Title: Good News, Bad News

Chapter 3: Rich 'n Famous

Author's Notes: I have exactly one reason this chapter is so late. My mother is the new Hitler. Adolf was overthrown by a greater evil. ALSO- Kudos and tons of glomps to those that have read and/or love the play Antigone. IT SO TOTALLY ROCKS! ( – is WAY into any and all plays, especially ones where someone dies)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I own The Year of Secret Assignments. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing a fanfiction, because I created it. (Haha, can you imagine Kishimoto reading Naruto fanfiction? "AAAARG! How the hell did he get paired with her! Didn't I make it clear enough! flames fanfic author")

"Friday...yeeeeaaaaah, Fraiiiiiiiday! The party day, duh, duh, for you and meeeee..." Naruto sang his newly made-up song at the top of his lungs, as Kiba drummed on the seat in front of him.

"Kiba, stop hitting my seat like a monkey!"

"The best daaaaaay, yeeeeaaaah! Friday, yeah yeah yeah!"

"You would know then, wouldn't you? And I don't hafta listen to you at all!"

"Mooooom!"

"Movin' in with all the rich kiiiiiids, they won't know, yeah, what hiiiit 'eeeeeem! On a Friday, yeeeeaaaah!"

"Naruto, be quiet! We already have enough idiots on the radio, we don't need one in person!" Kiba's mom told him in a strict voice from the front seat. "Kiba, stop hitting your sister's seat! And just because she is the monkey trainer does not make her a monkey, do you understand young man?

Kiba's sister, Ai, just smirked. "Yeah, and if being a monkey trainer makes me a monkey, then you're just a puny dog!"

Naruto and Kiba gasped. "That mean ugly lady didn't mean it, Akamaru," Kiba crooned to his small white dog in his lap. "She's just jealous because you can do backflips and she can't, yes she is!" For extra measure, he kicked Ai's seat, hard.

"Mooooooom!"

Kiba's father, who was driving, sighed and kept his eyes on the road. "Kids, listen to your mother and be nice!"

"She's my auntie, not my mom," Naruto grumbled. (He was still sore about the whole song incident. 'I am not an idiot...') "Why do I have to listen to her?"

Something hit Naruto, hard. "OOOOW!"

"Not your mother! I think that feeding you and helping you out and cleaning that filthy apartment of yours and letting you sleep over almost every night makes me your mother in all ways but birth, so you will shut your mouth and behave until we get to Kiba's new school, do you hear me, Naruto Arashi Uzumaki?"

"What did you throw at me? A rock?" whined the blond, touching the lump on his head gingerly before picking up the said object.

"Dude," Kiba said softly, laughing. "She called you by your full name."

Naruto stared incredulously at the perilous object in his hands. "You threw a cd case at me?"

"Naruto got busted," Ai snickered.

"I can't believe you threw a cd case at me!"

"I'll throw more than that if you don't be quiet, young man!"

The blonde teenager sulked in his seat. "Yeah, yeah. I see how this family is. You take me out of school early to help Kiba settle in, only to abuse me? You're a bunch of sadists, that's what you are."

"Yep."

"You got it!"

"I prefer being called the Mistress of Terror. Much more frightening, don't you think, honey?"

"Whatever you say, dear."

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Would you mind letting me through?" Sasuke Uchiha, age sixteen, snapped through gritted teeth as he shoved his way through a crowd of young women (and some men). He walked through the heavy, ornate doors of his dormitory and slammed them as hard as he could into their love-stuck, eager faces (if you could slam 200-year-old doors).

He sighed, straightened his uniform tie, and walked calmly into the giant building that was known as Hokage Halls, his footsteps echoing off the high ceiling. "Good afternoon, Master Uchiha." A servant stepped up to him. "Would you like some hot coffee or tea?"

"Coffee. And take this up to my room." Sasuke handed the servant his book bag.

The servant bowed. "Right away, Master Uchiha. Oh, Master Hyuuga requested that you meet him in the common room, sir."

Sasuke sighed and rubbed his forehead with frustration. "Also, inform the masseuse that I would like an appointment tonight at six."

