Disclaimer: The owners of Naruto do not live in the underworld. They aren't zombies. They probably don't have zombie friends. They are not on the brink of insanity (I hope). They probably don't think that the English voices in Naruto sound like people are on drugs. And since I live in the underworld, am a zombie, have zombie friends, and think that the English voices in Naruto sound like people are on drugs, can you deduce if I own Naruto? I hope you can. Anything else that isn't copyrighted to someone/something else is owned by me. Happy deducing.

Update! The first week of school was…hectic, I guess. -makes a wry face- Anyways, thanks for reviewing Any-more-cheese! My one sole reviewer for this story. Oh well, I wasn't expecting people to get to it anyway, since it gets bumped down the list of updated stories by a hundred other ones. However, I think I might still plow on with this one.

(btw, the line button isn't working again, so I used the...uh, weird squares)



Chapter 2 - Shinobi Step One! …Get Angry?

Someone was yelling his name. Was he going to die? If so…whatever. He slept on blissfully, unaware of his current situation.

Neji yelled at Shikamaru to wake up. Why wasn't the idiot waking up! The alarm clock was loud enough. Hec, Neji was loud enough. Shikamaru, however, hadn't woken up from either. Neji's yelling was more than enough, in fact. Yet Shikamaru only stirred. What was the problem with him!

"Shikamaru!" Neji tried, one last time. It didn't work. Neji sighed. He had to resort to one last measure…

"Unf." Shikamaru awoke abruptly when something hit his face. He opened his eyes to witness a sigh he though that he'd never see. Neji. Throwing. Pillows.

"Finally!" Neji growled, putting back a pillow.

"…you were throwing pillows to wake me up?" Shikamaru asked, rubbing his eyes.

"That was the only way. I couldn't punch you," Neji answered bitterly. "And how I wanted to…" Shikamaru shrugged and went back to sleep.

There had been an incident before where Neji had went to Shikamaru's house at the courtesy of Ino's and Sasuke's complaints to see why Shikamaru hadn't arrived at the school on Saturday for the camping trip. Apparently, Shikamaru's parents had left early for some business and Shikamaru had slept through his alarm clock. Neji had tried to verbally wake him up, but to no avail. Therefore…he punched the poor kid. The monster that had blasted Neji straight out the window was quite unlike Shikamaru. After that, Neji had never woken up Shikamaru with a punch again. It wasn't like he was scared…of course not. It was just that Shikamaru had stated plainly in monster mode that he hated it when people did that. Neji just wouldn't disrespect a friend's wishes that much. Of course he wasn't scared. There was no reason. Neji wouldn't be scared of a freaky-looking, towering, booming, window-blasting monster in the morning. Nope.

Shikamaru felt another pillow hit his face. "What…?" he grumbled.

"I hate to disturb your beauty sleep, but you will be late if you do not wake up now," Neji told him sarcastically. "Hurry up."

"School is so troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed as he slowly sat up, yawned, stretched, and sat for a few seconds. Then he dragged himself out of bed, looking at the clock. "What do you mean, I'll be late? It's only nine!" Shikamaru complained.

"Breakfast," was all Neji said.

"Troublesome food," Shikamaru muttered. He didn't notice Neji give him a look of disbelief as he trudged into the bathroom.

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"Wow, you guys came pretty late," Ino commented when Neji and Shikamaru arrived at the cafeteria.

"Shikamaru," Neji said grimly.

"That's not a surprise," Ino sighed. Everyone got breakfast and sat down.

"So, what are your rooms like?" Sasuke asked Ino and Sakura.

"Great!" Ino exclaimed. "We have really soft, peach-colored carpet with two huge desks, a table, two night stands, a huge walk-in closet, an orange bathroom-"

"-two big beds, a small stove, a microwave, two big windows, and beige wallpapers!" Sakura finished enthusiastically.

"Cool," Sasuke said. "Same here, 'cept that we have dark-green carpet and a blue bathroom." Neji nodded his agreement. Everyone looked at Shikamaru, who hadn't said anything the whole time. He was slumped on the table beside a half-eaten bowl of cereal.

