Yo. Hello. Unlike the majority of my fics, this one is only going to be a few chapters in length. I just really wanted to write something lighthearted and simple, and also involving the reconciliation that I believe should be sought out during the fading days of high school. We all have our problems in high school; but when it comes down to it, it's just high school, and if you might never see those people again, what's to lose by making your peace with them, or even maybe repairing what there once was?

I'm rambling. Enter the antisocial teenagers!

Warning: May contain yaoi, bad language and potentially traces of lemon

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The brakes of the bus whined in protest as the vehicle ground to a halt at a red light. The passengers all groaned in annoyance as they were jolted forwards in their seats by the sudden stop. Iruka Umino looked over his shoulder in surprise. That was the most sound he'd heard from his students since they'd gotten on the bus about half an hour ago.

He sighed heavily as he surveyed the thirty or so students who were sitting dejectedly in their seats; all wearing expressions that indicated that they were just waiting for this field trip to be over. All he could hear was the sound of the tapping of portable games, or texting…or some dangerously loud music blasting from headphones. The atmosphere was seriously lacking any form of life, and it was getting him down.

"…Before we left the school they wouldn't stop complaining," he commented sadly to Kakashi Hatake, the other teacher currently supervising on this bus. "And as soon as they get on…Just nothing! What is wrong with these kids?"

"We're not kids," someone drawled from near the back of the bus –Iruka didn't manage to catch which one of them it was.

"I'm sure they'll brighten up," Kakashi assured him; his eyes smiling reassuringly at the younger teacher. "It's the end of their senior year; they're bound to be overjoyed about finally graduating from high school."

"…That's cool and all," Ino Yamanaka commented from a few seats back; not even bothering to look up from her cell-phone, "But I don't see why we had to take a stupid trip to the public gardens." There was a low murmur of agreement; and though Iruka was glad that they were finally at least acknowledging each other's presence, he was a little put out that it was in opposition to his field trip.

"Don't you remember how you all came to these gardens when you started junior high?" he reminded them nostalgically, "I thought it would be nice to end your high school days the same way they started!" All he received were scoffs and grunts in response.

What had happened to his students? Where were those peppy, bright-eyed, eager kids he had started off with years ago? Who had taken them and replaced them with these sulky, moody creatures obsessed with technology and uninterested in outside, group activities and even each other?

"Gaara, turn your music down," Iruka called out with a sigh as he turned to look back at them all. Gaara's eyes were closed, but from the way he was bobbing his head very slightly, it was apparent that he was still awake. "Gaara?"

"He can't hear you, sensei," Naruto pointed out; obviously playing some kind of portable game –and losing, apparently.

"Tell him to turn it down, then, someone," Iruka sighed in exasperation, "He's going to ruin his ears…"

"Lee, text Gaara and tell him that Iruka-sensei's being a mom," Naruto commented with a small frown of concentration.

"On it!" Lee exclaimed; his cell phone already in his hand.

"Lee; you're sitting right next to him," Iruka pointed out with an incredulously look at Kakashi. "Ino, who can you possibly be texting?"

" –Sakura," Ino informed him.

" –She's sitting two rows behind you," he reminded her.

"It's a private conversation, duh," was her reply; as though he was some kind of stupid.

"Kakashi?" Iruka begged; hoping for some help.

"They'll be fine once we get to the park," Kakashi assured him with a shrug; the bus finally jerking back into motion. Again, the students all let out grumbles as they were jostled in their seats, but then settled back into silence.

"I remember when we first brought them out here," Iruka sulked, "…They couldn't get on the bus fast enough! They sang 'ninety-nine bottles of beer' and we had to separate Sasuke and Naruto because they were arguing so much; and they were just all so excited!"

"…You'd rather they were singing 'ninety-nine bottles of beer'?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "If I recall correctly, it drove you crazy and you threatened to make Naruto ride on the roof if he dared to take another bottle of beer off the wall."

"I'd rather deal with a Sakura-Ino screaming match than this silence," he replied sadly, "When did they stop loving field trips?"

" –When we stopped being little kids," Neji replied flatly from somewhere behind him.

"I appreciate the answer, but no need to be rude," Iruka retorted.

The rest of the ride to the gardens was just as silent.

