Chapter 2: More Friends, and Weird Teachers?

 

 

        Once Naruto dragged you out the door and out into the hallway, he did a sharp right and continued down the path to wherever you guys’ second period was.

        “This is great! We have math with Iruka Sensei next! He’s amazing, and can be REALLY cool! He even treats me to ramen sometimes! And I mean the good kind of ramen at Ichiraku’s!!” Wait, isn’t Ichiraku’s that fancy place downtown? And isn’t that a little weird for a teacher and a student to go to a restaurant together? 

        “You mean Ichiraku’s as in that fancy place downtown, right?”

        “YEAH! They have the BEST ramen! Have you tried it before?”

        “Oh uh, not yet I guess.”

        “WHAT!? WHY NOT!?”

        “I… don’t exactly… have the money to go to restaurants like that, at least not yet.” Naruto look mortified for a second, before his face brightened up and his cheekily grinned. Even though you’ve only known him for a minute, you could tell he was planning something. “Naruto, what are you planning?”

        “Don’t worry! You won’t have to wait anymore!” You shot him a confused look.

        “What do you mean? And I am NOT robbing a bank if that’s what you’re thinking.”

        “Wha- NO NO! I mean I’ll take you there! My treat!!!” You stared at him, a shocked expression adorning your features, and he returned it with a cheery close eyed smile. You couldn’t believe it. This had never happened before. No one ever invited you to anything ever before, much less take you out to dinner.

        “Really? Do you mean it? But, I mean, I should be the one to pay for it though…” You trailed off.

        “It’s fine! I can pay for as much food as you want!”

        “And what if it’s a hundred bowls of ramen then?” You asked with a smirk.

        “Aw that’s nothing.” He waved it off. “Trust me. I can pay for a thousand bowls if I need to.”

        “And how do you know you can pay for all of that? Hm?” He chuckled at your question, like a little child giggling when they’re not telling someone a secret.

        “You’ll find out when we get there.” Your smirk was replaced with a slight frown. He seemed so insistent on you eating ramen with him, but you felt like you would be a burden since you didn’t have much money to pay for anything.

        “Naruto, I really shouldn’t go if I can’t pay for my own meal yet.” 

        “Now you know I won’t take no for an answer (Y/N), please?” He once again gave you his puppy dog eyes that you couldn’t say no to. You smiled at him, and the thought of decent food. You barely even had any takeout while you lived with James and his parents, only when they sent both of you out to get something a couple of times, for themselves. You never had any real, good restaurant food, and now, you were just given the opportunity to eat somewhere. This made you ecstatic.

        “You seriously mean it? I won’t be a burden?”

        “Of course I mean it! I would never lie about something like this! And how could you ever be a burden? You’ll always be welcomed to join me, money or no money!! Believe it!!!” Your eyes brightened up at the thought. No one who was trying to use you would be in their right mind to take you out to a nice restaurant downtown! That’s when you decided something that would change your life forever. You now placed all of your trust in Naruto, something that only ever happened with James.

        “Alright. It’s settled. I’ll come with you to Ichiraku’s! And I’ll eat the best damn noodles they have!!!” You giddily exclaimed.

        “YES! WOO HOO! (Y/N)’S GONNA TASTE ICHIRAKU’S RAMEN FOR THE FIRST TIME! YAY!!!” Naruto continued to fist bump the air while still dragging your wrist down the school’s hallways, and you laughed at his enthusiasm the entire time. You were surprised that no one even paid attention to all of Naruto’s loud cheering and your laughing. Guess everyone’s used to Naruto yelling all the time. Makes sense. He is a loud mouth. You chuckled at your thoughts, but you stopped after you remembered something that Naruto said earlier, and something that you wanted to ask him. 

        “Naruto. Did you say earlier that Iruka treats you to ramen?” Naruto stopped his ranting, and looked at you a little confused.

        “Yeah, why?”

        “How can a teacher be allowed to do that? I mean, he’s a teacher and all.” He gave you a perplexing stare. Then he finally understood what you were getting at and made an apologetic face.

        “Oh yeah. Forgot you don’t know. Sorry. Anyways, my parents are, well, ‘usually away’, and Iruka Sensei was assigned to me as a sort of ‘caretaker’ while they’re gone, and he just so happens to also be our math teacher. But don’t worry! Grandma Tsunade’s okay with it, so it’s all good.” He gave you a thumbs up and a closed eyed smile. You giggled at Naruto’s nickname for Tsunade. If she really was fifty or sixty something years old like you heard, then Grandma Tsunade is right. You didn’t ponder the nickname any further though, and continued on.

        “Oooh.” You got a snarky idea. “So he’s your glorified babysitter teacher then?” You asked with a smirk. By now he had already dragged you to right outside Iruka’s classroom, and your comment got him to stop just before he was about to open the door.

