Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
...
As Sarutobi left the classroom there was no sound, only silence as the class stared at the blonde boy who stood with a cheery grin plastered on his face. He honestly didn't know what had happened recently but those thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind. Naruto was getting a lot of different looks by his fellow classmates, many of them looking at him in awe with the knowledge of what he had done while some of them looked at him in fear. Iruka looked around the classroom for a seat and only saw one available, Naruto having filled in the last gap the classroom would have had. "Naruto, can you go sit by Sasuke," instructed Iruka pointing at the vacant spot beside the young Uchiha.
Hinata and Tenten were disappointed, Naruto having been placed near the centre of the class while they had chosen the front corner in order to learn as much as they could. In the time period during Naruto's absence they had become close with one another, the young brown haired girl able to help cheer up the Hyūga heiress after what had unfolded. They had waited for Naruto to return, it had become common knowledge as to where he was located but due to the seals surrounding the mansion nobody was able to enter. After two months it had become rumour that he had died on the premises, either by lack of food or he had committed suicide, the guilt of taking another's life driving him over the edge of sanity. So when he had shown up in front of them as if nothing had changed, they knew they had to have a big chat with him during the lunch break. Ino and Sakura were having the same idea.
Ino and Sakura weren't as unhappy with the seat placing, having originally chosen the seat behind Sasuke. After Naruto's absence for several months, Sakura's mother had deemed it alright for the pink haired girl to study at the academy, it hadn't taken long for her and Ino to figure out it was because Naruto hadn't been around. As such Sakura was slightly frightened that her mother would force her out of the academy which she would hate; Ino and she weren't always on the same level as the recent months had shown but that didn't mean that they weren't the best of friends, the friendship also extended to Hinata and Tenten. During Hinata's eighth birthday party, Ino, Sakura and Tenten had been the only one's invited from outside the family, something which made them feel privileged. Now to have the one thing which had originally connected them altogether with them once again would be an experience in itself, having been without the blonde haired boy for several months.
As Naruto took his seat he looked at Sasuke who was glaring at him with all intents and purposes. It hadn't taken long for Naruto's exploits to reach his ears and couldn't help but feel somewhat proud of what the boy had achieved. He was looking for a similar experience to happen to him, Sasuke was fed up of being compared to his older brother and wanted to create a name for himself. His father rarely complimented him on anything, even if he was doing everything right. As such he would be the top ninja of their grade, and the biggest stepping stone would be Naruto. A smirk crossed his lips as he eyed off the kid, thinking he could easily pick him apart and show his true worth.
"Hey Sasuke," said Naruto cheerfully.
"Naruto," replied the young Uchiha, a hint of happiness in his voice. This was so far the largest conversation either of them had had with one another, both parties coming from opposite sides of the social scale. Apart from that, they had had many non-verbal conversations. A simply nod of the head in the right situation could work wonders in an attempt to shrink the gap between social boundaries. Naruto would do so just to make more friends; Sasuke would do so in order to gain attention that he didn't obtain in his household.
"Are you excited?" asked Naruto.
"Maybe," replied Sasuke and he smirked slightly as Naruto pouted at not getting a straight answer.
"Alright, settle down children," said Iruka gaining their attention. "I am your sensei for this class and will be teamed up with an assistant every Wednesday and Friday. You are to make him feel welcome, am I clear?"
"Yes sensei," replied the class in harmony.
"Alright, if you lift up your desks you will find all of the books you need for this class, find the one labelled 'History'" he said as the children opened up their desks to find a layer of books. As they found the specific book and closed their desks Iruka continued, "Today's opening classes will be about historic moments of our time, from the founding of our village to the Third Great Shinobi War." Five minutes into reading a solid thud was heard as Naruto's forehead met the table.
...
The news that Naruto had returned spread around the town in an instant, reaching the ears a kunoichi who was just as eager to get their hands on Naruto as their younger counterparts. A certain Inuzuka also heard the information despite being in class at the time. The mysteries of how rumours managed to spread so quickly would not be resolved today.
