Here's an update! Sorry for the long wait.

Oh, I don't know when I'll update this next, I have to move on to the next story, but I'll try to update between those because I really want to XD

Happy Holidays everyone!

DO NOT OWN NARUTO

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Ch. 8

Introduction

*Gaara*

After Naruto's rather loud announcement, the entire class before us went dead silent for a few seconds. The blond held his bright smile and walked up to the front of the room and handed a slip of paper given to us in our pile of papers to the teacher, Kakashi. The rest of the class set to talking to themselves and snickering as well as oogaling the new boys. I shuddered.

"Stupid rabid fan girls."

Sasuke and me walked up to join Naruto and his idiot self up front and I gazed over the wide classroom. There was a good maybe sixteen to twenty kids in the room sitting in groups and predictable high school cliques. A gleam of pale skin caught my attention and I followed it to a window at the very back.

Hinata sat there looking dejected and gone, eyes glazed and staring aimlessly out the window and her head resting on her hands heavily. She seemed unconnected to the world and ignored by all the other groups, even the one only a few seats away from her.

"Gaara-san?" I trailed lazy eyes to the teacher who had and spoken.

The man was the personification of lazy and pervert. He slouched in his chair, feet on the table, wearing a gray shirt and sweats with a black mask covering half of his face and a bandana hiding one eyes with the school symbol on it. His sliver hair was the only thing that had any energy as it stuck up and slanted awkwardly defying gravity. The book in his hand was a well-known perverted book, Icha Icha. Naruto Sasuke, and me would sneak into the adult store as kids when Hinata couldn't play to see why so many man loved it. Icha Icha was always a big hit there.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"On Fridays you come here at the end of the day. It should say that in your schedule, but, you know, have to tell you." He waved a hand to the class and the students listened for a brief second drawing their eyes to where he would seat the new kids.

"Sit wherever you three like. Study, sleep, eat, just be quiet and behave and we'll have no problems." A brown eye gazed sleepily across the room at the group closest to Hinata who still paid the class no attention.

"Right Kiba-san? Didn't I tell you to leave that dog at home?"

A boy stood briefly and moved his chair over to hide the noticeably large white lump of a dog behind it.

"Yes you did, sir! I sure did! Akamaru ain't here!" He grinned cheekily and scratched a sharp nail at the strange red downturned triangles on his cheeks. Kakashi sighed and seemingly giving up on the problem slouched back down and began to read his book with a quick happy giggle.

"Sit."

Naruto needed no more prompting as he speed off to the back of the room at Hinata, leaving a few starry-eyes girls who were already dolling up there looks. He probably also left them disliking him because by his yelling he was obviously a loud obnoxious brat. It was always me and Sasuke who they went after, but the two of us were quick to follow behind him.

"Hinata!" He yelled out, waving a hand above his head before he plopped down in a seat beside her and scooting it as close as he could. She looked up startled, he eyes briefly worried and wide before her shoulders relaxed, and she smiled at us.

"H-hi, N-Naruto, Gaara, S-S-Sauske."

We pulled up a few chairs and sat in front of the two-person table. "Ne, Hinata, why are you sitting here all by your lonesome?"

She blushed ever so slightly. "I j-just like be-eing on my o-o-own." She bit her lip unconsciously and we could tell she was lying. Hinata was a loving girl and appreciated any affection given to her. As small children all we had ever wanted was a group of friends and Naruto was known to hang with anyone who would accept him in either to make fun or him or use him. Hinata would do very much the same if she wasn't to shy.

"Oh," We turned our head around to look at the group of kids, something about them seemed familiar, but I had only moved here as a child and couldn't remember any of my elementary classmates. The girl who spoke was a pinkett with a wide forehead, emerald green eyes that, at the moment, gazed suspiciously on us.

"Hinata, you know them?" She asked the girl.

Said girl looked down and nodded her head, but she did not speak to the girl. I watched as she clasped her hands under the table so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"You guys, who are you?" The boy who had hidden the dog stood beside the pinkett with a deep suspicious frown etched on his face. The boys and me shared a look. I guess somehow Hinata was apart of the group before us.

"What's it to ya dog boy?!" Naruto threatened, moving a little closer to Hinata as she silently eeped.

"She's a friend." Sasuke scoffed.

"Shut it butt-head!"

"Man, what a drag." A lazy voice said from behind the dog boy and a pale hand pulled his shoulder back.

Another boy walked out between the groups, his hands in his jean pockets and his shoulder slouched. Tired brown eyes gazed us over, but I found my eye trapped to the pineapple like pigtail on top of his head. Never mind about our teacher, this boy was lazy incarnated.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara," He nodded to each of us with his head, "It's good to see y'all again." With that said he went back to his eat, sat down beside a blond and a chubby boy before slamming his head down in instant sleep.

Realization began to dawn on us, these were our old school mates. Instantly the hostel environment washed away and was replaced with a friendly accepting atmosphere.

"Naruto!? Man, that you, ha!" The dog boy laughed. "You're not the runt anymore. No wonder." He grinned cheekily and Naruto growled.

"Of course I grew! Kiba you jerk!"

"You remember everyone dobe? I figured you'd be the first to forget."

"Gaara was." Naruto pointed out. I shrugged helplessly.

The group surrounded us to question our adventures. But off to the side I noticed lonely Hinata as she subtly scooted away from the large group.

"Um," She stood up when she caught the three of us, as the other two boys noticed too and were intent on asking her what was wrong. "I, uh, g-g-gatta go." With that she strode off to the front of the room and Kakashi handed her a bathroom pass before she quickly stumbled out of the room following a round of snickers from a small group of girls.

Dog-boy, Kiba, sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Even with you guys back here she still won't talk."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke raised an eye brow."

The pinkett leaned back in her chair and eyed the others. "Well, after you three left she stopped talking to us. She stopped hanging out with us. And Naruto," She nodded her head at him, "I know you asked us to watch after her and make sure she wasn't lonely, but…"

A blond girl took it from there, "She's hard to get close to."

Kiba took over again. "No matter what we did she refused any invites. We tried, but it's hard to be friends with someone who doesn't want to be your friend back."

"We try to be close to her though so that she won't get picked on." A shadow like boy with sunglasses said.

Naruto slumped in his seat. "Damn… Poor Hinata."

"Hinata, are you so scared of other people you won't even get close to them? What's wrong…"

"Maybe you three can get her to talk again." The chubby boy suggested, looking at the door Hinata had walked out pityingly. "Ya know?"

"You guys did have a knack for it." Pinkett, who I know remembered, was Sakura, said.

The door opened again and in came Hinata with her head down. We stopped talking.

"Yeah." Naruto declared to the group. He smiled. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her though."

I sighed. What were we to do? There was so much damage to Hinata, even with this group of willing friends, what were we to do?

XXX

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