        “WHAT!? I DON’T NEED A BABYSITTER!!!”

        “But, that’s kinda what a babysitter does, Naruto. They take care of big red-cheeked cute wild babies like you, and they’ll give you special treats like ramen if you’re a good boy.” You literally jumped up to reach Naruto’s height, and quickly ruffled his hair in mid air. His mind processed what you just said, and his mood changed from anger to confusion.

        “Did you just call me ‘cute’?” 

        “Well, your cheeks look like puffed out tomatoes and you’re acting like a seven-year-old throwing a tantrum! Of course I’m gonna call that cute!!” His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and anger, and he tried to shake it off when he finally realized what you had just said.

        “I DON’T act like a seven-year-old throwing a tantrum! I act like the proper teenager I am!” He pouted his lower lip up and puffed his cheeks out, making him seem even more childish. Then he looked like he had an idea. “You know how behaved I really am?” You smirked.

        “How behaved are you, Naruto?”  He smirked and held up his finger in a knowing fashion.

        “I’m as behaved as a trained soldier!” He then stood straight and saluted, imitating that of a soldier. “Just call me Soldier Naruto, BELIEVE IT!” He smiled determinedly, and it made you chuckle. Even now in his serious stance, he still looked and acted like a little child. It was funny, and unfortunately for Naruto, cute.

        “Well, maybe Soldier Naruto,” You pointed at him, “and General Shortstacks,” You pointed to yourself with your thumb, “should actually go to class. We’re almost late.” He laughed at your nickname for yourself.

        “Yeah yeah whatever. Fair enough… General Shortstacks.” He snickered, making you frown a bit.

        “Shut up.” You grumbled. “Why did I ever say that in the first place.”

        “You are pretty short, Shortie.” He ruffled your hair this time.

        “Lets just get to class, Soldier Baby Blonde.” You smirked.

        “Whatever.” He mumbled. After your conversation was done, you both finally entered the classroom, and the sound of soft chattering classmates was immediately followed by a loud yell.

        “NARUTO! YOU’RE LATE!! AGAIN!!!”

        “Wait WHAT? Not agaaaaiiin!” Naruto whined. While he was busy panicking, you looked at the clock behind you above the door, and then at who you assumed was Iruka, your new math teacher, and Naruto’s ‘caretaker’. The first thing you noticed was that he had a scar across his face where his nose is. You didn’t stare at it for too long to appear rude, so you looked at his other features quickly. He had long, spiky brown hair that was pulled up in a high ponytail, slightly tanned skin, and black eyes. He wore a plain navy blue jacket-like shirt with a green wavy vest on top of it, matching navy blue sweatpants to go with the jacket, and finally, black sneakers that matched his eyes. You then averted your gaze to the rest of the classroom, where everyone kept talking, and found that they were unfazed by the sudden outburst of Iruka. Naruto must be late all the time. However…

        “Uh, Sensei?” You drew Iruka’s attention to you.

        “Yes? Who are you?”

        “First of all, I’m new.” You rushed out, hoping he wouldn’t really notice. “Second, there’s about three minutes before class starts. Naruto’s not late, he and I are early.” He was a little taken aback by your blatant tone, and he was confused for a second, before looking at the clock and noticing what time it really was. He seemed completely shocked, wide eyed and jaw agape, as if Naruto not being late was the most impossible thing in the world. Although, as far as you knew, it could’ve been.

        “Well then, sorry Naruto. You’re… early, for once.” He choked out his last sentence, as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. He sighed. “You can take your seats now.” You turned around swiftly, happy and proud that you helped Naruto, but still also quickly trying to escape being noticed. Unfortunately, you were unlucky. “Wait, except you.” Sadly, you knew he was talking to you. You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. You slowly turned back around and faced Iruka once more. “Did you say you were new?” You slightly nodded your head. “What’s your name?” You had no choice but to, albeit nervously, introduce yourself to Iruka. You just hoped he wouldn’t make you do so with the whole class.

        “My name’s (Y/N) (L/N).” He pulled out a clipboard, and after a few seconds he checked something off, most likely your name.

        “Alright, take any seat that’s open then.” He gave you a closed eye smile, and retreated back to his desk. You immediately looked around the class for any empty seats. In the middle of your search, a familiar loud voice pierced your ears.

        “(Y/N)!!! HEEEY!! OVER HEEEEERRRE!!!” You turned your attention to Naruto, who was in the near back of the leftmost side of the class, closest to the door. There was an empty desk to his right, and you gladly accepted the offer, happy he was sitting close to where you usually liked to sit. You walked over and sat in the chair while setting your bag down next to you, and Naruto smiled. Lucky me, I get to sit with my new friend this period. Wew! I don’t have to be alone now!

