Ok, so technically it's not Friday, but I just got off work, and this was the only time I could update XP. Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed, I really appreciate it. Anyway, here's Chapter 2! (It's longer than the last.)

IMPORTANT NOTE DUE TO STORY: (I'm just gunna copy this on each chapter...) The way I'll go about this story is that I'll update a new chapter every friday. The upcoming one doesn't count, so for Chapter 2, you'll have to wait until next friday. If I miss one week, then I'll put up two chapters in the next. Got it? Great.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Just the idea of this story.

Enjoy! :)

"Did you sleep well last night Sakura?"

Climbing down the stairs, Sakura smiled at her Baba as he placed fresh eggs on a white plate on the kitchen table. Walking over to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek, Sakura nodded.

"The bed was as comfortable as I remembered," said Sakura. Sure enough, Sakura's first night at her Baba's house was very welcoming. Her room was just how she had left it over a year ago. The walls were a casual, light green; the top was covered in glow in the dark stars that she had gotten at a young age; pictures and photos of her friends and family were on top of her large wooden chest; the closet, although a bit small, was covered by two mirrors that slid to the side when opened, and her desk had flat screen computer that wasn't there on her last visit. And the bed was…..pure heaven! It was firm enough for her not to sink too deep into the mattress, but soft enough to feel like she was sleeping on a cloud. It was probably her third favorite thing when she went into the house. The second was the bathroom connected to her room. It was white and blue, tiles on the floor, and a makeup counter with a stool and a huge mirror. It was definitely the most amazing bathroom she had ever seen. Her first favorite thing was actually in a different room.

*Flashback*

Sakura walked up the doorstep and into the house after she lost sight of Sai's Escalade. She stood in front of the door for a few minutes, allowing the tears to pour out of her. She knew that she would see them again, but it still hurt watching them go. Her heart literally broke when she saw them drive off, the pain almost making her fall to her knees. After a few minutes, Sakura wiped off the last of the tears, and took a few breaths before walking into the house. Taking in her surroundings, she smiled at the familiarity. Walking in, the kitchen was to the left, made up of white and black tiles and coffee colored walls. The stairs were on the left of the entrance, leading up to a hall that split with rooms on each end. Straight ahead from the entrance was the living room; a sofa was in the middle of the large room, with the chimney behind it, and a large plasma TV on the opposite side of the room. Another, longer couch was by the wall, facing the outside that could be seen by the glass doors at the far end of the room. A person could see that the backyard had a lot of space, with a cherry blossom tree in the far right corner. Sakura was so intrigued by the homey feeling, that she didn't even notice her Baba standing next to her, leaning on the kitchen door frame.

"Are you alright Sakura?" he asked the pinkette, nearly laughing when she jumped from hearing his voice. "Oh, I'm sorry for startling you."

"No, no," laughed Sakura. "It's alright Baba. I was just….loving how not much has changed…"

"That's because you haven't seen the upstairs yet," said Baba. Seeing her confused face, he hooked his arm over his granddaughter's and together, they climbed up to the second floor. Reaching the top of the stairs, he led Sakura to the right, and stopped in front of a door on the right of the room that would be hers. Letting go of her arm, Baba put a hand on the doorknob and said, "Before we go in, will you close your eyes for me?" Sakura raised a brow, but closed her eyes all the same. She heard a door open, and then she felt a hand on her shoulder pulling her into the room. After turning on the lights, Baba smiled with a twinkle in his eyes and said, "Alright Sakura. You can open your eyes now."

Upon opening her jade eyes, Sakura gasped at the sight before her. The room was not exactly huge, but it was still pretty big, and the walls were a light brown color, and the floor was white carpet, but it was the things in it that made her love it. In the far left corner next to the window, was a complete drum set. On the left of the door was an acoustic guitar with flower petals stickers glittering from the neck up along the fret board. The top of the body was a brown color, a few leaf stickers glittering along the side of sound hole, ending at the bridge pin. Next to that was an amplifier with a midnight blue electric guitar leaning on it. The electric guitar didn't have any special design like the acoustic one did, but it by itself was incredible to look at. Next to that was a keyboard with a stool and a foot pedal. There were also other instruments like a recorder, a bass guitar, a flute, and much more. Finally, straight ahead from the door was her own personal home recording studio, with a mic stand, speakers, headphones, audio recorders and everything. The whole room was just amazing!

