You poke your fork at the food on your plate.
"Isn't this supposed to be a school for the rich?" You demand, wondering if your food is going to attack you back. Next to you, Naruto shrugs.
"You get used to it eventually," he says, taking a big bite of his own food. Repressing a shudder you poke the food a bit more. "Now let's see… who don't you know yet…?"
Naruto scans the room from the table you were sitting at. Tucked into the back corner of the cafeteria, he claimed it was an ideal hiding place from Class One. You weren't about to argue.
"Ah! There's Inuzuka Kiba," Naruto says, gesturing with his fork. "Absolute asshole."
You giggle at this.
"I've met him," you say. Naruto's eyes keep scanning.
"Well that only leaves… eep!" He drops back into his seat suddenly.
"What?" you ask, ducking too, just in case Class One wanted to make an appearance.
Tenten, sitting across from Naruto looks back and laughs.
"Still not happy with you?" she asks Naruto, who shakes his head.
"Who?" you ask.
"Look over at Hinata's table," Tenten instructs you. Peeking over Juugo's shoulder you spot said table. Hinata is sitting next to Sasuke, reading quietly. Sasuke is poking his food irritably, tossing glares across the room at Itachi. Shino is studying something in a jar. Sitting next to Shino, across from Sasuke, is a red-head. He is currently glaring in Naruto's general direction. Even from across the room you can see his startling sea-foam green eyes, lighter than your own, surrounded by black eyeliner. His pale face is emphasized by his hair, slightly darker then your own. On his forehead, above his left eye, is a tattoo, the Japanese Kanji for 'Love' written in red.
In general, the guy screams 'Goth.'
"Who's that?" you ask.
"Sabaku no Gaara," Tenten says. "The third and final of the Sabaku kids."
You tilt your head to the side, puzzled.
"Temari's the eldest, then Kankuro, then Gaara," she says. "Temari's slightly obsessed with fans. She has hundreds."
You blink, unsure that you heard her correctly.
"Fans?" you ask, imagining the blonde surrounded by hundreds of electric fans, blowing her hair in all directions.
"Yeah, you know, the Asian ones," Tenten continues. "She even has a couple of huge ones, bigger than her."
You blink, looking back over at Class One's Table.
"And Kankuro," Tenten continues "He's obsessed with puppets."
You whirl your head back to her, shocked.
"Puppets?" you ask. She nods.
"Yeah, the big ones. Theatre ones." She says this as if it's the most normal thing in the world. "His Uncle, who teaches here, got him into it."
Your mind flies back to the strings that litter your apartment.
'Puppet strings…'
"And Gaara… he's not obsessed with anything," Tenten says shrugging. "So he's odd compared with the other two."
You shake your head, eyeing the red-head who could pass as your cousin.
"He was obsessed with sand when we were little," Naruto's muffled voice sounds from where he was huddled over, head hidden in that hideous orange jacket. "He still has hundreds of hour glasses in his room."
"Whatever," Tenten says, stuffing some of her spaghetti in her mouth.
"What did you do to him?" You ask, pushing your untouched plate towards Juugo, who has been eyeing it for the last ten minutes.
"Er… long story…" Naruto mutters. Shikamaru rolls his eyes, taking a bite out of his apple.
"It's not what he did; it's what he didn't do," he says. Before you can probe any more, the warning bell rings, signaling five minutes before class. With a collective groan, everyone rises, leaving their trays on the tables and stomping towards the doors. Before you can move though, Tenten catches your hand.
"Watch this!" she says gleefully, nodding towards Naruto.
As Naruto weaves through the crowd he bumps into Sasuke. They both mutter an apology until they look up and see each other. The change is instant.
"Ahh! Watch it, teme!" Naruto shouts. Sasuke's eyes become icy.
"You were the one that bumped into me, dobe." He replies, his voice carrying across the now silent cafeteria.
"Hey! Don't call me that!" Naruto shouts.
"I'll call you what I want, dobe." Sasuke snaps.
"Here he goes." Tenten whispers. Before you can ask, a feral cry sounds through the cafeteria. Naruto launches himself at Sasuke, tackling the taller boy to the ground.
"Get off me, dobe!"
"Ahh! Don't call me that, teme!"
"Dobe!"
"Teme!"
As the cafeteria roars with laughter the two boys lay into each other.
"Alright that's enough!" A voice sounds through the crowd. In an instant, the students scatter in every direction. By the time the two teachers reach the brawling boys, the crowd is gone, leaving you, Tenten, Juugo, Shikamaru, Hinata, Gaara, and Shino.
"Break it up!" You recognize Asuma pulling Naruto up by the scruff of his neck.
"You two! Again!?" The tall man effortlessly hauls Sasuke to his feet. Tall, shoulders almost bursting out of his trench coat, you flinch away as you spot the scars crisscrossing on his head. He shuffles his hat back on with one hand to cover them.