"…is he asleep?" Ino asked. The rest shrugged. Ino leaned across the table and poked Shikamaru. He didn't stir. "Oh man…" Ino sighed. "Hey Shikamaru! Wake up!" No answer. "Shika!" Silence. Ino scowled and took a deep breath. "Nara Shikamaru, you get up this instant! As your mother, I-"

"Wha? Mother?" Shikamaru asked, waking up and looking around rather worriedly.

"Ha! It worked!" Ino said triumphantly.

"Oh…it's just you."

"What do you mean, it's just me!"

"Stop pretending to be my mother, Ino."

"Why, you ungrateful…I oughta-"

"Stop sounding like my mother. One is bad enough."

"Why you-!"

"Ino!" Sakura said impatiently as she held the other girl down.

"Grr…just wait until I get you, Shikamaru!" Ino growled.

"Okay," Shikamaru replied, finishing off his cereal.

"Okay? Just okay? You're supposed to be scared, you little-!"

"You know you guys," Sakura cut in. "I feel kind of sorry for Naruto. I mean, he's sitting all alone."

"That's cause he's a dobe," Sasuke snorted.

"He probably doesn't know anyone here," Sakura continued, ignoring Sasuke's remark. "I think we should invite him over."

"But he's so dumb!" Ino whined.

"We barely know him," Sakura said. "At least we could give him a chance, right guys?"

"No dobes allowed."

"Aw man…" Ino sighed.

"Sure," Shikamaru replied, shrugging.

"I don't care," Neji answered.

"Well then, it's three against two since Neji's vote counts as a yes." Sakura got up. "Who's coming with me?"

"…" Neji said. Ino shook her head.

"No way," Sasuke grumbled.

"Guess it's me then," Shikamaru sighed, getting up. He and Sakura went over to Naruto. The blonde looked up. "Hey," Shikamaru said."

"Hi Naruto," Sakura said kindly. "Um, we were wondering if you'd like to sit with us." She gestured towards the others.

"…" Naruto stared blankly at Sakura for a moment. Then realization dawned on his face. "You…you guys…want me to sit with you?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru said.

"Oh hey!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly. "You're that Shikamaru guy!"

"Uh…yeah," Shikamaru said.

"Well?" Sakura asked.

"Sasuke sucks," Naruto said, "but okay!" He got up and grabbed his breakfast.

"Um…thanks." Sakura smiled. Shikamaru shrugged. They walked over to where Sasuke, Neji, and Ino were waiting. "Hi…" Naruto said hesitantly, sitting down.

"Hi…" Ino said without much enthusiasm. Neji nodded his greeting.

"Nice to see you again, dobe," Sasuke said sarcastically. Naruto was about to yell back, but then thought about it and settled for a glare. He was introduced to everyone.

"So," Sakura began, trying to start a conversation. "Um, who's your homeroom teacher, Naruto?"

"Huh? Oh, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied.

"Really? Wow, we're all in the same homeroom."

"That's great…" Sasuke grumbled. "Perfect."

"Huh?" Naruto looked confused.

"Uh, never mind him," Sakura said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, how old are you?"

"Sixteen, turning seventeen in October," Naruto answered. "How about you guys?"

"We are all seventeen or turning seventeen, except for Sakura," Neji, surprisingly, replied. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I turned sixteen this year. I skipped a grade."

"Wow, so you're the smartest?" Naruto asked. Sakura was about to nod, but was interrupted by Ino.

"Sakura-chan's smart, but Shikamaru's smarter," she said.

"Wow, Ino actually said something good about me," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"But he's the laziest being on earth!" Ino growled.

"…scratch that. Spoke too soon," Shikamaru sighed.

"But how can that be? He didn't skip a grade!" Naruto protested (rather dumbly).

"That's because he's too lazy to even pick up his pencil!" Ino hissed, glaring at Shikamaru.

"Ouch," was all Shikamaru said.

"Oh," Naruto said.

"Well, we'd better go, or we'll be late," Sasuke announced, getting up. Everyone threw away their trash and headed towards courtyard B.

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Kakashi put away his book and faced everyone. "Hi there. I am Hatake Kakashi. You may call me Kakashi-sensei or simply sensei. Now, we will start with introductions. Please say your name, age, interests, and hobbies." Kakashi pointed at Ino. "You can go first." Ino stood up confidently.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino, age sixteen! I like cute boys, flowers, and one of my hobbies is dancing." She sat back down on the log and nudged Sakura.