"Oh Baba!" exclaimed Sakura. "I love it! But how – why -?"

"I need to give you a welcoming gift," explained Baba. "I remember you would always be singing and writing songs. Your mom had told me that you loved playing guitar and piano, and that you were getting better at the drums. I figured, why not? You deserve it."

Picking up the acoustic the guitar, Sakura turned to him and asked, "But this would mean loud noise. A lot of loud noise." Baba tapped Sakura's nose lightly.

"Another thing," he said. "This whole room is soundproof."

"What!"

"Yep. The only way I'll be able to hear you is if you open the window, or if you leave the door slightly open. Other than that, you can be screaming for your life and I won't hear a sound." That caused Sakura to burst out laughing.

"That's nice to know Baba," she laughed. "This is great. Thank you so much!"

*End of Flashback*

"I am glad you slept well my sweet Sakura," said Baba, filling up Sakura's cup with orange juice. "I just wish you could have had a day to rest before going to school though."

"It's alright," said Sakura with a small smile. "I missed enough school days since the funeral, and I really don't think I should miss any more." Sighing, Baba sat on the chair next to her, watching her eat before he spoke again.

"How are you holding up?" asked the elder man in a rather heavy tone. "Are you doing ok?"

Nodding, Sakura replied, "Yeah. I mean…I'm doing better than how I was when I heard the news." Seeing Baba frown at her answer, Sakura tried to put on a smile. "I'm fine Baba. Don't worry."

"Sakura," snapped Baba, causing the pinkette's eyes to widen. "I do not want you to put on a fake smile in front of me. I want to see you, so do not hide from me."

At a loss for words, Sakura bowed her head and muttered, "I'm sorry." With a sigh, Baba waved it off, but Sakura didn't let it go. "I do miss them," she said. "When I heard that they were gone…I just couldn't believe it Baba. I mean, I was visiting Naruto at his Uncle Jiraiya's house when I got the call that my parents were dead. Now, it's like I can't feel anything for them. It's like, after hours and days of crying and mourning, that subject just makes me numb…I am sad. But, I'm healing – or at least, I think I am. I am healing…right Baba?"

Not knowing what to say, Baba wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye before placing his hand over his granddaughter's. Even though the gesture was small, it was exactly what Sakura needed at that moment: peace and comfort. The rest of breakfast was silent, but neither needed to speak a word. When that was finished, Baba stood to wash the dishes while Sakura stood by his side, drying. That, of course, led to a small water fight that needed to be cleaned right after. Once that was done, Sakura went up to her room to get ready for her new school. After she finished showering, drying her hair, and brushing her teeth, Sakura went to get dressed. 'Let's see. What to wear? This? Nah. Oooh, how about this?...Never mind. Wait. What am I doing? It's not like I'm trying to impress anybody.' With that, she threw on a green tank top and some blue jeans that hugged on to her legs. There really was no point in putting on any makeup, considering she thought she was pretty enough. She had a modest version of an hourglass shape, with breasts that were a nice C cup size; her waist was slim, but not overly skinny; her legs were long and smooth; sure, she didn't have the kind of body that celebrities have in magazines, but she had one that she couldn't really complain about. 'Like a said, it's not like I'm trying to impress anybody.' Putting on some white converses, a watch, and placing a small kiss on her necklace, she walked out of the bathroom to grab her red backpack. When she reached the stairs, she let out a small gasp before running back to her room. How could she almost forget it? There, hanging off the makeup counter in her bathroom was the navy blue headband that Naruto had given her. Tying the knot under her pink hair, Sakura smiled proudly at her reflection before racing downstairs.

"I'm off to school Baba!" called out Sakura opening the door.

"Good luck Sakura!" she heard from upstairs. "I hope you have a good first day!" With that, Sakura closed the door behind her. 'That makes two of us,' thought Sakura.

