A/N: Well I realize the prologue was a short chapter, but this chapter will be about the length I expect most of the others to be. Also the characters are older in here than in the manga.

Sophomores

It was 7:00 am, thirty minutes before school started. A lone figure stood leaning against the gates to the high school, illuminated by the pale glow of the lights suspended on either side of the entrance. He was always the first of his friends to arrive, partly because he liked the solitude of the early morning, and partly because he couldn't stand being near his legal guardian. Then again, who could look upon the man they blamed for their father's death with anything other than disdain. It's just an added insult that said man happened to be his uncle. He kept his cool however, hid his vengeful spirit in his pale blue, almost white eyes and buried his rage in his chest below a new Hollister shirt. This shirt, along with his expensive jeans, new shoes, neat hair, and over all well-groomed appearance gave him the total prep look. Only the black cloth tied around his forehead threw it off. A small, barely audible gasp interrupted his thoughts and he turned to see who had invaded his solitude.

"Uh, oh, Neji. How are you this morning?" The speaker walked into the pool of light and Neji could see it was his cousin, Hinata. For a split second he could feel anger bubble inside of him, but he quickly subdued it. What happened wasn't her fault.

"Hm." He responded while nodding slightly. Hinata avoided his gaze, fiddling with the strings of her white hoody and staring down at her shoes. She noticed that her jeans were getting a little frayed. Neji glared at the piece of cloth identical to his she had tied loosely around her neck. 'How someone as insecure as her had the guts to join a street gang must be one of the great mysteries of he world' he thought with a bit of a smirk appearing on his face.

"Uh, father wants to know why you didn't wait and get a ride to school." Hinata looked up and meet Neji's gaze. Their eyes were very similar, if it wasn't for the slight purple tint in Hinata's, they would have been identical. Once their eyes met Hinata quickly looked back at the ground.

"I wanted to be alone for a bit," he answered, returning his gaze to the horizon. "Besides, riding in a limo never really held much appeal to me."

"Oh…" Silence filled the air between them. The Hyuuga family was extremely wealthy and well known. Byakugan Industries was a multi-million dollar company owned by the family that had been passed down to the eldest child of the previous owner for generations, this however is only the part of the family's history that is known to the general public. The practice of passing the business down to the eldest child created a fissure separating a "main house " and a "branch house". Hinata's father, Hiashi, was the current owner of Byakugan Industries since he was born a few minutes before Neji's father, Hizashi. Thus were Hizashi and Neji separated from the main house. That is, until Hizashi died and Neji was taken in by Hiashi. Hinata's stomach churned. Thinking of her family's history always made her feel uneasy.

A voice could be heard growing closer and two figures could be seen approaching through the dim beginnings of the morning sun.

"Don't you just love the morning? It's so peaceful and quiet. Hey, are you excited for the new school year? I am. Though I will really miss the summer. How about you? Hey Sasuke. Sasuke? Sasuke, are you even listening to me?"

"For the love of God SHUT THE HELL UP SAKURA!"

"Oh! So you were listening. I thought maybe you had your earbuds in. Anyway, as I was saying…"

The two had now stopped at the school's gate and proceeded to greet the Hyuugas.

"Good morning Hinata, Neji! You guys looking forward to the school year?" Sakura asked with just a little too much enthusiasm for the morning. Neji simply grunted in response.

"Um, I guess so…" Hinata answered. Sakura looked annoyed.

"OH COME ON! What's wrong with you people? It's sophomore year for cryin' out-loud! This year is gonna rock!" Sakura declared pumping her fist in the air. Hinata smiled apologetically and said she was sure it would. Sakura then continued to gossip about anything and everything she could with Hinata while the latter simply smiled politely and nodded where necessary. Sasuke walked over and leaned on the wall next to the other Hyuuga crossing his arms. His own family, the Uchiha's, had once been as well known and influential as the Hyuuga's. The majority of the police force had been made up of the Uchiha's and people respected their power and authority. They held a high respect for the difference between right and wrong, and during their time in control of the force, Konoha had not known the meaning of a crooked cop. But that was long ago; before everyone was…Sasuke shook his head. He didn't feel like resurfacing old memories right now.

He looked for something else to focus on. He noticed that Sakura really stood out from the dully-colored world of the morning with her pink short-sleeve shirt and white skirt. The black strip of fabric she had in like a hair band looked out of place in her pink hair. (She swears it's naturally pink, but Sasuke couldn't believe that.) Meanwhile, he himself blended into the darkness in his black t-shirt and cargo shorts. (Sometimes when he put his headband on he felt like a ninja, but he'd never admit it)

"How is it possible for someone to talk that much in the morning?" Neji asked in a bewildered tone as motioned toward the pink haired girl who was currently ranting about chores. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno. She always talks a lot. I tried to leave for school early today, but since she lives next door I got caught." Sasuke sighed the last part in a defeated way. Neji chuckled.

