"Ino!" A voice made her wake with a start. It was Naruto.
"Yeah?" She rubbed her eyes and sat up slowly.
"The bus is about to arrive, Kiba said to wake you up." He grinned.
"Ah, thanks." She yawned. She actually fell asleep! She had been up since 5 AM and the warm sun had just lulled her in almost at once.
Sasuke still lay next to her, eyes open, but not moving, Shikamaru on the other hand was propped up on his elbows, looking down on the street.
"Morning." She mumbled quietly.
"Hn." Sasuke said. Shikamaru yawned.
"Yeah, right." She said and stumbled to her feet.
"Ten minutes to pack up and get down there, guys!" Kiba yelled over the hill.
The blonde hurried over to accompany Tenten and Hinata while they were cleaning up with the others.
Only a few minutes later they all stood in front of the bus shelter again and watched dark clouds approach from the east. A rather harsh wind picked up and whipped Ino's, Hinata's and Neji's hair around their heads. Ino clutched at her skirt, desparately trying to keep it from flying up. She started to shiver and snuggled herself in between her napping companions for some warmth and shelter from the wind. Of course she could just step into the bus shelter, but the bus was about to arrive and she didn't want to move away from her warm friends.
Suddenly, Sasuke's head jerked up and whipped around. A second later, Ino could hear it, too. An engine!
Oh please, let it be ours, oh please, let it be ours!
She repeated over and over again in her head. But what turned around the corner was almost too cliché to be true. A sunflower yellow american chick-flick-school bus drove up and stopped in front of them.
The blondes as well as Kiba and Tenten were rather flabbergasted, Shikamaru and Sasuke didn't move a muscle, Hinata looked a little insecure. Only Neji waved at the man inside.
The doors opened and a man stepped out.
He had silver hair and wore a mask over half his face. Ino looked at him closer. He was thin, not sickly, but in shape and rather young.
"Hey. I'm Hatake Kakashi, one of your teachers. I'm here to pick you up. Hello, Neji." He said and smiled at them - at least his one visible eye suggested that he did.
"Hello, Kakashi-sensei. You're late." The Hyuuga said.
"Oh well, you know me, there were those many elderly people, I just had to help them cross the street."
"Yeah, yeah." Neji waved his excuses away casually and walked to the back of the bus. "Can we get going, now?"
"Sure." The bus driver said. "Follow along, kids."
They stored their trunks and clambered quickly inside, because it was starting to rain.
Ino shook the few raindrops out of her hair as she stepped inside and shivered. Now, where to sit? Naruto waved at her from the middle of the bus and grinned broadly.
"You waiting for me?" She asked and flopped down next to him.
"Yes." He grinned.
"How come? You're not sitting with Sasuke? Aren't you guys best friends or something?"
"Sure we are. But Sasuke's rather a sleepyhead on bus rides and that's boring. He used up all his bus-energy this morning, he said. So I thought why not sit to the baby girl - OUCH!"
Ino had thrown a punch at him as soon as the word 'baby' had left his lips.
"Well, great thing, that I wanted to doze off, too." Ino said casually and watched Naruto's features drop from the corner of her eye.
She giggled. "Sorry, mate."
"You're not serious, right? You won't just go to sleep?"
But he didn't get an answer, because the silverhaired man stepped back into the vehicle and the speakers cracked.
"So, kids, as I said I'm Hatake Kakashi and I'm going to take you to school. This'll be a rather long drive. About two hours long-" he was interrupted by several groans. "-and then we'll arrive at the school grounds. Tonight, all new students are going to assemble and you will be separated into your classes and led towards your houses."
"It really does sound like Harry Potter." Naruto mumbled next to Ino and she giggled.
"So... keep quiet and don't disturb me." Kakashi finished and started the engine again.
Ino and Naruto exchanged a look. "He's kind of weird, isn't he?"
"Yeah..."
"So, what do you want to do?"
"What?" Naruto looked at her stupidly.
"I said, what do you want to do? You didn't want me to sleep."
"Really?! You mean that?" Naruto smiled at her brightly.
"Of course I do, what do you think?!" She laughed at him.
