"Haru?"

Ah, that can't be good.

Slowly, I force myself to turn around.

"G-Gaara?" I smiled, but that was a fake one. He could tell, his eyes narrowing to slits. Those dark panda eyes of his didn't help one bit.

"Haru," this voice belonged to his obnoxious brother. He still hasn't gotten over that whole face paint thing yet, has he. "Why do you look like a b-OOF! Temari!"

His blonde sister had jabbed him in the sides, preventing him from saying anything more. "Can we talk, Haru-kun?" She obviously stressed the kun more than necessary.

"Sure." I grabbed my tray and left. Okay, so I remembered to say bye, I have manners.

We walked off to some abandoned classroom somewhere. I followed Kankuro and Temari; they knew where they were going. They were senpais, sophomore and junior. (respectively) Oh, and I guess Gaara was an incoming freshman, then.

"What are you doing here?" Gaara demanded once the coast was clear.

"I should ask you that" I mutter, trying to keep calm. It's very hard with sea foam green orbs trying to pierce through your skull.

"It's your brother, isn't it" Temari says, looking out the doorway for stray students. So I guess she was the guard?

"Yeah. How did you ever guess?" Sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm. She sends me a look and I smile back.

"Haru, look over here" Gaara says, my focus returning to him. "What you're doing is very dangerous, okay?" I nod slowly. "Just-" he sighs, grabbing my shoulders so that I'm forced to look at him. "Don't get in trouble okay?" We both know that this could also translate as Don't get yourself killed.

"Yessir" I mock solute with a smile, turning to check the clock hanging on the wall. Dangitall, when will this school invest in digital wall clocks? I hate reading those clocks with the long hand and the fat hand and all that stuff.

"It's about 20 minutes 'til homeroom" Gaara says, his clock-reading skills much more developed than mines.

"Mmkay… Wait lemme see your schedule" I grab the paper from his hands as soon as he takes it out.

"Yay!" I clap my hands together, trying not to giggle girlishly- which I failed at. "We have homeroom and Music together!"

"Oh, so I'll have to see your boyish $$ then, too?" Kankuro complains.

"At least I have one" I mutter- that boy's flatter than flat.

"Tch" was his short reply. He hated being teased on his flat behind- but what better reason to tease him about it?

"What, is Kuro-chan saaaaaad about his flat behind?" I tease, my tongue sticking out. Oh, the maturity of freshmen. No wonder all the older kids love us.

"You…" he mutters, his face turning a bit red from anger. I grin before hightailing it straight out the door. Oh yes, I ran. Kuro-chan's scaaary when he's mad. Ahhh, childhood nicknames. Of course I'm speaking from experience, but it's just too much fun to mess with him anyways.

I run down random hallways and corridors, not really knowing where I was going. Which means if I get lost, I'm kinda screwed. Oh well, a challenge is a challenge, no? Hearing angry-sounding footsteps behind me, I turn down yet another random hallways, mentally debating on how footsteps even sound angry.

"Get your sorry *** back here, Haru!" he yelled after me. Of course I kept running- I'm not stupid. When people yell threats, you avoid those people, right?

And of course, when one is running without looking in front of you, you tend to bump into people, right? Or is that only me? Anyways, that's what happened.

"OOF" I grunted, very manly if I do say so myself.

"Why don't you watch the **** where you're going, you little *****?" I looked up to see myself uncomfortably close to a kid with slicked-back silver hair.

"Sorry" I mutter, wondering when I could start running again. Just when I was about to, a large hand settles itself onto my head and I find myself looking into pink-lavender eyes.

"And what are you doing here, freshie?" so he's older- not a freshman. That leaves a world of possibilities because I can't guess people's age for my life. Then again he could be an overconfident freshman, but I'm doubting that one.

"Oi, earth to freshie" he calls, rather loudly I might add, in my ear.

"What?" I mutter, mumble, however you would like to describe it. I've stopped looking at him and refocused my attention to the corridor from which I came from.

"What are you doing here, do I have to ask again?" he asks, smirking.

"Uh, running from a friend. Terrible sportsmanship on his side, if you ask me." He laughs

"I like your spirit, kid" but his smile drops as I turn to face him again. He seems to be thinking about something. A finger tilts my chin up so that he can see my face clearly.

"…Do I know you?"

"EEEEEHHHHHHHHH?" and obnoxiously loud voice yells. It sounded like a child's.

"SHUT THE **** UP, TOBI!" he yells at the kid. I can't see the child's face despite the fact that he's only wearing an orange swirly hat. Must be something about the shadows, really.

"BUT HIDAN-SENPAI'S HITTING ON A FRESHMAN!" this 'Tobi' kid replied. So this silver-haired guy's name is Hidan.

"NO I'M NOT TOBI, HE'S A GUY." Hidan, was it? reasoned back. Both were equally loud, and both were giving me a headache.

"So you're gay, hm?" a new voice asks, definitely male. But its owner seemed very feminine… well I'm one to talk but still. And what with these guys and their drool-worthy hair? I am jealous~!

"Oh, it's a freshie" he says, deciding that he gets to be the second person to clamp his hand on my head. His hand feels… wet, as if he just washed them and then decided he was 'too cool' to dry 'em off. Tch.

"And it's a freshie who needs to be running away at the moment" I say. Maybe they'll let me go. Maybe pigs fly. Yeah, probably not.

"HARRRRRUUUUUU…uuu…" Kuro-chan's voice quieted as soon as he saw the people I was with. Were they that scary? Then again it's hard to tell if you've only known them for… oh I think it's been five minutes! Hey, that's a record!

"Is he your friend, hm?" the blond asks, his hand finally leaving my head.

"Yeah"

"Well, you'd better run along then, freshie" 'Hidan' says, pushing me hard enough to send me tumbling into Kuro-chan.

"Ow…" I said, rubbing my head. Looking back, I saw that those kids had already left. Whatever, right? I turned to look at Kuro-chan's face and noticed that he was shaking- from fear. "Are you okay?" I asked- something seemed wrong.

"You do not know how much trouble you could've been in." he says softly, slowly trying to calm himself down.

"Why?" I tilt my head to the side; a rather useless habit of mines if you were to ask me.

"They're the Akatsuki. Your brother's friends."

A/N: 1, 200+ words.