A/N: Sorry, I forgot this last time:
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any of the characters affiliated, ramen, or sunsets.
The four students walked into Iruka's classroom. It was still close to empty except for one person; the four were very early. Akamaru ran ahead to what obviously was Kiba's seat. Michiko sat beside him, Naruto sat behind him, and Deniizu sat beside Naruto.
"Ohayo, Hinata," Kiba said to the girl sitting in front of him, "Michiko, Deniizu, this is Hyuuga Hinata."
"Um...Ohayo..." the girl with white eyes turned around shyly.
"Ohayo, I'm Deniizu," said the girl with green eyes.
"Hey, I'm Michiko," said the girl with brown eyes.
"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" said the boy with blue eyes in a loud voice, "Future Hok-ouch!"
"We know, baka," Deniizu said not unkindly, after cuffing him at the back of the head.
Kiba rolled his eyes and Michiko and Hinata shared a small grin.
"O-ohayo, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, blushing.
There was a commotion at the door, and then:
"Hah! I won, Ino-pig!"
"You did not! I got here first, Giant Forehead!"
"What did you say!"
"GIANT FOREHEAD!"
"Oh no..." Hinata winced and Akamaru growled.
"Those two...they're rivals for life," said Kiba in a confidential voice, "The girl with pink hair is Haruno Sakura. I mentioned her before; half the time she's top girl of the class."
"And the other half..." Deniizu pointed to the blonde.
"Yup," Kiba nodded, "Yamanaka Ino's at the top the other half of the time. I don't know why they hate each other so much. They used to be good friends."
"Maybe they hurt each other once..." Deniizu thought out loud, in a soft voice.
Naruto stared at her.
"What're you looking at?" Deniizu asked in a rather scary, low voice.
"Uh, nothing," Naruto said, hiding under the desk.
"Is she always like that?" asked Kiba to Michiko.
"Um...no. No, not always," said Michiko, busying herself with petting Akamaru.
"Sakura-chan's a total babe though, huh?" Naruto said dreamily.
At that moment, Sakura stopped glaring at Ino to look up at Naruto.
"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, NARUTO!" she screamed, lightning shooting out of her eyes.
"N-nothing!" Naruto gulped, and hid under the desk again, thinking, Why me...?
This is so cool...thought Michiko.
This is like being in the manga. I love this! Deniizu thought.
"Hey, Ino, move over. You're blocking the door," a bored voice said at the door.
Is that really? thought Deniizu.
Is it the character that I am in real life? Michiko thought. It was.
"Why can't you just walk around, Shikamaru?" asked Ino, annoyed.
"Then I'll have to walk more; it's troublesome," answered the cloud-gazer.
"Just move over, Ino," said another voice.
"Those two..." Kiba said out loud, grinning.
Ino unblocked the doorway, grumbling, to reveal two best friends.
"Ok, the guy with black hair," pointed Kiba, "That's the laziest guy in our class, Nara Shikamaru. He's the only guy Ino won't hit; wonder why?" Kiba and Akamaru shared a grin, "And the big guy behind him? That's Akimichi Chouji; he always eats. They've been best friends for years now."
Deniizu suddenly started giggling.
"What're you imagining?" asked Michiko, curiously.
"Hehe...It's just...Shikamaru and Chouji are best friends, and Sakura and Ino used to be..." Deniizu started giggling again.
A dawning expression crept across Michiko's face.
"Shikamaru and Ino...and...ew!" Michiko laughed with Deniizu.
"Don't say that!" Naruto exclaimed, "Those girls will eat you alive if you even hint-" (A/N: Don't worry, I won't make pairings like that.)
"Oh, we won't. We won't," Deniizu said solemnly, but Michiko kept giggling.
"SASUKE-KUN!" came a sudden squeal from the door.
"Hey, I saw him first, Sakura!"
"Well, I grabbed him first, Ino-pig!"
