Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Harry Potter.

Warmth

We follow Iruka to our classroom. Shikamaru walks next to me and Chouji and Naruto are behind us.

I try to remember who belongs to class 1A. I know Haruno Sakura and Ino are members. Then there are of course Shika and Chouji. I think Shika mentioned a 'troublesome Inuzuka' once. And Uchiha Sasuke, whom I really wanted to avoid.

It'll be fine. I doubt he'd seek out my company anyways. I'll just be normal and polite if we ever talk.

We enter the classroom and I immediately scan the room's occupants and possible escape routes. Iruka is standing behind the teacher's desk, sorting out papers while waiting for everyone to file in and take their seats. Uchiha Sasuke is sitting by himself in the front row. In the back row, an Aburame sits, studying the incoming students. In the row before him, a tiny Hyuuga girl is looking at Naruto. In a seat in the middle row, an Inuzuka with a little white dog on his head sits, animatedly talking to a civilian student next to him. Some civilians are scattered across the room.

"Ne, ne Riko-chan, can we sit in front today? It's the first day!" Naruto asks me, big eyes looking at me pleadingly.

I sigh. I'd really rather sit in the back, but I know Naruto wants to make a good impression on our new sensei. "Fine. Just today."

"Awesome!" Naruto grins and runs toward a seat in the middle of the front row. I inwardly groan. The seat he left empty for me leaves me to sit between him and Uchiha Sasuke. So much for avoiding him.

"We'll sit behind you, Ri," Shikamaru murmurs and he and Chouji walk to the middle row. I slowly walk toward Naruto.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san," I greet him stiffly when I sink into my seat. I force a smile onto my face.

"Hn," he replies, throwing me a disinterested side-glance, then turns his attention back to the front.

"Oi! Riko-chan talked to you, bastard!" Naruto says way too loudly. Sasuke twitches and starts to turn towards us. I panic. I really don't want him to look at me with those dark eyes that remind me of everything I don't want to be reminded of.

"Naruto!" I hiss. "Calm down and don't insult people!" Sasuke pauses his movement.

Naruto looks at me surprised and a little hurt. I force myself to calm down. Shikamaru may have been right, maybe I should have held off on returning to school so soon. I am way too tense.

"Sorry," I mumble. "I appreciate you defending me, but please be a little more civilized about it, okay? I don't want you to get in trouble on the first day in a new class."

"Fine," Naruto mutters. "I'll try."

I bump my shoulder into his and give him a smile. "That's all I ask, 'Ruto."

He gives me a bemused look. "Ruto?"

I shrug. "Friends have nicknames for each other, don't they?"

His previous bad mood evaporates and he gives me his happy Naruto-grin. "Okay! I'll call you Ri-chan, dattebayo!"

I give him an approving smile, happy to have distracted him from his anger at Uchiha Sasuke. "Alright. You can call me that."

I want to say something else to keep the conversation going, but just then the remaining female members of the class enter the room in a group, giggling and talking. Some of them glare at me when they see me sitting next to Sasuke. I tense. I don't want to end up hated by my class again.

They stop looking at me though when two of them run forward. "Sasuke-kuuun!" They coo at him. "We're sooo glad you are in our class again! It was so scary when they said we'd be redistributed!"

Sasuke ignores them. He just sits there, no expression on his face, not giving any sign he notices the increasing number of girls crowding around him, fawning over him.

I've seen that before. I used to do the exact same thing when my fan club in my old class pestered me. If he didn't remind me of my past so much, I'd talk to him, just to let him know that he isn't completely alone in this world.

"Riko-chan!" I flinch a little as Ino's voice rips me out of my thoughts. I turn to where she is standing in front of me.

"Hello Ino-chan," I reply. "I look forward to being in the same class as you."

"Me too! And just you wait, I'll take that Top Girl spot soon enough!" She replies cheerfully, but the determination shines through in her eyes.

Sakura joins her. "I look forward to competing with you as well, Riko-san. May the better kunoichi win."

I nod, not showing my worries at the thought of rivalry on my face. "Very well. I look forward to it," I reply.

"So you are Nara Riko. The Top Girl," a nasal voice says condescendingly. "Aren't you a cute little thing."

The girl that spoke is one of the ones that glared at me before. She has brown eyes and purple hair that she wears in an asymmetrical hairstyle. Sakura seems to fold into herself when she approaches us. Ino on the other hand straightens and glares at her, looking as if she wants to say something rude.

