Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
A/N.: Trust me folks. All will be revealed in due time (cough nextchapter cough)
Pineapple Blossoms
Chapter 1: Troublesome Newcomers
Shikamaru woke up to the beautiful smell of pancakes in his apartment. Stumbling out of his bed, he traipsed into the kitchen, yawning widely.
"Hello, Shikamaru-san!" Hinata exclaimed brightly. Shikamaru gave a startled cry, almost forgetting the events of last night. "Did I scare you?" she asked, her pale eyes wide.
"No, it's fine. I'm just not used to loud noises in the morning. It's too troublesome." he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I j-just wanted t-to help. I-I feel l-like I just in-intruded..." she trailed off, waving a wooden spoon around. Shikamaru snickered as trails of pancake mix flew from the spoon, landing on his messy countertops. "S-sorry!" she let out a terrified squeak and started scrubbing the parts she made a mess of.
The alarm clock in his room started beeping, and both of them gave a start. "Oh shit! I'm late for my new course!" yelped Shikamaru, running into his bedroom.
"B-but, Shikam-maru-san, the pancakes..." Hinata protested, but a spiky blur disappeared out of the condo.
"Oi, Pineapple man, you're late!" Temari said reprovingly. Shikamaru's ponytail was sticking out in an odd direction, and several strands came out. He re-tied it and plunged into the seat next to Temari, who gave him a look of scorn. It was the second week of a new school year at his new high school, Konoha High. He and Temari went to the same elementary school, and even though they were childhood friends, he was beginning to get sick of her.
Sabaku no Temari was the only child in a family of five, including her parents. She had lived in a part of town not that far away from Konoha, named Suna, and her brothers Kankuro and Gaara were known to be rash and violent. A year ago Shikamaru heard a rumor that Gaara got busted for possession of crack, but he didn't really believe it until Temari told him. After that incident, she mostly kept to herself. The detention facility in Suna was going to release Gaara in a few days, and she had finally convinced her parents to let her stay with her uncle Yashamaru. She made up dozens of excuses, not all of them true, and it was only because, even though she was the oldest, she was still a bit afraid of Gaara. Despite his parole officer saying about how he's changed, she still couldn't trust him.
But Shikamaru was in a totally different situation than Temari. He had a lot of problems at his home in Kiri. His mother Yoshi was a very demanding lady who was the total opposite of Shikamaru. Finally, in an act of frustration, she had kicked his lazy butt out of the house, telling him to grow up. His father, Shikaku was a very prominent businessman, who had the same lazy attitude as Shikamaru, so he sympathized with him, and bought him his apartment.
At that particular moment, Temari was shooting ugly glances at Shikamaru. So much for being your only friend, Temari-chan, Shikamaru thought. He started to sleep on his desk.
Their teacher, Hatake Kakashi was late as usual. They all groaned upon seeing him, as they knew his reputation. The year before, he was caught having an affair with Haruno Sakura, who was a first-year student. It wasn't against any rules, but it was still gross. Sakura was still in the school, and she was starting her second year at Konoha High.
"Sorry about being late, class. On my way here, I saw this wrinkly old lady struggling with her groceries, and who was I to let a poor little old woman struggle..." Temari rolled her eyes and tuned his excuse out. Shikamaru started snoring.
A quiet knocking sound interrupted Kakashi. Frowning, he opened the door. "Ah, this must be our new student, Hinata Hyuuga." As quick as a gush of water, everyone was talking.
"Hyuuga? Did I hear correctly?"
"Yes!"
"Isn't she part of the Hyuuga corp.?"
"Awe, so cute!!!"
Temari, who had been tuning out Kakashi, looked at the newcomer. It can't be... "HINATA!!!"
An odd blonde spiky-haired ball of energy engulfed the spluttering girl as she was crushed under the weight of Temari. "Whozair?" yawned Shikamaru.
Hinata?
Shikamaru knew that she was the same age as him, but never in his wildest dreams had he thought that she was attending this school. Of all schools, Konoha High was the one she attended. He groaned inwardly. Temari grabbed Hinata by the arm and pushed her up the stairs of the auditorium-like classroom (please refer to the classroom in the anime). The poor girl was put into a vacant seat next to a moody Shikamaru. "Shikamaru-san?" Hinata said quietly.
Temari looked at the two of them in wonder. "Hey, Pineapple-brain. How come you never told me 'bout Hinata, huh?" Shikamaru's head disappeared once more under the crook of his arm. Hinata turned red, and muttered incoherent words. Temari rolled her eyes again, and sat next to Hinata.
"So, how's everything in the Hyuuga residence?" she asked conversationally. Hinata paled. "There's this new guy my father's working for, and to tell you the truth, he's kind of ... creepy." she shuddered as she confessed to Temari. Her friend rubbed her shoulder consolingly.
"Hey!" Kakashi yelled, bringing everyone's attention back to the front. "We're starting a new unit for health class folks, so you know what that means." The class shuddered violently all at once. Kakashi smirked under his mask. He then got out his revolving chair and grabbed his orange book, and sighed contentedly.
This was going to be a very interesting year, in any case.