The small group all turned their heads and saw Sakura hugging a dark-haired boy from behind, while Ino was trying to pull the boy away by tugging on his arms.
"And that's Uchiha Sasuke," said Kiba, "He's a loner type of guy by choice, and he's always at the top of the entire class. Not just boys; all of it. Not to mention that Sakura and Ino are always fighting over him."
"He's cute, but he seems really cold," Michiko mused.
Kiba and Naruto gave her a look, and Deniizu flicked her ear.
"Ow! What? I'm not going to join his fanclub."
Hinata shook her head, and Kiba nudged Michiko with an elbow, pointing to a figure who was edging past the crowd at the door.
"That's Aburame Shino. He's always second in the entire class. He keeps to himself, but he's a nice enough guy once you get to know him."
"I thought he was a little scary," Hinata admitted, "But I've known him since we were little; he's nice."
"Hey, Hinata-chan, you're coming out of your shell," Naruto teased, "That's the most you've said all year!"
Hinata blushed and faced the front of the class as Shino came and sat beside her, directly in front of Michiko.
"Ohayo Hinata, Kiba, Naruto," he said in a low voice, nodding to them before sitting down.
He totally ignored us, Deniizu thought indignantly, and she and Michiko shared an annoyed look.
"Don't worry; he's always like that to new people," Kiba whispered to the new girls, then tapped Shino on the shoulder, "Hey Shino, meet the new girls."
The boy in the trenchcoat turned in his chair as Kiba made introductions.
"This is Michiko and Deniizu," said Kiba, pointing to each person in turn, "They just came to Konoha."
"Hi," waved Deniizu in a friendly voice.
Michiko waved shyly. He was actually a little scary in real life. Much to their annoyance, Shino merely looked for a second, then turned back to the front of the class. Deniizu's temper went up a little, but Michiko felt hurt.
Teme, Deniizu thought.
Ouch... thought Michiko.
What? Kiba was confused, Hey, I know this guy. He'd nod if he were ok with them, or raise an eyebrow if he wasn't. What was that?
Hinata was confused as well. She looked at Shino in the corner of her eye. Unreadable. Well, what was new?
"So...that's our class," Kiba ended lamely.
"Thanks for that," Deniizu said.
"Which tutor do you want?" Michiko asked Deniizu.
At the word 'tutor', Hinata, Kiba and Naruto saw Shino flinch, but the other two didn't notice.
"I don't know...the top four of the class don't look very...promising," Deniizu said.
Another flinch.
"Do we?" asked Shino, turning around again.
Deniizu and Michiko could have sworn they saw one of those nerve things anime people get when they're mad on Shino's forehead.
"Were you eavesdropping on us just now? That's very...rude...you know," Deniizu said, crossing her arms and sitting back in her chair.
Easy for you to act tough; I'm right in arm's reach of him! Michiko thought, but she nodded defiantly, crossing her arms as well and waiting for Shino's answer.
They didn't get an answer. Shino merely looked at them (or so they thought; his sunglasses hid his eyes) for another second, then turned around again.
"Sh-shino-kun...are you all right? You seem...tense," Hinata whispered.
"...I'm fine," came his answer.
"Strange...he's usually so polite," Naruto whispered to Deniizu.
"If you say so," Deniizu whispered back, skeptically.
"I don't think he likes us," Michiko whispered to Kiba.
"What do you think?" Kiba whispered to Akamaru, who sat on the desk.
The puppy yawned.
"Fair enough," Michiko shrugged.
"Ohayo, class!" Iruka's voice came from the front of the room.
Deniizu looked and saw that the three that were by the door had run to their seats.
"Today, I'd like to start off by introducing you to two new students," Iruka said, and motioned for Deniizu and Michiko to come to the front.
Both hesitated, then Michiko slid out of her seat, and slunk to the front of the class, her thumbs hooked into her belt. Deniizu followed right behind her, her arms crossed.
