ARGH! I totally forgot about updating...sorry reviewers! I don't get many reviews on this (probably because they're only in middle school) but I sort of forget so...sorry! This one's really long and everyone knows that I'm not a genius in the romance section, so I'll do the best I can. Everyone likes humor though, right?
Things are really moving along slowly and I don'tplan on making this a ficwith more thanabout thirty chapters, but I've still got a whole year to go! Notgood. I'll figure out something.
Happy4th of July everyone! Let's just say I said that to the world on the 4th of July because I did! Also, happy birthday to Neji, my man on July 3rd!
Okay, enough with this nonsense. Let's get on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
AFTER SCHOOL
"Yo. What's crack-a-lackin', my home slice?"
"Naruto, do us all a favor and don't use slang."
"Don't dis the Naruto!"
"Whatever, man," Kiba said, shaking his head.
"I can't believe we just finished a week of school," Nori said in disbelief. "It seems like a year." (A/N: Or four chapters.)
"Yeah. But now we get to kick back and relax," Kiba said, throwing his arms out.
"You mean mall time?" Nori asked.
"Uh no. I was just thinking that maybe…you guys could…help me get Akamaru to take his bath." Kiba winced at the word 'bath'.
"No!" Nori exclaimed.
"Word!"
"Shut up!"
"Aw, come on guys," Kiba begged. "Akamaru hates bath day, but it's for his own good!"
"That's exactly why you should do it," Nori said. "Dude, that dog doesn't listen to anyone but you."
"Puh-leeeeeeeeaaase?" Even though Kiba acted cocky and manly sometimes, he was a master of the puppy dog look for obvious reasons.
"FINE."
"Yeah!" Kiba hooked his arms over his friends' shoulders and grinned widely. "You guys are the best!"
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Naruto exclaimed. "But let's grab a bowl of ramen before we go m'peeps!"
"I'm gonna kill you!"
"Ow! Not cool dawg!"
After a quick bowl of ramen, the three went to Kiba's house and got Akamaru.
"Hey boy!" Kiba exclaimed, placing Akamaru safely in the hood of his jacket. He scratched behind Akamaru's ears and turned to his friends. "Okay, let's get you your B-A-T-H."
Naruto looked confused. He spelled the letters in the air with his finger and said, "Bath?"
Akamaru's ears perked up, he jumped out of the jacket, and ran off.
"Naruto, you baka!"
"Argh! What'd you do that for?"
"Because!" Kiba exclaimed. "Aw man. Let's just get Akamaru. Akamaru! Here boy! We're giving Naruto one! Not you!"
"The bath?"
"Naruto!"
"Okay, okay."
Akamaru ran as if his life depended on it. He dodged Nori, ran under Naruto, and slipped behind Kiba.
"Akamaru, come on, fella," Nori said quietly. "We aren't going to do anything bad, really!"
"Yeah, a bath isn't that bad."
"Naruto!"
"What?"
"It'll only take five seconds," Kiba soothed.
Akamaru barked and splashed around.
"Argh!"
"All done," Kiba said proudly.
Akamaru jumped out and shook.
"Akamaru!"
"Well…that wasn't so bad," Nori said, drying herself off for the hundredth time.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto said in a bored tone. "Hey, I have an idea! Let's do something fun!"
"Like what?"
"I'm kind of hungry."
"You just ate!"
"Hey, I'm a growing boy," Naruto said, patting his stomach.
"Actually…" Nori held up her hand and measured herself and then Naruto who was inches shorter than her.
"…Uh…I'm shorter than both of you, so I need to grow more!"
"Right."
MALL-FOOD COURT
"Well, it's not ramen, but it's the next best thing!" Naruto exclaimed, sticking two slices of pizza in his mouth. "Mm…"
Nori shook her head. "Were you raised by a pack of wolves or something?"
"I wish!" Naruto said, swallowing.
"Kiba, what's up?" Nori asked. "You look kind of down."
"I'm a little worried about Akamaru," Kiba sighed. "He always hates to go to the vet."
Sweat drop.
"It's okay, he's done it before," Nori said awkwardly.
"Boring!"
"Shut up, Naruto!"
"Hey, guys," Nori said, catching Kiba's fist. "It's the weekend. Come on."
"Yeah, fine," Kiba sulked.
"I know, let's go to the arcade. My treat," Nori said, standing up. "L—oof!"
Nori ran into someone. "Sorry sir, I—uh…"
She looked up. The man was tall and had long white hair. He looked like he was studying her. "Can I uh…help you?"
"No, no," the man said, laughing merrily.
"I'm sorry."
"No trouble at all, miss!" he said.
