Kin: Okay, first off... Holy cow! I expected a few reviews and all since I'd advertised this 'fic in Kitsune no Shoujo, but I seriously wasn't expecting to get into 6 c2's already. And so many subscribers and additions to favourite-stories lists. Thank you very, very much! I hope you like this chapter, too.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own the plot.


Chapter 2 – First Day of School!

Zzzz...

27 year old English teacher for Konoha High School, Umino Iruka allowed his eyebrows to twitch repetitively. He was trying his best to keep his cool, but this had been going on for the past twenty minutes and he really was reaching his limit.

Finally, he caved, and took his ruler. He slammed it down on the desk of Inuzuka Kiba with a harsh crack, startling the boy into consciousness,

"Inuzuka-kun, if my lectures are so boring, then perhaps you need a few extra hours to grasp their importance... after school, perhaps?" he asked Kiba, who shook his head.

"Ah, no! No, that's okay! I was listening I swear! Don't put me on detention..!" Kiba said, "But his lectures are incredibly boring. He expected someone like me to stay conscious?" he added mentally.

He then looked around to see if anyone else seconded his notion by also sleeping. To his right, Narumi was wide awake and smirking at him knowingly. He inwardly cursed and turned to the guy he was sure would be sleeping through it, be it boring or not.

Shikamaru was also wide awake, and sending him mental messages of 'what're you looking at me for?' and the standard 'troublesome' as an extra comment.

Kiba sighed to himself. He was in this one alone.

"Since it's the first day," Iruka began thoughtfully and Kiba looked hopeful, "I'll let you off just this once. But if I see you sleeping through my classes ever again, I'm not giving you any more chances. You got that?" he asked the Inuzuka, who punched the air in triumph.

"I've understand! Thanks, Umino-sensei!" Kiba nearly howled, pleased at being let off the hook. Iruka sweat-dropped,

"I already said I don't like formalities. Just call me Iruka," he said, rubbing the back of his neck out of habit, "Okay, so we'll continue on from where we left o—" He was cut off as the bell for break time came. He sighed out irritably, and massaged his forehead. "Okay, so I guess you can—" Iruka stopped, seeing most of his students already on their way out.

"You're going too easy on them, Iruka," he told himself, "You've got to be assertive. Assertive! If you don't, they're never gonna respect and listen to you. Jeez, I've got to work on that." He thought to himself.

It was his first day teaching high-school kids. He used to be a middle school teacher in another area until recently, and wasn't used to handling older kids... Maybe if he stuck at it and tried harder, they'd start to pay attention to what he was saying, and would stop sleeping in class. And so with that thought in his head he went to the staff room to see if he could find other teachers to chat with.


Meanwhile, Narumi, Kiba, Shikamaru, Sasuke and one other kid were already on their way to meet up with their other friends. The other kid was a big guy, with light-brown, longer hair that was brushed back slightly but nonetheless messy. He carried with him a bag of potato chips that he munched at avidly.

Narumi prodded Kiba teasingly, "Haa, caught again, Kiba-kun!" she said with a big smirk, "Just like middle-school, you can't survive a lecture without nodding off. I thought maybe entering high school would make you more mature," Narumi said.

Kiba turned pink slightly,

"Shut up! I stayed up late last night playing on the X-box, and then had my paper-round today at like, 4 in the morning! I have a perfectly liable excuse for falling asleep in class." He said, pouting a little.

"Another all-nighter? Kiba, that's unhealthy. And troublesome, to boot. The game can't be that great," Shikamaru commented.

"Are you kidding?! It's only the greatest game ever. The reviewers in Gamers Weekly said so themselves!" Kiba argued, turning to point at Shikamaru accusingly, as if his little comment meant he was mocking said game.

The big guy at Shikamaru's side, his best friend Akimichi Chouji, swallowed what he was eating to speak,

"Shikamaru has a point! It was okay to do during the holidays since that's free-time but you should really get to bed at a reasonable time during the school term. That way, you wouldn't fall asleep during class and miss important stuff." He explained.

Kiba snorted out, "Whatever!" he said, turning away as if he were sulking. Narumi was about to poke fun at him, when two others joined the group.

"Narumi, there you are." a deep, masculine voice said.

