It's been like two months since I've updated... Oh well!
You all ready for chapter 2? Maybe? Okay, here it is. But first;
More stuff you might wanna know
-This chapter explains some more stuff about what happened before they start grade 12. It's like the funeral and junk. You'll probably wanna read this chapter if you plan on fallowing along with the story line.
-I don't own Naruto or it's characters, just in case you wanted to know that. I'd appreciate it if you didn't sue me. I'm not rich, I would be seriously in debt if you did that.
-SORRY! I apologize again for my crappy grammar and bad spelling. I've always been bad at English.
-Oh. In the last chapter the dude with the orange mohawk that was in the bathroom with Sakura was supposed to be Jirobo. Just so you know.
-Again, I have nothing against Ino. I just needed someone to use as a whoreish teenage girl and she fit my criteria nicely.
-Like I said before, I kinda wanna keep the pairing secret (mostly cuz I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with some of the characters) but this is a SakuraNeji Fanfic, and as I mentioned I think Hinata and Naruto together are really cute. But besides that, if you wanna suggest a pairing you can go ahead. I'm not saying I'll actually use your suggestion, but it would be nice to know what you think.
-On that note, thank-you for those of you who reviewed, and I'd love some more!
I think that's about it. So please read on.
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Chapter 1
Bonds Both Made & Broken
Mist billowed around to room, covering ever object it touched in a thin layer of warm liquid. The sound of water droplets pelting against the tiled wall echoed in her ear. Sakura stood in front to the foggy bathroom mirror in her pale green bathrobe gazing at her hazy reflection.
She had carelessly left her wet hair down so that it dripped water over her shoulders and down her back. She examined her roots warily but decided that you could not yet see her natural raven black hair growing out. Instead the vision of a bubble gum pink head of hair lay sopping onto the peach bathmat on the tiled floor.
Her pink locks were much shorter then she had previously wishes them to be. Before the accident her hair had almost reached the middle of her back. But now it sat just above her shoulders in a fun layered style. She had always had her father's hair; straight black strands that took an extremely long time to grow. She knew it would still be weeks before her dark roots started to show through.
Why did she dye her hair cotton candy pink? People asked her that question frequently, and to be honest, she had never been sure how to answer. Sure she could have said it was her rebellious stage, or even claim it was because her favorite colour was pink. But she knew better then to say those things. Though not many people would have continued the conversation past that point, anyone who knew her well would know that she was lying. She never was a fan of the colour, and she wasn't one to be rebellious either.
Most teenagers her age would've been rebellious though, in her circumstance. Growing up with a detective as a father and a super religious stay-at-home mom would be hard on anyone. Especially when you threw in the fact that her brother died, and she hadn't spoken to any of her closest friends in months.
"Sakura!" A voice snapped her out of her fixed gaze on the mirror. "You better get out of the shower or you'll be late for school."
Sakura sighed, adjusting the mossy green robe she wore. After turning off the shower knobs, she picked up her previously discarded pajamas and made her way out of the bathroom. Shuffling down the hallway she left a trail of water drops on the soft gray carpit that lead to her bedroom.
Closing the door behind her, the girl chucked her used clothing into a nearby laundry hamper before she crossed the room to her wooden dresser. Pulling out the top drawer she rummaged through until she found a suitable pair of plain white panties and bra, the ladder was adorn in little silver stars and sparkles.
After slipping off her bathrobe and pulling on both undergarments she made her way over to her closet on the adjacent wall. Opening the doors and scanning the articles that hung blandly on their hangers, Sakura made her decision and pulled out a few pieces of clothing.
A pair of denim capris, a dark red tank top, and a button up white blouse with little red swirls embroidered in the fabric. She was never one to be obsessed with fashion, that was more Ino's area of expertise. She found that though there were times when a girl needed to look nice, she'd rather stick with the plain and simple look.
She grabbed her faded green messengers bag and walked out of her bedroom. Fully aware that her hair was still very wet, she walked back into the washroom and pulled a brush through it. Thankfully, just like her father's hair, it was quite manageable and didn't need much taking care of. Once that was finished, Sakura left the bathroom once more, this time descending the staircase and walking into the kitchen.
"'Monin'." She mumbled to her parents. Mr and Mrs Haruno sat side by side at the kitchen table, one looking over today's addition of the local paper, and the other gazing cheerfully out the window towards the small flower garden outside.
"Oh, good morning, Sweetie." Her mom greeted from behind her cup of morning tea. She was a kindhearted woman, being sweet and caring was her way of life. She was a cheerful, faithful middle aged woman, so naturally she and her teenage daughter wouldn't get along. She loved her husband and daughter dearly, it was obvious to most people. But she and Sakura didn't see eye to eye on more then one subject.
