Konoha School of the Arts
~Bonus Chapter~
A Day at Suna Athletics Academy
(SAA for short)
A/N: So, I wanted to show y'all exactly where Sakura and the others came from. This mini-story-chapter will take place a year before Konoha started meaning it'll be at the beginning of Sakura, Ten Ten and Temari's 8th grade year.
Also, Suna teaches K-12th unlike Konoha which only teaches 7th-12th grade.
As always, I own nothing!
I hope you enjoy this~!
"Sakuraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa wakeeeeeeeee upppppppp!" An annoying voice kept drawling over and over again. Sakura groaned rolling over in her bed. The first thing she thought is why were Ten Ten and Temari in her house- scratch that- why were they in her room, the second thought being where was her nearest sharp object.
As Sakura blindly groped for something to throw at them Ten Ten and Temari grinned. They knew the pinkette would forget that today was their first day of school and that they had spent the night-as it had been their tradition to spend the night together before their first day of school since 4th grade- just like she did every year. They knew that after the whole first day ordeal she would claim she wouldn't forget, like she also did every year, but Ten and Temari knew better than that.
They silently climbed off her bed and got there weapons of choice ready. In one hand Ten Ten held Sakura's huge teddy bear and in the other she held one side of Sakura's blankets. Temari stood on the other side of the bed also holding a fistful of the pink blanket and a pillow that was in her other hand was her weapon. She had strategically placed several other pillows in a pile within arms reach so she'd have ammo.
On the silent count of three, the both pulled the blankets back and started beating Sakura down with their weapons. Sakura groaned. How could she have forgotten again?
"Okay, okay! I'll get up!" Sakura rolled over and off the bed, landing on her feet. Ten Ten pulled back with her bear ready for a final hit, Temari had run out of ammo and sat down on Sakura's bed. Sakura herself was standing, still sleepy, and yawned before rubbing her eyes. She peered at Ten Ten.
"It's the first day of school, I know, I know. I'll go change." With Sakura safely in the bathroom with her uniform in hand Ten Ten tossed the bear aside and joined Temari on the bed. They pounded their fists before getting up and getting their things together. A few minutes later Sakura joined them, discarding her pink tank top and pajama pants in her hamper she turned towards her friends.
"Good?" She questioned doing a full 360. She was wearing the same light brown skirt and blazer that every Suna student wore, her shoes were tennis shoes-which the school really encouraged- and she had her white leggings on. Her blazer was buttoned up to her bosom, her v-neck still visible. Her back length hair was up in a ponytail, the brown ribbon she used to tie it up was in a neat little bow.
Giving her the thumbs up, Ten Ten stood next. She also did a 360. Unlike Sakura she had her blazer buttoned up all the way, she wore dark brown socks and school shoes, and had her hair up in their usual buns.
"Looking good~"
Temari didn't even care how she looked. She'd been wearing this same uniform for these last two years; her hairstyle had always been the same since she was a child. The only thing that was new to her outfit this year was her newest pair of boots. Her blazer wasn't even being close to buttoned up and she wore a loose brown bandana around her neck, the SAA hourglass emblem right in the center.
They had packed their backpacks and their athletic bags last night, so retrieving them they made their way downstairs.
"I swear! I mean, if I get stuck in Orochimaru-sensei's dance class again Imma go crazy!"
Sakura's mom looked up as the girls came down the stairs. She smiled at them, glad to see them up and ready.
"Breakfast is on the table," She told them as she went inside the kitchen. Sitting down at the dining table, they ate and chatted before realizing it was 7:40. Waving bye to , the girls gathered their things and began walking to school. Halfway there they ran into Temari's brothers Gaara and Kankuro. While Temari was an 8th grader, Kankuro was in 7th grade and Gaara a 6th grader. Gaara was rarely making any comments except for the occasional nod while Kankuro wasn't afraid to talk and make comments with his sister's best friends. They had all known each other for so long so this was all routine for them.
"I swear nothing's changed! Maybe I grew taller?" Kankuro had a hand above Ten Ten's head while she laughed. She had commented on how Kankuro looked different today, meaning his newest purple eyeliner, lipstick and face paint while he tried to pass it off as his being 5 inches taller than nearly everyone in their little party.
"Your growth spurt happened back in May," she argued swatting his hand away. "You complained about growing pains for a week!"
"Aww, so kind of you to remember Ten Ten~"
They had reached the gate and the puppeteer made a run for it with a yell of "later!" barely dodging Ten Ten's smack. Gaara waved bye to Temari and the girls as well before departing.