"Okay... er, well... er..." Naruto stumbled, clearly at a loss for what to do that didn't disturb Hatake Kakashi. "You... could tell me something about you?"
Ino scoffed. "What's this? A first date? And I told you all there is to know about me this morning."
"Ah, yeah..."
"Another great idea?"
"No..."
Ino grinned. "Then, I'm going to sleep."
The blonde put her back to Naruto's side and snuggled up to him.
"Aww, man, really?" Naruto frowned.
"Yes. Sorry." She grinned.
She could feel the boy sigh beneath her and grinned even wider.
"Alright, alright." Naruto said, he let an arm plop over Ino's stomach and leaned his head against the cool window.
"What's that supposed to be?" Ino asked suspicously.
"Nothing." The blonde shrugged. "You're just uncomfortable."
"Why, thank you. That's so sweet of you." She responded sarcastically and felt him chuckle.
"You're stupid." Naruto mumbled.
"Nah, you are." She responded smiling, already dozing off.
"You're both stupid." Sasuke's and Shikamaru's voices said from behind them.
The blondes chuckled faintly.
Almost two hours later the bus stopped.
The bus driver got out and disappeared for quite a time. He didn't bother to tell anyone where he was going - all of his companions were asleep, so who was there to tell?
He reappeared in the bus and soon after the loudspeakers cracked to life.
"Wake up."
Nothing. Not even one of them stirred. The man sighed.
"Wake. Up." He said louder. Now some were stirring.
"Kids, wake up now, we have arrived!"
Now they were all blinking at him sleepily.
"We're there?" The blond boy asked.
"Yes. Now get up and follow me."
Moaning the youths got up and slowly walked after him.
Outside, Ino noticed their trunks had already been removed from their place.
"Where are-" she started but was cut off immediately.
"They've been taken to your dorms." Kakashi answered her.
"Okay." She looked at him quizzically, before exchanging a glance with Shikamaru and Sasuke.
"We'll have some walking to do, they'd just hinder you." The silver haired man continued.
"How much walking exactely?" Tenten asked. She had a hunch that Kakashi's answer wouldn't make any of them happy.
"A bit." Kakashi said and walked off towards sandy colored rocks that grew into mountains further back, Neji following close behind.
The newbies exchanged anxious glances, then sighed and followed their teacher and upperclassman.
The group walked for several minutes straight on ahead, then took a left turn, a right turn, a few hundred metres straight and then a few turns again. They had woven their way into the mountains and after what felt like forever Kakashi stopped in front of a wall. He turned around to them and looked at them for a long moment.
"You won't know much about this school, if you haven't got friends or relatives inside it. We want it to stay this way. There's a reason that this school is hidden in the mountains and there's nothing on the internet or the newspapers about it. It's one of the best schools for special trainings and its envied for that. So keep it quiet. From how to get there up to how we teach you."
The teenagers looked at him with wide eyes.
"What's that? Is that some kind of secret community?" Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Will you not let us in or out if we don't swear an oath to protect the secrets of the school?" Kiba joined him.
"No, you don't but once you have attended the school for a few weeks, you won't think about telling anyone anymore." Kakashi said calmly.
"Is that a thread?" Tenten asked in a dangerously quiet voice and Akamaru growled behind her.
"No. It's the truth." The silverhaired man said. "Ask Neji."
All eyes turned tolook at him. The Hyuuga stared back at them for a moment with his white eyes. Then he shrugged. "It's true."
"No oath?" Kiba asked.
"No thread?" Tenten frowned suspiciously at him.
"No. Nothing."
"What else is there?" Sasuke spoke up from behind Ino.
"Nothing." Neji repeated.
"Then how come you won't tell anything?" Ino asked the older boy.
"Well, you just... understand. That's all." He shrugged again.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tenten and Kiba barked from the last row.
Neji turned to Kakashi, pleading him for help.
"You'll see once you're there. Believe me. There's nothing to be afraid of." Kakashi answered. "Now follow me."
He turned towards the wall of stone behind him and raised a hand to touch several spots on the granit. For a moment nothing happened and Naruto was about to make a comment, when suddenly, the wall got a crack. It crawled all over the wall and eventually split it in two.
