p class="MsoNormal"Itachi had never been an anxious person. If there was something he needed to do, then he got on with it, regardless of those around him—something that tended to get passed down the Uchiha line. But even so, he had to admit he was a little…nervous, in a way. Not necessarily of what people would think of him, but just how this whole situation might turn out. He wanted it to go well; to feel a sense of belonging he'd never managed to find anywhere else. He wasn't ashamed of his name—of his family and heritage—but it did tend to get in the way of a lot of things in his life. The Uchiha name was renowned worldwide, on account of the conglomerate they had built up over generations. The higher positions, and the control of the company altogether, was always passed down to the next generation of the family, but Itachi could have handled that. Being a part of a famous company didn't necessarily mean he would be in the spotlight. However, seeing as his father was the one in charge of the whole conglomerate right now, it meant Itachi was the heir to the company./p
p class="MsoNormal"That's why he had chosen to come to Konoha university. It gave him a clean slate. Ever since kindergarten people had treated him differently. Plenty of his extended family had called him 'the prince' as a nickname when he was little, getting doted on as he had been, and it was a name that had stuck from the moment he began his education. Teachers were afraid to tell him off if he did something wrong or misbehaved, and none of the other children would protest to any of his actions. It might have been fun at first, getting to be in charge and doing what he liked, but the novelty quickly wore off. He didn't want everyone to obey him like he was better than them—he just wanted to be another kid. It was the moments when he spent time with his family, just having a day out, staying at home together, playing with his little brother…that was what Itachi had always liked the most. There were never any pretences. He could just be himself. No one ever let him do that outside the house. The kids in his class either avoided him, afraid of what might happen if they did something wrong and upset the Uchiha family, or flocked to his side to be his 'friend', loving the fact his family was famous and rich./p
p class="MsoNormal"Of course, it had only gotten worse in high school. That was when appearances mattered the most, and being friends with Itachi—just hanging out with him—immediately made them 'cool'. He was automatically popular, even if he didn't want to be. He focused instead on his school work, easily getting good grades, but no one ever seemed to care. His parents liked knowing he was doing well at school, but his friends couldn't care less. It was his family name they were interested in, and his opinions and likes were nothing but insignificant details. In a different life, Itachi might even have chosen a different path, refusing to take charge of the company when his dad retired and just living his own life. But Itachi was loyal to his family, and would do what was needed. That thought hadn't made school easy, however, and he found he became more and more distant as time went by. The only true friend he had when he was young was Shisui, which made it all the more painful when he died, and Itachi was once again left alone, unable to make real friends./p
p class="MsoNormal"Something had to give, and eventually Itachi began to care less. His sadness at his isolation due to his background slowly turned to anger, causing him to push away the people around him and wanting to speak up and act, if only so someone would notice him for who he really was and actually pay attention to his personality. He'd always hated the idea of bullying from the beginning, but it was only now he had been willing to physically intervene. All the Uchiha's were trained in martial arts—a family tradition—and it gave him a chance to use them. It granted him an opening to let out his anger, even if it didn't truly make things better. Regardless of what he'd done, he still wasn't exactly seen as a troublemaker by the school with his family and his grades, but the students came to understand just what he could do. That it wasn't necessarily the Uchiha name to be afraid of, but Itachi himself if you crossed him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Naturally, however, that was all in the past now. Itachi had moved on from his 'rebellious phase', and was often described as taciturn and composed. Nowadays it took a lot to anger him, and he was calm for the most part. But when it had come to the time to choose his college, Itachi had remained determined to go to Konoha. With his grades and his money, he could have gone to anywhere he wanted—there were plenty of private, elite colleges that would gladly have taken him—but that was precisely the reason Itachi didn't want to go. It was only here that he'd be able to get the freedom he wanted. So many people went to Konoha, the Uchiha name wouldn't mean so much when there was such a diverse alumnus. He could feel more at home than he'd ever done at his other schools, and he was determined not to get into that same state of mind he'd had in high school./p