"That's Morino Ibiki," Tenten whispers. "Don't let his appearance fool you – he's a big teddy bear on the inside."
"Are you alright, Uchiha?" Ibiki asks gruffly.
"Hey! Don't take his side!" Naruto shouts. Ibiki ignores him, releasing Sasuke, who nods.
"Hey! How come he gets to go!?" Naruto shouts, struggling against Asuma's grip.
"Naruto!"
Naruto flinches, huddling behind Asuma.
You turn towards the doors and see another teacher striding towards the blonde. His brown hair reminds you of Shikamaru's. He has a scar running across his nose and a warm look in his soft brown eyes. The warm look is almost over run with anger.
"Ahh! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto whines. "He started it!"
"Enough Naruto," Iruka snaps. "I'll be sure to tell Tsunade-san about this."
Naruto relaxes visibly.
"Fine. Tell the Old Hag," he says, grinning. "I can handle her!"
A snort from Sasuke wipes the grin off his face.
"Shut up, teme! I can! Believe it!" he shouts. Iruka sighs, rubbing his nose.
"All of you get to your next class!" He snaps. Sasuke shuffles off, Hinata hovering over him worriedly. Shino follows, face unreadable. Gaara hesitates a moment, eyes darting to Naruto briefly, before he too leaves. "Naruto! You'd better not start another fight!"
Mumbling to himself, Naruto tests his weight on his foot, before shrieking and falling over.
"It hurts! It hurts!" he cries. Everyone ignores him. Tenten rolls her eyes.
"Juugo, take him to Music," she orders. You remember that Music is your next subject and hurry to keep pace with the large student. Naruto limps behind the two of you, muttering to himself.
"-and then I got him with a left hook, followed by an awesome-"
"Naruto…"
"-and he was helpless because next I-"
"Naruto…"
"-and Ibiki-sensei just had to interrupt when I was about to-"
"NARUTO!"
Naruto whirls to look at the angry Kiba.
"We were all there, it didn't happen like that!" he snaps. Naruto rolls his eyes.
"You don't know anything Mutt Face!" Naruto replies, waving a hand.
You slump in your seat, wondering why you had to choose Naruto of all people to make friends with. The guy was one big walking disaster.
You glance around the room and wince when you see who else is there.
The music room is designed to be soundproof. A door leads to the room containing instruments. Scattered around the room is single desks, and chairs of all sizes and heights, a large piano and a drum kit.
In one corner, Gaara, Shino, Sasuke and Hinata are settled. Opposite them, Kankuro is poking at a random instrument, apparently bored. Kiba, sitting next to him, is in a heated debate with Naruto. On his own, to one side, Rock Lee is looking around the room helplessly.
"What's wrong with Rock Lee?" you ask Naruto, interrupting him and Kiba.
"Huh?" Naruto says, looking over at him. "Oh, he doesn't really like Music. He was forced into it by Tsunade-oba-san. She said he does too much Sport."
Poor Rock Lee looked lost. Looking over at him, you catch his eye. Waving him over, you smile encouragingly. He shuffles over, eyeing you suspiciously.
"Hi," you say. "I'm Suki."
He smiles hesitantly back.
"Ohayo. I am Hachimon Rock Lee," he says. You nod, kicking a chair towards him.
"Come sit with us," you suggest. "You looked lonely."
Rock Lee eyes Juugo warily, but takes the seat.
"Thank you, Suki-chan!" he says, almost blinding you with a smile.
"Hi Fuzzy-Brows!" Naruto greets him.
"Naruto," he says, inclining his head. As the two begin to chat you look around the room again. Sitting away from the younger classes, Pein has a long-suffering look on his face. The door opens again, and Tobi bounces in, followed by Deidara. You groan, wondering just how many of your classes the blonde is going to be in.
"Sasuke!" Tobi shrieks, bouncing over to the boy. "Aren't you excited to be back in Music?! Tobi is!"
Sasuke glares at his cousin.
"Hn," he mumbles. Tobi grins before bouncing over to join Pein and Deidara.
Deidara catches your eye and winks. You glare at him and resist poking your tongue out at him.
"Five…four…three…" you look at Naruto confused, "two… one… Enter Anko."
As the words leave his mouth a series of bangs, accompanied by an explosion of smoke startles you out of your chair.
"Ok, listen up Maggots!" a voice calls. The smoke begins to clear as Naruto pulls you back into your seat. "Welcome to another semester of Music!"
The smoke clears and you gape. Somehow a giant banner has been erected, reading 'Music – Semester Two.' Standing in front of it is a scantly clad woman, giving the peace sign. Her dark hair is pulled up in a strange ponytail, like dark flames at the back of her head. Her dark eyes take everything in.