"Um, hi everyone," Sakura began. "I'm Haruno Sakura and I'm sixteen. I like singing, animals, and one of my hobbies is reading."

"Name's Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said. "Age seventeen, likes basketball, soccer, and a hobby's archery." Shikamaru was next.

"I'm Nara Shikamaru. I'm still sixteen, I like to play shougi, sleep, and my hobby's watching clouds." He sat.

"My name is Hyuuga Neji," Neji said calmly. "I am seventeen. I like martial arts, reading, and I play basketball a lot." Naruto stood up.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto!" he yelled. "I'm seventeen. I like ramen, fun stuff, and a hobby of mine is to eat ramen!" Everyone sweat dropped.

"Um…" said a shy girl that was sitting next to Naruto. She got up hesitantly. "I-I'm Hyuuga H-Hinata and I…ano…l-like t-to draw, I-I adore animals, and I r-read. Oh, ano, I'm st-still sixteen…" She sat down shyly, blushing.

"Hey everyone," the boy that had been next to Hinata said. "My name's Inuzuka Kiba, I'm seventeen, I like dogs, soccer, and my hobby's running. Oh, by the way, this is Akamaru." The huge dog beside Kiba barked.

"Hey," a blond-haired girl greeted everyone. "I'm Subaku Temari. I'm seventeen, of course. I like tennis, ferrets, and I do martial arts." She sat down. The last person stood up. She had brown hair put up tightly in two buns.

"Hi, I'm Kengeki Tenten. I'm also seventeen. I like fencing, throwing knives, and I spar." Tenten sat back down.

"Well!" Kakashi said brightly. "Now that we've all been happily introduced, I'll just proceed with telling you about your day. You will all have four classes. All of you will have classes with your homeroom classmates only. You will have classes in this order: chakra control class, taijustu class, weaponry class, and genjustu class. Nobody will be learning ninjustu until next semester. Classes go from 10:00 am for one hour and a half with ten minute breaks in between." He wrote on the chalk board.

Chakra control: 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Taijustu: 11:40 am - 1:10 pm

Lunch: 1:10 pm - 2:50 pm

Weaponry: 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Genjustu: 4:40 pm - 6:10 pm

"Today will be an exception. Everything will be put twenty minutes forward. And…I think that's all. Any questions?"

"So we won't be learning math or anything?" Ino asked.

"Nope," Kakashi replied. "All shinobi stuff."

"All right!" the boy called Kiba cheered. "Awesome, right Akamaru?" Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Any other questions?"

"A-ano…will w-we be g-getting…r-report cards…?" Hinata asked shyly. Kakashi nodded.

"You will be graded by percentages, not letter grades."

"O-okay…"

"Is that all? Well, here are some important sheets you might want to read over." Kakashi handed everyone a package. "Those contain the rules, school events, holidays, and everything." He looked at his watched. "Oh, look at that, time's up. Hurry to class now." Everybody left.

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"This is going to be so exciting," Ino bubbled.

"Hinata-san," Neji said. "Are you sure you want to do this? You have never been good at physical activities."

"A-ano…well…I-I'd like t-to g-give it a try…a-at least today…" she mumbled. "O-onegai, Neji-nii-san…"

"Hey!" someone called from behind the two cousins. They turned around. "Hey," Kiba said again, jogging up to them. "I wanna ask…are you two blind?"

"Why would we have applied for a seemingly normal university if we were blind?" Neji asked testily. "And be able to walk?"

"Oh. Sorry," Kiba apologized. "But your eyes are all white and stuff, so I was wondering…"

"T-that's o-okay…" Hinata stuttered.

Everyone arrived at the chakra control classroom, which was also a courtyard, except it was surrounded by a fence. A man with a beard that was smoking stood in front of another chalkboard. He spotted the students arrive.

"Ah," he said. "Right on time." The teacher gestured towards the logs. "Sit down." Everyone did as they were told. "Well…this is Chakra control. I'm Sarutobi Asuma. Hm…I'll take attendance now." After that was over, Asuma spoke again. "Alright…I have a question. Can anyone feel their chakra?" Nobody answered. Asuma sighed. "I guess not. Well then, today's class will be to get to know your chakra. You can't control something you can't feel, after all." He looked around. "Ino," he said. "You're friends with Sasuke and Neji, right?" Ino looked surprised, but nodded. "Well, when they get angry, do you sense something strange about them?"

