Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: This is not an m/m or f/f story (aka, yaoi, yuri). Thanks again to randomsome1 for beta-ing.

Chapter Two: Overwhelmed

Sasuke kicked off his shoes as he entered the foyer. He began to shrug off his book bag, stopping midway as he saw his older brother coming down the stairs with a laundry basket.

"What are you doing home?" he asked blankly, dropping the bag. It made a faint thud as it made contact with the floor.

Itachi grinned smugly, raising the laundry basket in response. He walked passed him and into the laundry room, which was a small area that was interconnected with the kitchen. "This is the last load. Then I'll get out of your hair, little brother," he said mockingly.

Sasuke internally winced.

A few moments later, Itachi reappeared from the laundry room to find his younger brother sitting at the kitchen table, staring ahead of him blankly.

"You know, it's about time you got a recommendation for something," the older Uchiha said conversationally. "When I was your age, I was getting invited to advanced placement programs all over, and even top colleges and universities wanted to interview me."

Sasuke clenched his teeth so hard his jaw hurt.

"It's good this offer came along, Sasuke, and even better that you accepted it," Itachi said disdainfully. "For a moment, I thought you were purposely slandering the Uchiha name." He glanced at him, regarding him coolly. "So, how is the Academy? I'm assuming everything's been easy breezy for you, am I correct?"

Sasuke stared blankly ahead of him, and Itachi began to wonder if he had spaced out. "Yeah," he said suddenly, coolly, but the storm of emotions inside him said otherwise. In truth, Sasuke felt confident that he was going to do well in his classes, even if it was just the first day. He was, however, extremely overwhelmed by how much work he had been assigned over the span of one day.

Itachi grinned. "As expected from my little brother."

Sasuke stared at his older brother's retreating back. He had sounded so convincing that he had a hard time deciphering whether he had meant for it to sound contemptuous or pleased.

--

Sakura glanced blearily at her chemistry text book to the digital clock sitting on her dresser, its bright neon green numbers glaring at her. She could have sworn her eyes were playing tricks on her, considering it had been 15:23 when she had last glanced at the clock.

The black LCD screen read 18:35.

She wanted to cry. The words printed in her textbook barely registered as comprehensible, and just when she thought that she understood, the next problem took on a new approach and she was at a loss. What made her even more upset was that she still had a Literature paper to do.

This is horrible, she thought as she bit her lip, it's only Monday and I'm already overwhelmed with homework.

The shrill of the telephone cut through the silence of her room, and she winced at the sound. She gladly tore her eyes away from the accursed text book and reached for the phone, not knowing she would immediately regret it.

"Sakura," said an overly cheerful voice on the other line.

"Ino," Sakura muttered under her breath, halfheartedly returning her gaze to her chemistry textbook.

--

Ino bit her lower lip as she heard Sakura's weary voice on the other line, but she resumed her cheerful tone. "So Sakura, how was your day?"

"It was alright," came the absentminded reply.

The blonde haired girl sighed, knowing that the next question she was going to ask would annoy her. "Did you eat dinner yet, Sakura?"

"No,"she replied curtly. "I'm working," she said, as if it was the most legitimate reason in the world.

Ino sighed heavily, leaning back into her chair as she cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder. "You always push yourself too hard," she complained, "and when you don't get the grade that you want, you punish yourself. I don't understand."

"I'll benefit from it in the end," Sakura argued weakly. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sakura?"

An impatient sigh came from the other end of the phone. "What, Ino?"

She bit her lower lip. "Please eat dinner."

--

Sakura bit her lower lip. "Later, Ino."

She hung up the phone, staring at it before reluctantly returning her gaze to the book in front of her. Her best friend was right, even though it hurt her pride to admit it.

Sakura stood from her desk and exited her room. Dinner was waiting.

--

To say that starting a new school intimidated her was indubitably an understatement.

Even though Hinata was with a few familiar faces, they hadn't exactly been close when they had attended Konoha High together. No one really knew her except for Neji, and she saw that as an opportunity to change. That was one of the main reasons why she had agreed to going to Konoha Academy, after all.

Hinata was frightened, to say the least.

She sighed softly, taking a seat beside Sakura, who sat to the right of Lee. She placed her tray down in front of her, staring into her pickled daikon1.

Surprisingly, the dark haired girl found a majority of her classes easy, with the exception of chemistry. She was a little overwhelmed by the work, but she found that being productive was actually very stimulating, even if it did leave her feeling exhausted by the end of the day. Even though she wasn't as assertive as everyone else, she had a strong determination, and she was passionate about hard work.

That is, if she was motivated enough. She often felt as though no one paid attention to her, that her attempts always went unnoticed.

"Hey, Hinata."

Hinata froze, almost hyperventilating as she realized who that voice belonged to. She swallowed hard as her throat constricted, a pang of nervousness threatening to overwhelm her. "Hi, Naruto," she rasped, her voice coming out strained.

