DISCLAIMER: If we owned Naruto, he wouldn't be taking so darn long to become Hokage!
A/N: So, this chapter is supposed to help lighten the mood more, which is why it has Naruto in it.
Chapter 2. A New Student
"Man, he really doesn't wake up early!" Jiraiya groaned, staring at the sleeping figure on the bed. The time by the alarm clock read 7:30, and still the boy wasn't up yet. Jiraiya had tried everything – throwing water, pulling the sheets from under him, taking the blankets away, shouting, opening the window to let the sunlight in, banging pots and pans…and the boy didn't even stir, just lay there snoring on the floor (the sheets were pulled away, remember?) while the room became a complete mess.
"CHIKUSHO, WAKE UP ALREADY!" roared Jiraiya in frustration, bringing the boy's father to the room.
"He's not awake yet?" Minato asked, his eyes wide in that super-cute curious way. He looked like a typical single father – white apron over his navy-blue sweatshirt and black jeans, spoon in one hand and frying pan in the other.
"No!" Jiraiya cried, tears streaming down like miniature waterfalls. "How do you manage him everyday? !"
Minato gave a small grin (which would be a wide smile) and walked over to where his son was still sprawled on the floor. "Naruto," he whispered. "I made Pork Miso!"
The teen was back to his knuckleheaded-hyperactive self in an instant. "PORK MISO? ! WHERE ? !"
"Works every time," Minato smirked confidently. "Hurry and wash up or you'll be late for school."
"Okay," Naruto yawned. He noticed Jiraiya standing in the doorway with one eye twitching and smiled cheerfully, not noticing the vein popping out on his forehead. "Oh, hey, Ero-sennin!"
Jiraiya sweat-dropped and walked out of the room with a frustrated sigh.
Naruto was dressed and in the kitchen within five minutes, eagerly holding out his bowl like a hungry puppy (not that puppies hold out their bowls…). He was wearing his new uniform, which consisted of a black blazer, white shirt, black tie, black pants, and black Converse. "Look at you," Minato commented with a smile. "Dressed like that, you could pass as one of those serious A-plus students!"
Naruto scowled and began fixing his look. He undid his top shirt button, turned up his collar, loosened his tie, folded up his sleeves and didn't tuck his shirt in. "Much better," he grinned, winking and holding out his hand in a thumbs-up.
"Some things never change," Jiraiya sighed. "Well, I'll be going now, Minato. Naruto, need a ride?"
"Who would when they've got my baby?" Naruto asked, his grin growing wider.
"Baby?" Jiraiya looked confused. Naruto held out a black skateboard with green flames spray-painted on it, looking at it adoringly. Jiraiya formed an 'O' with his mouth before shrugging and heading out the door. Naruto was still stroking the thing when Minato handed him his food.
"Hai," he smiled. "Eat up. You need the energy for today!"
"Thanks, dad," Naruto replied, greedily hogging the home-recipe omelet. His chopsticks moved so fast you almost couldn't see them.
"DONE!" he announced after a while. "I gotta run. Ja ne!"
Minato watched his son race off with a sad smile. He turned to the picture that hung on the kitchen wall for all to see. Their family picture. He stroked the face of the red-haired woman as if she was really there. "He's all grown up now," he muttered. "And we're proud of him. Aren't we, Kushina?"
Naruto zoomed past pedestrians and cars at an unbelievable pace, slowing down only until the last turning. The looming towers of Konoha Academy could easily be seen from there. It looked like a majestic palace, minus the ancient look. He breathed in slightly before speeding up again. The black cast-iron gates were huge, but he saw them as a challenge. Grabbing the edge of the skateboard with both hands, he pushed all his weight up and sailed neatly over the top – only to crash into someone.
"Gomen nasai! I'm sorry!" he cried nervously as he checked his victim for injuries.
