Chapter 3: Return

AN: Thank you so much to smile-lifegoeson for reviewing and saying that there was something wrong with this chapter! It would've been left here if you didn't say anything! Thank you for the favourites and follows! :D

Indie pop blasted into her ears as she exited the lift with a folder in her right hand. It was Sunday, the day before school started. She knocked on the door that said "SUPERVISORS" and entered, only to find Shikamaru sitting on the floor near the coffee table with a shogi board in front of him. He didn't even looked up when she entered. She raised an eyebrow, "Are you playing against yourself?" He nodded lethargically.

"Is Asuma-sensei or Kurenai-sensei here?"

"Nope," Shikamaru said curtly, while moving a shogi piece.

"Could you give this to one of them when they come in? It has a few forms." asked Temari.

"Hmmmm.."

Temari was getting annoyed. So she bent down and picked up a knight and moved it strategically until the opposing king was checkmated. Shikamaru stared at her.

"Could you give this to one of them when they come in? It has a few forms." Temari repeated.

"Sure," he replied and took the file from her, "Do you play?"

"Evidentially. See you," she muttered as she left hurriedly.

Shikamaru glanced down at the transparent file in his hand. The first thing that caught his eye was the first line.

First Name: Temari Last Name: - Age: 19 DOB: 23/09/94 Grade: 11

"What's a nineteen year old girl doing in Grade 11?" Shikamaru thought to himself. He made a mental note to ask Asuma about it later.

Temari woke up with a scowl.

She hated mornings.

She really did. Unless there was something urgent.

Correction. She hated early mornings. It was 7 a.m. The sun wasn't even up in Konoha at 7! In Suna waking up at 7 was much easier because of the blazing hot sun.

She stopped the alarm on her phone and got off her bed. She grabbed her uniform and entered the living room, where Gaara was already sitting sipping coffee and watching the news. "Morning," he called out as she went to the washroom. "Mmmm," was all she got out before closing the door. She hated speaking before brushing her teeth.

After a hot shower, she put on her uniform which consisted of a grey pleated skirt which was three inches above the knee and a white button down shirt that had to be tucked into her skirt. Every student also received a white and grey tie and a grey formal jacket that no one really wore unless it was winter. August meant it was autumn, so the weather was just right. After tying her hair in one high ponytail, she emerged from the washroom. Seeing that it was 7.30 a.m. and Kankurou was still snoring to glory, she decided to unleash her wrath on him. She slammed his room door open and drew his curtains, allowing the God awful light to fall on his eyes. They twitched and she knew he was awake. She smirked and said "Kanky if you don't wake up I'm going to mess with your purple face paint." Kankurou groaned and mumbled something unintelligible like "You wouldn't dare." Temari's grin grew wider. "Are you sure Kanky? Because Derivan Face and Body Paint, non-toxic, water based, fluro purple…" "OKAY fine Tem. You're holding my face paint. I'm up. Friggin bi-"

"What was that Kanky?" Temari asked sweetly.

"Nothing."

"Good. Now go get changed. Our buddies will be here in 25 minutes."

"Damnit."

Temari didn't really know what was needed on her first day. She put her laptop, a notebook and a pencil case into her purple and white backpack. As always, Gaara was already ready. He had probably packed his bag yesterday night. Kankurou, on the other hand, was still in the washroom. It was 7.50 am.

Temari sighed. She entered Kankurou's room and put his laptop and other essentials into his backpack and kept it on his table. What would he do without her?

"GUYS WHERE IS MY LAPTOP?!" yelled Kankurou from his room at 7.59 am.

"Check your backpack on your table Kanky."

"THANKS TEM!"

"Heh."

The doorbell rang at exactly 8 a.m. Whoever these people were, they were definitely uber-time conscious people. Temari opened the door and was met with the large, glowing smile of a tall, blonde girl and a brown haired boy.

"Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino! And this is Inuzuka Kiba! You must be Temari!" she said shrilly. All Temari could do was nod before they entered.

Ino gasped and exclaimed "You must be Gaara! I love your tattoo!" Gaara just stood there and stared at her. Kankurou entered the living room and nodded approvingly while glancing at Ino. Kiba started, "Kankurou, man, I'm Kiba. I'll be your buddy." Kankurou nodded and shook his hand.

"And I'm your buddy Temari!" Ino cried. Temari nodded.

"Ummm…" started Gaara.

"Oh don't worry Gaara! Your buddy will be here in just a minute. He probably stopped by the pantry for some ramen."

Speaking of the devil, Naruto appeared with a backpack slung over his left shoulder and a packet of instant ramen in his hand. He made a direct beeline for Gaara and gave him a hug, surprising Gaara. "GAARA! I'LL BE YOUR BUDDY DATTEBAYO!"

"NARUTO! Sound decibels you idiot!" screamed Ino.

Temari winced and wished she could tell Ino how ironic that was.

"So can I see your timetable?" Ino asked Temari. "Yeah, sure," she replied, taking out her diary to give to her. They were on the way down to breakfast. "Do you guys also stay in this building?" Kankurou asked.

"Yup!" said Naruto and Kiba in unison.

Suddenly, Ino squealed. "Temari! Both of us take Chemistry, English and Further Math! But your subject combination is more common with Shikamaru I think…. Yeah. And you're taking two extra subjects? What the hell man." Temari simply nodded. Shikamaru? That would be amusing.

Ino put her bag on a table with at least five other people. Kiba and Naruto followed in suit. Ino took the liberty to introduce the siblings. "Guys, this is Temari, Kankurou and Gaara. We'll be their buddies for some time. Introduce yourselves?" Ino said as she pointed to a girl with pink hair. She smiled sweetly and said "I'm Sakura! That's Hinata, Sai, Shino, Chouji and Shikamaru." Everyone nodded when their name was said and smiled, except for Shikamaru who was obviously immersed in a nap. Sakura kicked him under the table and he woke up with a start and stared at Temari.

"What happened to your hair?" he mumbled.

"I decided to tie it differently," Temari remarked. "I can see that," replied Shikamaru.

"Ummm… Do you guys know each other?" asked Sakura curiously.

"No." They both said in unison. Sakura and Ino glanced at each other with a gleam in their eyes. Then they both smiled as if a secret agreement had transpired between them.

There was an announcement over the PA system by the principal. "Kakashi stop reading that in sch- Oh we're on. Good morning students! Please proceed to the auditorium at 9.15 for an assembly. That will be all. Kaka-"

None of the students seemed phased by the strange nature of that announcement, implying that it was a usual occurrence.

"This school is so…. different. In my previous school all the students were really scared of their teachers and we had to bow to them every time they passed by, especially the principal," Temari said between bites. Those in immediate hearing range laughed. "This school is very chill. The teachers are really cool," said Ino.

"Hmmm… In my old school we weren't allowed to sit wherever we wanted during lunch. We had to sit where we were allocated at the beginning of the school year. I didn't like that at all…" mumbled Temari almost incoherently. Ino and Sakura looked positively mortified at that thought. "Was discipline really strict in your school Temari-san?" asked Sai politely. She nodded. "I also once went to a school like that. A long time ago," replied Sai.

"Are you guys from Suna?" this time it was Shikamaru who spoke up, for once. Temari was too shocked to reply. "How did you guess?" asked Gaara. "Her features are incredibly Sunese," he stated simply. Temari stared at him. That meant he was observing her.

"So guys this is the auditorium. It wasn't air-conditioned three years back but thankfully they installed air conditioners and better heaters throughout the school," Ino was giving them the grand tour which ended at the auditorium. "All of us are in the same homeroom class," Kiba said, "But we all take different subjects. So we don't really see each other around."

