Lunch rolls around a few hours later, and already Naruto is overwhelmed. Within just four hours of school he has already collected enough homework to last a life-time (which all of it came from English and science) and Sasuke throughout the day hasn't been the greatest help, from hiding from screaming girls and picking fights with Naruto, this first day of school will always remain mostly, memorable. Quietly sitting amongst Sasuke's peers Naruto plays with string he finds hanging off his shirt while Sasuke discusses basketball plays they can use in the next game presenting small poorly drawn diagrams of each maneuver. Observing each drawing Naruto pulls out his own sketch book and begins to outline each of the guys sitting around the table paying especially close attention to the serious and smooth face of Sasuke, with his prominent jaw line, perfect facial structure, and coal black eyes. Naruto fumbles with his different shades of charcoal pencils he favors for drawing. Watching three of them roll into the group of tall, lanky jocks Naruto continues to draw as if nothing happened. Sasuke takes notice of the pencils and looks over to Naruto sitting quietly at the corner of the table; he raises an eyebrow to the furious gestures of his hand in his book, immediately shrugging off his strange behavior Sasuke glances over towards the clock recognizing the five minutes before the end of lunch he walks over to Naruto and closes his book.
"Hey!" Naruto shocked expression causes Sasuke to cock his brow.
"We should start heading to your next class before the bell rings."
"What is my new class anyways?" Naruto jerks the book out of Sasuke's hand and packs away his pencils, collecting the three that rolled away. The group stares at him as he slowly moves in to take his pencils; Sasuke kindly picks them up for him.
"Art." Handing over the three pencils; blushing slightly Naruto snatches them out of his hand and begins to head out the cafeteria, mumbling curses under his breath. Shaking his head slightly he looks over at his friends, "Did I do something wrong?" they all shrug and laugh.
"Dude, don't ask us, he isn't the brightest kid in the bunch."
"Ya, I would agree with that, oh and no practice tonight guys, you deserve a break for a good game last night." A huge roar echoes through the cafeteria as Sasuke walks out to Naruto waiting impatiently in the hallway.
"What is going on in there?" Naruto cocks his head to the side curiously at the sound of cheering and shouting.
"Oh nothing just a bunch of guys being guys, so anyways for the rest of the day you are going to stay in the same room because you have two art classes, then T.A. for another one."
"What kind of art class do I have?"
"Um, I don't know, we only have two art classes in this school, 2-D and 3-D, but there is two hours of 2-D art so you T.A. for one of them."
"And you keep saying I am a T.A., what does that mean?"
"That means," Sasuke with a slight annoyance in his voice reaches a rusty door at the far end of the school almost abandon from any life, "that you are a Teacher's Assistant so you do whatever work they have you do or you have just a study hall ok." He opens the squeaky door with great force; the door leads to another flight of stairs to a dark room.
"Sasuke where are we?" Naruto stands in the hall looking down into the dark area.
"The art room is down this way, why are you scared?" he cocks his eyebrow with a slight smirk on his lips.
"No! I just don't see how the art room could be down here in some random deserted area," pausing for a brief moment he gapes at the dark abyss then looks down mumbling under his breath, "I am not scared." Naruto then pushes past Sasuke into the dark hallway, down the dark stairs Naruto skips a step and falls down the flight of stairs. Rushing down Sasuke finds Naruto sitting on the ground rubbing his head grumbling in a low whisper.
"Are you ok Naruto?"
"Ya I am just fine, don't treat me like a child." He pushes away Sasuke's hand for help.
"Whatever loser." Sasuke picks up his scattered items and tosses them to him. "Come on the class is this way." Sasuke leads Naruto through the dark room.
"Sasuke where are we and why is class in here?"
Sasuke turns around only his eyes lit by the poor light from the classroom door, "This is what we call the dungeon," his voice dark and cold, "The school just created this art class about two years ago, and since all of the other class rooms were full they put the art class down in the basement. They are still cleaning it up, and adding more lights, within another five years they are hoping to make this area less deathly gloomy and turn it into an actual class room." Naruto listens carefully intrigued by the story.