"This is Michiko," here Michiko waved shyly, her eyes glued to the floor, "...and Deniizu," here Deniizu raised an eyebrow at the class challengingly (Iruka didn't see), still standing a little behind Michiko, "They will be joining us this year, and intend to take part in the graduation exam," here there was a murmur in the class, "I know it's a bit late in the year, but I believe they both will do well," at that last sentence, he gave both of them a smile, then gave them their school supplies and technique scrolls before letting them go back to their seats.
The class was spent studying uses for the doppelganger, which Michiko and Deniizu easily soaked in. Deniizu ended up doodling on an extra bit of paper with Naruto for part of the class, while Michiko played with Akamaru under the desk where their sensei couldn't see. Then it was lunchtime; school was over for the day.
"I like this system," Michiko whispered to Deniizu, "School only lasts for half a day."
"Could Sasuke, Shino, Sakura, Ino, Deniizu, and Michiko please come to the front of the class before you go?" Iruka requested, after dismissing everyone else.
"I'll wait for you outside," Naruto said to the two girls.
"We will too," Kiba added, and Akamaru barked. Hinata gave them a shy smile, then left the class with the rest.
"Does that mean she'll wait too?" Michiko asked Deniizu, who shrugged.
The two friends followed behind Shino, who still hadn't spoken to them at all, to the front, where the rest were waiting. Sakura and Ino were fighting to stand closest to Sasuke, but furthest from Shino.
"Settle down you two," Iruka said to them, before turning to the rest, "Deniizu, Michiko, these four are the students at the top of the class. You two know that there's a lot to catch up on; even if you do well in the exam, it's important that you have background knowledge of what it is to be a shinobi. So, both of you will be assigned two tutors; one for theory/knowledge, the other for applied techniques. Do you understand?"
Michiko nodded quickly and Deniizu shrugged nonchalantly.
"Good," Iruka nodded, "The rest of these pupils of mine, I have already spoken to. They already know who they are assigned to. Deniizu, you'll be taught techniques by Sasuke, and knowledge from Ino. Michiko, Shino and Sakura will be helping you. Both of your tutors will teach you every day. Is everyone ok with this?"
Michiko and Deniizu watched Shino and Sakura in the corners of their eyes, but all of them merely nodded.
"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura raised a hand, "Will the tutors be working with each other at all?"
"No, they don't need to," Iruka answered, "In fact, it would be better if they didn't teach at the same time. That way, the pupil will not be overwhelmed."
"Oh. Ok," Sakura said calmly, while Inner Sakura was punching the air happily, saying, Ino-pig will not get her hooves on Sasuke-kun! Love prevails!
"Ok. No more questions? Then you may go," Iruka said, waving them towards the door.
That might explain the coldness, Michiko thought, Shino probably doesn't want to teach me. Well, I don't blame him; I'm not into tutoring strangers myself.
"Come on, Kiba and everyone are waiting," Deniizu urged.
She grabbed Michiko's elbow and rushed to the door, but a hand fell on Michiko's left, and Deniizu's right shoulders. Turning, they saw Shino and Sasuke had stopped them.
"Just so you remember," Shino said firmly, "One hour after school lets out, both of you will be training at the same time, every day, in the clearing near the east edge of the villiage."
"We only need to teach you for 2 hours, so that is all we intend to do," Sasuke said in a low voice, "Don't waste our time."
"We won't," growled Deniizu, and Michiko, though her gut was clenching up, added in a steady voice, "Don't waste ours."
Both the boys removed their hands.
"Hmph," Sasuke smirked, "Brave words. We'll see if you measure up."
Both of them stalked off without another word.
"Sasuke-kun's so cool, right? Right?" Ino asked Deniizu, hooking an arm with hers, "So, I'll be teaching you right after your taijutsu and ninjutsu lessons..."