"Who're you?" Kiba demanded.
"What? You've never heard of me? I'm the handsome, luxurious, pleasurable Jiraiya!" He struck a pose.
This guy reminds me…of Gai-sensei, Nori thought.
A woman tapped Jiraiya on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but have you seen my child?"
"Why no. Would you like me to help look for your child, beautiful?" Jiraiya asked, his teeth sparkling.
"Uh, no," the woman said. "That's all right. I'll just find my husband."
She walked away quickly.
"Call me if you have any trouble!"
The kids stared at him blankly.
"Er, um, anyway, how are you kids?"
"…Fine…"
"What are your names?"
"Iruka-sensei told me to never talk to perverted hermits," Naruto said matter-of-factly.
"Wha—?" Jiraiya's jaw hit the ground. He got back into his I-AM-JIRAIYA pose and said, "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm respectable and friendly to every—where're you going?"
The three had walked off towards the arcade in the mall.
"Wait!"
"He's following us…" Kiba muttered.
"You shouldn't have called him that," Nori whispered to Naruto. "Now he's following us and he's going to give us a lecture."
"Well he is a perverted hermit," Naruto answered.
"Two boys hanging around one girl?" Jiraiya said, putting his finger to his chin. "Intriguing. That would make a good story for my next book!" Jiraiya reached into his magical pockets that appeared at that very second and started digging. Binoculars. Sketchpad. There it was! A notebook.
"What are you doing, Jiraiya-san?" Nori asked politely.
"Taking notes. I was gathering data for my famous book before I met you three," Jiraiya answered.
"Gathering data?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. Now I can base my characters on your three in my book! Of course, you'll have to be a bit older…maybe about ten years older…"
They stared at him again.
"What book?" Naruto asked.
"This one!" Jiraiya whipped about his "famous" book, Icha Icha Paradise. ARGH! THE HORROR!
A flashback of Kakashi with the accursed book flashed through the children's minds.
"How uh…" Nori said, twitching. "…nice."
"THAT'S KAKASHI-SENSEI'S PERVERTED BOOK!" Naruto shouted loudly.
Heads turned.
"So you've heard of it then?"
"That stuff is trash," Kiba remarked in disgust. "I am not going to be a based character in that!"
"Well, that's not your choice, is it?" Jiraiya said. "Nope. Well, I'll be hanging around for a while. Don't mind me!"
They still stared at him.
"I said don't mind me!"
They started off again.
"Come on, say something!"
"You've got problems," Kiba said.
Jiraiya snorted. "So much for the direct approach…All right, I give up. I'll see you later kids!" With that, he sped off into the great beyond.
"What a weird old man."
MONDAY-GUEST SPEAKER VISITS
"Okay, kids," Kakashi said breathlessly. "I've got two things to say. One, don't embarrass me and two, be on your best behavior. Now, I'd like you to meet Jiraiya-san!"
Nori, Kiba, and Naruto gasped as Jiraiya popped into the room. "Hey kids!"
"You're the perverted hermit!" Naruto shouted.
Jiraiya turned red. "And you're that annoying little kid I met yesterday!"
"Uh…" Kakashi stood their, confused.
"Who cares anyway," Jiraiya said. "I'm here to talk about the ways of a skilled and gifted author…"
"NO!"
"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed. "I'm sure Jiraiya-san has an excellent explanation about books!"
"You guessed it, miss!" Jiraiya exclaimed. He whipped out his book…again.
"THAT'S KAKASHI'S PERVERTED BOOK!" mostly everyone shouted. Even Naruto.
Jiraiya and Kakashi sweat dropped.
"Eh…this might be harder than I thought."
After a long period of Jiraiya talking about his book and how many "fans" read it, the bell rang.
"Man, that was torture," Naruto complained.
"Hadn't we had enough of him over the weekend?" Nori sighed.
"Hey guys! What's up?" Kiba asked, walking over.
"Perverted hermit."
"He's here?" Kiba quickly turned back and forth, checking the hallways.
"Yeah, in Kakashi-sensei's class," Nori explained. "He's talking to us about the 'life of an author'."
"Great," Kiba mumbled. "What is with this guy?"
"I don't know," Nori said. "But what I do know is that he's coming this way now."
"Listen up," Jiraiya said, pointing an old finger at Naruto. "You do not call me a perverted hermit in public!"
"Why not?"
"Because you don't! Do you want to appear obnoxious in my book?"
"You're using our names?" Nori asked.
"Of course not! I don't know your names! By the way, what are they?"
"None, Of, and Your Business," Nori said.
