Alright! I know I just posted this yesterday, but after a lovely, honest critique from Stalker-san I have gone back and modified it. I myself felt like the first chapter was rushed since I really want to get to the good parts of the story, but that's no excuse for slacking on the intro. Do not feel obligated to read the modified version. It still ends the same and it doesn't change the story.
Okay, here is High School Reunion!
I will say that for now this is rated M because I want to put a mature scene at the end but I think I'll be looking for someone to write that for me because I just honestly can't do it. After the shirts come off I'm a goner! I will probably have other things that could be considered mature anyway. Other than that Enjoy.
WARNING: This will be either Shounen Ai or straight up Yoai. Now, I've never had flamers, but I have heard of them, and they will be ignored. If you don't like it; don't read it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"So, you're definitely going? Right Naruto?"
"Hell ya! I can't wait to see you and the guys!" exclaimed Naruto. It was amazing that he hadn't dropped the phone. The receiver was balanced between his ear and his shoulder while he stirred his ramen on the stove top. "It's been years! Who's going to be there Kiba?"
"Well, good because Temari apparently talked Gaara into going and you know everyone's going to be afraid of him if you're not there. She's also forcing Shikamaru, who in turn, is forcing Choji."
"Sweet! I haven't seen them since graduation," exclaimed Naruto, "Did Shika tell you about his job when he called?"
"Eh, not really," said Kiba.
"Lucky bastard," chuckled Naruto, "Still can't believe the lazy ass got a job at a huge corporation right out of high school."
"I don't really care," said Kiba lightly, "After all I inherited the Inuzuka Vet Clinic; even if I'm only interning until I get out of college."
"Still, I can't even imagine him doing anything other than sleep."
"Ya, I can see that. He did sound just like he did years ago as well; continuously sighing and saying, 'troublesome.' I wanted to laugh so badly!" laughed Kiba before continuing in a somewhat appeasing tone, "Although, I have to say it did sound like he went through a lot of trouble to find my number. So maybe he did deserve to complain, just a little."
"What do you mean?" inquired Naruto.
"The only reason Shika managed to get my phone number was because he asked Sasuke to ask Neji for Hinata's number, who then gave him my number," Kiba babbled excitedly over the phone, not even realizing what he said.
Naruto who had been about to taste test his delicious ramen paused slightly in the middle of stirring before continuing to listen to Kiba rant. He had a somewhat uneasy feeling in his stomach. It almost felt like his body and mind were falling into his old habit of closing himself off; just like he had trained his body to respond automatically when fighting.
"But yeah, Hinata's coming! Did I tell you that?" asked Kiba.
"Hm," responded Naruto as he tasted his beloved ramen.
"Hey, you seem awful quiet, not worried about finding a date are you? Because I could ask Hinata-,"
"Wha? No!" Naruto cut him off quickly. He realized he had, in fact, begun to automatically shift into his old personality. Putting that thought aside he quickly pushed the nostalgic feeling and behavior to the back of his mind.
"So, why'd Shika go through all the trouble anyway?" asked Naruto as he added the necessary spices to his soon to be dinner.
"Apparently, Choji brought it up actually. Shika's making him go so he'll have someone to sit with while Temari dances, you know? Choji suggested we all get together."
"Pft, I don't understand Shika's logic," snorted Naruto, "Temari's is so not going to dance without him."
"True," agreed Kiba, "She was always glued to him. Honestly, I think Temari fell for him after he said he didn't care if Gaara lived with her."
"He's not that bad," laughed Naruto.
"… you're the only one who thinks so Naruto,"
"Whatever," scoffed Naruto, "He's just misunderstood."
"Whatever you say dude," Kiba said in a voice that clearly said 'I so don't agree.' "Anyway, so how many people do you think will be at the dance?"
At Kiba's offhanded question Naruto automatically started reminiscing about high school. He was beginning to think his high school Reunion wasn't going to be very fun.
"I bet all the stuck up popular kids show up just to run the fact that they're rich and successful in everyone else's faces."
"Yeah… hey, Kiba, I was just thinking maybe I shouldn't go…" Naruto began, but Kiba didn't let him say anymore.
"What? What do you mean you're not going!"
"It's just…" began Naruto nervously; "I wasn't really thinking about, well, high school when I said I'd go. I was thinking more about seeing you guys again, but you'll be in town right? You can just hang out with me all day before the reunion, then Gaara can just stay the night at my house and everyone will be happy. We all know Gaara doesn't want to go. It's the best solution, really. Besides-,"
"Whoa!" Kiba cut in before Naruto could finish another sentence, "What happened to you being all psyched? You were practically breaking the sound barrier when I first brought it up."
"I know, but like I said, I was just thinking about you guys… I wasn't exactly thinking about everyone else being there. You know I don't have the best high school experience. What am I going to do? Listen to them reminisce about all the crap they did to me? "
"What do you… oh… oooh." Naruto practically heard the pieces of what he just said click together in Kiba's mind. "Well, it's not like it matters, right dude? You're not the same person, I mean you are, but you don't have to hold back for the sake of that scholarship anymore, right? Besides, it was ten years ago. I'm sure they've matured, what are they going to do? Go dunk your head in the toilet? That'd be lame, and you could totally kick their butts now!"
"Well…" Naruto hesitated, "I guess…"
Despite Naruto agreeing he was still having flashbacks of his high school life. Being shoved into lockers and trapped naked in the boys' locker room. Sure, by high school he had mastered a few fighting forms, not to mention he was an expert at street fighting, but he could never defend himself. He hadn't had the money to pay for high school so his godfather, Iruka, had got him a scholarship at Konoha High.