"Yes, sir."

As the servant left, the young heartbreaker took a few slow, deep breaths to regain his usual composure. "Although I haven't the slightest idea for what he wants with me now," Sasuke muttered under his breath, before sauntering into the common room.

Neji Hyuuga looked up at him. "Ah. Uchiha."

"Hyuuga." Sasuke sat down in one of the huge, rather comfortable chairs next to Neji. "What is so business-like that you wanted to tell me in the common room?" It was well known in Academy that the common room was only a place for business or for those who enjoyed reading, since it was filled with books.

"Were you aware," Neji began, flipping through a file in his hands, "that we are receiving a new student today? A one-" here he looked at the file. "-Kiba Inuzuka." He handed Sasuke the file.

Sasuke silently took the folder and scanned over its contents. "Southern Konoha? Public?" He stared at Neji, eyes boring into him. "You have got to be kidding."

Neji raised his one eyebrow. "When do I kid with you?" He stood up and began to pace in front of the fireplace. "His mother and father are very wealthy participants in the show Circ du Soleil, and his sister is well on her way to becoming a successful zoologist. They had been living in Konoha for ten years with the installation of the permanent Circ du Soleil in the Las Villeagas District of Southern Konoha, but recently his parents have been re-assigned to a new version of the show, which also travels around the world."

"And they want him to come here because of the dormitories?" Sasuke guessed in a monotone voice.

"Yes." The older teen faced the giant fireplace, hands in his pockets, watching Sasuke from the corner of his eye . "Normally I would have to show him around the dorms, but since the Council is having a meeting at his arrival time..."

"You want me to do your job?" he ended the sentence, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Another servant, this one a woman, came into the room.

"Excuse me, Masters Hyuuga and Uchiha. Your coffee, Master Uchiha?"

Ignoring what she said, he took his coffee and continued. "I mean, why should I do that?" He began to take a sip, then looked at her with a critical eye. "Does it have cream in it?"

"Yes, sir. And one lump of sugar."

"Hn. You may go."

She bowed to them each and then left. After she had gone, Neji stopped pacing, put his hands in his pockets, and glared right back at Sasuke. "Not only are you the only one that is second in command in these dorms, he will also be on your floor. Your neighbor, in fact," he added. "And don't act as if I'm doing to this to you on purpose- as president ofKonohaAcademy's ASB student counciland thus the ruling leader of Academy, it would be my duty and honor to welcome any new student, no matter the background. However, I can't make it, and now it is your honor and duty as president of the Junior class to welcome any new student." His gaze lessened. "Don't you begin to turn into one of those spoiled wealthy children that still refuse to do their duty."

Sasuke stood up abruptly, coal eyes blazing. "I always do what is my duty, Hyuuga," he spat, "And don't you even dare of saying that I don't what I am bound to do."

"Good. He arrives in," he checked his watch. "Ten minutes. Just take him to his rooms and show him around a bit- his roommate can to the rest."

Sasuke watched as Neji walked out of the common room, a scowl on his face. Soon the only noise in the room was the crackling of the fire. He finally flipped open the file again, this time reading it more in-depth. "Public, huh..."

"We're heeeeeeeere!" Naruto jumped out of the van and stretched his arms. "Hey, bonebreath, wouldja get a look at this building!" He stared up in amazement at the beautiful mason-worked structure. "It's like a cathedral!"

"Or the Chicago Tribune building," Kiba added, grinning slightly. "Man, I can't believe I'm gonna be living here."

Kiba's mom stopped unloading the back of the van, put her hands on her hips, and smiled at the two teenage boys. "Why don't you two go take a look inside? Ai and your father can help me unload."

Kiba shook his head. "Leave you alone with my stuff? No way!"

"But..." Naruto pouted, his bottom lip quivering. "I wanna see the building..."

"Go ahead!" Kiba waved his hand at the monumental building. "Like I care about some ancient building."

"Cools!" The blonde yelled, and ran through the doors. He paused and his jaw dropped open. "DUDE! IT'S FRICKIN' HUGE IN HERE!" Naruto paused.