"HANDS OFF OF ME!" the woman yelled, shaking him off. She was wearing a black netted vest with a tan overcoat over it, and a whistle hung around her neck, giving the impression that she was some kind of coach. Her brownish-gray hair was tied in a stiff high ponytail that looked like a miniature corona surrounding her head. And the look in her light-brown eyes was highly reminiscent to the stalking glare of a predator.
"Y-You're not a-angry, are you?" Naruto stuttered, suddenly viewing himself as some kind of cornered prey.
The woman stood up and dusted herself off before looking Naruto up and down. "Uzumaki Naruto, am I right?" she asked demandingly, receiving many quick nods in response. "I'm the disciplinarian here, Mitarashi Anko. And in case you don't know what that word means, it means you don't want to mess with me. GOT IT? !"
"H-Hai!" Naruto almost whimpered.
Anko seemed satisfied with that, and her face returned to just slightly stern – for her, at least. "First of all, I don't want to see you come to school with that offending contraption ever again. Second, I expect to see you in your proper uniform tomorrow. And third, you will always, always address me as sensei. Understand? !"
"Um…actually…" Naruto began hesitantly. "What does 'offending contraption' mean?"
Anko gave a frustrated sigh. "You may look like your father, but to me it seems very obvious you're Kushina's kid. That babbling tomboy seemed to have bestowed you with all her audacities. Ugh…you may go."
"Jeez, what's her problem?" Naruto muttered to himself the minute she was out of sight. A small crowd of students had gathered to watch the mishap, and a couple of them were already laughing at him, pointing, taking pictures with their cell phones, or whatever. Great, Naruto thought sarcastically. First ten minutes and I'm already branded as the loser.
He walked on to the classroom Anko had directed him to, sliding the door open. A brown-haired teacher sat behind his desk, talking to a student about Naruto's age. He had black hair that was slightly blue under the light, and cold black eyes that seemed to bore through Naruto's innocent cerulean ones. "Um, hi," Naruto smiled, scratching the back of his head. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. The new kid?"
"Of course," Iruka smiled. "So you came early. I'm Umino Iruka, your classteacher. And this is Uchiha Sasuke, he'll be your partner and friend here."
The boy named Sasuke flinched a little at the word 'friend', but didn't say anything.
"Yoroshi ku, Nice to meet you," Naruto nodded.
"Well, I'm a little busy so I have to leave now," Iruka said, standing up. "Sasuke? Why don't you show Naruto around before class starts?"
"Hai," replied Sasuke monotonously. "Follow me."
Naruto did, a little intimidated by the young Uchiha's indifferent attitude. The next couple of minutes were spent walking around the school, getting familiar with where the different classrooms, labs, and gyms were. The building was huge, almost like a modern-day castle. There were beautiful gardens outside, and a fountain in the very middle of it all.
Sasuke didn't talk much, just pointed out which was which and allowed Naruto to rant on and on about whatever he saw. They went on like that until a bell signaled the start of class. The pair walked back to their classroom just as Iruka stepped in. "Ohayo, minna…good morning, everyone!" he greeted with a smile. "I'm happy to announce that we have a new student in our midst. Uzumaki Naruto was born here in Konoha, but he's lived in the Whirlpool country for the most part of his life."
Naruto grinned at everyone like he was already regarding them as his best friends. "Hi! I'm really glad to be here!" he said cheerfully. "And I hope to get a chance to get to know every single one of you." None of the other students seemed to be as enthusiastic, though. He shrugged and walked over to one of the seats at the back, right next to a brown-haired boy with two red tattoos on both cheeks.
"Hey!" the boy exclaimed in a half-whisper (Iruka was still talking). "You're the guy on the skateboard this morning!"
"Unfortunately," Naruto sighed.
"Although that stunt was pretty good, can you teach me to do that?" the boy asked with wide eyes. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, by the way. I'd introduce you to my dog, but society has a crazy norm that animals don't enter schools."
"Ignore canine-boy there," said another boy with black hair tied in a high ponytail. He looked like he had just woken up. "Nara Shikamaru. And this is my best friend Akimichi Chouji." He pointed to another boy with short, light-brown hair eating a bag of chips which was hidden in his desk.