Sakura grunted in response while scoping out something for breakfast. Though she wasn't a big fan of breakfast itself, she had watched too many health videos in school not to know the importance of it. Settling upon an apple she found laying in the fruit bowl on the garnet counter top, Sakura started munching away after plunking herself down in one of the empty seats by her parents.
"Are you ready to go back to school Sakura?" Her dad's voice came from the over side of the news paper. She looked up at him, he's eyes peeking at her from over top of the off white pages. Giving him a bland look, she replied.
"No, not really."
Though she couldn't see it, Sakura knew that her father was giving her a sad smile. He was worried about her, he just wasn't admitting it because she had spent a long time forcing him to consider her as a capable young woman rather then his baby girl. She knew that deep down she'd always be his little girl, but now he just referred to her as his beautiful, artistic daughter.
"Have you remembered everything?" Her mother asked.
"Mmmhmm." She replied with a mouth full of apple. Just then a horn was heard outside their home. Sallowing the chunk of apple, Sakura adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She gave both her parents a small smile before she ran to the front door and slipped on some plaid red flats on her way out the door.
A large mustard colored school bus was parked in front of the her driveway, it's door wide open. She soon crossed the green grass of her front lawn and hopped up the steps of the vehicle, she greeted the bus driver quietly getting only a grunt then a cough as a response. He was a good man, but he wasn't really a morning person. His name was Hayate Gekko, and he's been Rosa Valley High's bus driver for years. Everyone's gotten used to his untalkative ways in the early hours of the day.
After being shrugged off by the dark haired man, Sakura walked to a seat halfway down the long aisle of the bus. As soon as her butt hit the cold seat Hayate was off, traveling to the next destination. She couldn't really blame him for the rush, he had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. Besides, it wasn't as though he was a bad driver. He could handle driving a fully loaded bus through the different bends and turns in the suburban streets of Rosa Valley while breaking the speed limit. He was quite an interesting man to be sure.
Looking around the bus itself, Sakura wasn't surprised to see only a few students. She lived near the outskirts of their community, as did the others there in the confined space with her. Not many of the kids where she lived actually went to Rosa Valley High. Most of their parents figured that since they were on the outer part of the community circle that their kids might as well go to a bigger school.
Rose Valley itself was only a small subsection of the large city of Konoha. Sakura knew the story of the city's 'big boom' very well.
It was said that over a hundred years prior Konoha was nothing but a small fishing village. It was meek and run down by small time criminals, but no one really cared enough about it to do anything. That was until a man by the name of Shodaime fell upon the village in his travels. Over the years he helped to make it less of a run down hell hole and more of an actual town. The people of Konoha were so grateful to him that one of the local craftsmen carved a replica of Shodaime's head into one of the walls of the valley. Under the large portrait the craftsman carved the word "daiichi" meaning "first". When Shodaime asked the man why he had chosen that word to place under the monument, the man replied, "Because you were the first man to ever give a shit about our home; the village of Konoha." The man's words weren't eloquently spoken, but the message was clear. The people of Konoha would forever be grateful to him.
When The First- as everyone refers to him now- died it had devastating impact on the members of the town. For a few years after that the people were lost. They tried to govern themselves like any normal town would do, but without The First to guild them they lost the hope they had once held. But then, out of determination for the good of the town and the memory of his older brother, The Second came to power.
Shodaime's younger brother Nidaime governed over the town for years. In a similar attempt to show how gratefully the citizens were, a man was hired to carved a likeness of him beside the one of his brother. As well, underneath the head was carved "daini" meaning second.
There were two others after Nidaime, both brave and powerful, wishing only good for the town. Their efforts payed off too, considering the city had now grown so much that they had to build a bridge over the river at ran at the bottom of the valley so that they had enough room for everyone to live.
Rosa Valley was located on the residential side of the river. It was the only place in the whole valley had the right soil to grow roses, and boy did they grow. Almost every house and building had roses growing in front of it.
Sakura found the whole rose theme a little over done. True, she liked roses, they were pretty and made for good scenery, but to have every street in the community named after a different kind of rose was a little too much for her taste.
The bus came to a stop outside of a light brown two story home. It's lawn looked much like a sponge; deep holes were dug everywhere, obstructing the green grass from it's growth. It was unmistakably the home of the Inuzukas.
Sakura watched out her window as a brown haired boy tripped out the front door. She was slightly amused when a small brown dog came running out the door behind him, barking and wagging it's tail happily. When the boy noticed his peruser, he yelled something over his shoulder in the direction of the still wide open front door. Moments later a middle aged woman came to the door, dressed in her night gown, her hair standing every which-way, she yawned and gave her son a questioning look. The boy motioned towards the puppy who was trotting around his feet. The woman sighed and barked an order at the dog. Immediately the small animal scurried back into the house, deeming it safe for the boy to open the gate.
