Author's Note: This chapter took longer than I thought, but I'm pretty pleased with it so review! Without reviews I won't know how to improve, so don't forget to hit the little purple button at the bottom of the page!
Warnings: Eventual yaoi, (boy X boy) don't like, don't read.
Disclaimer: No, I won't do it! They can't make me! phone rings Hello?…yes sir…of course sir…yes, I understand…it won't happen again sir…hangs up
I own nothing, and my belongings consist of…a couple of crumpled pieces of paper and a few safety pins, so don't sue…
Naruto had just cleared a sharp corner and was now trying to catch up to the two men in front of him. Finally catching up to them, he was disappointed to find that instead of the promised tour, Kakashi was instead silently reading the little orange book he had tucked under is arm earlier. When catching a glimpse of the inside of the book, Iruka had also fallen silent, abandoning his attempt at a conversation, preferring instead to keep his eyes on the floor, lest he happen to accidentally view another part of his escort's…"romance novel." Somehow, their guide managed to lead them to the cafeteria in a minimal amount of time while not once looking up or pulling his nose out of his book. Naruto, trying his best to behave, on account of his guardian's presence, was growing impatient with the silence and was just about ready to burst when he finally reached the doors leading to the eatery. Taking in a deep breath, he pushed open the door and walked in.
Never, in his whole life, would Naruto have ever imagined that a mental hospital could be so crowded. Not moving from his spot, he looked around to find all of the tables occupied. His eyes strayed to the nearest table, taking in the appearance of the number of people sitting around it. A tall blond was talking energetically to an exasperated-looking man with slicked back silver hair and violet eyes. The blond was apparently very involved with whatever it was he was saying and made a point of emphasizing every statement with a motion of some sort from his right hand. Naruto was sure he would have been using both hands had one not been wrapped around the waist of a boyish-looking red head who was currently looking blankly out the window. On the other side of the table, a tall man with what appeared to be blue-tinted skin was desperately trying to shut up a brunette whose face was currently covered by an orange mask. The last person at the table had a wad of money in his left hand and was counting it dutifully. However, the strangest part of the members of this first table was that all six occupants were wearing identical black t-shirts with the outline of a cloud in red on the back.
Shifting his view to the right, he noticed another table, less crowded than the first and occupied by four younger-looking girls. The first thing at the table to draw his attention to it was a bright pink head of hair. The owner of said hair was leaning across the table, bringing herself closer to a perky blue-eyed girl with long platinum blond hair who somehow managed to talk at a pace that rivaled an auctioneer's while simultaneously giggling like a madman. The blond was sitting next to a quiet girl with bluish hair and lilac eyes who was looking down and twiddling her index fingers nervously. Across from her, a brunette who had her hair up in two buns was deeply absorbed in examining the metal knife on the pink-haired girl's plate, since apparently, the one on her one plate seemed to be made of plastic. As much as the group at the first table scared him, he couldn't imagine ever wanting to sit with the four at the second table and again redirected his gaze.
This time he found himself looking at a fairly empty table, containing only three people. Naruto immediately recognized his friend Gaara by the shock of red hair, but stopped himself from walking over. With him was his older sister, Temari, who was glowering down at the food on her plate. Across from her, Naruto found Kankuro, Gaara's older brother with his head propped up on his arms looking impassively at his younger sibling. He had on his famous black hoodie, and the eared hood was pulled down over his messy brown hair. As much as Naruto wished that he could sit by his friend, Gaara's siblings frightened him, to say the least. Temari was actually a nice girl, and tended to have a soft spot for Naruto, but she often had vicious mood swings and was usually violent for the duration of her episodes. Kankuro, however, was another story entirely. He detested Naruto, to put it lightly. Even though he could indeed be a very likable person, Naruto could always feel Kankuro's eyes boring holes into the back of his head when ever he was conversing with Gaara. Naruto still hadn't become immune to the glares and was always uncomfortable around him. So, instead of going to sit with his childhood friend, Naruto kept searching.
This time, his eyes found a table where two (or was that three?) boys and one (or maybe two?) girl were chatting happily. The first thing to catch his eye was something green. Looking again, he realized that it was a full body spandex suit being worn by an energetic looking boy with a bowl cut and some of the world's bushiest eyebrows. Quickly redirecting his gaze, he found himself looking at a pale boy with short, dark hair and a shirt that bared his midriff. His face was blank and he was sketching in a small book. Sitting across from him was pretty-looking girl with long brown hair and brown eyes who was listening quietly to the boy (girl?) sitting next to her. Looking at the last occupant of the table, Naruto' brows furrowed as he tried to figure out just what gender he (she?) was. He (she?) also had long brown hair, which was pulled back in a loose ponytail. The figure also had lilac eyes, identical to those of the girl at the second table. Figuring that it would be best to know the gender of all the inhabitants of a table before sitting, if only to save himself from embarrassment, Naruto again looked elsewhere for a place to sit.
