This school year was very different in the eyes of older students however. They knew the way to act, the teachers, the halls. There wasn't any fear.
Especially not for Pein. In fact, everyone in the school was pretty sure the senior had no fears. He was popular, got good grades, was respected by other guys, giggled about by girls... Yeah, he had everything set up for himself pretty well. He had a college in mind for graduation and had the open road in front of him. He was the kind of guy with so much self confidence that if he told you he'd rule the world, he'd say it with such meaning that you'd believe he really could.
He smiled to himself. World domination wasn't such a bad goal, was it? Maybe he would try it.
"Hi Pein~" One of the junior girls said, waving at him.
He just smiled and waved back, making the girl practically faint.
Yes, his confidence had earned him a high reputation. He enjoyed being liked and accepted, though he never returned any of the feelings girls of his school showed for him. He would be kind and reply to those who talked to him, but if a girl asked him out, he always rejected them. And the few times he had said yes, he usually ended up breaking up with them after only a week or two.
Pein could easily read people, and he was aware of what was going on in these girls' heads when they asked him out. It was all for attention, popularity, and the sake of saying they were dating arguably the most popular boy in school. He didn't want a fake relationship. If he was going to go out with a girl, he wanted it to be the one, a relationship that would last outside of school.
He had earned a reputation as a heart breaker through his constant rejections, which he didn't care for quite so much. Pein wasn't doing it for amusement, it wasn't that he enjoyed crushing these girls' dreams or anything, but he knew denying it was worthless. Let them think what they wanted.
Pein entered his first period class with his usual cocky smile on his face. He made a quick survey of the room before taking a seat front and center of the room.
The room started filling slowly, and soon the seat on his right was taken by another flirtatious senior, who he greeted kindly when she said hi, though otherwise began to ignore her.
The seat on his left was soon taken as well, and he was surprised to see a freshman girl with pretty blue hair with a white flower in it. She didn't acknowledge him immediately, but after she had settled her supplies, she finally turned to him and held out her hand in a professional manner.
"Hello, my name's Konan."
Pein was surprised at first. A girl had never just wanted to shake his hand before. There wasn't any flirty tone in her voice and though she was smiling, it was in a nerdy, innocent way.
"My name is Pein." He replied, taking her offered hand.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. You're a senior I assume?"
He nodded. "Yes. And you must be freshman."
She nodded in return, though when the teacher entered the room, her full attention went to them, and not once did she cast him another look during the class, unlike the girl on his right.
Something about this freshman was interesting, he decided.
Sasori watched blankly as students filed into the art room, making far too much noise with their talking than they should.
He scowled, hating everything about the first day of school. It was too loud and there was a whole new batch of annoying little brats that were freshman.
Sasori was the lone wolf type. He hated groups and forced one-on-one conversations. In fact, he hated all human interactions all together. He preferred staying quietly to himself in his wood workshop or with a sketch book.
The teacher finally arrived and began assigning seats, which aggravated the red head to no end. If they could pick their one seats, he'd have a table to himself.
He was a junior, but well known for his cold and cruel personality. Sasori didn't have friends, nor did he want any. He didn't often, but he was also known as a bully. The red head mostly stayed to himself and simply glared at any who dared get to close, but he had also had his moments of knocking people's supplies out of their hands, cruelly mocking others' mistakes, and shoving anyone aside who stood in his way.
He was disliked by every student, but that suited him just fine, as that meant no one tried to bother him. But every year, a new group of freshmen came in that he had to put in place.
Much to his annoyance, the teacher had him seated next to a freshman, which no doubt meant a loud, obnoxious, arrogant, immature brat who would find art to be nothing more than an easy grade and would probably throw paint and colored pencils everywhere whenever the teacher wasn't looking, making a huge mess... Yes, Sasori had some bad experiences with freshmen and he hated them with a burning passion.
A blonde boy with blue eyes sat down next to him, though remained silent and didn't give Sasori a single glance, not seeming interested in the slightest. This came as a relief to Sasori, and he enjoyed the silence while it lasted.
Then it came, "My name's Deidara, hn."
"Good for you..." Sasori muttered without looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy make a face of distaste.
"What the hell's your problem, hn?"
"And what's yours, hn?" Sasori asked scathingly, mocking the noise Deidara made occasionally at the end of his sentences.
Deidara reddened slightly in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "It's a speech impediment..."
Sasori snorted. "God, I've only just met you and you're clearly a loser."
Deidara glared at the red head hatefully. "Serious, what the hell? I haven't done anything to you! Why do you have to be such a jerk?!"
Sasori just ignored him this time, and the rest of the class was spent in icy, tense silence.
Math class.
Kisame's most hated subject. It was easily his worst class, though he didn't complain. He had asked for it when he put one of the harder classes on his schedule. He was a senior and assumed it would be a good class to take with its difficulty level in hopes of it making college easier for himself. If he learned harder things now, it would make college courses a lot less intimidating, right?
Most people just assumed he was the typical jock. Only caring about sports, not very bright, only got good grades because the coaches and teachers gave him favor, but that wasn't true. He cared about a lot more than just the sports he was in, he was intelligent, though he simply struggled in math or on difficult concepts just like any other student, and he worked and studied hard to earn his grades. He did have a tendency to crack jokes during class, but not so much that it interfered with the lesson.
Kisame entered the advanced math class and took a seat in the back next to a raven haired freshman. The boy had his hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and had an exhausted look on his face as he stared foward in boredom.
Grinning, he decided maybe he'd be fun to mess with, and Kisame leaned over to poke him.
The freshman blinked and returned to reality, giving Kisame a questioning look.
"What are you looking so down about, huh?" Kisame asked, still grinning.