"Why wasn't there an art class before?"
"Well, you see this school use to be a college, but when the owners died they turned it into a private high school. At the time they transferred it into a private school, the owners made it so that the school was strictly focused on academics and sports, so art and music were set aside. The original owners felt that any artistic class was useless for the education of children, but once they passed the current owners changed that. They brought the music program in about fifteen years ago, and so finally they are bringing the arts. And this is where you will spend the rest of your day. I will leave you here because there is no need for me to show you around any longer, I will meet you at the door after school gets out so we can go over a few more things. Do you have any other questions?" Naruto glances into the class room and then back towards Sasuke, yes there were many questions he wanted to ask, but right now… well mostly likely not the best time.
"No, I am fine for now." With that Sasuke walks slowly through the dark room, up the black stairs through the shrieking door. Once he could no longer be heard Naruto takes his first steps into his new art world. The room itself was lit pretty well, a few floor lamps, some bright ceiling lamps, half of the wall was painted poorly an eggshell white covering some random cords in the room stopping at what seemed like the moment they ran out of paint. Four large tables for a rectangle in the middle of the room with chairs surrounding all side with a desk sitting off to the side facing a strange painting of the world with a huge school protruding out of the ground. Another set of paintings off to the side of the room mimic windows with different sceneries ranging from five different moods such as happiness, gloomy, all the way to sensual. He continues to look around the eerie basement amazed at how a class is actually down in this dungeon.
"Hey Naruto." The pale boy from earlier whom he has heard of as being Sai casually makes his way into the class room, "What a pleasure to see you again, I didn't know you enjoyed art?" a small fake smile plays on his lips as if he has no attachment to emotions at all.
"Uh, ya… just a little." He makes his way to a table, Sai stops 'smiling' and goes back to some painting he was working on in his little art book.
Then a few more students walk in followed by a large old man with long silver hair walks into the room, he greets the students then walk turn his attention to Sai and Naruto, "Good afternoon Sai, and you must be the new student Naruto was it… well anyways welcome to art, now pull out something and begin the creativity!" his voice echoes throughout the room loud and proud, so the man sits down at his computer and starts typing away.
"Um, is there any rules of this class, and where are the rest of the students? And I never got your name?"
The old man sighs, "Naruto so many questions… as you can see the school has put this class in the dungeon of the school for a reason… there is hardly a class to teach at all, with this being a new class that started one year ago we have only been able to get a few students, and I am Jiraya I have no rules, and I just let you guys do what you want, how you spend your time in here is your business… the only thing that you have to have done is one completely finished piece that expresses something about you so basically this is like an open studio. I am here for opinions and to continue writing my novels… otherwise the rest is on you, Sai can show you where all the art supplies are, and as I said before let your creativity run wild, so paint in your book, on canvas, paint whatever you want in the room, walls, floors whatever just do as you see fit." And with that said he goes back to writing on his computer. Naruto sits there for a moment staring at Jiraya… 'Do whatever I want… he has got to be kidding? But yet again I may kind of enjoy this class' Smiling Naruto helps himself around the room not wanting to disturb anybody and begins a gorgeous painting of a pregnant woman crying looking up at the moon.
Later Sasuke waits up by the door to the art class, but after what seems to be 30mins no one emerges from the room. He waits for another 15 until he decides to make the journey back down to the art room again. When he emerges through the door he finds several students sitting around, some playing hand held systems, one watching god knows what on their computer, a few sleeping, and the rest just sitting around talking. Disgusted Sasuke walks into the class room bewildered why the school would even fund such a useless program that allows students to just lie around and do nothing. He makes his way over to Jiraya who is frivolously typing away at his computer, clearing his throat Sasuke speaks up. "You all do know the bell rang some time ago don't you?" All the students nod and ignore his presence, but Jiraya looks up and gently shuts his computer.
