ARGH! …ahem… I mean hi!
Sixth redone chapter. Don't worry. Eight will be here soon. And then on to… everything else I'm supposed to be updating. Darn….
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Gasping for breath, Naruto leaned against the school gates for support. No one was around. He couldn't let them see him like this. No telling what those bastards would try next.
As soon as the thought passed through his head, Naruto wished it hadn't. An image of Itachi zipped through his mind.
He felt bile rise in his throat, but he forced it back down.
"Gross!" he yelled.
Someone behind Naruto laughed.
He froze. The trickling sweat stuck to the hair on the back of his neck.
'I'm all alone. I'm all alone. I'm all alone,' he thought.
Naruto turned around slowly, prepared to dodge or attack whoever was behind him.
But no one was there.
He looked to his left and right, but both sides were clear. His breathing became shallow and his stomach turned in the silence. Was he imagining things?
"Kyuu," he whispered, "did you hear that…?"
He took the constant rhythm of breathing in his head as an answer. Kyuu was still asleep.
"… I know I didn't imagine that."
Suddenly, the two minute bell sounded. Naruto hesitated before rushing through the gate. He would have to find the owner of that mysterious laugh later.
He bumped into a few stranglers as he ran down the hallway. Most of them cussed at him.
'Why the hell is this hallway so long?'
He glanced at the stairs to his right. They led up to the upperclassmen's classes. Freshmen were separated from the upperclassmen. The principal thought it would stop all the freshmen bullying. Most of everyone else thought it was stupid.
The only problem Naruto had with the upperclassmen was they could get away with more things… not in a good way either. The whole seniority thing got them anything they wanted. Well, almost anything… they couldn't make Naruto leave; at least, not yet that is.
'They come up with something new every day.'
'Every day? Do these people have social lives?'
Naruto sucked in his breathe to keep himself from jumping. He hadn't heard Kyuu wake up.
'Warn somebody, Kyuu! You scared the crap out of me!'
'How about I roll out a red carpet? I'll even say "Introducing the Great Kyuubi". '
Naruto smiled right as he slipped through the door and into his seat. The bell rang a heartbeat later. He'd made it!
Though it wasn't anything to be proud of… a desk in the back of the room, isolated from everyone by the empty seats. No one wanted to sit next to Naruto. They had a five foot rule. No one got within the space or they became an outcast like Naruto.
So, he sat by himself in the corner of the room, in a desk right by the window. The window part was fine with him though because personally, he liked looking outside. It took his mind off any problems he had. Especially when it rained…
The teacher's voice drifted in and out of his ears.
"…Today we have… student… please introduce… to the class…."
Naruto looked up from the window just as a boy with brown hair bowed. He introduced himself as "Neji Hyuuga." Naruto watched the boy curiously.
The boy was wearing black baggy jeans, similar to Naruto's pair but they looked newer. He also had on a loose white shirt that was half covered by a black zipper jacket. He had completely black tennis shoes on that said "DC" on the sides. Though his clothes were normal, his actual face was… breath-taking.
Long chestnut brown hair and lightly tanned skin... A piece of white cloth tied around his forehead; it disappeared into the thick hair, keeping it out of his face. The rest of his hair tumbled down onto his slender frame. And he had a royal air to him… like he was used to power. But that's not what intrigued Naruto the most.
It was the boy's eyes. They were really… strange to say the least.
Opaque eyes shone under rogue locks of hair. They seemed to catch and reflect every light, shining like uncut diamonds. So beautiful and yet, they made Naruto sad. The boy's eyes reminded him of a cage… and behind them, his soul stood trapped. Wh–
Naruto shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? Where was any of this coming from?
'He's just another one of them in the end.'
Naruto turned back to the window, but he couldn't help thinking about that guy… Neji.
'What if he doesn't know? We could be friends…. Until he finds out what I am.'
Naruto sighed. Every time he met someone new, he thought the same thing: "Maybe". It always ended with Naruto getting hurt. There was no reason to tease his heart with things he couldn't have. He refused to get his hopes up this time.
'I'm not so sure about that, Kit. Something's happening!'
Indeed, there was something going on. Every pair of eyes was on him. What were they looking at?
After years of torment, Naruto's tongue had learned to act quicker than his brain.
"Take a picture; it last longer, guys."
That obviously got the class back to normal. Someone threw a paper wad at him and a few curses flew.
Naruto was about to look away again until he caught the new boy's eyes. They were still on him. He was… smiling.
Was he laughing at Naruto or at what he said?
He tried another smart ass remark to see.
