Thanks for the reviews! Sorry it has been a while since the last update, but I injured my hand and things have been slow. Not to mention work loads have increased at college! Damn them!
Recommended Song: Sharada - Skye Sweetnam
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
-Welcome to Konoha Academy-
-4-
"Whoa wait! Tsunade? Isn't she your…?" Sakura pointed over to Naruto who grinned.
"She's my foster parent's girlfriend! She was making dinner the night I said she'd pull a bitch fit!" Naruto explained.
"Oh…"
Naruto grabbed the handle and stormed into the office startling the big chested woman behind the desk. "Naruto! Can't you walk into my office normally for once?!"
"Aww come on! I just walked in!"
"You're supposed to knock… and who was pulling a bitch fit?" She said with a smirk as Naruto's face began to sweat profusely.
"Erm… I was talking about… erm… S-Sakura!" He said finally, earning a punch to the face, which sent him sprawling to the floor.
"What was that Naruto?" Sakura said standing above the boy who backed away from her.
"She's as crazy as you!" Naruto whimpered to Tsunade whose smile only grew.
"It's nice to meet someone who can match my temper…" Tsunade said watching the girl who turned and grinned in response, with a determined look.
"Yes Tsunade-sama!" She replied. Sakura studied the woman in front of her carefully; she had golden eyes slightly darker than her hair colour and a strange purple jewel in her forehead.
"Well, Miss Haruno I-…"
"Tsunade!" A younger woman yelled from the doorway. She had neat brown hair and an angry expression on her face.
"Y-Yes Shizune?"
"Where are those papers?!"
"P-Papers?"
Sakura looked down to her large wooden desk and felt her mouth open a little. Across the desk were differently stack piles of paper, some were crumpled and then attempted to be straightened out, while the others were too neat, meaning she hadn't even looked their way. Around the room, bookcases lined the walls, except for the opposite end of the office, which seemed to have a long table of scrolls laid out upon it.
"They need to be signed immediately!" The young woman snarled walking over to the desk and placing her hands on it, where she could find space.
"I have a new student! They can wa-!"
"They will come this afternoon to pick them up!"
"Ah! Fine… Miss Haruno… You are placed in Kakashi's tutor… come back during 1st lesson and we will sort out your timetable…"
"Yes Tsunade-sama!" She said walking towards the door with the shy Hinata and the loud Naruto following.
They closed the door to her office and heard more arguments following up. Sakura sighed, releasing her tension, and continued up the corridor.
"Jeez… she is always busy! If she did the work on time this wouldn't happen!" Naruto whined placing his hands behind his head as he walked.
"So… anyone I know in Kakashi's tutor?" Sakura asked not wanting Naruto to talk badly about Tsunade. The instant she seen the woman, she greatly respected her. Something about her made Sakura feel determined.
"We are" Hinata said shyly with her usual quietness.
"That's good…" Sakura sighed feeling more at peace.
A loud bell sounded through the squeaky clean corridors and rung through Sakura's ears as the sound bounced off the shiny floors and pale yellow walls. Sakura grabbed her ears with her hands until the loud noise stopped.
"Don't worry… you'll get used to it!" Naruto said with bounds of energy as he tugged Sakura to their class. By the time they got there they were already five minutes late. Sakura was about to burst into apologies when she realised the teacher was nowhere to be found. She sighed and followed Naruto to sit down in one of the singled off desks.
The classroom was like any other seen in any other school. Singular desks, large enough to hide things underneath on the small shelves, were in defined rows, facing the front of the classroom, where a large white board was hung upon the wall with markers stuck to the magnetic strip which partnered the board. A small double desk was sat facing the others at the front, on which was several class notices and books.
They tugged her to the window's side of the classroom and sat her down one off the back. She sat behind Naruto and next to Tenten. In front of Tenten was Hinata, who was beside Naruto. She relaxed and waited for the teacher who seemed to be unusually late. Naruto turned around interrupting her thoughts and grinned.
"He's always late… this'll be your seat now… for the year…"
"Oh… why is he always late?"
Naruto shrugged and turned back around. At that moment, the door slid open revealing a tall man with tall silver hair and a mask over his face. He walked into the room holding several folders and a small book on top of them.
"Hello again everyone… we have a new student with us today… her name is… Sakura Haruno?" He said standing at the front.
Sakura looked up at him when he said her name and began to panic. She was always nervous when too much attention was drawn to her.