        “Now I’m glad that one guy who sat there transferred from this class, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to sit next to good ol’ me!” He pointed to himself with a cocky closed eyed grin. You playfully rolled your eyes.

        “Yeah, lucky me. I get to sit next to my loud mouthed, childish new friend.” You smiled, trying not to laugh at your own joke.

        “Heeeeyy!” He pouted. You shrugged your shoulders, then you both laughed.

        “Oh wait hold on! (Y/N), while we have time, I want you to meet some of my friends!” He gestured to three people sitting around you. At the sound of Naruto’s voice and the word ‘friends’, the three stopped whatever they were doing and faced both you and Naruto.

        You were sure you didn’t look it, but you were super nervous on the inside right at the moment, and it only grew when they started looking at you; you felt like you were starting to sweat. You were, of course, very shy and scared of meeting new people, because there was always a possibility that they might hurt you like all the others had, and Naruto springing it on you didn’t help at all, the stares only made it worse. Despite all of this, somehow you were able to keep a straight face, and you tried to hide your nervousness while Naruto started to introduce these people.

        He pointed to the seat in front of him, where a chubby black eyed male with long spiky light brown hair and two red swirls on his huge cheeks. He wore a white scarf around his neck, a red shirt with a picture of food on it, a maroon jacket with the zipper down, long brown pants, all white sandals. He was also scarfing down potato chips nonstop. It looked almost childish. “This is Choji Akimichi. And yes, he always eats instead of breathing.” ‘Choji’ glared at Naruto, then looked back to you. He gave a small wave and flashed you a close eyed smile.

        “Sup? Like he said, I’m Choji. Nice to meetcha!” His voice sounded a little muffled due to his mouth being full of chips, to which you chuckled. You waved back, some of your nervousness washed away after seeing the happy looking Choji.

        Before you could give your own name though, Naruto pointed to the boy with spiky dark-brown hair in front of you, who had his feet propped up on the chair to his left, so the left side of his body faced you. You couldn’t see his eyes since they were closed, but you did see light skin and an irritated, or bored, expression. He wore a grey shirt with a cropped brown jacket that lay over top of it, khaki pants, and black sneakers with white laces on his propped up feet.

        “This is Shikamaru Nara. He’s kind of a bummer. And by kind of, I mean always a bummer.” The boy finally opened his angry chocolate eyes and glared at Naruto. He then averted his gaze to you. He seemed to be studying you, and so you raised your eyebrow a bit, still keeping a serious expression. This guy looked like everything bothered him, so you might as well try and not be too annoying for him. When he was done surveying you, he nodded his head in an approving sort of way at you.

        “It’s such a drag for Naruto to introduce me to someone new, but hi I guess anyways.” Once again, before you could even respond with a ‘hey’ back, Naruto moved on. 

        He now pointed to the long blonde haired girl you recognized from last period, who now sat directly behind you. Upon closer inspection, her hair was put up in a high ponytail and a giant portion of it was used as bangs that covered her right eye and went a little past her chin. It didn’t actually look that bad, considering the chunk of hair didn’t look like actual bangs. But you didn’t care too much about fashion and looks and stuff like that anyways. She was skinny and pale white, more so than anyone you’ve seen yet, with big sky blue eyes that screamed determination and confidence. She wore a white tank top, a dark purple vest overtop it, white bandages that covered her stomach, puffy dark purple shorts worn a little too high in your opinion, but thankfully the bandages covered a lot of skin there, and dark blue shoes with the tops cut off.

        “This is Ino Yamanaka.” All of your nervousness washed away, as it was replaced by annoyance at not being given the chance to say your name, so you mumbled an ‘it’s such a drag for Naruto to not let me speak to new people I’m supposed to be meeting and talking to’, mimicking Shikamaru’s ‘drag phrase’ with a snarky attitude. Shikamaru raised the corners of his lips to a slight smirk at your quiet, almost unheard, comment. Naruto, being one of those who didn’t hear you, then leaned in close to your ear and whispered, “She can be a big loud mouth, a LOT.”

        “Look who’s talking.” You and Shikamaru replied simultaneously. You both turned to each other and proudly exchanged smirks. Then, Naruto started whisper yelling.

        “Hey now wait a minu-!”

        “I HEARD THAT LITTLE COMMENT NARUTO!!! YOU’RE THE LOUD MOUTH HERE, NOT ME!! I MEAN HAVE YOU EVEN HEARD YOURSELF BEFORE!?!?…”

        “Oh no. Here we go again.” Choji groaned with his mouth still full of chips.

        “What a drag.” Shikamaru followed.

        “Does this happen a lot?” You questioned with a hint of sarcasm, since you already had an idea of what the answer is.

        “Two loud mouths right next to each other in the same classroom. You have no idea.” Shikamaru mumbled. You half smirked at that, but that’s when you realized something important.

