His face held a luminous quality, marred only by the twin wrinkles under his eyes. From afar, he almost looked feminine, but he gave off an aura to masculine to be female.

"His shadow's cute too," Ari pointed out, and I could see why. A miniature of his brother, the younger boy still had a bit of boyish charm on his young face but he had an edge in him that was clearly hereditary.

Heh, he reminds me of Ame... Already, dark and devious plans formed in my mind. No one would ever forget my senior year, least of all Ame.

OoOoOo

Well, that's the first chapter. Please read and review. (or just read, the hits will tell me if this one is popular).