"Um…well, now that I think about it, sometimes I can feel something like an aura."

"Good," Asuma replied. "That's chakra. Since getting angry is the best way to release chakra, each and every one of you will become so angry that you can feel something surging through you. Starting with Ino."

"Hey!" Ino protested. She crossed her arms. "Well, there's no way any of you are gonna get me angry."

"Ino, you pig!" Naruto yelled. Ino simply smirked.

"You're fat and ugly," Kiba tried.

"Thanks," Ino replied, still smirking.

"You're not my friend anymore, Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled.

"Okay," Ino said. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, everyone was on the verge of giving up. Shikamaru, who hadn't done anything, beckoned Sasuke and Neji over.

"I have a plan," he told them, and outlined the details of his plan to them. They agreed to do it.

"I give up," Sasuke snapped. Ino's eyes widened.

"Ha! Told you guys so! Even Sasuke gave up."

"As if I'd lose to you, Ino! I've always thought you were an i-" Sasuke broke off. Ino's eyes narrowed.

"A what?"

"Nothing," Sasuke said. Ino marched up to him.

"Yeah right!" she yelled. "You were about to say something!" She turned to Neji and Shikamaru. "Did he say anything about me behind my back?"

"Ye-I mean, no," Neji said quickly.

"Um…" was all Shikamaru said. Ino rounded on Neji.

"You were about to say yes! Tell me! What did he say!"

"Don't you dare tell her, Hyuuga," Sasuke growled.

"Tell me!" Ino demanded.

"Hyuuga!"

"Neji!"

"Uh…" Neji said, looking from Ino to Sasuke. Ino turned to Shikamaru.

"Well?"

"Not telling."

"Ugh!" Ino yelled. "Sasuke! What did you say, you pathetic wimp!"

"Pathetic wimp! How dare you!" Sasuke shouted. "Fine, I'll tell you! I said that you're an idiot! I said that you were ugly, fat, stuck-up, and stupid! Happy!"

"WHAT!" Ino screeched. "Why…why…UCHIHA!"

"Ino," Asuma said suddenly. "Do you feel anything?"

"I-what?" Ino asked, looking angrily confused.

"Do you feel anything inside of you. Like an…aura?"

"Uh…" Ino paused briefly. Her eyes widened. "I think so…"

"Good. Can you imagine it gathering in your hand?"

"Um…yeah." As Ino finished speaking, a blue light started glowing faintly in her hand. Ino gasped. "Is this…chakra?"

"Yep," Asuma answered. "Good job guys."

"…?" Ino turned to Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru. "So…that was all just to get me angry?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

"You didn't mean what you said?"

"No. It was Shikamaru's plan."

"Oh…wait, what!" Ino rounded on Shikamaru and hit him on the head. "Jerk!"

"Ow…what was that for?" Shikamaru complained.

"Your stupid plan!"

"I think it was quite brilliant, actually," Asuma commented casually. "Anyway, moving on. Next will be…Sasuke."

"Try me," Sasuke smirked. Someone punched him from behind. "Ow!" He spun around and was face-to-face with Naruto. "What was that for, you dobe!"

"I couldn't help it; you looked too stupid," Naruto replied.

"Grr…you-!"

"Sasuke…" Asuma began.

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke growled. A brighter blue light appeared in his hand. "Hey Neji!" Sasuke shot at the other boy. "You suck ass."

"…what?" Neji asked in a dangerous voice.

"I bet you can't do this at all," Sasuke taunted. Neji didn't reply. He simply made a ball of whitish-blue chakra appear.

"Nice job guys," Asuma remarked, smiling. Neji turned to Hinata. He approached her.

"Hinata…I've always meant to tell you…Hiashi is stupid."

"W-what?" Hinata asked shakily. Neji glared.

"You heard me. I think your father is stupid!"

"…" Hinata looked at Neji, a rather angry expression appearing on her face. "Father isn't stupid!"

"Yes he is," Neji growled. "He deserves to die!" Hinata was looking very shocked and angry now. "Hinata," Neji said suddenly. "Chakra."