"Can I help you?"
Slightly shaking his head Sasuke replies, "Yes I am looking for Naruto Uzumaki?" Jiraya looks over the room and shrugs.
"Have a look around this basement is pretty big."
"No need I am right here." Naruto emerges from the dark, and Jiraya smirks.
"Already making yourself at home, and made yourself a little room for you to work. You learn fast," they both grin, and then look over at Sasuke.
"So I am ready to go when you are." Naruto holds his sketch book to his side and slings his backpack over one shoulder. Brushing past Sasuke he heads out the door; Sasuke take another look around the room and shakes his head and follows behind Naruto. "What else do I need to know?" they stop at the entrance to the stairs.
"There is one thing every student in this school has to participate in an extracurricular activity, it can be any of your choice and you can pick more than one. You have one week to decide, any questions you have for me?" Sasuke helps Naruto with his locker again.
"Ya, will you be helping me again like this tomorrow?" he shakes his head.
"Nope just today tomorrow you are on your own." Naruto nods and does a slight bow.
"Then thank you very much for all your help today."
"No problem if you have any questions or need help with anything please feel free to come to me. Also school uniform needs to be worn, and with that said I will leave you." And with the slight wave of his hand he was off leaving Naruto alone at his locker. He rests his forehead against the cold metal and lets out a long sigh, 'This is really my new school… tch I would rather be at the old one…'
"Naruto! Master Naruto!" Chives shouts running down the hall, some of the stray students glance over at Naruto confused and instantly his cheeks flush and hides his face in his locker, 'Don't acknowledge him and no one will think anything of it.' Chives stops right in front of him, easily picking Naruto out of the crowd by the lack of a school uniform, 'Shit!', "Master Naruto your father is waiting outside in the limo, he is on a tight schedule and you must be fitted for your uniform." Taking his bags Chives grabs a hold of Naruto not even giving a second for a reply shuts the locker and briskly walks down the hall dragging Naruto behind him. Watching from behind a pillar in a dark corner Sasuke watches as Chives shoves Naruto in the limo, running to the trunk to throw his bags in the back and the leaps to the driver's side and drives off.
"Naruto Uzumaki… what an interesting character."
"Sasuke come on!" a voice calls from behind him, and Sasuke leaves.
Naruto adjust himself in the limo from being pushed in, "Naruto what took so long after school." Minato asks without looking the iPad in his hand. Sitting up straight Naruto looks out the window as a couple of people speed off past the limo on a motorcycle.
"I was caught up with learning the rules of this school. By the way what happened to them having a good art program? There are only two classes and barely any students?" Minato finally glances up from his tablet.
"Isn't Jiraya-sensei teaching the class?" Naruto stares at him bewildered, 'Sensei? He knows him?'
"Uh, ya that pervert just sat at his computer writing his smut novels and looks at pictures of naked women?" He thinks back to class when he began to paint a pregnant woman Jiraya walked up and looked at it took the brush and painted her naked, he claimed it was better so Naruto jumped on his computer just to find more naked women, and what he was writing gave Naruto an instant nose bleed. Minato just laughs, "How does having him as a teacher make the art class good? And why do you call him Sensei?"
"Well, he used to be my teacher, but not in school, he wasn't ready for that at the time. He was a good friend of the family so my father hired him to be like a private tutor, I owe a lot to him if it wasn't for his teachings I would have never made it this far, and I wouldn't have met your mother." Naruto stares in awe, this perverted old man was really that important and he never realized it, yet he never notices anything. "But enough of the past right now, we need to get your uniform." For the rest of the night they laughed and joked about how small Naruto still was and how his uniforms needed to be trimmed, he was sent home with a uniform that was still slightly too big just until the rest of them are finished. But that day will live with him for a long time, for it was the first time he was able to share such a fun and joyous moment with anyone, and he got to share it with his father.