"As usual, I'll be your teacher!" She says, grinning. "Mitarashi Anko!"
The whole class seems unimpressed by her entrance.
"Anko-sensei, you're going to set of the smoke alarms again," Kiba says in a bored voice. Anko rubs the back of her head laughing sheepishly.
"Oops, forgot about that!" she says. "Oh well. Ok Maggots, you know the deal! Grab your instruments and-"
She stops, staring at you.
"New meat!" she shouts. "Alright! Everyone, get your instruments and get to your rooms while I deal with the newbie! Move!"
Everyone scurries to do as she says. Anko turns to you.
"Name!" she demands. You blink a couple of times. "Well?"
"Suki. Tasogare Suki," you mumble. She grins.
"Play an instrument already?" she asks. You shake your head. "Alright, we'll find something for you!"
Everyone else dashes around, scooping up instruments and random equipment.
Pein is fiddling with a bass guitar, Tobi with a trumpet. Kankuro is twirling drumsticks idly between his fingers while Kiba plucks at his electric guitar. Juugo is inspecting his tuba carefully next to Naruto who is bouncing up and down, empty handed. Sasuke is twirling the bow of Hinata's violin around while Hinata inspects the instrument carefully. Shino is plucking at the strings of a cello why Gaara glares at his double bass.
Suddenly, Anko grabs your hands.
"Look! Lovely fingers!" she proclaims, shoving your hands in front of Naruto. "Piano! We only have one right now, so you'll have to share."
Pulling you up, she shoves you out of the room. You stumble down the corridor, guided by Anko, to a small room with a grand piano in it.
Your mouth drops open as you see a grinning Deidara shuffling over to make room for you on the bench. You drop into the seat next to him with a groan.
"Have you played before, un?" he asks seriously. You look up, startled.
"No," you reply, touching a key shyly. "Is it hard?"
"Dunno, un," Deidara says, grinning. "I've played my whole life so it's easy for me, un!"
You roll your eyes and touch another key.
"But don't worry, Suki, un," he says leaning closer. "I can give you extra tutoring, un."
"Excellent idea!" Anko shouts from behind you, making you jump. "We'll see how she goes, and if she needs more help, you can provide it!"
You curse her mentally and stop yourself from slamming your head on the keys.
"Deidara, show Suki piece five before teaching her the chords," Anko says happily. "I'll move around from group to group!"
As she bounces off back down the corridor, Deidara stretches his hands, cracking his knuckles. As he twists his hands, you catch sight of something weird on them.
"What are they?" you ask curiously, turning his hands back over to face palm-up. Deidara grins, showing off the strange markings proudly.
Matching tattoos stretch across both of his palms. The swirling designs are horribly beautiful. The show an intricately drawn mouth on each hand, the tongues stretching out to lick his wrists. At the centre of each mouth is a horrid scar, slashing across his skin.
"W-What happened?" you ask, tracing one of the scars softly. Deidara smiles sadly.
"When I was little I thought the world needed more smiles. So I gave myself two more – to make up for my Mother and Father's," he says. "As I got older I would draw around them, and I eventually settled on a design I like, and I got that tattooed on at fifteen."
Turning his palms back down, he hits a few keys before launching into a song. You dimly recognize it as Beethoven's 'Midnight Sonata.'
You watch, shocked, as his fingers dance across the keys, creating the beautiful sound. You listen, enchanted, to the magical melody pouring from Deidara's fingers.
You look up, expecting to see his face filled with concentration. To your surprised, he looks bored, eyes drifting over the music idly. Still, you have a great urge to simply lay your head down and listen to him play.
You watch his fingers as the song progresses, captivated.
"Suki, un?"
You look up into Deidara's eye, your mind needing time to catch up.
"Yeah?" you answer stupidly. He grins.
"I'll teach you the chords now, un," he says. You nod and let him position your fingers on the keys. "Ok, un. We'll start simple…"
After the lesson, you wander out of the class in a daze. Naruto, who has a surprisingly sweet voice, bounces beside you.
"Have fun?" he asks mischievously.
"Huh?" is your oh-so-intelligent reply. Naruto grins.
"I saw you with Deidara," he teases. "You couldn't take your eyes off him!"
You turn the same color as your hair.
"You're insane," you inform him.
"Am I?" he asks, waggling his eyebrows. You smack him over the head.
"Yes. Now let's go," you snap.
'It's not my fault I appreciate good music…'
"Don't forget, Monkey's!" Tobi bounces up in between you, wrapping his arms around yours and Naruto's shoulders. "After school!"
With that, he bounces off after Pein, followed by a smirking Deidara.
"Oh crap…" you mutter. Naruto sighs, running a hand through his blonde spikes.
"Welcome to hell."