It took Sakura twenty minutes to walk to the school, Konoha Academy. On her way there, she passed by a few kids whom she recognized were at the park the day before. One was a guy with long brown hair and misty lavender eyes; he was standing next to a guy with a black haired ponytail, who had studs in both ears. Along the way, she also saw a guy with dark red hair, light green colored eyes surrounded by black makeup and a tattoo on the left side of his forehead; he was talking to a guy with a large sweater that covered his mouth, with the hood up, and sunglasses, and a girl with brown eyes, with her hair tied up in two buns on her head. Each time Sakura passed by the group of kids, she would have to turn her head to look straight ahead because each time, they would turn their heads and stare at her. She wasn't completely intimidated by this, but she was a bit bothered. 'No matter where I go, it's always the same,' thought Sakura. 'I should really start wearing a sign that says "This is my natural hair color!" I wonder if people will keep staring then…' Walking into the school, Sakura wished with all her might that Naruto and Sai were with her. They would make a scene for sure, but at least it would take the attention off of the pink haired teenager. 'Those guys are the best,' thought Sakura with a smile. Finally, she made it to the principal's office, away from the curious eyes. 'Here we go…'

:)(:

Not far from the principal's office was a small classroom with a boy in the far corner of room. He had his black hair up in a spiky ponytail and a bored expression on his face. 'Another week of school, another week of the same old thing,' he thought. He looked around the small rectangular room at his classmates. In the very front, his favorite teacher, Asuma-sensei, was sitting behind his desk looking over some essays that they had turned in when they got into the classroom. By the way he kept tapping his pen on the desk, he could tell he was getting desperate for a smoke. Normally, Asuma would light up a cigarette in the middle of class, opening a window to let the smoke out, but ever since his girlfriend made a scene about smoking in class, he tried to take a break. It wasn't really working, but at least he was trying. The rest of the class was a rather small bunch, considering it was an Advance Placement class – how the boy got in the this class was a mystery to him; he could've sworn he did well enough on the test to pass, but not enough to get in an AP class. Anyway, with him included, there were only seven people in the class. It just goes to show that only the best of the best where there.

Everyone had their own table that would initially be for two students. There were four rows and four columns, but the first row was completely empty, and the third column from the window was empty as well. On the second row, two people sat on separate tables. One was a guy named Shino. He sat facing the middle of the room with his back leaning against the window. He had on a large sweater with the hood up and sunglasses. Pretty much the only thing that could be seen of him was his cheekbones and a bit of his forehead. Shino was a huge fan of bugs, and even had a collection of them at home. He was a pretty weird and silent guy, but he didn't mind showing his soft side to his friends. On the table next to his was a guy with long brown hair, tied at his lower back. He had eyes with a slight tint of gray to them, almost a misty lavender color, fair white skin, and an intense expression on his face. Yep, Neji hardly ever softened his expression, unless it had something to do with his cousin, Hinata.

Hinata sat on the table behind Shino, her chair turned a little so she could face both, Shino and her cousin. She had long raven hair with a blue tint to it that reached her lower back, the front having bangs that were cut right above her eyes. She wore a purple sweater and navy Capri pants. She, like her cousin, had eyes with a slight grey tint to them and fair white skin. But unlike Neji, her face was kind and soft with a shy smile as she heard Shino, who is one of her best friends, telling her a story about a time his mother woke up to find a grasshopper on her nose. On the table next to hers was Gaara. Gaara had spiky, brick red hair. He had a tattoo on the left of his forehead above his left eye. His eyebrows pretty much invisible, and his eyes were a light green color, covered in what they could guess was black paint but they were unsure of. His skin was pale, but most of his body was covered in his long-sleeved crimson coat, and black pants. He was definitely a quiet person, and he didn't express or talk much, but he stood up for his friends when they needed him, and even though he would always stay quiet, his friends would always enjoy his company.

Behind Hinata's desk was the boy with the ponytail, Shikamaru. He was by far, the laziest person in the entire school. To say that him getting into AP English, considering he would sleep through an entire class, was shocking, would be an understatement. Shikamaru always had a bored expression on his face – if not bored, then sleepy. At the moment, he was wearing a dark green vest over his grey t-shirt, with black jeans. Unfortunately for him, this was one of those days when, even if he wanted to sleep, he wouldn't be able to shut his eyes. For some reason, he just couldn't sleep, no matter how much he wanted to. So instead, he listened half-heartedly to Shino's story, smirking at Gaara's attempt to not smile at Hinata's laughter. Shikamaru knew there was nothing there, but it was amusing to him how Gaara had his soft side towards women completely hidden. Neji was smirking as well, but not at Gaara. Instead, he smirked because Asuma-sensei had lifted his essay up to show an A+ at the top of the page. Figures.