If that was cool, I guess you think Shino's cool too, huh? Deniizu thought, annoyed,as she was half dragged by the other girl out of the room.
As Ino'svoice faded off, Michiko and Sakura turned to each other.
"Konnichiwa," Michiko said politely.
"Nice to meet you," Sakura said, just as politely.
Both walked out of the class together. Neither were sure how to approach the other student.
"...I'm sure what happened back there looked very cool," Michiko said, "But don't you think that was a bit much?"
Sakura thought for a moment. It did look mysterious and tough, but it also had looked a little menacing. Still, she wasn't going to admit a flaw in her undying love to Sasuke to this new girl. Instead, she shrugged the question off.
"I guess I'll teach you right after you and Shino train, so you and Deniizu can meet up again," Sakura said kindly.
"That works. I'll meet you in front of this school, then," Michiko said, smiling, as they stepped outside the building. Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto were there, waiting.
"Sakura-chan! You're tutoring Michiko?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Go away, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, and turned to Michiko, saying, "I'll see you later," before walking away.
"...She seemed nice for a second there," Michiko said, stunned.
"Neh. Don't mind her. Her mind is full of Sasuke; there's no room for friends in there," said Kiba, "The same with Ino."
"Oh, where's Deniizu?" Michiko asked Hinata.
"Um...Ino dragged her somewhere. I don't know..." Hinata trailed off, looking pointedly down an empty road.
"Oh. Ok," Michiko shrugged, then said, "Well, Deniizu should be ok. Let's buy lunch somewhere. Where's a good place?"
"The ramen shop!" Naruto exclaimed, then grabbed Hinata and Michiko's hands, "Come on! Come on!"
"Hey, wait up!" Kiba yelled, as he and Akamaru ran to catch up.
And then they walked off into the sunset...oh wait...it's like noon. Oh well...
"That's enough ramen, Naruto!" Michiko exclaimed.
"One more bowl, then we can go," Naruto insisted, already paying the shop owner.
"He said that three bowls ago," Kiba muttered to Michiko, and Hinata giggled.
"I thought I'd find you here."
"Hi, Deniizu," Michiko said, not needing to turn around. She buried her face in her arms.
"Where were you?" Kiba asked, "It's been over 45 minutes."
"Ino kept talking about Sasuke, and I couldn't pry my arm out of her grasp," Deniizu complained.
"How did you get here?" Hinata asked.
"I pretended I saw Sasuke over her shoulder," Deniizu shrugged, "That distracted her enough to loosen her grip."
"Well, now it's too late for you to have much of a lunch," Michiko said, "We have to find that clearing now."
"We'll take you there," Kiba offered, "Hinata, are you going to stay here with Naruto?"
"Um...yes," she said, as the others got up.
"Ok, we'll see you tomorrow then," Deniizu said, and after a wave, she left with the rest of them.
"...Ne...where'd they go?" Naruto asked, finally looking up,"...oh well. One more bowl!"
"N-naruto-kun...I think you're eating too much. You'll have a stomach-ache..."
And then they walk off, not into the sunset, but down the street...
"Ok, we're here," Kiba said, motioning towards the large clearing.
Akamaru sniffed at the two figures in the distance and whined.
"They're getting anxious; you'd better hurry," Kiba translated, "So go! I'll see you two tomorrow!"
"See you, then," Deniizu nodded, and Michiko waved.
Kiba watched the girls hurry to their tutors before leaving.
"I hope Shino and Sasuke don't overdo it. They didn't look happy with being tutors," Kiba said to Akamaru, as they walked away from the clearing.
"Right on time," Sasuke said, "That's good. We didn't mention that the girls' prerogative for being late doesn't count here, did we?"
Deniizu sniffed, "What're you gonna do? Honestly."
Sasuke threw a shuriken at her face, but Deniizu didn't move. It whizzed past her cheek, not leaving a mark.
"You gonna teach me to do that?" Michiko asked eagerly, but that died down when she saw thatShino didn't move.
