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September 5th, Wednesday.
Sasuke and Naruto stood at the doorway to a classroom labeled "Foundations of Science I and II, and Biology". They had gotten up early and arrived to school before the beginning bell had run, and now they were dreading it.
"This… is HIS class isn't it?" Naruto asked folding his arms over his chest with a frown. Sasuke nodded and then hung his head.
"I don't want to." A sigh of annoyance came forth.
"AH, he's not that bad, Sasuke!" Naruto tried to lighten the mood, but he was having the same feelings as Sasuke. "He's… the idiot of the Uchihas, isn't he?"
"That's a good way to put it. I'm still really curious how he got a license for science. I could MAYBE see him being able to teach Foundations… but Biology?"
"That idiot doesn't know the first thing about Biology." Naruto shook his head then opened the door. "But… we gotta face him sooner or later."
"Ugh, could we make it never?" Sasuke mumbled as he followed Naruto into the room. Sasuke's eyes darted back and forth, but the teacher was not in the room at all. He gave a sigh of relief and sat at the way back. "Hopefully these seats aren't taken."
Naruto sat down in the seat next to him and stared at the front. "If they are, we'll just move."
"Yes, we will. Without a fight." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto. Naruto quickly turned to Sasuke giving him a glare. They stared at each for a few more moments before turning away.
Minute ticked by with a few students in the classroom chatting, but otherwise minding their own business. Sasuke, feeling bored, brought out the homework they were given for last month. Nudging Naruto he handed him the work.
"Err, what's this for Sasuke?" Naruto asked examining it.
"What does it look like?" Sasuke asked; Naruto only blinked at him. "Don't copy it, use it for reference for the homework I know you didn't do."
"OH! I forgot about that. Thanks, Sasuke!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly then placed the papers into his bag carefully. Sasuke sighed rolling his eyes before bringing out the Foundations of Science I and II book. They were currently on chapter 3, so he decided to read up.
Soon the bell rang for class to start and students filed into the room. Naruto sat up straight and stared at the front of the classroom while Sasuke stared out the window hoping the teacher wouldn't recognize him. Eventually, the last bell rang and still no teacher. Naruto and Sasuke both sighed greatly at the same time.
"I knew it." Sasuke mumbled. "He still has the same habits."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and we're likely to not see him for another 10 minutes."
"Oh? So you know Obito-sensei?" Naruto and Sasuke looked up in surprise to see an all too familiar idiot from English. He recognized them too. "Heh, the troublemaking blond."
"Tch, the dog-boy." Naruto smiled making Kiba growl. Sasuke hung his head. "Yeah we know Obito, unfortunately."
"So familiar."
"Hard NOT to be familiar when he's… my cousin." Sasuke grumbled. Kiba turned to Sasuke and slowly blinked at him. "What?" Sasuke asked with a blank expression.
"Your last name is Uchiha, huh?"
"No, it's your imagination." Sasuke remarked sarcastically making Kiba irritated. Naruto was trying to hold back a laugh.
"Does that mean you're part of the Uchiha Police Force of Konoha?"
"Do I LOOK old enough to be part of the UPFK?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the dog-boy who scowled and turned around ignoring them now.
"Nice one, Sasuke." Naruto whispered. Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto then stared at the clock waiting.
Finally, the bobbing of a raven haired man with orange goggles on his forehead stepped into the classroom. Immediately, Naruto and Sasuke sunk in their seats.
"Good morning, class! I'm sorry for being late. I had a meeting with an-"
"Liar." Sasuke and Naruto interrupted at the same time. Obito blinked then frowned.
"Who said that?" The boys sunk even lower placing a hand over their faces. Unfortunately for them, their hair gave them away pretty quickly. "Ah! Sasuke, Naruto! So you've finally decided to come into my class." There was a cheerful look on Obito's face. Everyone turned in their seats to look back at Sasuke and Naruto.