The wall opened up slowly and revealed a dark tunnel within the mountain.
Stunned silence engulfed the teenagers.
Kakashi and Neji walked on into the darkness.
"A secret door in the mountains." Ino muttered. "You gotta be kidding me."
Naruto shot her a meaningful look from beside her. Ino restrained herself from face-palming.
They followed their teacher and just when the walls closed behind them, lights on the walls were switched on.
They walked, steadily upwards, before - after what felt like another eternity - they reached the other end of the tunnel.
Glad to breathe fresh air again, the group stepped into the light of the day - only to see that it was almost gone. The sky was grey and rain was still drizzling down.
Sasuke sighed. Could this get any worse somehow?
Yes, it could. They were not only greeted by rain and almost-darkness, but also by a cliff just ahead of them that lead down into a huge canyon, while the sandy mountaintops were still hovering over them. Kakashi turned to his left and walked at the edge of the cliff.
"This way, follow me. Be careful, don't fall down." He said over his shoulder.
Gulping, the new students stepped after their teacher, a few steps too far to the right and they'd fall down. Deep down.
When they walked around a corner, they suddenly stopped.
"What?" Ino asked. "Tenten, why did you stop?"
Tenten didn't move an inch.
"Tenten!" Ino shook her slightly.
"Ino. Look." Sasuke said from behind her and pointed over her and Tenten's shoulder at something in the distance.
Ino followed his outstretched hand and saw a building on a higher plateau, straight across the cliff. It looked gigantic. Ino's jaw dropped at the sight of the perly white building.
"Wow." She breathed.
"That's Konoha Institution." Kakashi said from the front of the line.
They had to walk all around a rather large part of the canyon just to get near the school.
When they eventually reached the end of their track, they stopped once again in front of a large, high staircase.
"Those are the last few steps, I promise." Kakashi said. "Be careful, if you fall... well, don't."
And with that he walked off again.
"H-H-He doesn't mean that, does he?" Hinata stuttered. She was clearly afraid.
"He does." Neji stated and urged Hinata to climb the stairs in front of him. "Come on."
The others sighed.
"I already hate to walk all this way back at the end of the year." Ino growled, then she got pushed by Shikamaru to climb the stairs in front of him, after Kiba and Akamaru. He wanted to make sure that the nagging blonde wouldn't fall down into the canyon. She was likely to do so.
And as if he was able to foresee things, Ino slipped halfway up the stairs and almost fell. But Kiba and Shikamaru were quick enough to catch her before she even touched the ground.
"T-T-Thanks." She stumbled.
Shikamaru nodded and Kiba scoffed.
"You sound like Hinata. Turn back to normal, will you? That's not like you." He grinned down at her from several steps above her.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll remember." She said and playfully shoved him to turn around.
When they stepped onto the plateau, Sasuke and Naruto were already waiting for them.
"Damn, Ino, can't you even climb stairs on your own?" Sasuke asked playfully, but Ino could clearly see, that there was a little concern in his eyes.
"One foot in front of the other, girl." Naruto chuckled at her.
"Ahh, shut up you two." She waved them off and walked over to stand with Tenten, Kiba and Akamaru.
"Is everyone there?" Kakashi asked them and seemed to count them. "Yes. Well, then let's go. I'll take you to the school's secretary, she'll check you off the student's list and tell you everything you need to know for now."
They walked again. Ino asked herself, if they would ever stop walking.
The group stepped up to the Konoha Institution's campus, a large gate opened to let them enter. Ino gaped at her surroundings. Not only was there a real village awaiting her inside, but it was surrounded by a giant perly white wall. This wasn't a campus, it was a freaking fortress. It took them longer than they would've guessed to walk through the sandy colored streets, passing white building after white building on their way. Then Ino saw the large building they were apparently approaching. It wasn't plain white, it had a mosaik-pattern on it, it was extremely pretty, she thought.
The group entered into a large entrance hall. It was classy, the floor was dark wood, the walls were lime green. A little lounge-area was set up in a corner with modern white armchairs and a couch.