It was slow going because there was a lot of traffic, but since it was still early in the day, it didn't matter too much. Iruka was determined that before the trip was out, he would see those happy, exuberant faces again! They were in their last weeks of high school, for crying out loud! They could at least pretend to get along or be sad about leaving each other. They'd been together since grade school!

Finally, the bus arrived, and Iruka and Kakashi got up to lead them off the bus. It took them a moment to realise that none of their students were making any move to get up from their seats. Iruka cleared his voice loudly, but either they didn't hear him or were plain ignoring him.

"Lee; text everyone on the bus and tell them that we're here?" Kakashi asked simply. He received a thumbs up from the dark haired teenager and about forty seconds later, phones vibrated and ringtones sounded and everyone looked up; moodily beginning to head towards the front of the bus. With a sigh of relief, Iruka started heading off the bus, hearing a, "Watch where you're going, bastard," from Naruto; likely directed at Sasuke, like usual. At least some things never changed.

The other two buses had arrived as well; the students on them all piling out from the vehicles with equally low levels of enthusiasm. Muttering and texting, they all spilled out through the entrance gates and into the park.

"Stop texting," Iruka scolded when he saw that Sakura and Ino were now walking side-by-side and still had their eyes glued to their phones.

"I'm sending a tweet," Sakura informed him flatly.

"What are you tweeting?" Ino inquired curiously.

" –Well check my twitter," the pink-haired teenager rolled her eyes, "You better be following me!"

"I am, okay!" Ino exclaimed, and then laughed, "'Worst field trip ever, FML. Hashtag snoozefest'; totally retweeting that…"

"…Are they speaking English?" Iruka inquired incredulously to Kakashi, "Neji, what are you doing over there?" he added when he saw that Neji was taking a rather up close picture of a flower with his phone.

"…I have to put this on Instagram," he retorted haughtily, "It's artistic."

"It's tacky, that's what it is," Shikamaru snorted as he slouched past, "Just coz you put a filter or two on it; doesn't mean it's art."

"Excuse me? I have like seven thousand followers," Neji shot back; sticking his nose in the air and scoffing at how untrendy Shikamaru was.

"You hear that, Kiba?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Seven thousand followers. On Instagram."

"Yeah, yeah, Neji's a tool, blah, blah," Kiba sniffed, "Yo, can you text Naruto and tell him to quit cheating?" He was stumbling along playing with his PSP; apparently against the blonde, who was walking a few feet behind him.

"…Shika –tell Kiba that it's not cheating if you actually know how to play the game," Naruto snapped back irritably, and then gave the air a victorious punch as he apparently defeated Kiba in whatever game they were playing.

"Okay guys!" Asuma hollered out as they all reached the centre of the park, "We're here to celebrate your graduation! You had such a great time here when you started school, so we thought it'd be nice to bring you back here, so –" That was all he managed to get out before the broody teenagers promptly ignored him and started fanning out. Iruka, Kakashi and Kurenai all joined poor Asuma as he stared in disbelief at the way that none of the students seemed even a little bit interested in what he had to say.

"…Where did that respect go?" Asuma sighed dejectedly, "They used to cling to my every word; they were terrified of me."

"Well, I suppose children grow up," Kurenai admitted; patting him on the back reassuringly. The four teachers looked out across the year group and saw to their dismay, that the majority of their students were sitting at the picnic tables or under trees; still on their bloody technology. Iruka noted a little bitterly that at least Kurenai and Asuma's classes were being a little bit social; chatting a little bit amongst themselves.

But his class…There was none of that.

"Go on Kakashi," Iruka sniffed huffily, "You're their Dean! Get them involved!"

"…They're fine, aren't they?" Kakashi commented with a lazy yawn from where he had already settled under a nice tree with his favourite book.

"Are you reading porn again?" the younger brunette hissed fiercely, "In front of the children?"

"Oh please, Iruka," Kakashi rolled his eyes, "If the rumours I hear are true, most of them are already familiar with the content detailed in this book." Iruka actually blushed a little at this; not wanting to think that any of his sweet little babies had been tainted by the world just yet. But he couldn't help but be curious…

"Who?" he inquired innocently.

" –Telling you would just be interfering," he replied teasingly, "…And would breach the uh…student-teacher confidentiality agreement. And you'd no doubt try and give them a 'talk' and they already got enough of that during Sex Ed. No teenager wants their teacher advising them about sex."