"Fine," Jiraiya said defiantly. He walked off then turned. "I'll be back." Then he went off to go harass some of the female teachers.
"He scares me," Nori said.
"You're not the only one," Kiba said.
"I dunno, I think he's kind of cool," Naruto said. "In a weird sort of way."
The other two just stared at him with jaws to the ground.
"What?"
"How could you like that guy?" Nori asked. "He's a total freak."
"Not to mention he's a perv," Kiba added.
Naruto shrugged. "I dunno."
"Whatever, Naruto."
A FEW MONTHS LATER…(A/N: Hey, I'm not about to do the whole year day-by-day, you know. Sorry to speed things up though.)
SOCIAL STUDIES
"And when the blah, blah, blah, blah…"
Nori's eyelids slid over her eyes. She shook her head and tried to pay attention. It wasn't working. Social Studies was her worst subject. Whatever Ibiki-sensei said went through her mind like wind. It was there then it went. Her eyes wandered outside the window.
Outside, a class was playing soccer. She saw Gaara, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Sakura, and Ino. It seemed that Kiba was extremely pumped up. He kicked the black and white ball towards the goal where Shino was. Shino caught it and Kiba shouted something that was unfathomable.
Nori smiled.
Gaara expertly dribbled the ball, kicked it up, and shot the ball into the goal.
He seems almost as good as Neji, Nori thought, her smile still glued well on her face.
Kiba had the ball in possession. He seemed pretty determined to get a goal past Shino. Gaara had come up toward him and attempted to steal the ball. Kiba had already reeled back to smash the ball, but so did Gaara. They missed.
"Kiba! Gaara!" Nori shouted impulsively.
WHAM!
"Miss Hiroshi!" Ibiki was standing in front of her desk, his hand slammed on. He didn't even flinch from the pain that should've shot through his arm.
Nori muffled a shriek. "Eep! Er, yes, sensei?"
"Is there something you would like to tell the class?"
"No sir," Nori said.
"And will you daydream anymore?"
"No sir."
"Good. The next time I see you daydreaming or shouting in my class will be a level five detention with me! Would you like that?"
"No sir."
"Then I suggest you pay attention."
"Hai."
Nori anxiously waited for the class to end. She was the first one out the door.
She passed Naruto.
"Nori?"
"Can't talk!"
"No running in the halls, young lady!"
"Sorry, sensei!"
Nori fast-walked through the door to the nurse's office. She walked up to the nurse who was at her desk.
"Yes?" the nurse said pleasantly. "Do you have an injury? Or did you need some—"
"No, no," Nori said. "I was just wondering…two of my friends were injured in the last class. One has brown hair with red paint on his face and one has red hair with a love kanji on his forehead. Did they come here?"
"Hm…yes, those two came. They injuries weren't too bad, dear. Of course, that's what happens in gym class," the nurse said sweetly. "Would you like to see them? You have all lunch period."
"Hai."
"They're in that room."
Nori walked into the afore mentioned room. Gaara and Kiba were lying on clean, white beds. Their right legs were bandaged. Were they asleep?
"I'm just sayin' if you let me take that shot, we wouldn't be here."
"Shut up. Leave me alone."
No, they were awake.
"Hey guys…"
Kiba lifted his head. "Nori? What're you doin' in here?"
"I saw you guys take that fall. Are you okay?"
"Just a little bleeding. Nothing to worry about," Kiba said, waving it away.
Gaara didn't say anything.
"What about you, Gaara?"
"I'm fine."
"Oh. Well, that's good. Do you guys get lunch?" Nori asked.
"I hope so," Kiba said. "I'm hungry."
"Kids, I just got a call," the nurse called, getting up. "It's a family emergency. Will you be all right by yourself? Principal Tsunade will be coming over in about an hour."
"An hour?" Nori exclaimed, confused. "Why so long?"
"She's got a whole line of kids to discipline," the nurse said. "Something about vandalism over the school, the starting of food fights, everything."
"Naruto…"
"Well, I'll best be off now. Bye!"
"Wait—oh…" Nori groaned. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Hey, it's not like anyone's going to get injured," Kiba said. "It's only me and Evil Eyes."
Gaara made a defiant sound.
"Hey come on," Nori said. "He didn't do anything to you."
"Except split my skin," Kiba said.
"Don't overreact. The nurse said it wasn't—"
"Nurse? Nurse?"
Nori peeked out the door of the room. "Uh…can I help you?"
Sakura was in the office, looking around. She stared at Nori. "Nori? What're you doing here?"
"The uh, nurse is out for the moment…so…"
"Are you filling in then?"
"I guess you could say that."