"…oh." Hinata's faced dawned in realization and she managed to have a weak whitish-blue glow envelop her hand.

"Gomen," Neji told her.

"I-it's o-okay…"

"Who should be next?" Asuma mused.

"Me!" Kiba said eagerly. "Bet you can't-hey, what are you doing!" Tenten had taken out a knife and was stabbing it at Akamaru, who was dodging. "Why…how dare you hurt Akamaru!"

"Go," Tenten told him, putting her knife back in her pocket.

"…huh?" Kiba blinked. Akamaru barked. "Oh! Right!" Blue light swirled around Kiba's outstretched hand.

"Let's do Shikamaru next!" Ino said excitedly. She turned to Shikamaru and found him…sleeping.

"Shikamaru never gets angry," Sasuke said.

"Uh…" Everyone looked at Neji. "Well…he will get angry if you punch him awake."

"Alright!" Ino announced, making a fist. "I'll just punch him awake then!" Neji backed away and beckoned Sasuke to do the same. Ino drew back her fist…and launched a hard punch to Shikamaru's arm. Before anyone knew what had happened, there was a boom, a roar, a shriek, and dust was settling to reveal Ino stuck in a large dent in the fence. Shikamaru was towering over her, looking all dark and mighty with a fist raised.

"Shikamaru! Try the chakra!" Asuma yelled. He needn't have bothered, for light blue light sprang flame-like from Shikamaru's fist.

"So that's how he was able to punch so hard," Neji observed out loud. Shikamaru glowered scarily at Ino for a minute, then realized who he had punched. His anger and chakra instantly died.

"Aw man…" Shikamaru sighed. "I…hit…a woman."

"Ow…" Ino sniffed, nursing her bruised side.

"Sorry," Shikamaru said, helping Ino up. Ino, to everyone's surprise, glared at Neji.

"You could've warned me about what was going to happen!"

"Sorry," Neji said, shrugging. Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Mememememeeee!" Naruto yelled. "Me next! Bet ya guys can't make me mad!"

"What was that, dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"Who're you calling dobe!" Naruto shouted.

"You, you baka!"

"Baka! You're stupider, baka!"

"Oh, how creative."

"Shut up Sasuke-teme! It's not like you can do any better!"

"And what became of your 'bet ya guys can't make me mad' statement?"

"I…I…I…" Naruto stuttered, flushing angrily.

"Just try it now, Naruto," Asuma cut in.

"Well…but…I…fine!" Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated hard. Then harder. And harder. He finally managed to make a feeble, little, bright-blue glow.

"Man, you're pathetic dobe," Sasuke commented, smirking.

"Shut up, Sasuke-teme!"

"Who's left?" Asuma looked around. "Ah. The ladies. Temari…?"

"No need to get me angry," Temari said, making her hand glow. Tenten, surprisingly, was able to do the same.

"All right Sakura-chan, you're the last one!" Ino sang.

"Hm…Sakura, you're ugly," Sasuke said.

"Although I'm not trying to not be angry, it's not really working," Sakura admitted.

"You have an ugly big forehead!" Naruto yelled. Sakura turned on him with flaming eyes.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!"

"Chakra control," Asuma cut in. Sakura blinked.

"Oh, yeah!" She was able to summon her bright blue chakra to her hand. In fact, she was able to control it so perfectly that she could shape it into a ball.

"Wonderful, Sakura," Asuma complimented, smiling. He checked the time. "Well, that about uses up our time. You may all go early. Homework is to practice controlling your chakra."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered. "The first class is over!"

"Such a one-track mind," Sakura sighed.

"Aww, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined.

"Taijustu is next!" the girl called Tenten said excitedly. Everybody entered the gym, but no one was there.

"Hey, where's the teacher?" Kiba asked as Akamaru barked.

"This is strange…" Sasuke commented, frowning. "Why-"

The Uchiha never got to finish his question. There was a blur, a scream, and a thud. All went wrong…



Muhahaha, cliff-hanger! Anyways, I'm not going to write out every classes' events, so please tell me which two classes you'd like to read about, in a review. And comment, please. Arigatou! Well, there isn't much to say here. I hope that there will be more readers this time. Ja ne!