"Put away the book, Kakashi?" Iruka sighed weakly. "Look…Sakura and Ino are probably texting each other and they're sitting at the same table! At least Juugo's feeding the ducks; Suigetsu and Sasuke are just sitting there listening to music…" He suddenly seemed to notice that Asuma and Kurenai had started wandering over to where their classes were lounging; probably to make an effort to get them interacting like normal human beings. Hands on hips, he huffily decided that they were going to foster comradeship whether they liked it or not!

Kakashi watched in great amusement as Iruka, with his face set determinedly, stalked over to the closest group of his students and demanded that they hand over their electronics to him. From the scowl and the scoff, he was ignored; but it appeared that he was threatening them with detention or something because eventually, they folded.

Slowly, Iruka worked his way around his class, tossing all manner of technology into his backpack and then dumping it down beside Kakashi.

"What's going on?" Tenten complained, "I was in the middle of a round of Candy Crush."

"Yeah; and I was about to beat my high score on Temple Run!" Karin sniffed.

" –That's enough," Iruka informed them sternly, "We're going to play a game. An actual game. What the hell is wrong with you guys? Last year you all got along so well, and there was none of this tweetergramming and instabooking. And now all you do is tap away at your game things and your phones…"

"Tweetergramming?" Ino hissed in disbelief and Neji scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"I don't care," Iruka sighed, "We're going to play Seaweed."

"Seaweed?" a couple of people muttered in confusion and his mouth dropped open.

"Come on; I'll re-teach you," he assured them, taking off his shoes. "Kakashi, I'm going to need your shoes as markers. In a swift movement, Kakashi had kicked them off from where he was lounging, and Iruka swiftly marked out a relatively large rectangular area.

"Okay, Lee, you can be the first one 'in'," Iruka informed them as he made all his students line up on one of the lines. "You yell something, and anyone who fit those criteria has to run to the other end. You have to run around and try and tag as many people as you can. When you tag them, they have to freeze in place and try and tag people! Doesn't that sound like fun!" From the scowls on his student's faces, they thought quite the opposite. Lee obligingly jogged out to the middle of the area.

"I'll call out something," Iruka offered with a bright smile, "And if I say 'seaweed' you all have to run! So…anyone wearing…anything black! Go on; you have to run."

"This is stupid," Ino sniffed as Lee tagged her as she casually walked straight up to him.

"That's because you're not even trying," Iruka pointed out, "Okay…everyone who's left here; run to the other end!"

Apparently 'running' wasn't in the to-do list of anyone playing. In the first round, about half of them were already tagged and standing there looking bored.

"Can I at least have my phone?" Sakura called out with a sigh.

"No! Anyone with an 'A' in their name!" Iruka hollered, and watched as a few people began moving across the line again. He watched as Suigetsu half-heartedly reached for Naruto. The blonde dodged aside his hand and laughed cockily as he skipped past him.

"No fair!" Suigetsu complained, "You dodged!"

"You're just too slow!" Naruto cackled; passing over to the other side and into safety.

"Okay; I'm totally getting you next time," Suigetsu vowed as the blonde stuck his tongue out at him tauntingly.

At the moment, only Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba and Tenten were still left running, and it had only been two rounds!

"Seaweed," Iruka called out, just to be mean to them all. All four of them started walking, but then Lee, who had been masquerading as a stationary seaweed, suddenly came up behind them; aiming to tag them. Automatically, Naruto slithered away; leaping past Gaara and Sai and then dive rolling past Suigetsu and onwards to safety. Lee had immediately abandoned Naruto, and was now chasing Kiba through the web of seaweed.

Despite Lee's effort, all four of them made it to the other side.

"Thought you were going to catch me!" Naruto cackled.

" –Okay, that's it!" Suigetsu exclaimed, "Guys, don't let Naruto through!" Iruka was a little surprised to see that his students were no longer slouching. Indeed, they actually looked a little –dare he say it –interested.

"Seaweed!" Lee called out again; his thick brows set in a determined line. Naruto gave a yelp as Lee was immediately hot on his tail, and he was suddenly being accosted by his classmates' flailing arms trying to tag him. Kiba jeered as he danced over into the safe zone –Tenten having gotten tagged on the back by Kankuro. She cursed crossly; seeing Naruto tumble into the grass –safe.

