OHG…I am in shock that people actually reviewed. With a summary like that, I would have been hesitant.
Elusia - Hehe...sorry. I don't really know about Tenten. If you could give me an idea, maybe I could fit it in.
Fysh – Sorry! Haha. But glad you like the story. Cute name.
XoniNewcomer - Yes, you sure do have an over imagination. I was laughing really hard. And I don't even know what rastas and reggae music is! -
chibi-tsurara-59 – It was referring to how much detention the three of them would do, and who would be the teacher over seeing them. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
Dragon'sSword - 'Last night' implies that he slept with her. So it means like even though he slept with her, she is still so mean to give him detention. And so he's like, asking her if last night meant anything. Haha. Don't gag.
Thanks a whole lot to the rest of you for reviewing – licorice, DarkWarrior188 and Fox Moonshadow. This chapter is totally for you guys. Special thanks to Tracy-kin, chibi-sasuke309, Grimdownsizer, Myionwolf and hi for being my first5 reviewers. Thanks so much.
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Chapter 2
- Standard disclaimer applies -
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"Detention on the first day of school straight back from Spring break? Into a mere say, 15 minutes?" Neji raises an eyebrow and sighs empathically, shaking his head. Sometimes, he reminds me of Shikamaru.
Of average height, blatantly the most conspicuous asset of Neji's physical features were his eyes. So pale a shade of grey it was considered by many white, his eyes were thought to be 'freakish', and his mild-mannered cousin, Hinata, shared the same fate.
"Yo." Shikamaru comes up from behind, sliding in behind me.
It was lunch break, and I had survived half the day already. Three cheers for small miracles.
Shikamaru pushed his tray in front of him and promptly expires on the table. I poke the side of his head and receive a snore. Satisfied, I was about to reach out and steal his blueberry muffin when his hand clams over mine in a tenacious grip.
"I thought you were asleep?"
"And I thought you had 'learned the error of your ways'?"
"Ahh…"
A blueberry muffin landed on my tray. I glance up in surprise.
"Na-naruto-kun…y-you ccan have m-mine if you w-want." Hinata blushes, settling her tray in front of mine and taking a seat beside her cousin.
"Gee, thanks." I smile warmly at her, and her blush reddens. I am about to bite into the muffin when it disappears from my hands. Neji glares at me, returning the muffin to Hinata's tray.
"Keep away from her food Uzumaki. She needs to eat more, as it is."
"N-no, really." A piercing glare from Neji makes Hinata drop her head to the desk and continue eating in silence.
Gee, talk about looking out for your family members. I swear the Hyuugas are the weirdest family I have ever seen.
"So Hinata, what's new?" Her eyed lit up.
Hinata was a kind hearted soul who was always looking out for the good of mankind. As a result, she was always immersing herself in geographical facts and mourning the slow but certain murdering of planet Earth. And, amazingly, she was able to string a sentence together without a single stammer when she was talking about this sort of stuff only.
"Due to widespread deforestation and rapid erosion, 23 billion tons of tillable soil is being washed into the sea every single year. We are probably headed for a world wide famine that could eliminate as many as a billion people off the face of the earth."
"Uh huh." I say. She whacks me on the head, hard.
"Ow!" Normally, she would not even dare to raise her voice at me, but when it comes to protecting the interests of man, she becomes defensive.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Shikamaru mumbled, raising his head to eat.
"Gee…thanks Shikamaru. But maybe you could have told me that sooner?"
He shrugs.
"Where's Shino?" he asks through a mouthful of potato.
"Feeding his dung beetle in the science lab."
Of course. How could I forget the joys of having a pet?
Neji rolls his non existent pupils and shoots a glare at me, "Care to enlighten me as to why you had to decorate the side wall?"
"It's an anti-heaping measure."
Gaara comes in from behind and takes the seat to my right.
"Anti-heaping measure?"
"Yup. You see, as humans, there is a certain amount of obedience in us. But there is also a certain amount of defiance. This rebellious nature I am certain is present in all of us. And merely because we are more advanced than any other wildlife, we use our brains at a more efficient degree, we live in houses, we have tools, we have jobs, hell, we even have family planning.