"Oh. Well, I've got a cut on my arm from gym…" Sakura did have a gash on her leg. It wasn't too big, but if it kept bleeding, there would be trouble.
"Okay…" Nori said uncertainly. She started opening cabinets and peering inside, looking for the right materials for Sakura's wound.
"The nurse keeps that medical stuff in the left bottom cabinet," Kiba said.
"Oh." She opened the said cabinet and found some band-aids, medicine, ointments, etc.
After cleaning Sakura's leg, spreading some ointment on, and sticking on a happy-face band-aid, Nori went to sit with Kiba and Gaara again.
"I don't think I can do this," Nori said. "What if someone comes in with head trauma or something?"
"No one will—" Kiba was interrupted by a growl. He and Nori looked at Gaara.
"I guess I'm hungry," Gaara said. No, Gaara didn't growl, his stomach did silly!
"Oh, um," Nori said, looking around. "Do you guys get the school's lunch or—"
"Dude, that would make us even sicker," Kiba said. "The nurse gives people a different lunch. In there."
Nori found a small fridge with Lunchables in them. "Gee, you sure know a lot about this place."
"Yeah, well, I go here a lot," Kiba said.
They ate in silence.
"Aren't you hungry?" Kiba asked after a while.
"Nah," Nori said. "I don't eat very much."
"Okay."
"Nurse? Nurse What's-Your-Name?"
Naruto poked his head in the nurse's office. He had an icepack on his head and a black eye.
"Naruto! What happened to you?"
"Oh. Uh, Sasuke challenged me to a fight and how could I refuse? So I beat him up but then he started playing dirty like the trash he is and he pushed me into a wall."
"You ran into a wall while running from Tsunade?" Kiba translated.
"Yeah."
"How stupid can you be?" Gaara muttered.
"WHAT!"
"NARUTO!"
"ACK! Tsunade-baa-chan!"
Tsunade came stomping into the infirmary.
Naruto hid behind Nori.
"Uzumaki, this is the last straw!" Tsunade said angrily. "YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE DETENTION IN THE OFFICE UNTIL NEXT SEMESTER!"
Naruto groaned.
"It serves you right, you little imp!" She looked around. "Oh, did the nurse leave already? I guess I'll have to fill in for her. Are you visiting, Nori?"
"Uh…yeah. See you guys later. Naruto, Kiba, Gaara." She slipped out of the room and sighed. That Tsunade sure could get vicious. She would hate to have Tsunade on her tail.
HOME ECONOMICS
"You look tired," Shino said.
"Hm? Oh, I always get tired for some rea—ahh," Nori yawned.
"Well, Ebisu is boring," Chouji said. "Maybe I can…"
"Chouji!"
"What? I wasn't doing anything!"
Ebisu adjusted his glasses. "Don't eat until you are done!"
Chouji mumbled something.
"What was that?"
"I'll do what you say, Ebisu-sensei."
"That's what I thought."
Nori smiled self-consciously. Augh…it's so hot…Stupid cheap school with no curtains…
"CHOUJI!"
"SORRY!"
"Hey, you look a bit dehydrated," Shino said quietly.
"What? Oh. Yeah," Nori said, taking a sip of her water bottle. "Nothing to worry about."
Shino shrugged.
MATH
"Man…Asuma is so boring…" Shikamaru groaned.
"Yeah…" Nori said, almost drifting off to dreamland. Why am I always by the window. ARGH! "Shikamaru…what time is it?" She was too lazy to look up at the clock.
"Fifteen minutes till next period, why?" Shikamaru asked.
"No reason…I just want to get out of—"
"Nori! Are you talking in my class?" Asuma shouted strictly.
"I was bugging her, sensei. It wasn't her fault," Shikamaru said uninterestedly.
"Oh. Well…try not to do it again, okay, Shikamaru?"
"Hai." Shikamaru had earned a spot as a Teacher's Pet in Asuma's heart and it was no secret. Of course, it wasn't like Shikamaru cared about being a favorite. It did, however, get its advantages.
Classes dragged on through the hot day until it was time to go home. Kiba had a dentist's appointment and his sister had to drive him from school and Naruto had detention. Nori was walking home alone.
"No! No! No! Don't take me, Nii-chan! No! I can't go! ARGH! I uh, have to go feed Akamaru!"
"I fed him before I left," Hana said, annoyed. "Let's just go to the stupid dentist to get your stupid teeth checked, okay?"
"NOOOOOOO!"
Kiba was dragged into the car.
"Bye, Nori," Hana waved with a smile.
"Later," Nori answered.
"ARGH!"
"Shut up, Kiba!"