Only when they didn't stop there but walked further on, Ino noticed the large reception at the back, opposite the entrance. A woman with dark short hair was sitting behind it, typing away on her computer. She looked up when they had made it halfway across the room and stood up, while the blonde girl heard her printer jump into action.
"Kakashi." She smiled warmly at the man. "Welcome back. I didn't expect you this early."
Early?! Kiba mouthed. Ino caught his gaze and chuckled.
"Thanks, Shizune. I'll leave them with you now, shall I?" Kakashi ignored her statement.
"Yes, you may go. Tsunade awaits you once you're back, though."
"All right." He turned towards his group of teenagers, his hands in his pockets. "Well, see ya."
And with that he walked of. The group watched him go and then turned back towards the secretary.
"Welcome. My name's Shizune. I'm the school's secretary and I'll tell you everything you need to know. But first, let me check who you are." She took the freshly printed list of students and started to call their names out to tick them off.
Once finished, she looked up at them again with a smile.
"Great. So, the assembly isn't due for another hour and I guess, you're a little exhausted. There's a lounge reserved per bus, where you can rest a little and refresh. If you would follow me, please."
They strolled after her and were left in a white room with red leather couches and armchairs.
"I'll come and get you when it's time." Shizune smiled and closed the door after them.
Naruto and Sasuke immediately walked towards one of the couches each and flopped down on them, obviously exhausted.
"How is it possible, that I've slept almost three hours during the day and I'm still this tired?" Ino complained and sank down next to where Sasuke lay outstretched, he only grudgingly made room for her.
"I don't know, but it's the same with me." Shikamaru sighed and sat down in the chair next to her and stretched his legs out.
The others followed him and plopped down with a sigh here and there.
"Wait!" Naruto suddenly yelled and sat up on his couch.
"What?!" All eyes were on him now.
"She said it was an hour until we get out of here?!" He asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, so?" Tenten asked him, one of her eyebrows raised.
"That means it's at least one and a half hours until we get something to eat!" He sounded desperate now.
There was a short silence, before Hinata started to giggle and after another second Ino and Tenten, as well as the boys joined her laughter. Even Neji could be seen chuckling a little.
Akamaru looked at them all, as if they were stupid. Why was everybody laughing? He didn't get it. He could understand the blond's desperation very well! He was starving, too! Sighing, he lay his head on Hinata's knee. He would never get the hang of humans. Hinata started to stroke his head softly and he snuggled deeper into her warm leg.
"He likes you."
Hinata's head shot up. She had gotten lost in the dog's soft fur and her own thoughts for a moment.
"W-What?"
"He likes you. Akamaru." Tenten repeated.
"Yeah, he does." Kiba nodded. "I don't get it, what's with you girls, that he likes you at once?"
"Is that bad?" Ino asked from her place opposite them.
"No, I just-" Kiba shrugged and chuckled. "I just don't get it. Even for Tenten he needed about a year to completely trust her. It's weird that he's hanging onto you at once."
"Yeah, Akamaru, what am I supposed to think of that?" Tenten ruffled his furry head. "You don't like me as much as you like Ino and Hinata? Well, thank you very much."
She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back.
It worked. Akamaru immediately retreated from Hinata and looked at Tenten with his big brown eyes. He scooted over to her and nuzzled his head into her lap. Tenten just looked at him, but didn't react otherwise. A moment after that he started whining and nudging her arm with his nose.
She ignored him for another moment, then Tenten broke into a laugh and cuddled Akamaru who let out a glad bark.
"Yeah yeah, dummy, I love you, too." She laughed.
"So, you two knew each other before today?" Shikamaru asked Kiba and Tenten suddenly.
"Oh yeah." Kiba grinned. "We went to Middle School together."
"We were in the same martial arts club, that's how we met." Tenten added.
"Yeah, I still don't believe that was a coincidence." Kiba grinned at his friend next to him. "Come on, you were totally crushing on me! That's why you joined my club!"
"Ha!" Tenten let out a laugh. "Crushing on you? Keep dreaming, Romeo."