"You have the patience of a saint. If I were in your position, I would have punched her already."

"Oh trust me, I've had the urge to."

"Oi! Neji!" a girls voice called from a short distance away. The four at the gate turned to see three boys and one girl coming up to the school. The girl ran ahead of the other three boys and stopped next to Neji, in front of the school's entrance.

"Hey guys! How are you?" she asked

"Fine."

"Hn."

"Okay…"

"I'm good, Ten-Ten. You seem energetic as ever." Sakura replied with a smile. Ten-Ten's goal in life was to become one of the greatest female athletes in the world. She kept herself in good physical condition, but claimed that all that truly mattered was the energy you had to offer. "Without energy, nothing can happen", or so her personal philosophy claimed.

"Yeah, you bet!" she said. "Sorry we're late, I couldn't find my headband for like ten minutes." She motioned toward the cloth tied on her forehead. "Oh! I got a new outfit! You like?" she struck a pose, showing off her pink sleeveless kimono and her designer khakis.

"Ya know, you should try using your knowledge of fashion to help Lee out." Sakura responded, pointing toward the subject.

Lee, along with Shino and Kiba, had finally caught up to Ten-Ten (they were the three she left in the dust). Lee stood out from everyone else. For starters, he sported a God-awful bowl cut and ridiculously bushy eyebrows. His shirt was green as well as his pants, and shoes, and probably his underwear. The only visible article of clothing that he had on that wasn't green was a black band he wore as a belt. He wasn't the smartest kid in the world, and used to get picked on and beat up all throughout Elementary school for the fact that he was a complete and total loser in every sense of the word. However one day in sixth grade he decide that since he didn't look cool, our have impressive grades, he would gain everyone's respect by becoming a great athlete. He wanted to one day have his name etched into a trophy that was displayed for all to see. He was pretty close to achieving his goal. Last year he had made it onto the varsity football team as a first string running back. This was unheard of from a freshmen. This year he planned to win a championship on the team.

Kiba stood behind Lee to his right. He had a grey hoody on with the hood up and baggy jeans, a black headband just barely visible under the hood. He was preoccupied with picking dog hair out of his sweatshirt and muttering about 'damn mutts' and 'why the hell' they had to sleep on his clothes. Kiba's family owned a vet and kennel called 'Inuzaka Animal Hospital and Housing' that was attached to the back of their house. Kiba's family loved animals, especially dogs, and everyone in their family had their own dog. Kiba's was a puppy named Akumaru who was extremely well behaved and could go for hours without barking. Occasionally Kiba snuck him into school in his book bag to show all the girls in his classes his cute little puppy dog when the teacher wasn't in the room. Shino stood behind Lee to his left. His grey jacket was zipped up all the way and the collar popped so that you couldn't see his mouth. His jeans were old and had a considerable amount of wear and tear towards the bottom. Shino always wore sunglasses for no apparent reason, even at nighttime. Having a strip of black fabric tied too his forehead seemed normal in comparison. He was not one to waste words and tended to keep to himself, so even his friends knew very little about him.

"What's up guys?" Sasuke asked. Neji nodded in their direction from his spot against the gate.

"Mornin'," Shino replied in a slightly tired voice.

"Nothin'. S'up with you?" Kiba answered with a yawn while rubbing the back of his neck.

"I feel very good today. I cannot wait for the new school year." Lee said with a smile and a thumbs up.

"Dude, why do you talk so weird?" Kiba asked, looking at Lee

"What do you mean?" Lee looked confused, Kiba sighed.

"Whatever…"

"Oi, Lee, I have to ask. Where the hell did you find a pair of green jeans?" Neji stated, eyeing Lee's entirely green apparel.

"Why, at a store of course." He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Everyone just sighed.

"Forget it." Neji closed his eyes and re-entered his aloof state of mind.

A screech of tires could be heard as a dented, paint chipped, bumper less car came flying towards the school doing at least 60. Another screech rang out as the driver of said car slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop right in front of the school's gate. Two teens dove out of the back seat once it stopped shouting, " We're alive!" A third teen got out of the passenger seat.

"Ha! See Shikamaru? I told you I could get you and your friends here in under five minutes!" the driver shouted.

"Yeah, thanks a lot dad…"the teen mumbled as he shut the door and his dad revved the engine and sped away. Shikamaru sighed, he didn't want all this craziness in his life. He wanted a simple life where he could watch the clouds and nap for hours on end. Sure the school had labeled him a genius, but that didn't mean he had to waste away trying to solve the worlds problems. Such things are too troublesome.

