Time seemed to pass in a flash and soon, they had to exit the bus.
They pulled their trunks and they dragged them outside. Ino set foot onto the grass and looked around. There was a bus stop and... nothing. Just green grass all around the street and the bus stop.
"Err... Well, where to go now?" She asked. Then, she saw two figures standing at the bus stop a few feet away, a girl about her age and a boy, only a little older.
"Hey!" The blonde greeted as she stepped up to them. The girl had long dark hair and light eyes, she jumped as Ino adressed her. The boy just watched her.
"May I ask a question?" Ino smiled at them.
"Didn't you already?" The boy said and eyed her arrogantly.
"Well... Yes. Anyways, do you know how we get to that boarding school around here? The Kloha... Koloha..."
The boy with long brown hair and as light eyes as the girl scoffed. They had to be related.
"Konoha Institution?" She asked kindly.
"Yes." Ino said thankfully and smiled at the girl. "So could you help us?"
"Us?" The boy frowned.
"Yes, us." Ino said, raising an eyebrow. Wasn't it obvious? "Those three morons back there."
The boy looked behind her for a second, then continued to look at her.
"I don't see anything." He turned to his relative. "Do you, Hinata?"
"W-Well, n-n-no." She answered.
Ino frowned and turned around herself.
She saw nothing. Just grass and the street.
The blonde growled.
"Excuse me for just a second."
Ino stormed to the edge of the bus shelter and turned left. There they stood. Her three morons.
"Are you stupid!?" She yelled at them first thing when she set eyes on them. "Why did you just leave me alone?!"
"You're embarrassing!" All three of them told her flatout.
Ino was flabbergasted. Why did she even ask?
"Well, then I'll just get back on my-" She jumped when she turned around and almost collided with a chest. She squeaked and jumped back a foot, colliding with Shikamaru's chest. The light-eyed boy and the girl already stood behind her.
"Geez! What's the matter with you! Scaring me like that!" She put a hand on her heart. "And you shut up!" She glared at the morons that were laughing their butts off.
"We j-just wanted to know who you're talking to." Hinata answered her.
"Sorry, if we startled you, Sweetie." The boy arrogantly grinned down at her.
"Well, if you're calling me that, you can just tell me your name, Sweetie." She answered dryly.
"Hyuuga Neji." He slightly grinned down at her. "And you are?"
" I am none of your business." Ino answered and turned to Hinata, while Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru laughed and cheered her on.
"So, I'm Yamanaka Ino, nice to meet you. You're Hinata, right?" She smiled lightly and stuck her hand out to the apparently shy girl.
Hinata shot her relative a quick look, then answered her.
"H-Hyuuga Hinata."
"Sweet! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto introduced himself immediately, stepping up behind Ino and - half leaning over her shoulder - stuck his hand out to the new girl.
"She's my cousin." Neji growled warningly, which went unnoticed by Naruto.
Ino chuckled then went on to introducing Sasuke and Shikamaru - to Hinata of course, never to Neji, he was just terribly unfriendly.
"N-Nice to m-meet you." She stammered and did a tiny bow.
"Nice to meet you, too!" Ino and Naruto chirped simultaneously. When they realized their behaviour they laughed.
"Man, we're awesome!" They highfived.
"You're embarrassing." Shikamaru and Sasuke mumbled from behind them.
Neji scoffed at their behavior, but couldn't hide his grin. Hinata giggled slightly.
"So, how do we get to the school?" Ino asked the Hyuugas.
"There's a bus coming to pick us up." Neji answered her.
"Oh no! We excited the bus some time ago!" Naruto whined.
"Are you stupid, moron? Another bus is most likely to show up, isn't it? Hinata and Neji wouldn't be still standing around, right?" Sasuke sighed.
"You know that, because...?" Ino asked Neji.
"I'm a second year high school student at Konoha Institution."
"Oh."
"So, great, whatever. But HOW do you think the bus is supposed to see us, when we're standing behind the shelter?" Naruto asked, an arrogant grin on his features.
"Damn, he's actually right." Sasuke sighed.