"Here!"

"here!"

"here..."

"Woah! ECHO!"

"Echo!"

"echo!"

"echo..."

"Would you stop that?" Naruto spun around, startled, to see a young man with dark, wavy hair and flashing onyx eyes leaning on a pillar, his arms crossed across his chest. ('Wow, that guy must be one heck of a home wrecker,' the blonde though) He frowned irritably at Naruto.

His brain, only on pause for a moment, quickly snapped out of it and grinned his special 'Hi-my-name's-Naruto-you-know-you'll-love-me' smile, the one he saved for new people. "Hi! My name's-"

"Inuzuka? I know." The Academy (he had on the uniform tie, sports jacket, and shoes, not to mention the logo on his jacket) student sighed heavily and stood up straight. "Come on, I don't have all day."

Naruto's smile faltered for a moment. "Wait-"

"Come on already." The boy grabbed his arm and began to pull him up the stairs. "I don't have all day, you know."

The blonde began to get a little irritated. "But it's the afternoon! And I'm not-"

The boy indicated lazily with his free hands, interrupting Naruto. "Left, the common room. Right, game room. Left, library. Right, recreational room."

"What's the difference between the game room and rec room?" Naruto cut in, curious.

The boy glared at him. "The game room has the poker room and arcade, and the recreational room has billiards, ping pong, and foozeball." He said it in a very arrogant, how-could-you-not-know-this? kind of a way.

Naruto frowned and tried to pull away. "Listen, buddy, you got the name-"

"My name?" The boy stopped and turned. "Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha. Now, come on, I don't have the ti-"

"HEY! NARUTO! WHO'S YOUR BOYFRIEND?"

The boy stopped again, even more suddenly than the first time. "Naruto?" he said slowly, in a cold voice.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" the blonde chirped, once again grinning from ear to ear. Turning around, he called back, "I dunno, Kiba, but I think he was about to force me! Plus, he thought I was you- better not drop the soap, y'know what I'm saying?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Kiba barked out a laugh, also grinning.

Out of the corner of his eye Naruto saw Sasuke blush slightly. "Why didn't you tell me you weren't him?" the boy demanded.

"You never gave me the chance!" Naruto retorted. "Silly prick. 'I don't have all day, you know,'" he mimicked. "Yo, Kiba! These guys have you hooked up! There's a game room and a rec room!"

After catching up to them, Kiba scratched his head. "What the difference?"

"Game room's got an arcade and poker. Rec room's got pool tables and foozeball and ping-pong." Naruto answered in a matter-of-fact way, while inspecting the walls. "Wow, is this real marble?"

Sasuke groaned inwardly. Great. Just what he needed. "I apologize for my mistake."

"Anyone could've made it." Kiba stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my best friend, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Is this Picasso? They have an original Picasso! How frickin' awesome!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "That's van Gogh."

"Oh. I knew that!"

Kiba sighed. "Sorry about him. He doesn't get out often."

"Says the boy that doesn't work," The blonde scoffed his friend, before getting a panicked look. "Oh shit! I'm gonna be late to work! I can't lose this job! Kiba, I'll see you later, come visit or drop in or something. Nice being dragged around by you, Uchiha, can't wait to chat more wish I could stay but I can't so bye!" Naruto dashed back down the hall.

"H-hey!" Kiba stuttered. "How're you gonna get to work? We're in NorKo!"

"I'll run!"

"All the way to the District? Are you crazy? Just wait for my mom to-"

Naruto cut him off, a Don't-you-know-how-brilliant-I-am? grin spread across his face. "I'll run fast! Bye!" With that, he ran out the door. An eerie, strange silence took the place of the active boy.

Kiba grinned apologetically at Sasuke. "He's really dedicated."

"I noticed. Do you want to see your room or not?" Sasuke was slowly- no, quickly losing patience with this whole ordeal.

"Y-yeah." Kiba was at a loss about how to act around this silent, statue-like boy, so he just continued to talk about Naruto. "But it's almost like my job to look after him, y'know? I mean, if I didn't, who would?"