"Yeah, we've been looking all over for you, Narumi!" a light, feminine voice said, sounding annoyed.

"AH!! N-Neji-senpai..! Tenten-senpai..!" Narumi yelped, jumping a couple of feet away due to shock and shielding her face with her arms. She stepped slightly behind Sasuke, who didn't appreciate being used as a human shield.

There stood two of their senpai-tachi, Hyuuga Neji and Yamada Tenten. Neji was tall, slim and had long, dark brown hair which he tied back into a loose ponytail. Loose bangs hung over his pale lavender eyes, which had a stoic edge. He wore the same school uniform as Sasuke and the other boys, and buttoned up most of it, leaving only the top few buttons loose to reveal a white v-neck shirt.

Standing quite close to Neji, Tenten wore the same uniform as Narumi, but with a longer skirt that passed the knees slightly, with black stockings that covered up to her shins.

-

Neji-senpai and Tenten-senpai are a year above Kiba, Sasuke and I. Neji is captain of the Karate club, so he's no pushover that's for sure; it's a good thing I'm on friendly terms with his cousin whom he seems to care about. His skills are crazy – He could take you out before you could blink. And if his martial arts weren't enough, Neji-senpai's also a genius. It's like he knows everything! But will he help me with my homework? Nooooo! Humph!

But at heart he's a caring, loyal guy... It's just really hard to see that sometimes.

And Tenten-senpai is on the girls' archery team, and I remember she was always a main representative for the school in tonnes of other sports, too; softball and swimming especially. Tenten-senpai's always been really into sports and keeping fit, and because of that there's nobody that can out-do her in sports, not even the guys... At least, nobody's been able to yet.

A year or so back, my friend Hyuuga Hinata had introduced us, and Tenten-senpai to her cold cousin. Ever since, Tenten-senpai's had this sparkling admiration for his excellent athletic skills. But pretty soon, that admiration seemed to turn into something else.

Which was why I decided to help my friend out. It seems she isn't pleased about it, though. Oh boy...

-

"Narumi, we need to talk to you about that little prank of yours, which you pulled before spring break." Neji told Narumi, asking Sasuke to step aside, which he complied with doing easily. Narumi gasped at Sasuke,

"You traitor..." she grumbled at him, and then grinned nervously at Neji and Tenten, "Eheheh. I can explain that," Narumi started.

"Please do. Neji-kun and I would love to know why you locked us in a storage cupboard together." Tenten said edgily.

Narumi gulped, "Uh, well you see..." she began, but Kiba began to laugh loudly.

"So that's what you did to get them so mad?" he asked Narumi, holding his stomach with mirth. Narumi sighed out loudly,

"Yeah, I did! And I don't regret it. Tenten-senpai, you'd always been saying how you wanted to get to know him better, so... Ehehe, I thought maybe if—" she began, and Neji raised his hand to silence her.

"You thought that if you locked us in a small space together, we'd become closer friends." He finished, and Narumi mutely nodded, pressing her index fingers together like a friend of hers, Hinata would. Neji sighed, running his fingers through his hair and closing his eyes, "While I think that's a thoughtful thing to do for a friend..." he trailed off uncertainly.

Tenten stared at Narumi, "Seriously? That's why you did it?" she asked Narumi, who nodded once again. Tenten thought it over for a moment, before smiling a little, "You went about it the entirely wrong way, Narumi." She told Narumi cheerily.

"Eh??" Narumi widened her eyes at Tenten's sudden jovial tone. "You're— You're not mad at me?" she asked hopefully. Tenten nodded,

"Of course I'm mad at you!" she said, and went over to Narumi, pulling her into a side-ways hug, "Look, I know I said I wanted to get to know Neji-kun better, but locking me in a cupboard with him was a bit much, don't you think?" she asked Narumi.

Narumi blushed, "I'm sorry..." she mumbled out.

"What was that? You'll have to speak up," Neji said grumpily. So what if Tenten was willing to forgive and forget. He was still rather unamused with the prank; he and Tenten had landed in a very embarrassing position, after all. They were lucky nobody was around with a camera.

"Aw, don't be so harsh on her! We came here to say we're okay with it, didn't we?" Tenten asked Neji, who sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"Eh?" Kiba raised his eyebrows, "You're not gonna punish her?" he asked Tenten and Neji.