p class="MsoNormal"Itachi lived in the city, so he didn't have far to go, but still got to the campus early. He didn't want to have to announce himself, and things were still quiet this early on, meaning he could simply collect the information about his classes and the university in general and then head to his dorm. Itachi hadn't wanted to live at home while going to college, or to have a private dorm either. If he was going to be staying there, he wanted it to be like everyone else, and as such made his way through the campus in the direction of his hall. It was tucked away in a corner of the campus, something Itachi liked, and he felt positive when he saw it up ahead. Making his way inside, he checked his room number, and headed up the stairs when he saw it was on the first floor. After a quick glance, he went down the right corridor, finding his room was the last on the right side. It was perfectly habitable when he looked inside, and after sorting out the few possessions he had brought with him, he went back downstairs to wait for the rest of his stuff to be delivered./p
p class="MsoNormal"It didn't take long to arrive, and Itachi immediately began to help out the movers, carrying things and joining in with the big stuff that needed more than one person. Then, once everything was offloaded and the movers had left, Itachi turned to organizing his things and sorting his room out, and when he finally finished, laid back on his bed in relief. At least now that was all done with. He knew the common protocol was to leave your door open in order to act as an invitation to anyone who was passing by and get the introductions started, but Itachi left it closed for the time being. He just wanted a little time alone to adapt—and from the sounds of things he was pretty much the only one in the building. He checked over his schedule and contemplated taking a walk around the campus to get his bearings, but decided he'd leave that until later, merely hanging out in his room and texting his parents to keep them up to date./p
p class="MsoNormal"A little while later, however, and Itachi abruptly noticed the noises coming from downstairs, and that they were making their way up. Of course, there was no way to tell where exactly they were going, but as he listened, it was clear whoever it was hadn't gone up any further, merely heading down the corridor. Apparently his first floor-mate was moving in. Leaving it for the moment, silently allowing them the time to organise their room, Itachi eventually got up and exited his room to find the source of the noise. Looking down the corridor, he managed to spot the last door on the left side was open, and made his way over. Peering inside, he saw a guy with long blonde hair currently unpacking, and though tempted to let him finish, eventually dismissed the idea and knocked gently on his door. Instantly he turned around, allowing Itachi to see bright blue eyes—though one was covered with the length of his bangs—and a mischievous, almost fierce gaze. Somehow Itachi got the feeling he wasn't one to back down, or pay too much attention to the rules, for that matter. But as Itachi smiled in greeting, he returned it, prompting Itachi to greet bluntly,/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm Itachi Uchiha."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He had to pause, however, as he saw the smirk on the guy's face grow, his eyebrow rising simultaneously, and Itachi knew instantly he knew who he was./p
p class="MsoNormal""Deidara. But what's an Uchiha doing here, un?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Itachi ignored the suspicious tone to Deidara's voice, not about to start things off with assumptions about him and what he was like, and responded firmly,/p
p class="MsoNormal""I have a right to choose where I go to college. My name shouldn't change anything—and I won't let it, for that matter."/p
p class="MsoNormal"That answer seemed to placate Deidara, however, as he shrugged and replied playfully,/p
p class="MsoNormal""Alright—no need to get defensive, un. It's a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"pleasure/em to meet you, Itachi Uchiha."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Likewise," Itachi shot back dryly, though a smile flickered across his features./p
p class="MsoNormal""So, you on this floor, un?" Deidara swiftly questioned, and nodding, Itachi jerked his thumb behind him and answered casually,/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah—I'm on the opposite end, right side of the corridor."/p
p class="MsoNormal"But as Deidara turned back to his possessions, Itachi realised what he was doing, and turned to the hallway, saying apologetically,/p
