Author's Note: Chapter two has been edited again.
Chapter Two, The Secret
Naruto woke up the next morning feeling somewhat excited about what was to come. He looked around the pit that was his room and sighed, trying to find some clothes from the floor that didn't smell too bad. Living alone had its consequences; the blonde boy disliked doing the laundry and tended to avoid it unless it was desperately needed. Adding some extra deodorant to make sure no one noticed his clothes weren't clean, he pulled himself into the other room to see if there was anything worth eating in the fridge. Naruto eyed the milk the refrigerator had to offer with distrust, the last time he had drank something without checking the expiration date he had gotten himself into a lot of trouble. Remembering that he had bought it only a few days ago, he chugged some milk before running out the door. Not the breakfast of champions, but it would hold him off until lunch, which the school was required to give him. He didn't exactly have rations to spare in his home.
He ran towards the school, enjoying the wind on his face as he did so. He couldn't understand why people would ever want to drive unless they had to. Running brought so much pleasure through such simple action. He almost couldn't feel the weight of his backpack as he increased speed, and found himself trying not to get too caught up in what he was doing and get ran over. After fifteen minutes or so he arrived at the school, just in time to run to homeroom. Scrambling to his seat, he noticed Ino and Gaara shared homeroom with him. He frowned, feeling that he knew these people the least out of everyone that he had met. After attendance he read his first class on the list, English I. The classroom was almost full by the time he got there, but he noticed a seat next to Shikamaru open. He smiled at such a lucky thing.
"Uzumaki, we saved you a seat." The brunette called, pointing towards the seat Naruto was already heading for. Naruto's heart skipped a beat, someone actually saved me a seat? He thought. It wasn't chance, it was someone giving half a crap about him. He dove into the seat as if it was too good to be true, and would disappear if he kept it waiting for too long. "You look excited. Like English that much eh?" Nara asked, turning his head towards the windows. "I don't." the boy continued. "That building over there blocks my view of the sky." It dawned on the blond boy that they were both sitting in a window seat, to give them best access to avoid paying attention. "Oi, Choji, aren't you gunna introduce yourself?" Shikamaru called out, eyes on a slightly pudgy boy sitting in the seat adjacent to him. "Troublesome, why do I have to do all the talking."
"Akimichi Chouji, nice to meet you. I hear you're the new recruit." The boy sounded serious enough, and it was almost enough to stop Naruto from wondering why there was what looked like a pair of underwear on the boy's head.
"Nice to meet you too!" Naruto exclaimed brightly, remembering that his goal was to make friends. He decided not to ask about the underwear thing for now, and instead addressed the second part of what the boy had said. "New…recruit?" He asked the spiky brown-haired boy in a confused tone.
"Not now, later. He doesn't know, Choji." Shikamaru explained, though it didn't make anything clearer for Naruto. Recruit? He thought to himself, wondering if they had some sort of small army. Did the high school need an army? He shook his head, no, nothing he had heard about high school had ever mentioned an army. Maybe that's why they can't mention it here, he concluded, as a story began to play through in his head. A secret corps to defend the city from evil! Supplied with the best weapons the government could buy, these brave soldiers sacrifice their lives every day, knowing full well that when a recruit died no one would ever know what they truly accomplished, save the elite few who had the honor to work with them. Naruto smiled, hoping it went something like that. The rest of English class went fairly well, as far as Naruto concerned. Grammar and spelling was never his favorite thing to focus on, so he tuned most of the lesson out. He actually managed to exchange a few more sentences with his newfound friends before the bell rang for them to change classes, and so waved goodbye before heading out to the gym room. He frowned when he realized neither of them was heading in his direction. Deciding that he could face a class by himself, after all he had spent most of his life by himself, he avoided sneaking up onto the roof and skipping.
The gym was massive, much bigger than the one from his middle school, and he suspected there were many fields outdoors. Checking out the window, he found they would most likely be playing inside, as it was raining. He was sort of relieved at this, as much as he loved the outdoors, it had been pretty hot in the morning and he didn't want the embarrassment of sweating in the sun. Looking around, he realized most of the class were older than him, and none of them looked terribly friendly. Still, there was enough freshmen that as long as he didn't mess up too terribly he wouldn't be made fun of.
