AN: a few things-
1. Character names: Naruto is obviously a Japanese show, and most US users seem to google random Japanese names and use those for extra characters in their stories. I get that. It makes sense. That said, I'm writing KPA as if it and it's characters are located in the US (KPA gives me East coast boarding school vibes). To me, it seemed a little awkward to Google random Japanese names for characters that are likely American. I also feel that names hold a lot of connotations and subtle significance. Consider our cultures obsession with "Karen." I don't know the implications of random Japanese names from a list. With all of this in mind, I've decided to use names common in the US. I hope this doesn't come across as offensive. Let me know if you feel a strongly about this. I'm open to changing it if needed. For our lovely Akatsuki members in the first paragraph I chose random famous American author names.
2. Chapter names: Im renaming all of the chapters so far, because I had an idea that highly amuses me. Whoever guesses what the chapter names signify wins... A random person on the internet's impressed approval. Maybe a virtual high five. I think it will be impossible to guess for now though.
3. Trigger warnings- I don't know that I can account for everything, but I will try to make notes. This chapter briefly alludes to infant loss. There is some political content through the story. The characters beliefs don't necessarily reflect my own. Drama will begin picking up, and there may be more potentially upsetting content as the story continues.
4. These are not my characters.
Lots of mature language in this chapter. Sorry... I imagine Tsunade is not very prim and proper. I also imagine Ino to be a very dramatic, immature high school freshman.
The Konoha Tribune, Monday, November 10th, 2000
The search for three missing adolescents continues this week. Nagato King (14), Yahiko Orwell (13), and Konan Fitzgerald (13) were all last seen Thursday evening in the Pine Oaks neighborhood of Konoha. The three all attend Konoha Preparatory Academy as eighth graders. Their parents urge the community to continue investigating, despite suggestions that the teens could have intentionally run away. All three families vehemently deny this suggestion as a possibility. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of any of these missing children, please call the hotline below.
September 1, 2017
Although many boarding students lived hours, even plane rides, away from their families, many still lived nearby. The families of the students who had sent their children to KPA for elementary and middle school often lived closer to campus. Some of the students with parents close by went home for the weekend. Others only dropped by occasionally. For Hinata, it had been required that she and her cousin Neji come home for mass and Sunday dinner.
Mass was at ten that morning, so after waking up, Hinata dressed and met Neji to go home. They had decided to make a 30-minute walk instead of having her father pick them up.
She greeted her cousin, who had been waiting outside the dorm, leaning against the railing of a short staircase. They began the unremarkable walk toward their gated neighborhood.
"How d-did the rest of your night go Friday?" She asked as they walked beyond the school's stone gate.
"Not bad. We probably only stayed for like another hour or so." He responded, his gaze trained on the overgrown shrubs invading the narrow sidewalk.
"Did you end up sleeping over?" His voice was casual, but Hinata knew he had been tense about the situation. He always was when it came to her best friend.
"Kiba never returned, so I just stayed in his room."
Neji frowned. "I doubt Uncle Hiashi would like you staying in a guy's bed." Hinata rolled her eyes but smiled at him.
"Neji, my father doesn't approve of much, but Kiba wasn't even there this time." He looked at her abruptly, and she internally scolded herself for saying 'this time.'
Attempting to ease his mind, she quickly clarified, "you know nothing inappropriate is going on between Kiba and me. We're friends."
"Everything is inappropriate about him," Neji scoffed under his breath.
Hinata's lips turned into a slight frown, "I really think you'd like him if you spent some time with him. He's a good guy." She knew he wouldn't believe her, so she quickly changed the subject.
"I actually wasn't alone the whole n-night. I met one of your class partners." Neji turned to look at her and raised a brow in question.
"Her name was Tenten," Hinata added.
"How did you end up spending time with her?" He asked, pausing his steps to look for cars before crossing the street.
Hinata reflected on Friday night when she had confined herself to Kiba's bedroom toward the end of the party.