p class="MsoNormal""I just came to introduce myself—I'll let you get on."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Sure—see you later, then, un," Deidara replied as he glanced over his shoulder to look at him, and with that, Itachi fully turned from Deidara's room and went back down the corridor, feeling that had gone better than expected. Evidently the introductions weren't over yet, though, as the moment Itachi reached the stairs he found himself facing off against someone—this time, however, they were a lot taller than him. Blinking in surprise at his blue skin and the gills on his face, that soon faded at the smile on his face and open, friendly expression he carried./p
p class="MsoNormal""Uh…hey." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"That's why he had chosen to come to Konoha university. It gave him a clean slate. Ever since kindergarten people had treated him differently. Plenty of his extended family had called him 'the prince' as a nickname when he was little, getting doted on as he had been, and it was a name that had stuck from the moment he began his education. Teachers were afraid to tell him off if he did something wrong or misbehaved, and none of the other children would protest to any of his actions. It might have been fun at first, getting to be in charge and doing what he liked, but the novelty quickly wore off. He didn't want everyone to obey him like he was better than them—he just wanted to be another kid. It was the moments when he spent time with his family, just having a day out, staying at home together, playing with his little brother…that was what Itachi had always liked the most. There were never any pretences. He could just be himself. No one ever let him do that outside the house. The kids in his class either avoided him, afraid of what might happen if they did something wrong and upset the Uchiha family, or flocked to his side to be his 'friend', loving the fact his family was famous and rich./p
p class="MsoNormal"Of course, it had only gotten worse in high school. That was when appearances mattered the most, and being friends with Itachi—just hanging out with him—immediately made them 'cool'. He was automatically popular, even if he didn't want to be. He focused instead on his school work, easily getting good grades, but no one ever seemed to care. His parents liked knowing he was doing well at school, but his friends couldn't care less. It was his family name they were interested in, and his opinions and likes were nothing but insignificant details. In a different life, Itachi might even have chosen a different path, refusing to take charge of the company when his dad retired and just living his own life. But Itachi was loyal to his family, and would do what was needed. That thought hadn't made school easy, however, and he found he became more and more distant as time went by. The only true friend he had when he was young was Shisui, which made it all the more painful when he died, and Itachi was once again left alone, unable to make real friends./p
p class="MsoNormal"Something had to give, and eventually Itachi began to care less. His sadness at his isolation due to his background slowly turned to anger, causing him to push away the people around him and wanting to speak up and act, if only so someone would notice him for who he really was and actually pay attention to his personality. He'd always hated the idea of bullying from the beginning, but it was only now he had been willing to physically intervene. All the Uchiha's were trained in martial arts—a family tradition—and it gave him a chance to use them. It granted him an opening to let out his anger, even if it didn't truly make things better. Regardless of what he'd done, he still wasn't exactly seen as a troublemaker by the school with his family and his grades, but the students came to understand just what he could do. That it wasn't necessarily the Uchiha name to be afraid of, but Itachi himself if you crossed him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Naturally, however, that was all in the past now. Itachi had moved on from his 'rebellious phase', and was often described as taciturn and composed. Nowadays it took a lot to anger him, and he was calm for the most part. But when it had come to the time to choose his college, Itachi had remained determined to go to Konoha. With his grades and his money, he could have gone to anywhere he wanted—there were plenty of private, elite colleges that would gladly have taken him—but that was precisely the reason Itachi didn't want to go. It was only here that he'd be able to get the freedom he wanted. So many people went to Konoha, the Uchiha name wouldn't mean so much when there was such a diverse alumnus. He could feel more at home than he'd ever done at his other schools, and he was determined not to get into that same state of mind he'd had in high school./p