They hurried around, to the front of the shelter only to see, that they weren't alone anymore. There were a boy with a red rectangle on each cheek, a girl and a rather large dog.
Ino and Naruto approached them at a run, which made the dog bark and the boy and the girl take a step back.
"Hey!" The blondes greeted cheerfully.
"Are you here, waiting for that bus?" Naruto asked.
"Shut up, Naruto." Ino said, then she turned to the boy and the girl. "Are you on your way to the boarding school, too? You, well, you look like it." She smiled and looked down at their heavy baggage.
The boy eyed them, frowning a little, then he exchanged a look with the amused girl, before turning to Ino and Naruto again, behind whom a group of other people had gathered.
"Yeah, we are. I'm Inuzuka Kiba. An that's my dog, Akamaru." He pointed to the large dirty-white dog. "And you're mad, aren't you?"
Ino and Naruto's mouths plopped open for a moment, causing the boy to laugh.
"I'm not mad!" They exclaimed at once.
"He is!" Ino yelled.
"She is!" Naruto yelled.
They turned their heads towards each other.
"I'm not mad! You are!" They yelled at the other, earning them a sharp knock on the head from Sasuke behind them.
"Shut up, you idiots." He said.
"I'm Nara Shikamaru." Shikamaru said, while Sasuke got himself in a fight with the two blondes. "The blond dude, is Uzumaki Naruto, he IS mad and the girl is Yamanaka Ino. The blackhaired boy currently trying to shut them up is Uchiha Sasuke. Next to that you have Hyuuga Neji and his cousin Hyuuga Hinata."
"And I'm Tenten." The girl next to the dog-boy said, giggling at the scene before her.
"Are those two twins or something?" Kiba asked, still eyeing the bickering blondes.
"No, surprisingly they aren't." Shikamaru said and sighed. "They know each other for only a few hours but they're a horrible duo already."
The dog barked and Ino's attention was on it immediately.
"Awww! You're a cute one!" She cooed. "May I touch him?"
Kiba shrugged. "Sure, if he lets you."
Ino started to walk over to him and kneeled down a few inches in front of him. Kiba eyed his dog closely.
"Hey. You're Akamaru, right? I'm Ino. Nice to meet you." She smiled at him and stuck out her hand, as if she intended on shaking his paw. Akamaru looked at her hand, then at her face, sniffed the air once and then lunged forward to lick the blonde's face.
"Woah!" She laughed and stroked the dogs soft fur. "You're a sweet one, huh?"
"Well that's unusual." Kiba seemed to be surprised.
"What is?" Ino asked from the floor.
"He doesn't like many people. That's highly unusual for him."
"So that means I'm special?" Ino smiled.
"No, that's because you think like a dog." Sasuke said from behind her.
"Uchiha! Shut up! I'll get you for this!" She bellowed and jumped to her feet. Akamaru barked loudly and followed his new friend on the charge towards the blackhaired boy.
"Ino! No! No! Don't! Get that dog off me! I'm a cat-person!" Sasuke yelled and actually RAN.
"Well this is highly unusual for Sasuke. He never acts like this." Naruto said thoughtfully. "He really must be a cat-person."
Shikamaru sighed and put his head in his palm. This day was only half way over and he was already exhausted.
"Kiba, are those tattoos on your face?" Naruto asked like nothing had ever happened.
"Yes." He grinned proudly. "They're quite new. I only got them last month."
"They look like fangs." Ino panted from behind them. She had abandoned her hunt for Sasuke for the moment.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Kiba exclaimed and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're the first one who realized what they are supposed to be! Everyone else says they look like stupid rectangles."
"I think it's fairly easy to see that those are fangs and not stupid rectangles." Ino said.
"Yeah, like I said, that's because you think like a dog." Sasuke could be heard and Ino took off in a flash.
Naruto laughed. "You're so weird!"
"So, you're all here to get to Konoha Institution, too, right?" Tenten asked. "How long do we still have to wait here? I'd really like to get there... We've been on the road for hours..."
"Yeah, so how do we get away from here, Uchiha?" Shikamaru yelled at the boy that was now holding onto Ino's wrists to keep her from hitting him.