Hinata had spent hours and hours of her life in Kiba's room. She, Kiba, and Shino had always preferred to hang out at Kiba's house because his parents were so relaxed. All of their families lived in the same gated country club, but despite the proximity, Shino and Hinata's houses were out of the question. Shino kept his pet insects (including hissing cockroaches) in his room, and his friends had never been able to stomach going there.
The Hyuuga household was insect-free and well-decorated, but her father was strict. They had little privacy there. She also wanted to avoid her father getting to know Kiba very well. The more he knew, the less likely he was to allow her to spend time with him.
Even holed up in Kiba's bedroom during the party, she'd have rather stayed there than walk the three blocks to her father's house. She loved her father, but the place was full of nagging memories for her. Moving to campus had been a massive relief.
She had been sprawled on Kiba's king bed, flipping lazily through one of his books. It looked like he'd bought it and never opened it. Each page was crisp and untouched. She had finished a chapter when she heard a knock on the door. Before she could answer, a girl cracked it and peeked inside before throwing it open.
"Is there a bathroom in here?" She had asked desperately.
"U-uh y-yeah, right through that door." Hinata pointed.
"Thank God. I've tried three rooms and can't find a bedroom without people hooking up."
Hinata blushed lightly and laughed awkwardly, not knowing how to respond, and watched the girl walk through Kiba's bedroom to his bathroom. A minute later, the door opened, and the girl walked back into the bedroom, stumbling a bit.
"You must be related to Neji." She stated, grabbing her drink from the bookshelf she'd left it on earlier.
"H-his cousin. I- I'm Hinata Hyuuga."
"I'm Tenten. Neji is my partner for our ethics class." She explained with a smile... "You look exactly like him."
Hinata knew she probably looked nervous and awkward, and Tenten could tell she didn't know how to respond.
"It's a good thing," Tenten blurted, seemingly trying to avoid any kind of silence. "He's hot," Tenten declared and then immediately flushed bright pink. Perhaps she regretted blurting it out. Hinata knew alcohol sometimes did that to people.
Hinata found her slip-up somewhat amusing and chuckled lightly.
"I mean... I'm new here, so a lot of the guys seem cute. You know how when you see guys in a group, they look hot, and then you meet them individually, and you realize they're gross? I think that's what's happening to me." She continued to look more flustered, spitting out more words to justify what she'd said. "I mean, your cousin isn't gross..." she trailed off, likely realizing she was digging herself a larger hole.
Hinata was still giggling, but she smiled warmly at the brunette. "It's nice to meet you, Tenten."
Tenten had given her a bashful grin, "maybe don't mention to Neji you met his crazy partner and witnessed her go off on a super embarrassing tangent."
"No problem," Hinata laughed.
"Can I hang out for a few minutes? I'm trying to avoid my roommate. She's been introducing me to people all day, and everyone's beginning to blur together."
"O-oh yeah, no problem," Hinata had nodded, anxious but excited about the prospect of socializing more than she already was.
Tenten leaned against Kiba's desk and brought her cup to her lips. Hinata noticed that she was quite pretty, and she couldn't help finding it amusing that she seemed to find her cousin attractive. Neji hadn't had any girlfriends in the past. He wasn't overtly friendly, so it seemed unusual for the new girl to gravitate toward him. Perhaps she only admired his looks.
"So," Tenten started jokingly, "are you hiding from a crazy roommate too?"
"N-no," Hinata stuttered, tucking a lock of jet-black hair behind her ear. "I'm just not a big partier. I mostly came for Kiba."
"Ooooh, you two must be pretty close if he lets you hang out up here alone in his bed." She gave Hinata a suggestive look and laughed lightly. Hinata could feel her face turn crimson, and she looked down at her hands, hoping to hide her face. She loathed how easily she blushed.
"N-no- I mean, y-yes, we're close. Just n-not like that." Tenten must have noticed her discomfort because she backed off quickly and smiled.
"Gotcha. He seems like a player, anyway.
Hinata laughed, "he likes to make it look that way. I'm not sure he's always quite as successful as he makes it seem."