As soon as he was out of the yard he ran for the bus, he knew he had caused Hayate to loose time in his busy morning schedule. Once he reached the top step he began to apologize to the man, but he just coughed and pointed one thumb to the back. The boy got the message and sat down quickly. Not a moment after he had reached his seat did Hayate speed away from the house.
Kiba Inuzuka was the boy's name. Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His whole family could be described as animal lovers. His older sister had just come back from college were she had been studying to become a veterinarian. As soon as she had gotten back she opened a little business in Rosa Valley, since there wasn't a vet before she came.
It wasn't too long before the bus stopped again, this time a the corner of Rosa Mundi Crescent. There were a few students living on the street that went to Rosa Valley High. It was quicker just to spot at the corner and hope that everyone heard the bus's horn from their houses.
Luckily everyone did hear, soon front doors opened and teenagers ran from their porches to where the bus had stopped. Sakura looked them all over as they piled onto the bus, taking their respected seats. She recognized all of them, that's what she got from living in the same part of the city for most of her life. She new almost everyone around Rosa Valley, and since her father was one of the three only detectives-and law enforcers for that matter-from around there Sakura knew more then most people did about each and every family who lived in the vicinity. Like wise, she knew quite a bit about the students in her school.
The first girl to board the bus was Tenten. Her family owned to only doujo for miles, so she thought highly of herself. Not to the point of a swollen head, but still, Sakura knew Tenten and her family felt that they were better the some other members of Konoha. Tenten herself wasn't a bad person, but she and Sakura never really had anything in common, so they generally steered clear of each other. However, Sakura had heard ever since Ino and herself had stopped being friends Tenten had decided it was her duty to fill Sakura's spot. She and Ino were said to be pretty close now.
The person who fallowed her onto the great yellow beast of a vehicle was none other then Rock Lee. Sakura kind of liked Lee, not in any romantic of course, she merely thought of him as a reliable friend. He was sort of dorky, with his bowl cut hair and incredibly thick eyebrows, but he was still really sweet when he wanted to be. And for his great characteristics Sakura was able to over look his slightly lame exterior... most of the time.
The other two that managed to enter the bus just as Hayate closed to doors were Sakon and Ukon. They were twins, that could be told right off the bat. Both brothers creeped Sakura out, whether it was there silver hair, weird obsession with green lipstick, or over all aura around them, she didn't know. But she did know that she would never want to be caught in a dark alley by either of them.
This time Hayate didn't even wait for the students to be seated before he stepped on the gas peddle and zoomed down the street. It wasn't even two minutes later when he came to a brisk stop. Not expecting the sudden halt many of the teenagers were pushed forwards by momentum, Sakura being one of them.
With a small groan Sakura looked out the window whilst trying to sit up properly once more. Her green eyes peeked out over the neighborhood. For years she had taken the same bus route to school and never once did they stop here. And where was 'here' exactly? By the state of the houses that lined the streets her best bet would be that they were currently at Rosa Laevigata Court. It was one of the streets that the higher end families lived on. But to Sakura's recollection, no one who lived near here went to her school.
The brown haired bus driver was beginning to get impatient, he honked the horn once more while suppressing a cough. The front door of a rather wide two story home cracked open revealing a girl about the same age as Sakura. The pink haired girl's brows knit in confusion. Though she had been right, no one she knew that lived here had gone to her school before, she couldn't help but feel that she had seen the girl before.
Sakura watched as the girl briskly walked down the pathway to the side walk and hopping up the steps to the bus. She smiled shyly to Hayate and apologized quietly before she faced the seats. Everyone in the bus was staring at her. Though she was unaware why that was, Sakura knew it was because she was new. Not many new people come to Rosa Valley. Sure it was a nice quaint place to live, there was little crime and the natural beauty of the valley was breath taking, but there was no industrial reason to come. Even if there was some business related affair, most people stayed in the city for that. The main reason why people moved out to their subsection of was to get away from the city life. But if that were true in this girl's case, then why would she have such a big house? There was no need for one in such a place.
The girl stood at the front of the aisle timidly until yet another one of Hayate's coughs got her attention. He motioned for her to take a seat so he could be on his way. Obliging, the dark haired girl started moving down the aisle. Sakura watched her movements. Though she seemed shy and reluctant to sit anywhere that she was unwelcomed she moved gracefully.
As she walked closer to where Sakura sat, she quickly refocused her gaze out the window. But to her surprise, the girl didn't continue walking past her. Sakura looked up, her sea green eyes met the girl's pale silver ones.
"Do you mind?" She motioned to the seat beside Sakura. It took a moment for the pink haired girl to respond, but as soon as she regained her state of mind she nodded. Greatful, the girl sat down just as the bus began to move once more. After given a moment to try and make herself comfortable, the girl mumbled. "Thanks."
"No problem." Sakura replied half heartedly. It was beginning to really bug her now. Where had she seen this girl before? Out of sheer annoyance that she couldn't put her finger on it, she had to ask. "Umm, we haven't met before, have we?"