All he got was a shrug for a response.
Irritated at not getting more of a reaction, he prodded a little more. "I'd ask if school wasn't your thing, but if you're in this class, it must be, right?"
"I guess so..."
Deciding to try a new tactic, Kisame held out his hand. "Kisame Hoshigaki."
"Itachi Uchiha..." The boy replied, taking the senior's hand and shaking it, though winced when Kisame purposely gripped a bit too tightly and smirked.
Itachi still wouldn't give anything more than a short neutral answer and that uninterested look never shifted.
"Man, you're a real stick in the mud you know. You need to loosen up." Kisame told him, clapping the younger student on the shoulder roughly.
"Get you hand off me..." Itachi's expression had darkened a hint of warning had crept into his voice.
Taking notice of this, Kisame quickly removed his hand. "Jeez, sorry man. Did know you were so touchy."
"It's fine.. Just don't do it again please.."
Kisame nodded and decided to give the freshman a little space before continuing to push his buttons.
At least he's polite...
In the advanced science class, a notorious senior named Kakuzu scowled at the freshman that had just burst into the room loudly, 5 minutes late.
The teacher gave him a forced smile and told him to take a seat.
The silver haired boy nodded and took an empty seat up front, right next to Kakuzu and remained oblivious to a gasp and murmuring going on from the other students, nor had he noticed that the seats around the senior were purposely kept empty and avoided.
Kakuzu glared at the moron next to him, who continued to ignore what was happening around him.
Kakuzu was easily one of the worst bullies in the school, if not the worst. He was cold and distant, not to mention sadistic. He had a short temper and when he lost it, he became violent. Kids that got in a fight with him were often sent to the hospital.
And then here was this poor freshman, unaware of the fact that he'd just signed his own death certificate.
Kakuzu decided to just try and ignore him, but 10 minutes into the class, the freshman put his head down and started to doze off.
This got under Kakuzu's skin for some reason. This brat was only a freshman and was in an advanced science class, but had the nerve to fall asleep on the first day? Kakuzu for one cared much for his grades, and seeing someone being so careless about school pissed him off. He knew it wasn't his business, but he couldn't keep from frowning under his mask.
Losing his patience, Kakuzu waited until the teacher wasn't looking before punching the freshman as hard as he could in the arm.
The silver haired boy jerked his head up and looked around in a tired daze, seeming to have forgotten where he was. After a moment, he caught Kakuzu's glare and realized what happened.
"What the hell was that for..?!" The freshman hissed angrily.
"You were sleeping." Kakuzu stated in a deep, rumbling voice.
The freshman didn't look intimidated in the slightest. "So?! That doesn't mean you fucking punch me!"
"Is there a problem over there?" The teacher called, glaring at the two for interrupting the class.
"No..." The silver haired boy muttered, turning away from Kakuzu.
The senior snorted. He could already tell this kid needed to be knocked down a peg or two. The freshman had a target on his back now, and Kakuzu silently pledged to make the kid wish he was dead.
Zetsu hummed quietly to himself, watering the small potted plant in the English room's window. He enjoyed plants and found them pretty, even the non-flowering ones. He would even go so far as to say he preferred plants over pets.
Students started entering the room then, though the junior paid no mind. He noticed a few people cast him odd looks though ignored it. He was used to it and was well aware that he was a social outcast, even if he wasn't entirely sure why he was treated as if he were inhuman.
He supposed part of it could be his obsession with plants, but inside he knew it was his personality. Everyone assumed he had split personality or bipolar disorder, which really wasn't true. He was quiet, calm, friendly, and passionate, but if he was approached by someone he knew meant him harm or saw someone getting bullied in the hall, he would get defensive and would become verbally or physically violent if the situation demanded it.
He was no longer bothered by bullies at all anymore, but everyone in the school saw him as a freak and avoided him. He didn't have friends and it was lonely, but he didn't let it get him down and kept a positive outlook on everything.
He took his seat in the back of the class though looked up when he heard a nervous voice behind him. "E-Excuse me, could I sit next to you..?"
Zetsu blinked and looked up to see a freshman with short black hair looking at him in fear, though the anxious expression didn't catch his attention too much. He was used to it. What interested him more was the eye patch over the kid's left eye.
Realizing he hadn't answered the freshman's question, Zetsu nodded. "Sure, go ahead."
The kid looked relieved and quickly sat down, clumsily dropping his pencil and retrieving it off the floor hastily.
"My name's Zetsu." The junior said softly. This kid seemed flighty. He didn't want to scare him off or make him more uncomfortable than he clearly already was.
"O-Oh, hi, my name's Tobi.." The freshman replied, offering a shaky smile.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. You don't need to look so scared you know.. I won't hurt you."
Tobi seemed to relax slightly. "Sorry.. I got bullied a lot in middle school... I-I haven't really gotten over it..." He said shyly.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I used to get bullied a lot too, so I know it feels bad... If you ever have any problems, let me know, okay?" Zetsu offered.
Tobi nodded with a bit of enthusiasm. "Th-Thank you.. That means a lot to me..."
Zetsu smiled reassuringly at him, and soon class started up. It went by fairly quickly without any problems and as the class was dismissed, Zetsu stopped Tobi before he could bolt from the room.
"Hey, um.. If you wanted, I could sit with you at lunch." He offered, hoping he wasn't pushing his luck with the paranoid freshman.
Tobi seemed to consider it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that... It'd be nice of you.."
Zetsu was inwardly relieved and nodded. "Alright, I'll see you then." He said, finally letting the freshman go, who quickly scurried out of the room.
Zetsu smiled faintly. Maybe things would be better this year...
