Proaspăt Chapter 2: A Familiar Beginning: Momo, a naruto fanfic

.Proaspăt (Fresh)

1. A Familiar Beginning: Momo

(Konohagakure Thirty Years Later)

WARNING: The characters Sakura and Sasuke have been reincarnated in will behave similarly to them, but also a bit different.

If genin Sakura or Sasuke annoyed you, then I apologize in advance…but you're probably going to be annoyed a little bit at the beginning.

Also, Naruto is still alive in this fic, so while he will not have a reincarnation of his own, the third member of the team will have similar problems.

And in case you wanted to know, these are the songs I listened to while writing:

Prologue: "Blessed With a Curse: Bring Me the Horizon."

This: "The Drug in Me is You: Falling In Reverse"

Dunno if they'll enhance your experience while reading; it's just an FYI for those interested.

When it was finally time for Hayashi Momo to rise on her very first day as a ninja, she still hadn't technically been to sleep yet. She'd lain in bed all night, wiggling excitedly beneath her covers as epic battles in which she starred flashed before her wide honey eyes. Her teammates were there too, but since she had no idea who they were, she just imagined two faceless guys with yummy bodies that could totally kick ass. Together, the three of them had obliterated well over half of the missing-nin in her father's old bingo-book by the time her mother yelled upstairs for her to wake up.

Momo hopped out of bed, nearly tripping as her flailing limbs tangled up in her sheets. She skipped over to her closet, humming an upbeat tune, and flung open the door. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the absolutely darling red dress she'd bought at the store a few days ago, specifically for this occasion. She was, after all, the most popular girl at the Ninja Academy. Everyone was sure to be looking at her, appraising her value like some antique porcelain doll; she had to look her best. She reached out, intending to grab the dress, but there was a strange tugging at the back of her mind that told her to rethink her decision.

Sure the dress was pretty, but was it really appropriate for a kunoichi? It was too long for comfortable maneuverability, and its bright coloring would stick out like a sore thumb in pretty much any environment. Without her even noticing, Momo's hands redirected themselves to a pair of black, knee-length spandex shorts that had long been shoved in the back of her closet. She grabbed a tight-fitting halter top that was a darker, almost crimson, shade of red to go along with her new outfit, and dressed quickly. She rushed over to her full-length mirror, observing her appearance with a critical eye. After a minute or so she broke out into a smile, twirling around and striking multiple "model" poses. She looked goooo—

"Hurry-up Momo, you don't want to be late!"

Cursing, Momo turned back to the mirror and eyed the wavy, peach-colored hair that cascaded to her waist in layers. The same feeling from before told her to put it up or cut it so that it wouldn't be in the way, but she scoffed. There was a time when she got bullied for having such an odd hair color (not to mention the fact that her name meant "Peach Grove"), and now that she was proud of it, she would wear it with pride. She tied her hiatae around her forehead, deciding after a moment of staring at herself in the reflection that it didn't feel right. She tied it loosely around her neck instead, and bounded downstairs.

"Well it took you long enough," her mother teased when she finally made it into the kitchen, "I almost thought you were getting ready for a fashion show instead of your first day as a genin!"

The strawberry-blond woman turned her bright blue eyes to her daughter, raising her eyebrow at the girl's appearance.

"How…practical." she said in surprise.

"Yeah," Momo replied awkwardly, "I just thought it would make more sense than that dress, you know?"

Her mother opened her mouth to reply, but the toaster suddenly "dinged!" and the bread shot up. Momo grabbed a slice, juggling it from hand-to-hand in an effort to keep from being burned.

"Love you, kaa-chan!" she kissed her mother on the cheek and darted out of the front door in a blink.

Her mother simply chuckled, shaking her head when she realized that Momo had forgotten her lunch…again.

The Ninja Academy was, understandably, in an uproar. The fresh academy graduates dashed about the room, conversing loudly with their friends and comparing hiatae. BFF's were wailing about how they'd just die if they weren't on the same team, some picking out classmates that they'd rather quit being ninja all together than be grouped with. Others skillfully maneuvered the grapevine, receiving and dishing the dirt on who did and didn't pass. All in all, it was complete and utter chaos.

As soon as Momo stepped foot into the classroom, her eyes immediately began to rove the crowd for Kurama Hanzō. She wasn't sure what exactly drew her to the quiet boy. Sure he was handsome, but her attraction wasn't shallow like the other girls in her class. Her feelings teetered on the edge of love, which she found quite worrying since they had never spoken a word to each other.