Speaking of figures, there were still two other people in the small classroom, on the far opposite side. One was male and the other was female. The male's name was Sasuke, who was known to be a lady's man. He had spiky, raven hair with a blue tint to it. His eyes were onyx colored, and usually full of intensity and determination. His skin was pale, almost like Neji. But unlike Neji, Sasuke would usually have a taunting smirk on his face. He wore a blue long-sleeved turtle neck and black pants. The girl next to him was Karin. She had red hair that was spiky and uncombed on the right side, but straight and smooth on the left, and matching red eyes. She had on brown glasses, a brown, sleeveless button-up shirt, a black skirt that was a few inches above her knees, and long boots that went up to her knees. Those two were talking amongst themselves – or rather, Karin was talking while Sasuke glared at her as if telling her to shut up. The group next to the window didn't really interact with them unless it was necessary, and even then, it was still a cold exchange. Sasuke, above all else, just didn't give them a good vibe.

Then, there was a soft knock on the door. The room fell silent as Asuma stood to open the door, revealing green and pink.

"Can I help you?" asked Asuma politely. The girl held out a slip of paper which he took, and smiled shyly.

"Is this AP English?" said the girl. "If it is, Tsunade-sama said it would be my first class. I'm Haruno Sakura – I'm new here." Asuma nodded with a smile before opening the door wide, allowing her entrance.

The class stared as the girl walked to the front of the room, unsure of where to go. Shikamaru raised a brow at her hair, never seeing that on a person, but shrugged it off. That's when he heard it. On the opposite side of the room, he heard a very small, almost uncatchable, dark chuckle. Looking over, he saw Karin gawking at the new arrival, her eyebrows up in surprise, and her mouth somewhat open. But what made Shikamaru frown was Sasuke. He was sitting straight in his chair, completely facing the front of the class with a knowing smirk on his face. He obviously knew the girl, and from the looks of it, the girl recognized him as well. 'This should be interesting,' thought Shikamaru.

:)(:

Sakura walked to the front of the room, tugging a lock of hair behind her ear. It was a small class, with maybe not even ten students, so of course it made her more nervous. They were all staring at her! 'So much for not having to impress anybody,' thought Sakura, mentally sighing. Taking a quick look at the students, she recognized a few from when she was walking to the school sitting on near the windows. No wait, she saw all of those four guys. The only one she didn't recognize was the girl sitting in the middle of them all. Moving her eyes to the other side of the room, her eyes widened in surprise. 'S-Sasuke? What the hell is he doing here?' Quickly, she took her eyes off of him and moved to the girl sitting in the desk behind him. She recognized that girl, but she couldn't really remember her name. 'It's barely my first class and I already feel awkward' she thought. 'I wonder what other surprises this day will bring…'

"Alright class," announced Asuma-sensei, clasping his hands together. "It looks like we have a new student starting today." He put a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder before continuing. "How about you tell us a bit about yourself? We just finished with a major assignment, so we won't be doing anything important in this class today." Sakura nodded to him with a small smile before turning back to her new classmates.

"Uh, hi," said Sakura nervously. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I just moved here from the Jomae Village (A/N: Land of Keys), and I'm not really sure what else I'm supposed to say here." Sakura saw the girl sitting in the middle of all the guys smile at her, almost as if trying to reassure her. The guy with crimson red hair nodded as if welcoming and the other three were just staring – except for the boy in the far back who just had his cheek leaning on his knuckle, almost as if he was bored.

"That's quite alright," said the teacher. "I am Sarutobi Asuma, by the way. You're AP English teacher. Well, like I said, we probably won't be doing anything today, considering I have to grade these students' papers. So go on and sit wherever you like. You have plenty of seats to choose from."

Giving a slight nod, Sakura looked back at the class. She definitely didn't want to go sit next to the lonely pair, and sitting in the front row would seem like she was trying to outcast herself – then again, it would seem like that if she sat in the empty column as well. But if she sat on a chair next to the other group, it would look like she was being smug and trying to invade their territory. 'You're over thinking this Sakura,' she thought. 'It's just picking out a seat, not a rescue mission.' With that, she walked straight through the middle of the rows, aiming to sit on the desk next to the bored looking guy, leaving two chairs between them. Halfway there, she heard a soft mumbling trying to get her attention. Looking over to the right, she saw the unfamiliar girl waving her over with a smile.