"Well Miss Haruno, why don't you come out and let us ask you a few questions?" He said gesturing to the front of the class. Sakura panicked seeing the whole class look at her.
She stood up and walked down to the front knowing exactly what the first question would be. All of the class, with the exception of one or two who were looking bored, put their hands in the air.
Kakashi began to point to random people who asked Sakura about herself.
"Is your hair dyed?" one girl giggled to her friends trying to intimidate Sakura. Sakura had enough of this sort of attitude and refused to put up with it.
"No, it's natural"
"You can't tell us that is natural!" the first girl's friend commented.
"I assure you it is" she commented with gritted teeth, growing angrier by the second. This seemed to shut her up.
"Where did you come from?"
"My mother…" She commented sending the whole class snickering, or laughing loudly in Naruto's case. In truth, this was all she could say. She never found out where she was born, and her earliest memories were of the home, something she didn't want to bring up.
"Who are you friends with already?" one boy asked looking up and down her body like a hungry wolf.
"Naruto, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru, Lee and Temari" she listed with her fingers.
"Temari!?" the whole class, minus her friends, yelled.
"Yes" she sighed in response.
"Did she threaten you into it?" one girl snickered looking pathetically at Sakura.
"No one did any threatening… we just talked and got along with one another" She said glaring at the girl.
"No one calmly talks and becomes friends with Temari!" One loud boy said from the opposite end of the room.
Sakura looked up at him angrily "I'd prefer it if you didn't talk about my friends that way!" She said angrily.
"Yeah! Go Sakura-chan!" Naruto commented making her friends laugh and her chuckle.
"She'll be talking to Gaara-sama next!" One girl laughed under her breath.
"Hey! Don't talk about Gaara like that!" Naruto interrupted rising off his chair.
"Naruto… please sit down" Kakashi commented rolling his eyes.
"Whoever this Gaara is, I'm sure, like Temari, he isn't as bad as you people make him out to be!" Sakura added growing more irritated by the second.
Half the class started to laugh to each other, while the other half stayed deadly silent, looking to a spot on the floor.
"Fine! Prove it Sakura!" One girl chuckled standing from her chair, "If you manage to be around him and talk with him for more than five minutes… we'll believe you!" She said raising her outstretched finger at Sakura.
Usually, she would never stoop so low to bets to prove herself right; but this girl was starting to make Sakura mad. "As soon as I find out who he is I will!" She commented back with her own smirk.
"Go Sakura!" Naruto added… again.
"Naruto…" Sakura warned. He wasn't helping her temper even if he was cheering her on.
The girl carried on talking, "Once you are done with the bet you are to stay away from Gaara-sama…"
"What? Why?" Sakura asked annoyed at being given an order.
"The likes of you are not worthy of being near Gaara-sama!" She barked sitting down.
"I am sorry… but I don't take orders from you or anyone for that matter…" Sakura couldn't stop the words which leaked from her mouth. It was like she was a new person.
Her old school didn't like her answering back and she seemed to get punched or beaten when she did. Maybe it was the fact she had friends at this school who were cheering her on. Perhaps she didn't want to be taken lightly from the start in order to avoid these conflicts.
"Okay… that's enough now class…" Kakashi said silencing them. Sakura made her way to the back of the room ignoring the girls and sat down. Tenten and Hinata both looked at her with worry evident on their face. Naruto was happily grinning.
"S-Sakura-chan… maybe… y-you should back out now…" Hinata said looking to the floor.
"Hinata-chan? No way! I'm sick of being walked over… besides… Gaara is a person too… I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate being talked about like this!" Sakura said, defending a person she hadn't even met.
"That's right Sakura!" Naruto said grinning.
The bell rung again, and Sakura shielded her ears from the deafening sound. She stood up, like the rest of the class, and hurried out the door waving bye to her friends.
"Naruto… is this really okay?" Tenten asked quickly, before they headed their separate ways.
"Sure it is!"
"Maybe you should tell Gaara first.. for safety…"
Naruto sighed and rubbed his blonde spikes, "Okay… I have my next class with him anyway…"
"Thanks Naruto!"
Back out in the corridor, Sakura was dodging the crowds of people who were fighting to walk through the corridor. She couldn't wait to talk with Tsunade again feeling a strange bond between the two. She headed past more people and turned a corner when she hit something hard and fell to the floor.
"Ow!"
"…"
"Jeez…" She stood up quickly and panicked when she seen she had ran into somebody.