...
Lunch couldn't come quickly enough for Uzumaki Naruto, who shot out of the door as soon as Iruka had said so. If he had known that the Academy was going to be so boring he would have brought earplugs, he wanted action and lots of it but so far he had gotten none. He ran out onto the field and basked in the sunlight, feeling it's warmth against his skin. He closed his eyes and fell onto the turf feeling the grass underneath him, after being stuck inside for so long while not being in hospital had been a torturous experience. As he opened his eyes he got the instant feeling there would be another one as he saw Tenten, Hinata, Ino and Sakura looking down at him with very sour looks spread across their faces.
"Umm...hi?" he said nervously before they bent down and picked up an appendage. "What are you doing?" cried Naruto as the four girls carried him off to the shelter of a nearby tree where a single swing hung by strands of rope from a sold branch. They placed him on the swing and stared at him intently.
Naruto swallowed, thinking he was in deep shit before he was embraced with a hug from Hinata as she cried into his shoulder. "Thank you so much," she said as tears fell freely from her eyes. The three other girls simply watched, they knew that Hinata hadn't had a chance to thank Naruto for what he had done and allowed her to express her feelings. They partially regretted this decision as Hinata leant back slightly before placing her lips lightly on his cheek.
All four girls turned deep shades of red, Hinata due to embarrassment while the others were under the pretence of anger. Naruto sat there stunned before a wolf whistle from above them caught their attention. Naruto looked directly up to find himself staring straight up the Anko's skirt in a moment which would usually be found only in an Icha Icha book.
"Pink," he muttered under his breath so nobody else heard it before Anko leapt down from the branch to stand beside the other girls. Anko turned and looked at him but unlike the feral or overwhelmingly happy faces he had seen her make, this was one of sad anger. In an instant she had placed the cold steel of a kunai against his neck.
"Where have you been?" she threatened, pressing the blade against his skin. "Do you know how worried I was, I couldn't sleep for a week!" Naruto just stuttered in response before Anko was pulled away by Ino and Sakura, Hinata was sitting on the ground, boarding between the lines of consciousness and the abyss. Anko knew that she could easily break free of the girl's grip but doing so could potentially put either of them in hospital. Tenten took this opportunity as she grabbed Naruto's neck and started to throttle him.
"Where have you been, do you know how worried I was!" she practically yelled into his face, fire burning in her eyes.
"I forgot how much I like you," said Anko as she stopped resisting. Ino and Sakura looked at Tenten and were about to pry her off but another beat them to the punch, knocking Tenten to the side and onto Hinata. As Naruto breathed deeply, allowing oxygen into his lungs, his head was pulled forward as he was embraced in a vicious hug.
"It's okay now," mothered Hana as Naruto flailed his arms wildly to the side. Hana looked curiously to what he was doing before noticing that she was holding him tightly into her breasts, once again depriving him of oxygen. "Whoops," she said as she released him, allowing him to breathe freely. Anko, Ino and Sakura had nothing to say to the fact as their attention was focused entirely on something else. Naruto placed his hands on his knees before tilting his head to the side and seeing a bizarre sight. Hana followed his gaze to see Tenten on top of Hinata, their eyes wide in shock as their lips touched one another, both parties too stunned to break the kiss. Hana quickly realised that she was the catalyst when she had buried Naruto in her bosom, knocking Tenten onto Hinata and causing the awkward situation. Only when Anko wolf whistled did they realise they were being watched and broke apart, sitting next to one another in seiza position (1).
"What did you do to my cousin!" shouted Neji from across the field having seen the awkward position that Hinata had been in. He was currently rushing over with murderous intent, determined to purify Hinata's soul. By this stage many of the wannabe ninjas were watching the escapade in the corner of the field with curiosity.
"It was an accident," said Sakura jumping in front of Neji to stop him from advancing, not wanting to see her friend get slaughtered.
"Move out of the way, what just happened was wrong," stated Neji not in the mood to argue.