"Why couldn't we get through this day without being noticed?" Naruto murmured. Sasuke only shook his head in response. Obito crossed his arms then walked down the aisle of chairs stopping at Naruto and Sasuke's desks. They continued to pretend he didn't exist until he slapped down on the desk making them sit upright.
"Sasuke…Naruto. Is this anyway to treat family?" Obito asked with a frown. Sasuke slowly turned to Obito giving him a blank look.
"If it's family like you. Definitely." Students snickered at Sasuke's comment. Obito looked toward them then back to Sasuke. He opened his arms up wide.
"Give me a hug-"
"Oh, HELL no!" Sasuke grabbed Obito's face just as he was about to hug him. Naruto burst out into laughter, and Obito pouted. "Stop acting like a child and teach your class, Sensei. You're embarrassing not only me, but yourself too."
"Heh… of course. Right Sasuke." Obito cleared his throat, stood up straight and preceded to the front of the class. Sasuke slammed his face into his desk, annoyed.
"Sasuke. Don't kill yourself yet. Obito might follow." Naruto chuckled. Sasuke gave him a death glare before sitting up straight. Naruto grinned and looked to the front to watch how Obito would teach the class.
The class finally ended, although the bell interrupted Obito's lesson. Sasuke and Naruto weren't surprised and got up quickly to leave. They didn't get far though.
"Naruto, Sasuke. Wait." Obito called after them. The boys stopped in their tracks and turned to the teacher.
"What is it?" Naruto asked for them.
"About today. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such an embarrassment. I just haven't seen you two since you were little."
"I had hoped to keep it that way." Sasuke sighed turning away.
"Err. Still the same, aren't you Sasuke?" Obito grabbed Sasuke's shoulder turning him around. "How's… Itachi doing? And Minato and Kushina, Naruto?"
Sasuke answered first. "He's just started college. Freshman year aiming to join the UPFK."
"Heh, he'll do better than me."
"And my parents are doing fine. Dad's company is going well, and I think he's heading to Suna soon." Naruto answered with a smile. He didn't mind Obito too much, except when he was being a bother.
"Oh...? Oh that's right. We have an exchange student from Suna here. He's supposed to stay for two months then head back… but I don't think he really likes it here." Obito looked worried, Naruto immediately jumped in to support.
"Well how come?" Naruto asked, very curious of this exchange student. Obito smiled at Naruto then pointed out the door.
"You two better hurry. Kakashi won't like it if you're late." He avoided the question.
"Err, right, class." Naruto laughed rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him out.
-oO0-o)
Homeroom, Math, and History all went by like a breeze and once again it was finally lunch time. Naruto and Sasuke, like the day before, were sitting alone. Except this time Naruto was looking for a certain student.
"…AHA! I found him Sasuke!" Naruto pointed to a far corner where one lone student sat. His hair was a strange red -not the natural color which is orange looking-, with a tint of sandy color, and unlike Konoha's colors of blue and pale green, his uniform was of red and black. "He's definitely from Suna with those colors. He's in our math class now that I think about it… I'm going over there!" And before Sasuke could stop him Naruto was up and racing over to the exchange student. Sighing, Sasuke followed slowly after, but came to a stop when he noticed the lunchroom became quiet and all eyes focused on Naruto.
"Is he crazy? That kid will kill him."
"I heard that boy killed his mother!"
"Even his own city hates him…"
"If the blond starts to get attacked, I'm out of here!" Sasuke didn't like the comments that were flying around. It made him become worried for Naruto, but unfortunately a line of students were in his way from getting to Naruto.
On the other hand, Naruto was completely deaf to the comments and came to a stop next to the red-haired boy.
"Hey there!" He waved cheerfully. The boy ignored him. Naruto frowned and sat down next to him and tried again, this time waving in his face. "I'm Naruto Namikaze, what about you?" Again the boy ignored him. Naruto stared at him then moved to a seat where he could be facing the boy. "At least answer me so I know you aren't deaf or mute."
Finally, the boy raised his head and looked to Naruto. "Gaara." At first Naruto didn't know what he was talking about then it hit him.
