A/N: Ok, I have to be completely honest w/ you. I am most definitely not pleased at all with this chapter. I've had it typed, just sitting on my laptop, waiting to be uploaded. But, I am cringing as I upload since, for one, Sasuke and Naruto still do not officially meet. I want to make it longer, but as of the moment I have no time. Also, the writing is very rushed work, not spell-checked or proof-read. What I've written is pitiful, I know, but its the best I can come up with as of now. I promise that Sasuke and Naruto will meet in the next chapter! Please don't get mad!
Full Summery:
The Four Aristocrats, known rulers of Konoha Elite – school for the bright and rich. The band made up of Sasuke Uchiha – son of profound Fugaku Uchiha and heir to the Uchiha Corporation; Neji Hyuuga – nephew of Hiashi Hyuuga and in line for the head of the Hyuuga INC; Gaara Sabaku – already head of the Sabaku Enterprise; and Shikamaru Nara – only successor to the Nara Association.
Naruto Uzumaki, young at the age of 16, but already a senior in high school enters the school of his dreams along with his foster-sister Ino. The adorable, cute, hilarious blond is without a doubt a great attraction to all of the men in Konoha Elite. Yet, upon catching the eyes of the three largest beneficiaries will definitely cause a few problems. Who will win the heart of the blond? And will Naru-chan be able to ward off the evils of fame and prices it comes with?
Contains Yaoi and pairings: SasuNaru, NejiGaara, ItaDei, ShikaIno, and KakaIru
Happy Reading! ^.^
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I be writing these pitiful black and white words on a fucking old laptop screen? NO. So, I don't fucking own Naruto.
Chapter Twelve
The world was yet anew as the sun rose from the horizon. The light-blue canvas seemed to bleed with reds and oranges as the bright sphere of life climbed across the sky.
It was 6 in the morning, and Naruto was not the least bit sore. However, his older brother was.
"NARUTO! I SWEAR, UN, IF YOU EVER HIT ME WITH THAT ROUND-ABOUT KICK AGAIN, I WILL MAKE SURE YOUR ASS EXPLODES IN THE SHOWER!"
The soreness of his body made the elder blond very cranky. It had, after all, woken him up as well, unable to move a muscle without the sharp sensation of pain. All because he had been utterly brainwashed by the blond dobe into a spar, which ended with the elder's face in the dirt, bruises lacing up his arms. And now his body was resenting its new-found shell of purple by tightening the pain in his limbs. And fuck did that hurt.
Naruto was as always, undoubtedly cheerful as he waltzed down the stairs. A night of fighting always made him so relaxed and just so damn happy. He hopped onto a cushion on the floor, watching with exaggerated blue eyes while Ino cooked breakfast.
Feeling less than satisfied with his threat, Deidara hopped down the stairs on his one less sore foot and into the kitchen. Ino took one long glance at him, before turning away to the stove.
"You look like shit." She said helpfully, summing up his appearance colorfully. He gave her a dead-panned look through his one clear eye, which was laced dark purple—like the rest of his body.
Touching his said eye gingerly, he responded, "Thank you, Ino, un. Now I am far more confident for my first day at the Uchiha Corporation. Not only do I have a massive bruise on my face, un, my entire body is so sore, it won't even function properly. I really don't give a fucking shit what I look like as of the moment, un."
Ino laughed, all too accustomed to this type of comment. This had not been Deidara's first time taking Naruto to practice. Nor was it the first time the blond had sparred with the younger. So, yes Ino had definitely had the time to adjust to her foster-brother's attitude after a night of sparring. It was never pretty, but it happened.
"Concealer's in my purple bag. You know, the one with the spirals on the outside?" She flipped the egg over on the pan as she said so. Deidara just nodded as he clumsily stroked his bird-nest hair into his usual high ponytail. The blond hair fell in chunks, but Deidara had not showered yet, so it was alright. And he didn't plan to for at least another half an hour. God, his ass hurt.
Naruto busied himself with the coffee machine, trying in honest vain to make a decent cup of coffee from the cracked machine for Iruka. The poor man had practically stayed up the entire night; still awake way after both his sons had returned home safely and fallen asleep. All of his children felt so sorry for him. His dark-circles never seemed to fade away, but made its appearance extra deep whenever he pulled an all-nighter.