"BUS!" He yelled back.
"Told you so." Neji said.
"Maaaan! I was hoping he'd say something else!" Naruto whined. "I'm getting hungry!"
Kiba's head suddenly shot up.
"Kiba?" Shikamaru asked.
"Something's coming."
Ino stopped struggling, but Sasuke didn't release her wrists, he grabbed them harder.
"What?"
"There's a sound... an engine."
"Well what else would it be around here?" Neji said.
"Maybe it's the bus!" Naruto yelled excitedly.
"Finally! We've been here for AGES." Tenten sighed.
"Ages? We're here for almost an HOUR!" Naruto said.
"Ha, we've been here even before you." Neji scoffed.
"Great, so you... you..."
"Were you afraid you'd be too late?" Sasuke came to Naruto's aid. He had released Ino's writsts as they approached the group again.
"No, we're just on time. You seem to have missed your ride!" said Neji venomously.
"No, we didn't!" Ino backed her friends up against the arrogant boy, glaring at him. "We-"
"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!"
Their heads turned, searching for the source of the noise. There were only Shikamaru and Hinata standing next to each other about two feet away from the bickering crowd. They didn't... did they?
"You're troublesome." Shikamaru sighed eventually. Ino and the others were still stunned into silence by their outbreak.
"And you're making Kiba go nuts." He added.
Heads turned again towards the boy and the dog cowering on the floor next to Tenten. Of course! His hearing seemed to be rather good, so their yelling must have burst his eardrums.
That's not possible, idiot. A voice that sounded awfully like Sasuke's said in Ino's head. She frowned and punched the Uchiha, just for good measure.
Tenten stroked Kiba's back and Akamaru's head soothingly.
"Hey Kiba!" Ino adressed him in a calm voice. "We're sorry."
The boys to her sides nodded.
"Sorry, dude!"
"We didn't mean to!"
Slowly Kiba raised a shaky hand and waved them off. Ino smiled. They were forgiven. But -
"Neji, don't you have to say something?" She elbowed him.
The Hyuuga growled down at her.
"Sorry, dogboy."
Well, that wasn't very nice, but better than nothing, was it?
Kiba nodded again and slowly stood up again, still clutching his ears sligltly.
"Can you still hear the bus?" Shikamaru asked him.
"Yes, but faintly."
"How come we still can't hear it? If you could hear it, we should've been able to shortly after." He continued.
"Oh no, it should take about another hour." Kiba said.
Shikamaru's and every other head flew around to him, except for Tenten.
"A-A-An HOUR?!"
"Yeah, Kiba's hearing is extraordinaryly good." Tenten answered their confused faces.
"That's- That's not humanly possible." Sasuke said, absolutely flabbergasted.
"Well, it's been certified by a specialist." Tenten shrugged and Kiba scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.
"Geez. You're really something." The Uchiha said and dropped his arm on Ino's right shoulder to support himself.
A stunned silence took over them for a few moments until Tenten spoke up.
"Okay, so I'd say we could sit down and eat until that bus is here?"
"YOU GOT FOOD?!" Naruto bellowed and got smacked over the head not one, not two, but three times.
"OUCH! Sorry! So you got fooooood?" He whisper-yelled stupidly.
"Yes, we do, Naruto." Tenten said.
"We do, too, dumbass. Don't tell me you didn't bring any?" Sasuke looked over Ino's head at his best friend.
"Er... well... How was I supposed to know that this damn journey would take us so long?!" The blond tried to defend himself.
Ino sighed. Morons.
"I-I-I got a blanket. We c-c-could sit on the grass." Hinata spoke up.
"A picknick!" Ino smiled. "Great idea, Hinata! Come on, let's go!"
She jumped out from under Sasuke's arm which fell limbly to his side, grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her off around the corner of the shelter.
Everyone sat down and unpacked their food. The girls sat together and chatted happily. Shikamaru lay a few feet away on the downside of the small hill and seemed to doze off, Sasuke bickered with Naruto and Kiba, while Neji just hovered beneath Hinata like her shadow.
"So how old are you guys? You don't need to answer, Neji." Ino told him.