He didn't seem to notice her anxiety, though. "Is this seat taken?" he asked cheerfully.

She quickly shook her head, the corners of her mouth lifting into a nervous smile. He took a seat beside her, placing his tray of food on the table. Hinata's smile grew when she realized what was on his lunch tray: a steaming bowl of instant ramen and a carton of white milk. Ramen hadn't been a part of the lunch menu, so she supposed that he had brought it with him.

"How do you like your classes, Naruto?" Hinata asked, her voice trembling. She quickly sat on her hands when she felt the urge to steeple her index fingers together.

He grimaced, but his lips quickly returned to its cheerful smile. "They're a bit difficult, but I like the challenge!"

Hinata smiled. Her motivation was returning.

Every time she looked at Naruto, hope filled her. He was often called a dead last by teachers and fellow students alike in Konoha High, but it seemed as though he disregarded them completely. She knew that he tried his best in his classes, masking his fear of inferiority with a confident smile. He was always so happy and high spirited, and Hinata was sometimes confused as to how he never seemed to have a care in the world.

Someone cleared their throat. Hinata, Naruto, and the rest of the table glanced up at a dark haired upperclassman standing in front of them with a clipboard.

"Hello," she said with a pleasant smile. "I'm Kin Tsuchi, the assistant manager of Konoha Academy's marching band. If you're interested in learning more about our marching band, please come up and sign your name. We aren't recruiting members until next year, but it will make it so much easier if we knew who was interested and who to ask."

Naruto gently elbowed Hinata, and she glanced at him. "Hey Hinata, I'll sign if you will," he said with a grin.

Hinata grinned back weakly, feeling her insides turn to mush as Naruto's smile widened. "S-Sure."

Tsuchi grinned triumphantly as all of the occupants of that table stood to sign their names.

--

Tsunade relished the wave of fear emanating from each and every one of her students, especially from the newcomers. She clasped her hands primly on her desk, grinning at them as they shifted apprehensively in their seats. Underneath her clasped hands was a bundle of test papers that she had just graded. A majority of said papers were adorned with red markings.

Red markings in Tsunade-sensei's class were never good.

Seeing that her students had done enough squirming for her amusement, she stood, taking the bundle of test papers with her. She idly walked around her desk, taking a seat on it as she faced her class.

She held up the bundle of papers, an amused smile tugging at her lips as many students recoiled in horror at the movement. "A majority of you failed," she said bluntly, going up and down the aisles and handing each student their respected papers. "After careful consideration, I have decided not to count this as a grade."

A collected sigh of relief echoed throughout the classroom.

"It's true that chemistry is a very difficult subject, so I can't really hold these grades against you. But since you are in my class, you are going to have to get used to my pace. This test paper allowed me to see what you guys are having trouble in, and I'll try to make things clear to you with the best of my ability." She stopped walking, handing Gaara his test paper. "However, it is not my responsibility to chase you. If you truly are concerned about passing my class, you should ask for help."

She glanced down at the red haired boy sitting to her right. "Gaara," she stated. She picked up his paper, holding it up. "This is the highest grade I've seen in a long time…" She began, grinning.

He glanced up at her, scowling.

"…and for that, I ask that you help your fellow classmates."

--

Sakura bit her lower lip, her eyes watering as she looked down at her test paper.

'38' was written in bold, red marker, and on the lower left corner of the paper was a note from Tsunade-sensei, advising her to see her concerning the grade she had received.

As soon as the bell rang, she hurried out of the classroom, tears blocking her line of vision. She took a seat on the floor beside the classroom door, watching through bleary eyes as her classmates passed her.

That's where Temari found her a moment later.

"Hey," Temari said gently.

Sakura glanced up at her, sniffling. "Hey, Temari." She folded up the test paper, shoving it in her pocket. "Can I borrow a tissue?"

Temari smiled widely as she took out a pack of tissue from her back pack, handing it to her. "Just as long as you don't give it back," she replied teasingly.

Sakura made a sound that was something between a sob and a chuckle. She blew her nose, handing the pack of tissue back to the upperclassman.

The blonde haired girl glanced in Gaara's direction as he exited the classroom. "Hey, Gaara."

He nodded wordlessly, his eyes shifting towards Sakura.

She averted her gaze in the other direction, crumpling the soggy tissue in her hand.

"You waste your tears for nothing," he deadpanned.

Sakura lowered her eyes. She knew that this was true, but if Tsunade-sensei had counted it as a grade, it wouldn't have been 'nothing.' In her peripheral vision, she saw Gaara turn away. She bit her lower lip, reaching back into her pocket and taking out the test paper. "Hey, wait," she said hoarsely, rising to her feet.

Gaara glanced at her, his green eyes inquiring.

"Can you… I-I need…" Sakura stammered, biting her lower lip. Her eyes shifted from her crumpled test paper and back to him. "Help me?"

Please review.

1 Pickled daikon – not entirely sure, but I think it's a pickled salad that consists of daikon and carrots.