        “Oh, hey, I never introduced myself, since someone wouldn’t let me talk.” You grumbled the last part out. You stole a glance at Naruto to see if he caught that, but he was still busy getting scolded by Ino. You sighed, and finally introduced yourself. “My name’s (Y/N) (L/N), and I guess it’s nice to meet you guys.” The corner of your lip raised to a slightly serious smile. Choji smiled back, while Shikamaru nodded in approval. Suddenly, Ino stopped her yelling lecture and snapped her head to you.

        “Wait, you were in mine and Naruto’s first period! You were the one who, you know…” She turned her head from side to side, as if looking to see if anyone was watching, then motioned for the whole group to lean in to the center space between the four desks. She whispered quietly for only you guys to hear. “You were the one who stood up to Gaara!” Choji gasped loudly, Shikamaru stared at you with widened eyes, and Naruto looked as if he remembered something, then started looking wide eyed and nervous as well.

        You thought Ino was being a little overdramatic, since you wouldn’t exactly call a glare contest ‘standing up’ to someone, just a way of saying you weren’t afraid. You didn’t even know what the big deal about Gaara was in the first place. He must’ve done something to gain this kind of infamy, where even the careless Shikamaru was interested and worried about this. You shrugged it off though, it wasn’t like you were afraid.

        “Ino, I wouldn’t call glaring at someone ‘standing up’ to them.” Choji gasped again before you could say anything else.

        “You GLARED at him!?” Choji yelled. Shikamaru and Ino both shushed him loudly.

        “Choji! Keep your voice down! We don’t want this news spreading around!” Shikamaru whisper yelled at him. You crossed your arms in an almost annoyed manner. You still didn’t see what the big deal was.

        “You guys act as if he’s the most dangerous person in the world.”

        “He kinda is.” Ino said. “The last person who stood up to him like that… never came back!” You slowly raised an inquisitive eyebrow, not exactly believing her. However, one look at Ino’s eyes, made you instantly question your thoughts. Her eyes were dead serious, as if she had seen something happen before.

        You thought Gaara probably just acted like a tough guy to get everyone nervous, or he’s just naturally like the person you saw this morning, but was it possible that it all wasn’t just an act? After another few seconds of thinking, you shrugged your shoulders. It’s probably just some rumor or something. You shouldn’t trust that kind of stuff guys. You can trust me on that one. Memories of your old school came to mind, mainly the rumors about you, and some about James, but mainly you. It was horrible. They were horrible. However, before you could clearly recount those harsh words, Choji pulled you out of your train of thought.

        “There were a few time where I saw him beating up these tall muscular senior kids! I was there during those fights the whole time! It was scary!! He literally beat them to near death! Those guys were in the hospital for two weeks!! Then, when they came out, they still looked like they fell off the edge of the world or something! Plus…” He leaned in closer to the group. “I hear he kills… for fun! And that he’s even the leader of one of the most dangerous gangs in the city!” Before Choji said anything else, Shikamaru butted in.

        “I don’t know about the gang and killing part, but the beatings and the disappearing kid stories are true (Y/N). Watch your back. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. No matter how I appear, I actually care about peoples’ safety, especially my friends, no matter how much of a drag they are, and no matter how new they are. Alright?” You smirked.

        “So I am your friend then?”

        “Of course you’re my friend! Ugh! It’s such a drag to explain this.” You smirked even more.

        “I thought I’d be ‘too much of a drag’ to be your friend.”

        “(Y/N), I’m being dead serious.” Shikamaru took on a serious, almost military like expression and tone. “I don’t want you to get hurt… or worse. Plus, okay, you’re actually not… that much of a drag.” He mumbled that last part quietly, but you were still able to hear it anyway. You smiled at the generosity, and the fact that these are the first people, besides James, Naruto, and your old principal, that actually cared about you this much, even after only knowing you for a couple minutes. 

        “Thanks. I didn’t realize you guys care for me that much. I mean we just met and all, and-“

        “So what? We’re still your friends. It doesn’t matter that we just met you like, what, a couple minutes ago. Who cares?” Ino cheerfully replied. 

        “You are part of the group, aren’t cha?” Choji cheerfully asked.

        “W-Well, I-I m-mean, am I?” You stuttered, and Shikamaru groaned at your question.

        “You really don’t have this kind of experience with friends like us, do you? Well now we keep having to explain that stuff you should already know, like being new doesn’t matter to us. Look (Y/N), we all have your back. Even if you’re about to fight against the toughest guy in the school, maybe even the city, it doesn’t matter. We’ll be getting beat up right next to you, even though it’s SO much work if I had to try and save your sorry ass.” He smirked at his last statement. You playfully rolled your eyes and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

        “Sorry it’s ‘such a drag’ to come and help me with imaginary fighting. And by the way, I actually don’t have much experience with friends, thank you very much.” You didn’t know what in the hell made you say that, but you just blurted it out of your big mouth like it was nothing, which you didn’t intend to do. Ino blinked her eyes in astonishment.