"THAT'S WHY WE EAT BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER TOGETHER DATTEBAYO!" exclaimed Naruto.

Suddenly, over the mic, a silver haired man with a mask covering half his face, announced "…. Naruto please keep your voice down. Students please line up according to your homerooms. Oh and new students, please come to the back of the stage."

Temari, Kankurou and Gaara proceeded to the back of the stage, but not before watching the crazy antics of the disciplinary master, Maito Gai.

"Greetings my lovely students! Tis' be the start of the New Year for your youthful souls! Go forth and do us proud! To anyone who hasn't been assigned to a house yet, please come and meet me after the assembly! Your youthful and magnificent Gai-sensei!"

At the end of this 'announcement' someone yelled Gai-sensei and started clapping.

Temari swore she heard the entire student body sigh.

"So welcome to the school year once again. Before I begin the assembly, let me introduce the new students," said Tsunade.

"In the 7th Grade…" Finally it reached 11th Grade.

"Temari, Gaara and Kankurou from Suna will be joining 11th Grade." They stood on the stage for a few seconds before walking down and towards Ino and Sakura, who were at the front of their homeroom line.

"Before I move on to the next segment of the assembly, there's one student I have to… Reintroduce." With unforgiving jet-black eyes and bangs covering most of his forehead, he stepped onto the stage. "Uchiha Sasuke will be re-joining 11th Grade after spending two years at Otogakure Academy." The silence in the auditorium was deafening. Students looked from Sasuke to Sakura, and almost everyone noticed that Sasuke was staring intensely at Sakura, whose ashen face showed no sign of any emotion except anger. "That fucking bastard!" swore Naruto loudly under his breath.

"What's he doing here?!" Ino asked no one in particular, she couldn't control her surprise. Everyone around her was thinking the same thing. Sakura's fist clenched up and she let out a sigh of frustration. She stared right back at Sasuke, despite his penetrating stare. She was not the same damsel-in-distress-lovesick girl she was two years ago.

"He will be in Sarutobi Asuma's homeroom." With that, Sasuke nodded at Kakashi, who was standing at the side of the stage, and walked down from the stage to the back of the line, where Shino was standing. No words were exchanged between them. Throughout the assembly, multiple students and teachers glanced at Sasuke and Sakura, but both of them simply looked forward. Sakura listened numbly to what Tsunade was saying while Sasuke continued staring intensely at her pink hair.

"Everyone except Grade 11 is dismissed," Tsunade ordered after the school anthem was played. The respective students got up and left the auditorium.

Sakura, snapping back to herself, grabbed Naruto by the hair and pulled him across the auditorium and pushed him against a wall. She put her left arm against his neck and angrily yelled, "Did you know he was coming back?" "No! Sakura-chan I swear I didn't know!" Sakura's pressed harder. "Believe me dattebayo!"

Students stared at them while they exited the auditorium, but no one said anything. "What the hell is happening?" asked Kankurou. "Drama. That's what is happening," replied Kiba while watching the scene unfold.

"Shouldn't we stop her?" Gaara enquired. "Nah. This is something those three need to figure out for themselves. But I wouldn't mind kicking Sasuke's pretty boy ass," Ino responded.

"What happened between Naruto, pretty boy and Sakura?" Temari questioned. "Even we don't know that," Shikamaru replied.

Meanwhile, Naruto was still screaming for Sakura to believe he didn't know about Sasuke's 'homecoming' when the devil himself spoke. "Sakura. He didn't know." That was all that took for her to let go of Naruto. She turned around and glared at Sasuke. She was surprised at their close proximity; she could see the dark circles under his unfaltering eyes. For two years, Sakura envisioned this moment to be completely different, she had even thought about what she would say to him. But she never thought she would have the guts to do what happened next.

Everyone heard the sound of the slap. Sasuke himself winced as her palm hit his right cheek, immediately turning red. She walked away, but not before she said, "Stay the hell away from me Sasuke."