"You know, if you keep standing there, you're going to miss your chance to get something to eat." Naruto nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sudden voice. Turning around, he found Kakashi standing no more than a few inches in back of him and leaning over so that he was now Naruto's height.
"What the hell Kakashi-sensei? What are you still doing here? Don't you have an appointment with the old hag?" Looking rather unfazed by the blonde's outburst, Kakashi simply pointed a finger at something to his left.
"I just thought you might like to know that they're going to be closing the kitchen in about five seconds." He said, expression not changing once.
"WHAT?" Naruto spun around and watched as the doors were beginning to close, almost in slow motion. "No, wait!" Making his way around Kakashi, Naruto began running towards the gradually closing doors, weaving in and out of the tables in his way. However, his progress was stopped by an unidentified object right in the middle of his passageway. Unable to swerve around it in time, Naruto tripped and landed face-first on the floor. Lifting up his head to massage his aching forehead, he saw the kitchen doors close and cursed under his breath. "Kuso! Kakashi-baka!" Still cursing, Naruto got up, only to find himself looking into the deep onyx eyes of another patient. His lips were contorted into a sardonic smirk and he looked down at Naruto from his seat across from a pale boy with two red dots on his forehead and next to a serious-looking redhead and a white-haired boy who was laughing hysterically.
"Dobe." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the raven-haired boy in front of him.
"Shut up, teme!" Naruto fumed, glaring at the arrogant smirk on the boy's pale face.
"No dobe," he taunted "I don't think I will."
"Don't call me dobe, teme! Who the hell do you think you are?" Naruto had decided right then and there, he did NOT like this guy. Not getting an answer, Naruto spoke again. "What is it teme? You think you're too good to answer?" The boy raised a hand to his face, effectively catching Naruto's thrown fist. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at his captured fist. By this time, the whole cafeteria had taken notice of the fight going on and had quieted considerably. Anger flickered passed those onyx eyes, but disappeared as quickly as it had come.
""I don't suggest you pick fights that you have no chance of winning, dobe. You must be dumber than I thought." Naruto growled and pulled back his other fist, lunging at the boy again, determined to beat that smug look off his face. However, before he could, someone had grabbed his elbow from behind and held onto it with a strong grip.
"Aww, just shut the fuck up, Uchiha." Before he knew it, Naruto was being dragged away by the owner of the hand on his elbow before getting heaved onto a bench. Turning around, Naruto saw a brunette walking around the table to sit on the side opposite him. The boy was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that was pulled up over the dog on his head, and tattooed onto his cheeks were two red triangular marks pointed downward to look like fangs. Naruto's brain paused before realizing what it was that was off about the boy in front of him.
Immediately forgetting the raven-haired boy, he looked up at the kid in front of him, before blurting out, "Dude, you've got a dog on your head!" The boy chuckled a little before sitting down in front of Naruto.
"Yeah, I know. That's Akamaru. The name's Inuzuka Kiba," he said. "This is Choji, Shino, and Shikamaru." Naruto looked at the first boy, who must have been in the mental hospital for a binge eating disorder, pause in the act of shoveling food into his mouth to look up at Naruto and wave sheepishly. Turning to face the second boy that Kiba had referred to, Naruto found himself looking at a face covered by a high-collared coat and, for some unidentified reason, sunglasses. The last occupant of the table had his head resting on his crossed arms and appeared to be sleeping. Noticing Naruto's gaze, Kiba spoke again. "Ehh, just ignore Shika. He's in for hypersomnia, though we're pretty sure he's just a lazy ass. Shino's in for depression." Leaning in so that he could whisper into Naruto's ear, he continued. "Choji's here for a binge eating disorder, but whatever you do, DON'T call him fat." Shifting back in his chair, Kiba resumed talking at a regular volume. "I'm in for ADHD and minor kleptomania. What're you in for?"
"O–oh…me? Uh…I–I'm in f–for…uh…" Naruto could feel himself beginning to sweat and mentally cursed himself for not coming up with a convincing lie beforehand. He knew that this was going to come eventually but had hoped that he wouldn't have to tell anyone about it upon their first meeting. However, Naruto was saved from answering by a loud, resounding buzz, seemingly signaling the end of lunch. True to his ADHD, Kiba momentarily forgot his question and jumped out of his seat. Grabbing Naruto's arm with one hand and using the other to slap the sleeping boy in the back of the head, he began weaving in and out of the other patients in a mad dash to the door.
"Hurry up!" he called behind him. "If we get to the lounge early enough, we might get a shot at the foosball table!" Naruto sighed in relief with the knowledge that his split-personality could stay his secret for at least a little longer and began to run after the boy in front of him.
Reviews, my lovely readers! Oh, and cookies to whoever can guess who's sitting next to Neji!