The Chronicles of Aishiteru Academy

-Book 1, Chapter 4-

Pairings: GaaraXNeji, NarutoXSasuke, HakuXZabuza

Note: I know some of you don't like how I write the pairings at the top, thank you for telling me that the seme's come first, but I'm not going to change it around. And yes… some of the characters are going to be O.O.C at times… so expect it and don't complain.

Sasuke had not been looking forward to this day. Today, volunteer programs were finally starting and he was going to have to spend most of his day at the orphanage taking care of homeless kids. Not that he had anything against them, it just sounded more like babysitting than anything else. Neji and Zabuza didn't seem to be seeing things his way though. It was a little too easy to tell.

Neji had been bent on getting that new little redhead to like him and had been spending almost every free moment he had, planning things he could do. Sasuke didn't see the use in this. That boy seemed to hate him even more each time they talked.

Zabuza was just confusing as hell.

The boy had been entered into Aishiteru Academy for the soul purpose of training and becoming the best martial artist he could. So why he was suddenly spending more time looking around for a certain little raven, was beyond Sasuke's understanding. The Uchiha had his theories about these suddenly obvious couples.

If Gaara and Neji were to somehow end up together, the Hyuuga would be a miserable slave and he definitely wouldn't be the one wearing the pants. The redhead already had him knotted around all of his fingers. Sex between the two of them would most likely be violent and scary as hell. Sasuke didn't even want to think about the two of them becoming parents.

Then there was Zabuza and Haku. As cute as they were together, the two of them would pass out and die from blushing so much if Zabuza ever tried to ask the other boy to marry him. Sex between those two would be a feat in and of itself. Zabuza was twice Haku's size in every way and he'd probably smash or break the boy in some way.

Sasuke shook himself out of his thoughts and shoved everything into his bag as he made his way out to the volunteer busses. Life had taken three very strange turns this year.

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Obligations

Students from upper class families may be required to volunteer and participate in school or community service. It would be best to speak to your families to see what they think would be appropriate. Community service and volunteering go a long way in impressing society and your future in-laws so doing as much as you can would be beneficial.

Gaara rolled his eyes and closed his handbook. These people were just plain crazy. Who would honestly write something like that in a book published for others to use? And for school no less. It did help explain the presence of all the extra snobbishness on the bus though. Every popular kid that Gaara had had the misfortune of going to school with, was on the volunteer bus, and as the bus made stops at each of the volunteer sites, Gaara noticed that the three he wanted gone, weren't leaving. The Hyuuga, Uchiha, and Momochi just stayed where they were in the back, surrounded by their slowly disappearing fan club.

When Gaara was finally pulled off the bus by an impatient Naruto, the three stood up and followed them. It was like a nightmare, especially since Gaara's oh so special friend Ino and her strawberry Popsicle companion followed right behind them. Wonderful. The redhead was already starting to dread all of this.

"My, my. If it isn't the triplets."

Gaara cringed inwardly and felt, rather than heard, Naruto growl beside him. Whoever said nuns were good and sweet had failed to mention the majority of them. These ones were particularly nasty.

They seemed to match the building too. The Griffith Orphan House was a tall, gothic like building with aged stone fountains and an over growth of ivy. Boring grey brick made up the outside and spiny black framed windows stood out like spiders on the front of the building. A few of them even had bars over them. One of those rooms had been Gaara's once, and he knew for a fact that they were especially cringe worthy. You had to be a bad kid or a convict to get one of those rooms. Gaara averted his eyes and made an effort to pay attention to the talking nun at the front of their small group.

"You two, Pink thing and blond banana, go to the kitchens. Girls belong cleaning or cooking, that's all their good for. Oh, and that reminds me. I want you cleaning the bathrooms and folding all the laundry Cinderella."

Gaara watched Sakura and Ino get dragged off to the kitchens, Haku hissing quietly in anger before disappearing to one of the nearby utility closets. Haku had been the boy that had been made to do everything, back when they lived here, so the nun's had referred to him as Cinderella. They probably didn't remember any of the kids' actual names anymore because they kept making up new ones.

"And you big boy, things need moving in the attic and the roof needs repairing."