'Great… how cliché! The ugly new girl runs into a hot guy! Damn!'
'This is great! What a catch! Get him while you have the chance!' Inner Sakura yelled.
'What the-?! No! Shut up for once!'
'Fine I will… but I should warn you… the whole corridor is acting… strange…'
She looked around the people who surrounded them. She noticed they were a safe distance away and were all wide eyed, staring at the two. Some fidgeted with their hands while others were watching intently. She couldn't help but catch some of the girls sending her death glares, while the guys looked between the two; eyeing up Sakura and secretly growling at the red head.
She turned her attention back on the guy she bumped into. His still blank expression hadn't even acknowledged the crowd they gathered.
"Erm… I'm sorry… I should have watched where I was going!" She said looking up to the tall, muscular red head who blankly stared at her.
He was much taller than Sakura and wore a dark red shirt under his jacket. She could see chains hanging from his black pants and large boots on his feet when she bowed down in apology. His shirt was lazily tied, missing a few buttons from the top and he had his hands in his pockets with a bored expression on his face. His fiery red hair stood out in the hallway along with the thick black outline of his jade eyes. It also wasn't everyday you see someone with a kanji tattooed on their forehead.
At first glance, and seeing his piercing glare, he seemed quite frightening. His eyes seemed to bore into Sakura, as if reading into her entire being. She felt naked under his penetrating stare. She could see why the girls stared affectionately, but wearily at him.
'Hm, it's the pink haired girl from yesterday… what are you going to do?'
'Shut up and let me handle this…'
'You're not going to kill her are you?'
'Whose fault is it I kill, Shukaku?'
'Ignoring that point, she seems interesting… I advise you don't kill her just yet…'
Now that he was up close to her he seen just how slender she was with the exception of her ample bust and rounded butt. This day just kept getting better for him…
"Ya know…" She said a little agitated he was just staring at her without an apology, "I didn't do all of the collision and I was pushed to my butt because of you!"
The people around them backed up slowly, holding their breaths. The girls seemed to have turned their obnoxious glares into satisfied grins. His blank expression turned into a smirk as he watched her shoulders hunch and sigh in aggravation. She, on the other hand, wasn't sure what she was doing. Just from looking at him she could tell there was something dangerous about him; so why was she testing his patience?
'See what I mean? Interesting…'
"Okay… I won't coax you…" she added making sure she pronounced coax wrongly. This plan was sure to work, even if she hadn't used it before.
"It's coax…" He replied coolly, still with a smirk. The whole corridor seemed to gasp at the new girl who was trying to get killed.
"Oops! Hey, you can talk!" She said grinning. It was a good thing she took her chances with him; his voice was deep and flowed perfectly from his once smirking lips. Even if he did beat her to a pulp afterwards; hearing that voice was worth it.
He lost this smirk and raised his non-existent eyebrow. He hadn't expected her to have a casual conversation with him and was amused by her methods of talk. He had to admit; she got him to talk.
"Hn"
"Oh shit! I gotta go… later!" She said running past him, placing a hand on his shoulder as she said bye. His eyes widened at her contact and he turned to watch her go. He took this moment in time to realise the whole corridor was watching him and were obviously watching the scene play out. Some girls were glaring down the corridor at the pinkette while some of the men looked shocked at him.
He turned around and continued through the corridor with thoughts of her. She had been very brave to confront him like that but she was obviously new and didn't know who he was. The moment she knew she wouldn't talk so friendly with him.
He continued until he seen the hyperactive blonde jumping up and down. "Hey Gaara!"
Gaara suppressed himself from rolling his eyes and continued towards the energetic guy. "Hn"
"Hey… I've got a favour to ask!" He said instantly making Gaara sigh.
"What is it?"
"Whoa! You're talkative today! Anyway…" He continued seeing Gaara's eyes narrow in his direction, "…there's this new girl, Sakura, and she kinda got into an argument with the class… about you…"
"Why? I have not met her…" He said quickly. Of course he knew that new student didn't always happen and of course, the girl he bumped into must have been this Sakura. But tutor was before the collision, so why would she argue? He half expected her to be arguing against him; it was the only explanation after all but even that didn't make much sense.
"I know… but here's the thing…"
"Naruto…"
"Huh?"
"Start from the beginning…"
"Oh… okay, well she got up to answer questions and she told them she was friends with your sister…"
"Is she?" He asked surprised, even allowing his head to turn in Naruto's direction.
"Apparently so… she told us she went shopping with her yesterday!"