"Do I have a sign that says 'Morons stare at me?' or are you guys trying a new telepathic way of being stupid?"
Normally, that comment would have had Naruto halfway to the office by now, but even the teacher said nothing. The only sound was the new kid's laughter.
He smiled and walked over to the seat next to Naruto.
'Is this guy for real?'
Kyuu answered him.
'You know something? You attract weird people. I think that's the problem. You.'
'Thanks, Kyuu. I feel so loved now.'
'Don't get sarcastic with me. It's not my fault you attract people who belong in padded rooms.'
Naruto felt something waving in front of his face. He looked up to see Neji sitting across from him.
"Hi, my name is Neji Hyuuga. You don't know me yet, but I think we're going to be good friends."
"Uh…" Naruto racked his mind for an answer. This had never happened before! What was with this guy? He was supposed to move away from Naruto, not sit down and announce that they would be friends. Who even does that?
"I'm…. I'm…"
'Say you're Naruto.'
"You're Naruto…. I- I mean… I'm Naruto. Um… Naruto Uzumaki."
He watched the boy's reaction. Everyone knew the last name "Uzumaki." It was the name of the boy who had a monster eating away at him internally.
"Oh, your mom and dad were the prom king and queen in high school, right? He proposed to her there, and they got married after college. I think that's awesome."
What the… where the hell did he even hear that? It was true, yeah, but… random.
"Uh… yeah… that's right. They did. But I thought you'd know me for a different reason."
The boy smiled again, making Naruto feel dizzy. What was going on? What was this guy's game? Why was he acting like everything was okay? Did he not know about Kyuu? Or… did he know… and not care?
Naruto felt a blush creep onto his face. If Neji really did know about Kyuu and he still wanted to be Naruto's friend…
'It'd be like meeting Iruka-sempai all over again. That would be a miracle.'
The teacher interrupted his thoughts.
"Well, are you sure… you want to sit there, Mr. Hyuuga? There are plenty of other seats available."
Many students in the classroom nodded as the teacher spoke. Naruto was sure Neji would rethink his decision now. He'd realize that Naruto was a monster and that he'd only be treated the same if he stayed by him.
Neji replied. "I think I'm just fine with the spot I've chosen. In fact, I think I've already made a good friend."
"Um…is that right? Well, now that you've found your … seat, I think we should begin today's lesson…now."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Okay, who can simplify this equation: x squared plus 8x plus 16 equals 0?"
The teacher wrote the problem on the board. The class was filled with the sound of pencils scratching against paper as everyone tried to answer the question.
"Well, how about our new student, Mr. Hyuuga? Did you get this far in your old school?"
Without picking up a pencil, Neji replied, "It's a perfect square equation. The answer is x plus 4 in parentheses all squared."
"I'm sorry, but that's the- What did you say?"
"Perhaps I should speak louder." Neji cleared his throat before speaking once again. "I said 'The answer is x plus 4 in parentheses all squared.' "
The teacher looked at his guide book to check, but Neji was right.
"I… uh… assume you made it to this lesson then..." he said, flustered.
A few people cheered. It was hard to upset the teacher. He was too calm.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
A tap on the door distracted the class.
The teacher hastily walked over, unlike the times with Naruto, and allowed the two strangers in. One was young, probably a student. No one knew who the other was.
The teacher spoke first.
"Hello, Mr. …?"
"Hatake. Kakashi Hatake. I'm a new teacher at this school. I'm filling in for a… Mrs.-" he said, pulling out a piece of paper, "a Mrs. Mitarashi. It seems she is on maternity leave.
"Ah! It's about time. Anko has been due for a leave for a while. So, you will be taking her place in English literature I presume?"
"Yes."
"Then welcome to our school. I hope you find it… comfortable."
"Yes, I hope so, too." the man said.
His eyes flickered around the room for a long second, finally resting on something. He looked away as the teacher began speaking again.
"And who, may I ask, is this?" he said, gesturing to the boy standing quietly next to the new teacher. "Is he a new student?"
"Yes, he is. The principal asked me to bring him to the classroom because they had no one on hand at the moment."
"Well! That was very kind of you. Thank you for delivering us another new student. We will be glad to have him. "
"No need for the thank you. I'll just be on my way."
"…Ok."
The door closed quietly as the man left the room, leaving the attention on the newest student of the class, who introduced himself just as the door closed.
"Hello… I'm Sasuke Uchiha."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Meh… I'm tired… but don't worry. I'm starting my redone chapter seven right after this. I'm almost there!