Kisame shoved an apple whole in his mouth and made a sour face. Ew. He didn't rinse his mouth out well enough when he brushed his teeth. He winced as he slid his uniform shirt on. His shoulder was still sore. It didn't want to be lifted higher than his rib cage. He tossed his hair in the mirror and opened the door to end the incessant knocking.
"We're running late," Itachi informed him of the obvious. "At least put your tie on."
"I'm getting there." Kisame slid into his shoes, grabbed his club jacket, and put his bag in between his teeth to lock his door. "If you want me to dress like an honor student, we'll miss homeroom."
"I understood half of that." Itachi mused.
Kisame bared his sharp teeth a bit more, following him down the rickety stairs while he tossed his jacket on, or at least tried to. "Ah." He groaned.
"If you're going to complain, stop getting into fights." Itachi walked with his head high, judging him. Jack ass.
"I didn't start it." Kisame managed to get the jacket on. He spat out his bag and more gently put it over his shoulder, which hurt less.
"You enjoyed it." Itachi countered.
Kisame rolled his neck. This was an old argument. Kisame skin was littered with healing purple blotches, cuts, scrapes, and scars. They ranged from the last couple of weeks to the last couple of years. He could use a break to let the skin on his knuckles finally heal, but if a man wanted a fight, he wasn't going to turn them down. The endless aches in pains did make it less sweet when he one.
"Just don't piss off the wrong people. It will come back on all of us," Kisame didn't need the reminder.
Their side of the street was suspiciously free of by-passers, as usual. Most of the time, people didn't even make it discrete when they were crossing the street to avoid him. His height, mass, tattoos, and sharp teeth made mothers hide their children and grown men avoid crossing his path. And, oh yeah, he was blue. Add the bandages and bruises, and he was the prime candidate for 'avoid at all costs.'
Itachi benefited from the aura of deflection. Kept the ravenous girls a bay, barely. It was possible that the air of unavailability and danger made him more desirable to some of the lunatics that attended their school. At least it helped someone. Call it public service.
Itachi paused only briefly as he stood in from of his classroom, giving him a brief wave of his hand as they split ways. Getting separated this year was at the top of his list of annoyances this year. Right next to finally being tall enough, he had to duck into every doorway.
His class was uncharacteristically awake and lively. Kisame could hear it before he even got in the door. They were excited about something.
In the front of the room stood a small girl. Well, small to him. She had to be a year or two behind them. Her pristine uniform had the skirt as low as it would go. The standard school sweater was a little big on her, but her blouse was buttoned up to the top. She could be a model for the school uniform pamphlets they sent to parents. She spoke to the class president with her eyes turned down solidly on her shoes. Fiddling with the end of her long dark hair with one hand, leaning on a purple umbrella with the other
Was it supposed to rain? Was she lost?
Kisame lost interest quickly. If the answer wasn't easy, he didn't care to find out. He dropped himself into his seat in the back of the room.
Pein handed her something before turning to the class. "This is Hinata Hyuga. She will be joining our class for the rest of the year."
Hinata bowed her head. She leaned too far, and her bag slipped forward, pulling her off balance. She stumbled, jamming her weight on the umbrella. Her already pink face got redder as the class rippled in collective amusement. She straightened like a pin, going back to staring at her shoes.
Pein waved his hand toward the class. "Find an empty seat."
A good quarter of the room was still missing. They didn't have a full class anyway. Most would come in right before the bell or nonchalantly disrupt class, daring the instructor to comment on their repeat lateness. Hidan. Plenty of seats were open, so why was she making a beeline for him.
Hinata stood at the empty seat at his table. "Is this seat taken?"
Was she blind or stupid? "No."
"May I?" Hinata's hand hovered over the seat.
Polite. "Knock yourself out."
Hinata thanked him, bowing her head more gracefully this time before claiming the seat. She unloaded her bag of supplies before tucking the umbrella on the back of her chair. Seriously, it was irritatingly sunny today. Why the umbrella? Was that why she was so pale?
Deidara turned around in his chair, tilting it back, folding his arms on her section of the desk. Hinata retracted, looking at him like he was a snake about to strike her. "Aren't you a little young to be in our year, hm?"
Hinata hesitated, running her fingers on the edge of her notebook nervously. "I was home tutored for a year. I got too far ahead in my materials."
"Where are you from?" Deidara laid his head down his arms, looking up at her like she was a new toy.
Hinata didn't look like she wanted to play. "Uh… the other side of town."
"Deidara. We're starting. Turn around." The instructor snapped as he walked in.
Deidara scowled childishly, letting his chair slam down, making the poor girl jump.
The novelty would wear off, Hinata tried to remind herself. Soon something would happen, and the new girl would no longer be interesting. She will soon just be another student. People wouldn't even glance at her as she walked by. The interest would pass.
Hinata repeated her reassurances in her head while she deliberately fidgeted with her pen to keep her mind off the fact that just because it would pass didn't mean she didn't still have to deal with it in the meantime.
At least she could be grateful that she wasn't in Neji's class. That would have been a nightmare. His smothering would not be missed for a few hours a day. She could also be grateful the seat in the back of the room was open, comfortably out of people's line of sight, but of course, that also meant if someone were staring at her, she would be painfully aware of it. At least, it made it harder.