        “Really? How is that possible?” Choji asked.

        “Who did you go to school with? Picky, bratty spoiled bitchy kids? How could you not have many friends?” Ino added. You giggled at how accurate Ino was at describing the people you used to go to school with. You were surprised that they found it hard to believe that you didn’t have friends before. I guess it helps when they don’t know my background, yet, at least.

        “I honestly don’t know why, but people didn’t like me much. They only used me, or bullied me, or both. That’s why I was skeptical about you at first Naruto. I was actually skeptical, and admittedly nervous, of you guys as well just a minute ago. But I’ll admit, you guys are pretty cool and trustworthy.”

        “Glad we fit the requirements then.” Choji smirked for once.

        “Yeah, I’ll freaking kick those sorry excuses of humans! Don’t worry (Y/N)! They’ll answer to my fist! CHYA!” Ino punched the air in front of you to show that she meant business.

        “Ino, you know I can fight, right? I’m not weak. I can handle a skirmish if I really need to.” You smirked a prideful smile. No one, not even James, knew this, but you used to sneak out of the house and practiced self defense so you could protect yourself and James from anything that could’ve happened to both of you. You knew how to fight very well, but you didn’t have to tell them that. Shikamaru scoffed at your declaration.

        “I don’t see how a girl could pick a fight… and win. You guys can be more of a drag than anything to protect. How do you expect to fight? AND win?” Great. I’m friends with a lazy sexist guy. Just great.

        “Sexist much?” You mumbled.

        “SHIKAMARU!!! Do we need to have that little TALK again!?” Ino looked like she was ready to kill. She even cracked her neck pretty loudly. She clearly meant business, you knew that much without even knowing her for long. Shikamaru look worried for a second, then sighed heavily as he hung his head in defeat.

        “No.” He groaned like a child admitting they did something wrong.

        “You guys don’t have anything to worry about anyways. I’m not trying to sound like a tough girl, but I don’t get intimidated by anyone. Trust me. I’m pretty stubborn, and I’ve seen my fair share of… ‘things’ I guess you could say. I’ll be fine. You won’t have to worry.”

        “Don’t be an idiot (Y/N), and stop trying to act tougher than you already are. It could get you into something you don’t want anything to do with.” Shikamaru warned. “Plus, it’s not just Gaara who’d be after you, although he’s the most infamous one. His two siblings, Temari and Kankuro, aren’t always far behind him. They may only be his loyal followers, but they stick together like a pack of ravenous wolves, and they certainly fight like one too. So I’ll say it again. Don’t. Act. Like. A tough girl.” You scowled.

        “I’m not joking, and I’m not trying to act tough.” You dropped your scowl and relaxed. “It’s just how I grew up. Well, with people around me anyway. You never let people get to you or intimidate you. Show no fear, and you have a chance of them leaving you alone. If you do, they’ll keep coming back to torment you. That’s what I had to figure out, the hard way. That’s why I’m not afraid of anyone or anything.” You spoke with pure confidence. Ino placed a hand on your shoulder.

        “Just, don’t get into any trouble, okay?” You twisted your head to face her and sighed, not bothering to reply anymore. After a moment or two, you decided to nod so they wouldn’t pester you on the matter anymore. She tightened her grip just a smidge. “And if you ever need to talk about anything, we’re here for you.” You curled one end of your lips to a determined half smile. You glanced around at everyone, and they nodded and smiled, well Shikamaru smirked, in agreement. 

        “Yeah, I guess I could take a break from silently, and might I add peacefully, watching the clouds to help you if you need it. Although it’s such a drag to do all that work.”

        “Shut up Shikamaru! You know you wanna help in spite of your laziness. It wouldn’t even matter if it cut into your ‘precious cloud watching’, and you know it!” Ino raised her voice.

        “Psh. Whatever.”

        “Wait, you like watching the clouds?” You asked Shikamaru.

        “No duh captain obvious. What gave it away?” He grumbled sarcastically. You ignored his comment.

        “I do too!”

        “Wait. You watch clouds? No offense, but you don’t exactly seem like the person to do something so… quiet. I’m kind of surprised.”

        “And what is that supposed to mean?” You stared at him like Ino did just a moment ago, making him a little nervous.

        “I don’t know. You seem very… hmm. What’s the word I’m looking for? Uhh… let’s just say… you seem like Naruto over here. He just… doesn’t sit still? Restless? Reckless? Ah, you know what I mean.” You eventually stopped glaring at him and relaxed a little. You didn’t care about his tone too much, he at least tried. I guess that’s just how he is. I’ll get used to it… eventually… hopefully.