Sakura passed at the gate as well, taking a deep breath and looked over the campus. This school was like a second home for her. Ten Ten and Temari had already gotten to the front door of the middle school building, so, she continued taking it all in-like she did every year-as she slowly followed the girls into the class. They had compared schedules before hand and they only had two or three classes together but it didn't really matter since they had the entire school day and then some to hang out.
They had Kabuto-sensei as their Science teacher again, and they arrived a few minutes early. They had already dropped off their bags in their lockers, except for Temari who chose to carry her tennis gear with her, and had gotten to class choosing seats near the front, next to the windows. They left their bags on the seats and looked around.
They saw many familiar faces, Kiba was in their class again; he smiled wolfishly and welcomed them back taking the seat next to Temari. He started their conversation with quite a few perverted jokes which Sakura and Ten Ten blushed at and smacked at him with their notebooks for while Temari laughed with him. Shino joined them shortly and took the seat behind Kiba, and Rock Lee joined them last taking the seat next to Sakura.
They all knew he had a crush on the pinkette, but they also knew he didn't have a chance with her. She was too set on her vision of her "perfect man" and Lee was nowhere close to those expectations. Rock Lee was a known member of the Karate Club. It was said that he was captain this year. He had been working hard along with the Karate Club sponsor and coach Guy-sensei and was one of the SAA's nationally ranked athletes. He was probably one of the easiest people to spot in a crowd. Outside of class he wore a green jumpsuit and leggings. His black hair was bowl cut and he had the bushiest eyebrows ever. He tried time and time again to catch Sakura's attention- as he was doing now. But at the moment she was too busy talking to another girl who was apart of the dance squad to notice. Ten Ten gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.
Kiba noticed since he had turned away from Shino a few seconds ago and shook his head ruefully trying not to laugh. His shaggy brown hair shook with his frame as he fought a losing battle. Kiba was one of the best runners on the Track and Field team. People often compared him to animals like a dog or a wolf. His family owns a shop where they sale and breed dogs. He had his own dog named Akamaru who followed him to school. Everyday during lunch they'd find him right by their usual spot under the big oak tree by the track field. Ten Ten took one last look at the laughing boy and rolled her eyes a bit. Sometimes he was just a big joke.
Shino was Kiba's best friend. He had a skin problem when it came to the light hitting it so he was allowed to wear a jacket which covered most of his face and arms, along with sunglasses. He was a quiet fellow who opted to talk when it was important. He had a bug collection any manic would adore. He like Kiba was on the Track and Field Team as he's an excellent sprinter. He was also the go to guy for homework help if you could believe it. He sat there, covered eyes only having eyes for the front of the class.
"Hello class," Kabuto-sensei walked in just as everyone took their seats. Well, almost everyone. Just as he got started on introductions, which nearly everyone found unnecessary, (Kabuto-sensei claimed that even though they've known him forever he still had to introduce himself cause the rules say he has to) Karin and her friend Tayuya walked in. Both ignored Kabuto and walked straight to the nearest open seats which sadly-in Sakura's opinion- were next to Kiba and Rock Lee. Karin saw Sakura staring and peered at her around Rock Lee. Karin smirked mockingly as she pushed her glasses up. Sakura turned away angrily.
Even though it was the first day Sakura already felt the tension. She and Karin had never gotten along from the moment they met at the first Dance Crew meeting a little under two years ago. Both were too set on their ways, not to mention that Karin loved to tease Sakura. The thing that made Sakura dislike her even more was the fact that Karin had gotten chosen to be Vice-Captain of the Crew this year. Sakura was Treasurer again much to her dismay.
After going through the introductions for himself, the introductions for the kids to each other, (Sakura swore when Karin said "I'm Vice-Captain of the Dance Crew," that Karin smirked at her evilly) and finally handing out their first homework assignment which happened to be a research paper (Kabuto-Sensei wasn't one to beat around the bush. You always had work from his class) he gave the kids five minutes to themselves.
Everyone knew that was a bad idea considering they had Kiba and Lee in the class, but they couldn't tell the teacher that. Apparently Kabuto-Sensei had forgotten what happened last time he gave Kiba free time. Kiba had somehow managed to mix two chemicals together in a vile, the mixture caught on fire and stunk, and he burned his eyebrows off, somehow turned the tips of Kabuto-Sensei's hair yellow, and burned down two labs. Everyone kept a wary eye on him as he stood. Nearly everyone backed away.