"Not really, just give her a scare by making her think we were going to." Tenten said, and laughed when Narumi gasped, "We're willing to let it slide this time because Narumi actually succeeded, with her plan," Tenten said with a grin and the others looked confused.

Neji decided to fill in the gaps,

"We were locked in the cupboard for six hours, so of course, Tenten and I did talk with each other. We've become better acquainted and spent time together over the holidays as well." Neji said.

Tenten nodded, "And Neji-kun even took me out to see Orange Range over spring break and we had lots of fun together. Orange Range were awesome, by the way!" Tenten added. Neji looked away awkwardly,

"You didn't need to tell them that, Tenten..!" he said quietly, and Tenten giggled at him. Narumi let her jaw hang loose,

"It really did work... I've never seen Neji get nervous like that..! Sweet! Go me!" Narumi grinned as she thought this; then her face fell, "Hold on a second... You got to see Orange Range?!" Narumi gasped at Tenten, pouting.

Tenten laughed, and did a peace-sign at her, "Yeah, they're even more awesome when they're playing live! You really missed out on a good one, Narumi-chan!" she said, smirking knowingly.

Narumi inwardly cried, "Waah! I missed Orange Range's concert 'cause of stupid Gai-chichi's survival training. Damn you, Tenten, rubbing it in my face!" she thought, and turned away pouting.

"Uhh... Naru, are you okay?" Kiba asked Narumi, but she didn't hear him. Sasuke watched her sulk, then rolled his eyes at her. The bell then rang, snapping Narumi out of it.

"AH! Darn it, we were supposed to meet up with Hinata-chan! She's gonna be wondering where we were!" Narumi said.


"I'm so sorry, Hinata-chan!" Narumi put her hands together as if begging for forgiveness in front of the girl. Hinata was a little taller than Narumi, and had medium length raven hair held back with a few light-purple hair-clips. She too wore the girls' uniform, with a longer skirt like Tenten.

They were currently waiting outside the school store where they were selling bread and drinks for the students to eat. They'd gotten there late because of going to pick up Hinata, (Neji's cousin, who was in class 1-A,) on their way there. Kiba stood to Narumi's right while Hinata was on her left.

Hinata shook her head, and raised her hands slightly to gesture that it was okay with a shy smile,

"I-It's really alright, Narumi-san. I'm sure you had your reasons for not coming. I got to talk to Shino-kun anyway so I wasn't alone..." Hinata replied.

-

Hyuuga Hinata. The cousin of Neji-senpai and one of my best friends... She's nothing like him at all! Where Neji-senpai gives off a cold, distant aura, Hinata-chan is gentle, kind and always trying to help out. She got into a higher grade class, because she's way smarter than we of class B. (I'm surprised Sasuke, Shikamaru and Sakura didn't get in, actually... they've got the brains for it, that's for sure.)

Since she's in a different class we don't get to take a lot of the same classes together, which is a real bummer... But Hinata wouldn't want me to be mad over it, which is why I like her so much. She's like a little sister to me!

Oh, and don't tell anyone, but I think Kiba liiiikes her! Heheheh.

Wait a second, did she just say she was talking to Shino?

-

Narumi looked up at Hinata with a surprised look,

"Eh!? Sh-Shino??" Narumi asked, and Kiba seemed worried. He leaned towards Hinata and gestured to whisper something in her ear,

"Psst. He didn't.. try to show you his bug-collection again, did he?" he asked her suspiciously.

"Eh?? Sh-Shino-kun doesn't collect insects, Kiba-kun! He was actually very good company..." Hinata said, and began to prod her fingers together nervously, "Kiba-kun, why do you always try to avoid Shino-kun? He's a good person." Hinata said quietly.

Kiba smacked her back roughly, causing her to step forwards with a gasp,

"I know that, Hinata-chan! I was just messing with you. Yeah, I know Shino's alright... Though he's majorly creepy." Kiba said. Narumi nodded in agreement,

"Totally. He never talks, after all. Makes you think he's trying to hide something." she inputted.

"Um... I don't think Shino-kun is-" Hinata began nervously.