Ino slipped the still-runny egg onto a paper plate, the yellow oozing out of one corner. Wiping her hands, she turned off the stove and walked over to help Naruto. Deidara stayed lazily in his chair, staring up at the stained ceiling, which may have once been white but had turned a musty yellow.
Breakfast was not anything odd, runny eggs serving as a fair amount of nutrition. Deidara took his quick shower soon after, all his limbs punishing him accordingly. Iruka did not make his appearance until the dishes had been washed and dried, all three of his foster children standing outside his office door ready to knock. Thanking Naruto profusely for the now-cold coffee, he sent his kids away, wishing them a wonderful day as he sank back into his preparations—worried as always.
The car ride was slow, Deidara's little bug chugging with all its might, but never seeming to go fast enough. All three blondes sighed as the white building of Konoha Elite appeared in bright view. Thanking the elder, the two seniors hopped out of the car, but not before wishing Deidara luck on his first day. He sent them away with a painful wave of his hand, his one eye caked in concealer crinkling as he rode away, glued on the review mirror.
Walking through the door, Naruto finally remembered his awkward answer to the strange Hyuuga that had caught him yesterday. Wondering how he would now have to reply, Naruto just hoped he would miss another encounter with the dark-haired man.
As usual, school didn't start for another half an hour, so Ino and Naruto were left to find the library, where Ino would hurriedly write an A+ worthy paper. She was just that amazing, I guess. Naruto had finished his work at school the day before, so all he had to do was lounge around the quiet area until the bell rang.
The cushions were lined up neatly towards an edge, numerous kids seated reading silently. The library was very quiet, with the occasion of a few wide-spread whispers. Overall, the library was a respected place where kids went to study or do homework. That was something great about Konoha Elite, it actually stationed the kids so they wouldn't be too rowdy in certain places.
Computers were lined in rows of four, most of them filled. Gaps between different people occurred, but no one was in a real hurry to leave. Some had earphones on and closed eyes, while others bit their lip as they glanced at the screen.
And of course, there were shelves of assorted books, each to its own category and genre. Ino immediately snagged a book off the science section and glided into a free computer seat, before rapidly typing away. Naruto, on the other hand, wandered into the fiction section where rows of fantasy and modern-fiction were lined.
Everyone has a secret, don't they? Something they don't tell anyone under any circumstances? Well, Naruto has multiple. But one of the smaller ones was this: He enjoyed romance novels. Unlike a lot of kids his age, he liked classical romance books over modern ones. Maybe it was the language style that got him, or even the unrealistic idea of true love that didn't seem to exist in the real world. Either way, the characters did not seem as fake and really captured the blonde's attention.
Fingering through the romance titles, Naruto was unaware of the mint green eyes watching him from a shelf behind. Finding a beaten copy of Pride and Prejudice, the blond quickly snatched it up and flipped it open to the middle—again missing the same green eyes.
Quietly, on toes of a feline, Gaara Sabaku stepped out making not the slightest noise. Naruto was still completely ensnarled by his book, did not seem to notice the stir in the air. Or at least to any onlooker he didn't.
However, on the contrary, the blond had definitely noticed the change in the air when the man stepped out. His Kyuubi instincts often took the better of him and the will to survive overruled any other emotion. Protection of himself was a common rule, learned since he was an infant and raised until the age he was now. And protection included being on guard and ready for an opponent to strike at any time.
Gaara was, of course, neither an opponent nor an enemy. But, Naruto was always the careful one, so maybe his obliviousness had always been an act?
Snapping his book shut suddenly, Naruto caught the gaze of the short (yet, still taller than the blond himself) red-headed man whose eyes were so much like his own. The boy from yesterday.
"Hey," Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Can I help you?"
Gaara was silent for a moment, his eyes never blinking nor looking away.
"Yes. Who are you?"
Naruto grinned, "New transfer student from, um, Suna. I'm Uzumaki Naruto! How 'bout you?"
Gaara raised non-existent eyebrows, the first change of any facial feature yet.
"I'm Sabaku Gaara. I come from Suna as well."
Of course, Naruto had already known that as the Sabaku Enterprise was a well-known Suna industrial unit. But he had decided to be courteous nonetheless.
"Cool, was there anything else you needed?"
