1Chapter One: New Students
Disclaimer: There are characters in here from two stories, but it is mostly based around the world of Wicked. The others are from the manga Naruto. None of the characters belong to me, but the way I manipulate them is mostly original.
The coffee shop was dank and musty, full of the flavored smell of discarded grounds and cheap flavoring. A dark green face under the wide brim of a pointed black hat surveyed the motley array of customers as they sipped their drinks. A stringy green hand gripped the cup beneath the emerald face as a trickle of steam tried to caress the discolored cheek. The reaction was immediate. The eyes screwed shut and the cup banged down onto the table, the hands whipping back and one arm scrubbing at the damp cheek with a black sleeve.
A delicate hand with perfect french tips on the nails picked up a napkin and began wiping up the mess of coffee, giggling lightly. Casting the perfect curls from her face, a blue-eyed girl looked up eagerly at the emerald-faced one.
"Elphie, really! It's not that bad, just a bit of coffee."
The black-haired girl muttered ominously to herself as she observed her now-damp sleeve. "Galinda, it burns!"
"It's just a bit of steam, now really! Look at this mess you've made. C'mon, let's go join Fiyero and the others." The blondie stood and went to the front of the shop with her purse, leaving the darker one to finish cleaning up the mess she had made.
With a heavy sigh Elphaba picked up a wad of napkins and mopped at the spilled coffee, muttering under her breath about how the coffee should be cooled before it was handed to its buyer. She discarded the soaking cloths without letting a drop of moisture touch her skin.
"Galinda, let's go."
The bright girl turned around and smiled at her ominous friend. "Be right there Elphie-boo! Gotta pay for all of this first! I'll meet you outside, how's that?"
Elphaba nodded and walked outside, frowning at the overcast sky. By Lurline, she hated winter. She pulled the wide-brimmed hat further over her face, thinking dark thoughts in the gloom of the dark day.
Something knocked into her, causing her to turn with her eyes flashing with murder. A boy with a crop of messy blonde hair was wandering in front of a larger group of people, his hands stuck in a leisurely fashion behind his head. He turned and dropped his arms, looking apologetic.
"Oh, gee, I'm sorry! Wasn't watching where I was going!"
A young girl with dark blue hair and pale eyes went straight to his side, taking his hand. "Who's this? Did you say you were sorry?"
"Yeah, Hinata." He rolled his eyes, but grasped her hand in return, giving her a little smile.
"Oh, Naruto." She blushed and hugged him, then looked up at the confused, emerald-faced girl. "Um, excuse me, can you tell us where Shiz University might be?"
Never one without words, Elphaba spoke without hesitation. "My friend is inside, paying for a few cups of coffee. If you wait with me for a moment we can take you there. It's almost curfew for us anyway. Are you those exchange students Madame Morrible was going on about?"
A red head with a large gourd lodged on his back walked up at that moment, looking bored and disinterested. He looked at Elphaba with his jade, black-ringed eyes for a moment, then greeted her with a nod.
Elphaba nodded back, thrusting out her hand roughly at him. "I'm Elphaba Thropp."
He grasped her hand, the both of them wincing at the sensation of physical contact at the same time. He blinked at her, then tilted his head forward and said in a deep, rasping voice, "my name is Gaara."
She nodded and withdrew her hand quickly, looking at the other two characters. "You two are . . .?"
Hinata blushed and looked away as Naruto stepped forward. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! This is my girlfriend, Hyuga Hinata. Yeah, we're the foreign exchange students. Hinata and I are from the Hidden Leaf Village and Gaara is--"
"I'm from Sunagakure," he said in his low voice, a gust of wind blowing at his robes. "I'm actually the Kazekage of my village, not a student, but Naruto wanted me to come with him so I left my brother Kankuro in charge for a while."
Elphaba nodded. "I thought there should only be two. Well, if Galinda would hurry up and--"
"I'm here, I'm here!" The perky blonde ran out to bump hard into her green friend. "Elphie! Owch!" She took a step back, giggling into her perfect, white hand. "Oh!" She noticed Gaara first, batting her eyes at him. "Care to introduce me, Elphie-boo? What a surprise, you actually making friends before me! You are learning something! Hah!"
Gaara took a step back, a little intimidated by the giggling girl. He had never seen anyone so happy before in his life.
Elphaba sighed and gestured at the three with a long, thin hand. "Galinda, this is Uzumaki, Hyuga, and Gaara. They're the exchange students we've been waiting for."
"Oh, how delightful!" Galinda pounced on Gaara before he could say anything, shaking his hand and pecking him lightly on the cheek. He took another step back, scrubbing at the kiss as if it burned him.
Elphaba smirked sympathetically, knowing how he felt.
"And you! You must tell me everything about you! Oh, I can tell that we are going to be friends!" She gave the pale-eyed girl a huge hug. "Did you say your name was Hyuga? What a funny name!"
"Um, actually, my name is just Hinata." The girl smiled shyly and touched her pointer fingers together. "Where we come from, people say their last names first. It's the polite thing to do."
Galinda thrust her arm into Gaaras, simpering shamelessly. "Come on then! Let's get all of you set up so we can hang out tonight! I just bought this big make-up kit and it has the greatest shades! Hinata, we can give each other make-overs! Ee!" She squealed with excitement and began dragging the poor red head she had in her clutches down the street.
"Galinda! I'm so sorry, I'll try and call her off. Galinda get back here!" Elphaba hitched up her skirts and ran down the street, yelling angrily at the madly giggling blondie.
The blue-eyed boy looked down at his pale-eyed beauty, who simply blinked at him twice. He laughed and rubbed his head before grabbing Hinata's hand and chasing the emerald-skinned girl through the traffic.