Tenten had giggled. The girls talked for almost an hour. Hinata became increasingly at ease as Tenten took charge of the conversation and asked her light-hearted questions. She had asked many questions about KPA, making it clear she was looking to make new friends. She couldn't help but be slightly giddy when the girl suggested they hang out sometime. Hinata had wanted to make more friends this year, and Tenten had come along out of the blue and had made chatting so effortless. Although Tenten had been embarrassed about her "awkwardness" at the beginning of their conversation, it was a kind of awkwardness Hinata admired. Tenten's awkwardness was the complete opposite of Hinata's. It was the result of opening up too much instead of holding back. Hinata would always wish she could be more like that.
Hinata looked back at Neji after reflecting for a moment. "She was trying to avoid her roommate. It sounded like she was tired from being introduced to new people all night."
Neji nodded but didn't seem to want to take the conversation further. As they often did, the two walked in comfortable silence as they entered their neighborhood.
Hinata subtly took deep breaths, attempting to prevent tension from creeping over her body and mind. She focused on the stories she looked forward to telling her father and sister. With determination, she bravely increased their pace.
Unlike Hintata's required Sunday night dinners, Ino went home when she felt like it. Because her parents were generally pretty casual about her coming home, she was naturally quite surprised when her father told her he'd have a car pick her up at 2pm sharp. His demand for her to come home was unusual. Ino didn't like being told what to do. Still, the oddity of the situation made her uneasy enough to acquiesce without indignance.
It wouldn't have taken someone with half as much of Ino's social intuition to know something was wrong. Her stomach had been in knots since her father's call, trying to determine what was going on. Had her family's bichon frise, Malibu, died? Or was it her Nana? She had had that procedure a few weeks ago, but her mother had said it was routine and nothing to worry about.
When Ino was guided to the formal living room by her family's housekeeper, she knew one of her suspicions was correct. It had nothing to do with the death of a pet or family member. Malibu was right there, comfortably perched on her mother's grey Chanel mini dress-clad lap.
Her heart dropped as she scanned the room. This was a divorce talk. She just knew it.
Jane Haruno had just finished wiping down the counters when Sakura walked into the kitchen, eyes glued to her phone.
"Oh good, I was about to find you." She smiled at her daughter, "how do you feel about running to get manicures before I drop you back off at school?" It was Sunday afternoon, and her daughter had just dropped by for the day to spend time with her parents. The past few weeks without her daughter home had taken some adjustment, but she was happy Sakura was enjoying boarding school.
"I want to, but Ino just texted me saying she's coming over."
Jane couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. Ino saw her daughter every day. Why did she need to see her the one day she came home to spend with her parents? Jane pushed that unhelpful thought aside and focused on her daughter.
"Why is she coming over?"
Sakura shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't tell her to. She just announced that she was. Typical Ino Pig."
Only five minutes later, Jane heard the blonde's boisterous voice coming from the front entryway.
"Ino?" Mrs. Haruno heard Sakura question, closing the door behind her friend.
"You would not fucking believe my life, Forehead," she yelled dramatically. Sakura's mother winced at both the mean nickname and the loud expletives being shouted in her home. She decided she'd better see what was going on.
"Oh, Mrs. Haruno, thank God you're here too. I'm in desperate need of a mental health professional." Ino announced, leading Sakura and her mother further into their own home. Jane always found the younger generation's enthusiasm toward counseling amusing. It was so different from the taboo regard her own generation had for it.
Regardless of age, though, for some reason, teens and adults alike assumed that just because she was a therapist, she wanted to hear their problems. On the contrary, if she wasn't being paid for it, she listened to enough grievances in her professional life.
When they reached the living room, Ino threw herself onto the sofa theatrically. Jane raised an eyebrow in question at her daughter. Sakura shrugged, unable to explain her friend's display of angst.
"Is everything okay, Ino?" Sakura prompted.
Ino sat up as quickly as she had thrown herself down and looked at the mother and daughter. "Nothing is okay. My parents are the literal worst. The LITERAL worst." In her angst, Ino shot up from the couch and began pacing.
"My parents are getting divorced, and neither seems to give zero shits that they are destroying our family." Ino huffed, eyes enraged. Jane wasn't actually surprised, but she didn't let her thoughts show on her face.