"Or you could be rude again," she mumbled, looking away and scuffing the ground with her toe.
"Neither of us want to be here," Shino said, "Now lets start. We're wasting time. We'll start with training your aim."
"Take out a shuriken that Iruka-sensei gave you," Sasuke instructed, and the lesson began.
Deniizu did well for a beginner. She at least hit in the second circle from the middle, on the targets that the boys had set up around the field. For Michiko it was a struggle to even hit the targets. Shino kept reprimanding her for holding the shuriken wrong, so Michiko suggested they try kunai. She didn't do any better with those; she dropped half of the knives before she could follow through properly. Shino finally gave up and showed her how to block, which Michiko did fairly well with; even then, the boy caustically nit-picked at she she did. Deniizu knew her friend wasn't enjoying any of it, but she also knew that Michiko didn't want anyone stepping in for her.
"Keep watching my hands," Shino said coldly, "Pay attention."
Michiko's hands were sweating; she prayed that she wouldn't drop the kunai she was using to block.
Are you trying to kill me! she thought, deflecting a shuriken that had been coming at her eye, Why are you acting like this? In the manga you at least seemed respectable...I'm going to die here!
Michiko dodged a shuriken that was coming for her forehead, and knocked away a kunai that was aimed for her leg. Deniizu, as she trained catching and throwing kunai back to Sasuke, saw her friend bite her lip.
That b(expletive)! She's going to break down soon, Deniizu thought.
"How long has it been?" Shino asked, almost casually throwing a shuriken at Michiko's leg.
"Our time's about up," Sasuke answered, catching the shuriken Deniizu had thrown at him, and putting it away, "We're leaving now," he said to the girls.
"Hey...you ok?" Deniizu asked Michiko when the boys had walked out of earshot.
Michiko let herself fall onto her knees.
"I've been better..." she said faintly, then bit her lip again, "That guy...he seems different in real life."
"A lot less nice," Deniizu nodded, kneeling in front of her friend.
She's trying to keep light of things, Deniizu thought, before saying, "Not so attractive anymore, huh?"
Michiko snorted, then gave a wry smile, saying, "Well, are you still going to go after Itachi? He really would kill you in this world."
Deniizu smiled, "Well...that'd be ok. That exactly what I expect from him."
Michiko shook her head, still smiling, and got up.
"Let's go find Ino and Sakura," she said, helping her friend up.
"Ok."
Deniizu fell in step with Michiko, and she saw the older girl give a tiny sigh.
"Hey, it's ok. The guy's a jerk," Deniizu consoled.
"I just think that was a bit much," Michiko said, her voice catching a little. She took a deep breath and shook her head, "Whatever. You're a natural, by the way."
"Meh," Deniizu shrugged, but she had a small smile on her face, "I'll help you practice, if you want."
"Sure. Now lets hurry; we'll be late."
The two friends ran to the school, ready to see how tough their second tutors would be.
And so they ran...ok, I won't mention sunsets.A two-hourlesson later...
"Deniizu! Michiko!"
Both looked up from the scrolls Ino and Sakura were showing them, and saw that the rest of their new class was waiting for them. Their tutors had made a truce that they would teach the two new students at the same time, so that they both would be learning the same things. They now sat at the front of the school, and were listening to a joint lecture from Ino and Sakura. Michiko and Deniizu waved back, and rushed to roll up the scrolls filled with information on chakra.
"No need to rush; there's plenty of daylight," Sakura said to the two.
Michiko and Deniizu gave her a questioning look and she explained.
"You're new here, so they want to get to know you. What better way than to take you around Konoha?" Sakura said.
"Kind of like a welcome party?" Deniizu asked.
"A little," Sakura nodded.
"Let's go already!" Michiko exclaimed, throwing the now rolled scrolls into the bag Sakura and Ino had brought.