Finally the bell rang and the girls and guys went their own ways. Thankfully it seemed like Sakura didn't have anymore classes with Karin. She went to her Dance, English and P.E. classes before finally going to lunch. Her Dance class was probably her favorite so far. Science hadn't gone so well cause of Karin, English was just the usual icebreakers, and P.E. was the usual "these are the rules, this is what you're doing this semester, here's your locker". In dance, since this was the advanced, well by standards it would probably be the easiest High School dance class available, so they got straight to changing clothes, if you'd brought them, started stretching and going over the basics, intermediate, and if you got the approval, the advanced stuff.
Sakura had been happy. Their teacher, thankfully it wasn't Orochimaru, had known that most of the girls had been dancers for a number of years and didn't waste anytime. Anko studied them for five minutes or so before telling them to get to their usual stuff and going to work with the noobs who had gotten into this class by miracle work. Sakura and another few friends she had made over the years got to stretching before dancing.
She didn't know why, but Sakura found herself dancing the steps found in the Nutcracker. She loved to dance ever since she was a child and she felt herself smile, relax and embrace the freedom she felt as she moved to and fro. Her peers soon stopped and stared at her in awe. Not only was she graceful, she looked like she was having fun. Her friends smiled. Sakura was certainly going to make it far if she chose to pursue a dancing career.
Then, before they knew it the bell had rung and they all hurried to get dressed again. Sakura wasn't in a hurry though and took her time as she changed. She made her way out of the class and to the cafeteria to pick up her lunch, and then she made her way out to their table, everyone already goofing off. Akamaru was on the table lounging back against Kiba who was laughing with Temari. Shino sat across from Kiba quietly eating and observing a nearby beetle. Kankuro, Gaara, and Ten Ten were talking, Kankuro making crazy arm movements and getting a laugh outta Ten Ten.
Sakura slid right into their crazy group. More of their older members like Pain, Konan, Sasori and the others had just graduated so there weren't going to be anyone else this year with them, well, so they assumed.
"About time Pinky," Temari said shoving a fry into her mouth as she moved aside, pushing Kiba in the process. Used to it Kiba went with it, not realizing he slid too much until his butt hit the floor. He hissed in pain and got up rubbing his sore butt.
"You're gonna pay for that Sabaku no," Temari only waved a hand his way in dismissal.
"Yeah, yeah," She popped another fry in her mouth. "Why don't you try when you grow balls?"
Kiba was about to retort when Shino leaned down from the oak tree he magically climbed while everyone was distracted. You could see a slight blush in the part of his cheeks you could see and in his palms he cradled something. Opening his palms the ugliest beetle of all time became visible and everyone turned away already uninterested as the bug flew away. Shino joined them again, sulking in despair.
Rock Lee, who had yet to be noticed, looked over at Shino.
"I know how ya feel buddy," Both sat there, tears in their eyes.
The school day was finally over. Everyone went their separate way s to their clubs and activities. Sakura, Ten Ten and Temari agreed to meet at the front of the school as usual once their clubs were done. Ten Ten walked over to the gym where she had Volleyball practice today, tomorrow she'd be joining in the Track and Field activities. She had talked to both coaches prior to the start of the school year and both agreed that it'd be fine.
While Ten Ten was in the Gym, Sakura was in the Dance classroom located on the third floor. It had been the Dance Crew's official meeting place since the beginning of time. She got there, and soon settled into the flow. They discussed the rules, priorities, and competitions. The entire time through Sakura tried not to let Karin get to her. During their break she decided to wander out into the hall, water bottle and towel in hand.
She pushed her back against the wall and sunk to the floor.
"Sakura?" Pushing the aside the towel Sakura found herself looking up at a slender man, he had bags under his eyes and long black hair that was tied in a ponytail. The man smiled at her.
"Itachi!"
Temari spent two hours on the courts drilling the noobs into the ground. Everyone on the team and in the club had a wary respect for their captain. Too soon she found herself locking up the courts, going to shower and double take the equipment before locking up the clubhouse as well.
Right when she was about to leave someone called out to her.
"Taichou!"
She turned to find a little girl there. She looked like a 6th or 7th grader. Temari stopped walking and waited for the girl to run up to her. The brunette took a minute to catch her breath before looking up at her with eager eyes.
"What's up?"
The girl bit her lip before pulling out a piece of paper which she held out.
"I wanna join the team."
Temari cocked an eyebrow but took the paper, scanning it over.
"Well Matsuri. As you can tell club doesn't start at 6:00 p.m. be sure to come early tomorrow."
She turned away and continued to walk.
The girl stood there dumbly for a second before comprehending what just happened. Grinning, she went her own way.
That night three very happy girls went home together with bright hopes for the upcoming year.