Gaara could see Zabuza visibly twitch before Haku showed up with his arms full of buckets, rags, brooms and a hammer. Zabuza didn't even pause in taking most of this from Haku before they walked off down the hall together.

A few others were ordered off before only Naruto, Gaara, Neji, and Sasuke were left. This did not bode well.

"So your all that's left then."

The nun from hell put her finger to her chin as if she was actually thinking about where to put them.

"Alright emo boy, you can clean the fountains and Goldilocks can trim the roses. I believe the scum is back and the thorns have grown absolutely wild. Fix them."

Naruto growled again and dragged a miffed looking Sasuke off with him. Gaara knew that when the nun said scum, she meant the weird amoeba that somehow manifested itself every summer, and by thorns, she meant exactly that. Thorns. Roses hadn't actually grown on those vines in years. Gaara didn't envy those two, but he did manage to put on a really dirty look before the nun turned her leering face to him.

"That's right Robin Hood, you know the drill. You're washing sheets today. Take Rapunzel with you and show him how to beat the rugs."

"Fuck you."

"Do you really want an extra 6 months on that parole of yours for harassment and rape? I can certainly line that up for you if your serious about it."

Gaara didn't say anything as the women left, he just stood with his arms folded, wishing he had a blow gun with a few poison needles. Shooting a nun was said to get you struck by lightning, but hell would it be worth it to see those bitches fall. Gaara pulled a stunned Hyuuga behind him as he stalked down the hall and out the back of the building to where all the rugs and sheets were in piles waiting for them.

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Naruto was up to his elbows in paper thin cuts and snarled vines. The nuns had a way of picking out everyone's least favorite task and torturing them with it. It didn't help that the entire time they were working, he could hear the Uchiha complaining in the background. Eventually it got so annoying that he turned around and stalked over to the other boy with his hands clenched into fists.

"Would you just shut up!"

"No."

"Your such a pain in the ass! Why don't you just leave if you hate it here so much?"

"I'm working."

"No, Your complaining!"

Naruto watched the older boy sigh and pull himself out of the fountain, bare feet stepping lightly onto the dirty stone walkway. Sasuke's school jacket had been thrown aside and both his pants and sleeves had been rolled up. Naruto had to admit that the boy looked good when he wasn't dressed like a git. Even his tie had been tossed aside so that the first few buttons on the boy's shirt could be undone.

"I'll be quiet if you let me trim the roses."

The blonde stared at him momentarily before handing over the rusted clippers. Was this guy serious? Who would honestly want to trim roses that tried to bleed you to death? Sasuke didn't seem to care though and took the clippers from Naruto, moving over to the bushes without saying anything, much to the blonde's surprise.

That left Naruto the job of cleaning the fountain.

It wasn't the greatest job, but since it beat what he had been doing, he decided not to complain about it. He considered himself rather lucky. After the initial sting of the water on his fresh wounds, Naruto got to work. Even though they had switched jobs to what they were obviously much better at, Naruto wasn't going to let the Uchiha beat him. He may not be able to do the roses like the other boy, but he could still do a better job on the fountain.

He would not be beaten at something as mundane as cleaning.

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Haku groaned and stood up, stretching himself out from where he'd been bent over cleaning the grime out of one of the toilets. It was going to take him many more trips to this place before he had everything done that was supposed to be done, it just made him even more glad that this place was one of the smaller orphanages in the city. Haku hadn't actually wanted to come back here any time soon, but seeing as the nuns were the ones who gave him his new chance at a good school, he felt obligated to help them. The nuns here were nothing but nasty to him and often had made fun of him for looking and sounding like such a girl. He'd never had any friends in this place to help him get through it all either. He hadn't met Naruto and Gaara until he'd been sent to Aishiteru Academy and been put in the same classes with them.

In a way, checking himself into an orphanage after his parent's death had been one of the worst and best things he'd ever done. It was still better than the weeks he'd spent living on his own in alleys and under bridges.

He was finally getting to meet new people, make friends, and even possibly start dating.