"You can sit here if you'd like," said the girl in a shy tone. Sakura froze where she stood, unsure of what to do. 'Should I go? She seems nice enough. But what about the guys? They might not like me barging in to sit next to their friend. But it would be rude if I say no….damnit! I hate high school!' While she argued with herself in her mind, she noticed the crimson haired guy nod at her once again. The guy in front of him, one with long brown hair, gave her a small smile. 'Well….I guess it'll be okay…' She sat on the chair next to the girl, right in the middle of the four boys.

"Thanks," mumbled Sakura, trying to not show how nervous she was. The other girl just smiled.

"No problem," said the girl quietly. "My name is Hyuga Hinata. These are my friends, Shino -" the boy with the hood nodded in acknowledgement, "my cousin, Neji -" the boy with the long brown hair bowed his head in greeting, "Gaara -" the boy with the tattoo lifted his hand slowly, and Sakura took it, noticing how he gripped it softly, "and Shikamaru." The last boy behind them just waved lazily as he let out a yawn.

"It's nice to meet you guys," said Sakura smiling.

"So you are from Jomae huh," came the velvety voice of Shino. Seeing her nod, he asked, "I've never been there before, what is it like?"

"Oh, it has a lot of open space," replied Sakura. "It's not like this place where houses are next to each other. Over there, it's miles of land before getting to your neighbor's house."

"How did you get to school then?" said Neji in a voice that would make a girl fall to her knees (A/N: Neji is so hot XD) "I'm sure you didn't walk to the building, or did you?"

"No, we had to take a bus 'cause the school was over half an hour away."

"Is this your first time coming to Konoha?"

"Nope," replied Sakura, shaking her head. "I was actually born here. But my dad's job required us to move to other places. We finally got settled in Jomae a few years ago, but I came every now and then to visit my grandfather." Neji nodded in understanding at her answer.

"Why did you move back?" asked Gaara, allowing Sakura to hear his soft, gentle voice for the first time. Sakura gazed at him for a moment before answering.

"Obligations I guess."

No one decided to pry on that subject for the rest of the class period. Instead, they just kept asking her about Jomae, her friends, her hobbies, etc. Shikamaru joined in the conversation not long after, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he might as well join. He couldn't help but notice Karin whispering something to her companion, and Sasuke just smirking while his eyes were fixed on the pinkette. 'Weird,' he thought, 'they're not even acknowledging each other, but clearly they know each other. Maybe I'll ask Sakura – after I get to know her better. Wouldn't want to be considered intrusive, especially not by a girl. That would be too troublesome. '

Half an hour later, the bell rang, indicating that the students had ten minutes to get to their lockers to get their books before heading off to their next class. By the end of the period, Sakura felt very comfortable with the five people that surrounded her. Hinata was rather shy, but she was incredibly sweet; Shino and Gaara were quiet, but they put in their thoughts when they figured it was necessary; Neji was reserved, but at least he tried to be social; Shikamaru was lazy, most definitely, but he could really keep up a conversation. Yep, it would've been a perfect way to start off in the new school – if only it hadn't been for the pair on the opposite side of the room. Sakura didn't have to turn around to know they were staring at her, but she tried her best not to let the awkwardness show. Now, everyone was getting their things and standing off their chairs before Asuma-sensei's voice rang through the classroom.

"Don't forget guys," he said, "just because we didn't do anything today, doesn't mean we can start getting lazy" that earned a smirk from Shikamaru. "On Thursday (A/N: It's Tuesday), we're gunna start on Hamlet; the tale of the young prince who went mad trying to get revenge on his uncle for killing his father. I know you probably have all read it before, but in this class, we are not just going to read the story. We will do an in-depth analysis. Who knows – you might find something you never thought was there."

With that, Asuma-sensei took up the rest of the essays on his desk and walked out the room, waving a hand behind him. The pair on the opposite side of the room followed him out, and Sakura couldn't be more relieved. Then she noticed that the guys were at the door waiting for her and Hinata, who stood by her desk as if waiting for her to start walking.

"I hope you don't mind Sakura," said Hinata. "B-but, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?" Sakura sighed; she should've seen this coming.