"But due to this technology, a false perception of superiority has sprouted from the depths of our mind, and we become full of ourselves. It is due to this need to prove that we are in fact better than others, that this certain defiance and stubbornness arouses from. There is nothing we can do to stop it. We are like putty in its hands, slaves to its commands, at its every single last miniscule whim."
"So basically, what you are saying is that you can't help misbehaving. Your innate sense of supremacy compels you to spray paint the back wall of our cafeteria with a message that when Tsunada sees it, would demand your head on a silver platter?"
"Basically…yes. My, Shikamaru, you are indeed exceedingly intelligent." I pat his head as a reward, and he groans, swatting my hand away.
Neji frowns. "I fail to see the connection between anti-heaping measure and the feeling of supremacy."
"We are all alike in the sense that the ultimate goal of our pure existence is to separate oneself from each other and best one another. Thus – anti-heaping measure. Haven't you heard of the phrase 'we are all unique'? The irony applies. We all want to be unique. In doing so, we become similar."
Shikamaru raises his eyes to the heavens as if to say, why me?
"And your point is…" Neji is persistent.
"My point is that to be truly different, we have to go about the process a different way. While all others are being exceedingly good, we become bad. As more people try the 'decent alternative', it would be easier to succeed in a different field."
"…Right. Naruto, have I told you how screwed your so called logic is?" Neji asks, frowning.
"Ano…Naruto, you can't use spray cans. They release greenhouse gas into the atmosphere."
I am lost for words. If Hinata does not make it to heaven, there is no hope for the rest of us.
There is a distracted yell from outside. It seems as though the pupils have found their newly decorated school wall, compliments of Gaara and moi. No need to clap, seriously.
Neji pins me down with a glare.
"What exactly is on the wall?"
I shrug, but can barely suppress the grin, threatening to break out into a mega-watt smile.
"Just…words, and a picture."
Neji raises an eyebrow.
"Enlighten me."
"The words 'Tsunade the snail' and then, here's the neat part, there' s a huge arrow pointing to a colossal picture of a slimy snail. It's a work of art."
Neji clenches his fist and shakes his head in controlled movements, head bowed.
"Yo, Neji. Are you okay? You seem rather uptight."
Realisation hit home.
"I'm so sorry. You wanted your picture up there right? I'm such a block head. I will go out there and amend it straight after school. I swear –"
A whack to the side of my head stops my tirade.
Shikamaru drawls, "Idiot. Neji wants to kill you."
I love my friends. The support they provide is boundless. Their caring and acts of kindness bring tears to my eyes.
"Oh…."
"W-Who did what?" Hinata ventures hesitantly.
"I did the snail. Gaara, the words."
"What did Shikamaru do?"
"He contemplated the meaning of life while enjoying the cloudscape."
Neji blanches. "And he's doing detention with you knuckle heads?"
He glares at Shikamaru. Since when was Neji this big on righteousness?
Shikamaru shoot shim a defensive look. "It was too tiresome to explain the situation."
"So you'd rather do detention than clear your name?"
"Pretty much, yes."
"That question was rhetorical."
"I know that."
"And so was that statement."
"Uh huh."
"Remind me why I hang out with you guys?"
"Because you love us. C'mon Neji…You know you do." I offer a grin.
He twitches. He grabs his tray and disappears from view.
I am about to comment, when I catch sight of Iruka.
"NARUTO!"
Iruka, my beloved guardian, is an absolute god sent. He is kind, never finding it in his heart to deny any one something within his means to give. He is caring, and often overly protective of me. He goes beyond the call of duty, especially when lending a helping hand. To sun things up, he is total softie.
But when he gets mad, and I mean mad, giants quake under their beds; vicious German shepherd guard dogs trained to rip out innards cower in fear. Good men have been known to go deaf. When Iruka is mad, he is scary. Scarily terrifying; the kind that sends a silver blade of fear shooting your spine and make you cold all over.
But right about now, the scariest thing was that he was heading right over here.
I beat it.
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--- Hey. What about GaaraNaruto? ---
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