"You're getting sloppy, idiot," Sasuke smirked down at him as the blonde dusted grass from his hair.

"They're ganging up on me!" Naruto snapped hotly, "You try it!"

"I'm just better than you," the raven retorted with a wicked smirk.

"Oh it is so on," the blonde growled.

" –If you have brown hair," Lee called out with a grin.

"No fair!" Kiba yelped, managing to get about halfway before he almost bowled over Hinata, who had been standing there shyly and trying to look almost invisible. But apparently running straight into the seaweed counted as being tagged, so it was just Sasuke and Naruto left.

"Seaweed."

Both Sasuke and Naruto took off; determined to be the last man standing. The game was in Sasuke's favour though, because the entire class was pitted against Naruto for some reason, and as he made a wild dive for the safe zone, Lee managed to tap his foot; the blonde letting out a defeated cry.

"No!" he exploded as the class all smirked in satisfaction, "I demand a rematch!"

"Yeah, come on; this round was no fair," Tenten scoffed.

"Naruto, you be in this time," Iruka decided, rubbing his hands together gleefully. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he glared at the triumphant raven. Sasuke just tucked his hands into his pockets as though he really couldn't care less, as the class lined up again.

"If you…have ever been chased by the cops!" Naruto shouted out smugly. Gaara and Kankuro glared at him; stepping out across the line. The blonde immediately leapt into action, racing up and tagging Kankuro, but Gaara swerved aside.

"Run, Gaara!" some of his classmates cried out, and the redhead suddenly sprinted off with Naruto hot on his tail. Iruka had never seen Gaara move so fast! But Naruto was faster, and tapped him on the shoulder; the redhead tumbling to the ground with a loud curse. Puffing, Naruto wheeled back around with a wicked grin.

"If you've ever been caught giving head at school!" he cackled.

"That's no fair!" Ino squealed in outrage as Sakura shoved her across the line. Iruka's eyes nearly fell out of his head as Tenten and Suigetsu also crossed over.

"Suigetsu, what the hell?" Karin snapped in irritation.

" –I'm just fluid with my sexuality!" Suigetsu informed her simply, before launching off as fast as he could towards the other end. Naruto let him go; focusing on getting Ino first. Tenten, more agile than he'd anticipated, managed to narrowly avoid him.

"If you've ever made out with someone older than you!" Naruto called out, and Iruka just looked over at Kakashi incredulously. The older teacher had joined him on the side-lines and was apparently very amused at this turn of events.

"Well…that's one way to play the game," he noted with a chuckle as a large portion of the class started running –actually running, of all things! Naruto called out seaweed for the rest of the class, and instead of focusing on anyone else, he made a beeline right for Sasuke.

The Uchiha ducked around him; smirking to himself as he rolled past Lee and Sai, and neatly avoided the dive that Gaara aimed at him. The redhead glared up at Sasuke; this being the second time he'd eaten dirt today.

"If you got drunk on New Year's."

Iruka and Kakashi actually took a step back and watched as the number of runners slowly began to dwindle. Apparently their competitive spirits had been riled up, and the seaweeds did not want to let anyone through. Naruto appeared to also be directing game plans to try and win.

And then the only person left was Sasuke.

"Come on Sasuke," Naruto dared, crouching low in anticipation of the raven's quick change of direction. Sasuke was breathing heavily; already having had a few close calls. Naruto was panting as well; determination in his eyes. Sasuke suddenly turned into a blur as he darted to one side; Naruto taking off a split second after him. The raven was visibly thrown to find his chosen route suddenly blocked by Suigetsu and Juugo, having to make a dramatic change of direction. Naruto cackled in delight; leaping through the air to fiercely tackle him in the back; dragging him to the ground triumphantly.

"Yes!" Naruto whooped in delight; perched on Sasuke's back in a victory pose.

"Moron!" Sasuke snorted, bucking up and sending him flying forwards onto his face. The whole class laughed, and Iruka had to smile. It had been a while since he'd heard his class laugh like that.

"You made me get grass-stains on my shirt," Sasuke growled flatly as he got to his feet.

"Sensei, we played your game…can we have our –" Ino was about to say, when instead, Kakashi stepped up, tapped her on the shoulder and childishly declared;

"Tag. You're it!"