        “Well anyways, it’s always nice to relax and let all the stress flow out of you for a few minutes… or maybe even hours.” You smirked at the last part.

        “Huh. Where do you go and ‘let the stress flow out of you’, then?” He mimicked your choice of words and tone, which you replied with sarcasm.

        “The deepest darkest parts of the sewers with the rats to keep me good company. Where do you think? Of course I go on top of a roof, or a nice secluded grassy plain on a hill! Duh! Where else would you go? Seriously, were you raised in a barn Shikamaru?” He smirked, seeming to approve of your answer, despite your attitude.

        “Hm, you know what? Maaaaybe I’ll show you the best place to see the clouds then. That is, only if you’re interested.” Your eyes shone with excitement.

        “Really? You mean it?”

        “Ah ah ah. I said, maybe.” You pouted your lips.

        “Asshole.”

        “Well maybe you should listen more.”

        “Well maybe you should-” Before you could comeback Shikamaru’s comment, Ino cut you off.

        “You nerds with your ‘cloud watching’. JEEZ! There’s more important things to do you guys! Like showing (Y/N) the most important part of life!!” Ino replied excitedly.

        “And that would be…?”

        “SHOPPING!!”

        “…” Everyone was silent.

        “…Wait. What? Shopping??” You did not like shopping. Your stepmom would make you go ‘shopping’ with her all the time, but really you were only there to hold her shit, so it never quite stuck out to you. It was so boring to go to places that didn’t have the kinds of things you’re in to, your feet always hurt and basically killed you when you walked for a long time, and plus it’s just not your style. But, you guessed if it was with Ino, it couldn’t be too bad. It might actually be fun for once.

        “Hey, Naruto. You’ve been quiet this whole time. What’s up? You okay? ” Choji drew you out of your thoughts, and you weren’t the only one. Naruto was also slightly disrupted as well.. “It’s not like you to space out on us like this, you know?” Naruto had been, come to think of it, absolutely silent the whole time you guys were talking. Unless…

        “Naruto. Naruto!” You yelled. 

        “Didn’t know you could be that deep in thought. Heck, I didn’t even know you had much of a brain.” Choji smugly said. That got Naruto mad.

        “Heeeeey! At least I don’t only think about food like you do! I swear YOUR brain is a big freaking potato chip!”

        “Naruto.” You repeated sternly. He and Choji stopped arguing, glared once more at each other, then Naruto turned and faced you. No one expected what came out of your mouth next.

        “Are you afraid of Gaara?” Naruto’s eye widened and his face paled. He seemed anxious, as if you figured him out as easily as an open book. That wasn’t all true though. You only remembered he stopped talking when you guys were talking about Gaara, which lead you to think he was afraid, or at least very uncomfortable, with him. He simply stared at you for a few seconds, then he took a deep breath and sighed.

        “Okay. Yes, I am. But it’s not how you think it is!” He stuttered out at the end. You definitely didn’t expect him to be honest about it.

        “What do you mean by that?” You stared questioningly at him, hoping for a less vague answer. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

        “It’s… complicated.”

        “Is it because you’re friends with him?” Ino asked. I didn’t know Gaara and Naruto were friends. He certainly didn’t look like they were buddies this morning.

        “Yeah, you could say that. He’s a great friend and all. He’s not abusive or too mean or anything like that. It’s just that-” Unfortunately for you guys, the bell rang right when Naruto was about to explain himself. So much for ‘saved by the bell’. For us, at least, not Naruto. I’m not letting this go though. He won’t get out of this that easily. Iruka finally stood up from his desk and yelled.

        “ALRIGHT CLASS! SETTLE DOWN! You can talk later. Now today we’ll-” Everyone instantly shushed. Your group now faced the front of the room, and you didn’t bother Naruto anymore, for now at least.

        You sat through the whole lecture thinking about why Naruto would be afraid of Gaara, even though they’re friends, but also how grateful you were to have met new friends yourself, while still paying attention to the lesson without zoning out too much. You thought you knew the material pretty well already, you weren’t too bothered or confused by it at all. You weren’t worried about missing too much, only about Naruto’s friendship with Gaara, and what it means.

 
        When the bell finally rang at the end of class, you quickly exchanged numbers with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji before the three left to their own classes. While you said your temporary goodbyes, Naruto stole your phone, put his number in, and placed it back. He then took your schedule and began scanning it over. When you finally noticed what he was doing, you put your hands on your hips and frowned at him. You knew he was trying to avoid your question from earlier, and he stole your schedule without you even getting a chance to look at it yourself.

        “Awww we don’t have next period together!” Aw shit! I was really hoping he would be in my next class as well. Great, I’m alone on this one. This new problem made you completely forget about your curiosity on Gaara’s and Naruto’s relationship.

