*sighs*
Hopefully someone else will enter an OC for "The Will of Fire"...
"Temari!" yelled a voice from across the court.
"Go find Gaara, Kankuro. I'm busy over here!" Temari grinned and snuggled into Shikamaru's chest.
"Temari. I don't think it's smart to let your brothers deal with each other. We should go."
Shikamaru stood up and grabbed his girlfriend's hand, hauling her up too.
"You goddamn smartass. I hate it when you're right."
"You mean, like always?" he smirked.
Temari grumbled.
"Come on, Tee-tee. Gotta find Gaara."
"You can come too, if you like," offered Tenten.
Sakura shrugged.
"A chance to meet more boys? Why not?"
Hinata giggled.
"I d…don't mind."
The group set off at a fast walk towards the edge of the school gates, with Hinata trailing behind a bit uncertainly. Sakura smiled at the thought of the friends she'd already made.
"My brothers may not be your type…" warned Temari.
"They will be if they're anywhere as good-looking as you are," grinned Sakura.
"Aw, you're so sweet," cooed Tenten.
"I'm starting to really like these girls," beamed Temari.
The rest of the short distance had the blonde looking worried as she sped up. The others ran after her without hesitation.
"Gaara?"
The redheaded boy turned to glower at her.
"What is it, Temari?"
"Just checkin' up on ya, little fella," a brunette boy butted in.
Gaara narrowed his sea-green eyes.
"I'm fine. And next time I need help, I'll call. So leave it, Kankuro."
His icy glare had Hinata cowering behind Sakura, who blushed slightly. Gaara really was quite good-looking.
"So…I take it that it's my duty to introduce the freshmen to this school. Welcome, girls," drawled a cold, lazy voice from behind Hinata.
The poor girl almost jumped out of her skin and fell over, but Sakura's steady grip prevented her from doing so.
"Well, if it isn't pretty-boy. Uchiha, you're late," snapped Temari.
A careless grin swept over his expression.
"Sorry, Tem. You know how it is on the first day back. Ino and the rest…" he trailed off.
"A blonde bimbo and a jerkass class president? Yeah, I know how it gets…" sniped Tenten.
"Ignore her," advised Sasuke, "she gets a bit jealous sometimes. All right. Sakura, Hinata, Gaara and Chouji. Is that right?"
The four newcomers nodded and stared curiously around, apart from Hinata, who kept her eyes firmly on the ground. Chouji's eyes widened and he grinned as he spotted the cafeteria. Gaara;s expression remained unchanged.
"The office is right that way. Now, run along, kids. Tem, I'll need to have a little talk with you."
Sasuke brushed his blue-black hair back and looked smugly at Shikamaru, who stared back boredly. The corner of his lip lifted in a smile as Temari looked back.
"Have fun with the jerk, Tem. Just remember…later today…"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and swaggered off, dragging the giggling blonde girl with him.
The walk to the principal's office was quiet and rather uneventful. The group arrived at a wooden door, and Chouji stepped forward to knock twice.
Two resounding booms. A brief silence, then the door swung open silently on oiled hinges to reveal the two women.
"Ah, welcome. I'm Shizune, the vice principal and guidance counselor, and this is your Principal Tsunade-sama. Please, take a seat."
Hinata and Sakura timidly took the seats on the left. Chouji sauntered over to the right and Gaara followed.
"Welcome to Konoha High. I hope you'll have fun, learn a lot, and make new friends. What you give to this school is what you'll get in return. We'll all help each other out, so if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask one of the upper classes, staff, Shizune, or myself."
Tsunade-sama smiled and beckoned to her assistant.
"Here are your timetables and student diaries," said Shizune.
She handed the books out, then grinned.
"You're off now! Go out, get to know people, and good luck!"
They were ushered out the door, along the corridor, and back into the open area of the courtyard, where they were once again joined by Shikamaru and Tenten.
"So, how'd you like Tsunade-sama? Pretty nice, isn't she, Hinata?"
The shy girl looked up happily and nodded.
"Y…yes. I l…l…like her. And Shizune-s…sama as well."
"So, Chouji. Like the look of this place?" Shikamaru looked uninterested.
"Hell yeah! The cafeteria looks really big. I bet it serves really good food! Do you like this school?"
"I can't really say. School is such a drag…" he yawned.
Tenten sighed.
"You need a little more passion for life, Shika. Can't just spend all day staring at the clouds now, can we?" she enquired.
"Passion for life? Whatever…"
"Where's Temari?" came a slightly husky voice from behind Chouji.
The bigger boy turned around. Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow.
"Gaara? That you?"
There was a brief silence as Gaara stared at him.
"Uh, she had to discuss the details with the other class president. Sasuke," muttered Tenten after the awkward pause.
Chouji looked around.
"Then she'll be here soon, cos' Sasuke's right over there…"
Shikamaru stiffened suddenly.
"That's not Sasuke."
Sakura saw the tension on both the older students' faces at the approaching group of boys.
"Who are all freaking gorgeous! Tcha!" added inner Sakura, with a wide grin.
"Th…then who a…a…are they?" asked Hinata meekly.
"The Akatsuki."
Meheheheh. Cliffy!
Ooh. I should totally add Sai into this. And hold an art contest or something. FUN!