Jays Arravan: I thank you for your review. I actually chose those points-of-view for my introduction chapter based on my dream. Based on how fast I'm moving, the first parts of the dream I remembered and thought, "What the world? Why did I just dream up a near perfect plot line?" will appear in the next two chapters. I also partially chose those two because I don't think they've been given enough screen time, Hinata especially.


Lesson II

Hinata waved Hanabi goodbye as she excitedly walked up to her friends. She watched over her shoulder as her younger sister talked with them as they all walked through their school's gates and through to the courtyard. Through her smiles, Hinata still had several thoughts on her mind. The world around her was strange. The streets were wider, and automobiles zipped by on their way from Point A to Point B.


Sakura found it awkward to be walking hand-in-hand with Naruto. "I do like him, but to be dating him?" Her cheeks felt warm, so she knew she was blushing. She couldn't help but smile when she noticed Naruto gazing at her with that silly, and obviously love-struck, grin he was wearing. She heard Ino cooing behind her followed by a surprised gasp. As Sakura looked forward, she wondered what she could be gasping for.


Sakura and Hinata were face to face. Neither knew the other was experiencing strange occurrences they'd both attributed to a genjutsu. Neither realized they'd both failed in trying to break free. What they realized were their own thoughts, and both weren't too happy at the prospects.

Sakura knew Hinata liked Naruto. "The dunce standing next to me is the only one who doesn't realize it." Sakura mused to herself. To her surprise, she found herself clasping her hand tighter around Naruto's. She found it a strange instinct, and, more than that, it felt comforting.

Hinata's pale, lavender eyes quickly fell to gaze at the hands clasped between Sakura and Naruto. She knew Naruto had a crush on Sakura, and she'd also watched as their relationship seemed to blossom while they were both a part of Team 7, Kakashi's team. She felt more like this was a nightmare than genjutsu at this point.

To both girls' surprise, Neji was the first to step up. As he made his way between the two girls, he glowered at Sakura. It was obvious to her that he didn't like somebody taking away his cousin's happiness. She was about to speak when he interrupted her. "I think we should all walk into the school peacefully…" The tone of his voice changed slightly to anger as it became quieter, almost a whisper. "…for once."

The look of confusion was evident on both Sakura and Hinata's faces. Neither had expected that they'd be entering the school courtyard as anything less than civil. As Neji walked through the arched gates, Hinata followed. With a polite bow, she made a shy, near silent greeting. "G-Good morning Na-Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, Ino-chan." Neji paused, only for a moment, as he glanced at his cousin.

While Sakura, Naruto, and Ino stood in place for a moment, Hinata took the chance to ask Neji about the strange glance he gave her as well as the strange things he said. "Neji-niisan, why were you so curt with them, and what's with the weird look?" He didn't answer her for a second. She thought he might be choosing his words. "She stole your smile." She froze in her tracks at his odd explanation. "I never thought I'd hear you use such honorifics with neither Sakura nor Ino after that."


The event in the courtyard never left either Sakura or Hinata's mind throughout the rest of the day. They didn't know what to expect from classes, but they got by well enough. They started to find more and more familiar faces as the day passed by. It was strange to see that their peers who were chunin and jounin weren't among their elder chunin and jounin as teachers. There were also new roles. Tsunade was the school's principal, and Jiraiya was the, of all things, guidance counselor.

The current class featured Iruka teaching literature. The classroom was chock full of their peers. Sakura and Hinata easily identified the other seven genin they'd graduated with. They were most disturbed by how perfectly they fit into their roles. Of course, there was one among them who couldn't tell a genjutsu if it hit him in the face, Naruto. They didn't see Neji, Tenten, or Lee because they were all their seniors, attending the attached high school.

Hinata followed Iruka's lesson very well, but she sent a glower towards Sasuke every once in a while. After what she'd heard from Neji and Hanabi, she couldn't help herself. She found herself remembering how Naruto saw him as a brother. He looked exactly the same as he'd described him when he and Sakura found Sasuke with Orochimaru and Kabuto. If it weren't for the school uniform, she might have wondered if she were sending an icy stare at the shinobi who'd nearly killed Naruto himself.

Sakura found her eyes wandering between Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke. She heard Iruka, but she wasn't really paying him attention. Sasuke sat in the front row near the window. He seemed to be staring out onto the physical education field. There was no class at the moment. Naruto sat in the dead-center of the room, and he happened to be right behind Hinata. From her vantage point, she could clearly see the other eight of her graduating class. Hinata didn't have this advantage sitting in the second row and only a few columns from Sasuke.

The girls were fairly easy to predict. Sakura, Hinata, and Ino looked similar to how they looked as shinobi, except they now wore white and forest green school uniforms. Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Choji were the same way. The only vast differences were Kiba and Shino. Apparently, the school had a policy against wearing fur, glasses, and turtlenecks. Other than that, they looked exactly the same.