The others were grinning at the two, obviously amused.
"Well," Kiba turned back to his listeners. "Now we're best friends, because Miss In-Denial here is too afraid to tell me she looooves me." He grinned and shot Tenten a mocking glance from the corner of his eye.
"You're right." Tenten suddenly said and Kiba's grin disappeared at once to be replaced by a shocked expression.
"What?!"
"You're right." Tenten shrugged. Then she stood up from the couch and knelt down in front of Kiba who furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously.
"Kiba." Tenten took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes. "Will you honor me..."
Everyone held their breaths. Was she serious? Was this a proposal from one best friend to another? Would they start of their High School life with a new couple?
"Will you honor me... and become my wife?" She asked and broke out into a grin at the last word.
It took Kiba only a split-second to break into a laugh and fall into his roll.
He brought a hand to his lips and let it shake dramatically. His lower lip quivered and even his eyes were tearing up!
"Oh Tenten!" He said in a girly voice. "Yes! Yes! A thouuuusand times yes!" He squealed and pummeled her down to the floor in an attempt to hug her.
Their companions roared with laughter at their show - even Neji had a hand over his face and was shaking visibly.
The actors stood up and bowed to their audience which applauded loudly, still laughing maniacally.
"You two are absolutely crazy!" Naruto cried, tears running down his cheeks.
"Yeah!" Ino gasped. "And I thought only Naruto and I could be that weird!"
She wiped her tears away and looked over at her male pendant. They shared an evil grin, then both grabbed a cushion and threw it at Sasuke. The surprised Uchiha was still recovering from his laughing fit and was hit directly in the face.
"TOUCHDOWN!" The blondes yelled and got up to high five.
"Argh!" Sasuke shot up from his sitting position. "You two are absolutely crazy!"
PLOFF!
Again, Sasuke received two cushions to the face. Confused he searched for the source of the flying objects. Naruto and Ino were almost collapsing with laughter in front of the couch opposite him-
"Hey! We're absolutely crazy!" It sounded from his right. "We don't like sharing our title!"
Tenten and Kiba grinned at him widely and when the blondes went over to high five with the brunettes - that was the last straw.
"ARRRGH!" Sasuke yelled and threw all the cushions at them at once but failed miserably.
Hinata, Shikamaru and Neji were laughing hysterically now. The look on Sasuke's face had been priceless! And his reaction! Oh dear!
Pouting, Sasuke leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Oh Sasuke," Ino said. "Don't be such an angry-pants. It was just a joke!"
Sasuke glared at her and mumbled something under his breath that she couldn't quite make out.
The grumbling Sasuke recovered only when Naruto and Ino sat on either side of him, Naruto throwing an arm around his shoulders and talking about tomatoes and Ino laced her arms around his right arm and snuggled into it lovingly.
Shikamaru watched them with a grin. Those three were already this close after just one day. How was that possible? But it wasn't only them. Their whole group - well, except for Neji maybe, but he seemed to warm up, too - seemed to get along quite well, considering that they had known each other for only a mere few hours. It was weird.
They had chatted for some time, enjoying the cool drinks that were offered in this room and eventually, the door opened again. Shizune stood there.
"I hope you are rested as well as possible and will follow me now. The other groups have arrived and the assembly will begin in a few minutes." She said and started walking. "There are about one hundred new students this year, from elementary schoolers up to first year High School students. The headmistress will welcome you and then sort you into your classes and houses."
"Houses? I knew it's like Harry Potter!" Naruto whispered to Sasuke and Ino who were walking next to him. Ino giggled.
"The fridges of your houses are stocked," Shizune continued. "You'll find your dinner in there as well, you'll just have to reheat it."
"Why do we get food to reheat in our fridges?" Tenten asked. "Wouldn't it be wiser to just... let the students cook themselves or let them eat in the cafeteria?"
"We don't have a cefeteria." Shizune answered her while she walked around the fifth corner so far. "There's a break where you can have your lunch, high school students are free to decide if they want to take it outside, or at your houses or in your classrooms if you prefer. Furthermore, we have made the experience that the students are too tired to cook for themselves at their arrival-evenings, so we came up with this little support for them. But the headmistress will fill you in on all of that. Here we are."