"I see," replied Sakura. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. But I am impressed that you went this long without asking."

"Huh?" said Hinata with a confused expression. "W-what do you mean?"

Sakura smiled half-heartedly before saying, "You want to ask me if this is my real hair color right? I get that a lot, and yeah, it is."

"Oh!" exclaimed Hinata, giggling. "That wasn't really my question, but it's nice to know." Seeing Sakura's confused face, she laughed. "I-I am sorry. But I was actually going to ask you if I can get a closer look at your necklace, just to see what it says?"

"Oh, uh, wow, yeah sure, go on ahead."

Hinata gently lifted the small mirror with her fingers, reading the small inscription. When she was finished, she placed it back and smiled. "It's lovely," was all she said before motioning for Sakura to get a move on.

:)(:

The rest of the classes weren't as nice as the first one. There were a lot of people who just stared at her, and she heard murmuring from almost every direction. A few classmates went up to her to talk to her, but of course it was mainly to ask if she had dyed her hair. She had another class with Shikamaru and Neji, which was advanced math, and she had Shino for her economics class. Other than that, she just saw Hinata and Gaara when they went up to her locker during the breaks. Two classes later, Hinata led her to the back of the school where she said her friends got together to have lunch in the gazebo. Sakura expected to just see a few kids, maybe just the guys from English, but there were more kids at the gazebo than that entire class. Counting their heads quietly, she counted 11 people under the shade of the gazebo, not counting Hinata's. Reaching their destination, all the kid's quieted down as they noticed a new arrival, causing both Sakura and Hinata to blush.

"Um," stuttered Hinata. Placing a hand on the pinkette's back, she said, "Everyone, this is Sakura. She's new here and it's her first day. Sakura, these are my friends…"

One by one, Hinata pointed at one of her friends as she named them. Skipping over Neji and Gaara, the first was a girl with four blonde pigtails around her head, wearing a black tank top and some black jeans. Her name was Temari and she was the older sister to Gaara and Kankuro, who sat on the opposite side of the gazebo from Sakura. He was wearing a dark purple long-sleeved turtle neck and black pants. What stood out about him was the purple paint on his face, almost reaching up to his brown hair. It was surprising for Sakura, but it suited him for some reason. In between Temari and Kankuro were Shino and a girl named Ino. She had light teal eyes (A/N: In the anime, they're blue, and in the manga their green, so I just mixed them.), skin that practically rivaled with Sakura's, and long blond hair that reached down to her waist. On the other side of Kankuro there were three more people she didn't recognized, and one that she remembered she passed in the morning. One was a guy with bushy brows and a black bowl haircut named Lee. He had on green t-shirt and matching green shorts. He kept gaping at Sakura, and she was sure she was able to see heart in his eyes, and that kind of creeped her out.

Next to him was the girl she saw in the morning with two brown buns at the top of her head and brown eyes. Her name was Tenten, and she wore a white sleeveless turtleneck and brown Capri pants. Rolling her eyes at Lee, she smiled at Sakura reassuringly. Next to Tenten was Choji, a boy with a robust physique. He wasn't exactly fat, but he wasn't small either. He had red swirls on his cheeks and long brown hair that reached down to his waist. He had black pants and a red long-sleeve button up shirt. His shirt had crumbs on it from the bag of chips he was currently eating. Next to him was another boy named Kiba. Kiba, like Kankuro and Gaara, had paint on his face; he had red fang markings on each cheek. He had messy brown hair, sharp nails, seemingly-canine teeth, and black eyes with vertical slit-like pupils. Resting its chin on his lap was a rather large dog with white fur, and dark brown patches on his ears that matched his nose; his eyes were closed so Sakura didn't see the color. The dog's name was Akamaru. Finally, the last person between Kiba and Sakura was Shikamaru, surprisingly wide awake.

"Hey Sakura," said Shikamaru. "Welcome to the group." Sakura's eyes widened at the statement. Everyone laughed at her reaction, causing her to blush furiously, but welcomed her all the same.

"You came in that black Escalade huh pinkie?" asked Kiba. Ino rolled her eyes.

"No Kiba," said the blonde. "She flew here on a magic carpet."

Kiba growled playfully, "Are you making fun of me!"