My cool and arrogant mask goes up automatically in reaction to the girl's hostility. "And you are? I'm afraid I have never heard of you before."

The girl scowls at me. "I am Kuroda Ami. You were in 1D before, weren't you? You will soon notice that this class has much higher standards than your previous one. Things won't fall into your lap here. The Top Girl spot will go to someone that deserves it now."

By now, most of the girls that were fawning over Uchiha have turned to our conversation, eyes darting between the two of us, anticipating the outcome of our confrontation. Several of the boys in the classroom are listening now, too. I can even feel Uchiha's gaze on me, sending my mind into hyper-alert.

Great. Just awesome. Why do I always have to end up the center of attention?

I lean back in my seat, giving Ami a slow and arrogant smirk. "That sounds... entertaining," I drawl like dad does when he wants to annoy me. "I look forward to competing with Sakura-san and Ino-chan."

Ami's face reddens at being so obviously dismissed as competition. Some of the girls shoot her unsure looks, not knowing what to do. Ino and Sakura on the other hand stand a little straighter, Ino giving me an approving look.

I resist the urge to look around to gauge the reactions of those sitting behind me.

"Alright everyone, take your seats!" Iruka's voice calls, ending our conversation. The girls all scramble to take their seats.

"Can't go a second without being troublesome, can you, Ri?" Shikamaru's amused voice says from behind me.

"I do my best," I reply.

"Ri-chan?" Naruto says. "Girls are really scary."

"I am a girl," I remind him.

"But not like them. You aren't a girl girl," Naruto's voice sounds perfectly serious.

Shikamaru lets out a bark of laughter. Chouji tries to hide his giggle. I think I hear an amused snort from Sasuke's direction, but when I shoot him a side-glance, his face is impassive and turned to Iruka.

I shake my head at all of them. "If you are done being troublesome, the lesson is starting. Pay attention."

After checking our attendance, Iruka spends the next hour quizzing us on what we have learned since starting at the Academy. So far, he isn't doing a bad job as a teacher. He doesn't single anyone out and he doesn't mock anyone. He isn't particularly nice to Naruto, but he doesn't glare at him either.

After being quizzed, we are led outside where we have to complete exercises, much like in the evaluation on our first day of school. I don't make first place this time, though. Uchiha Sasuke completes his exercises faster than I, and I barely manage to keep up with Inuzuka Kiba. Aburame Shino is only moments behind us.

I'm still much faster than all the girls, though. Take that, Ami!

I wished Iruka would make us run laps. I'd really like to know how I measure up to my new classmates when it comes to running.

"Alright, everyone, well done so far. After lunch break, I would like to see you spar."

My blood runs cold at the thought of sparring, my heart starts to beat harder. My eyes feel too wide in my face.

"Deep breaths, Ri," Shikamaru murmurs from next to me. "Troublesome girl."

I force myself to listen to his advice, taking deep breaths and calming my mind like Inoichi taught me to do. Breathing the beginning panic away.

We decided to have lunch in our old spot under the tree. I sit with my back to the tree and Shikamaru and Naruto on either side of me. Chouji sits in front of us. He and Naruto are currently locked in a discussion about different kinds of noodles. They have discussions like that regularly.

Shika nudges my shoulder. "You okay?" he asks me.

"I will be. And until then, I can fake it," I murmur, leaning against him. "Besides, I've got you here, right?"

"Right. Troublesome," he answers.

We sit there in silence, watching the students laugh and play around us. Carefree and innocent. I envy them.

"Ne, ne Riko-chan! Do you wanna go eat ramen with me after school?" Naruto's voice rips me out of my musings.

"Sure. I haven't been to Ichiraku's in a while." I give him a smile. "What about you two?" I ask, turning to Shika and Chouji.

Shika shrugs. "We're going to watch clouds. Come join us when you're done eating."

I nod. "We should get back to the training ground. Class is going to start soon, we should warm up before our spars."

"Yatta!" Naruto yells. "Let's go! I'm gonna kick everyone's ass!"

Shika groans. "You two are troublesome."

We aren't the only people at the training ground when we arrive. Inuzuka Kiba is there with some other boys, and I recognise Aburame Shino inspecting something – bugs maybe? - at the base of a tree.

Naruto starts doing the stretches and warm-up exercises I taught him, and Chouji joins him while Shika just lies on the ground and closes his eyes. I sit down next to him and start doing a breathing exercise Inoichi taught me. I don't want to panic when it's time for my spar.