'That explains how she looks… different…'
'You really should thank your sister…'
"Anyway! They started to say how Temari would have threatened her into being her friend and Sakura defended her… they said that she would be your friend next and she stuck up for you too…"
"Naruto… this explanation is taking too long…" He found himself smiling on the inside knowing the fact that she had stuck up for him without judging him or knowing him.
"Oh… well they made a bet; if Sakura talks with you for longer than 5 minutes they'll believe her…"
"Believe what?"
"Oh… believe that you aren't as bad as everyone says…" Naruto grinned up at him as they walked through the now nearly empty halls.
Gaara almost shouted out at this news. She truly was something special. But something didn't fit… "Does she know the rumours?"
"Not exactly…"
"Hn" That explained a lot.
"So you'll listen to her when she talks right?"
"Hn"
"I… think that's a yes…right?"
"In return for another favour…"
"What is it?"
"I want you to tell her every rumour about me…"
"What?! Gaara why-?"
"Because I asked…"
He wouldn't let false hope rule him and letting her know the rumours would seem best. If she is as Shukaku thought, interesting, and what he wanted, then he wouldn't feel the need to hide behind a false identity.
oOo
"Hello again Miss Haruno" Tsunade greeted gesturing for the pink haired girl to talk a seat.
"Sakura is fine… thank you Tsunade-sama" She said taking the seat. Just moments before, she had finally slowed her heart down from pounding out of her chest. She wasn't sure if this was because of the red-head's handsome features or his intense aura, which demanded respect.
"Okay, Sakura… first I should explain about the school, since your father did not bother to listen." Sakura hung her head in shame of his ignorance.
"Sorry Tsunade-sama"
"Don't be… it makes it easier for us… as soon as parents hear about this school's purpose, they immediately pull out of a contract."
"Purpose?"
"This school has an overall purpose. As you know, the school has only around four tutors…" 'It does?' "…and the age limit is 16 to 19. This is because this school is more like an academy for combat purposes…"
"C-Combat?" Sakura asked shocked.
"Yes, I can't go too in depth with you about the school's purposes until I know what you think. There is a choice of 6 lessons to undertake… Martial Arts, Mind Arts, Weapons Expertise, Bloodline Limits, Strategics and Medicine…"
Sakura's mouth fell open at the sound of the lesson choices. She grew even more excited than Temari had brought her up to be. This was indeed a special school, only she didn't think she would be skilled enough to take any of those courses except Strategics since brains was the only thing she felt she had going for her.
She now understood why her friends didn't want to spoilt the surprise or why they wouldn't tell her the lesson choices.
"… I will judge which of these categorized lessons you would fall into through various tests… now tell me… is this sounding appealing to you?"
"…It sounds great… but… I don't think I'd fit into one of those categories Tsunade-sama…"
"Why not?"
"…" She knew she would fit perfectly into the brainiest of groups but would feel a fool to be singled into that group.
"Either way… I'll be the judge of your timetable… do you still wish to attend this school?"
"… yes Tsunade-sama…" She had just made friends and didn't want to give up on them or not see them anymore.
"Good… now as for the tests…"
Fifteen minutes later, Tsunade had led Sakura to the gym, which wasn't currently in use. It was a large area with lines and markings on the floor in different colours. There were no basketball courts lined on these however, instead, there were the occasional X marks and other strange symbols. It didn't seem like these symbols would match any sport.
On one side of the gym, there was a tall scaffolding of seat set up as if to watch a game. The seats were yellow with a little cushion to match.
"First I must ask you if your family has any records of obtaining a bloodline limit, if so you will be automatically sectioned into that group"
"I don't know my family… I'm adopted… My guardian let me keep my last name however…"
"Very well…" She took a phone out of her pocket and punched in a number, holding it up to her ear. "Shizune…?" She called through the phone, "…look up last name Haruno through our database… get me anything specific…"
After a few more minutes of waiting Tsunade finally summed up the conversation and grinned at Sakura.
"It would seem that Haruno just so happens to be the name of a long line of great combatants. Your ancestors seemed to be rather gifted with precise chakra control… many of which, turned out to be skilled medics…"
Sakura's mouth fell open once more, this school was the best, yet strangest, thing that ever happened to her. She found out she is worth more than she looks.
"Nevertheless, I will still be taking you through all of the tests since some of your family members were skilled differently…" Sakura nodded with a smile.