"What about his parents?"

Kiba waved a hand in a carefree manner. "His mom died when he was eleven and his dad's always gone. He spends most of his time hanging around with me and my family. So, how nice are the rooms here?"

Sasuke just raised one eyebrow at the boy, sighed slightly, and continued his trek down the hall without a word.

Kiba sighed. "Oh yeah,", he muttered to himself sarcastically. "This is one fun place."

"So anyway, I told him that he could, like, take a hike if he didn't appreciate me."

"Ohmigawd, Ino-chan, you have so much more restraint than me. I mean, if my man wouldn't go shopping with me and carry my bags, we would so be over."

"Yeah, well," Ino flipped her hair and smiled coyly at Sasuke Uchiha, who was sitting silently on the far side of the 'new kid'. "I have my eyes on another prize. That other boy was such a loser."

Kiba rolled his eyes at the chattering rich girls next to him. The worst one was the girl that appeared to be their Gossiper-in-Chief; a rich girl with long, designer highlighted blonde hair, seemingly perfect skin, and big turquoise eyes that were accented with mascara called Ino. "Are they always like that?"

His new friend, Shino (who was also his neighbor; Kiba had found out that the rooms were almost like apartments, with a small living room, kitchen, a bathroom and then three bedrooms), sighed and continued reading his book. "Yes."

"And where is your English teacher!" he demanded angrily, before glaring at the clock. "It's almost halfway into class!"

"Kakashi is always late," a bored, muffled voice came from beneath the arms of a boy that Kiba had thought was sleeping. "Don't bother wasting any energy on him."

"You call your teacher by his first name, and he lets you get away with it?" Kiba muttered sourly, before loosening his uniform-regulation tie and sulking down in his seat. He glanced around the English room, which was so different from the one at Public. Mr. Umino had decorated his bland, cream-colored room with giant posters that were normally for movies, but instead had a book or play title on it (like one with a blood-red, fancy A, that pronounced "The Scarlet Letter" overhead and underneath read, "Sometimes 'A' isn't for Excellence." and another that had a picture of a pretty girl, but everything was a shade of blue except for her one visible eye, which was bright gold, and at the top it said "Antigone" and at on the side it said in dramatic letters, "Sometimes you have to stand up for things...Even if you stand alone.") and smaller ones that pictures of rainbows or birds or two polar bears 'hugging' and pronounced "Dare to Dream!" and "Fly Free!" and "To have a friend, you must be a friend." and all of that mushy, teacher-ish stuff that was so...hopeful. So much like Mr. Umino.

This room, however, was sparsely decorated. Unlike Public, Konoha Academy had a beautiful lawn, with trees and flowers and fancy archways and fountains, and (as Kiba realized) one could often lose one's thoughts by staring out the window; while at Public most kids either slept in class or paid attention, because looking out the window would remind you of where you were. The only things in the room were a whiteboard, Mr. Hatake's (or Kakashi's) desk, and the student's desks. Nothing else. It was, Kiba decided, an extremely boring room. He noted in his "What Pranks to Pull" section in his brain to come in and spray paint the boring room into some thing a little more...colorful.

While he was in the middle of his evil concoction, a surprisingly young man with spiked, silvery blond hair and a scar across his right eye walked into the room. Unlike Iruka, who normally wore jeans and a nice shirt to class, this man wore black trousers and a black turtleneck, making him look more like a poet than a teacher. Not only that, but he came in reading a small book that looked like a compilation of some poems (or so Kiba had innocently thought). He ignored the class and the class ignored him for about another minute, before their teacher sighed, put down the book, and faced his students. "Alright, everyone, time to start class."

"Hey, Kakashi, you're early!" someone in the back joked, and a few of the students laughed.

"Yes, well, I heard that we have a new student." Kakashi looked at Kiba with a half-lidded gaze. "You're the kid from Public?"

"Yep." Kiba linked his hands together and stretched his arms over his head, grinning. "Hey, y'know what? My old teach had a scar on his face, too."

"You don't say- so you know about the project?" Kakashi questioned him, pleased.