        “Wait, what do I have then? Maybe it’s not so bad?” You asked nervously. He grimaced.

        “Biology with Orochimaru Sensei. Oh boy, you’re in trouble.” You started to grow nervous.

        “Why am I in trouble?” He motioned for you to lean in, and you quickly obeyed. Naruto cupped his hand at the side of his mouth and whispered in your ear.

        “He’s kind of a perv. All I know is that he may be bi, and the stronger the student, the more he ‘likes’ them. Apparently he stares at my friend during the whole class, or so he’s told me.” Your face paled a little at the end.

        You didn’t actually expect any teacher pervs as weird as this one sounded. You didn’t mind that he was potentially bisexual, that stuff didn’t bother you at all, but the big perverted side of his story made you a little nervous. Scratch that, I’m pretty scared now.

        Naruto noticed your uneasy expression, and he quickly waved his hands in front of his face and tried to console you. “Don’t worry! I’m pretty sure it’s not as bad as it sounds! My friend can exaggerate at times!” His words came out rushed and stuttered, and it was clear that they weren’t helping your nervous state. “Uh, here! Let me show you the way!” With that, he grabbed your wrist, just like after first period, and dragged you throughout the hallways and up the stairs to the second floor. Along the way, you made mental notes of certain landmarks to try and familiarize yourself with the route to your class and the way throughout the school. It helped distract you from the cause of your nerves.

        Naruto eventually stopped you in front of a door that read Orochimaru in the center of it. Glancing inside, there were a couple groups of people already standing or sitting down in random places. That meant you didn’t have to face this teacher in a room alone, which was a small relief.

        “Alright. We have P.E. today next period, and you know where the gym is right?” You nodded, remembering that you saw the gym when you walked into the front of the school this morning, which was to the right of the front doors. You only had to back track the way Naruto dragged you through the hallways, and maybe you could even figure out a shortcut if you were lucky.

        “Yeah it’s fine, I got it. I know where it is. I guess I’ll see you later then?”

        “Alright. See you later (Y/N)!” You waved him off as he sprinted down the corridor to whatever class he had next, probably not wanting to be late. It wouldn’t actually surprise you if he was still late. You turned your head around to the classroom door. Lets see, three minutes before the bell rings. Good, I’m early enough to get a good seat. Let’s just hope this teacher isn’t that bad. With that, you walked inside.

        The room appeared to be like any other normal science room. To your left, three columns of black desks made to sit partners instead of one person were aligned evenly throughout the class. They each had two chairs, where the few people who had already arrived were sitting. Wooden cupboards with glass windows were filled with different objects: books, beakers, flasks, Bunsen burners, test tubes, and microscopes. A black cart was at the back of the class with different glass tubes full of solutions, different chemicals, and even a couple animal species in glass habitats, on the different layers of the cart. 

        At the teacher desk in front of you, just to your right, sat a man who you assumed to be Orochimaru. He had long black hair that covered most of his face, partly due to him leaning down as he was doing something. You could see that he wore a dark green jacket with matching dark green pants, and one of the jacket pockets had a grey eighth note on it, which you wondered what that meant. Is he a music lover then? Maybe that’s a good thing since I just started liking music. He seemed to be looking at a figurine on the desk. It was glass, like the Tonton one Shizune had on her desk and the Katsuyu on Tsunade’s. Except, his was of a different looking purple snake with black stripes all over its body. It had black eyeballs with emerald green irises and big black slit pupils. Big purple horns stuck out of the back of the head almost like a dragon’s. There was a label at the front like the other two, but you were too far away to see it. What is up with these glass figurine things?

        At the sound of the door opening, he glanced at you, and started to turn back to his desk, until he realized that you weren’t one of his normal students. For some reason he smirked, then gestured for you to come to his desk. You didn’t know if he was trying to scare you on purpose, or if it was just how he normally greets people. Nevertheless, you showed no signs of being nervous and as you walked over to him, you were able to get a better look of his features.

        The man looked like a humanoid snake, only with no scales. He had golden slit eyes, pale light green skin, and sharp white teeth, which he showed with a yawn. His pointy canines were clearly shown, and somehow you knew he did this on purpose. His face was carved to a pointed chin, exactly like a snake’s head. In addition to his snake like features, he wore purple eye shadow on his eyes that branched off at the ends and stopped to where the bridge of his nose ended. He actually looked pretty cool to you. After all, you loved animals, and snakes had always leaned more towards your favorites side. Legend says they’re descended from dragons, which are one of your favorite animals. However, that smirk he still had plastered on his face gave the possibility of ill intentions, so you still kept your guard up while maintaining your calm composure.

        As you moved closer to him, you could now see the nametag of the figurine he had. It read Manda. You stopped in front of his desk, and he spoke in a raspy hiss like voice. He even extended the s’s a little bit. Just like a snake.