"Ah! You do speak." Naruto grinned and held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Gaara." Gaara only stared at the hand with an unsure look on his face. Naruto was starting to get more confused about him. "Are… you alright?"
Gaara took a look at Naruto's face then looked around the lunchroom. Naruto also looked around and finally noticed how quiet it was, and the giant crowd of people surrounding the table he and Gaara were at.
"What…are you people staring at, huh? This isn't any of your business, now is it?" Naruto asked giving everyone glares. Some of the students shuffled their feet, but they didn't move.
"You… uh, should be careful you know of…" A student gestured to Gaara. Naruto looked at Gaara then gave a questioning look back at the student. "Well… err… because he might… um…" The student didn't get to finish the explanation as the bell rang.
Gaara immediately got up and left, students watched after him then left the lunchroom leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone. Sasuke came over to the gaping Naruto who was staring after the direction the red-haired went.
"Naruto… come on. Let's go." Sasuke pulled Naruto to his feet and handed him his book bag.
"Sasuke…Why does everyone have that look? It's… just like Oto." Naruto asked as they began to walk outside and toward the gym. Sasuke looked down and knew what Naruto was talking about. It was the look of hatred.
"I… don't know Naruto. I heard a few things when you were trying to talk to the exchange student." Sasuke looked back up and told what he had heard. Naruto listened carefully then looked ahead.
"…Rumors. I don't believe in it. I saw that he was confused about why I was talking to him making me confused. Now I understand why." They stopped at the gym door and Naruto took a deep breath. "WELL THAT'S NOT GOING TO STOP ME!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto with surprise and stared. "Uh, what?" Naruto looked to Sasuke and grinned.
"I'm going to befriend Gaara if it's the last thing I do on this earth!" Naruto ran into the gym leaving Sasuke behind. Sasuke watched the doors swing back and forth before coming to a closing stop. A smile came to Sasuke's face before he headed in.
-oO0-o)
The next few days Naruto continuously tried to befriend Gaara who only said a few words. Everyone would stare at Naruto strangely and wonder if he had gone crazy. Sasuke stayed on the side-lines and knew better to stay out of the way. But by the end of the week there was no success with Gaara.
"AH MAN! It's not working, Sasuke…" Naruto groaned as he and Sasuke began walking home. Sasuke patted Naruto's back.
"You're not going back on your word, are you?"
"No way! I never go back on my word!" Naruto stood up straight and smiled. "I'm going to keep trying and trying and-"
"You should stop before you get killed." A voice interrupted Naruto making him stop in his tracks. He slowly turned around with Sasuke. Behind them was a boy with long black hair and strange white eyes. Naruto at first thought he was blind, but then he noticed a girl with dark-purple, long hair standing behind the boy. Her eyes were also a strange white color.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked crossing his arms.
"My name is Neji Hyuuga. I am the Student Council President of the Kitsune High." Neji's voice was hollow and arrogant sounding, and that annoyed Naruto.
"Well it's nice to meet you, but I need to get home, so later." Naruto turned around and began to walk away not really wanting to converse with him.
"Wait a minute you rude brat." That made Naruto stop. Sasuke sighed knowing that another fight could be close.
"What do you want?" Naruto asked with a cold voice. He remained facing away from the Hyuuga.
"I'm warning you to stay away from the exchange student. He's dangerous."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because of what happened in his city. He hurt people."
"Where are the facts?" Naruto slowly turned and faced the Hyuuga a furious expression on his face. The girl behind Neji gripped onto his shirt with a small look of fear. Naruto relaxed his face noticing her fear; it made her relax which also calmed him down.
"The facts are there." Neji replied. Naruto rolled his eyes then turned away and began to walk away.
"Whatever. You'll have to show me proof instead of just saying it, but let me tell you this Neji Hyuuga." Naruto turned his head back to look at the Hyuuga boy. "I will become friends with Gaara because of how all of you dismiss him as trash, and I won't give up until I've convinced him I'm not there to hurt him." With that he turned and waved his hand in a goodbye.