The girl turned to Sakura was a confused expression. For a moment she seemed to be studying Sakura's features for any sign of recollection of the girl. Moments dragged on, and Sakura began to doubt the girl would reply.
"At Neji's birthday." She said once Sakura had given up hope on a response. The answer startled her, she wasn't expecting that. But the girl continued, "I met you at Neji's birthday a few years back, didn't I?"
Sakura looked over the girl once more. Had she met her at her old friend's birthday party? Once more Sakura's bluey green eyes locked on pale gray ones. Then it hit her like a load of bricks.
"Oh, yeah." She replied, remembering the day a few years prior when she had attended the Hyuga boy's birthday celebration. "You're his cousin, right? Umm... I'm Sakura. Sakura Haruno."
She didn't mean to introduce herself like that, she had actually been trying to remember the girl's name. But when she couldn't she had to think fast, she'd rather that then end up looking like an idiot to the new girl in school.
"I'm Hinata Hyuga." The dark haired girl introduced herself in turn. Thank God Sakura didn't guess her name, her assumption of it was way off.
"So," Sakura started, thinking it best to engage the girl in conversation. "Did you just move here?"
"Mmmhmm." Hinata hummed, nodding her head a little. "My father thought it'd be good for our family if we moved out of the big city and into a smaller community."
The bus halted once more, making the occupants slide forward in the seats again. The doors cracked open a red headed boy stepped inside, grunted at Hayate and continued to walk over to an empty seat. This time though, the tired eyed man didn't slam down on the gas petal. Instead he tapped his finger impatiently on the steering wheel, waiting for another slow student.
He didn't have to wait much longer, soon enough a taller boy walked onto the bus. While making his way up the steps he stumbled a little and stubbed his toe on the last step. After cursing loudly, the guy walked down the aisle and threw himself into the seat next to another boy around his age.
"People around here don't seem to be that friendly." Hinata commented quietly, just having watched the boys board the bus. The comment made Sakura smile faintly.
"They aren't all that bad." She muttered just loud enough for the other to hear. When Hinata gave her a questioning look Sakura shrugged and turned to gaze out her window. She watched as the bus continued to stop and start right back up again, intermittently students hopped on.
A few stops later a solemn looking boy with long brown hair climbed up the steps like so many others had done before him. His eyes matched that of Hinata's, but they held a much darker look then the girl's. When they fell on Hinata they narrowed and shot her a look of hate, for reasons unknown to Sakura.
His pail eyes flickered from Hinata to Sakura, but quickly he turned his head. Eye contact was one of those forbidden things.
---(Flashback)---
"-May he rest in peace." The preacher's words had lingered in Sakura's ears after he had finished his speech. She stood silently, hand clenched, jaw locked, eyes dry and unfocused staring into the open grave. A cherry wooden coffin was being lowered slowly into the gaping hole in the ground.
Black clad figures stood around the grave sobbing in remorse of the loss boy they had come to know. The ceremony had just ended and everyone stated to disperse from the crowd as the gentle spring rain threated to turn into a near hurricane. But Sakura didn't care. She stood stoic, like one of the concrete angels.
"Sakura." A gentle hand was placed on the girl's shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a young woman with dirty blond hair and aquamarine eyes. Tears trickled down her cheeks, being washed away and replaced with a mixture of more tears and rainwater. "You want to come inside, honey?"
Slowly Sakura shook her head. The soft grasp on her shoulder lifted and Sakura knew her aunt would be retreating out of the rain soon enough. Her parents had already left the cemetery for the cover of the old church with most of the other guests.
"Alright Sweetie, if your sure." She sighed, whether in defeat or sorrow Sakura wasn't quite sure. "We'll be inside when your done."
Muffled footsteps were heard over the weather. The older woman would soon be walking up the old concrete stairway of the sanctuary and out of the muddy courtyard. Sakura was curtain she was on her way to telling her parents that she was fine and that she would only take a moment longer. It wasn't true of course, but it was the right thing to do. Her parents didn't need anything else to upset them today.
Sakura turned her gaze back to the lowered coffin in the ground. Embedded in the muddy earth just above the cavern was a newly polished marble headstone. Carved golden words lay across the smooth stone surface reading the boy's name, date of birth, and the day he had died. Underneath that in a thin font was his epitaph.
"If I take the wings of the mourning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea."
It was from the Bible, she could tell that much. But she didn't know what it meant or why her mother had picked that passage out of all the others. Though it all seemed rather pointless now. No matter what was witting across the headstone wouldn't help her pain to go away.
"S-Sakura." A voice crocked out at a whisper. It was almost drowned out when the rain and wind started to pick up. She hadn't heard them walk up. But then again, her mind was on other things.
She didn't even bother turning around, she knew who it was even if she had to strain her ears to hear the words he had said.