Our classmates and Iruka arrive soon after I started. Iruka leads us through the standard stretching and warm-up exercises, then the spars begin. Iruka draws the names of the opponents from a small box. I relax a little when I see that there won't be a repeat of my first sparring lesson.

The first match is Haruno Sakura versus Shikamaru. Of course he wins against her, but what is more impressive is the fact that he made it look like he just managed a lucky win when he really could have beaten her in seconds.

After that, Chouji loses against Inuzuka Kiba, but he puts up a good fight. Inuzuka is just too fast for him.

The next two matches are between civilian students. Then Ino loses against Aburame Shino. A civilian girl is beaten by Hyuuga Hinata who apologizes multiple times afterwards. Another match between civilians follows.

Then my name is called. My opponent is Ami.

That's just ridiculous. Of all nineteen available options, it had to be the girl that tried to intimidate me before and surely dislikes me now. At least I am sure I can handle her.

"Troublesome," I mutter as I step forward, holding my hand in the Seal of Confrontation. Ami steps in front of me and glares at me, imitating my hand gesture. I give her a grin, showing my teeth. She pales.

"Begin!" Iruka calls. Ami immediately starts running towards me, apparently trying to overwhelm me with sheer momentum. I wait until the last moment, then I step aside, stick my foot out and trip her. When she is on the ground, I immobilize her by sitting on top of her.

"An ...uh... unconventional way of beating your opponent. But well done, Riko," Iruka says. "You can let her up now."

I release Ami and stand up. She rolls to her feet and glares at me.

"Now do the Seal of Reconciliation."

I hold out my hand and she threads her fingers through mine it, still glaring at me. Then she yanks her hand back and stalks away. I return to my place next to Shikamaru. "Troublesome girl," he tells me. "Are you okay?"

I nod. "I'm alright," I murmur back.

It seems I can handle sparring. It's direct and confrontational. What I can't handle is the fear of suddenly being trapped and attacked out of nowhere.

I look around. Two civilians are left, and Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto.

I inwardly groan. Naruto's luck is similar to mine. He will probably end up sparring Uchiha.

I really hope it won't be a repeat of the Kuramoto-Naruto fight. If it even looks like it, I'm going to jump in and stop the fight. No way am I watching Naruto get hurt like that again.

The next match is indeed between the two remaining civilians, which leaves Naruto and Sasuke to go last. When their names are called, our classmates cheer for Sasuke and shout encouragements. I can almost see Naruto come to the conclusion that if he beats Sasuke, it will be him they'll cheer for.

I can't even criticize that reasoning. It actually happened to me in my old class.

I touch his shoulder. "Don't lose your head, 'Ruto. You can do it." I don't actually think he'll win, but it's more about showing him encouragement. I don't like that everyone cheers for Sasuke and no one for Naruto.

He grins. "Don't cha worry, Ri-chan. I'll kick his ass and show everyone how awesome I am!"

Naruto and Sasuke step forward, hands in the Seal of Confrontation. When Iruka calls for them to begin, they both storm towards each other, Naruto raising his fist. The next moment, Sasuke has grabbed him and somehow thrown to the ground. He kneels over Naruto, his fist stopped centimeters in front of his face. Naruto stares at him wide-eyed.

I let out a relieved breath. Naruto didn't get hurt.

Sasuke gets up and turns his back on Naruto, walking away with his hands in his pockets. Naruto continues lying on his back, staring up with a shocked expression. Then he sits up and glares after Sasuke, saying: "So annoying!"

I'm starting to get the feeling that something more than just the spar happened there.

As we agreed before, Naruto and I went to Ichiraku's together. Now we sit at the bar with our bowls in front of us. Naruto is just staring at his bowl though.

"Alright, spill," I tell him.

"What?" He looks at me confused.

"You've been weird since your spar with Uchiha. What's wrong?"

He turns back to his bowl with a somber expression, stirring his noodles with one of his chopsticks. I wait patiently for an answer.

"...his eyes," he says then.

"What about them?"

"Those were the same eyes everyone looks at me with. Only... stronger. But... he didn't even see me." He doesn't look at me while he says this. We never really talk about how everyone treats him. Naruto despises being seen as weak.

I sigh and push my bowl away. "Naruto. Do you know what happened to the Uchiha Clan?"

He looks surprised. "Uhhh..."

"You have to promise to never talk about it in front of Sasuke, okay?" I give him a serious look.

He gulps and nods.

"About a year ago, the entire Uchiha Clan was massacred. Sasuke is the only survivor. He is... he lost his entire family."