Green eyes matched the pristine image of the cold, pale teen, who had yet to answer. Not admitting out loud, Gaara actually had no idea why he had called out to the blond. He usually kept out of other people's business, but he seemed to recognize the blond from somewhere. Yet, his usually fine memory seemed to be failing him, as he couldn't remember where. It unnerved him very much.
So he had come to the conclusion that possibly talking to the blond would help him remember. However, it had yet to take effect since the redhead could not think of anything other than what he had known before. And that bothered him enormously.
"No," He said simply. Naruto looked unfazed, but smiled brightly again. Gaara snagged a random book off the shelf and walked away, leaving the blond to go back to his classic. The redhead vowed to keep a close eye on the blond from now on. Something about Naruto unsettled him.
Doing something he had never done before, Gaara hesitated before looking back at the blond leaning against the shelf.
His eyes.
They're the same as mine.
Naruto's time after that encounter was very straight-forward. He re-read the book Pride and Prejudice for the fourth time, starting from the middle where his favorite part was. He barely noticed when the bell rang, though only shutting the book effectively when Ino came and tugged on his collar.
The two of them parted ways when they had walked out, Ino waving efficiently, her smile full of pearly whites. Naruto had continued on his mission to his first class after stopping by his locker.
AP Literature was nothing out of the ordinary, though Naruto could not look at Kakashi-sensei the same way, knowing that under the wrapping of an English book was really his grandfather's disgusting writing. Inspecting the man farther, he couldn't believe he had mistaken that perverted laugh for anything else.
Kiba was absent today, leaving Naruto with very uncomfortable silence as he was forced to work on the writing assignment alone. However, it did leave the blond to finish with more time than necessary as there was no one distracting him.
He had yet to visit the Hyuuga from before and he wanted to keep it that way.
His morning classes passed without a hitch, Naruto enticed within his homework on his way to lunch. But not enough to be completely oblivious to the poster hung on the wall. It was the Valentine formal, set for the end of February. Naruto paused in his checking to read the words.
Valentine's Formal
Date: Feb. 25th, 2012
Time: 5:40 – 8:30 PM
Come for the month of love and enjoy a night with your partner.
**Both men and women are required to wear formal clothing.
**Dinner will be served at school.
Please contact Karin Hisagi for more information.
Naruto stared for a moment longer before turning to leave.
His next assignment was scheduled on February 25th. Was that some sort of coincidence?
Neji Hyuuga scanned the gathering in the lunch room, oddly unable to spot the bright blond through his sharp eyes.
"He's not here."
Gaara nodded before narrowing his eyes as he read the flipped open phone held in his palm.
"Sasuke's getting impatient waiting for us. He and Shikamaru are going to leave if we don't tell them what we're doing."
Neji shook his head.
"No, if we tell them, they'll drive off anyways," He turned back to the crowd, "Where the hell is that blond?"
"His name is Naruto Uzumaki."
"I know."
There was another silence as both men raised their heads to glare at each other.
Just then, the said blond stepped through the door. A pair of light-lavender eyes snapped up first in his direction.
"He's here. I'll go get him."
"No, I'll go get him. You stay."
In the end, they both got up and paced each other as they reached the blond. Naruto was juggling his books as he tried to grab a lunch tray.
The usual smooth voice cut in before he could fully drop all his materials as cool hands grabbed some of the juggling materials off the blonde's arms.
"Ah, Naruto, fancy seeing you here."
Damn, looks like his luck had run out.
Naruto turned around, almost falling over. Bowing his head a little he nervously played off as dumb.
"Oh hey Neji! Erm, how are you?"
Neji 's voice maintained a light, cheery tone.
"Pleasant. Now, I asked you yesterday if you would do me the favor of joining me for lunch. Have you reached a decision yet?" Not that Neji planned on giving the blond a choice anyways.
Naruto tilted his head slightly, finally catching a glimpse of the redhead holding his books, standing next to the tall man.
"Gaara?"
"Naruto."
Staring at both members of the famed group, the blond unconsciously gulped. Why, above all gods, were they asking him of all people? Last time he checked, he was not part of any high-scaled industry with enough money to flood Hawaii. So why were they so bothered to have him join them for lunch?
Running a hand through his hair, Naruto finally made a very split-second decision.
"Alright, I'll come. Just after I drop off my stuff at my locker."
Gods, he hoped he didn't end up regretting this.
But luck, as usual, was not in Naruto's favor.