        “It appears I was right. We do have a new student. I just didn’t think you would be this early. You must be smart, you seem like it. What is your name, then?” You swore he already knew your name by the tone of his voice, but he just wanted to hear you say it. It was slightly suspicious to you.

        “(Y/N) (L/N).” You said in a confident and strong tone.

        He then looked like he was judging you on something. Your facial expression, your tone, or something, you couldn’t figure it out. But that’s when you figured him out. Ohhh he’s not a perv. He just acts like a snake! He must be completely obsessed with them judging from all the snake themed hints from him. Wew! He’s just being unique. That’s all. No need to worry! You inwardly sighed in relief, glad that what Naruto had said to you was a misunderstanding. You then remembered the animals on the cart in the back, and realized that they were all prey a snake would eat. That’d be funny if he actually eats them. Heh… I seriously hope not though. While you were busy thinking, he finally seemed to approve of whatever he was just studying about you.

        “I can tell you love animals. I’m glad someone else like you is in this class then.” You raised an eyebrow at this, surprised. How did he know? Maybe only the ones who like animals take this course?

        “Does everyone in this class love animals then?” He chuckled, as if the answer was obvious, or you were oblivious.

        “Not exactly my dear. Not exactly. Not everyone likes animals as much. Only you and a few others, including myself.” Then how?…

        “Then how’d you figure it out?” You asked in slight confusion and curiosity, still easily keeping your calm and cool. He smirked wider.

        “It was pretty easy to notice actually. Your eyes had a certain ‘twinkle’ in them when you looked at those animals you saw back there.” Wow, this guy is observant.

        “Guess I’m pretty predictable then.” He chuckled in amusement.

        “Maybe you are. I guess we’ll find out. Anyway, you can take the seat over there in the back.” He pointed a long slender finger to a table on the rightmost side of the room, indeed towards the back. “Hurry, go on. Class is starting soon.” You nodded, and walked to the desk he pointed to. You felt his eyes linger on your form for a minute before the feeling thankfully disappeared. 

        The desk that was now yours was about the third one from the back row. Not bad. Usually back seats were more ‘isolated’ in your opinion, just your environment. You sat on the window seat, hoping your new partner wouldn’t mind that you preferred looking out the window instead of being next to the aisle. If not, you supposed you could sit in the other one if you really needed to.

        You were just leaning close to the window with your left elbow propped up on the table, resting your left cheek on your palm, when the door was suddenly slammed open. You turned your attention to an all too familiar sight standing in the doorway. It was Gaara. Aw shit. Like this is what I need right now. No friends in this class and now him. Ugh. I hope nothing like first period happens again. And what’s up with you slamming doors dude? Jeez. I swear it’ll cause a major earthquake one of these days. That’s when you noticed two people standing in the doorway behind Gaara, both in similar attire as him.

        One was a slightly pale girl with teal eyes and spiky, sandy colored hair that was pulled up into four spiky ponytails, which shaped a square in the back of her head. She wore a plain black hoodie, dark blue skinny jeans, and light purple shoes with white trimmings and laces. The aura she gave off was bored, cooled, a little serious, and isolated all at once, but not as extreme as Gaara’s ‘bad boy’ coldness and anger.

        The other one, a boy with little dark eyes, gave off a similar aura as the girl’s. He had on a black hoodie with the hood covering his head. It seemed rather wide for his face size, and it had strange tufts on the top that almost made him look like a cat. You could tell he had dark brown hair due to some strands of it sticking out the side of his head. He had strange purple markings all over his face, which made him look like he belonged to some kind of tribe or cult. It was almost funny. He had black pants that looked tighter than Gaara’s sweatpants, and black shoes with white trimmings and laces. 

         They must be the siblings that Shikamaru mentioned. The girl must be Temari, and the boy must be Kankuro. Huh. Gaara, for your sake, don’t you even DARE be a coward and try and pick an uneven fight with me right now with your little lackeys. You snorted your annoyance, and proceeded to close your eyes and turn your head back to the window, still keeping an eye on them through the li.

        Gaara still had his hands in his hoodie pockets and that same scowl he wore this morning, as he and his siblings walked into the room. Orochimaru looked up from writing something on a piece of paper, to see Gaara nodding at him to show that he was here. Orochimaru nodded back with a slight smirk and returned to writing whatever he was writing on his desk. It looked and felt like there was a weird tension between them, but you only brushed it off as Gaara being the same way with everybody else.

        The group walked over towards the many rows of desks, where the two siblings split up from their brother and walked down the first aisle of them, while Gaara walked down yours. Your head still rested in the palm of your left hand with your eyes lowered so much, it would seem to anyone else that you had dozed off, though you could still clearly see Gaara drawing nearer to your desk. It wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, if it wasn’t for one simple thing.

        He wasn’t stopping.