The only problem had been his previous schooling record. He had a past for fighting and the only way he could have the scholarship is if he didn't do one thing that could even be insinuated as fighting. Also, he had to stay in the top three when it came to grades. Both of these requirements literally screwed him over in high school. He didn't have time to join any sports or fighting clubs because he was always studying. Also, because he managed to get the top score in his first week there, he drew the attention of one Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto never understood what the big deal was since he and Uchiha had tied with perfect scores, followed closely by Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru.
Apparently, no one was allowed to score as high as Sasuke because that was the day he got the crap beat out of him. After that he always made sure to score just below Uchiha and tie with Hyuuga. He was still bullied, but he never got attacked; except of course the few times Uchiha had actually missed a question and Hyuuga missed more than one. Naruto used to swear they planned it because it was too coincidental, but when it did happen Uchiha always got his revenge.
That's where the second rule got in the way. He couldn't even defend himself. Sure he could block hits, but then they beat him harder. He couldn't actually hit back. If he had gotten kicked out of high school, he would have had no future. After a hard life, practically on the street, after his parents died, he had, had to literally train his body not to fight back. It was extremely hard; especially, when his body screamed to defend itself. Eventually, he managed to close himself off from everyone, and just clear his mind so that no matter what they did, they couldn't break his mask.
Turned out it didn't matter. After the high school from hell, he had been working his tail off in Osaka trying to find his calling. He knew he could never afford college. As soon as he hit eighteen a man named Ibiki appeared out of nowhere with a will. It claimed that after his parents died he had been left a small house which actually had a second building that used to be a dojo. He had seen it as a sign, and had immediately used his life savings to reopen it, naming it 'Rasengan Dojo' It was hard going at first, but after he got a few customers it had flourished. What was even harder was retraining his body to react again, but it came much more easily then training to not fight. He was naturally a physical person.
He offered classic martial arts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening. Three levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Then Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as all day Saturday was left open for one on one personal classes for those who specifically wanted to learn karate, tae kwon do, Jujitsu, or kick boxing. During the day he taught adults classes on self defense. Sunday was the only day he ever took off. Although kept the dojo unlocked for anyone who wanted a place to practice or spar with friends, and he would often join them. He was doing fairly well for himself especially since his father had finished paying off the dojo before he died.
"I mean, really," continued Kiba, "It's all in the past. You have nothing to be ashamed of now. You own the best dojo in Konoha! Definitely something to brag about."
"So, guess I'm not getting out of it?" asked Naruto jokingly; although, he really wished Kiba would say yes.
"Nope"
So much for that thought.
"Well I guess I'll see you this weekend? I gotta go, my next personal training class starts in ten minutes and I have to eat."
It was actually Wednesday; however, some rich family was paying him extra to do a personal class, and he was free between 4 and 5 so long as he either stuffed his face between 3:30 and 4:00 or starved until after 9:00.
"Yup!" Naruto could imagine the grin Kiba was sporting, "So, you don't mind us all staying at your place since you live in town?"
"No it's fine. See you Saturday," just as Naruto said good-bye, the phone slipped from its precarious perch and into his freshly finished pot of Ramen.
"Dammit not again!" Out of habit Naruto reach for it and immediately burned himself. Quickly running his hand under the faucet, he opened the cupboard above his head and pulled out an extra phone before mumbling "At least I actually said good-bye before I dropped it this time…"
A quick rapping sound on the door alerted him to the aforementioned visitors.
Naruto sighed as he wrapped a cold towel around his hand. He glanced at the pot to see little air bubbles come out of the phone before quickly placing the new phone on the hook to charge. With that he left the pot to deal with later and headed to greet his new student.
As he opened the door a sense of Déjà-Vu washed over him. In front of him were a man and a boy who looked almost identical. Both had black hair and eyes which seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't place it. The man had long black hair pulled into a ponytail and emotionless black eyes. He was somewhat intimidating since he was at least o foot taller than naruto himself; however, Naruto wasn't the tallest guy around so he didn't let it bother him. The boy looked just like him except his hair was shorter and his eyes held the normal excitement of a child.
"Hello, my name is Itachi, and this is my son Tobi," said the man after a few minutes of silent staring.
Naruto couldn't help a slight blush at his unprofessionalism. He quickly stretched his hand out to shake the man's. "Hello Itachi-san, my name is Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto didn't bother asking for the man's last name since he seemed content on not saying it.
"A pleasure Uzumaki-san, we just moved back into the area, and when I spoke with close family friends they told us this was the best dojo in town. We understand that you do have a beginner class, but seeing as Tobi is only six years old, I would like him to learn the basics privately, before joining a class. I hope it's not too much trouble," explained Itachi as he released Naruto's hand.
"Not at all," smiled Naruto as he willed his stomach to remain quiet. "Feel free to stay the first class just to make sure you're happy with my teaching methods."
"Thank-you" nodded Itachi.
"Shall we begin?" Naruto asked while addressing Tobi. Immediately Tobi's face brightened with a smile as he dashed into the dojo. Naruto laughed at his eagerness and motioned for Itachi to come inside. It took a moment for Naruto to get into the lesson, what with Itachi standing in the corner. He felt like Itachi was analyzing him, and his stare was so emotionless it was hard to concentrate, but soon he was able to focus on Tobi and just enjoy the lesson.
However, the one thing he couldn't forget was the sense of familiarity when he looked at their eyes and hair. Maybe there was someone in town that looked like them? Itachi had said they moved back into the area. That had to be it.
I'm not going to even bother asking for an opinion for the story in general until Sasuke comes into the picture honestly. Even I found this chapter boring; however, I also find it necessary. Feel free to critic my writing though. I do want an opinion on whether or not I should add flashbacks of some of the things Sasuke might have done to Naruto though. They wouldn't be terribly long but would people even read them. I know If a flash back is too long I hate reading them. Let me know!
:*D ~*~Devious Devil~*~