"Alright everyone, divide into teams. Seniors pick leaders." The gym teacher called out in a bored voice. Naruto got the impression that the gym teacher hated gym class, and wondered quietly why the white-haired man had chosen an occupation he hated. The guy looked to be still in his mid-twenties, contrary to his white hair, which meant there was plenty of time for him to go back to college and change his mind if he wished. Naruto shook himself from these thoughts as he realized that people were forming a line to be chosen for teams, which was possibly the most embarrassing way to pick teams. He noticed a tall blonde girl standing as one captain, and a senior boy with his hair hidden behind a beanie as the other. Naruto sighed, he was always picked last, and the blond boy felt he didn't need any more embarrassment.
"Inuzuka Kiba!" The blond girl called, and a brown-haired freshman boy with what Naruto thought could be face paint walked over to her, pulling off his hoodie. Here we go again, Naruto thought, as the senior boy immediately called one of the cuter girls over to his team. The blond boy hung his head, disgusted. I could play better than her, he thought bitterly, though he knew she wasn't called for her gym class abilities. Naruto watched as Kiba whispered something in the blonde-haired girl's ear, and she nodded before calling out another name. "Uzumaki Naruto!" She hollered, and Naruto froze. It took him a moment to sort out they were probably connected to Sasuke somehow, and he walked slowly over with a confused look on his face.
"Uhhhh…" was all he managed to say in the girl's presence. She just smiled.
"I'm Temari, welcome to the team." She said in a rough but cheerful tone. He frowned; she looked like she could definitely beat him up.
"You're a senior." He stated, not quite implying what he meant.
"Yes, yes I am?" She replied in a questioning tone.
"The seniors are in on it too?" He said in a small voice, backing away some. "Don't get me wrong…I'm glad you called me but…would anyone care to explain what's going on?" He added.
"They'll explain it later." Temari replied in a way that left no room for further questions. Naruto didn't pay attention as the rest of the teams were called, he was too glad to have been picked. He didn't know what this organization did, or even if it was anything at all, but it sure did have its upsides. They played capture the flag, which Naruto was especially good at because it involved running, which he adored. He noticed Kiba was very fast as well, and good at hunting down the people that crossed their line to steal the flag. He figured this was probably why Temari had picked Kiba first.
Gym class was only forty-five minutes long and after it was over he went up to his favorite spot on the roof to watch the clouds. He had been sneaking up here since he was in elementary school, and he had used it as an escape from his loneliness. For reasons he couldn't explain, none of the kids ever wanted to be his friend. In elementary school he would always walk around the recess grounds alone, imagining himself off to other worlds so that he didn't have to deal with the people in this world. He had nowhere to go after school, he had no parents to come home to, and nothing particularly special to do there. One day out of boredom he had wandered around the grounds, as the high school, middle school, and elementary school were all connected, until he had found himself at the school he attends now. Being in the first grade, the place had looked so big and magical, so he climbed to the highest point he could find to look around. When he had stood on this spot he had felt on top of the world, like nothing could bring him down. Nostalgia made him feel that way now.
Realizing that he had daydreamed away the forty five minutes of freedom he had, Naruto ran downstairs for a subject that rivaled creative writing for his favorite class, lunch. He weaved through the crowds of people in the hallway with incredible speed, wanting to be one of the first people into the cafeteria so that he could scarf down his lunch before running back up to the roof again. He was paying so much attention to avoiding hitting people, that he had no idea about the heads that turned in awe of his ducking and weaving. He got to the front of the lunch line, and gave the lunch ladies a big dorky smile.
"Afternoon!" He greeted them cheerfully, and the old women with the food smiled at his innocent charm. If there was one thing he knew, it was that to get the good lunch, you needed to be on good terms with the lunch ladies. He watched as they piled food onto his plate, murmuring things like "what an adorable young boy" as he passed. Then came his least favorite part of lunch, the part he had dreaded since his elementary school days, the end of the line. He pulled out the crumpled lunch card they had assigned him for the year, and flashed it for the lady, who nodded and cleared the amount he owed from the cash register. He hated doing this because he felt like they were giving him pity, something he had learned to dislike over his years of living alone. He just wanted to be treated normally, but unfortunately when it came to this, there was no other option; he couldn't afford to pay for the food himself. He rushed out of the room with his tray, and looked for the nearest empty table to sit down and shovel food into his mouth.
"Hey, Uzumaki, this way!" he heard Temari's voice call out from across the room. His eyes widened, they had the same lunch? He thought in disbelief. As he approached the table he had been summoned to, he saw everyone else in Sasuke's group sitting there. How do we all have the same lunch? He wondered, beginning to think they had some sort of influence over the principal. It sounded ridiculous, but sure enough, there was Temari, Sakura, Sasuke, Gaara, Choji, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba, along with a bunch of other people whose names he did not know.