"Nice to meet you," Naruto smiled. "All of you."
"You seem like one of us," Kiba grinned. "Wanna sit together at lunch?"
"Actually…" began Naruto. "Iruka-sensei said Sasuke was supposed to be guiding me around here."
"Uchiha Sasuke?" Shikamaru scoffed. "Please. He is his own best friend."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Naruto, a little confused.
"He's a loner, he thinks he's too good for the rest of us," Kiba replied, rolling his eyes. "Which, he probably is entitled to, considering he comes from one of Konoha's most prestigious first families. But trust me, he would not like to 'hang out' with anybody else. He keeps to himself."
"That, and we're ten times more acquainted with the school than he is. We'll guide you better," yawned Shikamaru.
"For starters, let's give you an intro on who's who," Kiba said with a sly wink. (Cue upbeat music) "See that blonde there? She's Yamanaka Ino, Konoha Academy's very own fashion police. The girl sitting behind her is Haruno Sakura, and yes, that's her natural hair color. She's the most sought-after girl in school. The one with the brown hair in two buns? That is Ten-Ten. She's going out with Hyuuga Neji…that guy over there. The one with the mushroom haircut is Rock Lee, his best friend. Then there's Aburame Shino, enti-enti-enti…" he struggled, trying to pronounce the word. "Ugh, I mean bug freak. Next to him, Sai, the child prodigy artist whose name is always on the papers. And that about rounds up all the decent people in here."
"Now for those you'll want to avoid," said Shikamaru. "The red-head there is your typical female bully, Karin. And her two bully-buddies, Suigetsu and Juugo. They're the only people Sasuke talks to. And that girl over there? Hakodate Ryoko. Sasuke's rumored ex, which makes her the only girl he took an interest in. She's a flirt, so stay away."
Naruto nodded absently, staring at another girl sitting in the front row, head slightly bowed as if she was trying to hide. She had long, black hair and the most beautiful grey eyes, crystal-clear…
"Like water…" Naruto muttered unconsciously. Kiba gave him an odd look, and he straightened. "Um, what about that girl?" he asked hesitantly.
"That's Hyuuga Hinata, Neji's cousin," Chouji answered with a full mouth. "She's the eldest daughter to the head of the Hyuuga industries, which makes her the heir. The money-minded guys ask her out all the time, but she's too shy for that."
"I see…" muttered Naruto. The said girl turned to look at him slightly, but immediately bowed down again when he caught her. Naruto smiled to himself. Where he came from, girls were straightforward and confident – a little too much so, sometimes. He had never met anyone who could be described as timid or shy. Someone like Hinata was new.
"Quit looking at her or you'll be on Neji's hit list," Shikamaru warned. "Trust me, he can get a little…overprotective at times."
Naruto giggled at that and turned his attention back to Iruka, who was wrapping up the briefing. A bell signaled the end of class, and he left the room after telling everyone to behave before the next teacher arrived.
"Which teacher do we have now?" Kiba asked Shikamaru, who checked his timetable. "Asuma…but he didn't show up today, so it's gonna be self-study. Probably."
"Let's bunk class," Kiba said, getting out of his seat. "Come on, Naruto."
Seconds later they were sitting on a lush patch of grass behind the school. Shikamaru was asleep on one of the trees, Chouji was eating underneath it and Kiba and Naruto were just sitting and talking.
"Aren't we gonna get in some kind of trouble for this?" Naruto asked nervously. "My dad will go ballistic if I get in trouble on my very first day."
"Don't worry," Kiba smiled reassuringly. "No one in our class tells tales, no matter how bitchy they are. And anyway, you've got us to back you up. We're your friends."
Friends. Naruto smiled back happily. The very first day of school, and he had three crazy friends already. He was beginning to like it here.
A/N: This is more of an intro than a chapter, I know it's pretty boring. Oh, well, I tried! Leave a review if you liked it!