"Take your time! No rush!" Ino said, dropping the (now full)bag onto Sakura.
"Oof...Hey, Ino!"
Sakura tried to hit Ino, but the blonde easily dodged it as she got up. Boiling inside, Sakura calmed herself, got up, and tried to lift the bag. She struggled with it for a moment, then Deniizu hoisted the bag onto one of her shoulders.
"I'll carry it," she said, and they both joined the rest of their class at the tree with the swing.
"We never got to welcome you officially," Kiba said.
"So here we are!" said Naruto, throwing his arms wide and practically yelling, "Welcome to our class!"
"Um...these are for you," Hinata said shyly, stepping forward and handing a carefully wrapped package to each of them.
"...Arigato," Michiko thanked, and Deniizu smiled and nodded her appreciation.
"Do we open them now?" Deniizu asked, shaking her gift a little and listening.
"Yeah! Open them before we go around the village," Sakura encouraged.
Michiko knelt to the ground and carefully took off the ribbon and worked away the tape, while Deniizu tore right into it right away.
"Why are you taking your time like that?" Sasuke said, sounding bored.
Both the new girls looked up in surprise. No doubt about it, Sasuke and Shino were there as well, in the back.
"I like saving the paper," Michiko mumbled, carefully peeling off a bit of tape.
"How troublesome...Can't you just open it and get on with this?" Shikamaru yawned.
"Aw, cool! Special kunai!" Deniizu exclaimed, opening the box that was wrapped, "And a special box for a brush and ink! ...there are 9 separate gifts here...did all of you get something for each of us?"
"Yup," nodded Ino, "We all went for gifts while you two were training, and Sasuke and Shino added something when you were with Sakura and me."
"Those kunai were from Sasuke," said Chouji, his mouth full of chips, "And the brush set is from Sakura. I gave both of you specially decorated eating utensils, see?" he said, pointing to Deniizu's set.
"This was very kind of all of you," Michiko said smiling widely, looking at a small jar of homemade handcream.
"Hinata gave you two that," Shikamaru said, pointing to the jars.
"We were glad to do this," Hinata said softly.
"We don't get newcomers in the middle of the year often, anyway," said Naruto.
"Who gave these?" Deniizu asked.
She held up a black, spiked bracelet that changed colours in different lights, with a matching necklace, and Michiko held up a brush and comb made of what looked like blue stone.
"Wow..." Michiko whispered, "They're beautiful."
Everyone stayed dead silent. Naruto scratched his head, and Hinata played with her fingers. Sakura and Ino looked around the school yard, as if they hadn't heard. Chouji continued eating his chips, and Shikamaru yawned again. Kiba and Akamaru gave each other a look. Sasuke acted bored, and Shino kept standing all mysterious-like. No-one looked at the two girls before them; they looked at each other, or away, or at their feet. It was an awkward silence, filled with shifting weight and the sound of chips crunching. A tumbleweed rolled in the background. ...or maybe not a tumbleweed.
"...ok..." Deniizu said after a bit, "Let's not get an answer."
Michiko carefully put the items back into the box, as well as the wrapping paper she had kept whole, and Deniizu did the same.
"So show us around your village then," Deniizu said, and the tension was broken.
"Come on, we'll take you by your place so you can drop off your stuff, and then we can start at the cliff where the Hokage's faces are sculpted!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'm going to be Hok- Ouch!"
"We know, Naruto, shut up," Sakura ordered, after hitting at the back of his head.
"Let's go," said Kiba, leading the way with Akamaru.
Michiko linked arms with Deniizu as they walked with their new-found friends.
"This isn't so bad," she whispered, to her friend, "I like it here, actually."
"...But how long will it last?" Denise whispered back after a moment, voicing both of their thoughts.
A/N: (singing)Kanashimi wo Yasashisa Ni...(stops singing) I love that song! It's the opening credits song for the...third season, I think. And Gaara looks so adorable...Now review, you!