Iruka wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed as though the phrase, "You're it!" activated some childhood ingrained reflex for everyone to scatter across the grass away from Ino; watching her warily.

"Kakashi-sensei, no fair!" Ino pouted; stomping her foot.

"No tag-backs!" he teased; folding his arms.

"Ino's it!" Sakura laughed mockingly.

"Hey, shut up!" Ino crowed; lunging for her friend and then missing as Sakura skipped away with the chant, "Ino's it! Ino's it!" The blonde furiously jogged over to where Neji wasn't bothering to pay proper attention, and pushed him in the back.

"Neji's it!" she shouted, and he turned to look at her irritably.

"I'm not playing," he informed her flatly.

" –You can't just say you're not playing," Ino sniffed, "You're it."

"Come on Neji; don't be such a fucking tool," Kiba snapped.

" –Language, Mr Inuzuka!" Iruka scolded as Neji sulkily stepped forwards, aiming a half-hearted swipe at Tenten; who immediately leapt back a pace.

"Hey, Tenten; let me tag you," he scowled; trying to catch her again.

"Not happening," she assured him; skipping back a safe distance. "I don't want to be it!" Neji changed tact and walked over to Shikamaru; who avoided him neatly.

"No fair," the Hyuuga complained; trying to lunge for someone –anyone, "Guys, this isn't funny. Guys; come back…"

" –But you're it," Kiba pointed out flatly. Neji approached his shy cousin, Hinata, who was watching him warily.

"Come on, Hinata; I don't want to play," Neji grumbled, but she immediately darted out of reach before he could even get close, "Someone…Just someone let me…"

"You're so slow, Neji," Suigetsu teased wickedly.

" –Can't catch me!" Naruto goaded, darting past the Hyuuga with a smirk. "Neji watches soap operas!"

" –Only 'Days of our Lives'!"

"…Neji cries when he gets his hair wet!" Sakura giggled.

" –That was only once; and it was because I fell in the pool!" Neji defended hotly.

"Your instagram's lame!" Kiba hollered, and the Hyuuga's pale eyes narrowed dangerously.

"That's it," he declared flatly, "I'll show you who's fucking lame!" With that, he forced himself into a full on sprint; darting aggressively after Kiba. The Inuzuka gave a teasing whoop and sprinted off in the direction of Karin and Suigetsu. Instantly, the entire class scattered out; racing off across the grass in the attempt to avoid becoming 'it'.

Iruka and Kakashi were left standing there with two bags full of electronics, watching their students all disappearing off into the gardens. Iruka looked at Kakashi in amazement, wondering what on earth he'd just done.

"…It's a universal rule that a game of Tag can start at any moment, by anyone," the older man assured him, pulling out his erotic novel once more, "…And two things are guaranteed. Everyone will run from whoever is 'it' and anyone that declares 'I'm not playing' shall be ridiculed and forced to play."

"…I can't believe that worked," Iruka breathed.

"Of course it worked," Kakashi chuckled, "The negative connotations of being 'it' linger long past childhood." Iruka chuckled to himself and then scowled.

"Stop reading porn in public Kakashi! What will people think?"

"…I have a spare that you can borrow, if you're bored –"

"NO! Pervert!"

"I'm just teasing, Iruka," Kakashi laughed, "Come up this tree; I want to watch what happens!"

"Happens?" Iruka frowned, suspiciously beginning to clamber up the tree that Kakashi was big enough and high enough to look out over the gardens from, "What makes you think that anything will happen?" Kakashi just gave him a knowing look and continued to climb.

When the pair of fully grown adults were high enough, Iruka's mouth dropped open in amazement. From up here, they could practically see the entire gardens! It was beautiful.

From up there, he could pick out the shapes of his students darting between the trees; leaping across flowerbeds and sprinting across the bridges; fleeing from (a probably very annoyed) Neji Hyuuga. It was a pleasant sight, seeing teenagers running around playfully. Looking down on them, they seemed very much like children again.

Okay, I'll be honest... I just reeeeeeally wanted to put in a game of Tag. The second part; well there we will find out what happened in the last few years to the bright, excitable students that Iruka used to know.

It's realisation time! What went wrong? Where did the good times go? Is it too late to go back to the way things were? Or maybe change is good.

Ahh school field trips. Bringing everyone together, one forced group activity at a time!

xx K