"You mean it's alright for a man and a woman to kiss but not two women?" asked Anko from the side as Hana now restrained Neji feeling it was her fault.
"That's what I mean," said Neji caught in his rage as Hana held him at bay. Anko didn't reply in words, rather she walked to where Neji was struggling with Hana before Anko turned the Inuzuka's head towards her own and planted her lips upon hers. Large parts of the field suddenly became stained with blood as numerous male students were blown back. Ino, Sakura, Tenten and Hinata's jaws dropped as they saw what was going on while Naruto's eyes couldn't get any wider. Hana made no sudden movements to get away from the Chūnin but not for long as she tore away.
"No tongue," sighed Anko as if disappointed, which in all reality she was.
"You stole my first kiss!" shouted Hana upset with what Anko had just done.
"But you did enjoy it," stated Anko rather than asking and when Hana failed to say that she didn't like it Anko pumped her fist in victory, before turning back to Neji who had a trickle of blood leaking from his right nostril. "See, it's perfectly normal for two women to kiss one another, maybe not in the Hyūga compound but out here it's a different story altogether."
"Yes," said Neji plainly as he wiped away the blood with the back of his sleeve. "I'm sorry for acting irrationally."
Anko nodded at the response before turning to Sakura and Ino. "Do you two want to try?" she asked but both of them shook their heads at a rapid rate, although Ino had paused briefly before doing so.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Naruto thinking he had just walked into some adult film. All heads turned to him before every person in the vicinity was invading his personal space.
"Answer the question," growled Anko through gritted teeth.
"Where were you?" followed Sakura just to define what Naruto needed to answer.
"I don't know," mumbled Naruto in a tone that was barely audible.
"What do you mean?" asked Ino.
"I woke up this morning and I can't remember anything since that night," he said. Thankfully he didn't need to go into detail, everyone there knew what he referred to by 'that night.' "I have no idea how I got there, how long I was there or anything in between. I'm scared."
"It's alright baka," said Anko rubbing Naruto's shoulder for comfort.
"If you can't remember perhaps it is destiny that you do not remember," said Neji.
"I...I thought you broke out of that habit cousin," said Hinata stuttering slightly noticing the use of the word destiny.
"So did I," said Neji before focusing back on Naruto. Before anything else could be said by anyone however the bell rang signalling that everyone had to return to class. Anko sighed, knowing that she wasn't allowed within the academy building after setting half a dozen snakes on the students in a drunken ploy.
"Guess I'll see you guys later so we can work on where Naruto is staying the night," said Anko before she leapt off towards the city.
"Where I'm staying?" questioned Naruto before he recalled that he no longer had a place to call his own.
"We'll work it out later," said Hana before breaking from the group. "I'll see you guys after class." The remaining girls waved goodbye before she was followed by Neji, wanting to maintain his perfect record in order to ensure his place as top ninja in his grade. Hinata, Ino, Sakura and Tenten were about to walk back before they noticed that Naruto was still on the swing they had placed him on earlier.
"What's the matter Naruto?" asked Tenten.
"I don't want to do more bookwork," he grumbled.
"We don't study after lunch, we do combat training," said Ino as all the life returned to Naruto's eyes as he beamed brightly.
...
Short chapter today, I'm feeling a little under the weather. I hope you understand.
(1): Seiza: A traditional Japanese style of sitting, if sat in for too long can cause great deals of pain since blood flow is slowed greatly
Yukicrewger2: I'll think about it
Dreaded Rasengan: Naruto will not be an idiot but neither will he be a genius, the middle man-ish sort of person
Wisdom-jewel: Remember at the beginning of the fic, Tenten came in halfway through the year and as such decided to wait and join the academy with Hinata and all them
Tallen S.: They would have reckoned he would have been under a henge in order to try and remain hidden
GingitsuneRaposo: Depends how forgiving he might be
CHM01: Read and find out
Mbshadow: I actually find 7/10 a solid score. What was I meant to see in those chapters because I didn't pick anything of inertest out
Hope you enjoyed. Please review and tell me what you think