Zabuza hadn't exactly asked him out or anything but even a blind man could see that the two of them liked each other. When they weren't around their friends, they'd often talk to each other about everything going on and Haku had been bringing the older boy bits of everything he made in cooking class or showing him all the drawings he'd done in art. The boy was so supportive of him it was crazy.

Lately though, things had been getting much less innocent. Haku couldn't help but feel a little worried about it. Just an hour or so ago, he'd surprised himself by kissing Zabuza on the cheek before he left to go fix the roof. The boy had helped him carry all the buckets and things to the bathroom so it had only seemed fair, but that wasn't the only thing that had been happening more and more often lately. The older boy had been showing up at Haku's dorm early every few mornings, when he knew only Haku would be up, bringing him flowers for the vase on their kitchen table. Somehow, he always knew when the previous flowers were wilting.

It was the simple things like this that were making Haku nervous.

He knew well enough that Gaara wasn't a fan of "the three" and would not be happy with Haku's choice of a boyfriend. And as oblivious as Naruto was, the boy was obviously starting to notice just how often Haku showed up to their gym class with food that wasn't for him.

He didn't want to make them angry, but Zabuza wasn't a bad guy. No one had ever been such a gentleman to Haku before and he didn't see anything wrong with liking it. He'd just have to be careful and make sure his friends didn't find out. He didn't think Zabuza's friends would like the idea of them together all that much either. Not to mention the boy's family.

Haku frowned a little to himself before picking up a broom and getting to work on the floor, letting his thoughts get the better of him.

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Gaara was sick of the way Neji kept staring at him. The redhead couldn't prove anything but he knew that the Hyuuga was watching him. It was one of those gut feeling sort of things. The boy would drag rug after rug out of the pile by his feet and beat as much dust and other shit off of them as he could before dragging it back into the building.

The redhead had tried to convince himself that he didn't care, and so was in denial of the fact that he had indeed been watching the other boy.

All the laundry in the world couldn't distract Gaara when he was bored. And scrubbing sheets in a hot tub of water then hanging them up to dry on a clothes line was definitely boring. His hands were red from having to hold the disgusting sheets down in hot water and he knew they were probably wrinkled too. He wasn't even about to start thinking about the stains he was trying to scrub out either. Lord only knew what was truly on them.

Sighing in irritation, Gaara hung up one last sheet before the bells inside the orphanage rang, signaling that they were allowed to finish up and head home.

"You'll be finishing those when you come back Robin Hood so don't get so excited."

Gaara cringed, practically shooing the annoying nun out of his way as he headed back down the hall and out the front toward the bus, Neji walking right behind him. He noticed three very distinct things then. The first was that Haku was coming out of a nearby storage closet. This wouldn't have meant anything except that he was being a good boy and cleaning up after himself. Only instead the tall creepy guy, Zabuza, came out right after him and the two of them were obliviously holding hands. That blatant show of affection made Gaara's temper twitch a little.

The second thing that got him a little pissed off was that Naruto was walking a few feet ahead of them talking to the Uchiha. This would have been funny at any other time. However the blonde was only half dressed, the bottoms of his pants soaked and rolled up. The Uchiha seemed to be enjoying this fact about Naruto's state of undress from what Gaara could see. And the blonde was even holding the other boy's jacket, not a clue in the world.

His friends knew damn well that Gaara didn't like these boys, so why they were suddenly acting all cute with them was beyond the redhead's understanding. It didn't make him the least bit happy.

When they got on the bus the third thing hit Gaara. He tripped on one of the steps going up and was caught by none other than Neji Hyuuga, Gaara's personal shadow.

The boy touching him was bad, but the fact that the only thought passing through Gaara's mind was about how strong the boy's arms were with the muscles flexed beneath them, was worse.

The redhead sat next to some loud black haired kid, making sure his friends left him alone.

This was yet another mistake.

When Gaara sat down he immediately had an arm over his shoulders and a pair of round eyes staring him right in the face.

"You're that orphan the Hyuuga got put on parole aren't you? My dad works down at the jail and my mom works with juvenile delinquents. They told me all about you. Said you were going to school with me and that I should let you know your brother's doing just fine. We should be friends! Hey! Aren't you and those other two from this orphanage? Wow I didn't even realize that until just now…"

The boy kept going, but everyone else on the bus was dead silent. Listening.