"Oh, Ino," Sakura looked at her friend sympathetically. Jane didn't know Ino's mother very well, but they had had a few conversations over glasses of wine when they picked their daughters up from each other's houses. Like her daughter, Mrs. Yamanaka also assumed the therapist would want to be confided in. At the time, she remembered being surprised by the woman's confessions. Mrs. Yamanaka had a slightly uptight air about her. She had only seen the woman look pristine- her platinum blond hair in a single chignon, makeup applied with perfection, sporting conservative designer apparel Jane couldn't imagine wearing. She made a habit of disguising admonishment for her daughter as motherly advice.
"Ino, where are your manners? Tell Mrs. Haruno thank you for her hospitality."
"Ino, go put on a different outfit before people get the wrong idea."
"Ino, are you sure you need a second helping of that?"
Jane had been surprised by the uppity woman's confession that she was having a shameless affair with a man she met at the country club.
She had alluded that her relationship with her husband was primarily to support his business at that point in time. She played a prominent role in social events and philanthropy for her husband's law firm, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara.
The love they once shared evaporated into a contract of financial and practical obligations. Although they were careful to maintain appearances, it sounded as if neither cared who the other slept with.
Jane watched as Sakura attempted to comfort Ino in vain, and the blonde brushed her off in a huff.
"You don't even know the half of it! Just listen to this fucking shit!"
Jane continued to plaster on her professional poker face. She didn't so much as flinch at her daughter's friend's shrill profanity.
"Not only are they getting divorced, but my dad got some random chick pregnant."
Oh, dear.
"And you'd think my mom would be upset like a normal freaking wife, but she doesn't give a shit. Do you know why??? Because not only has my dad been with this random woman, but now my mom moving in with some asshole named Kent! My parents have literally been screwing other people for years, and they don't even care!"
"They are such fucking hypocrites!" The blonde continued to rant as Sakura gaped and Mrs. Haruno held onto her emotionally appropriate façade.
"I CANNOT believe that they ever had the audacity to warn me against teenage pregnancy when my father clearly has no fucking clue how to use birth control himself. And the abstinence shit? Waiting until marriage??? How dare they spew their fake morals at me while cheating on each other!!"
Jane couldn't help but agree with the fuming girl. It would be challenging to continue to take her parents seriously when their behavior sharply contrasted with their theoretical morals.
"Ino-" Sakura placed a hand on her friend's arm, trying to calm her momentarily. Ino blinked several times before sitting back down. Sakura hugged her friend and gave her mom a face pleading for help. Jane knelt down in front of Ino. "I am so sorry you're going through this, Ino. That is really, really hard."
"They didn't even seem sad," Ino repeated, putting her face between her hands? Her elbows resting on her knees.
"It sounds like their indifference is very upsetting for you." Jane reflected.
Ino nodded, "Nothing is ever going to be the same, and they don't care!"
"I mean, did my dad actually expect me to be excited that he knocked someone up?" Ino's previous dramatic angst was quickly being replaced by a sad resignation.
Jane smiled sadly. No, the man would have to be an idiot to expect that, and she knew Inoichi Yamanaka wasn't an idiot.
Shikamaru walked through the side entrance to his family home and was met with silence. His parents had wanted to take him out to dinner tonight, but he had told them he had too much homework. Shikamaru tended to procrastinate his longer-term assignments for the weekend, so Sundays tended to be busy days for him. Fortunately, he was intelligent and efficient and rarely had to study what he had already learned in class, so his grades didn't reflect his poor time management. Regardless of his schedule, his mother had still managed to guilt trip him into coming home for a few hours after dinner that evening. He was a half-hour earlier than they had expected, so he supposed they might still be out at dinner.
Walking through the kitchen and toward the staircase, he realized someone was home. Several people, actually. He heard soft voices wafting from the living room. It sounded like his mom had a friend over… was that Mrs. Akimichi?