p class="MsoNormal"Itachi lived in the city, so he didn't have far to go, but still got to the campus early. He didn't want to have to announce himself, and things were still quiet this early on, meaning he could simply collect the information about his classes and the university in general and then head to his dorm. Itachi hadn't wanted to live at home while going to college, or to have a private dorm either. If he was going to be staying there, he wanted it to be like everyone else, and as such made his way through the campus in the direction of his hall. It was tucked away in a corner of the campus, something Itachi liked, and he felt positive when he saw it up ahead. Making his way inside, he checked his room number, and headed up the stairs when he saw it was on the first floor. After a quick glance, he went down the right corridor, finding his room was the last on the right side. It was perfectly habitable when he looked inside, and after sorting out the few possessions he had brought with him, he went back downstairs to wait for the rest of his stuff to be delivered./p
p class="MsoNormal"It didn't take long to arrive, and Itachi immediately began to help out the movers, carrying things and joining in with the big stuff that needed more than one person. Then, once everything was offloaded and the movers had left, Itachi turned to organizing his things and sorting his room out, and when he finally finished, laid back on his bed in relief. At least now that was all done with. He knew the common protocol was to leave your door open in order to act as an invitation to anyone who was passing by and get the introductions started, but Itachi left it closed for the time being. He just wanted a little time alone to adapt—and from the sounds of things he was pretty much the only one in the building. He checked over his schedule and contemplated taking a walk around the campus to get his bearings, but decided he'd leave that until later, merely hanging out in his room and texting his parents to keep them up to date./p
p class="MsoNormal"A little while later, however, and Itachi abruptly noticed the noises coming from downstairs, and that they were making their way up. Of course, there was no way to tell where exactly they were going, but as he listened, it was clear whoever it was hadn't gone up any further, merely heading down the corridor. Apparently his first floor-mate was moving in. Leaving it for the moment, silently allowing them the time to organise their room, Itachi eventually got up and exited his room to find the source of the noise. Looking down the corridor, he managed to spot the last door on the left side was open, and made his way over. Peering inside, he saw a guy with long blonde hair currently unpacking, and though tempted to let him finish, eventually dismissed the idea and knocked gently on his door. Instantly he turned around, allowing Itachi to see bright blue eyes—though one was covered with the length of his bangs—and a mischievous, almost fierce gaze. Somehow Itachi got the feeling he wasn't one to back down, or pay too much attention to the rules, for that matter. But as Itachi smiled in greeting, he returned it, prompting Itachi to greet bluntly,/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm Itachi Uchiha."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He had to pause, however, as he saw the smirk on the guy's face grow, his eyebrow rising simultaneously, and Itachi knew instantly he knew who he was./p
p class="MsoNormal""Deidara. But what's an Uchiha doing here, un?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Itachi ignored the suspicious tone to Deidara's voice, not about to start things off with assumptions about him and what he was like, and responded firmly,/p
p class="MsoNormal""I have a right to choose where I go to college. My name shouldn't change anything—and I won't let it, for that matter."/p
p class="MsoNormal"That answer seemed to placate Deidara, however, as he shrugged and replied playfully,/p
p class="MsoNormal""Alright—no need to get defensive, un. It's a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"pleasure/em to meet you, Itachi Uchiha."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Likewise," Itachi shot back dryly, though a smile flickered across his features./p
p class="MsoNormal""So, you on this floor, un?" Deidara swiftly questioned, and nodding, Itachi jerked his thumb behind him and answered casually,/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah—I'm on the opposite end, right side of the corridor."/p
p class="MsoNormal"But as Deidara turned back to his possessions, Itachi realised what he was doing, and turned to the hallway, saying apologetically,/p
p class="MsoNormal""I just came to introduce myself—I'll let you get on."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Sure—see you later, then, un," Deidara replied as he glanced over his shoulder to look at him, and with that, Itachi fully turned from Deidara's room and went back down the corridor, feeling that had gone better than expected. Evidently the introductions weren't over yet, though, as the moment Itachi reached the stairs he found himself facing off against someone—this time, however, they were a lot taller than him. Blinking in surprise at his blue skin and the gills on his face, that soon faded at the smile on his face and open, friendly expression he carried./p
p class="MsoNormal""Uh…hey." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p