"Nah," interrupted Kankuro, smirking. "She's just making you look more like an idiot than usual."

"What did you say!"

Ino and Lee jumped out of the way as Kiba jumped to tackle Kankuro. It was a failed attempt because the next thing you know, Kankuro had Kiba on the floor in a headlock. Everyone was laughing, even Sakura, though still a bit startled, joined in the laughter. While the boys continued with their rough play, the others decided to question the newcomer.

"So Sakura," said Tenten, "how do you like the Academy so far? Is it smaller than your last school?"

"Are you kidding me?" replied Sakura. "This place is huge. It was a miracle I found Tsunade-sama's office by myself."

"What teachers have you had so far?" asked Ino. Sakura raised her fingers counting them down.

"Um, so far I've had Asuma for English, Kurenai for Economics and Iruka for Math. After lunch I have Yamato for History and Ibiki for Logic."

"May I be bold Sakura?" asked Lee, his eyes full of determination. Before Sakura could answer, he was already standing in front of her, holding her hand with both of his. "You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen! Your radiance is equal to that of a Cherry Blossom! You must give me your permission to pursue you."

"Uh…"

"Enough Lee," came Gaara's voice. He had stood up to stand next to them, obviously trying to hide his amusement. Taking Sakura's hand away from a pouting Lee, Gaara led Sakura to sit between him and his sister who bumped shoulders with the pinkette, giving her a wink.

"Gaara's right," said Temari, trying not to laugh. "Sakura's new here, so I'm sure she's not looking for a boyfriend right now."

"It's Lee," piped in Shino. "I think you meant girlfriend." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Whoa! Not a lesbian here!"

"Well, that's too bad," said Temari, faking disappointed. Everyone laughed, and when they quieted down, Temari whispered to Sakura, "Just kidding heh. We're all friends here, so no point in holding back."

Lunch continued on like that; laughing and making fun of each other. What really got them to tears was when Kankuro noticed that Kiba wasn't struggling anymore. When he looked down, they all realized that Kiba had become unconscious, making everyone laugh even more. When he came around, he couldn't help but join, even though he did go and give Sakura a noogie. Nearly halfway through lunch, the group got quiet. Sakura was confused at first but realized that their attention were on a smaller group walking by a few feet away. She recognized Sasuke and the girl, but there were two others with them: one was white haired with purple eyes and a shark-like tooth. He had on a purple sleeveless shirt and white pants. The other had spiky orange hair, matching his eyes color, and a calm face. He wore a black t-shirt and brown shorts. They walked closer, smirking as they passed the gazebo. Sakura felt the tension in the air but decided to stay quiet. When they were gone, she opened her mouth to ask a question, but Ino beat her to it.

"The Taka," said Ino. "Or at least that's what they call themselves."

"They think their better than everyone," continued Choji. "Sasuke especially. They love starting problems for people."

"Yeah," said Kiba. "So if there's any advice we could give you, it would be stay clear of them."

"Do not worry my Cherry Blossom!" exclaimed Lee, jumping up with his fist in the air. "I will protect you from them if ever the moment approaches!" Everyone rolled their eyes, but Sakura actually thought it was sweet.

Shikamaru watched the exchanges as he sat on the rail of the gazebo. He didn't bother adding anything because by the way Sakura was smiling, she didn't need to be reassured anymore. But he saw the way she looked at the Taka when they passed by. There was definitely a story there. 'I wonder if I was the only one who caught that' thought the brunette. From the looks of it, no one did, but then again, these people had great poker faces. Their skull would be on fire, and they could keep a straight face – well, except for Ino; she would be crying about her precious hair.

When lunch was over, Sakura walked with Kankuro, Lee and Choji to History since they had the same class. Choji made sure Lee didn't get to close while Kankuro just kept laughing at the poor boy. It was really entertaining. When going to her Logic class, she walked with Ino, Neji, Shikamaru, Gaara and Temari. Yamato-sensei was a cool teacher, making sure that the students understood the subject. Ibiki-sensei was rather intimidating and scary. The others seemed used to it, but Sakura just wanted to shrink into her chair, especially when Ibiki-sensei asked her a colored hat question with four guys and a line, and oh god! What the hell is this class even for!