"I've been telling you for years, Yoshino. The Yamanaka's have been headed for disaster for over a decade. Really, poor, poor Ino, though." Shikamaru stopped walking. He suspected his mother and Mrs. Akimichi would stop gossiping if he made himself known. He wasn't typically interested in the idle gossip of his mother and her friends, but hearing Ino's name in that context made him pause.
He heard his mother's hushed voice, "I've been thinking about her all day. I just can't imagine how they had that discussion with her."
"Sharon told me that they told her everything. Can you even fathom?"
"Did she tell you how it went?"
"Not really. She said it went as expected, which is obviously cryptic and unhelpful."
"Well, we'll talk to her tomorrow morning."
It was at this point that Shikamaru decided to make his presence known. He called out to his mom, letter her know he was home. She and her friend instantly quieted.
"I better get home." Mrs. Akimichi murmured. A few minutes later, when Mrs. Akimichi had left, he confronted his mother about what he'd heard. She confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Yamanaka were getting divorced and told him some contentious details. She told him it would be a kind gesture of him to check up on his friend. Of course, he would have done that anyways.
Shikamaru had considered bringing something. Ice cream or flowers or something to cheer her up. Ino liked those sorts of frivolous but thoughtful touches. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at this kind of thing. Having Chouji with him would have been an asset, given his much greater capacity for being sweet and caring. Shikamaru hesitated slightly before knocking on her dorm room door. He hoped Sakura was there. Maybe she could help provide the emotional support Shikamaru felt unprepared to give.
The door opened a crack as Ino inspected who was there. When she saw him, she opened the door farther to allow him to enter. Then she shut the door and walked back to her bed without saying a word. Damn. No Sakura.
Shikamaru stood there awkwardly for a moment. His hands in his pocket, his eyes drawn to the floor. When he looked back up at Ino, he took in her uncharacteristically makeup-less face, her red-rimmed eyes. She was lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling. "You know, don't you?" She murmured, not breaking her eyes away from whatever spot she was looking at.
"I do." He responded quietly. He walked over to her bed and sat down at the edge. He offered her a hand, and she took it to pull herself until she sat up.
"All of it?" She asked quietly.
He couldn't help a small smirk from forming on his face. "Christ, I hope that's all of it."
He watched as she fought her own smile and was thrilled when he heard her meager but genuine laugh.
"It's pretty fucked up, isn't it?" She laughed humorlessly. Shikamaru leaned back on one elbow and looked at her closely.
"The good news is it sounds like they're happy. Neither of them is coming out of this very hurt."
She nodded slowly and looked down at her hands. "I guess I shouldn't be either, then, huh?" A single tear rolled down her cheek, and Shikamaru felt his heart contract sharply. He was used to Ino crying, but it usually was over silly things. This time, she looked so sad. Dammit, where are Chouji and Sakura? He needed backup- but then, looking at her so dejected, his heart started beating faster, and he instinctively knew what to do. He felt an overwhelming need to reach out to her as his heart guided him. Shikamaru scooted closer and pulled her into his arms. When she started crying harder, he held her tighter.
"I always thought my parents were so straight-laced, and it turns out it's the complete opposite." Ino laughed through her tears.
Shikamaru attempted a moment of levity when he poked her side and said, "now it all makes sense where your crazy comes from."
Ino laughed harder but shot him a serious glare. "You're such an asshole, Shikamaru. Where the hell is Chouji?"
"Ah yeah, well, Chouji doesn't actually know yet. My mom only told me because I overheard her talking. It would be better if you spoke to Chouji, right?
"Yeah, probably." She nodded, "I think I'll wait until tomorrow, though. I'm sick of talking."
In any other situation, he would have laughed. As if Ino could be sick of talking. He'd believe it when he saw it.
To his surprise, it didn't take long for him to be proven wrong. Ino leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She stayed there for minutes, not starting any further conversations. Finally, she shifted up her mattress and under the covers and laid her head down on her pillow. Shikamaru stayed over the blankets but moved to lie beside her. He left enough space between them to give her space but stayed there so she'd know she wasn't alone. It wasn't until he woke up to Sakura entering her room a few hours later that he finally rose. They shared a sad smile, acknowledging the emotional day their friend had. Shikamaru waved and silently left for his own dorm.