She clung to the hope that perhaps he felt the same strange, suffocating things for her. Sometimes, when he thought no one was paying attention, his bright grey eyes would find her wherever she chose to sit, and he'd simply watch her. Once she caught him wearing a curious expression: his dark brows crinkled and a slight frown marring his face as if he were attempting to solve some great conundrum. What made Momo really sure he felt something was how he went out of his way to have no contact with her at all.

Hanzō wasn't exactly a social butterfly, but he never purposely avoided anyone but her. Whenever they were paired up for an assignment, he'd always weaseled his way into a new partner. Whenever she sat down beside him, he'd raise his hand to go to the restroom, and then sit somewhere else when he got back. And on the street, if she spotted him in the sea of bustling people, it was usually the back of his head because he had turned around to take the long way after seeing her. Anyone else would have taken these as signs of resentment, but Momo knew he just didn't understand how he felt.

And if Hanzō didn't understand it, then he avoided whatever it was like the bubonic plague.

Momo finally found him seated in the far right corner: by the window and away from all of the theatrics. He gazed out of it, lost in thought and occasionally flicking his inky bangs from his eyes. Almost as if he could sense her staring, he turned his head to look back. She grinned shyly, and his lips twitched into a small smirk. Almost immediately, however, it disappeared, a frown taking its place. He stiffly looked away with his brows furrowed, running a hand through his ear-length black hair. She felt her entire being wilt, but forced herself to perk back up as the majority of her classmates flocked around her.

"Oh my gosh, Momo-chan, you look like a real kunoichi!"

"Your shirt really brings out the color of your hair, Momo-chan!"

"Where did you get your shorts, Momo-chan? I want some just like them!"

"Want to train together sometime, Momo-chan?"

Momo smiled brilliantly, the superficial side of her soaking up the attention and praise like a sponge. If there was one skill she could honestly say she possessed, it was people manipulation. She barely had to speak four words and she had her peers eating from the palm of her hand. They hurried behind her like dutiful little servants, each vying for a spot next to her at her desk. A few of the girls sent longing glances back at Hanzō, but he didn't exactly welcome company, and everyone knew he was off limits. Although it was never spoken out loud, it was somehow common knowledge that he was Momo's territory even if the two never really communicated. She picked a desk somewhere in the middle, and purposely sat near the window so that there would only be one open seat next to her.

"I want to sit next to Momo-chan!"

"No fair, I was here first!"

"I bet she likes me most anyway!"

"Alright kids, settle down." Their sensei, Sarutobi Asuka, commanded as she finally entered the room.

The dark-haired woman was rather soft spoken. She rarely raised her voice at her class, because she could be intimidating without having to. All she had to do was stare with her unnerving, crimson eyes, and it felt like she was ripping apart your soul piece by agonizing piece. At the sight of her, the young genin scattered like mice. Two girls whose names Momo couldn't recall ended up snagging the spots.

"Wouldn't it be totally cool if we ended up on the same team?" one of them whispered when Asuka-sensei began calling out teams.

On the inside, Momo snorted and rolled her eyes; on the outside, she simply smiled.

"Yeah, but we might miss our names if we keep talking." The girl blushed and faced back to the front.

'How cute: the poor thing is embarrassed,'

"Team 2 will consist of Yamashita Haru—"

Momo tuned out when her name didn't appear to coming up anytime soon.

"Team 3 will consist of Yoshida Misaki—"

Man she was hungry, did she bring lunch today? Probably not.

"Team 5 will consist of Nakamura Satoshi —"

And she didn't have any money either…damn.

"Team 7 will consist of Kurama Hanzō—"

She perked up.

"—Hayashi Momo—"

Heck yes!

"—and Takeda Mamoru."

…Who the fudge was that? She did a quick sweep of the room, but no one in particular jumped out at her.

'Does it really matter who that other person is? We're going to be on a team with Hanzō-kun!'

"Pardon me, Asuka-sensei, but I would rather not be on the same team as Kurama-san."

The entire class almost got whiplash snapping their heads around to stare at the culprit: Takeda Mamoru. The feminine boy didn't seem at all bothered by the attention. He smiled pleasantly in response to the nasty glares and snide whispers.

"Psh, like Hanzō-san wants to be on the same team with a queer like him anyways."

"How did that loser even pass; hasn't he failed like three times?"

"The purpose of a genin team is to create a balanced environment that promotes the growth of all its members. Hanzō-kun received the highest marks in the class, and seeing as you have the lowest, it made the most sense to put you on his team." Asuka frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry, Mamoru-kun, but all cells are permanent." even as the other students snickered, his gentle smile never wavered.

"I see…perhaps I should have tried harder then."

'Who the hell does he think he is,' Momo wrinkled her nose at him, ''that freak should feel honoured to be on the same team as Hanzō-kun!'