"Yep." He put his hands behind his head Doesn't everybody? Say, do I gotta write letters too, because I already know all the kids over there."

His new teacher shook his head, smiling. "Nope, you don't. Students, we have some letters from the new project!"

Silence met his declaration, before the Gossip-in-Chief spoked in a tenative voice. "Um, Kakashi? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" He chuckled to himself a little bit. "We're going to exchange letters with Konoha Public High School. I guess it must've slipped my mind."

"How can your mind slip like that?" A boy in the back retorted. "Exchange letters? With Public?"

"Yep, and it'll be your big project of the semester and worth one third of your grade, so if you refuse it, you fail!"

"Isn't it against the law to force us to do this?" Sasuke muttered, glaring at Kakashi.

"It has to break some sort of civil right, forcing us to correspond with drug dealers and gang members."

"My mother's a lawyer, and she can-"

Kakashi smiled sweetly again and held up a stack of white contract papers. "Oh, Principal Tsunade has already had your parents sign forms that state that they will not interfere with the project in any way, shape, or form. Your mother in particular, Miss Ino, was very supportive of it. She thought that it was a perfect way for you to have an outreach into the poorer parts of our city."

"You told our parents before us?"

"I don't care if I fail, there's no way I'm writing!"

"Yeah, they're all just a bunch of losers anywa-"

Kiba stood up abruptly and slammed his hands on his desk, silencing everyone in the classroom. Feeling everyone's gazes on him (whether lazy, uninterested, scared, or curious), he snarled, "You know what? They didn't want to correspond with you, either. Just because they go to Public doesn't mean that they're all deprived maniacs no more than you going to Academy means that you're perfect! They labeled you all as selfish, spoiled, and judgmental, and, thanks to a classroom discussion that was open-minded and understanding, accepted that maybe not all of you were and did the assignment! Apparently they were right, because you're exactly what they thought were here- a bunch of pompous know-it-alls that don't even want to bother writing, because you've labeled us all as nobodies and pathetic junkies. Just because they don't have material wealth doesn't mean they're only worth the dust on your shiny, patented leather uniform shoes! You think you're all that? That everyone wants to be you? Well guess what? I never wanted to come here! To me, Public was my territory, my home. Yeah, sure, they have drug dealers and gang members, but most of them are trying to make the best with what their families can afford, and they're doing pretty good! Yeah, I have a gang back there, but y'know what? Gang doesn't always mean that you use knives and beat up on helpless people. It means you're a group- you stick together no matter what. At least our gangs stay true to their colors. You don't think you have gangs and drugs here? Look around! You group of girls are a gang, but instead of knives and guns you use words to get back at your enemies- and your drugs are money and love, spreading it out, trying to find relief that you can't get that way.

"You think you're better than them? Well, guess what. Academy's the exact same as Public, only on the flipside. Two totally different scenarios, but at the end of the day you're at the same spot in life. So instead of being so damned close-minded, how about giving it a shot, and try to at least pretend that you give a damn to how tough those kids have it."

His heart pounding, Kiba finished his speech, and glared again at the classroom. There was a small smile on the teacher's face, and everyone else seemed to be receiving epiphanies and revelations of sorts. It was silent for a few moments, before Shikamaru spoke up.

"Oh, what the hell. This is all too bothersome. It's just pieces of paper, and it'll be over by the end of the year." He went up to the front of the class and looked at Kakashi with a bored, expectant look on his face. "So?" The teacher silently took out a yellow manila folder and, opening it, spread out a variety of different letters, all in the same envelope, on the desk. Shikamaru picked the one nearest him (easiest to get) and walked back to his desk, before sighing and stuffing it into his backpack. Slowly, the rest of the class did the same.

Kakashi smiled brightly and clapped his hands together. "Right! I'm glad you didn't raise a fuss about this! The person's letter that you have now will be your penpal for the rest of the year. Feel free to make up a pseudonym, but make sure to tell me what it is! Now, who read chapter eighteen of Count of Monte Cristo?"

"...we've beenreading Count of Monte Cristo?"