She stopped in front of a double winged door and pushed it open. Inside, the lights were dimmed and the muttering of excited students could be heard.
"You should find your seats in the back of the assembly hall. Have a nice evening." Shizune smiled at them and walked off along the corridor until she vanished behind another corner.
The group walked in and true, they found seats at the back of the large theatre.
Ino sat down between Kiba and Naruto, chatting to the latter excitedly about the P.E. class and that he would definitely be accepted if he had applied.
The blonde girl was a little sad. She wouldn't see Sasuke and Shikamaru very often, if they were in the class and she wasn't. She really wanted to be in it, too. She hoped her parents had applied for her, they hadn't asked her or anything, but she just hoped they had. By the looks of it, most of her new friends were already accepted into it and she couldn't stand the idea to be seperated from them, to meet new people and everything. Sure, meeting new people wasn't bad, and she was quite good at making friends, but with this group it just felt.. different. There was this deep base of understanding, of trust that she couldn't explain. She didn't want to lose this...
But she couldn't sulk in her thoughts anymore, because the lights were turned off at that moment and a spotlight on the stage went on.
A blonde woman with impressingly large proportions went on stage and raised a microphone in front of her face.
"Welcome, new students." She said and smiled at the absolutely silent crowd. "My name is Tsunade, I am the headmistress of this boarding school."
Ino furrowed her brows.
"Isn't she a little young to be headmistress?" Kiba mumbled next to her and she nodded.
"The school is high up and I'm glad that all of you are here save and sound." She continued her speech.
Next to Ino, Naruto yawned and snuggled deeper into his seat. She couldn't blame him. Tsunade had started to talk about the history of the school, introduced the teachers, talked about the possibilities that were provided, such as sports activities, clubs and afternoon-activities. Furthermore, she told them that their timetables would be ready and waiting for them on sunday in her assistant's, Shizune's, office alongside with their books.
Eventually, the blonde headmistress got to the interesting part and Ino had to shake Naruto slightly to wake him up.
"I will now start to read out the classes. Please remember which class you're in. After the assembly you'll get a teacher assigned, which will lead your class to their houses." She said. "First class, Elementary School."
And on and on it went for what felt like years. Naruto had almost fallen asleep again - and Ino with him - when Tsunade announced she had finished the Middle Schoolers.
"Now... For the High School students. There's five classes each year and the special P.E. class, which we just call Athletics."
A murmur arose in the theatre as she mentioned the P.E. class. When it died down, Tsunade continued.
"I will start with the Athletics. You will follow Hatake Kakashi after this assembly." Kakashi stood up from his chair on the back of the stage and waved.
"The Athletics are... Aburame Shino, Akimichi Chouji, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru," - a heavy sigh could be heard from Shikamaru - "Tenten, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanaka Ino."
"YES!" Naruto and Ino whisper-yelled at once and high fived again. Another slap resounded and Ino and Naruto looked to their right where Sasuke and Shikamaru had just face palmed.
"What?" Naruto asked them.
"The newly found horror-duo remains with us." Sasuke said.
"And I thought I would get some piece and quiet." Shikamaru groaned.
"Shut up, you two!" Ino hissed at them and turned back front.
"... -ga Neji, Rock Lee. House two: Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, Tenten and Yamanaka Ino. House three: Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade recounted.
"HA! Naruto said and turned to Sasuke and Shikamaru again. "You won't get rid of me so easily!"
Ino giggled. So she would share a house with Tenten and Hinata and another girl. Great! The last girl couldn't be that bad.
Tsunade talked for a little longer, then she closed the assembly and told them to find their teachers in front of the building.
"Hey." Kakashi waved at them in front of the building. It was dark outside by now and they had had some trouble finding him. "Is everyone there? Okay. Let's drop you off then."
And with that he walked off again.
Ino shook her head. He was a really weird man.
"Neji, why are you walking with us anyway? I thought you're in the second year, why are you at the assembly for the newbies?" Tenten asked him.