A few different sets of footsteps were heard as their owners slowly, silently, made their way closer to where she stood. "Sakura." Another said, this time with more care in his firm voice. She knew that was her que to turn and address the boy, but she didn't care. She didn't care about much anymore.
An arm wrapped around her shoulders as he tried to pull her into his chest, but she wouldn't have it. Struggling, she was able to free herself from his grasp before she would've been engulfed in a sympathetic embrace. She didn't want that; she didn't want anyone's sympathy.
"Don't touch me." Her words seeped out of her lips like venom. She turned her head to face her three closest friends. They all stood before her drenched in the rain and adorn suitably in black attire, their pant leg's covered with mud and dirt.
"Come on Sakura." Her redheaded friend said in a voice that we less demanding then usual. In the gray smog of the graveyard Gaara's hair was inarguably the most vibrant thing there. Not even the dull red hues of the sopping wet flowers on the new tombstone could compare. "Let's go inside."
"No." She said defiantly. "Just leave me alone."
"We aren't going to leave you out here in the rain." The usual slothfulness in Shikamaru's voice had been drained, as if he were too upset it be tired. Instead, a slightly demanding and more strained voice had wiggled it's way out of his mouth. "Come inside, everyone's waiting."
"Not everyone." Sakura's reply slipped past her lips before she had a chance to stop it. She didn't want to be around them right now. She didn't want to be around anyone for that matter.
"Look," Shika spoke again, "We know you're upset, that's understandable. But you can't stay out here all day, you're going to get sick."
With a cruel glare sent his way Sakura scoffed.
"What do they know?" An angry voice called out inside her head.
Before she could get a chance to shake the previous thought away Sakura saw Neji take a step closer to her out of the corner of her eye. As soon as his second step brought the distance between the two of them a little shorter Sakura immediately moved backwards towards the open grave. The movement made Neji stop, he had never gotten that reaction from her before. Sure she was mourning the loss of someone very close to her, but the action still seemed to worry the boy.
"Leave me alone." She repeated, this time with a more demanding voice. "Go away, I don't want to talk to you!"
"Sakura, would you just calm down for a second and listen to us?" Shika tried once more to reason with her, but that only made the girl more upset.
"No!" She screamed over the sounds of rain pelting the ground around them. "You listen to me!" Sakura rarely yelled, whatever the reason might be. And now she stood in the middle of the pouring rain screaming words that sounded more like curses.
"I don't want you to talk to me anymore!" She continued in her anger and anguish. "I don't want you to talk to me, to look at me, to think about me. Just leave me the hell alone!"
"Sakura..." Neji whispered in confusion. The looks she was getting form her friends made silent tears roll down her cheeks.
"Don't 'Sakura' me, Neji." She spat at him, "I don't want your sympathy. I don't want your friendship either."
"How can you say that?" Gaara angrily asked, he was obviously hurt by her words. "We've been friends for so long and you're just going to ignore us from now on?"
"Yes." Sakura replied bluntly. More tears starting to form in her eyes.
"And I suppose you want us to play along without even giving it any thought." Neji said, staring straight into her eyes.
"That would be nice," She glared right back at him. She was about to say something else when Neji turned on his heels and started walking away from her. Confusion set in, but it was drown out by her anger still.
"Where the hell are you going?" She called after him, the other two boys wondering the exact same question.
Neji stopped. Without turning around he said, "She's been thinking about this for a while." He told the other two, "If she really wants to pretend that we aren't friends and that the time we've spent together never really happened, then so be it." He started walking steadily back to the small church.
Gaara was the next to fallow, casting Sakura one last look of remorse. The last look she'd receive from him that wasn't filled to the top full of pain and hurt.
Immediately after Gaara turned his back to the sobbing girl Shika spoke up. "Remember one thing Sakura." he said, turning to fallow his only friends, he looked over his shoulder at her briefly, "You did this to yourself."
It was as if he had known that mere hours later, after she had ran weeping from the cemetery away from her loved ones that she would understand what she had done. It wasn't until she sat soaking wet on the swing set of the park across her brother and her used to go to that she realized what she had actually done. She had disowned the only people she really cherished because of the little voice in the back of her head. That little voice that told her it was all her fault that he brother was dead. It was her fault that she had become distant from everyone she loved. It was her fault that she no longer had the choice to turn her life back into the way it once was.
Even after realizing these things and more, the voice didn't stop. Every little thing that had ever gone wrong was her fault. Every fight, every argument, every small insignificant problem was because of her. Because of the voice, she now felt guilty of everything, and like she wasn't worth anything at all.
"Because of you." She would keep muttering under her broken breathes, "Because of you."
"Because of me?" The voice would reply dryly. "Because of me?"
"Because of you." Eyes devoid of any sense of love, a heart split in two, then was when Sakura's spirit broke.
A ghostly whisper caught itself the wind and echoed on into the darkness, "Because of you... Inner Sakura."