"You gunna sit down dobe, or are you just gunna stand there wide-eyed?" Sasuke asked, directing his hand to the empty space. Naruto sat down silently, still in shock at what he saw.
"You all have the same lunch." He stated, still not aware enough to make it a question.
"Yep." Ino replied, leaving it at that.
"How?" He questioned, looking around at all of them. They even had a few tables pulled together so they could sit in the same place. How had they accomplished this? No one, however, decided to answer his questions. Instead, Sakura spoke up, changing the subject.
"There are a few people here you haven't met. This is Hyuuga Hinata." Sakura introduced, using the girl's surname. Hinata had medium length black hair and strange almost white eyes. At first glance Naruto would have said she was blind, but he didn't think it was that simple. "Next we have Aburame Shino, who I believe you met in chem class." Sakura identified the boy with the sunglasses. Naruto nodded dumbly.
"Those people were all freshman." Temari continued, "But not all of us are. There are a few sophomores, a junior and a senior." Naruto wondered why there were so few older members of this club, but the girl didn't go into it. "The sophomores are Tenten--" she pointed to a girl with brown hair pulled into twin buns, one on each side of her head, "--Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's cousin," her fingers lead his eyes to a boy with long brown hair and the same strange eyes that Hinata had, "and Rock Lee." Naruto's gaze fell upon the boy designated 'Rock Lee'. He couldn't have pictured a dorkier boy in his entire life. The boy had an overly large smile on his face and was giving the blonde thumbs up. Naruto looked at the boy's strange black hair, Rock Lee had possibly the worst haircut he had ever seen in his entire life. However, the boy's eyebrows made his hair seem normal in comparison. Rock Lee's eyebrows were so incredibly thick that they threatened to attack his poor, unsuspecting eyes with every movement they made. He shook the image out of his head. "The junior is my brother, Kankuro, and I am the senior, of course." She directed a hand to Kankuro and herself, as they were sitting next to each other. Kankuro had spiky brown hair similar to Kiba's, and purple markings on his skin.
"Wow, you guys are siblings?" Naruto asked, smiling. He had never had siblings, but the idea always sounded fun. If you had a brother or sister by your side, you would never be alone.
"Yep. Didn't Gaara tell you about his older brother and sister?" Temari asked in a kidding voice, truthfully she hadn't expected Gaara to say anything, he never did.
"No, wait, you're Gaara's siblings?" Naruto exclaimed. He would have loved to have an older brother and sister to look after him, so he didn't understand why Gaara didn't look very excited at the prospect.
"Feeling slow today are we?" Sasuke questioned, not feeling in the mood for stupid things. Naruto frowned, and shut up. He turned his attention to his food and started eating, silently.
"Aww, Sasuke, come on! Now he's not talkin!" Temari complained. Naruto kept his head down, but after a while looked around to see what everyone was doing. Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten had formed a small group and were talking away while they ate, Choji was heading up for seconds, Kiba and Kankuro were talking, Temari had turned her attention to Rock Lee, and Gaara, Shino, Sasuke, and Shikamaru were eating in silence. Naruto finished his food and stood up as if to leave. Gaara, Shino, and Shikamaru looked up at him, but everyone else seemed to preoccupied to notice him do so. Shino and Shikamaru turned their attention back to their food, figuring it was none of their business, but Gaara spoke.
"Leaving?" Gaara asked, making sure his voice was loud enough to call everyone's attention. A series of "awww"s and "don't go"s emanated from the group.
"Sasuke, apologize!" Sakura and Temari yelled in unison, and then laughed at having done so. Sasuke made a 'tch' noise.
"Sheesh. I didn't mean to offend you or anything, can't take a joke, can we?" Sasuke stated his so-called apology. Naruto's eyes narrowed. He wanted to go sit with them again, but he also wanted to prove a point to Sasuke, and leaving would be the best way to do so. Deciding for the second time that day that being alone wasn't so bad, he spun on his heels and walked away. Hopefully that will teach him his lesson, he thought, I hope Temari hits him.
Naruto spent the remainder of his lunch period roaming the hallways of his school. He had wanted to go back up onto the roof, but he had a feeling his friends were looking for him, and he knew that would be the first place they'd check. Finding an obscure hallway with nice big windows, he paused his wandering to think. What am I getting myself into? He thought, in reference to the strange occurrences the past few days. I teleport from creative writing class to the roof, and now suddenly everyone wants to be my best friend? He wondered what exactly they had planned for him when he met up with them after school. Before he had been thinking 'government soldier' or 'superhero', but now he turned his thoughts to things like 'government experiment' and 'circus attraction'. There were too many ways something like this could end badly, Naruto wondered if it would be safer to just pretend what happened that day in class never happened, and move on with his life. He could make other friends, or just go it alone; it wasn't like being an outcast was new to him.