Naruto's eyes are wide. He turns back to his bowl, staring at it with a vacant look. "Orphan, huh?" he murmurs.

"Yeah," I say softly, turning to look down at my own bowl.

Just like me. Sasuke is just like me.

Naruto's head snaps up and he punches his fist into his other hand. "I'm still gonna beat him!" he says determinedly. "I'm gonna beat him and become Hokage!"

I give him a smile. "Yeah. I'd really like to see that."

He starts. "Ri-chan, are you okay? You look really sad right now, even if you're smiling," he asks me worriedly.

I really don't want to talk about it. But... Naruto shared something with me. I should do the same. And he's my friend, right?

"I... Sasuke reminds me of things I don't want to remember," I say, not looking at Naruto. "I... a long time ago, I wasn't a Nara. And I had another family then. But... I lost them."

"Lily, take Jazzy and run!" echoes through my head. I squeeze my eyes shut and take a shaky breath. "No, not Jazzy, never Jazzy! Take me instead!"

Warm arms wrap around me, pulling me back to the present, keeping me from falling apart.

I've never been hugged before. Not even by my family. It feels... wonderful. Naruto smells of ramen and sunshine. It's so warm. It feels like home.

"Am I doing this right?" Naruto asks anxiously.

I bury my head in his shoulder and throw my arms around him, squeezing him hard. "I don't know," I whisper back. "But I think you are."

We stay like that for a while. I think Naruto needs the hug as much as I do. When we finally pull apart, his eyes look shiny and mine are burning a little.

Naruto climbs back on his chair and we both continue to eat our now cold ramen. Neither one of us says anything, but words aren't necessary. I think in that moment, Naruto understands me better than anyone else in the world.

Teuchi places a fresh bowl in front of us when we hear someone come into the restaurant. "Good evening! One Pork Ramen, please!" a familiar voice calls out.

"Iruka-sensei?" I ask, surprised.

"Eh? Oh hello, Riko... and Uzumaki," he greets me in a friendly way and gives Naruto a wary look. "Do you two come here often?"

"Yeah! Ichiraku's is the best! Ri-chan and me come here all the time and eat together!" Naruto cheerfully answers.

Teuchi laughs. "It's true. Those two are some of my best customers."

Iruka looks a little perplexed at Naruto. I decide to confuse him further. "'Ruto has a small addiction to ramen. He rarely eats anything else outside of school."

"Oh, uh, well, you should eat vegetables too, you know, uhh..."

I almost feel sorry for Iruka. The poor guy looks really awkward. Obviously Naruto isn't what he expected.

"Ne, ne, do you like ramen, too, sensei?" Naruto asks.

Iruka looks almost relieved at the simple question. "I do. They are my favourite food," he says. I start to smirk. He really shouldn't have said that.

"Really? Mine too! And Ri-chan's! We both like miso ramen the best, what's your favourite? Is it pork ramen? 'cause that's what you ordered and Ri-chan said ninja always have to pay attention to what people do. So is Pork-Ramen your favourite or are you just in a pork ramen mood and like something else better? I think..."

Iruka looks somewhat overwhelmed. I know how he feels. My first conversation with Naruto involved a ramen-monologue too.

"Why don't you sit down, sensei?" I ask him, because he looks like he needs someone to tell him what to do.

He nods mechanically and moves to sit on the free chair next to Naruto.

"Do you come here often, sensei?" I ask him.

"Ahh, sometimes for dinner," he says, looking disconcerted as Naruto beams at him. "But, Naruto, you really shouldn't eat only ramen. It isn't healthy."

I raise an eyebrow. So now he calls him Naruto, huh?

"But I don't like vegetables! Ramen's better!"

Iruka goes into lecture mode and starts explaining why vegetables are important and how a balanced diet works. Naruto has this dumb expression on his face that he gets when he pretends to understand what he's told but really doesn't. But he looks happy about Iruka attention, too.

I shake my head at them. Iruka hasn't even realized it yet, but Naruto has sucked him into his orbit. I'm happy for Naruto. I have my family, but Naruto only has me, Shika and Chouji. He should have an adult watching out for him, too.

I smile a little to myself.

I was placed into Shikamaru's class, together with Naruto. I kept my panic somewhat under control all day and I managed to behave normally in Uchiha Sasuke's presence. I won a verbal and a physical match against Ami. I received my first ever hug from Naruto. And Naruto made friends with someone.

All in all, today turned out to be pretty good.