When Tsunade walked into the door of his house, he could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. "Wine. NOW." She demanded.
Oh boy.
"Hey, there's the happy, easy-going love of my life," he muttered. Tsunade immediately gave him the finger.
Jiraiya grabbed two glasses and an already open bottle of Chardonnay and started pouring.
"You can just keep pouring." She scowled angrily as the golden liquid hit an imaginary four-ounce mark. It was clearly a double-pour kind of night.
"I take it the meeting went poorly?" Tsunade had had an important meeting with the administration and parents about a controversial political issue that night.
One of the Freshman students, Haku Yuki, had started a movement for co-ed dormitories. Haku identified as non-binary and pointed out male and female forms were antiquated for an increasingly gender-fluid society.
Naturally, the parent Facebook groups had become hostile. The administrators had lost control of the situation. The young, more open student body had rallied around their classmate, whereas many of the parents were scandalized by the impropriety of the proposition.
"I have never been more angry in my life." She said after taking a dramatic sip from her glass. "Fucking Koharu." She swore, slamming her glass down. Jiraiya was amazed and relieved that the stem didn't break.
"What did she do this time?" He asked, leaning against the island countertop toward her bar stool.
"Well, needless to say, everyone was pissed after listening to the parents flip their shit for an hour. We tried discussing inclusion and setting a precedent for other schools, but it was a complete disaster. You know all the typical arguments. After the parents left, I thought I'd get a break for the night, but Homura started talking about how improper it would be for boys and girls to share dorms. So, I reminded him they would just share buildings, not rooms. He then started freaking out about boys and girls sneaking into each other's rooms and having sex."
Jiraiya laughed, knowing exactly where this was going. "You told them they already do that, right?"
"I absolutely did. I told him that as the headmaster, I was proud to have lost my virginity in the KPA dorms."
Jiraiya snorted, "you did not fucking say that."
"Damn right, I did. The KPA headmistress got plowed in the single-sex dorm rooms in 1978!" She declared, sloshing wine on her shirt.
"Yeah, you did!" Jiraiya raised his glass in the air and gave her an obnoxious wink. Ah, he remembered that night like it was yesterday...
"So Koharu, the slut-shaming bitch she is, told me not all the students were as promiscuous as I was." She paused, rolling her eyes. "And obviously, I agreed and told her that was fine. The sluts like me would probably continue to have sex, and the other, more well-behaved teenagers could abstain all they wanted. Segregating the dorms by gender isn't going to change that." Jiraiya nodded, generally agreeing with her point.
"Then, she even brought you into it! She said you and I couldn't possibly understand their perspective because we aren't parents!!"
Jiraiya saw her eyes glisten with the warning of angry tears. He walked over to her, grabbed her hand, and led them both into the next room toward the couch. "She said that to you?" Despite his outrage and utter indignation, his voice was soft.
Tsunade nodded, clearly fighting back tears. Her eyes were full of rage.
"Did you say anything to her?"
"No, I threw a mug at her head and left." Jiraiya cringed. He supposed now wasn't the time to remind her that was considered assault.
"You know," she said, finally allowing a few tears to fall, "I carried a baby for nine months and gave birth, and you raised Naruto since he was a baby. When you put us together, we're like one whole parent."
Jiraiya took her face in his hands and rubbed her cheeks gently with his thumbs,
"Tsunade, it doesn't matter how long it lasted. You're still a mother. And if I hadn't had you around while raising Naruto, we wouldn't have survived the first year." He brushed away a tear, and she brought her own hands up to wipe away any that remained. She inhaled sharply and shook her head as if brushing off the sadness.
"I know, I know. Even she knows. She was just being a demonic cunt."
Jiraiya burst out laughing, relieved that her sailor's mouth had replaced her tears. Jiraiya was much more intimidated by the rare moments she cried than by her extreme temper. He'd take a fist to the gut any day over watching her cry. To see such a strong woman crumble was devastating.
Please rate and review. I know this is long and not much has happened yet, but I think we're getting close to picking up the pace.