But that would deny Naruto the thing he craved most, an explanation. He wanted to know why what happened had happened, and what it meant for him. He made a mental decision. Whoever is in my next class is getting interrogated. I'm going to demand answers or I won't join their little club, he told himself. Dropping by his locker to switch out books, he headed for History I with newfound determination. When he swung open the door, he realized how early he was. I've still got a few minutes, there's no one in here! He thought to himself. Then it occurred to him that the room was not completely devoid of life, there was someone sitting – the word hiding came to mind, in the darker corner of the classroom. After a moment of squinting, Naruto recognized it was Gaara, he was scribbling away on a piece of paper. Walking over to him, the blond boy's plans for interrogation disappeared.
"Why are you all alone?" He asked the redhead in a concerned tone. The boy shrugged.
"They all went looking for you. I knew I had history with you, so I waited here." Gaara told him, before returning to writing. Naruto immediately felt bad for leaving the group.
"They really all went looking for me?" Naruto asked, the guilt showing in his voice. Gaara didn't look up, but nodded. Naruto frowned. "I'm sorry." The blond boy apologized. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble for everyone…" Gaara laughed awkwardly, giving Naruto the impression he didn't laugh much.
"We all caused our share of trouble in the beginning." Gaara told him. Naruto's eyes widened, and he sat down in the chair next to Gaara.
"Really? What did you do?" Naruto asked, bracing himself for an exciting story. Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow at this, and then spoke. Naruto was slightly surprised that he hadn't noticed Gaara's lack of eyebrows before, but it looked so natural on the redhead.
"Class time." Gaara said, ignoring the question. Waving a hand in the direction of incoming classmates, he raised a pale finger to his equally pale lips as if to say 'quiet'. Naruto pouted, realizing he had been dismissed.
The blond boy gulped when Uchiha Sasuke entered the classroom. Naruto sank into his seat as the black-haired boy got closer and closer to Naruto's chair. Sasuke was visibly angry, his hands shaking and his black eyes locked on the blond. There was a red mark on the Uchiha's face, he guessed Temari had actually hit him for driving Naruto away. Temari hit him, and now he's going to kill me, Naruto thought, shaking in response to the Uchiha's anger. His instincts told him to run, but being in a classroom there was nowhere to go. Maybe I'll disappear, he thought hopefully. Sasuke walked up to Naruto, and then veered to the left and sat down in the chair next to him. The black-haired boy was silent, and didn't look at Naruto anymore. Naruto sighed, relieved. He was surprised at the Uchiha's actions until it dawned on him why Sasuke had done what he did. Sasuke knew he shouldn't have treated Naruto the way he did; he knew he deserved getting slapped. As angry as the boy was, he knew he was wrong. Naruto smiled at this, and made a mental note to be more tolerant of Sasuke's insults. After all, boys were supposed to insult each other for fun, right?
"Sorry for leaving…it was immature of me." Naruto offered, bracing himself for a harsh response.
"You got me hit, dobe." Sasuke muttered, but it seemed as though his anger was fading.
"Sorry." The blond apologized again, pouting slightly for effect. Sasuke took the bait, and his anger disappeared completely.
"Yea, yea, don't worry about it." He told Naruto, taking out a pen and starting the assignment the teacher had put on the board. Naruto smiled; he had calmed the boy down, a personal victory. Maybe I'm not as bad at making friends as I thought he realized, and his smile broadened.
The rest of the day went fairly well, and Naruto discovered to his surprise that almost all of the freshmen in their 'club' were in his last class of the day, Japanese. He left the school among friends, deciding to skip the demand for answers. As long as he cooperated, he figured he'd get them anyways. He watched as Sasuke and the others led him up near the gym, to a small shack that he assumed was devoted to gym equipment. Sasuke opened the door and led him to a small desk in the back.
"Good luck." Sakura whispered, and Naruto watched in horror as everyone he knew left the building, making him completely alone. After a few minutes of sitting by himself the door behind him creaked open. He looked back and saw the figure of a man. As the man got closer, he let out a small gasp.
"Gym teacher?" Was all Naruto managed to say.