The classroom was rather simple and plain. The teacher's desk sat at the front. Iruka used a white chalk to mark on the green board. A PA hung in the corner near the teacher's desk and nearest sliding door. Outside the sliding door was the classroom marker, 1-C. The C, as both Sakura and Hinata noted, had no meaning except to group each class of thirty. Each classroom had the students' desks arranged in a tidy five rows by six columns. Both girls had also noticed something else. There were markings on the floor to indicate where each desk belonged. It was only during lunch when they discovered why.


The morning classes seemed to pass by quickly. They weren't really that interesting. The boring day quickly became interesting when lunch started. Ino pulled her desk beside Sakura's. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji gathered around Naruto. Shino kept Hinata company. Sasuke simply pulled out a bentou and began eating alone.

Ino looked over her shoulder at the crowd Naruto acquired and sighed before she opened her bentou and spoke her mind to Sakura. "I can't believe you don't make him eat with you. You two are an item, after all!" Sakura didn't know how to respond to this as she opened her bentou to see what her mother packed her. The lunch looked…cute. She looked through her assortment of food as she realized her friend was looking at her.

The furrow of Ino's brow made her look anxious, and Sakura knew that wasn't the expression she was trying to pull off. Even so, Ino leaned in close to whisper to Sakura. "You've been going out for a month, and I bet you guys haven't even done anything yet." To this, Sakura's face flushed crimson. She leaned in close to whisper a retort, not wanting to draw the attention of the entire class. "How can you say something like that?! Sure I like him, but…" She pauses as she realized how weak the last part made her retort sound. Ino sat back with a smirk as they fell into an uncomfortable silence, eating their lunches.

Hinata looked at Shino with a smile. He still had that serious expression she remembered. He solemnly ate his lunch as he watched her fidget between eating and stealing glances towards Naruto. As his lips parted to speak, he was surprised at what she suddenly blurted out. "You don't have to eat with me just to keep me company. You can eat with the others. You're friends with Naruto-kun, too." She gave him the sweetest smile as she mentioned her crush.

Shino knew Hinata well enough to tell when she was simply avoiding confrontation. He also knew how much she cared for that knucklehead. He couldn't blame her. Naruto had that strange type of personality. He spoke up with that same, stern tone of voice he always had. She recognized it as carrying concern. "You should have more confidence in yourself. I am also your friend." He paused for a moment as he looked to Kiba. Hinata barely heard Shino's next words. "Besides, Kiba's over there to beat some sense into that knucklehead." She nearly giggled at his words. Shino had just implied Kiba was acting like the big brother he always seemed to be. She blamed it on his canine attributes.

Kiba wrapped his arm around Naruto's shoulders as he took a bite of his food. He nearly splattered some of his lunch on the blonde's face as he spoke. "C'mon! What made you actually ask that Sakura chick out?" Naruto didn't like the sudden invasion of space as he nearly pushed Kiba away, trying to eat his lunch in relative peace. He'd rather be eating with Sakura, actually, but he was glad to spend time with the guys. It was almost too bad Shino wasn't eating with them, too. He didn't want Hinata to be alone, though.

Naruto took a defiant look as he chomped down some food and responded, mock malice in his tone. "I've liked Sakura since primary. You know I've tried dozens of times." The boys gathered around him did know this; they knew this all too well. As Kiba was about to retort, they were all surprised by the next voice. "How troublesome." Shikamaru's curt statement had only a short delay before he continued. "The girl was so head-over-heels for Sasuke, and you still went after her. You're an idiot; you know that?"

Naruto flashed his foxy grin as he scratched his cheek. That was Shikamaru for you. Choji spoke up next with a full mouth. This action made everybody wish they had an umbrella with them. "Shikamaru's right." He paused as he swallowed. "It's only been a month. She's probably still cooling her heels over what Sasuke did." He paused as he filled his mouth again and began to chew…and talk. "If ya give her much longer, she'll be back to fawning over him." He swallowed again before picking up his bentou and proceeding to wolf the rest of his lunch down. The three boys looked at him with a mix of awe, disgust, and a desire to keep their bentou away from him.

Kiba smirked at Choji's last comment. He took the moment to steal a piece of Naruto's lunch. "Hey!" Naruto screamed out as he tried to take the piece back only to see it gobbled up. He sat back ready to pout. Kiba accomplished what he wanted at grabbing his attention, though. "There's no point keeping a girl like that around. You should look for a girl who likes you for you, not pitying you." He leaned in real close when Naruto gave him a suspicious look. Kiba almost chuckled when he held his bentou closer and began cautiously eating from it.

With a smirk apparent on his face, Kiba whispered something towards Naruto's ear that made the boy's face as red as a tomato. "Have you ever considered Hinata?" Shikamaru and Choji couldn't help but smirk. They just didn't expect Naruto's reaction. "What?!" He suddenly shot up from his seat. The wooden legs dragged across the floor making a horrible squealing sound. As all eyes fell on him, his face turned another shade redder. He quickly sat back down and leaned in close so only the three he was talking to could hear him. "She doesn't even like me. Besides, she's rich and classy. Her dad would think I'm just after the money."