:)(:

Classes ended, and Sakura couldn't be more relieved (mainly because Ibiki almost made her go on the verge of tears). Sighing, Sakura closed her locker, pulling her red backpack over her shoulder. Going to the front of the school, she saw her new 12 friends (A/N: Wow. I know huh.). Most of them waved as they walked the opposite direction, except for Lee who wanted to "give my Cherry Blossom a piggyback ride to her home. In that way, she will not become tired, and I shall get her home safely!" He was pulled back by Choji and Temari. The only people walking with her were the two Hyuga family members, Shikamaru, Tenten, and Shino. After a while, Neji, Hinata, and Tenten went their own direction.

"How was Logic Sakura?" asked Shino, smirking under his shirt. "I hear Ibiki is a real badass."

"That is an understatement," cried Sakura. "That wasn't even a class – it was a freakin' interrogation room!" Shikamaru laughed at the pinkette's words.

Putting an arm around the girl, Shikamaru said, "Don't worry about him. After a few days, you'll see it's not that bad. It's only the amount of thinking that makes the class so troublesome."

"Tah! Chyeah right…"

"You'll see," said Shikamaru. "Once you get used to it, you'll realize that Ibiki just wants you to think in a way that gives you more than one answer." Confused, Sakura faced the black haired boy.

"What do you mean?"

"Well this is where we split," piped up Shino. The pair stopped to look at the practically fully covered boy as he took a few steps the opposite direction. Sakura released herself from Shikamaru's grasp and wrapped her arms around Shino's neck.

"Thanks Shino," said Sakura happily. "All of you guys really made today great."

Shino stiffened from the close and surprising contact, but after hearing the pinkette's words, he lifted a hand and awkwardly patted Sakura's back a few times before he pulled away. Nodding to Shikamaru who waved in return, Shino left the pair. Sakura turned to Shikamaru and raised a brow.

"So what did you mean about Ibiki's class?"

"Oh," said Shikamaru. "Well, what you have to remember is that Ibiki's class is just discussion. He gives us brain teasers, and for the rest of the class, we just talk about it. It's basically just looking at the problem from different angles." Sakura nodded.

"So, technically," she said, "there's no wrong answer?"

"As long as you can back it up," replied Shikamaru, nodding. "If you throw out a point of view without any logic behind it, then you might as well keep your mouth shut - this is my block."

They stopped walking as Sakura realized how close he lived to her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the field, and her house on the opposite side. Turning back, she felt a hand on her head, and realized Shikamaru had decided to mess up her hair. Is pink a magnet for noogies in this place or something? Of course Sakura couldn't be mad though – today had been way too good of a day to be mad.

"See ya Shikamaru," said Sakura, slapping him playfully in his abs, briefly noticing how firm they were. "Thanks for the advice." Taking a few steps, Shikamaru nodded.

"Anytime pinkie."

"Pinkie? Really?" She was answered by the boy lifting his hand above his head, not even bothering to turn around. Making her way through the field, Sakura looked up at the sky. 'Today was great,' she thought. 'I wonder how Sai and Naruto are doing. Should I call them when I get home? I don't want to seem clingy. Gah, I'll just wait until the end of the week. That way, we'll have a lot to talk about during the weekend…I really do miss them…' Once Sakura reached the house, she unlocked the door and walked into the living room.

"Baba," she called out, "I'm home." But there was no answer. "Baba?" she said louder. Then she heard a small reply from outside. Looking out the glass window, she realized one of the doors was half open. Dropping her bag on the couch, Sakura stepped out into the backyard. Looking to her right, she found her Baba sitting on a bench with a glass of lemonade in his hand.

"Ah, Sakura," greeted Baba with a big smile. "Come, grab a glass of lemonade. It's a nice day out today." Sakura grinned as she poured herself a cup and sat next to her grandfather, putting up her feet to her side as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "How was your first day?"

"Surprisingly amazing," replied Sakura. "My classes were interesting enough, and I met a group of really nice people."

"Did you now?"

"Mm-hmm," she said closing her eyes. "They welcomed me the first chance they got; made me feel like I belong with them." Baba wrapped an arm around her granddaughter's shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze.

"That is great to hear my sweet Sakura," said Baba happily. "I'm glad you're having a good start."

"That I am Baba. That I am."

That's the end of Chapter 2. I hope you all liked it - let me know if you do! (review, review, review!) Until next week! :D