"-Yeah, but what could he be hiding? Maybe a body... He does act like he's from one of those yakuza films or something." Kiba agreed, Hinata's words having been too quiet for him to catch.

"Or maybe it's money from a heist!" Narumi continued, getting into the conversation.

"W-wait, Narumi-san, Kiba-kun...! Shino-kun is-" Hinata was cut off by another voice that had decided to speak for itself.

"I'm right here, you know. And it's not a good idea to develop such stories when you don't even know the person's true nature in the first place. Otherwise you're just spreading false rumours. And when false rumours are spread there is a possibility that the person's reputation could be forever tarnished... And we wouldn't want that." the voice said.

Kiba and Narumi jumped with surprise and stepped quickly away from the new arrival; the quiet boy from their class who wore thick dark shades that obscured his eyes, and a hat to cover his dark-brown hair. From observing the arcs of his eyebrows, (his lower face being covered by his uniform jacket's strangely oversized collar,) his eyes may have been throwing them a glare.

"Sh-Shino...!" Kiba gasped, and took a few breaths to calm himself, "Don't do that, man. You scared the hell outta me!" Kiba complained, clawing at his chest to calm himself down. Shino ignored this, and turned to Hinata,

"I got you melon bread." He said, handing her the small loaf. Hinata graciously accepted it,

"Thank you very much, Shino-kun...!" she said, smiling to the tall boy. Kiba and Narumi looked to one another, then grinned, holding their hands out towards Shino, who was bringing out some more bread. Shino glanced at them,

"These are not for you." He told them bluntly.

"But there're four loafs there!" Narumi gasped, "You're honestly gonna eat them all yourself??!" she asked him.

"I never thought you were that big of an eater..." Kiba said, in awe.

"Don't be stupid." Shino said. Hinata smiled nervously,

"Shino-kun told me, that he was going to feed the birds outside. I-I'm going with him, so if you'll excuse me..." she bowed her head lightly and began to walk away with Shino. Kiba let his jaw drop. Narumi gasped,

"What?! You're abandoning us!? Hinata-chaaaan! I'm sorry I didn't come see you at break, just come back!" Narumi yelled down the corridors after one of her only female friends. Kiba sighed irritably,

"Forget 'em, Naru. Let's just get something to eat before there's nothing left." Kiba said while putting his hand on the back of her head and walking her towards the school store. Narumi awkwardly followed under the force of his hand, and the two got whatever was left after the majority of students had purchased the rest.

Once they were done, they began over to where the others would be waiting for them with their bread.


Meanwhile, a young woman in her late twenties sat going through papers and sorting them, inside her homeroom classroom. She had medium-length dark-brown wavy hair, and crimson-red eyes. Her lips were full, and rouged with red lipstick. She wore a dark-red sweater along with a green skirt that reached her knees, and a silver necklace around her neck.

Her name was Yuuhi Kurenai, and she was the Japanese language teacher for Konoha High School. She took her job very seriously, and was dedicated to her work, not to mention a bit of a perfectionist when it came to this. Most of the time, her students commented that she was too stern, but she did have a soft side. And there was only a certain guy who could bring that out... Her husband.

There was a whimpering noise followed by a shuffling sound, which caused Kurenai to look up from her work instantly.

Behind one of the seats, a brown jacket could be seen moving around confusedly.

Curious, Kurenai investigated. And under the jacket, she found...

"...A dog?" she spoke out loud, surprised. Then, she realised who this dog belonged to. Grabbing it by its thick fur around the neck, she lifted the cream-coloured dog with brown ears and carried it out of the classroom discreetly, under the brown jacket it had been hiding under.


"Okay so I went to VideoMania and bought this film called "The Never-ending Story". It was... okay, but I'm gonna sue those guys, for sure! It ended! What a rip-off!" Kiba announced, sitting amongst the group outside by the trees. Narumi laughed out loud; not because it was funny, but because Kiba thought it was funny. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, looking over from the clouds he had previously been observing,

"Kiba, that's quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say." He said to Kiba.

"What do you know!?" asked Kiba, shooting a scowl at him.

"Kiba... He knows a lot more than you do, that's for sure. And he is right." Sasuke mentioned to Kiba, who redirected his glare to Sasuke.

"What a lame joke!" Chouji chimed in, before returning to his bag of chips.