She had never known the boy's name, but there wasn't a child in their class that didn't know him by sight. He had creepy, almost acidic green eyes, and long brown hair pulled into a low ponytail with chin-length bangs framing his face. No one liked him because he was so weird. Every time you saw him, he was smiling for no good reason at all, and humming a happy tune under his breath. He also enjoyed girly things, like flower arrangement, and talked proper all the time. He wrote poetry too, which pretty much solidified that he was homosexual to all the other boys at the Academy, earning him the nickname "Queer." Momo honestly thought it was ridiculous to think Mamoru was gay just because of the things he liked, but she disliked him all the same simply because everyone else did.

She gave him one last dirty look before facing ahead once more, ignoring the persistent prodding in the back of her mind urging her to be his friend.

Momo was pretty sure that her new team was going to drive her insane.

She had hoped that maybe since they were going to be stuck together for the time being, Hanzō might actually talk to her, but that wasn't the case. He went from stiffly avoiding her, to completely ignoring her existence all together. And Mamoru's humming was beginning to tap-dance on her last good nerve. She glared at his content smile. What the hell was he so friggin' happy about all the time? From where she stood, his life sucked…a lot.

She turned her honey brown eyes to their sensei, Kichida Hisoka, who after showing up an hour late, had yet to impress her with his nervous fidgeting. The red haired man smiled coyly, rubbing the back of his neck. He then cleared his throat louder than necessary, which resulted in a red hue that dusted his cheeks, and began tapping furiously on his knee.

"Well," he began after the four of them had been on the roof of the Academy sitting in silence for a little over ten minutes, "how about we start with introductions? We can say our name, hobbies, our likes and dislikes, and what we plan to do in the future." Mamoru stopped humming, Momo mentally cheered, the wind blew, and somewhere in the distance, an old man coughed.

Then all was still.

"I'll demonstrate by going first." Hisoka offered. Three sets of eyes stared at him unblinkingly. He laughed uncertainly, but no one else joined in.

"Alright, as you know, my name is Kichida Hisoka." he paused, debating mentally what he wanted to say next.

"I don't really have any hobbies other than being a ninja. I like dango, and I dislike how everyone automatically assumes my favorite color is red because of my hair. As for my plan for the future…I guess it's just to be the best sensei I possibly can!"

'Well you aren't getting off to a very good start, bub.'

"Okay," he pointed at Hanzō, "why don't you start off."

Hanzō didn't say anything at first, but Momo could tell it was because he was thinking carefully about his words.

"…My name is…Kurama Hanzō. My hobbies are training and genjutsu. I don't like anything in particular, and I dislike a lot of things. My plan for the future is more like…an ambition." his bright eyes darkened with resolve.

"I want to restore the honour to my fallen clan's name by becoming the best shinobi Konoha has ever seen, no matter the cost." the air felt heavy when he was finished, so Hisoka quickly called on the next person.

"You, with the weird hair." Momo huffed.

"My name is Hayashi Momo. My hobbies are learning new information and studying how the brain works. I like the color red and I dislike when people make fun of my hair." Hisoka chuckled nervously when she stopped to give him a dirty look.

"As for my plans for the future…" she trailed off, her eyes unconsciously beginning to drift towards Hanzō, but something quickly snatched them back, "I don't know yet." she finished confusedly.

'What was that?'

"I'm sure you'll find your niche one day." Hisoka offered brightly.

"Now last but not least, you with the cool eyes." Mamoru smiled at the compliment.

"My name is Takeda Mamoru; it is a pleasure to meet you all. My hobbies include flower-arrangement and poetry. I enjoy listening to classical music and I do not much care for sweets. I do not have plans for the future, for I have found that living in the present is much less stressful." Momo couldn't suppress an eye-roll when he ended with a closed-eye smile.

"Very nice introductions everyone," Hisoka exclaimed, clapping his hands together, "training will begin at exactly six tomorrow morning in training ground five. Don't be late!"

'Why don't you try taking your own advice?'

There you have it, the first chapter! Hopefully you could spot the similarities I was talking about. I wanted them to still feel like Sasuke and Sakura, while at the same time also feeling like the two completely new characters, Momo and Hanzō (who is also named after a famous ninja, like Sasuke).

For those who don't know, the Kurama clan is an actual clan that already exists in Konoha. I'll reveal more about their fate in the next chapter, which will be a rewrite of this one from Hanzō's point of view. I'm not going to be rewriting ALL of the chapters like this; I just want you to get a feel of who Momo and Hanzō are before the story really picks up. Momo is probably going to be the central character for most of the story, but we'll also be seeing plenty of Hanzō so don't worry. :))

Sorry for any mistakes. I'm proofreading for myself and I tend to automatically correct my own mistakes while I read. xPP