"I accompanied Hinata. Her father asked me to watch out for her." He stated.
Tenten nodded. "Ah."
They were a group of 12 people, but in the dark Ino didn't really make out much of the new people around her, so she just stuck to walking behind Kiba and not losing sight of his back.
"Here we are." Kakashi said after some time and looked at a list in his hand. "This is house number one. Aburame, Akimichi, Hyuuga, Rock. Neji, you can show your new roommates around, I suppose? Good. Here are your keys. Good night." He said and walked further down the street to the next house in line.
"House number two, the girls' house. Haruno, Hyuuga, Tenten, Yamanaka." He looked up and seemed to think for a moment. "Well, I could show you around... but I don't want to. So, here are your keys. Good night."
He walked off, the boys and girls shooting confused glances forth and back, then the boys hurried after him and vanished in the darkness.
The girls stood there, staring at the spot where the last of the boys had just vanished in the darkness. It was incredible that they had walked only a few metres and were already out of sight.
Tenten shook her head at the bus driver slash teacher and looked at the keys he had thrust into her hand.
"Well, let's get in, shall we?" She said and the others hummed their consent.
Upon entering, the first thing Ino noticed was the smell. It smelled like home. There was the scent of flowers in the air. Lilies, roses and fresh greens. She smiled when Tenten switched the light on and she saw her assumptions confirmed before her. On the little table in the hall was a flower arrangement.
"Well, it's quite nice here, isn't it." Tenten said and started to throw her shoes off.
"Yes." Hinata nodded, but didn't follow her doing.
"I think so, too." A voice said behind them. It belonged to the girl next to Ino.
They had totally forgotten about her new rommate!
"Oh! Hi!" Ino said and grinned at their own stupidity. "I'm Ino."
The girl had pink hair, a little longer than shoulder length, a rather pale skin color and green eyes.
"I'm Sakura. Haruno Sakura." She introduced herself while her cheeks took a light rose color.
"My name's Hyuuga Hinata." Hinata quickly introduced herself and actually bowed.
Tenten giggled at her behavior.
"Yeah, and I'm Tenten."
"Tenten, I was wondering," Ino turned towards her. "Don't you have a last name? Tsunade only called you Tenten, too."
Tenten looked a little uncomfortable at that. "Well... no. I've grown up in an orphanage and since nobody knew my parents last name, they didn't give me one. I get to choose it for myself once I turn eighteen."
She looked in three pairs of large shocked eyes, one pair icy blue, one green and one almost white.
"R-Really?" Hinata asked her carefully, expecting a little she would just laugh out loud and tell them she was joking. But she didn't. Instead, the brunette shrugged.
"Yeah, seriously. I don't know who my parents are. They might not even be alive anymore."
"That's so sad." Sakura said quietly from her place next to the door.
"Oh no, it's okay. I've grown up without them, so I get along pretty well." Then a loving smile appeared on her features. "And I've got Akamaru, Kiba and his parents. They're just like my own parents. I love them so much."
Ino and Hinata smiled at her brightly.
"W-Who's Kiba?" Sakura asked shyly.
"My best friend. He's the boy with the red tattoos on his cheeks. You might've seen him? If not, you'll meet him tomorrow, he's in our class, too." Tenten smiled at her.
Sakura smiled back.
"Okay, enough smalltalk! I'm hungry as hell and I really need a shower and my bed." Ino announced after a moment of silence.
When she eventually lay down in her lilac and white colored room Ino could barely hold her eyes open long enough to check her phone.
She didn't have service, not so surprising up here in the mountains, but there were texts from her parents and one from her cousin, Iroshi. They asked if she was allright and excited and told her to text them once she got to her destination savely.
Ino sighed. She picked herself up from the comfortable bed and went over to her trunk, searched through her things for her laptop and sat at the table with it.
Typing a quick response that she was alright, had met nice people and was accepted into Athletics - and GODDAMN tired.
It wasn't a very nice eMail but what was expected of her at 11 PM when she had gotten up at 5 AM and it was that kind of day?! They'd understand, she was sure of that.
And with a last greeting and 'I love you' she turned back and crashed down onto her bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.