---(End Flashback)---
A short while later Hayate pulled the large beast up to the curb and parked. An anticipent Hinata leaned forward in her seat to get a better look out of the small window.
Though wide in length Rosa Valley High stood only one story high. It's faded red brick walls were covered in white wooden framed windows and held a few odd remnants of painted over graffiti. The cement path to the front entrance split into two smaller walkways, each leading in a different direction around the outside of the building. Students littered the pavement, slowly making their way inside through the front door.
Bored with a view she had seen many times before, Sakura turned to Hinata, waiting for the girl to get up and make her way outside to join the mess of other teenagers. As soon as both girls had left the bus they slowly started walking towards the entrance to the building together.
"Where's your first class?" Sakura asked while the two girls walked up the few front steps. She knew Hinata wouldn't have any idea where to go since she had never been there before, so she figured she'd be nice and try to help the new girl out.
After rummaging through her navy colored backpack Hinata pulled out her timetable and handed it to the Haruno girl. She took it graciously and looked over all of the classes and teachers that she had. Also, everyone's locker number and combination where listed on their sheet, to help teachers out a little. Instead of having to receive this information during class they were given it early so that they were able to use the metallic contraptions on their own time.
"Your locker isn't far from mine, I can take you there first. Then I'll show you your class." Sakura mused after checking the time on her watch to make sure she would be able to make it to her class after dropping Hinata off at hers. Though she really had nothing to worry about, considering who her first teacher was.
"Thanks." The gray eyed girl said gratefully while taking her timetable back. She shoved the paper back into her bag and continued walking. They had just entered the first hallway and she was trying to memorize which way they had trued. When they turned a corner a thought crossed her mind, "Do we have any of the same class?"
"Yeah." Sakura replied as another student brushed passed her and accidentally hit her arm with his binder. He spewed out a quick apology before turning and walked away. Sakura rubbed her arm, it didn't hurt much, but her skin now had a red tinge to it. She had forgotten for a moment about her conversation. "Math and art. And almost everyone in our grade has gym right after lunch, unless they are in the after school class, which is only for people who have over scheduled their classes."
Sakura slowed down enough to read each number on the locker doors that lined one side of the hallway. After a moment or two she found a number she recognized.
"This one's mine." She said, taking out her timetable from her pocket. She found the combination printed underneath the locker number and began to spin the dial on the lock. In a moment it was unlocked and she shoved her messenger bag on top of the metal shelf after taking out a small red note book and a pen. Deciding that was all she would need until after lunch, Sakura shoved her timetable back into her pocket and closed her locker once more.
"Your's is over there." Sakura stated pointing a few meters down the hallway. Both took off walking in the direction Sakura had gestured too. In no time at all they had found the correct one and Hinata repeated Sakura's actions and only took a note book, pencil and her timetable with her. She left her backpack in the locker and closed the door.
Soon they were walking again, this time to Hinata's first class. Sakura had read that she had English first with Mr. Genma. It wasn't that far from their lockers, but then again, nothing was considered 'far' from anything in their small school. Frankly she would be surprised if there were two classes per subject in grade 12. Rosa Valley was pathetically tiny at times.
When they were just about at her class, Sakura looked over that the dark haired girl from the corner of her eye. She was wearing plain black capris, black sandals, and a navy blue t-shirt. Her hair was long and dark with a slight blueish tint to it, and bangs that covered most of her forehead. She was shorter then most girl's, though Sakura wasn't the tallest around either. By a glance you could tell she was nervous, her body language screamed it as she fidgeted with her notebook in between her fingers. She looked like she was completely lost.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Sakura said in a sweeter voice then she had used in a while. Catching Hinata's attention the girls looked at each other for a moment. "And if you do get lost, just remember that the school's a big square. If you keep walking in one direction long enough you'll get to where you want to be."
A small smile fixed itself onto the younger girl's face, thankful for all of Sakura's help. They had just reached the door of Hinata's first class, though she was nervous she walked in after bidding Sakura a quick goodbye and thank-you.
Sakura walked down the hallway, less and less people where there as the bell was about to ring signaling their need to be in class. Luckily Sakura's class was only a few leagues away when it did sound. Walking into her classroom she saw many people she had known from years prior. Actually, she knew everyone in her class, whether it be because they were old friends or because they had lived in Rosa Valley for years.
"Sakura!" The unmistakably loud voice of a bubbly blond haired boy filled the room. The girl's light green eyes traveled over to the owner, a boy with messy, sunny hair and azure blue eyes. A huge smile spread across his lively face as he waved his arm in the air to signal to her. He gestured towards an empty seat at the table he was sitting at. After a quick scan of the room Sakura noticed it was the only available seat. Those were the perks of being late for class.