"Lee, shut up."

Gaara glanced over to see Neji glaring at the boy from two seats back.

"That's none of your business. You shouldn't be blurting things out like that."

"But Nej! We were just having a conversation."

"One that the whole bus could hear. Lee, didn't Kakashi-sensei tell you to watch your mouth when you talk to people? Your not supposed to talk about such personal things."

Gaara didn't care if the Hyuuga was whispering. Right about now he wanted to deck both boys and jump off the bus. Everyone was watching both of them and staring in shock at he, Naruto, and Haku. The last thing they needed was people teasing them because they weren't rich assholes like everyone else. Gaara could already see the smug sneer on Ino's face from the back of the bus.

"So your orphans are you? Poor sweet darlings! How hard that must be."

Gaara did jump off the bus then, and right behind him were Naruto and Haku. The three of them ran out of the bus faster than the driver was expecting because he'd barely gotten the doors open to let them all off. Gaara had completely forgotten what he was previously angry about. He was furious.

Because of Lee and Neji, Gaara and his friends were going to be mocked for the rest of the year.

Ino seemed to already be planning all the ways she could make Gaara's life miserable with the little secret she'd just learned. And if the laughter was any indication, the pink pansy was going to be joining her in said mocking as well.

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Haku was glad the volunteering had been scheduled at the end of the day. It was pretty obvious that the three of them wouldn't have been able to go back to classes right away. Gaara was fuming, ranting about how much he hated the academy and all the assholes in it, Naruto was sitting in one of the armchairs in the front room looking lost while the redhead paced back and forth, and Haku was just barely realizing how bad things could get. He was already teased for a million other things, but he'd never been laughed at for not having parents before. Usually people were really nice about it and avoided saying anything.

Obviously that wasn't the case with rich people.

According to Gaara they thought they were gods and better then everyone else. They would look for weaknesses in people and exploit them just so no one would ever be brave enough to stand up against them. Haku hadn't wanted to believe him.

Zabuza probably wasn't going to talk to him now.

That was the only thing that seemed to be bothering him the most right now. The boy was probably thanking god he hadn't gotten to attached to Haku in those few weeks they'd known each other.

Naruto was finally getting it now too. Between Gaara ranting and Haku looking upset, he'd picked up on the gist of what was happening. They were going to be teased, mocked, used, and hurt because Lee had spoken too loudly. Naruto didn't really have a certain person he was worried about like Haku did, he was more worried that because they were out as poor orphans, people would be lining up to get with them out of charity. Something these people thought looked really good for their image.

Naruto had been orphaned years longer than either of his two friends, so it didn't hurt him all that much anymore, but pity was still a bitch.

The blonde had sort of been hoping that someone would end up liking him for who he was, but since the people on the bus had found out, news about them would probably spread like wild fire. That little wish could be kissed goodbye now.

Standing up, Naruto turned on the TV and pushed Gaara down on the couch next to Haku.

"Worrying about this isn't going to help. Lets just watch TV and eat popcorn or something. That's always worked before."

Haku smiled and got up to go make popcorn in the kitchen.

"It'll be hard, but we'll just have to ignore them like we've always done. They can't do more than call us names, so long as we're careful about never running into them outside of school property."

"Why is it that you're the only truly logical one when there's a crisis Naruto?"

"You can't be the strongest all the time Gaara. And when your not, it's my turn to look after the two of you."

"Spoken like a true and caring friend. Popcorns ready."

Both Gaara and Naruto smiled a little as Haku sat down between them and held the bowl for all of them to dig out of. So long as the three of them stuck together, they'd be okay. They all knew that eventually, this would all blow over anyway.

This is the end of the first book I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update... but I am trying so don't worry... I'm not giving up...

Look forward to -The Chronicles of Aishiteru Academy, Book 2- ... coming as soon as I get it written... it'll be a (HakuXZabuza) story...

Let me know what you thought of the first book... and if any of you have ideas for a play you want them to perform at the end of the year... I'd love to hear it...