"I didn't intend to."
Hinata chuckled. "I'm sixteen. I'm starting first year of high school at Konoha Institution."
"So am I." Grinned Tenten.
"Oh great." Ino sighed.
"What is it?"
"I'm only 15. I knew this would happen. I'm the baby." She sighed again. "Just don't tell-"
"What did I just hear?!"
"Oh no."
The blonde girl turned her head around to face Naruto and Sasuke, both equally annoying smirks on their faces.
"You're only fifteen? So you're the youngest here!" Naruto grinned.
"Oh, baby Ino, we'll watch out for you, don't worry." Sasuke's face might've split in two if his grin grew even wider.
"Yeah, you don't need to be scared of mean guys, we'll protect you."
"I hate you two so, so much." Ino growled at them.
"Did any of you apply for that P.E. class?" Tenten quickly changed the topic.
"I-I did... well, my parents applied for me." Hinata said. She didn't look too happy. "My cousin's in there, too, so I got in immediately."
"Oh thank god! I thought I was the only one!" Tenten exclaimed happily.
"You applied, too?" Hinata looked relieved.
"Yes!"
They smiled at each other happily.
"Ino, did you apply, too?"
"Oh, I don't think I did." She laughed uncomfortably. "I didn't know about this class until today."
"Oh... well... Maybe your parents applied for you?" Hinata asked.
"I don't know, I don't think so. But I'll see that tonight, right?"
"Yeah." Tenten said.
"Sasuke and Shikamaru are in, too." Naruto frowned. "I really want to get in, too!"
They all started chatting excitedly and Ino sighed. She really wanted to stay with these guys! Well, minus the Hyuuga-fridge, maybe.
Not wanting to drag the others down with her sulking, she picked up her sandwich, got up and walked over to the sleeping boy a few feet away from were they sat.
She sat down next to the silent figure and poked his stomach.
"Wake up sleepyhead, I brought you half a sandwich." She broke off half of her food and held it in front of him.
"Don't want it." He muttered.
"Yes. You do." She insisted.
Sighing deeply he sat up and took her offer.
"Good boy. You already get adjusted to my ordering." She grinned.
Shikamaru scoffed and bit into her sandwich.
"Tomatoes?" He asked.
"Yes. So?"
"Did Sasuke see this?"
"See what?"
"Your tomato-sandwich."
"I don't know. He could have."
Shikamaru chuckled and looked up the hill to their friends. "He might die of jealousy right now."
"Huh? Why is that?"
"He LOVES tomatoes."
"You're kidding me."
"No, I don't. He'd actually beat you up if you snatched his tomatoes from him - if you're a guy, that is. Ask Naruto."
Ino giggled. And turned around to look at the others as well. She saw Sasuke's head snap back around quickly.
"You're seriously not kidding!" She exclaimed laughing.
"Told you I didn't." Shikamaru said after swallowing his last bite of sandwich.
Ino's eyes moved from figure to figure. How did she always manage to meet such weird people? A tomato-crazy person, a guy with way too much energy, a dogboy, a fridge and a lazy sloth. Oh my. At least the girls were somewhat normal.
"I'm tired." She sighed as she turned around again.
"Hm." Shikamaru answered. He had already layed back down, hands behind his head.
Ino could hear footsteps behind her and turned around to see Sasuke approaching them.
"Don't hit me!" She exclaimed, her arms hovering over her head in defence. "Those were MY tomatoes!"
"Tch." Sasuke said and flopped down on her other side. "Idiot, I know that."
Ino looked at him in shock for a second. Then he mumbled:
"Doesn't mean I'm not still a little jealous..."
The blonde grinned. "Sure. How much time until the bus arrives?"
"Half an hour?" Sasuke guessed and settled himself down on his back. "Just enough time for a short nap."
And with that he just closed his eyes. Ino sat there and looked at him like he was crazy. Then she turned to her other side. Shikamaru had closed his eyes as well. She turned her head from side to side.
"Are you kidding me? You're both just going to sleep?"
No answer.
"Oh whatever." She sighed and flopped back, making herself comfortable between them.