A smirk was on Sasuke's face and he looked to Neji. "Hey, you need to understand one thing about Naruto. Don't underestimate him or think he's not capable because out of everyone here, he's the most capable to break this isolation that you have created." Sasuke bowed to the two then ran after Naruto.
-oO0-o)
"That is Naruto for you! The most surprising, rudest, and never giving up person around!" Itachi laughed. Naruto reached across the dinner table trying to attack Itachi, but Minato put a stop to it.
It was dinnertime at the Namikaze's. Sasuke and Itachi had been invited over and discussion of the week of school had been told.
"Yeah, well I can be smart too!" Naruto grumbled and bit into a mouthful of ramen.
"You? Smart? I don't see it happening." Sasuke grinned. "I mean, you can't even do your homework without asking how to do a problem every five minutes."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Now Naruto was trying to grab for Sasuke. Sasuke dodged and Naruto fell to the floor. Angered, Naruto kicked the chair from under Sasuke making him fall to the floor as well. Sasuke blinked then tackled Naruto and a wrestling match began. Itachi watched with a grin on his face while Minato pretended not to see.
"What. Are. You. Two. Doing?" It was Kushina. She stomped her foot next to Sasuke and Naruto making them stop. They both blinked up at her slowly then smiled sheepishly. She gave a sigh then turned to Minato and Itachi glaring. They looked away acting as if they had no idea what was going on. "Oooooh. You two…" Kushina's face turned into a pout before she helped her boys up.
"Sorry about that, Mom."
"Yeah, Kushina."
"Just sit down and eat your food without a fight, please?" She still had a pout on her face and the boys smiled sitting down. "Naruto, what is this I'm hearing about an exchange student?"
"Oh, oh! I'm trying to befriend him because everyone keeps spreading bad rumors, so he's all alone at Kitsune High." Naruto explained.
"That's horrible! But I'm so proud of you Naruto." Kushina hugged her son's head.
Naruto groaned. "Moooom…."
"Where did this boy exchange from anyway, Naruto?" Minato asked paying attention now.
"Suna."
"Suna, huh? And you say his name is Gaara?"
"Yeah, that's right. What about it, Dad?"
"He's the mayor's son if I remember correctly, and also the boy I'm taking back to Suna."
Naruto was getting excited. If his dad was the one taking Gaara back home, maybe he could learn a few things. "Do you know anything about him then? The rumors being false, right?"
"What are the rumors, Naruto?"
"I'll explained, Minato." Sasuke motioned his hand. Everyone looked at him giving him full attention. "Apparently the most common rumor is that he killed his mother and is dangerous. Others rumors are pretty ridiculous like if he even looks at you you'll have bad luck, or something like that. It seems that people think Gaara as… not to be cruel, but as an abomination."
Minato leaned back in his chair with a hand to his chin. He was deep in thought thinking of what Sasuke had just told him.
"From what I can remember when I brought him here, Gaara-kun was a very shy boy. He barely communicated, but I think that's because of the rumors spread within Suna, which seem to mirror these rumors." Minato let his chair fall back down gently. "Naruto, Sasuke. Gaara-kun did not kill his mother. It was an accident. That's all I know. I'm not sure why people blame him, or how she died. From what I saw the only people that associated with Gaara-kun are his two older siblings and his father."
"That's… wrong." Naruto said with a very sad expression on his face. "And everyone believes those rumors even though they know nothing about it…"
"That's right Naruto… but you didn't." Sasuke gave a small smile. Naruto looked to Sasuke and smiled back. "And you'll prove to everyone that he's a good person."
"Yeah! Next week I'm definitely going to get Gaara to understand that I'm a friend he can trust in!"
"Right! I'll be right by your side when you do." Sasuke and Naruto clamped hands together with determination on their faces. Itachi, Minato, and Kushina looked at them with smiles.
"Invite him over once you do, dear!" Kushina clapped with enthusiasm.
"Absolutely!"
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