"Forget you guys! You just can't realise my comedic genius!" Kiba pouted, turning away and folding his arms. A shadow towered over him and he opened his eyes, "K-K-K—" He just couldn't get the words out.

"Hello to you, too, Kiba." Kurenai rolled her eyes at him.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Kiba finally got his words out, "Why are you here??" he asked her.

"Promotion." Kurenai shrugged her shoulders, and brought the small dog from behind her back. The little guy whimpered at Kiba, seeming guilty for something, "I believe he belongs to you? You know pets aren't allowed in school. You better be thankful that it was only me who found him." She said, as Kiba took the dog in his own arms.

"Akamaru! Where've you been, buddy? I was worried sick...!!" Akamaru held the dog, Akamaru close to him, and let out a relieved sigh.

"Worried sick, huh... Today, you were more concerned on things like video-games, jokes, and food." Shikamaru said, and Chouji nodded in affirmative.

"Say what?! I was too worried about 'im. Why wouldn't I be!?" Kiba whined. Narumi grinned,

"Well you didn't exactly mention how Akamaru-chan was missing." She offered lazily. Kiba hung his head in shame. Kurenai looked to Narumi with raised eyebrows,

"Hey, you must be Narumi, am I right?" she asked Narumi, who looked to her with surprise and nodded; Kurenai smirked, and kneeled down by Kiba, "Good job. She's cute." She told Kiba. Kiba flushed and crawled away from her.

"What're you spouting!!?" he yelped. Kurenai chuckled, and stood up with a grunt,

"Just don't let me catch you with a pet on the premises again or it's detention for you, Kiba..." she said, turning away and leaving the group. Narumi raised her eyebrows,

"Kiba-kun?" she asked Kiba, patting his shoulder. Kiba looked to her dazedly,

"Euh..?" he asked, blinking. Narumi grinned,

"We wouldn't want you getting a detention on your first day, now would we? Let's hide Akamaru-chan some place they'll never think to look." She said, pulling Kiba up to a stand abruptly, causing him to stumble.

"Oi, what about class?" asked Sasuke, looking at her curiously.

"Ahh, we'll make it in time! Cover for us, if we're running late, okay Sasuke? Later, you guys!" Narumi said, and began tugging Kiba way, "C'mon! Keep him hidden, Kiba-kun!" she said to the brown-haired boy.

"I am! Stop pulling...!" Kiba gasped.

Sasuke tsked, and looked down at his hands which hung over his knee-caps with a frown on his face. Shikamaru and Chouji watched after them as they left curiously, and then Chouji looked to the sky.

"I just remembered. Where're our senpai-tachi?" he asked, wondering about Tenten and Neji who were supposed to meet them for dinner.


Meanwhile, in a sports' storage cupboard the senpai in question were hiding. Tenten, of course, wondered why, and asked Neji why he'd pulled her into the cupboard. After all, this was the second time they were stuck in the same cupboard in less than a month, and she didn't want to have to make a habit of it.

"Apparently," Neji hissed, scowling, "Word got out about our outings during spring break, and my fan-club is after us. But mostly, they're afteryou. And I trust you don't feel like getting mauled by them, any time soon." He said.

Tenten sweat dropped, "You... have a fan-club, Neji-kun?" she asked him with a small smile.

Neji grinned a little, "Of course." He said bitterly, "They're all crazy." He added. Tenten stifled a laugh,

"I guess you and Sasuke have that in common." She said.

"Hn. I guess." Neji nodded.

And so the little conversation in the cupboard commenced until lunch break finished and the coast was clear.


...to be continued!
NOTES

1. Orange Range is a J-rock band. If you haven't heard of them, try listening to them sometime. They're quite good! I chose them because of... well... Orange! XP;

2. Melon bread, a type of Japanese snack that is sold in student's stores. It's like a cafeteria, students either buy stuff there or pack their own lunch ('obento').

3. Akamaru's size; He's still relatively small in my 'fic. Otherwise, how could Kiba have smuggled him into school?

4. "senpai-tachi" plural of 'senpai'.

Kin: Oh, and ShinoxHinata may become an official pairing in this story... If you approve of it, that is... Thank you very much for reading, and until next time!