"GRANNY TSUNADE!"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
Naruto's voice could be heard in the next universe. Nori sighed. Those were her two best friends. How far had she sunk?
"Konnichi wa, Nori-chan," Hinata said quietly.
"Oh, hey Hinata," Nori said, smiling faintly. "Sure is hot, huh?"
"Uh-huh," Hinata nodded. "It's a good thing these uniforms are um…breezy."
Nori laughed. "Yeah. Hey, wanna walk home with me?"
"S-Sure," Hinata nodded.
"Where do you live?" Nori asked.
"A f-few blocks away," Hinata said. "Right around the corner."
"Okay. We'll drop you off first then."
"Nori! Hinata!"
The two turned to see Tenten waving to them. "Hey!"
"Tenten! Where've you been?" Nori said, knocking fists with her.
"Nowhere really. I usually take the bus, but…well, I guess Lee kept me around showing me his act to ask Sakura out for while."
"Oh yeah? What number?"
"Eleven."
"Poor guy."
"Can I walk with you two?" Tenten asked. "I live pretty far, but it'll be better if I have some company."
"Be our guest."
The girls walked for a while. There wasn't much pleasant or unpleasant conversation between the girls. Nori struck a conversation up a few times, but Hinata always ended it unintentionally. Tenten didn't really have much to talk about either.
"Did you hear Naruto?" Nori said. "He is probably the loudest person on Earth, huh?"
"Totally," Tenten nodded.
"Oh…m-maybe," Hinata turned extra red.
"You look a little hot," Tenten said. "You okay?"
"I-I'm f-fine," Hinata stuttered.
"Okay…"
Tenten and Nori exchanged mischievous glances.
"Hey Hinata, Tenten," Nori said smiling. "I'm having a sleepover at my house tomorrow night. Wanna come?"
"Do I ever," Tenten nodded.
"I-I'll have to ask my f-father," Hinata said. "I'll call."
"Cool. Who else should I invite?" Nori said, putting a finger to her chin.
"Y-You mean you haven't invited anyone else?" Hinata asked.
"Nope," Nori said, waving the absurdity of her choice away. "Okay, so…who else do we know? Maybe I should invite the boys…"
"Hey, it's a sleepover, meaning boys can't come!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Fine, fine," Nori said. "They'd make a ruckus anyway."
"What about Sakura and Ino?"
Nori made a face and Tenten cocked her head to the side.
"Well…they seem all right…"
"Okay, Hinata," Nori shrugged. "I'll invite them I guess. But only because I don't know any other girls too well."
"You know Sakura and Ino well?"
Nori grinned sheepishly. "Meaning I know their first and last names…"
"Oh."
"H-Here's my house," Hinata said. "Bye."
"See ya."
"Later."
Hinata disappeared within the confines of her mansion.
"So…do you think Hinata will get together with Naruto soon?" Tenten asked.
"Ha, that'll take a while," Nori snorted. "The only way is for her to tell him and I don't think she's confident enough. Not only that but Naruto's a clueless idiot."
"Yeah…that's too bad," Tenten sighed.
"What, did you predict something?" Nori joked.
"The stars predict love will bloom soon," Tenten said. "Very soon."
Nori didn't have a chance to ask Tenten if she was kidding or not.
"Is that Gaara?" Tenten whispered, pointing.
Nori followed Tenten's finger. Indeed, it was Gaara. In a tree.
Tenten darted behind a bush, pulling Nori along with her.
"Why are we—?"
"Shush," Tenten shushed her. "Dude, you know Gaara's pretty much as anti-social as Shino."
"Well yeah, but—"
"Quiet!"
They peered behind the bush to see Gaara kneeling over something. A small kid was standing under the tree looking worried. He dropped it down. It was…a cat.
The kid caught the cat with a happy look on her face. "Thanks Mister!" The little girl ran off happily with the cat in her arms talking to it. "That was a bad, bad thing you did, Tabbykins!"
Gaara watched the girl leave with a blank look on his face. Then he jumped down, landed lightly on the grass, and walked away.
"Whoa…that is so weird," Tenten said once Gaara had turned the corner.
"What's so weird about it?"
"Hello? Gaara, actually helping a little girl with her little problem. Don't tell me you don't think that's strange. We're talking about Gaara, here."
Nori looked back at the tree, then the corner Gaara had rounded. "You shouldn't doubt people, Tenten. They aren't always what they seem."
"So you're getting into that stuff too?"
"Hey, you're into fortune-telling and I'm just giving you a few words of advice."
"Fair enough."
BTW if anyone doesn't know, one of Tenten's hobbies are fortune-telling for some reason...
R&R please!
-TTF