Hinata glanced at her desk mate from under her bangs. He was easily a foot taller than her, if not more. His thigh was the size of her waist, and she didn't consider herself particularly thin. Because of his size, he barely fit in his chair, and he had to bend over entirely to write. He rolled his neck from time to time, revealing that the bruises that litter his face continued down his shoulders.
His hands were massive and webbed. He held his pen at an odd angle, though she wasn't sure that was related. His knuckles were blistered and purple. Occasionally he would bump it and wince. He flinched as he yawned wide, showing rows of sharp teeth and a split in his lip that looked fresh.
What was he? She wouldn't prod, but she was curious.
Shifting her attention to the rest of the room, there were a lot of black jackets not standard to the uniform, all with a red cloud patch on the back. It reminded her of the movie about American greasers. Her deskmate even had one. Was it a club? Was it official? There was only one girl. Was it a rough team sport? It might explain his bruises.
The students cleared out as lunch came. Hinata pulled out her bento. Couldn't she just stay here? "Hinata-sama," Neji called from the door. His eyes narrowed with distaste at her deskmate still in his seat. "I can take you to the cafeteria."
"I would rather stay here. I have had enough staring for one day." Hinata bargained.
"I will join you then." Neji turned back toward the door.
"No!" Hinata waved her hands. "Go sit with your friends. I'm fine."
Neji hesitated, debating whether he wanted to argue with her. "Why are you sitting so far back? Couldn't you get a chair closer to the door? Should I talk to the teacher?"
No, no, no. I chose it. I prefer the back."
Neji wanted so badly to argue, but they both knew it was better kept to himself. "Lee-san will be disappointed." For a second, maybe. "Have a good lunch, Hinata-sama." Neji dismissed himself with a last warning glare at her deskmate, who wasn't even paying attention to him.
He stretched out over his half of the desk. His face was twisted. It either felt comfortable or awful. He didn't look like he planned to get up, but he didn't get out a lunch. "You don't eat?"
Her desk mate turned his head to look up at her. He raised an eyebrow. Hinata dropped her eyes to her bento to fumble it open. She shouldn't have asked. She was prodding. She didn't know him. She should ask questions.
"No," He pursed his lip in distaste. "Can't eat school lunch, and I don't cook. I'll find something on the way home."
Hinata fiddled with her chopsticks. "Is there something wrong with school lunches here?"
"Not wrong. I just can't eat it. I'm allergic to milk, have to be careful with gluten, and preservatives make me sick." Special body, special needs. "Plus, the cafeteria reeks. Itachi usually comes in to sit with me, but he's meeting his brother today." Heightened sense of smell? Hopefully, she didn't smell unpleasant. Should she stay away from perfume?
Wait, Itachi? "Uchiha?" He tilted his head but nodded. "So, he's with Sasuke-san?"
"You know them?" He sat up only enough to fold his arms under him. Even that slight incline made him at her eye line.
"Uhm. When I was younger." Hinata picked at her food. Her stomach was in knots. She wasn't feeling hungry. "What do you usually eat?"
"Burnt rice, undercooked fish, and bruised fruit." Sarcasm, refreshing.
It must be difficult to eat healthy with eating restrictions and no cooking skills. "Do you like sashimi and rice balls?"
"Yeah?" Hinata slid her bento toward him, plucking a rice ball out for herself. "You sharing?" He quirked a brow, pointing at it. Hinata nodded, nibbling on her rice ball. "Thanks." He popped a rice ball in his mouth. They were too small for him. Hinata slide her chopsticks to him, ignoring the amused look on his face as he picked out one of the cuts of soaked fish. "This is great."
"Really?" At least he liked it. What would she have done if he hated it?
"Did you make this?" Hinata nodded. "Cool."
Hinata was glad she chose to sit in the back of the room.
Hinata gave Kisame an adorable, little, awkward wave as Neji collected her at the end of her first day. The poor thing overthought everything. Itachi gave her a short warm greeting before she was all but dragged away. "So she is…?"
"Hyuga corporation heir." Itachi smiled at her wake.
"The people who own every hotel in the city?" Kisame didn't even consider that she was related to those Hyuga, at least not that closely.
"Is she here for the same reason you are?" Mega-rich kids in a mid-level private school didn't make much sense to him. Take the luxuries you were born into. Some people would kill for the opportunities you were giving up.
"I heard Hinata relocated to her uncle's. It's possible she wanted to go to a school with less pressure after being home tutored for so long." That explained nothing. "The main Hyuga aren't usually allowed so publicly associate with the rest of the family." That made less sense. "I'm surprised she's allowed to live with them."
"Rich people." Kisame scoffed. "You would think you would take a better education."
"Better education comes with extreme pressure." Itachi side-eyed him. Another argument they had too many times.
"Yeah, yeah." Kisame rolled his eyes away. "You know her well?"
"As heirs of our respective clans, we were pushed together as children, but our families are rivals. We weren't allowed to be close. I doubt she's changed much. I'm not surprised she sat next to you." Kisame cocked an eyebrow. "Hinata likes to hide, fade into the background if she can help it."
Kisame paused at the crosswalk. "Is she color-blind?"
"She's kind to a fault. I doubt she considered you any kind of threat." A smirk spread across Itachi's face. "And now that she's warmed up to you, I suspect she's going to be more prepared to make friends tomorrow."