Naruto's friends sat there, dumbstruck. They all had the same thought in mind. "Is he really that much of a knucklehead?!" One other person held that same thought. His jaw hung slack as he did his best not to turn around and start hurting a particular number one knucklehead. He continued to eat his lunch in relative silence. A smirk does broaden across the young man's face. "That's some consolation at least. I hate to think I wasted my time."

Sakura wore her trademark 'I'm gonna kill somebody!' scowl after what she just heard. She didn't know what was going on, but Naruto was red enough to guess it was perverted. Ino tried to laugh it off as she turned to glower at the four guys Naruto was eating with.

Hinata blinked, giggled, and blinked again. She didn't know what was going on, but it involved Naruto. It also seemed to involve something embarrassing. She wondered what it was, but she left well enough alone. Shino only raised an eyebrow as he wondered just what Kiba had said.

It wasn't too much longer or many conversations later before everybody finished their lunches and the bell rang to announce the beginning of the second half of the day's classes. Iruka sighed as the students went, peacefully, back to the correct seating arrangement. He had that smile on his face Naruto recognized so well. He was proud of his students doing so well with the freedom they'd been given.


A long walkway connected the west wing of Konoha Academy Middle School to a greenhouse. Naruto and Sakura were walking down the hallway. She cursed inwardly at Ino leaving her alone with him. "She said something about club activities, but I know she's just trying to keep me and Naruto alone! She's probably still chasing Sasuke!" She paused in her thoughts. Naruto seemed to sense the turmoil in her mind as he also stopped and turned around to look at her.

"Got something on your mind, Sakura-chan?" His concern was touching. She couldn't help but give him and endearing smile before continuing forward. "Nope." She half lied, but she didn't know what kind of trick this was or how much danger she was in. She also didn't know if it was only her or if others were under this genjutsu. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a shadow. She almost choked as she recognized the raven hair as it disappeared behind a corner. She rolled her eyes at the next thought. "As Shikamaru would say, 'This is going to be troublesome.'"


Hinata felt heat in her body as she watched Naruto and Sakura walk along towards a large greenhouse. She felt the heat from both sadness and jealousy. "There's more than that there, though…" She thought bitterly. "I feel anger." She didn't want to belittle Sakura. She gasped as the pink-haired girl took notice of her presence, and she couldn't hide around the corner fast enough.

Before she could react, Hinata bumped into something. She could immediately tell it was a person, and she immediately bowed in embarrassment as she apologized. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…" She was interrupted by a gruff voice. "Nah, you don't have to worry about it, Hinata." Her eyes went wide as she reorganized the voice!

Kiba smiled at her as she looked up. He flashed a peace sign towards her with his toothy grin. In the blink of an eye, he gently grabbed her shoulder to sneak a peak at what she was slinking about to spy. With a sigh, he turned to her. "That knucklehead might think too much about stalking." Hinata's eyes went wide. She didn't like the idea of Naruto not liking her! "I-I…I didn't mean it! It-It's just…I-I-I rea-really wanted to see N-Na-Naruto-kun!"

Kiba practiced something he might not normally in this situation, restraint. "Pfft!" Hinata recognized that he wanted to laugh and scowled at him. He waived his hands defensively in front of him. "Oh, calm down Hinata! You know how he is. He probably promised himself he'd get a date with Sakura at some point." He chuckled as he watched her face sour further. With a smirk, he pulled out a device she'd learned was called a cell phone. "I've gotta get a picture of this for Naruto! He'll call you princess forever!"

The flash from the phone's camera catches Hinata off guard, and Kiba's teasing didn't help either. It took less than a second for a worried Hinata to lunge at Kiba in an attempt to wrestle the phone, thus the embarrassing photograph, from him. She heard a click. "Oops." He smirked as she put two and two together. "You sent it?!" She yelled, and everybody on campus must have been able to hear her.


I also noticed in my last story post that the horizontal ruler doesn't get saved more than once in a row. As such, it'll simply be used to mark drastic changes and separate pre- and post- script from story. In case anybody noticed, the below totals are based on Microsoft Word's Word Count feature on STORY only. I don't use Fan-Fiction's word count feature for the obvious reason that it counts the scripts sandwiching the story.

I might have a few confused readers at this point. The genin introduced in the first arc of Naruto are about fifteen, third year middle school. The other genin introduced during the chunin exams are about sixteen, first year high school. In this, Konoha Academy is a joined middle and high school. I haven't decided on a name for the primary school Hanabi attends, so suggestions are fine.

As a final note, I'm sure many of you have noticed this chapter is almost entirely plot development. This was the most boring chapter to write, but it had some crucial character development.

Story Word Count: 2,815
Story Page Count: 5.5