"Jesus, your dad is dangerous on the road." The rather rotund teen said as he picked himself off the ground.

"Well why don't you have your dad drive us to school, Choji?" Shikamaru replied fixing his ponytail. His mom was always telling him to get a haircut, but that was too troublesome. He wore a simple outfit of a grey t-shirt and cargo shorts with a black band tied on his upper-left arm.

"That's not funny Shikamaru. You know my dad has a suspended license for reckless endangerment." Choji said while picking up his book bag off the ground. He had on a pair of loose jean shorts that went to the middle of his shins and a white t-shirt. A black bandana was tied over his head.

"Anyway, I don't know why Ino doesn't just have her dad drive us." Choji said glancing at the only female passenger of the car ride from hell. Ino, who was adjusting her ponytail, stuck her tongue out at the boys. Then she dusted off her purple skirt, straightened her blue tank top and re-tied the black band around her waist. She then proceeded to scream "Sasuke!" and half-tackled the black haired boy in a suffocating stranglehold.

"Hey, I missed you." Ino squealed in his ear after effectively latching herself to Sasuke with a hug from behind.

"I…just…saw…you…Friday." Sasuke choked out.

"Yeah, but that was three whole days ago!" she whined.

"Hey, Ino-pig, get your hands off of Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, standing with her hands on her hips as she glared the other girl down. Ino released Sasuke, who immediately started gasping for air, and glared Sakura right in the eye with her arms crossed. For a moment, both girls had a memory of a flower field from long ago, and both, almost simultaneously, pushed the image out of their minds.

"Why? Do you think he could ever be yours, forehead girl?" Both girls intensified their stares and one could almost see lightening shooting from their eyes.

"Oh, jeez. Here we go again." Ten-Ten said shaking her head.

"Girls are so troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Why must they always fight each other?" Hinata asked in a small voice.

"It seems they are destined to." Neji answered knowingly.

"Ladies, couldn't you just talk this out?" Lee asked hopefully.

"Hell naw, Lee, shut up! C'MON CAT FIGHT!" Kiba cheered.

"I DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE!" Sasuke yelled. Everyone fell silent and stared at him, surprised by his sudden outburst.

"What?! Leave me alone…"Sasuke turned away from the rest of the group. By this point in time many other students who attend the school had already passed the group at the gate and gone to class. Many of them giving the gathering wary looks and trying to stay as far away from them as possible.

"Hey, hey! Look out!" Everyone turned toward the voice saw a boy coming down the sidewalk on a skateboard, nearly taking out at lest six pedestrians. He came to a stop right in front of the group

"Hey guys!" he shouted in a cheer voice.

"You're late, Naruto, and why are you covered in paint?" Sasuke said to his classmate. Naruto had on a black t-shirt and jeans that were covered in random splotches of orange paint. The black headband on his forehead was the only visible article of clothing that was paint-free.

"Yeah, well, I had a little…project I was working on. Anyway I'm here now so what's the deal?" He asked challengingly.

"Well, for one thing, school starts in less than a minute." Neji stated calmly.

"What?!" Everyone looked in the entrance to the clock that hung above the main doors to the school. "Shit! First day and I'm already late for something. Hey Sakura, since it's the first day we have that assembly thingy right?" Naruto asked. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, why?"

"LAST ONE TO THE AUDITORIUM TAKES THE BLAME!!" Naruto yelled sprinting towards the building. Sakura sprinted after him shouting " GET BACK HERE DUMBASS!" and the rest of the fledgling gang followed suit.

An elderly man watched the teens standing by the gate from the second story window in his office, a faint smile playing on his lips as he remembered his own youth. A knock was heard on his office door and another man in his mid twenties came into the dimly lit office. He stayed on the opposite side of the room and gazed lazily out the window towards the kids.

"Is that them?" he asked. The older man nodded not looking away from the window, his smile faded.

"Which one is it?" the younger man asked.

"The one that just arrived, him, with the blonde hair." The elder answered pointing to a teen picking up a skateboard. The man behind him sighed.

"They look so young. Couldn't we wait another year?" he asked though he already knew the answer.

"I wish it were so, but you and I both know that we have waited as long as we could." The teens were running toward the main doors of the school, which were located directly under the window. As they got closer the man could read the one word in red written on a black cloth they all had; 'Shinobi'.

"They are already a part of this whether they want to be or not."

A/N: It took me all night to right this so now my wrists hurt and I'm exhausted. I hope this is worth it. Well it's 5:00 am now so I guess I'll go to sleep.