Hello again!

So, I managed to get chapter 3 out rather quickly! and I think chapter 4 will follow shortly after. I just want to warn you guys: right now the chapters are coming up rather quickly, but that is ONLY because I am currently on a break. When my vacation is over, it might take a bit longer again for me to put up new chapters!

Also: just FYI, the next couple of chapters will be slightly related to each other. 3 is the beginning of the school day and the meeting between Naruto and her first possible pairing. 4 will be the continuation and second meeting between second possible pairing. 5 (and probably 6) will also follow this. From then on, the chapters should be their own again.

And just so there is no confusion: in these chapters, Naruto might seem kind of normal (like she hasn't been very very traumatized) but that is only because nobody in the new school (other than the principal, not that Naruto knows) knows what happened

Anyway, enjoy~~

Cheshire

Chapter 3: Welcome to Konoha High ~Part 1~

Naruto POV

Schedule in hand, I was running around frantically searching for room 125. The first bell giving the five minute warning had rung about two minutes ago, giving me only three minutes to find this apparently non-existent classroom. I had passed room 124 a minimum of five times already, but I just COULD NOT find 125… I did another run-through of the hallways I was in '122, 123, 12—' only to run straight into a person. Having been taken by surprise, I gracelessly fell on my butt with a loud thump.

The person I had run into had been facing away from me, but turned around at the sound of something hitting the floor. The boy- I now noticed- gave me a disinterested look, but at the same time offered me a hand up. (Since he had a pony tail, I originally thought he was a she…) Ignoring the hand, and my now sore butt, I got to my feet and examined the boy.

Apart from the bored look the boy still had, he was cute, very cute (not that I was noticing). He wore slightly baggy pants with chains hanging from them and a slightly tight green shirt that managed to show off his well-built muscles perfectly. It made me wonder if the boy knew the effect his shirt had. Probably not. The boy had stormy gray eyes and his ponytail made his head slightly resemble a pineapple… (I would never tell him that though). It did make me curious as to how long his hair actually was.

At the same time I had been checking him out, he seemed to be examining me. He gave away nothing, making me curious if he'd liked what he'd seen. This confused me, I had never been interested in what boys thought of me. Ever.

Noticing that one of us had yet to speak, I decided to break the silence.

"Sorry about running into you… I wasn't looking," I stammered out. I had started out at a normal volume, but had become quieter and quieter towards the end. I was still a bit shy and awkward. I had been ever since I came out of the hospital, other than around Kaka. Being around a complete stranger didn't help either.

"I'm…Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. Do you know where room 125 is? I can't seem to find it anywhere."

"Troublesome…it's ok, I wasn't looking either. I'm Nara Shikamaru. The building layout is too troublesome in the beginning, so I'll show you to the classroom. It's one floor up," the boy –Shikamaru- replied. I don't know what it was with him and the word troublesome.

"Thank you!" I gave him a shy smile. I didn't notice, but Shikamaru's eyes widened just the slightest bit at that.

As we made our way up the stairs, I became curious.

"Are you in the same class as me, Shikamaru-san?"

"Don't bother with honorifics. They're too troublesome. Shikamaru or whatever is fine. And yes, I am."

"Hmmm… then: Shika!" The boy shot me a surprised look at this, but didn't voice any complaints. By now we were standing in front of a classroom, and I noted happily that it was indeed room 125. At this point I turned to Shika.

"Everything is troublesome for you, isn't it?" I gave him another small smile. The bell chose this moment to signal the beginning of the school day. I turned on my heel and stalked into the classroom, heading directly toward the teacher and ignoring any other students that might have been in the room.

Shikamaru POV

I knew I didn't have much time until class started, and that I still had a bit of walking ahead of me, but I still took my sweet time getting there. After all, I wouldn't be Nara Shikamaru if I wasn't fashionably late.

I wasn't too far from the staircase when I felt something hit my back. Directly after, I heard the thump of something (or rather someone) hitting the floor. Just slightly curious, I turned around. I took in the girl that was so ungracefully sprawled on the floor and offered her my hand.

She ignored my hand and got up. I shrugged at this, when I suddenly felt her eyes on me. She was observing me, so I opted to do the same. The first thing I noticed was how SMALL she was. She didn't even reach up to my shoulders. The second thing was her hair. As far as hair went, it was pretty hair: long, about waist-length, slightly wavy, and blonde with a couple scattered red highlights. I wondered how it would feel to run my fingers through it, surprising myself with that thought. The blonde also had three horizontal scars adorning her cheeks. They reminded me of whiskers, and gave the girl a slightly foxy image. Her eyes, though, were probably her most stunning feature. They were damn blue and damn bright. It was almost too troublesome to look away, but I forced myself. I had stared at her enough.

By now, she had noticed the silence and was obviously feeling uncomfortable from it.

"Sorry about running into you… I wasn't looking." I noticed that she got very quiet towards the end. Was she shy? Or did I seem intimidating? Inwardly, I scoffed. I seriously doubted the latter.

"I'm…Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. Do you know where room 125 is? I can't seem to find it anywhere."

Ah… so the blonde –Naruto- was new. It would explain her being so uncomfortable.

"Troublesome… it's ok. I wasn't looking either. I'm Nara Shikamaru. The building layout is too troublesome in the beginning, so I'll show you to the classroom. It's one floor up."

Naruto voiced a thank you and gave me a shy smile. At this, my stomach did a weird flip. 'What was that? This is too troublesome…'

We were going up the stairs when Naruto spoke again.

"Are you in the same class as me, Shikamaru-san?"

"Don't bother with honorifics. They're too troublesome. Shikamaru or whatever is fine. And yes, I am.'

"Hmmm…then: Shika!" The shortened version of my name took me by surprise. The only other person that had ever freely called me that was my best friend Chouji, but I didn't mind Naruto calling me 'Shika' in the least.

We now stood in front of the classroom which had now been my homeroom two years in a row. Not that I minded. Changing classrooms and teachers was too troublesome, and I didn't mind Iruka. He wasn't as troublesome as some of the other teachers. As if reading my thoughts, the whiskered blonde in front of me spoke up.

"Everything is troublesome for you, isn't it?" Once again Naruto gave me a small smile, making my stomach do yet another flip. 'Troublesome'.

I was just about to reply when the bell rang. I groaned in my mind, but Naruto didn't give me another chance to answer. She turned on her heel, making her hair swing around, and walked into the classroom towards Iruka-sensei. I sighed and made my way into the classroom. I took my normal seat next to Chouji, in the approximate middle of the room. I laid my head on my arms, getting ready to sleep. I shot the mysterious new blonde one more look before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.