As the only option she had, she walked passed other tables of students towards the back of the room. Two other people sat at the opposite side of the table as the bright eyed boy, one, Rock Lee, had been on the bus earlier that morning, the other there was looking blandly out the window. Dropping her note book down on top of the table, Sakura took the empty seat as her own.
"Morning Sakura." The loud boy said at the same time as another. The boys shared a momentary glare before turning back to look at Sakura.
"Hi Lee." She gave the boy diagonal to her a friendly smile. He was one of the dorkiest people Sakura knew. Besides his odd features he wasn't that bad looking. He worked out a lot, for reasons unknown to the girl, and he wasn't that horribly dress. Brown slacks, a green shirt with a brown, black and orange design on it, and a pair of black runners.
"Hey!" The loud boy yelled again, this time right into Sakura's ear. He was obviously insulted that she hadn't acknowledged his presence yet. She knew he'd get upset, he had always been like this. Though she didn't mean to make him feel left out she just wanted to make sure Lee wasn't ignored. People always ignored Lee, and honestly Sakura tended to as well. To make up for how rude she used to be in the past, she decided it was only right to pay more attention to him. Blame guilt, but Lee didn't seem too against the change of mind.
Suppressing a small giggle, Sakura leaned over and wrapped her arms around the boy beside her. At first he seemed surprised by her actions, but a moment later he hugged her back with some force. The girl gasped at how tightly he held her.
"Naruto." She said breathlessly, being squished in his arms. "I need air."
Immediately the boy's grasp was released and she was once again allowed to breath freely. He smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head apologetically.
"Sorry 'bout that Sakura." Naruto continued, "I guess I just got a little excited."
"Idiot." Muttered the third boy, never taking his eyes off of the view outside of the window. He was clad in all black, like he was on his way to a funeral. Even the fact that it was still summer didn't stop him from wearing a long sleeved black shirt and black board shorts with matching colored high top converse. Sakura figured he spent a good half hour that morning getting his hair to stick up in odd directions. He was good looking, rich and had enough charm to make any girl fall head of heals for him. Naruto however always saw him more as a self absorbed emo kid.
"Don't call me an idiot." Naruto demanded. Everyone knew he and Sasuke were best friends and enemies at the same time. They had a weird relationship, kind of like two brothers.
"Hi Sasuke." Sakura greeted, ignoring the previous comments the two boys shared. The mentioned teenager barely offered her a glance before turning back to the window.
"So Sakura," Lee tried to start up a conversation, knowing the pain of going ignored, "How was your summer?"
"Kinda boring." She replied, looking over at him. She wasn't being completely honest, her vacation had been more then boring. She had barely left her room at all, let alone her house. She spent most of her time sitting at her window doodling on scrap paper or reading a book. That's how she spent the majority of two months. So telling Lee it was a little boring was a serious understatement.
"Aww, that's too bad." He replied. He would have said more but just then their teacher entered the room. He was late, as per usual. Seems like nothing had changed at all since last year, not that she had expected it to.
"Hey." He said nonchalantly walking over to his desk and throwing himself into his chair. Some of his shinny gray hair stood up on his head while other strands fell where they pleased. He was wearing black pants and matching shoes, an off white shirt under a more dressy button up green striped one, and of course a green vest over top. The vest was given to all the teachers at the school as a gift for joining their staff. It had the school emblem on the left side just over top of the chest pocket. Green and gold were their school colors, and since it's really expensive to buy a bunch of gold vests for underpaid school employees it only made sense to have green ones.
"You're late, Kakashi!" Naruto yelled. He had a slight problem with controlling his level of speech.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Their teacher apologized half heartedly. "You see, I was on my way here this morning when I saw an old lady trying to cross the street. She looked like she needed some help and-"
"Liar." Naruto muttered. Even his mummers are loud, as most of the class heard him and small, stifled laughs were heard.
"Hn." Kakashi seemed a little offended that he wasn't believed. Though the feeling soon passed and the man pulled out a book from one of his drawers and started to read from it.
Besides the normal teacher's attire and the rather strange haircut, Sakura had to admit that he was quite attractive for an older guy. He was built but not bulky, tall but not monstrous, mature but not aged, and had the most captivating eyes. While one was the same dark colour as Sasuke's were, the other was a dark red with specks of black. Everyone around Rosa Valley knew the story behind that.
When he was younger Kakashi had been one of the adrenalin junkies, not that you would ever by able to guess that now. But one night he and his best friends Rin and Obito snuck out of their houses and went for a joy ride in Kakashi's father's trunk. The valley around Konoha has always been really good for off roading and that's just what they did. It wasn't until after they decided to drive along one of the ridges of the valley wall that they ran into trouble.