"Your first test, will be mind arts, though I must teach you to be in tune with your chakra firstly…"
After fifteen minutes of teaching, Sakura got used to feeling a strange force in her body which made her feel energetic. She had learned to tap into this power and even focus it to different areas of her body. She had even been standing on the wall through focusing chakra to her feet.
"Wow… fifteen minutes and you already know all there is to know for the basics… now then… mind arts…"
After an hour of tests through different lesson pathways, Sakura was starting to feel slightly out of breath. She had been told that you can run out of chakra and the symptoms of this. It seems she was beginning to feel the beginning side effects.
"One more test Sakura… you have proved yourself worthy of Strategics and mind arts… you even proved you could be quite a talented martial artist… the last test is the hardest, for the Medicine pathway"
Sakura nodded with determination set in her emerald eyes.
"Firstly, I will give you this scroll to perform off…"
Tsunade lay down a scroll on the table in the gym. Strange patterns and symbols were lined in a circle while two smaller circles were beside the larger.
Another half hour later, Sakura collapsed to her knees with a grin. She succeeded in passing the medical test and Tsunade was more than happy. Footsteps were heard and a soft hand patted Sakura's shoulder.
"You did good… I have decided to take you down the medicine pathway. Not only did your ancestors pass extremely gifted medical skills onto you I think they passed on their determination… welcome aboard… I'll be your sensei…"
"Yes Tsunade-sama…"
"Also, Sakura; While I was a little older than your age I learn another great skill in which the user's strength is multiplied tenfold. It requires perfectly focused chakra and proved quite beneficial… what do you say to after school lessons? I don't hand out this opportunity everyday…"
"Yes please Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said grinning, while straightening her back to stand upright.
"Very well, we will start after school lessons tomorrow since I worked you hard today… break will be in ten minutes, so I advise you to rest until then…" Tsunade waved and left Sakura to sit in the middle of the gym floor, after collecting her scrolls and moving the table. "Collect your timetable after break and then you may go to lesson…"
She took steady breaths and forced herself backwards so she was lying on the gym floor. She couldn't help but smile at the day she had. First she feels fabulous thanks to her new clothing choice, then she meets Naruto's group of friends who accept her into their group, she meets Tsunade-sama feeling inspired, she gets accepted into the medicine pathway and gets offered another course. Not to mention her encounter with the handsome red haired stranger.
She got up off the floor feeling pretty weak and steadied her legs. Once she caught her breath and got used to standing up she walked through the gym doors hoping to find somewhere more suitable to rest. As soon as she opened the door, however, she collided, once more, into something solid.
"Ah!" She squealed in preparation to hit the floor; only she didn't feel the collision. She opened her eyes to face the red-haired stranger who was looking blankly at her once more. He had grabbed her wrist before she fell and lifted her back onto her shaking legs.
"Quick reflexes…" She stated grinning. "Jeez, we just keep running into each other…" She joked after he released her.
"You were the one running into the other…" He stated calmly annoying Sakura.
"I… ought to punch you…!" She said grinning as she leaned against the wall.
"Why don't you…?" He expected her to be too scared to punch him in her response but he recognised her tired eyes.
"Too…tired…"
"Your chakra will rebuild if you eat something…" He said walking past her into the gym. She snapped her eyes in his direction, shocked to find he read her like a book. She shook her head and continued down the hall to find the canteen. That marked twice on her chart of running into the handsome stranger.
Gaara, on the other hand, was a little annoyed. Usually, if someone had run into him a second time in the same day… or even in their second lifetime, he would have beaten them beyond recognition. It was irritating how he didn't mind colliding with her and actually enjoyed talking to the strange girl with the unique hair colour.
He summed it down to the fact she had stuck up for him, or perhaps the fact that she didn't know how monstrous he was. He would savour her kindness until she knew the rumours and rejected him like the rest of society. It was inevitable, after all.
He had asked Naruto to tell her the rumours, not only for his own entertainment, but out of curiosity. He knew the outcome would be rejection, but part of him hoped she wouldn't mind any rumour. He knew not to build his hopes up since he had always been let down; but it didn't hurt for him to dream, right? Naruto, too, helped him dream again: he accepted him for who he was and even shared the same burden. Maybe, because of that fact, Naruto was the only person who would ever accept him…
To Be Continued…
Anonymous Reviews Accepted!
So…Reviews please! They are what influence me to write more… and quicker…
Next Chapter: What classes are Sakura's friends in… and just how do the social groupings work? How will Sakura's first Medicine class go?