Author's note: this one here's the second installment. i tried real hard to get this over with asap. kudos to darkness of the blue moon, who made this all better for your reading. to those who stopped by to read the first chapter, my appreciation. to those who returned for the second chapter, my gratitude.

Disclaimer: because i forgot to put a disclaimer on the first chapter. i'm just a big fan (read otaku) who dreams big. doesn't mean i get paid for it (the pleasure of writing doesn't count!). doesn't mean you should sue me either.

Chapter 2

The Revolution as Started by Class 2F

Part II

The silence was deafening. It was as if the whole room was suddenly submerged in a deep lake, and everyone could but look at one another as if he were drowning. Outside, a cricket chirped.

Shikamaru sighed. "Oi, I thought you wanted to change things. Why are you hesitating now?"

"Uh, I hate to rain on your parade, Nara – san," piped up a girl, "but you're pretty much dreaming impossible! I mean, we're not Class F without a reason you know, how do you expect us to win against E?"

"Or A, for that matter," one boy added out loud.

"Yeah," several chorused. The class was suddenly filled with the din of the student's disbelieving complaints.

Shikamaru raised his hand. "Okay, okay," he said in a placating manner. "You think we can't win against those other sections. But have a little faith, can't you? We're not exactly all idiots here, although we have the biggest idiot in our class."

"Hey, who're you calling an idiot?" Naruto asked, outraged.

"If the shoe fits, Naruto," Shikamaru replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, the idiot aside, we do have Haruno – san in our class now."

"That's right," the girl from earlier murmured, stealing a glance at the newcomer, who blushed and ducked lower into her seat.

"And some of us aren't bad either. Most of you, I know, have B-level subjects at least," Shikamaru continued.

"Hells, yeah!" One boy yelled loudly. "Let's see those C bitches beat my History scores!"

As the class erupted into excited chatter, Shikamaru surveyed his classmates with some smugness. They were already getting into the excitement. Truth be told, Shikamaru wasn't really in for the thrill of the fight. Unlike many other males his age, Shikamaru wasn't a testosterone – filled teenager who's always looking for a violent and passionate outlet of some sort. No, Shikamaru was pretty much a laidback guy (much to the consternation of his upbeat mom) who preferred to sit through a quiet game of go or shougi or even chess, or just watch the clouds. Preferably on a grassy hill, of course. But Naruto's idiotic question's earlier gave him a pause, and caused him to think of one very interesting proposition.

Though laidback he may be, Shikamaru was also just a bored individual who idled through mundane classes. He had been tricked into entering Konoha Academy with the promise of "a different experience, the likes that no student has ever seen" (or so his father had elaborately put it). In truth, the idea of a rigid structuring and innovative test strategies had intrigued him at first. Even the infamous battle of Uchiha Sasuke vs. Hyuuga Neji was entertaining. At first. And it was a rather rich entertainment, very much worth the caliber of a genius, Shikamaru admitted resentfully. But that last entertainment had been more than a year ago, and nothing remotely interesting had ever happened since then.

Until Haruno Sakura came along. Somehow, he had this inkling suspicion that—

"Oi, Shikamaru, don't space out when you're standing there!"

Idiocy still does not count for entertainment, Shikamaru decided then and there. "Well anyway," he grumbled, "are you in with me or not?"

"Well, what's in it for us?" The girl earlier raised her hand and asked.

Shikamaru tamped down his annoyance. All he really wanted was to have a venue for his own entertainment (since the school couldn't even bother to provide him that), and if his entertainment meant stirring up the whole school with a revolution of some sort, who's to stop him? The caste system should have already gone down the drain anyways—it was proving to be vexing, ineffective, and very misleading to idiots like Naruto. And yet convincing his classmates to lend him some aid was proving to be harder than having his tooth pulled by an inexperienced dentist. "If we defeat Class A, we can have their classroom. And they could all rot here in our garbage of a classroom. Wouldn't you all like that? I heard they have La-z boys for seats."

"And they have their kitchenette." Naruto added proudly. "Stocked by the school."

Murmurs of excitement. Shikamaru wanted to pull out his hair by the roots in exasperation. Really, how long could it take for them to decide? A semester? A year? A lifetime? "Really, what are you pussyfooting on about? Look at this room. Look at us. We've got nothing to lose, and very much to gain."

Sakura sat at the back of the room, studying the whole class quietly. It was vastly different from Class A, that was indeed evident. In her middle school year, she had been taken to a regular high school in the district, and saw for herself how a regular high schooler lived. Class F reminded her of the class she had observed. The students were all living in their own tiny bubbles:they tended to focus on their own interest, and ignore those that failed to catch their attention.

There were exceptions, however. There was Uzumaki Naruto-san, who was known to the whole school as the lowest passer ever—he was admitted with an entrance exam score of zero, if such a thing even existed. And then there was, of course, Nara Shikamaru.

Sakura knew of Nara Shikamaru only by reputation. He had been in Class F since the start of their freshman year. But within that laidback pose, Sakura knew, resided the mind of a genius. The rumor about his astounding IQ was very much real, Sakura knew. So were the rumors that he was a lazy bum, and preferred to observe, rather than act.

It was rather surprising to find him on his feet, in front of the class, proposing this ridiculous endeavor. But what a pleasant surprise it was, although Sakura suspected there was more to it than just a mere outrage at the inequality the caste system facilitated. And it fascinated her too, to see this new aspect of life at the academy.

Sakura knew that this grand plan had about 95% chance of failing. She knew that their class president knew it too, although he appeared to be unwilling to share this tidbit of information with his excited comrades. She didn't know what else their astute leader had perceived in his one year's worth of observing the academy's system, or the scope of his understanding of the school's social hierarchy itself. What she knew was that with Nara Shikamaru at the helm, he'd make this downhill ride one hell of an experience.

And should he go down, he'd bring everyone he can grasp—the whole school even, if he got lucky—with him.

And so she raised her hand, and asked," Do you have a plan for this scheme, Nara – san?"

One black eyebrow raised. "Of course, Haruno – san. How much detail do you want to know?"

"Then I'd like to join you in your so – called revolution, if you don't mind."

Shikamaru could not help the grin that shaped his lips. "Our newcomer has cast her vote, classmates. What do you say to that? Are you in, or out?"

This time, there was no silence. The classroom walls shook with the loud collective response of the entire class. "Bring it on!"

and that's second installment for you. i'm shaking because i'm not confident that i did shikamaru justice. and sakura too. to those who will leave a review, my love.