With the pressure of the truck and it's occupants the dirt shelf gave way and caused the vehicle to slide down the wall with dirt and debris. Somehow Kakashi's left eye was damaged while he and his two friends tried to abandon their vehicle, thinking that was the safest thing to do. It was good thinking too, if they would've stayed in the truck they would have certainly all died. But even after they had made it out of the truck they were still in danger. Dirt and mud brought down more debris and rocks while large tree branches began to fall. Kakashi and Rin were able to make it out alright, but not Obito. He was buried beneath all that had fallen, but he managed to hang in there and not die. At least not right away.
Kakashi had convinced Rin to run back down the valley wall to the city. She had the best sense of direction out of either of them, and Kakashi was sure that she'd be able to find help faster then he could. Not to mention the fact that he had been in a lot of pain because of his hurt eye. There was no way, in his mind, that he'd be able to make it to town and back before he passed out. While Rin was gone the gray haired boy stayed with his dieing friend, unable to help him. When Rin returned she had brought an ambulance and police with her. But there was nothing anyone could do by that time, Obito was already gone.
When the paramedics finally managed to get Kakashi looked after they quickly came to the conclusion that they'd need to take out his whole eye. Acting as fast as they could, the doctors in the Konoha hospital were about to replace Kakashi's bad eye with a donated one. The ironic part about that was the only eye they had to transplant into Kakashi's missing socket was that of his recently deceased friend.
Sakura thought that it was one of the saddest, most heartbreaking things in the world. She couldn't imagine having to go through every day with your best friend's eye. The thought of having part of someone else inside of her wasn't the most comforting of thoughts.
"Anyways," Kakashi's voice brought Sakura out of her thoughts, "Class is half over by now since we've got an assembly that will take most of your class's time. Each block is about half an hour long, this gives your teachers enough time to introduce themselves and go over any questions you might have. Other then that you're time here today is rather pointless."
You gotta love Kakashi and his layed back attitude. He's not what you would call a 'strict teacher' by any means. In fact, Kakashi seemed to have turned Rosa Valley High around when he first started working here. On his first day as a teacher he showed up late, scolded a student for calling him by his surname, and somehow managed to teach the students without making them even open a textbook. He quickly became one of the most popular staff members in the school.
"There's going to be an announcement any minute now to call us down to the auditorium." He stated blandly, "So you guys can talk quietly amongst yourselves until then."
Kakashi then turned his attention away from them and allowed them to continue on with their previous conversations.
"So how were your guy's summers?" Sakura asked.
"Not bad." Naruto was the first to reply. He put his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling. "Iruka made me get a summer job though. But no one was willing to hire me for some reason."
A momentary pause over welled them, but the blond started talking once more as soon as Sasuke opened his mouth to say something.
"I was able to get some odd jobs around my neighborhood."
"Like what?" Lee asked curiously. Thinking back on it, Naruto made an irritated face.
"Helping the old lady at the corner of my street weed her garden, cleaning out Iwashi's garage, and finding some lady's cat." Naruto's face contorted even more when he muttered "Honestly I could see why the cat left."
"What about you Lee?" Sakura asked, turning to face her bowl cut friend.
"Great. I did some volunteer work." He replied enthusiastically, "You know, cleaning up the park, planting trees at the entrance gate, helping out at the kid's fun fair at the church."
"Yuck." A voice spoke out inside her head. "The same fun fair Mom helps organize? Every year we have to go and sit outside in the boiling heat while a million little kids run around screaming. I hate that thing."
"That's cool." She said, going against what she had said in her thoughts.
"Bet it's a great workout," Naruto said, still gazing up towards the ceiling. "Running after kids all day long and digging big wholes in the ground."
"Yeah." Lee agreed while rubbing his upper arm at the same time. "I guess it is."
"Hn." Sasuke grunted out. He was defiantly one of the people who was mean to Lee. But for some reason, the nerdy black haired boy didn't seem that offended by it.
"What did you do over the break Sasuke?" Sakura asked, trying to ignore the bad feeling she held on Lee's behalf.
"Nothin'." Sasuke said shortly, not taking his eyes off of the view out the window.
"Nothing at all?" Lee said, receiving an unnoticed glare from Sasuke, "Come on, you must have done something interesting."
"Yeah, I did." He replied coldly, "But nothing I'm willing to share with you."
Sakura's dark eyebrows furled in annoyance. Something about him really irritated her.
Just then a loud noise was heard that startled the whole room.
"Attention staff and students." A voice called over the PA system, "Will all teachers now escort their classes to the auditorium please. All teachers and students to the auditorium."
Kakashi stood from his chair and ushered them with one hand to the door. "You heard the announcement," He said as students started to stand up as well, "Get a move on."
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Hey there. That's the end of this chapter, I hope you liked it. I'm trying to rationalized everything and make it seem less like anime and more like real life. I hope it's working. I'm making up stories behind everything, that's why the chapters are going to be so bloody long. I can already tell this is going to be a hell of a lot longer then I intended it to be. This chapter, for instance, is about half as long as it should be. Oh well, I like it this way. How about you?
Please review!